Our Undervalued Friends

April 26, 2016April 23, 2016 / makingofahome / 6 Comments

Oh, the dandelion. She is so often picked, sprayed and just plain despised by so many. What did this little lady ever do to deserve such harsh treatment? For in fact, it is her ability to pop up everywhere and withstand the harshest of treatment that makes her so wonderful!

Our little dandelion friends act as a detoxifier for our liver; are high in calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin A and vitamin C; help tone the kidneys; and restore a general vitality to our bodies. It is for all of these reasons, that we try our best to harvest these beauties when we can and take advantage of all their undervalued greatness.

Last week the girls and I needed to clear our strawberry and asparagus bed of weeds, and there were lots of dandelions. So we picked and picked, trying our best to keep that lovely taproot intact. Then we rinsed those little gals a lot. (I think we ended up doing about 10-12 rinses to get all of the dirt off.) We then chopped up the roots, stems, crowns and some leaves and placed them in 1/2 gallon mason jars. Next we boiled apple cider vinegar and poured the boiling vinegar over the dandelions inside the mason jars. We placed the capped jars in a cabinet where they will stay for 3 weeks. After that time, we will strain the vinegar through a fine mesh strainer and refrigerate the vinegar for use over the next several months. This vinegar is great in salad dressings, but we also take shots of it when we feel a bit under the weather, or when we feel we need a pick-me-up.

***Important note: Because so many people spray dandelions with poisons chemicals, it is of the greatest importance that when picking dandelions to consume, you only do so in an area where you are assured they have not been spayed! I don’t even pick the dandelions around the perimeter of our property just in case a neighbor has sprayed their yard and some of those nasty chemicals may have leeched over the property line.

Patience

April 25, 2016April 24, 2016 / makingofahome / 2 Comments

Things have been tough lately, friends. As you may have noticed from my lack of presence in this space, I have been finding it hard to articulate exactly what it is I have been feeling. And because I try to keep this blog filled with positivity, it has been difficult to come into this space with the honesty I try to present here. Over the course of the last few months, the void of life without my mom has been growing to depths I never thought possible. I guess I never anticipated what it would be like to raise my children without my own mom by my side. Even when we lived in Champaign, she was just a phone call away, and now, well, she is not. It feels as if I am on an island, on which I am alone and unable to navigate. I am just lost.

My mom always talked of seeing signs of her own deceased parents in her natural surroundings. The turkeys crossing the road were signs from her dad, and the blue birds perched on her bird bath was her mom stopping by for a quick hello. Well, I had been grappling for these same signs of her, but as I looked out my window all I seemed to see was the dreariness that is February and March in the Midwest. I grew weary, for I could see no signs of life, nor signs of my mom.

But last week, something seemed to have shifted with the thawing ground and the warmth of the sunshine upon my skin. I felt like I may be turning a corner. I saw glimmers of my mom in the cardinal resting upon the chair outside my window while I drank my morning coffee. I sensed her excitement as my girls assembled the fairy garden she gave them. And I could feel her presence beside me Friday afternoon as I peered into the soil of my garden perimeter and spied her blackeyed susans pushing up through the surface of the blackness. Perhaps I just need to have patience, and although I now know I will never feel completely whole again, maybe I will be able to heal just enough to see the color of life push its way through the darkness.

Nooks and Crannies

January 15, 2016January 14, 2016 / makingofahome / 2 Comments

Isn’t it interesting that sometimes we spend so much time in our homes that we never actually see it? I have been reflecting on this thought a lot lately. Pondering what it is that I don’t actually see because I look at it each day.

With this thought in mind, I went through my house this week (with my camera) and tried to truly make a connection with what it was that my eyes (and the camera lens) saw along the way. When I stopped to do this, I found so many things I never really noticed before: a watercolor picture of a rooftop garden that somehow made it onto the cabinet without my noticing, legos strewn about next to our worm farm, and a canvas print of one of my favorite quotes that I don’t remember ever hanging up. So many interesting objects that illustrate our family life at this moment in time.

