Apple Picking

At the invitation of Curtis's friend, Doug, we went to an abandoned orchard to pick apples on a perfect fall day. We had no school on this Wednesday, due to parent/teacher conferences, so it was an ideal day to spend the morning gathering some free fruit. It's about a 40 minute drive over into Colorado but it's well worth the drive. This is quite a large orchard with peaches, cherries, pear and loads of apples. We picked yellow delicious, some johnathons?, and fujis. We brought lots of 5 gallon buckets, coolers and tote bins to fill, hoping to get enough to do some canning and preserving.

getting ready to load up on apples

James decided to just eat the apples rather than pick them….just getting started on filling my bucket.

The trees were absolutely loaded...

Just looking at the trees made my heart happy and seriously brought tears to my eyes.

Curtis

Charles wanted to climb a ladder to pick. It was scarier up there than he thought it would be

Soren's turn

James with another apple

Our bounty…the large cooler under the three buckets is full also

Once we got this load home, my life pretty much went on hold because I had to process them before they went bad. The days were filled with washing, cutting, coring, cooking, straining, filling bottles and processing the bottled product. It took almost a month to get through them all, and we ate a lot of them fresh and fed some to the chickens. They got sick of me feeding them the cooked skins and cores that came from the strainer. Picky birds. My kitchen was a sticky mess, but it sure smelled good and it is so satisfying to see all those bottles on the shelf in my food room. We plan to go next year and are hoping for another bumper crop.

The end product: applesauce, apple butter and apple pie filling. We ended up with almost 100 pints of applesauce, about  20-25 pints of apple butter and 12-15 quarts of apple pie filling.

Saving a book!

I picked up this book at the library sale. I've been wanting it for my personal library for a while, so when I saw it there I snagged it. 

But the binding was falling apart and the pages were coming out of the book. 

I knew I had to do something to preserve it and so I started searching the internet for ideas on how to save a paperback book. 

Here you see the pages coming loose...

I found instructions for Japanese book making and decided that that would be the easiest, least expensive way to try to save this book. I began by removing each page from the old glue binding.

Removing the pages from the binding. Felt strange to tear pages from a book.

Then I removed the spine part of the cover and kept the front and back covers. I poked 4 holes through the covers and pages in the recommended places according to the instructions. Then I used a length of dental floss and reassembled the book, following the directions.

Here you see what it looks like inside the book...

I was not as satisfied with the dental floss as I wished. It has a bit of give and it slips off the ends when the book is opened. My intention is to find some thicker, stronger twine and rethread it, but it's not high priority right now.

I am happy that the book is in one piece and can be used with care and I'm thrilled to have found a way to inexpensively save books that seemed doomed.

Good Things:

Christmas Movies as a family

Reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever as a family

More snow!

Delicious Multi-Grain Bread

I will readily admit that I am not the best cook in the world. I cook more out of duty and expediency than love of cooking. Beyond that, baking is my nemesis. I get so frustrated when I bake because it rarely turns out as I wish. So I love the fact that I've become very proficient at making really great bread. I suppose it comes from years of practice. Perhaps my brownies would be better if I practiced making them more often.
Here is our family's favorite bread recipe. I got it from a friend, who got it from her mom, who got it from a Bosch store I believe. I'd been trying to make a bread with texture for a time and hadn’t been successful at finding a bread that had texture but didn't fall apart when cut and used for sandwiches. When I tried this bread I knew I HAD TO HAVE the recipe!

Super Multi-Grain Bread 
2 C hot water 
2/3 C 6,7 or 9-grain cracked or rolled cereal 
1Tbsp + 1tsp millet 
1Tbsp + 1tsp sesame seeds 
1Tbsp + 1tsp flax seeds 
1/3 C sunflower seeds 
2Tbsp vital wheat gluten 
1 Tbsp yeast 
1/4 C honey
____________________ 
1/4 C oil 
2tsp liquid lecithin 
2tsp real salt 
3 C whole wheat flour 
______________________ 
2tsp dough enhancer


Measure the first group of ingredients into a large mixing bowl or bowl of a bread mixer. Gently fold together with a spatula and then let the mixture rest for five minutes, until the yeast begins to foam. 
Then add the second group of ingredients. Begin mixing with a dough hook until all ingredients are combined. Add enough extra flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough begins to clean the sides of the mixer bowl. Knead for 8 minutes. 
At this point the dough enhancer can be added. Knead the bread for an additional 2 minutes. This dough does not need to rise twice. Just form the loaves or rolls straight from the mixer. 


