tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67719106027091112382024-03-13T12:18:26.901-07:00Up North, Over Yonder, and Out of My MindUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-34272415746404549572012-01-18T23:21:00.000-08:002012-01-18T23:21:58.086-08:00Pumpkin Roll Re-do: GAPS style (mostly)I'm not very good at GAPS and I make compromises. Dr. Campbell-McBride says that canned pumpkin is bad & that even honey should be used sparingly. Dairy products are all supposed to be cultured at least 24 hours. The reality is, I've got a picky 9 year old who I need to stay out of his seat-mate's lunch. This is my re-work of our much beloved pumpkin roll recipe. This version is more delicate during the rolling process after frosting. It REALLY benefits from freezing before slicing. The kids have all declared this just as good as the regular kind which is wonderful since many of my attempts at baking have been hit-or-miss when using grain-free flours. <br />
<br />
In a small bowl, combine: <br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 cup almond flour<br />
.5 cups coconut flour</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon baking powder</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon baking soda</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;"> 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon ground cloves</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon pie spice </div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon salt</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;"> In your mixer bowl, beat together until fluffy</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;"> 7 eggs</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">3/4 cup honey</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">then add </div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;"> 1 small can organic pumpkin</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1-2 teaspoons of vanilla</div><br />
then mix in the dry ingredients until just well combined<br />
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Line one jelly roll pan with waxed paper or very well greased parchment paper. Pour the batter in and spread it evenly then bake about 25 minutes.<br />
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When the cake is done, pull it out of the oven and quickly turn it onto either a lightly (coconut)floured tea towel or another sheet of waxed paper and roll them up, towel/paper and all. Cool completely on a rack before unrolling to fill.<br />
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Frosting:<br />
<br />
Whip together in the mixer bowl that you washed while the cake part was baking:<br />
<br />
1 8 oz packages of cream cheese<br />
6 T of butter<br />
.5 c honey<br />
1 Tablespoon vanilla<br />
1/2 cup plain full fat yogurt or sour cream<br />
<br />
unroll the cake , spread frosting and re-roll without the paper or towel.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-267725412679228072011-12-30T15:31:00.000-08:002011-12-30T15:31:20.885-08:00Berry ApplesauceOne of my goals for this year is to have less waste coming from our lives. I've gotten into a bad habit of purchasing single-serve organic fillings for the lunch boxes. It's not cheap and it certainly isn't green. Those little throwaway applesauce containers have to add up and each serving costs at least $.60 . The berry variety costs even more.<br />
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I had ordered a few boxes of dirt cheap organic cider apples ( $10 for 20 lbs!) . They were keeping OK in my unheated garage but they were not really being used. I also had a bag of the ends of berries picked or ordered for jam making. This week I pulled in the apple boxes, culled the bad ones and then cut about 10-12 lbs worth of the 'iffy' ones- spotty, getting soft on one side but fine on the other, that sort of thing. I left peels on, simply removed bad spots and cores. These I tossed into a pot with the berries and some water and cooked slowly for a full day until it was total mush. Then I let it cool completely.<br />
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The next step was to wrangle child labor to run the food mill for me. I had them take turns until all the mush mix was milled leaving just a bit of peel behind. We did a taste test and declared it way too tart (remember- cider apples, not real sweet, plus a berry mix heavy on the cranberries) so I added honey until it was declared good plus a touch of pie spice and cardamom and vanilla.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/BerryApplesauce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/BerryApplesauce.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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Once we were all happy with the taste, the applesauce was ladled into regular muffin cups and frozen (also with some excellent assistance from the 'end consumers'). After freezing, the pucks will be popped out of the tins and stored in tupperware in the freezer. When one or two are wanted for lunches, we will just pull them out and pop them into one of our little covered bowls or a small canning jar which will come home again to be washed and used..over and over and over.<br />
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Total cost of my apples from Azure, berries, and 1.5 cups of honey was about $12. With spices and gas for the stove, we'll round up to $15 for 52 servings. $.29 per serving plus a whole lot of plastic I'm not sending to the landfill. Now to figure out how to kick my ziploc habit....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-80155109342122765892011-12-03T02:02:00.000-08:002011-12-03T02:02:39.125-08:00100 Lbs of GroundBeef. My meat order just arrived from Sitkanak and I now have a total of 100 lbs of ground beef in addition to about 120 lbs of other cuts- all beautiful, flavorful, healthy organic and totally grass-fed. Beef + pig + lamb+ salmon = a freezer bursting at the seams. <br />
<br />
When I purchased my beef, I opened the order to some other people at my kids' school. All together we picked up 917 lbs of meat at the airport last week. Several people have said "But what do you do with it all??"<br />
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At the moment, shoving it all into the freezer seems like a major accomplishment but I do have a master plan. My plan is designed to maximize freeze space and to address the three major issues of my culinary life: Cooking supper gets old. Packing lunches has gotten even older. I am completely out of steam by 5:30 and more than a touch lazy to begin with. The key is bulk cooking. If you're going to spend several hours in the kitchen, drag all the stuff out and make a huge mess, why not get a lot done? This will be a two to three day project for me which I plan to tackle after Christmas but before my helpers head back to school. Here is what I will be making: <br />
<br />
Meatballs - swedish and italian - 22 lbs<br />
meat loaf - 6 lbs<br />
taquitos - 4 lbs<br />
tamales - 4 lbs<br />
taco filling - 4 lbs<br />
homemade hamburger helper - 10 lbs<br />
Hambuger soup - 2 lbs<br />
salisbury steak - 4 lbs<br />
burgers - 14 lbs<br />
chili - 10 lbs<br />
pasties- 4 lbs<br />
Shepherd's Pie Base - 6 lbs<br />
