Happy In The Kitchen

Wannabe Ranch Dressing Recipe

2011-04-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

My amazing daughter perfected this recipe after much trial and error. It tastes WAY better than store-bought ranch and is so GOOD FOR YOU!

1 pint jar
1 cup Daisy sour cream
1/2 cup cultured buttermilk
1/2 tsp Real Salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried dill
a bit less than 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/16 tsp ground celery seed (just fill your 1/8 spoon half way)

Mix all the ingredients in the pint jar and enjoy! Keep refrigerated. I have no idea how long this lasts in the fridge as we eat it up too fast to tell!

For a nice thick dip, omit the buttermilk and use 1 and 1/2 cups of sour cream.

My Quest For Easy - A new recipe!

2011-03-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Easy Recipe - Potato Surprise!

5 med potatoes, washed and sliced thin
1 med onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups cream, raw is best!
1/2 cup grated cheese
basil, dried
garlic powder
Real Salt
pepper

Butter a 9X13 casserole dish. Spread a layer of sliced potatoes over the bottom of dish. (Use about 1/4 of the potatoes.) Sprinkle 1/3 of the sliced carrots over the potatoes followed by 1/3 of the diced onions. Sprinkle basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper over veggies. Repeat 2 more times. Finish with a layer of potatoes. Pour the two cups of cream evenly over the veggies and sprinkle the cheese over top.

Cover the dish. Bake at 350 until the veggies are soft. Mine cooked for about an hour and a half. (I bet it was done sooner, but I was at a meeting!) I made two pans of this and it wasn't quite enough for my family of 8. They all LOVED it!

You May Be Shocked When You Read This!

2011-02-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago I received an email from a woman who found my blog and liked it. She asked me a question that has had my mind going ever since. Her question went something like this - Do you feel that, as a Christian woman, spending so much time in the kitchen cooking is the best use of your time?

...as a Christian woman. I couldn't get this phrase out of my thoughts! At first I felt a little defensive. Of course it's a good use of my time. I'm serving my family and making sure that my kids grow up healthy and strong so they can, in turn, be good Christians. Then my thoughts turned to Christmas 2010.

Christmas 2010 I received an early present that changed my life. The gift was a small accident that left me hardly able to walk! How can this be a gift, you ask? Well, it MADE me stop! I had to lay around a lot and recover. I didn't make any treats for neighbors or for parties. I didn't make any treats at all, to tell the truth. The local Costco took care of all my baking! I watched movies with my kids, played board games for hours, spent time with family and rested. It was the most enjoyable Christmas I've had in a long time and it opened my eyes!

After much deliberation, my answer to that reader's question is no, I do not think that, as a Christan woman, spending huge amounts of time in the kitchen is the best use of my time. It feels good to say it!!

I have done a lot of re-evaluating over the last few months. I believe strongly in the principles of proper food preparation. I know I feel better when my food is soaked and fermented. I also know that God has a great work for me to do, and that if my time is eaten up preparing the things we are going to eat up, then things are off balance.

As a Christian woman I need to have time to spend with my children and my husband, visit the sick and needy, provide service to my neighbors, and take care of my personal spiritual needs. I also need to have time to cook nourishing food for my family. Balance is the key word. Will my kids look back and remember how much time I spent playing and learning with them, or will they remember that I was too busy to play because I was always in the kitchen. Will they remember all the perfectly soaked grains I fed them, or will they remember the time I spent with them?

I wish the next part of this post was full of all the great ideas I have about how to accomplish this balance! It's not! I'm working on that part. I'd love to hear your ideas. I know this balance can be achieved and I'm excited to start this new journey! Want to join me?

2011-02-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

Even Happier In The Kitchen!!

When I started this blog my desire was to help women find joy and satisfaction in the kitchen. I truly believe that the kitchen is the heart of the home. It's where we gather naturally as a family. If mama is happy in her kitchen everything else seems to just run better!

My last post was all about herbs and my gratitude for them. Look back at the picture of my herb cupboard. There are bottles and bags full of my favorite herbs. I expressed my pleasure at being able to care for my family's basic medical needs using these herbs.

I am excited to report that I have hardly touched an herb or used a tincture since the end of October! I haven't had ONE CUP of peppermint infusion (tea) or slathered on any St. John's oil either!

Have I changed my mind and started using pharmaceuticals? NOPE! I have discovered essential oils! Actually discovered is the wrong word. I started using a few essential oils about a year ago. I bought several from the health food store and used them here and there, but I always felt disappointed that they didn't do just what the books and websites I read said they would.

In October an amazing string of events lead me to a doTERRA essential oils class. I walked in to the class very sceptically. The woman teaching the class taught that a certain combination of oils could help heal depression. As I sat there listening the Spirit bore a strong witness to my heart that my family needed these oils.

FLASH FORWARD THREE MONTHS -

My herb cupboard is now my oils cupboard. I use oils every day that DO WHAT THEY SAY THEY WILL! They are so pure that you can ingest them! Even little kids can take them internally. I got out the old bottles I bought at the health food store and read the labels. They all say not to ingest them! They all say they are 100% pure. If they are really 100% pure why do some of them advise you to seek medical attention if you swallow them?

I love my new oils! We really do use them every day. They have greatly added to my happiness and my confidence that I can be a healer in my own home!

Every time I find something great I just can't help but want to share it! I would love for you to experience these oils for yourself. My friend Tamara is opening her home for a class that teaches you how to use the oils and be your own family physician. Cherie Burton, the amazing woman who first taught me, will also be there to answer your personal questions about health issues your family is experiencing. I am going to help with the class as well. We are holding it on February 15th at 7PM. Everyone who comes will leave with a free sample bottle of one of the oils and the confidence that you can use doTERRA oils to heal in your home!

I can't wait to see you there!

Please email me for the address for the class.

I Love Herbs!

2010-10-08T16:05:00.001-07:00

What a great blessing plants are! Not only do they nourish our bodies, they can heal our bodies too!

This is the time of year when my heart turns to herbal remedies. My garden is slowing down, we are settling into a routine for school, and the weather is turning cold.

This is a picture of the section of shelves in my kitchen that are (mostly) dedicated to herbs, oils, tinctures, etc. I feel so happy knowing that I can naturally treat the coughs, colds, aches, and pains that happen in our family.

The most common thing I mix are herbal infusions. Our favorite are peppermint and a blend of comfrey and echinacea. I boil up a pot of water and steep the herbs for
15 -20 minutes, add a big plop of honey and let it cool down some. SO GOOD!

A quick list of herbs I always keep around:
Comfrey - for infusions
Echinacea - for infusions and capsules
Peppermint - oil and dried leaves for infusions
St. John's Wort - oil and dried plant for infusions and capsules
Chamomile - dried flower for infusions
Garlic - for SO much! It's a great anti-microbial.
Clove Bud Oil
Lavender Oil
Wintergreen Oil

A great source for all of these is Mountain Rose Herbs. They have great prices!

Last fall I took an herbal remedy class. I learned so much! I paid $50 dollars for the class and it was worth it! Yesterday I found a website that has a FREE webinar that covers some of the same information. It was great! I think every mother should watch it! It taught about how to use 17 common herbs to treat many different problems. All of the herbs are probably in your kitchen or pantry right now. The recipes are easy! Click here for the link. The people who teach the class are from a website called learningherbs.com. I signed up for their newsletter and I have learned a lot just exploring their site. I highly recommend it!

Learning to care for your family in times of *sickness and in health! What a great way to be happy in the kitchen!

*Always seek professional medical attention for serious wounds and injuries!

My Best Friend and a New Recipe

2010-09-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my best friend! Oh how I love my dehydrator! My Dear Hubby bought this for me for Christmas many years ago and it has been an invaluable member of our household! I use it to dry pecans and cashews every other week. It blesses me with yogurt too! So far this year I have also dried:

Zucchini chips
St. John's Wort
Peppermint
Pumpkin seeds
Chamomile
Parsley

By the end of the harvesting season I should also have quite a lot of apples and pears dried and ready to eat in the winter! (A big THANK YOU to the awesome ladies who share their fruit with me!) I am planning to make lots of apple and pear butter this winter. The recipe is from Nourishing Traditions. I'm going to make my first batch of apple butter today. It's lacto-fermented! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Apple Butter - 2 quarts

4 cups dried apples (or pears)
1 TBLS Real Salt
1/4 cup whey
1/4 - 1/2 cup honey
water

Place apples in a pan and add just enough water to cover them. Simmer until they are soft. Transfer them with a slotted spoon to your blender or food processor. Let them cool for a few minutes. Add the salt, whey and honey. Taste to see if it's sweet enough for you. Add more honey if needed. Pour into 2 quart-sized jars. Leave at least 1 inch between the mixture and the top of the jar. Cover tightly. Keep at room temperature for 2 days. Transfer to the refrigerator. Eat within 2 months. Try this on top of oatmeal or ice cream!

Happy Harvest!

Learn to Lacto-ferment! It's Class Time Again!

2010-09-20T05:01:00.000-07:00

Where Has The Summer Gone?

