Providence Farms

Home of the Bearded Ladies

From Scratch…Roast Chicken

Written By: kathleen - Jan• 25•12

Taste of Home

Welcome to the first in series of five “From Scratch” recipes. Each of the next five Wednesdays, I’m going to invite you into my kitchen to show how you too can make a few simple things the old fashioned way. Not only will you find these to be simple and economical, but also so much healthier for your family. This week, we’re making chicken. Okay, so technically, we’re not going to actually make a chicken. We’re just going to roast it.

Grab your apron. Let’s get cookin’.

There are two ways you can go about this and it all depends on how you like your skin. R-Man loves his skin crispy.  In that case,  I roast my chicken in the oven. Then the bird will look like the above picture. But, sometimes I just want a super tender bird more than I want that crispy skin. That’s when I slow roast it in my crockpot. The crockpot. If you don’t have one of these yet, go get your car keys and wallet. You’re goin’ to Fred Meyer’s right this minute and picking you up one of these. I’m not sure why a Southern accent was necessary for that last statement, but the moment just seemed to call for it.

Roast Chicken In the Oven or Crockpot

1. Check for innards. There may be a neck or other organs inside the cavity of your bird. Now, don’t let this stop you. I know, it’s wiggin’ you out a bit right now to have to reach in and grab body parts, but trust me you can do this. They won’t be all gooey or bloody. Just don’t think about it. Just grab and throw away.  Whew! See, you did it. That was the hardest part. (By the way, most times these ‘parts’ are in a little bag.)

There are 2 ends to a chicken…go for the side with the biggest hole.

2. Rinse your chicken. With the water running in your sink, hold your bird with one hand, while using  your other hand to wipe. I’m not completely sure why you do this. The USDA says it’s to rinse off any possible salmonella. But it also says cooking the bird will get rid of all that. Hmmm.

2. Pat it dry. I use a few paper towels. The main thing here is you want the bird to be dry for step four when you smear on your fat. Trust me, fat does not smear well on a wet surface.

3. Place it in your cooking pan breast-side down. (The breasts tend to get dried out a bit when they are cooked facing up. If you face the bird with breasts down, they have a chance to cook in all the lovely juice that ends up in the bottom of the pan.)  I have used a pie plate and a cake pan with success. You might even have a ‘roasting pan’. I don’t own one or I would use it too.

How do you know which side is the breast-side? When the breast-side is up it will look like the chicken above getting rinsed. The legs will be up. When the breast-side is down, it’ll look like the picture of me patting the bird with a paper towel. The legs will look like they are tucked under.

4. Wash your hands and go get your fat. And no, I am not referring to that part of your body that you’ve been working at the gym night and day to eradicate. I’m talking olive oil, butter, coconut oil…you know, that kind of fat. If using olive oil, unscrew the lid now while your hands are clean and not slippery.

FYI, this pan is a bit too small for this behemoth bird. I would use something larger.

5. Smear on your fat. I have used olive oil and butter. Both work great. Olive oil is a bit easier to cope with. If using Olive Oil, pour a bit into your hand and rub the bird. You aren’t going to use a whole lot here. You just need enough to put a thin coating all over the bird. Be careful. An oily bird is a slippery bird. If using butter, I suggest you use soft room temperature butter. You can melt it, but then you’ll have to wait until it is cool enough to handle.

Here is my attempt to show the smearing of my fat. Hee. Hee.

6.  Salt. That’s right grab your salt shaker or your favorite seasoning salt and give your bird a nice light coating. Garlic powder is good too. Just a note here, you might want to go wash your hands first before grabbing your salt shaker. Otherwise, your salt shaker is going to end up on the floor. Don’t ask me how I know this.

No really. That is salt I’m shaking onto that bird.

Thanks to our friends the Thibodeauxs, cajun spice is our topping of choice. I add this after the salt.

Optional:

Take 5 or 6 peeled garlic cloves and place in the cavity of the bird. It’s okay. You already took out the other body parts. It’s safe in there now.

