tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233915810125635372024-03-13T20:35:38.196-07:00The Tuckness TimesThoughts, recipes, anecdotes, media reviews, household hints, pictures from the life and times of Alex and Anastasia Tuckness.Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-65350899563708225982021-02-12T09:17:00.000-08:002021-02-12T09:17:42.255-08:00Black History Month feature: 9 Books for Kids, Teens and Families<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In honor of Black History Month, I'd like to share some excellent books I've read recently. All are by Black authors and all speak to the Black experience in our country. Many would be excellent read-alouds and conversation starters for families. Fiction can be an excellent gateway to learning and understanding! And all of </span>these<span style="font-family: inherit;"> books are simply excellent stories, as well. (You can also see these books, with longer summaries from goodreads and reviews from others, on my goodreads profile under the shelf "bhm 2021": </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2591260-anastasia-tuckness?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=bhm-2021" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2591260-anastasia-tuckness?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=bhm-2021</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> .)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In order of youngest audience to oldest, here are my picks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! by Atinuke</b>--Most of Anna's books take place in Africa, but in this book, she visits Canada and faces the reality of life where she's not the same color as most of the people around her. Anna Hibiscus books are sweet and gentle while still facing up to difficult realities, including race and income disparities. (Although this one is technically not from a United States perspective, it's an excellent start if you want an entry point for your young kids.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia</b>--<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);">Clayton is determined to make one last connection with his recently deceased grandpa, so he skips school to go to the park and find Grandpa's band. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned, and the day ends with Clayton in jail (and then getting picked up by his parents).</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">This short juvenile fiction book would be a good one to read with a family or a class as a jumping off point for discussion about interactions with the police. And it's just a good read on its own, covering topics of family, death, music, emotion, and finding oneself.</span> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson</b>--R<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">yan's life is not always easy--her dad lost his job and so the family has to move to a smaller home (away from her best friend), she gets some grief from having a "boy name", she can't figure out how to translate her talents (caring for people and cooking) to the stage for the 4th grade talent show, and her hair does not always behave.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">But she has loving parents and some good friends, and together in their Portland, Oregon community they figure out "ways to make sunshine."</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">This contemporary realistic fiction book is an excellent choice for fans of Ramona Quimby, Clementine, and Junie B. Jones--girls with a little personality to them! It works as a read-together or as a beginning reader chapter book at around that same level. It's also an excellent window or mirror book re. regular African American kids.</span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><b>The Season of Styx Malone</b> <b>by Kekla Magoon</b>--</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">I. love. this. book! It's a perfect summer book, with a mysterious stranger showing up in the woods nearby, and he has a plan--a plan to get something they all want (a scooter), starting with almost nothing. It's funny and endearing and just realistic enough to make for a really good story. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><b>Twins by Varian Johnson</b>--</span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">Middle school can be a fresh new start; at least, that's what Francine thinks. A chance to be her own person--not just a twin! When the girls end up in different classes for the first time, Francine is thrilled, but her twin Maureen is not. Not at all.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">The girls work through some serious sibling rivalry and even some secrets kept from each other as their middle school life unfolds. Note that the author himself is a twin (and the author of one of my very favorite books, </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17928557.The_Great_Greene_Heist__The_Great_Greene_Heist___1_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #00635d;" title="The Great Greene Heist (The Great Greene Heist, #1) by Varian Johnson">The Great Greene Heist</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"> !) Other themes include life as a person of color and navigating blended families. </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">I'd recommend this book for anyone looking to establish their own identity as well as fans of realistic graphic novels like </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6393631.Smile__Smile___1_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #00635d;" title="Smile (Smile, #1) by Raina Telgemeier">Smile</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">.</span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis</b>--Solid, classic historical adventure novel about a town in Canada (just across from Detroit) that's been settled by runaway slaves. It will keep you on the edge of your seat!</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><b>Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper</b>--</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">This book was heartbreaking because of its truth about life in the American South in the 1930s for black people. Stella, her family, her church, and her community face discrimination of all kinds, and in the midst of it they band together and support each other. The book is straightforwardly written as a narrative of several months in her life and covers many topics, including: voting, the Klan, school segregation, poverty, and more.</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">Although it would be hard, it could be read as a family and would certainly provoke many discussions. I appreciated the number of hymns/spirituals that were worked into the book.</span></span><div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><b>Blended by Sharon M. Draper</b>--Same author, very different feel. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">Excellent realistic tween fiction that blends the every day (making slime, going to the mall) with the super-serious—being biracial, having divorced parents, facing prejudice. Recommended reading for families/tweens/teens wanting a contemporary portrayal of life as a person of color or just a good contemporary fiction read. </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;">The ending is pretty rough, so be prepared.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><b>New Kid by Jerry Craft</b>--It's a graphic novel that's </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818;">funny and interesting about the new kid (who’s not white) at a primarily white private school. I really enjoyed it and appreciated the complexity of characters and plot that Craft was able to bring to the table, somewhat unusual for a graphic novel. It won a fair number of awards, too.</span></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24);"><br /></span></span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div></div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-11785394121468603262016-10-20T18:33:00.000-07:002016-10-21T19:46:54.571-07:00Thoughts on the 2016 Election<div class="MsoNormal">
I will not vote for Donald Trump
and am very willing to vote for Hillary Clinton to help keep him from becoming
President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my life as a political
science professor, such an opinion is barely worth stating as it is more or
less assumed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my life as an
evangelical Christian (they are actually the same life, I live both of them at
the same time), this surprises some people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Given one known Supreme Court vacancy and the distinct possibility of
more in the next four years, why vote for Clinton who will assuredly nominate
justices who are pro-choice [or insert your favorite Supreme Court Issue here]?
