Arabian Knits

I meant to post this last week, but it just didn't happen. I wanted to get this posted before too long, so I may have to come back to revise it later.

We have a few gift giving holidays coming up rather quickly. Those of you who aren't finished with your holiday shopping are probably trying to figure out what you will get for everyone, or everyone else, on your list. I am going to suggest a few things, some that will be useful for next year and the others that might help this year.

One thing that is fairly obvious, though doesn't always get accomplished around here is to shop for Christmas presents (and birthday presents and other presents) all year round. I am better at this some years than others. This would not be one of those years. Not to mention, I gave away a whole lot of my present stash when we moved so we wouldn't have to move it with us. You will need to set aside a specific place for these gifts, otherwise, you will just end up forgetting about them, losing them, or not being able to find what you were sure you picked up for Aunt Helen in May. Shopping year round means you can take advantage of clearance and other sales and not be subject to the whims of the market after Thanksgiving.

Something I've been doing to reduce the cost of books and other things this year is to do my searches on Swagbucks (I will get a couple points if you sign up using my link and you will get a few as start up). I use the points to get gift cards that I either use to reduce the price of things I am buying or to use as gifts themselves. I don't rack up points as fast as some people do, because I don't use all the gizmos they have. I occasionally have a code that gives me an extra point or two, but mostly I gain points from my searches.

Something we have done several years is to have a homemade/handmade Christmas. Now, it is very easy to make things that cost more than you'd buy them, so you do have to be a little careful and plan this. It also helps to start making your gifts early in the year, unless you really work quickly. There are too many online resources, recipes, patterns and ideas to post here. Do you knit? Crochet? Sew? Cook? Can you put together a cocoa mix or cookie mix? There are so many things you can do that would make beautiful and useful presents.

Last year I made candies and snack mix to give to people. Our house was decorated with spun sugar for weeks. We often give away some of our preserves. Usually, this is a tandem thing. I make some sort of knit or food item and Rich makes something that is artistic and pretty. One year he made carved wood light houses, one year he painted glass ball ornaments (from the inside!). He has made wooden planes for our children, a wooden rocking boat for them to share and I have made stuffed toys for them, knit clothes, hats, sweaters, mittens, slippers, you name it.

A few years ago, we had a rather low key Christmas. We had been reading the Little House books with our children and we decided to have a Little House Christmas. Everything we did was made, including what we gave to the children and what they gave to each other, mostly with things we either already had or bought regularly. That has led to our children planning and making gifts for each other and us that has been touching to watch in the years since.

My only warning about hand made holidays is that you need to know your audience. Sometimes the person receiving the gift does not understand the effort (and money) that went into it and can receive it poorly, thinking that you were opting only to be "cheap." I wouldn't waste time trying to educate those people during gift giving times. Just swallow your retort and find something else to give them next time (or this time, if you know that is how they will react). We jokingly talk about knit-worthy people in our household, for instance.

In our home, we celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas and give small gifts to everyone in their stockings then, we celebrate all 12 days of Christmas, ending with Epiphany and give the last presents then. The children have talked about doing all of our gifts at Epiphany, since the tradition prior to the 19th century was to give gifts on the feast that honors the visit of the Magi who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. We have not done that yet, but we do give some gifts for Epiphany as well.

If you wish, you could spread out the gift giving and smaller, less expensive gifts each day of the 12 days of Christmas. A few years we have forgone lots of presents and given something large to all the children or a couple larger gifts that are for all of them. One family in our extended family asked the children if they would like to forgo presents altogether if they used that money to go on a really neat trip at a great resort. They did, and none of them regretted it.

Something we took advantage of this year was all of the freebies offered at VistaPrint (take a look down the sidebar on the left). We made a personalized sticky notes, notepads, invitations, Christmas return address labels, regular return address labels, postcards, thank you cards, all of which can be personalized, for the price of shipping. You can even make your own Christmas letter on their website, including pictures for some of them, gift labels, business cards, calendars, magnets, all for the cost of shipping.

Remember, too, that just because it says it's a return address label, for instance, you don't have to use it that way. I know of someone who turned hers into "This item belongs to" type labels to put in books, backpacks, jackets and such. I used their business card template to make my knit gift labels, with lines for what the material is, washing instructions and size.

