Pickle Me Good!

WWWEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLL......................

That little vacation was longer then planned!  After hiking, hunting and camping for a week.....we returned home with a nasty stomach virus....or a case of nasty food poisoning from a sweet uncle that dumped in a gallon of ten year old vegetable oil in everything!  Whichever it was.....I hope to never revisit that experience and will politely decline the food....

On a much better note!!!  It has been two months since I put up  dozen bottles kosher pickles.....and after opening the first bottle... we have been flying through them!!  Or rather I have.....they are a constant craving!

So I want to share the recipe...especially since bountiful baskets is still supplying (or was last week) pickling cukes and for those that are in warmer climates (it took me a few weeks to find enough cukes! Sad but true!!  The recipes comes from my Aunt Diana...who is an amazing woman and a wonderful cook, and was like a mother to me!!  I love that her daughter, Lisa,  put together a recipe book from her recipes and many of my cousin's favorite.  They are tried and true, and make dinner even easier to conquer and you know that they will be good!

Let me know what you think!!

KOSHER DILLS
For crisp dill pickles; it is critical to soak the cukes in ice water for at least two hours and ensuring the water is at a full boil when poured over the dills.

Wash  the cukes and then let sit in the sink with cold water and ice, replenish the ice as needed.
Put about 1 1/2 inch of dill weed and 1 TBS of sliced/minced garlic in bottom of quart; arrange cucumbers on top. Pour 1/3 full of vinegar and finish filling with boiling water. Add 1 TBS of canning salt (not iodized) and 1/4 tsp alum and a small red hot pepper per jar (I had dried red peppers earlier on and just put about 1/2 tsp of the flakes in the jar.)  The are purty! too!

Clean the jar rim and top with prepared lids and process in a water bath for 15 minutes. (Let age 6 to 8 weeks)

I had to hide the dills at the back of he pantry because the kiddos kept bringing them out and wanting to EAT them!  But trust me, the wait is worth it!  I kept the smallest cukes whole, but also sliced some and made some into spear....their all GOOD!!!

And.....when you make the pickles yourself....they do not have sodium benzoate in them.  Something to think about!

Now if you excuse me....I need a snack!

Lover yer pickle eatin guts!

Ole the Mole'!

While we are the subject of around the world flavors...that are healthy for us!!  I thought I would post a quick and oh so easy Mole sauce......no not as in the ground borrowing animal...but as in the south of the border, spicy with a hint of chocolate.....and by the way, that hint of chocolate will go far in your chili or pork burritos...but alas I forget where I am going with this...

truly, the art of Mole' sauce is an age old tradition, passed from grandmothers on down.....women toiling all day over a stove, a pinch of that and bit of this...

but lets be honest, none of us have all day in the kitchen to prepare for mouth watering artistry, let alone the patience...

okay, that one is probably just me!  But anyone can whip up this simple mole, with one arm tied behind your back or holding a baby...or wiping a nose.....you get the picture?!

YOU can do this!  Pour this over tamales, which is what we did last night, (and no..I didn't make the tamales, a friend did, but one day I will learn, until then...I have been known to buy them in the grocery store parking lot! Yep...I'm not afraid!!) add it to your homemade chimichangas.....which are really easy to make.....burritos, juevos rancheros!  It works!! Even pour it on those frozen bricks, they call food...I promise I won't tell anyone!  But eventually you'll realize that cooking from scratch is just as easy and far superior then opening that plastic wrapper.....

unless of course you have 1 million hungry teenage hole in the stomach horde drop in...then by all means break out the microwave...becasue heaven know that still happens at my house!  We are slowly working the good and REAL food in!


SIMPLE MOLE SAUCE
2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cumin (my favorite spice by far!)
1 tsp cilantro...dried works perfectly well!
1/2 tsp minced garlic...I get this from a jar!
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 4 oz can of chopped green chilis

Saute onions in butter, until caramelized ( think caramelized onions are the answer to world peace...or at least calming the warring nations of men!) Mix in cocoa powder, cumin, cilantro and garlic, stir in tomato sauce and green chilis, bring to a boil, turn down immediately and let simmer a good ten minutes, 20 is better and 30 is the bomb!  But hey I know what happens when fists are being pounded on the table!!

Love your mole eatin guts!

Down home cookin meets the world!

It used to be, that on the farm...that you ate what you could grow, cultivate, herd, milk, wrangle, gather and scavenge off the land....

I know, it doesn't sound very fun...or does it.  It does to me...Eating that which came from your own land, but then again I have fallen off my stool a few times and bumped my head!  I like to get my hands dirty and play in the dirt, pick my own fruit...and long, long ago...I helped my cousins with the chickens when I visited her for the summer.  It was my kind of heaven....it still is....

but I digress.

But, I am also thankful for modern technology that has opened our eyes and taste buds to the flavors of the world....

I love me some good sushi, Chinese, Mexican, Iraqi......and now Thai food.  And they are all relatively easy to make....a few delectable foods and a few spices...and wah-laa...magic from the other side of the world!

So combine that with homegrown food and spices from around the globe and you, my friend, will feel like a world class traveler!

Thai Curry Carrot Soup, well, is right at the top of my list for being mmmm, mmmm, good! Not to mention the fact that I had an over abundance of carrots.  Tomato Miso is still my favorite of the minute! and most likely the decade.  Since we have stopped buying soup in a can....I have loved soup even more....and I have tried it out on my neighbors to make sure that I am passing along a winner!

And as a side note...I have to tell you that my hubs sometimes is frustrated by what he finds in the fridge that he says is not food.....serachi chili sauce, fish sauce, green curry paste, Sweet chili sauce, five spice, hoisen sauce...but they are staples when cooking from scratch and making healthy and edible food from around the world!