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22 lbs of meatballs??? Yes. My kids absolutely love those little Aidells spicy meatballs in their lunches. Nutritionally, they are better than a lot of things normally packed into school lunch boxes but they aren't perfect and they are expensive. I can make them for a fraction of the cost and also have a stock on hand for kid pleasing suppers, potlucks, and church coffee hours. Since I also order my cheese in bulk blocks from Azure, I can even cube it up and freeze little pouches of meatballs and cheese cubes for those lunches. Meatballs also pair with rice spaghetti and tomato sauce or the Swedish ones go with a heap of dilled buttered potatoes or they can become a hot sub or into a crockpot with BBQ sauce and jam and garlic for a favorite finger food without all the chemicals. <br />
<br />
Meatloaf is not a huge favorite here and 6 lbs will get me 3 loaves. Enough to be tolerated, not enough to inspire revolt.<br />
<br />
Taquitos. My kids love the boxed ones with all the nasty stuff. I discovered that they also love them homemade and that I can make organic ones at home for less than a box at Costco. Browned spiced ground beef with a little sprinkle of cheese for a binder, rolled inside a con tortilla and fried. Once they have drained and cooled, they freeze beautifully. Two make just the right sized lunch entree. I have most of a case of organic (only way to be sure you are getting GMO-free!) corn tortillas in the freezer but I'm going to take a shot at making some as well. We'll need them for the tacos anyway. <br />
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Tamales- also good freezers, well liked and I have some masa that needs to be used.<br />
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Taco filling- beef, spices, onions, peppers. Pair with some shredded cheese, salsa, maybe a little sour cream and this goes well either in tacos or over re-fried beans. <br />
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Hamburger Helper - The 'real thing' is disgusting to me. It tastes like someone sprayed my food with herbicide. Of course, my little guys think it is AWESOME. That happy little hand on the box, powdered cheese, all that salt and sugar and MSG...Mine is essentially browned burger meat which is spiced and sauced. I freeze it all together and mix with rice noodles at meal time.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2011/02/hamburger-soup-hearty-seasonal-gaps-friendly.html">Hambuger Soup</a> is a lot like stew only easier. I don't do turnips but I do add parsnips. And a nice splash of red wine. I put it all together except for the beef broth and freeze that way. I freeze my broth in 2 cup cubes for efficient use of space and it all thaws and cooks faster this way than freezing in a big block.<br />
<br />
Salisbury Steak- steaks frozen in one bag, gravy in another. Speed and portion flexibility.<br />
<br />
Burgers- spice them, patty them, divide them with wax paper for faster thaw time.<br />
<br />
Chili- no beans because of Miss V's dietary needs. Eat it plain, over rice, with a batch of gluten free corn bread, over corn chips with some shredded cheese....<br />
<br />
Pasties- a little meat turnover, sort of like stew in a pie casing. beef, onions, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, herbs and a gravy from the juices baked into a pastry. I use the tiffins as the cutter so I'm sure that they will always fit in the lunches!<br />
<br />
Shepherd's Pie Base- beef, onions, tomatoes, spices, & corn. I have a bag of organic mashed potato flakes (which are one of those convenient compromise choices) from Azure. If the base is done, I can have a shepherd's pie bubbling away in the oven in under 5 minutesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-83764626756454958322011-12-03T02:01:00.000-08:002011-12-03T02:01:48.063-08:00Life keeps happeningI essentially abandoned blogging last spring. We moved and spent many months where my only internet connection was an iphone. Our family has changed- Miss V is home again, MK is out on her own, our oldest daughter is back in state (although nowhere near as close as we would like). Two of the youngest continue to thrive in school, the third has come home to learn. We are selling the huge heavily mortgaged house to our renters and are now living through an Alaskan winter in a much smaller home. In most ways I much prefer this little house in this wonderful neighborhood but having another bedroom would make it much nicer.<br />
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Having kids in school has been a very new experience for me and it is interesting how the most unexpected things can serve as impromptu values clarification exercises. I've discovered that I am passionate and adamant about parental rights and consent, that I absolutely do not believe in homework, and that I am ambiguous about public education as a concept. My bureaucracy tolerance is just too low. <br />
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Food will again feature prominently here. I make no promises to blog daily or even to do that much better. I simply have the connection now so that, when I have something to say, I can.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-31419092210665697012011-03-21T23:51:00.000-07:002011-03-21T23:51:00.301-07:00In which I burn my nuts and other GAPS misadventuresFirst off: aren't we all glad, given the title, that this isn't a guest post by His Majesty?<br />
<br />
T2 and I have embarked upon the GAPS diet. We're a few weeks late getting to it thanks to my ability to acquire multiple illnesses simultaneously. Now that we have started, I'm ready to be done. This thing is a huge pain in the rear. Giant. I suspect that it would be so much easier if it were just me but T2 requires a lot more thought and effort to feed, especially in the packed lunch department. I'm pretty sure that I'm feeding us both more honey (the only allowable sweetener) than is ideal but I don't know if we could do it otherwise.<br />
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Today for lunch he took meatballs, hot beef broth with some gingered carrots, apple sauce, cheese cubes, laraballs, yogurt with honey, and a hard boiled egg which he didn't eat. Tomorrow is going to look a lot like today....<br />
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The 'laraballs' are my attempt to create a GAPS allowed treat for him at a reasonable cost, something like a Lara Bar. When I first attempted them, I soaked my nuts like you are supposed to. Then I promptly burnt them while trying to get them dried out. For round two, I skipped the soaking and drying and just went for it. The results are OK but I think I'll do things differently next try.<br />
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For starters, I just couldn't get the mix smooth and T2 is not a fan of the crunchy bits. Next time I'm going to soak them, drain and rinse, and then process them before dehydrating (which I will do with a dehydrator and not my too-hot oven). I'm hoping that will give me something a little closer in texture to a fruit chewy when I'm done.<br />
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Miss V is home for a few weeks to help me get the house done, spring break was better than I feared but that might be because I was too sick to be up for a lot of it, and I am profoundly ready to see leaves on the trees. Anybody need to buy a 5 bedroom house with a spectacular view ?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-85039344660394058942011-03-14T15:20:00.000-07:002011-03-14T15:20:42.139-07:00A message from the nearly dead...OK, not literally. I just feel like it. I, being multi-talented, have managed to get bronchitis, a sinus infections, and the beginnings of pneumonia all at the same time. The antibiotics are working like teamsters during a slow-down - in other words, not very fast and not very effectively. Back to the doc today or tomorrow for something new.<br />
