the brew*crew adventure

We fed baby S her first bites of cereal a few weeks ago, a few days before she turned six months old. She was certainly ready, and loved it! Up until this week she's only been eating cereal once a day, but I've just now started feeding her solids in the mornings as well as in the evenings sometimes too... so far she's tried pureed plums, bananas, peaches and even a bit of oat cereal, but mostly just rice cereal.

Home-made Organic Brown Rice Baby Cereal

• To make her baby cereal, I've just been putting organic short grain brown rice (which we order in bulk from here, much cheaper than HFS) through my Wonder Mill, and it comes out very finely ground, basicly as rice flour (which I keep in the freezer).
• Then I pour about 4 oz. (I was only using 2-3 oz. a month ago- she's eating more now) of either expressed mama's milk or baby apple juice into a little pot and then add a heaping Tbsp. of the milled rice flour.
• It starts out very thin, but as the liquid heats up, it thickens very quickly, and in moments I have a perfect little serving of fresh, healthy baby cereal.

Baby S enjoys sitting in her highchair chewing on wet wash rags immensely as well. Oh, and these teething feeder contraptions are ingenius (another one of the wonderful baby inventions that weren't around or I just didn't know about with N and T)! I just pop in a piece of banana or frozen peaches, and there's no chance of her choking on it. She thinks it's great, messy, tasty fun!

I did try out a recipe for teething biscuits the other day, but found that it crumbled a bit too big and she gagged on a piece, which scared me a bit. So, I froze them for later. I figure in another month or so she'll be able to handle them just fine. I altered a recipe that I found here.

Baby's Wholewheat & Rice Flour Banana Breadsticks

• 1/2 cup oil (I used 1/4 c. flax seed oil and 1/4 c. vegetable oil)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (took 2 medium sized bananas)
• 1 and 3/4 cups flour (I used 1 c. ww and 3/4 c. rice flour)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Combine ingredients and stir only until smooth. Pour into a greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour or until firmly set.

Cool, remove from pan, and cut into sticks. Spread sticks out on a cookie sheet and bake at 150 degrees F for 1 hour or longer until the sticks are hard and crunchy. (according to original recipe) **My oven's lowest temp. is 175 degrees F, and it took a few hours of baking for them to get crunch hard at all.** Store in a tightly covered container, freezes well.

It was a few weeks ago that I was scheduled to bring a yummy snacky-snack to our Monday morning homeschool co-op, and remembered this as I was tucking the kids into bed around 9 p.m. on Sunday evening, whilst Chris waited for me to join him for a movie. Oh no?! What to fix, fast? And it came to me... I could fix those cookie bar thingies that I brought to crop-club awhile back and my friend R went bonkers over. Yeah, that only took like 5 minutes to mix up and throw in the oven... and they might even pass off for gourmet chewy/oatmeal breakfast bars, yeah!

And I fetched my trusty Farm Journal Cookie recipe book, turned to p. 36, whipped them up, spread them in the pan and popped 'em in the oven. Wha-la! And they were such a hit at co-op that I had moms asking me for the recipe all day long. And then the next week (when I'd forgotten to bring the recipe with) reminding me to bring that recipe. And SO, I've typed it all out to bring tomorrow and thought that I ought to copy it here for your feasting as well, just in case you're ever in a pinch for a tasty, fast cookie.

Oatmeal/Chocolate Bars

~ Taken from the Farm Journal’s “Home-Made Cookies” recipe book, per popular request.

• 1 ½ c. brown sugar, firmly packed
• ¾ c. sugar
• 1 c. butter (the recipe actually calls for shortening, but I use butter instead- it's healthier and probably tastes better too)

• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 ¼ c. sifted flour (I used half ww and half ap)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¾ c. milk
• 4 c. rolled oats (quick or regular)
• 1 (12 oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate pieces

1. Cream sugars with butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2. Sift together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture along with milk. Stir in oats and chocolate pieces.
3. Spread batter in greased 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1” jelly roll pan. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 30 minutes. While warm, cut in 2x1” bars, but cool completely in pan on rack. Makes about 6 dozen.

My friend Jennifer asked for my recipe for miso soup, so I decided to post it here. Miso soup is so easy to make, and really easy to customize to your own taste as well. I prefer to use organic barley miso, mainly just because it's the kind that my Grandmother (who eats a macrobiotic diet only) recommended to me, and now I just like the way it tastes. I especially like to make it during the winter/cold/flu season because I load it up with fresh garlic and sauteed onions, both of which help to boost the immune system. I'm making some today as a matter of fact.

