3 September 2011
Once upon a time there lived a little girl whose mum was an embroiderer. The little girl began to embroider, being taught by her Mum while sitting by her side watching every stitch and creation of detail.
When this little girl saw her mother’s box of embroidery floss, she was quite perplexed – how could someone find the color they needed when the colors were so terribly out of order? So she made up her mind to solve the problem.
She moved quickly, wanting to surprise her mum with a newly sorted embroidery box – in perfect color coordination.
As she finished, her mum entered the room to see what the little girl was working on. As the little girl looked up in delight, the mother’s response was one of great surprise!
As you might’ve guessed, years ago that little girl was me. A kind gesture, without all the facts, wasn’t exactly interpreted as kind. But the problem was easily solved. And, one by one, I put them back in order – by number – so that when it was time to work from a pattern, the colors would be easily discovered.
Yet now, after all these years of number-organized colors, we’ve switched them back to the way they seemed like they should’ve been all the while.
Organized by color.
8 August 2011
Harvesting (scanning) textures and graphics out of a stack of old books from my collection. Stepping Heavenward is a wonderful book – if you find a copy, whether it be new or old, I highly recommend you pick it up and read it!
Making French Toast out of our gluten-free almond bread. Delicious! I believe it had been a little too long since making French Toast.
Smiling at Mum’s Toad-in-the-Hole creation for Dad’s breakfast. (Yes, that would be gluten-rich bread – homemade whole-wheat bread, to be exact.)
And also cooking up some ideas for re-opening the Etsy shop! Stay tuned!
18 July 2011
When we switched to gluten-free eating over a year ago, there were three main foods we wanted to find excellent gluten-free recipes for: bread, pancakes, and pizza crust.
After a disappointing experience with a box-mix pizza crust (tasting similar to what I would think cardboard tastes like), I was left with little hope. Mum, on the other hand, persevered and the next week found a recipe. And it was delicious, aside from being soggy and flimsy.
Since then I’ve created a new recipe, based on the original. Below you will find my finished creation which makes for a thin, crispy, delicious gluten-free pizza crust!
.
The Best Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
(even gluten-eaters like it!) Makes: 2 large crusts
DRY Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups brown rice flour*
1 1/3 cups tapioca flour/starch
2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoon (1 packet) gelatin
4 tablespoon dry milk powder
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
WET Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 egg whites
1 whole egg
3 tablespoon olive oil
*To make this recipe grain-free, use almond flour instead of brown rice flour.
Mix wet ingredients in mixer. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in mixer and beat on high for 3 1/2 minutes.
Divide dough onto two well-greased pizza pans…
If you’ve worked with gluten-free dough before, you already realize how sticky it can be. For this reason, the best way to roll out the pizza dough is to drop it in dollops on a well-greased pizza stone and then roll it out until smooth. (It’ll be well worth the extra work of smoothing it out.)
Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F.
Remove from oven, flip the crust, and bake for another 8 minutes at 400°F. (Since this recipe makes two crusts, you might as well go ahead and bake the second one on both sides, too, before adding the toppings.)
(The apron in the upper left corner is a creation of the delightful Marie-Madeline Studio!)
Remove crust(s) from oven, and spread desired sauce (no need to let cool).
Add desired toppings. (We stick with the basics – simple yet delicious!)
Bake for 8-12 minutes at 400°F, depending on desired softness or crispiness.
There you have it! Want a slice? Enjoy!
P.S. The baked crusts freeze very well. We usually freeze the second crust in a turkey oven bag (which we reuse) – the one bag we found that fits the diameter of the crust. When you’re ready to use the frozen crust, let it sit out for a few minutes on the pizza pan/stoneware. Then add the toppings and bake for 10-12 minutes at 400°F.
8 July 2011
Freshly-picked, these berries are a portion of our largest – though still rather small – harvest we have had to date. We’re not professional raspberry-growers, but we do enjoy the trickling of berries we’re blessed to have from our bushes.
“[The righteous] still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in Him.”—Psalm 92:14-15
23 June 2011
We were able to explore the rooms, closets and stairways of an old home last week. There were pleasant surprises around each corner, and a few interesting discoveries.
Although this home is being restored and turned into the town’s commerce offices, it was once the mayor’s residence. The design and layout of the house would be perfect for practicing hospitality.
In the entryway there sat vintage chairs with great style and fabric design.
Beside and above the mid-way landing of the stairs was a sitting area. It seems like the perfect place for portraits, and made me think of Monica’s bridal shoot.
When opening a closet door, one doesn’t always expect to find light brightly shining in through windows. This miniature closet, with hooks lined at the top of the walls, looked as though it was the perfect hiding place for wee ones back in the days when it housed a family.
Inside the closet.
At the top of these stairs was found the third floor—one large room, lined with torn wallpaper, and brightly lit by the sun shining through each of the grandly-shaped windows.
In the same room there was a total of three different wallpapers. The prints were of fox hunters on the move, Indians riding horses, and rabbits staring back at you. A very interesting combination.
And that is a close to the mini-tour of the mayor’s old home – thank you for exploring with me…
I’m looking forward to the opportunity to photograph the next vintage home!
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10 May 2011
They’re green. They’re fresh. And they’re nutrient-dense.
Do they taste good? “Yes. A thousand times—yes!”
No worries, though, the color threw me off at first, too. But once you’ve tasted a well-blended and balanced green smoothie, you’ll understand why these make it to the lunch table nearly every day.
Our trusty blender is a Vitamix (Blendtec works great, too).
What’s in a green smoothie?
To make four glasses of smoothie:
The Greens:
- Lots [see above picture] of Spinach (its sweet, takes out the zing of the kale)
- 2-3 leaves of Kale
- 1 handful of Cabbage
- a dash of water
The Fruits:
- 2 chunks Pineapple Core (not eatable because of hardness, but when blended is delectable)
- 2 Pears (home-grown organic – we have plenty in our freezers)
- 2 Bananas
Other: Apples, Grapes, Berries, Coconut meat, etc. (Occasionally added.)
Blend greens and water in a sturdy blender before adding fruit to avoid the possibility of finding leaf chunks. Throw in the the fruits, blend it all together until smooth, and pour it out into glasses… which, in our family, means Ball jars.
Many of the fruits we use are frozen, making the smoothies chilled and great for a warm day. (We like to stock up and preserve fruits when they are in season or on sale.)
The finished smoothie – with the right combination – is sweet and refreshing!
P.S. Monday was the first time we’ve used fresh greens from the garden in our smoothies. The spinach and kale are being planted every-so-often so that they have a longer harvest season.
25 April 2011
Wrap a little fabric and a strand of ribbon around a jar of homegrown flowers—and you’ll have an intentionally lovely table centerpiece or hospitality gift! (This array of spring beauties was made by one of my cousins for our grandparents at a family gathering.)
Simple touches like this add “a warmth of knowing that someone has taken thought and put some originality into preparing the place where food and conversation are going to be shared. It really does something which cannot be achieved otherwise.” (Hidden Art by Edith Schaeffer)
This is an easy and whimsical touch that adds “extra beauty” to any vase or jar!
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20 April 2011
“The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.”
—Isaiah 40:8
