Changes

For a few years I have been waiting for the time when I could really cut out processed foods and make most of the food for my family by hand. Things are going pretty good, we don't eat a ton of processed foods but we do still eat a fair amount. Justus is still having issues with scratching, allergies(he just threw up tonight after dinner) and asthma and I have wanted to do something drastic to help his body heal.

So, I am on a mission to really change the way we do things and I need your help! I am looking for a really good sandwich bread recipe. One that bakes up nice and soft and doesn't fall apart when you cut it. Preferably one that uses whole wheat and maybe some other type of grain flour(not the white stuff).

Also, I need some snack ideas to make. Jonah is NOT a fruit and veggie person and will never reach for them when he is hungry(and with how much he works he needs a lot of snacks). I will be making homemade granola for breakfasts that will be our "quick" thing to eat so granola bars for snacks may work sometimes but I would like some more variety.

My plan is to set aside a day of the week to bake all our snacks, bread and tortilla's for the week and have it easily accessible for Jonah(and the rest of us) to grab and go.

So, pass along your ideas please! If you have blogs that you follow that are all about whole foods, I would love those too! And, if any of you have done the GAPS diet with your kids, will you let me know? I would love to talk to you more in depth about it through e-mail.

Thanks!

180 movie debut

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Pear recipes for Julie:)

Julie is beginning to make home preserved things with her girls and asked if I could share the recipes with her of my pear making things(great phrase, huh?).

The pear sauce I make is one that my mother-in-law taught me when I first moved here and had NO interest in canning. I have made it with her several times and it is really easy. Basically, you peel and core your pears. If you want chunky sauce then cut them in bite sized pieces, otherwise, leave them in quarters. Put the desired amount of pears in a stock pot with a little water on the bottom and cook them on medium/low for about 30 minutes, or until soft and falling apart. If you want chunky sauce get a mashing tool, I use a plastic pasta spoon, and mash away. If you want it smooth, get out your stick blender and blend away. You CAN transfer this into a regular blender too.

Once this is done you are ready for putting the sauce into jars. This is where a good canning book comes in handy if you have NO clue what to do. I process them in a hot water canner for 30 minutes. I do live at 3600 elevation so the time is a little longer. Again, a good canning book would come in handy here. Of course, you could add sugar and spices but I find that the pears are already plenty sweet and we like it plain.

For the pear butter, you use the pear sauce above that is nice a smooth. Pour it in your crockpot to within an inch of the top. I add 2 cups sugar and whatever spices I want. Usually, a little cinnamon, shake of allspice, shake of cloves and a little nutmeg. Don't go overboard on the spices though, usually about 1/2 tsp. is plenty of the cinnamon and nutmeg. The recipe I'm making today is from this website. She has a TON of great information there and some pretty good recipes too.

For snack today I decided to make my kids something special and found this Pear crumble that was really easy and really good. I tripled this recipe and it gave the kids and I some pretty small portions. Next time, I'll be septupaling it(how's that for a word?)

Civil War

This picture has nothing to do with this post at all. I was looking for a picture of my 2 big boys and came upon this picture that I hadn't seen before. That is my mom and dad with Canaan when he was a few weeks old. Look at how small he was!

Back to the story. Last week we watched a History channel special on the civil war. We are also studying the beginnings of our country in school. This past week we have been reading the story of Squanto(very great story, although very sad) and learned that he was captured and made a slave. This led us into talking about human trafficking today with one of the biggest areas just an hour and a half from us.

So, we are done with all that, Malakai is saying how he is going to get big and strong as a man and go arrest all those people taking girls hostage because he is a man and should protect women and girls. Typical Malakai and I encourage him in it.

Then Isaiah turns to Malakai and says( in all seriousness), "And then, will you go fight in the civil war so I won't be a slave?"

I was so proud of my son who retains almost nothing in regards to retelling a story and that he remembered the correct name for the war that was fought to free slaves. I think we need to work on the timeline a little bit more though.

Baby's first cut

This could just be the cutest baby in the world. Actually, I'm pretty certain of it.



Canaan's hair was getting so long and unruly that I could barely manage it unless I was putting it in twists or cornrows every week. That's at least 2 hours of my time that I could be doing something else that needed to be done. Not to mention 2 hours of trying to get a one-year-old to sit still.



