Summer Vegetables

I never aspired to be a food blogger. Nor do I spend much time or effort staging my food. I have to admit, though, that there are times when I want to share a recipe and would like to have a really sharp photo to go with it.

Today's Photo Challenge is food photography. So here you have today's lunch. I can't say that it's an amazing picture because, honestly? The tomato juice bugs me. Oh, you hadn't noticed? Well, then. Forget I said anything, and feel free to brag on my photo.

During the summer I love eating lots of fresh vegetables. My favorite meals are grilled meat with salads and/or roasted vegetables. We have a nice deck just off our kitchen, so we eat outdoors more often than not this time of year.

On Monday evening we stopped at Sprouts and bought a mini-cart's worth of produce.

On Tuesday evening we grilled steaks and shishkabobbed green and yellow squash and red onions. (Is "shishkabobbed" a verb? Well, you know what I mean.) I also made a creamy cucumber and onion salad that night.

Last night we grilled hamburgers. I roasted a double-batch of cauliflower and squash in the oven. (Recipe: Chop vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until beginning to blacken at 475.) I honestly would rather have that than french fries.

Today for lunch I decided to make a frittata with the left-over roasted vegetables. I also made a tomato and feta cheese salad to have on the side, along with sliced peaches. It is delicious, even if my photography is not perfect. I'll just have to keep practicing.

What are your favorite summer vegetables?

Parmesan Crisps

Two weeks ago, on our trip to the coast, we stopped at Whole Foods on our way through Portland. There's not a Whole Foods store in Spokane (our local "big city"), so I wanted to see what they might have in the way of crackers or snacks that fit in with the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle.

My favorite find was a container of Parmesan Crisps. Lyle wasn't sure he would like them, but I was pretty sure I would. They were pretty spendy at $6.00 for a 3.5-ounce package, but I went ahead and got them. We tried them as soon as we got back in the car. I love them because they are crisp and salty like a chip, but high protein instead of carbs. And they have a very rich flavor so I usually only want 1 or 2 at a time. It turned out that Lyle likes them, too, but we didn't go back and get more because they were so expensive.

Guess what? I figured out how to make them myself! 

This may be the easiest "recipe" ever... and they taste just like the ones we bought. I promise.

Here's how to do it:

1. Put a square of parchment paper on a plate.
2. Make four little piles of parmesan on the paper (about a tablespoonful in each pile).
3. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
4. Let cool.

 Can you believe how easy that is?

And a huge savings!

This container that cost $6.00? I was able to refill it with the same amount of product for 80 cents.

Unbelievable.

I should go into business.

Making Yogurt

So I've been tweeting* about making yogurt in the Crock Pot and I thought I might mention it in my Friday Fragments post tomorrow, but it's generated so much interest, I decided that it warranted its own post. This is not, however, a tutorial. There are several excellent ones already available. Just wanted to share my experience.

For the past year or so we have been buying raw milk. We get one gallon a week for our family of four. Buying directly from the dairy farmer is a little different than buying milk at the store. We have a set time to pick up the milk, so we get it whether we need it or not. Besides, raw milk doesn't "keep" as long as store-bought milk, so even if we haven't used the full gallon, after a week or so it begins to go sour.

 One of my daughters is currently experiencing a lactose intolerance, so for the past few weeks I've been ending up with too much milk each week. She had noticed, though, that yogurt doesn't bother her. After doing some research I found out that the lactose in the milk is consumed by the live cultures in the yogurt during the fermenting process. I had heard that making yogurt wasn't hard, and since I had extra milk I decided to try it.

First, I hopped on Google. (What in the world did we do before the internet?) Here are the sites I read before I headed to the kitchen:

• One Good Thing by Jillee: Crockpot Greek Yogurt
• Happy Simple Living: Make Your Own Homemade Greek Yogurt
• Shannon's Kitchen Creations: Crock Pot Greek Yogurt
• Money Saving Mom: How to Make Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot
• Mom Prepares: How to Make Yogurt in a Crock Pot

Step 1:  About 9 a.m. I made sure my Crock Pot was extra-clean and then poured in a half gallon of milk, and turned it on Low. Then I ignored it for about 2 hours.