Or take some rosemary and place it just under the skin on the breast side of the bird. It makes the most delicious tasting meat.

You will need to run your fingers around under the skin to make room for your herbs.

You don’t have to use fresh rosemary, but if you do, be sure to chop up the leaves first before placing it under the skin.

7. Into a 350 degree preheated oven, place your beauty. Bake 20 minutes for every pound. For example, a 3 lb chicken, will need to be cooked for 60 minutes. (20 minutes x 3 pounds), a 5 lb chicken will be baked for 1 hour 40 minutes (100 minutes).

Now, this bird is breast up. Not sure why I chose to do this, except so maybe you could see the rosemary hiding under the skin.

Or place your bird in your crockpot. This will work in a smaller crockpot as well.

I placed this in breast-side down. And then turn the crockpot on low. Cook all day (7-10 hours). I tend to cook mine for a long time because I love how tender the meat gets. I cook it until the bones are so soft, the bird sort of slumps in the pot.

8. After the allotted cooking time, open your oven door or Crockpot lid and pop in a meat thermometer (in a pinch, I’ve used a candy thermometer) to make sure your meat is 165 degrees. The USDA’s website says, “Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.” If it’s not to the right temp, just keep cooking for awhile longer. But don’t take it out until you have the magic 165 degree number. You don’t want your family wishing you never learned to cook or from scratch because 4 hours after dinner they spent unwanted time in the restroom. Now that just wouldn’t be nice.

9. Let it Rest. Once it’s the right temp, let it sit on the stove top for 15-20 minutes while you are getting the rest of dinner ready for the table. This allows the juices to settle. Whatever that means. I just know that my cousin, who is a chef, always lets the Thanksgiving Turkey rest before carving. It’s better that way. Hey, he would know.

10. Carve it Up. This is the part I have not become accomplished. Okay, let’s be frank. I stink at the carving part. So, this is where I send in R-Man. You know, because men should instinctively know how to carve meat. Just like they seem to know how to BBQ. Hee. Hee. My cousin pulls the whole breast off and then carves it. He showed me how, but I’m sorry, I have weeny hands. They just aren’t used to grabbing something that hot and pulling. Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to look beautiful. As long as it tastes wonderful, you’re in business.

See, mine is definitely not beautiful. I did manage to pull of the whole breasts though.

11. Save the Extras. Any meat you don’t eat tonight, put in a ziplock baggie and stick in the freezer. Most of my chickens can feed us through two meals. Some birds I’ve been known to use for three. Depends on the size of the bird. And don’t throw away that carcass, for heaven’s sakes. We’re going to use that next week to make our chicken stock. Just throw the bones and all the juices left in your pan or crockpot into a large ziplock bag and pop into the freezer.

Just FYI, I use my crockpot in the summer a lot. Just outside my sliding glass door, I have an electrical outlet and a small table. It’s there that I plug in my crockpot and let it do all it’s hot stuff outdoors. The lid keeps all the buggies and flies out.

Wanna see how someone else cooked their Crockpot Chicken? Check out The Happy Housewife. She’s got some good meal ideas for  your new cooked chicken.

See you next Wednesday for the next installment of “From Scratch”, when I’ll be showing you how to make your own chicken stock for FREE.

 

 

Posted in Food , , | 4 Comments »

Fun Jar Labels

Written By: kathleen - Jan• 23•12

In my attempt to use less plastic to store food, I have taken to using more glass jars. One problem we seem to be having is identifying what exactly is in that jar, especially when one jar has milk, another kefir and still another yogurt. Yes, very problematic. They all look the same from the outside. It’s been too many times that one has poured kefir over their bowl of cereal and been VERY surprised at the first spoonful. Yikes. It was time to seek a solution.

