what if

What if? is a big common question.  Recently my daughter was talking about  how she wishes she were really good at something, anything.  That she could have mastered some talent or ability.  All of us are not bad people but looking at our family, we are fairly ordinary, somewhat average. Can do lots of things good enough but nothing special. Willing to try lots of things but usually content to just experience it.

We live in a small town with a small high school.  One of the benefits has been being able to participate in pretty much anything that interests you.  We live in a large family where there were time constraints and money to consider so we did pick and choose where to be involved and how much. I never felt like we should give up many family things so that we could support one persons need to excel.  I almost feel guilty about that but I am in an attitude of gratitude and I can't help but be grateful for the way things are turning out.

So the question became "Where does our value lie?".  Is there more to us that we are not using? What if we had done more?  I believe that kindness and character matter.  I like to hope that this is were we have focused on developing our talents.  I would much rather have a good daughter who desires to serve the Lord and loves her family rather than a virtuoso. I see the great good that a son or daughter can give to their family when they are well rounded, humbly willing to learn new things without the joy stealer of comparison.  Yes, we want to do our best. Yes, we want to recognize and develop gifts and talents but who is to say which ones are the best or have the greatest value.

Only God can know what is best for each of us. We read in Alma 37 in the Book of Mormon

37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

So really the only thing we need to get good at is our relationship with God. He can direct our path, our choices, and where we spend our time.  He needs some virtuosos and he needs some of us to be a bit more average.  I love Hymn 175  as it taught me that Heavenly Father let His son be somewhat average

3. When Jesus, the Anointed,

Descended from above

And gave himself a ransom

To win our souls with love--

With no apparent beauty,

That man should him desire--

He was the promised Savior,

To purify with fire.

It isn't always obvious what the Lord has planned for his son's and daughter's.  We may not see with our mortal eyes the great good we can accomplish or simply are because we are his.  I will counsel with the Lord. I will trust his way, his timetable and I will be glad in it.

I am having some wonderful experiences as I seek the good around me and then express gratitude. As I say "thank you" I am finding so much more joy in every circumstance and every person.  I am so blessed. I don't have a great talent to set me apart but I do have a life I find joy in and I am so very happy.

I recently enjoyed this article and video.  We truly can find joy in What Is. Truly the Lord will use us where we are and help us find joy in each moment and phase of our lives.

Grateful:

• I am seldom losing my balance. I am getting steadier
• My house is decorated for Christmas
• I have stopped gaining excess weight and am leveling off.
• I was able to lift my grandson
• My husband has integrity
• I get to have dinner with my sisters and their husbands tonight.

It isn't always obvious what the Lord has planned for

gold in the garden

The corn has done great this year, again.  And this year it tastes pretty good.  We are enjoying lots of corn at nearly every meal.  Mr. O. I think could eat just corn.  One a day is enough for me.  We did get some frozen, some given away, and some shared with the chickens.

 We freeze the corn by first shucking corn fresh picked that day.  That is the boys job and I prefer they do it outside near the compost pile.  They like working outside best anyway.  Then it is dropped in boiling water for blanching.  Once the water is back up to boiling, the corn is blanched.  Remove and put in cold water.  (over cooked corn never tastes good)

 Then we cut it off the cob.  I like a sharp serrated knife.  Be careful not to cut too deep or you get part of the cob.  It will taste tough.  If you don't want to do all the corn invite all the children and their friends in for a snack.

 Bag in freezer bags with amounts that will serve your family or meet the needs of a favorite recipe, date, and freeze.  Easy peasy.

sprouted wheat flour

I have been enjoying learning more about some healthy foods.  I store wheat. I cook with wheat and have for years.  Now I am finding ways to make that wheat even healthier for my and my family.  Sprouting and fermenting grains

• predigests some of the gluten so our bodies can tolerate it better allowing better digestion and absorption of nutrients
• neutralizes phytic acid
•  increases nutrients, especially vitamin C, the B vitamins and Carotene
• milder on your blood sugars
• converts starches into vegetable sugars
• turns the grain from an acidic food to alkaline

There are a lot of great resources.  This one has been an easy, friendly resource for recipes and ideas on health that use whole foods in ways that I feel good about.  

So here is how I am sprouting my wheat.

I pour wheat in a large bowl and cover with clean water at least an inch above the wheat.  The wheat will swell so make sure you allow room for the swelling and additional water if needed.  Then just let it soak for 12-24 hours.

Then I put it in the colander from my salad spinner because it is big.  I rinse it throughout the next 24-36 hours.  (My friends family keeps snacking on the grains at this point.  Very healthy snack!)  If you look close you can see that the grains are developing a little tail.  That is the sprout and for our purposes, that is enough.

 I put it on my dehydrator trays and dry it at 120 degrees for about 12 hours.  My first time I would just taste it at various stages and when it was hard and dry, it was done.  Now it can be stored away (maybe in the refrigerator but my house is cool and I use it quickly so it is in my tupperware in the cupboard).

Once completely dry, the grain can be ground in your wheat grinder to make flour.  I have found this flour light and mild, easy to cook with.  I have also been making crackers with it.  Here are the recipes from this same book.

Sprouted Wheat Thins

1 cup sprouted wheat flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsps. coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup water

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, then add wet.  Stir until mixture forms a ball of dough.  Roll out onto a well buttered cookie sheet. (I do it on my silpat and it works great)  Poke dough with a fork and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 or until golden.  Remove from oven, and score into small cracker sizes immediately. (I use a pizza cutter).

