Lactose Intolerant Fix

Just when I said I wanted to focus in the things that are lovely in life, my computer decided not to recognize my camera and therefor refuse all attempts to download. But it has been lovely, and I do have pictures to share whenever I get that figured out.

In the meanwhile, I have something to share with those who cannot tolerate milk. We have been going crazy trying to figure out the milk issue. Long before he met me, Gary drank milk form the bulk tank and didn't have a single problem with it. After we sold the cows, though, we started to buy milk from the store and I quickly ran into trouble. His troubles started later, and Mags was never able to drink milk, but I read several items about the issue being the pasteurization and not the milk. Apparently, there is a bacteria in milk that is necessary for the digestion of it, and pasteurization kills it. It is impossible to find raw milk to buy, since it is illegal in this state to sell it and there have been an unbalanced number of undercover set-ups on poor dairy farmers. And we don;t want to buy a cow until we figure out if it will work. Goat milk is easier to digest for everyone, and therefor the milk of choice for those with milk problems, but it is harder to make cheese and butter out of. So we had a dilemma.

I had read (and found) that lactose intolerant people could handle yogurt and aged cheese just fine, and that got me to thinking. What I finally decided to try was to get the gently pasteurized milk available from Frankferd Farms, add 1 cup whole milk yogurt per 1/2 gallon and shake vigorously, and allow to sit for 24 hours. So far, we have been able to drink it without any trouble at all (though it took some getting used to because of the mild yogurt acidity).

Just thought I'd pass that in in case anyone else needed the info. Of to spend the night in our sukkah. Chag Sameach!

Homemade Chili Podwer

I've always made my chili 'from scratch', though in the beginning I used canned kidney beans and later canned chili beans. When we discovered Mag's sensitivity to soy, we had to switch to dry beans. As time goes on, we seem to get deeper and deeper into the meaning of made from scratch, both because of hidden food ingredients that can cause an allergic person to become very ill, and because we are working toward being self sufficient.

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

Homemade Chili Powder
dried chili peppers, ground

This is so ridiculously simple it is almost not worth posting, but sometimes the simple things still scare us because we're sure they must be complicated. You can make chili powder from any dried hot peppers, though cayennes and Tabascos do make a really nice powder. Around here the food dehydrator gets used nonstop during the harvest season, so I thread my chili's on lines to air dry. Then when needed, throw a few in the spice mill (which is a $10 coffee mill that I bought during the holiday sales last year) or use a mortar and pestle (which I love, but I think I love owning more than using it!). My old chili recipe is here and here's a wheat-free cornbread. I love soup weather!

Pumpkin Recipes

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the kitchen.....



Attack of the killer Pumpkins!



With the apples and processed out of the way, the table just didn't look right. So we loaded it with pumpkins. We had offered to clean out a nephew's pumpkin patch so we could use the leftovers for chicken feed. But we found some really nice gems hiding under leaves and grass, so I am going to bake and process them and roast the seeds for eating. Pumpkin seeds are one of the BEST foods you can eat. And you can't beat free! It seems a poetic justice since my pumpkins were killed by my chickens when I couldn't keep them in their yard.

Also, people think you absolutely cannot eat carving pumpkins. Wrong. First, there used to only be one ind of pumpkin. The new strains grown specifically for pies have a higher sugar content, but you can sweeten any pumpkin puree for pie filling (plus they're less likely to be genetically engineered). I'm going to try drying some as well, which is what the Indians did with them. Then they put them in stews.

So, a day late, but...

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday



Sausage Pumpkin Soup
1 gallon stock (mine was beef because we just had a pot roast)
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup rice
2 cups apple juice or cider
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/3 cup honey or sugar
1 tsp (or more if you love it like me) nutmeg
1 small butternut or 2 cups cubed pumpkin

Dump it all in the crockpot and go to bed. In the morning, turn it on low and cook until squash is soft. To serve, I ladled into my new anniversary dishes (more about that later) and topped with sliced venison sausage and coconut. The kids adored it.

The Bible and Bread

In the discussion about the Bible and milk, Jenn asked a very good question- what grains did people eat for bread most often in the Bible? It was a great question because I knew about it! It’s also a great question because it plays right into prophecy about the Son of Man.

Many grains are mentioned in the Bible, but the two most common are wheat and barley. Wheat was more expensive, so barley was the staple grain of all but the wealthiest families. It’s hard to imagine now when we live in a time and place where bread is so cheap and plentiful, but consider the prophecy from Revelation 6:6 that one measure of wheat or three measures of barley would cost about a day’s wages. Wheat is also much more susceptible to disease and weather, as was witnessed by last year’s shortage.