Step 2: Removed the lid, turned off the Crock Pot. Checked the temperature of the milk with a kitchen thermometer. You want it to be about 180 and mine was a little higher than that, so I'll check it sooner next time. I also stirred in the "skin" that had formed on the top of the milk. Apparently, it's better to remove that, for a smoother yogurt, so I'll do that next time. Leaving the lid off to let in the bacteria from the air, I kept an eye on it for the next hour or so, "taking its temperature" every few minutes. I was watching for it to get down to about 110 degrees. This was the only "fiddly" part of the whole process, being sure to catch it at 110. At that time, I stirred in about a fourth of a cup of store-bought plain yogurt. I bought the Greek-style because I could get the "plain" in a smaller container. I think it doesn't really matter what style it is as long as it contains live cultures. Then I replaced the lid, and wrapped the whole Crock Pot (outer part and all) in a thick blanket and shoved it to the back of the counter. That was at noon. I didn't do another thing to it until bedtime.

Step 3: Just before I went to bed I unwrapped the Crock Pot and peeked inside. It had set up nicely! I was so pleased. A little whey had separated so I gave it a stir or two just to see what it looked like, and I tasted it. Oh, yum! A little tart, and unflavored, but I could tell I had made real yogurt! I lifted the inner crock part of the Crock Pot out of the appliance part and just set it in the fridge until morning.

Step 4: This morning I took out one serving and stirred in honey and frozen berries for breakfast. Tasty! I decided to try straining the whey, which is an optional step, to make it a little thicker. Apparently, straining the whey off is what makes it Greek-style. I lined a colander with coffee filters (having no cheese cloth) and set it down in a large bowl. After about an hour, a cup or so of whey had drained off, which I reserved because I understand it can be used for cooking. Then I stirred in agave nectar and vanilla, and persuaded my kids to taste it. They were more impressed than they expected to be. "Tastes a little bit like ice cream!"

Don't you love it when something you try turns out great the first time?

*Even if you're not on Twitter, you can read my Twitter feed in the side-bar of my blog, if you didn't realize that already.

Anchovies

Laura has a wacky sense of humor. I can't imagine where she gets it.

One day last week when I was at the print shop she called me from home. "Mom, when you were at the grocery store earlier, did you happen to get... anchovies?"

Say what? I had never bought, or even tasted, anchovies before in my life. I had tasted caviar, once, many years ago. Anchovies, never.

"Um. Yeah. Of course. I make sure we're always stocked up on anchovies," I told her, wondering what she really wanted.

She giggled and said, "I was really wondering about jalepenos. I want to make a dip and it calls for jalepenos. I don't think we have any."

I was planning to stop at the store anyway, so I told her I would add jalepenos to my list. Lyle was with me, so I repeated the conversation to him. "I've always wondered what anchovies taste like. If they aren't too expensive I think I'll get some just for a joke... since she asked for them!"

Turns out they were $1.78 for this little tin, which is not exactly tuna-fish price, but still cheap enough to try something new and get a laugh out of the deal.

I gathered up the rest of my groceries, and as I was checking out the cashier asked what I was planning to make. I tried to explain that my daughter had asked for the anchovies, but I was really getting them for a joke. She looked at me like I was crazy. "Oh, she's going to make something with them?" she kinda mumbled, and then didn't make eye contact with me any more. I'm sure she thought I belonged in the loony bin or something.

I carried the groceries out to the car, and gleefully showed my pretty little box to Lyle. He doesn't care for any kind of fish in any way, shape, or form, so there was no way he planned to try them. He just had one question for me.

"Did you get the jalepenos?"

Um.

I couldn't believe it. I had totally forgotten the jalepenos. And they were on my list.

When I got home and presented Laura with the tin of anchovies, she looked a little startled.

"You do know that was a joke, right?" she asked. I can't figure out why everyone thought I was crazy.

So I told her the story of why I decided to buy them. Once she understood she thought it was pretty funny. And she was curious to taste the anchovies, too.

We pulled the top off the little tin to find them floating grotesquely in olive oil. Can't say they looked all that appetizing. At least it wasn't fish oil.

I drained the oil off, and patted one of the little fillets dry with a paper towel, then popped a small piece in my mouth.

Salt.

That's pretty much all I tasted. Just super salty, and not all that fishy.

I had the rest later on crackers with cream cheese. It wasn't nasty, but it was way too salty to be much of a delicacy.

That may come from buying the cheap brand, though. I don't know.

