I spent about an hour in the kitchen yesterday morning. I think I spend about an hour in the kitchen every morning. There’s always something to prepare, something to wash, something to plan. I’m thankful for my roomy kitchen, for electrical appliances, for white dishes and plenty of silverware. Here’s a small taste of what was going on…
Fast Food: How to Feed People on the Quick!
Have you ever had meal preparation time delayed? Or last minute unexpected visitors to feed? Listen in as we delve into the challenges, discover some new ideas of how to prepare for this inevitable hurdle in the kitchen, and what sorts of snacks and meals can be easily put together with just a few raw ingredients. You don’t have to send people away from your home hungry!
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Here is an easy and frugal recipe for Split Pea Soup. I usually have all of these ingredients on hand, so other than just a few minutes to throw stuff into the pot, it cooks itself so I can concentrate on other things. Enjoy!
1TB coconut (not extra virgin!) or palm oil (better for you than olive oil 🙂
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 small (preferably red) potatoes, cubed
1 tsp. cumin
black pepper to taste
1 cup green split peas
4 cups water or vegetable stock (I really like this brand; I buy it singly from my market)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried dill
In a soup pot, saute onions in oil until soft. Add celery, carrot, potatoes, cumin and pepper and saute about 5 more minutes. Add split peas, water/broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower heat, simmer for 90 minutes. Then, add peas, salt, and dill. Stir and serve! Mmmm….
Adapted from Feeding the Whole Family.
Hours in the Kitchen?
I recently read a comment about how preparing and eating healthy food sounds like a good idea, but this particular person didn’t want to spend “hours in the kitchen”. I do find it curious that activities such as cooking (and exercise for that matter) that foster good health typically have a bit of dread involved, or *suffering*. I mean, why wouldn’t we want to spend “hours in the kitchen” if it meant more money in the wallet now and less disease later? (And why does it have to such a woeful thing to take a half hour walk every day?) In any case, I was curious. How much time do I spend in the kitchen?
This morning I walked into my kitchen around 8:15am. We actually used to eat at 8:00, but I soon figured out that we all like sleep, especially in late fall when the sun doesn’t even begin to show itself until 7:30am. And anyway, we don’t have a bus to catch.
So, in a nutshell, this is what I did this morning:
- fed my sourdough starter
- refilled my wheat berry jar
- checked on the meat for tonight
- decided on lunch
- made up a fresh eggnog for hubby’s out-the-door smoothie (and for me, too!)
- took my supplements
- helped my 10yo empty the dishwashers (we have two)
- and made pancakes (scroll down for recipe).
My heart and mind was also occupied with greeting my wee children and encouraging them to get dressed and “up and ready” for their day, and checking in with the morning animal care.
That bit was 55 minutes long; let’s call it an hour. Then we ate, and then my kids took care of cleaning up.
I returned to the kitchen two hours later. This is what I did then:
- ground whole wheat berries into flour and mixed and kneaded for my sourdough bread.
- supervised and enjoyed my children’s candlemaking craft (post and pics coming soon)
- visited with a friend who stopped by (yay!) with boxes of empty jars for me (yay!)
- made tuna chowder for lunch (scroll down for recipe)
- ate with the children and our guest
- cleaned up the dishes
That portion was three hours long. I don’t know how much time I spent visiting or eating, so that’s all in there, too (life is like, SO distracting when you have a blog to prep for)
I returned two and a half hours later for the evening prep:
- formed the bread loaf, preheated the oven, and after proofing the last time, baked the bread.
- prepared our supper (meatballs, sweet potatoes, cucumber, and of course whole wheat sourdough bread with lots of pasture butter).
- cleaned up the prep dishes
That took an hour and a half.
Somewhere after supper I visited with the third friend of the day in the very same kitchen, probably for another half hour.
Before bed I cleaned the dishes, counters and floors, and then decided on meals for tomorrow, soaking a bowl full of black beans. I also put away the sweet potatoes that weren’t quite ready for our meal (ah well…tomorrow we’ll eat it!).
That was another hour.
So there you have it: seven hours worth of work. And for what? Well….for meals that will fuel growing bodies, keep them healthy and taste delicious besides. For memories in creating amazing crafty messes. For a warm place to love friends who need a hug and offer prayer. For more money in our pockets because fresh food made from scratch is a better value. For a clean kitchen that I won’t dread coming into in the morning. I dunno. Maybe it is too long. But for what would I give it up? Store boughten bread?
Tomorrow won’t be so long. Oatmeal for breakfast practically cooks itself. Lunch will be leftover soup just reheated, with leftover bread from tonight. And supper? Chicken that will boil on its own in a pot, with black beans that will slowly cook for a nice side dish with the soft tacos we’ll have. All I’ll really have to make tomorrow is the tortillas. Some days are long in the kitchen, but others are much shorter.
I guess we all have to choose where we’ll spend our time. As for me, time in the kitchen is time well invested, and besides, the children always know where to find me.
