Gardening Tip: Keeping Cats Out of Your Vegetable Beds Apartment Therapy The Kitchn
Just had to share this! It was a post on one of my favorite blogs:
www.thekitchn.com
Love,
Sandy
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Meals with Missionaries! Casual sandwiches & such
Kim and I were really looking forward to baking and cooking together in my kitchen and we got the opportunity for almost the entire visit! We ended up being blessed with Bruce's amazing amount of work in literally rebuilding our bedroom so the contents of the room were moved out and stacked around the rest of the house and I lost exactly half of my kitchen ... to include my baking center. So, sadly enough there was no breads or baking but I am praying for a future visit... smile. Speaking of the home remodeling done, I will share pictures and more on that story on the Home Notes blog.
Coffee and cooking... we got those in! The coffeepot was steadily perking out coffee and mugs were filled and refilled as the hours passed by from morning to evening. We also had to keep snacks and meals readily available for easy grabbing or quick sit downs to keep the guys going as they worked for hours and hours at a time some of the days on the bedroom project.
I made the guys tuna melts (I split some bread loaves and topped with all white tuna in olive oil with some shredded cheese and broiled it until melted and slightly browned) and these were served with sweet and kosher pickles and unsweetened ice tea.
One evening, we got deli roast beef and turkey, deli cheese slices and sandwich rolls along with whole wheat bread. We placed pickled okra, pickles, pickled vegetables, Romaine lettuce, condiments and a few other things in the center of the table. Each person made their sandwich right where they sat! It was easy serving, eating and clean up!
Another meal was pizza we picked up from Papa John's and we just propped our feet up and gathered in the living room to eat. We watched some TV, talked, discussed work with the men and the kids had a chance to talk to Kim. It was needed let down time and we all cherished every moment of it.
Look next for the really good food because Kim was cooking!
Coffee and cooking... we got those in! The coffeepot was steadily perking out coffee and mugs were filled and refilled as the hours passed by from morning to evening. We also had to keep snacks and meals readily available for easy grabbing or quick sit downs to keep the guys going as they worked for hours and hours at a time some of the days on the bedroom project.
I made the guys tuna melts (I split some bread loaves and topped with all white tuna in olive oil with some shredded cheese and broiled it until melted and slightly browned) and these were served with sweet and kosher pickles and unsweetened ice tea.
One evening, we got deli roast beef and turkey, deli cheese slices and sandwich rolls along with whole wheat bread. We placed pickled okra, pickles, pickled vegetables, Romaine lettuce, condiments and a few other things in the center of the table. Each person made their sandwich right where they sat! It was easy serving, eating and clean up!
Another meal was pizza we picked up from Papa John's and we just propped our feet up and gathered in the living room to eat. We watched some TV, talked, discussed work with the men and the kids had a chance to talk to Kim. It was needed let down time and we all cherished every moment of it.
Look next for the really good food because Kim was cooking!
Meals with Missionaries! Meeting and first meal. . .
We had some dreams and prayers come true in the month of April! We got to meet in person a missionary couple from Latvia ... face to face!
I have corresponded with Kim in Latvia (many readers and email list members will instantly recognize her:) for around eight years now. In that time, we have prayed, shared, connected, concerned, ministered to and received encouragement from and the list could go on for eight more years.
One thing we haven't done is to meet in person and one of the times we discussed it online, Kim mentioned that we might not meet this side of heaven but one day we would. What she said stuck with me and I honestly felt that meeting face to face would be nothing short of a GOD thing.
The glory and honor and praise are HIS and HIS alone and HE got them here during thier six months in the United States! The itinerary for them is almost non-stop (quite literally) and they are traveling for entire days at a time between destinations so it is a big gift to have them make good on the plans they made to make it here.
They left here on May 1rst but the presence of Christ pouring through this beautiful couple still touches our hearts.
The first time I saw them ... I was instantly struck with how it did not seem I was meeting them for the first time AT ALL! They looked, sounded, spoke, and just WERE everything I felt I already knew they were. I guess our communications through the years were genuine enough to warrant that kind of first meeting.
