Archive | June 2012

Too Many Cucumbers!!!!

Does anyone out there have too many cucumbers? I know I don’t! Unfortunately, our garden was not so successful this year, but my mother in law’s was! Her garden grew loads of cucumbers (I think she was running out of people to give them to!). She and I had been talking for a while about trying out some canning recipes. Neither of us is extremely experienced at it, she had made some applesauce and other pickle recipes before and I had tried my hand at some jams. This year we decided to work together to try out some new recipes. The first one we tried was a kosher dill pickle.

The recipe can be found at this link:

http://www.food.com/recipe/claussen-kosher-pickle-copycat-249520

First, we sterilized the canning jars (quart-sized) by boiling them for 10 minutes in water deep enough to cover.

Then, we washed the cucumbers and set them aside.

Next we placed the vingear, mustard seeds, salt, water, onions, and garlic in a sauce pot and heated it on medium heat until the salt dissolved. We only had to stir a few times. Once the salt dissolves, set the pot aside to cool.

While that was heating, we cut the pickles into spears. We thought of one really cool trick for dealing with cu

cumbers that are too long for the jars (You only want them to come to the base of the neck of the jars so the brine will completely cover them). What we did was trim the length off of one end of the cucumbers to make it the correct size. We cut the spears as usual, but with the extra end we cut off, we sliced into rounds and made pickle chips for sandwiches as well!

Once the jars had finished boiling, we removed them from the water and set them aside to dry.

We placed one sprig of fresh dill in each jar and then packed the cucumbers in tightly. We poured the brine over the cucumbers covering them completely. Then we screwed on the lids and set them aside on the counter to pickle shaking them around daily to redisperse the ingredients.

The recipe says you can eat them after 3 days, but I read in some other recipes that you should let them pickle at least one week. They get crisper the longer they sit.

UPDATE: OK, so, we tried the pickles after making them and they were definitely tastey, but a bit too salty. The next recipe I plan to try is the one from the Ball website:

http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipe.aspx?r=258

I’ll let you know how they turn out! In the meantime, if any of you out there have a good kosher dill recipe, please let us know!

Building Up Your Home

Jun27

via google.com

“The wise woman builds up her house,

but the foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands.”

Proverbs 14:1

Here is the only spot found in the Bible that actually uses the words, “wise woman”. This verse is making a contrast between a wise and foolish woman of the world in building her home, but I think all scholars agree, the verse isn’t speaking about the physical labor here of actual building. Thus far, I’ve come up with at least seven ways women can build up their homes and seven ways they can tear them down. I’m sure there are more, and as we go along, I hope to write about each one.

The first area that comes to mind in which we can build up or destroy our homes is through our words.

Proverbs 18:20-21 says:

“Wise words satisfy like a good meal;

the right words bring satisfaction.

The tongue can bring death or life;…”

You might be thinking, “How can words cause death?” I don’t believe it is speaking about a physical death here, but we all know mere words have the power to bring death to a marriage or a relationship. It can destroy people’s opinions about themselves and discourage them, so that they never reach their full potential. Words can cause a person to give up or they can spur a person on to succeed. They have the power to bring healing or harm. Pretty scary, especially when you think how quickly and carelessly we can use our words.

Let me ask you, can you remember someone saying something to you that wounded you as a child and you never forgot it?

Back when I was in fifth grade, I was sitting at my desk. It was in the afternoon, and our teacher was going over something. I don’t remember now what she was teaching, but I do remember that it was the last week of school before we were out for the summer and ready to move on to sixth grade, at least most of us were.

My very best friend at the time was sitting just three rows over from me, and the teacher had just asked V (short for very best friend) a question. I could tell V was very sincere when she stated that she didn’t know the answer. She wasn’t making light of it or anything, but for some reason, V’s response set our teacher off and she exploded! She began pointing her finger down at V and telling her she was stupid and this was why she wasn’t going to pass onto the sixth grade, but was going to have to do fifth grade all over again the following year. You could have heard a pin drop in our class at that moment. I think V already knew she was being kept back, at least I hope she did, but the rest of the class didn’t until that moment.

