My New Adventure!

Believe it or not, I've started another new blog!  But this one is totally different and I think you're gonna like it!  Along with a friend we've started THE PROVISION ROOM!

We are learning how to build our pantries, stock our freezers and prepare for emergencies while sticking to our budgets and being true to our values of REAL FOOD!

PLEASE COME VISIT!!!!

To kick the whole thing up a notch or two, we are having some AMAZING giveaways this week!

$50 Gift Card to Azure Standard

and

Autographed copy of Year of Plenty by Craig Goodwin

and 

a case of the most amazing biscotti from Venice Premium Biscotti!

Go on over, take a look around, and leave me a comment or two!  It's a party!  Shake it like a Polaroid! 

Staying Well This Cold and Flu Season

This is a time of year for feasting.  From Thanksgiving to Epiphany it seems we do nothing but eat too much, drink too much, stay indoors too much, sit around too much and sleep too little.  It's a recipe for the sniffles and a sore throat.

To keep us from missing school, church, and all the parties this time of year, there are a few things I keep in my arsenal.  They are easy, affordable and way better than waiting at a doctor's office only to be prescribed antibiotics.  We have found our home remedies to be very effective for us.  We're a big family and thus far we have never been to the doctor for a cold, flu, cough, strep throat, pink-eye, stomach bug, sinus infection, etc.  The only time we've been the doctor for treatment was for overly-adventurous children who do things like break bones and get concussions.  None of these remedies appear to improve my children's judgement.  

We have also found them to be affordable.  We don't carry health insurance.  We can't be running to the doctor every time we feel under the weather.  

Our remedies are also easy.  Learning the basics of home remedies does not take a medical degree.  The most effective things are likely to be found in your kitchen already.  And the things that aren't, we pick up seasonally at the health food store, farmer's market or grocery store.  A few things we order online.

This post is not the end-all of herbal home remedies.  This post just highlights the most important ones for this time of year.

[Note: I am not a doctor.  I'm a mom.  I use these remedies to treat my family.  You need to judge for yourself their safety and effectiveness.  Consult with your doctor if you have questions.  My personal experiences are not a substitute for medical care.]

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, 

and herb for the service of man.  

Psalm 104:14

At first sign of illness we go to two things:

1. Super Tonic.  Super tonic is a mixture of five herbs: capsicum, horseradish, ginger, onion, and garlic in apple cider vinegar.  We take up to 15 Tablespoons a day when needed.  It usually kills whatever is ailing us in a single day.

Here's how you do it:

Place equal parts of the five herbs in a blender or food processor.  

It's not rocket science.  When I say "equal parts" just guess and throw them in.

You can use any variety of capsicum you can find, but the hotter the better.  They go in with seeds, ribs and all.  No need to "clean" them.  The rest of the herbs need to be peeled.  If you cannot find raw, whole horseradish, I have (in a pinch) used the dehydrated version found in Asian markets.  Look for powdered or dehydrated wasabi.  Do not substitute elephant garlic for regular garlic.  It does not have the same properties.  

Cover the herbs with apple cider vinegar.  Process until the chunks are very small.

Place in a clean jar and put a lid on it.  Allow it to sit in a cool, dark place for two weeks.  At that point you may strain out all the chunks and then use just the juice.  Usually, however, I leave the chunks in.  Call it X-treme salsa.

If you are pregnant take large amounts of ginger with great caution, as they can stimulate the uterus.  When I am pregnant I make this tonic without the ginger.

2. My second go-to when people around here start complaining about a cold coming on is Grapefruit Seed Extract or GSE.  It tastes terrible.  You have been warned.  But, it works better than anything over-the-counter we've ever tried.

For adults take 20 drops in a small amount of orange juice 4 times a day.  Stir well and throw it back!  This should kick the cold, fever, flu in a day, or two at the most.  Adjust the dosage accordingly for kids.

It can also be used as a throat gargle, ear rinse, vaginal rinse, nasal rinse, facial cleanser, and produce wash. Always dilute and follow the instructions on the label.  It will really burn if used full strength.  I have used it safely in several of my pregnancies to treat various ailments.

Other immune boosting things we keep on hand:

Elderberry Syrup.  We use this for colds and flus and especially when one of the kids has a fever.  It tastes pleasant so it's easy to get down.  It is, however, not safe for pregnancy.

