Hangover Hotel...

  Today 4 representatives from Christian Aid Ministries who are here, Tony and Judith (the other Agape/CAM couple), me, myself and i, and of course my husband and a few random children headed out to Hangover Hotel for lunch.

  Sounds bad, doesn't it? Hangover Hotel and a few plainly and soberly dressed missionaries discussing life over sodas at a hotel (meaning restaurant) with the name Hangover attached. As far as we know there's no alcoholic beverages even sold there. Interestingly enough, we didn't notice any people with hangovers. Seems that back in the day it was the place where people went after a night of drinking for a bowl of soup and hence the name.

  To get to the restaurant we strolled back through a small, dirty alley way where at one point a gentleman with large buck teeth and a wide smile hung over a small wall waving at us. We hung a left out of the dirty alley and walked into a rather amazing, spacious for Kenya, restaurant. There were several points of interest that captured out attention. One was a tree growing in the middle of the restaurant, altho it may have been just the stump and not so much growing. We never did find out. The other was a waitress sporting a Cracker Barrel apron with the name Mary wrote across her chest. Neither did we find out if her name was actually Mary or if she just picked the apron up for cheap. It's Kenya and small details like that don't matter so much.

Even you would be welcome!

  We ordered chicken for some, beef for others. French fries (called chips here), a bit of tomato salad, Ugali, (cornmeal mush), and chapatis finished out the meal. I braced myself for tough chicken but to my shock the food was quite tasty and tender. The chapatis were fresh and hot and everything tasted most satisfying.

Making Tomato Salad

  There's another interesting bit of news about the place that makes Americans shake their heads. We were told by other missionaries who eat there that when you order your food, you ask for the "anti-theft" portion. Meaning you want the FULL PORTION of meat, otherwise they will only give you SOME of the amount and sell the rest to others. They will charge you the same price, whether you get the anti-theft version or not. So we ordered the food and before the waiter walked away Marlin informed him we want the "anti-theft" amounts. The waiter cracked the smallest of smiles and agreed pleasantly.

Only the best cuts served here!

 End of story. We got our full portions as far as we know and we realized once again that there are some things we will never understand about this country or their people. 

World Class Chefs... that would make Dwight Miller green with envy!

  I wonder sometimes if America will seem dry and sterile after Africa and if we will miss some of the quirks of this country. I think we might. As i sat there today and watched the people eating and talking loudly (no quiet classy conversations here) i thanked God for the opportunity to experience the craziness and insanity and beauty called Kenya. Somehow i believe we love these people and their "Hangover Hotels" more than we realize. I feel sad sometimes at how little i've really been able to reach out and yet i also know that i'm called right now to stay at home and raise these children that Marlin, God, and i have produced. They are my mission field and i want to live it to the fullest. But anytime Marlin and visiting white people want to visit the Hangover Hotel, i'm available.

 

Chili Paneer and Happiness

  So my handsome, red blooded husband is a carnivore...

 He never had a vegetarian dish that he liked well enough to do without the meat. He had some delicious vegetarian dishes but he always said that it still needed meat. Until Africa and chili paneer. In all fairness, paneer is an asian thing, which in Kenya means Indian. Very confusing at first as i thought of asian as being chinese but no, here it means Indian, as in India Indian. There are some PHENONOMAL asian restaurants in Kisumu and their food makes my saliva run just thinking about it. Buttered Naan, Lollipop chicken with a cilantro-garlic sauce, chicken makhini, and the list goes on and on. I think asian (remember, not chinese, indian) food is one of my favorites. I also think God may be calling us to India next to serve in the food industry. I could hand tracts out while i either serve food or eat it.

  For those of you, especially the skeptics, paneer is a kind of cheese that does not melt and takes on any flavor that you cover it with. You guessed it, chili paneer is covered in a chili (the vegetable) type sauce but nothing like american chili sauce. No, it's not a slab of cheese covered in chili like a chili dog gone bad, and paneer is so very not mennonite but we are proof that mennonites can not only enjoy, but DELIGHT in vegetarian food. There's many different ways of making paneer and i've even had it in recipes where i thot it was chicken breast pieces only to realize later it was paneer. But tonight the paneer was cubed and dipped in a batter and then fried in oil.

Yes, it was healthy because good food makes us happy and we need to be happy for our health. Paneer+breading+oil=happiness. If only it was that easy, aye?
Marlin then sautéed onions, garlic and ginger, and red peppers in sesame oil

 and when it was sautéed to perfection he added chili sauce, cilantro and other things...