In Exodus 29:2, it was wheat flour that was used in the ceremony to consecrate the priests. Wheat makes a finer flour and a smoother loaf than does barley, so it would suit that the best was used for this special event. Yet another festival that is all about bread, Passover and the accompanying Days of Unleavened Bread, requires only that the bread be unleavened. It does not specify a kind of grain. Interestingly, the time of the Passover meal coincided with the barley harvest.

In Ezekiel 4:9, we see a recipe for the kind of bread to be eaten during the prophet’s symbolic paralysis that was to parallel the future of Israel. This bread was made by mixing barley and wheat as well as lentils, millet, beans, and spelt. The interesting thing is that rather than just a single-grained bread, even the poor man’s barley, this bread has multiple ingredients. There are many ideas as to why Yahweh gave this recipe (to symbolize the famine brought on by siege, to symbolize that the rich and poor and everyone in between would suffer, etc.) but it is worth noting that spelt is easier to digest, and often those with only a wheat allergy and not a complete gluten intolerance can eat it without any trouble.

Because Yeshua was a poor man, saying once that he didn’t even really have a home (Matthew 8:20), he would most likely have eaten barley bread the majority of the time. He was also often accompanied by others who needed to eat, and feeding a crowd would likely rule out wheat breads. We know for sure once instance when he was feeding a large group and he used barley loaves:

“When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.“ John 6:5-13

For the sake of space I won’t put down every verse with the word barley or wheat in it (barley- 35 times, wheat- 52 times), but if you check it online, you’ll see barley was most often mentioned as an everyday, anybody bread.

Now, as to prophecy and the Son of Man and how that relates to bread. I remember hearing this first a few years ago when a speaker from Chosen People Ministries came to our church. I was so amazed and overwhelmed by the symbolism in absolutely everything Yah has ever done, my only reaction was tears.

The Feast of Firstfruits (Lev. 23) was when a sheaf of barley was brought into the temple and waved by the priest. This was kinda asking Yah’s blessing on the harvest by bringing Him the first of the barley as an offering.

The spring schedule of feasts goes like this: first is Passover on the 14th, then the Days of Unleavened Bread start the 15th, and the Feast of Firstfruits is the 16th, all right in a row without a day off. Yeshua fulfilled all the spring feast with his first coming, and will fulfill the fall feast with his second coming. But that still isn’t quite as clear unless you study these things in-depth. So we’ll look at the comparisons-

*Yeshua’s death as a sacrifice was fulfilled in Passover. He became the Passover lamb for us once for all by allowing those with His blood upon them to be passed over by death, the wages of sin (of which we are all guilty).

*Yeshua’s burial fulfilled the Days of Unleavened Bread. We know yeast, or leaven, was compared to sin many times in the Bible. Leaven is a symbol for sin, and during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we are to get rid of all leaven from among us, the way Yeshua was hidden from us when he was in the grave for three days and three nights. His burial is the symbolic burying of sin.

*Yeshua’s resurrection fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits, when He was put before the Father as an offering on our behalf. He was the choicest of the fruit of the womb, the spotless and perfect offering required by the Father. He is referred to many times as the firstborn of the Sons of G-d, or the first fruit.

But there’s more. 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits comes Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks (known in Greek as Pentecost). This is the day traditionally used by the Israelites to commemorate the giving of the law to Moses. Yeshua fulfilled this one, too. He fulfilled the requirements of the law for us, and on the Pentecost after His resurrection he gave to us the key to the new covenant- the Holy Spirit, whom the Father told us long before would be the way He would write his law on our hearts.

So that’s my short answer to what the Bible has to say about bread. It is not only a primary food source but also a frequently used symbolic image for so many different things. There’s the mystery bread called manna that the Father sent from the heavens every day when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, the symbolism of the Last Supper in which Yeshua tells us that the bread is his body that would be broken for us, and the coming together of the churches to break bread as a way of building their intimacy with one another and the Father.

But this is my favorite:
“For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.’ Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:33-35

Amen. Come, Lord, quickly.

Wise Counsel and Diet

When it comes to food, what is the right answer?

I have run into this kind of discussion more than once lately and had a few things I wanted to add. There are so many different opinions on what we should be eating and they can easily become overwhelming. So how do we figure it out?