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, because past experience indicates that voting for a
President is a very indirect and rather ineffective way of changing the Supreme
Court's position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the early 1990s, a
Supreme Court consisting of eight Republican appointees and one Democratic
appointee<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>voted to uphold Roe v. Wade
6-3, and the Democratic appointee was not among the six supporters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further, I have even less confidence in
Trump's actual commitment to being pro-life or other issues evangelicals care
about than any Republican nominee in my lifetime. I am not a one-issue voter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, because when I put all the other issues on the
scales, they clearly outweigh the Supreme Court issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't want to validate Trump's comments
about women or minorities, I don't want someone with his temperament
representing our nation abroad, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and I
certainly do not want him as commander-in-chief of our armed forces with access
to nuclear codes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In sum, his character
is unacceptable and his actual policy proposals strike me as consistently
wrongheaded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people I talk to are planning to write in or vote third
party. I can respect that position, but realistically either Trump or Clinton
will be president. If there is even a chance of the former, the most effective
way to stop him from being elected is to vote for Clinton. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That, to me, is more important than
"sending a message."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
pollsters will figure out than many Clinton votes are in part anti-Trump votes
anyway.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trump is making outlandish promises and proclamations and would
surely disappoint his supporters who think that America's problems are
sufficiently superficial that electing an angry outsider is enough to fix
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trump is more a symptom of what is broken than
the real cause of the brokenness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
hope is that his loss will be a time to think deeply about the underlying
issues that brought us here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Alex Tucknesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957934994795360935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-53568680873823901362012-10-29T08:21:00.001-07:002012-10-29T08:22:43.751-07:00Refried Beans (+Burritoes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM6zM5CpHlAOmo2fm2KlncfTszz1XH8C-PCsyUq3uvxR8NOLdqmQgQepFD-FP0pEGqGgPLBhpCjsybuysAKu3urR9U6HSKGcDOZWprsC3cHo6-_P7Jc_gn_ITkQn-gorTBW2Rcy2nmZsj/s1600/000_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM6zM5CpHlAOmo2fm2KlncfTszz1XH8C-PCsyUq3uvxR8NOLdqmQgQepFD-FP0pEGqGgPLBhpCjsybuysAKu3urR9U6HSKGcDOZWprsC3cHo6-_P7Jc_gn_ITkQn-gorTBW2Rcy2nmZsj/s320/000_0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This recipe was developed by my family as we were growing up. Finding nutritious, economical dishes was always a priority, and my siblings and I liked to play around with seasonings and additions to increase the delicious factor. My brother and I still make these beans often; wrapped up in a tortilla and stuck in the freezer, they become a super easy and satisfying lunchbox staple. (Last I checked with my sister, she was giving herself a break from them since she ate them so often growing up.)<br />
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Hope you enjoy them!<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Refried Beans</b></div>
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Nuclear Niehof family
recipe<o:p></o:p></div>
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16 (½ cup) servings<o:p></o:p></div>
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8 h soak+ 1½ h cook beans+ 45 min season+mash<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 lb pinto beans<o:p></o:p></div>
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3 T vegetable oil<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 onions, chopped<o:p></o:p></div>
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4 cloves garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></div>
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14 oz can tomatoes with peppers<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 c cheddar cheese, grated<o:p></o:p></div>
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cumin<o:p></o:p></div>
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chili powder<o:p></o:p></div>
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onion and garlic powder<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Rinse
and sort the beans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put in large pot and
cover them with three times the volume of water that they take up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soak overnight.</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Drain
the beans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put them back in the pot and
cover them with 2” of water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring to a
boil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reduce heat to low and simmer for
1 hour and 15 minutes, until tender to the bite.<o:p></o:p></div>
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large frying pan, heat oil over medium high heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add onion and garlic; cook until soft and
translucent, about 7 minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Add
the pinto beans and about ½ c bean liquid to the pan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let it simmer for a bit if you like or if you
started with cold beans.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Mash
the beans in the pan with a potato masher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(You can see the one I use on the right side of the picture.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add more liquid if the mixture gets too dry.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Add
the tomatoes and cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taste and season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it’s too wet, let it bubble for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a while.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nutrition info:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>153 cals., 5 g fiber, 8 g protein<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Notes:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can skip steps 1-3 and just use canned
beans if you like. You can double the recipe--but make sure your pot is big enough. I learned the hard way that my pot is not big enough to triple it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can use salsa instead of canned
tomatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The amount of garlic and
spices you use is entirely up to you, dependent on how hot you want them and
what you plan to use them for (they’re great in enchiladas, burritos and
quesadillas).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I'd start with 1 teaspoon of each spice and taste as you season. </span>These beans freeze well on their own or wrapped in tortillas.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-48687221097019732892012-10-08T14:02:00.000-07:002012-10-08T14:02:26.741-07:00Tomatoes--red and green<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijN2WySO2i270r6_4U8f1VhWmJ4ds05EiTvB-sxg56blMySobuZ7o_P5bJ7r-ThMLlJbSE8SF1N2jG-tHha_qS0KK8K5IwAEDzdLsAd2qUVyIBs6ee_xc6-nRlZYnTI-PGyVqUT9NFe1St/s1600/100_1555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijN2WySO2i270r6_4U8f1VhWmJ4ds05EiTvB-sxg56blMySobuZ7o_P5bJ7r-ThMLlJbSE8SF1N2jG-tHha_qS0KK8K5IwAEDzdLsAd2qUVyIBs6ee_xc6-nRlZYnTI-PGyVqUT9NFe1St/s200/100_1555.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8r-ylLa2f-E_uX5ZXTAlpp1ZZGgIVG5-BIKn3XlmUbSRjbjvEX-90OnlziwVyy0fN2mk5AU-To-8x8rfeDL4u9WnCjLImKKW_e43eRqtSne8v80LDVrgU7nvCFK34iyuTFr6ltuKpzUZ/s1600/100_1564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8r-ylLa2f-E_uX5ZXTAlpp1ZZGgIVG5-BIKn3XlmUbSRjbjvEX-90OnlziwVyy0fN2mk5AU-To-8x8rfeDL4u9WnCjLImKKW_e43eRqtSne8v80LDVrgU7nvCFK34iyuTFr6ltuKpzUZ/s320/100_1564.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Now that frost has officially killed nearly everything in Iowa, it's time to use up all those tomatoes! My tomatoes died back in August this year courtesy of a whitefly infestation, so these photos are from last year's bounty. Both recipes use up lots of tomatoes and can be frozen for winter enjoyment.</div>
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I've made Farmgirl Fare's Green Tomato Relish the last couple years. It has a wonderful, deep flavor, (you can can it, too) and tastes a bit like green chili salsa, which is how we use it. The recipe and lots of ideas for using it can be found here: <a href="http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2005/09/saving-harvest-green-tomato-relish.html">http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2005/09/saving-harvest-green-tomato-relish.html</a>. (The relish itself is not very pretty once cooked, thus the picture of the pan full of green tomato chunks. :) )</div>
