Cookbook: The Source of What's on Your Plate

I'm so excited to finally post something for Friday Farm Girls!  (Note to Lori:  Sorry this is a day late!)

And a note to everyone.  I'm not really a farm girl; I live in the suburbs, across from a grocery store, movie theater, and strip mall.  Not exactly farm country.  But I do love the heart of a farm girl--cooking from scratch, scouring for new recipes, gardening, etc.

Today, I wanted to share my cookbook with you!  This is actually the new, updated version of the original cookbook I created several years ago.  The original expanded into two books, with recipes hanging out of the top.  So, organizer-at-heart that I am, I purged outdated recipes, and ones I'll never use again (changes in health and nutrition).

I ended up with this beautiful binder, filled with my absolute favorite recipes.  I still have work to do on it; for instance, I do have other cookbooks with recipes I use, and I need to get those into this binder.  But most of my recipes are included here.  I simply bought a set of tabs, sorted through my recipes, and then made tabs according to what types of recipes I had.

Some recipes are typed into pages on the computer, and some are just taped into my binder.  I do love pictures, and have either scanned them in with the recipe, or taped the recipe/picture into the binder.  I also used page protectors, which I wipe down as I spill things on them.  (My signature cooking move is to let the pot boil over before I turn it down.  I somehow manage to do that almost every time a pot is on the stove.)

No more searching for the right cookbook--it's all right here.  And that makes me happy.

Back to life,
Christine

captured by Christine Anne

Vacation Reminiscing: Time for Treats

While at Lake Bonaparte, we are required by family rules to visit a little place called Treats & 'Tiques once per week.  Um, make that at least once per week.  Treats for their ice cream treats, 'Tiques for the various antiques they display.

It's on Route 3, just as you enter Natural Bridge.  Of course, if you drive two more blocks, you'll leave Natural Bridge.  But you can't miss it; this tiny place is always packed on a summer evening.

Dad has a hard time deciding.

Now, if you ever visit, keep in mind that their sizes are a little different than what you'd experience in the suburbs.  Yes, they have small, medium, and large.  But unless you have a bottomless pit for a stomach, don't order those sizes.  Stick to the baby, kiddie, and extra small.  Trust me.

Not exactly a small.

Jacob enjoys his cone.

Thomas has a bottomless pit for a stomach...

 Jacob does it his own way.

The living-room-sized shop boasts two little tables; most people stand around outside to eat.  And that's okay.

Ice cream made us happy this evening.  My dad and mom were in a very silly mood!  Maybe the mood was enhanced by the fact that we picked up the tab--which, by the way, was about $22 for eight people.  That would make anyone happy.  :)

One word to describe our after-dinner festivities:  Yum.

Back to life, Christine

Tomato Time

It's a day of tomatoes.  Besides picking three bowls of them, we just finished skinning and chopping 10 quarts.  I know it's not a fantastic amount, but to have any amount is just fine with me.  And the tomatoes are one of the few veggies that are proliferating in my garden.

So, I'm taking a break and going to the store to get some onions and a few green peppers, neither of which are doing much in my garden.  Salsa-making, and hopefully canning, await us this afternoon.

Back to life,
Christine
who is thanking the Lord for helpful teenage sons  :)

Blog Blog Blog!!! (and some pictures...)

I have a very dear friend.  She spent all afternoon yesterday playing with me and my blog.  I think I remember 5% of all that she showed me I could do on this little ol' page!!  But, I'm still excited about the changes that will be coming soon.  Really, it's just in how this blog looks, but it's still amazing to me!  And Lori is amazing. 

I wish I could take some pictures, but alas, my dear camera is getting repaired.  However, I can post some pictures!!

Since I have shutter withdrawal, here are one or two pictures from vacation--upstate New York.  And for those naive folks who think "upstate" means you can hop in to the city whenever you want, remember the up in upstate.  As in north.  :)

These pictures are a few of the birds and critters I discovered at the Lake.  There was no comparison to sitting on the south porch with my camera and a cup of tea, the air filled with birdsong as I waited patiently to see what came to visit.  :)

Back to life,
Christine

A Sweet and Savory Morning

Due to my diligence (by God's grace), I had partially prepared my granola recipe and was ready to mix it up this morning.  After my plain cinnamon granola (Danny likes it that way) was in the oven, I realized I had used olive oil instead of coconut oil in the recipe.  Grr.  Just a little difference in taste, but I'm a perfectionist.

So I went ahead and created a brand new gourmet granola recipe, adding coconut flakes and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) that I had bought from Becki's co-op.  I borrowed a few ideas from others' recipes, and I have to say, the end result was the best-tasting granola I've ever made!  Now I must write my new recipe down and include it in my special cookbook (that is the subject of a future post!).

Then, since I had harvested the basil and parsley from my garden this morning, I prepared those and chopped them up for the freezer.  The herbs are a lot of work--picking leaves off of stems is tedious--but once the jars of chopped herbs are in the freezer, I experience a wonderful sense of satisfaction, plus thankfulness that the Lord, once again, has provided for my family.

Now it's back to preparing for vacation.  :)

Doesn't Everybody...?

We're preparing for an upcoming vacation.  We're going to be gone for a while, so there's a lot to be done.  And doesn't everybody can jalapeños right before leaving on a long road trip??  Oh.  Well, okay, maybe I'm a bit different than others.

There is an actual Biblical lesson in this, y'know!  Let me quote a verse or two:

"So this I say, and affirm together with the LORD,

that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,

in the futility of their mind,

being darkened in their understanding,

excluded from the life of God

because of the ignorance that is within them,

because of the hardness of their heart..."

Ephesians 4:17-18 NASB (emphasis mine)

I'm sure not many women prepare for vacation by canning vegetables or fruits.  But it was an item on my list, and now it is done.  I don't do many things that other women do, simply because I am a Christian woman.  I have laid aside my old self, and have put on the new self, which has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."  (Eph. 4:22-24)

Obviously, now, I'm not perfect.  But my heart's desire is that I would peer intently into the Scriptures and ask myself, "Is my life lining up with His Word?  What is the will of the Lord in this area?"  And then, oh that I would turn around and walk in that truth, in whatever area--wifely realm, discipling children, home business, modesty, education, etc.  I hope that I don't do things simply because everybody is doing them.  I want to live my daily life in the way I do because the Lord wants me to do it.

The world behind me, the cross before me...

No turning back!

Love,

Christine,

who is listening to Jacob play I Surrender All on his harmonica   :)

and who is happy about all those jars of jalapeños to put up/sell in the future   :D

What's For Breakfast??

It's difficult, now that the boys are older, when they come knocking at my bedroom door and asking, "What's for breakfast?"  My usual response is, "You know where the kitchen is; knock yourself out!"  Actually, I make breakfast on a regular basis, and I reserve that particular response for their non-meal hunger attacks.

So, when 19yo Jacob asked the question this morning, he was blessed in that I had just finished re-organizing my new and improved cookbook.  I spent two days de-cluttering my two three-ring binders, combining them into one wonderful binder.  I trashed a two-inch stack of recipes I'd never used, grew out of, or which were too similar to existing recipes.  The practical side of me decided--a girl can have only so many recipes!  (Picture of cookbook to come, probably after vacation...)

Since I had just scrutinized all my recipes, I knew there was a new one I'd stuck in the "Breakfasts" section that I wanted to try.  Jacob and I whipped up these (two) baked apple pancakes.  The recipe suggested serving slices drizzled with syrup, but seriously, plain was perfect.  Please wipe the drool off your keyboard.  :)