Miso Soup

• 2-3" Wakame leaf (seaweed) or 1-2 tsp. (to your own taste- I use a couple Tbsp.) of Wakame Flakes
• 4 cups filtered or distilled water
• 1-2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced/diced
• 2+ galic cloves, minced, sliced or crushed
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 Tbsp. Miso
• Optional Ingredients: tofu, dried tofu, sliced green onions, shiitake, greens, daikon, lotus, turnip, leeks, noodles, etc.

Start out by rinsing your sea vegetables (wakame) if you're using a big leaf, and soak it in cold water for a few minutes. Then dice it up. But if you're using the ready-to-use flakes, you'll just add them directly to your broth. I just start out by sauteeing my onions in EVO, and then add the garlic right before adding filtered or distilled water. Then I add my water and bring it to a boil, adding in the wakame, and let it simmer for a few minutes. Next add in the carrots (and whatever else you'd like) and simmer another five minutes. Now reduce the temperature to very low. Add your miso (I really just add to taste, I like a strong salty flavor) and simmer another couple of minutes. Do not boil the miso soup now though. Garnish with the green onions.

As you can see here, I like to put lots of onion, garlic (at least 5-6 cloves), and wakame in mine, probably more than I've listed in the ingredients. So, just experiment with your own as well, see what you like. It really is a matter of personal taste, but at least you have the basic idea now.

I hadn't made this in quite some time, up until a few weeks ago when I was trying to kick this bug and wanted a large dose of garlic and onions. When I made it (for myself), I was actually quite surprised to find both N and T came running into the kitchen smacking their lips and saying "Mmmm... smells like Chinese food!"
"Yeah, this is real Chinese food!" says I, "want some?" And they both scarfed down a cup-full (or two) and loved it, seaweed and all!

I knew that we wouldn't be able to eat all these jalapenoes...

And so, I started googling how to pickle them, and read quite a few different recipes and methods, finally coming up with my own conglomeration of ingredients that sounded good. I made them the other day, and am hoping that they turn out tasty (waiting a few weeks before trying them, to let the flavors blend really well).

Here's what I did:

I sliced up all those japs you see there, and put them into 6 pint-sized jars, added about 5 organic baby carrots on top (decided to go with these instead of slicing the big ones you see peeled there), then a handful of fresh cilantro and a peeled clove of garlic to each jar.

Then I measured out and poured 3 cups of White Wine Vinegar and 4-5 cups (can't remember now?) of organic, raw apple-cider vinegar into my big stainless steel pot, and turned it on medium heat to start it simmering.

Next T added the following to the simmering vinegar:

• 4 bay leaves
• 2 T. peppercorns
• 2 T. cumin seeds
• 2 T. mustard seeds
• 2 T. coriander seeds
• 2 T. sugar
• 2 T. kosher salt

Then we let that simmer until we couldn't stand the stench of the vinegar rapidly filling the house any longer (about 15 mins.). Next I poured the mixture over the veggies in the jar, through a fine strainer, so as to catch all the spices. I removed and trashed the bay leaves, but distributed the rest of the spices evenly among the six jars. I think they turned out really pretty, very colorful.

Then I put the sterilized lids tightly on the jars and put them into a pot of water to simmer/seal for 15 minutes.

Hope I did it right, guess we'll see soon enough!

Banana pudding is one of Chris's most favoritest desserts, and I'm thinking that it will hit the spot later this evening, being cold and refreshing. He's out there working on caulking all the cracks on the exterior of the house before he paints it... in 90 degree weather, today, again, on the wknd., his "day off".

I am just so amazed at how hard he works. Every day these past couple of weeks has been SO HOT here in NE TN, and how my heart and prayers have just gone out to him over and over as I think of him out there trudging through the mountains of Scott Co., VA, climbing those cable poles, in the hot sun ALL day long (and he's been working over-time), to provide for me, our kids, our home! What a blessing he is, and how I do pray that the Lord will soon provide him with an easier job, something not so hard on his body, with more security (stability, benefits, workman's comp. would be nice)... How his heart has been heavy with the cares of this world lately, and the stresses of applying for other work. But how the Lord is blessing him for his faithfulness as well. He just received another raise from his boss this week, who is no doubt impressed with his tough, committed work ethic.

