Community

Mulled Cran-Apple Cider

3 cups sweet apple cider

1 cup pure unsweetened cranberry juice

2 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

1/2 tsp whole cardamom

1 tsp orange rind

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2 TBSP agave nectar

In a pot on medium high heat, combine apple cider, cranberry juice, and cinnamon sticks.  In a fine mesh tea ball, place the cloves, cardamom, and orange rind.  Add the tea ball and nutmeg to the apple cider mixture.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook on low, uncovered, for 20 minutes.  Taste and season with agave nectar.  Serve in mugs with a stick of cinnamon.  

   

     Have you ever seen morning glory flowers bloom?  Each flower is incredibly beautiful, but as a community of flowers, the vines take on a "twinkling lights" appearance.  Community is so important.  What I am talking about is not flowers but people who are a community of friends, of family, and of church.  Often, our differences, struggles, and problems are worked out in a community.  We each have our own talents and differences, strengths and weaknesses but working together we can do great things!

                                       

   "Community, I am forced to admit, ultimately requires meeting together with flesh and blood folks I cannot "block" or "unfriend" should they become annoying.  It means getting close enough to hug and wrestle, to build (and sometimes hold) each other up, even as we risk letting each other down."
                                                                                                      - Carolyn Arends

Potatoes

                         Healthy Potato Gratin with Herbs
                               Taken from 'Food and Wine' magazine September 2012.
One way to use all those potatoes that are now ready to be pulled up from the ground.  This recipe is creamy, but contains no cream.  I have substituted vegetable broth for chicken broth.

                    11/2 TBSP olive oil
                    1 large shallot, minced (1/3 cup)
                    11/2 tsp chopped thyme
                    2 cups vegetable broth
                    2 pounds medium red potatoes, very thinly sliced
                    salt and freshly ground pepper


1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and oil an 8-inch cake pan.  Line the bottom with parchment paper and oil the paper.
2.  In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil.  Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened.  Add the thyme and rosemary and cook for one minute.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, for about 10 minutes.
3.  Arrange the potato slices in the cake pan.  Season lightly with salt and pepper and then spoon on a small amount of the reduction sauce.  Repeat for many layers.  Spoon the rest of the sauce on top if there is any left over.  Cover the pan with a sheet of oiled parchment paper, then a layer of foil.
4.  Bake in the oven for one hour, or until the potatoes are very tender.  Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
5.  Turn on the broiler.  Invert the potatoes onto a heat proof plate.  Broil the potatoes close to the heat until slightly browned, about 2 minutes.




'Cause I know my weakness, know my voice
and I'll believe in grace and choice
And I know perhaps my heart is fast
but I'll be born without a mask.
                - Mumford and Sons, taken from the song Babel

Granola Bars

                                          Granola Bars

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 TBSP unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup gogi berries, or any other dried fruit
Optional: semi-sweet chocolate chips


Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the oats, seeds, coconut, almonds, and wheat germ onto a sheet pan.  Place in the oven and toast for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine the honey, sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a saucepan.  Cook on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove the oat mixture from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees.  Add the oat mixture to the liquid and stir well.  Add the dried fruit and anything else you would like to add.  Distribute the granola mixture into the pan and press down firmly, evening out the mixture.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Allow the mixture to cool, and then cut into squares.  My kids love these!

     "When Christianity says that God loves man, it means that God loves man, not that He has some 'disinterested', because really indifferent, concern for our welfare, but that, in awful and surprising truth, we are the objects of His love."

                                                        - C.S. Lewis, from the book The Problem With Pain

     "You have no greater sign of confirmed pride,

       than when you think you are humble enough."

                                                        - LAW, Serious Call, cap. XVI

Kale!

Kale Chips (Seriously addicting)

These are so crunchy and salty I swear you can substitute them for fat-laden potato chips!

4 cups fresh, washed kale (stems removed and fully dried)
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt

     Heat the oven to 275 degrees.  Tear the kale into 2 inch pieces.  Then place in a large ziplock bag with the olive oil.  Toss until coated.  Lay out flat on a cookie sheet.  It is ok if the pieces overlap since they will shrink.  Sprinkle with a cautious amount of salt.

 

                               Cook for 10 minutes, stir, then cook for another 10 minutes.
                                                       

Allow to fully cool.  Enjoy!  

     "Have you ever listened to an orchestra play a piece of music that made you dream of the way things should be, as opposed to the way that they are?"

                                                              - Harry S. Truman

                                                  Click and enjoy while cooking:

                                                          Vivaldi's Four Seasons

                            

Roasted Fall Vegetables

Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad

Lay out on a cookie sheet and drizzle with 3 TBSP olive oil, then roast in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, turning once:
1 acorn squash, cut into 2 inch chunks
1/2 pound carrots, halved
2 red or white onions, halved
salt and pepper to taste

Add to a bowl:
2 heads romaine lettuce, torn in pieces
2 celery stalks, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

Add the roasted vegetables after they begin to cool.  Drizzle with the following dressing:

The juice of one orange
4 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 TBSP honey or agave nectar
1/4 tsp celery seed
2 TBSP olive oil
Season with salt and pepper

The caramelized vegetables with the sweet orange dressing add a full bodied taste to this heavenly salad.  Perfect for lunch and you can use all the vegetables from your garden!


A child's thought....

