Sunday, July 24, 2011
1-Ingredient Ice Cream ... Made it!
I tried this one ingredient ice cream recipe and wowed everyone in the room! At first, the kids, teens and adults looking on had skeptical glances at the food processer and joked about it possibly not working so well. Within minutes... it all changed to incredulous stares and the tapping of metal spoons flying out of the drawer and into the bowls. This cold treat has a beautiful texture and I drizzled a tiny bit of honey on mine and made a second batch with peanut butter. Very good!
Classic Southern Pralines
One of my FAVORITE blogs is:
http://www.thekitchn.com/
... and I've developed quite an addiction to it. When the following recipe was shared there for praline pecans posted... I couldn't wait to try these. I've made them two times and they were devoured all too quickly. A lady at church tried some and asked to buy some from me! I followed the directions to the letter.
Sweet No-Bake Recipe: Classic Southern Pralines
It
was 95° in my apartment and not a day to be anywhere near the kitchen.
But my sweet tooth, well, it had other plans. Luckily, our Southern
neighbors are used to facing such demands in the hottest and stickiest
of weathers, which is why they had the good sense to invent the praline.
You
can call the praline a cookie, because it's shaped like one, but it's
rightfully a type of candy. You make them entirely on the stove top by
boiling a mixture of chopped pecans, sugars (two kinds!), butter, milk,
and vanilla until it becomes creamy and caramelized. But if the sight of
a candy thermometer makes your head hurt, don't worry. These cookies
(er...candies) are different.Counter-intuitively for those of us who do much candy-making, the key to a good batch of pralines is stirring the pot constantly. This is the one time when that annoying habit sugar has of crystallizing at the least provocation is actually something that you want. You stir as the sugar syrup comes up to a boil, stir while it's boiling, and keep stirring as it cools down into something manageable.
The moment when you feel the syrup turn grainy with sugar crystals, that's when you start dropping them onto your parchment paper like it's going out of style. Don't worry about being neat or forming perfectly uniform candies; just scoop, drop, and let them form whatever shape they may. (Incidentally the praline pros down in Louisiana call the accidental drippings between scoops "praline turds." Poetic, right?!)
I took a class in making pralines at The New Orleans School of Cooking during my trip to New Orleans. They're the perfect warm-weather treat because they require minimal effort, minimal time in front of a hot stove, and no baking. Plus they're ready in about fifteen minutes. And trust me, you want to try them while they're still warm. They practically dissolve on your tongue and that, right there, is heaven.
Classic Southern PralinesAdapted from The New Orleans School of Cooking
Makes 20-50 pralines, depending on how large or small you drop them
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) granulated white sugar
3/4 cup (6 oz) light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (4 oz) milk - whole is preferred but 2% is fine
6 tablespoons (3 oz) salted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup (12 oz) pecans - I like them roughly chopped, but you can leave them whole or chop them more finely. You can also toast the pecans, if desired.
Before starting to cook, lay out a piece of parchment, aluminum foil, or a silpat for the pralines. Set a second spoon nearby in case you need to scrape the candy off the first spoon.
Combine all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan, at least 4 quarts. Do not use a smaller pan as the syrup will bubble up during cooking. It's also harder to stir in a smaller pan.
Cook the syrup over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. When it comes to a boil, start stirring constantly. Let it boil for about 3 minutes, until the syrup registers 238°f - 240°F on a candy thermometer.
Remove the pan from heat immediately and keep stirring. Stir, stir, stir! It will become creamy, cloudy, and start to thicken. When you feel it starting to get grainy, the pralines are ready. You can also hear it if you listen closely; the crystals will make a scraping noise against the side of the pan.
Drop spoonfuls of the praline syrup onto your waiting parchment. Work quickly, as the syrup starts to set as it gets cool. Let the pralines cool and harden for at least ten minutes before eating. They will keep in an airtight container for several days, but they're at their very best within the first 24 hours of making them!
One last thing: don't forget the pan scrapings! Whatever is left in the pan is the cook's treat. Scrape those up and eat them with a spoon.