I am so blessed to have such a devoted, hard working and wonderfully loving man. And so anyways... I've just made him some banana pudding (trying this new recipe found below), a small gesture I know (but hey, I'm about to have another one of his babies, that's huge, right? Heh!), but it's something, and it will be good (I hope)... especially with the cream cheese in the mix. And I just pray that the Lord will help me to be the wife and friend he needs for today, and tomorrow, as we travel through these valleys and years together... I am thankful for the many blessings our Lord is bestowing upon us, even in the midst of trials. I can see how the Lord is strengthening Chris's inward man daily through all of these things, and for that I am thankful.

May we ever praise Adonai, as we trust in His plan for us, even when we're not sure of the road ahead. I am so thankful for my soul-mate, my closest companion on this journey, my man... And because I added "ode to my man" to the original "banana pudding" title of this post (which has taken on a life of its own), I 'spose I ought to take a moment here to write a true "Ode", right? Heh! Okay then, here we go...

 

Spontaneous Ode to Chris

...just because...

I love being your wife.

Even in the midst of strife

We've built a solid, happy life.

You've become my very soul

And as the years do roll

by one by one~

I've discovered myself within you,

And in knowing our children.

Our love

Teaches me to live,

How to give.

Thank you for your faithfulness,

Your honesty and patience.

And as I mix together

this bit of indulgence...

I thank our Lord for you~

Your laughing eyes,

Deep thoughts, concerns,

Passionate ways,

All the memorable days,

The joys and triumphs,

The arguments and sorrows

Have all led to stronger tomorrows.

Your commitment

to us, your family,

Means the world to me.

Funny, I did not mean for this to be a post about Chris, etc. I had originally intended to merely share this great recipe I just whipped up and put in the fridge to chill and try out... but, here I've ended up going on and on about how thankful I am for my Chris. Guess it needed to be said... he's been on my heart alot lately I suppose.

Banana Pudding IV

found @ Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (I used a little less, about 3/4 of the can, so it wouldn't be too sweet.)
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (I used a little more, two pkges. of 3.5 oz.)
• 3 cups cold milk (added a bit extra, since I had a bit more pudding mix, and less of the cond. milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I used real whipped cream, of course!)
• 4 bananas, sliced (I used 5 large bananas)
• 1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers (I used more than half the bag, made sure there weren't any holes, yum!)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.
2. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.
3. My note: After pouring the pudding mixture over the layers of wafers and bananas, the 9x13 pan was totally full, so we're just adding a dallop of whipped cream on top of each serving.

Today, besides cleaning house, I'm also figuring out my Bread Beckers coop order, and came across this recipe at the Bread Beckers site to make your own Ezekiel bread. I LOVE Ezekiel bread, but rarely buy it since it's so pricey at our local health food stores. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at making this as soon as I can get all the grains ordered and delivered.

Ezekiel Fasting Bread

Combine the following whole grains:

• 2-1/2 cups hard red wheat
• 1-1/2 cups spelt or rye (Biblically spelt was used, Ezekiel 4:9)
• 1/2 cup barley (hulled barley)
• 1/4 cup millet
• 1/4 cup lentils (green preferred)
• 2 Tbs. great northern beans
• 2 Tbs. red kidney beans
• 2 Tbs. pinto beans

Stir the above ingredients very well. Grind in flour mill.
(NOTE: all of these grains and beans can be ground in the GrainMaster Whisper Mill with no problems).

Measure into large bowl or mixer:

• 4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup oil

Add to liquids:

freshly milled flour from the above mixture of grains

• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs. yeast

Stir or knead until well kneaded about 10 minutes. This is a batter type bread and will not form a smooth ball.

Pour dough into greased pans. You may use 2 large loaf pans (10x5x3) or 3 med. loaf pans or 2-9x13 brownie pans. Let rise in a warm place for one hour or until the dough is almost to the top of the pan. If it rises too much it will over flow the pan while baking. Bake at 350o for 45-50 minutes for loaf pans and 35-40 minutes for brownie pans.

*For fasting divide bread into 8 equal parts weighing 1/2 pound each. Eat a 1/2 pound cake and drink a quart of water every day. For fasting I do not alter the recipe.

This is a very sweet, moist, cake-like bread. For a more traditional bread texture I have used this combination of grains in The Beckers Bread and Roll recipe. Replacing the 7 cups of flour with the 9 cups of flour from the milled grains in this recipe. You may also add fruits and nuts or use the flour made from this mixture in other favorite recipes. This healthy combination of grains and beans is worth experimenting with. Combining grains and beans makes a complete protein.