I don't know what the "other things" were because Marlin doesn't really follow rules when it comes to cooking and i didn't hover over him. Hovering might affect the results and besides, he and Zac were the ones doing the cooking and i didn't want to hang around too close because i have very little control when it comes to taste testing.

I hate getting kicked out of my own kitchen so i chose to retire for a bit, only going back in to snap pictures and relieve the pan of a few pieces of paneer when the cooks weren't looking. The small cook was ok with the taste tester trying a few pieces but i had to watch out for the bigger one. He has a mean pinch.

       There it is in all it's spicy, delicious glory. We had it with a side of brown, jasmine rice and cabbage salad. Cabbage salad is another insanely simple but delightful dish that Kenya has introduced us to. At every restaurant it's served on the side in one form or another. You take cabbage (obviously), thinly sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced onions, and chopped cilantro. Just for your info, if you don't like cilantro my heart aches for you but if you really hate it you can leave it out. For the people who have worked through their cilantro issues, put lots of it in there and then toss it with fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt.

   We gathered around the table for prayer, opened our eyes, and with a loud whooshing sound the food was gone. Or something like that. Please don't try this recipe at home. To really get the full effect you need to have the proper atmosphere which would be at our house. We will look forward to seeing you soon. :)
 

2014.....and New Year's resolutions

 

    The only New Year resolution i made was to.......well, now that i think about it i didn't make any. I kind of think New Year resolutions are silly. If we aren't living the best way possible throughout the year and loving Jesus and serving Him with our whole hearts in the old year, we won't in the new year either. If i have a problem with gluttony, not that i would EVER overeat, a New Year's resolution won't do diddly squat. I would certainly never overeat on homemade funnel cakes......or cheesecake.....or chocolate. (is it possible to overeat on chocolate? I didn't think so.) 

   If i tend to read too late at night instead of getting my sanity rest, a New Years resolution won't change a thing. Again, nothing i would ever be tempted with. Unless i have a really good book. And only if i REALLY enjoy the quiet house, which is like every night. Yeah, i don't think a New Year plan is going to do me much good. 

   My personal opinion is that New Year resolutions are a feel good thing that never works because we're trying to change our flesh by ourselves. Won't work. Been there, done that. 

Such fine young bakers!

  So instead of making useless New Year resolutions we made cut out cookies. Lots of them, with garish colors and halloween sprinkles. There was cookie dough everywhere and smeary fingers and blue teeth. Such a beautiful, calm experience. Or it would have been without the children. But then without the children i wouldn't have bothered and neither would i have eaten way to many cookies. I would be about 5 pounds lighter but many memories shorter. In spite of the horrendous mess, we had a good day. Judith and her littles came over and helped, and after cleanup we sat in a stupor and drank iced coffee. At least i was in a stupor brought on by sugar, coloring chemicals, and the whole character building experience, but thanks to the caffeine in my iced coffee the stupor eventually evaporated. And because we didn't have enough sugar and white flour in our systems, we decided to make funnel cakes to kick off the New Year. 

We believe in eating healthy......seriously, we do! 

   Marlin sautéed up some amazing chicken and beef stir fry for supper, and i may have overeaten a bit on that. Not enough to be called a glutton, just enough to feel quite full. 

   Then the men disappeared into the kitchen for a looonnnggg time.....turns out Tony was frying the funnel cakes and Marlin was stirring a white chocolate, peppermint sauce for lattes. Now those are the kind of resolutions i can get excited about. 

   With a plate of warm funnel cake and vanilla ice cream in one hand, and a white chocolate, peppermint latte in the other, i felt quite resolutionized and very.....

   very........

Funnel cakes anyone? 

very.........

   

 


bloated. 

              HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

  

 

GLop........mmmmmmmm

You have a pound of bacon, a pound of hamburger, some potatoes and some onions. You're uninspired and the very last thing you feel like doing is cooking, so what do you do? Give the bacon, hamburger, potatoes and onions to the neighbors for Christmas and go out to eat. Or you could do what i did.

