At Home on this Mountain

Monday, June 29, 2009

I know...I know!

Posted in Being
I have posted an awful lot of giveaway links here lately. But seriously, y'all...these are some REALLY cute shoes! Besides, I am too busy getting ready for our trip to post anything of real substance (like my usual deep, thought-provoking posts) So please go over to Keeper of the Home and leave your comment for a chance to win a pair. If you don't have a baby of your own, you all know someone (ahem) who would just love a pair (Robyn or Bluebirds, pretty please :)) So go! Now!!

Oh, and check out the rest of her blog while you're at it. She has a ton of great ideas and plenty to think about as well.
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Sunday, June 28, 2009

New swimmies!

Posted in Making
I finally spent the laborious 20 minutes hemming the sleeves and legs of MJ's new swimsuit. Do you ever wonder why you put something off for so. stinking. long? Or is that just me? RK's suit is only new to her; I made it for MJ 2 years ago when we went on a big field trip to a water park. It's bigger on RK than it was on MJ, but RK is still kind of shrimpy, or some nicer variation of "shrimpy."

I love this pattern (Kwik Sew 2888 which has apparently been discontinued) because it's really as easy as making a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. There's no stretching of elastic to gather leg holes (which invariably leads to much frustration and frog stitching on my part and quite often UFO status on the part of the suit). As well there's more skin coverage which means less sunscreen and more modesty, in my opinion. Also, the biggest bonus- NO WEDGIES!

I used a twin needle (for the first time!) on all the hems. I got a good bit of tunneling and will have to practice and figure out how to eliminate that before I use one again.
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Saturday, June 27, 2009

New sewing projects

I've been sewing like a mad woman, trying to get some things done that I wanted for our upcoming vacation. I still have to finish MJ's new swimsuit- just the hems on the sleeves and legs. In the meantime, here are some pictures of what I have finished.

A dress for my laptop. This fabric and the lining (not shown) are at least a year old. I have been saving them for the "perfect" project. This was pretty close. The buttons are from a bunch of old sewing notions I bought at my favorite little thrift store last year. The red one has a little fan on half of it. I wish I'd had two of those, but the brown one brings out the brown in some of the chopsticks so it's all good. The soutache braid I used for the closure has been aged several (5?) years in my own stash and may be older than I am. How's that for stash busting?

What was going to be a bag for my laptop but ended up too small (if I'd thought about it at all I'd have known that, but I just wanted to sew it up now.) It makes a great purse though and holds a couple of diapers as well as my mom-stuff.

I've had this green leaf-print corduroy in my stash since MJ was tiny, probably 3 years. I planned to make matching skirts for her and me but that never happened. So now it's a bag. And it will probably be a bigger bag before I've used it all. And maybe a jumper for one of the girls. It's really cute! The lining is also from stash and left over from an Amy Butler Chelsea bag I made for my mom a couple years ago. That's me lifting the flap to expose the lining fabric. The outside of the bag has the leaves just like the flap.

There's a pocket closest to my body on the outside which is made from the striped lining fabric. There's an interior pocket made from the corduroy.

Oh yeah, and I am having a BABY! See previous post.
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Friday, June 26, 2009

I'm a winner!

Posted in Being
After posting last time about hardly ever winning anything, I won Angela's grocery bag giveaway! It arrived today and is so cool. Thanks so much to Angela,the Grocery Shrink!

And then, if you'll believe it, I won a gorgeous pillow over at Jen Duncan's blog. It's the one with the pink pompom trim she made for the Moda Bake Shop and is absolutely delicious! Go check out all the beautiful things she makes and her lovely family. And check out the Bake Shop too because they have some cool stuff pretty regularly.