Jonah did not want his hair cut but Jonah isn't the one who combs out a one year olds hair every day. I am. I tried to keep Jonah happy by keeping it somewhat "long". I guess we'll see when he sees this post;) Honey, I sure do love you!



I didn't want to lose his long hair and shave it, I just wanted it to be more manageable for me to comb out every day.



What do you think? Is he cute or what?


He wanted to say hi to all you adoring blog fans in the camera.

ETA: Yes, these are all after pictures. Didn't even occur to me to take before one's! I cut off a good 2 inches though)when his curls are pulled out.

The happenin's

We've been busy around here! Fall is just around the corner and, with it, lots of work for me with canning some yummy tomatoes, pears and apples. Last week we spent the day at Apple Hill and I picked up 50 pounds of pears for $11.95.

Two days after I bought the pears my mother-in-law called to ask if we could help harvest their pears. She sent us home with 3 boxes of pears(about 70 pounds or so). Good thing they will take a week or so to ripen or else I would be swimming in pears with no sign of relief from all the work!





Yesterday, I was able to can 5 quarts of pear sauce in between home schooling the kids and other chores that had to be done. I also made fresh tomato sauce with zucchini and basil from our garden and it was OH so good! We had that over pasta for dinner and it could never compare to my homemade tomato sauce made with store bought canned sauce.





This morning I set things up a little better so that I could peel and core pears while watching the kids do their school work and give them direction. Canaan worked hitting tupperware with spoons on the floor at my feet. It worked great. My kitchen is a disaster(as you can see in the pictures) but I have a crock full of pear sauce being made into pear butter and another pot on the stove ready to make another batch of pear sauce.

This whole "homemaking" thing sure is fun. :)

The transformation

from city girl to country girl is officially complete.

I have the land.



I have the chickens.



I have the garden.


I have the barn.



I have the boots(aren't they cute?)



And today, Gretel came home to stay. :)



She is newly pregnant and will be calving the end of April or so and we'll have yummy fresh milk to make all kinds of good things!

Stay tuned

Today's a special day. Stay tuned later today to see what it is:)

Adoption issues

I must say, Isaiah is one of my happiest and most compliant children. He is not known to be disobedient most of the time and is always a pleasure to have around. This morning something happened that has just about broke my heart and I wanted to share it because someone out there might just gain something from this.
During morning chores Isaiah was having a really bad attitude, saying the chore was too hard(he does it every day just fine), he was too tired, and just overall complaining. I told him he needed to change his attitude immediately or I would assign him an extra chore to do later. He continued to be upset so I warned him again and then needed to go outside to do something.
When I came back in all I heard was sobbing. Uncontrollable sobbing. Anyone who has Liberian children will know the "Liberian wail" well. He was hiding under the table crying hard. This is not something Isaiah does very often but when he does, you know he's hurting.
I knelt down beside him and asked him what was wrong. He fell into my arms and told me he didn't want me to be upset with him and he was sorry for his attitude. I forgave him, told him I wasn't upset and yet, he continued to cry uncontrollably. When I asked him why he was so upset still(about 7 times) he says, "I'm scared that you'll be so mad at me that you'll send me away!" Break.my.heart.
I wonder if this is the reason why we have so few issues with Isaiah and why, when he does get reprimanded for something simple, he completely loses it emotionally. My poor boy. The thought of my child worrying every day that if he did something "wrong" he would be cast off like a pair of holey socks makes me weep! I held him and told him I loved him and that he would NEVER be sent away no matter how naughty he was. I just hope he will come to believe me and that I can help him understand. The last thing I want is my child living in fear of being "sent away".

Play time with the sister's

What are you gonna do? He doesn't seem to mind that he has a bright pink scarf wrapped around his head, why should I?

Tomato sauce

Start with a big bowl of homegrown tomatoes. Yum! These are Roma's and they are perfect for sauce because of their low moisture content.


This is a Velox tomato press that I bought 3 years ago while garage saleing with a friend. I paid $4 for it and you can find these at old time hardware stores or, I'm sure, online.


Here are all the players in this orchestra. Very simple, easy and satisfying! You can see on the left that I put a ziploc inside a pitcher and it worked great for holding the bag while I poured the sauce in.



You will want to run the pulp through at least 3 times. It's amazing how much extra sauce you can get from it after the first go through.



Homegrown tomato sauce ready to freeze for future use in pasta, chili, etc. No heating during a hot summer day and no worries about canning it properly. With the speed we go through tomato sauce, this will be gone in no time.