Our soon to be D-I-L and teenage daughter planned, shopped, prepared, served and cleaned Bruce and Kim's first meal in our home. It was so nice!
Mexican Lasagna
Tossed salad
Desserts in stemware glasses (Bottom layer: broken up pieces of sugar free angel food cake. Next layer: ice cream sweetened with Splenda. Next layer: sliced strawberries and bananas and all was topped with whipped cream.)
Ice tea
I wish I had pictures of how pretty everything looked and to capture all the smiling, talking and laughing that went on but we were too in the moment to think of it, I guess!
Our family unit was here - my husband, self, teen daughter and eight year old son - and our college age son and his fiance. Our next to oldest son and his wife stopped by and we all enjoyed getting the visit started.
I will share our meals and some of the memories we made in a series of sorts so the blog posts aren't overly long and easier to digest. Still smiling as I type . . .
*The spelling check doesn't seem to be functioning on this site right now and I can't figure out how to add the right grammar mark on fiance ... so please forgive that and any other errors!*
I have corresponded with Kim in Latvia (many readers and email list members will instantly recognize her:) for around eight years now. In that time, we have prayed, shared, connected, concerned, ministered to and received encouragement from and the list could go on for eight more years.
One thing we haven't done is to meet in person and one of the times we discussed it online, Kim mentioned that we might not meet this side of heaven but one day we would. What she said stuck with me and I honestly felt that meeting face to face would be nothing short of a GOD thing.
The glory and honor and praise are HIS and HIS alone and HE got them here during thier six months in the United States! The itinerary for them is almost non-stop (quite literally) and they are traveling for entire days at a time between destinations so it is a big gift to have them make good on the plans they made to make it here.
They left here on May 1rst but the presence of Christ pouring through this beautiful couple still touches our hearts.
The first time I saw them ... I was instantly struck with how it did not seem I was meeting them for the first time AT ALL! They looked, sounded, spoke, and just WERE everything I felt I already knew they were. I guess our communications through the years were genuine enough to warrant that kind of first meeting.
Our soon to be D-I-L and teenage daughter planned, shopped, prepared, served and cleaned Bruce and Kim's first meal in our home. It was so nice!
Mexican Lasagna
Tossed salad
Desserts in stemware glasses (Bottom layer: broken up pieces of sugar free angel food cake. Next layer: ice cream sweetened with Splenda. Next layer: sliced strawberries and bananas and all was topped with whipped cream.)
Ice tea
I wish I had pictures of how pretty everything looked and to capture all the smiling, talking and laughing that went on but we were too in the moment to think of it, I guess!
Our family unit was here - my husband, self, teen daughter and eight year old son - and our college age son and his fiance. Our next to oldest son and his wife stopped by and we all enjoyed getting the visit started.
I will share our meals and some of the memories we made in a series of sorts so the blog posts aren't overly long and easier to digest. Still smiling as I type . . .
*The spelling check doesn't seem to be functioning on this site right now and I can't figure out how to add the right grammar mark on fiance ... so please forgive that and any other errors!*
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sourdough Starter
Yes, I abandoned my sourdough starters.
It was a bit sad since they looked really good and I was getting some good photos to share but I kind of felt it would be better to start over.
You see, our ROOF got replaced and some know what a tremendous and fantastic answer to prayer this is. Well, with the new roof came a pretty substantial loss of ceiling in my kitchen. So much so that we joked about walking through the kitchen and seeing the moon and stars since we literally did. . . see them.
We had a skylight in there and it has always been a bit of a disaster and it had to come out and this has meant a LOT of working around things and all sorts of things flying in the air. I didn't trust my sourdough starters ... covered or not ... in that environment so I baked a bunch of bread and some other baked goods and didn't save any to use later. I take that back, I did save some in the fridge but go so busy in house work and repair that I forgot it was there.
In my goal to be real as I've mentioned so many times before ... a lot of things like this get shared. Projects get started just to be stopped mid way and plans get changed before they can gain ground but it is okay. If it is God's will ... things will be in great order soon and I will be much more set up for the baking, sourdough making, and make it from scratch work will commence!
It was a bit sad since they looked really good and I was getting some good photos to share but I kind of felt it would be better to start over.