In the coming weeks, I hope to add several more made from, scratch, no additives, fill your tummy soups to my repertoire....(That's a french word!...see what eating global foods will do to your vocab!)

And did you hear that grown.....that was is Mr Macdaddy.......he is not a soup fan...unless it is cream of Broccoli or Chili...is chili even a soup?

He will be getting over it though....soup is good for you! As Julia Childs would say, Bon Apetit!

Thai Curry Carrot Soup
(adapted from Nourishing Traditions recipe)

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
4 T butter
2 t Green Curry Paste (I use Thai Kitchen)
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock (homemade, most canned stock is loaded with msg!)
1/2 t grated lemon rind *
1/2 t grated ginger *
sea salt or fish sauce and pepper
all natural sour cream
Saute onions and carrots gently in butter for about 45 minutes or until tender (mine was on medium low with a lid for about an hour, and then I took the lid off and cooked off any liquid and let the onions caramelize a bit). Add curry until well mixed, and add stock, bring to a boil.  Add lemon rind and ginger. Simmer, covered for about 15 minutes. Puree soup with a hand held blender, or add half of the carrot mixture to your blender and puree slowly.   Season to taste and ladle into bowls, add a dollop of all natural cream!

*I used dried lemon rind and fresh ground ginger from Spice world that I keep in my fridge!) AND I just read the ingredients more diligently for the ground ginger...it has soybean oil in it.....WON'T be using that stuff anymore....fresh ginger it will be!

And since we are talkin' Thai...here's another recipe that really won me over to curry!

Thai Green Curry Chicken (From Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste bottle)

In a large saucepan simmer one 14 oz. can of Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk (no additives!) with 1 t Green Curry Paste ( start with a small amount and add more if you want more heat!) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add two skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut up in bite size pieces. Add 1 t 2 t of fish sauce, 2 t brown sugar, 1/4 c bamboo shoots, 1/2 c frozen peas and 1/3 c chicken stock. Simmer ten minutes stirring occasionally. garnish with fresh basil and serve hot! with rice.

And I have to admit, that we ate most of the chicken that night, but I saved the broth and ate it the next day for lunch....it was soooo tasty! And don't forget...healthy!!!


Lover yer guts!

and eat from the farm...and around the world!

I have included this post in:

Ultimate Recipe Swap - Life as a Mom
Monday Mania - The Healthy Home Economist
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  - At the Well

Second Chance Saturday

I thought I would recap what I have learned this past week......

at least for myself...so I don't forget....

because I am getting that way....or maybe I'm not...I forget!

* The kiddos and the hubs do NOT love every recipe I make...but they are good sports and try most things.  They did not like Natural Buttermilk Bread.....nor did my friend....but they do love Naturally Fermented Sour Dough Bread.  Along with sour dough pizza dough...it was a winner along with sour dough pancakes....you can find the recipe below!

The kids insist that when they go to granpa's...he make them.....one or two is never enough!

*That some of my neighbors think that I get drunk off of sour dough bread...I don't...for the record....nor do I drink the fermented starter that you can find out how to make it here.

*That we as adults do not eat enough eggs, butter or cream.  Yes you are reading that right!!  EAT MORE!  In the last four weeks, I have lost over four pounds, and I have eaten at least one fried egg in the morning with cheese, slathered my homemade bread with real butter...made from real milk of real cows.....there is longer a place for margarine in my house. Say it with me...THERE IS NO PLACE FOR MARGARINE!

*Peeps don't like when you talk about not vaccinating your kiddos!  They go ballistic..... it is becoming comical!

* I have eaten fried food......fried eggs, homemade tortilla chips, pork chops and veggies...all fried...in coconut oil and butter...and even a little bacon grease.  Our bodies need saturated fats!!  Please eat them and love yourself for doing so!!  It will make your skin healthy!

*The longer I go without sugar, particularly white sugar and high fructose corn syrups...the more disgusted I am with a bite that one of my kids insist I have.....I do NOT crave them.... and they just do not taste good on my palate.  Even fruit is not on my list of desired foods, excluding tomatoes...they are my favorite.  But one or two pieces of fruit during the day is about all I eat....as do the twins.  MORE veggies! MORE meat!

*We need to cook spinach, broccoli and cauliflower... DO not eat it raw.  No more putting it in smoothies and veggie juices or throwing it on salad and sandwiches for me! Some veggie greens contain a chemical called oxalic acid.  Oxalic acid is a very irritating substance to the mouth and intestinal tract.    It also blocks iron and calcium absorption and may contribute to the formation of kidney stones.   The good news is that oxalic acid is completely neutralized by a light steaming or cooking. Thanks to Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist who is amazingly smart!

*I was already onto soy and was declaring it a no go for my house..though I love edamame! But I don't eat those enough to cause a problem.  But with the twins being off milk, more then a few moms have proposed that I use soy milk! WRONG!  It's all I can do to not shout it out!!  And contain my expletives about soy...jk...you know me better then that....but soy should be avoided unless the soy is fermented as in soy sauce, miso and tempah.

*Coconut milk has probiotocs and is so yummy!!! The babies love it and are thriving on it!

*and finding raw grass fed milk is near impossible......I need the cow...do you think the HOA will mind?

* but most of all, I have learned that there is still a long road in front of my learning curve!  But I have loved every minute of it...even my failures!  Learning how to cook almond and rice flour crackers was comical...but good thing my kids will eat things that aren't very pretty...but I did it!

And so can you...just a couple changes a week and you will see huge benefits in your health!!

love yer guts!!

enough to share my sour dough recipe with you!