First I tried to use a label maker. This worked great at first, especially for my pantry items, like Unsweetened Coconut Flakes, Brown Rice and Navy Beans. But for other items that we tend to use up quickly, like Crispy Almonds, I found I had issues. For one, after I washed this jars, the label began to show signs of wear. It began to bubble up a bit from the side. I didn’t like the way this looked. Then, when I needed a jar for kefir and all I had clean was a Crispy Walnuts jar, it became frustrating. Kefir in a walnut jar?

So, my search began. I needed a way to label my jars that looked cute, neat, and wouldn’t be obliterated in the dishwasher.

My solution? Key tags.

Don’t they look cute and neat?

I think so.

And when I need to wash the jar, I simply slip off the label and tuck it into a drawer for the next time I need it. The problem I see is if the string gets mucky. You know, if some kefir or smoothie gets on the string, I don’t want mold growing on it. For this problem I decided the solution was easy. Either rinse the string with water or cut it off and make a new one. I can keep the tag (the most expensive part of this system) and cut myself a new section of string.

Wanna make some cute labels yourself? It’s easy. And will cost you about $10 for 50 labels.

Key Tags ($8.59), Roll of string (a couple bucks)

 

To start, place a key tag on a your sting.

To find the exact length of string needed for your jar, find the little indent that goes around your lid…

then wrap around your string and tie a knot.

Now, slip your cute key tag over the jar you want labelled.

Then, go crazy and label every jar you can find.

Have fun and let me know if you make your own labels.

Posted in Food, Uncategorized , , | 8 Comments »

Homeschooler’s Bliss

Written By: kathleen - Jan• 19•12

Parkour Boy has had a bit of Reader’s Block. You know, like Writer’s Block. Can’t find anything good to read. Awhile back he finished a book series called Warriors and loved it until that series ended. When he tried out the next round of books in the next series, he was in complete despair. He was unaware that sometimes the main characters in the first series do not have a major role in the next. This was a sad, sad day. From that point on, no book seemed to satisfy.

I let this go on for a good amount of time and then my “Gotta Get Him Reading Real Books” Mom Thing took over. Manga (Japanese comic books) just didn’t cut it for me anymore. I know, I can get a bit pushy and well…irrational. But hey, sometimes it works out. This time I laid down the law. Reading needs to occur every day. It’s fundamental, right? I mean, after all reading is one of the Four R’s. So, I somehow convinced him to try a book Music Man read this year. I say ‘somehow’ because Parkour Boy is not someone you can easily sway. If he doesn’t want to do it, it ain’t gonna happen. Now, don’t get me wrong, on the whole, he is a respectful kid when he’s asked to do things around the house. But when it comes to things like books, sports, or auditioning for a CYT production, he’s a man of steel. He only budges when he deems it’s time to move. It’s a character quality that God is going to use in big ways, I’m sure.

Anyway, he found he L-O-V-E-D this new book. Couldn’t. Put. It. Down. And this, of course, is a sweet music to my eyes. Okay, I know, it should be ears, but you don’t listen to someone read. Hee. Hee.  He’s off and running reading again. Even when he doesn’t have to. He finished “Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25″ in exactly four days. This was record reading folks. We even convinced him to read another one of Music Man’s books to tide him over until August when Michael Vey 2 comes out. He’s now half way through Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I think he’ll have that finished by the end of the week.

I tell you all this to not have you compare your kids to mine, but to encourage you if you have some reluctant readers in your home. Parkour Boy had limited formal reading instruction (I taught some basic skills in First Grade). And for years, he was satisfied with picture books and comics. I had the experience of ruining my oldest son by pushing the reading thing too soon, and decided on patience with son #2. I read so much research that said with especially boys, it was wise to wait until they were ready. It has paid off.  So, celebrate with me!

By the way, Music Man is an avid reader. It wasn’t until I backed way off of the required reading thing (you know, by assigning what he was to read) that he began to discover it was fun. So, if you’ve been a pusher too and your kiddos don’t love to read on their own, never fear. It’s not too late to relax and give them choices.