We are using many of the things we ordered for stocking stuffers for our children. Children love their own little note pads and cards on which they can write or draw whatever they want. They had cute little things which you could make caricatures of the whole family, but the one we liked stopped at seven people. We would pay for it if we could get every one of our family on them.

If you are ordering online for some or many of your gifts this year, please check Retail Me Not for coupons. You can search on the name of the company or product and a list of known coupons with a percentage rate on how well it worked will come up. I have saved us a lot of money online using this website.

If you are a food person, you may already know about Penzeys. What you may not already know is that they offer many freebies on their site as well, for the cost of shipping. These make great stocking stuffers for other foodies or are a fun way to try out something you wouldn't otherwise buy. Use the coupon codes you find at Retail Me Not and express ordering at Penzeys' website and you will only have to pay for shipping. This is a great thing to do if you already have an order you wish to make, but it will work even if you are only getting the free items.

We are big on consumable gifts here. The two main exceptions being clothes and books. We love giving and receiving food or ingredients, art supplies, paper goods, things that will get used up during the year. We are also big on games and experiences. Some of the things we have received that were the best gifts were family passes to zoos or museums that offered experiences that we could share. It also meant that it wasn't a big deal if we only went for an hour or two, we could always come back. We are not huge on cheap toys that will break or go into disuse as soon as the decorations come down. Things that can be used creatively, like blocks, are much more appreciated here. We love anything hand made, so those will always be winners here. Many of these things are also, conveniently, inexpensive to give. They do take an investment of your time, which is a great part of them, in my opinion.

I have written from our perspective here. We celebrate St. Nicholas, the 12 days of Christmas and Epiphany. Obviously, you may insert whatever you celebrate. I hope these suggestions help make your holiday shopping easier. Maybe next year, I'll get an earlier start than I did this year!

Previous Posts:
Make it at Home
Grocery Shopping
Waste Not, Want Not
Soup
The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Use What You Have
Combining Trips
Storing Bulk Purchases
Turn It Off
Grow Your Own
Buying in Bulk
Gleaning
Entertainment on the Down Low
Finding Fun Locally

Labels: Christmas, Church Year, Frugality

Veteran's Day is on the feast of St. Martin this year, which is somewhat appropriate, as St. Martin was a Roman solider. We will be breaking our Wednesday fast to honor both the saint and our own veteran. I'm making apple cinnamon waffles for Rich and we'll be making almond filled croissants for St. Martin.

Our Saturday dinner is taken care of as our neighborhood is having a harvest dinner potluck. There are two big neighborhood potlucks a year and we managed to move in time to attend both.

I forgot to mention that I will be hosting another Bean Week Challenge next week. My menu plan is usually up no later than 8:00 p.m. on Sundays, but we have a family thing going on that may delay it. So, I'll say no later than 8:00 p.m.on Monday.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Kashi Strawberry Cereal Bars, Bananas, Milk (we were late to church and gave the children the stash I keep in the car for emergencies)
  Dinner: Roast Lamb, Roasted Squash, Potato & Red Onion Wedges, Plums


• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo, Poblanos & Cheese, Oatmeal Sesame Seed Toast, Riesling Grape Juice
  Dinner: Ham, Barbecue Beans, Baked Potatoes, Sliced Watermelon


• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins and Brown Sugar, Milk, Coffee
  Dinner: Ground Beef, Spinach and Onion Skillet with Parmesan Cheese


• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Waffles* with Butter and Apple Cider Syrup, Fried Ham Slices, Milk, Coffee
  Dinner: Mustard Glazed Corned Beef, Braised Cabbage, Onions & Apples, St. Martin's Day Almond Filled Croissants


• Thursday
  Breakfast: Egg & Cheese Burritos with Salsa, Blackberry Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Split Pea Soup (with ham bone from Monday), Whole Wheat Rolls, Plums


• Friday
  Breakfast: Granola and Milk, Milk, Coffee
  Dinner: Pineapple Fried Rice, Sliced Watermelon


• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes with Spiced Whipped Cream (we ended up having oatmeal last week), Milk, Coffee
  Dinner: Harvest Dinner: Sweet Potato Rolls, Nantucket Cranberry Pie*

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. Starred recipes will follow separately.

Here is the list of foods from the freezer, fridge and pantry that I'm using this week. Anything from the freezer, pantry or fridge that was not bought specifically for this meal or this past week will be included in my lists.