Grab a nice sturdy skillet that won't burn easily and throw it on the stove. Grab your pound of (smoked, nitrate and nitrite free that you got for $1.79 for 12 ounces, thank you very much!) bacon, dice it into pieces, and slap it in the pan. Follow it up with the pound of hamburger, preferably thawed since it's a bit tricky to evenly spread hamburger if it's a rock, and kind of glop it around on top of the bacon. Then you want to thinly slice potatoes, (or thick, depending on your devotion at the moment) and layer that over the hamburger. Make sure to sprinkle some sea salt and black pepper in between the layers, garlic would be good too, and top the whole thing off with a layer of finely sliced onions. If you have mushrooms, add 'em. If not, don't. It's your house, your stove and your desires. Meanwhile, breath a prayer that the whole thing won't taste horrible, add the lid and turn the burner on high, just until the bacon is nice and sizzling. Got that? JUST UNTIL THE BACON IS SIZZLING! Turn the stove on low and let it steam away until the potatoes are soft. If you wish and so desire, you may sprinkle some kind of cheese on top when it's finished. Add some kind of side dish, such as green beans or applesauce, smile and declare supper finished. While it cooks you can go finish the book you were reading. Huh? Why would i have done that? Me read? During the day when i should've been working? Surely not!

The amazing thing is, my family LOVED it. SCORE!!!

Merry Christmas to me, myself, and you of course!

People, have i got something for YOU!!! Just because i love you. And latte's. Latte's are proof that God made coffee and hot milk to bless His children. Add some ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla, and your world will become very cozy and warm. A place you will want to visit many times, with me along of course, on a gingerbready wave. Who loves me? Huh? Let me hear it now........give a wave offering. Ooops, got a little mixed up with Gospel Express tent meetings.

Here you go.

GINGERBREAD LATTE

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
A 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, or a healthy dash of powdered ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup hot espresso
1 cup hot milk

In small saucepan, combine water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla. Bring to a boil, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 15-20 minutes. Inhale and try not to fall in.

Combine espresso in a mug and add 1/4 cup of the gingerbread syrup. Top off with heated milk. If you desire, (are you kidding??!!! WE SO DESIRE!) garnish with whipped cream and sprinkle with grated nutmeg. And let me tell, your eyes will roll towards heaven and you will utter a most profound thanks. For me of course, for helping you to realize what you've been missing this Christmas season. :)

I love you too. And my children REALLY love me as they sip away on large mugs. Who's their mama???!!!!

Sour Cream

So you want to make your own sour cream, aye? O, you didn't know that? That's ok, i'm here to tell you that you want to make your own. Especially when you read the list of ingredients that are on the back of the average container of sour cream. I have been shocked....i mean, how many ingredients does it take to make sour cream? Well, it takes exactly two, and you don't even need a powdered culture from a specialty store, just two things from the grocery store (or homemade if you have a few cows lying around) and a few sophisticated pieces of ingredients. A bowl, some wash pins and a fuzz free cloth, such as an old clean t-shirt. Hey, in redneck country you learn to make do with what you have. Wally world is just too far away and all those electronic devices and people make hillbillies nervous. (Excuse me while i spit.......we had a spitting contest outside today and i almost hit Marlin's muck boots. Makes his heart feel fuzzy when i do stuff like that...happy to oblige)

So here's what you do. You may want to write this down so you don't forget. You take one cup of yogurt and one cup of buttermilk. Are you ready for this? You mix it together, take your cut up old (preferably a clean one if you have it) t-shirt, lay it over a bowl, pin it securely with your washpins and here's the hard part. You carefully pour your yogurt and buttermilk mixture into the t-shirt and let it sit overnight to let the whey drain out and voila! you've got sour cream. Yup, tastes just like the real thing. Things like that make me real happy, which makes for more saliva, which means i may yet beat my men at spitting contests.

Grape Pie

I needed more to do, you know. Cooking 3 meals a day, doing piles of laundry, trying to homeschool around cow surgery, chasing and eternally training twins, cleaning filthy floors,.....on and on, always feeling like i'm 10 steps behind. So i decided to make grape pie. That's right, grape pie. The kind where you hand squeeze each grape and then cook it, not to mention the dreaded pie crusts. What, you may ask, possessed me to do such a thing? Well, i'm a servant at heart, tender and kind, knowing that my beloved father loves nothing more than a good pie. Not buying it? Alright, you win. I made it as much for myself as for my father, although i DID also make it for him. I figured i'm already knee deep in grape juice, so i might as well throw myself over the edge. All i have to say is, the pie is worth it. Every slobbery, grapey bite. O my, o my, i just died and went to grape heaven. Here's the recipe if you want to join me. I dare you. Make that a double dare.