Have you ever tried anchovies? What is your opinion?

When life gives you lemons...

...you make lemonade, of course!

I like to make old-fashioned lemonade.

Okay, I cheat a little bit, in that I use bottled lemon juice rather than fresh-squeezed lemons. It's a lot less work and tastes almost as good. I also like to use raw sugar which adds to the "old-fashioned" flavor.

My recipe is:

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup raw sugar (Can use regular white sugar, if you prefer--- and you might want up to a cup of sugar. We like our lemonade on the tart side.)
• 1/2 sliced lemon (This is really just for garnish. The lemonade tastes the same without it.)
• 2 quarts cold water

Serve over ice... and enjoy!

July Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Just beautiful! We had 3 uncomfortably warm days last week. Otherwise, we've had no hot weather to speak of.

Things that make me happy:
Sunshine with temps in the 70s!

Books I'm reading:
Don't laugh. I almost always have this many going at once...

• Perfectly Invisible by Kristin Billerbeck (by my bed)
• A Matter of Honor by Kay Martin (on my Kindle)
• To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson (on my Kindle)
• The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson (in the downstairs bathroom)
• Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery (in the upstairs bathroom)

On the menu for dinner:
Chicken-and-broccoli rice casserole. I think. Or maybe fast food. Depends on what we end up needing to do this evening.

On my To Do List:
Finish reorganizing our bookcases.
See if the neighbor lady is still planning to have a neighborhood garage sale this weekend.
If so, get ready to have a garage sale on Saturday. Ugh.
Work on a blog post for SonlightBlog.com. (Look for it there July 26.)

New recipe I tried or want to try soon:
I want to try making some mixed-berry muffins using my friend Judy's recipe for Whole Wheat Oatmeal Blueberry Bread.

In the craft basket:
I'm almost finished with the curtain for my bedroom! Can't wait for the "ta-da!" moment.
Still working on the 99 Little Doilies.I think I'm working on #22, so I'll have some more pictures to show you soon.
Started an embroidery project of a vintage postcard to frame for my room.

Looking forward to this week:
Enjoying the beautiful weather and working on various projects.

Blog Hopping:
Here are blogs for some of the young ladies and moms I got to know this past year through yearbook staff and graduation--

• Butterflies and Rainbows
• Day by Day
• Emily, the Industrious
• Eternity is Closer Than You Think
• Free Indeed
• Keeper of the Fires
• A Maiden's Musings
• Through My Eyes

No words needed:

Lesson learned the past few days:
I can walk further than I thought if I just pace myself... and I actually enjoy it! Yay!


On my mind:
Missing my daughter who is gone for the summer!

Scripture:
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father... I Thessalonians 1:2-3

More Happy Homemaker Monday posts @ Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Might be spicy!

People are funny sometimes. Not that they mean to be. They just are.

I picked up a bag of the new "Artisan" chips from Tostitos at the grocery store earlier this week. Black bean and garlic flavored, as I recall.

As I was checking out, the cashier commented on them. "Have you had these before? They look good!"

I admitted I had not had them before, but I thought they looked good as well.

She said, "I've been meaning to get some, but by the time I get off work I forget about them. But they sure look good! Does that 'artisan' mean they're spicy?"

After gulping back a chuckle, as politely as I could I said, "Um, well, actually, I think that means they are hand-made or something like that."

"Oh," she said. "Well, they sure look good!"

But who knows? Maybe "artisan" is a new spice I hadn't heard of before!

January Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods: Not bad at all for January.

Things that make me happy: Sunshine in January!

Book I'm reading: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

What's on my TV today: I'm really enjoying Downton Abbey on Masterpiece Classics this month. Lyle chooses most of what we record and watch, but he records that series for me. (And even watches them with me. What a guy!)

On the menu for dinner: Chicken-andouille gumbo sounds really good. I think I have the stuff to make it... so, yeah... that!

On my To Do List: Get some extra work and homeschooling done this week, as I will be gone 4 days next week on a business trip.

New recipe I want to try soon: Dutch Baby pancakes. I had one at a local restaurant on our breakfast date Saturday and it was wonderful!

In the craft basket: Still working on my bedroom curtain. I also have a pair of socks on knitting needles, as a take-along project.

Looking forward to this week: I've been wanting to go to our local Kroc Center to check out the facilities and get some exercise in this winter. What with sickness and other busy-ness, it keeps getting put off. I'm really hoping to make it this week!

