Tag Archives: cooking

November 30, 2011

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Another year seems to be coming to an end, my friends.

I’m humbled to see the many faces, and places that have blessed my family, and my home in the past year.

I’ve been spending time this week looking through this year’s photos. There are many tiny slices of life that I so easily forget. I’m thankful to have thought to either blog, journal, or snap a photo of many moments. These little minutes in the day make life so very sweet.

This morning, I was greeted by “Ms. Two”. She told me “I wanna hold you!”.

Such a sweet sound!! Her little chubby cheeks are irresistible. It really doesn’t matter what is going on at that moment, I have to stop and hold her.

Tomorrow, she’ll be ever bigger– just inching her way to a family of her own. I’m treasuring each and every second!

My home smells soooo good this morning! Courtney and I woke up bright, and not so early (*smile*), to make omelettes and homemade hashbrowns. (I LOVE my Salad Shooter! I received my first from my mother-in-law when I was just married. Paul and I used it until it couldn’t be used anymore! I was THRILLED to find this one, still in it’s box, at a local thrift store for $3!!)

If you lived a little closer, you could drop by for breakfast with our family. I might even make you coffee (my newly-found skill!).

We don’t usually make such a heavy breakfast. I think I was needing comfort food!

I’ll admit, I’m feeling a little sorry for myself.

Joshua, had been away from home since July and has been back with us for the past two weeks.

(Can you believe, at 17yrs., he’s already an entire head taller than I am? …and I think he still has some growing ahead!)

At 3:30, yesterday morning, we woke up early and saw him off…back to California. It truly seems like he has slipped off to another world.

I’m thankful for the time we had him here…he was terribly busy with work, but I at least knew he was in my home. Of course, he’s always in my heart, even on the other side of the country.

If you think on it, will you remember to pray for him, too? I know he appreciates the prayer and encouragement.

He’ll be returning in two weeks. It will be a Christmas, this year, to remember. My family….everyone…..will be under one roof. That is soothing to my heart.

Cooking With the Boys

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Homeschooling isn’t all about books and essays.

Most of the time, the best teaching happens as you go on, about your daily life.

Since we began homeschooling (which feels like the beginning of time now!), we have tried to include the children in our day-to-day activities. Some of these things seem so routine, it’s hard to remember to include our littles in this time.

I’ve prayed the Lord would allow me to be sensitive to these opportunities, and that He would use this time to speak not only knowledge into my children, but also minister to their hearts.

I hope they always remember time they spent just doing daily things with Paul, and I.

Sooo, today, we made potato soup (all that, and you were expecting something spectacular, weren’t you?!).

Timothy learned all about making soup stock. I explained why I save certain parts of the chicken, and how we take away all of the usable meat first- freeze or prepare it, and then how to prepare the pot for stock.

Next, I had him watch this video:

It was fantastic! (It amazes me how much good, FREE information is on the web, if you just look around.)

Timothy chopped the potatoes. Then he removed all the visible fat from the ham and chopped it, too.

We had a short lesson on using knives.

He remembered a class a dear friend (Hey Sherri!), taught my older children when they were learning to use cooking knives.

I explained how to keep his fingers out of the way. He did so well and just seemed to absorb the information.

We did have a little help. As Timothy was preparing one part of the dish, Benjamin was learning to caramelize onions.

After I explained why I was preparing them the way I do, we watched this video:

It’s just part of a series of cooking classes on You Tube. They are EXCELLENT!

Timothy loves to cook! With Christmas just around the corner, I had considered purchasing him a cookbook of his own. I have spent quite a bit of time looking through cookbooks written for children, and have been disappointed.

Children can learn so much, if given the chance.

The books all seem to focus on “cute” food. They don’t teach techniques and skill. I think we’ll be skipping the kid books and heading for real cookbooks while teaching our children to cook. (I’ve got my eye on that America’s Test Kitchen book!)

They both enjoyed their time in the kitchen so very much (and so did I). Tonight, I’m thinking on what we will cook next!

Want to drop by?? The door is always open.

Timothy’s 9th Birthday

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Some quick pictures from Timothy’s birthday on Sunday:


Opening gifts


Courtney, Jessica and I made him a “Kung Zhu” cake. It’s not my best cake ever, but for a first try, I was happy. Timothy REALLY liked it–I guess that’s what really matters.

Because his birthday fell on Sunday, we also took a cake to church. This one was really fun since it’s the first time we’ve worked fondant since our second cake course.

Recipe- Chocolate Sugar Cookies

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Courtney, is our resident cookie baker these days. She searches to find the best cookie recipes! This is a family favorite:

Chocolate Sugar Cookies (from the Martha Stewart COOKIES book)

  • 1 1/2c all purpose flour
  • 1/2c unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1t baking powder
  • 1/2t salt
  • 1/2c unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2c sugar
  • 1/2 vegetable shortening ( or 1/2c unsalted butter), melted and cooled
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2t pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375^. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high heat until pale and fluffy. Mix in melted shortening (or butter). Add egg and vanilla; mix until creamy. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until creamy. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until combined.

Using a 2 1/2″ ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 4″ apart. Bake until edges are firm, 18-20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Cooking Class

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Timothy (8) has an interest in cooking.

Not just any interest, but I think if it’s possible, he could be a budding “foodie”, even at his young age.

