Early June Happenings

June 5, 2013September 1, 2015 / makingofahome / 5 Comments

The Fagan home is abustle now that school is complete, and the long-awaited summer is underway. We are taking full advantage of the crisp mornings by getting chores done and out of the way well before eight o’clock, and then we spend our time basking in the balminess of the afternoon warmth, sipping citrus-infused water and reading in the warm sunlight. Sneak in there time for summer homeschooling sessions, baking some ambrosial honey-infused dishes, and testing out new homemade personal-care items, we have truly been filling those hours of extra daylight the summer so graciously offers us.

Here are the happenings around here during this first week of June…

~The peonies are in full bloom, painting our landscaping with breathtaking pink vibrancy.

~Learning doesn’t stop over the summer months. The girls and I spend the first hour or two of each day completing a few homeschooling lessons. My heart melts when my little ones say, “I love summertime when you can be our teacher Mommy.” Love.

~I came up with a lovely vegetarian spin to a lip balm recipe I found in Long Way on a Little by Shannon Hayes.

~A. MAZE. ING. “Everyday Oat Bread.” Better watch out Tyler, because I think I have a new love. The recipe can be found in Amanda Blake Soule’s The Rhythm of Family.

~Our first attempt at growing hot peppers seems to be working out so far. Fingers crossed.

~I’m not quite sure if there is a better combination: sun, wine and good reads.

~My girls actually came up with the idea of drinking “fancy water” (as they call it 🙂 ) while we catch some rays outside.

~A fairy garden in full bloom. Such a beautiful birthday gift for a four year old little girl.

~Salad for dinner with greens from our garden, topped with a dandelion vinaigrette. The vinaigrette recipe can be found in Taproot Magazine Issue 1 :: Soil.

~It’s strawberry time! Woohoo!

~Oh the garden…Always work to be done, but always a place of peace and beauty.

~And for a snack after all of that energy is expended in the garden: “Holiday Rounds” from Keeping Bees by Ashley English. Another great dessert that uses no refined sugar. Yummy.

What have you been up to lately? Share a link to your early June happenings in the comment section.

Garden Tour

May 29, 2013May 26, 2013 / makingofahome / 4 Comments

Although at a snail’s pace, we are getting our garden planted and the space is looking a bit less like a field of dandelions and a smidge more garden-like these days. Join me today on a tour through the gardens…

Dairy Free Ice Cream

May 28, 2013May 26, 2013 / makingofahome / Leave a comment

The littlest Fagan just celebrated her 4th birthday, and this soon-to-be-chef had been planning her party menu for months. At the top of her list was The Pioneer Womans’ Blackberry Chip Ice Cream. Well, unfortunately for my tiny girl, a few days before the big shebang, we were told by her new doctor to avoid dairy and refined sugar. Huh. This placed quite the damper on our birthday party edibles.

But never fear, dairy alternatives are here! While big sis was at school, my little chef and I transformed our kitchen into a recipe test kitchen. We tinkered away for a few days and came up with a fabulous dairy free, refined sugar free version of The Pioneer Woman’s ice cream.

I hope you enjoy this summer treat as much as we did!

Dairy Free Ice Cream

Put 1 cup blackberries (these can be fresh or frozen) and 1/2 local honey in a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.

Pour 2 13.5 oz cans of coconut milk into an ice cream maker. Switch the ice cream maker on and allow to run for 3-5 minutes. To the coconut milk, add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Once the vanilla is incorporated, add the blackberry/honey mixture.

Allow the ice cream maker to run until you notice a creamy consistency begins to form. Then add 3 oz. dairy free chocolate chips (we used these). Run the ice cream maker until the chocolate chips are evenly distributed throughout the ice cream.

Store in an air tight container in the freezer until you are ready to eat. (I suggest taking the ice cream out of the freezer about 5 minutes before you intend to serve it because the coconut milk tends to freeze pretty solid.)

Enjoy!

*A note about all my recipes: I use all organic ingredients, local when available. I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified. All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished. All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

Spring Goodness

May 16, 2013May 15, 2013 / makingofahome / Leave a comment

It seems that after a very long winter…Spring has finally arrived! The flowers and trees burst with color, asparagus spears peak out from the surface of the soil, and dandelions and wild violets paint the yard with vibrant color. At this moment, I find it hard to think of a better time of the year.

This week finds us in the midst of school and home garden planting, retirement celebrations, dance recital rehearsals, and birthday party preparations…All enjoyed with a magnificent spring melody playing in the background.

I hope all of you find yourself in the splender of this season as well!

Breaking Ground

April 30, 2013April 29, 2013 / makingofahome / 3 Comments

After much anticipation, last week we began work on our school garden! Today I am thrilled to take you on a quick tour of our progress thus far. So strap on your garden boots, here we go…

We have a bit of structural work to complete this week because we are hosting a “School Garden Kick-Off Festival” on Sunday, where there will be garden tours, local farmers and a chef…oh my! We then hope to get the kids planting next week. I cannot wait!