We can all agree that the OT has explicit lists of things to eat and not to eat, correct? Whether you believe that has been done away with or not, you agree it's there. It was either OK, or it was not. There wasn't a grey area when it came to the scriptures and food. Now to a specific topic I have seen lately- milk. Double Nickel had a post about it (and I'm not picking on her here, it just happened to be at her place that I found the best link to the discussion). The premise of it being whether or not we should be drinking milk from other animals.

Aside from the debate about organic/non-organic, or hormone free versus milk factory products, it was stated that humans are the only animal that consume another animal's breast milk. I have heard that argument several times before, that it is not meant for us, and consuming it causes a host of problems (and again, I'm not picking on anybody here, just using that example).

I agree that what is done to our foods, and specifically milk, is not only crazy but has lasting and dire consequences. But I also know that God designed our bodies to process milk and He gave it to us as a food source:

He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. Genesis 18:8

So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey..Exodus 3:8

...Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk. Exodus 23:19

He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields. He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag, with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats...Deuteronomy 32:13-14

They also brought wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows' milk for David and his people to eat. For they said, "The people have become hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert. 2 Samuel 17:28-29

You will have plenty of goats' milk to feed you and your family and to nourish your servant girls. Proverbs 27:27

....and there are many more- just find a Bible concordance and look up the word milk.

These aren't even the implied kinds of instructions in the Bible- it is explicitly stated that milk and its byproducts are for our consumption.

Now, I understand and completely agree that there is a huge increase in the number of people who are either lactose intolerant or completely dairy allergic (I am one of them). But I see that as a result of the fall and continual corruption of everything on earth (which is why even the ground cries out for deliverance). There is also a great increase in wheat allergies and gluten intolerance, but that doesn't mean God did not intend for us to eat grains. Sin causes everything to deteriorate, including our bodies and their ability to gain nourishment from foods. What might be a perfectly tolerable food source for someone else might cause us to become ill. THAT is what I believe is meant by verses like:

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 1 Corinthians 10:23

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink...Colossians 2:16

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-3

Every one is certainly entitled to skip the dairy if they so chose. There are also people who cannot eat meat because of stomach issues. What bothers me is the attitude that we were never meant to consume it. Clearly the scriptures say otherwise. Mankind has made up many 'traditions' that are taught as 'doctrine' when it comes to our diets. I remember liking the diet guru of the day, Susan Powter, because she promoted legumes and whole foods. But because her sons were severely allergic to milk, she agreed with the evolutionists that we have only started to consume other animals' milk in very recent times. Completely contrary to scriptures.

Then there is the issue of eating Biblically kosher. I understand that some read the verses in the NT to mean we can eat whatever we want now, and I'm not going to get into that again here, but it confounds me that the same people who promote the freedom to eat pork and shellfish are condemning others for consuming milk and cheese. Completely confounds me (again, not the attitude taken by the ladies in this discussion, but elsewhere).

Too many people who call themselves Christians are totally ignoring the Bible and following what man has determined is right. Just as the Spirit prophesied.

Breakfast Tacos

I've never had a breakfast burrito, but my husband has and he said they were OK. Well, I have put him as well as Mags on the gluten-free diet because the more I learn about it, the more I believe that's the source of the problem. That man sneezes six times when eating a bowl of raisin bran! Not to mention the tummy aches and other..issues.. so I decided to try my own version of it with corn tortillas.

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

Breakfast Tacos
corn tortillas (yours or boughten)
onions
peppers
salsa
sour cream
eggs

Start by dicing the onions and peppers (I use two dishes because some like it hot, and some are wimps). For each taco, saute a spoonful of peppers until soft, adding onion about the middle so they don't burn. Then pour a scrambled egg over the pepper mix and scramble like regular. On a different griddle (or in the oven) warm a tortilla. Place the eggs mix on the tortilla and top as desired. My darling tried it with a leftover piece of turkey bacon and said it rocked! Apparently the corn lends its own flavor as well, so I am way better than McDonald's.

The picture is of my serving. I am going without carbs, so I just got eggs with bacon and hot peppers. It was tolerable. I said once that it would be great if it weren't for the eggs!

Homemade Vinegar

With all these apples, we have several projects going on at once. Today I had the three middle girls washing apples, the oldest cutting and cooking for apple butter, the boy juicing, and I was looking for the best to cut into rings for drying. Also part of the plan is to use every part of the apple, so we make vinegar from the cores and the pulp left after juicing. Finally, the excess pulp and apple bits left from vinegar are fed to the chickens. The chickens give us eggs and fertilizer (and eventually meat). Full circle sustainability.



Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

Apple Cider Vinegar
apple peels, cores, pulp, whatever
some kind of sugar
water

Use a crock or glass jar. This is like kombucha or fermented vegetables- metal reacts and plastic absorbs. Place your apple bits, water, and sugar in. I didn't measure anything, just made sure to leave heads space to accommodate bubbling. Stir. Cover with cheese cloth. Stir once a week. First it will smell like wine, then it will smell like vinegar. I took mine out today after about 3 weeks, and it smells so great! It's a slow process, unlike store vinegar, but the results are worth it. I have a three gallon crock, and in the end I got a gallon and a pint of vinegar.



Incidentally (and because it's my blog ;) here is a picture of my darling. He was gone today doing honor guard at the funeral of their former fire chief. George had also been friends with Gary's dad and farmed many, many years ago. He is one of the last of their generation left around here, so the attendance was more than half firemen, but it was still something he felt honored to do. I don't know, though- looking at him makes me feel like I'm gonna burst into flames! I'm probably his #1 customer!

Apple Mad

My husband was raised in a family where the whole 'apple a day' thing was taken very seriously. It is a near emergency if we have no fruit in the house. As comical as it is sometimes to hear him defend his position, I know I am truly blessed to have a man who's 'daily habit' is fruit, of all things. Last year our apple trees didn't do so well, but this year they are everywhere. So we're spending the next few days processing apples. Here is a pile on the big table. That's not even all of them.



We don't spray at all. I would rather have apple scab (freckles) than ingest poison. The very best have already been wiped and packed in layers of sawdust to keep in the root cellar (under the house). The rest will be sorted and graded for sauce, butter, juice, and drying. I also just picked up 2 bushel spaghetti squash, 2 bushel butternut squash, 2 bushel sweet potatoes, and 150 pound of red potatoes. Everything is getting packed away in the larder, and I love that feeling.

Rosh Hashanah Pie

It is traditional to eat apples and honey for the Feast of Trumpets, but when you have little kids it can get messy (and they can get a bellyache really fast by eating more honey than they should in all the excitement- Proverbs 25:16). So one good answer is to make an apple pie with honey, or Rosh Hashanah Pie.

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

Rosh Hashanah Pie
1 double-crust (your favorite recipe)
1 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp granulated white sugar

Filling:
12 apples- peeled, cored, and sliced
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg (or more- I LOVE nutmeg)
1/4 cup margarine or butter (1/2 stick), melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 325*. Place bottom crust in pie pan, pricking with fork (or using whatever you use to prevent puffing). Brush lightly with melted margarine or butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons white sugar. Bake for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Toss sliced apples in flour mixture. Drizzle with melted margarine or butter, and then honey. Place apple mixture in pie pan and cover with top crust (I like lattice on an apple pie). Bake until crust is done (45 minutes- 1 hour).

On a less meme-themed note, this season has me very thoughtful...and quiet. I have much to say, but it's not time to say it yet. Bear with me.

I find myself hoping I am wrong about a post-trib rapture and looking for a return truly in the twinkling of an eye. Yet when I think that way, I am reminded of all those who would not go with me.

That's all I have for today. If you are looking for some info on the Feast of trumpets, here are a few good links:

Light of Mashiach
Parashat Yom
Teruah/Rosh Hashana
Dancing
The Story and History of Rosh Hashanah

Shalom,
Amy

Stuffed Grape Leaves

We sometimes get these from the deli for very special occassions (they're $7.99 a pound!). I decided to scope out a source of grape leaves and try making them myself. It was surprisingly simple, and sooooooo not expensive. You can stuff them with just about anything, but I like the rice and herb stuffing best because it is simple and authentic.



Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

Stuffed Grape Leaves
20 grape leaves
1 lb. rice, cooked
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup mint
garlic powder to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp salt

Blanch leaves in boiling salted water for 30 seconds. Place on a plate to drain and cool. Put salt, herbs, and oil in food processor and blend into a paste (add water if too dry). Add the rice and blend just until mixed.

Place a grape leaf green-side down and remove stem. Make a roll of rice stuffing that reaches across all but 1 inch of the broadest part of the leaf. Place at the base of the leaf and fold bottom up. Fold sides in and roll the rest of the way. Steam in a steamer for 10 minutes and pack in freezer bags. These freeze well. Serve coated with olive oil.