Multi Grain Bread: Form dough into two large loaves. Cover and let rise until dough is doubled in size. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.


Super Multi Grain Rolls: Form dough into 24 round balls, placing 12 rolls per large greased cookie sheet. Melt 2 Tbsp  butter in a cup. Using a sharp knife cut an X in the top of the rolls and pour a little melted butter on the top to fill the X. Cover and let rise until the dough is doubled in size, about 30-40 minutes. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter while still warm. Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

The recipe above is the original that I got from my friend. Depending on what I have on hand I have varied the ingredients with no problems Here are my variations:
I never have millet or sesame seeds so I never put them in. I do purchase ground flax seed and the multigrain cereal that I use already has the sunflower seeds in it.
I don't use the liquid lecithin or the dough enhancer. Neither did my friend.
I generally use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached white. I have also used all whole wheat flour.
I always double this because I need 4 loaves for our family for a week. When I'm adding the flour, I add the initial 6 cups of whole wheat and then use the unbleached 1/2 cup at a time til the dough cleans the bowl.
I always knead it in the machine for 12 minutes. I like the light texture that results from the longer kneading time.

Here are some pictures to show the process. I have had my K-Tec mixer for almost 10 years. I've had to replace the drive shaft several times, but the mixer is still going strong. I really only use the mixer for bread and smoothies and use my KitchenAid for cookies and cakes and such.  I would not part with it unless I had a new one to take its place.  It is a woman's best breadmaking friend.

Here is the first group of ingredients soaking in the warm water. Notice the flax floating on the surface.

Here it is after soaking. Notice the foaminess and bubbles.

Sorry, not a great picture but you can see the dough cleaning the sides of the bowl here.

After taking it from the mixer I knead it a few times by hand til the dough is quite smooth in texture.

Here I have cut the dough into quarters.

                                      

These two photos show one 'quarter' kneaded and rolled into a rectangle, then each rectangle is rolled up jelly roll style and pinched shut. The ends are pulled over and pinched shut as well.

Here you see the loaves in the pans. I have one really nice Pampered Chef stoneware pan and 3 crappy aluminum pans that I'd love to replace. I keep using them because I like the size of them.

'

Here is the bread risen and ready to be placed in the oven. 

And here is the final product. Fresh out of the oven and brushed with butter to soften the crust. Looks like this batch got left a bit long in the oven. Oh, well, that didn't stop us from devouring it. You can see that one loaf is already gone!

Can I really grow wolfberries?

Because I'm a wannabe gardener/farmer I sometimes read Countryside or Backwoods Home magazines. Last year I read about wolfberries, more commonly known as Goji berries. I decided that I was going to try to collect some seed and plant them to see if I can get them to grow here. 

When I went north in April to DYT Club Night, I stopped at Real Foods Market and found a bag of dried Goji Berries. Apparently that's the best way to get seed for growing them. Following the directions in the article I read, I soaked some berries overnight and the next day I squished the tiny seeds out of them. I should have put something in that picture for comparison's sake. But they are tiny, about the size of a pinhead. 

After letting them dry for a few days I planted them.  Hope this works!

Greenhouse?

One of the challenges we face living here in SE Utah at 7000 ft. is gardening. We have a very short growing season and it's very dry and windy, especially winds from the south and southwest. Last year we put one garden box in but the poor little plants just got beaten to death by the wind and didn't get enough warmth to actually reach maturity. It was a bit depressing.

 This the the south side of our house. We have been pondering the feasibility of attaching a greenhouse type room onto this end of the house. It's a huge blank wall that attracts lots of sunshine. The greenhouse would be able to use that heat and the plants would be protected from the wind by being enclosed. 

It's not in the cards this year, but we are hoping that it will become a reality in the near future. Growing our own produce would be so helpful to our family.

What's for supper? Some interesting reading about food.

This is the question that has given me fits for almost a quarter of a century. I really don't mind cooking but I hate trying to think of what to cook. If someone would just tell me what to make, I'd happily make it. Or so I thought.