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I was supposed to feel all better after three days so a dear friend came over Saturday to help with the house stuff. After we sorted the stuff in the garage loft (I sat in a chair and made decisions, she did actual work), we dropped off a bunch of "treasures" at Salvation Army, and came home and cooked supper I was exhausted. that is a ridiculously low amount of actual work performed by me to be wiped out !<br />
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We're getting geared up to begin the GAPS diet here (late). I got 2 quarts of gingered carrots started and a 1/2 quart of beets fermenting with some cardamom. Wednesday is the milk run so I'll go out and load up on fresh milk for making lots of 24 hour yogurt. I did a small batch of beef stock and determined that I was going to have to put back a LOT more of that stuff. Off to Mt McKinley to fetch bones tomorrow. I just wish I had a good source for chicken. The ones I bought locally in the fall are all still in my freezer- but they are still there because it tastes like fish & that is kind of icky. Other accomplishments: 3 bags of meat balls and "meat muffins" in the freezer and the beginnings of a plan for packing lunches for T2 who will be joining me on this quest for improved health.<br />
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There should be more. This should be interesting. I should say something deep and meaningful about the horror in Japan. Wit just isn't coming through the brain fog. sorry.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-23417614305675807592011-02-14T23:41:00.000-08:002011-02-14T23:41:09.687-08:00The GiveawayI've decided to give you both something! But since I haven't made them yet, you'll have to wait to be surprised. Congratulations. Christine- tell me what color your kitchen is?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-64702158266540114312011-02-14T23:39:00.000-08:002011-02-15T01:37:35.205-08:00Raised BedsI'm sitting here on Valentine's Day, before a summer in which I won't be gardening because we'll (hopefully) be building, and thinking about interesting recycled raised beds for: Gardening! I promised myself that I would not so much as peek at a Fedco catalog- and I haven't!- but it never occurred to me that I could sneak in obsessive garden design as part of 'siting' the house....<br />
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I found this while wasting time on pinterest and loved it. It's an old metal filing cabinet!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://friendsofthewestendparkatl.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/chadafter.jpg?w=475&h=567" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://friendsofthewestendparkatl.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/chadafter.jpg?w=475&h=567" width="268" /></a></div><br />
That started me thinking that perhaps old fridges could be used similarly. It seems that if one lined the inside in wood to keep the plastic nasties from leaching into the soil that the insulation would be perfect in our harsh climate. Covered in windows, they would be lovely cold frames...filled with compost, they could be great all-weather bins. There are so many of these dead fridges sitting at the dump. Old Dead chest freezers could also be great for people like me who have some physical limitations. HM would surely be delighted at the idea of NOT having to build something else- there's only a house, barn/garage, greenhouse, chicken house, and guest cabin on his list- and this appeals to the cheap hippie in me. (Yes Anna- I've admitted it publicly!)<br />
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Update: So this isn't an original idea. Here's a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62ge_AqaVtM">video</a> of a guy using it! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-44025540989403733142011-02-04T21:58:00.000-08:002011-02-04T21:58:05.859-08:00100th post and other milestones100! I should give something away. Hmmm...but what? I don't know! It's a mystery! Leave me a comment and I'll put you in a drawing to win an as-yet unknown something nifty.<br />
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Other milestones:<br />
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Miss V is moving out next week. She's the first kid who has left on really great terms and it's wonderful and still a lot sad for us in a pathetically selfish kind of way.When did I get so old? How will I function without her? Who will run to the store for me? I'm going to miss her like crazy but it's a very good thing for her. This will leave me with zero teenagers in my house. First time in well over a decade that's happened.<br />
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T2 is 8. My baby. I feel old and yet delighted. The big party is tomorrow and then I'm off birthday duty for quite a while. Woo hoo.<br />
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HM managed to plan a training so that he's gone for Valentine's day AND my birthday. I don't mind the Valentine's part so much and I'm trying to look at the positive side for my birthday: I won't be driving him into Anchorage first thing in the morning to leave that day. I think I'll take myself out for breakfast after I drop kids at school and then over to the yarn store.<br />
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There's more but my brain is flaking out tonight.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-38373116893490542862011-01-23T01:31:00.000-08:002011-01-23T01:31:16.192-08:00A Link I LoveA quick post since I ought to be sleeping already....<br />
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<a href="http://rhythmofthehome.com/">Rythm of the Home</a><br />
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I've just begun to dig through it. Lots of interesting stuff there!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-47442200076335644152011-01-20T11:43:00.000-08:002011-01-20T11:43:11.822-08:00The secret to perfect coffeeIt still eludes me but I think I'm getting closer. My local favorite place in the whole world to go for coffee is The Red Beet, newly opened on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Everything there is based on the philosophy of FLOSS cuisine: Fresh, local, organic, seasonal, and sustainable. I haven't had anything that wasn't great but the cafe chocolat is my addiction. It is so amazingly smooth - no cigarette butt aftertaste! - and strong and just wonderful.<br />
<br />
Its so good that my husband- who does not flirt- was even flirting with the waitress for tips on how to get our French Press coffee to taste like their french press coffee. The three big take-away tips were:<br />
<br />
1. Use more grounds. A lot more grounds<br />
2. After you put your grounds and water in, stir before you put the lid on<br />
3. Throw a little bit of fresh beet in with the grounds before you add water.<br />
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Then wait 4 minutes and press. Wow.<br />
