My parents are in Mexico. Such a life! Well, there are benefits to knowing people who travel.
1. You can stay in their mountain cabin as much as you want.
2. They let you drive their much nicer car.
3. They give you their shares to Grant Family Farms.
Grant Farms is an organic farm in Waverly.
https://grantfarms.com/
This is a community supported Agricultural project. At the beginning of the year you can buy a share that entitles you to weekly organic fruits and vegetables. The problem is, you don't know what you will get until you get there. This week we got gourds of some flavor, leeks, apples (amazingly sweet), lettuce, spinach, cilantro, parsley, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes. This is what I made. Harry is NOT a soup person (must be because of some Seinfield episode) but he LOVED this and went back for thirds. Really yummy and easy.
GRANT FARMS SOUP
4 chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 or whole onion
2 c fresh or frozen broccoli
2 c. fresh or frozen cauliflower
1 sm. potato, diced
3 cloves of garlic - smooshed
3/4 c (more or less) cheddar cheese grated
1/2 c. milk
Salt and pepper (no salt if using canned broth)
Hot pepper sauce or chili pepper flakes optional
Bring broth, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, and potato to a boil in a soup pot. Reduce heat, cook covered, 10 minutes. Remove 1 cup plus broccoli and cauliflower pieces, set aside. Cook soup 10 minutes longer. Put cheese and milk into blender or food processor. Ladle in a 1/2c of soup broth. Puree until very smooth. Pour in 1-2 cups of veggies and continue to puree until creamy. (Beware - it's hot!) Return pureed soup to pan with reserved vegetables and heat through, but do not boil or cheese will curdle. Add seasonings.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
NaNoWrimo
Because I am the queen of procrastination, I am starting my national Novel Writing Month on the fifth instead of the 1st of November. For those who have not heard of this it is a grassroots program to get people writing. I have known many people who have actually done this. I have always thought that they were cool, and thought that maybe I would do that some day. Well today is the day. Now the trick is to write 50000 words in the month of November. Because of my tardiness, I need to write 2000 words a day... and homeschool, do respite care for Matt and be a less than outstanding housewife.
The other problem besides the time factor is to think of something to actually say. I've had novel ideas in the past but nothing is jumping out at me. I've thought of writing about my grandfather's homestead. I've also thought about writing a women's novel about forgiveness.
I got to decide. I can change my mind, but starting would be a good thing... mmm... the white page is pretty spooky.
I can share with you my thoughts on the most recent campaign... but I really don't want to go there right now.
I will start with the story of the homestead.
The other problem besides the time factor is to think of something to actually say. I've had novel ideas in the past but nothing is jumping out at me. I've thought of writing about my grandfather's homestead. I've also thought about writing a women's novel about forgiveness.
I got to decide. I can change my mind, but starting would be a good thing... mmm... the white page is pretty spooky.
I can share with you my thoughts on the most recent campaign... but I really don't want to go there right now.
I will start with the story of the homestead.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Jamberry Jam
Have you ever read the book Jamberry? It has been a favorite for all of my children. But not all jam is made from berries.
Today I was looking at all my left over tomatoes from my summer garden. I didn't have enough to even make a decent spaghetti sauce, but I had tasted a burger at CB Potts last week that had "tomato jam" listed in the ingredients. It was a great burger. So I looked up Tomato Jam on the internet and found almost a hundred variations.
My mom had just given me my first food processor and I quickly plopped all those red, orange and green fruits into it's plastic bowl. With a quick flip of my finger, I had pureed them all up into a soup like mixture. Next, I put about 5 cups of the tomato stuff and 5 cups of sugar into a pot to boil for 20 minutes. After transferring into a bigger pot after it boiled over onto the stove, I added 2 large packages of raspberry jello. Cooked until dissolved.
It was great! It smells and tastes just like raspberry. Now I have to get some jam jars and get ready to give them away for Christmas gifts. My friend Maria made empanadas and her daughters thought that it tasted just like strawberry jam. Gotcha!
Today I was looking at all my left over tomatoes from my summer garden. I didn't have enough to even make a decent spaghetti sauce, but I had tasted a burger at CB Potts last week that had "tomato jam" listed in the ingredients. It was a great burger. So I looked up Tomato Jam on the internet and found almost a hundred variations.