1 cup starter
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
Mix well and let sit out covered, in a glass bowl


In the morning, add 2 T honey, 1 1/2 baking soda, 1 egg and 2 T melted butter.

Cook on well greased griddle (coconut oil works great!)

Smother with real butter and real maple syrup..or coconut syrup and everyone is happy!

Just say no...to raw vegetables?! Just to a few!

This information is just too good not to repost!!

You must read this!

The Healthy Home Economist

It is eye opening!  Especially when we think we are being all healthy and doing the right thing by shoving our mouth...and guts!  full of these raw veggies!

I have been giving myself mother of the year award for sneaking raw spinach in their smoothies!

NO! Wrong answer!!!  DON'T  do it......

If you want to by vibrant, alert, active, regular (as in not constipated) and have a healthy libido, then by no means eat the raw spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, and mushrooms among other things!

But read it here because Sara, The healthy Home Economist says it best!!

Love your guts!

signed, not eating raw spinach again!

Why Sour dough Bread? Are you trying to get drunk...and other reasons...

I tell ya, some people kill me....or at least my funny bone....

A wonderful woman in my neighborhood came to my door to visit, after telling me I looked horrible and I needed to get some rest....(obviously my morning three hour nap was not good for me...or was it because I had no make up on and was still in my exercise/lounge wear, because let's get real here....other then going up and down my stairs and chasing after the mctwins, I have sworn off exercise!)

I laughed, and then as she was walkin into my home, she asked,

"What is that smell?"

I was hesitatant to answer her, for fear of what she would say, but I said...

oh just some fermented sourdough bread......

(weird look of disgust)

"well hell there are easier ways to get drunk then that.......hell, I'll go pick you up a beer if that's what you need!"

I still don't know if she was joking, I didn't dare ask......

I will just assume she was desirous to serve......or maybe she wanted one for herself....

but that got me thinking that maybe I needed to explain just a little more of the reasons that I am so crazy about sour dough....

maybe you don't care....

but again, I am going to assume...and yes, I know what assume spells out....

that you want to know!

Grains have been called the bread of life, duh? huh?

But we are now living in a modern era where our food is no longer pure and in a natural state,  In Dr. Natasha  Campbell-McBride book Gut and Psychology Syndrome she states it best;

"The more food is processed the more nutrient  depleted and chemically altered it becomes. Apart from loosing its nutritional value process food loses most of its other properties: taste, flavor and color. So to compensate for that various chemicals are added; flavor enhancers, colors, additives and preservatives.  many of these chemicals have been conclusively shown to contribute to hyperactivity, learning disabilities, psychiatric disorders and other health problems. Natural foods do not keep very well, so the industry has to change them to prolong their shelf-life.  Natural foods get subjected to extreme heat, pressure, enzymes, solvents and countless number of various other chemicals, fats get hydrogenated and proteins get denatured."

I don't know about you, but when I really start thinking about the idea of where my food came from (if it is purchased in a store it most like came from a huge farm factory that is more worried about keeping cost down then supplying nutrient dense foods!) and what was being done to it to preserve it.....it makes me double my efforts to live as closely to farm life as possible...farm life around the turn of the last century....producing my own food, and meat, exchanging with neighbors that I know have the integrity to produce food form eating and enjoyment and not for a profit.  Food after all should be enjoyed because we will spend


6 years and ten months EATING!!!

And for a few of us, that might be more...ok ok I have already had my allotted time...but I am working on that!

My first and easiest choice to make was to make homemade bread!  Not only becasue it is divine, but because I can control what goes in it.  Now I know I have a bread recipe that includes white flour and vegetable oil on this here blog.  that was before I knew better, and I intend to leave it up becasue some of you won't believe what I say, and that is okay..and some of you will just tweak the recipe like I did.  I use it all the time for sour dough bread.

I just use the sour dough as some of the liquid, replace the white with sprouted or soaked wheat, only use honey and butter....and I have been using a little white flour to knead it in.....NO MORE VEGETABLE OIL!!
But I wanted to take it a step further, and try to use only natural products, the whole grains and leave out man made leavening agents.  I searched and found the recipe for naturally fermented sour dough bread.  FABULOUS!  It makes my taste buds dance while it was still warm and to make it into toast...and slap a couple of tablespoons of butter on was divine!  If I must say so myself.

The reasoning behind sour dough is that it naturally breaks down  the grain that our bodies have a hard time breaking down for themselves.  It is a help to our digestive system.  So many people today think that they have gluten intolerance are being labeled as having celiac disease ( don't get me wrong here...there are very real cases of this)  but as a whole, doctors are saying this is a fact, when with a little further research, people would come to understand their bodies and that their bodies are not digesting the grains as well as the could or should.

Quoting form Nourishing Traditions; " Phosphorus in the bran of whole grains is tied up in a substance called phytic acid. Phytic acid combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract, blocking their absorption.  Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors that can interfere with digestion. Traditional societies usually soak or ferment their grains before eating them, processes that neutralize phytates and enzyme inhibitors and, in effect, predigest grains so that all their nutrients are more available. Sprouting, overnight soaking and old-fashioned sour leavening can accomplish this important predigestion process in our own kitchens. many people who are allergic to grains will tolerate them well when they are prepared according to these procedures."

So there you have it, I am sprouting, soaking and fermenting my grains because it has been done for thousands of years...and those people were far healthier then we are....as long as they avoided the occasional bear, mastodon or other tribes trying to kill them.

And to be plain honest, it just tastes better!

Now there are some really good breads out there that are made with out the oils, preservatives and additives...they are just plain expensive...and for our family that could go through two loaves a day..if I let them....is too much for our budget.