Freezer:
Leg of Lamb
Ham
Chorizo
Bacon Ends
Ground Beef
Corned Beef
Whole Spinach
Peas
Peppers
Roasted Poblano Strips
Pineapple Tidbits
Cashews


Fridge:
Eggs
Butter
Milk (& Cream from the Top)
Parmesan
Cheddar
Celery
Carrots
Basil
Scallions
Salsa
Apple Cider Syrup

Pantry:
All Herbs & Spices
Salts
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Hard White Wheat Berries
Soft White Wheat Berries
Steel Cut Oats
Granola
Pastry Flour
Basmati Rice
Pinquito Beans
Split Peas
Sesame Seeds
Yeast
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Water Chestnuts
Soy Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Coconut Oil
Sesame Oil
Coffee
Tea
Vanilla Extract
All Sugars
Honey
Molasses
Raisins
Apples
Pears
Plums
Watermelon
Acorn Squash
Sweet Dumpling Squash
Sugar Pumpkin
Riesling Grape Juice

Car:
Kashi Strawberry Cereal Bars

Labels: Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

Because Rich is still 10 years old at heart and can't pass up a dare:

Labels: Family, Humor

I've decided to put my weekly recipes in one post. If I have something else come up, I'll post them separately, but this way I'm not cluttering things up too much, I hope. Only the Mexican rice has photographic records. And I didn't get the finished rice photo.

Quick and Dirty Mexican Rice
I make this when I don't have time to make the roasted salsa for tomato rice.



3 tablespoons lard or oil
2 carrots, scrubbed and diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups long grain rice (I use basmati, because I keep that, brown basmati, jasmine rice and rice for sushi/risotto/rice pudding in the house)
4 cups chicken broth
salt, to taste, I use maybe 1/2 teaspoon
2 whole pickled jalapenos, split open

Prepare your vegetables while you heat the lard or oil over medium heat.


Saute the vegetables until the onion begins to wilt.

(Please ignore the dirty stove)
Add the rice and saute until it turns opaque and gives out its fragrance. Add the chicken broth, salt and pickled jalapenos and bring to a boil. Let boil until you see a steady stream of bubbles coming from "tunnels" in the rice. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook (without peeking) for 15 minutes.

Uncover and stir to fluff. Serve.


Tex Mex Skillet
This is a great way to get lots of protein in a one dish vegetarian meal.

3 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
3 peppers, seeded and cut into strips
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 cups cooked brown rice
3 cups cooked beans (I use black beans or pinquitos)
2 cups corn kernels (frozen is fine)
1 can black olives, drained and chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten

Heat oil in large, oven safe skillet. Saute onions, peppers and garlic in oil, stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Add the beans, rice, corn, olives, cheese, milk and eggs. Stir to combine. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the center is set.

Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Herbed Rice Pilaf

1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
2 cups basmati rice
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions

Saute onion in butter over medium heat. Add rice, tarragon, thyme, basil and pepper and saute until rice is opaque. Add chicken broth, parsley and scallions and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes without peeking.

Stir to fluff and serve.

Lamb and Guinness Stew

Lamb stew is my favorite stew, I like it better than beef stew or venison stew, though I like both of those. I even like it better than the pork and green chile stew I make, though that is pretty close.

Olive oil
2 pounds lamb stew meat
4 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (they have to be peeled)
8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme (or 6-8 sprigs fresh thyme)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 bottles of Guinness (possibly some water or beef broth to thin stew toward the end)
6 large carrots, scrubbed and diced
4 medium potatoes scrubbed and diced (peeled or not, I generally use nice looking potatoes and scrub well without peeling)


Heat oil in large pot. Add lamb and brown on all sides. Add onions, sliced potatoes, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir and cook until onions soften and start to brown.

Pour in Guinness and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about an hour.

Uncover pot and add carrots and diced potatoes. Cover and cook for another 30-45 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Taste to adjust seasoning (remove thyme stems if you used fresh), thin with water or broth if desired.

This makes a thick, rich, sauce. It is not the gravy like sauce found in other stews. This is stand a spoon up sauce, it is supposed to be that way. The base potatoes make it very substantial. So, do not thin it too much.

We serve this with soda bread (it is the raisins that are optional not the buttermilk, and we do not use the raisins), a salad or sliced tomatoes and fruit. It is very filling.

