Creative Counterpart

I adapted a better for you brownies recipe to fit a whole foods lifestyle and wanted to share.

Better For You Brownies

1     cup butter
1      cup honey
1      cup sugar (or another 3/4 cup honey or other sweetener)
2     teaspoons vanilla
4     eggs
1/4   cup milk
3/4     cup cocoa
1     cup whole wheat flour
1/2     teaspoon baking powder
1/4     teaspoon sea salt
1     cup chopped nuts or sunflower kernels (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 13×9×2 inch baking pan.
3. Melt butter in microwave.
4. Stir in honey, sugar, vanilla, milk, & cocoa.
5. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
6. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat until well blended.
7. Stir in nuts, if desired.
8. Pour batter into pan.
9. Bake 30-35 minutes.

The other night, I had some peas from our Garden that I wanted to prepare. I decided to make a yummy stir fry. Here is what I did:

You will need:

• Cooked Rice
• Peas, Shredded carrots, onion, and any other veggies you want to use.
• Cooked Pinto Beans
• Oil (Olive Oil or Peanut oil work well and are whole food options) OR Butter
• Soy sauce

First saute some green onion in butter, then add shredded carrots & peas. Saute until the vegetables start to cook well.

Then, add the pinto beans. Stirring often, saute until the vegetables are close to done. You can cook the vegeatables as crispy or soft as you like.

Pushing the veggies to the side of the pan and adding more butter and soy sauce, I add the rice and begin stirring constantly until the rice is hot.

Serve with soy sauce and enjoy!

I also made some Homemade sourdough bread. This recipe turned out a little too sour for my families liking, although we do enjoy it with some honey on it to sweeten it up.

I’ll be looking around for a different sourdough bread recipe that my family will enjoy more as a sandwich type bread.

So, you think you are too unorganized to implement routines in your daily life? Is your life chaotic and your house a mess? Do you fly by the seat of your pants, not knowing what will happen today or tomorrow?

Many people say that they “just can’t get into a routine” or they are “just not an organized person”. What they don’t realize is that they do routines everyday.  When you get ready in the morning, you more than likely have a routine for how you shower, dress, do your hair, and brush your teeth. However chaotic it may be, it is your routine. If it IS chaotic and disheveled, this is a clue that you may want to tweak this particular routine. Nevertheless, this is what I like to call a “mini routine”.

Mini routines are the baby step to organizing your day (and your household.) Even when you have a difficult time setting up a daily routine, mini routines can work wonderfully. They make sure essential tasks get done, while still allowing flexibility in your day.

There is an endless number of min routines; From mealtime routines (which we like to call table chores) to morning and bedtime routines. These routines can help keep a family on task together if everyone knows the routine. You’d be surprised how your kids will pitch in and help without prompt when they know what is expected of them everyday during these mini routines.

A proper mealtime routine will ensure that your table, dishes, and kitchen are ready for the next meal. It will make meal prep easier, keep the kitchen and dining room tidy, & preparing your family’s next meal will not feel like a chore (like it does the minute you walk into a unkept kitchen.)

After each of my family’s main meals, everyone chips in. Certain jobs are better suited for certain people in the family, but we each have a job. We have even encorporated potty training into our routines. Our table chores consist of:

• Kids go potty & wash their hands and face
• Put away leftovers properly
• Rinse Dishes
• Unload dishwasher and put away clean dishes
• Load dishwasher with dirty dishes and start
• Wipe off the table & chairs if needed  (My 3 year old usually gets this job.)
• Wipe of countertops, stove, etc.
• Sweep

Our kitchen is then ready for the next meal!

Morning routines serve to make sure everyone is ready for the day. With each routine, it’s good to include a few minor chores. If it’s part of your mini routine everyday, then it becomes much less of a chore, and more of an everyday part of life. We struggle with changing our morning routine the most. It is my goal to dress and ready everyone for the day before breakfast. Morning chores could include a basic list to get ready for the day plus one or two chores, say making the bed or bringing dirty laudry to the laundry room.