Tips and Tricks: I discovered a liquid herbal supplement at our health food store that has helped with my chronic winter cough better than anything else I've tried. (And yes, I've tried the "100%-effective-Vicks-Rub-on-the-bottom-of-your-feet" thing. I don't know how something can be 100% effective and not work for me... but it sure doesn't.) Anyway, this concoction is put out by Wish Garden herbs. It's not cheap... about $12 an ounce... and it's very bitter. But it only takes a few drops at a time and seems to be effective for whatever-kinda-cough-this-is that I get every winter.

On my mind: Looking forward to my trip to Denver next week. And then long range, planning for Laura's graduation activities later in the spring.

Inspirational Reading: The Never-Wavering Few @ Lady Liberty Patriot.

Visit Diary of a Stay-at-Home Mom for more Happy Homemaker Monday posts.

December Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods: Unpredictable. After the record-breaking snowfall we had in November, I was sure we wouldn't see the ground again until March at the earliest. And then we got more snow, which confirmed my suspicion... but the last few days have been "warmer" (high 30s, low 40s) and raining, so much to my amazement the snow is about gone. If I had my way we would have a White Christmas, with just enough more through January to make it seem like winter. Then when Valentine's Day is over, it can be spring! It doesn't usually happen that way around these parts, though. *sigh*

Things that make me happy: Productive, fun weekends. Working alongside Lyle to get projects done on Saturday, then just hanging out enjoying our home and family on Sunday.

Book I'm reading: The Clouds Roll Away by Sibella Giorello

What's on my TV today: We probably won't watch it today, but I added the VeggieTales take on It's a Wonderful Life to our Netflix queue. I like to watch the classic at Christmas time, and thought it would be fun to see the VeggieTales rendition.

On the menu for dinner: Beef and Vegetable Stew. Some nasty virus (or two) has been making the rounds of my family for the past couple months. The kids have both been sick twice, and now Lyle is fighting it. So I wanted something extra-nutritional to help build up our immune systems.

On my To Do List: 

• Alter a dress.
• Finish gift-wrapping.
• Mail packages.
• Mail Christmas letters.

New recipe I tried: Chocolate-dipped marshmallows on stirring straws. I saw the idea in a magazine and made some up to serve with hot cocoa at our Christmas party. They were a big hit with the kids!

In the craft basket: I'm about to finish knitting a pair of socks. I like to keep a pair on the needles (I knit both socks at the same time on circular needles) because it's a nice, small take-along project. This pair finishes up the sock yarn I had on-hand. Guess that means I'll have to go buy some more. If you insist.

Looking forward to this week: Attending the Nutcracker with my daughters on Friday evening. We're going with a few friends, and we're planning to dress up fancy! It should be fun.

Tips and Tricks: Using printed gift boxes instead of wrapping paper is a huge time-saver (not to mention being "green") for family gifts. In the past few years I haven't been inclined to take the time to make gorgeous gift packages... though I have in the past, and may again in the future. I picked up a good supply of printed gift boxes one year after Christmas, and I've been re-using them each year.  I write the person's name in the corner of the bottom of the box. The following year, I just draw a line through it (unless it happens to be to the same person again) and write the current recipient's name under it. Some of my boxes have been used at least 3 years so far. My family doesn't mind.

My favorite blog post this week: How to measure yarn in wraps-per-inch.

On my mind: My family's health. Hoping we will all be feeling better soon.

Scripture Reading:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. --John 1:14

Visit Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Happy Homemaker Monday posts.

Favorite Christmas Recipes

Is anything more cozy than the fragrance of Christmas baking? We love to make goodies to take to parties and get-togethers, and to make up goody bags to give out to friends and neighbors. Here are some of our favorites (with recipes I have posted previously):

• Apple Cookies
• Banana Nut Bread
• Beulah's Sugar Cookies
• Christmas Eve Mice
• Friendship Tea
• Hot Cocoa Mix
• MawMaw's Date Loaf Candy
• Monster Cookies
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Popcorn Balls 

Diary of a Stay at Home Mom is featuring Christmas recipes each Thursday this month, if you're looking for more ideas.

What are some of your favorite holiday food traditions?