Finally, I won another giveaway at the Old Red Barn. A 40 pack of Mettler thread! How cool is that, right? Only I missed the announcement until it was too late and she gave it away to someone else. Sigh. But really, I couldn't be too disappointed. Because what with the two giveaways I already won, as well as this little present last week:

...anything else would be an embarrassment of riches, dontcha think?
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Friday, June 12, 2009

Another giveaway at Grocery Shrink

Posted in Rambling
It would appear that my friend Angela (nursing pattern designer and frugality guru) is doing a giveaway every week or so now. How cool is that? I love free stuff, even though I haven't ever won any. Oh wait! I won a giveaway right here at the Homestead Blogger front porch! A book by Voddie Baucham, whom I admire so much. I haven't cracked the book yet but I feel better about myself just for owning one (of his, not one book. I own many books. Or maybe they own me. Ahem.)

Aaaaannnnyway (as my sister says)...
Angela is giving away a really cool set of grocery bags. I will preface this with my disclaimer. Green used to be my favorite color. The current craze has nearly ruined that for me. I haven't yet changed my eye color but I am considering it. Still, I do shop at Aldi and would love these babies to hold my groceries for me there. Plus, my personal blacksmith is in the process of making me some hooks for the back of my van to hold things like this.

So go over to Angela's place and leave a comment for your chance to win these cuties. Winner will be drawn on the 17th. Not in crayon or pencil, unless you come to my house where you are almost certain to be drawn at least once in a half hour visit. Angela's just gonna pick a winner on the 17th. That doesn't sound any better. Sheesh. I just mean, "Hurry up!!"
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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Happy birthdays and High Drama

Posted in Being
We're 3/4 of the way through Birthday Season at home on this mountain so I thought I'd post a few photos. We still have RK to turn 2 at the end of July but if I wait that long I'll forget my other 3 ever had birthdays this year.

Most recently we had TH's 8th. The theme of the day was mostly "Jedi!" which is the boys' current obsession. That morning we looked at a few Star Wars cakes online. I really shouldn't have started in the Sunday Sweets section of Cake Wrecks. He immediately wanted either a Millennium Falcon or Death Star cake. I am not quite there with my mad skillz yet. So I asked him to just let me do what I could. This is what we ended up with (finished decorating about 10 minutes before blowing out the candles- no minute like the last one, I always say!):

The overall icing was supposed to be black but I got tired of adding the black to the chocolate icing after a while and gave up after we got this purpley grey. I think it's kind of cool. TH thought the whole thing was "totally awesome!!" so I guess that'll do. I chose this photo because it doesn't show his whole name and because I was inordinately proud of the light sabers on the side. Pretty clever, according to my son.

Thanks, Granny, for digging through our 12 pounds of LEGO to find the men to go on top of this. And thanks to RK for throwing them all back into the bucket as soon as Granny had dug them out. Almost-two year-olds are SO helpful!

And the last few days (and nights) before his birthday were spent making him a litle present. This one:

And here he is ready to do battle:

No, he has not gone over to the Dark Side. Our house is just really dark and my hands shake too much to take one of those long shutter opening pictures so we have to use the flash. iPhoto changed (supposedly improved) and I can't figure out where they put the red eye remover. So there you have it. Everyone looks like they've joined the Emperor in his evil plot for glactic domination. It's not my fault.

And speaking of Jedi, last night as I was removing our manicotti from the oven in the "summer kitchen"

(Yes, that is my front porch. Yes, my front glass door is held together with duct tape. Yes, it's all quite hideous. And yes, it keeps my house MUCH cooler than using even the crockpot indoors. I have had to run the AC yet!!)

I heard shrieks the likes of which I hear, well, nearly every day, emanating from the side yard. I told the screecher to stop that horrible shrieking and then realized that this was slightly more high-pitched and insistent that the every day, garden-variety shrieking. I ran outside to find AC with his right forearm with a decided CURVE to it. Oh dear. What does this have to do with Jedi, you ask? He was performing Jedi balance tricks on the edge of a truck bed liner in the yard. NOT on the edge of a truck bed, just the liner. No more than 15" off the ground. Given his propensity for climbing, this is much better than it could have been.

So here are our results from 4+ hours in the ER last night:

He should get a permanent cast in about 2 weeks. That will stay on for 4-6 weeks. The good news is he is 6 so in 6 months you'll never know he ever broke it, even in an X-ray. Oh, for those who care about such things, they say he snapped the radius in two and the ulna (I think) was broken about halfway through. We think the doctor said they broke that one the rest of the way before they set them both. I am eternally thankful they ask parents to leave the room before doing that. Yikes! Thankfully he was pretty well sedated and doesn't remember anything after the other kids and I left the room, until we all came back in as he was waking up.

