Romans 12:4-5

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A Lot of Fun Outside with the Grandkids

Wow - these kids are the cutest!  (Spoken like a true gramma.)
And sometimes I just have to post pics of them... for the great-gramma, mostly.  {grin}  So here's a whole bunch of them with her in mind...

This little one loves playing with (or just being with) her grandpa.

All giggles.  That was her mama's sweatshirt.  {grin} Her brother wore it, too.  Of course, he was barely a year when he wore it, and she's almost 2!

She's on the move!  And wearing her big brother's hand-me-down corduroys - looks a lot like he did at that age.

There's that big boy... rolling down the hill.

Fun!

Whoa!  Whatcha gonna do, grandpa?

Haha!  She loves this!

That big grin is telling.

"Do it again, grandpa!"

And this one is still having a blast on that hill.

And she pauses to contemplate joining him.

"Eh, it looks like fun - but I'm happy playing over here."

My little beauty.

I love that happy face!

Inside, we strung some beads. He was picking out all the brown ones.

She did a great job, too.  She has great dexterity for such a little one.

Hey now... it's not a candy necklace!

Concentration.

K:  I'm making this for you, gramma.
Me:  You are?  I love it.
K:  Yes.  I'm going to put it in a box and wrap it up. You can take it home and open it and it will be a BIG SURPRISE!!! It's gonna be so great!
Me:  It will be great. I'm going to be so happy (and surprised!). {{melting}}

Beef and Bean Chili for Our Chilly Weather

Mid September, and we've already had two nights' temperature dip below frost level.  Brrr.

I must be acclimating to my northern climate, though (former Florida-girl, remember), because I head out and walk the dogs in the morning with just a hoodie while it's 35 degrees.  Yeah, I shiver a little, but not as much as you might think!

Also, our leaves are swiftly turning.  I'll bet in 2 weeks, we'll be full on FOLIAGE!  {sigh} I love Autumn.  Here are some of the reasons why:

• it's sweater weather (and that's like getting a warm, fuzzy hug)
• it's soup season (I love soup...love it!)
• it's gorgeous (the autumn colors against the crystal-blue backdrop of the sky is stunning)
• it's football season (that's an odd one since I'm not much of a fan, yet the din of the cheers and announcers from the TV... while I'm doing something else... is comforting in an old-slipper kind of way. A really old-slipper; I've accumulated fifty years of football seasons)
• it's crafting season (I definitely feel more creative this time of year)
• it's when pumpkin-spiced treats are abundant (and appropriate)
• it's wistful (there's something magical about falling leaves in tones of yellow, amber, orange and red swirling around you and crunching under your feet)

This was at the bend of my road as I headed to work yesterday morning.

Oddly, I don't mind the blur, which wasn't a focusing malfunction but, rather, simply my window still being damp from the morning's frosty glisten (I snapped this through the windshield).


Then, also on my road as I returned from work, there was this.  I love to spot them grazing in the fields and on the hills.  They are so beautiful and graceful.

They remind me of how my dogs play and scamper together.

I'm conflicted about stopping to watch them.  On one hand I want to make a ruckus so that they have a healthy fear of humans and their deadly vehicles.  But on the other hand I want to stay stone-still and quiet so I can observe them for more than a fleeting moment before they dash off into the woods.


At home on that cool evening, chili was on the dinner menu.

Beef and Bean Chili

1 Tbsp tallow
1 clove minced garlic
1+ pound ground beef
2/3 cup beef bone broth
3 Tbsp taco seasoning (recipe for homemade blend coming soon)
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
pinch cayenne, to taste
pinch sea salt
2 cups pureed tomatoes
2 cups cooked red kidney beans
sour cream and grated cheddar for topping
serve with corn bread or crackers

1.  In a large skillet (I used my deep cast iron), heat the tallow over medium heat and sauté the onions until soft then add garlic and stir until aromatic (about a minute).

2.  Brown the ground meat in the skillet, drain.

3.  Add the taco seasoning, oregano, chili powders, cayenne, and salt, stirring well to blend it through the meat. Stir in the beef bone broth and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.

4.  Add the tomatoes and beans and cook for 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally.  Serve with toppings and bread or crackers.

Pretty yummy and not too spicy.  You can kick up the heat, if you like, by increasing the amount of cayenne you use.  We prefer it mild.

That was my recent almost-Autumn day... how are your almost-Autumn days shaping up?  Do you love the fall season? What about it strikes your fancy?



Linking with Tasty Traditions, Homeacre Hop, Tasty Tuesday

Romans 12:2-3

The Romans Project:

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Romans 12:1

The Romans Project:

Offering you scripture pictures to enhance your memorization of The Romans Project.
Feel free to download to your desktop.

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My Real Food Book Wish List

I'm trying so hard to provide you with a why-you-need-to-get-to-the-apple-orchard-if-at-all-possible post.  One that's full of adorable grandkids in the apple orchard and rife with reasons you should eat your apple-a-day... and some recipes, too.

