Book Club

A few moths ago I reluctantly joined a newly formed women's book club. We are still somewhat new to the town we live in and I am still trying to make new friends and connections so with hesitation I agreed to be a member. I say with hesitation because while I am an avid reader, I am also find reading to be a very personal experience that I am not eager to talk about with strangers. Having done my fair share of high school book reports I felt that I did not need to sit in a room and prove how large my vocabulary is.

Well, I was wrong.

as much as I wanted to hate the book club gatherings, secretly I really enjoyed them. I even agreed to host our third meeting, which was a hoot! We are up to about 12 women and apparently word of my lemoncello cranberry cocktails from the 3rd meeting has gotten around town because there are about 5 more women wanting to join the group.
Currently we are reading Little Bee, the story of a Nigerian girl who Travels to England. She prides her ability to captivate people on the fact that she has taught herself to speak the Queen's English by reading newspapers while in an immigration holding facility. Author Chris Cleave is an utterly beautiful writer,and maybe my new favorite. And just look at that cover, it's so yellow and pretty!
I truly recommended this little jewel of a book to you, or as LaVar Burton would say at the end of Reading Rainbow, "Of course, you don't have to take my word for it."

Peace, quiet and a good book

Fresh Apple butter & a Giveaway

Friday I spent the entire day making the most amazing apple butter. And I do mean the ENTIRE day. A few years ago I attempted making apple butter and it turned out terrible. I am happy to say that this batch turned out much nicer and I have already given about half of it away to friends. the whole process is worth it to me because I get to use one of my most prized objects, my grandmothers food mill.




Apple butter

4-5 lbs. Fresh baking apples
1 c. Apple cider vinegar
2 c. water
White sugar
brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. clove
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1-2 tbsp. lemon juice



Cut apples into quarters and remove seeds. I like to leave the cores in and the peels on to enhance flavor and add the natural pectin from the cores.
place apples, apple cider vinegar, and water in pot or crock-pot and cover. Bring to a boil for about 20 minutes or until apples are tender.


Ladle apple mixture, juice and all into food mill and process. (this step gives the apple butter is smooth buttery texture, if you do not have a food mill you can use a food processor but peel, core, and chop apples before boiling.)
after all the apple has been put through the food mill transfer it back to the pot or to a crock pot and add sugar salt, lemon juice and spices. I add 1/2 a cup of sugar for every cup of pured apples, this amount can be reduced if you are using a sweeter apple or want a tart apple butter. cook apple stirring frequently butter for several hours or until the butter has a dark brown color and thick consistency.
when the apple butter is finished you can ladle it into clean sanitized jars and refrigerate for 3-4 weeks or process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes and store for up to 3 years on the shelf. Enjoy!


And here's the best part...
Because I finally have a following (all 4 of you) I decided to say thanks by giving away a jar of this delicious jam and a few other goodies. All you have to do post a comment to enter and really seeing as you have A 25% chance of winning, you might be enjoying apple butter with out all the labor.unless of course my bribing pays off and I get a few more of you following my bloggie antics...


mmmm...warm cinnamon scented peace

Scrabble-babble

Have you ever wanted to have fun teaching your child to spell? Have you ever wondered just how many scrabble tiles a 2 year old can stuff into their mouth,pockets,diaper and your purse before you can catch them? well then may I suggest a rousing game of family scrabble. We try to do this about once a week or so and it really adds some interest to the usual flash card routine, and the best part is that we are all together and all laughing the entire time. We don't keep score when we play with the kids but it would also be a good way to practice basic addition.















P E A C E = 11 points!

Harvest Muffins

This time of year my inner baking beast goes wild, baking delicious cakes and cookies almost everyday. So it is no coincidence that this is also the time of year that my darling husband decides after about a week that it is time for him to start watching what he eats. A baked goods boycott ensues and of course it only makes me want to bake more, I'm such a considerate wife huh? So every year I start trying to figure out ways to bake healthier goodies. This has to be of of my absolute favorite recipes that has come out it. I prefer to use all high quality mostly organic ingredients for the best nutritional value.

Harvest Muffins

1 C. Oats
1 c. Whole wheat all purpose flour
1/2 c. multi grain hot cereal mix (it is loaded with all sorts of goodies like ground flax, oat bran, wheat germ and so on)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 c. Yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons butter room temp
2 eggs
1 tbsp. real vanilla extract

Optional tasty add ins:
1 medium size grated apple
1 grated carrot
2 smashed ripe bananas
sweetened flake coconut
1/3 c. cranberries
1/3 c. chopped pecans
you could also substitute pureed pumpkin for the banana

Optional tasty spices:
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. clove

preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix flour, oats, hot cereal mix, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in bowl of stand mixer, add in grated apple, carrot, coconut,cranberries and pecans and mix until combined. add room temp butter and mix until just combined

in another bowl mash bananas, eggs, yogurt and vanilla together until smooth add to dry ingredient/fruit mix and beat until just combined, mixture WILL be lumpy, that's a good thing.

Divide evenly into muffin pans and top with mixture of b. sugar, cinnamon and oats sprinkle on top of muffins and bake for around 18-25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

I like to make a bunch or these and pop most of them into the freezer for busy mornings. Enjoy!

