To be or not to be... that was the question...

Yes, I realize it's been a long time since I've blogged anything. What I'm blogging about today doesn't even pertain to food or nutrition or anything of the sort. But that's okay, bc well, it's my blog. ;)

As many of you know, I have been deeply wrestling with the idea of making a go at photography or just walking away from it altogether (as a business, that is). Quite honestly, I never imagined myself in this position to begin with. I don't have a romance story with my camera, we don't go way back, for crying out loud I never even used my point and shoot camera very often a year ago. Yet here I am, wondering if this is what God has for me right now.

I mean, let's just be real here: photographer's are a dime a dozen these days, with digital photography and photo editing making the process more accessible for the average Joe. Gone are the days of having to have a dark room to process your pictures. You can just pick up your DSLR, snap away, and have great photos, right?

But, it's really not that simple. Running a camera in manual mode, balancing exposure, learning about light (natural and studio), and getting the hang of composition isn't as easy as one might think. It's mechanics, art, and emotion all rolled into one. Any one of those on their own are insufficient. No one will ever know all there is to know about photography in general. No one will ever "arrive" or stop growing. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder - a photograph that one person loves, another person will find boring. We are uniquely and wonderfully made and all feel drawn to something different.

This is why I'm not going to give up. This is what I'm going to remind myself when I get impatient with my mistakes and lack of skills. This is what I will say to myself so that I cut myself a little slack now and then.

Because how ridiculous would it sound to say, "Well, I won't sing bc someone else I know already does." Or, "I'm not going to paint and draw bc there's already alot of people who do it." That seems absurd, right?!?! And if we were all honest with ourselves, we would remember the wise words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:9 "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." There is no composition in photography that hasn't already been done somewhere, by someone. What makes the photography unique is the people in it, or the opportunity to view something from someone else's mind's eye. What makes photography worth it is the people you touch with the pictures you take. It doesn't have to be everyone.

All of this is what I had to come to terms with, in myself. To take it just as it is right now, and let God develop something in me as He chooses. Because although there is nothing new under the sun, I do know that there has never been, nor will ever be another me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by a Creator that can do far above what I can think or imagine. I alone am nothing special. But me with Him working in me and through me can accomplish things I wouldn't have on my own. Who am I to say He couldn't use measly 'ol me, with my limited knowledge and character flaws, to serve someone with the gifts He's given me?

Maybe in the long run, photography won't be my lifelong career. Maybe I'll give it a shot and it will fizzle away eventually. I'm okay with that. It's not really about the photography itself, it's about the process. It's about what I'll learn during whatever season I'm in. How awesome that God would love me enough to teach me!

For now, here I am. I'm pushing my fears and doubts aside, and I'm going to stop comparing myself to everyone else and thinking I don't measure up. I know I will grow and develop my skills. I know practice and success and failure are going to teach me alot. And when I think about what photography means to me, right now, I think about REALITY. I want to photograph real people, with real lives, doing whatever it is they do. I want to capture who they are, their personalities. I especially want to explore more food photography and grow in that area. I also really love landscape and still-life photographs.

I'm so thankful for all the support and encouragement I've gotten from friends and family. Especially to those of you who have put up with me verbalizing my frustrations and reservations about it all! ;) Be patient with me as I get the business side of it worked out - a website, info on prices, etc.

So, there ya have it. That's why I'm here. Hope to have the opportunity to work with all of you in the future. :)

Chicken Enchiladas

I am really loving this cooler weather. Fall is my favorite season. I love everything about it - the smell of fresh apples, the colors of the leaves changing, pumpkins everywhere, hot apple cider, sweatshirts and jeans, and being able to use my oven without it making my house 95 degrees inside (no, this is not an exaggeration, it was 93 degrees in here a little over a week ago). I seriously could spend an hour just taking pics of apples bc I think they're so fantastic! But, I'm not posting a recipe for apples, not yet anyway. I'm here to talk about chicken enchiladas.