Owl's Nests

You know when you're really in the mood for Cracker Barrel, but the hurricane winds take out power and you're stuck at home trying to devise some way to feed the kids and make up for the disrupted plans? One of the reasons we like Cracker Barrel's Eggs in a Basket is because they use sourdough bread. Wal-Mart sell big, square loaves of sourdough (which we often find on the clearance bread rack and freeze) so I had the bread handy. Because the loaf is so big, I put in 2 eggs, and we started to call them Owl's Nests (because they look like owls, obviously). It did help ease the "sorry we couldn't go camping OR rent a movie OR ride our bikes, all thank to Ike" blues. ;)

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

Sourdough Owl's Nests
1 loaf square sourdough bread
butter
eggs
cast iron griddle
camp stove or fire pit (or if you're fortunate enough to have electric, the top of a gas or electric range)

Slice the bread a bit thicker than sandwich slices. Cut out two holes with a cookie cutter or small glass. Butter one side and place on the griddle. Butter the top quickly and add the eggs. Cook to desired doneness (this will require playing with the heat level) and turn over.

Hooray for natural gas running through the back yard! I was able to use my stove top (though I had to use matches to light it because the igniter is electric) rather than trying to fight the wind and rain outside.

No-Wheat Cornbread

I had a beautiful picture of this all planned and when I returned to the kitchen the pan was empty. I guess that's as good as any review. As always, I listed the kinds of items I use, but you can use whatever you like. There will be no problem of you do not use Lactaid! This is a modified favorite for the kids who can't have wheat.

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday Very Early Tuesday

No-Wheat Cornbread
1 3/4 cups corn flour (called Masa at Sav-a-Lot)
2 tbsp shortening
1 can creamed corn (I just plug my nose while it is dumped in)
2 tbsp. butter (Earth Balance)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar (turbinado)
2 eggs
1 cup milk (Lactaid)
1 tsp lemon juice

Put butter and shortening in pan (I use cast iron) and place in oven. Preheat oven to 350* as well as cast iron skillet just until butter melts. Swish around to coat pan. Measure out the milk and add the lemon juice to it. Let sit for two minutes. Meanwhile, mix well Masa, sugar, baking powder and soda, and a pinch of salt. Add can of corn (yuck!), eggs, and soured milk. Mix together with melted butter/shortening (ideally this would be ready to add just when you need it, but the skillet does not have to be a certain temperature when mix is poured in). Bake until firm in middle and lightly brown.

We eat ours with chili, or (as I discovered) right from the pan when mom's not looking. This isn't as crumbly as regular cornbread so it works well for picnic or packed lunches.

Mayo and Dressings

Not only are homemade dressings better for you in general because they don't have chemicals, artificial preservatives, and mystery fillers, it is also the easiest way to accommodate for allergies. Since many dressings call for mayo, which most often contains soy oil, a good place to start is homemade mayo with whatever oil you prefer (olive is heavenly!).

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

Homemade Mayonnaise (I got the recipe off the Internet somewhere, but they're relatively the same)
2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar
1-1/2 cups olive or other salad oil
4 teaspoons hot water

Beat yolks, salt, mustard, sugar, pepper, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl until very thick and pale yellow. It's great if you have a stand mixer because you don't have to try and hold the bowl while mixing and pouring. Add about 1/4 cup oil, drizzling in very slowly. If the oil is added too quickly it will separate. Beat in 1 teaspoon each lemon juice and hot water. Add another 1/4 cup oil, drizzling slowly. Beat in another teaspoon each lemon juice and water. Add 1/2 cup oil in a very fine steady stream, beating constantly, then mix in remaining lemon juice and water. Do this until all your ingredients are added.


From-Scratch Ranch
In a large zip-lok bag, combine the following:
1/2 cup dried chives
1/2 cup dried parsley
1/4 cup dried dill weed
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup salt
1/8 cup ground black pepper

Shake really, really, really well (like while you watch the news or something) and then when you want dressing, add 1/4 cup dry mix to 1 1/2 cups wet ingredients (either half buttermilk, half mayo, or half sour cream half mayo for dip, or all buttermilk for a thinner dressing, or any combination you feel like. There is no law when it comes to dressing). Now, think about the best dressing you ever had- Parmesan Ranch? Throw in some parm cheese. Peppercorn Ranch? Add in some fresh cracked pepper. Bacon Ranch? Sorry, can't help you there. Just kidding! Bake turkey bacon on cookie sheet until very crispy. Chop into tiny bits either with a food processor or with a knife. The more you play with it, the better you'll know what exactly you like. If you make one you don't like, use it for potato salad or macaroni salad where it will get muddled by other flavors.