Praline Variations:
• Chocolate Pralines - Add 1/2 cup of chocolate with all the ingredients
• Peanut Butter Pralines - Add 1/3 cup of peanut butter in the last 30 seconds of boiling the syrup
• Nut-Free Pralines - Add 1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal right before you start dropping the candies
Related: Sweet Desserts Without Heat: 25 No-Bake Summer Desserts(Information for this post was gathered during a press trip to New Orleans sponsored by the Louisiana Seafood Board. All views and opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author.)
(Images: Emma Christensen)
Honey Baked Chicken
Honey Baked Chicken II
What to Drink? |
|
|
Chardonnay |
Prep Time:
15 Min
Cook Time:
1 Hr 15 Min
Ready In:
1 Hr 30 Min
Ingredients
- 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup prepared mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan, skin side up. Combine the melted butter or margarine, honey, mustard, salt and curry powder and pour the mixture over the chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours (75 minutes), basting every 15 minutes with pan drippings, until the chicken is nicely browned and tender and the juices run clear.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Two Food Processer Recipes
Hello!
If this is a repeat, please forgive me. I don't know if I
ever finished and sent it or not and found it while clearing my drafts folder
just now.
I love my kitchen appliances and gadgetsl
I used my food processor for two great recipes recently.
I got these from a cookbook my mom gave me a long time ago called: Food
Processor Techniques by the Editors of Consumer Guide. ©1982
I think I might have already shared this recipe from our
lunch here with Nana, Papa, & The Twins but I’m not sure. Papa and Summer could not get enough of these
and we all loved them! The adults ate them along with steaming cups of coffee.
Oatmeal Buttermilk Muffins
Makes 1 dozen
1 cup (250 mL) uncooked quick oats
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
½ cup (125 mL) packed light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons (7 mL) baking powder
½ teaspoon (2 mL) baking soda
½ teaspoon (2 mL) salt
½ cup (125 mL) butter or margarine, melted and cooled to
room temperature, or vegetable oil
1 egg
1. Combine oats and buttermilk in large mixing bowl; let
stand 30 minutes.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)
3. Insert steel blade. Measure flour, brown sugar, baking
powder, soda and salt into work bowl; process, using on/off technique, until
mixed.
4. Combine butter, egg, reserved oats and buttermilk; add
to flour mixture in work bowl. Process, using on/off technique 5 or 6 times,
just until flour is moistened; do not overprocess (batter should be lumpy).
5. Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups (cups should have
1/3 cup or 80 mL capacity), filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake until golden
and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve
hot.
Marbled Brownies
Makes 18 large brownies
1 package (8 ounces or 225g) cream cheese, at room
temperature, cut into 4 pieces.
2 1/3 cups (580 mL) sugar
5 eggs
½ teaspoon (2 mL) vanilla
1 cup (250 mL) butter, at room temperature
1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ cups (375 mL) shelled walnuts (I used pecans)
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Using steel blade, process cheese, 1/3 cup (80 mL) of
the sugar, 1 of the eggs and the vanilla until smooth; remove from work bowl
and reserve.
3. Using steel blade, process butter and remaining 2 cups
(500 mL) sugar until light and fluffy. Add remaining 4 eggs to butter mixture;
process until smooth. Add cocoa and nuts to butter mixture; process until nuts
are coarsely chopped. Add flour to chocolate mixture ; process, using on/off
technique, just until flour is moistened.
4. Spread half of the chocolate batter evenly in greased
13 X 9 X 2-inch (33 X 23 X 5 cm) baking pan. Spoon cream cheese mixture over
chocolate layer; top with remaining chocolate batter. Swirl slightly with spoon
or spatula. Bake until center is fork to the touch, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool
brownies in pain on wire rack; cut into bars.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Pecan Lace Cookies
It was an emotional night for our teenage daughter and one of her friends came over. I wanted to make something just for a sweet comfort (I know what all the diet things say about using food for comfort but sometimes, I just have to show my care with something baked!) and thought of cookies or a snack cake but had no eggs.
I have been hovering over a bag of pecans because I've wanted some for months but couldn't justify the raised prices for them. Found a decent size bag for a good price at Sam's and have been trying to make the most of every single one!
