Again

Tonight I went to wash something at the kitchen sink and found the egg pail in the sink—again. As I set it out on the floor and thought of how many times we’ve talked about how the egg pail doesn’t go in the sink, I had to wonder how many times God has told me something, and I just don’t get it. What is God trying to tell you? Are you listening—not just with your ears, but with your heart?

I had planned to have a post up by now about our ministry at the abortion mill yesterday morning, but that will have to wait until later in the week. It didn’t get written yesterday because when I got home I took our dog for a walk, taught a violin lesson, and then our family went to friends for supper and the evening.

And it didn’t get written today because I spent the day in the kitchen and shopping in preparation for tomorrow. Tomorrow some of my siblings and I are going to be gone from 7:30 in the morning until 5:30 or so in the evening taking a CPR/First Aid class. I’m in charge of our family’s meals right now, so I needed to make sure there was breakfast for everyone, lunch for us to take along, lunch for those at home, two snacks for each of us who are going, and supper for everyone when we get home! My older sister usually makes the bread, but she was gone today so I tried my hand at it. I think it turned out well, and it was actually quite easy! I think I’ll be doing it again. :-)

As for the CPR/First Aid class, I think it will take me out of my comfort zone, but that’s not a bad thing and I’m looking forward to it. And although I hope that I’m never in a situation where I have to use the knowledge that I’ll be gaining, that time may come and I’ll be very thankful that I know how!

Guacamole

4 ripe avacados (they are easy to peel when ripe)

1 medium tomato

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (preferably fresh!)

1 clove garlic (or less, depending on how much you like garlic)

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Enjoy with tortilla chips for a snack or as a topping on almost any dish!

Little Sisters and Popsicles

Isn’t it interesting what little sisters can get big sisters to do sometimes?! A few days ago it got so cold here that we started a fire in our fireplace (our furnace isn’t working!). We were all huddling in sweaters and enjoying warm cups of tea. Then, my youngest sister, who is six years old, asked me to help her make homemade fruit popsicles! I agreed to. Why? Well, because she’s my little sister. And . . . maybe also because she has chickenpox. :)

Want to make your own healthy popsicles? This would have made a better summertime post, but you can tuck these ideas away for later. Our favorite way to make popsicles is by simply throwing any fruit we have on hand into little dixie cups, adding some fruit juice or mashed up fruit to hold it together, and sticking a craft stick in. After they freeze, you can just peel the cup off and enjoy! But if you are a bit more adventurous, here are some more ideas:

36 Popsicle Ideas

Watermelon Whole Fruit Popsicles 

Homemade Fruit Pops 

Homemade Ice Pops 

Home and Kitchen

I’ve added a new page to my blog: Home and Kitchen. This page contains links to the recipes I have posted on my blog, as well as some household tips and time/money savers that my family has learned over the years. I’ll update it from time to time, and I hope you’ll find something useful on there!

Getting Organized

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I have been wanting to organize our family recipe notebook for quite a while now and was finally motivated to actually do so by a blogging friend this past week! So one evening when all was quiet I took the note book out and pulled everything out of the front and back pockets and all the plastic sleeves.


The next thing I did was organize everything into four piles - yeast breads, muffins/quickbreads, main dishes, and desserts.

Then came the big job of putting everything back in. I tried to organize it by the things we used the most in front, etc.

In doing this I found several recipes that we had been given and never tried, so I picked one out to make that evening. It quickly became a family favorite, so I thought I would share it here.

No Bake Granola Bars

Put 1 cup honey and 1 cup peanut butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let melt and then cook until slightly bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in: 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 cups quick oats, 1 1/2 cups rice cereal, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup coconut, and 2 teaspoons sesame seeds. Flatten into pan and let cool before serving.

(This type of recipe does pretty well with variations, and I made some myself! Because we are running low on honey, I used half a cup of honey and half a cup molasses. Next time I am going to try it with all molasses. The friend we got this recipe from used Kashi for the rice cereal, but I used Crispy Rice cereal, which gave it a nice crunch. Try your own variations, and let me know how it goes!:)

The River

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........It seems like I forget the camera every time I take a walk to the river behind our house, but I did remember it today! It was quite beautiful about a week ago after a light snow shower with the snow clinging to the evergreen trees. Unfortunately because I've been slow about getting pictures, we had some rain and wind the other day and it doesn't look quite the same anymore!

The River
View from the edge of the woods back up the hill
(that is the shed and garage that you see at the top)

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Bible Cover

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Thanks to a blogging friend, I have begun working on a Bible cover. I have wanted to make one for a long time, but since I did not have a pattern or anything else to go on, I just hadn't. Thank you for the inspiration, Sarah, now it's finally underway!

The two pieces all ready to put together

And the finished product!!

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Winter in Vermont

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Winter is a quiet, enjoyable season. Though in Vermont, it means a lot of snow, which we have certainly had! It has been snowing almost constantly for the past week, and we have spent a large amount of time out shoveling the driveway. We have about 3 feet of snow now, and there is more in the forecast.

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. --Psalm 51:7.........................................

Recipe for Squash Pickles

This recipe is from the Ball Blue Book: Guide to Preserving.

Squash Pickles
2 pounds (about 4 medium) summer squash
2 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/3 cup sliced onion (about one small)

Slice squash into 1/8 inch slices (a food processor works nicely here). Combine water, sugar, vinegar, turmeric, ginger, salt and dry mustard in a large sauce pot. Bring mixture to a boil. Add squash and onions; boil 10 minutes. Pack hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: about 2 pints.

You can make your own variations, too, such as:
We sometimes add zucchini for color and if we need to use it up :)
We sometimes add a clove or two of garlic to each jar (you would put it in with the squash and onion)
You could probably omit the onion, or any other things you think would work!

Family Favorite

I made this recipe for the first time a few days ago, and since it quickly became a family favorite, I thought I would share it with you! Note: When I made the recipe, I doubled it (in a family my size I almost never do a single batch :) but I only had one can of sweetened condensed milk, so that is all I put in. I did not put in anything to substitute. I also did not have milk chocolate chips so I used only semisweet for both kinds. I don't know how the real recipe tastes, but my family says to make it the way I did again, because it is good that way! So if you don't have something (besides some kind of chocolate and mint which are necessary), just experiment! You can even make your own other variations. By the way, these are very sweet!

Bavarian Mint Fudge (Not the best picture)

Bavarian Mint Fudge

1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon butter, divided
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 package (11-1/2 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 11-in. x 7-in. pan with foil and grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a heavy saucepan (I found that using a double-boiler to melt the butter and chocolate worked better than just melting it in a saucepan), melt the chocolate chips and remaining butter over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in the milk and extracts until well blended. Spread into the prepared pan (I found that it is much easier to do this step if the chocolate is fairly runny, which you can do by heating it up again, but you can also just spread it with a rubber spatula). Refrigerate until set. Using the foil, lift fudge out of the pan. Discard the foil; cut fudge into 1-inch squares. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: About 2-1/2 pounds.