31 Days of Balancing Work and Home {day four} : lose the pride.

My advice for today....buy the packaged cookies from the bakery.

Why such trite advice today? Because we put so much pressure on ourselves to perform. I know not every working woman feels this way, but I am one that likes to make things from scratch. It kind of kills me to buy any packaged food. Whenever I am signed up to bring food to some event, I like it to be something that I made. So, I have to ask myself at times if it is a matter of wanting to be healthy and eat whole foods, or is it a matter of pride? For our meals at home, I would say it is about health.

But yesterday, I had to scrap the baking pride and pick something up at the grocery store for a meeting while I was running late to work. I would rather wow people. I would rather be the person with the best, yummiest dish. I like people to ask for my recipes. That's pride talkin'!

This week I've been busy. This week, I've been trying to focus on my house. This week I didn't have time to make yummy things. Because I work all day. And you know what? That's ok. Bake when you can, buy when you need to in order to maintain your sanity and be a good steward of your time. That's what I'm learning.

What's on the Menu 9/30- 10/6

Here's what we're eating! It's been a while since I've posted regularly, so I'm hoping to be up and running more often in October. :) Do you have a menu plan? Feel free to leave a link to your menu post in the comments!

Sunday- We went to some friends' for dinner, so I didn't have to cook! Yay!

Monday- It's band night for hubby, so we just grab something on the road. Nice part of not having kids: we don't really have to plan anything for dinner if we have things to do. Bad part: we eat more Wendy's than we should.

Tuesday- Small group- we are bringing salad toppings. This will be a good way to use up some end of season garden tomatoes!

Wednesday- Chili and cornbread- hoping my crockpot doesn't burn my food this week. I really don't want to buy a new one. :(

Thursday- Fish tacos with rice and mango salsa

Friday- Meatball subs and salad

Saturday- Beef stew and biscuits

Make ahead and freezer cooking- This week I need to keep dealing with garden tomatoes and figure out what to do with those. :) Also, I'm going to make Freezer Lasagna Casserole, cookies, and granola bars. Hopefully.

Farmer's Market Trip= salsa and sauce

A couple of weeks ago, hubs and I headed out in the drizzling rain to go up to the local farmer's market. It's close enough to walk, but we were being babies about the weather. :)

Can I just say it is super easy to spend all of your money at the market??? I remind myself that I am supporting local farmers when I realize I am all out of my cash stash that I brought. It goes quick!

We did get some meat and dairy, so that ate into our little farmer's market budget quickly. So worth it! We bought this really yummy mozzarella filled pizza sausage from Green Vista Farms, and some drinkable yogurt from another grass fed farm. We were leery at first, but yum!!!!!

We brought home this beautiful haul, and got out everything to make tomato sauce and salsa. Some of this stuff is from the garden, too. I snapped the picture after we got out everything for cooking.

Then hubs made this beautiful, yummy salsa.(That's him in the background looking up recipes.) He has the patience to chop everything very tiny. My salsa would be a lot chunkier. I made some tomato basil sauce, and we ate it with our yummy, sustainably raised pizza sausage. De.licious.



Linking up at: Gastronomical Sovereignty, Sew Chatty, Skip to My Lou, Ninth Street Notions, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Frugally Sustainable, A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa, A Diamond in the Stuff,

{urban homestead}

I read this great article from A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa about the movement of urban homesteading. I thought she presented beautifully the balance between this busy life, living simply, and being good stewards of what God has given us. Check it out, I think you'll like it as much as I did!

little house in Ohio.

I've been busy with what I like to think of as preserving our harvest this week. In reality, it is probably 25% our garden success, and 75% grocery store produce to supplement. Because what seems like an awful lot of peppers and tomatoes isn't really when you start cooking it down. :)

On Monday, I had the opportunity to work at home. I had beautiful visions of working all day in half hour increments and slowly cleaning my house and doing my freezer cooking. In reality, I spent my day here:

Yes, that is an enormous pile of laundry to be folded. No, I didn't even get to that. The state database that I use for work  is the bane of my existence, and usually keeps me from doing a long list of important things while I am at my desk at work. I wanted to see if working at home would help that problem by allowing me to just concentrate. Nope. It sucks anywhere I go. I think I should come to terms with my loathing of that particular system.

Anyway, I did manage to make this for dinner:





I am so proud of this pizza because it is so very whole: homemade rosemary crust (with rosemary from our garden), homemade pasta sauce (with half store bought and half garden tomatoes, and basil from our garden), and topped with fresh mozzarella, basil (garden), and cherry tomatoes (garden). It was so yummy!

The rest of the week was spent doing a little cleaning and cooking after work each day, except for a church meeting on Tuesday and coffee with a friend on Wednesday. I am almost finished working through the huge box of organic apples that the hubs brought home. I turned them into 5 quarts of sliced apples (ready to turn into apple pie filling this fall!) and 2 pints of apple butter. I have one more "layer" of apples from the box to go. Ideas????? Below are a couple of pictures of my canning success. I hope. We'll know for sure in a few months!