Corn Sausage Chowder

April 16, 2013April 13, 2013 / makingofahome / 1 Comment

It seems that this is going to be a recipe-type week here at Making of a Home. As we inch closer to the growing season, we have been eating lots of food from our larder, to make space for this year’s bounty. Last night I grabbed bell peppers, sweet corn and chicken stock from our deep freeze and came up with this recipe from those ingredients. This is a hearty soup that will put some meat on your bones during these damp, April-shower-filled days.

In a stock pot, heat 1/2 stick butter and 2 tablespoons flour over medium heat to make a roux. Stirring constantly, heat this mixture until it turns a rich caramel color.

Add 1 diced red pepper, 1 diced green pepper, and 1 diced yellow onion to the roux mixture. Cook the vegetables until the onions become translucent. Be sure to stir often, scraping all of the roux-goodness from the bottom of the pan while you stir.

While the veggies are cooking, cook 2 pounds ground sausage in a skillet. Once cooked, set aside.

Add 1 quart chicken stock, 2 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup cream, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 pepper to the vegetable mixture. Simmer, with the lid on, for 20 minutes.

Add the kernels from 4 ears of sweet corn, the cooked sausage from earlier, and 8 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to one hour.

Garnish the chowder with a dollop of sour cream if you desire. Enjoy!

Grandpa Dit’s Molasses Cookies with a Twist

April 15, 2013September 1, 2015 / makingofahome / 2 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite think of anything better on a Monday morning than cookies. So today, I bring you another of my Grandpa Dit’s recipes: Molasses Cookies.

(I just love showing pictures of my Grandpa’s recipe box…Doesn’t it just look like the type of recipe box a man would have…Made out of steel, splattered with rust marks? Love it 🙂 ) I played around a bit with his recipe, to sub out the shortening he called for, with a combination of butter and coconut oil. After some experimentation, and trial and error, I’ve come up with what I think is a really tasty molasses cookie that is bit different than the traditional molasses-filled treat.

Grandpa Dit’s Molasses Cookies

Step 1. Cream together the following with an electric mixer:

1/4 cup softened butter

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 cup sugar

Step 2. Once creamed, add:

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Step 3. Continuing with the electric mixer, add:

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup molasses

Step 4. Using a wooden spoon, mix in:

2 cups all-purpuse flour

3/4 cups rolled oats

Step 5. Using a cookie scoop, drop the cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet. Then use the back of a tablespoon and make a depression in each dropped cookie. Sprinkle with sugar.

Step 6. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Please Pass the Butter

March 21, 2013March 20, 2013 / makingofahome / 1 Comment

Butter. Who doesn’t love its creamy sweetness, with the hint of salt, as it melts over a hot roll or freshly baked muffin?

During my substitute teaching stitch, my oldest daughter and I had to leave the house quite early, and our normal routine of homemade granola or pancakes for breakfast was not really a feasible option. We needed something fast, easy and delish.

So on Sunday afternoon, I whipped up a batch of muffins (I used this recipe). Then I froze the muffins so that I could pull out two the night before, allow them to defrost overnight, and then we had yummy muffins to eat in the car on our way to school. But what is a good muffin without butter?

This is quite possibly the easiest way to make homemade butter. Think elementary school when we all took turns shaking a baby food jar filled with cream until the butter formed. Same idea.

Simply pour some whipping cream in a glass bowl, and then mix it on high with an elective mixer.

You need to beat it past the point of whipped cream phase. You will start to notice a separation in the mixture.

Once there is a clear separation between the butter solids and watery substance, place the butter in a fine mesh strainer or in butter muslin until all of the moisture has been drained.

I like to then mix in a bit of salt. And you are set to go!

Be sure to keep your homemade butter in a sealed glass container in your fridge. It will stay good for about 5 days.

Arrival

February 28, 2013 / makingofahome / Leave a comment

Just as we were nestling in for the night yesterday evening, there was a knock on our front door. There stood our mailman with a small box tucked under his arm…Our 2013 seeds had arrived.

So, our dinner table found itself scattered with those many seed packages, and tiny hands eager to sort them by vegetable, color and shape. We had such fun, we completely forgot about the steady snow falling silently outside our window. Spring is on the horizon.

A Year In Review

February 15, 2013 / makingofahome / 2 Comments

It is hard to believe that this blustery day in February marks the one year anniversary of Making of a Home. Thank you so much to all of you who have been following my musings over the course of the last year! I am deeply grateful for each of you.

Today I would like to share with you some of my favorite (and your favorite) posts from this past year. Thank you again, and be on the look out for some new and exciting changes and additions to Making of a Home over the course of the next year.