Strawberries and Garlic (not together!)

Spring is so sweet, isn't it?  Big, juicy strawberries this year from the one grower's farm.  It is so nice to have them and they are organic too!  I am pretty sure strawberries are one of the "dirty dozen" so I feel blessed to have them so available.  We made jam and froze a bunch for smoothies, four flats all together!  I think we ended up with 42 jars of jam.  It is mostly for us to sell, we could never use that much between the four of us.  

Working in the garlic!  Addy has grown to be a helper with farming.  No longer am I humoring her out there, "Yes honey, thank you for that handful of soil... No, that is NOT a weed!" she can really pull her weight now.  Well, for about 45 minutes and then to play, but that is pretty good for a 7 year old!  I am just happy she gets to spend so much time outside.  

Garlic scapes are back!  I put them in everything while they are here... egg dishes, stir fry, pasta and pizza... they always go since they are not overpowering.  I am contemplating pickling them this year.  Must look into that, has anyone tried it?

Have been braiding my hair lately since it is finally long enough.  I love how it makes me feel feminine and put together.  Those two things are not phrases I would normally use to describe myself.  

I have been going through some personal changes lately.  Nothing major, just some subtle personality and philosophic changes.  It feels though like who I am is slowly shifting.  A little scary, a little exciting.  

Happy June!!

Mother's Day '12

Happy mother's day to me!  Adela gave me this "teapot" with a real teabag inside, and a coupon book of chores she can do.

My mom came over and we took some walks, it was a beautiful day to be outside.  Then we stopped by my neighbor's greenhouse so I could get my mom some plants for her garden.  

Fabe washed his hands by himself for the first time!! I didn't even ask him to, he just went over and decided to clean up! I love watching him grow and learn new things.

I had a great cappuccino made by the husband!  Yum.

Just some stuff going on in April.

Some young garlic.

Our new dog!  We adopted him a few weeks ago.  He showed up at our neighbors house.  We have not found his owners even though we tried, so he is probably ours to keep.  We named him Charlie.  He is very sweet and well behaved, and I am glad the kids have a dog to play with.

Some beauties working in the field near us!  It is incredible to see them work.

What a team!

They did all this to get the ground ready for planting.  

Have a nice week!

Harrisburg and Conference

Last week I attended the Midwifery Today conference in Harrisburg, PA.  It was great!  Here are some snapshots from my time there.

Oh those old stone buildings!

The Susquehanna River 

I had dinner at this cute vegetarian restaurant the first night of the conference.  I ordered a barbecue "chicken" sandwich with some coleslaw and fresh cut fries, It was yummy!  No conversation, some quiet reading and enjoying my food.  I was trying to make the most of my alone time.  

Here are a few snippets from the conference.  In these photos,  Angelina Martinez is showing us different techniques from Mexico using the rebozo wrap.  It is basically a long strip of fabric used as a shawl, a carrier and during pregnancy and in labor (I am sure it has other uses as well that I am not aware of).  Angelina said that in Mexico, all the women show up for prenatals already wearing the rebozo.  They use it all the time and have been for centuries, so it is a normal part of becoming a mom.  

The conference was so great for me. There were many women there from all over the world.  It was informative, empowering, and spiritually energizing.  Similar to being at a birth, I left feeling very connected to God, and thankful for the opportunity to learn from these wise, wise women!  I am sure this is my calling.  

Breakfast Cereal

I have been making this delicious seed combo for breakfast.  

It is Amaranth, Teff, and Flax seeds.  They looked so pretty layered in the jar, I had to take a picture before they got all mixed up.

Teff is actually a grain not a seed.  Is there a difference?  I don't know, so I will just call this cereal.

My friend K told me about Teff a while ago, I tried it once and liked it, then put it away for about a year.  Thankfully I gave it a second try and fell in love.  It is crunchy, and has like a hint of a molasses flavor.  It is really my favorite part of this cereal, but the other two ingredients are good too.  All three together have a ton of nutrition.

I just make a mixture of the three, no measuring except I put only a little of the flax seed (because it can be too nutritious if you know what I mean).  I soak them overnight in water, and then the next morning boil them just like you would oatmeal.  With the overnight soaking it cooks in about 5 minutes.

In my bowl I usually add a dab of butter and a few spoonfuls of maple syrup, yum!!  It is also great with shredded coconut, raisins or any dried fruit, nuts, bananas, apples, honey, etc.