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Our home coffee has gotten so much better. I think I need a different bean to achieve perfection - not to mention the recipe for that lovely cinnamon-laced chocolate sauce also served with the cafe chocolat. Breakfast there tomorrow with a friend before a trip into Anchorage for the Lands End Sale and some thrifting and maybe a new french press.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-71761741662330489292011-01-18T23:53:00.000-08:002011-01-18T23:53:42.647-08:00Mr Bento Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaDmqXtknW5vpJcMkpdF1hrpxj5F_FsC6Zt5bZHzKApqqWdGPcY-nrGoMgBRV21COjvi7CYlkI3GRRu0bSdThZpriCPnrzm2OvXfdeTz3jeuBOPI6nq74ICwjO5WX1RtvDUawrS1b0HsL/s1600/Mr.%252BBento%252BStainless%252BLunch%252BJar%252B-%252B41.6%252Boz..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaDmqXtknW5vpJcMkpdF1hrpxj5F_FsC6Zt5bZHzKApqqWdGPcY-nrGoMgBRV21COjvi7CYlkI3GRRu0bSdThZpriCPnrzm2OvXfdeTz3jeuBOPI6nq74ICwjO5WX1RtvDUawrS1b0HsL/s320/Mr.%252BBento%252BStainless%252BLunch%252BJar%252B-%252B41.6%252Boz..jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I've been lusting after one of these for a while and now my friend Laura at Hey What's For Dinner Mom is giving one away. Check it out <a href="http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/2011/01/mr-bento-giveaway.html">here</a>. You can even enter. If you have to. I guess.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-6529662314577911252011-01-07T00:52:00.000-08:002011-01-07T00:52:35.759-08:00House Goals from the Peak Oil PrincessI read <a href="http://www.thenester.com/">Nesting Place</a> (she's having a linky party about home goals for the new year) periodically because I enjoy reading about projects on the cheap that actually look good. My own home is just not so 'together' . I'd like it to be but I have some different interests and priorities than 'normal' people. I get excited about wood cook stoves and grain bins, pull down drying racks and compost containers. Of course I want my house to be lovely but I'm really wanting it to 'work'- even when the power is out or the power is just too expensive. My taste runs less to Architectural Digest and more towards Backwoods Home. I drool over <a href="http://homesteadgardenandpantry.com/house-keeping/laundry/wash-day/">the kitchen at Granny Miller</a> (but my trim would be painted a nice deep delft blue. Or maybe turquoise...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://image.lehmans.com/lehmans/Images/products/main/pm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://image.lehmans.com/lehmans/Images/products/main/pm.jpg" /></a></div><br />
That said, I now need to turn my house into a lovely, polished, decidedly upscale showplace in the next 90 days on virtually no budget so that it is ready to list and sell quickly at a good price.<br />
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We need to:<br />
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Replace the flooring through the main dining area<br />
Re-do and paint all the trim and doors upstairs<br />
Finish painting all the trim and doors downstairs<br />
Replace the downstairs/ on stairs carpet<br />
Replace the kitchen counters and sink/faucet<br />
Rehab the cabinets<br />
Put fresh paint on the walls<br />
update some of the world's ugliest light fixtures<br />
Do something about the sad, sad upstairs powder room <br />
replace the front door<br />
pressure wash the outside and re-seal the deck <br />
Declutter ruthlessly<br />
Stage and decorate<br />
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That last one is the one that worries me most. I am generally plagued with indecision. Hopefully I'll get it right so that we can sell out quickly to more genteel folks and get our little cabin built quickly!<br />
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The idea is that 2011 will become the year that sees us really, totally debt free. Praying that its so!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-14532576996612257222011-01-04T00:59:00.000-08:002011-01-04T00:59:03.815-08:00Back on the Lunch WagonChristmas break was lovely. At least until the 1st. Then T1 and T2 apparently decided that they had had entirely enough of this being home silliness and declared war on their mother's sanity. Tomorrow I get to send them off to school again and I think it's safe to say that we are ALL delighted. There are just two things I haven't missed about school: 7 AM wakeups and lunches. I'd gotten lazy about lunches anyway, using a lot more processed and packaged food than I wanted because it's just so easy. <br />
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Fortunately, one of the kids' Christmas gifts was a tiffin and custom made tiffin carrier. Not only do these little beauties allow me to pack lunch with not a single scrap of plastic or tin foil, they are so cute that they inspire me to come up with new things for lunch. So for the inaugural tiffin packing I sent:<br />
<br />
In the top layer:<br />
Homemade blackberry yogurt in the little mini cup<br />
sea salt kettle chips<br />
a sprinkling of sundrops (aka hippie M & Ms)<br />
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In the center:<br />
mini sandwiches of greek seasoned pork meatballs on 9 grain rolls with cheater's tzatziki, orange pepper strips and red leaf lettuce<br />
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On the bottom:<br />
an orange, cut into 8ths<br />
tropical carrot salad<br />
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all in all, I think it's a decent lunch. I get them to eat the things that are important to me (raw local dairy, organic local meat, whole grain bread, fruit, lacto fermented veggies) and they get the foods they think are cool and/or yummy (chips, mini sandwiches, chocolate). Do I know what I'm packing the rest of the week? Uh. No. <br />
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There are no pictures of my gorgeous packed tiffins because my camera is dead and I've been hoarding my coin to pay to have the roof repaired after the wind storm. There are pictures of the carriers though! The were made for me by a friend who does this for a living and would gladly make one for you too. Rachel does beautiful work so check out her <a href="http://www.patchworkplace.etsy.com/">etsy store </a>if you're in need of a wonderful, one of a kind bag or tiffin carrier of your very own.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/mattstiffinbag.jpg?t=1294129728" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/mattstiffinbag.jpg?t=1294129728" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/Georgiestiffin.jpg?t=1294129782" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/Georgiestiffin.jpg?t=1294129782" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/gabestiffinbag.jpg?t=1294129828" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/gabestiffinbag.jpg?t=1294129828" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My kids love them. They were REALLY excited about them. T1's (top) thrilled him because it was Fish! and the water bottle holder was FISH EGGS! Just like the ones we caught and processed this summer!! Only a little Alaskan boy would be excited about this. T2 loves his little hedgehogs (he also got a tiny stuffed hedgehog in his stocking) and SCS was clearly pleased in her quiet way with her not-kiddy bag. When I initially told Rachel what I wanted, I was planning to purchase the tiffins from Happy Tiffin and was going with a bigger size. When I got to check out, the combination of the higher price and spendy shipping sent me looking again. I found a price I was happy with at Natural Abode but the size was 1/2" smaller in diameter. It turns out that the extra space is actually great- it gives me room to pack them a small plate, utensils, and a napkin. I wish now that I had ordered the bamboo utensil set. Maybe later.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What's going in your kids' lunches this month? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tropical Carrot Salad</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">serves 3 kids for lunch with a little leftover for a mom snack</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 cup shredded lacto fermented carrots (or regular shredded/grated carrots)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/3 cup mayonaise</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 T dried currants (my children are raisin-hating freaks- normal folks use raisins)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">about 1/4 cup pineapple bits with a little juice</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">if you didn't use the lacto fermented gingered carrots, add a little ginger and some salt. if you did, add a dab of honey.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mix it all up and serve.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-49307418854373233882010-12-18T21:26:00.000-08:002010-12-18T21:26:26.160-08:00Easy GivingMy friend Laura wrote a <a href="http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/2010/12/pumpkin-roll-and-cans-for-comments.html">post</a> about my pumpkin rolls and about her personal canned food drive. For every comment left in that post, she's going to donate a can of food to our local food bank. With the terrible wind and low temps, utilities bill are going to rise and put even more of a squeeze on budgets. Leave a post and help stock the food bank for those in need!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-67632376372248124052010-12-15T21:58:00.000-08:002010-12-15T21:58:10.452-08:00Best Husband in the Whole Wide WorldSee- I promised you a shiny happy post!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://l26.sphotos.l3.fbcdn.net/hphotos-l3-snc3/hs236.snc3/22370_258919897289_755942289_3172627_6450696_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://l26.sphotos.l3.fbcdn.net/hphotos-l3-snc3/hs236.snc3/22370_258919897289_755942289_3172627_6450696_n.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I am married to, hands down, the best guy possible. Yes, he has his faults and during a certain phase of the moon I can enumerate them colorfully in three languages. But in the past 24 hours he has proven that mostly I'm a whiner. Except for that "doesn't listen to me thing"- that one is valid.<br />
<br />
Last night in the wind storm, our roof started coming off. Apparently the guy who installed it didn't feel the need to use more than two screws per panel along the bottom edge and we're gusting to 75 here. So the metal roofing started to come loose at the bottom, blow up, and sheer off in places. In other places it just flapped up and down all night long. Who gets on clothes and goes out in the dark with a wind chill of 15 below zero to see what is happening? My hero. Who later today climbed a 30 foot ladder to install screws to prevent further destruction and another all-night thunder session? Same guy. Who then took Miss V to work (while I cooked supper without power) and then came home to figure out which battery in our stupid interconnected smoke alarms was causing them all to go off? Yes, him. To finally cement his super fantasticalness, he went back out to pick up both older girls because the car was out of the garage (power outages make automatic door openers very manual) and he was sparing me from the cold and the wind. <br />
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There was help today in the from our wonderful deacon who quietly takes excellent care of all of us (even from a snowcat on the hillside!) and Wilbur who brought the ladder and held it. Many thanks to you both.<br />
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I really can't ask much more for my daughters than that they find men like their father.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-65336491993033236172010-12-15T01:04:00.000-08:002010-12-15T21:03:46.174-08:00Failed AdoptionWarning: This is not a shiny happy post about Christmas cookies or Advent wreathes. I'll try to get to that next week when things are (hopefully) calmer.<br />
<br />
So I mostly don't blog about kids and adoption and adoption issues. And even now, I'm not going to run through the litany of reasons why one of our adoptions has failed so totally. I'm just going to say right out here in public that it has. Debra Gray talks in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Attaching-Adoption-Practical-Todays-Parents/dp/0944934293/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292399244&sr=1-1">Attaching In Adoption</a> about adoptions that have failed but still exist in a legal sense. They are more common than you would ever dream. Most parents who have lived through it just don't talk about them. The kids grow up and move out, everyone is relieved, and questions from others are answered in vague ways. The kids find a series of new parents who are sure that they can succeed where others failed. The new parents judge the legal parents as selfish, cold hearted, and cruel. At least until they are in the position of finding themselves lied to, manipulated, stolen from, and generally used. But when they start setting firm personal boundaries, it all blows up and a new set of kind strangers is found.<br />
<br />
As miserable as the entire scenario is, there is a great deal of relief when everyone finally calls a spade a spade and the pretending can stop. We're there. It's sad and yet, it's a gift. The freedom to look reality in the eye and just deal with it instead of maintaining a polite fiction and having every (supposedly) pleasant event in the cycle of the year overshadowed by guilt and ugliness is a bittersweet kind of joy and I am grateful for it. <br />
I am grateful for the people who are currently and will in the future designate themselves substitute parents for the extremely damaged people with whom I'm unable to handle any relationship. I wish them all well- happiness, health, prosperity, salvation, a complete renewal and a joyful life. I just have to admit that they must have that life away from me and mine. One may forgive the person who harms without wanting them across the table every holiday. Some people can manage more but I'm not that special. I need to keep myself sane and healthy and fully functional to raise the kids for whom we are still responsible- and to protect those kids from negative influences or from being victimized.<br />
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If you know me (or the kids in question) and you just don't get it, consider reading some blogs where other parents have the courage to lay it all out there. <a href="http://thebodiebunch.blogspot.com/">Cindy</a> has been doing this longer and on a larger scale than I have and it's nice to know that I'm not the only one out there with PTSD- she's just nicer than I am.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-33290786994436116052010-11-27T22:03:00.000-08:002010-11-27T22:03:32.742-08:00Gobble GobbleI survived Thanksgiving and it was much better than it might have been thanks to an invite from wonderful friends. HM and Miss V were both gone and it fell in the middle of what ended up being the longest weekend in the history of ever. (9 days people! and to think , I used to homeschool....) Good food, good company and pies...not to mention the Serbian Anarchist Raspberry Wine (not mine - no Serbs in the family). The previous year's vintage had been compared unfavorably to turpentine and I was one of only a few willing to try it. " A fruity insolent bottle with hints of berry, watermelon, and lighter fluid" It was much improved by the addition of a little orange juice. Note to self: get this boozemaking thing down well before the apocalypse. The middle of a global collapse is no time to be without the makings for a smooth martini.<br />
