Vim and Vigor

This Moment

 

This moment

A moment to pause and cherish from the week

Inspired by Soulemama

:: Outside our home ::

:: Mama duck is laying, oh so faithfully.  One egg each day.  Cowboy S, has more fun running down each morning, to find the egg. He lets the chickens out of their coop...hoping he doesn't get batted in the face by a chicken which is too excited to be free, once again.  He then proceeds to where the ducks are, just a few big steps away.  Of course, today day he's extra excited, for new wellington boots, or "wellies", are being worn. 

 

:: The corn is being harvested in fields all around us, with ours to be brought down soon as well.  A sure sign that fall has indeed arrived.  We are looking forward to old traditions, and new as well.  Traditions in our activities, and foods that we eat.  There is something about the comfort that a familiar and enjoyable outing brings.  As some of the children get older, I see them enjoying it through their brother's and sister's eyes. 

:: We've been bringing the outdoors in with a bushel full of apples from the farmer's market, with more to be added to that next Saturday.  What to do with all these wonderful apples?  Some recipes we've been making for years, of course; but, I'm always up for adding new recipes to our favorites. First on the list was apple crisp.  We'll be eating our way on down the list through the next few weeks, which includes mini apple pies for breakfast!, apple cinnamon baked oatmeal, and applesauce. Oh, those crisp juicy apples....I can't seem to get enough of them lately!

What's on your menu list for fall?  Like to share?  Leave a comment so others can be inspired!

Blessings,

Joy

{All photos taken by my 14 yr. old daughter.....My Sweet Girl}

Just an idea....

 

Want a healthy snack that even the littlest can grab out of the fridge on their own?  We keep a bowl of hard-boiled eggs on a low shelf in the fridge for little hands to grab whenever the inclination strikes.  They can peel it themselves, even if it's one of the fresh eggs from one of our 34 chickens or our lone female duck. 

An old secret to peeling fresh eggs, is to poke a thumb tack into the bottom of it before hard boiling them.  Works wonderfully, and makes even the freshest of eggs, easy to peel.

Blessings,

Joy~

 

{This post is part of Monday Mania, Works for me Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, and Pennywise Platter}

This Moment

 

This moment

Inspired by Soulemama

"Sprouted Lentils"

It must be fall.

 

 

 

 :: Tomatoes on the windowsill.

:: Yellow squash waiting to be preserved.

:: One of thirty-four hens ready to start laying at any moment.  (The female duck has started blessing us with an egg each morning this week.  Cowboy S ate every one of them.  The first morning we found two of them, and he begged for me to hard-boil them for him so he could enjoy them right away.  After peeling them, he shouted out loudly, "One's a double-yolker, and one's a yolker!")

:: Noticing more leaves turning yellow and crunching a bit underfoot as we walk near the woods. Miss Lady K was heading out to "spoil her dolly", as she said, "at the spa". 

:: Yes, it must be fall.

Enjoy your early autumn day,

Joy~

 

For our littlest guy

 

The drab olive maternity cardigan was never worn.  I'm afraid it was out of style, before it was ever made.  Baby needs pants.  Hmmmmm.  You know where this is heading. 

I can't tell you the joy I get from sewing clothes for my little ones.  I think about how thankful I am that I didn't have to go shopping for new clothes, and spend more money.  I used material we already had on hand.  Funny how material that would look not so cute on me, can look adorable on little chubby legs. 

Miss Lady K now has the habit of asking me each time she sees a dress she might like to wear in a magazine, "Mama, could you sew one like that for me?"  Being I have only made her one dress so far, and being a beginner and all, I say, "Sure honey, why not?"

And, who doesn't like the feel of material that has been washed enough to have that extra softness?  As well as made with the love of mama's hands.  Oh, I think he's pretty proud of these little pants.

More to come little guy, more to come!

{If you'd like to try to make some of your own, a simple video tutorial can be found here.}

Make "whey" while the sun shines

Oh, this kitchen where I spend much of my days.  At this time in my life this kitchen is so very, very full of life. 

I also feel that this is where I play such a huge role.  Nourishing seven bodies is a big job, and I love the challenge of it.  Okay, maybe I do need a break now and then, but for the most part I am happy to be in here for much of my day. 

Doin' the mama two-step.  Two steps to the sink.  Two steps to the stove.  Two steps to the table, and back again. 

 

This interesting liquid that looks like lemonade, is actually whey.  Nourishing Traditions outlines a variety of ways to make it.  It's quite easy, but I remember the days when this type of thing overwhelmed me.  Setting any kind of dairy product on the counter longer than 15 minutes made me nervous.  How did it not go rancid? 

Nourishing Traditions explains in depth about cultured dairy products, and how beneficial they are to us. 

There are a number of ways you can make it, but I chose to use store-bought organic plain yogurt, and put it into a tea towel.  I then tied the tea towel around a wooden spoon, and allowed the yogurt to drip for a number of hours.  When it stopped dripping, I untied the tea towel, and there was the cream cheese.

 Here is my jar of whey, that will last in the fridge for up to six months, in the fridge.

The finished cream cheese.  This will last around a month in the refrigerator.

Why would I want to have whey and cream cheese? 

----I explain why lacto-fermented products are so beneficial, in this post, as well as provide a wonderful lacto-fermented salsa recipe.

What else is on the menu for the week? (Hey, I've got a lot of whey to use!)

--Homemade ginger ale

--When soaking oats for oatmeal, you can alternate whey instead of lemon juice in this recipe.

--This 5-spice apple chutney is on the menu for this week.  As well as a bit of apple-picking beforehand.

--Lacto-fermenting is an easy way to help increase our families' health, one yummy bite or sip at a time. 

Hope you enjoy discovering this with yours!

Blessings,

Joy~

{This post is a part of Monday Mania, Works for me Wednesday, and Works for me Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter, and Fight Back Friday}