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The recipe for the roasted red and yellow tomatoes are from Joe and Lonna of Onion Creek Farm, here in central Iowa. They call them Candied Tomatoes, although there is no sugar in them. I toss them with pasta, blend them into hummus, and eat them straight. They are incredibly delicious. :) Here's the recipe:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="color: red;">Candied Tomatoes</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: dimgrey;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">from Joe and Lonna at Onion Creek Farm<br />4 lbs tomatoes<br />1 cup extra virgin olive oil (more if necessary)<br />salt to taste<br /><br />Preheat oven to 400 F. Remove stems and any blemishes. Halve medium/small tomatoes and quarter larger ones. Do not remove seeds. In a metal baking pan, lay the tomato wedges 1/2 in. apart, with cut side facing up. Coat the tomatoes generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 30 min, turn down heat to 350 F and roast for 30 minutes longer. Lower heat to 300 F and roast another 30 minutes. Check to see if edges are darkened slightly. If they have not yet turned, then lower the heat to 250 and bake 15 min before removing from the oven. Let pan cool for 20 minutes, then pour the tomatoes along with thier oil into a shallow glass or ceramic dish. To allow the candied tomatoes to "mellow" leave uncovered on the counter for 4-6 hours. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator covered completely in olive oil for short term preservation. Alternately, freeze candied tomatoes in their oil for up to three months. Bring them to room temperature before serving and use leftover infused olive oil in salad dressing.</span></span></div>
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Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-60842580076348236352012-08-22T14:09:00.003-07:002012-08-22T14:09:49.655-07:00Granola (Part two)<br />
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I posted our granola recipe a couple years ago (original post and complete recipe here: <a href="http://tucknesstimes.blogspot.com/2011/03/basic-granola.html">http://tucknesstimes.blogspot.com/2011/03/basic-granola.html </a>) and wanted to add a couple comments and suggestions here as we still really do eat it almost every day.</div>
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This recipe was adapted from the <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/More---Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300739644&sr=8-1" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">More with Less</a></i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/More---Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300739644&sr=8-1" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;"> Cookbook</a>, which features healthy, simple, inexpensive recipes. The granola recipe called for 6 cups of oats, 2/3 c honey, 2/3 c oil, and various other ingredients. In our family, we have typically reduced the honey and oil to 1/2c each, to conserve on money and fat/sugar consumed. (Also I typically make 12 cups at a time, as reflected in the recipe.)</div>
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I've noticed that these reductions in honey and oil make the granola less palatable to today's tastes, especially if one adds large amounts of wheat germ and flax seed to the recipe as well.</div>
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So, if you are new to homemade granola, or if you're making it for your kids who have a sweet tooth, or (as was the case for me last week), you are making granola for a celebratory occasion, my recommendation is to stick with the 6 cups oats, 2/3c honey, 2/3c oil ratios, adding nuts and fruit as desired. You can always add in more super foods (like flax) or cut back on the sugar later, once everyone is in the habit of eating this most practical of breakfast foods.</div>
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I'd love to hear about your granola stories!</div>
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Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-60601283620911911112012-02-29T14:46:00.004-08:002012-02-29T14:48:37.939-08:00Heritage Ham and Bean Soup<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMXKEl_7ADjLeXn3PIL_CR_mb3rl1tolqaAHsWMe23ODP_OTXFuC3WzTBoe50U6odt4dczNrKJt4MMEVIRDAdhA5_LbKyu_pnxPCUKsA0UIeIQLWz8aKv7ONAPz_CzGbkSbyYRdupJG_a/s1600/soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMXKEl_7ADjLeXn3PIL_CR_mb3rl1tolqaAHsWMe23ODP_OTXFuC3WzTBoe50U6odt4dczNrKJt4MMEVIRDAdhA5_LbKyu_pnxPCUKsA0UIeIQLWz8aKv7ONAPz_CzGbkSbyYRdupJG_a/s200/soup.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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I'm entering this soup into the City of Ames Employee Chili/Soup Cookoff tomorrow--wish me luck! (Last year I won healthiest soup with <a href="http://tucknesstimes.blogspot.com/2010/10/red-stew-worthy-of-birthright.html">this lentil soup recipe.</a>)<br />
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It is one of our families' very favorite soups--if you like ham and beans and you like soup that gets thicker and better when you freeze it, this soup is for you. Enjoy! </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Heritage Ham and Bean Soup</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(also known as 5 Bean French Market Soup)</b></div>
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Anastasia Tuckness<o:p></o:p></div>
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From my Great Grandma
Katherine Tymes<o:p></o:p></div>
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15-20 servings<o:p></o:p></div>
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6 hours, mostly
unattended<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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2 1/2 cups (16-20 oz) dried mixed beans<o:p></o:p></div>
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3 quarts water<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 tsp salt<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 bay leaf<o:p></o:p></div>
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¼ t dried basil<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 ham hock (3/4 lb)<o:p></o:p></div>
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28 oz can whole tomatoes, broken up<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 medium onions, chopped<o:p></o:p></div>
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6 stalks celery, diced<o:p></o:p></div>
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2-4 cloves garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 lb smoked sausage ring, sliced thinly<o:p></o:p></div>
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½ c fresh chopped parsley, or 1 T dried <o:p></o:p></div>
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½ c red wine, or ¼ c red wine vinegar<o:p></o:p></div>
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1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Soak
the beans in twice the water needed to cover them overnight. Drain them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>In
a large soup pot, combine water, beans, salt, bay leaf, basil, and ham
hock. Simmer 2 ½-3 hours, adjusting the
heat and the lid to keep it at a slow simmer (bubbles just barely break surface
of soup), and stirring often enough to keep it from sticking (at least every
half hour, more if the pan is not heavy-bottomed).<o:p></o:p></div>
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3.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Add
tomatoes, onions, celery, and garlic.
Simmer 1 ½ hours, uncovered, stirring to keep from sticking. <o:p></o:p></div>
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4.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Remove
the ham hock to a cutting board. Add
sausage to pot. Once the ham hock has cooled, cut off all the meat and add it
back to the pot. Simmer 45 more minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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5.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Add
parsley and red wine. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Notes: <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><i>+This is a good recipe to start in the morning on a day when you’ll be cooking other things or working around the house, and can just walk by it frequently to check on it.</i></div>
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<i> +You
can use ½ cup each of 5 different dried beans; that's what my mom does.
I like to buy the 20 oz bag of mixed beans from Fareway because you get nice
big ones and little tiny ones that melt into the soup.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> +</span></span><i>This
soup freezes really well and tastes better the day after you make it.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> +</span></span><i>You
can purchase a ham hock at Fareway’s meat counter (I get a 1 ½ lb shank cut in
half, then use the other half for pea soup—you can freeze the shank for a while)
or use a leftover ham bone. </i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<i>h<o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-67356185624747141492012-02-27T12:10:00.001-08:002012-02-27T12:10:18.400-08:00Granola / Energy Bars<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I fell in love with these bars the first time I made them! I'd been looking for a granola bar that had a little more chew to it, not simply nuts held together with honey and egg white. Well, this is it. It makes a lot and is easily varied, and they hold together well for transporting, and they freeze well too. Hope you enjoy them, and let me know what variations you particularly like!</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Energy Bars<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Anastasia Tuckness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">based on Granola Bars from <a href="http://blessedendurance.blogspot.com/2009/06/granola-bars.html">Blessedendurance.com</a> (photo at this site)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">2 cups regular oats, not instant<br />