My only complaint is that it is messy!  As you can see in the picture, there are tiny grains that needed to be cleaned up from the counter.  Ah well, it is worth it.

A quick dinner.

This is one of my favorite quick recipes.  Well, it is not super quick.  Maybe 45 minutes.  Okay it is not that quick but it is easy, delicious and filling.  Also you can use any ingredients on hand, one of my favorite attributes to a recipe!  

First I have to apologize for my picture not being beautiful.  I am afraid that will be hard from here on because of these:  

Super bright lights and only one window!  Those lights are nice for cooking, and will be great for all the canning work to come, but bad for photos. 

Anyway...  recipe!  

Fritatta (the one pictured is an Asparagus, Potato, and Chevre Fritatta)

• 2 - 3 potatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick, peeled or not
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1/2 onion or shallot
• about 1 cup chopped veggies - any combo of: peppers, asparagus, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, you get the idea
• 1 cup cheese - any combo of: shredded cheddar, american, provolone, feta, chevre
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a cast iron skillet saute onion or shallot and veggies (if not already cooked) with some salt and pepper for a few minutes till slightly cooked.  Remove from pan. Add some cooking oil and layer the potato slices.  Season with salt and pepper and let them cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs and all other ingredients.  Cover with cast iron lid and put in oven.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until the egg is no longer runny.  If you want a golden brown/crispy top, broil for a few minutes longer.  Can be served hot or at room temp.  

This is great served with salad for a light and healthy meal.  Happy cooking!

Outside

Walking outside behind our building where we live and work.  

Our pond.

Our neighbors barn.  We have a beautiful view of it up on the hill from our windows.

Our happy little guy. He is so cute, I just want to hug him! 

 I might go wake him up to do that.  Just kidding, but I want to!

These pics were taken earlier this month, what a warm and strange season it has been.  

Here is an interesting post written by my hubby about how the farmers we work with are filling 

their ice houses this winter.

Valentines

Saturday was a good day for us to make valentines.  I had been planning on doing a cool valentines craft like this or this, but when the time came, I just didn't feel like investing that much time or energy.  (love those bird snacks though, have to make!)  We ended up just tracing and cutting hearts then putting a cool stamp on them.  They turned out simple and pretty.   

 And we had fun decorating the box too.

It was so cute to watch her sign them, little hearts all around. 

Then she lined them up for a picture!

  Fabian?  He did not even know it was any special day, except he had some bites of the little cake Zeb got for me.  Happy valentines day!

Pants / Currant Syrup / Blueberry Muffins recipe!

I finished Fabe's pants, they are so cute!  I used this demo here, it is very thorough and well written.  It was actually pretty easy, they are not perfect, but hey, they are my first pants!  This is exciting to me because many times it takes me overcoming one intimidating hurdle before I can go on to learn and grow.  I have thought about making pants for the kids or myself a few times but have been too afraid to start, now I feel a little more confident and knowledgeable.

                                                               
                                                                    My little model!

I made black currant syrup with some currants I had frozen earlier this year.  It is WONDERFUL!  I am certainly making it again.  It is tangy, berry-y, with a hint of a mysterious musky flavor that just teases you. And it is the most beautiful dark, dark red. 

I have been adding it to yogurt.  Seven Stars yogurt is so good!

We made blueberry muffins last night!  They were divine.  Addy likes to cook with me, but last night was the first time she was looking at my collection of recipes and really asking me about them.  I am glad I wrote many down and saved clippings for her to have someday, I know she will be a good cook.  

No Fail Muffins

2 1/2 c flour

2/3 cup sugar (or 1/2 c honey)

1 T baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 lg egg

1 1/4 cup milk or yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup oil or melted butter

1 cup berries, pumpkin, or whatever

Mix dry ingredients together.  Mix wet ingredients together. Combine everything and stir no more than twenty times, or they will have tunnels and be tough.  Bake at 400 degrees for 18 - 20 min in a muffin tin.  

Muffins are one of the first things I learned to bake and I know this recipe now by heart. It is not too fussy. Other good ideas are lemon/ poppyseed, lemon /cranberry, coconut/ pineapple,  nuts/ cranberry, peach, pumpkin ( a good way to use leftover squash), more that I cannot think of right now.  

Although I have to admit that we have been slowly cutting out gluten more and more, and I have not had a large bready item like a muffin for a while.   I could feel it later.  Bummer, now I need to make or find a new low-gluten recipe.