Homemade Italian Dressing
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 Tbs. water
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup oil

Mix together herbs, vinegar, and water until sugar is dissolved. Add oil and shake well. This can also be personalized. Use red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. If you like, add in peppers, tomatoes, and onion chopped very fine in the food processor.

I haven't made these, but here are recipes for French, Thousand Island, and Sweet-n-Sour dressing, in case they're your favorite!

Green Tomato and Olive Salsa

a day behind, but....

Making-it-from-scratch Monday

I bought something similar to this last year at Wal-Mart and we took it camping. I really enjoyed it, so I canned a bunch of my own version when the tomatoes had to be brought in green to keep them from frost. It's really good if you like salty/tangy things like tomatoes and olives. Great with multi-grain chips (hefty enough for a bulky salsa).

Green Tomato and Olive Salsa
8 large green tomatoes
1 large jar salad olives (you're gonna chop them up anyway- why pay more for fancy stuffed?)
2 tbsp. granulated garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 habanero peppers (optional)
large white onion

Wash and core tomatoes. Quarter and process in food chopper until diced fine. Pour into a large bowl. Drain olive liquid into bowl and then process olives the same as tomatoes. Dump in bowl. Repeat with onion (and peppers if adding). Add garlic and oil to bowl and stir until well mixed.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Making-it-from-Scratch Monday

I handle stress differently than most. I generally go into shock/overdrive to get through and then when all is said and done, I cry and mourn. I also have a tendency to hold in the 'junk' and therefore end up with massive fever blisters, usually on my face. Today I have a swollen and painful lip, feel sick to my tummy, and am generally yucky. So I am making (and posting) my chicken soup recipe with a twist for sickness. Even if you don't grow/buy organic most of the time, if you are ill, it is worth the price because you don't need to add anything else for your immune system to fight. The ingredients for this batch should be garden fresh or organic.

Sick Soup
1 small chicken
6 carrots
6 sticks celery
1 white onion
1 bunch spinach or kale, diced

Start by putting the chicken in the crock pot the night before. Cover with water and add 1 tbsp. sea salt. Cook on low all night. The smell in the morning will perk you up, too. Remove the chicken and take meat from the bones. I usually reserve the breast meat for soup and leave the legs, thighs, and wings for the non-sick people to have at lunch.

Return meat to pot and add diced vegetables. Cook on high for 1-2 hours, or until vegetables are soft. Ladle into bowl, and just before eating, sprinkle with garlic granules. Garlic is really good for you, but I've noticed it loses some of its punch when cooked for long period of time, so I add it to the bowl just before eating. That way I can add extra to mine (both because I love garlic and because there are others here who aren't quite as fond of it) which makes it like liquid medicine!

I don't put in noodles or use crackers when sick because the starches will make the absorption of the minerals more difficult.

Thank you to all the dear sisters who have sent cards, emails, or called to check in on us. What a blessing to be part of such a loving and world-wide family!

Making it from Scratch Monday

picture (and cake therein) by Maggie ;)

Pick-a-fruit Coffee Cake
The nice part bout this is that you can use any fresh fruit or canned or frozen in the winter.

filling
2 cup fruit
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (I use demerara)
2 tbsp. cornstarch

cake
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup honey)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup palm shortening (or equivalent)
1 egg
1/2 cup sour milk (add a tbsp. of vinegar or lemon juice to milk)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

streusel
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. butter

If your fruit is fresh or in large pieces, start by chopping in a food processor. Add to a saucepan with water, sugar, and cornstarch. Cook until thickened. Allow to cool.

In a separate bowl, mix cake ingredients. Spread half of cake batter in a 9X9 or 8X12 pan. Pour fruit filling over cake batter, and place remaining batter on top. Sprinkle streusel over batter. Bake at 325* for about 40 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick (your baking time will depend a lot on the kind of flour used).

Making it from Scratch Monday

Baked Oatmeal
6 cups thick rolled oats
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup butter (we use Earth Balance)
1/4 cup maple syrup
nuts (optional)

Place in a 9 X 12 pan and mix well. Add water to cover. Let sit overnight at room temperature (I usually let it sit in the oven). Add milk or yogurt just before baking. Bake at 300* for 1 hour. Serve with hot tea.