"I thought I would enjoy having a butler to think of everything I might need, but then realized that my parents mostly did that."
                                                  - Janie Scott, a 14 year old character from
                                                    Maile Meloy's book,  The Apothecary

A parent's comment to their child...

"I'm not afraid that you are going to fail, but that you will succeed at the wrong things."
                                               
                                                   - Rachel Ann Nunes

Butternut Squash

                          Butternut Squash and Basmati Rice

1 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds, or 1 1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 cup basmati rice
3/4 pound peeled butternut squash, cut into 1/4 diced pieces (about 2 cups)
2 cups water
2 tsp kosher salt

     In a medium saucepan, heat the oil.  Add the seeds and cook on high heat for 30 seconds.  Add the rice and the diced squash and stir to coat with the oil mixture.  Add the water and salt and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook on very low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice and squash are tender.  Remove from the heat and let the rice stand, covered, for 5 minutes.  Fluff the rice and serve right away.  This dish is so fragrant and so delicious I could not stop eating it!  Serve with a side of grilled kale for a complete meal.


                          Wrong Turn
                                           by Luci Shaw

I took a wrong turn the other day.
A mistake, but it led me to the shop where I found
the very thing I'd been searching for.

With my brother I opened a packet
of old letters from my mother and saw a side of her
that sweetened what had been deeply sour.

Later that day the radio sang a song from
a time when I was discovering love,
and folded me into itself again.  

Goodwill and favors

     For pizza night, make a thin crust pizza and grill in a very warm oven (500 or hotter)
for 5-8 minutes.  Look at the blog from September 13, 2011 for a good whole wheat crust recipe.
Try these toppings from your garden for a change to the classic pizza:

Pizza #1:
            2 whole onions, carmelized
            3 cloves garlic, minced
            11/2 cups kale, chopped and grilled
            1 TBSP coarsely chopped sage, or full leaves
            1 tsp chopped thyme
            sprinkling of goat cheese
Heat in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Pizza #2:
            1 can chopped artichokes
            8 cloves garlic, minced
 Roast the artichokes and garlic in the oven for 30 minutes, until soft and buttery.  Then spread on the pizza.  Slice tomatoes on top and heat in the oven for 5 minutes.



     "He'd like to imagine a farm where no money traded hands, only goodwill and favors.  He had a theory that you had to start out by giving stuff away, preferable big stuff, worth, he figured, about a thousand dollars.  At first, he said, people are discomfited by such a big gift.  They try to make it up to you, by giving you something big in return.  And then you give them something else, and they give you something else, and pretty soon nobody is keeping score.  There is simply a flow of things from the place of excess to the place of need.  It's personal, and it's satisfying, and everyone feels good about it.  This guy is completely nuts, I thought.  But what if he's right?"

                                                               - Kristin Kimball, from the book The Dirty Life

     I recently obtained eggs in exchange for a home-cooked breakfast (thanks Alice!).  I also carted home 20 pounds of tomatoes in exchange for a box full of peppers, kale, and basil from my garden. My tomatoes did not do well in our soil, but everything else did!  Give something away and see what comes your way!

Goodbye Summer

     Summer completely consumed me with outdoor sports, gardening and canning, traveling, and reading.  Oh, and watching the Olympics.  In Boyne Falls, Michigan, we were almost giddy with anticipation of each new day. We knew that the warm weather would lead us to the boat or beach, leaving my quickly cluttered house in need of serious cleaning.  But cleaning can always wait, right?  Actively leading the family outside to enjoy the sun and go for a swim is what is important!  In fact we would many days return home, go out to the garden and gather our ingredients for the dinner meal.  While my husband prepared dinner (looking quite hunky doing so) I would throw in some laundry and clean up.  We had a perfect routine!  And one that we will dearly miss until next year.  

    I have gathered some recipes and written down words of encouragement.  Most recipes will follow what foods are in harvest.  Hopefully this blog finds you well.  Some of you have contacted me with health concerns about your diet.  I will try to address as many health related topics as possible, with diet and food choices being an option for treatment.

Potato, Avacado, and Corn Salad

1 cup plain rice milk

2 TBSP finely grated horseradish

1 TBSPs cornstarch dissolved in 2 TBSP water

1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest, plus 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 ears of corn, shucked and kernels cut from the cob

1 and 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes

1 fennel bulb, halved, cored and very thinly sliced

1 Hass Avocado, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped dill

1/4 cup snipped chives

In a small saucepan, combine the rice milk with 1 and 1/2 TBSP horseradish and bring to a boil.  Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and return to a boil.  Cook, stirring, until thickened.  Strain into a small bowl and add the lemon juice and remaining horseradish.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the corn kernels for one minute in a pot of boiling water.  Allow to cool.

Cook the potatoes in the corn water for 12 minutes.  Slice after cooling.  Season with salt and pepper and arrange on a platter.  Sprinkle with the corn kernels, then arrange the fennel slices, avocado, dill, and chives.  Drizzle with the horseradish.  Add more horseradish on top, if desired.  

We ate this the other night and it was so fresh and delicious!  Even the kids scarfed it down.

"A student goes to his teacher and says, "Rabbi, how can I say 'I believe' when I pray, if I am not sure that I believe?" His Rabbi has an answer: " 'I believe' is a prayer meaning, 'Oh, that I MAY believe!'""

                                                               - from the book Girl Meets God, by Lauren Winner