That was pretty much how my week went! I am finding out that preserving food  is an ongoing process! No end in sight! 



abundance.

I was briefly watching the news the other day, and they were talking about the drought across America, and how it will soon affect food distribution. It's incredible to me that there are millions of people starving because of a real food crisis, as in, there isn't ANY food, but we choose to pay attention as soon as our grocery store prices may hike up. That's when we take notice of starvation.

But anyway, I don't want to rant on and on about the American attitude. I really want to talk about food. I read this article, which I thought really explained the chain of events that the drought will cause. What amazes me is that the solution to the problem that the government has laid out here was to a) throw money at it, and bail governments out of what could be a global food crisis, and b) genetically modify our food even more to withstand floods and droughts. This is an incredible contrast to the way the people handled drought, flood, and famine in the Bible. Repent, pray for rain, and settle in with your storehouses for some famine. And pray some more.

This has motivated me not just to try learning more things like canning, but also to start focusing on things like eating and buying local. I am not an expert in agriculture or economics by any stretch of the imagination, but if you think about it, the Midwest of America having a drought is going to cause a global food crisis. One region of one country. And do you know why? The corn and the soybean crop aren't prospering. Two of the ingredients that go into pretty much every processed food out there. And this will affect our beloved beef and dairy industry, because our cows are fed with corn. Which is bad for them, and bad for us. Can I just say yay for the farmers who grass feed their cows? Sustainable farming is called sustainable farming for a reason. Because the other way is not, in fact, sustainable. You will eventually have a global food crisis. Again, this is the simple version. I do not know all that there is to know about farming and food distribution around the world. And I am not downplaying the impact it will have on the world's truly hungry. I am saying we should be conscious of our food choices.We are so accustomed to going to the store and getting absolutely ANYTHING that we could imagine or desire. Wow. We won't know how to survive if we have a food shortage.

Our garden is doing very well this year, minus one annoying groundhog that is eating our tomatoes at an alarming rate. In older, simpler times, this would mean a good year for us. Also, we could just shoot the groundhog. And probably eat that, too. We wouldn't be relying on corn growing in Indiana to feed the cows in Wisconsin, so that we could have meat here in Ohio. We would either have a cow, buy meat from someone who had cows, or eat something different. We would not have a crisis based on another part of the world, or even of our country. The thought of how far we have come in our "progress" blows me away.

So, anyway, that is my tangent about food. I'm sure there are many more intelligent and informative things to be read about it, from many perspectives. I hope you do read about it, and share your thoughts. I hope to read more as well, and continue to make small changes in my life to decrease my reliance on the crops not faring well in the Midwest. I'd really love to read some opinions from sustainable farmers. In the meantime, let's pray for rain for these farmers with failing crops!

Hopefully I am back to stay.

I got motivated to start blogging again, after settling after our move. Then our computer bit it. {Of course, backing up my pictures and documents was something I had procrastinated  on.} So, we decided to wait and save up to pay cash for a new one. It was hard, but worth it. And so, I come to you on my new laptop, with my new wi-fi hookup, feeling very up to date and techy, indeed. :)

I hope I am back to stay- blogging just got a whole lot easier with this laptop, let me tell you! I function a lot better when I can multitask!

I had the day off of work, and I spent it doing the wifey, housy stuff I want to do, but don't really have time to do. We have a pretty healthy garden going, so with peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini flowing in, I had a lot of freezer prep and preserving to do.

These are pictures of our garden about 3-4 weeks ago; it is a lot bigger now!

I bought about 10 lbs. of peaches clearanced out at Buehler's for $4, and needed to use them up right away. I decided on sliced, flash frozen for half of the peaches, and made the rest into crock pot peach butter. And it is delicious! The jar in this picture is what I set aside to go ahead and eat instead of can. I also froze 8 cups of zucchini, a bag of whole cherry tomatoes, and diced apples.

And, speaking of canning, this is my first time ever trying it! I used Ashley English's book, Homemade Living: Canning and Preserving with Ashley English. It was really helpful, with big, easy to follow pictures and instructions. I made tomato basil pasta sauce and then the peach butter for canning. The sauce only made 1 medium and one small jar! I definitely thought it would be more! The peach butter made 2 small jars for canning, plus the small jar I kept aside for the fridge.

That was my day! I love my job, and I know I would get bored fast being at home alone all day, but I absolutely LOVED how much I got done today by powering through and focusing on my home. I hardly ever get to do that!



Linking Up at:

Skip to My Lou , Sew Chatty , A Bowl Full of Lemons, Time Warp Wife

DIY :: homemade English muffins ::

I was excited to make these and I am so glad that they turned out! They are even better than packaged, I think. They are thicker and more filling. Plus, I know every ingredient that went into them! (Even if there are a couple of not-so-great ones!)

Recipe:  

1 cup of milk
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
1/4 cup of melted shortening
6 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Yield: about 14 muffins

 1. Warm the milk in a saucepan until it bubbles. (I actually used soy milk, and it went just fine.) Remove from heat, and stir in sugar until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm.

