Archive: September 2010

Lessons From A Small House

To you, from Chelsea

So… our new house is half the size of the house we were living in on the ranch. We’ve had to downsize significantly. It’s not all bad downsizing; in fact, I’m learning a few great things through the process…

#1. A small house is easy to clean… I can zip through this house and have it looking decent in almost no time at all. On the other hand, it’s easy to have it looking a mess in no time at all, too, but since my glass is half full this morning, we’re just going to think about it being easy to clean.

The second thing I’m learning is all about functionality. Everything in the house must be high on the function scale. Unfortunately, this includes me, but we’re not going to focus on that this morning. It used to be that I could have a few things in the house just to look cute, (again, we’re not focusing on me this morning- ha!) but not anymore. For example… my hutch…

…used to be mostly for looks. It housed some of our nicer pottery and such, but wasn’t full and was mostly just to look cute. Now… the hutch is full to capacity and it’s not only being used, but the prettier pieces it displays are also being put to work. I’m actually happy to be using these gems- why have it if it’s just going to sit on a shelf?

This “polish pottery” – -

residence of bread making gunk (yes! I did make bread this weekend!) - - used to only be used occasionally. Not anymore, my friends, not anymore!

Buck, who grew up in places like this….

…where the living room, kitchen, dining room, and bedroom were all in the same 12 feet..

thinks this is “how it ought to be” and I think he’s probably right. High function houses (and Buck on occasion) make sense. The trouble is that I don’t always make sense. I’m trying to find my “style” in this little abode and I’m not sure what my “style” is. I have several “trouble spots”. The trouble spots have occured simply because once we get all of the necessary items into a room I suddenly feel like it’s cluttered. Despite what you’d probably see if you came over to be house right now, I don’t actually like clutter.

Here’s the thing… I have an idea in my head what” feeling” I want to create, one others sense in our home, but I have no idea how to decorate to that end. I’m going to be sharing some troubles with you in the coming years months days, so be prepared to help me… please! In the meantime, I’m focusing on function. Useful. Practical. HIGH FUNCTION! (and maybe a little cute, too??)

–Chelsea

Lemon Pudding Cake

by Charlotte

This is a summer favorite of the women in our family. It is from Farm Journal’s Family Favorites cookbook. We had it some when I was a little girl and then it got lost. I rediscovered it when my mom passed the cookbook on to me.

This is a great cookbook to have on your shelf. I haven’t had a bad recipe from it… ever. I think it is out of print but you can still get it online at Amazon.com or ebay.

Separate 4 eggs. (I was doubling the recipe in this photo.)

Beat the yolks together with 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (I used 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract.) and 1 Tablespoon melted butter.

In separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup sifted flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. (Use your imaginations here.)

Add dry ingredients alternately with 1 1/2 cups milk, beating well after each addition.

Take the egg whites. . .

and beat until stiff.

Blend into yolk mixture on low speed of electric mixer (You read that right, you blend with a mixer.).

Pour into 8″ square baking dish.

Set in a pan of hot water. (This is my doubled recipe again, but you get the idea.)

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

The side should look like this.

. . .Like it’s not cooked all the way.

Cut into serving size squares and top with whipped cream.

It is yummy, gooey, deliciousness. And no calories, I’m sure. :)

(Do you know how hard it is to take a good picture with your left hand while holding a spoon with your right? Try it some time.)

Not a Sheepish Dog

From Kathy

The bands of sheep are starting to come out of the mountains. They head from summer range to shipping corrals where the lambs are weaned, then the ewes are taken down to winter in the hay and stubble fields in the valleys. Although herding dogs, like shepards and collies, often move the sheep bands, it is large dogs like the Great Pyrennes that protect the sheep.

As we drove along a back road the other day, we got a friendly wave from this herder….

then spied the band of sheep mostly bedded down about a half mile further down on the other side of the creek bed. When we stopped the rig so the girls could watch the band, a few ewes became uneasy and began to stand -which apparantly alarmed the dogs.