½ cup white flour <br />
½ cup wheat flour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">2-4 T brown sugar <br />
½ cup wheat germ<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">½ cup walnuts, sunflower seeds or almonds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">½ cup chocolate chips<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">½ cup raisins or other dried fruit<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
½ tsp salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">2 bananas, mashed OR 1 cup applesauce<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">½ cup peanut butter<br />
1 egg, beaten<br />
½ cup vegetable oil<br />
½ cup honey<br />
2 tsp vanilla<br />
<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 dish.<br />
2. Combine all dry ingredients (oats through salt) in a large bowl. (The types
and amounts of nuts and fruit are quite flexible.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">3. In a medium bowl, mash the banana with the fork. Beat in the egg and
peanut butter. Pour in the oil, honey, and vanilla and stir. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Stir well.<br />
5. Spread into the pan.<br />
6. Bake for about 22-25 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Cool
slightly, then cut into bars. Store them in the fridge or wrap them
individually and freeze them for convenient snacking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-1391863715724946492012-01-14T09:58:00.000-08:002012-01-14T09:58:44.142-08:00Table Talk--Tim TebowAlex and I talk a lot, so here's a little window into one of our heated conversations from this week--<br />
<br />
This article (<a href="http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2103742,00.html">http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2103742,00.html</a>), an opinion piece in Time magazine by Jon Meacham, does a decent job of chronicling Tebow's impact, but the conclusions and inferences he draws made me really mad, particularly this section:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"This cultural Passion play of red-state piety and blue-state scorn is at once familiar and dispiriting. If Christians like Tebow are going to bear witness so publicly, then they ought not to be surprised when they are talked about in ways that require them to turn the other cheek. To insist that criticism of Tebow--even vulgar criticism--is evidence that American culture is hostile to Christianity is wrongheaded."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Really? Seems like hostility to Tebow's Christianity would be pretty good evidence of American culture's hostility to Christianity.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rick Reilly's piece in ESPN.com (<a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow">http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow</a>) was a much more concrete, clear picture of Tebow himself--Reilly actually spent time with him and so he shares stories of Tebow's selfless acts such as the following:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">"Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts."</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">While most of the media hoopla focuses on the unlikely comebacks of the Broncos or the eerie 3:16 game stats (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/10/john-316-tim-tebow-bible_n_1195221.htm">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/10/john-316-tim-tebow-bible_n_1195221.htm</a>l), it's worth remembering that Tim Tebow himself is simply a Christian who is trying his best to live his life and do his job to the glory of God, and sometimes that means lots of throwing practice, sometimes it means praying before a game to get his priorities straight, and sometimes it means spending time with terminally ill people. At the end of the day, I think he's doing the right thing.</span></span><br />Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-86048047488386031672011-10-04T08:45:00.000-07:002011-10-04T08:45:07.140-07:00Easy Potato Soup in the Crockpot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2GNkBxvPpyca8JtERXkSIj-OmWmLKdzNkx1oa_c8dPglvM3kG2YkBVgabvQ8AZVJRhHkVtE3bLgZWWfJ_Fk2yfKfy59mavM664xEEW49rfndQdcWgSFHHuUGTuY4uRr9zf55YUjB6Q5S/s1600/cd34908b-b4b9-43e5-9c4c-ed6968b7ae35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2GNkBxvPpyca8JtERXkSIj-OmWmLKdzNkx1oa_c8dPglvM3kG2YkBVgabvQ8AZVJRhHkVtE3bLgZWWfJ_Fk2yfKfy59mavM664xEEW49rfndQdcWgSFHHuUGTuY4uRr9zf55YUjB6Q5S/s1600/cd34908b-b4b9-43e5-9c4c-ed6968b7ae35.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
This is one of my favorite soup recipes--it's easy, most people like it, and it makes a lot. I make the recipe from my Betty Crocker's Slow Cooker Cookbook; I've put the link below to the same recipe on the Betty Crocker website. (The picture is from there as well.)<br />
<br />
The main ingredients are hash brown potatoes, canned corn, and evaporated milk. I sometimes use shredded hash browns instead of the cubed kind. It calls for bacon; I usually use chopped up cooked ham to give it more substance.<br />
<br />
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-potato-and-double-corn-chowder/70d24388-4552-473e-96ae-7b9295cbb1e0">Find the recipe--click here.</a>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-17556122878932793422011-08-24T17:04:00.000-07:002011-08-24T17:25:41.210-07:00Grand Prize Zucchini Skillet RecipeSimple, tasty, and a great use for summer garden produce--this one's a repeater.<div>
<br /></div><div>It's a recipe I've had in my "possibilities" binder for years, and I should have made it years ago! It tasted much better than I thought it would given the ingredients. It must be the freshness of the vegetables--and the marvels of highly salty soy sauce and garlic powder, probably. It came out of a cookbook that focused on lentil recipes and I love the recipe title. (Unfortunately I cannot find the original source. Nor did I think to take a picture. Sorry!)<div>
<br /></div><div>Alex actually did most of the cooking on this one which gives you an indication of its simplicity.</div></div><div>
<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;color:#6633ff;">Grand Prize Zucchini Skillet </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;color:#6633ff;">45-60 minutes total</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;color:#6633ff;">5 servings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1 cup dried lentils, rinsed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">2 cups water</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1 onion, chopped</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1 Tablespoon vegetable oil</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">2 medium zucchini, sliced</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">2 medium tomatoes, sliced</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1 cup shredded cheddar cheese</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1 medium onion, sliced (opt.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1/2 teaspoon garlic powder</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1 Tablespoon soy sauce</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1/2 teaspoon salt</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1/4 teaspoon pepper</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">1. Cook the lentils in the water (covered) for 30 minutes. Drain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">2. Saute the chopped onion in the oil in a large skillet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">3. Add the cooked lentils and the zucchini to the skillet and saute for 5 minutes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">4. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle on 2/3 cup of cheese.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">5. Arrange the onion slices on top of the cheese (this onion is optional) and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">6. Sprinkle the seasonings over the vegetables. Steam, covered, until the tomatoes are tender.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">
<br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;">Nutritional info per serving: 222 calories, 13g protein, 21g carbs, 10g fat, 24g chol, 170mg sodium, 6g fiber</span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;"><i>