Eyebright.  This appropriately named herb is what we go to for any kind of sickness that manifests with eye symptoms.  Goopy eyes, green discharge, pink-eye.  We take it in tincture form in juice or water.  Also for conjunctivitis or pink-eye, you can make a chamomile infusion.  While still a little warm soak a clean white cloth and press on eyes.  Do not use chamomile if you have  ragweed allergy.  If you are lucky enough to be lactating, a few squirts of breastmilk in the eye several times throughout the day works really well, too.  (Did that cross the earthy-crunchy line?)

Echinacea.  This herb got a lot of hype a few years back and started appearing in everything--teas, throat lozenges, and all sorts of beauty products.  The trouble is that most of those products use aerial parts of the plant--which do not have the same medicinal value.  They are cheaper though, so manufacturers can afford to add it to shampoo and lip balm.  However, if you want to use echinacea to treat your immune system, you must take the root.  Usually for us this is in tincture form. 

Goldenseal.  This is what I use when I feel something has moved from being viral to being bacterial or from acute to chronic.  You know that cough that nothing will touch, that congestion that turned into a sinus infection, the clear snot that turned to a pukish green color.  Then comes the goldenseal.  We take this in a tincture form in combination with other herbs specific to the problem--such as echinacea, turmeric, eyebright, etc.  Goldenseal is not safe for pregnancy.

I haven't really covered any homeopathics, because using homeopathics merits a post of its own.  But, I do love using homeopathics for all sorts of things.  For this post, though, I'll just mention one:

Chestal.  This comes in an adult and a children's version and it quiets a cough so well.  If you or your little one can't sleep because of a persistent cough, a spoonful of this will have you resting in no time.

Lifestyle.  Of course staying well involves a lot more than just treating symptoms with herbs.  Staying well is often a series of lifestyle choices.

Get plenty of rest.  This time of year we are so busy that often we just don't get the kind of rest we need.  This goes for Mommies and Daddies, too!  So, take naps and periods of rest!

Sugar is everywhere and in everything from Thanksgiving until after the New Year.  You can hardly avoid it.  Did you know that a spoonful of sugar can lower your immune system up to 30% for up to four hours?  So, if you will be enjoying all the holiday treats, you really need to do whatever you can to boost your immune system.

Now this may sound odd, but I really feel that it works: place a bowl of unpeeled onions in every room of the house, especially bedrooms.  Onions act as a natural air filter, catching the viruses that are floating about. Every month or so, throw the onions out and replace them with new ones.  If you are actually sick, cut an onion in half and place it in a jar next to your bed at night.  In the morning throw it out and repeat each night until you are well.

Get fresh air every day.  Again, this time of year, we tend to spend more time indoors.  Even if the weather is chilly, try to get some fresh air everyday.  Go for a brisk walk or just sit on the porch breathing deeply.

Reduce stress.  But, there's a thousand things to do and not enough time in which to do them, you say.  All the more reason to take some time out each day to reflect on your blessings and do something that makes you laugh.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, 

but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.  

Proverbs 17:22

Pray.  Sometimes we forget in trying to attack a cold or flu that the most important thing to remember is that the Lord is our healer.  When you feel yourself getting sick, don't be afraid to take a moment and ask other believers to pray for you.  (James 5:14-15)

Have a healthy and happy Christmas season!

Permanent Exhibit

Every parent faces the dilemma of what to do with all their children's art.  I mean, there is only so much room on front of the refrigerator!

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was brilliant.  Each kid has their own clipboard to display their masterpiece.  Meg helped me paint the letters and boards to coordinate with the curtains in the dining room.

I'm so pleased with the way it turned out!

They just don't make 'em like they used to.

(This is by no means a judgment on today's homemakers, merely a cultural commentary on the changing times.  Don't take it personally.  Let's laugh at ourselves.)

In the last year or so my sister and I taken to emailing one another links to blogs with "recipes".  I use that word very lightly, because I'm not exactly sure you'd call some of them recipes.  I mean, if I make a bowl of popcorn tonight and I put some butter and salt on it, would you call that a recipe?  Or if tomorrow at breakfast I toast a bagel and schmear it with cream cheese would you need a step-by-step instructions?  I certainly hope not.  But some of the recipes have been that bad  good.

For example:

Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich from The Hidden List.  There are a list of ingredients and directions.  Really?  You couldn't probably come up with the ingredient list on your own?  Or how about this gem: specific instructions on spreading marshmallow cream and peanut butter on bread.  Silly me, I thought that was something we didn't admit to eating, not something we outlined in great detail.

Or how about this: "I knew that taco seasoning had to be something we could make at home.  I have grown tired of looking for Taco Seasoning at the supermarket that doesn’t contain MSG.  It couldn’t be that tricky to mix up, right?"  What?  You mean Mexican women don't use El Paso Taco Seasoning packets in their taco meat?  Taco seasoning always seemed fairly self-explanatory.  In fact, I cannot remember when/if I ever bought any pre-prepared mix.  But in case you get lost somewhere between the onion and the cumin, thankfully, there are detailed instructions here for mixing your own taco seasoning. 