Today I will be experimenting with Buttermilk bread that has been fermenting overnight ( I know a few of you just gasped....thinking that it has been out all night!)  BUT IT HAS! And the dutch baby pancakes that we made this morning that had sat out overnight with the ground wheat flour and yogurt was delish...and I am still alive! I will post the recipe once I have tested it out!

and really, love yer guts, to all of you that read this to the end!!!

signed, secretly trying to get drunk off of fermented sour dough bread!

Withdrawals

Last night as I lay in bed...and sometime in the middle of the night when I wasn't sleeping because a mctwin #2 needed me as a body pillow...I was writing a blog post...

..and it was funny....but do you think for the life of me I can remember it now?!  Crickey!

It is because I went back to sleep....yes, I really did!  Until ten am! {{Gasp!}}

 I felt I had earned that right after draggin my behind outta bed at five am for the hubs and kiddo #1 to make them a warm and nutritious meal, and to warm them up after planting flags around the Neighborhood!  (Thank you Christopher Columbus, I still think you were faith inspired to find our land!)

I fed them Juevos Rancheros....and please roll the rrrr.....it's make you sound more sophisticated!

You say beans in the morning?! Yikes..or at least on of the mouthy kids did..but then again...they are all mouthy...so I forget which one it was....

I know, I know, them apples don't fall from the tree!

But everyone was up and about and eating a hearty breakfast at 5:30 am...off to school by 7:30 am, and that left me and the three little bambinos.....we went back to bed...

because there was nobody to stop us!  And it felt good!  Now to get my dang morning started....but I am think why now....let's just pretend today is a whitewash....

and go  eat sour dough bread or pancakes or biscuits...what ever floats you boat, flips your skirt.....or just makes you go aaaawwwweeeee.....

  and while you do...peruse these sights.....truly worth a few minutes of your time!

Call it Medical, not Mediterrarean

and a recipe I am dying to try! Homemade Chocolate Syrup

and Real Milk

and while you read those...I am going to figure out.....

if I leave the the droppings from the mctwins on the tile long enough will they dry out and be easier to sweep up...

do I have anything to hang over one of the kids'  head to make them mop....

the bonehead who chose the white tile should be shot...but my kids would cry.

do I have any of that coconut mousse pie left over from last night...um...with coconut crust!!  mmmm good!

do you think my 17 month old twins can potty train themselves...this week....

and am I in withdrawals because canning season is pretty much done....



love yer guts!


signed, sleeping hangover

Don't roll your eyes!!

OH Yes!


I am fully aware of what time I am posting this.......

but as I wait for the last bit of juice to drip from the elderberries (I don't know why I/we start projects like this as 10 pm, but we do...and thankfully my sweet hubs de-stemmed all those little berry gems....and has diligently watched the juicer!

and as I wait for my naturally fermented sourdough bread to cook...which I plan to stay up long enough to enjoy a bite! or two, most likely probably three slices of with elderberry jelly!

I had to run to the store at midnight because.... well...we ( and I mean Mr Mackdaddy forgot an assigned item that must be brought to church) So off I ran/trudged/meandered/crawled to the only store we have in town for a loaf of bread.....

I perused the isles, hunting down something sweet and sticky to eat because

1. all the bambinos are in bed...and I can eat it all by myself and not have another body's slobber on my fork.
2. I haven't had a treat since well.........I can't remember...oh wait..yes I can.....I had a frozen hot chocolate from DQ...but only half mind you! But still that was like four eons ago!
3. Mr Macdaddy likes when I bring the sweet things home......
4. Did I mention I was alone and could just look and touch and lick...ok I didn't do that....but I was tempted....

until I started reading the ingredients...and I was totally able to put down the chocolate chip cookies, the overloaded peanut butter cup ice cream, the creme filled puff pastries, and even cheese cake......

I know you think I have gone overboard....and you are not alone, Mr Macdaddy and the mckiddos are right there with you...except the mctwins...they eat about anything I out down in front of them!

Nut the more I read from Nourishing Traditions and Gut and Psychology Syndrome, the more I am convinced that I, my family and pretty much most of America has forgotten how to eat good food!!!  Now I am not going to get on my soapbox, that I always have on hand....I am learning to contain and control myself....

But I want to shout this new/centuries old information from the roof tops and get all my loved ones, friends, not so friendly and annoyed peeps.....eating like our ancestors!!  Like our pioneer fathers and MOTHERS that grew it, raised it, gathered it, cooked and baked it......

If I was thinking I would have brought a camera and taken a  picture of all the ingredients in these products...

STOP rolling your eyes...I am telling this to you for your own good!!

Or I could type out the list of items that half the time you can't even pronounce! But it is getting late...and I can't type and shove my mouth full of bread at the same time!  Yep...it is GGGOOOOOOOODDDD!!!!

With a big ole slab of butter and jelly!

What I am trying to say is.....know what you are eating, these gimmicks about low fat, no cholesterol, low carb...blah, blah, blah.... are killing us!  Not the natural way of eating that has been done for thousands of years, eating meat and animal fats and limiting our intake of hydrogenated products, vegetable oils, sugars and high fructose corn syrup....(these are what I have concentrated on getting out of our diet along with msg and nitrates)

I know you are thinking blah, blah, blah.....they will come up with a another diet next year contradicting this diet....but here is what convinced me.....this isn't a new diet, peeps throughout time have been eating this way and some of them were living 600, or 900 years.....(That is bible trivia since I am now writing on the Sabbath....)

And not, I don't want to live to be almost a thousand years old...but I want to hit a hundred...maybe more....