These did turn out just as described ... lacy and crunchy. I thought they were okay but they are picky --- if cooked a minute too long, they tend to start burning. If they aren't cooked well enough, they stick to the aluminum foil.
I made two separate batches in two days (last weekend) of praline pecans and they keep getting eaten up before I can photograph them! I have a request from a lady at church to make more and every place we went... people loved them. So, I will try to post that recipe next or soon.
Pecan Lace Cookies I
30 Servings, Prep Time: , Cook Time:
Description
These cookies should be very brittle. Test one or two to
get the correct baking time before baking the entire batch.
Ingredients
• 1 cup
whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup
chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup
quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup
light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup
packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup
unsalted butter
• 1
teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. Preheat
oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
In small mixing bowl, sift the flour. Add the pecans and oats. Mix well.
2. In
saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and
flour mixture. Stir until well blended. Mixture will turn opaque. Drop by
teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.
3. Bake for
9 minutes or until set and golden. When done, slide foil onto wire racks and
allow cookies to cool. Re-line cookie sheets with new foil for next batch. Peel
cookies off of foil when cool.
Allrecipes.com
Plain, wholesome, well cooked food
“The keynote to happiness within the four walls that make any home is plain, wholesome, well cooked food, attractively served.”
Louis P. De Gouy, ‘The Soup Book’ (1949)
I have been waiting to post here until I could finish up the mini series on our sweet visit with Bruce and Kim and to share Kim's recipes. If you wonder why that hasn't happened, it is because I lost the spiral notebook I jotted notes in while she was working.
Until I find that, I will share some things going on in my summer kitchen. One thing is finding ways to keep the heat level down. We have no central heat and air and the two window units for the whole house aren't holding out very well. We are making full use of our two ceiling fans and the stove vent hood and I am figuring out that timing can be everything!
Dinner made in the morning (or mostly made) makes for a much more comfortable meal time and alleviates some of the stress.
Here are some of the meals, snacks and so ons we've had lately:
* Roast in the crock pot. I have not been very skilled at producing tender or tasty roasts over the years. I'm learning from others. One thing I learned from my friend turned family, Debby. Even her venison roast turns out unbelievably tender. She puts her roast in with no water or very little water and lets it cook overnight. I have always added way too much water!
My MIL suggested I throw a garlic clove in and told me to drizzle some Worcestershire sauce and Dales low sodium seasoning over the roast. She also said she prefers adding her potatoes, carrots, onion and celery about an hour or two before the roast is done. The entire crockpot of roast and vegetables was GONE before I got home and got one bite! I will try options other than Dales seasoning because even the low sodium is HIGH in sodium.
* Healthy Spaghetti sauce using my WOK! I heated up the WOK and quick cooked bite sized pieces of chicken breasts with sliced, dried yellow squash and put that in a dutch oven. Next, I did separate batches, each going from WOK to dutch oven and included a large, chopped Vidalia onion, three portabello mushrooms cut into bite sized pieces, three diced green peppers and yellow squash. I added two jars of the healthiest commercial sauce I could afford and topped it with garlic infused spaghetti. The latter is just spaghetti cooked with a few cloves of garlic in the water.
* Turkey burgers and yellow squash and onions on the side.
* Homemade pizza after homemade pizza after homemade pizza. I have made pizza in so many ways and with so many different crusts that our 8-year old asks what we are having with this tagline: "PLEASE tell me you are not fixing another veggie pizza?!" Ha, Ha. I have a new favorite thin crust recipe that I have made so many times, I've quit counting. I have it scribbled on a getting-worn-out piece of paper bec/ I got it from the internet and have no ink to print with!
I have used bbq sauce mixed with pizza sauce, regular pizza sauce with basil sprinkled over, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, thick salad dressing and anything I thought of for sauces. Also, toppings have been so varied - organic, baby spinach leaves, chopped red onions, thinly sliced zucchini and yellow squash, steamed broccoli heads, carrot ribbons (sliced) and on the list goes.
That is all for now. I've realized that it would take a lot of time to share everything I've been making so I will just stop trying to catch up and try to do better from here on out.