I can't believe it's the first day of fall! Summer flew by! I hope your summer was as happy and productive as mine. My garden is still overflowing with produce! That beautiful patch of dirt in my back yard has given me so many blessings this year! Here is a list of what we've harvested so far:
Peppermint, chamomile, St. John's Wart, carrots, beets, spinach, peas, lettuce, zucchini, more zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash bugs, grasshoppers and about a million tomatoes! Whew! Just writing that list makes me tired! It's been a lot of hard work! I think it's time for something easy!

Easy? Anyone interested in an easy way to preserve your produce? Lacto-fermenting to the rescue! Look at the picture below. The big jar on the left is full of beet kvass. It's my favorite thing to lacto-ferment! In front of that is a jar of cherry chutney. It runs a close second.

There are many reasons to lacto-ferment. The number one reason being that the end product is full of enzymes that are so good for you! Most foods today are devoid of enzymes and we need them to digest food properly and to heal and nourish our bodies! Sound like something you are interested in? Join me this Saturday for fun class and leave knowing how to lacto-ferment! We will also learn how to make other condiments like mayo, salad dressing, and ketchup.

Email me if you are interested! I'd love to have you with me again!

My Birthday Cake

Making Tomato Juice!

What A Wonderful Day!

2010-07-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

I had such a fabulous afternoon at the first Happy In The Kitchen Class! It's such an amazing feeling to be surrounded by like-minded women. It boosted my spirits and gladdened my heart! Thank you SO much ladies for sharing the afternoon with me!

I'm going to spend the next week or so posting the recipes for the food we made and links for the articles and websites we talked about. First up is the recipe for Mexican Rice.

Step 1
Start your brown rice soaking 24 hours before you plan to make the dish. Put 2 cups of rice and a few TBLS of whey in a mason jar. Cover the rice with very warm water. (About 90 degrees) Twist a lid onto the jar tightly. Let the rice soak in a warm place for 24 hours. After 24 hours remove the lid and carefully pour off some of the soaking water. (Reserve this liquid in the fridge to use the next time you soak rice. This is now your culture and you won't need to add whey.) Pour the rice and any liquid remaining into a pan. Add about four cups of fresh water or stock to this. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Cover the pan with a lid and let the rice simmer for about 40 minutes. Check to see that the rice is soft and all the liquid had been absorbed. It might take a few tries to get this just right. Keep trying!

Step 2
Measure 4 cups cooked rice into a skillet. Add 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Heat this on med/high until the butter melts. Add 1 TBLS of each of the following: chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and Real Salt. Stir well. Cover the pan, reduce the heat a little, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Serve this on fresh tortillas with cheese, beans, salsa, spicy dip and lettuce!

The recipe for the dough we used can be found here, or you can visit my friend Caralee's blog. She created this great recipe. You will love her blog!

I also found a blog that has the story of Jenny that I told you about. It is a little long, but worth the read! Please let me know what you think after you read it.

Raw Milk Safety

2010-06-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

The Story

I was over at my friend's house the other night picking up some their delicious RAW MILK. I was talking and laughing with my friend when their 10 year old came into the kitchen and said to her husband, "Dad, Peter (name has been changed) next door says we shouldn't drink our milk because it'll make us sick. He said his mom told him it's not clean." My friend and her husband handled the situation with grace and style. They didn't get upset, they just confirmed to him that everything was okay. I was fuming inside, though! I wanted to march over to the neighbor's house and set his mama straight! I've been stewing over it for a while now and I just had to post about it.

I truly believe that raw milk is clean and safe! I love the fresh taste of it and I love knowing that it is alive and REAL! Not dead, devoid of enzymes and two or three weeks old.

I found a few great links in defense of raw milk that I think you will really enjoy reading.

Link 1
Link 2

Thanks for letting me vent!

Tara's 12 Step Program

2010-06-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

It's True, I'm Addicted!
Have I confessed here that I am a sugar addict? It's true! I've spent most of my life moving from one sugar fix to the next. As a teen I would spend my lunch money on candy and soda. (Sorry Mom! I'll pay you back!) As an adult I pigged out on sugary cold cereals, deserts and candy. I always bought myself a candy bar at the end of each shopping trip. After all, I had just done the hard work of grocery shopping, I deserved a treat! I usually had a bowl (or two) of cereal at the end of each day. I had just spent a day caring for little ones, I deserved a treat. I often mixed up a little bowl of powdered sugar frosting, because I deserved a treat! Two months after Halloween I would usually find myself combing the cupboards for any leftover candy. So sad! Sugar had me in her grasp and did not want to let me go! I finally started suffering from severe hypoglycemia and knew I had to make changes. I just didn't know where to start.

Thankfully the Lord led me down a path to recovery. That might sound a little silly, (does the Lord care if we eat white sugar?)but it's true. The path started with education! I learned why white sugar was so bad for me. Here are 146 reasons! Don't read any further until you've clicked the link and scanned the list. Even brands that claim to be "pure" and "natural" are not good for you! Don't fall for it!

Good Advice
"The average American now consumes 175 pounds of sugar per year! That's 46 teaspoons a day! If we pretend that sugar actually had some benefits, eating one-half pound every day would not seem like such a bad idea. But the truth is that sugar has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. Not only does it totally lack nutrients, but when you eat sugar it actually robs your body of nutrients-- vitamins, minerals and even enzymes.

Sure sugar may be temporarily pleasing to the taste buds, but the rest of the body suffers for it. The sad thing is that most people are not aware of the devastating effects that excess sugar consumption has on the body."

(CLICK ON THAT LINK ABOVE IF HAVEN'T YET!)

"Get in the habit of reading labels and avoid products made with white sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, fructose, and ALL artificial sweeteners. Instead use natural sweeteners, including pure maple syrup, molasses, stevia, Rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice - Sucanat) or raw unfiltered honey. Many health food stores offer products made with natural sweeteners, like cookies and ice cream, and even licorice, although it is better to make your own."

Read the entire article at the Weston A. Price Foundation website.

It's Still a Battle!
I love sweets! I think I always will. White sugar no longer controls me though. I can go through the check-out line at the store without my palms breaking into a sweat over the sight of all the candy bars! The trick is to learn how to make tasty treats at home. I have several recipes you can try. Click here for cookies and here for a delicious cake!

Tara's 12 Step Sugar Addiction Recovery Program
Step 1. Go buy some Sucanat or honey at your local health food store.
Step 2. Read and try my cookie recipe.
Step 3. Read and try my cake recipe.
Step 4. Read through the "Desserts" section of Nourishing Traditions.
(If you don't own a copy of NT go to Amazon.com and order one right now! That's step 4 and a 1/2!)
Step 5. Try one of the ice cream recipes from NT. I like the berry one!

The next steps are hard, but you can do it!

Step 6. Open your pantry and toss the bag of white sugar into the trash.
Step 7. Take a deep breath and toss all the food CONTAINING white sugar.
Step 8. Stop thinking about all the money you just wasted!
Step 9. Start thinking about the health you will be building!
Step 10. Put on your prettiest apron and make my cookies again.
Step 11. Don't buy any more white sugar or products with sugar in them.
Step 12. ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM!

Salsa!

2010-06-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

Summer just isn't complete without a great salsa!

What You Need
2 large tomatoes
3-4 green onions
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 small can diced green chilies
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Real Salt
2 TBLS raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

What You Need To Do
Wash and chop all of the veggies and herbs. I usually mix mine together in a wide-mouth quart jar. Add the salt, garlic powder and vinegar. Stir gently. Enjoy with chips (find a kind with as few ingredients as possible) or on Mexican Style Wraps. Have I posted the recipe for Mexican Wraps? I'll check on that!

Make The Salsa Extra Nourishing!
Add 2 TBLS of whey to the salsa. Mix it in gently and screw a lid on the jar. Leave this on your counter for 2 days and then transfer to the fridge. It is now full of enzymes and will aid in digestion!

Breakfast Time!

2010-06-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

I Wish You Could Smell This!
I promise no one will miss the cold cereal when you serve up a breakfast like this one! Butch and I worked together to bake/blend/mix up this delicious meal! I made the Cinnamon Bread Sticks, and Butch made the scrambled eggs and the Fruity Yogurt.

Cinnamon Bread
Start with half a batch of basic soaked dough.

Knead a rounded teaspoon of Real Salt, and a rounded teaspoon of baking soda into the dough.

Butter your stone and roll out the dough evenly. Spread a thin layer of butter over the dough, and then a thin layer of Sucanat.

Sprinkle cinnamon over the whole thing and then bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Let it cool for a few minutes and then use your pizza cutter to slice it into squares. Big Guy calls these squares "sugar cubes!"

Fruity Yogurt

I poured 1 quart of my homemade, raw milk yogurt into the blender. (If you're not making yogurt yet, don't worry! Dannon makes a great plain yogurt. Just be sure to buy the full fat kind, not low-fat. Brown Cow is another brand that is pretty easy to find.) Butch added 3 bananas, 5 frozen strawberries, and a 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla. Whiz that until it's well blended. It will be a little soupy. He poured the Fruity Yogurt into bowls and then I sprinkled a few teaspoons of Sucanat into each bowl.