It just takes so stinking long to sort and [somewhat] edit photos, particularly when you have 1000+ of your favorite subject (grandkids).  Plus, you have to have one of those cool, Pinable, photos of the healthy highlights, not to mention the educational paragraphs and finally, plenty of pics to go with the recipes. Add a husband who repeatedly wants you to watch the football replay [sigh], and time is depleted.

So, buying myself more time, I'm going to share my real food book wish list.  I recently read a review by another real, traditional foodie-person, and realized her already-read-it-list looks a lot like my I-want-to-read-it-list.

Real Food Outlaws' Review

She's been doing this for many years, now.  I'm still in the baby steps stage.  At least, it feels that way to me at under a year.  I believe I could learn a lot from these authors...

Here are the books she reviewed, plus one additional (with Amazon descriptions... use the link above to see her review of the books), in order of desire:

This well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods contains a startling message: Animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels. Sally Fallon dispels the myths of the current low-fat fad in this practical, entertaining guide to a can-do diet that is both nutritious and delicious.


Today, buffeted by one food fad after another, America is suffering from what can only be described as a national eating disorder. Will it be fast food tonight, or something organic? Or perhaps something we grew ourselves? The question of what to have for dinner has confronted us since man discovered fire. But as Michael Pollan explains in this revolutionary book, how we answer it now, as the dawn of the twenty-first century, may determine our survival as a species. Packed with profound surprises, The Omnivore's Dilemma is changing the way Americans thing about the politics, perils, and pleasures of eating.



An epic study demonstrating the importance of whole food nutrition, and the degeneration and destruction that comes from a diet of processed foods.
For nearly 10 years, Weston Price and his wife traveled around the world in search of the secret to health. Instead of looking at people afflicted with disease symptoms, this highly-respected dentist and dental researcher chose to focus on healthy individuals, and challenged himself to understand how they achieved such amazing health. Dr. Price traveled to hundreds of cities in a total of 14 different countries in his search to find healthy people. He investigated some of the most remote areas in the world. He observed perfect dental arches, minimal tooth decay, high immunity to tuberculosis and overall excellent health in those groups of people who ate their indigenous foods. He found when these people were introduced to modernized foods, such as white flour, white sugar, refined vegetable oils and canned goods, signs of degeneration quickly became quite evident. Dental caries, deformed jaw structures, crooked teeth, arthritis and a low immunity to tuberculosis became rampant amongst them. Dr. Price documented this ancestral wisdom including hundreds of photos in his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.


Are you looking for a health plan that is biblically based and scientifically proven? The Maker's Diet is just that. Using a truly holistic approach to health, this groundbreaking book leads you on a journey that will change your life. 


At 19 years old, Jordan Rubin was a healthy 6'1" and 180 pounds. Shockingly, his weight fell to just 104 lbs. in a matter of months. His immune system was at an all-time low, as he suffered from Crohn's disease, food allergies, anemia, fibromyalgia, intestinal parasites, and a host of other conditions. After seeing over 70 health professionals, using both conventional and alternative medicines, Rubin was sent home in a wheelchair to die. But his story didn't end there. Through determination and a powerful faith in God, Rubin refused to give in to disease. 


Featuring world-renowned natural health physician Dr. Joseph Mercola's dietary program in part one and over 150 healthy and delicious new recipes in part two.Designed to help prevent disease, premature aging, optimize weight, increase energy, and love what you eat while doing so, Mercola's easy to follow program will help you avoid and eliminate the underlying causes of health and weight issues. Built entirely around a natural approach, including eating only the cleanest and healthiest forms of proteins, fats and carbs.


Hailed as the "patron saint of farmers' markets" by the Guardian and called one of the "great food activists" by Vanity Fair's David Kamp, Nina Planck is single-handedly changing the way we view "real food." A vital and original contribution to the hot debate about what to eat and why, Real Food is a thoroughly researched rebuttal to dietary fads and a clarion call for the return to old-fashioned foods.



Do you have a favorite you'd add to this list?  Do tell!

(The hyper-links to the books on Amazon are affiliate links.)

Mason Jars and Blenders

Did you know...

that the bottom of your blender fits on a standard size mason jar? 

I had no idea.  I just discovered it online the other day.  And I'm sorry to the person on whose page (FB) I read it; I can't seem to find it now to give them kudos. 

Just fill your jar with what you'd like to blend:

(here was the morning's smoothie recipe)
 
1 cup raw milk
1 banana
1 apple
1 handful of blueberries
8 med strawberries
1 raw egg (pastured!)
1 tsp chia seeds

Position the blade, rubber washer and cap on the jar, turn it over and place on your blender.

Whip it up and voila... enough for two 10-ish oz. servings.  I poured mine into a glass and Hubs had his right out of the jar.  What easy clean-up that was!


Last night I made homemade salsa with fresh garden tomatoes.  First time I have made salsa from scratch... I don't know why - just always seemed to grab a jar of it from the store when I wanted some.