Bedtime routines are a very useful mini routine, both for organization and getting us ready for the next day so that we can start each day right (instead of dread for all of the things that need to be done.) Whatever makes tomorrow morning easier for your family should be part of the bedtime routine. You could pick out clothes for the next day, clean up toys, prepare a breakfast dish to put in the oven in the morning, take vitamins or medications, etc.

I find, the more that I follow these routines, the more likely I am to incorporate new mini routines to make things in our household flow even smoother. I will make little rules, such as we will eat lunch after toys are picked up. Having such rules insure that the little tasks get done each day. It also teaches our children to keep tidy, clean up after themselves, help our with what needs to be done, and keeps their minds and hearts busy and away from things like Television and getting into trouble.

When my son sees me doing the same things everyday, he not only sees the chores that I expect of him. He also sees the chores that I am in charge of doing everyday, and I have witnessed him pitching in where I never asked for his help. He automatically learns to serve within our family, because it’s just a part of what we do.

I know that an hour by hour schedule is not for everyone. I hope that even the most unorganized among us will be able to bring some order to thier home through mini routines. Remember to take it slow, and if it’s not working out for you, by all means change the routine! You’ve gotta make it work for YOUR family.

What routines does your family do and what do they include?

This evening I went out to my little garden and picked some peas! I got less than a small bowlfull, but it was thrilling to finally get some produce from the work i’ve done. If I had more I would dry or freeze them, but since there are only a few we will probably cook them up in the next couple of days. Nothing beats garden fresh veggies. These peas would make a wonderful stir fry vegetable. They would also be delicious by themselves, sauted in a little butter (yes, real butter!)

When my husband and I first moved to our new house, we decided to make a simple compost pile. He used some inexpensive wire mesh from the hardware store to contain the compost. I am so glad we did this! It has proved invaluable to dispose of yard waste. It saves us the extra yard waste disposal fee from the trash company. Of course, the bonus is the nutrient rich compost. We will probably reep the benefits of it next year.

I’m planning an even bigger garden next year, so we’ll need it. I want to do all of my regular veggies on a good plot of ground, and try strawberries in my raised bed (which is currently holding my peas and carrots.)

It had been awhile since I stirred my compost pile when I got around to it this evening. I was surprised to uncover “hot spots” about halfway down. It’s been so hot and humid here (97-100 degrees) that my compost actually looked and smelled like it was cooking! I gave it a good stir and watered it well. I have found that about once a week is good for stirring and watering the compost. It may need more water during dry periods.

It’s finally here! Yesterday I picked up Nourishing Traditions from my local library. I have been waiting for it to arrive from Inter-Library loan for about 1 week. I’ve been so excited to read it, because I wanted to get started on the basics of changing my family’s eating habits.

If you havn’t already read it, Nourishing Traditions is way more than just a cookbook. It is full of studies and research findings that challenge our modern nutritional thinking and the “politically correct” nutrition that we have been taught. It brings us back to the traditions of our grandparents and great grandparents nutrition, introducing more whole fats back into our diet  that kept our forefathers healthy and nourished.

We now use full fat butter and cream instead of margerine. Surprisingly, even many modern day doctors are willing to admit that margerine and vegetable oil spreads are detrimental to our health. We aim to avoid prepackaged foods, soft drinks, frozen foods, and fast foods which often contain large amounts of sugar, hight fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated and highly processed vegetable oil, and refined flour. Other dangerous ingredients include MSG and hydrolyzed protein, both known neurotoxins that serve as dangerous substitutes for properly made meat broths.

This book is full of wonderful recipes for making your own dairy cultures (buttermilk, yogurt, etc), condiments (replacing commercial junk condiments), meat stocks, desserts, main dishes, and loads of other recipes supporting a whole foods. I love the list of Superfoods in the back that can be used as natural supplements, as opposed to vitamins that can cause nutrient imbalances. Three of these superfoods that I would like to implement are cod liver oil, kelp, and evening primrose oil (which I have taken during pregnancy.)

I highly recommend this book to ANYONE. I could go on about the information contained in this book, but it would be pointless. I could not do the book justice; And well, you just have to read it for yourself. It has changed my entire outlook on how I cook for and nourish my family.