The more the dogs barked, the more nervous the ewes got, the more the dogs became territorial, the more the…(well you get the picture)…

The closer the dogs got -with their hair raised and deep growls resonating, the more I decided I was getting as nervous as the ewes. I fumbled around trying to find the window controls -not wanting to miss a good photo opportunity, until I finally realized that with one great leap, Mr. Sheepdog might end up in my lap!

I guess he wasn’t a very sheepish dog.

–Kath

Cleaning up the Mess

by Kathy

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the teenage mischief-makers we had grazing in the equipment yard. Well those yearlings obviously don’t clean up after themselves -just like their human counterparts. So, one morning, I put Sage in the backpack and we went out to harrow around all of the equipment. (Harrowing breaks up the piles of cow poop and helps fertilize for the next season.)

Now I know cleaning up after others isn’t usually that much fun, but when there’s a cute little tike on your back resounding a little ”Hmmmmm” noise over every bump just so she can hear the change in her hum : “Hmmmm Mmmmm Mm Mm Mm Mm MMMMMMMM Humm MmM MMM Mm …” (I still remember doing that as a kid going over bumps, don’t you? :)….

and giggling with every tight and speedy turn of the quad…(which just compelled me to do lots of swerving and swaying just to hear the giggle intensify)…

then cleaning up becomes a pretty fun chore for both of us. :)

–Kath

Taco Soup

There are a couple of things (OK, maybe more than a couple) that Buck and I disagree on. When it comes to food, I love love love soup and one-pot-meals. Basically, I like my food all jumbled up together in a bowl. Buck prefers his food all in separate portions on a plate. In addition, I think cilantro…

…I think it’s one of the best things on the planet. Buck could go the rest of his life, never eat it again, and be fine. So…. taco soup,where soup and cilantro combine, is one of my favorite things… not his. Therefore, I try to cook this meal when he is off hunting or some such adventure.

Before we get started, I’d like to tell you something. My “new” kitchen has terrible lighting. It’s decent in the morning, but that’s the only time. The stove is situated in the worst possible photographic lighting of any other appliance in the kitchen. Therefore, my cooking pictures leave a lot to be desired. Consequently, I’m not going to show you the step by step of the taco soup cooking process. You’re going to have to learn the old-fashioned way and I’ll show you a few pictures just to tantalize your little taste buds. Deal?

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
6 cups chicken broth
1 can each of:
kidney beans, drained and rinsed
black beans, drained and rinsed
garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
corn, drained
stewed tomatoes
1/2 packet of taco seasoning

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, green onions, cilantro, avocado, tomatoes, fritos (if you feel so inclined, of course).

Directions:
In a large soup pot, brown beef, then pour beef into a separate bowl and saute onion and garlic until soft in the same pot you just used for the meat. Add beef back into onion and garlic. Pour in remaining ingredients. Bring it all to a boil, then simmer. You can simmer as long as you like, I prefer at least an hour just so all the flavors get a chance to blend.
When ready to serve, pour about 1/2 cup of fritos in the bottom of your bowl, fill the rest with soup, then top with any or all of the optional toppings…

¡buen provecho

–Chelsea

Photo Finish

So… the assignment this week was FACES. I’m (Chelsea) having a little bit of trouble getting some of the pictures that were emailed to me. I’ll work on that this week, so please keep trying. If I can’t figure it out, we’ll set up a new system.

To start, I’d like to reiterate what I told you before: I’m not a professional photographer or anything close to such. These assignments are purely for learning purposes. I want to learn and I want to share what I learn with you and visa versa.

So… the first thing I know and you probably do, too, is that when you have the opportunity to shoot outside- shoot outside. Photography is all about lighting and natural light is best and easiest. I’m all about the easiest part. All of my face shots were taken out-of-doors.