My husband is now working a full time job AND running his business and our 21 year old son is staying with us until he marries in March. He is working a full time job and doing several side jobs after work so I make sure they have coffee in the morning and thermoses as well as healthy and filling lunches. This has been far more difficult to keep food for than I remembered so I have started doubling and tripling dinner recipes so the divider plates I use can be filled, sealed and placed in the refrigerator for easy grabbing. I am writing down all sorts of past lunches and new ideas to try. Do you have any lunch ideas to share?
Louis P. De Gouy, ‘The Soup Book’ (1949)
I have been waiting to post here until I could finish up the mini series on our sweet visit with Bruce and Kim and to share Kim's recipes. If you wonder why that hasn't happened, it is because I lost the spiral notebook I jotted notes in while she was working.
Until I find that, I will share some things going on in my summer kitchen. One thing is finding ways to keep the heat level down. We have no central heat and air and the two window units for the whole house aren't holding out very well. We are making full use of our two ceiling fans and the stove vent hood and I am figuring out that timing can be everything!
Dinner made in the morning (or mostly made) makes for a much more comfortable meal time and alleviates some of the stress.
Here are some of the meals, snacks and so ons we've had lately:
* Roast in the crock pot. I have not been very skilled at producing tender or tasty roasts over the years. I'm learning from others. One thing I learned from my friend turned family, Debby. Even her venison roast turns out unbelievably tender. She puts her roast in with no water or very little water and lets it cook overnight. I have always added way too much water!
My MIL suggested I throw a garlic clove in and told me to drizzle some Worcestershire sauce and Dales low sodium seasoning over the roast. She also said she prefers adding her potatoes, carrots, onion and celery about an hour or two before the roast is done. The entire crockpot of roast and vegetables was GONE before I got home and got one bite! I will try options other than Dales seasoning because even the low sodium is HIGH in sodium.
* Healthy Spaghetti sauce using my WOK! I heated up the WOK and quick cooked bite sized pieces of chicken breasts with sliced, dried yellow squash and put that in a dutch oven. Next, I did separate batches, each going from WOK to dutch oven and included a large, chopped Vidalia onion, three portabello mushrooms cut into bite sized pieces, three diced green peppers and yellow squash. I added two jars of the healthiest commercial sauce I could afford and topped it with garlic infused spaghetti. The latter is just spaghetti cooked with a few cloves of garlic in the water.
* Turkey burgers and yellow squash and onions on the side.
* Homemade pizza after homemade pizza after homemade pizza. I have made pizza in so many ways and with so many different crusts that our 8-year old asks what we are having with this tagline: "PLEASE tell me you are not fixing another veggie pizza?!" Ha, Ha. I have a new favorite thin crust recipe that I have made so many times, I've quit counting. I have it scribbled on a getting-worn-out piece of paper bec/ I got it from the internet and have no ink to print with!
I have used bbq sauce mixed with pizza sauce, regular pizza sauce with basil sprinkled over, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, thick salad dressing and anything I thought of for sauces. Also, toppings have been so varied - organic, baby spinach leaves, chopped red onions, thinly sliced zucchini and yellow squash, steamed broccoli heads, carrot ribbons (sliced) and on the list goes.
That is all for now. I've realized that it would take a lot of time to share everything I've been making so I will just stop trying to catch up and try to do better from here on out.
My husband is now working a full time job AND running his business and our 21 year old son is staying with us until he marries in March. He is working a full time job and doing several side jobs after work so I make sure they have coffee in the morning and thermoses as well as healthy and filling lunches. This has been far more difficult to keep food for than I remembered so I have started doubling and tripling dinner recipes so the divider plates I use can be filled, sealed and placed in the refrigerator for easy grabbing. I am writing down all sorts of past lunches and new ideas to try. Do you have any lunch ideas to share?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Repost: Creating link for Rebecca's lovely letter!
This is going in Rebecca's Hearth and Home and I had to repost here to have a link. Long story but here it is!
"We are all pencils in the hand of a writing God, who is sending
love letters to the world."
Mother Teresa
Dear Creative Ones by God's grace and gifts,
Have you ever been in awe over what goes on in a kitchen and/or dining room?
There are so many things that transform from one fairly plain and simple
"something" to a dish that feeds a family, a soup that soothes a weary soul,
or a beverage that comforts with the warmth it gives.