This isn't a recipe, so to speak. I just kinda throw some stuff in my cast iron pan and call it good 'nuf. Dump some in, taste. Not right? Dump some more in. It works. ;) I mean, hey, everyone's tastes are different. You might like your mouth to feel as though it were on fire after you take a bite of your enchilada. I, on the other hand, like to be able to feel my taste buds while I'm eating so I chose to back off a little on the cayenne. Either way, you can pretty much do what you want with this to make it all your own.

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
1 red pepper
1 sweet onion
a few garlic cloves
salt
1 TB cumin
2 tsp dried cilantro
1/8-1/2 tsp powdered cayenne
red sauce
corn or flour tortillas
toppings of choice - lettuce, tomato, sour cream, ranch, black olives, cheese, etc.

Okay, so first you want to heat up your cast iron pan and pour a little bit of oil in the bottom to coat it. Add your chicken breasts and enough water to cover them about half way up. Put a lid on and let them cook until done completely. Cut/shred them up and put them back in the pan.

Now, cut up the onion and pepper and add those, along with the spices and garlic. Put a lid on it again and turn down the heat to low and let it simmer so the pepper and onion get slightly soft.





While that's going on, preheat your oven to 400, and make up your red sauce in a separate pan. I think the recipe says to let that simmer for awhile but it's not really necessary so don't worry about it.

Add a few scoops of your red sauce to the chicken mixture.



Get your tortillas and a 9x13 pan.



Put a spoonful or two of the chicken mixture into each tortilla, roll it up, and place it into the dish. Make sure you line them up so you can fit at least 10-12 in there (unless you're using really big tortillas).



Pour red sauce all over the enchiladas. I prefer less sauce than what I used for this photo. Go with whatever you prefer. If you are using cheese, now would be the time to put that on there also.

Put the dish in the oven, uncovered, and bake for about 15 minutes or until the tortillas are nice and hot.


Once that's all done, dish them out onto a plate and cover in toppings. MMM....



I'm sure you've realized by now that we get more use out of our ice cream maker than any other person out there who owns one. Just getting my money's worth, ya know. ;) So, it will not come as a shock that we had homemade ice cream with baked cinnamon apples and pears. They are so easy - peel and slice some apples and pears and place them in a glass dish. Sprinkle some lemon juice over them, along with 1 tsp or so of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, some honey or sugar, and a few slabs of butter. Cover and bake until soft.


It's not a good idea to have a second helping of this stuff. Not that I'm speaking from experience, it's just something I heard... :)

Motorcycles, Trains, and the Return of Spaghetti

Around these parts we have the MDA motorcycle parade every year on Labor Day weekend. The kids love it and we see some pretty awesome bikes (along with some pretty silly ones!). It goes right past our house, which is pretty convenient if you want to watch the parade. Or, pretty INconvenient if you're hoping to get in or out of our driveway during that block of time - ain't gonna happen. I was excited to get some shots of the bikes and the kids. Unfortunately, it was cold and cloudy and yucky. Nevertheless, I did get some funny pics.








The following day, Labor Day, we trekked over to the Hesston Steam Museum with some great families from church. It was windy and cold (I won't even get started on that - only in IN do you have 90 degree weather one day and three days later you're in sweatshirts). But I had a blast shooting pics the whole time.








And last but not least, since this is supposed to be a FOOD blog, we have brought back spaghetti in this house. It's been over a year bc we did the grain free thing for awhile. The kids have begged and pleaded for spaghetti several times. Now, I realize this doesn't fall under the healthiest of dinner options, and it's not even made from scratch bc I cheated and bought the sauce. But as you can see by the look on my son's face, who cares?!?! It was worth it just to see that. LOL ;)

A Week in Pictures

Well, the summer is about to wrap up here soon. As it comes to an end and we start the crazy chaos we like to call "school" around here, I've been trying to get some stuff from the garden canned and frozen. It makes me happy to see the pretty jars all stacked and ready to go, even though I'm definitely not a fan of the actual process (more like I dread the actual process). Canning season helps remind me that a clean house is highly over-rated, laundry WILL wait for me, and there is no such thing as the cleaning fairy.