This is getting lengthy but I can't close without mentioning the other birthdays. MJ turned 4 about 2 weeks before TH's 8th and a great time was had by all. We dug through the cake pan bin to see what we could see and found this set of graduated circles, all the way down to about a 4" diameter. So we made a 3 layer cake (chocolate this year but with PINK writing, of course) with the bottom being an 8" circle. It was pretty cute, if I say so myself. What think ye?

She is wearing her Easter dress (her choice) and the ribbon we bought at the dollar store. She told me at LEAST 6 times that day "This is the best birthday ever! This is a PERFECT day!" She was even disappointed that she had to go to the bathroom during the day because she thought it would spoil the day. I told her that going potty only made it more perfect because you should go every day.

And to start off the birthday year (have I done this backward, or what?) we had AC's 6th. Unfortunately I seem to have lost every single photo of that event. I have no idea where they went. I took them with my good camera on my big memory card but they're not on the card (which is normal, I don't leave them there after I load them to iPhoto) or in iPhoto itself, that I can find. He's a little bummed out but not as much as his mother is.
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Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Giveaway at the Grocery Shrink!

Posted in Being
Have y'all heard about The Grocery Shrink yet? It's my e-maginary friend Angela's website and book and it is fantastic! She now has an e-newsletter that is just full of great information about lowering your grocery bills and your general cost of living.

If you go sign up for her newsletter now (it's free and a bargain at twice the price

) and you'll get a chance to win a Vado HD pocket camcorder! How cool is that?? Here's the link:

Win a Vado HD pocket camcorder!

So go do it already!!
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

Name that bird

We have a little bird who has built a nest and settled in to raise her family in our "firehouse"- where Honey has his forge and we'll someday have our outdoor oven. She found an open cardboard box of nails (a very tidy place is our firehouse) and has built a lovely little home and laid 5 cream-colored eggs with reddish brown speckles. The eggs are perhaps 1/2" across and 1" long, maybe a bit smaller.

Here is a photo of the expectant mother:

Isn't she darling? Can anyone tell me what on earth she is? Other than a small bird, that is. We're in a fairly densely wooded area in NE Alabama and she's not far from the trees in there.
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Friday, May 8, 2009

Sidetracked?

Posted in Making
Well, I did get a little sidetracked from the Spring Cleaning Party (see previous post). I got my living/dining/kitchen area satisfactorily tidy and rearranged to my liking (except for the furniture pieces I still want to replace- giant entertainment/bookshelf, I am looking at your ugly self!) so I decided to tackle my children's clothing. Because no girl needs a flannel dress in Alabama in May.

I am trying to follow the guidelines that Kimberly has posted here at Raising Olives- one of my new favorite blogs, by the way. My numbers are a little different because of our family's preferences. Here they are:

2 pairs pjs or nighties
2 Sunday outfits (pants, shirt, tie) for boys
3 Sunday dresses (with bloomers, slips, etc) for girls
3 going to town outfits (girls)
2-3 decent-enough-to-wear-in-public jeans for the boys
2-3 polo-type shirt for boys to wear in public
5 every day outfits/dresses (girls)
3 pairs play jeans/pants/shorts (boys)
5 tee-shirts for everyday (boys)
1 pair jeans (girls for those jobs or messes that just seem to scream out for jeans)

also:

7 pairs regular socks
2/3 church socks (boys/girls)
8 pairs underpants (I will definitely need to be making some of these for AC as he is still wearing the ones I made for TH 4 years ago)
1 pair dress shoes
1 pair sandals (girls)
1 pair cowboy boots (boys for going out)
1 pair rubber boots (boys and girls)

I will be getting this arranged in our closets and drawers today and tomorrow ( I still have 2 or 3 loads of wash to finish up) and then move everything down to the storage area to be dealt with during our next week off or weekend at home (when I can leave the kids at the house with Keith for a few hours and immerse myself in organization- bliss!!) I will also need to go through our stored clothing and get rid of a lot of stuff. We just have too stinking much. Praise the Lord for never being in need of clothing but I think it's time to bless someone else. I just discovered a newish thrift store not too far away that donates all of its proceeds to its on-site food pantry. I think I'll be donating the still nice things there (and plenty of our stored clothing will just go to the landfill!)
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Monday, May 4, 2009

Spring Cleaning Party!