SO I implore you that why I down my second slice of naturally fermented sour dough with butter and jelly!!  Go check out how to make sour dough bread.....Mr Macdaddy is the bomb at making biscuits...that's him up above with his baby face..which I adore as much as his taliban face ( I will post pictures later! but to make a long story short he had to blend into in with the culture!! as well as his ruggedly handsome goatee..that stills gets mine!) but boy can I make the bread, and donuts and even cinnamon rolls from sour dough...which believe it or not...are you ready...is healthier for you!!  Now go forth, my young one.....learn knowledge.....and if you have questions you can email me...I will get you hooked!!

1 cup starter + 3\4 cup water + 1 cup flour...
Let ferment for 2 to 4 hours (at least)

Then add the following to the mixing bowl:
2 cups whole wheat and rye blend (1-1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup rye flour)
3 cups  flour
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 teaspoons salt
  This is about 1-1/3 cups of water

Mix this stiff dough together until it is well moistened. Add a little more water if you have too, but not too much. Cover with a clean cloth and let ferment for 6-8 hours at 72 - 85 degrees F.

When ready it should plop right out of the bowl. Use only a small amount of flour (about 2 ounces) and knead the dough for about five minutes. Rest it for ten minutes and repeat one more time... (kneed 5 min., rest 10 min.)

Now cut the dough into two lumps, shape them into tight balls and place them in proofing baskets lined with linen cloth. Let proof (rise) for 2-4 hours depending on how active your leaven is.

Transfer to baking stone in preheated oven. Bake at 500 degrees. Be sure to steam your oven during the first 10 minutes, then once again about halfway through the process. Be sure to reduce the heat to about 400 degrees during the last 15 minutes and finish baking. It should be done in about 35 minutes all together.

Best of luck....You'll love it .. it's much much easier this way!!  Let me know what happens.


Another way of baking:


Use a non-stick baking sheet or (2) 8" or 6" cast iron skillets for baking the loaves. Do not use aluminum! And do not use regular cooking oil on the pans. Heated oil is disastrous to your health. (The only exception I would recommend is in using organic coconut oil. It is better in high heat applications.) We also found that simply sprinkling a layer of rolled oats on the pan keeps the dough from sticking. Let the dough rise for 2 -4 hours and bake at 375 degrees for at least one hour. To make a thin crust, squirt or mist the oven. The bread is done when you can smell it and the dough looks like it has pulled slightly away from the pan. After the baking is complete, remove from pans and let them cool completely.


Um..... it is rare when and if my bread ever cools completely before we are cutting into it.


To find out more about sour dough,
Naturally Fermented Sour Dough Bread

and to also add to your reading enjoyment...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35237328/ns/health-heart_health/

Love your guts!  Really I do!
signed, full and happy and going to bed!! well maybe....I might need another slice!

Start every day with a smile...and get it over with!

You ask: How do I do it all?

HA...HA....hahahahahahahhahah..................that's my hubs......

I don't......as we speak...I sit in old track pants...U of U of course, a white (huh? I know white....so ridiculous!) shirt and ...um...no brassiere...though I do throw on a tank with some support in it if you must know and my hair is thrown up in a knot....

Why get dressed I think...when already five hours into the day, I have finger print smudges, a runny nose imprint, pen...probably permanent....coconut syrup drips...and now some purple splashes from the beets I threw on...along with a few green ones from the shake I just made the kids.....and the babies are usually nekkid or in their pj's until we must step out of our house!

and it is green...because there is spinach in it! AND  they love it....

My kitchen floors need mopped and the carpets vacuumed for the hundredth time...but we will do that just before the hubs gets home....and really I think of myself as successful for the day if I get two cleaning chores crossed off my list!

There is broken glass in my bath tub where the mctwins decided to test Newton's theory with one of my decorations...it has been there since Monday....thankfully...I have other tubs and showers!

I am not crafty...and sewing takes more concentration then what I want to devote most of the time, I crochet, but only when I am sitting with the hubs listening to him read....so those don't really take up my time....

AND I don't shop because well that takes money...and as we have told the kiddos.....we chose to have each on of you and sacrifice....why wait to lay on the quilt?!

Grocery shopping is done quickly at Costco and Bountiful Baskets which I highly recommend, as it is a co-op that pools the buyers money to get nutritious fruits and veggies and wholesale prices. Costco is because we buy in bulk and really on the basic ingredients....

And don't forget, I have little minions that I boss around constantly in doing chores, dinner prep and any other thing I can think of like....massaging my feet!!

So while I kick back and order the mckiddos to rub the ole dogs....I assign my self a couple of  task for the day.....and consider myself accomplished. Sorry June Cleaver and Aunt Bea...I do you wrong....but that is how it must be...

Like today list is the following:

Finish canning the beets, Put up some pork and beans. because...well....we love them....and I want more then two piece of pork in my beans...AND I DO NOT want high fructose corn syrup in my food!  Just sayin....

Along the way, I will most likely throw in a few loads of laundry, pick up children, make four dozen meals because everyone is always starving in our house or so it seems! blog, wipe a few noses, change a few dozen diapers...jk...only two are in diapers...but well they do enough for a dozen...sign a few permission slips and close my eyes when I walk into my bathroom becasue there is still glass in the tub....and yes...the sides are high and the mcbabes cannot crawl into it....kiss a few booboos and break up a few squabbles...

but none of those are on the have too...so if they get done...wonderful!  If not well, the glass will still be there along with the runny noses..... 

Yesterday was simply folding the whites....as in underwear and socks...because, well Mr Macdaddy suggested divorce was an option if he had to pull his socks outta the basket...personal childhood issue I know...but because I love him...I complied...

and to try and make yogurt and cream cheese....from yogurt...I did it!  So there you go success for the day! Everything else is just the cherry on top!

Wait....why do I want to make cream cheese?

have you read the label on what they put into the cream cheese to make it?