Years ago I set my Bribery-By-Books Program. Haven’t heard of it? That’s because I made it up. My kids enjoy getting new things. I used this against them. I told them for every book they finished reading, I would buy them a new one of their choice.  And Parkour Boy’s deal was that every other book had to be a chapter book. He HATED that rule for a long while. I loved it because he would blow through his new Manga in a matter of hours and in order to get the next one, he had to read a substantial book. Hee. Hee. Pure evil, huh? Or genius, depending on who you are.

Well, all my conniving paid off.

Don’t ya think?

Posted in Homeschooling, Uncategorized , , , | 6 Comments »

From Scratch

Written By: kathleen - Jan• 18•12

Learn how to make Chicken Stock. When you find out how easy it is, you'll laugh.

 

There was a time not long ago when women made all their food from scratch. You know, they made it themselves. They made cakes with flour and sugar, not from a box. They baked their own bread and churned their own butter. Okay, the butter is a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea. In our society today, we have so many fabulous conveniences, (I gotta say, I LOVE my refrigerator and I ain’t givin’ up my washing machine for nothin’), but there are some things I long to learn how to do myself. I’m curious about how to make my own mayonnaise or bar of soap.

Now, I realize you may not share my dreams, but there are a few things you might be interested in knowing how to do because you’ve heard it’s much cheaper than buying store bought. And for you, I dedicate this series, “From Scratch”.

For the next 5 weeks, every Wednesday, I’m going to bring you to my kitchen and show you some easy “From Scratch” items that you can use in your cooking every day of the week. You’ll be amazed at how simple each of these will be.  And your budget will thank you.

Here’s what I’ve got planned:

How to Roast a Chicken

How to Make Your Own Chicken Stock

How to Cook the Most Delicious Brown Rice

How to Make Beans Without a Can

How to Make Cream of Chicken Soup

 

So, go round up your apron. I’ll see you here next Wednesday for “From Scratch…Roast Chicken”.

Posted in Food , , | 10 Comments »

Dairy Free Cappuccino

Written By: kathleen - Jan• 16•12

Oooo. Coffee.

In light of all the precious snow that has been falling in the Portland area the last few days, I thought it fitting to talk about warm drinks. I don’t know about you, but when it’s cold outside, I long to have a warm beverage by my side.

Try not to look at my wreck of a garden. Divert your eyes. “The androids you are looking for are not here.”

For the last 9 months I’ve tried to replicate my beloved coffee with hazelnut creamer. You know, the coffee I used to drink every morning.  Sometimes, I had so much I wasn’t hungry for breakfast. Yes, it was a dysfunctional love affair. I admit it. And mostly I don’t miss it. Probably because I’ve not been able to copy the creaminess without dairy creamer.   And recently I learned that coffee is quite acidic which is not good for a body fighting off Candida overgrowth. But hey, occasionally I allow myself a treat.

Usually I am very disappointed by the results of my experimenting, but this last week I was elated to find a cup of Joe that even Music Man claimed was good. And this is from a fellow who doesn’t enjoy sugar free stuff.

What I found I had been missing was froth. I needed foam in my cup. I’m not sure why this is so because in my pre-Candida days, I didn’t need it. Nevertheless, froth was the ticket. Now, how does one create foam without the use of milk? I’m so glad you asked. You make it with your blender.

A few weeks back, I learned how to make my own coconut milk from Whole New Mom (click there to see how she does it). The only difference is I strain my blended milk through the Nut-Milk Bag my youngest son gave me for Christmas. I found I was not fond of the little bits of coconut floating in my milk.

Then I pour my yummy tasting strained coconut milk back into my blender, add some stevia drops and then mix. After mixing the stevia, I noticed there was a wonderful foam at the top of the blender. Light bulb! All I had to do was add some freshly made coconut milk to my hot coffee, add some liquid stevia, a few teaspoons of xylitol and then plop on some homemade froth. Mmmm.

Does that not look inviting? Oh, man.

Then this got me to thinking. What if I took my alcohol/sugar free almond flavoring and added it to warmed homemade coconut milk? I would have an Almond Steamer. Woo! Hoo!