I feel like I got a late start on spring cleaning. I feel like I should have done it during Lent. I feel like I should have started Day 1 of the Spring Cleaning Party this morning instead of at 5:50 PM.

BUT..

I am going to ignore the way I FEEL and just get something done. My ultimate goal is to declutter our house by about 25% (not sure how I'll measure that but I think I'll know it when I feel it). Books are pretty much off limits- they don't leave. Everything else is fair game. I won't be having a garage sale because I live in the center of the universe (aka middle of nowhere) and no one would come. And garage sale stuff sitting around is almost as bad as just plain old stuff sitting around.

So I am off to "clean sweep" my surfaces. I sure hope that doesn't include my floors. They don't care to be clean swept. They told me so.

Before and after photos to come later.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Where I've been

Posted in Being
Not lately, but ever. A little doodad I found over at Dewey's Treehouse (she found it at The Common Room)

Here's where I come from:

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Idaho / Hawaii / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

I may have actually driven through Wyoming but I am not sure. I may have drive through Delaware or Connecticut (or both) but I'm not sure about them either. I know for sure and for certain that I've never been to Alaska or Hawaii or Maine. Those are the only ones I am absolutely sure about. Ah, the life of a Navy baby!

Maybe tomorrow I'll have something of substance. If Mom sends me the photos of her quilt. Or if I finish the doll dress MJ and I are working on. The "working" is highly exaggerated on MJ's part. She is mostly the boss. I am the worker. Just how she likes it :D
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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Building the ark

Posted in Laughing
MJ wanted to build a parade float this morning. Her materials: the stack of empty laundry baskets in the dining room. She showed me her inspiration in her Rhyme Bible Storybook- Noah's Ark (pronounce "Oik" by herself). I gave my blessing and she said, "Ok the, Step one: where's my unicorn?"

Do you think that was Noah's first question as well?

photo hosted by flickr

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Monday, April 6, 2009

I made a top!

Posted in Making
I made myself a blouse. Or is it a shirt? I think it's a blouse. It is woven fabric and has buttons down the front. A couple months ago I picked up 8 or 10 vintage patterns (for 25 cents each!) at the big thrift store in my mom's town (half the fun of going visiting is checking out the secondhand goods in other places!) and one of them was this cute but slightly too small for me blouse pattern. I measured the pattern pieces (they were already cut out very nicely in the one size the pattern contains) and decided they just might make a top that I could wear without any alterations. Which would be a great thing because I have yet to do a successful FBA (full bust adjustment/alteration) despite many lovely people trying to help me (via the internet) and plentiful sewing books and magazines- even printouts from great websites. I just can't seem to get it. So I took some fabric that is not my color and starting cutting...very carefully because I had very little of this fabric.

The pattern is from the 70s and I think the fabric probably is too. It's very lightweight but not too sheer. Very pretty. I had meant to make a nighty for MJ with it but it turned into muslin fabric instead. For those not in the know, a muslin is a test garment, to work out fitting and style quirks before investing in your "good" fabric. Sometimes a muslin is super slapdash, cutting off the hem allowances, no seam finishes, etc. Sometimes it turns out to be wearable. This one did. I am really quite pleased with it. So what do y'all think?

photo hosted by flickr

Since it ended up fitting pretty well I decided to use a brighter color for the bias ties at the neckline. This coral pink is one that I can usually pull off (unlike most pinks which make me look washed out, no matter how I love them) The buttons are from a thrift store too. I have a brazillion buttons and I like to take them out and sort them regularly. Like having my own little Montessori school, just for me :D

Do you love the tied sleeves as much as I do? I did end up hacking about 6 inches off the bottom because it looked much nicer that way. I suppose it's supposed to be kind of pirate-y but it didn't fit around my hips. Pirates are skinnier than I.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Red Envelope Day

Posted in Praying
Have you mailed your envelopes yet? I haven't but I did just finish getting them all addressed. We'll go buy some stamps when Baby wakes up from her morning nap and we've all had lunch.