You see, our ROOF got replaced and some know what a tremendous and fantastic answer to prayer this is. Well, with the new roof came a pretty substantial loss of ceiling in my kitchen. So much so that we joked about walking through the kitchen and seeing the moon and stars since we literally did. . . see them.
We had a skylight in there and it has always been a bit of a disaster and it had to come out and this has meant a LOT of working around things and all sorts of things flying in the air. I didn't trust my sourdough starters ... covered or not ... in that environment so I baked a bunch of bread and some other baked goods and didn't save any to use later. I take that back, I did save some in the fridge but go so busy in house work and repair that I forgot it was there.
In my goal to be real as I've mentioned so many times before ... a lot of things like this get shared. Projects get started just to be stopped mid way and plans get changed before they can gain ground but it is okay. If it is God's will ... things will be in great order soon and I will be much more set up for the baking, sourdough making, and make it from scratch work will commence!
Being at peace with yourself is a direct result of finding peace with God.
Olin Miller
Love that quote! I just added it as a little gift after opening it from an email this morning.
We have been making lots of pizza because we are trying to eat NO fast food (with a few exceptions for my husband and 8-year old son... it has been weeks turning into months since we have eaten fast food) and pizza had not been included in our goal. We didn't consider pizza fast food for some reason but as I've shared before - just about anything we make at home will be healthier in one way or another than whatever we can buy processed or prepared to go and grab.
Sometimes, I still make crust but lately, we've been buying two packs of large, thin crust (whole wheat) and a three pack of smaller crusts for the kids. In a matter of minutes, we've topped them with sauce, toppings, seasonings and cheese and they are in the oven.
Here are some of the main ingredients and a few basic instructions:
Crust - already mentioned or English muffins or flour tortillas.
Preferably, whole grain versions.
Sauce: Low sugar/low sodium spaghetti sauce is our main used sauce. It is surprisingly good! We also use homemade or purchased pizza sauce, bbq sauce, or homemade white, garlic sauce.
Toppings: on the sauce, we've been adding finely chopped red onion. SUCH a great addition for flavor and crunch! Broccoli that I steam or dip in boiling water and then in ice water and cut or break in small pieces, and sauteed mushrooms that I add 1-2 pressed garlic cloves to at the last 30-60 seconds of cooking.
Seasonings: onion powder or onion salt or parsley or sweet basil.
Cheese: Parmesan around the edges of sauce and mozarella generously sprinkled over all.
I've been baking ours at high temps on cookie sheets and stoneware pans. 420 or so degrees and as soon as the crust isn't soft or shows light browning, I change it to broil and broil until bubbly and golden or lightly browned on top. If a crunchier crust is desired (my daughter and I like at least one this way) ... longer cooking times do well before switching to broil.
If I had pictures, I'd post but we are making 2 to 6 pizzas at a time and they are gone before I can get photos!
Love,
Sandy
Sandy
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Pantry Provisions
In a big hurry and no photos but I am trying to share what is going on in my flurry of a kitchen as I go again!
We have been making anything I can come up with from the pantry shelves, freezer and fridge. We really enjoyed a different kind of pizza the past two days. Two versions:
1. Getting too dry to eat bread. I drizzled bbq sauce on the bread, found some mozzarella in the freezer and sprinkled it all over the bread -used it still frozen- and topped with a chopped red onion I discovered in one of my produce bowls! I added a sprinkle of onion salt and some pepper and cooked it on 425 degrees for about 5 minutes and switched to broil until it was brown and sticking to the pan! It was delicious!
2. My daughter made a version yesterday equally delicious! She found a different bread (some whole wheat rolls) getting too dry to eat and she sprinkled some mozzarella cheese right over, added sliced Roma tomatoes, sprinkled some Mrs. Dash over all and after baking and broiling, drizzled bbq sauce over.
Both "pizzas" were cut in smaller pieces for easier grabbing and eating like a quick finger food. Must make these more often and can use any sauce on hand, different cheeses, meats and vegetables. Great for bits and pieces of leftovers!