Graduation Cupcakes

My daughter loves to make treats for the Thursday evening Bible study we host in our home. This spring one of the young men who attends graduated from high school. I had seen the idea for these cute graduation cap cupcakes, so I suggested to my daughter that she could make them one Thursday a few weeks ago, in honor of our friend.
She made chocolate cupcakes and frosted them with cream cheese frosting. Next is a small peanut-butter cup turned upside down, topped by a Ghiradelli square, also turned upside down. The buttons are mini M&Ms. It probably would have looked better if all the M&Ms had been brown, but they are actually color-coded to indicate the type of filling in the Ghiradelli square! Brown is dark chocolate, yellow is caramel, red is raspberry, and green is mint! (The bag of squares I got was assorted flavors.)

Needless to say, they were a big hit!

Homemade Pop

My family has been enjoying experimenting with making our own pop for the past few days. On Friday we received the SodaStream outfit I won at Reviews and Reflections. Just as Heidi said, it is super easy to use, and comes with a wide variety of flavors that we are working our way through.

Our first batch didn't turn out to be fizzy enough because we misunderstood the directions. It says to push the button several times until it buzzes, and that 3 buzzes is a normal carbonation level. We thought that meant to push the button 3 times. On the next batch we figured out how to do it "right" and were very impressed with the results! More than we expected to be, actually.

I like that the flavor syrups do not contain high fructose corn syrup or aspartame. The diet flavors are sweetened with Splenda (which is still not great, in my opionion), and then I noticed even the regular flavors have Splenda as an ingredient as well as sugar. I'm not sure why, except that it makes them lower calorie.

We want to experiment with making our own flavoring syrups. We also tried carbonating regular apple juice to make sparkling apple juice. That worked great! I know we're really going to enjoy this new gadget! Thanks again, Heidi!

Homemade Ice Cream (sugar-free)

In my quest for healthier eating for my family I've been pleasantly surprised to find that our regular grocery store has quite a few organic options to the foods we are used to eating. Yes, it's usually a little more expensive, but I've decided that it's worth it. Our grocery store even has organic ice cream!

The only thing is, I've also been trying to eat "low-glycemic" to try to eliminate my migraines. And the only sugar-free ice cream I've found has the nasty artificial sweeteners. We even have a really extensive natural foods supermarket in our area. I was sure they would have a sugar-free ice cream with a natural sugar substitute such as xylitol or stevia. But they didn't! So I decided I would just have to make my own.

After reading several recipes (some calling for sugar, some for other sweeteners) I came up with my own concoction using granulated xylitol and real vanilla. My family declared it delicious. We honestly could not tell that it was not sweetened with sugar. Well, not by taste anyway. Cost-wise, xylitol is significantly more expensive than cane sugar. So this will have to be a special treat!

I also want to try tweaking the recipe. For homemade ice cream it was good! But  you know how homemade ice cream is usually a little "grainy" compared to commercial ice cream? I want to try to see if I can get it to come out creamier. I'm thinking if I cooked it first into a kind of custard before freezing it, that might work.

I think I might wait until the weather warms up a bit, though. January is just not the best time for homemade ice cream!

Christmas Cookie Recipe Party

I'm joining in the Christmas Cookie Recipe Party hosted by Darlene @ Our Creative Life. It's been going on for several Fridays, so if you need ideas for yummy cookies for Christmas, be sure to check it out! Here's a favorite in our family:

Monster Cookies

6 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 pound butter
3 cups peanut butter
8 cups oats
8 ounces chocolate chips
8 ounces M&Ms

Mix together. (No, this recipe does not have flour!) Bake at 350 degrees approximately 12 minutes.

No-Sugar Apple Butter

Last week I realized that I needed to do something with the apples we still had left from our apple-picking excursion earlier in the fall. I came across this recipe for No-Sugar Apple Butter and decided to try it.
Of course, I had to make some modifications. (I can't seem ever follow a recipe exactly.) I left out the apple peel and the cloves... and after getting the apple mixture good and hot on the stove top I transferred it to my Crockpot set on High. I have an oval shaped Crockpot so I just put the lid on sideways so that steam could escape as the apples cooked down. Usually you don't want the steam escaping, but in this case I wanted a nice thick apple butter so I wanted a lot of the liquid to cook out of it. It took most of the day to cook down to the consistency I wanted, then I just spooned it into hot jelly jars and tightened lids on them to seal.