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Yesterday I ventured out in search of a screaming deal on a fake tree. It eludes me still. I did pick up a couple sleds for T1 & T2 and fuggs for Este' plus the yarn for T1's much coveted pointy hat (T2's was completed last Sunday but the ice storm stood in the way of the acquisition of necessary supplies). After all that, I just couldn't face any more and we came home. Today we ventured out again for Volvo parts, skinny jeans, a hoodie, and a small costco run. The Volvo Doctor confirmed that I totally scored with my beloved 240 wagon- always gratifiying to have that sort of thing confirmed by an expert. He also liked my bumper stickers!<br />
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Having Miss V gone is kinda sad. I miss her face. However, she's having a wonderful time and I'm very glad of it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-50883790981365887052010-11-22T17:20:00.000-08:002010-11-22T17:20:51.966-08:00Soaked Biscuitssorry folks- no pictures. The camera is dead and a new one isn't in the budget this week.<br />
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Last week I rode out to the farm to show my friend Shelley the ropes of making the milk run for our cow share co-op. She's a biologist by training and shares my interest in nutrition and traditional foods. To be totally honest, I have resisted the whole soak-your-grains thing. I tried it once, made bread like a door stop and went right back to grinding fresh and baking immediately. But on the ride Shelley told me about a <a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/">guy who is a serious scientist and working on issues of the neurobiology of fat metabolism and other interesting and related stuff</a> & convinced me that I should give grain soaking some more effort. I'm sure that I won't be doing it all the time- it takes a lot more prior planning and I draw the line at Christmas baking. Soaked whole grain sugar cookies just sound too gagtastic to contemplate seriously - not to mention sort of pointless. Still for daily fare, I'm looking for the best nutrition I can manage.<br />
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To inaugurate my soaked baking experiments I decided to try <a href="http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/03/fluffy-whole-wheat-biscuits-dairy-free-soaked-vegan.html">Jenny's Fluffy Soaked Whole Wheat Biscuits </a>only mine are decidedly non-lenten. Yes I know that it's advent but my family is much more likely to eat whole wheat anything made with lard and real buttermilk. If this bothers you, pray that the angel of vegan cooking is sent to visit all of us! Not only did I fail to soak 8 hours (5 was my limit - people were hungry), I altered the recipe. They are good. Really good. I may not bother to cook supper.<br />
<br />
<br />
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (I used a fresh ground mix of whole wheat, spelt, and kamut, sifted 4 times to remove the bran)<br />
6 tablespoons non-hydrogenated lard and/or raw butter<br />
3/4 cup of real buttermilk - or a similar quantity of milk with whey or yogurt and water<br />
1 tablespoon lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar <br />
1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
3/4 teaspoon salt<br />
<br />
Dump the flour into a medium size bowl. Using a pastry cutter, or a fork and knife with a cutting motion, cut in the palm oil or coconut oil into the flour. (or use the food processor!) When the fat is the size of peas or smaller, you are done. Add the milky liquid, and mix in until just combined. Leave overnight at room temperature, well covered. This mixture will be wetter then your average biscuit recipe. This is so we can more easily mix in the salt and rising agents the next day.<br />
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Please go to <a href="http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/03/fluffy-whole-wheat-biscuits-dairy-free-soaked-vegan.html">Jenny's version</a> for good pictures of the rest of the process. <br />
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I need to find a good loaf that my kids will eat, which makes good packable sandwich and isn't sourdough (they hate it).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-3505014746519377062010-11-22T15:14:00.000-08:002010-11-22T15:14:54.966-08:00What the heck is interesterified oil and why is it in my tortillas?I was in Fred Meyer last week picking up some things for school lunches & I needed tortillas for black bean and pumpkin burritos. There were no tortillas in the organic section but I frequently buy non-organic tortillas frozen at Costco so I headed to the 'regular' part of the store. I located the tortillas and began reading labels. Since our government refuses to allow the peons to decide for ourselves whether or not we want our corn genetically modified I had to assume that all the corn, corn meal and corn flour included was GMO. There were the usual unfortunate cast of industrial food players- partially hydrogenated oil, additives, preservatives, artificial flavors, corn syrup solids - but then I noticed something new: interesterified oil. I didn't know what it was and I wasn't going to experiment on my kids without some serious research. I ended up finding some minimally acceptable tortilla's in the fridgie section (white flour, safflower oil, salt) and went with those. Still not great but handmade tortillas were not in the cards that night.<br />
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After a week of having my life go swirling into crazy land (Miss V leaving for a trip, school stuff, big auction, nutso acting out and drama, knitting a stripey elf hat for T2) I finally got time to sit down and read up on this stuff. Yuck. I think I'll pass, thanks. The last thing I need is a new frankenfat that raises blood glucose.<br />
<br />
Here are several links on the subject. All more comprehensive than my description.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.stop-trans-fat.com/interesterified-fat.html">here</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1695851053"><br />
</a><br />
<a href="http://growingbolder.com/blogs/health/the-skinny-on-interesterified-oil-211630.html">or here</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/4/1/3">or here</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6238926/description.html">or maybe this one</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-16923953760354431052010-11-10T12:43:00.000-08:002010-11-10T12:43:56.019-08:00Really?This <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5680839/stop-not-paying-attention-to-things?ref=nf">video</a>, entitled "<span style="font-size: small;">Stop Not Paying Attention to Things"</span> is fantastic as it portrays how ridiculous we've all become about technology- until it gets to the part where it asserts that selling us another phone will rescue us from our phones! As they say in the commercial itself: really?<br />
<br />
Instead of one piece of overpriced technology 'rescuing' us from our previous overpriced pieces of technology, why don't we all just put.down.the.darned.phone!!!! unplug, disconnect. When you sit down to a meal and you know that all the really core people in your life are safe and well, just turn off the ringer. Light a candle and breathe. Talk to each other, Make something, sing something.<br />