The internet is just full of useful tidbits like this.  Such as step-by-step instructions for tossing cooked boxed spaghetti with butter.  It gets worse, much worse, folks.  For the aspiring cook who doesn't know how to boil water, I present Iced Tea via Allrecipes.com.  It says (I kid you not), "Like real iced tea, but do you hate boiling the water..."  And goes on to describe running hot water from your tap over tea bags.  Yep. 

Yesterday I might have found one to top them all, and of course I email it to my sister: Roast Chicken.  This "recipe" (and I know playing fast and loose with the word "recipe") is to salt and pepper a whole chicken and bake it until juices run clear.  It's explained in not one, not two, but five (that's 5!!!) whole steps!  She doesn't even truss it.  And it still takes 5 steps to explain how to roast a chicken.  No offense, but some food bloggers would be better suited to writing satire.

In extreme contrast, remember this antique book I picked up?  I decided to find something to make from it the other day.  And I found recipes such as this:

Cream Pie
A scant cup of sugar, yolks of two eggs, three tablespoons flour, three cups milk for two pies, teaspoonful butter.  Bake crust first.--Mrs. C.H. Wright.

And this:

Pumpkin Pie
Two eggs, one cup milk, pumpkin enough to thicken, sweeten to taste and flavor with mixed spices.--Mrs. Evert Adams.

Better yet:

Six Minute Cake
Break the whites of two eggs in a cup, fill to one-half with soft butter, fill to top with sweet milk.  Sift together three times one cup sugar, one and on-half cups flour, one and one-half teaspoons of baking powder.  Put all together and stir six minutes.  Bake carefully.--Mrs. W.H. Robinson

I'm not completely sure what it means to "bake carefully."

One more:

Snow Cake
One-half teacup butter, one cup sugar, one and one-half cup of flour, one-half cup of sweet milk, whites of four eggs, one teaspoon Royal Baking Powder.  Delicious

Did you notice there are no instructions for the preparing the pans, preparing the crusts, temperature or length of time to bake, how to check for doneness or how to serve?  I suppose it was just assumed that there were some things that everyone knew how to do.  Any homemaker worth her salt wouldn't need to be patronized with how all the ingredients went together.  They knew how to do that already.

In the antique Home Ec. book it states: "...it is important for a pupil to realize that the thousand and one recipes found in a single cookbook consists of about fifteen basic recipes, each having many variations."  So, it would seem if we knew the basic fifteen or so, we could forgo the annoying instructions about how to boil boxed pasta or make a peanut butter sandwich or stick a whole untrussed chicken in the oven with salt on it.  But then, makers of convenience foods would be out of a job and writers of cookbooks and food bloggers would actually have to learn to cook.

Of course, our other alternative is to zap some PopTarts:

Advertising Fail

I think the new product slogan should be:

When you only want the illusion of clean, there's Febreze.

Probably only suitable to guys in the college dorm before their mothers come to visit.  Seriously what were the ad people thinking with this?

Your Home and You

At the same antique show where I bought this book, I also picked up a high school Home Ec. curriculum from 1942.  I wish they still had Home Ec. in public schools.  And I wished it was of this caliber.  What a charming textbook! 

Click on the image for a larger view.

Home's not merely four square walls,

Though with pictures hung and gilded;

Home is where Affection calls--

Filled with shrines the Heart hath builded.

--Charles Swain

In the "To The Teacher" section at the beginning it outlines the important aspects of the book.  The last point particularly struck me:

"Home Economics and War--During periods of national emergency, it is the duty of all to keep well physically and mentally.  According to the newer knowledge of nutrition, to do this it becomes necessary for us to buy the right foods and prepare and serve them intelligently, thereby conserving their nutrients and developing their flavors.  It becomes imperative for us to be calm that our nerves may be steady, our minds clear, and our courage unfailing.  If bombers darken our skies, we need to give first aid to those who may be injured.

It is also the duty of all of us to waste no food or other commodity.  We need to take care of that which we have, to buy only what we need, and to do such buying wisely.

In the classroom and laboratory, home economics teachers have been teaching these fundamentals of everyday living.  The time is here to do that teaching better than ever before; to put all we have into helping make the American home the "first line of defense.""