It turned out to be absolutely delicious! It really doesn't need sugar (or any extra sweetening) at all!

Visit Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Slow Cooking Thursday recipes.

Scottish Buttermilk Oat Scones

Remember my commitment to go off sugar? It's not going too well.

Oh, I've managed to avoid sugar, refined flour, and other "high glycemic" (i.e. starchy) foods for the past two weeks. The thing is, I don't feel any better. The headaches? They're still with me. Shakiness? Yep. But... "they" say that's to be expected. It takes a few weeks to start noticing a difference. So I guess I'll stick with it awhile longer.

In the meantime, I'm trying to rethink my menu planning. My family is supportive to a certain extent. They are willing to at least try whole grain alternatives to our normal fare. I just need more recipes. I tried Googling for "low glycemic recipes" and most things called for sugar substitute. That didn't help. I am looking for less-sweet recipes with wholesome ingredients. Anybody know a good website?

I found one recipe last week on the Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats bag for Scottish Buttermilk Oat Scones. I thought it might be a good breakfast recipe so I tried it. The recipe called for raisins or currants. I didn't happen to have any on hand, and besides, raisins are kinda sugary, so I decided to put in slivered almonds instead. I thought that would give it a nice crunch. Turns out, that wasn't a good choice. What I hadn't realized is that the steel cut oats are chewy, so the almonds were too much. It just really needed the raisins. Or maybe blueberries. (I think blueberries might be less sugary than raisins.)
Anyway, here's the recipe. Oh, and I did substitute stevia for the sugar, although it probably didn't make much difference since it only calls for 1 teaspoon of sugar. I "frosted" it with plain cream cheese.

Scottish Buttermilk Oat Scones
1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole grain oat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup currants or raisins
butter for greasing baking sheet
4 tbsp. softened butter, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp. milk
cinnamon and sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Place the oats in a pie pan and toast them for 20 minutes, stirring often to toast evenly and prevent burning. When slightly golden, remove from oven. Combine oats with buttermilk in a small bowl and let stand for 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, sugar, salt and raisins. Reset the oven to 400 and butter the baking sheet.
Using a pastry blender, cut the 4 tbsp. butter into the flour until the texture is coarsely crumbled, then stir in the buttermilk/oat mixture until combined. Flour your hands and scoop the dough, forming it into a ball. Do not over mix. Press the ball of dough directly onto the pan, then press into a 3/4" thick circle. With a sharp knife, score the surface, almost to the bottom, making eight wedges. Brush the surface with milk and sprinkle a bit of sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cut into wedges. Makes 8 scones.

Making Butter - a tutorial

When I was growing up we almost always drank raw milk. We didn't own a cow but we would buy fresh milk from a neighbor who did. We made our own butter, too.

Recently I bought a half-gallon of whipping cream and then didn't end up using it all before the expiration date, so I decided my children could learn to make butter. (We've done it before a few times, but it had been awhile.)

You're supposed to let the cream set out at room temperature for an hour or so, but I forgot that step... and I think that's why this next step ended up taking a lot longer than I remembered.

Anyway, fill a quart jar about half full of cream. It needs plenty of room to slosh. Make sure you close it tightly so it doesn't leak when you shake it.
And then just shake the livin' daylights out of it! Shake and shake and shake until you're tired of shaking... then pass it to the next person and let her shake awhile.
It will get to where you don't hear or feel it sloshing any more, and the jar looks like it's completely full. But you aren't done yet. Keep shaking!
After awhile (maybe 20 minutes? or probably less if you remember to let the cream set out for a bit before you start), all of a sudden, you will feel the sloshing come back and the white cream will "break apart" inside the jar. Then you're almost done. But not quite.

Shake it a little longer. You will notice “grains” of butter begin to form that look a little like foam. Continue to shake it until the grains clump together to form a ball of soft butter floating in buttermilk. Dump it in a bowl and drain the buttermilk off the butter. (It can be used for making biscuits or anything else you would use buttermilk for.) Now you need to rinse your butter. Add cool water and stir into the butter, draining off the milky water and adding fresh water until the water is clear. Continue to stir the butter until all the water is worked out of it. Add salt if you like. Spread on bread and enjoy!

Notes:
If your family is used to eating margarine, keep in mind that real butter tastes very different.