Yes, one more recipe! This one has quickly become a family favorite here and has officially been added to our regular menu cycle. Actually we're eating leftover chicken pot pie for lunch today. The kids loved this one, and it's something I've been wanting to make for years, but only just now actually got around to it last week. N's birthday meal request was that I make him a home-made chicken pot pie, and the timing was perfect because I had just days before run across a simple recipe for just that over at Amy's Humble Musings.

I did tweak it a bit though, using probably about twice as many veggies as the recipe called for (after doubling the recipe for two pies), and so I also save aside a bit more broth and make more of the gravy mixture. Since I have two huge deep-dish glass pie pans that hold more than this recipe provides for, I'm still only making two pies at a time, but they're very big. Also, I do precook the veggies for my pies, have just been throwing them in the pot of broth left over after I measured out the amount of broth needed for the pies, adding a bit of water if necessary. For veggies, we've enjoyed fresh cubed potatoes, sliced carrots, frozen green beans and frozen corn (from last year's garden!). The first time I made it I used store-bought roll-out pie crusts. But this last time I made butter crust myself, using freshly milled soft pastry wheat. The kids even said they liked my crust better, wa-la- success!

Here, I'll just paste the recipe as Amy shared it, and you can tweak it as you see fit for your own family.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 Pie Crusts (your own or purchased), unbaked
2 T. Butter
2 T. Flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. pepper
1 c. chicken broth (note: I boiled lots of onions and garlic with my chicken)
¼ c. milk
2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed (about 1 chicken breast per cup)
1 ½ cups vegetables (I use fresh potatoes and carrots, frozen green beans and corn)
Dash of minced onion (skipped this since I'd already flavored my broth with onions)

Preheat oven to 425. Line pie plate with one crust. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat and stir in flour, salt, thyme, and pepper. Cook until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk and broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly for one minute. Stir in chicken and veggies. Pout into pie crust. Top with the second pie crust. Seal edges, cut fancy slits for airing. Bake on cookie sheet 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

This is for one pie.

I like to make a big pot of this and freeze a medium sized bowl full for later. Most of it's usually gone after the second day though (when it also tastes even better). I usually serve it with a pot of rice on the side, and Mexican cornbread too (recipe below).

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients (my ingred. list is an estimation according to my making a stockpot of chili):

• 4-6 chicken breasts (I use the frozen skinless, boneless, so it depends on their size, you may just boil a whole chicken)
• 1-2 chicken thighs (for better broth flavor if using all white meat, not necessary if you're using a whole chicken)
• alot of garlic cloves for me, 2-10, depending on your taste
• chicken broth, which you'll have from boiling your chicken
• 2-4 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• fresh cilantro (optional)
• Kombu or Wakame seaweed (optional, for boiling with beans)
• 2# bag of great Northern beans, soaked and drained (1# bag if you want less beans)
• 2 cans corn, drained, or a bag of frozen corn

I like to start by soaking a 2# bag of Northern white beans the day before (in filtered or distilled water), unless I haven't thought that far ahead, in which case I start them soaking the same morning, and they just take awhile longer to cook. After soaking them, I drain them. Next, I boil about 4-5 chicken breasts, and a thigh or two (for better broth flavoring) in a stockpot of water with a couple of onions cubed in it, some celery if I have it, and quite a few crushed garlic cloves. You could use a whole chicken if you preferred. We just prefer white meat here.

Once the chicken's just started to boil, I only give it a minute or two before I take out the breasts so that they don't overcook and get tough. But I then leave the thighs in and let them boil a bit longer with the veggies. After 20-30 mins. or so of simmering, I remove everything from the broth, and then I add the beans into the broth to cook. I like to cook my beans with either some kombu* strips (easily removed once beans are done) or wakame* pieces, which I put in a tea leaf infuser that hangs from the side of my pot. Nobody in my family would like to see bits of seaweed in their food, nor eat seaweed, but once I've boiled most of the minerals out of the leaves into my broth and beans, I just remove it, and all's well, nutritional benefits without the slimy green! It doesn't even change the taste of the dish that way either. Seaweed may be added to just about any dish. I know that my brother likes to sautee it into his scrambled eggs. Anyways, I digress!