....so not natural...

which is also is unhealthy as  the more ingredients there are the more processing they do!  So I decided to make my own cream cheese from the homemade yogurt we make! If you want to make cream cheese, you can go here. And if you want to make homemade yogurt, you can go here. Just try and use the most natural milk and or yogurt possible....milk should not be skim or homogenized...as I write, I am still trying to find raw milk that is produced from green grass pastured cows.....

no luck...so right now I have really cut down on the milk we drink and try and buy only pasteurized milk.....(Cheese, cream and butter are among the products that are still healthy for you, and are the least processed!)

one day...one day....

love yer guts!

signed,

almost June Cleaver

Can you believe it?

Because of this little room....

that appears to be a a little full and a little messy....(and still won't hold what I need to feed the ever growing mouths of the youngins)

and unorganized since the darlin girls helped me put things away...and well.... just stuffed where it would fit.

I need one of these......though I probably won't get one.....

but a girl can dream, right?!

and yes there are three of my five gurlies in one bed...they sleep better that way!

Don't you agree?!

And even with that messy pantry that i have yet to organize...AGAIN! I feel blessed to have been able to fill the said room with good good for my family:  Even with not being able to have a garden this year!

These kosher beauties are part of the scrumptious home canned food that we will be partaking of this winter...and I feel even better that I will not be plopping down 3.50 on a bottle!!!

Even without having a garden we (and I mean I...except for the salsa) were able to find produce that was reasonable....including stealing/borrowing/telling her after the fact that I indeed took it off  my sista's tree.....

We (and again....I mean ME!!!  But thankfully, the gurlies usually take the mctwins...which allows me to accomplish something.) were able to put up:

Peaches
Peach Pie Filling
Salsa (4 varities)
Beans
Dilly Beans
Green Beans
Elderberry Juice
Pickled Beets
Elderberry Jelly
Beets
Kosher Pickles
Zucchini Relish (tastes like bread and butter pickles)
and...tomatoes.....

I am still hoping to do Apple Pie Filling........Because I am out!! SAD!  And it tastes so good on pancakes and waffles and inside crepes smothered with fresh whipping cream......

hmmm...what should I make for dinner...I am getting a bit hungry!

This is my pride and joy, my contribution to the family as Mr Macdaddy works and I manage our itty bitty household...so though I may not be on my farm yet......I am grateful for what I have and where I live, and for those that surround me.....

 This little cheesier.....

 These two long legged sprinters...

 This little schemer......

 this little man..that is already a heart stealer....

 This big guy who is too cool for words....

this exact quirky middle child that reminds us of this...

..and this man......well he knows who he is.....








I do all this....because...well I love them.....can you believe it! And one day I will be able to have our own garden...our own cow...blah...blah...blah.....you've heard it before......and we will be grateful for today....

Can you SALSA?

I started this post FOUR days ago.......DANG!
But in between this and that I have put up pickled beets, some kosher pickles and zucchini mustard relish that is to die for!  Thx Rach!!!  It is supposed to go on hot dogs and if you eat hot dogs it would be good....but I don't eat hot dogs...so I need to discover an alternative to just eating it out of the bottle...by itself...plain......mmmmmm...tastes like bread and butter pickles!

And I am a sucker for pickles...I like them almost as much as salsa! Zesty salsa, black bean salsa...mackdaddy's jalapeno salsa, traditional salsa, pcio de gallo.....which qualifies in my book as salsa!, roasted tomato salsa...

you name it we will eat it...though sometimes we pay for it....in the END! 

Anywho lame potty joke, I know!  But after putting up well over 100 bottles of it this year...I can joke all I want and becasue I am usually chasing these two outta the potty room!!!!  At the request of my Idaho cuz here are a few!!

Zesty Salsa

Makes about 6 (16 oz) pints or 12 (8 oz) half pints
 10 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes (about 25 medium)
  5 cups chopped seeded green bell peppers (about 4 large)
  5 cups chopped onions (about 6 to 8 medium)
  2-1/2 cups chopped seeded chili peppers, such as hot banana, Hungarian wax, serrano or jalapeño (about 13 medium)
  1-1/4 cups cider vinegar
  3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
  1 Tbsp salt
  1 tsp hot pepper sauce, optional
  6 (16 oz) pint or 12 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
Directions:
1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.)COMBINE tomatoes, green peppers, onions, chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, cilantro, salt and hot pepper sauce, if using, in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
3.) LADLE hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot salsa. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
4.) PROCESS both pint and half pint jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

ALICIA'S FRESH SALSA

8 Medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped

½ onion, chopped fine

½ Cup celery chopped fine

4 small jalapeno peppers, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

½ Cup oil

4 T. red wine vinegar

2 tsp. mustard seed

2 tsp salt

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix well and chill

Variations:  add small chunks of avocado, minced garlic or anything else you would like.  Fresh garden tomatoes are the best!

Macdaddy's jalapeno salsa

Yields about 3 pints......we quadrupled this recipe!

3 cups, chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes.....I didnt do any of that.....Just threw it into the blender! as well as the onions and peppers.... smooth restaurant  quality that the hubs loves!I win!! but you can follow the directions however you like!)

3 cups chopped jalapenos

1 cup chopped onions

6 gloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp cilantro, minced 

2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 c cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least ten minnutes.  Ladle into hot jars and process for 15 minutes in a hotwater bath.

And pullleaze don't forget Black Bean and Corn Salsa, you can find the recipe here!

AMAZING!  and of course Fresh Peach Salsa. 

Now if I could just dance the salsa to work this all off...well the chips that is! Life would be even better!