Concord Grape Pie I


Original Recipe Yield 1 - 9 inch pie

Ingredients

* 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
* 5 cups Concord grapes
* 1 1/4 cups white sugar
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 pinch salt
* 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Wash grapes, and remove the skins. Save the skins. Place grape pulp in a large saucepan; mash a few at the bottom to release their juice. Cook over medium low heat until grapes come to a full boil. Remove pulp from heat, and press through a food mill to remove seeds. Combine pulp and skins in a large bowl. Stir in lemon juice.
2. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, flour, and salt. Stir into grape mixture. Pour filling into pastry crust, and dot with butter or margarine. Cover with second pastry shell. Flute edges, and cut little slits in the top crust for steam to escape.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in top crust. Cool.

Panic attack anyone? Have some gravy........

I just recovered from my yearly panic attack in regards to school. It happens every year around this time. I wonder when i fell and cracked my head, making me think it's possible for me to actually teach my children enough knowledge to make them capable adults. I lay awake at night, fear gnawing at the pit of my stomach, convinced we are permanently damaging our offspring. When people raise their eyebrows at finding out that not only do we have 7 children but i HOMESCHOOL, i find myself agreeing and thinking that i may as well line up some local counselors for my suffering children. I find myself working at a furious pace, trying to conquer the fears through slave labor, only to find myself chewing my fingernails instead of praying. And when i do pray, my prayers fall flat, smacking me in the face. And then i do the one thing that i should've done in the beginning. I start. I take that leap of faith, drag the books out, take the children on a shopping trip for new colors and pencils, and voila! the fear is gone. We sharpen our pencils, start a new book for read aloud time, play follow the leader in break (my new best breakthrough. Have a 10 minute break part way through the morning lessons, and actually play with them. Peek around the corner, hide and seek upstairs, anything that's active and gets the blood flowing, even if you do have to carry either a 3 year old or a 1 year old on your hip. They LOVE it, you will laugh hysterically and somehow it doesn't matter as much that you've got dust bunnies under your bed) and whether i'm teaching double multiplication or chasing someone around the room, i remember again why i homeschool. I remember why we've chosen this way and somehow my fears fall back to the pit where they came from. I had plans of buying certain history and science books this year, but for now that's been put on hold. We will take (Lord willing) many trips to the library as a family, bringing home stacks of books and oh the fun of cuddling in blankets, surrounded with many small bodies as we read through book after book. And for those mornings when i feel like taking the books over my children's heads? That's what chocolate is for, even if it means eating it in the bathroom. Nothing wrong with the bathroom.......especially if you have magazines.

And now that we've got that out of the way, let me tell you about our new favorite breakfast. It's delicious, feeds many people and best of all? It's really, really cheap. I'm talking like seriously cheap with only 5 ingredients, and when you're feeding 11 people on a daily basis, that's kind of important.

Cracked Pepper Gravy. There's one must. It MUST, i tell you, MUST be freshly cracked peppercorns. You must buy the whole peppercorns along with a pepper grinder, or your gravy will lack and your man won't look at you at the breakfast table and wink. Yours doesn't wink? Try this gravy, he just might. So here's the recipe.

Cracked Pepper Gravy

Cracked pepper is different from freshly ground pepper because the former is stronger in flavor and aroma. Grind them in a food processor or blender, only pulsing them once or twice just to crack them.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 teaspoons cracked pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. When the foam goes down, whisk in the flour. Continually whisk until the flour cooks, becoming a fragrant light brown. Slowly add the milk, continuing to whisk to keep lumps from forming. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer gravy for 10 minutes to cook and reduce.

Serve hot.

Makes 3 cups.


See? How simple is that and my man doesn't even miss meat when i make this. We actually prefer this above sausage gravy, although we happily eat that too. And i like when he winks at me at the breakfast table. I'm not quite as quick to take to the bathroom later and eat chocolate during school.

So that's pretty much what's been happening lately. Panic attacks, school, gravy, winking......

No Bake Chocolate Coconut Energy bars and Homemade Lotion

Servings: 16
Preparation Time: 25 minutes

* 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
* 1 cup raw pecans
* 4 tablespoons Coconut Oil
* 1/2 cup coconut flour
* 4 tablespoons honey or enough to sweeten
* 3/4 cup raisins
* 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* Dried, shredded coconut

Chocolate Sauce Ingredients:

* 4 tablespoons coconut oil
* 8 tablespoons cocoa powder
* 2-3 tablespoons honey

Grind up 1 cup of sunflower seeds and the cup of pecans in food processor or coffee grinder and pour into bowl. Add coconut oil, coconut flour, honey, raisins, vanilla flavoring, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and mix all together. Pour into square casserole dish and press mixture down firmly.