And then on Sunday morning I outdid myself. I had some homemade sugar free caramel that I added to my already perfect drink. Lo and behold, perfection was made even better. It was the ‘perfectest’ coffee in the world.

How did I make caramel? Easy. Brown some butter (1/2 cup) in a pan. Add some Xylitol (1/4+ Cup). Heat until it thickens to a caramel consistency. Mmmmmm. Oh, yes. Who says sugar free isn’t fun?

Can’t have coffee? Zip on over to Adrienne’s blog, Whole New Mom, and check out a beverage that is suppose to taste a lot like coffee. I know. I don’t quite believe myself, but if Adrienne says so, I’ve got to check it out.

Posted in Food, Uncategorized , , , , | 2 Comments »

Farewell

Written By: kathleen - Jan• 16•12

So far, living on our little farm has been a blast. It does seem like there is always work to be done, but mostly Renaissance Man and I enjoy it. In the winter, I look forward to planning the next year’s garden. In the summer, I get a huge kick out of picking blackberries and blueberries from our own property. It’s been wonderful to have our own fresh raw milk to make yogurt, kefir, and cheese. And the pastured eggs are divine. Other than the chickens pooping on our back deck,  caring for our animals has been quite enjoyable. Even the challenges with the llama lately (having to harness her and inject her with antibiotics) have not been too awful.

But this weekend, we officially entered into the dark side of having livestock.

We had to say goodbye to Llama Girl (or Marge, or Cuba, or Michelle-My-Belle…the poor thing never had an official name).  I knew it was coming, but I wasn’t prepared emotionally.

Before bringing Llama Girl to our property, I researched. The books said that if we wanted our llama to be a good guard animal to our goats we would need to make sure she bonded to them, not to us. This meant we were not to establish a friendly repertoire with her. An aloof lama makes a good guard llama.  As tough as it was to have an animal that we didn’t bond with, we stuck to our guns for the sake for the sake of the goats.

Still, somehow we bonded just a bit. When I took it upon myself to end her spitting at me (I spat back), we became friends. I would offer her grain out of my hand each morning. She never lingered after the grain was finished, but we had an understanding. We were distant friends. Even still, saying goodbye was a bit more difficult than I expected.

So, Llama Girl, we miss your protectiveness, your stare downs with the neighbor dogs, your alarm calls, your herding the goats into the barn when you felt they were in danger, your playfulness with the baby goats, and your extreme patience at being their personal jungle gym. We’re so happy you can breath clearly now and hope there are some wonderful goats in heaven you can hang with. May you never find a reason to spit again.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Easier Than Pie, Ranch Dressing

Written By: kathleen - Dec• 30•11

I love Ranch Dressing, but not all Ranches live up to my high taste expectations. As a kid, my mom would mix up some mayonnaise, milk and Uncle Dan’s Ranch Mix for the best tasting stuff on earth. When Renaissance Man and I married, I tried out some bottled varieties. Yuck! And then it happened, my Winco (grocery store) stopped carrying Uncle Dan’s. I then went on a Ranch fast. Yes, it’s true. No Ranch for me. Oh, well then Candida Overgrowth knocked on my door and officially put any Ranch out of range. Pun intended.

That is until Chez Misty introduced me to the most delicious Ranch Dressing my heart could ever hope to have. Not only is the flavor to die for, it’s SUPER easy to make.

Do six ingredients sound easy to you? And all of them you probably already have in your spice rack and refrigerator. Okay I’ve only shown the spices here, but the only other two are mayonnaise and yogurt. Easy.

I decided I needed to share this wonderful recipe with all of you loyal readers (all three of you) when my nieces went ga-ga over the stuff on Christmas day. Amongst my arsenal of foodstuffs I brought along to my mom’s, I included some carrots and celery and my trusty jar of Ranch Dressing. It was 2 O’clock, and the natives must have been restless because when I started to chop veggies, they came running. I just kept adding more to the bowl as they devoured. When I revealed the dipping sauce was homemade, the fam couldn’t believe it. I know. I’m amazing. Hee. Hee.