Anyway, I don't have any recipes to post, although we ate fantastic grilled chicken and salad last night along with homemade vanilla ice cream and bananas foster to round it out. :) The pics were crummy so alas, I have nothing to show for it. Instead, I thought I'd share a few pics of things we've been doing this week.

Hope your summer is ending sweetly and your kiddos are ready for school! :)


On Sunday, two of our boys were baptized.



The child that wasn't baptized became a sand monster. Yes, I had to take him home with me. Fun,right?! ;)



I found a perfectly round, pretty pumpkin growing out of my compost pile.



A friend gave us some apples and I made spiced applesauce to freeze.



My cucumber plants did awful and died, but I did get some pickles and sweet relish out of the deal. Also tried some hot pepper sauce. Note to self: pay attention to holes in the gloves! (Okay, technically this was last week but I threw in this pic anyway.)



I got up-close and personal with two pretty boys to get pics of my friend's horses....



... and couldn't leave out Rodney. ;) He wanted to pose, too.



The tomatoes are finally turning red! MMM... salsa. That little pint jar is my son's salsa he made himself. He likes that sort of thing.



We were also blessed with two 5 gallon buckets of green beans. 1/3 of my crew pitched in to help. 1/3 of the crew was camping...





... the other 1/3 played Lego spinners.



Miss G found the best spot in the house. It's so hot here! I think she was supervising the green bean operation.


Have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!!

Greens, Fruits, and a Blender

I have sat down to write this post several times and didn't get it out. I'm determined this time, though! I'm here to rant, so bear with me. But, not to fear! I'm convinced my friends V and K are the only people who read my blog anyway, and they're too far to throw things at me. Plus, they agree, so it won't matter. ;)

Our journey with natural health and whole foods started years ago. So long ago, that I only vaguely remember eating out of a box at one time. It started out as necessity. We were sick, and food was part of the solution. As time has gone on, I've grown to love food in an entirely different way. Fresh fruits and vegetables excite me, energize me, and make me feel whole. Herbs are awesomely intriguing, and meats and dairy straight from the farm make me happy. I long for the day when we can produce many of things things right on our own piece of land. For now, we are blessed with great resources.

But that's not what I'm here to post (ahem, rant) about. I look around and I'm surrounded by sick people. Some of them know they are sick. Others don't even realize it. In a passionate haste, I want to run to them and say "WHAT ARE YOU EATING?" But I can't. Although my intentions are pure, and it's only out of love that I want desperately to help them, it's not usually perceived that way. You see, our society has taught us to rely on doctors, pharmacies, and pills. We want a quick fix. One pill causes side effects that require another pill, and so goes the story. The next thing you know, we are drugged up on man-made solutions that were caused by man-made food in the first place. To make it even worse, we drug our children, also.

Think about this - diabetes, heart disease, cancer, fibromyalgia, depression, Crohn's Disease, allergies, asthma, ADD, rashes, insomnia, chronic headaches, obesity, joint pain... am I ringing any bells here? Do these things sound familiar? This is only a short list! We are a sick and dying people, slowly killing ourselves with the food and chemicals we consume and come into contact with on a daily basis. YET, NOT VERY MANY PEOPLE SEE FOOD AS THE CULPRIT. Why is that? Why would someone not consider what fuels their body, as the source of illness? Is it because we believe these things are unavoidable? Or that sickness is just a mandatory part of life? Maybe. But I think part of the problem is the attachment we have to food. The emotional attachment that causes us to seek out comfort or happiness in that sugar covered donut, or the greasy burger and fries. Comfort FOOD. I've been there. I didn't know any better, and I'd venture to guess that a lot of others don't either. That's why I'm here ranting. ;)

