Tomorrow....

They'll remove life support & have signed a DNR. He'll be with God, and our Grandma is waiting for him. She will be the first to see him run, to see him in perfect bodily form & to see him smile & speak. For the first time he will feel no pain.

Thank you for your prayers. Please keep my Mum & Dad in your prayers.

I don't know what the near future holds- WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!!

Copied from my facebook page. I posted this about 5:30MST. His name is T.J.

Michaela Dunn Leeper covets your prayers for God's will. My brother (who has CP) in in CCU. He went into cardiac arrest, died on the table & they brought him back. If he dies again, they'll bring him back, but if it hapens a 3rd time, my parents will let him go, as they realise it's meant to be. She said it's REALLY bad this time. He's already outlived the dr's saying he'd die by 3. He'll be 30 this year in August.

Menu 1/17-1/23/10

Breakfast ideas:

Super Creamy Crockpot Oats, sourdough toast & fruit, kefired coconut milk smoothies, multi-grain slow cooker cereal, muesli, muffins

Saturday I plan on making a big breakfast- eggs or tortilla de patata, pancakes, fruit, floured thin deer steaks

Lunch will be leftovers, sandwiches, pasta, etc

Dinner:

Sun- Graze all day potato soup & rolls
Mon- eggs, bacon, waffles, cinnamon apples
Tue- Venison loaf, mashed potatoes, fried onions, corn, biscuits
Wed- Loaded baked potato night, salads
Thu- Slow cooker pepper steak, brown rice
Fri- Pizza, cheesy bread
Sat- Chicken satay with hot peanut sauce, brown rice, peas

Reconstituting Sourdough Flakes (or Dried Sourdough Starter)

Take about 2 tablespoons of your dried sourdough starter. Add enough water to make a paste. To your paste, add 1 cup each of water & flour. Mix well. After 24 hours, check to see if your starter is living yet. This would be in the form of many bubbles on the surface. If there are no bubbles, or not many yet, give it a stir and allow to sit for another 24 hours. Once you have revived your starter, feed as you would normal sourdough starter.

Multi-grain Hot Cereal

This is such a great recipe to play with. You can choose any whole grains you wish as long as you end up with one cup worth. For example, you can do 1/2 cup each of brown rice & farina; or 1/3 cup each brown rice, farina, steel cut oats; or 1/4 cup wheat bran & 3/4 cup farina. Mix & match whatever whole grain you wish to use.

In a steel bowl that will fit inside your crockpot combine your chosen grains.

Add:

1/4c sweetener (honey, maple syrup, unrefined sugar, etc. You may use stevia**)
4 cups of liquid (coconut milk, milk, water, cocnut water, etc. or any combination of)
Generous dash of cinnamon
2 T of an acidic liquid (apple cider vinegar, whey, buttermilk, yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, etc)

Optional ingredients- dried fruit, nuts, coconut, additional spices (nutmeg, cloves, ginger, etc).

Mix your ingredients well. Fill the crock so that your bowl is in at least an inch of water (1-2" is good). Cover your crockpot & set on low. Go to bed! If you choose, you can add your optional ingredients after you've dished up the oats, rather than cooking them in. We've also poured maple syrup & coconut cream on top in the bowls. SO yummy!

**If you choose stevia as your sweetener, keep in mind that it is MUCH stronger than the above mentioned sweeteners. I've also found that different brands seem to have different strengths of sweetness. You will use just as much as your tastes desire.

Pizza Sauce

1 large can crushed tomatoes (29-32oz)
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/2t each garlic powder, onion powder
1/4t each parsley, rosemary (crushed), basil, oregano
1/2t salt
2t raw sugar
dash pepper
1 small bay leaf

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer 30 minutes to mingle flavours, longer to reach desired consistency.

This recipe makes enough for 4 large pizzas (using an "average" amount of sauce). Since I typically make 2 pizzas at a time, I divide the sauce in half & freeze the 2 portions. If you like a LOT of sauce, it will do 2-3 large pizzas.

Drying your sourdough starter

Now that you've got your starter going, it's time to start thinking about preserving it. This is really so simple. Remember to do this as soon as as your stater is happily & healthily going!

Line a cookie sheet or plate with wax paper. Pour or spoon some some of your starter (about 1/4 cup) onto the wax paper. Remember not to use metal utensils!!! Spread it thin. Place it somewhere out of the way. Warm (not hot) is best. Allow to dry for a few days. This can take 2 days to a week, depending on your house temperature & humidity. Once your starter is completely dried, you can peel/scrape the dried starter into a jar. Seal tightly. Some people like to store their starter in the freezer, but as long as it's fully dried, you can store it in a dark cool place.




Tomorrow I'll get the first couple of recipes up for you & next week a how-to on revamping your dried starter!

I've been awarded a Lemonade Stand Award

As copied from Kim at Jabez Farm:

"It is to be awarded to bloggers that show great attitude and gratitude."

Here's where I get to nominate my favorite 10 blogs. There are rules in accepting this award.

~Put the Lemonade logo on your blog or within your post.
~Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude and gratitude.
~Link the nominees within your post.
~Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
~Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

And in no particular order...

