Gratitude

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Taking fermented cod liver oil painlessly, tastelessly, WITH NO BURPING!

I’ve finally found a way to get this stuff down without having to wrinkle my nose up. And more importantly, I’ve found a way to get it into my children without having to implement a battle cry. They now take their daily dose with a smile, and it also helps that they each get a small piece of dark chocolate for a reward. A mama’s gotta do what a mama’s gotta do, right? Right.

I can’t take credit for this handy-dandy trick… my friend, Katie, is the one who recommended it to me. And, for the record, I am tremendously grateful! All you do is:

1. Dip your spoon in honey.

2. Put your dose of CLO on top of the honey.

3. Drizzle a little extra honey over the CLO to completely cover it.

4. Quickly, and without working it around in your mouth, take the CLO much like you would a pill.

5. Have a drink ready to chase the mixture down.

Easy as pie. And best of all: no tasting or burping the CLO afterward! I’m not sure why this helps with the burping, but my theory is that the honey (which is full of enzymes) helps digest the CLO in rapid fashion. YAY!!!

I sure wish I’d thought of this sooner… sigh.

I’ll leave you today with the view out my front window early this morning. If you’ll look closely, you can see the leaves falling in the middle of the photo. I’m soaking up (with tremendous gratitude) these last few days of Autumn. Thank you, Lord!

***Edited to add: If you are interested in learning about the benefits of taking cod liver oil, click here.

Homemade yogurt + homemade granola + raw honey = BLISS!

This flavor combination makes my taste buds do the tango! And because all of the ingredients can be made ahead (or even store-bought if necessary), it’s a quick and easy breakfast for those mornings when you may be slim on time. We love it any old time!

I make crispy nuts every few weeks in the Nourishing Traditions fashion. Soaked and dehydrated, these tasty little gems go great in school lunches and they’re perfect for snacking, too. I use them in any recipe that calls for nuts.

They’re easily stored in mason jars until you’re ready for them… Yum! My jars don’t stay full for very long.

And, I can’t recommend more highly this recipe for soaked and dehydrated (in my oven!) granola.

It is seriously good! I make a half recipe every two weeks and it fills up 2 quart size mason jars. I like to keep a jar in the car for snacking – it helps me resist the temptation to eat unhealthy foods when I get hungry. And actually, I just LOVE to eat this granola! It’s delicious and nutritious.

The first time I made it, I soaked my nuts right along with my oats and dehydrated everything together. This last time, I added crispy pecans to the finished granola… I like it better this way. You can really taste the nuts. I also added a generous amount of raisins to the finished granola. When making half the recipe, I use 1 cup of honey substituted for the date paste Wardeh uses to sweeten the granola. Just laziness on my part, but it turned out great! My yogurt came from an Amish family who makes it from raw cow’s milk – so, so, good. One day, I’ll be brave and try Amanda's method for making yogurt. This granola recipe sounds more complicated than it actually is… give it a try!

Oh, my… pumpkin pie!

There’s been a fair amount of this going on around here the past few weeks…

I haven’t met a winter squash I didn’t like. So far this year, we’ve enjoyed Blue Hubbard (new for me this year), Acorn Table Queen, Butternut, Delicata, and that sweet little pie pumpkin up above. We enjoy it as a side dish or as pie (of course!)

Here’s the recipe for the pumpkin pie filling from Nourishing Traditions (see my sidebar) and this is a decent gluten free pie crust recipe. Let me warn you though, I was not able to roll it out the way the recipe suggested (maybe I didn’t – okay, I straight up did not let it spend enough time in the fridge). I ended up squishing it into the pie plate much like you would for a graham cracker crust. And the next time I make it, I will probably pre-bake the crust a bit. One other difference was that I used raw cow’s milk in my filling along with freshly prepared pumpkin flesh… DELISH!!!

Twilight on the homestead

This is my favorite time of day…

Just as the sun is setting…

All is washed in hues of gold…

 

I even find golden hope for a few last tomatoes…

And the hammock begins to beckon me…

Who am I to resist?

Just a few stolen moments of quiet rest refresh me…

And I know I must still tackle those pesky dinner dishes.

Nourishing Traditions Meatloaf (gluten free version)

This meatloaf is so good! I must admit, I’ve always been a big fan of meatloaf. My mom has a wonderful recipe that I’ve made for my own family for years now. What I like about the Nourishing Traditions recipe is all the added vegetables that are tucked inside it!

Seriously, look at all those veggies! And every member of the family eats this dish with glee… (mama is smiling.)

I adapted the original recipe to suit our family’s needs: gluten free rolled oats were substituted in place of the bread crumbs, I omitted the chili flakes (for the kids), and kicked up the cracked black pepper. I chose to use a mix of ground turkey and ground beef in equal amounts, and I omitted the ground heart and fish sauce (mainly because I didn’t have these ingredients on hand).

 

This is the meatloaf all ready to go into the oven. IT’S SO GOOD!!!

If you’d like to give the recipe a try yourself, you can find it recipe here.

A family heirloom quilt

This quilt was made by a woman I never met - my great-grandmother. I can’t help but feel a deep connection to her, and the past, when I wrap up in this old quilt which was stitched with love many years ago. I wonder if she thought about who might wrap up in the quilt she made. I wonder if she thought about her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren yet to be born.

I wonder if she hoped it would be cherished as she hand-stitched each piece carefully together… these little bits of flour sack and old garments rearranged to make a family heirloom. I’ve heard stories of how she and the local women would gather to quilt and converse in the afternoons once the chores were done. I’ve heard of her quilt cabinet which was stuffed to overflowing with her handmade quilts. I’ve heard stories of her cooking and her love. I feel blessed to hold this little piece of her in my hands and in my heart.

I will cherish it always, Mama Jones.