So, while the beans are boiling (seaweed optional of course!), I add in a bag of frozen corn from our garden last year that probably equal a couple of cans worth. I sautee a chopped onion in olive oil, then I add a couple of minced garlic cloves to the onions. This I then add to the beans, along with a few teaspoons of cumin (to taste), dried oregano, salt and cayenne pepper. All the spices would be according to your own family's taste, but that's the basics. I think that I added some thyme the last time I made it too. If I have it on hand, I'll also add a few Tbsp. of fresh cilantro. My family also likes mushrooms, alot, so I slice up and sautee quite a few little button mushrooms in olive oil as well, and add them to the pot.

While that's all simmering and starting to smell really good, I chop the chicken into bite-sized chunks, and once the beans are tender, add it into the pot also. After everything's been simmering for awhile longer, and looks about done, I'll add quite a few big 'ol dollops of sour cream into the pot, which gives the whole thing a yummy, mild creaminess. At first it will coagulate a bit and look funky, but after a bit of stirring and a few more minutes of simmering, it looks and is perfect!

*Nutritional excerpt from the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op pdf Sea Vegetables: Kombu contains enzymes that help to break down the raffinose sugars in beans (the cause of excessive gas and bloating), increasing digestability. Kombu also acts as an antidote to excess sodium consumption and it is known to reduce blood cholesterol and hypertension. Kombu is high in iodine, potassium and calcium, as well as vitamins A and C. Wakame has many of the same nutritional benefits of its close relative, kombu. It is especially rich in calcium and contains high levels of vitamins B and C.

Mexican Cornbread

I double the following recipe, and bake mine in a 14" cast iron skillet. This is Chris and N's favorite, and we make it a bit spicier by using minced up jalapenos rather than green chiles, which T doesn't like, so I'll often make her a separate little skillet of sweet cornbread. Around here, we think cornbread is best served with real butter and drizzled in honey.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup salad oil
• 1 to 4 green chiles, seeded and chopped
• 1 small can (about 9 oz.) cream-style corn
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal (or self-rising cornmeal, and leave out the salt and baking powder below)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9" pan. (I just pour a bit of oil into my cast-iron skillet and put it in the preheating oven, which makes for a crispy crust, when you pour your batter into the hot oil). In a bowl, beat eggs and oil until well blended. Add chiles, corn, sour cream, cornmeal, salt, baking pwoder and 1.5 cups of the cheese; stir until thoroughly blended. Pour bater into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 1 hour or until crust is lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Making gingerbread cookies is a yearly tradition around here... because, well, we all LOVE gingerbread, and they're so cute! So, yeah... we caught the man... because we can! And yyes... I DO have the best ever recipe for them, a culmination of years of perfecting the dough! LOL Actually, it's a result of my mixing two recipes and tweaking them both (together), to end up with a healthier recipe to my/our liking (no shortening, no black pepper and half ww flour), which leaves us with a unique recipe that I think I can safely call my own!

Beth's Gingerbread Cookies

3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 1/4 cups soft pastry wheat flour (or you could use all a-p flour)
1.75-2 teaspoons baking soda
3 sticks unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
1 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1.5 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1.5 cups unsulfured molasses
Optional raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting

Easy Icing
4 teaspoons milk (or less for thicker icing)
1 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) ~ add food coloring if you like.

1 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter. Add sugar and cream until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. You can press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons", or wait and press them into frosting after baking (like my kids do).4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Makes about 32 5-inch long cookies.

Have fun!!

I know, I know... I can hardly believe that I just wrote that either! LOL But, it just fits, and it's what's been going on here lately! That'll be as crass as it gets here, I promise. What can I say, I'm an open book, and this here's my journal...

It's a gloriously beautiful, sunny day here today. The air is crisp, but not cold, and when N asked if he and the other children could go outside and play after he'd finished his copywork, I said "Certainly!" I'm going to spend the rest of the day cleaning and maybe even outside doing some yardwork if I get the house in order quick enough. I've really enjoyed the habit that I've started this year of staightening the house on Thurs./Fridays for Shabbat. It always feels so nice ~ and restful ~ to have it done, a wonderful ritual.