Over the years, the Lord has just given me... as I've heard the same of with
others...recipe after recipe thrown together that became instant favorites.
He has shown me grand meals from a needy pantry, given me grace to offer a
chair to a tired friend, relative, and stranger, and provided what I've
needed to serve not only beverages and meals but hospitality and hope.
In an effort to preserve some of these recipes, sentimental moments, ideas,
and creative gifts from God over the years, I have started many little
kitchen notebooks. There have been notes jotted in spiral notebooks, papers
punched and placed in three ring binders, folders filled until they became
so stuffed I couldn't keep up with them, and more.
I finally think I know the best way to preserve these! I can make a Nutmeg
Notes Scrapbook! I had already decided to change my Home Notes Journal into
a scrap book and realized that one specifically for the kitchen and dining
would be a great addition:)
It has dawned on me that not only would these books be a wonderful way to
hand our family blessings down the line and for enjoyment by us as the years
go by... but this might serve many a need in the long run. When someone
asked: "Whatever happened to that recipe for.... ?" maybe it will be in one
of those pages! If we are trying to remember the circumstances around a time
God sent someone to our table over coffee that served like an angel... maybe
they'll have been journaled right in our little (or huge) book!
Phm 1:6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective
through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake.
Unlike many of our photo pages where it is somewhat important to make sure
things look a certain way or are preserved in a special manner... this book
of kitchen notes can be fun! What creativity can abound!
Just one of my prayers is that I won't let my usual strong need for
perfectionism to come anywhere near the pages of this book bec/ I know it
will die unfinished somewhere gathering dust.
Finances won't allow for me to go out and buy a special memory book for this
so I am going to use a three ring binder and this will mean my book will be
the 8 1/2 by 11 or whatever that is size. I have some page protectors so
I'll start it off by adding some of those for the pages I really need
covered.
The notebook I found here has the clear plastic cover that you can slide
pictures or whatever in so the plan I'm building is to use a Scripture and
print it out along with what picture/s I want (probably art I'll down load
from the computer relating to the theme) and I'm ready to start!
If you want to do any version of this... and it will be one of those ideas
where each book will serve as totally unique for each family... here are
some add-ins that I am looking forward to filling mine up with:
*Hand written anything. I want to write down Scriptures that come to mind
during cooking and/or cleaning, when guests leave, as I'm sipping coffee at
a gleaming polished table :) and so on. Things the children say, culinary
and kitchen quotes, grandmother's advice and more.
"Give me a stout heart to bear my own burdens. Give me a willing
heart to bear the burdens of others. Give me a believing heart
to cast all burdens upon Thee, O Lord."
John Baillie
*Hand written notes, letters, recipes, and so on from others. Won't these be
a treasure?
*Absolutely favorite recipes for our family and those recipes handed down
the generations...
*Menus we loved, grocery lists we frequently have, and/or lists of product
prices to add receipts to. These could be full sized or scaled down to fit a
few per page can be included and for mine, I want our breakfast schedule,
lunch plans, and dinner menu samples added.
*A directory of Stores we frequently shop from for groceries and cooking
supplies along with numbers and latest "finds".
*Photos of food we fix, times we have in the kitchen baking cookies,
laughing over cocoa, and/or the millions of other opportunities for pictures
in and around this part of our home. I also want pictures of my cabinets,
drawers, kitchen nooks and crannies bec/ I would have loved to have these of
every kitchen we ever had if I only had thought to do it!
*Labels. I simply adore labels of just about any kind! I love labels on
canned and boxed goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, wacky ones on various
rarely bought items, and more. These would provide free tags and other
embellishments to my book and a wealth of them! Pages can be done using the
colors in these labels as inspiration or they could be scanned into the
computer and printed black and white, sepia, or any color scheme needed to
match any page wanted.
*Paper clips can be added to hold little fragments and slips of paper,
receipts, and other little pieces along the edge of the papers or in hand
made pockets. Another pocket idea would be making full use of the incoming
mail and using the envelopes we usually throw away. We could cut the top
off, wipe some ink or acrylic paint on the edges and dry brush a distressing
color/texture on the front to match what we are doing. These can be filled
with all sorts of food/dining/kitchen related items!