<br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6633ff;"><i>Ingredient notes: We did not use the sliced onion since we don't care for raw or almost raw onions. The amount of vegetables is flexible as well-we used what we had that day. For soy sauce, we use Pearl River Soy Sauce from the Asian food store--our Mongolian renter bought it last year and we love it.</i></span></div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-58223949104805924202011-03-19T08:52:00.001-07:002011-03-21T13:35:19.551-07:00Basic Granola<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusmvhTJTF_JxDriXKqkpoqfNaDmbc0zpKkjBCvLYKhawpdcrp33PwRKNxaLZibSPXNNglQrLFlQQ-GOvbkmXEJlY4x2WG58DISG1NfnJrsEKk0YoEn0BB4jFCxKlHn63KcnXlUm-MI_VC/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusmvhTJTF_JxDriXKqkpoqfNaDmbc0zpKkjBCvLYKhawpdcrp33PwRKNxaLZibSPXNNglQrLFlQQ-GOvbkmXEJlY4x2WG58DISG1NfnJrsEKk0YoEn0BB4jFCxKlHn63KcnXlUm-MI_VC/s200/002.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586634050469012450" /></a><br />This is the granola I made frequently while growing up, and it's the granola I make about twice a month now. I make it 12 cups at a time in a large roasting pan because Alex and I each eat 1/2 cup of it every morning for breakfast, often with homemade yogurt, so we go through it quickly. As the title mentions, this is the most basic recipe I use. We (I) do occasionally get bored with it so I have a maple version and a peanut butter version as well. I enjoy making granola because it ensures that every day we can have an easy, inexpensive, and healthy breakfast that will carry us through our mornings. I hope you enjoy it!<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Granola</b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">Adapted from the <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/More---Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300739644&sr=8-1">More with Less</a></i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/More---Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300739644&sr=8-1"> Cookbook</a><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">Anastasia Tuckness<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">12 c oats<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1 c honey<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1 c vegetable oil<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1 c wheat germ (opt.)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1 c walnuts<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Additional nuts or dried fruit as desired<o:p></o:p></p> <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Several good shakes of cinnamon and salt</span></span><!--EndFragment--> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Preheat oven to 350 while you measure oats.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Toast oats in oven 8 minutes.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Stir in wheat germ, walnuts, cinnamon, salt.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Pour honey and oil over; stir well.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Bake for 8 minute intervals, stirring after each one and checking for desired doneness.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">6.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Cool on rack.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">7.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Mix in other cereals such as Grape Nuts and All Bran and dried fruit.<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </span></div><div><br /></div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-81967213011081293672011-03-04T12:15:00.001-08:002011-03-04T12:26:15.078-08:00Chippy Oatmeal Raisin Bars<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MFWLOMlLwk-AWJ7MbDYSRXBQo0OP3ILnrN2T2W5OMFWFTZOEHw0mwZsaNr4tv9Qco71Jo9ONDS1-YRt5SkeHCPC99dBK4hsBvfsidlSu0fkkx5_eWCJwiS56mURkQSlLVi0FmXy6GOir/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9MFWLOMlLwk-AWJ7MbDYSRXBQo0OP3ILnrN2T2W5OMFWFTZOEHw0mwZsaNr4tv9Qco71Jo9ONDS1-YRt5SkeHCPC99dBK4hsBvfsidlSu0fkkx5_eWCJwiS56mURkQSlLVi0FmXy6GOir/s200/025.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580321574878055234" /></a>These bars have always been my standby when I need something basic to have around the house for desserts and snacks--I almost always have all the ingredients in the house and they take 15 minutes to whip together. I found the recipe on the back of the raisin box when I was in middle school. Until recently, I didn't bring them to potlucks because I thought they were too plain--yummy for home, but too basic to share. <div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Last Saturday I brought two pans to work to share because we had a big project going on and we needed fast fuel to keep us going. Turns out these bars were exactly the right thing--enough sweetness to make them fun and easy to eat, enough solid energy calories (oats, raisins, etc) to keep you going on a long day. I hope you and your friends enjoy them as much as we all did!</div><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <div class="WordSection1"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Chippy Oatmeal Raisin Bars<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">from the back of the raisin box<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">15 min prep + 25 min bake<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1 c brown sugar<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">¾ c butter (1 ½ sticks)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">2 eggs<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1 ½ t vanilla<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">¾ c flour<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1-2 c chocolate chips (I use about 1 1/2 cups usually)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">2 c oats (I use rolled; quick oats work too)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">¾ c raisins<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Beat sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour slowly.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>2. Stir in chocolate chips, oats and raisins.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Spread in lightly greased 9x13 dish.</p></div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><o:p></o:p></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.</span><!--EndFragment--></div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-17260390425321464792010-10-07T07:29:00.000-07:002010-10-07T07:49:31.769-07:00Red Stew--worthy of a birthright?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_ipnA6B-pVeHsfF9Ls-kvKVUOHKKh-FkB_9DGS043jxO0sBtph8i7U03pGts4e-ZizIcof9nxwhPlB1MigaOcD_rzIIHnHbH32LWQpYv2z3i5lJX7Qrb8X_2T-4TrSSHbRrXnIwAeKCZ/s1600/100_0101.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_ipnA6B-pVeHsfF9Ls-kvKVUOHKKh-FkB_9DGS043jxO0sBtph8i7U03pGts4e-ZizIcof9nxwhPlB1MigaOcD_rzIIHnHbH32LWQpYv2z3i5lJX7Qrb8X_2T-4TrSSHbRrXnIwAeKCZ/s200/100_0101.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525314257735766690" /></a><b><i>I was inspired to post this recipe after last night's lesson at <a href="http://www.d6families.com/">D6</a>, where Esau trades his birthright for some of the "red lentil stew" that his brother made (Genesis 25:29-34). Although I'm sure it's not worth a birthright, it is mighty tasty, full of healthy ingredients that reportedly ward off colds, and it is probably similar to Jacob's original stew. Red lentils are available at Wheatsfield in the bulk section.</i></b><br /><br /><br /><b>Ethiopian Lentil Bowl<br />Simply in Season cookbook<br />6-8 servings<br />75 minutes total</b><br /><br />2 c dried red lentils<br />2 large onions, finely chopped<br />1 head (yes, the whole head) garlic (cloves peeled and mashed)<br />3 T tomato paste<br />½ t paprika<br />1 t salt<br />½ t ground ginger<br />¼ t pepper<br />3 c water<br />¼ c lemon or lime juice<br /> <br />1. Rinse and sort lentils. Cover with water and soak 30 minutes. Drain.<br />2. Meanwhile, chop onions and mash garlic cloves.<br />3. In a soup pot sauté onions and garlic in oil over medium-hi heat until golden, about 10 minutes.<br />4. Mix in tomato paste and paprika. Add remaining seasonings and half the water. Stir well.<br />5. Add the rest of the water. Stir again, cover, and bring to boil. <br />6. Add lentils and lower heat. Cook until lentils have softened, 20-30 minutes.<br />7. Add juice and serve hot. <br /><br /><i>This is so thick! I often eat it by scooping it up with tortillas or pitas. It’s also amazingly sweet tasting—the garlic mellows from all that simmering. It also freezes really well.<br /><br />A triple batch will barely fit in my big (8Q?) soup pot.</i>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-81463164989904478322010-09-14T10:55:00.000-07:002010-09-14T11:19:30.618-07:00"Sloppy Joe" (Barbeque or BBQ to me)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoyB58629EYy3EK3fQnMqL-bCEOKeXmrMvRxtu62lLsRcmAZQgPdB-y6NRZ_5PErFG8sh1ZveUq1wKvn15Zv0azxS0uEAH9v4XqVIVTk4z9WGGV4fEbYePqTjiARQ-91bjSnRCykJAqsw/s1600/IMG_0156c.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 131px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516831275620660610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoyB58629EYy3EK3fQnMqL-bCEOKeXmrMvRxtu62lLsRcmAZQgPdB-y6NRZ_5PErFG8sh1ZveUq1wKvn15Zv0azxS0uEAH9v4XqVIVTk4z9WGGV4fEbYePqTjiARQ-91bjSnRCykJAqsw/s200/IMG_0156c.jpg" /></a> <em>An incredibly useful recipe--makes a big batch to feed many or freeze; also a good meal base (see options at end of post).</em><br /><br />Barbeque (Sloppy Joe)<br />Grandma Walburg’s recipe<br />Yield: 10 cups (20+ servings)<br />45 min prep + 1 hour simmer<br /><br />3 lbs. ground beef<br />2 large onions, chopped<br />1-3 cloves garlic, minced<br />1 small green pepper, chopped<br />2 cups chopped celery<br />1 tsp chili powder<br />14 oz ketchup<br />2 Tbsp brown sugar<br />1 tsp dry mustard<br />1 Tbsp salt<br />1 tsp paprika<br />½ tsp black pepper<br />2 cups water<br />¼ cup cider vinegar<br />2 Tbsp Worcester sauce<br /><br />Chop vegetables. Brown meat and vegetables in large pot, sautéing until celery is soft.<br /><br />Add chili powder; cook 2 minutes.<br /><br />Add all the rest of the ingredients and simmer, uncovered, for an hour.<br /><br />Freezes well in large or small portions. Serve in buns or over bread.