Oh, you haven't heard of the Red Envelope Project? Have you not been reading blogs for the last 6 weeks? That was snarky- sorry. Here's the official site. And here is a great post from a young lady who seems to have her priorities in order.

There is still time to get at least one envelope in the mail today. You can even make one yourself if you don't have one hanging around. Either bust out the red paint/markers/crayons and white envelope or follow the instructions here with a sheet of red paper or card stock or wrapping paper.

Oh, and be sure to include your return address. There is some confusion about whether mail without one will even make it to the White House or be destroyed before then. I would hate to have totally wasted this time and I would hate for you to, too.

And if you can't get an envelope sent, please take time to pray. For our president and his party and their priorities. For God to work in the hearts of those who think it's acceptable or expedient or merciful or a RIGHT to take the life of the smallest and most innocent of human beings. For a culture that so glorifies the physical act of sex and disconnects it so far from the bonds of marriage that it is unspeakable in some minds to suggest it be saved for anything or that its "products" are anything but "tissue." Because prayer is far more powerful than any piece of mail.

on a slightly related note: does anyone know why when I make a link in my post, I have to save the post, then go back and edit it to make the links actually WORK? the program automagically inserts some java script code thingy (sorry for the technical jargon) and I have to go back and replace it. what is UP with that??

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Katie's giving away a book

and I want two chances to win it! Thus, this post on my blog which most of y'all had probably written off as defunct. I don't think I have every used the word "defunct" in a sentence before. I actually put a K where that C is but thankfully I realized my mistake before I posted.

Anyhoo....the motherly and spunky Katie over at Team Bettendorf is giving away a copy of Four-Season Harvest which I have been dying to get my hot little hands on. So I am posting here to let you all know about it and to get a second chance and winning it for myself. You can get your own chance by commenting on her post. You can get your own second chance by posting to your own blog (like I did!). The draw is next Saturday so hurry up because you know you'll forget about it if you get up now without doing it. I always do. Then I kick myself for not getting my chance. And that hurts.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

If...

Posted in Laughing
I was informed today, by my 3.5 year old daughter, that, "If I was Darth Sidious and there was Slytheens around, I would zap them with my lightning, if I had some!"

Except it sounded more like this:

"If I was Darf Sideeiss and there was Swuh-beans awound, I would zap 'em wiff my wightning, if I had some!"

So there you have it. More excellent advice from my children. Darth Sidious, if you're reading, that's how you deal with Slytheens, if you somehow end up in the same galaxy and timeline as the Doctor.

Now you know.
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Friday, February 13, 2009

Ugh

Posted in Being
I think someone out there does an "Anti-Procrastination Friday" but I am not sure who it is. Maybe I read about it over at Life in a Shoe, but it doesn't really matter.

What matters is this....

I am a heel.

Way back in December I initiated a "giveaway" and exactly 3 of you were kind enough to enter and let me know that you sometimes read my little blog. My old friend Angie (she's not old, our friendship is) "won" and I promptly didn't send her anything.

I said it. I haven't sent her "prize" and I am a heel.

So today is Anti-Procrastination Friday and I am dusting off my glue gun, making those hair bows and sending that package. Today. I mean it.

I love you, Ang and I am sorry. Will you forgive me? Please?

That is all.
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Thursday, January 22, 2009

"Goulash"

Posted in Eating
MorningSunshine asked for my goulash "recipe" which doesn't really exist but I thought I'd take a stab at how I made it this time.