He’s had this fascination since he was about 3…always right under me while I’m cooking…always asking questions. It’s not at all uncommon to walk into the family room on a morning when most children would be watching cartoons, to see him tuned into a cooking show on PBS.

This last year, I’ve taken the time to pray over how to nurture this love of his.

I think I’ve come up with a plan….if you have further suggestions, I would love to hear them!

I decided to start with one of my favorite cookbooks:

(and sadly, one that I’ve not used for very many recipes!).

At first, I thought I would take a chapter at a time and allow him to cook every recipe from the book- in the end it will be over 400 of them. I realized quickly that this would mean probably months of yeast breads, months of breakfast foods, and worst yet, months of straight fried breads.

Instead, we’re just going through and choosing recipes appropriate for meals we’re already serving.

We’re going to try and journal our way through the book…I’ve been making little notes in the margins of my cookbook. I’m transferring them here for anyone who is just curious. ;)

Here’s where we’ve landed so far:

1-22-11 Crunchy Cornmeal Waffles, page 15

Mom was visiting today– I wonder what she thinks of participating in this little experiment with us??

I made these with Timothy and Jessica and served them with fresh pineapple (YUMMY!). I was NOT personally fond of these waffles. Maybe I just don’t have a preference for crunchy “cornmeal” waffles? I do like regular waffles (even crispy). I didn’t like the grit of cornmeal in waffles, nor the flavor.

Maybe the next recipe will be better…I don’t think this is a good start.

1-22-11 Chocolate Steamed Pudding, page 102

Made with Timothy. We didn’t have the equipment mentioned specifically in the book but they encouraged you to be creative and we found a suitable work-around with our Pampered Chef mixing bowl.

This recipe had a rich, chocolate batter.

It should have been cooked a little longer, but it was delicious and something different! It was fun to try. Maybe next time, we’ll make it over a campfire!

2-5-11 Zephyr Pancakes, page 4

Cooked these with Timothy and Jessa his morning. They were wonderful and the description was perfect, they really did almost melt in your mouth!

2-7-11 Corn Fritters, pg 52

Mixed these up with Timothy and Jessica. They are learning basic skills- especially with finding ingredients and measuring. I wasn’t comfortable with Timothy frying these.

I did add 2T of sugar to the batter, which we really liked.

I also doubled the recipe (which I generally do for our family when using any recipe), but one would have definitely been enough. These were *VERY GOOD*.

2-9-11 Blueberry Buckle, pg. 132

Courtney made this recipe with Jessica and Timothy.

It was absolutely delicious, and perhaps my favorite from the book to date!

Courtney did say this recipe had to bake a little longer than specified in the book.

—————-

Jessica, hearing what we were working on, asked if she might join as well, so it’s the three of us on a kitchen adventure!

We, by the way, are reading the book cover-to-cover in the process…front, back and everything in between. I think I’m learning as much as Timothy and Jessica!

A very dear friend, has already suggested a second series once we finish this book…I can’t wait! I’m praying the Lord will bless this experience with my children. I’m certainly enjoying the time and the cooking! (Of course, the food isn’t half bad either, *smile*!)

February 11, 2011

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We were blessed with an evening snow on Wednesday. Not just any snow…the most beautiful, big snowflakes fell right after dark.

My youngest children had just been tucked into bed, but the announcement of snow, had them jumping up and running outside…which started a snowball fight on the front porch. Notice the older children don’t even have on coats. Even Papa made a few balls of his own–good memories!!

In the morning, it was warm enough to have clear roads, but the snow blanketed everything. It was just beautiful.

Of course, Thursday morning wasn’t just any morning, it was Joshua’s 17th birthday!

Paul and I took him to breakfast at the local Cracker Barrel.

What a blessing to us both to sit with him and enjoy some time laughing, and sharing thoughts on his new year.

He is a joy!!

We returned home to bake his birthday cake. I decided to up-size the cake this year. The 8″ rounds just don’t seem to stretch like they did when the family was smaller. This cake was a little too big…..but it was fun to make!

Courtney, Jessica and I worked for a while to make it just perfect for him and we have enough left-overs to feed a small army. Want to stop by for a visit?? :D

In the end, he received birthday wishes from many special people and calls from thoughtful Grandparents. He opened gifts, ate homemade pizza and had what will be, I hope a memorable day.

A little ham that I couldn’t keep out of almost every picture….



Prayer Requests

  • We’ve all been sick for weeks now. Paul, I think, has gotten the worst of it–he’s been sick for almost a week. He was up most of the night feeling horrible. He doesn’t have the luxury of resting as he should during times like this and I think he may be headed for the doctor today at some point. Please pray for him.
  • Joshua, as he’s preparing to take his first college equivalency exam.
  • Courtney, is making plans and praying for direction…
  • Jacob is studying to take his driver’s permit test. Lots going on around here…

Today I’m Thankful For

  • Lovely snow on the ground outside of the office window
  • Time with Paul this week (though he’s not been feeling well)
  • I’m still admiring work finished in the backyard…plans are already being made the tasks to be accomplished today. I can’t wait!!
  • Gardening plans for spring
  • Children that woke up on time and had their morning chores done before I had finished my shower. Now that’s a blessing!!

Today’s Scripture Meditation

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

With my love,