<br /><strong>Other options:</strong> To 3 cups of the mixture: Add a packet of taco seasoning and use in taco salad, nachos, etc. Add a can of whole tomatoes and a can of chili beans to make chili. Add a can of spaghetti and a can of vegetable soup for goulash. My grandma would freeze a batch and take the extra ingredients for camping meals—they’re easy to mix up in electric frypans.Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-48369570152377856072010-06-27T14:26:00.000-07:002010-06-27T14:34:55.152-07:00UpdateFirst--if you are part of Cornerstone Church, you have until July 1 to submit up to three recipes for the Cornerstone Cookbook! Check the program or email me for the submission email address. I submitted Energy Bars, Stuffed Shells, and Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritoes.<br /><br />Second--I have tried several of the recommended products from the last post.<br /><br />Blood meal to repel rabbits--this sort of works. I found I needed to apply a lot of it, quite often, to each plant that the rabbits liked to eat. After a while we decided it was easier to fence in the vegetable garden and just give up on a couple perennial flowers that they love to eat.<br /><br />Citrus infused vinegar--I love this and use it with Borax to clean my toilets most weeks. It smells much better than most cleaners, although I do use super strength toilet cleaner every month or so to get it really really clean. I did also make a spray bottle of Citrus Disinfectant and I enjoy using that to clean countertops. I must say, though, that Clorox Green Multipurpose Spray is still my favorite spray cleaner. I haven't decided if I'm going to shell out for a new bottle once mine is gone!<br /><br />I'm still updating my goodreads--feel free to check it out for recommendations--or just visit me at the library to get some personal recommendations for you, your kids or your grandkids!Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-15311656766502408282010-02-24T12:45:00.000-08:002010-02-24T13:16:59.579-08:00Home products you can makeI am saddened to note that an entire quarter year has passed since I have posted to the blog. One reason this has come to pass is that I have misplaced our cute pink camera. It was last seen in mid-December, and we hope it comes to light soon, but until then there will be no new pictures of food. :(<br /><br />However there are still things I'd like to share. First, I continue to record and review all the books I'm reading using <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goodreads.com">goodreads.com</a>--you can see small book covers on the right side of this blog and you should be able to click on any of them to see my review. I add several books a week, so there should often be something new to read.<br /><br />I've also been spending a lot of time reading blogs--mostly food blogs, but some library and book blogs as well. My current favorite is <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/thick-chewy-granola-bars/">smitten kitchen</a>. Today she is featuring granola bars that look amazing!<br /><br />And for today's main event, I'd like to share the following tips. These are taken from <a href="http://catalog.amespubliclibrary.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12670WBT88335.1054&profile=main&uri=link=3100007~!336281~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizon&term=Homemade+%3A+how+to+make+hundreds+of+everyday+products+fast%2C+fresh%2C+and+more+naturally+%2F&index=PALLTI#focus">Homemade</a> (click to see the book in the Ames Public Library catalog), a book produced by Readers Digest that provides recipes for foods, cleaning solutions, and gardening products that you can make yourself. In general I thought this book was informative and clear; most of the recipes were made of cheap, easily available ingredients. I typed out the ones I want to use sometime (and bolded several that I mean to try in the next couple months). Please forgive the shorthand I used, and let me know if you don't understand my abbreviations. Do share if you try any of them; I'm curious to know what works.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>Homemade</em> by Readers Digest—Recipes for food, green cleaning, and garden products<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">In the Kitchen</span><br /><br />• <strong>Strawberry Frozen Yogurt</strong>: Combine 16 oz plain yogurt, 2 c pureed strawberries, 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk, 1 c milk, 1T vanilla. Pour into ice-cream maker, no more than 2/3 full, freeze in batches. Firm in freezer before serving; thaw 30 min before serving.<br />• <strong>Orange Cream Pops</strong>: Combine 3 oz orange jello pack in 1 c boiling H20, dissolve. Stand till room temp. Add 8 oz yogurt, ½ c milk, ½ t vanilla. Stir to blend. Freeze in molds or 3 oz cups for 2 hours; insert sticks or plastic spoons. Freeze 4-8 more hours. Makes 10.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Around the House</span><br /><br />• <strong>Bubble Bath:</strong> 2 oz dishwashing liquid, 6 cups water, 1 oz glycerin. Swish in bucket and pour into tub.<br />• <strong>Citrus disinfectant:</strong> In a quart jar, combine peel from one piece of citrus fruit and 3 c white vinegar. Close and store for two weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain. Store in the jar. Pour 1 c vinegar in 32 oz bottle and fill with water for spray cleaner. Add 1 c vinegar to 2 gallons water for floor cleaner.<br />• Multi-purpose cleaner: 3 ½ c hot water into 32 oz bottle. Add 1/2c white or cider vinegar, 1 t borax, 1 t washing soda, 1 t liquid castile soap and shake. Spray (counters, kitchen app., tile, painted things) and wipe.<br />• Oven cleaner: ¾ c clear ammonia in a small bowl overnight in closed oven. Wipe down using damp sponges w/ baking soda. Or use my method and wipe up with dish deterg. on sponge.<br />• Scouring powder: equal amounts baking soda, borax, salt. Sprinkle, scour, rinse, dry.<br />• <strong>Soft scrub</strong>: Combine ¼ c borax and ½ t oil soap. add ½ t lemon juice, stir. Apply to sponge, clean surface, rinse, dry surface.<br />• Nontoxic toilet bowl cleaner: Flush toilet. Sprinkle 1 c borax on bowl; drizzle 1/2c white vinegar on top. Let sit for 3 hours; scrub with brush. or leave overnight; no scrubbing needed.<br />•<strong> Stronger toilet cleaner:</strong> combine 2/3 c borax with 1/3 c lemon juice to make paste. apply to toilet bowl with rag. let sit 2h then scrub off.<br />• Drain opener: Pack drain with ½ c baking soda, pour in 1 c vinegar. Cover for 10 minutes; flush with boiling water.<br />• Upholstery shampoo (for car interiors): 6 T grated soap flakes and 2 T borax mixed in large bowl; slowly add 2 c boiling water, stirring well. Cool. Whip to foam. Brush dry suds onto furniture; wipe off with damp sponge.<br />• <strong>Goo-be-gone:</strong> dip cloth into white vinegar and rub on goo. rinse and dry.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">In the Garden</span><br /><br />• Weed killer: 5% bleach, 95% boiling water in spray bottle. Douse weeds. Check the next day—increase concentration if necessary. Place bottomless plastic bottle over weed to isolate from nearby plants.<br />• Anti-Rabbit: sprinkle blood meal over soil around edges and in garden beds. reapply after heavy rains. (Fencing needs to be as small as chicken wire and at least a foot deep.)<br />• Anti-Deer: Tie white grocery bags or rags to fence posts at deer-nose height to flutter in wind and simulate deer tails.<br />• Insecticide: Puree 10 garlic cloves with 1 T vegetable oil. Strain into quart jar. Add 3 c hot water and 1 t dishwashing soap. Close and shake to mix. Put into spray bottle. Spray plants infested with aphids, whiteflies, etc., making sure to get both sides of leaves. Apply every 3 days for a week. Repeat after rains or as needed.<br />• Insecticide for aphids and mealybugs: Combine 1 c rubbing alcohol and 1 c water in spray bottle and shake. Test on a leaf—if it browns, do not use. Otherwise spray whole plant—undersides of leaves, flower buds, but not open flowers. Repeat every other day for 3 days.<br />• Aspirin insecticide: Stir 3 regular aspirin into 5 gallons water in can. Treat plants twice monthly.<br />• Bug blaster soap spray: good inside and out for caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects. Add 1 T dishwashing soap to 1 gallon water, stir. Test spray on plant. Next day, coat entire plant. Repeat twice a week until no longer visible, then as needed.<br />• Ammonia plant conditioning spray: 1 part household clear ammonia, 1 part liquid dishwashing soap, 7 parts water combined in large container. Spray on garden plants and lawn for fertilizer and insecticide.Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-3138958941937554412009-11-21T12:46:00.000-08:002009-11-21T13:03:23.240-08:00The TableAnastasia and I were given money to go get a dining room table. We bought the table below. It was a great deal: on clearance, with both leaves in you could fit 10 people around it, without the leaves six. Anastasia liked the oak....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCAw5_gMdNGy0teNBLiies_jN9K5NyX7v0OGGHR8NUkSb0Z_DTHNwLvHWzpdV4qv1nhCVO6jkvfheDPvMD7xaO0es0215MSFaxax5FF0Og8edlqVlAZ2eaFasPRg1z0qSF_zCO3NOQfg/s1600/PB140012.JPG"></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wFugVEy6gR7ON-cdBWDbVGcqJ5WJkkWafb_cyLMCN55FeIKsTdhe1W18Y5PEzjxgfjqMx76tMUZ79WUt-6rL9VeH50VONhr-lF5nCPRNVlbrwxnoqWjhuRMYTi0hoYu4bTiX9Qce2NQ/s1600/PB140012.