This morning, my son picked up off of the ground in our backyard what appeared to be unripe mullberries. My husband and I thought, “Well, they couldn’t be mullberries, those grow on a bush.”; Or so we thought. Our friendly neighbor (who loves to garden and has a beautiful backyard and garden which I must admit I envy) said she would take a leaf from the tree and look it up for us. This evening, just before we sat down to supper, she told my husband that she had looked it up and it was in fact a mullberry tree. The tree is probably near 100 years old.

So, I have been looking around online and am excited to know that we can use the berries for all kinds of things like dried fruit, jelly, jam and even wine. For the frugal, I must say I am delighted that we have this bonus on our property. Now I need to get a dehydrator and canning jars and learn to make jam! I already wanted to get a dehydrator to dry some of our garden peas. I want to try some dry and some frozen. I suppose we could also freeze the berries If I cannot make jam right away.

Tonight I am making up the menu for our camping trip this weekend, hoping the weather will be favorable. My husband has been out in the garage this afternoon putting together his new propane grill. Yesterday he spent a lot of time in the garage putting up bike hooks and organizing the garage. It looks nice now, and we can actually walk around in it! Our next project will be to finally get most of the boxes that we’ve shoved in the spare bedroom downstairs put away, and clear off the other side of the desk once and for good so I can set up my sewing station! Maybe I’ll get around to making more sewing projects if I have a permanent place for my sewing machine and supplies. It was such a hassle pulling everything out and then putting everything away again at our old place.

Well, I’m off to join my family outside!

Just in case this ever happens to you…

black marker will come out of carpet and the sofa with a mixture of oxy clean and rubbing alcohol. Mix up the oxyclean as directed with water, then put in alcohol. poor onto stains.. let sit a few minutes, then blot (might have to rub some) out the black marker.

I don’t think you need to ask how I know… But I learned something new today! Life is not boring around here.

Also, the Mr. Clean magic eraser is a quick fix to black marker on walls, floors, and other hard surfaces.

I’ve learned a bit about myself approaching home ownership. I’ve also learned a bit about my husband in the process. Firstly, that we both may have the favorite color of blue, but certainly not the same hue. My husband seems to also be partial to neutrals, and I would like to play around with color. There must be some compromise.

Even before we had the liberty of painting our walls, I knew a bit about my decor style.  One thing is for sure, although I do like SOME modern peices, my style is clearly ‘country’. I also enjoy cottage styles. All in all, I”m drawn to antique peices, patterned country fabrics, linens, and soft, natural light.

Slowly, each space in our new home is taking on a picture in my mind of home. Allow me to share my vision for our ‘Front Room’.

This is a picture of our front room before we moved in. Let me tell you, it looks just about the same now, with the exception of some extra STUFF lying around and an antique style chair I bought at goodwill. Now imagine with me…

White linen curtains. The walls are ‘Grand Stand Tan’ . There is a storage bench.. and linens and pillows accompany each seat. The accent colors are interchangeable with the neutral wall color… changing by season or mood. Books are stacked within reach. It is the perfect place to invite guests in to chat, have tea with friends, or sit quietly to read a book.

Perhaps I will come back and add to this post later. It is past my bedtime. Please do feel free to add to my inspiration for this space.

It may sound strange, but living in a hotel for a short while can make one appreciate the simplicity.  I became hooked on this little towel holder, and knew I wanted one just like it for our “new” home. It would look great with the blue and white theme we have chosen for our upstairs bath. I will add that I am also hooked on white hotel towels. They are so verstile and “fresh”.

And now for some Blue & White Inspiration…

This makes a wonderful Christmas gift to last all year long. Who doesn’t love Hot Cocoa? Mix up a batch or more for each family you gift to. Each “batch” makes 16 servings. Throw in some marshmallows for an extra treat.

• 3 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
• 1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

1.) In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Store in airtight container.

Instructions for making a cup of Hot Cocoa:

For each serving, place 1/3 cup mix in a mug and add 3/4 cup boiling water.