A couple of years ago I came across the idea that perhaps I should be questioning not only what to cook but how to cook it and where in the world did the food come from? As I began to look into nutrition and the SAD(Standard American Diet) and health issues arising from poor nutrition I realized that I needed to do some serious contemplating and praying for guidance on how to best provide nutritious meals for my family                                                                         

This is the book that started it all. I was browsing in Pioneer Book in Provo for homeschool resources and the title of this caught my eye. I picked it up and flipped through it. The author's story was so compelling that I bought the book so I could read about his story in depth. 

    

That led me to look into this book and

this one.This book I also found very compelling simply for  the reason that I was trained and worked as a dental assistant for several years. I was absolutely fascinated by the photos showing obvious deformities of the facial structure and dentition.        

Last fall I read this book that addresses specifically eating locally, in season. The theme shared is that we need to know where our food is from, who grew it, how they grew it and that it's more nutritious if it is not imported or hasn't been sitting in warehouses since before it was ready to be picked. Made me wish I lived in a place that had a longer growing season and more water to allow a wider variety of things to be grown. Made me start looking into greenhouses.

This is my latest read. Saw it on Barnes and Noble and thought it would be worth reading. It has lots of quotes in it from various LDS people/journals. Each chapter addresses a different type of food and shares how that food was incorporated into the diets of early to modern LDS people. It's very interesting.

As a mother, it is my duty and responsibility to nurture and care for my family. Have I been damaging them rather than nourishing them by the food I am preparing for them? That is a sobering thought. I am still trying to come to a conclusion about how to best feed my family.  It would be easy to become disheartened and frustrated given the state of our 'food' in this country today. I am concerned about the amount of chemicals and non-food substances that we put into our bodies. I believe we need to eliminate them from our diet, and attempt to eat foods in the state God created them, whole and as unprocessed as possible. As I study about food and nutrition I take the LDS Word of Wisdom as my guide. Found here in Doctrine and Covenants Section 89. 

If something I'm reading about goes against what the Word of Wisdom teaches me, then I have to question the validity of that information. As an example, I looked into the Primal/Paleo type diet. I just can't reconcile not eating grains and legumes with what the Word of Wisdom says. 

14 All ^agrain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

That said, I do believe that we have a growing health problem caused by eating grains that have been prepared improperly. The Nourishing Traditions book teaches how to properly prepare them so that the vital nutrients contained in them are available to be used by our amazing bodies. 

So my quest is to glean the truth from these books and apply it in my family and home. It means learning to prepare some foods differently and learning to eat things in ways I've never tried before. 

Even though it's been a rather hard road, (hard in realizing how much I could be doing better) it's also been a very fulfilling road. I can't explain how it feels to know that the time I have spent on studying and learning has been so worth it and that the time I take to prepare nutritious food never feels like wasted time. 

A couple of other resources I've found useful:

This blog post by Tara-her whole blog is about NT type eating

Sarah's entire blog

Some eye-opening information about the SAD(Standard American Diet)

Big Fat Fiasco-1st part of a 5 part lecture on the truth about fats in our diet.

Hungry for Change - documentary about diet and health and our need to change what/how we eat.

Here We Go!

Jump in, buckle up and hang on! 2008 is off and running.

As I get older I can't believe how quickly time goes by. There are so many things I want to do/see/read/experience and it feels like there just isn't time to do it all. So I'm really looking forward to 2008 to see what it brings to me and my family. I have a few 'resolutions/goals' that I'd like to work on. Most of them are just continuations of last year, but I feel very strongly that they are still important and that I need to continue to work on them. I'm trying to find ways to incorporate them into our homeschooling venture.

Speaking of homeschooling, I attended a co-op meeting and a parent support meeting last night. There are about 6 families in this co-op and it looks to be fun and interesting if not a bit hectic. I think we may have bigger plans than we have time allotted for, but we will see how it goes. I will be leading two book discussion groups, one with 10 yo and under and one with 11 yo and up. Yikes, I'm a bit nervous about that, but at least I'm not doing the science class and dissecting things.

At the second meeting got to hear some more from Donna Goff about TJEd and her experiences with it. She has been doing it with her children for nearly 14 years and has much to share. I have learned so much from reading her posts on MOO and her newsletter, Epiphanal Living, and from speaking with her personally. She is so willing to share and listen.

The boys went back to school today. I'm not sure they were ready, I know I wasn't. I remember when I used to think the Christmas vacation was way too long and now it's way too short. I find the shift in my thinking so amazing. I used to have that attitude that the world/society pushes on us; that having the kids around was a hassle and a burden and inconvenient. Since I made the decision to homeschool and have been doing it, I LOVE having my kids around and if I had my way they'd all just stay home and we'd just be together. I know they need the interaction with other people, (hence the co-op), but in my mind's eye, that would be my ideal.