 2. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

 

3. In a large bowl, combine the milk mixture, the yeast mixture, shortening, and 3 cups of flour.

4. Beat until smooth!

 5. Add the salt, and the rest of the flour, or enough to make a soft dough. (I think I ended up using a little less than 5 cups total. It definitely didn't need 6!) Knead. Place in a greased bowl; cover, and let rise. (I left it for about an hour.)

6. After it rises, punch it down.

 7. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter, drinking glass, etc. (I used a small round Ziploc container.)

8. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust the tops of the muffins with cornmeal also. 

9. Cover and let rise for half an hour.

 10. Heat a greased griddle. Cook muffins on the griddle about 10 minutes on each side. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. 

11. Or, if you are the chef, and get hungry, split one open and load the hot yeasty goodness with cinnamon butter and devour. :)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Linking up at::

Let Birds Fly
Adventures in Dinner
Kissed by a Frog
Flamingo Toes
Sisters of the Wild West
 

Let

What's on the Menu: 1/29- 2/4

I was feeling pretty low on cooking inspiration a few weeks ago, when I started trying recipes on Pinterest. Last week, I tried a whole bunch of new things that I found on skinnytaste.com via Pinterest. I really LOVE recipe sharing! I love to cook, but I lack the creativity to whip up healthy, interesting meals on my own. These sites have been invaluable to me! Plus, I think hubby has liked every single one so far. Not that he's picky, but still, it's nice.

Here's what we are eating this week:

Sunday: Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza w/ Pineapple

Monday: Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Roasted Potato Wedges (We ended up not having this last week)

Tuesday: Small group! I get off easy this week- I'm bringing drinks!

Wednesday: White Bean & White Wine Soup

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Skinny Salisbury Steak w/ Mashed Potatoes/Cauliflower & Mushroom Gravy, Tossed Salad

Saturday: Grilled Chicken w/ Lemon Basil Pasta, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread

I also plan to try homemade granola bars, homemade English muffins, and Baked Oatmeal with blueberries & bananas. We'll see how it goes! I am really attempting to make as many "convenience" type foods that we like from scratch. We really don't do very much boxed, prepared, or convenience food due to my food allergies and trying to eat well. But in an attempt to go completely to a whole foods diet, I am trying to get rid of the few things I do just grab from the shelf. We may never be 100% there, but I think every little bit helps!

{friday's featured female} :: The Proverbs 31 Woman, vs. 14

Vs. 14- "She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar."

I watched a documentary last night called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." ( I know you're wondering what that has to do with Proverbs 31!) Well, I've been thinking a lot about food, recipes, growing food, whole foods diets, and so on. This film talked about many interesting things that I won't get into right now. But one thing that stood out to me was a section where they talked about how convenient our food is. I don't just mean fast food. But in general, food is very easy to come by and prepare in our culture. They talked about how much healthier it was in older days to have to work for every meal. To have to hunt it, or grow it, or figure out how to store it. Not only did people eat more naturally this way, they also got a lot of physical activity while acquiring their food supply. We don't have to grow anything if we don't want to. We don't have to clean the game in order to have meat, or grind our own wheat for flour. If people do those things, it is usually by conscious choice, not necessity.

I wish I knew more about the culture and times of the Proverbs 31 woman. I hope to read more to discover some of the ways she lived! I connected that clip of the documentary with this verse in Proverbs. I wonder what food choices were available in her village. We see over and over again that this woman finds ways to provide her family with the best things. Did she have to get her food from far away? Or was that in an effort to have better eating choices for her family? Something tells me that not every homemaker in her village was going through the same trouble. I think this was a woman who stood out; maybe she did things a little differently! I wonder if there were ingredients that she wanted that she couldn't get down at the open market. I wonder if she waited for her shipments to come in so that she could stock up on the things she needed to make healthy and wholesome choices for her family's meals. I also secretly wonder if she would have loved the world of homemaker's blogs and exchanging healthy recipes! I know that sometimes online is where I find kindred spirits- other ladies devoted to their homemaking, and trying to feed their families healthier, more homegrown, and more organic foods. As I find an online community of other women all across North America, I wonder if she felt alone. Maybe even a little weird for choosing to go against the grain. Maybe everyone else was buying convenience foods down at the market, but she was down by the docks, waiting for her shipments to come in. Maybe- I don't know!

I think this verse, above all, speaks encouragement to those trying to do things a little bit differently. Maybe against what our culture deems "normal." It's old-fashioned to bake bread, to stay home with your children, to even utter the word "homemaking." Let her encourage your heart today that it is the best choice to go the extra mile for your family, no matter how big or small the act may be. It is always right to be wise in your decisions on how to feed, clothe, educate your children and organize your home. I don't believe that God specifically calls us as women to work, or to stay at home, or homeschool, or send our kids to school, or have a brood of children, or have one, or even to marry or stay single. I know some would disagree with me on this, and that's ok. I do know He calls us to be keepers of our homes- whether that is just you, or a dozen people! So make wise choices in your home. Gather your food from afar, whatever that may mean today in your life. Whatever it is you do that is best for you and your family, even if it's a little unconventional in our world- do it boldly!


Linking up at::::