With accompaniments, this can serve between 10-14 people, or leave leftovers to be frozen for later. On its own, it can serve eight with enough for two lunches the following day.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

1. We spent Halloween gorging on candy, drinking cider and watching movies. We watched Wallace and Grommit A Matter of Loaf and Death (which was great!) and the old, black and white, Godzilla. This week, the children were discussing what color Godzilla was. The boys settled on green or almost black green. Amira piped up to say that they didn't know that. "The movie was grey!"

2. On All Saints, we carved our pumpkins. Rich and I never got to ours, but I'm sure they would have been wonderful. I was torn between the Sacred Heart, an Alpha and Omega or the Blessed Virgin.

The children's, though, were great. Elijah wanted a happy Jack o' Lantern, so we did that for him. Dominic went for his namesake. We thought Jerome would, or a lion as his symbol, especially since he wanted a lion on a leash or to ride when he dressed up as Saint Jerome, but he decided on St. Nicholas. Amira chose a simple cross, making her dad's night after the complicated few he did. Alexander carved his own, choosing on his own the four symbols of the four evangelists. For Yasmina, Rich scaled down this design to fit her pumpkin. Here they are:


Yasmina's punky


Saint Nicholas


Amira's cross


Elijah's happy Jack


Saint Dominic. He is the patron of astronomers and astronomy and is often depicted with stars. Rich couldn't get the traditional monastic profile with the lily staff and rosary that Dominic wanted initially. Dominic was satisfied with this.


Alexander carved these primitive images. We are encouraging him to sell his art work, as we've seen many similar paintings and sculptures in art shows selling for a lot of money. College fund anyone?

Other views:



3. Yasmina had a great time marching around the back yard while Rich was gutting the pumpkins trying to find a "punky" (her word) that she could lift.



4. Poor Amira is doing really well with learning to read. Poor Amira? Well, you see, she is learning how to sound out words, and for the most part, this helps her. She came to me this week, though, to tell me she knew how to spell phonics: F-O-N-I-X. We had a discussion about the Greek word phone and how English gets most of her words from Latin and Greek and sometimes sounding things out doesn't work unless you know the sounds from those languages as well.

5. What I Heard, What She Said:

Amira was in the bathroom and called out to me wanting to know why there was a kangaroo on the moose. ???? Turns out she was looking at the mousse bottle which was that Aussie brand, thus the kangaroo.

6. What He Said, What He Meant:

Dominic read our Old Testament readings this week. On All Saints, his was from the book of Wisdom 3:1-9. In it he read that "For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immorality." Immortality. It's amazing what one letter can change.

7. I found this satire hilarious and sad all at the same time.

7b. (Yes, I know this makes eight, but it was in a similar theme) Mark Shea addressed a very common confusion about praying to the saints. The comments are especially good, I think. I was reminded of the story, I think about Mark, when someone insisted that Catholics worshiped statues. He explained the difference, made clear that they didn't, gave biblical examples, the whole deal. The fellow would have none of it. "You don't know that's what you are doing, but you are worshiping statues." Finally realizing that there was no reasoning with this person, he replied "No, since Vatican II, we worship banners." I think I've posted this before, but it bears repeating, if you are going to accuse me of something at least get it right. The comments about bearing false witness in Mark's blog post were sobering, and ought to be.

Labels: All Saints, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Humor, Seven Quick Takes

Our bean week went pretty smoothly. I did have to make a menu change on Wednesday, as we didn't have as many eggs as I thought we'd have so I substituted a vegetables Jalfrezi with rice, using the pinto beans. Also, I had forgotten that Friday was a fancy pants work dinner for managers and spouses, so the children got pizza with Rich's boss' children while we ate amazingly good food and drank amazing wine at a very nice restaurant. We'll be doing two meals with beans this week (I usually try to do at least one), so I kind of think of it as a make up day. The next Bean Week Challenge will be the week of November 15th, if you'd like to try again this month. I am thinking of doing a more Middle Eastern theme to my meals that week, since this one was taken up with Mexican/Tex-Mex most of the time.