J went down to Monticello two days ago to get his dental check up for his mission paperwork. I can't believe we are really at this point in his life. . . . . in my life! Again, time is just going by way too fast. He has a dr. appt on Monday and then we should be able to get it all submitted and wait for the call!

Good News of the Day: We got our Durango back! It's been in the shop for almost 2 months. It had to have a new transmission. That was a hefty bill, but it's nice to have it in working order again.

Harvest time...

Things are starting to crank out in our garden. This was truly just an experimental year for us, we planted things we've never planted before. We enjoyed the fresh peas and absolutely LOVED the fresh lettuce but those have been gone for a while now and I've been watering the corn, potatoes, tomatoes, beans and cukes.
My corn is all dried up. Not sure if I over- or underwatered it. It just turned reddish brown and is crispy dry. It has been hot here.
Everything else is starting to produce and I'm trying really hard to fight that 'Just let it go' attitude I usually have about this time every year. I love preparing for and planting a garden. Love to water and weed when my plants are small and just getting going, but for some reason, as the year wears on and the plants get bigger and more unruly looking, and it gets HOTTER, my love for gardening wanes. Usually by late Aug and Sept, I just quit watering or even setting foot out there. I'm just DONE with it. So, I'm fighting it this year, because of my goal to learn to garden better and can/preserve what we grow.

I have done one large batch of tomatoes, making salsa and spaghetti sauce out of them. But I just picked another bucketfull this morning and I'm wondering what to do with these. More salsa would be the best option I guess.

We didn't plant enough green bean plants to be useful. There are not enough ripe at the same time to bottle them. I may just pick for a few days, then blanch and freeze them. It might be enough for one meal.

I found some lovely strawberries for 3.99 a flat, so I bought two flats and we did 5 batches of freezer jam. It's been eons since we last did jam and everyone was very excited to have some in our freezer again.

We do have one pumpkin on our vine also. I guess since Sadie planted the seed it will be her pumpkin for Halloween.

Cheese, Gromit, Cheese!

One of the things I wanted to learn about and attempt this year was cheese making. Pretty easy cheese making, but cheese anyway. My chance to do it came today. Nina has been working on a county report for her Utah History studies and her county happens to be Cache. One of the requirements is to study up on one unique aspect of her county and present it to the class. She and I decided that since Cache Cty is known for Cache Valley Cheese we would attempt to make some cheese.

Using a recipe off the internet, we got out all our ingredients and tools.

No rennet! I was sure I had read that fresh lemon juice could be used instead.....nope, no lemon juice in the recipe so I bought those four lemons in vain.

OK, send C to the store for rennet and Citric Acid.

C gets back and WOW, for the price of the citric acid, this cheese better darn well turn out.

Pour milk in pan, put on stove, go to put thermometer in pan and notice that it starts measuring at 100 degrees and I need one that starts at about 80 degrees. Hhhhmmmm, what to do. Throw caution to the wind and go for it. I figure we'll use the one we have and if it registers on the thermometer we'll know it's getting too warm.

Things are going well, milk is warming, and starting to curdle. Put in the rennet and let it sit. Supposedly 3-5 minutes for the curd to form.

3 mintes-not forming yet...................


5 minutes-starting to thicken.........................





10 minutes-thicker........................................................................






15 minutes!- finally thick enough to cut and watch the whey drain out.
We scoop out the curd and put into a colander and let the whey drain.

Wow! Lots of whey! Anyone need some????

Finally get as much whey pressed out as possible by hand, so we start microwaving it and draining it again. After 3 rounds its ready to start kneading and stretching. That's what gives mozzarella its texture, the kneading like bread dough and stretching like taffy. Well, that's what its supposed to do....mine kneaded just fine, but didn't want to stretch much. I don't know if I over cooked it or undercooked it or didn't knead it long enough.

Whatever, we salted it and kneaded it into a smooth ball and ran cold water over it and voila', it's "Cheese, Gromit, Cheese!!"

It didn't really take very long and if it tastes good, we'll probably do it again. We have lots of rennet and citric acid left over!

Anyone know what to do with a gallon of whey?

A Roof, We have a Roof!!!