In addition to being outside and having my camera set on “vivid”, I took all of my face pictures on the “A” setting which means Aperture priority. ”A” lets me control the f-stop. This is me being technical… “A” when put on a low setting puts the face in focus and nothing else. Here’s an example:

F-stop 5.6. I will tell you what my f-stop was on each of these photos so you have an idea of how the picture came into being. There are other adjustable factors including ISO. I’m not going to add that detail today because we’ll all get confused and I’d like to stay unconfused on our first Photo Finish.

My girls have nice long eyelashes and I have been wanting to try to photograph their lashes. Meet Katelyn’s eyelashes…

(see the blurry background? That’s what the “A” setting does.) f/5.6 on this and the next shot. I would adjust it to be lower if I was given the chance to re-take this picture. I’d probably go down to the 4′s. Meet Lucy’s eyelashes…

Same scenario in this picture as the previous. F-stop was f/5.6 and probably should’ve been lower since it was sooo close to her little face.

Here’s an example of f/5.6 that worked well…

I wasn’t quite so close.

The girls long eye lashes had nothing to do with my genes. I’m pretty sure it had to do with this guy…

f/4.5- a little more clear than the girls lashes, I think.

He “loves” it when I take pictures super close to his face. It’s one of the few ways I can get back at him for being ornery and sticking his arm in my pictures…

…and being really proud of himself for it. This is the proud of himself face…

f/4.5 Because of this face assignment I decided I like 4.5 for faces. And I love this face!

(Do your best to ignore the crazy beard- it’s hunting season. Hunting season requires a beard, didn’t you know?)

Now here’s Charlotte who shoots with a Nikon Coolpix p100, an advanced point and shoot, with a 26x zoom….

I love my camera, but someday I hope to get a Big Girl Camera. I could not find a “Vivid” Option, so I played around with the “Skin Softening” option as well as the “Portrait vs. Best Picture” options. This is Portrait with the Skin softening off…

Now portrait with skin softening low. This is better than with the skin softening off. She seems washed out with the softening off…

Portrait with the skin softening at high. High seems too much of something, Probably my least favorite. Too much red…

Portrait with the skin softening at normal. I think I like this one best. Tell me what you think…

This is Best picture with the skin softening at normal. This is hard to tell with her face all scrunched up, but I do like the Portrait ones better…

Now for some of the pictures emailed in… (sorry if yours didn’t make it, I’m working on it!)

From Robyn Q… serious fair faces…

and a silly face…

And from Charity… a cow face…

some silly kid faces…

a cute cowboy face…

a beautiful cowgirl face…

and some champion cowgirl faces…

OK, friends, that’ll do it for our first Photo Finish. Apologies for some of those emailed pictures not making it in- I promise to work on that in the next few days so next week’s assignment can be more inclusive!

Next week assignment will be: FALL COLORS. I hope I’m not jumping-the-gun on this one, but the colors are turning here and I don’t want to be late. I’ll try to do some assignments that are fall-ish over the coming weeks in case your trees aren’t turning just yet.

Have a great weekend and keep shooting!

Chelsea & Charlotte

What Fall Means

Fall, around our parts, means a lot of things.

The obvious: Taco Soup, which I will be making today and sharing the recipe with you when I’m finished!

Fall also means leaves….

It also means hunting season…

For him. Not me. There’s a saying, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em“. Some women use this saying to start hunting with their husbands. I don’t use it for that. I don’t want to go hunting. There are several reasons why I’d rather not and I’d like to briefly share them with you. #1. I don’t want to kill anything. Ever. #2. I’d have to hike and keep up with him. #3. I’d have to gasp for oxygen quietly..er…I’d have to hike up steep mountains quietly- ya, that’s it. #4. Hunters wake up way too early and way too excited. #5. It’s cold. #6. I’ll stop. I think you get the point.

Besides hunting, fall around here means Spawning Salmon. We went up to the head of our lake to see the gorgeous creatures…

I don’t know if everyone knows about Salmon and their spawning.