Sauce:

In small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons coconut oil and mix in cocoa and honey until thickened. Pour chocolate sauce on top and sprinkle with shredded coconut. Refrigerate for about 25-35 minutes. Cut up into squares and enjoy!


These are really good. I did add several T melted butter and some sea salt to the recipe, since i thought it was a bit dry. I also think a thin layer of raspberry jam between the chocolate and bar would be delish. My family loved them, with the exception of Emily, since she hates raisins in recipes. I decided it's time for me to stop dancing around whining children and their hatred of raisins in anything yummy. See? I'm one tough mama. I have allowed them to pick the raisins out in the past, but that's stopping. Today!! Especially since it will come to a screeching halt anyway if big daddy sees them picking anything out of anything.

And now a question. I want to make homemade lotion. I'm tired of paying insane prices for high quality lotion and i feel it's important to use high quality. Simply for the fact that it sits on your skin and gets completely absorbed into your system. I'm not near as strict with soap since you wash it off, but it bugs me everytime i put garbage lotion on my skin. However, depending on my budget for the moment, i can't bring myself to pay the price for the good stuff, so i buy the cheap stuff and hate every smear of it. So i need recipes. I would like to use coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil and anything else that is good for the skin. Anyone that gives me a winning recipe can come out and hang out with me for a day. Seriously, it wouldn't be that bad. You might even have fun. And if nothing else, my family will give you something to talk about. :)

Cookies anyone?

To comfort my readers for their disappointment with my "secret" here is a recipe that will make your day shine brighter. Unless you're hoping to lose weight.

Peanutbutter chocolate chip cookies - the gluten free kind

1 cup sugar (i used sucanat)
1 cup peanutbutter
1 large egg
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix, bake and eat. (I forgot to write the rest of the recipe, but you can figure it out. Bake at 350 til barely done, blah, blah)

Seriously people, why you would ever need to use white flour to make chocolate chip cookies again is beyond me. These are killer good. When Marlin's eyes rolled to the back of his head i knew it was one of 2 things. He either just had a heart attack or these cookies were blog worthy. Turns out they were blog worthy. I took them to Ohio to some not gluten free people and lets just say they were practically licking the container. So there you have it. Some comfort food for you since you have discovered that i'm actually not pregnant. Why does EVERYONE assume any secrets i have would automatically include my womb?

The Secret

It's been a quiet Monday, and that's a blessing. A big one in my book, esp. considering the fact that we made a flying trip to Ohio and made it back in time for a busy Sunday. We spent last evening with my family (every 4th Sunday my family gets together) and to be honest, i really didn't want to go. I wanted to stay home, eat some pizza and wings, and watch one of the new food movies that Marlin bought. However, we had a good evening and i know it meant the world to my mother. She was very "with it" last evening, which was a pleasant surprise, but i know by now to take it at face value and not read anything into it. As in, "i think she's getting better," since i also happen to know that she had a bad morning, memory wise. Speaking up publicly in church does not bode well for her future......

Remember that "secret" i mentioned several posts ago? Well, little did i know the interest that would spark. Is Darla pregnant? Maybe with triplets this time? Did she finally go off the deep end and grill her parent's annoying, nasty, yapping rat terrier for supper? (i wish someone would) Nope, nothing that interesting. To be honest, i'm a little embarrassed that my "secret" isn't bigger and more interesting. I'm thinking about waiting til i have something interesting to post about, and making it the new secret. If i wait long enough, i'm sure i could come up with something earth shattering, but i guess i should go ahead and tell. It is food related. Kind of gross, and yet not gross enough to be really, really gross. I've convinced another friend to try it before me. It's dark red and brown colored, and gooshy. You eat it raw.........and it's really good for you. Native Americans would eat it straight from the animal they killed. Warm and throbbing and full of B vitamins and enzymes. Nope, it's not the heart. Some cultures wouldn't even touch it with their fingers, as it was considered a sacred part of the animal, but would use the tip of their spears. It's...................(drum roll)







raw liver. That's all. That's my secret. And i've eaten it raw. With applesauce. I didn't even puke, which made it much less interesting for the children. I eat it frozen, chopped up into very small pieces, and smothered in applesauce and quickly swallowed. No taste, just an icy feeling as it slides down your esophagus. Will we keep eating it? I don't know, but i would rather eat it raw than cooked. Now THAT is nasty. Raw liver is a super food, simply loaded with vitamins, especially the B vitamins. I figure it's cheaper than a high quality vitamin, but whatever you do, DO NOT EAT RAW LIVER FROM CONVENTIONAL CHICKEN. Nasty, nasty, nasty.