If you are Candida Dieting it, you know that milk is out, but my naturopath told me plain yogurt is okay. If you are truly dairy free, you certainly could give this a whirl with rice, almond or coconut milk, it will just be a bit runnier than mine.

Okay, enough jawing…on with the recipe.

Easier Than Pie Ranch Dressing

This is what the mix looks like before adding the wet stuff.

Ranch Mix

2 tsp dried dill weed

7 tsp dried parsley

5 Tbsp dried onion flakes

2 tsp garlic

In small bowl, mix these ingredients. This will make way more dressing than you need, so be prepared to store this mix for the next batch. You don’t have to place your special mix in a fancy spice jar, just stick it in a ziplock bag. The next time you use the last of your basil, save the container. It’s more fun to look at a container anyway I think. But completely not necessary. But you know, Winco has spice containers for sale over in their bulk spices. Just saying.

How to Make the Dressing

2 Tbsp Ranch Mix

1 C mayonnaise

1 C plain yogurt (You could use any milk you want instead)

In a medium size bowl, combine Ranch Mix, mayo and yogurt. Mix well. Refrigerate at least an hour before using. You can use it before the hour, but it won’t be as good. To reach spectacular flavor, your creation needs to meld the flavors. You know, the onion flakes need to rehydrate and release their goodness.

In case I have a memory lapse, of which I am known to have, I write on my Ranch Mix bottle the ingredients needed (you know, 2 Tbsp Ranch Mix, 1 C mayo, 1 C yogurt).

My favorite way to use my Ranch? Spicy sweet potato fries. Oh, yes.

Carrots are good too.

Posted in Food , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Christmas Eve Blessings

Written By: kathleen - Dec• 27•11

This Christmas Eve we did something out of our normal routine. We sang Christmas carols to Renaissance Man’s mother. The whole fam. We met at her place and then walked into her room singing. It was precious. What a blessing her children and grandchildren are to her and the singing made her cry. You see,  R-Man’s mom is suffering from Dementia and bearing the loss of her soul mate these days in a retirement facility. She looks forward to being with her love in heaven and can hardly stand to live out the rest of her days without him. This day, Christmas Eve is one the most special days for her, and it’s not because it’s the eve of her Savior’s birth either. It’s an anniversary of sorts. “It’s the day when life was never the same. It all changed from then on.”

You see, on December 24, 1945, R-Man’s dad came home from the war. He’d been gone from his family and sweetheart for 4 long years. He never got to come home on furlough. Four years he had to wait to see the girl of his dreams again. So, on that fateful Christmas Eve, Winfred and Melvin stayed up all night and talked. There must have been so much to say! They were married three months later.

So my sister-in-law, Shelly, thought it befitting that Winnie’s kids (all five of them with their spouses and children) come caroling on that special day to remind Grandma Winnie that God has blessed her beyond measure.

As we stood there together singing about Jesus’ birth, I looked around at these marvelous people. People struggling with how life has changed so much for their mom. Missing their dad, I’m sure, and yet loving on the woman who gave them life. It was beautiful, friends. And I was so appreciative to be a part of it. I am truly blessed.

I hope you had a blessed Christmas.

Posted in Inspiring, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Peanut Butter Almond Cookies

Written By: kathleen - Dec• 23•11

I swear this is the last entry about sunbutter for a very long time. Okay, well, for at least a little while. Now, you may be asking yourself, ‘Self, with all this sunbutter consumption, isn’t Kathleen packing on the weight?’  And to you I would respond, ‘My dear sweet friend, thank you so much for your concern. I love that about you. But no, I am still maintaining a 19 pound weight loss. ‘ That’s right. For nine months I’ve lost and kept off that much weight. I really don’t see how it’s possible with all the butter, coconut oil, full fat coconut milk and yogurt, fried eggs and sunbutter I’ve consumed. All I can say is that the no sugar and low amounts of grains I eat must be the ticket. Oh, and I don’t eat much cheese these days either. I’m sure that may have something to do with it.