What a great way to start the day!

Summer Salad

2010-06-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Too Hot To Cook?
I'm always on the lookout for recipes that don't involve heating up the oven! This recipe is fast becoming a favorite of mine. The original recipe came from my friend Sara, but I've tweaked it a little. (I'm hopeless when it comes to following a recipe!)

What You Need
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup bulgur wheat*
Juice of two small lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
Real Salt
1 cup cooked, chopped chicken (optional)
3 green onions, chopped small
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped a little
1 cucumber, chopped up small
1 large tomato, chopped up small

*Bulgur wheat is wheat berries that have been soaked/sprouted, dehydrated, and coarsely chopped. Unless you have a lot of free time, I suggest you buy this from your local health food store!

What To Do
In a large, heat-safe bowl combine the boiling water, olive oil, lemon juice, and bulgur wheat. Cover this and let it sit for an hour or so. The bulgur will absorb the liquid.

While the bulgur is busy absorbing, you get busy and chop the cucumber, tomato, green onions, and cilantro. When the bulgur is fluffy and tastes chewy like rice, mix in the veggies. I sprinkle in about 2 teaspoons of Real Salt, mix well and TASTE it. Add more of what it seems like it needs.

Let the salad chill for an hour in the fridge so the flavors blend together well.

Other optional ingredients are chopped mushrooms or your favorite kind of cheese.

If you add the chicken, this is a main dish. I usually make it without the chicken. Either way, it is great served with a big green salad!

This Is The Place!

2010-06-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

Face Lift
I am so excited about the new look of my blog! What do you think?

Hello? Are You There?
It feels like forever since I last posted. I have to admit that I haven't felt very "happy in the kitchen" over the last few months! I'm working on a post to explain that. I think we all have our ups and downs and what we are able (or willing) to do changes all the time. I have still been cooking and learning, though, and I am happy to say my enthusiasm is returning! My goal is to post regularly!

Let's Get Together
The class idea is still in the works! I am putting together the first class called, "The Science of Soaking." We will learn all about WHY it is so important to properly prepare your food and HOW to do it! More details on dates and times soon to come.

"Followers"
I just have to say that I think the title "Followers" is SO odd in the blog world. Can we change it to "Onlookers," or "Observers," or "Slightly Interested In What You Have To Sayers?" I am amazed every day that there are 22 people who follow this blog! I think you all are the GREATEST!

How I Make It All Work (Sometimes)

2010-03-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

I was asked to post a "day in the life of Tara" to give an idea of how I manage my time in the kitchen. I've been pondering this for a while and I think I came up with an honest way to do this!

An Ideal Day
I am up early to read my scriptures and study. I am studying in a kitchen that is nice and clean thanks to the older kids who did a great job on the dishes the night before. The kids start waking up around 7 AM and I start cooking the oatmeal that has been soaking over night. If it's not an oatmeal day I either mix up some muffins, make some type of eggs or what ever else sounds good. I pop through the shower and into clean clothes and we all eat at 8 AM. School starts after breakfast and we read, play, and work together until I leave them to themselves around 11(ish) so I can start lunch. Lunch needs to be easy! My favorite is to roll out lots of flat bread and stuff them with cheese or peanut butter and honey, or spicy rice. I'll chop up some fruits and veggies and call it good. Another lunchtime favorite is left over soup from the night before with soaked rolls or muffins. We go back to schoolwork and jobs until around 2(ish). The night before I set beans to soak so I rinse them and put them in a big pot and get them boiling around 2:30. They cook away while I get some other things done. I toss some of my canned, home-grown tomatoes into the pot around 4PM and smell it to see what spices it needs. If we're lucky I'll put a pound of pasture-fed beef in too. At 4:30 I roll out some soaked dough rolls and then make a salad while they cook. I mix some dressing up for the salad and then call the troops in to help get things on the table. (I don't always make beans! There are LOTS of other dinner options! I just usually try to start dinner prep no later than 4PM.) While the kids are cleaning up after dinner I prep for the next day. I mix up some dough to soak and any other thing that needs to soak, i.e. oats, rice, beans, breakfast cereal batter, etc. I also make my hubby's lunch for the next day. If I am really feeling nice I'll mix up a batch of cookies. It's probably time to start putting little kids to bed at this point and then I will read to the older kids. At about 9:30 PM the house is quiet and I have an hour or so to study by myself.

A Not So Ideal Day
I wake up later than I'd like because I was up with a sick kid, or up late cleaning the kitchen because one of the older kids was sick or gone and couldn't do their job, or up late reading a great book, or up late just enjoying the silence! I didn't prepare well for breakfast so we have scrambled eggs and fruit smoothies. For lunch I get out all the left-overs from the fridge and hurry and roll out some cheesy bread. School goes long or there was a field trip or someone stops by to visit or I get to talking on the phone or I'm out in the garden and I don't get started on dinner until 5PM. That's when we have "breakfast" for dinner and I mix up some muffins, scramble some eggs and chop up some fruit.

The only real difference between these two kinds of days is TIME. We still eat nourishing foods, even when I'm not as on top of things as I should be. I LOVE to be able to get a soup going at 3 so it has lots of time to simmer and let the spices meld together. I love to make pizza and Mexican wraps and lots of other things that take more time, but some days THERE JUST IS NO TIME! You must be prepared so that "no time" doesn't equal dad stopping for pizza! (Although that does happen every once and a while around here.) Here are some things I do that help me be prepared. (*And some things I am determined to do better at this year!)

Yearly
Grow a garden so I can produce:
-1 year's supply of ketchup
-Potatoes for the winter
-Cucumbers for pickles
-Beets to pickle
-Herbs for spices and medicines
Inventory food storage*

Monthly
Make sure I have Cod Liver Oil
Shop for fresh/frozen foods (2x a month)
Make capsules with our most needed/used herbs
Inventory/replenish food storage*

Weekly
Make 1 gallon of yogurt
Make 1 batch of breakfast cereal
Make 1 gallon of buttermilk
Read recipe books for new ideas*
Keep a list of things I'm running low on

Daily
Plan for tomorrow's meals
Make a batch of soaked dough
Get tomorrow's grains or beans soaking
Pray and study

The BIGGEST lesson I have learned is that the key to being happy in the kitchen is being PREPARED! If I am prepared then meal prep is so much easier! I used to hate it when at 4PM my husband would say, "What's for dinner Hon?" I would get frustrated and reply, "I don't know, I haven't thought that far ahead yet." I felt like I didn't have time to think about dinner until the school and house work were done. THEN I would think about it. Lot's of times, okay most of the time, I wouldn't even start thinking about dinner until it was 5 or 6PM! This was a source of ... stress... in my marriage!

I really like the FREEDOM that comes with planning and preparing the night before! Freedom from what? Freedom from the age-old question, "What shall I make for dinner?" (Funny how that question always pops into our minds at the worst times!) Mostly it's the freedom from guilt about the quicky, prepackaged food we know in our hearts isn't good for us!

Time To Garden!

2010-03-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

Does the dirt in your garden call your name? As soon as the calendar flips to February I start getting antsy and anxious for the snow to melt so I can PLANT THINGS! The weather cooperated and last week my 8, 6 and 4 year old kiddos and I went out and played in the dirt! While we were there we planted peas - sugar snap and green arrow - carrots, beets and lettuce. This week I'm going to put in some spinache seeds too. It feels so good to get out and dig around! I have big plans in my mind about all the other tastey things we will grow. If I can just get our city to let me keep a small flock of chickens in my back yard I will be one happy mama! I might need to change that name of the blog to 'Happy In The Garden" for the spring and summer!

Soaked Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

2010-02-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

The biggest challenge I have had while adopting a Nourishing Traditions lifestyle is making a yummy birthday cake! I used to make all kinds of fancy, fun shaped, white sugar laden birthday cakes. When I committed to making healthy cakes I had no idea what a roller coaster ride I was in for! Since last March I have made so many BAD birthday cakes I had almost given up hope! My dear family has been so patient with me!
I am happy to report that I have finally found a way to make a GREAT birthday cake! I stumbled on the idea when I was making homemade breakfast cereal. (See my last post for that recipe.) The cereal is made by soaking a batter over night and then baking it in a 9x13 inch cake pan the next morning. Then you crumble that cake up, dehydrate it and you have cereal. One morning at breakfast time I had the batter baked, but not crumbled and dehydrated. I didn't have the time to do that so I just cut it up and served it with butter on it. It tasted great! I thought then that I could tweak the recipe a little, frost it and have a great birthday cake!

This week we had another birthday and I made the best chocolate cake! Here's what to do:

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE PARTY
Mix:
3 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups milk (raw is best)
1/2 cup water
3 TBLS yogurt (mine is homemade)

Cover the bowl you mixed it in and set it on the counter overnight or until you are ready to cook the cake.

WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BAKE
Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 9 inch round cake pans.
Add to the mix:
1 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn Real Salt
2 tspn pure vanilla

Melt together (NOT IN THE MICROWAVE!)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 - 1 cup honey
Add this to the mix.