So there you have it. Wanna' be healthy and save some money? Skip the vitamin pills and eat liver. Raw. And i do have one other little secret.........

i just ate a whole box of chocolates by myself. Not at one time, but one at a time. Or 2 at a time. I did share some with Marlin and i offered Emily part of one, but that was it. I don't even feel guilty, i feel full. Marlin gave me an early Mother's Day gift. Rich and dark and the best part? Handmade, sweetened with raw honey and loaded with butter and coconut oil. Phenomenal!!!!!! Just a small box, the right size to hide in the back of the fridge and in the desk drawer. If you hide it in the desk drawer, just make sure to return it to it's hiding place before a child finds it.
"Mom, what's this?"
"Ummm, a box?"
"Did daddy get this for you?"
"Yup."
Sigh, " i can't wait until i'm married."

6 weeks of grain free

This weekend will mark 6 weeks of (mostly) grain free eating. The "mostly" part was for me, not Marlin. I don't think he has had even one grain of, well, grain. :) So what's our conclusion? I'm not sure. I lost no weight until i got the flu, at which point i promptly lost 10 lbs within 48 hrs. Of course half of that came back when i started eating and my system filled up. So i was a little disappointed since i was hoping to have the rest of my baby weight melt off of me, but now it looks like i will actually have to work to lose the rest. I did have a small piece of soaked spelt bread, toasted with butter, when i was sick. Within minutes i had a slamming headache. Was it the spelt or the flu? I won't know until i try again. Neither did i ever have a time in the last 6 weeks when i felt fantastic. The only thing that makes me think i do have a few grain issues is the terrible way i felt the first 2 weeks. Major die-off doesn't happen unless you've got an issue. It's probably no coincidence that i have family members with gut issues. Maybe i'll just go find a big pile of sand and dig my head into it. Always helps to ignore things.

Marlin? He has noticed no difference. Zero. Nada. His energy level is down again but the one good news is that his blood pressure is too. Why? Don't know for sure. I have my theories but that doesn't mean a lot since i'm always having theories.

Will we stay off grains? I do think grains are good and healthy if prepared properly, but where we go from here i'm not sure. A good friend of mine and one i trust with health issues, told me we may not see a difference until we start eating grains again. I know we should probably go really strict GAPS diet, but right now i'm not ready for that. I want to get the GAPS book and do some reading. I want to know why i'm doing what i'm doing and to find out, i need to read. And pray. Unless it's something that God is leading us to do, it won't work anyway, and in the end, that's all that matters. We will never eat "perfectly" and i want to remember that. I want a healthy balance but more than anything, i want Jesus Christ to reign supreme over my life. In light of eternity, it's not really going to matter if i ate grains or not. So with that cheerful thought, i am going to bid "adieu."

Coconut Flour Crepes

This is one recipe that we love, using our faithful coconut flour. It's very versatile, able to be made into a dessert with whipped cream and fresh fruit, or stuffed with ham, eggs, and cheese. We've done both and both are wonderful.

Coconut flour crepes

2 eggs
2 T butter, melted
stevia (10 drops)
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
2 T coconut flour (sifted)
small pinch nutmeg and cinnamon
1/3 cup milk

Whisk eggs, butter, stevia, vanilla, and salt together. Mix coconut flour and spices together. Add milk and incorporate wet mixture. Or you can do it the easy way and throw everything in your blender. That's what i do and it works fabulously without all the sifting and incorporating bondage. It will make a thin batter but have no fear, that's how crepes are. Get a non-stick pan hot with some kind of oil, i usually use coconut oil or ghee, since butter burns. Carefully pour some batter and flip after several minutes. You'll flop the first several but that makes great tasting for the twins hanging over the edge of the counter, but never for the mother of course. She has the maturity to wait until supper, depending on what you actually call "supper."

If you are making these for ham and eggs or some other kind of cream sauce, you'll want to omit the stevia and spices. Unless you're weird and like eating cinnamon with your eggs. We drink hot chocolate with cayenne in it, does that make us weird? I think we were weird long before we did that......