I made a batch of whole grain, brown rice in my rice cooker and put it in bowls for the freezer and fridge. These will be good for rice bowls (sauce, meat and/or vegetables and so on) or to wrap up in tortillas with cheese and salsa, casseroles or whatever else we decide as we go!
More later ---
Love,
Sandy
We have been making anything I can come up with from the pantry shelves, freezer and fridge. We really enjoyed a different kind of pizza the past two days. Two versions:
1. Getting too dry to eat bread. I drizzled bbq sauce on the bread, found some mozzarella in the freezer and sprinkled it all over the bread -used it still frozen- and topped with a chopped red onion I discovered in one of my produce bowls! I added a sprinkle of onion salt and some pepper and cooked it on 425 degrees for about 5 minutes and switched to broil until it was brown and sticking to the pan! It was delicious!
2. My daughter made a version yesterday equally delicious! She found a different bread (some whole wheat rolls) getting too dry to eat and she sprinkled some mozzarella cheese right over, added sliced Roma tomatoes, sprinkled some Mrs. Dash over all and after baking and broiling, drizzled bbq sauce over.
Both "pizzas" were cut in smaller pieces for easier grabbing and eating like a quick finger food. Must make these more often and can use any sauce on hand, different cheeses, meats and vegetables. Great for bits and pieces of leftovers!
I made a batch of whole grain, brown rice in my rice cooker and put it in bowls for the freezer and fridge. These will be good for rice bowls (sauce, meat and/or vegetables and so on) or to wrap up in tortillas with cheese and salsa, casseroles or whatever else we decide as we go!
More later ---
Love,
Sandy
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hurried post: Notes on Sourdough Starters
I just read something I read before and forgot. You apparently are not supposed to keep different starters close together. I will separate my little party of starters in a bit.
Secondly, I read from this well loved blog that it can be wise to use smaller starters and build them up rather than keeping big starters. The first time around, I kept the starters small and they had more success than this time so far. I transferred the starters into bigger corningware dishes (except the white flour little crock) and this can make for too much yeast and a weaker starter or one that dies.
I will use what I can today and create four pint sized jars to work with to see how they do. I'll just maintain a small amount in each jar and build them up as I bake and go. It takes a bit of foresight to regularly use sourdough, I'm learning.
You have to take into account how much starter you will need and I have read that you don't ever add more flour/water feeding than you have of starter. In other words, if you have 1 cup of starter, you wouldn't want to feed it 2 cups of flour and water at once. Instead, you would keep adding anywhere from a Tablespoon or two of flour and water at a time or every few to several hours until it is built up or any measurement up to the 1 cup. I am typing my thoughts here and I have books (volume upon volume) of thoughts going on all the time so... just bear with me?
I'll share as I learn and we'll see how it goes. As we go along, I will try to share the books I have here that I will be reading from along with blogs, sites and so on's. One site I have visited countless times for sourdough and more is The Fresh Loaf. PACKED with info, blogs, forums and more!
Love,
Sandy
Secondly, I read from this well loved blog that it can be wise to use smaller starters and build them up rather than keeping big starters. The first time around, I kept the starters small and they had more success than this time so far. I transferred the starters into bigger corningware dishes (except the white flour little crock) and this can make for too much yeast and a weaker starter or one that dies.
I will use what I can today and create four pint sized jars to work with to see how they do. I'll just maintain a small amount in each jar and build them up as I bake and go. It takes a bit of foresight to regularly use sourdough, I'm learning.
You have to take into account how much starter you will need and I have read that you don't ever add more flour/water feeding than you have of starter. In other words, if you have 1 cup of starter, you wouldn't want to feed it 2 cups of flour and water at once. Instead, you would keep adding anywhere from a Tablespoon or two of flour and water at a time or every few to several hours until it is built up or any measurement up to the 1 cup. I am typing my thoughts here and I have books (volume upon volume) of thoughts going on all the time so... just bear with me?
I'll share as I learn and we'll see how it goes. As we go along, I will try to share the books I have here that I will be reading from along with blogs, sites and so on's. One site I have visited countless times for sourdough and more is The Fresh Loaf. PACKED with info, blogs, forums and more!
Love,
Sandy
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