Preserving Apples, Part 1

Isn't it pretty?  And they taste a-ma-zing.  Crispy, flavorful, and sweet!

I've been so thrilled this past week with the abundant apple "crop" at our new house!  And you know I can't stand to just let them sit there.  We've been on the run so much this summer that I haven't been able to do much preserving, but I'm determined to get some of those apples stored away, in various forms.

The easiest method I'm trying this year is just packing them away in the basement (which is old, cold, and unfinished).  Hopefully it'll be a good place for them to keep a few months.  I followed the instructions from an article at the Backwoods Home website.  Basically you: 1) select only unbruised, unblemished apples; 2) wrap in black and white newspaper; 3) pack carefully in cardboard boxes.  Easy.  Of course, I still have to see if it actually works!  Hopefully I don't go down to the basement in a month and find a box full of rotten apple mush.

Yesterday I made spiced crabapple butter--one of my very favorite bread-topping treats!  Making apple butter isn't hard.  It's just a lot of work.  The boys and I picked about 1/2 a crate of crabapples (and a few regular apples, just for good measure).  Then I followed this recipe, given to me by a good friend in Bronson. She found it in an "old-fashioned" canning and preserving book.  I like this recipe because you can use if for whatever quantity of crabapples you happen to have on hand.

Wash and cut apples into quarters, without paring or coring.  Place in kettle with just enough water to cover, and cook slowly until tender.  Press through a colander or sieve.  Measure the strained pulp.  Add 1/2 as much sugar as pulp.  Bring to a boil and cook until mixture is thick.  [Stir often or it'll stick and burn!!]  Pack into clean, hot jars.  Seal.

I also added some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for a nice spiced flavor.  My 1/2 crate yielded about 10 pints. I would really recommend using smaller jars--maybe 8 oz. jars--since we usually don't go through apple butter really fast, but pints were what I had around the house yesterday!  I also recently discovered a super easy way to sterilize and seal jars for high-acid/sugar foods, from the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook.  You put your clean jars and bands on a cookie sheet into a preheated 250 degree oven for 30 minutes while preparing your food to be canned.  Then, when you're ready to pack the jars, you just pull them out of the oven, fill them (make sure you clean the rims), secure the lids and bands, and put them back in the oven for 15 minutes.  So much easier than the hot water bath method!  The book is simply beautiful as well...highly recommended!

Earlier this summer we also did some bread and butter pickles, thanks to our neighbor who grows veggies for the Clarkston Farmers Market.  We did decide to spare Cornelia the Cuke though, because she was just too cute.

Our Latest News Updates...

Once again I must apologize for the shamefully long delay between posts...honestly, all I've been able to think about for the last month has been GARAGE SALE!  But now it's done.  Excess junk (I mean stuff God has blessed us with) is gone.  And now I can think about other more enjoyable things!!!  Here's a quick update on what's been happening around here since the sale...and more detailed, interesting posts will be coming on a more regular basis soon (I promise!)

Travel news: We had the pleasure last weekend of being able to go to Bronson, Michigan to visit many wonderful friends.  Our family lived there for almost nine years and we grew some really great relationships.  We visited with many people and got to see lots of people at the annual Hog Roast at Bethel Gilead Community Church, where Dan was a youth pastor for about 8 years.

Job news: Dan got a new job!  His official last day at Dart Container Corp. was last Thursday, and he starts his new position at Duperon Corp. in Saginaw, Michigan tomorrow!  This is a huge blessing in many ways...it cuts his one-way drive time down from 90 minutes to about 45, better pay, and more vacation.  A triple answer to prayer!

Homestead news: Apples are in season!  A pleasant surprise at our new homestead is an abundance of delicious mature apples.  I knew there were fruit trees when we bought the property in March, but I wasn't sure how well they would produce.  Well, let me tell you, they produce all right!  I'll write more about this soon, but I just have to tell you now...today was the first "apple storing day" and I put 22 gallon bags of peeled, cored, and sliced apples in the freezer and stored away 35 perfect, unblemished apples in newspaper in the basement.  So much fun!

Fitness news:  Okay, I'll admit...I fell off the fitness bandwagon.  Completely.  But tomorrow is a fresh start!  I've been hyping this up mentally for about the last 2 weeks, and I need all of you to help me stick with it!  Tomorrow I begin my first day of P90X.  I've realized that I can't seem to do "moderation" when it comes to exercise and nutrition lately.  We've had the videos for a while now and I have decided it's time to "bring it!"  I'm also going to try to stick with the P90X diet plan as much as is reasonable for someone who also has to cook for 5 other people (who are not dieting!)  Basically less carbs, practically no refined sugars, and more protein.  I even bought protein bars, so that means I'm really serious, right?  I seriously need all of you to keep me accountable to this.  If I know you personally and you see me or talk to me, ask me if I'm doing it!  If I'm slacking off, go ahead and call me a gutless wimp!  You see, here's the problem: I am NOT a morning person.  I'm a hit-the-snooze-until-the-kids-are-begging-for-breakfast person.  It's not the exercise that's the problem.  It's the getting up in the morning to do it.  Maybe I should just give you all my phone number and have you call me at 6:45 to make sure I'm up...