I am so thrilled to tell you that Chris's new boss paid him a whole $1 more per hour on his first paycheck than he'd originally said that he was going to start Chris out at. *yipppeee!* I think that after seeing first-hand (he works on the job sites with Chris) all that Chris already knows and can do, he realized that he should be paying him more. I'm so impressed that Chris was humble enough to take the chance and take the job because he/we needed it, and do his best, without being insulted by the initial low wage he was offered. His boss also said that he plans to raise him another $1 per hour as soon as he gets his belt (some heavy-duty type tool belt that cable splicer use to hold all their stuff while their up on poles), which he's even offered to buy for Chris! Chris just ordered it last night. We are so very thankful, it's awesome to see how the Lord has answered our prayers. And then, last night at our home fellowship group, a friend gave us a whopping big check, which someone else had apparently given them the $ for, and asked them to write it out so that they could give a gift to us anonymously. What a timely blessing it is! God is so good, and He has blessed us with such truly loving friends, amazing!

And speaking of friends, some good friends of ours (whom we actually met online, and have now known for over a year!), are coming over today from three hours away to spend the weekend with us, along with their two youngest children. T is especially excited to play dolls with their little girl, G. Serena is going to make her own rapid-rise challah bread for our Sabbath meal tonight. I'm making home-made meatballs and spaghetti sauce (with angel-hair pasta, of course) and salad. I might even make a chocolate cake, if I've time on my hands. Only thing is... I won't be able to eat any of this great feast!!?!

Of course, at this point I couldn't eat a feast of a meal today even if I wanted to, after 5 days of fasting, with this being my fourth day of juice-only fasting. Plus I started a colon cleanse the week before- which I'm still doing as well, in preparation for this liver/gallbladder cleanse. That's right, because I'm still on my liver/gallbladder cleansing and detoxification fast, and seeing too great of results to stop now. Technically, this would be the last day of the cleansing fast (if I do it "by the book" to the program I'm on), in which I could be eating raw fruits and veggies, if I wanted to come off the fast. I'm so excited that I've actually stuck it out this long, as the cleanse I'm doing is one of two that I'd bought over a year ago, for Chris and I. We'd started the one and both wimped out halfway through.

The really great part about it now though is that I've lost all *hunger* or desire for food even, kinda weird, when you think about it. However, night before last, as Chris and I sat there watching "Top Chef", I must say that I really did start to feel like eating some of that great food, especially "Betty's Bing" for the TGIF challenge... mmmm-hmmm... it was a grilled cheese with portabello mushrooms, and a terrificly spiced up tomatoe soup. *sighs* And what'a'ya know, she won the challenge, which means that her dish will become a featured item on TGIF's menu soon... so I WILL be trying it... eventually. But last night we went to our home-group fellowship, and I just had a cup of distilled water. I did not even want any of the otherwise delectable looking desserts spread out temptingly on the counter, truly! LOL And what's REALLY awesome is that I've lost 8 lbs in these last two weeks! The first week I'd cut out coffee, most sugar, and meat, so was mostly eating salads, fruits, veggies and whole grain breads/cereals, and drinking lots of herbal tea and filtered water.

For now, my days have been consisting of lots of organic apples (from our tree) and veggies (beets and cabbages are still growing in our garden) run through my trusty Champion juicer (love it!), lots of distilled and filtered water, herbal teas and fowl tinctures. I'm also taking probiotics (to replenish my intestines, which are getting the serious clean-out) and some anti-oxidants to help my body with the de-tox; vitamins E, B6, C, co-Q10, zinc and grapeseed extract and grapefruit seed extract. So, maybe you'd like to know exactly what I'm consuming each day?

My mornings are starting with my rising from bed at 6 a.m. (while it is yet dark, hah! ) and drinking two big 'ol mugs of filtered water. Then I turn my tea on to simmer for 20 mins. (the herbs have been soaking overnight in distilled water, each day I just add another 2 Tbsp. and more water to the pile and soak overnight, leaving them out on the stove). What's in the tea? see here: Detox tea

The tea's pretty good, very strong, and I'm finding myself starting to crave it like I did coffee (which I drink black, or with cream only) ... only it's good for me! So, while the tea starts its simmering, I get to work chopping and juicing my apples and lemons, peeling garlic and measuring the oils for this wonderfully refreshing shake (really, I do like it!):

Morning Liver Flush Drink (this is actually tasty!)

Mix the following in a blender:

During Spring or Summer, mix 8 ounces of fresh orange juice or better yet a citrus juice combination (1 lemon or 1 lime and enough orange, grapefruit or tangerine juice to make 8 ounces). During Fall or Winter mix 8 ounces of fresh apple or grape juice or an apple/grape combination with:

• 8 ounces of distilled or purified water.
• 1-5 cloves of garlic (start with 1 & increase daily.)
• 1-5 tablespoons of organic virgin cold-pressed olive oil (start with 1 & increase daily.)
• 1 piece of fresh ginger root (about 1 inch long.)