Mix this well. Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and mix well. Taste the batter and see if it is chocolatey enough for your tastes. Add more cocoa powder 1 TBLS at a time until the batter tastes right to you. Pour the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake until they are springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine take about 25 minutes, but every oven is different. Watch them closely and write down how long yours took to cook so you'll know next time.

While your cakes cool, make your frosting. You will need:

3 cups heavy cream (raw is best, don't use ultra-pasteurized)
1/4 cup (or so) sucanat
1/4 cup (or so) cocoa powder
1 tspn pure vanilla

Mix the cream with hand held beaters. When it starts to thicken a little add the vanilla and a few TBLS of the sucanat and cocoa while you keep beating. Taste this and keep adding sucanat and cocoa until it tastes right to you. Beat until it is thick, smooth, and creamy. Don't OVER beat it, it will become lumpy. The end result should be light brown in color.

Assemble the cake by putting one cake layer on your cake plate and spread a layer of frosting on top of it. Put the next cake layer on top of that and then frost the whole thing. We topped it off with organic M&M-like chocolates from the health food store.

I am so thrilled with this recipe! I hope you enjoy it!

p.s.
Please remember that cooking with whole foods takes lots of trial and error. If you are wondering why soaked wheat is best, read my previous posts on that topic.

Homemade Breakfast Cereal Recipe

2010-01-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

There was a time, not too long ago, that a big chunk of our grocery money went to purchasing cold cereal. To tell the truth, I was a cereal addict! I enjoyed a bowl for breakfast and then once the kids were in bed I would enjoy another bowl. (OR TWO!) In the back of my mind somewhere I knew that it wasn't the most nutritious thing we could be eating, but I had lots of reasons why I felt justified in eating it. See if any of these reasons sound familiar. Just for fun let's do a "Top 10 Reasons to Eat Cold Cereal For Breakfast" list!

10. "It's magically delicious!" (Lucky Charms!)
9. The bus is going to be here in 10 minutes!
8. "It's part of this nutritious breakfast."
7. I got it on sale!
6. The kids really like it!
5. I don't have time to cook breakfast!
4. It's the "Breakfast of Champions!" (Wheaties - my favorite!)
3. I only get the kinds made with whole grains!
2. It's fortified with vitamins and minerals!
1. It's SOOOOOOOOOOO easy!

I have said all these and more at different times in my life! Here are a few quotes from a great book, Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.
"Boxed Breakfast cereals are made by the extrusion process, in which little flakes and shapes are formed at high temperatures and pressures. Extrusion processing destroys many valuable nutrients in grains, causes fragile oils to become rancid and renders certain proteins toxic. For a new generation of hardy children, we must return to the breakfast cereals of our ancestors."

Also from Sally Fallon's book - "In 1960, researchers at Ann Arbor University performed an interesting experiment on lab rats. Eighteen rats were divided into three groups. One group received cornflakes and water; a second group was given the cardboard box the cornflakes came in and water; and the control group received rat chow and water. The rats in the control group remained in good health throughout the experiment. The rats receiving the box became lethargic and eventually died of malnutrition. But the rats receiving cornflakes and water died before the rats who were given the box - the last cornflake rat died on the day the first box rat died."

The truth, and this was VERY hard for me to swallow, is that bagged/boxed breakfast cereals do more harm than good. If you need any further proof, look at the ingredient list. Sugar is almost always the number 2 or 3 ingredient.

SO! Knowing that they have no place in our diet, we are left with a few questions that were mind boggling to me. WHAT THE HECK DO WE HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? YOU MEAN I HAVE TO COOK ANOTHER MEAL? EVERY DAY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Let's all take a deep breath at this point...

Here's another truth. Yes, we need to cook breakfast each morning for our families. (I remember being a little angry at this.) The good news is that it's not that hard, once you get in the swing of it. You know you can trust me when I say this because I was once hooked on cereal and now we never have it and I know it's possible! With a little planning and a little preparation the night before, breakfast can be quick and easy. Not as quick as opening a box, but still pretty easy!

Here is a list of our favorite breakfasts.

Oatmeal (See my previous post on how to make REALLY good oatmeal.)
eggs
muffins (see my post about soaked dough for muffins)
fruit
yogurt with fruit
biscuits (see the soaked dough post for biscuits)

I mix and match these things to keep breakfast from being boring. We have oatmeal about 3 times a week. Every once and a while I make granola, but not very much. (Have you ever noticed that you get a case of the "toots" after you eat granola? That's your body telling you it cannot digest those unsoaked oats!) My kids are a lot better behaved in the mornings since we stopped eating cold cereal. The reason is that a bowl of cold cereal is digested and out of their systems very quickly! My breakfasts now are power packed with complex carbs and good fats that take time to be digested. My little ones usually need a snack a few hours later (smaller tummies) but my older kids and myself are usually not even hungry until lunch time!

I am so far off topic now! I started this post to give you a recipe for homemade breakfast cereal and instead I've stepped up on my soap box again. I will say just a bit more and then I will give you the recipe!

Just because we stopped eating cold cereal doesn't mean I don't still get cravings to sit down and enjoy it's crunchy taste. I think in my mind it's comfort food. I've read in the last few months about different homemade cereal recipes, but I didn't think they could possibly taste good so I never tried. Silly me! I finally made some this week and it turned out so good! It tastes to me like Raisin Bran! When you try this remember that learning to cook with REAL FOOD takes some trial and error. The first time I made it I had to do a few things differently than the recipe called for. The second time I made it I burned it a little. Just keep trying and learn how to make it work for you!

Drum Roll Please...

HOMEMADE COLD CEREAL
Makes about 10 cups

6 cups ground wheat
3 cups milk (raw is best)
1 cup water
1/4 whey, buttermilk or yogurt
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted (not in the microwave!)
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 TBLS pure vanilla
1 TBLS cinnamon

Mix flour, milk, water and whey/yogurt in a large bowl. Cover and let sit overnight. (If you are not using raw milk you don't need to leave it overnight or use any whey/yogurt. Processed milk will rot whereas raw milk will culture. The culturing milk and whey will make the nutrients in the flour more friendly and absorbable. See my posts about raw milk and soaking grains if you need to learn more about this.) In the morning or in the afternoon, when ever you have time, add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until you have a pourable batter. I usually have to add a cup and a half of water to this or it's too thick.

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter two 9x13 inch cake pans. Pour the batter equally into the two pans. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. Don't let it burn! When it's done a toothpick will come out clean from the center and it will feel springy to the touch. Let it cool. Get out two cookie trays and your blender. With a big spoon scoop out your cake-like cereal and process it in your blender in small batches until it's crumbly. Pour the crumbs onto the cookie trays. (This is the most time consuming part.) Turn your oven down to 200 or 250 degrees and put the trays in. You are going to keep them in the oven until the crumbs dry out completely. I do mine at 250 and it takes about 2 hours. Check it and stir it and taste it often so you will know when it's done. write down how long it took so you'll know next time!

When it's out, let it cool and then transfer it into some kind of sealable container. When you are ready to eat it add raisins to it and pour some (raw!) milk over it. It is so good and so worth the effort!

No Microwave Popcorn!

2009-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

One of my kids told me a while ago about how workers at factories that make microwave popcorn have to wear full-body protective suits because the chemicals in the "butter" flavoring are toxic. Needless to say we cut that out of our diets. (This was before we retired our own microwave.) I found an article today that says basically the same thing. It talked about how the companies making it said they took the toxins out several years ago but now studies are showing that the stuff they replaced it with is just as toxic! Some workers at these plants are filing lawsuits over it!

I KNOW it tastes great and it's fast, but it's TOXIC! You can buy an air popper for $10 and a bag of popcorn kernels for about $1.50. Pop your own and drizzle melted butter and real salt over it and YUM!!! An inexpensive, healthy snack! Get that toxic crap out of your pantry and into the trash ASAP! An easy thing to do to improve your family's health right now! Don't tell me it's extreme to toss it out or that I shouldn't believe everything I hear. Sometimes you HAVE to be extreme in order to keep yourself and your family healthy. Research it yourself and see what you find. I would love to talk about it!

Are We Happy In The Kitchen?

2009-12-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

I've been rolling this question around in my mind for the last few days. Am I happy in the kitchen? The other day I was working away in the kitchen and I was NOT happy. I was actually feeling sorry for myself! I spend SO much time preparing and cooking food!

In the middle of my pity party I started to think about women 100, even 50 years ago, and what their lives were like. Becoming a wife and mother was the highest and ultimate goal for women back then. Their lives revolved around feeding and caring for their family's needs. They didn't have microwaves or processed foods so they must have spent a large amount of time preparing and cooking food. The ability to cook and care for a family were qualities men desired and valued in women. Mothers trained their daughters from a young age to be able to cook and care for a family. Even 50 years ago almost every woman was a "stay at home mom." This title wasn't looked down on or belittled. It was held in high esteem!

