Late morning through early afternoon, wonderful strawberry smells arose from the kitchen. We bubbled and brewed 2 batches of the most delicious stove-top jam! My expert canner/jammer friend came to help guide me through the stove-top jam making process. We washed, dried, de-topped, smashed, cooked, jarred, and hot-water bathed while our 5 little boys played (her 2, [...]
Archive for the ‘Cooking and Baking’ Category
Strawberry Jam Makin’ Time!
Posted in Cooking and Baking, Urban Farming on June 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A Phone Call From Grandmother
Posted in Cooking and Baking, Keeping Things Tidy, Skills and crafts for kids on June 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
My grandmother called me yesterday afternoon while the boys and I were making some chocolate oatmeal cookies (we omitted 1/2 cup of flour and added cocoa instead!). We were just scooping the last spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet when the phone rang…I love it when she calls, we chat about this and that, and [...]
Homemade Salad Dressings
Posted in Cooking and Baking, Urban Farming on May 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We are finally harvesting salad stuff from our garden. I’m always late to get my first greens into the ground even though I think about it all winter long…one of these years I’ll make it by the beginning of spring when stuff like salad greens can first be planted (and thrive). So, now to dress them up: Making salad dressing [...]
An Apron Wardrobe
Posted in Around the Bungalow, Cooking and Baking, Keeping Things Tidy on May 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Dishes are my personal battleground these days, dishes along with laundry. Nothing makes my home feel more restful then when my dishes and laundry are in order. Is it just me, or is anyone else out there fighting the same battle too? It’s funny, nowadays women don’t talk much about everyday things such as dishes or [...]
Old Fashioned Beef and Barley Soup
Posted in Cooking and Baking on May 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There’s nothing like good, old-fashioned beef and barley soup! We’ve been trying to incorporate more varieties of whole grains in our diet, and this soup does the job in a deliciously, splendid way. There’s something about the word “barley” that seems so old-fashioned and agrarian, I just like to say it. When we made it [...]
Poking My Head Out
Posted in Around the Bungalow, Cooking and Baking on April 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Just poking my head out to say “hello”, and wishing that you all are in good health! Our house has seemed exactly like a hospital sick ward this week…we’ve had the virus that just keeps on giving. It gave one a stomach bug, two kids viral pink eye, everyone bad cold symptoms, one kid an ear infection, one [...]
Mexican Black Bean Chili
Posted in Cooking and Baking on March 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We love Mexican black bean chili at our house – it’s so good, we usually have it once a week. The kids like to use corn chips or crackers as spoons to scoop up each yummy bite. We usually make a batch of basic cornbread muffins, too, and smoother them with butter and local raw honey. Ground beef, onions, peppers, and garlic all [...]
Our Semi-Irish Dinner
Posted in Cooking and Baking on March 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Irish soda bread sounds so Irish, doesn’t it? So, when we tried to figure out how to make our St. Patrick’s Day more Irish, it seemed like the perfect solution. This time the boys watched while mama made the bread (and daddy took a few pictures with his iPhone)…”Watch and learn” – something my dad always used to [...]
Bread and Books
Posted in Cooking and Baking, Outings, Skills and crafts for kids on March 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We had a relaxed and cozy morning, and it became apparent that we were in for a very wet and rainy day – a day that calls for the good smells of bread dough rising and baking…and better yet, the anticipation of spreading butter and fruity jam all over it when it’s done. So, in [...]
Making Bread
Posted in Cooking and Baking, Skills and crafts for kids on February 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We love to make bread at our house. It’s all about the bread-making process for us, however the outcome tastes good too, and the smells are even better. The boys often help, and when they do they find it necessary to have good percussion-style music playing in the background. Funny as it sounds, it really [...]