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I'm thinking about my internet use (too much) and that advent is a perfect time to unplug, slow down, and draw the whole family inward. The question is: how much do I need to maintain the blog, volunteer commitments, and things like banking and bill pay & how much is mindless entertainment? I guess we'll find out. An hour a day?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-13097718098295918422010-11-08T22:13:00.000-08:002010-11-09T09:36:21.903-08:00The Feast of St Martin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Today I went in to school & took a friend to see the place and to be present in T1's class as they got to light their lanterns, eat their traditional breads, and sing the songs of the feast of St Martin. This was a part of their German language and culture class& the other kids will get to do it later in the week. T2 has it tomorrow and I think SCS has it Wednesday.<br />
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The mom who had volunteered to bring the breads had a baking fail, something with which I am all too familiar of late, so I ran to Three Bears and bought 28 mini-Danishes. They certainly weren't the traditional pretzel or goose shaped breads but they made children happy and hey: Denmark is next to Germany. I briefly contemplated croissants instead (St Martin was technically French) but they were more expensive and I knew the kids wouldn't like them nearly as well. Everyone left happy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Since I have had recent experience with total baking disaster, I resolved to not dally in making the breads for T2s class tomorrow. If I were to totally mess up I thought I should at least have enough time to go to the store. Miss V assembled the dough for me while I took T1 to our friendly neighborhood wood working priest for some help finishing the birthday present Mom had messed up (and Fr. C assured me that the nails in the kit were just way too big and it wasn't really me. I think he was just being nice but I'll take it!) She used the recipe for Finnish Pulla in Baking with Julia and it worked beautifully and tastes lovely. Recipe at the bottom.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Each class gets their own little celebration as part of their German class. They have all made lanterns, learned some songs, and heard stories about both the man and the traditions. But they were not going to get the full experience of walking in a group with their lanterns on a cold evening with the fellowship of family, friends and neighbors. Then some brilliant person had the idea that we could hold a completely optional event outside of school so that anyone who wanted to do it, could. Wednesday evening as dark falls a group will walk a path lit by luminaries into the woods by Finger Lake. Children will carry the lanterns they made and sing the songs they learned and we will end at a bonfire where the story of the life of St Martin will be told. I'm super, duper excited.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
The recipe follows. I shamelessly copied and pasted the <a href="http://sassandveracity.typepad.com/sass_veracity/2008/02/finnish-pulla-b.html">recipe that Kellypea at Sass & Veracity</a> painstakingly typed in. She has pictures of the process and video so check out her post for helpful tips. You'll notice that my braid is just a touch lumpy looking. After I cut out the geese I took all the scraps, smooshed them together and made the ropes for the braid of that.Normally it would be all smooth and pretty but I needed geese ! Also, the 24 small geese and 1 large loaf are the result of a doubled recipe. I sprinkled the geese with sugar (Dehyrdrated cane syrup crystals) after the egg wash and their eyes are currants. I found that poking the currants in with the tip of the knife gave the little goosy faces a less deformed look.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/IMG_0021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>Finnish Pulla</b> from <i>Baking with Julia</i> by Dorie Greenspan<br />
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1 c. milk<br />
1 T active dry yeast<br />
1/4 c. warm water (about 110 degrees F)<br />
1/2 c. granulated sugar<br />
1 tsp. crushed cardamom seeds (about 7 pods)<br />
1 tsp. salt<br />
2 lg. eggs, slightly beaten, at room temp<br />
4-1/2 to 5 c. unbleached all-purpose flour<br />
4 oz. unsalted butter, melted<br />
1 lg. egg beaten with 1 T milk, for glaze<br />
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<ol><li>Heat milk in a small saucepan until small bubbles are visible around the rim of the pan. Remove from head and let cool to between 105 and 115 degrees F.</li>
<li>In the large bowl of your Kitchen Aid, whisk yeast into the warm water and let sit for about 5 minutes or until yeast is dissolved and creamy.</li>
<li>Whisk in milk, sugar, cardamom, salt, and eggs at medium speed.</li>
<li>Switch to the hook attachment and add 2 c. flour, beating until smooth, occasionally scraping around the bowl to incorporate all the flour.</li>
<li>Add the melted butter, and then keeping count as you go, add flour 1/2 c. at a time until the dough is stiff, but not dry. (My dough took 4-1/2 c. flour)</li>
<li>Cover and let the dough rest for about 15 minutes before proceeding.</li>
<li>To knead the dough, either use your machine on medium speed until dough is satiny -- OR -- turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead until it is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes.</li>
<li>Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl making sure the top is oiled. Cover with plastic and let rise at room temp until doubled in bulk -- about 45 minutes to 1 hour.</li>
<li>After dough is done with the first rise, line a baking pan at least 14 " long with parchment. Then oil a work surface. The surface should be cool.</li>
<li>To shape the dough, turn it out of the bowl and briefly knead it to deflate it. Divide it into 3 pieces and roll each piece into a rope about 36 inches long. Braid the three ropes pressing the ends together and tucking them under the loaf. Lift the braid onto the parchment.</li>
<li>Cover the braid lightly with plastic that has been lightly oiled or with a kitchen towel. Let rise at room temp until puffy, but not doubled about 45 minutes.</li>
<li>Brush egg glaze over the bread.</li>
<li>Bake the bread in a preheated 375 degree F oven on the center rack for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden. Let cool on a rack until room temp.</li>
</ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-21090368513939483272010-11-05T14:06:00.000-07:002010-11-05T18:01:00.068-07:00Pumpkin Rolls - updated with pictures!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/pumpkinroll-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://s839.photobucket.com/albums/zz313/nielsonfamilypics/summer%2010%20blog%20pics/pumpkinroll-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Some of you may have noticed my obsession with pumpkin rolls. I start thinking about them in August and if I weren't too lazy to bake every other day, I would happily eat them for breakfast 3 or 4 times a week.<br />
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Sunday is T1's birthday so today he needed birthday celebration treats for school. The last birthday child had brought blueberry muffins and,the school being a sort of crunchy health food kind of a place where we're asked to bring treats that don't sugar them up too much, I was thinking pumpkin muffins. Matthew requested pumpkin rolls instead.<br />