As I stood thinking this over that day I think the Lord blessed me with a little insight and I want to share it. I know many will disagree with me, but I still need to get it out! Here's my take on the matter: When my great grandma, or even my grandma, cooked a meal for her family it took quite a bit of work! Baking bread, chopping things, peeling things, maybe even plucking things! By the time she set the meal on the table she had really worked! Then I bet she watched the look on her husband's face as he bit into his homemade roll dripping with butter. I bet she watched as her children happily, even greedily ate what she had labored over. Her heart and soul took great pleasure in their happiness and satisfaction. She had done her part once again by nourishing her family! It made her HAPPY! Of course I know her life wasn't always sunshine and roses, but she knew that her role was important and I think she felt fulfilled by her efforts.

Flash forward to me just a few years after I got married. My skills in the kitchen were limited. I hadn't taken much time growing up to learn those skills from my mother. I didn't think they mattered much! I could make a great salad, mac-n-cheese, tuna casserole and beef stroganoff. I knew how to open cans really well and I knew how to run the microwave. I learned to make homemade (white) bread and thought I was doing good. Was I happy in the kitchen? No, not really.

I think all the fast and convenient food we have access to today has to some degree robbed women of the sense of accomplishment that comes from REALLY cooking. We rush in from work or running kids around all day to heat up pizza rolls in the microwave or open a can of something and hurry to get everyone fed so we can move onto the next thing we have to do. Looking back over our day where do we get the sense that what we did really made a difference in the lives of our family?

Being a stay at home home is now on the bottom of the list of important jobs for women. Stop any girl walking to school and ask her what she wants to be when she grows up and how many of them will say, "A mother!" Girls can be anything they want today and be a mother too. But will they be happy? The world says a woman can't possibly be happy being "just" a stay at home mom! Do young girls see their mothers being happy in the kitchen? Did their mothers see their mothers being happy in the kitchen?

I have chosen to "do it the hard way" when it comes to cooking. I don't buy processed food. I make pretty much everything from scratch. I don't use the microwave, I don't use white sugar, white flour, or white rice. There's more, but you get the idea. I'm sure you are rolling your eyes and wondering why I do this when there are so many quicker options available. You'll have to read my other posts to really understand that. What it all comes down to, what I felt the Lord helped me understand the other day, is that I cook this way because it's how I show my love for my family. (Please note that I said "I." This is my way and I know it's not every one's way and THAT'S OKAY!) I know that every day at almost every meal my family is nourished and strengthened because of my efforts. That (usually!) gives me a great feeling of self worth and accomplishment. BUT, sometimes being a stay at home mom frustrates me and I long to go out and save the world! Maybe not even save the world, but just do SOMETHING and get recognized (and PAID) for it! I think the Lord understands this and has led me to this "style" of cooking to help me feel that recognition. When my kids are chowing down on homemade ice cream or a soup I spent a long time making and one of them says, "Mom, this is the best thing you ever made! I wish you made this every night!" THAT is when my heart fills with joy and I know that I AM saving the world...one kid at a time!

New Cookie Recipe

2009-10-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Graham Cracker Cookies

I am so excited about these cookies! I have been trying to perfect my own version of peanut butter cookies for a while. Yesterday I tweaked the recipe a little and they looked great when they came out of the oven! I served them to the family with a glass of raw milk. I dipped my cookie in my milk and took a bite. I was instantly transported back to my childhood and the memory of dipping graham crackers in milk. SO GOOD! These cookie cookies are light and fluffy thanks to arrowroot powder. There is no wheat in them at all! (Have you ever tried to make cookies out of whole wheat flour? Mine never turn out good!) You can eat these cookies without guilt - everything in them is REAL and GOOD FOR YOU!

What you need:

1/2 cup butter, softened (DON'T microwave it!)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup sucanat
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla
2-3 cups arrowroot powder

What to do:

Heat the oven to 350. Get out your baking stones or cookie trays. In a large bowl mix the butter, peanut butter, sucanat and honey. Mix well with a fork. Add the eggs and baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla. Mix well. Add two cups arrowroot powder and mix well. Keep adding more arrowroot powder a little at a time until you can take a glob of dough and roll it into a ball in your hand without it sticking to you. To form the cookies, scoop out the dough with a tablespoon and roll it into a ball. Arrange the balls on your stone or tray so they have some space between them - probably about 12 to a tray. Mine took about 20 minutes to cook. After about 15 minutes check on them. They get really fluffy and they get cracks in them. You want them to be golden. It may take you a few batches to really know when yours are done. This recipe make about 20 medium cookies. Enjoy! (With raw milk of course!)

Making Pizza With Soaked Dough

2009-09-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

Pizza is one of everyone's favorite foods! Try this recipe and you will never feel guilty about eating "just one more slice" again!

You Will Need:
Pizza pans - stone is best
1 batch of Caralee's soaked dough (Makes three crusts. See previous post.)
Toppings of your choice:
We like - good quality pepperoni (look at the healthfood store)
olives
sliced mushrooms
pineapple
chopped green peppers
onions
sliced zucchini
cheese (Tillamook!)

Sauce #1
1 1/2 cups Daisy sour cream
1/2 - 1 tspn garlic powder
1-2 - 1 tspn onion powder
1/2 tspn Real Salt

Mix this all together and taste it. Experiment with how much of the spices you like. This also makes great veggie dip!

Sauce #2
1 can tomato sauce (I use my homemade ketchup!)
Add basil, oregano, garlic powder, Real salt - whatever you like!

To make the crust:
Take your dough, don't forget to add the salt and baking soda, and split it into three equal chunks! Heat your oven to 350. Sprinkle a little arrowroot powder on your pizza stone (so the dough won't stick) and roll the dough out into the shape of your pizza stone. Roll it out a little past the edge of the stone and then fold that little extra up to form the edge of the crust. Bake this for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. If you have more than one stone you can be baking another crust while the first one cools. I have two stones and a metal pizza pan. Walmart sells really inexpensive round stones - a good investment! After it has cooled a little spread the sauce of your choice on the crust. Add the toppings of your choice, ending with the cheese. When all your crusts are cooked turn the oven onto broil. My oven lets me choose a high or low broil. I go with low. Put your completed pizza under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove, let cool a little and ENJOY!!!

Tips:
1. If three is too many for your family - I feed all eight of us with three - just put your third chunk of dough in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge. Make buscuits with it tomorrow!

2. We like the sour cream sauce on an all veggie pizza and the tomato sauce on the pepperoni. The sour cream sauce is also good with chicken and pineapple!

3. Don't tell your kids this is "healthy" pizza. Have them help you put the toppings on and I guarantee they will eat it!

Be sure to ask me if you have any questions!

Soaked Dough Recipe

2009-09-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

For a long time I have been making homemade whole wheat bread for my family. I thought that was the most nutritious choice UNTIL I learned about the benefits of soaking my grains. I had no idea how to make bread out of soaked grains! That is when the Good Lord sent me Caralee. She and her family moved into our neighborhood, and after only a few hours of knowing her it was clear she was a kindred spirit! She taught me how to make this soaked dough and I LOVE IT!

Caralee's Dough
4 cups buttermilk
1 cube butter, melted (on the stove top!)
6 cups whole wheat, ground (about 9 c. ground flour)
1 TBLS baking soda
1 TBLS real salt

Put the melted butter and buttermilk in a large bowl. (I use a glass bowl.) Add about 8 cups of the flour and mix well. Add more flour as needed to make a stiff dough. Cover the bowl tightly w/ plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for
12 - 24 hours. When you are ready to use it add the baking soda and salt, knead well.

Tips:
~ I use buttermilk that I have cultured myself. To start it I bought some buttermilk from the healthfood store. I put 1/4 cup buttermilk in a glass quart jar, filled it the rest of the way up with RAW MILK, put a lid on it and set it on the counter for 12 hours. TA DA! Buttermilk. (You MUST use raw milk. Processed milk will just spoil in the jar. If you don't have access to raw milk you can just use the buttermilk from the healthfood store. It's not very expensive.) When you use the buttermilk just leave about a 1/4 cup in the bottom of the jar and fill it up with raw milk and start the process over. I culture mine in a 1/2 gallon jar now because we use so much of it!

~ You can make your buttermilk stretch by using 2 cups buttermilk and 2 cups water in this recipe. Right now I use 3 cups buttermilk and 1 cup water.

~ You can also use a good quality yogurt if you have no buttermilk. That's what I used when I first started making Caralee's Dough. I used 2 cups Dannon All Natural plain yogurt and 2 cups water. Just be sure the yogurt is not low fat.

~ Sometimes the outer layer of the dough takes on a grey appearance after it has soaked. THIS IS NORMAL! When you knead in the soda and salt it will almost disappear.

~ I make a batch of dough every night. I try to do it while I'm making dinner. Then I can make lots of fresh, soaked bread items the next day.

What I make with soaked dough:
The options of what you can do with Caralee's Dough are many! Here are my favorite.

1. FLAT BREAD - Use a walnut sized clump of dough and roll it out thin. Cook it for a few minutes on each side in a little butter. Even easier if you have a tortilla press! You can wrap up lots of different things in it! My favorite is to top the flat bread with black beans, brown rice, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. I melt this under the broiler in my toaster oven. YUM!!

