Embracing Your Inner Granola

The title of this post is what I did yesterday. Now, it may have something to do with Mike fixing the breaks on the van. Which he did a great job on, by the way, even despite running into a few problems (which we think caused them to need to be fixed....). Anyway, Mike was running around town most of the day looking for bolts and parts and what not and I was home with the kids - without a vehicle.

First, thing that happened is I realized we were totally out of bread for sandwiches. Thankfully, I noticed this early on and had time to make bread. Of course, I was nearly out of all my whole wheat and bread flours but I did find some rye flour in the pantry. So I made rye bread, or made up my own recipe for it, since I figured I also use up the white whole wheat and the bread flours too. Abby helped and she has informed me that it is the best bread. Frankly, I think she's a little biased and she also liked the idea of of the cocoa powder we added to give it a darker color.

Then, I realized we were pretty much out of snacks. Are you sensing a theme here? So I decided to make some granola. Why? Cause it is cheap, easy, and the kids like it on yogurt. I'll get to the yogurt part soon enough. So I made some cranberry lemon flavored granola.

Now, having been inspired by several blog posts on making homemade ricotta cheese, I had picked up a gallon of full fat milk (we usually drink one percent here) last week during my weekly shopping trip. Yesterday was the "best by" date so I figured I better use it up. But what I didn't realize is that I didn't really need a full gallon of milk to make the ricotta so I also decided to make yogurt in the crockpot. Also something I hadn't done before.

Making the ricotta cheese was so fun!!! And easy! Here's what I did:

1/2 gallon (8 cups) full fat milk
1/3 cup of white distilled vinegar
1 tsp of kosher salt (I might even add more if I knew the ricotta was bound for a savory dish)

Heat the milk on the stove top in a non-reactive pot. Heat to about 180 degrees over medium heat. If you don't have a thermometer then heat it just to the point where it starts to simmer. From what I've read though, anywhere from 165 to 185 degrees is just fine. You may want to stir as it is heating if you don't have solidly built pans as you do not want the milk to scorch! Turn off the heat, gently stir in the vinegar. Stir for about a minute. You'll see curds start to form right away. Use a slotted spoon or I have a small enough wire mesh colander that I simply used that to scoop the curds out of the whey. Have a colander lined with paper towels over another bowl, and place the curds on the paper towels to drain. Oila! Ricotta cheese! It tastes whey, I mean way, better than the stuff from the store. Refrigerate and use in the next 7 days. Save the whey, there are lots of uses for that nutritional liquid (including using it like buttermilk in recipes!).

So, after making the cheese, I still had another half gallon of milk so I started making yogurt. I have no fancy yogurt machine and frankly, bacteria, for the most part scare me. But after reading this blog post, I decided I had to give it a try. It was very simple. I let it drain again in paper towel line colander in the fridge (so I have more whey!) and gave some to the kids today for a snack. I served it with homemade strawberry/rhubarb jam, topped with homemade granola. I'm feeling my "inner granola" big time. :)

Raspberry Update & a Menu Plan

It's been over a month since I posted. What have I been up to? Hmmmmm - yep! You guessed it: yard and garden work. In fact I have a strong urge to go out right now and weed that onion patch (my dill is overtaking my garden), plant some eggplant starts that I bought on impulse and prep the last area for the squash seeds that I'm thinking should go in before the rain that's coming. But I'm not. Instead I've decided to finally update you all.

About a week and a half ago, I noticed that the raspberry bare root plants I planted are indeed alive and doing well! Can I hear a praise God and an amen to that? :) Now to think about protecting them from those nasty, NASTY Japanese beetles....

Menu Plan:

Monday: Crock Pot Roast with Dilled Carrots, Dinner Rolls
Tuesday: Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs & Asian Sesame Ginger Salad
Wednesday: French Dip Sandwiches, Oven Fries, Fresh Veggies
Thursday: Spinach & Artichoke Pasta and ? maybe bread? fresh fruit for dessert?
Friday: Homemade Individual Pizzas (choose your own toppings!)

God's Grace in Planting Raspberries

Last week I was brimming with excitement. The raspberries that I had researched and thought about and eventually purchased on-line were coming in the mail. From Maine (or was it Massachusetts?)! Yes, I purchased bare root canes of a variety called Polana and I was bound and determined that these little bare-root-nothing-to-them plants were going to make it.

You see, I've failed. And failed miserably in the area of raspberries. I've wanted them so long and have tried planting them a few times before. In fact a couple of years ago, I spotted a raspberry plant on clearance and planted it. Oh was I excited when I got it to grow! And then last year, we had berries! Only they weren't that sweet. Or at least they weren't until I let them turn a dark, dark color - yep - my "raspberry" plant really was a blackberry. Sigh. No wonder it's growth habit was different than what all the books were telling me it was supposed to be like!

So this time, I was going to do everything right. First, I decided what kind of raspberry to get (summer or ever bearing - I chose ever bearing). Then I picked a variety that would do well here and give me the kind of crop I wanted. Then I researched companies to see who would actually sell me a plant that was really going to survive (this is a crucial step!). On Monday, I got the e-mail that they were on their way, so I busily prepared the area for them. I took out all the grass that had crept in, put in a better grass barrier, added compost and tilled it all in. I was ready to go.

Wednesday dawned and I knew God was looking out for me. The weather was perfect, ideal weather to be working outside. But it gradually became warmer and warmer. And then I started fretting about it being TOO sunny and TOO hot - that the roots would dry out and then they would be goners (again, this is from the research that I had done). So I (read I) prepared myself for making sure everything was perfect - a bucket of water handy to go, so they could soak as I quickly dug the trench. I had looked at the forecast; the weather was supposed to turn really nasty the next day - cold, windy, and wet. Planting had to happen on Wednesday.

But the day drug on. No Fed Ex truck was in sight. I carried on with what I needed to do. It was about time to start supper and I had been doing other yard chores as I waited. Then, the sky gently clouded over. The temperature slightly dropped. The wind died down completely. And the Fed Ex truck pulled in front of our house. Quickly, I got the raspberries, and planted them per the instructions of the company. After I had them watered the sun broke out in full force and it warmed right back up.

You see I WAS prepared. BUT God, in His grace, even amongst the dumb, lame things of my life, provided for me abundantly in His timing. I was ready and He provided the ideal situation (the Fed Ex truck coming just as it cooled down and clouded up) in which to plant these things that for some silly reason, I really wanted. My timing would have had that truck come way earlier, even in the heat of the day and I would have planted those raspberries as I fretted about the sun and warm wind. You see, He knows my wants and my needs and He's sovereign over all the mundane and exciting situations and timings in my life. I find it thrilling to have a God that cares about me (and you) that much. I found myself saying Jehovah-jireh - the LORD provides...

Oh, and I hope to post about all the yummy raspberries I'm going to get this or next year, late summer.