Since today is the feast of All Saints, our children are preparing to dress up as their favorite saints, carve pumpkins with images of the saints and to eat even more candy and drink lots of hot chocolate. We aren't able to have our big church party this year, but we were determined to allow them to have it anyway, even on a smaller scale. No doughnuts on a string or apple bobbing, but still fun.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Cracked Wheat Cereal with Molasses and Milk, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Roasted Chuck Steak, Herbed Rice Pilaf*, Roasted Acorn Squash & Red Onion Wedges, Candy


• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Potatoes & Cheese, Whole Wheat Toast, Sliced Tomatoes, Riesling Grape Juice Leftover Hot Chocolate
  Dinner: Fried Rice (using leftover beef), Fall Fruit Salad (using Apples, Pears and Pomegranate Pips)


• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Puffed Pancake with Pomegranate Jelly, Sliced Pears, Milk, Coffee
  Dinner: Irish Stew*, Soda Bread, Plums


• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Toasted Sprouted Whole Wheat Bagels with Cream Cheese, Plums, Mint Tea & Honey
  Dinner: Herbed Tomato Pie, Egg Custards, Sliced Watermelon


• Thursday
  Breakfast: Chorizo & Egg Burritos with Salsa, Blackberry Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Baked Pasta, Creamed Spinach, Sliced Plums


• Friday
  Breakfast: Granola and Milk, Milk, Coffee
  Dinner: Tex Mex Skillet with Pinquito Beans* & Salsa, Sliced Pears


• Saturday
  Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes with Spiced Whipped Cream, Milk, Coffee
  Dinner: Muffaletta Sandwiches, Mixed Bean Soup with Bacon, Sliced Watermelon

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. Starred recipes will follow separately.

Here is the list of foods from the freezer, fridge and pantry that I'm using this week. Anything from the freezer, pantry or fridge that was not bought specifically for this meal or this past week will be included in my lists.

Freezer:
Chuck Roast
Lamb Stew Meat
Chorizo
Bacon Ends
Sprouted Whole Wheat Bagels
Cooked Mixed Beans
Sliced Peppers
Peas
Whole Spinach


Fridge:
Eggs
Butter
Milk (& Cream from the Top)
Parmesan
Cheddar
Celery
Carrots
Pickled Jalapenos & Carrots
Scallions
Ginger
Salsa

Pantry:
All Herbs & Spices
Salts
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Hard White Wheat Berries
Soft White Wheat Berries
Cracked Wheat
Granola
Pastry Flour
Basmati Rice
Brown Rice
Pinquito Beans
Penne
Yeast
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Soy Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Sesame Oil
Olives
Capers
Homemade Tortillas
Coffee
Tea
Vanilla Extract
All Sugars
Honey
Molasses
Pomegranate Jelly
Raisins
Apples
Pears
Plums
Pomegranate
Watermelon
Acorn Squash
Sugar Pumpkin
Riesling Grape Juice

Labels: All Saints, Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

Not really Mexican, and perhaps not really pizza, but it tastes good. This is more of a method than a recipe.

Pizza Dough
Refried Beans (I cook up the pot beans in bacon grease or lard with lots of onion and ground pepper)
Salsa
Grated Cheese (I use a mix of cheddar and pepper jack)
Seasoned, Cooked Ground Beef
Sliced Peppers
Roughly Chopped Olives
Scallions
Sliced Tomatoes
Pickled Jalapenos

Roll out your dough, spread the refritos on it, spoon salsa over that. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Sprinkle the ground beef, sliced peppers, olives and sliced scallions (I just snip them over the top with scissors). Bake until crust is cooked and cheese melts to your liking. Serve with tomatoes and pickled jalapeno slices. Eat. The end.

These are guidelines, use what you have and like. It's a good way to use up extra beans, or to stretch only a little meat further. Our children universally like it.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour that I ground up, but any flour would work)
1/4 cup soft lard or butter
1 cup warm water.

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder, then mix with fat and warm water. Add more flour if necessary.

Cut into pieces and roll into balls about 1 1/2 - 2" in diameter. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Press in a tortilla press or between two plates. Roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface. I made my first couple too thin, so they were more like crackers.

Cook on a griddle or in a dry frying pan on relatively low heat (medium-low or medium) until the tortilla lightens in color a little on top. Flip and cook a few seconds longer. I also cooked them too long at first.

Makes about 20 8 inch tortillas

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

I meant to post this recipe last week, but never got to it. This recipe is based on these. I have tweaked and messed with it in a few ways to suit our tastes and what we usually have.

I usually make these enchiladas in the crock pot, because I can put
it together and let it cook while we are doing other things, but they work equally well in the oven for quicker cooking while we are home.