2. BISCUITS - I use half the dough and I add 1 TBLS of sucanat when I am kneading in the soda and salt. I roll out the dough and cut it into biscuit shapes with a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass. I place the biscuits on my rectangular baking stone and cook them for about 20 -25 minutes on 350. We like them with butter and honey.

3. MUFFINS - I use half the dough and add the salt and soda. I also add 3 eggs, 1 tspn pure vanilla, and 1/2 cup sucanat. For Apple muffins I add 1 peeled and grated apple, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 -2 tspn cinnamon and a dash of allspice or nutmeg. I mix this all together - this takes a few minutes, be patient! I put the mix in buttered muffin tins - it would be better in stone muffin pans - and cook for about 25 minutes. For banana muffins I add (after the soda, salt, eggs, vanilla and sucanat) 3 mashed bananas and 1 tspn cinnamon. You really could make them any flavor you want!

4. CINNAMON BREAD STICKS - I use half the dough and roll it out on my round or rectangular baking stone. (I sprinkle a little arrowroot powder on the stone so the dough won't stick.) I melt 3 TBLS of butter and 4 TBLS honey in a small pan. Add 1 tspn cinnamon. Spread the melted mix over the dough. Bake at 350 for about 20 -25 minutes. Let it cool for 5 minute and then use a pizza cutter to cut it into sticks.

There are lots of other things to do with Caralee's Dough! I will post more soon. Please ask me if you have any questions. Caralee said she would also be glad to help. Let me know if you want her contact info.

Raw Milk Smoothies

2009-08-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

Raw Milk Smoothies

We have these all the time! Smoothies and muffins for breakfast. Smoothies and tuna melts for lunch or dinner. Smoothies for dessert! Kids feel like they are getting a treat, you know they are getting healthy, REAL food!

Start with:

3 frozen bananas
1 TBLS raw honey
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 cups raw milk

Blend well in your blender.

If you like banana smoothies stop here and enjoy! Or try these variations.

Add to your blended mixture:

4-5 frozen strawberries

or

2 TBLS cocoa powder and 1/4 cup natural peanut butter

You can also buy organic coconut milk and add 1/2 a can of it to your fruit smoothies. The possibilities are endless!

Why I Changed My Mind About Cheese and Milk

2009-08-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

When I went almost vegan 7 years ago I was convinced that all animal products were bad for our bodies. I cut out all animal products from my cooking and thought that our low-fat diet was the way to go. Not too long after that I read a book called Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price, DDS. He told the story of his quest to find out why his American patients had such rampant tooth decay and other health issues. He decided to travel around to little isolated towns and villages throughout the world. Places where the "modern" Western diet hadn't been eaten. The book documents his findings with written words and pictures of people in these isolated places. What he found was that people who ate their native, traditional diet had strong bones, no tooth decay, no tooth crowding, no diseases, etc. The diets they followed differed a little from town to town, but they all basically ate what they grew from the ground and the animals they raised. They all ate animal fat, grain, veggies and fruit in their season and most of them ate dairy products.

What really caught my attention was that NOT ONE of these healthy populations ate a vegetarian diet. There was something in the animal products that contributed to the great health of these people. Dr. Price called it Activator X. I decided then to add eggs and a little cheese into our diet, and even some skim milk. We had maybe one serving of dairy a day. We still kept to a very low-fat diet. I mostly used olive oil and vegetable shortening when I cooked. I rarely used butter. I kept a few sticks of it in the fridge for buttering toast or putting on popcorn. My theory was that milk was meant for turning a 100 pound calf into a 500 pound cow as quickly as possible. It was not meant for humans. We are the only mammal that drinks the milk of another mammal.

As my food education progressed I learned about the terrible conditions cows and chickens were raised in. I felt even more sure that meat,milk, and eggs should play a very small role in our diet. Not to mention all the saturated fat these things contained! EW!

My food education took a huge detour when I really started to read and study Dr. Price's ideas and the books written by Sally Fallon. (She, by the way, is the president of the Weston A. Price foundation. They have a great website, check it out! I'll put the link at the bottom of this post.) The idea that people have been living healthy lives eating traditional foods for thousands of years really made me stop and think. I had to throw out my milk theory because I saw how plain silly it was. If you want to get crazy with that theory you can. We shouldn't eat eggs because they are potentially baby chicks who deserve to live! We shouldn't eat any meat because animals have rights! We shouldn't eat honey because it is stealing from the bees who work so hard to produce it. Do you see what I mean? What about the theory that a loving God created these things to sustain and nourish us? That's the theory I feel best about right now.

I also feel strongly that grains and fruits and veggies should make up the bulk of our diet. In a minute I'll give some sample menu plans I follow. The thing is, we need to be very careful about our FOOD SOURCES! We need to get our food from our own back yards as much as possible and then after that look for ways to get food that has not been doctored up with hormones, chemicals, and antibiotics.

I also feel strongly that a low-fat diet is actually BAD FOR YOU. That is why I am okay with the cheese and butter and milk. We have to get fat in our diets. If you go walk around the grocery store on a Fat Hunt, what will you find? Fat in peanut butter (hydrogenated), fat in cookies (hydrogenated), fat in processed oils, ie. canola, safflower, LIGHT olive oil, (rotten and bleached!) vegetable shortening (hydrogenated) processed milk products (DEAD and full of hormones and chemicals, eggs (from confined chickens fed a corn & grain based diet - not natural to their species), meat (from animals raised in confinement and therefore dosed with hormones and antibiotics, not to mention the poor diet they eat!) SO... where can we get healthy fats?

Here's my list:
Olive Oil - NOT the LIGHT variety - it's processed too.
Raw Milk
Pasture fed meat
Pasture fed chicken eggs
Raw nuts and raw nut spreads
Cheese
Butter
Sour Cream

This is why I'm okay with cheese, butter, and sour cream:
I would not buy my local store's brand of cheese or sour cream. I use Tillamook cheese. It is made from cultured, natural, no hormones added milk. We don't eat tons of it, but I use it almost daily to jazz up what I am making. I look for the best quality butter I can. Butter is a simple fat that is easily digested by our bodies. Butter is real! While I have not been able to find any made from raw milk, butter is a better choice for cooking and flavoring than the hydrogenated shortenings and the newfangled oils that are SO over-processed and just plain bad for you. I'm still trying to learn more about butter. I just can't cook everything in olive oil! I buy Daisy sour cream. The ingredient list is short - Cultured Cream. Sour cream is great made into dip, in soup, on pizza, I LOVE it! Someday I will have a few cows and make my own cheese and butter. In the mean time I'm just trying to get the best I can.

Bottom line:
We need fats in our diet. I'm going to use the fats that are naturally occurring on the earth, that are not processed and that have been valued as a healthy part of diets for thousands of years. I feel good about my choice.

A Few Sample Menus:

B - Soaked oatmeal w/ cream, raisins and apples
L - Pizza: soaked whole-wheat dough, organic pepperoni, tomato sauce, cheese
D - Chili: soaked beans, spices, home-canned tomatoes and soaked dough rolls

B - Scrambled eggs, fruit, and milk
L - Raw milk smoothies and soaked dough apple muffins
D - Soaked dough cheese sandwiches

B - Soaked dough muffins, fruit and milk
L - Soaked rice, zucchini(fried in butter) soaked rolls and carrots
D - Roast beef, veggies and soaked rolls

I try to have chopped veggies or air-popped, buttered popcorn for snacks. I also try to set out lacto-fermented pickled beets or pickles with the meals. Butter and cheese are not a big part of the meals. The raw milk and grains are. I use raw milk to culture buttermilk for the soaked dough, so we get it there too.

This has been a really long post!! Thanks for reading it. This topic has been rolling around in my head and I REALLY needed to get it out! Please ask me questions if there are any I haven't answered.

Here's the link for the Weston A. Price Foundation.
westonaprice.org

Ketchup In The Kitchen

2009-08-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

SO, I tried my hand at making ketchup last night! First I will tell you that it tastes great and my kids like it! They had it on their scrambled eggs this morning. I have yet to be able to find an affordable brand of store-bought ketchup without high fructose corn syrup in it, so I planted 30 tomato plants in the spring with the goal in mind of making a years supply of ketchup myself.

Here's what I used:

A lot of tomatoes! Probably 20 pounds. Next time I make it I will measure!
2 large organic onions
5 cloves of garlic
1 cup real apple cider vinegar
2 cups sucanat (sweetener)
2-3 tbls salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Here's what we did:
I filled a large pot half way full of hot water and brought it to a boil. Dillon put about 10 tomatoes at a time in the water and scalded them for 30 seconds. He took them out with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl. He filled the bowl with cold water and let them sit for a minute. While he kept scalding the tomatoes I took the cooled ones and cut the core out of the top and sliced each tomato in half. Then I used my thumbs to press out the seeds and mushy stuff in the middle. I gave the tomato a squeeze to get any extra fluid out and then plopped it in my big stainless-steel pot. We worked like that until the pot was about 3/4ths full. I then chopped up the onions and pressed the garlic and put that in the pan. I stirred in the vinegar, sucanat, salt and pepper. I turned the heat under the pot to medium and crossed my fingers. After several hours of simmering I turned off the heat. I then got out the blender and blended about three cups of the soupy stuff at a time. (It's hot! Put a towel over the top in case any bubbles out.) After each batch of it was blended I poured it into a smaller stock pot I have. Once it was all blended and in the other pot I put the pot on a burner at about medium heat. This blended mixture simmered for another hour or so. You want to cook the tomatoes down until you get the consistency of ketchup. While it simmered I got 6 quart jars and lids ready. I took the pot off the heat and used a funnel to fill each jar. I put lids and rings on each one and then used my steamer to process 5 of them for 30 minutes. (You can use a water-bath to process them if that's what you have.) I stuck the other jar in the fridge to use right away.