Variations: just add whatever you're in the mood for
coconut milk and shredded coconut
diced apples and cinnamon
raisins and cinnamon
canned pumpkin and nutmeg
blueberries and vanilla
almonds, raisins, and chocolate chips (granola bar)

4th of July Revisited

It's making it from scratch Monday again! I'm sharing this one because my daughter said she wanted baked beans, and I had a can that I got from co-op as a sample, so I opened them and heated them for her. She tasted it and said "I like yours better." :0)

Amy's Baked Beans
2 lbs. navy beans
1 small white onion, diced very small
1/3 cup mustard (yellow or brown)
1/3 cup BBQ sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar (I use Turbinado)
1/3 cup maple syrup

Rinse beans and soak overnight. Drain rinse water and fill again to double the amount needed to cover. Cook beans on medium heat for 2 hours. They should be cooked through but not too soft. Drain again and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, mix beans with other ingredients. Pour into a baking dish with room for bubbling. Cover dish with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350*.

If you're in a real pinch, you can use canned beans, but rinse well to get rid of all that sodium.

Stretching the Dollar

We have always had to be careful with money as we have a very small income and inherited a great big debt with the farm. I try my best to get by on $600/month for groceries, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. This has to include our co-op budget, as with the many food allergies I can't just serve hot dogs and mac-n-cheese. So it has been quite a challenge, especially lately with food prices going up due to fuel and shortages. I know I love to hear about how others save money and still make good food (and by good I mean what our bodies really need and not 99 cent pizzas that go straight into the arteries). Buying in bulk is one of my best weapons, but sometimes that can be daunting as well.

One thing that I had some trouble adjusting to was chicken. I like the breast, whether it is baked, roasted, grilled, or in lunch slices. I have never really enjoyed dark meat. It is also much more fatty, and greasy dishes/hands stress me out. But white meat is suddenly the choice part. It used to be that the dark meat was everyone's favorite, but with the onslaught of diets and buffalo wings, white meat is now premium (price wise, too). So I just had to figure out a way to make the dark meat do-able. As I was prepping my chicken last night, I thought it might be of interest to someone else trying to stretch the budget by using cheaper cuts. Meats are not generally foods that interfere with allergen diets (unless you are super-sensitive to grains and then you have to find truly grass-fed meats). It is one of the easiest places for me to cut costs.

Making $4.00 of chicken last three meals
If you are very smart, you can find a better deal than even this. Stores have sales, or you can buy very large quantities for even cheaper. But we shop once a month, and until we get our barn built, have only the freezer space that is built into the fridge, so I'm going to go with the current price for leg quarters at $0.69/lb. Just for anyone who might not know (hey, we all start somewhere) the quarter is the drumstick and the thigh still attached. If we were going to splurge, I would cut them into pieces (which would be 5 drums and 5 thighs) and fry them for fried chicken. I take the skin off when I do this because the dark meat, plus skin, plus oil to fry it is way too much fat! Sometimes I will also bread them and bake for oven-fried chicken, thus saving even more grease!

But for this week, I had to stretch the chicken because we had another splurge for the holiday. I have a 6 quart crock-pot, which is perfect. Last night before bed I put the chicken in the pot and filled it to the top with water. I let it cook on high for 10 hours. This morning I took the meat out (which was slipping from the bones and so tender) and set it aside to cool. What was left in the pot was about 2 quarts of broth. But this is not just broth- this is extra strength broth. With all the bones present in dark meat and the fat in the skin and the meat itself, this broth would be way too thick and strong by itself. So I had a 1/2 gallon Mason jar that I filled half-way with broth. I fill it the rest of the way with water and let it cool. When cooled, I can put the lid on and put in the fridge (or in a freezer container to freeze if I am not planning to use it right away).

Next I added a quart of water to the crockpot to thin out the broth left in there. When the meat was cool, I divided it into three bowls- one for bones, one for fat and gristle, and one for meat. The bones are thrown away. If I had a grinder, I could make bone meal for the pets with them, but I currently don't have one. PLEASE don't ever give your poultry bones to cats and dogs. As I have recounted before, my dad watched a dog die when he was little because it got a chicken bone caught in its throat. Other bones are fine, but chicken bones splinter are are bad. The bowl of skin and gristle goes to the pets. This is especially good for them if you have to save money by buying cheaper pet foods (or if you are running a kitten orphanage like we are). The fat helps with their joints and skin.