1 pound corn kernels, frozen and thawed is fine, the roasted corn
from Trader Joe's works quite nicely
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can black olives, drained and chopped
2 cups chard, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 finely chopped jalapeno (or two, if you like it hotter)
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded pepper jack
1 pint sour cream

5 cups green enchilada sauce
2 cups sour cream

24 corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack


(Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees if you are using the oven)

Mix corn, meat, olives, chard, cilantro, jalapeno, cheese and sour
cream in a large bowl until thoroughly blended.

In a medium bowl, mix 4 1/2 cups enchilada sauce with sour cream.

Pour remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the crock
pot (or in the bottom of a large baking pan, I use one that is 11 X 15
inches). Put tortillas in a single layer over sauce, cover with some of
the filling, another layer of tortillas and more filling ending with a
layer of tortillas. Pour enchilada sauce and sour cream mixture over
the top and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours
or on high for 2-3 hours (or leave uncovered and bake for 25 - 30
minutes). Putting a paper towel or clean kitchen towel under the lid of
the crock pot, without touching the food, to absorb some of the extra
moisture. Let sit 15-20 minutes before serving.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

I entered four really good giveaways this week. I am sharing them with you so you have a chance and so I can have additional entries. These are things we'd really like, but if I win the dehydrator, don't tell Rich, because it will be a St. Nicholas present for him.

The first is for stainless steel food storage. We've been trying to get away from plastics with BPA in them and using more stainless steel and glass anyway.

The second is for handmade jewelry. Yes, I am a sucker for pretty, sparkly things.

The third is for 5 gallons of beef tallow. Can you say french fries? Yummy!

The fourth is the big surprise. Don't tell Rich! It is for an Excalibur dehydrator! Woo hoo! This would make our lives so much nicer!

Labels: Blog Info, Contests

1. When I was in college, I ended up on many catalog mailing lists. In one, this would be about 14 or 15 years ago, there was a gift set of the story book of The Princess and the Pea and an enamel pea pendant. I didn't buy it then, because I had no need, but thought it was cute and kept it in my mind should I ever have a daughter. Now, there is nothing like it that I can find. This pendant is the closest to what I remember, but it is a bit fancier, more expensive and does not include the story. Any ideas?

2. Did I mention I'm knitting again? Well, I am. I am even somewhat close to having something finished. I am more delighted than you can imagine. I have high hopes of knitting on a regular basis again. Maybe even sewing and crocheting, too.

3. Again, I am confused about the seasons in our new home. Since when have below zero temperatures, sleet, freezing rain and snow been fall? This is winter. This was not in the brochure. I was promised four seasons here.

4. I discovered this week that we will not be hurting for toilet paper if we get snowed in. Aside from the two on the roll already, we have at least 97 double rolls of toilet paper in our house.

5. We do not really do Halloween (or rather, we do celebrate All Hallow's Eve, but not the secular or pagan version of the day) and as we still don't have a church home here, we can't do our traditional All Saints feast and party, we are commemorating it a little on our own this year. We've dressed as our favorite saints for years, learning a little more about those we choose or choosing those we've learned more about sometimes. We'll be carving our pumpkins in Christian symbols as well as in more iconic images. I have never liked the reactionary anti-Halloween sentiment that can be found in churches, because the Druid celebration of it did not intersect with the Church until long after All Saints was already commemorated and because I didn't think that dressing as Snow White and eating too much candy was all that big a deal to get so worked up about, but the pagan and dark elements of the day seem to be what are emphasized more and more now, so we are backing off a bit. Our children get plenty of time to dress up as they wish, we asked them if they really missed it and it seems to be more a fun and candy thing for them, so we make sure they get loads of candy and celebrate the Church year instead. Since we now have to shield them against pr*stitute costumes as well, we are glad we live too far away from most people to have a big trick or treat issue anyway (as we did for the last seven years as well). How about you?

6. Would that more Protestants thought as this pastor does about Reformation Sunday.

7. I saved this for last, because it is more serious and I just didn't want to go back to something trivial or silly after it. When I read things like this, aside from being heart broken for these people who are persecuted and more determined to pray for the persecuted Church, I am aghast at how little religion reporters are expected to know about religion. By these same standards, I could write about sports or nuclear physics. After all, I can write a bit, I have heard of them, surely there can't be too much to it.

Labels: Family, Seven Quick Takes

Well, I mentioned this in my last post, but didn't get a chance to go into it very much: Finding events and activities in your area.