I found the recipe at My Frugal Adventures and modified it just a little, as follows:

12 mini Roma tomatoes (my garden Romas are tiny... that would be 6 standard Romas)
6 yellow grape tomatoes
1/2 of a medium onion (I used yellow - use whatever kind of onion you like)
cilantro leaves from about 10 stems
1 long hot pepper
1 cherry pepper
   (jalepeno or Serrano are also appropriate, of course, but the others are what I had available)
3 large cloves garlic
juice of half of a lime, or more to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of sea salt

Rough chop everything and toss it in your quart size jar.  Fasten the blender bottom and blades to the jar and pulse, pulse, pulse on the blender till everything is chopped and blended to your liking.

This salsa is AWESOME!  Loved it.  Can't believe I never made it from scratch before.

And I didn't have a blender pitcher to scrape and clean - just popped the top on my jar and put it in the fridge.

How cool is that?!

Romans 8:39

The Romans Project:

Offering you scripture pictures to enhance your memorization of The Romans Project.
Feel free to download to your desktop.

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What's in a Chocolate Glazed Cake Donut?

I have a co-worker whose love language (or in this case, friendship language) is gift-giving.  He's always bringing in goodies to share, sometimes even to the point of packing himself a double lunch so he can give half of it away.

It may be a big bowlful of cherries or a loaf of homemade banana bread, and he knows what everyone's favorite chocolate is; mine being dark.  A few times a month we'd find a personal-size chocolate bar on our desks after having stepped away for a moment.

Recently, he gave me a dark chocolate bar with a hint of orange.  Mmmm, tasty.  It was melting in my mouth when I read the ingredients.  It was about the third one listed - soy lecithin.  Ugh, figures.  What a bummer.  He came into my office and asked with a broad grin, "How is it?"  "Mmmm, awesome!" I replied, "but I can't keep eating these chocolate bars.  They contain soy lecithin."  "That's bad?" he asked.  "Yeah, it's not healthy."  He knows I've been mindful about eating well.

It had been a couple of weeks of no sweet treats; I think that's when he brought us cherries and pluots. (Have you ever had a pluot?  YUM!  I hadn't heard of them before he brought them in.  They're plums/apricots).  Anyway, as we were closing up one evening last week, he asked a couple of us if we wanted donuts in the morning.  I grinned sheepishly, "No, thanks."

Well, look what landed on my desk the next day.  He returned the sheepish grin and said, "It doesn't have soy lecithin."  He walked away with another delivery to make.

I peaked inside to see what flavor it was.  [gasp] Chocolate Glazed Cake!  My second favorite - right after blueberry.  I closed the bag, but the temptation was powerful.  Still, it sat there untouched while I finished my whole cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, what he said kept ringing in my ears, "It doesn't have soy lecithin."  I was pretty sure that was not a true statement. A google search led me to Dunkin Donuts' ingredients list page.

Yeah, that's what I thought.  Not only do Chocolate Glazed Cake Donuts contain soy lecithin, they contain a whole host of ingredients that shouldn't pass a person's lips.  Would you look at the length of that list?!  Yikes.  It looks more like the description of a science project than of a decadent palatable food item.

Sufficiently dismayed by the confirmation of my hunch, I went and made what I intended to eat that morning anyway - my three-times-a-week soaked oats and fresh blueberries with coconut oil and raw honey.

I never told him that Chocolate Glazed Cake Donuts DO contain soy lecithin and that I DID NOT eat it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So What's So Bad About Soy Lecithin, Anyway?

Real Farmacy had this to say about it in an article written about what lurks in soft-serve ice cream:

Soy Lecithin or Soya Lecithin
Soybean lecithin comes from sludge left after crude soy oil goes through a “degumming” process. It is a waste product containing solvents and pesticides and has a consistency ranging from a gummy fluid to a plastic solid. Before being bleached to a more appealing light yellow, the color of lecithin ranges from a dirty tan to reddish brown. The hexane extraction process commonly used in soybean oil manufacture today yields less lecithin than the older ethanol-benzol process, but produces a more marketable lecithin with better color, reduced odor and less bitter flavor.
A very large percentage of soy lecithin is produced from soy which is GM and unfermented. Fermented soy is the only soy fit for human consumption. Unfermented soy has been linked to digestive distress, immune system breakdown, PMS, endometriosis, reproductive problems for men and women, allergies, ADD and ADHD, higher risk of heart disease and cancer, malnutrition, and loss of libido.
Read more at http://www.realfarmacy.com/sweet-creamy-poison-toxic-ingredients-found-in-soft-serve-ice-cream/#bC2eSxeYb23TDVf0.99 

How this stuff is considered a food ingredient is beyond my comprehension.  No more commercially manufactured chocolate, donuts, or [sigh] soft-serve ice cream for me.

Here's a recipe for homemade chocolate using the wonder ingredient, coconut oil!  When I find a recipe for homemade donuts and soft-serve ice cream that I love, I'll let you know.