What is then left is about 3 pounds of shredded meat. I put a pound in the crockpot for my chicken and dumplings. One pound is put either in the broth jar or a freezer bag for chicken noodle soup. One pound I put in the processor with onion, garlic, mustard, mayo, rosemary, and celery seed for chicken salad sandwiches. You may be thinking that one pound of meat is not going to go far. I serve 9 people with it. Americans are too used to making meat the main course instead of a garnish. Look around you- do you see anybody suffering from protein deficiency? I serve larger portions of vegetables or whole grain breads instead. This chicken salad will make 10 sandwiches. The pot of chicken and dumplings filled us up. We didn't even go for the optional fruit afterward. Just too full.

Making 3 meals out of a 3 pound roast
Nothing says farm life like beef stew and biscuits! To stretch out (and tenderize) a cheap roast, I first put it in the crockpot and cover with water. This usually gets cooked for 6 hours. If you don't have a crockpot, you can put it in the oven in a pan with water about half way up and cover with a lid or foil. It is really important to have both liquid and a cover in order to allow convection to tenderize the meat. If cooking in the oven, it is best to use low heat and longer cooking time. When the roast is done, I place it on my cutting board. From here, I have a few options as to which meals I want to make and in which order.

The broth in the pot is either a good stew base or great for making bean soup. I generally use the broth for beans and just use a bouillon cube and water to make the stew because the meat is there to fill out the flavor. I will cut the roast in half. One half can be served sliced thin for dinner with horseradish sauce, YUM! The other half is cubed and used for stew meat. The ends and bits are usually added to the bean soup, though the fat and broth left from the roasting are very good and don't need bouillon added to them. So from one 3 pound roast, I made bean soup, roast beef, and beef stew.

A few other odd-n-ends
Going with the idea that we do not need as much meat as we have been led to believe, I cut the meat portion in everything I make. I will buy a 3 pound package of ground beef and break it down to four blocks. I just take off the plastic, score the meat down the middle and across, and put each quarter in a freezer container. You really don't miss the little bit when you are making chili, tacos, or gravy, but it stretches the meat even further.

I will divide a gallon of whole milk (for the kids who can have it) into two gallon pitchers and fill with water. I get two gallons for the price of one. You can't even do this with skim milk in the store- two gallons of skim will cost more than one of whole. They swear they don't notice the difference. I do keep a gallon of full-strength milk for the daughter with anorexia because she needs the calorie overload.

Bacon can be expensive, and turkey bacon can be even more expensive. A splurge for us would be BLTs, which use up a large package of turkey bacon. But for breakfasts or club sandwiches, I cut the bacon in half and bake it in the oven on a cookie sheet, draining the fat into a small jar as I go. I then mix a little of the bacon fat into my mayo when I make it. You are not ingesting any more fat than you would have if you pan-fried the bacon. But the drippings have enough of the flavor to make the sandwich spread stretch the bacon taste. I also use the bacon grease instead of shortening in my breakfast biscuits and that gives them more bacon flavor without using as much bacon. The half-slices aren't even noticed!

The last little thing I wanted to add here is probably a given, but you never know! Often when a recipe calls for butter, I leave it out. When it calls for milk, I either use my diluted milk or substitute half the milk with water. I truly have never missed it. It saves calories and money.

Making it from Scratch Monday

I have never done the themed days/memes because...well, none of them ever appealed to me. But I found this one from the Humble Wife, and it is so me, so I copied it! I'm going to try the date-setting feature the Berean Wife told me about, so if you are reading this on Saturday, I did it wrong!

My first will be something fitting from the weekend- breakfast smoothies! They sell pouches that you can use to make a smoothie, but they are just sugar and poisonous artifical flavors (plus, they cost too much). If you have very sensitive teeth like me, use water instead of ice.

Breakfast Smoothie
1 cup milk (depending on who you are in this house, that can be regular, goat, or Lactaid!)
1 cup ice cubes (or 1/2 cup water)
1 cup fruit (I like to mix strawberries and bananas)
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp flax seed

Blend together until smooth. Yum! These are low calorie but still have good stuff in them.

Modified Smoothie (for those with eating disorders), the point being to get as many liquid calories into the child as possible. Liquid calories are absorbed faster and are less likely to be regurgitated later. Sorry for the eeeww factor on that, but you never know when someone else might need the info.

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
2 tbsp coconut oil or coconut milk
2 raw eggs
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Blend until smooth. This is also good for anyone recovering from a major injury/illness. I got the idea when my dad was in the burn unit in 2003. They said his body needed extra calories to heal, so they would blend Ensure with peanut butter several times a day for him. The fats are also good for skin replacement, which he was facing. With our daughter, the same was true- she needed the most calories/fats in the most readily absorable presentation, and coconut is very soothing and healing to the stomach and throat, which are damaged by bulemia.