Check out local free options for entertainment! In our small town living, we have had art fairs, film festivals, music in the parks, ethnic fairs, free movies in parks, free bowling in the summer, free movies in theaters on certain days during the summer. An Orthodox church had a Greek festival each year. I mentioned the free art classes that were hosted at our library in my previous post. These were all found in little, non-metropolis type towns. Our town had a local town pride type festival each year, with a parade, art show, free breakfast, dances, face painting, science and art activities, all sorts of things for a family to do. While there are plenty of opportunities to spend money at things like this, you don't have to to have a great time. Even if you do spend money, you can often get a very good deal or buy something very special that can be a reminder of that trip.

Besides those things, there are community centers, park and recreation departments that offer classes and activities for free or very little cost. One theater near us offered black and white oldies on Mondays for $2.00.

Something else to look into is whether any museums in your area offer free days. The glass museum near us had a free day each month, as did a local historical museum, a hands on children's museum and a few others. The local symphony orchestra had some free performances throughout the year. There was a local theater group that had some free performances. Get on the e-mail or mailing lists for these organizations.

One other thing our library did where we lived before was they had free passes to certain museums and amusement parks which you could check out for three weeks just like the books, movies and music. You never know what is available for free or very little, right under your nose. Usually your library, newspaper and parks and rec have websites that you can check for upcoming activities. Your city may have a website with links to local events, or the Chamber of Commerce. Perhaps you have a local historical preservation society that has reenactments of what your town was like when it first began. I forgot to mention that there is a local Hutterite colony which opens itself to tours, lessons and sharing a meal with them. We haven't taken advantage of this yet, but I am thinking of taking the children on a field trip there in the spring or summer. Keeping to a budget does not mean staying home and missing out, unless you choose it.

Previous Posts:
Make it at Home
Grocery Shopping
Waste Not, Want Not
Soup
The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Use What You Have
Combining Trips
Storing Bulk Purchases
Turn It Off
Grow Your Own
Buying in Bulk
Gleaning
Entertainment on the Down Low

Labels: Family, Frugality

Okay, I found it much sooner than I thought I would. This will use up some almond meal Kim. I found a recipe for these on a blog a year or two ago, then I messed with it.

4 cups almonds (raw)
1 cup almond meal
1 cup shredded coconut (dried, unsweetened)
1 cup unsalted creamy roasted almond butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Place almonds, almond meal, shredded coconut, almond butter and salt in a food processor. Pulse just enough to combine, about 10 seconds.

In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat, remove coconut oil from stove, stir honey and vanilla into oil.

Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.

Press mixture into an 9 X 11 glass baking dish. Chill in refrigerator for about an hour, until mixture hardens.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously. Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens. Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve

Makes 40 bars

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

We've had quite the challenging month here, still dealing with house issues, so I am just barely getting in under the wire on this challenge. I was going to try to do something with hazelnut flour, but ended up going with the traditional almond. However, I added a little espresso powder to the cookie and used vanilla sugar for my granulated sugar. I was going to fill them with a dark chocolate ganache. Basically, I was going to make a mocha almond fudge macaron. Since I wasn't sure if we would like these, I made a half batch.

However, I had a colossal failure from start to finish. Because I didn't have time to redo these if I messed up, I had one shot. I started by overbeating the eggwhites. Which I've never done before. In my defense, I was distracted by a very cute three year old helper, who was sick and in need of amusement, since I didn't want to let him out in the wind and sleet with his older siblings.

I thought I could recover from this, but I also could not find the parchment paper, so I had to try to bake them either on a non-stick pan or on a heavily buttered pan. Both failed. I had nice little feet on my macarons, but they are hard to see now that they are completely crumbled from my trying to get them off the pan. The buttered pan batch ended up spread all over the place and with no feet.



So, I made lemonade with my lemons and crumbled them in a bowl and drizzled with the ganache. That, at least, turned out nicely. They tasted good, but they look nothing like they are supposed to look. Nor was I able to make a single sandwich with them. I would have had 14 sandwiches and an extra cookie had I succeeded. I think this is the first Daring Baker's Challenge I have completely and utterly failed on, so that is a little shaming.




I'm not sure I've ever had a traditional macaron, only the American, coconut based version. Honestly, I think I still prefer the coconut based cookie, though these tasted nice, so I don't know that I'll give them another go.



Thank you Amy for what was certainly a challenge for me this month!

Labels: Daring Bakers, Tales from the Kitchen