A Sparrow in the Snow- When recently faced with a life or death situation, she remained true to the Lord & never questioned His doings. I've know this gal for some years & she never ceases to amaze me.
A Dash of Wife- Brandy, she's just REAL. She chronicles her life & their lifestyle changes on her blog. And her girls- they're just too stinkin' cute!
Everything Free Eating- Challenged with many household food allergies, LZ rose to the occasion & shares her dangerous cooking techniques with us. I just love the way she writes.
GNOWFGLINS- I love this blog anyway. But to me the most precious part is her welcome video the first time I saw her site. I watched it & almost cried for a woman that was willing to put her love for the Lord out in plain sight. No apologies!
Green(ish) Mama- Julee inspires me. She has great projects & wonderful photography on her blog.
Katidids- She just makes me smile with her awesome projects & the little snippets she puts up.
Mom's Frugal- another great lady sharing her daily life AND RECIPES (have I mentioned I love food?!?!?).
One Blessed Mama of Boys- Jodi has faced many trials & tribulations & keeps her focus on becoming a God-fearing Christian. She reminds me a lot of me.
The Never Done Farm- What I wouldn't do to spend a day in Kelle's home! And as soon as the weather warms up, I plan on doing just that!
Zookeeping 101- The title of her blog alone, is funny. She is raising 9 children here on Earth.


Thank you, Kim, and know that you are included in my list. I wish I could have added everyone on my feed, but if you've seen my feed, you know that it would take me awhile to type it all up, link it, etc. Go here to see the majority of my list.

Rye Sourdough Starter

When making sourdough, I don't tend to dump half out anymore (as most recipes call for). I found, not only do I have more starter by the time it's ready, but that it also gets going quicker & makes for a healthier sourdough starter. It took EIGHT YEARS to perfect a starter. This starter has been going since June. I found the original recipe on Backwoods Home, but after even that flopped, I've tweaked it to fit my (at the time) limited experience with sourdough. Rye has definitely been the easiest for me to start. I had a rye & a regular flour sourdough side by side when I made this one, and the only way I could get the regular starter going, was by mixing my rye & using the same spoon (without rinsing) in the regular starter. After they were both started (thanks to the rye), I just dumped them together. Rye is my tried & true of choice.

Once you get your sourdough going, you have to dry some. If for any reason your sourdough starter dies, or you have to leave it unattended while you go out of town & forget to put it in the refrigerator, you'll want a back up. Drying is easy & probably best method of having a back up. If you do need to leave your starter unattended, you can store it in the refrigerator, where the chill will retard it's growth. I'll write more posts on storing & drying starters soon. Today you want to start your sourdough starter. You'll have a week & a half before you'll need the recipes & storage techniques.

I've added some links & information after the recipe to show why sourdough bread is a much healthier option than a yeast bread or an un-soaked bread.

In a large, clean, glass jar mix the following together with a plastic, wooden, bamboo or silicone stirrer (spoon, spatula, whisk). Never, ever use metal for any part of the sourdough starter making/caring process. It will react to the acids & kill the good germies.

Day 1

1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup water

Day 2

Stir

Day 3

Add & mix well:

1/4 cup rye flour
1/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup water

Day 4

Add & mix well:

1/8 cup rye flour
3/8 cup white flour
1/2 cup water

Day 5

Add & mix well:

1/8 cup rye flour
3/8 cup white flour
1/2 cup water

By this time your starter should have a sour smell. This can range from a beer smell to a fruity smell. You'll see it live. It will bubble. It will be good :D

Day 6 is when you quit using rye & begin adding unbleached all-purpose flour. You'll use equal parts water & all-purpose flour until your starter is rising & falling regularly (1/4 cup each minimum). Mine took all of 2 or 3 days to see this. If your rye starter was a success & your home is relatively warm, you should have rise & fall within just a few days. Make sure that this continues for 2-3 days before claiming your starter just right. All in all, your starter should take about 10-14 days to "perfect." As you tend to your starter over the next few months, it will get better & better.

When you switch to the all purpose feeding, I highly recommend using just that. Your starter is still fragile, and you want the content of all purpose flour to make it thrive. After your starter has lived for several weeks (not from the start, but actually "come alive" you can switch to a wheat flour. I find WW pastry flour ROCKS!).

Why Sourdough? By soaking your flours, you break down the phytic acids in flours that hinder the absorption of minerals by the body. Here are some links for your perusal. Google will also bring up MANY hits if you type phytic acid, sourdough:

The Fresh Loaf

Weston A. Price

Monday, February 1st, 2010

I will resume Kitchens Gone Wild.

Hope to see you there!

Egg Drop Soup (or Egg Flower Soup)

I was hungry. I was reading a forum in which someone mentioned "slurping the egg drop soup." So I googled a recipe, figuring I'd add it to next month's menu plan. I found a recipe on about.com & decided to give it a whirl. Right then. I never realised how easy egg drop soup was to make. In an effort to feed my family more foods that are nutrient dense (in other words, more bang for my buck), it is important to use homemade broth or stock. I also specified pastured eggs, which are far more nutritious than caged birds. If you don't know where to find pastured eggs, try Local Harvest or Eat Wild. This is my tweaked version of the original recipe:

Egg Flower Soup

1 quart homemade bone broth (chicken or turkey)
2 pastured eggs, beaten
1/8 t Chinese 5-spice powder
1/4 t each onion powder & garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Green onions, chopped, optional

Bring to a boil the stock. Add the rest of the ingredients except the eggs. Stir. Slowly pour in your eggs, stirring the whole time. Remove from heat & enjoy!

The 5-spice, onion & garlic powders add a very authentic taste. I think they really pumped up the flavour & were much better than the original recipe would have been.