I don’t remember V’s look on her face, for I couldn’t even look up! I sat there looking down at the floor and hurting terribly inside. I don’t think V came back to finish out the remaining days of the school year and that summer her family moved to a new town where V was able to have a fresh start in a new school with new friends. I’m sure she never forgot that day though, for even now just thinking about it can stir up the same emotions in me.

The book of James calls the tongue a fire; a tiny member of the body which can’t be tamed (James 3:6ff). I’m sure we all can recall saying things in the past that we regret today. Words are often hard to forgive and even harder at times to forget, so how can we make sure that our words are words that heal, build up, and encourage our listeners?
Luke 6:45 says:

“The good [wo]man brings good things out of the good stored up in his/her heart,
and the evil [wo]man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his/her heart.
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

It’s a matter of the heart. We begin by guarding our hearts, our thoughts and the things we watch and read that may influence us in a negative way.

Phil 4:8 says:

”… whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy

—think about such things. “

No one is perfect, we can always find things we don’t necessarily like or enjoy about others, and you can bet if we dwell on those characteristics for too long, our attitudes towards them are bound to come out eventually and have the potential to do some damage. Rather, if we refuse to dwell on those areas and accentuate the positives, we could quite possibly cause that person to rise up to their full potential! Believe it or not, we have that power!

Nancy Leigh DeMoss and those at Revive Our Hearts have come up with a great way to turn our thoughts towards our husbands around and begin to encourage him and build him up each day. It’s called the 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge, and if you’d like to take the challenge and see what can happen in just one month’s time, I’ve included the link below:

http://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/30-day-husband-encouragement-challenge/

Should you decide to take up this challenge I hope you’ll come back and share your results to encourage others to do the same!!

THE BEST BLUEBERRY PIE

Jun27

I was out with friends recently when one of them happened to admit that she had never made her own pie crust before, but what really startled me was in the next moments it seemed like just about everyone there agreed with her! I stayed quiet, and until that moment I had never considered myself to be a pie crust snob, but honestly, I’m so used to making my own crust I can’t imagine having it any other way.

There used to be a saying that went something like, “It’s as easy as pie.” Making pie crust really is easy, and when my granddaughter asked me this week if we could make a blueberry pie together, I thought it was a great idea! What follows is the best blueberry pie recipe that is also so easy a 10 year old can make it!

The Best Blueberry Pie

Double Crust:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tblsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tblsp. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup veg. shortening (I prefer Crisco)
5-6 Tblsp. very cold water

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas.

Add the very cold water a little at a time and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together to form a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for no longer than 30 minutes.

When ready to roll out the dough, cut the dough in half and pat each half into a round, flat disk. Roll out one disk on sheet of wax paper into about a 12-inch round (you may need to lightly flour the rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan). Once dough is about twelve inches in diameter, pick up the dough using the wax paper and evenly line the bottom of the pan or dish. Then remove the wax paper and discard.

Filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries*
1 Tablesp. fresh lemon juice
3⁄4 cup sugar
3 Tablesp. cornstarch
1⁄4 teasp. salt
1⁄4 teasp. cinnamon
1 Tablesp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

Place the blueberries in a large bowl, sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl stir the sugar, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon together.

Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to distribute evenly. Immediately transfer to the dough-lined pie pan. Dot with the butter.

Roll out remaining dough and carefully position it over the filled pie. Trim leaving 1 inch of overhang, then fold the edge of the top round under the edge of the bottom round and crimp the edges to seal. Using a small, sharp knife, cut 3 to 4 inch asterisk (*) across the center of the top of pie to allow steam to escape during baking.