Spicin up life....one nutty day at a time

My friend asked me the other day how I "do" it all... I laughed.....

because this is what my living room looked like while I made the Tomato Miso Soup and homemade wheat bread (and bless my stinkin mind over matter...I only had a piece of the crust....and it was goooood!)

Ladies, sometimes we have to let some things go and concentrate on what is important at that moment, be it the laundry, our children, the hubs, volunteering, reading...(and not particularly in that order!) and we need to be.....for the most part enjoying that moment....unless you are cleaning up puke.changing messy diapers.gutting a deer.taking out the trash......soak it up...

laugh

cry hysterically

or just smile

because that moment won't come again and we don't always have to be supermom!

and somewhere in that mess I also made these......

Spicy Walnut Cookies, that I took off a blog and then tweaked because I have a ton on coconut sitting around...laying around...whatever it does after I make the mctwins milk with it and need to use it up!

2 cups walnut flour ( I ground my own)
1 1/2 cups coconut
2 - 3 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 egg whites
1/4 cup honey

Whisk egg whites until frothy and then add honey, stirring well, add other ingredients and mix until smooth.  Drop onto a cookie sheet with a teaspoon and then gently flatten with wet fingers. Bake at 425 for fifteen minutes.

This little nummy nidbits are for the babes that I have taken off all grains, drinking dairy, starches and sugar.  They needed something to sweeten up their day with!  They loved them..as did the bishop's wife that likes to experiment with me on my cooking and puts up with my nutty rambling about this incredible book.

I have even hooked my baby sister on this book, and proabbly the bishop's wife,  the hubs may be shooting me later...as they will now be subjected to the very diet I have put myself and the babies on along with the fam to some extent....

they tend to think that they can do/say/eat what they want when they are out of my  hovering eye......they think they are fooling me...but I know.

I KNOW!  I just don't know how to put a shock collar on them without the rest of the world thinking that their mom is a wee but whacked!

Nourishing Traditions is inspiring, absorbing, scary, empowering, politically incorrect (and heaven help me...that is probably what drew me first!), disgusting, yummy, interesting.......and down right informative....I will never eat the same...

and have begun taking care of making sure that my family and I are/will be trying to return to eating like our pioneer ancestors.  And heaven knows......(the operators in heaven are surely getting tired of putting through my calls...but they do...bless their hearts!) Mr Macdaddy surely will appreciate the fact that I am not/will not me harping on his intake of red meat...provided it is grass fed...and butter......

and I will leave you at that......are your curious?  Do you want to know more???

We will be discussing that later....after you make Tomato Miso Soup.  It will make you happy...honestly.....

and after I watch COnspiracy Theory...and learn from his ways......so I don't look too crazy...ummer...I don't think they got past his crazy......

love yer guts!

I say tomato, you say Tamoto

TWO posts in one day...but oh my goodness......I just had to share this recipe...this recipe that made my mouth water.....made my kids eat their whole bowl full...and ask for more...and then ask that I make it tomorrow after the jv football game...the itty bitty mctwins ate it...and then licked the bowls...and then their fingers.....too bad I didn't have a camera handy.....but I was giving them more and more and more.....and more....

Can you guess what it is?  Are you curious??  are you salivating?

You will be...............Tomato Miso Soup from Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist......

So good...I would make more right now...if it wasn't 10:30 at night....I will probably be making some more tomorrow......

Tomato Miso Soup 

makes about 5 cups

Ingredients

12 oz strained tomatoes
3 TBL Miso paste
2 1/2 cups filtered water
1/2 large spanish or white organic onion, chopped
1 TBL expeller pressed coconut oil I will blog more about this later......I am no longer using any kind of vegetable oil or hydrogenated oil!)
1 TBL  butter 
1 large or 2 medium sized organic garlic cloves, minced
pepper to taste


Instructions


Put 2 cups of filtered water, coconut oil and strained tomatoes in a 3-4 quart pot.   Bring to just below a boil.    Mix miso paste with remaining 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl until smooth.    Pour water and miso paste mixture into the pot and stir into water/tomato mixture.

In a small frypan, gently melt butter and lightly saute chopped onion until slightly carmelized.   Add cooked onions and garlic to miso/tomato/water mixture.    Cook just below a boil for about  5-10 minutes to blend the flavors.    Remove from heat and blend with a handheld blender right in the pot.   Pepper to taste.

Serve in bowls with a dollop of cultured cream or fresh cream that has naturally soured in the refrigerator.  I used my vitamix...worked perfectly well as it warmed it back up after I had left it on the stove and ran to soccer games.....and a little side note.....

please use natural sour cream...if you don't have your own cow......it doesn't have any additives...just good ole cream...that is soured.....

and even better if you can make it from your own tomatoes that you have loving canned with your own hands.....they will taste so much better!  Have less salts and BPA's then other canned goods.  However, eating canned tomatoes are probably better then many of the so called fresh tomatoes that they sell in the produce department because often they are picked green and lack nutrition.  I canned many a tomato this year in the forms of salsas and whole tomatoes....but I am afraid I don't have the space or a garden of my own to produce enough....thankfully we have Day Farms just a town over, that made it easy and cheap to buy our own.

I heart tomatoes...honestly...if I had to choose a fruit (a tomato is not a vegetable!!) to eat every day at every meal it would be a tomato!!  They fight cancer!!! (Lycopene is the key word here!)  But please don't forget to eat your other veggies.

love yer guts,

from me, pleasantly plump like a tomato...but not for long!

Egg, eggs, eggs...