End quote

[emphasis theirs]

President Obama said in his speech a few days ago, "America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home."  He was talking about bringing troops home from Afghanistan and how we are now going to focus on job creation and clean energy and, and, and.  I don't think he was talking about strengthening the American home as our first line of defense.  Kind of wish he was, though.  Don't you?  Wouldn't it be great if the encouragement to "live within our means" came along with the encouragement to eat a home cooked meal around your table as a family every night.  Along with the encouragement to invest in "clean energy" don't you wish the admonishment was for people to go for bike rides with their families or take a casual stroll hand-in-hand after dinner?  When President Obama mentions a sacred trust, wouldn't it be great if what came to mind was the sacred trust between husband and wife, parent and child?  He mentions all of us being "a part of one American family."  If the big American family looks anything like the nucleus family in America, we are in some deep kimchi.

Again from my old home ec. book:

"Scientists have found that the home exerts a five times greater influence on the lives of young persons than does any other factor. Since this is true, it is necessary that they make home life successful.  This book points out ways of creating happiness in the home--your home with your father and mother and your own home if you marry."

Isn't that a truly delightful thought--creating happiness in the home as a priority for the happiness of the individual and for society.

"He is the happiest, be he king or peasant,

who finds peace in his home."

---Goethe

That's the kind of nation building I can really get behind.

From The Ladies of the M.E. Church

I picked up this antique cookbook at an antique show in Paso Robles a few weeks ago.

It's the 1912-1913 addition of the church ladies cookbook.  The Grayville Cook Book.  What a little gem.  I love old books.  Especially ones that originally cost 75 cents and I talked the lady down to $10. 

I present the opening passages here for your inspiration, amusement, astonishment or perhaps for your horror.  Really I'm OK with any of the above responses.

(Click on the image for the enlarged view.)

It says (I'm not not making this up):

The old Anglo Saxon idea of the lady or the loaf giver still holds good, though conditions have changed; there is no higher avocation than being priestess of the home, looking to the health and happiness of the family.  The quotation "Whom God hath joined in matrimony, ill-cooked joints and ill cooked potatoes have very often put asunder," is very apt.

In giving this book to the public, we, the members of this committee have endeavored to assemble tried and tested recipes that would meet all the needs of the most discriminating housewife.  We desire to express our gratitude to the friends who have contributed to the success of this work by responding to promptly to our requests for recipes.

Mrs. George Mathews
Mrs. J.B. Jolly
Mrs. S.P. Ronalds
Mrs. Charles Melrose

The next page says:

"See that your kitchen fire be bright,

And your hands be neat and skilled,

For the love of man oft takes its flight

If his stomach be not well filled."

And with that, I leave you to go put supper on.

Under The Apron

Today is National Wear Your Apron Day.

Famous (or infamous) Susanna Wesley believed in daily prayer.  It must be so because her sons birthed a movement for Christ.  But she had a passel of children and finding a quiet place and time to pray was challenging.  So she would flip her apron over her head.  It is said that her children knew that when Mama was under her apron they were not to bother her.  She was talking to the Lord.

I could use a little more time under my apron.  As any mother knows you can't even get privacy in the bathroom!  As soon as I climb into the tub I'm host to a parade.  All of a sudden there are a dozen questions to be answered--urgently, outfits (or get-ups....there's a fine line) to approve, splinters to take out, and "Mommy, how long will you be in there?"

When I tie on my apron my mind switches from relaxed to industrious.  Suddenly I feel like mulching the garden, making floral arrangements for every room, baking some cookies and tidying the place up.  When that's done how about an old fashioned hand-written letter to a grandmother, a long-distance friend, or just someone that could use a little cheering up. 

I firmly believe that my job--raising these little people who call me Mommy--is the most important job in the world.  Maybe that sounds like a trite little thing women say to themselves to assuage feelings of insecurity for not doing the really important things--you know like working at the bank or writing for the newspaper or teaching other people's children.  But, it is not just something I say.  It's something I mean.

The most important time in all of our earthly lives is when we are wee ones at our mother's knees, when we play in our nurseries and eat Cheerios from a little cup while someone tells us nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  If you think about it, adults rarely talk about anything really important or eternal.  In the big scheme of things, mortgage rates, what so-and-so wore on the red carpet, when we should put tires on the car, what the State Legislature is currently doing--well, it's just not that important.  Children on the other hand ask the real existential questions. 

What's on the other side of the sky?

Will animals be with us in heaven?

If Jesus is King, who is Queen?

Is there a reason I can't have ice cream for breakfast?