First I made spaghetti on Saturday. This is how I make spaghetti sauce lately. I have had more complicated recipes but everyone likes the flavors in this and it's easy peasy and almost impossible to mess up, no matter how you ignore it so it's my current favorite.
Into a 5-7 quart pot pour:
1 giant can of crushed/pureed tomatoes from your warehouse store (I think it's a #10 can)
a few glugs of olive oil (from the giant bottle from the warehouse store)
a palm-ful of dried oregano, crushed between your fingers as it falls into the pot
a palm and a half-ful of dried basil, ditto
2 t of salt
2 t granulated garlic (or several cloes of fresh)
1 T dried onion (or a big fresh one, finely chopped)
2 T sugar
a glug or two of wine if you have it in the fridge
a bay leaf if you remember

Let all that simmer for 10-60 minutes, depending on how hungry your crowd is and what else you have to do to prepare dinner.
I poured half of this (sans bay leaf) over a pound or so of spaghetti noodles and a half pound of cooked italian sausage and stirred it all up. The other half of the sauce (no meat) went into the fridge for later use.

Next I cooked up that giant pot of lentils and rice on Sunday. That was as follows:
1 gallon chicken stock
1 quart jar of lentils, washed and picked over
2 1/4 (I think) cups of brown rice
2 T salt
3 bay leaves
1 t granulated garlic

Bring stock to a boil. Add remaining ingredients. Bring back to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour or until the rice is tender. The brown rice will definitely take longer than the lentils unless you soak it first, which I always forget to do. Add hot water as needed to keep from drying out and sticking. Cool this mixture as quickly as possible and get it into the fridge where it will wait for you to use it up over the next few days.

Tuesday I put on a pot of water to boil for macaroni and poured the leftover spaghetti sauce into my largest skillet (16 inches I think- you may use a smaller one and make less) While the macaroni (about 2 cups dried, I think) cooked I added about 3 cups of cooked lentils and rice to the warming tomato sauce mixture. Then Keith got home and I threw in a can of corn (with the liquid because the sauce looked a little thick). The I drained the macaroni and added the hot lentil/corn/tomato sauce mixture to that. I had a few cups of the sauce left over so the kids and I will do something with that for supper tonight. I probably added some salt and pepper to the "goulash" and served with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar over the top. We had it with cottage cheese, pineapple chunks and green salad. Everyone enjoyed it and TH and Keith both had seconds.

That's all for now. I might edit to add whatever I make for tonight's supper but it might just be more "burger" patties like yesterday's lunch.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Lentils?

Posted in Eating
I will preface this by saying that we are NOT vegetarians nor do I ever foresee a time when we will be. I believe too strongly in the nutritive powers of animal-based foods for that. I am however trying to reduce my grocery bill as much as possible this year and one of the things I have been experimenting with is lentils.

Every other week or so I will make a HUGE pot of chicken stock from bony pieces of our home-raised chickens- backs, feet, wing tips, etc- as well as the carcass from a roasted or boiled chicken (which I use the meat from to make several meals) I usually get about 10-12 quarts of stock from about 2 whole chickens worth of bits and pieces. With this stock I sometimes make soup but more often lately I use it to cook other things that would normally be cooked in plain water. Usually this means black beans or lentils. We all love black beans and I don't have to do much of anything to them to make them disappear. Lentils on the other hand, are NOT a best-loved food here. Keith and I like them in moderation but not more than once a month by themselves.

This past weekend I started a gallon of chicken stock (I know, a gallon!) simmering in my new favorite red-enameled cast iron pot. I added about 4 cups of lentils and 2 cups of brown rice and 2 T of salt and let it all cook until most of the stock was absorbed (I may have even added hot water at some point, I don't remember exactly now) and things were tender. I think I had some granulated garlic, dehydrated onion and a couple bay leaves in there too. This was far too much food to make at one time but I must have been a bit loopy or something. We had that mixture on/with softened corn tortillas with cheese, yogurt and salad on Sunday night for supper.

Tuesday night I planned to make "goulash" (macaroni with ground beef, tomato sauce, corn and seasonings) and use lentils to stretch a pound of ground beef to make a double batch. I forgot to thaw the burger. So I went out on a limb and used just the lentils and rice mixture in place of the beef. I held my breath as my family began to eat. Eventually I started breathing so I could eat too. About halfway through the meal, TH pointed out that a lentil had somehow made its way into his goulash (slightly horrified expression on his face :D) to which I mumbled a non-commital response. Keith didn't ever ask about the meat or lack thereof.