Your body is a living machine. So complicated and high-tech that most of what goes on in there is unnoticeable. Even scientists don't have it all figured out. God made it that way on purpose! You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Your body is designed to run itself, heal itself, and sustain itself. It cannot, and will not, do that on dead food. You cannot feed a live body dead food. All those fruits and vegetables that get cooked into mush, or packaged and heated and processed so that they can sit on a shelf for six months, then be reheated in a microwave oven, once contained micro-organisms vital for health. In their natural state, they were jam-packed with nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. All of which are necessary to fuel the body and keep it healthy. You won't find ANY of those things in that cardboard box at the grocery store. Instead, you'll fill your body with toxins, chemicals, preservatives, insane amounts of sugar (don't even get me started on sugar), artificial colors and ingredients, and DEAD FOOD. Is that what God intended us to feed ourselves? How can we blame Him for sickness and disease, when we ourselves have turned from what He gave us to feed ourselves and perverted it into something so unrecognizable, that you can't even tell what it started out as?

Okay, I know what you're thinking. I sound like a fanatic. And that's true. But I want to put out a challenge. Don't take my word for it. See for yourself what REAL LIVE FOOD can do for you. It's so easy! Here's where the title of this post starts to make sense. Get yourself a blender. Vow to stop consuming sugar and processed food for two weeks. Seriously, just two weeks. Fill up your fridge with fruits and vegetables (local or organic if possible). Every morning when you wake up, instead of reaching for that donut or bowl of cereal, throw fruits and veggies in a blender and make a smoothie. That's it! Start small if you want, only change your breakfast habits. If you want to go all out, see if you can make healthier choices throughout the day. You may feel sick for the first few days as your body detoxes out junk. Tired, foggy head, headaches, or even stomach aches are all normal and mean your body is cleaning house, doing what it needs to in order to start healing. But by the second week, I think you'll be surprised at the results.



To get you started, here's a list of things I love making smoothies with. I mix it up, so I'm not drinking the same thing all the time.

Chia Seed - I always use this bc it's high in omega 3's and protein.
honey or liquid stevia for sweetener

watercress
swiss chard
rainbow chard
collards
spinach
dinosaur kale (or other kale)
cilantro
beets
carrots
cucumber
lime
lemon
grapefruit
orange
kiwi
pineapple
apple
pear
peach
any kind of berry
mango
papaya
banana
ginger root
avocado
young coconut meat and/or water
cocoa powder
cacao nibs
vanilla extract

water or a liquid like raw milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc.

I like to set aside time after I grocery shop, to get everything ready so the morning smoothie routine goes quickly. I wash, peel, cut and freeze anything I can. I lay it out on cookie sheets with waxed paper, then put it in a container or freezer bag once it's frozen. This makes everything SO easy. I even freeze my greens if need be.

If you don't prefer all the fiber and thickness, use a juicer. Juice your fruits and veggies.

I want to spread the word that there's hope. I know, bc I'm still walking my road to health and so are my kids. But what we eat is crucial. I crave the good stuff now. I feel better. Was it easy to make changes? No way! Is anything worth doing ever easy? It's definitely worth it.

I'd love to hear about your experience if you decide to take the smoothie challenge. What have you got to lose?

Iced Mocha Chicory

It's HOT here. Not just regular hot, but "our AC broke and it's 90 degrees in our house" hot. Yep, I'm getting delirious.

Hubby needed his daily caffeine fix. So, of course, he made iced coffee. Then, while browsing Pinterest, I saw a blog post for iced coffee. Awhile later I was on Facebook and a friend linked another blog for iced coffee. I was starting to feel deprived. See, caffeine and I don't mix well. At all. But it looked so good in the pictures! I decided it would work just fine to sub chicory for the coffee, and add some cocoa just for kicks. I bet I'm not the first person to do this, but I don't care. I'm blogging it anyway. Because this is my blog, and I can post if I want to. ;)

You need:
brewed chicory, chilled
ice cubes
cocoa powder
sweetener (I used honey and liquid stevia)
raw cream or some other sort of heavy cream

Pour about 2 cups of chilled chicory in the blender. Add a few ice cubes, 2 TBS of cocoa powder, and your sweetener to desired level of sweetness. Blend.