Wishing each of you a weekend in which you can find a quick moment to really see those items in the nooks and crannies of your home that come to define you and your family at this moment in time.

Elderberry Gelatin Parfait

January 13, 2016January 12, 2016 / makingofahome / 2 Comments

With winter now fully upon us, my family and I have found ourselves battling some stuffy noses and sore throats. We try to open up our mornings with a smoothie, and drink tea throughout the day, but I just began to feel that I needed to mix it up a bit and try something new in order to add an extra layer of immune support to our diet. Enter elderberries.

Elderberries act as a wonderful boost to the immune system, while also imparting a unique currant-like flavor to a dish. I have drunk tea infused with elderberries in the past, but again, I craved a change up of some sort. I got just that while at co-op a few weeks ago when a dear friend shared a fabulous lunch idea she often prepared for her children: elderberry gelatin. I just loved her idea because not only would this snack offer the immune support of elderberries, but also the unique health benefits of quality gelatin.

Well, this week I took my friend’s idea, ran with it, and crafted an elderberry gelatin parfait. I served it as “dessert” for dinner this week and my family gobbled it up. (Even my eldest daughter, who has a strange fear of gelatin (“I just don’t trust something that moves around like that on your spoon,” is her famous saying. :), gave the dish a whirl. I hope you and your family enjoy!

Elderberry Gelatin Parfait

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the heat, add 1/4 cup dried elderberries to the water, cover the pot and allow to steep for 15-25 (depending on how strong you would like the elderberry flavor).

While the berries are steeping, mix 4 tablespoons gelatin in 1 cup of cold water.

After the berries have steeped, strain out the berries using a fine mesh strainer. Then add 1/3 cup honey to the elderberry-infused water.

Slowly add the hot water-elderberry-honey mixture to the cold water-gelatin mixture, whisking continuously while doing so. Pour into a shallow dish and place in the refrigerator until set.

When it is time to serve, pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Then cut the gelatin into small squares and alternate layers of gelatin and whipped cream in a small dish. 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.

Our Solstice Celebration

December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 / makingofahome / 1 Comment

My mom always use to say that December 21st was her favorite day of the year because after it, each day gets a bit longer. For years now, I have wanted to have a winter solstice celebration, but crazy schedules around the holidays always seemed to get in the way. However, this year it seemed as if a solstice celebration was something of a necessity for me. I yearned for it as a reminder to myself that no matter how dark and lonely this holiday season may seem because of my mom’s passing, each day will be filled with a bit more light. And I pray that some day that light will help fill this cavernous void of today with new life and hope.

Wishing each of you much love and light this season.

Our Favorite Classroom

October 23, 2015October 22, 2015 / makingofahome / 1 Comment

This whole homeschooling venture is still so new. It’s a good new, but still unfamiliar territory that I am working to navigate. This week has been especially challenging, what with coming off of the big birthday weekend, and now having various new puzzles, Lego sets and craft kits dotted throughout our home. And now, the challenge emerges in front of me: How do we have “school” when there is all this birthday present goodness acting as a distraction?

But isn’t it crazy how God gives us just what we need? This week we have been blessed with the most beautiful weather. It is warm, yet the scent of autumn can be found upon the breeze, and the fall foliage is in its true glory. With these glorious days set before us, I decided to pack up the books, and move our lessons outdoors this week. We spent our days at two of our favorite local spots, Aldeen Park and Atwood Park. There is just something to say about learning while being immersed in nature. It makes the learning process truly magical, and the movement and physical activity that can be incorporated in this setting is unmatched. Living in the Midwest, we know these outdoor educational opportunities will not last much longer, but boy are we working to soak it all up while we still can.