It’s not been an easy road though. Having to give up my milk and cereal breakfast and sandwich lunch was extremely difficult at first. Socially, it has been a complete drag. Not eating bread at a social event is tantamount to belonging to a cult. It’s strange and downright weird to many. To some, I’m sure I seem to just be hopping on the next fad wagon. And to others, I’m just taking things to the extreme. (I admit, I have a tendency to do this last one.) I understand now what those with allergies must feel like when ordering at a restaurant. Or the strange feelings vegans have when attending a potluck. It’s uncomfortable. And it’s difficult to stick to your guns when others are asking, “Are you sure? Come one, a little bit won’t hurt.”

I’ve come to realize that eating is such a social event in our culture, and when you deviate from the norms, people notice. They ask questions, not necessarily out of curiosity, but to figure how you got these bizarre notions. It’s hard sometimes to be the weird one. But I’m learning. I try not to draw attention to myself by saying, “I can’t eat that.” and  just simply say, “No, thank you.”  I think most people believe I eat the way I do to lose weight. Not so.  I started this journey to fight candida. I do try to explain it’s for health reasons, but I tire of the explaining.  I just want to be normal. Ha! Fat chance at that. Hee. Hee.

Anyway, now that we’ve established I’m not gaining weight with sunbutter and that eating this strange way makes others and myself uncomfortable socially, let’s move on to COOKIES.

I’ve been making Elana’s Pantry biscuits for a few weeks now and loving them. I slather on butter, sunbutter (of course) and coconut butter and enjoy them for breakfast or lunch. One day I was thinking how much these biscuits remind me of a cookie. And then it hit me. I wonder if I added a few tablespoons of sunbutter and a teaspoon or two of vanilla, if I could have a peanut butter cookie. Oh, yes.  Yes, indeed did I have the most delicious peanut butter cookie. I made four little cookies out of my biscuit batter (the rest of the batter I made into regular biscuits just in case the sunbutter experiment was a flop). I ate all four cookies in one evening. I couldn’t stop myself. Oh, my. Were they tasty. Now I wish I made the whole batch into cookies.

I recently read some material about how sunbutter can tend to turn baked items a hue of green after a few days. So, don’t be alarmed if you have green cookies. And you know what, who cares. It’s Christmas. These could be your green Christmas cookies. I know I plan on providing some for myself.

Now, I’ve only made a small batch of these delectables, so I may need to come back later and change the recipe a bit. But here goes.

Peanut Butter Almond Cookies

2 1/2 C almond flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp xylitol

1/4 butter, melted

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla (I used the alcohol free version from Frontier)

3+ Tbsp Sunbutter (peanut butter would be great too)

 

You need two bowls. In one medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients.

In the other smallish bowl, mix the butter, eggs and vanilla.  Add this mixture to your dry ingredients. Blend with a spoon.

Now add your sunbutter and mix.

Drop a large spoonful of batter onto a cookie sheet. With your hand, shape this dough into a cookie. You want it to look nice, don’t you?

Okay, you got me. I ate all the cookies before I could take a picture. This is actually the biscuits. But they do look VERY similiar.

Posted in Food , , , , | 4 Comments »

You Are Terrific

Written By: kathleen - Dec• 22•11

This summer we went on our annual Not Back To School outing at a wonderful warm springs pool. Every year we have a family or two join us for the day. At lunch time we meet at some picnic tables and devour the foodstuffs we brought from home. Each year as I pack our lunches, I ponder what my friend Kylene will pack for her family. She always seems to have very nutritious items and I must confess I feel as if I must mirror her food choices, you know…so I look like I’m a good mom. If she serves her family rice crackers, I can’t very well bring potato chips. I mean, come on. What would that say about me? Hey, I’m confessing here. I didn’t say it was rational.