My mom had just given me my first food processor and I quickly plopped all those red, orange and green fruits into it's plastic bowl. With a quick flip of my finger, I had pureed them all up into a soup like mixture. Next, I put about 5 cups of the tomato stuff and 5 cups of sugar into a pot to boil for 20 minutes. After transferring into a bigger pot after it boiled over onto the stove, I added 2 large packages of raspberry jello. Cooked until dissolved.
It was great! It smells and tastes just like raspberry. Now I have to get some jam jars and get ready to give them away for Christmas gifts. My friend Maria made empanadas and her daughters thought that it tasted just like strawberry jam. Gotcha!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Intersection between Politics and Christianity
I've about had it with the mixture of politics and christianity. It is the worst recipe that anyone could possibly come up with and yet, many christians seem to think that you have to be an outspoken republican or you're not a christian at all. I have had many people ask me how I can even think about voting for a democrat if I am a christian.
Let me make it clear: I am against abortions. I have never met a human being who thinks that we need more abortions in this country. They are wrong, ugly and a bad solution to a tough problem. I am even against them in regard to incest and rape. The only thing that I might concede is if the life of the mother is at rist.
Yet, I feel that the republican party has grabbed onto this one issue and twisted it for its own use. If the republican's really wanted to get rid of abortions, they have had 8 years of Bush, and several years before that where they ruled the congress when Clinton was in office. I wonder if they choose not to outlaw it because they would then lose their exclusive right to America's christian population.
Because of my christianity, I vote democratic, not inspite of it. The democratic party has repeatedly shown more compassion for the country's downtrodden. The homeless, disabled, elderly and young have a voice. The red letters of Jesus speak frequently of poverty and its consequences. The book of Matthew speaks of it one out of sixteen verses. The book of Luke is one out of seven verses. I would say that this would be a very important topic. One that Jesus would like us to pay attention to. Research shows that if we lower the poverty rates by only 10% we would reduce the abortion rates by 90%. I would say that is a very effective tool and a biblical one too!
Let me make it clear: I am against abortions. I have never met a human being who thinks that we need more abortions in this country. They are wrong, ugly and a bad solution to a tough problem. I am even against them in regard to incest and rape. The only thing that I might concede is if the life of the mother is at rist.
Yet, I feel that the republican party has grabbed onto this one issue and twisted it for its own use. If the republican's really wanted to get rid of abortions, they have had 8 years of Bush, and several years before that where they ruled the congress when Clinton was in office. I wonder if they choose not to outlaw it because they would then lose their exclusive right to America's christian population.
Because of my christianity, I vote democratic, not inspite of it. The democratic party has repeatedly shown more compassion for the country's downtrodden. The homeless, disabled, elderly and young have a voice. The red letters of Jesus speak frequently of poverty and its consequences. The book of Matthew speaks of it one out of sixteen verses. The book of Luke is one out of seven verses. I would say that this would be a very important topic. One that Jesus would like us to pay attention to. Research shows that if we lower the poverty rates by only 10% we would reduce the abortion rates by 90%. I would say that is a very effective tool and a biblical one too!
Alice in the Oven
Today my girls requested Alice in the Oven. This is a recipe that is like a skillet custard baked in the oven. We love this! It is easy and uses basic ingredients. I was trying to figure out how it got it's name. There is no reference to this on the web. Because we are always looking for yummy protein based breakfasts, we use this one alot.
Alice In The Oven
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
and one stick (1/4 lb) butter
Preheat oven to 350. Put the butter in a 12" cast iron skillet and melt it in the oven. Pour batter into the pan with melted butter. Bake until the top is golden brown about 35 minutes. Can be served with maple syrup, sliced fruit or plain.
Alice In The Oven
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
and one stick (1/4 lb) butter
Preheat oven to 350. Put the butter in a 12" cast iron skillet and melt it in the oven. Pour batter into the pan with melted butter. Bake until the top is golden brown about 35 minutes. Can be served with maple syrup, sliced fruit or plain.
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