Position pie on a rack in the lower third of a preheated to 375°F oven.Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the filling is thick and bubbling, about 50 to 60 minutes. Allow pie to cool completely to set about 2 hours. (This will help in cutting and serving the pie.)

Serve topped with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or just by itself. Enjoy!

*Note: You can use frozen blueberries without having to thaw them first. Simply increase the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.

Peach Berry Cobbler

Jun25

Our blueberry bushes have out produced themselves this year and we have been enjoying the blueberries in just about everything! This recipe was taken from a peach cobbler recipe found in my grandmother’s cookbook, so you are free to omit the berries if you don’t have any on hand.

Our peaches, blueberies and blackberries always seem to ripen at the same time each season so we’ve gotten used to combining them in recipes and honestly I think they go great together!

The best part of this recipe and what makes it stand out among most peach cobbler recipes in my opinion are the spices it calls for. Especially the nutmeg. Nutmeg and peaches are a winning combination when baking, but you’ll have to try it to see for yourselves.

Gathering the berries is a family affair at our house,

Right down to the smallest member.

PEACH BERRY COBBLER

4 Cups sliced, fresh Peaches

1(+/-) Cup Blueberries, Blackberries or combination

1 Tablesp. Lemon Juice

1/3-1/2 Cup granulated Sugar

1/8 teasp. Nutmeg

2 Tablesp. melted Butter

Combine these ingredients and spead evenly in a greased 12″x8″x2″ baking dish.

(Confession: I didn’t have enough fresh peaches at the time this picture was taken so these are canned peaches, for all you experts out there that would be able to tell the difference. If you don’t have fresh peaches on hand you can use canned peaches and omit the lemon juice & sugar in the recipe.)

For Crust:

1 Cup Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

3 Tablespoons Sugar

4 Tablesp. Unsalted Butter cut into small pieces

2/3 cup Buttermilk

1 Tablespoon Sugar + 1/4 teasp. cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile combine all dry ingredients for cobbler crust in a bowl. Work in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers, to make the texture like cornmeal. Add buttermilk and stir to form a soft dough.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough on top. Sprinkle with combined 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until fruit is bubbly and crust topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!! Enjoy!

(Makes about 6 servings)

TIME TESTED RECIPES

Jun23

One of my most prized possession today is this cookbook. I honestly don’t think it would be worth anything to anyone else, but to me it’s priceless! It belonged to my grandmother, and one of the things that makes it so special to me is that she purchased it on her honeymoon back around November 11,1936. I know that because she used to have a notation and date written on the front pages, but unfortunately they have been lost over time.

As you can probably see, this cookbook has been used quite a bit by actually three generations. I was fortunate to grow up with my grandparents living in the same house with us, and I learned to cook using this cookbook as did my mom and grandmother.

Nana was born in 1900 so her age was always easy for me to remember. She was a career girl, before her time. Today, she would have been known as an executive assistant, but back then they called her a secretary. Growing up I affectionately referred to her as “the walking dictionary,” for she could tell you the spelling and definition to any word! She was wonderful to have around when writing my term papers!

Back then, it was frowned upon for a woman to have a career, for women were supposed to settle down and raise a family, and my grandmother was a lady in every sense of the word. I think she must have thought the time was getting away from her, so she married my grandfather, bought this cookbook, and gave birth to my dad nine months later.

The cookbook was written for beginners, and it was all they had back then. It is so neat to look through. It has everything you would need to know to learn how to cook right down to how to remove the feathers from a chicken! Some recipes even call for lard, something I’m not sure they even sell anymore, but there are also great recipes; recipes we fondly refer to as comfort foods today, and those are the ones I’d like to share with you on this site. These recipes I’ve decided to call, Time Tested Recipes, and I hope to also share some of the little tricks they included among the pages of this book.

“There’s A Mouse In Our Bed.”

Jun20

via google.com

“There’s a mouse in our bed!” my husband exclaimed last night as I was brushing my teeth in the next room, getting ready to settle into that very same bed for the night.