Wow, it has finally happened. C and D(friend who knows construction) have been busy as little bees working up on our roof the last two days and finished putting in the large beam that will hold up the roof when we remove the kitchen wall, finished the trusses and got the sheathing done and I believe they are now putting down the tar paper stuff. I'm beyond excited. From here on out, with the exception of the plumbing and electrical stuff, C can do lots of the work himself. Next on the agenda are a door and windows and duct work for the new rooms so we can put in a new furnace and A/C. Wahoo!

Speaking of bees, we got a new batch today for our second hive! We are hoping to get lots more honey this year with a well established hive from last year and a new hive as well. Go girls!!!

We have been busy this week trying to get the yard looking better. Got a few more annuals for the raised flower bed, a garden hook for a hanging plant (still not sure what to plant in it) and also planted a few potatoes in the garden. The beans and corn I planted in a little started box last week are growing like crazy. Wish I dared put them out, but I need to wait a bit longer so they won't get frozen like the tomato C planted last week. Poor little thing. Still no peas or lettuce up yet.

Well, I ought to update my habits.....ok, it was a so-so week. Started out great, but as the week went on and I got busier with committments at school, ie; fitting costumes for the Shakespeare play and driving for the Kindergarten field trip as well as a dr. appt, I sort of forgot or was just too darn tired.
I'm going back over my list and the one that I see I've really slipped on is my exercise. So that's what I'm going to focus on this week again. So hard to get back into it after doing nothing for 3 weeks. Ugh! But I know it will help in all areas of my life. I love how I feel about myself when I am active and that it makes me want to eat more healthily. So that's my habit re-do! Check out Lara's blog for more info on Smart Habit Saturday's. Join in for a chance to win prizes!

I got two fun packages in the mail in the last week. The first was for getting my name drawn over at Wendy's blog and she was WAY generous. It was full of fun things like foam stamps, acrylic paint, rub-on's, charms, frames, ribbon and more. Then a couple of days later my name was drawn in a contest over at Christy's blog, and I just got that fun package today. She sent an adorable little felt covered notebook(red-one of my favorite colors) and some great papers and embellishments to go with it. I'm still trying to figure out a fun thing to do with it. Any suggestions? It's about 3x5 big. I'm still so amazed that I was lucky twice in a week's time. Thanks so much Wendy and Christy, 8-D!!

Spring has Sprung!

Oh, the sunshine is so glorious today and we have spent the day working on the yard and on the addition to the house. C has worked like a madman and the rest of us have put in a half hour of work or so to help......The flowerbeds are looking wonderful in their new coat of compost as are the garden boxes.

I got to go grocery shopping...my least favorite activity of all time. Or one of them, at least. Call it a light-bulb moment or an epiphany or what have you, but it finally dawned on me this week that because C puts all the household operating $$ in my account once a month, that it would be possible for me to make a month's worth of menus and shop once. Let's see, one big shopping trip on one hand and one small trip a day on the other......Which would you choose????
I spent Thursday evening making up a menu and a shopping list and did the lion's share of the shopping today. Still need to hit Sam's or Costco for the produce and cheese and Walmart for a few non-food things, but I'm feeling so pleased with having that icky chore done. I realize that we will still have to get more produce and dairy, but that's no biggie.

Add to this the fact that now I do not have to think every single day what to make for supper and this has been a huge boost for me. Hooray!

On the SHS front:
-last week's goal of recording transactions into the checkbook every night was a success and it's sure nice knowing where my account is sitting. Will keep this one going to make it a good habit.

-reading to baby-C helped me with this and we probably got in 4 or 7 days.
-wash pots and pans before bed-this one is a toughie for me, but I think I managed it twice.
-getting to bed on time-this was better this week. Not quite a habit yet though.
-am prayers-still working for me to do them at breakfast time.
-exercise/weight loss-exercise was a bust this week. Had a nice weight loss(8lbs) but that was due to barfing my guts up on Monday night/Tues morning. Still learning to stop eating when I'm full and honoring my hunger. I am amazed at how little I need to eat to feel satisfied when it's something I like.
-organization-went through the girls drawers and closets last night to pull out things that are too small or no longer used and took a load of things to D.I. Also rearranged the food room shelves to house all the groceries I bought today.

This week I'm going to work on another bad habit I'm developing. I'm going to limit my blog reading time to 1/2 hour per day. Yikes, I better learn to speed read.

That's all for now, have a wonderful week.