OUR PANCAKES:
4 cups leftover whey from making Greek-style yogurt (you can use runny yogurt or buttermilk)
3 farm fresh eggs, separated
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla (homemade)
3/4 cup shredded coconut
mix all ingredients but whip egg whites separately and fold into batter. Cook as you would other pancakes, and serve with organic maple syrup, homemade applesauce, and fresh raw milk to drink (if you’re blessed enough to have that!)
TUNA CHOWDER
Melt 4TB unsalted butter into pot (we happen to really like butter around here!).
Chop and saute: 2 leeks, 4 carrots, 4 ribs celery, 3 russet potatoes, 2 cloves garlic.
Add: 1 tsp kosher salt, black pepper, 1 cup wine, 2 bay leaves, and enough chicken stock to cover. I added a wee bit of dehydrated hot peppers.
After simmering and cooking veggies, add 5 cans unsalted tuna, 4 cups of milk/cream and a sprinkling of dill.
Mmm…
May the Lord bless your time in your kitchen!
Living Slow
Every now and again I wonder what everyone is rushing all about life for. Usually I think of this while watching traffic, knowing that each multi-thousand steel encasement has at least one person in it with places to go and things to do. And because of the stainless bubble surrounding said person, there is opportunity to rule this mini world with radio or phone (hands free, of course) without any bother or sacrifice to anyone else. In fact, if there is a chance of interaction with another vehicle, it’s usually not the tip of the hat (whatever happened to those manly things?) and an acknowledgement of another human being. It’s usually, um…mean.
I want the slow life. I’ll readily admit I love to drive and yes, with loud music, but if I had my druthers, I’d rather saunter around on a horse from place to place, noticing seed pods coming before the flourish of fall leaves.
Other than twitter and email, I’ve been MIA in reading blogs and whatnot on the computer. It’s a love-hate thing. Love the information I can get. Hate how it pulls the life out of my marrow. Love writing and sharing photos. Hate how sedentary I am while doing it. If my computer finally died, would I cry? How many people are rushing through their lives to get back to the computer, to social media, to blog hopping, to texting? How, I wonder, did people ever fill their time before this blessed technology? I’m not altogether certain, but I am sure more lives involved more people and projects.
Here are some snippets of my life lately. And yes, it takes a while to upload photos, format them, post them, write a blog and then *ta da!* “publish post”. I think it’s worth doing on occasion. I think…
So…where was I….oh, pics to share with you! Consider these some of the “instead” things I’ve been doing while off the computer. I harvested a goodly bunch of hardneck garlic and after curing them all, I peeled and cut apart all of the cloves. It was a lot of work, but I find fresh powered garlic so yummy all year long, so the time is worth it to me.
We’ve been buying fruit by the case and canning them in jams. The fruit leather is real good, the cobblers are tasty too, and the pies….oh, the pies!
So, that’s a little mish-mash. Fall is coming on. To me, the official start of fall is when I pick the last of my sweet peas, clean up the garden a bit, and plant for a winter harvest of greens. I’ve made peace with summer leaving without much of a visit. I’ve been eyeing my knitting and sewing projects, preparing for the homeschooling year, reading various books and trying to keep my mind and heart on the length of days I have left in this life and the wonderful God who lets me live them. You have a wonderful life, too. Don’t miss it.
Finding a Framework for Your Day
“Where do you get the time?” In this podcast, I share how I organize my time so that I have the time to knit, sew, quilt, write, and do a host of other things that I enjoy doing. If you want to find the time, laying a foundation in ordering your day is key.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The 3 A’s of organizing your day:
Attitude Decide how you’re going to approach being a wife and homemaker: as drugery or a gift. And learn to smile!
It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home.
Anonymous
the A List What are your priorities? How to find out what your priorities should be:
- Ask God. And read His answer in His Word.
- Ask your husband.
- Take thought of your children’s needs.
- Focus on your home; cultivate a vision.
There is nothing like staying home for real comfort.
Jane Austen
Arrangement Some simple ideas of how to organize your time:
- Pray and schedule your week, tagging each day with its own “big idea”…errand day, desk day, maintenance clean day, deep clean/project day(s), family day(s)
- Pray and schedule your day. God will always give you enough time to do everything He desires you to do. Meals, naps, playtime, schoolwork, chores, etc.
Additional Tips:
- Use creativity to fit your routines to your needs and family.
- Do think about what your children are to be doing at different points of the day.
- Make sure you have time with your husband.
- Make time to care for yourself, spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally…
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Some recommended resources that have helped me:
Flylady.com If you’re new to the whole idea of dividing your week into task-oriented days, check out this wonderful website to gain control over your homekeeping.
Titus2.com I have been creating and using a schedule for our household for many, many years. I have NEVER been able to keep it *perfectly*. But, that being said, I love Teri Maxwell’s emphasis on seeking the Lord, and I have been tenacious about setting and using routines in my home. It’s not about being enslaved to a schedule; it’s about finding liberty and time to do all that the Lord would be pleased for me to do.
Don’t give up!! You have one of the most important tasks in the entire world! That is why great sacrifice is called for. But oh….just wait…your children WILL rise and call you blessed. Keep at it and stay close to Jesus always. You can do this.
Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Blessings,
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