Fill a glass about 3/4 the way full with ice cubes. Pour your chicory concoction into the glass, about halfway full. Now, add the cream to fill the glass most of the way full.

There you have it, iced mocha chicory. It didn't make up for a broken AC, but it tasted good. :)

Veggie and Feta Omelet with Red Potatoes

You know you eat eggs often when your kids say, "Aw, eggs AGAIN?" Yes, again! Eggs don't have to be boring! Unfortunately, my kids won't eat them all dressed up and yummy. Oh well, their loss. I, on the other hand, love them. Especially omelets. You can stuff anything you want into those things and get a different combination each time. Fry them up in a cast iron skillet, and you have a perfect meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Here's some of my favorite things to mix and match for omelets. I use what I have on hand. Dice it all up and throw it in a skillet with some olive oil to sautee for a few minutes, then throw it on top of the omelet.

Mushrooms
Spinach
Kale
Onions
Green Onions (scallions)
Shredded Cheese
Feta Cheese
MSG-free Sausage
Peppers (red, orange, yellow, or green)
Ham
Left-over Steak
Tomatoes
Black Olives
Chopped Bacon


Pick and choose what you like. Now, you need to add some fried potatoes with it. Find a local farmer's market and pick up some red potatoes. Clean them, and slice them up into chunks. Put some olive oil in your skillet, heat it up, and throw your potatoes in there. Slice up a sweet onion and put that in there, too. Add salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, a dash of garlic powder, a dash of onion powder, and a cube of butter. Fry until the potatoes are soft. I put a lid on mine and a bit of water in the bottom. The absolute BEST way to make these potatoes is in a foil packet on the grill, though. Oh man, they're awesome.

So, there you have it. Stuffed veggie omelets and red potatoes. I guarantee you won't be hungry when you're done eating. :)

Raw Coconut Flour Cookie Balls

I love getting as much raw food into our diet as possible. I also don't like eating the same thing over and over. Therefore, I have been pondering for quite some time, how to use raw coconut flour without baking with it. Then, last week I got my new book "Living Raw Food" by Sarma Melngailis (which happens to be one of my favorite books). I was eyeing her recipe for Chocolate-Coconut Truffles and thought, "I could do that with coconut flour!"

I still have several ideas for using raw coconut flour floating around in my head, but this is the first one I tried and it was a hit with the kids. Also great for those hot days when using your oven is out of the question. These are very filling, which comes in handy when you have a house full of "starving" boys. ;)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup date paste*
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 cup honey
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
3/4 cup coconut flour
almonds, finely chopped for coating

Melt butter and add it to date paste. Mix well. Stir in vanilla, sea salt, and honey. Add the coconut flakes. Once you have it mixed well, stir in the coconut flour. Dough will be thick.

Form 1-inch balls with the dough, then roll them in chopped almonds for a coating. Place them on a cookie sheet and refrigerate to slightly firm them.

*Date paste is easy to make and wonderful to use by itself or in recipes. Soak raw, pitted dates in water for an hour or so. Strain, and grind them to a paste in a food processor. Use some of the left-over water to get the desired consistency, which should be thick but soft and spreadable.

Sprouted Coconut Sunflower Seed Bars

I really love this whole "sprouting" deal. I already went into minor detail in another post on the benefits of sprouting, but I highly recommend you read up on it and give it a shot. There is so much info on the net about sprouting, and all sorts of different websites that sell special sprouting jars or bags and other helpful tools.

I soaked and sprouted raw sunflower seeds last week. For some reason, I had this idea that if I stuck them in the oven on low, it would dry them out and they would be crispy. Hmm.... yeah, well, that idea didn't pan out like I had hoped. It could very well be that I just didn't do it right (that happens frequently). But what I ended up with was a sheet of darkened, wet sunflower seeds. Next time, I will use my dehydrator instead! (Have I ever mentioned how much I love using a dehydrator? Love it!) Anyhow, I didn't want to waste my precious sprouted sunflower seeds. My next big idea was to throw them into the food processor and make sunbutter with them. Uhmm, yeah, strike two on the sunflower seeds experiment. Ahh! All I had was a big batch of finely chopped seeds that were still very moist. So, in yet another attempt to salvage my seeds, I put them in a bowl and decided to try making bars with them. And guess what? IT WORKED! They were actually good! ;) I could tell this by the fact that my kids came back pleading for a second helping.