Tea with Jam and Bread

October 19, 2015 / makingofahome / 3 Comments

My eldest gal turned nine this weekend. How is it possible that my precious girl is so near double digits? Needless to say, this weekend was filled with all kinds of party action. And true to form, each party was historically-based, for my daughter who loves history more than any third grader I have come across.

On Saturday, she hosted her girlfriends for a Victorian tea party for her girlfriends and their dolls. They sipped on her favorite raspberry peach tea, and snacked on our favorite cupcake recipe from this cook book. (We used this natural food coloring this time, and I must say, I loved it! We have run into trouble in the past with natural food coloring in that it did not hold the color very well, but this one worked like a charm.)

This tea party was especially close to my heart because when I was nine, my mom held a tea party for my sister and me. It is one of my fondest memories I have as a child, and I was just thrilled when Gianna suggested a similar tea party for her birthday on this particular year. We could just feel Mana’s presence with us all day long.

Then on Sunday, we ventured back to the time of the pioneers for her Little House on the Prairie-inspired party, celebrated with our family. My daughter is quite the organizer, and planned the entire menu, decorations, and kids’ activities, all on her own. The afternoon featured center pieces and a fun pomander activity (and mulled wine…my contribution to the day) from Ashley English’s Handmade Gatherings. She also found tons of fun pioneer crafts for the kids in Pioneer Projects by Bobbie Kalman. She then made her own corn chowder with a recipe from her newly acquired Lincoln Heritage Trail Cook Book. And of course, a pioneer party is not complete without homemade butter and bread, so we baked her favorite honey oat bread from The Rhythm of Family by Amanda and Steve Soule. And for those who may be wondering, I made the girls’ skirts from a vintage coverlet I found at a thrift store, and I purchased these bonnets to complete the pioneer ensemble.

The shining sun, crisp autumn air, and scent of campfire and cloves mingling in the air left us all feeling that this was truly a wonderful way to close our weekend.

A New Look

September 10, 2015September 9, 2015 / makingofahome / Leave a comment

With all of the change in my family lately, I have tried to take a step back and really look at my life a bit more carefully. Time goes by in a simple blink doesn’t it? And when I really stopped to think about it, I have been writing this blog for almost four years now. And when I looked at the format of this space, and the picture that was its backdrop, I realized the little girl peering into the water has grown up. And my other daughter, who was too tiny to even be found on the dock in the picture, is now just as tall as my oldest, and she cannot be found anywhere else but beside her sister.

So, in keeping with my mantra to try new things, I hope you like the new format of Making of a Home. And I thank each of you for visiting this space, which I have come to hold so dear to my heart.

Kairos

August 28, 2015August 26, 2015 / makingofahome / Leave a comment

Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”

If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!

Late August In the Garden

August 26, 2015August 25, 2015 / makingofahome / 1 Comment

As summer wanes, and the expansive days of summer fade before our eyes, I am beginning to feel that same briefness in the garden. While we still have a great deal coming out of our garden, and the tomatoes are finally beginning to come along, I feel a pull towards the space inside our home. At this time of year, my body grows weary from all the hours spent out in the garden. And while I still adore being in this space, I look forward to the days of nestling in with a cup of coffee, good book and some crocheting. I often think this is why God gifted us with the seasons. They allow us time to recharge our minds and bodies before venturing out again.

This past week in the garden has been quite bountiful. Our second round of strawberries are still coming in the door, along with our long-awaited raspberry crop. The tomatoes are starting to ripen and we have been eating them fresh off the vine, most of them never even making it over the threshold. The lemon verbena liqueur that I mentioned a couple weeks back, is now completed and I look forward to the cocktails and baked goods we can make with this citrusy elixir. More herbs are being dried, and beans frozen. But perhaps our greatest delight of the week has been our apples. As I shared before, the Japanese beetles have devoured the leaves of our apple trees. We reached a point this week that there were more dead leaves than living and I feared if we didn’t pick our apples now we may lose them. So pick we did. And pie we made. It was a great week in the garden.