(*Note* I've also been adding 1 Tbsp. of high-lignan flax-seed oil to the drink, and not adding water, since I have so much of this raw apple juice from our apple tree. I actually think that it wouldn't be so yummy if watered down.)

Don’t chop the garlic or peel the ginger, just throw everything in the blender and liquefy it. It only takes me 60 seconds to make my Liver Flush in the morning. Drink the flush down in 2-3 minutes, don’t sip it.

• 15-20 minutes after drinking your Liver Flush, drink 2 cups of previously prepared DETOX TEA.
• Put 2 droppersful of my LIVER/GALLBLADDER FORMULA in each cup of tea (consume total of 4 droppersful) or
have the tonic separately in an ounce of water.
• Finally take 3 droppersful of my D-TOX FORMULA. This formula is my strongest tasting so you can put it in a little grape juice if you wish.
• Repeat the same dosage of my LIVER/ GALLBLADDER FORMULA & DETOX TEA 2 more times during the day
& D-TOX FORMULA 4 more times during the day.

So, I'm doing all that each day, and driking so much that I just didn't even really feel too hungry when I first started out. This morning, about 30 minutes after I'd finished my liver flush drink I actually passed some bright pea-green tiny, tiny little stones, waxy (they're softened by the juices) and bright green (from bile)! I was amazed (though I guess that maybe I shouldn't have been? I mean, I expected it to work, right?). They were all floating (due to cholesterol content, gall stones will float). And no, I didn't keep any.

I have found though that I prefer to put the tictures in a shot of grape juice (it's great for masking the foul taste), and take them all that way, rather than messing up the otherwise good flavor of my detox tea, which I enjoy otherwise.

I've also, as I'd mentioned in my earlier post, been doing a colon cleanse (now in my second week). I have never been one to have problems with constipation or digestion really, yet have been quite impressed with the results. I have so much more energy now, and have passed some stuff (even this morning, after 5 days of fasting) that I know has been there way too long, like impacted and the shape of my small intestines, places that a doctor cannot even see go a colonoscopy... (yeah, I'm a believer now- those outlandish pictures are real!) *ahem* Yeah! I felt SO good, relieved even, to get it out!! I was thanking the Lord, knowing that it was literally toxic waste in my bowels, potential for future disease. And that's all that I'm saying about THAT! LOL

Ummm, did I mention that I've lost 8 lbs. and counting?! I plan to do this annually now, however, next year I will use a different source for my herbs. I found a homeschooling herbalist/family that I'm probably going to purchase from next time, here: Blessed Herbs

A good, informative health-read: Bowel Function & Dietary Fiber

So, there you have it- probably way more than you ever even wanted to know about my recent cleansing efforts! I do hope that I haven't grossed anyone out too much, and promise that I'll (probably) not post anymore about my *cleanse*! LOL

I just gathered six eggs from our hens' nest. It's funny, they have three nest boxes to choose from, but they all lay in the same nest, every day, 4-6 eggs all together in the same nest. It's amazing to feel their warmth as I gather them, amazing how the Lord created them so perfectly. Time to get busy around here now. I hope that you have a blessed day, and a restful weekend.

I just made a salad dressing from some ingredients that I already had on hand, and it turned out really good, so I thought that I'd share it here:

In a glass bottle, add:

2 TB. of organic horseradish mustard (or whatever kind you have on hand, even just dried mustard might work)
2 cloves of crushed garlic

about 1/8 c. of flax seed oil (?didn't measure)

about 1/2 c. of olive oil (extra virgin, cold-pressed)

about 1/2 c. of raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

about 1/4 c. of purified water

Shake and pour over your salad! Chris even liked it, which says alot!

Is this template working on your end? You like? I'm not too keen on it myself really, but the other one wasn't working for me, so I may be switching things around here for awhile until I find something that works. I know some of you readers of mine out there don't like me "moving the furniture" around too much, shock-waves and all *smirk*... but please just bear with me while I experiment. Think of it as... an adventure, excitement to spice up your computer time!

I just got done playing a good game of Presto Change-O with the kids (I won!), and will be taking them to their riding lessons in an hour. T's been wanting me to play dolls with her alot lately, and I'm trying to make it a priority, as I know that I'll forever regret if I let these years go by without doing so.... It's not my favorite thing to do, but it has been such a blessing to interact with her on this level. I get to see a whole different side of her, and she keeps remarking on how much fun it is to play dolls with me (so how can I not?).

