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!
mindfulness
Happy 4th of July
Wishing you all a fabulous Forth of July!
Cowboy Cookies
The constant rain of this past week brought water into our basement, as well as water leaking into our family room from the ceiling. With water coming from the top and bottom, I felt the need to indulge in some chocolate. I mean really, is there any better way to reduce stress? Nope…I don’t believe there is.
So, today I bring you last week’s chocolate fix: Cowboy Cookies. These cookies are filled with all kinds of sweet goodness, sure to lift anyone out of whatever summer slump you may be in. Enjoy!
Cowboy Cookies
In an electric stand mixer, add 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Mix until smooth.
Add 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. Mix until sugars and butters are well creamed.
Next add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the blended mixture.
Then add 2 cups rolled oats, 2 cups coconut, 1/2 chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup health bits. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
Roll the dough into golf ball-sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.
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.
July First in the Garden
I don’t know about all of you, but I am having a difficult time swallowing the fact that today is July 1st. Where did June go? Perhaps it was washed away by all of that crazy rain we have been having here in northern Illinois. But as I sit here, looking out my kitchen window on this first Monday of July, I am shocked by how different this view looks from that of last year. Peering at me from the other side of my window is a sea of green: green grass, green vegetables, and lots of green weeds. This landscape stands in sharp contrast to the garden of last year where everything had a tinge of brown to it. What a truly striking difference a year makes.
Last July:
This July:
Just plain crazy isn’t it? Well, I have all kinds of garden goodness coming your way this week, and this is just the beginning. Join me for a walk through the very lush, very green garden…
And just one last little treat for you…Here is what the garden looked like before I took all of the above pictures…and spent six lovely hours weeding. Ah. Gotta love gardening and all of the hills and valleys it brings to our daily lives.
Happy Monday all!
Kairos
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!
“Oh, Jam? I Love Jam!”
I think I love jam just as much as I love Friends…and what could be better than an entire Friends episode dedicated to jam? Love it! That’s why all afternoon, as my four year old and I worked in our strawberry-coated kitchen, I couldn’t help but hear Joey’s voice in my head repeating, “Oh, jam? I love jam?”
Yesterday, while my oldest was away at camp, my tiny sous chef and I worked with Pomona’s Universal Pectin, a wonderful low-sugar pectin (as we did in this post as well), and ended up with some absolutely fabulous results. When making jam last year, we used the low-sugar recipe options included with the Pomona’s Pectin. This year, we tried out two no-sugar options, taste tested them this morning, and yummy…delicious!
The first recipe we tried was simply the cooked strawberry jam recipe included inside the Pomona’s box. We used the honey sweetening option and it is delicious. The second recipe we tried is from the latest issue of Taproot. And oh boy, let me tell you, this recipe is amazing! It is a strawberry-maple with vanilla jam recipe, specifically designed for Pomona’s Pectin. And the best part about this fabulous recipe is the only sweetener is maple syrup.
Happy jam-making season all!
Late June Garden Update
Sorry for the late post this morning folks, but it is just the most beautiful day here in good ole’ Rockford, Illinois and we have been making the most of this greatness. But for the moment my four year old is busy playing with some paper dolls here on the deck (my oldest is at nature camp this week), so I have a spare minute to share a bit of our garden progress for this week.
Now, you may notice that all of the garden pictures for this week are close ups. Well, that is because it is not just the fruits and veggies growing fabulously this week, but also the weeds. Oh boy. Words can’t quite describe the weed-growing action we’ve got here. So, only pretty close ups of the veg, and we will just avoid those unsightly photos of the weeds. Sound good? We will just pretend for the moment those weeds just don’t exist 🙂
I hope you are all enjoying this day, no matter where you are. Happy Tuesday everyone!
The River
“I stood like one bewitched. I drank it in, in a speechless rapture.”
Mark Twain
My girls and I had a bit of time before a class at our city’s wonderful children’s museum last week, so we decided to pack some goodies and enjoy our morning breakfast by the river. It was a perfectly beautiful, still day and with the sun rising over the river, we could not have asked for a better way to spend those first few minutes of our day.
Although the area of the river on which we stood is very much urban, we couldn’t help but be filled with a sense of the power this river, this natural entity before us. Despite all of human being’s efforts to control the area surrounding this river, it continues rushing through, commanding control. It left us with a feeling of such awe deep within the pits of our stomachs as we stood there watching the currents run beneath our feet. Mother Nature and her wonders are truly at play here. And so we stood, anchored to our spot, looking out over God’s great wonder: the river.
Kairos
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!
Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Crisp
‘Tis the season of strawberry and rhubarb, and our kitchen is quickly becoming laden with these early summer lovelies. This past weekend I played around a bit to come up with a variation to a traditional fruit crisp. After some experimentation, I came up with this recipe that goes together very quickly, making it the perfect dish to bring to a summer picnic or backyard barbecue.
This crisp is not overly sweet, so it allows the flavors of the sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb to shine through. Coupled with the rich, earthly flavors of the pecans and oats, this is a treat sure to please the masses.
Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Crisp
For the crumble:
1. In a food processor, pulse 1/4 cup raw pecans.
2. Add 2 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg to the food processor. Pulse 2-3 times.
3. Add 1 stick of cold butter (cut into bits) and 2 tablespoons raw honey to the food processor. Pulse until a crumble forms.
4. Set aside.
For the filling:
1. Combine 2 cups strawberries (diced), 3 cups rhubarb (diced), 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 eggs (beaten), and 1 teaspoon almond extract in a large bowl.
2. Add 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to the fruit mixture.
Assembling the crisp:
1. Pour the fruit mixture into a 9X9 inch pan.
2. Spread the crumble mixture over the top of the fruit.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the crumble is golden brown.
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.
Making of a Home 