The most important things I learned from this endeavor are:
1. Use Roma tomatoes if you can. They have less seeds.
2. Wear rubber gloves. Tomatoes are hard on your skin.
3. Start the whole process in the morning. I started at 4 in the afternoon and it took a long time!
4. You don't have to follow my recipe. Put what sounds good in it to you!

The final word on making ketchup it that it takes a long time, but is worth the effort! I am excited to make another batch soon!

Burnt Cake And A Messy Kitchen

2009-08-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday was my son's eighth birthday. I wanted the day to be fabulous and the food amazing and REAL. Friday I got out the healthy cookbook and looked at the cake recipes. I called my son in and asked him which cake he would like to have. He picked the flour less chocolate cake. We decided to frost it with whipped cream and drizzle mashed strawberries over it. We planned to make ice cream too! I checked to make sure we had all the ingredients we needed and was very excited to have all our family over to be wowed by the tasty, healthy treats.

Saturday dawned with clouds and rain in the sky. Our plans to picnic at the local reservoir had to be altered. I made a yummy breakfast of hash browns, biscuits and gravy. My son opened his gifts and then wet out to play. I turned my attention to the boxes and bags of produce on my counter that needed to be taken care of before I made the cake. There were beets to pickle, tomatoes waiting to be made into ketchup, carrots to trim and put away, and apricots in serious need of being washed and either eaten or dried. I also had to make a trip to the dairy to buy cream for the ice cream and the whipped cream. I still needed to fix lunch and dinner too! Can you sense a disaster about to happen?

I jumped in and started working! First there was ice cream to be made. It turned out just fine. Luckily my wonderful mother showed up about this time to help me. She started on the pile of dishes while I went to work on the produce. Eventually it was time to make the cake. This wasn't going to be just any cake. The directions were complicated, but the vision I had in my head of this fabulous, two layer, whipped cream and berry topped cake made me so excited! I followed the directions carefully. From what I could tell it would be like a chocolate angel-food cake. There were several steps in the process. At one point I tasted the batter and it was NOT sweet enough. I melted a little honey and added it to the mixture. It tasted great! I put the batter in two buttered, round pans, placed them in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. I did just what the book said, except for the little bit of honey.

25 minutes later the timer rang. With great anticipation I went to open the oven. I was expecting to see two fluffy layers cooked to perfection. I opened the door and my nose was greeted with a funny burnt smell! I removed the pans and, to my great horror, saw two flat-looking things! Where was the fluff? I stood over those two things and got madder and madder! I finally put them in the pantry to cool so I wouldn't have to look at them. I consoled myself by saying that I would just frost them really thickly and they would be okay.

My mom, my daughter and I started getting dinner ready. There was still lots of veggies on the counter and a few dishes. The kitchen was naturally a bit of a mess after all we had been working on, but I wasn't too worried about it. As far as I knew only a few people were coming for the party and they wouldn't mind. I kept putting thoughts of the cake out of my mind.

Dinner turned out nicely. Potato wedges, corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes and watermelon. Just as we finished eating family started coming over. Thankfully they went out back to play. That's when I found out that that my aunt was coming! I had invited her and my paternal grandparents to come, but I hadn't heard back from them so I thought they weren't coming. Now, I LOVE having my family over. I really enjoy hosting a crowd of people and serving good food. I usually try to tidy up the house before people come, but the busy day had made that a little impossible. Things weren't too bad, but the kitchen was still pretty messy. I normally wouldn't worry - we're raising up a houseful of kids and trying to preserve a garden full of food! But when I found out my aunt was coming I panicked! She is one of those amazing ladies who can be a mother, work a business, sew costumes for her kids plays and keep a perfectly clean and organized home. I mean perfectly. You could eat off the floors in her bathroom! I couldn't help but be a little self conscious!

My aunt and grandparents arrived and graciously ignored the mess. I ushered them into the back yard and decided I had better tackle the cake. I began to whip the cream. I don't know what I did wrong, but the cream pretty much turned to butter!
In frustration I stopped whipping the cream and tried to take the cakes out of the pans. It was awful!! They were BURNT, FLAT, and HOPELESS. I stood there and just cried and cried! I wanted everything to be perfect! My mom offered suggestions on how we could make the cake presentable, but I knew that no matter what I did to it there was no way I could serve that cake to my son! I tried to hide my tears as I stuck my head out the door and called to my husband. He came in and I tearfully told him of what had happened. I asked him to hurry up and run up to Walmart and buy a chocolate cake. He was wonderful and ran out to save the day!

Twenty minutes later we were all sitting around the table singing "Happy Birthday!" to my son. The cake looked great and, even though I knew it was made of garbage, I have never been so thankful for white flour and sugar in my whole life! The party was fun, the food was good and I was EXHAUSTED!

Questions About Making Oatmeal

2009-08-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

My amazing sister-in-law asked me two really important questions about making oatmeal the way I do. #1 was why use full-fat yogurt and #2 was why take the time to soak and cook the oats when you can microwave them in a few minutes?

Before we answer the first question we have to toss out the notion that a low-fat diet is a healthy diet. In this day and age low-fat foods are all around us and we are bombarded daily with the message that low-fat is the way to go. This is simply not true. Our ancestors valued fats for their nourishing properties. Most of these fats were saturated fats. Saturated fats come to us naturally without having to be processed. I highly recommend reading Sally Fallon's books, Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat, Loose Fat for a detailed lesson on the truth about fats.

Getting back to the yogurt question, look at the ingredients on the back of a low-fat carton of yogurt. You will find high fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, and a few things you can't pronounce very well. If you look at the ingredients on a carton of plain, full-fat yogurt you find one thing - cultured milk. It's not hard to pick which one is REAL FOOD.

To answer the question about preparing oats we really need to address two things - the benefits of soaking grains and the idea of tossing out your microwave. First, in the bran of grains there is something called phytic acid. Our bodies have a hard time breaking down this acid making it hard for our bodies to digest and use all the nutrients in grains. Soaking your oats and other grains in a cultured product like buttermilk, yogurt and also whey for 12 - 24 hours breaks down the phytic acid. It also makes the nutrients in the grains easy for your body to use as well as breaking down starches and upping the vitamin content. Wow!

Second, everyone should stop using their microwave ASAP! We gave ours up for good in March of this year. I got a toaster-oven for my birthday and between that and the good old fashioned stove-top I have found I don't miss my microwave at all. Now it takes me 3 minutes to melt my butter for popcorn instead of 30 seconds. I can wait an extra 2.5 minutes to ensure that I'm not dumping chemically altered butter on the food I'm about to serve to my kids. I know, I know, add this to the list of things that make Tara a nut! Google "microwave oven safety" and read the articles that come up with an open mind. What it comes down to is that microwaves alter the protein molecules of the food we cook. I don't really want any altered proteins in me. I've got enough to worry about as is is!

All of this really comes down to preparing foods in ways that our bodies can best use the good stuff in them. Soaking grains ensures that you will get the most nourishment out of them. NOT microwaving foods ensures that your food stays in its proper form.

p.s. I can just see some of you rolling your eyes and saying cooking like this takes too much time and aforethought. It kinda does. I guess it all depends on your attitude. I must confess that for many years I was a cold cereal addict. I could eat Frosted Mini Wheats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A huge chunk of my grocery money when to cold cereal each month. (Me, my hubby, and 6 kids chowing down every morning! Can you imagine?) I got heavy into couponing for a while and I had about 50 boxes of cold cereal in my basement! When the number of cereal boxes dipped below 20 I started to panic! What will we eat for breakfast!? Mornings with 6 homeschooling children need to get started quickly and easily. Nothing is easier than opening a box of Shredded Wheat! When I really got serious about no processed food and stopped buying cold cereal I had a major mental shift. I started planning my meals out ahead of time and preparing the night before. It was like a whole new world opened up before me. THERE WERE OTHER THINGS TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST BESIDES COLD CEREAL! Now our breakfasts are nourishing and made of REAL FOODS. Yes it does take a little extra time, but it is SO WORTH IT!

Dairy and Fat

2009-08-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Now that I have convinced you all to switch to raw milk (tee hee!) let's talk for a minute about other dairy products. Butter and cheese are on the top of my list and I am going to focus on them today. For many years butter and cheese were used VERY sparingly in our house. A little butter on toast or popcorn and a little cheese sprinkled on soups or maybe a little in a sandwich. After all, butter and cheese are full of saturated fat and everyone knows saturated fat is bad for you, right?