Well, this last summer, Kylene admitted I was the one that intimidated her. We were both astonished. And I was left in shock that I could be the one that looked like I had it all together, when clearly it was her who was organized and intelligent. This affected me so much that I stopped blogging. All I’ve ever wanted was to inspire women. To encourage them to be all that God has made them to be. And here was evidence that I was anything, but inspiring. I was actually causing another to feel less of a mom. Ugh! Not a fun moment. Defining, yes. Fun? No.

I tell you this not in hopes you will comment and tell me how very encouraging I have been to you (although I wouldn’t be upset if you did), but to say, “Hey! Let’s wake up, women! We’ve got to stop this nonsense. We MUST choose to tell our friends how great we think they are.” If I had ever stopped to tell Kylene what a great mom I think she is, how I think she’s fabulous for the way she feeds her family, how I love that she is so conscientious about taking her part in going green, how I love the way she homeschools her children and how smart I think all of them are, and how I wish I had just a pinky portion of her creative talent, then maybe I wouldn’t be so intimidating. Just a thought. Maybe it wouldn’t work.

But I’m just saying, we as moms/grandmoms/women don’t always get the ‘Attaboys’ we need. Our culture is not set up that way anymore. We’re rushing from one place to the other, busier than any of our ancestors have been. And the rules of living are so different. We’re faced with an immeasurable amount of decisions our grandmas or even our mothers didn’t have to face.  Most of us are guessing at how to do this life with no one to help us measure what a good job looks like.

I know the world my mom grew up in is very different than the one in which my kids are growing up. My mom, as a parent, didn’t have to wonder about how to restrict computer/Facebook/texting/Netflix time. She didn’t have to push us to go play outside. There just weren’t a lot of things to keep our interest inside. There weren’t kids’ programing on TV twenty-four hours a day. There weren’t gluten allergies or kids with ADHD or Asperger’s Syndrome. My mom has no personal experience with many of the things the 2011 Mom deals with today. Now, that isn’t to say she doesn’t have valuable things to say, I still need and treasure her advice, it’s just that if she’s at a loss at what to do, boy, oh boy, so am I.

And most of the time, I’m guessing whether I’m doing a good job or not.  And since I know I could always do better, I often opt for the ‘Not Doing So Well’ grade. Let’s be honest, many of us think we are C average women. We’re exceptional at many things, but there are other areas of our lives that need work. And if you are like most women I know, you choose to focus on the ‘Needs Work’.

Music Man reminded me of a phrase he heard from a friend on Facebook,

“Tell a girl she’s pretty; she’ll forget it in an hour.

Tell a girl she’s ugly; she’ll remember every time she looks in the mirror.”

Where am I going with all of this? God reminded me this morning how much we women need to be authentic about our challenges and encouraging to each other. I got a call from a friend today who suffers from fibromyalgia. She’s thinking that her body would benefit a gluten, dairy and sugar free diet, but she’s leery about beginning for fear it will be awful. As I shared with her that I would gladly hold her hand and walk her through, she expressed her gratitude. She explained that eating a special diet can feel very isolating, and to know that there is another who would be willing to walk the road with her was comforting and encouraging.

I realized that God still has a plan for me. I need to take my defining moment and learn from it, not run from it. Yes, God designed me to encourage women. To help them face their giants. To tell them they can do it. But at the same time to be real. To share my hurts and my weaknesses. And then to purposely recognize the giftings of those around me. And then tell them.

Couldn’t we all use a friend like that? Someone to encourage, inspire and just be our biggest fan. Someone to say, “I’ve been watching you, and you’re doing a great job. Keep up the hard work. You are making a difference.” Let’s vow to be this for each other. And know that all this stuff I put on this blog is my way of sharing what I am learning. And just that. No more. You do not get to beat yourself up because you’ve never made kefir or have no desire to make your own mozzarella.  Someday, you might be interested. And when you are, come on back and visit. Otherwise, just be entertained by my craziness.

I really do think you are terrific. Keep up the hard work. You are making a difference.

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