To sum it up… they start their life after hatching from tiny eggs here in our rivers and streams, travel to the Pacific Ocean, hang out for awhile, then swim back to the same place they hatched, lay their eggs and die, then the process starts back over. They have to endure dangerous traps and treacherous conditions in order to complete the process- it’s really amazing, to say the least. Basically, the Salmon are back here now and they’re bright red and they’re really fun to see.

I’m not a salmon expert, by any stretch of the imagination, I just wanted to tell you about the Salmon and show you some pictures. HERE is a great link if you want to learn more.

–Chelsea

Praise The Lord

So… the process of buying our house was sort of… painful. It took approximately 4 months from the day we made an offer until we signed papers. Some days we ”gave up” and thought it couldn’t possibly happen. Other days we were so hopeful we thought we might just melt if it didn’t work out. Our church was super supportive during the whole thing- every week our church family would ask how the “house buying” was going and we’d give them the report. They were faithful to pray for us and some weeks I can’t tell you how much it meant to hear people tell us they were praying and that they cared. One of the hardest parts of the whole situation was wondering if we were running into obstacles that needed to be perservered through or if the obstacles were in fact “closed doors” and we needed to stop trying. Were we learning a lesson on perseverance or were our prayers for this house being answered with “no”?

Well, it eventually worked out and and the day we signed papers on our house we came over and looked around. We had been here before, obviously, but it looked totally different when we viewed through the eyes of “owners”. Our “owner” eyes were big and we were super excited, to say the least. The grass in the yard was way overgrown and we were anxious to get to work. All of a sudden, something in the overgrown grass caught my eye. It was small and shiny. I picked it up and it was a little pin that said “PRAISE THE LORD”. I laughed and showed it to Buck. We both laughed and we did indeed, Praise the Lord.

So… that was in June and I forgot all about the little pin. We’ve been working hard to get moved into our new home and to make some needed improvements. My carpenter dad was here this week helping us do some of the major improvements and it was so helpful! Our bathroom is finished, meaning we have an indoor toilet and a solid- not-rotting floor. We have a water heater in the back of a closet rather than in the kitchen. And I have some much-needed shelves and a dishwasher (hallelujah!). Dad even put up some decorative items for me and fulfilled not only my need list, but some wants as well. Needless to say, I’ve been super excited about these improvements when yesterday, I walked out in the driveway, and something on the ground caught my eye….

So… I will and I am!

–Chelsea

Breakfast at Emily’s: Zucchini Bread

I’ve always heard that you shouldn’t leave your car unlocked during zucchini season or you may become a victim of zucchini giving. Personally, I’m going to start leaving my door wide open with a sign that says “Leave extra zucchini here”.

I tried planting lots of zucchini three different times this year and each time the little plants that sprouted were visciously attacked and eaten away by hordes of slugs. So alas, my garden grew no zucchini.

This is a sad state of affairs.

I grew up strongly disliking zucchini and then suddenly I was grown up and couldn’t figure out why I had hated it so long.

It is now one of my favorite veggies. I love it steamed with butter and garlic. I love it made into zucchini relish. And I especially love it as Chocolate Zucchini Cake and as Zucchini Bread.

But what do you do when you are fortunate enough to have an overabundance of zucchini?

One year I tried freezing shredded zucchini in pre-measured portions perfect for zucchini bread but I found that I didn’t use it as much as I thought and it was really runny when thawed. Then when we received our Christmas gift from my husband’s grandma I had a revelation. She always gives us jams, jellies, cookies and breads which she makes during the harvest season and freezes then gives as gifts at Christmas. All we need do is thaw them and enjoy.

So…

Why not just bake many, many loaves of zucchini bread and freeze them for quick breakfasts or snacks?!

Last year was a different story than this one; I was blessed with an abundance of zucchini in my garden. Every day I would check my plants for zucchini and just about every day I had enough zucchini to make two loaves of bread. Sometimes I added raisins and a few times I added chocolate chips. Once I think I added walnuts. Then I put each loaf in a ziplock bag, marked it with the date and whether or not it had any additions and put it in the freezer.