“WHAT!” I nearly jumped out of my skin for a second, until I realized a split-second later that his tone in that statement was not one of “shock and awe,” but more like one that said, “The kids have struck again.” Those same kids that had been over all day playing.

“Hmm… ” Let me explain.

I really can’t remember how it all started, perhaps it was a day when i really did find a little mouse running through my house, for that seems to occur at least once each fall when the temperature begins to drop. Our oldest granddaughters must have overheard me talking about it and never forgot it. They had to have questioned me further, and when I explained with gusto (borrowing a quote from Hanna-Barbera’s, Jinksy) “I hate meeces to pieces!!”, somehow they decided to turn my aversion into a sport!! Since then they are careful to point out to me all the mice they can find in books, puzzles, games, even educational materials!! Do you know how many mice there are out there?! I never did, until they began finding them everywhere!

They not only began to look for them, their moms also got in on the game and even bought some toy mice for the girls so they could place them around my house, in my car, and even in my gifts at Christmas! They always seem to catch me when I least expect it too.

I’ve done my best to get them back, making sure I let them know that I am on to them, which is sure to encourage them all the more! I’ve even left the same mice under their pillows with a little piece of their favorite candy sitting next to it. It honestly has been great fun, especially for the girls and I’m so glad one of them had the idea to start all this.

Last night’s event started me thinking. Matthew 3:17 says~“And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight.” My first thought was, “Can you just imagine hearing God speak this about you?” He not only loved Jesus, but delighted in Him. Is there a difference between loving something or someone and delighting in them? I believe there is. I love potato chips, but after dieting for months and denying myself the pleasure of eating them, I take great delight in savoring each chip when I allow myself to have them on occasion. I believe it is the same with our children. We can love them, care for them, give them all the best this world has to offer, but do we take the time to truly delight in them? Most importantly, do we convey those sentiments to our kids? When was the last time your child heard you express your absolutely delight in them? I know I need to do that somehow today.

If you have some great ways to convey your delight in your children, I hope you’ll share it with us!

Time together

Jun19

Just a quick note of encouragement for those who are married. My husband and I usually take an hour or so at night after the little people are in bed to ‘retire’ in the living room (or the front porch when the weather is nice) in peace and quiet. This is a great opportunity to catch up on the day and just reconnect. (P.S. This bench is where my husband proposed to me. )

God’s protection in light of Mama Hen

Jun19

About 3 1/2 weeks ago we had noticed a broody hen sitting under a large hosta in the front flower bed. About 2 weeks ago we saw little chicks peeping out from under her wings. God is so amazing! We have really enjoyed watching the hen with her chicks! This was them last week branching out and moving into the front yard a bit. In watching mama hen with her chicks and how she covers them up to protect them, or how they hurry to her if anything startles them, I am reminded of Jesus saying in Mathew 23:37, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” I talked about this with my little people last week just reminding them that God wants to keep us close, guide and protect us, and provide for us. If a chick doesn’t return to the mama, they are in danger of predators or getting to cold and dying. We must, therefore, be willing and responsive to Him. This verse means so much more having watched Mama Hen and her little chickies! Thank you Lord for bringing your Word to light through Your amazing creation!

meet-my-dad

Jun18

via site.pinkpeppermintpaper.com

Printable For Father’s Day! This would be great to do with children ages 3-8 years old and would make a neat keepsake!

“Mom, what are we doing today?”

Jun12

As a mom of two I love finding those little cost-saving nuggets that I pick up either from friends or from my own research. One way I could easily over-spend is with fun, educational activities for my kids. So, I made it a point to keep track of various inexpensive, educational activities around town that my friends would share with me or that I found myself. Some are free while others are more expensive, but I thought they were all helpful to keep in mind when my children asked me the eternal question, “Mom, what are we doing today?” I hope you find them as helpful as I have and if you know of any other ideas, please share!