Good plain or with a dip.

I have had great success with Graham Crackers, too.

2 cups sprouted wheat flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsps. dehydrated cane juice (I use sucanat)

5 Tbsps. liquid sweetener ( used honey)

5 Tbsps melted butter or coconut oil

2-3 Tbsps. water (enough to make a non-sticky ball of dough)

Mix dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  Stir in wet ingredients.  Roll onto a buttered cookie sheet with a rolling pin (I just used silpat again, no sticking).  Score into about 16 large crackers, prick with a fork, and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

pg. 192 Diet Rebel's Cookbook

insurance advice

I have always had home insurance but never used it.  Recently we have had several water issues.  We have had an on going issue of water leaking down from the balcony through the wall to our basement ceiling.  We have fixed it a couple of times but it hasn't lasted.  Then our facet in the kitchen wasn't working right.  Leaking water.  We replaced it only to find that there was another leak lower in the pipe that leaked under the sink and warped our wood floors and a different spot in the basement ceiling (2 weeks ago).  Now last night we had an in floor heating pipe break in the apartment and water came bursting through the ceiling in the back hall and on down to the mechanical room.  Luckily Tall One was home and knew how to turn off everything to the house.  Mr. O will not be available to deal with this challenge.  Normally he tries to fix everything himself (and he is good at it) but this time I am looking at options.  How does home owner's insurance work?  Would they take care of this mess or any of the others?  Does it do things to our rate?  Will we be punished in the end for using the service we have been paying for?

We were able to turn off just the water in that part of the house.  We are trying to dry things out and we feel blessed that everything has been taken care of so far.  Just trying to decide the next step.  Thanks for your help.

Canning Peaches

For my girls, this is how I can peaches. I like the Elberta peaches. You need nice, just ripe peaches. If some are not ripe spread them out on a table and they will ripen in a day or two. If you can't get to them right away keep them in the fridge or cool place to slow down the ripening. Gather all your equipment. You need:

steam or water bath canner

pot for blanching

pot for lids

quart jars washed in dishwasher

2 piece lids

pitcher

sugar

peaches

paring knife

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Scrub sink and fill with cold water. In other sink put a bowl for the peels and pits. When water is boiling add 6-7 peaches keeping heat on high let them go for at least 1 minute. This is blanching. With slotted spoon remove peaches into a bowl and dump them into cold water

I use the same water for several batches. It does start to get a little cloudy looking but works fine. Once the peaches are in the cold water you can easily slip their skins off, cut in half, take out pit and put directly into your clean jars. I use to put them in as halves with the pit side always facing down. I now slice them in quarters and just drop them in. Actually Ike did most of that step. It seems like I get more peaches in a bottle when they are cut smaller. We cut them when we eat them anyway so it works for us.

When the jar is full I add a little sugar right on top. We use a 1/4 cup and then split it between two jars. Not real precise. Then using a pitcher of hot water, pour over the sugar to within 1/2 inch of top of jar. Wipe the jars with a clean cloth. (Note the crock pot in the background. Great idea to start it first when you are doing a major kitchen project. Takes a lot of stress off come dinner time.) You should have already brought to boil your seals and then turned them off. You can use a butter knife to separate them to get one out at a time or get a tool that is a stick with a magnet on the end that will lift them for you.

Place the lid on top and then screw down the ring just finger tight.

Then take the jars to your canner. It will hold 7 jars. Have water in the bottom of the canner. The steamer just needs a couple of inches and the jars sit on the rack. The water bath needs to have enough water to cover the jars when let down on the rack. You can do this in the kitchen on your stove but it sure works nice to have it outside on a camp chef. Turn on heat and bring water bath to a boil and steamer until it has a steady stream of steam coming out the side holes. At this point turn down the heat to just maintain the steam/boil and start timing. At my altitude it needs to go for 40 minutes.

Once the time is up turn off heat and very careful open the lid away from you to avoid burning yourself with the steam. A bottle lifter is very handy to move the bottles to a table or counter covered with a towel. Allow the jars to cool and then check to make sure they sealed. You push on the top. It should not pop up and down but be concave.
( Not everyone has the opportunity to share the garage with their canning, their son's truck project, soccer balls, bikes, and just too much stuff but here is the proof that even with distractions it can be done.)

With peaches when they are sealed they also float. Unsealed peaches will not be at the top. When they are cooled and sealed, label with at least the year, leave them out to be admired for a time and then store them away in a cool place. (In the making of this project, no young children were hurt. I just want to thank all the little people that helped me make this happen.)

We love to use the peaches all year, eating them fresh, making cobbler, and on Norwegian pancakes.

Norwegian Pancakes

2/3 cup plain yogurt

2/3 cup cottage cheese

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup flour

1 t sugar

1/2 t salt

Combine well. Cook on greased griddle. Serve with peaches on top.

Peach Cobbler

In saucepan, combine:

1/2 cup sugar

3 T cornstarch

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1 qt peaches

Cook until nicely thickened. Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole.

Combine:

1 cup flour

2 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

dash of salt

Mix well together, then cut in: 1/3 cup butter. Cut until fine, then gently stir in with a fork:

4 T milk

1 beaten egg

Drop by spoonfuls over fruit mixture. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.

Peaches also make great baby food. A nice snack with cottage cheese, pies, other cobblers, smoothies, in your oatmeal. It is always nice to have fruit that doesn't have to take freezer space. I think we did 75 quarts this year and ate as many fresh as humanly possible. We love peach season.