Let's look back in time several hundred years. How did our ancestors get fat in their diets? Families lived on farms and worked the land. They kept chickens, pigs, and cows for meat, eggs, milk, cheese and butter. They grew acres of wheat and oats, and gardens for produce to supplement their diets. Pretty much all the fat they ate came from animal products in the form of saturated fat. They never used any kind of oil in cooking. Mothers saved bacon grease and used animal fats in cooking.

The saturated fats they used stayed stable/solid at room temperature. They were not processed at high temperatures or changed in any way. They milked the cow, made the butter and ate it. The so called healthy oils, like corn oil, we are told to replace butter with today are processed at extremely high temperatures. They are rancid (rotten) at that point and so the manufacturer bleaches the oil. What sounds more appealing, rotten, bleached corn oil or fresh, REAL butter?

Saturated fat is actually a blessing! Are you a little shocked by that? I know! It took me a long time to accept that as truth. But it makes so much sense to me now. Our ancestors ate saturated fats and heart disease and cancer were rare. When we were told to go "low fat" and avoid all saturated fats heart disease and cancer rates went through the roof.

SO! Put butter and cheese back on the menu. Just be sure that you get good quality products. I use Tillamook cheese. It's the best quality cheese I have found. Right now I buy butter, and the cheese, from Costco. The price is excellent. I use butter in my bread, on rolls and muffins, on popcorn, saute veggies in it, etc. I like to also use olive oil for a few things, but mostly I cook with butter. Kids will eat their veggies gladly when you add a plop of butter and Real Salt to them. Cookies and other treats just taste better with butter!

p.s. I do think there is such a thing as too much butter and cheese. Just use good judgement!

Pickles From My Garden!

2009-07-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

I just spent the last little while making 3 quarts of lacto-fermented pickles with my three year old. I love the way these turn out! Here's what I used for 1 quart:

4-5 cucumbers from my garden
2 dill clippings from my garden
1 TBLS mustard seeds
1 TBLS Real Salt
4-5 TBLS whey
1-2 cups water
2-3 bulbs of garlic, optional

How To:
I got out a clean, glass Mason jar. I peeled my garlic and sliced each bulb in half. I put those at the bottom of the jar. I rinsed 1 of the dill clippings and put that in next. Then I washed the cucumbers and sliced them about 1/4 inch thick. (Do not peel them.) I filled the jar half full of the slices and then added another dill clipping, and then filled the jar the rest of the way with slices. I then added the mustard seed. In a little measuring cup I mixed 1 cup of water with the whey and salt. I poured this over the sliced cucumbers. (If that doesn't fill the jar to almost the top I add more water.) Twist a lid firmly on the jar and it's done! With a Sharpie I labeled the jar, "Garlic." I also wrote the time of day and then, "2 days." I stuck the jar in the pantry and in two days we'll open the jar and enjoy the pickles!

A note on lacto-fermentation:
This is how our ancestors made pickles! They didn't use vinegar or cook them. The whey is the magic ingredient. It is a dairy product that you can make at home from yogurt. Sitting for two days cures the pickles. After two days you put them in the refridgerator. They last for months! Sally Fallon's book, Nourishing Traditions, is FULL of great lacto-fermented recipes. If you want details on how to obtain whey let me know!

Real Milk?

2009-07-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about raw milk. The idea that milk is actually good for you was the hardest thing for me to accept. Living in the Land of Vegetarianism for so long had me convinced that milk was evil and the root of many health problems. I was partially right. The milk you buy at your local grocery store IS a major source of health problems. It is DEAD! Fresh milk from a local dairy, where the cows are pasture fed and well cared for, is ALIVE and the health benefits you can obtain from it are many. I could write pages and pages about WHY raw milk is best! I'll sum it all up in a few sentences and strongly encourage you to do your own research to understand it further.

Here's the deal - the milk you buy at the grocery store shouldn't really even be called milk. The cow that milk came from was raised in confinement and fed food that is in no way natural to the species. She is injected with growth hormones and antibiotics and forced to produce way more milk than is good for her. The milk she gives is tainted with those hormones. The milk is then processed in ways that kill the good stuff - the enzymes. The enzymes in raw milk actually help you digest the milk. When the enzymes are dead you have trouble digesting and TA DA!, health problems!

How to get it:
Finding raw milk can be a challenge. It's not impossible though. I would recommend going to http://www.realmilk.com/. They have lots of good suggestions. You can also look in your yellow pages under "dairy" and start calling around. If there is a dairy close to you, or even not so close, go visit them and see if they have any. Even better, try to find a neighbor with a few cows.

How I use raw milk:
1. Drink it!
2. Make cultured products from it like buttermilk (used to soak grains), and yogurt.
3. Make smoothies. So good with frozen bananas and strawberries!

Milk was valued by our ancestors as an essential part of their diet. When the cows are well taken care of the milk they produce is fresh and healthy!

What Is REAL Food?

2009-07-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is a very interesting question! The best answers to this question I have found come from the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I read her book about 7 years ago, but wasn't quite ready to accept the principles she laid out. I spent the next 7 years cooking lots of healthy vegetarian meals for my family and felt like all was well. Last March I picked the book up again and felt like my eyes were opened to a whole new world! Throughout the book Ms. Fallon presents evidence that true health comes from eating REAL foods. Let's take a quick look at a list of real foods:

1. Raw milk and milk products

2. Fruits and vegetables - fermented, cooked and raw

3. Whole grains - soaked or sprouted

4. Meat - pasture fed

5. Eggs - from pasture fed hens

6. Raw nuts

7. Honey, sucanat, or other unrefined sweeteners

Pretty short list, right? Feeling like I'm a little crazy? Maybe I am, but stay with me for a minute. While this list is very short, the possibilities of what you can do with these items is ENDLESS! Let's do a few comparisons to help me make my point. Go grab a box of cereal. Read the ingredients. Pretty long list? Where was sugar listed? Number two ingredient? Now grab your canister of oatmeal. I know you have one in the back of your pantry! Not instant oats, real oats! Look at the ingredients. OATS!! Real food. Grab your box of fish crackers. Read the ingredients. How many ingredients? Can you pronounce the names of all the ingredients? Now grab an apple and a handful of raw almonds. Two ingredients. Real food. I'm sure you get my point.

Real health, real happiness comes from feeding ourselves and our families real food. Over the next few weeks I will go into detail on my list of real foods. I'll talk about how to prepare them, where to find them, and WHY we should eat them. I would love to hear your feedback! Please comment on any questions you have that you would like to see answered in upcoming posts. In the meantime, go through your cupboards and pantry and read the labels on your food. Toss out that stuff you know is garbage! You can do it!

"My Time Is My Own"

2009-07-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

I think the hardest part of being a mom is coping with the HUGE amount of time it takes to do everything "momish." Taking care of a family, no matter how large, is hard and requires a lot of work! It is so easy to start to resent all of the things you have to do. As that resentment builds a mom often finds herself resenting the people she is caring for. Have you ever found yourself saying (yelling), "Why am I the only one who notices that this trash needs to go out?" Do you feel like you never have enough time to do the things YOU want to do? I know I have felt this way at several points in my life.

A turning point in my attitude came after I pondered the advice of a wonderful mentor. She explained to me that my time is not my own. My time is really God's time! I needed to give up my frustrations that I don't have time to do all the things I want, and learn to embrace my opportunity to bless my family now with my acts of service. She encouraged me to read a great book, The Screwtape Letters. The story is told in the form of letters from Screwtape, one of the Devil's top demons, to his nephew who is trying to tempt a human on earth. A passage in the book really helped me refocus. Screwtape counsels his nephew to "...zealously guard in his mind the curious assumption 'My time is my own'. Let him have the feeling that he starts the day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours...man can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time; it all comes to him by pure gift."

So, "my time" is God's time. Right now the best way I can use this time is to take the best care of my family that I can. If that means I'm in the kitchen a good chunk of the day it's okay! I can be happy in the kitchen knowing that I am using my gift of time to make sure that my kids grow healthy and strong and that my hubby is satisfied too. This is the first step to being happy in the kitchen! Embrace the time spent preparing nourishing foods! The benefits - a healthy family, fewer doctor bills, time spent working with your kids, etc. - are SO worth it!

Let's Get Started!

2009-07-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Every mom, no matter how busy, wants to feed her family healthy meals! I think a huge portion of a mom's stress comes from wondering, "What should I make for dinner?" Not to mention lunch, breakfast, snacks, etc. We all intend on feeding our family delicious meals, prepared with love. Then life happens and we find ourselves fixing mac-n-cheese far too often.

The purpose of this blog is to help moms find happiness in the kitchen! That happy feeling comes in three areas: 1. Happiness knowing we are feeding our families REAL, NOURISHING foods. 2. Happiness that comes from having a plan each day for what we will eat. A plan equals no stress! 3. Happiness knowing we have used our grocery money wisely. No more wasted dollars because at 5 o'clock we still don't know what to fix so we order out.

Check in with me daily for tips and ideas in these three areas! I will save you time, money and stress! Here you will also find book recommendations, garden ideas, food storage plans, snack ideas and more! Let's get started!