I ate eggs for breakfast...as did my chillins' and Mr Mackdaddy.  I know many of you will cringe over that...because some of you don't like eggs or thinks eggs are bad for us..or don't want to cool them...

whatever...the reason...you are missin out girlfriend!!!  mack has taken a fried egg sandwich....for I don't know how long to work and usually they are fried up for our weekends meals...but I have been trying to use them more and in everythng!! They are in fact a building block in our healthy structure!

Do you think the HOA would let me put a few chickens out in the back.....so that I could have fresh eggs every day?

No..me neither.... but heck...these chickens would be living high on the hog......I mean I have so many kitchen scraps that go to waste.....because I don't have my farm.....that other chickens would line up to come to my house!!!  "Lay" down there little lives...ok too dramatic...but seriously... they would be fed well which would feed my family even better then buying those almost "dead" eggs at the store.....

I need to commit myself and go down the road and buy the eggs at a local farmers house....they just cost more.....and I want my own chickens....but it is your children's health we are talking about...why can't I get a farm...why am i still stuck in a condo...other then the fact that I love my community....

so says my little internal argument every day.....I am going to have to get a job...just so that I can feed my children healthy...or find a farm.....that I can buy...so I can feed my own family and sell some to feed other little peeps the healthy food that we all need and are not getting at the store.....

If I didn't loose ya at the beginning when I said I eat eggs...you can read more information on why eggs are good for you in Nourishing Traditions and at the blog of The Healthy Home Economist or here. If we all ate more like the farmers of old...we would all be healthier...I promise.....but you will have to decide that for yourselves...

while I go dig into some boiled eggs...or maybe a jalapeno pickled eggs those are the best!)..... on my spinach salad...with BACON!!!!

love,

an egg eater!

As if.....

I think I think to much...

Yes..it's true....even my husband has said it...and....

he is a man of few words!!!

I have a post planned and because I over think it/have way to much to do/am lazy.....

it just doesn't get done...maybe I should stick to shorter thoughts...or no thoughts....

maybe I can just post a short quip about what I am doing yesterday/today/tomorrow to live like I am/one day will get to live on my farm.....

and first things first....my family and I have been/are/will be eating a more natural diet.

Now I have to say we have been doing the basic cook from scratch for a long time...really the only thing we buy at the store that isn't...and of course loaded with sugar...is cereal. This is more or less a treat or when I just don't have time to make breakfast and they won't eat oatmeal, silly kids!

But over the last couple of months and more recently with the hospitalization of mctwin #1 for failure to thrive and severe iron deficiency..I increased my research (thank heavens for the internet!)  and discovered that many of the symptoms of sickness my darlings had were o so curable with a simple food diet.  We ...and I mean the whole family...will be eating the gaps diet.  I will let you go to the website and research it along with the blog from The Healthy Home Economist and determine for yourself what you think. 

For me it was an answer to a prayer and I think the mctwins and the whole family will become healthier...because we will be eating healthier food as well as eating more like our ancestors way back when. No thankfully the diet only calls for an absence period and not a total picketing of the  various foods forever.  But it will help us get back on track and more importantly eating more like we are on the farm.......

Tell me what you think.....or if you have heard anything or experienced anything good bad or terrible.  I am all ears!!!

And then my plan...is to let you know the daily rumblings of eating like we are almost on a farm.

Working on patience......

Random thoughts running through my head.....

I need a coke.....but shouldnt drink one.

Where did all this laundry come from...I just had it all caught up on Monday.

Better put in lunch money for my oldest...even though it isn't cool to eat lunch at school.

I wonder if he has thrown up yet.....he tried to play sick...but it has been going around this itty bitty house

I need a nap....

This itty bitty house was picked up last night, did I have more then seven kids in here this morning.

I need to schedule another family picture....because everyone is a year older then here...with braces of and contact in....

I really really  could use a coke.

Hurry up and blog, cuz its not happening after the mctwins wake up.

Do you think I could get away with eating another bowl of rice pudding....without raisins

what should I cook for dinner

I should go run/yoga/stretch/move while the mctwins sleep.......

Is there a pill out there that will just make me skinny...that won't damage my heart/liver/kidneys?

Wish I had a porch to rock on.....with a rocker....

I need to get the vacuum fixed...and return my sweet neighbors....

I need a good book to read...the one for the book club aint cuttin it...sorry Matt...it pretty much bites the big one....but read it I will...under protest....

Will I get pulled over today?

OH yeah, better get the sub registered...it is only expired by a like a month! 

eeehhhh....toilets better get cleaned today......

Do I have to be anywhere today?

Should I go to the football game on Saturday?  Or let my son take a date there.....

Is he really dating????  Am I that old?

I should get the mctwins blankets done...before they get married....and #1's denim quilt, I started when he was two....

Should I drive up the road an hour and pick up some beets to can and pickle?

Should I look for a house...or be content for another year while Mack is YM president?
 
I need to take the lap top in to be fixed.....and my camera....



Should I make the girls walk home from school?  It is only five miles...uphill...it will be good endurance training for their cross country....

That's mine with the white legs...it runs in the family....

And how the heck do I think I have time for an itty bitty farm?

I asked Mr. Macdaddy if I should give up my dream of moving to my little piece of heaven...because it just doesn't seem to be happening at the moment....or anytime soon...his reply....

"We all need dreams."

And dream it still is.....so I need to add to the above list.....learn to be patient with that which the good Lord has already blessed me with....

For some reason He has deemed me not ready/not worthy/yet to learn something more in my itty bitty house with seven not so itty bitty kids....at least I have three bathrooms! and running water!  My baby sister and I determined that patience and thanksgiving to what we already have is the key and that if so mastered, that which we have asked for will pale in comparison to what HE will give us.....when he is ready.....

So I better go work on that...........

lover yer guts!

signed, working on patience (seriously...I must have been in the talking line when that little gift was handed out!)