This year I have resorted to stalking the streets where I know people put extra produce out by the road; I’ve become a zucchini snatcher. I confiscated a few beauties the other day, quickly shredded them, and made bread and chocolate cake (maybe someday I’ll share my mom’s Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe). But for now, here’s the bread recipe:

Zucchini Bread

2/3 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

3 cups shredded zucchini

2/3 cup water

3 1/3 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons vanilla

Optional add-ins:

2/3 cup coarsely chopped nuts

2/3 cup raisins

2/3 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Grease bottoms only of two loaf pans.

Mix butter and sugar. (I did half white sugar and half brown just for fun, the recipe calls for all white.)

Add eggs, zucchini and water.

Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla.

Stir in optional add-ins if so desired.

Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 60-70 minutes.

Either eat it all up or wait until it completely cools, place in ziplock bag, mark, and freeze until a later date.

Last weekend we headed out to the zoo and then spent the night at my in-laws’ house. So as not to impose and/or make them responsible for our breakfast (seeing as it was a last minute trip), I grabbed one of the loaves out of the freezer and took it with us. It was nicely thawed for breakfast in the morning so we shared and ate the entire thing.

Enjoy!

Jeremiah 29:11

by Charlotte

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

My mother is a praying woman.

She has prayed a lot of prayers for me (Thanks Mom!). This verse is woven into the fabric of my life by her. The first time I remember her giving it to me was when I was in high school and about to board a plane to the East Coast to look at a college. She told me that she had been praying for me and this was the verse God had given her about me. She also gave it to me when I loaded up my car and headed to Southern California. And then again when I found out my third child probably had Down’s Syndrome.

She might have given it to me at other times, but these three occasions I remember for sure.

While in college, I heard a respected speaker talk on the promises of God. This speaker brought up the point that not all the verses in the Bible are promises to all people, throughout time. She pointed out Proverbs 22:6 (Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.) and Jeremiah 29:11. She said that Proverbs 22 is a general truth, not a promise and Jeremiah 29 is only for the Israelites during the time of Jeremiah. I was a little taken back (and slightly miffed) by her comments. Something didn’t set right with me with what she was saying, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I returned home and told my mom what the speaker had said. My mother said (maybe a little indignantly), “That may be, but God gave me that verse while praying for you. It is a promise to me about you.” I smiled. The world was right again, because if God told Mom, then it must be so.

I have grown in my own faith since college and realize that part of what the speaker was saying was true. Proverbs 22, for example, isn’t a promise to all people throughout the ages. God would not force Himself on a person. So if our children – even though they are taught the ways of God – don’t want anything to do with Him, He won’t force them to love Him. However, I have seldom seen (in my short little life) anyone who has even one parent who truly loves God (and is not just religious) turn completely away from God forever.

On the other hand, Jeremiah 29, although it was spoken to specific people at a specific time, the rest of the Bible supports that it could be a promise to all God’s people throughout the ages. “For I know - of course He does, He knows everything - the plans I have- God’s plans, not the reader’s – for you,” – the reader declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,” - God calls Himself our Father; what kind of crummy father would not want good for his child (See Matthew 7:7-11) - plans to give you hope and a future.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13 says “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.

But the greatest of these is love. God gives us hope and a future. The future might not be here on the “good ol’ earth”, but if we are God’s children then we have hope and a beautiful future.

This verse may have been given to the Israelites of Jeremiah’s time, but it has also proved true in my own life every day.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

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Cowgirl Clippings

Archive: September 2010

Lessons From A Small House

Lemon Pudding Cake

Not a Sheepish Dog

Cleaning up the Mess

Taco Soup

Photo Finish

What Fall Means

Praise The Lord

Breakfast at Emily’s: Zucchini Bread

Jeremiah 29:11

Annie’s Recipe Box

Breakfast At Emily’s

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