I put the rest of my sunflower seed meal in the fridge in a jar, and pulled it out today to attempt the bars again, only tweaking the previous recipe to make it a little bit better. I'm so happy with the results, that I'm posting them. Then, I'm going to go make another cup of hot tea and eat another one. ;)

Ingredients:
2 cups finely chopped, soaked and sprouted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients well. Using your hands or a spatula, press the dough into a small bar pan or other baking pan. I line my bar pan with greased parchment paper to prevent sticking. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The bars will become nicely browned, thin, and slightly crisp on the edges. Allow them to cool, then cut and serve.

Baked Stuffed Pears

Here's any easy, yummy recipe for pears. I whipped this up tonight and the fam thought it was blog worthy, so here you go. And since I was prepared, I even have pics to go along with it. :)

Ingredients:
8 medium sized pears
1/2 stick of butter (could sub coconut oil)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/3 cup organic cane sugar or honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 box raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Core the pears using a coring tool (I love those things). Stand them upright in a dish. Cover the bottom of the dish in a little bit of water.



In a bowl, crumb the butter, sugar, walnuts, coconut, and cinnamon. Add the raisins and mix well.



Stuff the pears with the mix, pressing the mixture down as you go. You should have just enough to fill all 8 pears.



Bake the pears for 20-30 minutes, or until they are soft. Let them cool. Serve as they are, or with homemade ice cream like we did. If you want to go the extra mile, heat up a batch of this fudge and pour it over the top. The more healthy fats, the better, right?! :)

White Bean Cinnamon Brownies

Yep, it's true. You can use beans to bake all sorts of stuff! I know, it sounds nasty. But beans are bland and take on the flavor of whatever you add to them. This makes them extremely versatile in cooking and baking. Plus, their texture is perfect for grain free baked goods. Don't believe me? Then try it for yourself. :)

I used soaked and sprouted navy beans for these brownies. You could use great northern beans instead, though. If you want to change it up a bit, try adding chopped walnuts or pecans, coconut flakes, dried fruit like raisins or cranberries, or a different flavor extract like cherry.

Ingredients:
2 cups white beans, cooked and drained
3 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil or butter (melted)
1/2 cup honey or other sweetener
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Puree beans in a food processor or blender until smooth. You can keep them in your blender and add the eggs and honey, or transfer them to a bowl and use a hand mixer. Either way, mix the beans, eggs and honey well. Add the salt, cinnamon, vanilla and almond extract. Now with the mixer or blender running, drizzle the melted coconut oil or butter into the batter until it's mixed in. Finally, sift the coconut flour and add it to the batter and blend until there are no clumps. (If you are adding nuts or dried fruit, fold them in at this point.) Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pan, and bake for 35 minutes or until the center is done. Let cool before cutting.



These would be really good with homemade ice cream. :)

Pineapple Vinegar

I love getting the most out of my food. After all, it's not cheap to eat. Every little bit counts. Not to mention, the amount of food wasted and thrown out in America is ridiculously high, to say the least. I think it's fun to shop frugally, do all I can with what I bring home, and try to minimize the waste. (This is where a compost pile also comes in handy.) Plus, getting the most use out of our food also means I'm getting more nutrients into our bodies.

Making pineapple vinegar is an excellent example of getting the most out of food. This was my first time making it, and it was incredibly easy. I was bummed that I didn't have any whey to throw in there, but plan on doing that eventually. My intentions are to use the vinegar to make Cortido (Latin American Sauerkraut). But I imagine you could use the vinegar in cooking, also. This recipe is from Nourishing Traditions cookbook.