*A list of each person's favorite foods, not liked foods, and staples we
keep for each of us. In our home, some examples are:
My husband loves sweet potatoes so much that even though his allergy test
revealed a reaction to them ... he still eats them. I love coffee but drink
too much of it so I'm bringing my teapots back out... our oldest son loves
the fried chicken fingers my husband makes with his honey mustard sauce, our
next to oldest son loves carbs of any kind and always fills his plates (when
we dine out) with French fries and any other carbs he can fit on the plate
and our other teen son thinks peanut butter is a gift from God. Our daughter
loves deserts and our little one loves strawberries and little yogurts we
get at the grocery store.
*Recipes are a given and they can be hand written, printed from a computer
directly onto the paper in the book or on another piece of cardstock and
adhered to another page making its own border/frame/mat.
*Herbs! Notes on herbal care, varieties planted and used, ways used, herbal
remedies, and more. I have been trying to keep up with the many natural
remedies we employ around here for YEARS and haven't managed it. Maybe with
this it won't be so hard to keep up with!
*Essential oils and how we use them in washing dishes, mopping the floor, to
aid in disinfecting, and more!
The reality to a book like this is that the possibilities are vast and
expanding ever still as another of this or that gets added. God's abundant
blessings, provisions, guidance, inspiration, and gifts of all kinds can
dance from these pages and we can share them with our children's children if
it is His will...
May your kitchen, dining area, and heart all be filled to overflowing. It
matters not so much as where you store your memories and how you keep them
as it does that they live in your heart. Capturing them is just part of the
fun:)
I wanted you to know, each and every one of you, that I prayed for you this
morning. I don't always remember to do this but it blesses my soul when I
do!
Love,
Sandy
© Sandy Willoughby, 2005
For those of you on the Home Notes letter... I'm working on a letter
focusing on a Homemaking Scrapbook!
"We are all pencils in the hand of a writing God, who is sending
love letters to the world."
Mother Teresa
Dear Creative Ones by God's grace and gifts,
Have you ever been in awe over what goes on in a kitchen and/or dining room?
There are so many things that transform from one fairly plain and simple
"something" to a dish that feeds a family, a soup that soothes a weary soul,
or a beverage that comforts with the warmth it gives.
Over the years, the Lord has just given me... as I've heard the same of with
others...recipe after recipe thrown together that became instant favorites.
He has shown me grand meals from a needy pantry, given me grace to offer a
chair to a tired friend, relative, and stranger, and provided what I've
needed to serve not only beverages and meals but hospitality and hope.
In an effort to preserve some of these recipes, sentimental moments, ideas,
and creative gifts from God over the years, I have started many little
kitchen notebooks. There have been notes jotted in spiral notebooks, papers
punched and placed in three ring binders, folders filled until they became
so stuffed I couldn't keep up with them, and more.
I finally think I know the best way to preserve these! I can make a Nutmeg
Notes Scrapbook! I had already decided to change my Home Notes Journal into
a scrap book and realized that one specifically for the kitchen and dining
would be a great addition:)
It has dawned on me that not only would these books be a wonderful way to
hand our family blessings down the line and for enjoyment by us as the years
go by... but this might serve many a need in the long run. When someone
asked: "Whatever happened to that recipe for.... ?" maybe it will be in one
of those pages! If we are trying to remember the circumstances around a time
God sent someone to our table over coffee that served like an angel... maybe
they'll have been journaled right in our little (or huge) book!
Phm 1:6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective
through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake.
Unlike many of our photo pages where it is somewhat important to make sure
things look a certain way or are preserved in a special manner... this book
of kitchen notes can be fun! What creativity can abound!
Just one of my prayers is that I won't let my usual strong need for
perfectionism to come anywhere near the pages of this book bec/ I know it
will die unfinished somewhere gathering dust.
Finances won't allow for me to go out and buy a special memory book for this
so I am going to use a three ring binder and this will mean my book will be
the 8 1/2 by 11 or whatever that is size. I have some page protectors so
I'll start it off by adding some of those for the pages I really need
covered.