Today I decided to find a "lentil burger" recipe online and try it out for lunch. I made some pita from part of my bread dough (not my usual pita dough and they didn't "pocketize" but made lovely flat rolls nonetheless. I vaguely followed the excellent recipe here: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegetarian-lentil-burgers-recipe.html using my green/brown lentils and brown rice in place of the black lentils. I used some granulated garlic to flavor slightly and sourdough bread crumbs. I sauteed the onions before putting them in the "batter." My batter came out more moist than even the recipe calls for but rather than try to thicken it further I just spooned it into the hot oil and spread it out fairly flat, something like a fritter. I did use the lid on the pan (after the first batch ended up a little weird) and it worked so much better! Subsequent batches also received a fine sprinkle of shredded cheese after the first flipping. I served with some ketchup (mustard too for me) and a pita-style roll on the side. Everyone had seconds and no one had any idea that they weren't eating a regular burger. I finally asked TH what he thought htey were made of and he guessed 4 different animals (and "cow" twice) before i clued him in. He said, "Lentils?! WOW! I never knew you could make things out of other things like that!!"

I am saving the rest of my burger batter to add to a batch of salmon fritter tonight for supper. Usually I use 2 cans of salmon for our family (with just enough leftovers for Keith's lunch) so this would cut the price of that supper a LOT. I feel good knowing that my family is still getting the mineral-y goodness of homemade bone broth in a form they'll eat without breaking the bank. Hooray!
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Friday, January 9, 2009

How to escape...

...from (hopefully wrongful) imprisonment (as devised by my 7.5 year old)

Make yourself a bomb out of hot sauce, a string, a sippy cup and a lid (originally this was a skull instead of a sippy cup but I asked where he'd get a skull so he changed that to something more readily accessible)

Use one match to smoke up the place to distract the guards.

Use the other match to light the string of the bomb.

Use the bomb to blow open the cell and run out while guards are distracted by the smoke from the first match.

Easy.

Hopefully no one will use these awesome plans to do anything bad. Please don't use these plans to do anything bad. Thank you.

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About Me

Preserving the Harvest 2008

~June 22nd~
*11 half-pints
honey-sweetened peach-strawberry jam
~June 27th~
*7 half-pints and 2 pints
honey-sweetened peach jam
~June 28th~
*24 home-grown chickens in the freezer
(7 whole, 17 cut up
plus feet and backs for stock!!)
~July 6th~
*8 pints and 14 half-pints
honey-sweetened peach jam
~July 16th~
*18 cups fresh green beans,
blanched and frozen (a gift from the boss)
*12 pounds ripe bananas,
cut into 1 inch chunks and frozen for smoothies
~July 22nd~
*32 ears home-grown corn
blanched and frozen in meal-sized packages
~July 27th~
*8 pints cream-style corn
(home grown)
~July~
about *8 cups blackberries
and *5 cups wild blueberries
from around our property,
in the freezer
~August 4th~
14 pints
4 half-pints
and 1 quart
hot and spicy tomato salsa
(that's 18 cups altogether)
~October29th~
13 quarts chunky applesauce
5 quart jars dried apple rings

What I'm reading

The Bible- currently in the books of Ezekial and 1 Corinithians

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

The Hobbit (on CD) by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Bondwoman's Tale by Hannah Crafts

What I've Read Recently

One Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman

How To Be Good by Nick Hornby

The Book of Joby by Mark Ferrari

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

World Without End by Ken Follett

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (for the 12th time or so)

The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley

What I Watch

The Office

30 Rock

Doctor Who

Heroes

Eureka

Scrubs

2008 Crafty Stats

Yardage In:

13.5 yards

Yardage Out:

3 yards

Items Made:
2

Money Spent:

$58.06

Blogs I Read (almost)Daily

Pleasant View Schoolhouse

Bethgem

Buried Treasure Books

Ann Voskamp

Wide Margins

The Nourishing Gourmet