Peace is a warm muffin

Cowboys have to sleep under the stars

For Mason's 2nd birthday I have decided to move the boys from their room, which is the smallest room in the house, to the guest room. Currently the boys room is painted with an out door mural complete with pond, grass and blue sky. The previous owners of the home had the mural done for their twin boy and I just cannot bring myself to paint over it. In their new room the boys will have a vintage cowboy theme. Yesterday I started by painting the ceiling, and today I will paint the lower half of the walls a rusty red color.

Because cowboys have to sleep under the stars, and because I'm addicted to dark blue paint I am doing a night sky mural on the ceiling. It is a considerably simple mural to do. I buy 2 gallons of paint 1 midnight blue and the other a lighter navy blue. Next I carefully pour the dark blue into the left side of a paint tray then quickly I pour the lighter blue into the right side. this trick works best if you and someone else can pour the paint at the exact same time. then you have a filled paint tray that is half dark blue and half light blue. You can also buy a fancy divided roller and tray but I am thrifty and this works just fine. next you roll the 1/2 and 1/2 roller in a very random strokes on the ceiling. I usually do 2 coats to achieve a blue with great depth. I'll post some pics later of me painting the stars.

Peace despite the paint in my hair

My tips for perfect jam

Over the years I have made many many batches of jam and after all this time I have actually learned a few secrets for making pretty darn good jams and jellies. I enjoy making jam because I cannot stand to pay that kind of money at the store for high fructose corn jam that dosen't even taste that good. So here are a few of my tips for jamming. Give it a try it is super easy and makes a great gift!

1.
ALWAYS follow the directions on the pectin package to the letter! you can also make jam with out pectin but I choose not to because it takes too long to cook it down and I get bored. Once you have made jam a few times you will realize why.

2.
I always add about 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, about a teaspoon of butter and a few pinches of salt to my jam recipes. Together they make for a richer jam with a more complex flavor and I have never had to skim any foam thanks to the butter.

3.
Feel free to add spices to complement the fruit flavor. I like to add cinnamon and ginger to peach, apricot,apple and plum jams. A little goes a long way and really gives the jam a "pie" flavor.

4.
Lay out all your tools, jars,rings, directions, a wet towel, pots and canner before you start to avoid having to look for something in a panic in the middle of the process.

The most important rules of preserving fruit spread are to be careful (that stuff gets HOT), take your time and enjoy the process. I like to do it when I am home all alone so I do not get distracted and I do not have any little people underfoot.

What are your best tips for making jams? I'd love to hear from you!



Spread peace generously and with love just like your best jam!

National S'mores Day

Yesterday was National S'mores Day so I thought I'd share a few pictures of our family enjoying our favorite gooey, chocolatey treat. We mad ours on the bbq but I also enjoy the traditional method, or the microwave method, or...oh, who am I kidding I'd eat a S'more of the ground that had been heated by a toothless hobo's cigarette lighter. anyways enough of that creepy image here are some much much cuter ones.









Peace and sticky fingers

EggTarts

My son calls them egg-tarts, but I call them convenient, quick, cheap and DELICIOUS!
I make these up on big batches and then individually wrap and freeze them to be enjoyed by busier versions of ourselves on early mornings. The are a healthier and cheaper version of everyone's favorite breakfast sandwich. I prefer to make mine without meat but you could easily cook up some bacon, ham, or sausage and toss in in before cooking.

Ingredients:
18 eggs
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1/3 red bell pepper chopped
3/4 c. Frozen chopped spinach
3/4 c. milk
1 c. shredded cheese
10-12 english muffins





sauté onions, pepper, and spinach until onions are translucent. remove from heat.
mix eggs, milk, cooled onions, peppers, and spinach and mix well. add salt, pepper, and garlic salt to preference and pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes or until puffy and slightly browned.



Split muffins and toast lightly under broiler then place egg muffin between two halves, wrap in plastic and freeze. When you are ready to enjoy an eggtart just pop it in the microwave for about a minute or until heated through.



I usually make a double or triple batch of these and then put half in my freezer for Orion and I bag the other half and send them to work with my husband. I also make him swear not to eat all of them in the first few days. Enjoy!

Peace and eggie-biscuits!

Momma needs a good week

Okay so saying that last week was a bad week would be an understatement. My husband of over 4 years and I had our first fight EVER,I spent a day in the E.R., I went to my very young uncles funeral, I drove 3 1/2 hours with a headache so bad I could't see out of my right eye, and then I waited on very cranky tourists all weekend and got sent home early because I was too sick to stand. I know that everyone has a difficult life at times but it seems as though it was pouring bad news around here last week.

This week I refuse to let anything get me down. Plus I received very good news about my brother and his platelet count yesterday, YAY!

So tomorrow we are off to camp with all of our friends for the week.
Our car is packed, the German chocolate cupcakes are baked, and my purse is full of good books, about 10 pill bottles, and my sunglasses.

Peace, junk food and tubing on the river!

that's life

many apologies for the hiatius, I have had a lot of strange illness in the family. I'll be back soon with a few great ideas and a peek of our almost finished kitchen.

Peace