The notebook I found here has the clear plastic cover that you can slide
pictures or whatever in so the plan I'm building is to use a Scripture and
print it out along with what picture/s I want (probably art I'll down load
from the computer relating to the theme) and I'm ready to start!
If you want to do any version of this... and it will be one of those ideas
where each book will serve as totally unique for each family... here are
some add-ins that I am looking forward to filling mine up with:
*Hand written anything. I want to write down Scriptures that come to mind
during cooking and/or cleaning, when guests leave, as I'm sipping coffee at
a gleaming polished table :) and so on. Things the children say, culinary
and kitchen quotes, grandmother's advice and more.
"Give me a stout heart to bear my own burdens. Give me a willing
heart to bear the burdens of others. Give me a believing heart
to cast all burdens upon Thee, O Lord."
John Baillie
*Hand written notes, letters, recipes, and so on from others. Won't these be
a treasure?
*Absolutely favorite recipes for our family and those recipes handed down
the generations...
*Menus we loved, grocery lists we frequently have, and/or lists of product
prices to add receipts to. These could be full sized or scaled down to fit a
few per page can be included and for mine, I want our breakfast schedule,
lunch plans, and dinner menu samples added.
*A directory of Stores we frequently shop from for groceries and cooking
supplies along with numbers and latest "finds".
*Photos of food we fix, times we have in the kitchen baking cookies,
laughing over cocoa, and/or the millions of other opportunities for pictures
in and around this part of our home. I also want pictures of my cabinets,
drawers, kitchen nooks and crannies bec/ I would have loved to have these of
every kitchen we ever had if I only had thought to do it!
*Labels. I simply adore labels of just about any kind! I love labels on
canned and boxed goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, wacky ones on various
rarely bought items, and more. These would provide free tags and other
embellishments to my book and a wealth of them! Pages can be done using the
colors in these labels as inspiration or they could be scanned into the
computer and printed black and white, sepia, or any color scheme needed to
match any page wanted.
*Paper clips can be added to hold little fragments and slips of paper,
receipts, and other little pieces along the edge of the papers or in hand
made pockets. Another pocket idea would be making full use of the incoming
mail and using the envelopes we usually throw away. We could cut the top
off, wipe some ink or acrylic paint on the edges and dry brush a distressing
color/texture on the front to match what we are doing. These can be filled
with all sorts of food/dining/kitchen related items!
*A list of each person's favorite foods, not liked foods, and staples we
keep for each of us. In our home, some examples are:
My husband loves sweet potatoes so much that even though his allergy test
revealed a reaction to them ... he still eats them. I love coffee but drink
too much of it so I'm bringing my teapots back out... our oldest son loves
the fried chicken fingers my husband makes with his honey mustard sauce, our
next to oldest son loves carbs of any kind and always fills his plates (when
we dine out) with French fries and any other carbs he can fit on the plate
and our other teen son thinks peanut butter is a gift from God. Our daughter
loves deserts and our little one loves strawberries and little yogurts we
get at the grocery store.
*Recipes are a given and they can be hand written, printed from a computer
directly onto the paper in the book or on another piece of cardstock and
adhered to another page making its own border/frame/mat.
*Herbs! Notes on herbal care, varieties planted and used, ways used, herbal
remedies, and more. I have been trying to keep up with the many natural
remedies we employ around here for YEARS and haven't managed it. Maybe with
this it won't be so hard to keep up with!
*Essential oils and how we use them in washing dishes, mopping the floor, to
aid in disinfecting, and more!
The reality to a book like this is that the possibilities are vast and
expanding ever still as another of this or that gets added. God's abundant
blessings, provisions, guidance, inspiration, and gifts of all kinds can
dance from these pages and we can share them with our children's children if
it is His will...
May your kitchen, dining area, and heart all be filled to overflowing. It
matters not so much as where you store your memories and how you keep them
as it does that they live in your heart. Capturing them is just part of the
fun:)
I wanted you to know, each and every one of you, that I prayed for you this
morning. I don't always remember to do this but it blesses my soul when I
do!
Love,
Sandy
© Sandy Willoughby, 2005
For those of you on the Home Notes letter... I'm working on a letter
focusing on a Homemaking Scrapbook!
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