The person who gets to shape a young mind and answer these questions and verily, put the entire universe in context for another, has the most important job in the world.  Tomorrow's movers and shakers are today being toted around in MobyWraps while their mother's read the labels on cereal at Trader Joes.  Tomorrow's politicians, apostles, and those who will look out for our souls are today having their souls shaped while their mothers teach them to potty, say their ABC's and use a spoon.

My mother tells the story, much to my chagrin, of how she asked me when I was a young child what I wanted to be when I grow up.  I named a few things.  She said, "How about a mommy?"  I replied, "Oh, no.  I want to do something important."

And now I cannot imagine leaving my home and my apron for a cubical and a briefcase.  The demotion would kill me.

“It is not difficult to see why the female became the emblem of the universal … Nature …. surrounded her with very young children, who require being taught not so much anything as everything. Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at the time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren’t. It would be odd if she retained any of the narrowness of a specialist. Now if anyone says that this duty of general enlightenment … is in itself too exacting and oppressive, I can understand the view. I can only answer that our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world. … How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No. A woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”  G. K. Chesterton

So, ladies, how about a little time under our aprons getting the perspective of heaven and then a little time with our aprons on changing the course of the world.  Who knew that apron strings were a means of bringing heaven to earth!

I'll start with a tea cake and go from there.  Let's see where God leads me today, under my apron.

Bedikat Chametz with a side of Grace, please.

Last year's Passover table

Been busy all week preparing for Passover.  All chametz has to be removed from the house.  Chametz is anything with leaven in it.  This means moving the furniture to sweep out any hidden crumbs.  Vacuuming under the couch cushions.  Wiping down everything in the pantry.  Washing all the bedding--including sheets, blankets, and pillows.  You get the idea.

For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses....

Exodus 12:19

I've been working, working, working.  I've been trying, trying, trying.

I mean, you wouldn't know by looking at me, but I can be quite the perfectionist.  I just set up the living room with three long tables--because friends are joining us and everyone has to have their own chair--no benches, which is what we usually use.  I prepped some stuff for dinner tomorrow.  And I sat down to sew new napkins.  (Non-essential, of course, but I wanted them done nonetheless.)

I swept tonight after dinner and despite having gone through the house multiple times with the broom and the vacuum, there was still all sorts of crumbs and bits of food and are those noodles?  Seriously?!  I just cannot get all the chametz out of this house, despite every effort.  No matter how careful I am, little children insist on creating crumbs--that slide down their chins, to their shirts and pants and eventually the floor.  I've been tempted to make them eat their meals outside or in the bathtub until Passover is over.

I love observing Passover.  It's such a celebration of freedom!  It makes me want to dance and sing to think about it!  And yet, in preparation for a celebration of FREEDOM, I put myself in such bondage to perfectionism.

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?  Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  I Corinthians 5:5-6

The whole act of trying to removing the chametz and failing miserably has been....wonderful.  You know what?  I cannot remove all the leaven (a.k.a. sin) from my life.  Even if I work my fingers to the bones and become Mrs. Super Christian, there will still be that pesky leaven hiding.  "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?"  Romans 7:24 

But, Christ--my Passover--has completed the work.

"I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."  Galatians 2:21

Tomorrow before sunset we will remove all the leaven from the pantry and refrigerator, box it up and take it to the garage.  And I will explain to the children that we have to remove all sin from our lives--even the little stuff, but that we cannot do it by ourselves.  We have to have The Passover Lamb--all of our own efforts will always fall short.  Then we will have some friends in for the Seder.  There will be lots of laughter, lots of wine, lots of prayer, and even some dancing.

We will offer the Lord, not our perfection, but our gratefulness for the freedom we have in Him!

Be careful not to worship perfection.  

Strive for excellence as a means of worship.

~Tsh Oxenreider

A place set for Elijah

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Socks

No comment.

Thank you, Barbara Billingsley.

"There is in this world no function more important than that of being charming....To shed joy around, to radiate happiness, to cast light upon dark days, to be the golden thread of our destiny, and the very spirit of grace and harmony, is not this to render a service?"  --Victor Hugo






What I love about June Cleaver is that she always seemed to enjoy whatever she was doing.  She didn't just do housework; she loved her home.  She didn't just raise children; she doted on her little family.  She looked pretty making eggs, vacuuming or doing the mending.  She did her best.  She wasn't a doormat or discontent.  In an age when women were screaming for "liberation" June seemed to have complete freedom to be herself.  And that self was lovely.

People often make fun of June Cleaver welcoming her husband home with her heels and pearls.  But, I want to be like her.  I want to be the golden thread in my family's destiny.  I want to be charming.....just like June.

Rest in peace, Barbara.  Thanks for giving us June.