My mother tells me that you can also make butter in a blender... but where's the fun in that?

Also, I haven't figured out yet if it's cheaper to just buy butter, or buy the cream and make my own. I wish I knew someone who has a cow!

Slow Cooking Thursday - Taco Soup

I love my Crockpot! It is so convenient to put a meal together in the morning, and then come supper time... well, supper's done! The catch to it is: I have to remember (and take the time) to put the food in the Crockpot in the morning (or right after lunch, depending on the recipe). I'm still trying to get into the habit of working that into my daily planning and routine.

When I ran across the Slow Cooking Thursday meme hosted at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, I decided to participate, as a motivation to do at least one Crockpot meal a week to share on Thursdays.
Today I'm not going to post a recipe, as such, because you probably already know how to make Taco Soup. (If you don't, just Google for the recipe. It is so easy! Browned ground beef, then add canned beans, canned corn, and canned tomatoes-and-chilis. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Serve with chips.)

What I wanted to share this week is a seasoning tip I picked up from my friend Mary Grace: Hidden Valley Ranch Fiesta dip mix. I put a package of this into our Taco Soup yesterday and my family declared it the "best ever"! Who knew? I had always just used plain ol' taco seasoning before... but the spicy ranch dip mix added even more wonderful flavor!

Just thought you'd like to know!

Mini Burgers

I'm always on the look-out for new meal ideas. The latest issue of Mary Jane's Farm had a recipe for "3-Bite Burgers" with biscuits instead of buns. It looked fun... and yummy...
The instructions said to pat out the biscuit dough very thin and then stack 2 biscuits together before baking, so that they split apart easily like hamburger buns. That worked great!
There were several different variations for the hamburger filling. Each included a little flour to bind it together, similar to meat loaf.
This was one pound of hamburger meat, but it makes enough for 16 "mini burgers". I patted the meat into the bottom of a square baking dish, and then baked it till the meat was done.
I sprinkled it with cheese and put it back in the oven until the cheese melted. Then I cut the meat into 16 squares and served it on the biscuits!
We liked them okay, but decided we would like them even better as breakfast sandwiches with sausage instead of hamburger meat. I think I'll try that next time.

Vintage Boys and Girls Cookbook

It's been awhile since I've participated in Vintage Thingies Thursday, but I've been meaning for several weeks to share this cookbook from my childhood with you.
I can't remember where Mother got them, but we had this cookbook and a Betty Crocker's Parties for Children book. I "inherited" the cookbook and it is falling apart. I haven't seen the party book in years, but it was more fun to read (with all kinds of game ideas!) so I have no doubt that it fell apart and was probably discarded years ago. Or it may still be lurking coverless in a stack of papers on a bookcase at Mother's, for all I know! The copyright date of the cookbook is 1965 (the year I was born), but our copy says it's the seventh printing in 1970.

I don't remember that we actually made very many recipes from the cookbook, and looking back through it now, I see why. Most of the recipes called for "convenience" foods like Bisquick and cake mixes, and our grocery budget didn't allow for such "luxuries". Mother cooked from scratch! Still... it was fun to look at! Check out the Animal Pancakes! I can't make pancakes that cute even now. It's probably because I don't use Bisquick.
As I was picking out pictures and recipes to scan I noticed this dubious "treat"! Toasted doughnuts spread with orange marmalade and sprinkled with bacon bits. Yum?
Oh! Here's one I do remember! Pigs in Blankets! We loved these! Of course, we had them with from-scratch biscuit dough, not Bisquick. And I don't think I've ever heard anyone actually call them frankfurters, have you? We always just called 'em hot dogs, or maybe weinies. What did you call them?
Here's an adorable cake idea! But... yep, cake mix and canned frosting!
Here, though, is the absolute highlight of the whole book... and why I wanted to share it with you this week! It's a very special Mother's Day Dinner. Isn't the cake sweet?

Why, yes! I do believe I have room for dessert, thank you, after a main course of Spam loaf with pineapples! Isn't it precious how they call it "Ham" Loaf with "ham" in quotation marks? Did anyone actually like Spam, even back then? ..::shudder::..And my favorite picture in the book... I love all the red plaid-ness of this bike picnic!
Doesn't it make you want to turn your kids lose in the kitchen? Wonder what they would come up with for a Mother's Day dinner? I dare ya to find out!