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My last batch were done with fresh ground whole wheat flour and the texture was not nice. It would have been better if I'd sifted a few times but still- grainier than I wanted. I also have concluded that I don't like powdered sugar. It tastes like chlorine to me. So this time I tweaked the recipe and am really pleased with the results. When you look at the picture, you see some slices at the top of the platter are much prettier than the rest. Those are the ones from the frozen roll of the previous batch. If you freeze these and slice them frozen they will be much, much prettier.<br />
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In a small bowl, combine: <br />
<div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon baking powder</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon baking soda</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">2 teaspoons ground cinnamon</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon ground cloves</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon pie spice </div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 teaspoon salt</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;"></div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">In your mixer bowl, beat together until fluffy</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;"> 6 eggs</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">2 cups succanat or organic cane sugar crystals</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;"></div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">then add </div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1 small can organic pumpkin</div><div style="margin: 0px 8px 4px 0px;">1-2 teaspoons of vanilla</div><br />
then mix in the dry ingredients until just well combined<br />
<br />
Line two jelly roll pans (the big cookie sheets with a side on them) with waxed paper or very well greased and floured parchment paper. Pour the batter in and spread it evenly then bake about 15 minutes.<br />
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When the cakes are done, pull them out of the oven and quickly turn them onto either a lightly floured tea towel or another sheet of waxed paper and roll them up, towel/paper and all. Cool completely on a rack before unrolling to fill.<br />
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Frosting:<br />
<br />
Whip together in the mixer bowl that you washed while the cake part was baking:<br />
<br />
3 8 oz packages of cream cheese<br />
1/2 lb of butter<br />
1 cup succanat or cane sugar crystals<br />
3 Tablespoons lemon juice<br />
1 Tablespoon vanilla<br />
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour cream<br />
<br />
unroll the cakes, spread frosting and re-roll without the paper or towel. Cut off the ends to make it look prettier and eat the 'defective' end slices with a cup of tea for the baker!<br />
<br />
These freeze beautifully. I should do several more for an emergency coffee hour stash but we always seem to eat them.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-33671205505342302072010-11-04T23:24:00.000-07:002010-11-04T23:24:32.188-07:00The FDA did not approve this postLord Love a Duck!!!! In the whirling craziness of an Alaskan summer, I thought "Well, I'll spend a lot of time sitting and relaxing in the winter". What was I smoking? There are kid's projects, performances, wants, need and trips; Christmas gifts that need to be done; teenager sewing projects that turn out to need more mom help because she chose the fabric specially knit by the devil himself to make a saint swear. <br />
<br />
In addition to making progress on the cute purple dress of the fabric of eternal despair, I also managed to make butter today. This isn't terribly unusual or difficult but, for a change, I remembered to weigh it all so that I could figure out how it compares in price to the organic or Kerry Gold butter from Costco. There was a nagging worry in the back of my head that I might be making the world's most expensive butter. Every few weeks, I get a gallon of cream from my cow share and just make it all into butter. At $16 a gallon, that's some expensive butter for just a pound or so.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, I found today that my gallon of cream produces the equivalent of 3 boxes of Kerry Gold (3 8 oz bricks per box = 4.5 lbs total) plus 1/2 gallon of buttermilk So $16 of cream made me $24 worth of butter plus buttermilk. It's nice when better nutrition costs less! When we lived outside I met a guy who was selling contraband blackmarket raw butter for $10 per 8 oz container- and selling out every week. Bless him- it warms the cockles of my cranky little Libertarian heart. All that free enterprise and free choice and personal responsibility and farmers making a decent living without a subsidy in sight!<br />
<br />
To make butter:<br />
<br />
Equipment- <br />
I use my Kitchenaid and break the gallon into 3 batches. You need your mixer bowl, a big bowl to drain the buttermilk into and a bigger bowl to wash the butter; the whisk attachment for the mixer; a mesh strainer; salt; paper towels or good, clean, fine linen; parchment paper. <br />
<br />
pour about 1/3 of a gallon of the cream into your mixer bowl with the whisk attachment. Turn it on to about 7 and let it run. First you will have whipped cream. Let it keep going past the whipped cream stage until it breaks and separates into clumps of butter and liquid. Pour the contents of the mixer bowl into the strainer with another bowl underneath. The stuff that runs into the bowl is buttermilk. The butter solids now in the strainer need to be 'washed'. Dump them into your bigger bowl and run cold water over it and swish/squish the butter around in the water . Pour it all back into the strainer.<br />
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Next take the butter out of the strainer and squeeze it to push the water out of the fat. A last squeeze in a paper towel pulls out more. When you've got all the water out that you can get, salt your butter lightly and roll it into a log and wrap in parchment paper.<br />
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Repeat this process with the other 2/3s of the cream. I put two of my logs of butter into a gallon ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer, the third goes into the fridge for use.<br />
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If I had hogs or chickens to feed scraps, I would add my butter rinse water to the scraps to really milk every calorie and nutrient out of the cream I buy. Sigh. Soon. Hopefully this time next year instead of complaining about having to plow myself I'll be complaining about having to feed and water in the snow. And a few years past that I'll have been forced to find something new about which to whine since my beautiful New England style barn will be attached to the house, saving me from ever needing to get my dainty little feet snowy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771910602709111238.post-58775861115303536522010-10-25T18:10:00.000-07:002010-10-25T18:10:32.324-07:00It's all my faultThe snow is dropping in fat white flakes. I had hoped for another year where we dodged the white bullet until November but today I opened my big fat mouth & suggested that HM get on with getting the Christmas lights up since next time he's home it will surely be snowy. He got out the ladders and started laying out the lights but then we had to get to school to finish a project there and retrieve kids - and of course the flakes began to fall. So I officially apologize to all my Alaskan friends. It's all my fault.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2