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406664566611674258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wFugVEy6gR7ON-cdBWDbVGcqJ5WJkkWafb_cyLMCN55FeIKsTdhe1W18Y5PEzjxgfjqMx76tMUZ79WUt-6rL9VeH50VONhr-lF5nCPRNVlbrwxnoqWjhuRMYTi0hoYu4bTiX9Qce2NQ/s400/PB140012.JPG" /></a><br />Then we got home and started measuring again. I had measured a day or two before we left and thought- that will be easy to remember. We realized that our not that large dining room now was going to have a huge oak slab dominating it and that walking sideways would soon become a matter of instinct. We called the furniture store back and they were nice enough to cancel the order for us since we had just placed it and nothing had been done to the table yet. We then started looking through digital pictures of the other tables we had seen and decided to go with this rather different one:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPncxk-rMLGCjVqqdatDpd00Kj4I01ooL0DohGYFOk_NnLJqeELqklNPv9icukS14KNrPdLbUR50K0KkfHgTFDRmHvWLBqTonUgVaXMz2qa9JUbhBBB2L4JUtUcY6H-kZ5wOmd2pGebmM/s1600/PB140008.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406664247799163778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPncxk-rMLGCjVqqdatDpd00Kj4I01ooL0DohGYFOk_NnLJqeELqklNPv9icukS14KNrPdLbUR50K0KkfHgTFDRmHvWLBqTonUgVaXMz2qa9JUbhBBB2L4JUtUcY6H-kZ5wOmd2pGebmM/s400/PB140008.JPG" /></a><br /><div><div><div>It seats 4-6 people and it actually fits quite nicely in our dining room- 6 inches narrower and three feet shorter. The lessons are- if you make a mistake, admit it right away and don't assume you will remember what seems easy to remember at the time.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Alex Tucknesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957934994795360935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-59056579505983064082009-11-11T09:19:00.000-08:002009-11-11T09:19:00.469-08:00Yellow cake--not as successful<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsAwRilT3gCeEJZ0cusFfbdwtq_zWhjGhZtL44M2Clf6z0WYTyEiFBPgAkdcOmqZEt-3vCgko93NLvxJUF4gzEXLSOSqDFqsNt2ZvnSdVcKMlniJ5ZNlrWMbZfqJKAp45HW5_niOk2FxS/s1600-h/P9290028.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402155106100615682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsAwRilT3gCeEJZ0cusFfbdwtq_zWhjGhZtL44M2Clf6z0WYTyEiFBPgAkdcOmqZEt-3vCgko93NLvxJUF4gzEXLSOSqDFqsNt2ZvnSdVcKMlniJ5ZNlrWMbZfqJKAp45HW5_niOk2FxS/s200/P9290028.JPG" /></a>This is what happens when you skip the step of lining your pans with parchment paper (I've heard b/w newsprint works too). I had even greased and floured them, to no avail. Maybe if I'd let them cool longer?<br /><br />Anyway, <a href="http://www.usaweekend.com/02_issues/021020/021020cooksmart.html">this is the recipe</a> I was making--the yellow cake recipe out of Pam Anderson's book The Perfect Recipes for Entertaining (I would highly recommend this book--available at your local library). I was drawn it by its promise of ease and versatility: <a href="http://stopnsmellthechocolates.blogspot.com/2009/05/cake-week-day-2-tea-for-two-sday.html">fill it with raspberry and top with cream cheese frosting</a> or fill with marmalade and glaze with chocolate, or simply top with fruit topping. <br /><br />The first attempt, as shown above, resulted in a bunch of tasty crumbs and tidbits, so I whipped up some chocolate frosting and used my Pampered Chef decorator to put rosettes on them and everyone thought I did it on purpose. The second time I made it went much better, and I topped it with applesauce (see last week's post) and ice cream. I put the other layer in the freezer, and I'll be trying the raspberry version for Mom's birthday this weekend. I think it broke in transit to the freezer, but it will still taste good!<br /><br />So the jury's still out on this recipe--it's relatively easy, but I still get hung up on exactly how long to beat at various steps in the recipe, and it's quite dense, but definitely buttery and tasty. I don't think it will be the only cake I will make for the rest of my life.<br /><br />The one I really have my sights set on is <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/10/pink-lady-cake/">this one</a>, but just reading the recipe tires me out!Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-2043188428815110772009-11-09T07:52:00.000-08:002009-11-09T09:19:08.588-08:00Red Velvet Birthday Cake<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngskyPbBdPcjP2DZyG0bQ1S5V4nGZNgDWNPKGxGK4aa1z_mn06d1Ok7_fP77N5BOz-5R-8xkfGJW6JWj0Wlni0O8lvbpQFZ8FrTsKRDuCPa_HWWRYMDsLH8hzh4P23sFH-cJ_ERhwXYPm/s1600-h/10Oct+301.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngskyPbBdPcjP2DZyG0bQ1S5V4nGZNgDWNPKGxGK4aa1z_mn06d1Ok7_fP77N5BOz-5R-8xkfGJW6JWj0Wlni0O8lvbpQFZ8FrTsKRDuCPa_HWWRYMDsLH8hzh4P23sFH-cJ_ERhwXYPm/s320/10Oct+301.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">Recently a friend of mine celebrated a birthday, and I took the occasion as a chance to try out one of the many fabulous <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/celebration-cakes/">celebration cakes</a> <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/">smitten kitchen</a> has posted on her blog. (If you're wondering where I am when not posting on my blog, there's a good chance I'm reading hers.)</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">I chose to try my hand at <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/red-velvet-cake/">Red Velvet Cake</a>, as it seemed to have the best balance between being fun and birthday-like, while still being classy. The bottom line on this recipe: it was somewhat time-consuming, but a huge hit and it made my friend feel very special, so it was a good choice.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">Now for the blow-by-blow. The recipe is a 3-layer cake, so I borrowed my mom's cake pans and was glad I did, because they have this little thing you run around the rim of the pan to get the layers out. I also lined the pans with parchment, per directions. (Post to follow where I did not follow these directions.) Getting ingredients was also interesting--cake flour was hard to find at Fareway, but the butcher was able to find it for me. I ended up going to Hyvee for the red food coloring, because it called for 3 oz (one of the largish bottles is 1 oz), and all you get at Fareway were those multipacks. I figured I'd have to buy like 20 multipacks to get enough. I did cut it down to 2 oz, and was satisfied with the result.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">To explain the pictures, from top left, clockwise: The frosting is cream cheese frosting, and I made a double batch so as to be able to do a crumb coat, as seen here and explained <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/layer-cake-tips-the-biggest-birthday-cake-yet/">here</a> (you need to read this post if you want to do layer cakes!)--especially important with white frosting and red crumbs. The final coat was not perfect, but pretty close, as you can see in the third picture. The 2nd--well, my fingers got really red, as did pretty much everything in the kitchen. I was thankful for bleach for my towels, and I used paper towels to immediately wipe up the counter.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">Decorating: I put a cookie cutter in the middle and sprinkled red sprinkles in the middle, spreading it around with a pastry brush. Then I tinted a bit of frosting and put dots all around the edge. Dots and circles are all the rage these days, for reasons I don't entirely understand.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">The last two pictures are just to show how messy my counter got, and how I cleaned it all up in a matter of minutes thanks to my fabulous dishwasher. I love my new kitchen and its appliances!</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" border="0" alt="Posted by Picasa" align="middle" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" /></a></div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-64703482177883057542009-11-03T08:30:00.000-08:002009-11-03T08:46:43.014-08:00Preserving fall's bounty<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC74zcW-7ByCSzDQr1sp5yANKbsWa2VysNWNUYnXN7E_3-s3ESaP4AjM-afvyb7UEKKyVump2pYgS3Ols7UQRQ8iUgVAxLhIYFkmTWDThYUe3nJF9HZOhvCPPHVVuNeXVDF2MhSd7ZVJ5/s1600-h/10Oct+30.jpg"><img border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC74zcW-7ByCSzDQr1sp5yANKbsWa2VysNWNUYnXN7E_3-s3ESaP4AjM-afvyb7UEKKyVump2pYgS3Ols7UQRQ8iUgVAxLhIYFkmTWDThYUe3nJF9HZOhvCPPHVVuNeXVDF2MhSd7ZVJ5/s320/10Oct+30.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">As we continue to live through the seasons' change, I continue to try to live out principles I was motivated by from reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Vegetable-Miracle-Year-Food/dp/0060852569/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257265939&sr=8-1">Animal Vegetable Miracle</a> this spring. I did some preserving of berries, zucchinni, tomatoes, and green beans this summer.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">This fall I decided to concentrate on butternut squash and apples. When we were in MI for a cousin's wedding, we ran across some beautiful butternut squash for 18 cents a pound. Crazy, eh? I got 11 pounds for $2. That's about as cheap as food gets, and this food is good! </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px"><strong>Easy squash recipe</strong>: Wash it. Prick it. Put it in a slow cooker whole (as seen in picture) with 1/2 inch of water. Cook on low until soft when pierced (4-7 hours). Remove; quarter lengthwise to cool. Scoop out flesh. Mash--add butter, ginger, salt, pepper, whatever--eat and then freeze the rest in freezer bags.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">The <strong>applesauce</strong> is a little more time-consuming, but this is the easiest way I've found. Peel, core, and quarter the apples (I like to use my Pampered Chef cook's corer). Put in slow cooker. Shake cinnamon and sugar over them (I just guess on this, sorry!). Pour 1 cup or so apple juice or water over them. Cook on high until they're soft, about 2 hours. Mash, add sugar if needed.