These crepes are also awesome with peanutbutter, bananas and honey. With a glass of raw milk of course. The raw milk helps to fill up the corners of the boys stomachs. I'm telling you, these boys of ours can eat!! I sat in amazement tonight as Eric ate close to 6 coconut flour muffins tonight for supper. They were smeared with great gobs of peanutbutter (of course!), sticky with honey and drenched in milk. All the way to the top of the bowl. Each bowl, full to the top. The last several he had with hot chocolate poured over. Marlin wasn't home for supper. What? We're weird and i'm not ashamed to say i made them muffins for supper. No meat, no veggies, just muffins. Marlin will be proud of me.....i think.......maybe i should quick go make them eat some raw carrots or liver. Look at it this way. I could've fed them hotdogs, full of nitrites and who knows what, (i love hotdogs, yum, they're almost like candy to me) placed in a white flour roll, squirted with high fructose ketchup, giving him little to no nutrition. But instead i chose to give him healthy muffins, made with organic coconut flour, lots of pastured eggs and sweetened with raw honey. I would've fed them hotdogs but i don't have any. Eric said tonight he's going to eat until he's full because he's tired of everyone making him go play before he's full. Tortured life he leads, aye? And he's skinny as a rail. Life's not fair.

Yeah, i think we don't have a choice but to move to a farm so we can afford to feed this gang.

Greek Yogurt

I need to confess to someone and i can't to Marlin since he's already sleeping and waking him is simply not an option. Seriously, not an option. I just ate one of Marlin's prized yogurts that he bought tonight for work. It's not just any yogurt, it's GREEK yogurt. Oh my, oh my, where have i been for 30+ years? And it had real pomegranate seeds in it too. It's good we have a strong marriage...i know he'll forgive me. I did make sure i didn't take the only pomegranate one, but who can resist pomegranate yogurt in cute little cups? Thick, creamy and full of flavor, i am definitely going to make my own. The only thing that really annoyed me with this yogurt was that it is low fat. So i intend to make full fat Greek yogurt. All you do is make regular yogurt and strain it. And then i will buy some fresh fruit and treat myself. Of course i will treat the children too. They can eat the whey off of the strained yogurt. Did i just blog that out loud? Awww, they're so cute they deserve some yogurt too. We'll have a cozy family party with Greek yogurt.......and i'll take pictures and put it in the children's school portfolio's and call it, um let me see.........culture.......ummmmmm.........Greek culture studies. Or maybe it should be Greek food studies. Or maybe we should just eat yogurt and forget the school part.

Grain Free Granola

1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2-1 cup nuts
1/2 cup honey, warmed
pinch of salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 T vanilla
1 cup dried fruit
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet. Mix all ingredients EXCEPT dried fruit. Bake 30 minutes, stirring every so often and watching to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and add dried fruit. Hide in closet and eat frantically, hoping the children won't find you. I'm telling you, this granola is GOOD!!!

Unfortunately, this stuff is expensive to make, so i limit the children's intake. Which isn't hard seeing they HATE raisins in food. :) That could be a problem for me, since this stuff can make you fat. Uh-oh, maybe there's a reason i'm the only one in this marriage not losing weight.........

Granola? Anyone?

These children the Lord has given me...........

4 of them are sleeping, but that leaves 3 of them on the loose. I have a son, who would rather dissect a marker, dribbling orange chemicals all over his hands, than work on his journaling. Emily meanwhile, is twirling around the kitchen, broom in hand, amusing herself by asking her grandmother (my mother) all kinds of questions. "Grandma, do you like to eat concrete?" Now remember, my mother has dementia and for some reason, Emily delights in asking her questions. Thankfully, my mother hasn't lost her sense of humor and Emily isn't being cruel, just silly. "Grandma, do you like to eat things from outside?" Grandma assures her that she likes all kinds of food. "Grandma, do you like to eat stones?" Grandma gets a grin on her face and says slowly, "well, no, i don't like to eat THOSE kinds of things." Emily giggles and i raise my eyebrows at her. Zac is hunkered down over a corner, grating a lemon for zest, and then decides to "cook." That translates into mess...........Grandma looks at me, smiles and says, "i love coming here."
And i must now go and enjoy a cup of coffee and a lemon poppy seed muffin with my mother. A grain free lemon poppy seed muffin. ;)

Second week of grain free

Day 7/8 of the grain free diet. The past week was rough, no doubt about it. I felt achy and extremely irritable, like i was coming down with the flu. The thing that surprised me the most has been the lack of desire for grains. I thought i would be craving big slabs of warm bread or light cake, but it simply hasn't been an issue. I haven't been any hungrier than normal, in fact, i felt less hungry. I was able to pass up cake at fellowship meal Sunday and it wasn't hard. It certainly looked good and i would've certainly enjoyed eating it, but it simply wasn't a big deal. My cravings for sugar has gone way down, and that's awesome. And yesterday something shifted in my body. The terrible irritability left and i could feel my energy coming back. I love how I'm starting to feel and if it continues, i may just keep grains, or at least wheat, out of the house for a very long time. After all, with coconut and almond flour, i think we can do without wheat and be better for it. When i get the craving for something sweet and rich, i simply make smoothies, latte's, brownies, or any other number of goodies.