I've got a few bushels of apples from our tree to finish processing for storage now (freezing and juicing). I'm also in the midst of a colon cleanse (you really wanted to know that, I'm sure) and starting a cleansing fast (just eating raw fruits and veggies, lots of water and herbal teas too). So, the first by-product of this has been that I've had a major headache practically all wknd. (but not from caffeine withdrawal, as I'd quit the coffee a week prior), just a common detox symptom. I'm now starting a liver and gall-bladder cleanse this week.

Chris and I had started this same fasting cleanse about this time last year, but wimped out halfway through. I plan to finish it this time, and Chris isn't even trying. LOL So, have you ever done a cleansing fast? A friend told me that she recently did this colon cleanse for two entire months, with great results! Her hormones had been all out of whack (with her only menstruating a couple of times per year) before, and she'd been trying to conceive since getting married, for a few years. After doing the cleanse, she told me that her hormones regulated themselves (she knew because she was having regular periods) and she conceived within months! The site is informative with lots of testimonials. That colon cleanse is different from the one that I'm doing in that she did over a longer period, yet it wasn't as intensive (with raw food only fasting).

Today I'm feeling much better, headache's gone, lots of energy, and no more food cravings even (okay, except for the few minutes when I smelled the melting sharp cheddar cheese from the nachos that N was baking in the oven). I've consumed LOTS of water, some gentle herbal teas (nettle tea and a de-tox fasting tea), some nasty de-tox and anti-parasite tinctures in grape juice, a banana, a plum and some grapes. I've got to go and start my potassium broth now, which sounds very good, because I'm a feelin' a bit hungry. I think that I'll fix me a nice greens and herbs salad with cucumbers, onions, mushrooms and home-made dressing too! Mmmm...hmmm.

Potassium Broth

Fill a large pot with 25% potato peelings, 25% carrot peelings and whole chopped beets (half and half), 25% chopped onions and garlic (more onions than garlic), 25% celery and dark greens. Add hot peppers to taste (or cayenne pepper). Add enough distilled/purified water to cover vegetables and simmer at a very low temperature for a minimum of 2 hours. Strain and drink only the broth, put the veggies in a compost (I feed my chickens). Make enough for two days and refrigerate the leftover broth. Do not store for more than two days.

I'm adding wakame (kelp) to my potassium broth. Towards the end of my fast I will cook pearled barley, or brown rice in the left-over broth, and add some barley miso and more veggies too. I've been drinking raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar and honey in my tea too, it's really invigorating. Tomorrow I will start my juice/tea/water and potassium broth-only -fast, which will continue through Thursday, and then on Friday I'll add raw fruits and veggies back in. If I feel like I'm starving, I'll have some fruit, or a salad. I'm just finishing day two though (beginning of the fast, started the colon cleanse earlier last week), and feel good.

Easy Creamy Potatoe "Stone Soup"

After I peel all of those potatoes for my potassium broth, the kids and I use the potatoes to make creamy potatoe ("stone", yes we add one just for fun, everybody must try stone soup at least once!) soup. First, after N's cut up the potatoes we boil them with the stone. Then I sautee garlic and onions in some olive oil, add the boiled and now strained potatoes back into the pot, add milk, mozzarella cheese, a dollop of sour cream, some salt and pepper to taste and simmer until heated through. The kids love this...

Vinegar & Honey

Julius Caesar and George Washington gave it to their troops before battle. Hippocrates gave it to all his patients. In the Pharaohs tombs, they sealed it in large vases to take this into the next world. It helps to oxygenate the cells, improve circulation, balance your pH, normalize thyroid function and metabolism, rid the body of lactic acid and calcium deposits, increase circulation, absorption, and assimilation of vitamins and minerals. A simple mixture of Vinegar & Honey. But the vinegar must be raw, non-pasteurized, apple cider vinegar. All other vinegars are catabolic (acid forming).

Some people like to mix them full strength in the morning and drink it down: a shot of vinegar and a shot of honey together. However, we got this ancient formula and will present it here:

Mix 1 cup of the apple cider vinegar with ½ cup of honey (can use less or more honey, depending on your taste. You will take three tablespoons daily.

One way to drink this is by mixing 3 tablespoons with 2 to 36 oz (the more fluid will not lessen the potency, as long as you drink it all in the same day) of water, juice or tea and sip on it throughout the day.

excerpted from "How to Alkalize"