Supplies:
a bowl or other glass container
1 fresh, ripe pineapple
2 quarts filtered water
2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
2 TB whey (optional)

Wash the pineapple off with water. Ideally, you'd want to use an organic pineapple but I don't have access to one right now. I just scrubbed the one I had to get all the nasties off.

Cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple (you don't use these). Sit it right side up, and cut off the skin. Place the skin in your bowl or glass container. Now, keep the pineapple upright and cut it into fours. Slice the core part off of each section and add it in with the skin. Add the spices and water, and cover. Leave it sit out at room temp for 3 days. After 3 days, remove the pineapple skin and core pieces and strain the vinegar. Store it in glass mason jars in the fridge. Could it be any easier? :)




Now, if you've made it this far without eating the rest of the pineapple (who would eat an entire pineapple, right?!), slice it up into chunks. I like to freeze it for using in smoothies. If you want to do this, line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and spread the pineapple chunks out on the paper. Place it in the freezer until the chunks are completely frozen, then gather them up and place them in a sealed container or ziplock bag. You can do this with other fruit, too. For example, peel some bananas and cut them in half. Lay them on the baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and freeze, then transfer to a container and store in the freezer. Freshly frozen fruit makes really awesome smoothies!

Smooth and Creamy Fudge

Fudge is one of those things, you know, the kind of thing that there's about 50 different recipes for? The word "fudge" is a more general term, in my book, that basically means you melted something together and created creamy goodness that requires you eat half the pan after you make it. You know what I'm talking about. ;) That's why I'm calling this recipe fudge! This is not the fudge recipe I intended on making and posting awhile back at Christmas. (Speaking of, I still intend to make that and post it.) This is just the result of a major craving for chocolate and the discovery of a Ghirardelli 100% cocoa chocolate bar I found in my cabinet. How can you go wrong with that and some real butter? After eating half of it, I realized it was blog worthy, especially bc it's just so easy.

Also, in defense of myself and the fact that I used sugar - I'm convinced that the healthy fat content of this recipe offsets the sugar. Or at least that's what I'm choosing to believe. Ha!

Ingredients:
2oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 cup organic cane juice sugar
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup almond milk (or other milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Melt chocolate and sugar in a saucepan. Add coconut oil and butter, and melt those also. Bring mixture to a small boil and boil about 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture into a blender and blend for several seconds. Add the milk (and vanilla, if using) and blend again until smooth. Line a container with parchment paper, and pour the mixture into the container. Chill until it sets. Then eat at least half the container. ;)

This would make a super yummy hot fudge topping for ice cream! You could also add chopped nuts, dried fruit, coconut flakes, or a little bit of peanut butter to the mix. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat the rest of my fudge before my hubby does. :)

Joys of the Kitchen

Sometimes winter drags on... and on... and on. But the upside to the cold and yuck is that I have more time to spend in my kitchen. Spring and summer are busy around here with yard cleanup, garden prep, starting seeds and planting a garden, etc. The things that need done in the kitchen are still there, and I still must do them. But winter has a slowness to it that I appreciate, a slowness that I often can't find in the spring.

I also love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I know I have things fermenting, brewing, soaking, and cooking in my kitchen. So, I thought I'd post some pics and give you a glimpse of what I've got going today. Some things will just be a reminder of stuff I've already posted on. Perhaps you'll feel motivated to get some fun things going in your kitchen, too. :)


First up - beans! Of course, right? I've already soaked these beans overnight, and now I'm sprouting them in a colander. I talked about sprouting and it's benefits here. A couple of my friends suggested making several beans at one time, cooking them once they're sprouted, then freezing them for future use. I love this idea.



Beef bone broth - a must have. Not only does it make all your food taste better, but it's incredibly healthy. I posted about it here. As talked about in the GaPS book, we've also started using broth daily to help heal the gut.



Kefir - I'm using raw goat milk here, but I prefer raw cow milk. Actually, I prefer homemade yogurt over kefir. But my kids love this stuff. :) I posted how to make kefir here.