The biggest thing i've noticed with Josh is that he's been sleeping much better at night. He no longer wakes up sobbing but actually has been sleeping til 8 or past. And that's a blessing!

Sympathy? Anyone?

I'm suffering on this grain free diet, people. Simply suffering. For breakfast Saturday? No toast, just coconut flour crepes, stuffed with raw whipped cream and cream cheese with a drizzle of honey, and topped with plump raspberries and blackberries. Served with a side of home cured bacon and eggs.

For supper tonight? (eaten early since i'm on the way to the midwife. Because............haha, almost had you. Not for me, but am going with a pregnant friend just so i can see my all time favorite midwife) As i was saying, for supper i had strips of grilled chicken breasts, nestled on a bed of greens, topped with slices of cherry tomatoes, creamy chunks of avocado, papery slices of carrots and followed with a homemade blue cheese salad dressing. I will finish with a smoothie made with orange juice, yogurt, kefir, ice, coconut oil and a dash of stevia.

It's a life of sacrifice but someone has to do it.

Day 4

Day 4 of the grain free experience. I also cut out rice and potatoes at home, basically going completely carb free. Unfortunately i'm experiencing some serious weakness, so i'm not sure i can go completely carb free while nursing, in spite of upping my fats. Anyone do this while nursing? I'm definitely sticking with the grain free thing at home for all of us, but i can tend to get fanatical when i do something like this. I want to be wise, not nuts.

The good news? Marlin's blood pressure is dropping!! He took it last night and it was the lowest it has been for a very long time. That was incredibly encouraging after a couple rough days. I also think i've lost my sense of humor. Takes too much energy to be funny right now........that's a weird feeling. I'm thinking i'll make myself some brown rice for lunch and see if i can crack a couple of jokes afterwards. See, not funny at all. Sigh......

Day 3

Day 3 of being grain free. At least for Marlin and Josh. The rest of us only got serious yesterday. I'm so amazed at how Josh handles it. Very casually and totally accepting that he can't have any bread, pasta, etc. Of course none of us are eating it at home, but he still has a great attitude. Emily on the other hand, gets in a bad mood just at the thought. For some reason it stresses her out when we do something out of the ordinary. She's been that way since small, routine is everything to her.
I can't help but think that this grain free experience is so good for our children. A great way to teach them self discipline and self denial. And even greater is the mama learning it. I think as mothers we tend to excuse eating issues in ourselves, after all, we kind of think we deserve that extra cookie. Subconsciously, of course. I deny my flesh on a daily basis just based on the fact that i am giving 24/7 to a large brood of children, so GIMME' MY CHOCOLATE!!!!!! And breads, sugar, you name it.
So our diet so far this week? Lots of kefir smoothies, eggs and cheese, egg nog, soup, roasted chicken with daikons and carrots, steamed broccoli, salads, a few very ripe bananas, a few apples, and grain free crackers. Yup, you can actually make grain free crackers. I modified a recipe yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Sometimes you just want something that crunches like wheat and this fulfills that. We also talked about going dairy free, at least straight milk, but at this point we're keeping dairy in. I'm focusing on kefir and yogurt, but i'm not sure i'm ready to take the plunge and go without dairy, especially since i'm not convinced it's necessary for our family.
And for those of you who want to have your cake (or crackers) and eat it too, here's the recipe for the crackers.

GRAIN FREE CRACKERS

1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup butter, melted (this was my addition, felt like it needed fat)
1 cup asiago/parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup water
Grind seeds until fine and add rest of ingredients. Place on a parchment lined pan and press out in a thin layer and score. Bake at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes. I baked mine a bit longer since they weren't as thin as they should've been and took longer to bake.

I'm looking forward to saturday morning breakfast. I will be trying almond flour pancakes, a special treat since almond flour is SO expensive. I know that having a little treat like that once in a while will go far in encouraging ourselves to stick with it.

Oh, and you know the part where i said it's good for mothers to deny themselves with food? Especially chocolate? If your husband brings you home a Rapunzel organic chocolate bar with hazelnuts, you need to eat it. Seriously. It will enhance your marriage.