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">I had visions of freezing a whole lot of applesauce too, but so far we've mostly fed it to guests. It goes great with ice cream (see picture) and/or yellow cake. I guess if we are using seasonal bounty to feed our guests that's a good thing too--it doesn't all have to be about preserving!</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px">Purchasing notes: Fareway has 1/2 peck white tote bags of cooking and eating apples from Deals Orchard in Jefferson for 89 cents a pound, so that's a great convenient way to eat local and in-season! We've enjoyed the Fujis (may be done now), Red Delicious, and Jonathans.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" border="0" alt="Posted by Picasa" align="middle" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" /></a></div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-26988972113516319032009-10-29T13:59:00.000-07:002009-10-29T14:04:10.246-07:00New Auditorium!!ps--for those of you who are curious about Cornerstone's recent building addition, <a href="http://metropuritan.blogspot.com/2009/10/cornerstones-new-auditorium.html">click here</a> (you'll also get a couple of cute kid pictures). Then come visit on Saturday afternoon for the Harvest Festival/Open House! (<a href="http://amesnewsonline.com/category/news/faith/cornerstone-open-house-and-fall-festival">Details here.)</a>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-61302736136061068922009-10-29T13:47:00.001-07:002009-10-29T13:49:56.896-07:00goodreadsWe took a blogger vacation for about a week because we thought it had a virus--not entirely sure if it's cleared up, but we're giving it a shot.<br /><br />I wanted to point out a new feature on our blog. If you look on the right hand side, underneath the list of recent posts, you should see some small book cover pictures. These are books I've read recently, most of them young adult books, and if you click on a book, you should be linked to my rating and whatever review I have posted of it.<br /><br />Hopefully this will be a way for you readers to keep up with my reading if you're curious--and I've really been enjoying using goodreads as a way to organize books I've read, am reading, and want to read. I love being able to see the covers!Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-89770913347852715242009-10-08T19:55:00.000-07:002009-10-08T19:55:00.336-07:00predicting the futureOne definition of stupid is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. Normally the way we predict what is going to happen in the future is by looking at the past. And it works pretty well. If I had to guess, the American League will win the All-Star game next year too, just like they have won the last dozen or so in a row. Were I into gambling and someone gave me that bet straight up, I would take it despite being a National League guy. But the thing is streaks eventually end. I remember a long time ago hearing about how the United States had won the "America's Cup" yahting race for alike a 100+ years in a row. And then some guys in New Zealand built some crazy boat that Dennis Conner still thinks was illegal and they win. I just looked it up and the US has not won the last four times.<br /><br />I have been thinking about this as I have been listening to statistics like "inflation has averaged such and such over the last 20 years" or "The Stock Market has averaged such and such over the last 70 years." On the one hand, past track records are about the best thing we have to go on for predicting the future, but on the other streaks end. I like to think of someone in Augustine's day saying "The Roman Empire will not fall apart. People have been saying that it will happen for centuries and it never does." But of course it did. Or like assuming that the world will always go on like it has been going on for thousands of years. The reality is that there are unique events (the beginning of the universe for example). Empires rise and fall. We need to have the humility remember that all of our preditions are only predictions, not guarantees, and that the only solid guarantee is that eventually the streak will end.Alex Tucknesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957934994795360935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-77912431342134605642009-10-07T19:50:00.000-07:002009-10-07T19:54:46.902-07:00too many starsI have lots of theories. One of my theories about movies is that too many big name stars in the same movie is often a recipe for a disappointing movie. Big stars don't normally like bit parts and so you end up with movies where they try to gives serious time to 6-12 characters and you end up not really very connected with any of the characters. It is the same problem we still have when we put our olympic basketball teams together. Guys normally become big stars because they are good at scoring, but there is only one basketball to go around. The team needs to play (and even start) some guys who are really ok with not scoring a lot of points but who can play defense, rebound, and knock down an open shot if the person gaurding him tries to double team Lebron James. Three cheers for role players.Alex Tucknesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957934994795360935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523391581012563537.post-76335874230062057582009-10-05T13:01:00.000-07:002009-10-05T13:19:03.367-07:00updates<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCtC5xfKe3VVp1YklVbqO88ybaDzgubg-iYHZitGqeURA0Fw3-fCIuUrwHq6LREDVDAwSscqpxnU01OCaOfUeNFxolMGak1AlGk5cGPamvPT9nmLZwQP9pIweKsSOXzaDSRXLflZNQ_Q8/s1600-h/P8290040.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389211440495721586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCtC5xfKe3VVp1YklVbqO88ybaDzgubg-iYHZitGqeURA0Fw3-fCIuUrwHq6LREDVDAwSscqpxnU01OCaOfUeNFxolMGak1AlGk5cGPamvPT9nmLZwQP9pIweKsSOXzaDSRXLflZNQ_Q8/s200/P8290040.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cOXIsMic0lWSnykaZ4LE3hBpTPXtCwAX8jIjX6AdTmnpUMH3BOa_EeTH_m-aIll58OsRh_nHqCfz-R26H9eZb7FodQWPEh74_BCjRhIXHoHh3gYzx_j-s0PIFslgPdKFg_FBd3CGVeAE/s1600-h/P8220035.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389211427043000946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cOXIsMic0lWSnykaZ4LE3hBpTPXtCwAX8jIjX6AdTmnpUMH3BOa_EeTH_m-aIll58OsRh_nHqCfz-R26H9eZb7FodQWPEh74_BCjRhIXHoHh3gYzx_j-s0PIFslgPdKFg_FBd3CGVeAE/s200/P8220035.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNe06cg4umNyGwU2tY-BacpSlOzi3ryE2o4zJIxzgeeqroiu4HfNb2SX3nLf0M8LBUHHT2_hS6x-N4qc2vRJKsm0tqwxd5hZGEHPWmXmGTuRKqcaveoPCLRYOPZy1_xgqBDjtN6WIR7Wvj/s1600-h/P8220035.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW4J3RCzIAAn-u7ar9qnT8syAIdFHd6rmrYiylJQZHOm5KWb2i4tPsfMAwfALHGDYAgKu5EUBjwOusAR_Th-l4WV0KJKHiUNJTBfdEkz97nVYY2_Y2nEAtGcV7kEs8ZDY9K8zSdJNfLEH/s1600-h/P8100006.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389210013734672130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW4J3RCzIAAn-u7ar9qnT8syAIdFHd6rmrYiylJQZHOm5KWb2i4tPsfMAwfALHGDYAgKu5EUBjwOusAR_Th-l4WV0KJKHiUNJTBfdEkz97nVYY2_Y2nEAtGcV7kEs8ZDY9K8zSdJNfLEH/s200/P8100006.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGoWZaOHvyGIJxs-K9LwToI8gdegwb9OUbubbcmQHWWDOqdW79BJ2lgUhqqJXeWn15NkbMsHXtxd6DpnXn1Bs8t3BGe3s9ZjEGaBtqZYaQ3g7LMMOEfiiux2eBXuF301YGw5LNWhe6oQm/s1600-h/P8220033.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389209148144753378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGoWZaOHvyGIJxs-K9LwToI8gdegwb9OUbubbcmQHWWDOqdW79BJ2lgUhqqJXeWn15NkbMsHXtxd6DpnXn1Bs8t3BGe3s9ZjEGaBtqZYaQ3g7LMMOEfiiux2eBXuF301YGw5LNWhe6oQm/s200/P8220033.JPG" /></a> Well, we've been away from the blog for a while. We've been clearing brush and pulling invasive plants out of our new backyard, organizing our new house, etc. etc. I've also been reading a lot of YA books (posting reviews on goodreads.com under username atuckness--I'd love to be your friend there!) and reading a few cooking blogs and trying out their recipes. I'll post some links to them in the next little while.</div><br /><div></div><div>Here's a few pictures of things I've been making. I can't figure out how to get blogger to insert the pictures after the text, so sorry this is kind of out of order. Feel free to ask for specific instructions for any recipe you're curious about!</div><br /><div></div>At the top is a photo of my efforts to preserve summer tomato loveliness. I used a friend's dehydrator and followed a recipe from the web; I was inspired by <em>Animal Vegetable Miracle</em> to try this. I used cute little plum tomatoes; it took forever to seed them (which I did so they'd dry faster)--if I do it next year I won't seed them. I froze them; later I'll throw them in olive oil and herbs and they should be just like the ones you buy in jars.</div><div> </div><div>Next is a photo of a dinner that looks better than it tasted. I tried a seasoning mix for the rice and it was too salty; the fish was tough for some reason as well. The salad was great, and the sauce on the fish was okay. <br /><br /></div><div>We do enjoy a little bacon sometimes, as the next photo shows. I buy a package, split it into 4 bags, and freeze it so we just eat a little at a time. It adds nice flavor to bean recipes and is of course great with fried eggs and fried potatoes. A word to the wise--yukon golds make better fried potatoes than russets!</div><div> </div><div>And last is a blueberry brie quesadilla from August--the original recipe was much more complicated, but it's delicious just as is--blueberries, brie, and a flour tortilla toasted on the stove.</div><div> </div><div>Happy fall!</div></div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Anastasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983712510119505222noreply@blogger.com0