Kombucha - one of my favorite things! I had previously lost the SCOBY's I was using due to contamination from fruit flies (oh, how I hate fruit flies). But my friend brought me another one, and I also had one reserved in the fridge. I stuck them in tea to get them good and ready, and now I'm waiting to harvest this fresh batch at the end of the week. I posted about kombucha here.



Germinated rice - something new I'm trying. As you know, we've been completely grain and starch free for about 6 months now. After some consideration, I've decided to try adding in soaked and germinated brown rice (no other grains or starches, though). I will most likely steam this rice in homemade broth to boost it's nutritional value.


So, there you have it. A glimpse into my kitchen. I hope to post pics of my venture with homemade kraut soon. I also have a secret sewing project going on this week. ;) Get into your kitchen and experiment! It will help chase away the winter "blahs." :)

Fabric Dying 101

What's a girl to do when she looks in her closet and wants a change? I had some tees that I liked, but wasn't so fond of the color. A friend of mine mentioned using fabric dye on them. Yes! Why hadn't I thought of that? Hmm, probably bc I've never done it before. ;)

As I contemplated the whole idea, I had images of a pot of blue dye getting dumped all over my kitchen laminate floor. Or splattering it all over the back of my stove on accident. I'm prone to those sorts of things. Not to mention that if it's not me doing the mess, it will certainly be one of my boys, no doubt. But I really wanted to try it! It couldn't be that hard, right?!

Well, it wasn't. It was actually kinda fun (if you're into that sort of thing). I took pics along the way to share here, so you could all see the process. I just followed the instructions on the dye package.

I bought the Rit brand dye at Hobby Lobby. Decide what color you want to use. I chose navy blue. Each box will dye approximately 1lb of fabric (or 3 yards).

Gather up the clothes you want to dye. It's best to use 100% cotton, polyester, or silk. Other fabrics won't dye well. It's also a good idea to use clothes that are already white or off-white, or in the same color scheme as the dye you are using. For example, one shirt I used is off-white and the other is lavender, which is similar to navy blue. So I knew the colors would blend well. You can also use a product that will strip the color from the fabric first before you dye it, if you chose to use clothing that is brightly colored or an off color.

The package includes instructions for dying on the stove top, in a bucket, or in a washing machine. I did the stove top method. You will need a stock pot and rubber gloves. Make sure you don't skip the gloves, people!



Open the packet of dye powder and mix it with 2 cups hot water in a separate bowl.



Wet the clothes with hot water and ring them out.



Dump 1 cup of salt and 1 TB of detergent into your stock pot. Fill it with hot water, leaving some room at the top so it doesn't overflow when you add your clothes.

Add the dye mixture and mix well.



Put it on the stove and turn it on low. I started it at about 3 and turned it down to 1. So, whatever that looks like in your world, do that. Add your clothes and get them well saturated.

Now comes the painstaking part. You'll need to stand there and stir the clothes constantly for 30 minutes. Yep, you read that right - 30 minutes. (Think like a washing machine. lol) Don't let the water get too hot, make sure to turn it down eventually.



When the 30 minutes is up, take the stock pot to your sink or bath tub. Ring out the clothes (with your GLOVES). Run some warm water and start rinsing the clothes. Slowly turn the water colder little by little as you rinse, until you are rinsing with cold water. I think I did this for about 15 minutes total. If you keep rinsing with warm water, the water will not run clear. But as the water gets colder, the water will eventually run pretty clear. Ring the clothes out really well and hang them up to dry. Wash everything you used (stock pot, spoon, bowl, tub, etc) with chlorine bleach and hot water.



Once they are completely dry, wash them with something you don't care much about. I used my hubby's grungy work clothes. I washed them on the warm/cold cycle with my homemade laundry soap and dried them like normal.

They turned out great! I was really happy with the results. They didn't bleed on any of the clothes I washed them with and they came out of the dryer really soft. They didn't stink like dye, either. As you can see, the off-white shirt dyed a darker navy blue than the lavender shirt did. I was hoping for that.



Next time I'm trying yellow. :) Also, I waited until the kids were asleep, to avoid any unforeseen tragedies. ;)