At any rate, here's my "before" stats:

Weight: 156
Waist: 31
Upper arm: 12
Hips: 42
Thigh: 24

Sorry, no before and after photos.  Those are for my own personal use...I just don't feel right posting that kind of picture when some creep could be stalking my blog.

Besides all that, I'm also trying to get everything in line for the new school year...more on that soon, too!  Thanks to all of you for your patience, and have a great day!

We Have a Winner! ...and a new recipe!

Congratulations to Kim, winner of the first giveaway on Domestic Reformation!  Kim, please email me at domesticreformation@gmail.com to arrange details for delivery!

And for the rest of you...give yourself a little gift and mix up a batch of these scrumptious waffles:

Oh Boy! (healthy) Waffles


Whisk together:
2 1/4 cups milk (we use whole raw milk...)
1 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 T. molasses

Stir in:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder

Serve with butter and real maple syrup for a hearty, delicious breakfast!

"Rawberry" Milk

Well...we've been trying to make a conscious effort around here to consume less processed foods and refined sugar and to eat more whole, raw foods.  Today I had an epiphany.  It probably will seem glaringly obvious to everybody else, but for some reason I hadn't thought of this yet.  Last month I made a whole bunch of strawberry freezer jam, but it turned out a lot more like strawberry syrup because I used WAY less sugar than the recipe called for.  I've been using it to blend into smoothies, on pancakes, things like that.  But today...I had the brilliant idea to blend it with milk and...voila!  Instant strawberry milk, made with real raw strawberries and no high fructose corn syrup!  If you want specifics...I used 1 quart of whole raw milk, 2/3 cup strawberry freezer "syrup", and blended for a few seconds in the blender.  So easy and so yummy!

Jesus is Loving Me

We all know the song..."yes, Jesus loves me..."  But tonight I just read such an inspiring article in the latest bulletin from Gospel For Asia, (the ministry through which our kids sponsor a child) that caused me to think a little more about that love of Jesus.  Here's an excerpt:

"Devanand had skin cancer that was eating away at his flesh.  Doctors gave him a slim hope for survival--and only if they amputated his affected leg and arm.  When Mary [a missionary] visited his home and saw his condition, she wept for him.

'This is possible with Jesus,' she encouraged Devanand.  'Do you believe?'

'I am believing,' he responded.

Mary prayed, and soon afterward, Devanand began to feel relief from his pain.  He was brought to Mary's prayer center, and she continued to visit him, praying for him and cleaning his open wounds.  Over a period of a few weeks, Devanand was completely healed and has been free of cancer ever since.

'I really understood that Jesus is loving me so much,' he muses.  'So I am thankful to Jesus for His healing.  The rest of my life I just want to live for Him.  And sister Mary really showed me the love of Jesus.'

What a difference just that slight change in wording makes.  It's really easy to say, "Jesus loves me."  It's on t-shirts, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, you name it.  I don't want to downplay the significance of the phrase, because it is true, of course!  Jesus loves us.  But turn it into Jesus is loving me and suddenly that love comes alive.  Not only that once-for-all, unchanging kind of love, but the kind of love that is shared personally, moment by moment, with Someone who knows you intimately.   And this man, Devanand, appeared to understand that Jesus was loving him even before he was healed.  Jesus is loving us when we are sick and when we are well.  Jesus is loving me when I am being a great mom and when I utterly fail.  Jesus is loving me right at this very moment and waits for me to acknowledge that He's there, ready to comfort, heal, encourage; to satisfy every need if I would just open my heart to His right-this-minute love.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:17-19

If the Lord spoke to your heart like it did mine when you read that story, or if you have questions about Jesus, the Bible, or Christianity, please leave me a comment or contact me through google friend connect.  I would love to have a conversation with you about the love of my savior, Jesus Christ.  Blessings, everyone.

 

 

 

Around the New House, In Pictures

Flowers in the desperately overgrown (but well-planned) rock garden near the old barn.

Wildflowers...anybody know what they are?  Haven't gotten around to finding out.

Ripening wild blackberries growing in the roofless stone barn.

Young apples on old trees.  I think they might turn out to be Granny Smiths.

Somehow seeing my books on bookshelves (accompanied by Beanie cat) makes the house feel like home.

The boys did practically nothing except catch snakes for about 2 days straight.  Apparently that roofless stone barn is a regular pit of vipers...or garters, at least.

One half of the pole barn currently housing all our extra junk...er, things we are blessed to own, I mean.  Other half is just as full.  Planning on huge ol' sale in August!  This is the primary reason I haven't written any posts lately...

The boys found a crate of old electronics and spent a whole afternoon taking  apart ancient laptops with screwdrivers.  Seriously mamas, if you need a cheap activity to occupy young boys for a good long time, this is it.

My silhouette art in its new home on the wall!

View from behind the old barn...beautiful in every season so far!

Wild grapes, which grow all over the property.  I hear wild grapes are really easy to make into wine...I think I smell an experiment coming this fall:)

Fitness Friday! 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge Update...

Welcome to Fitness Friday!  For the next month or so I'll be giving you an update every Friday on how my personal "Weight Loss Challenge" is going.  The last week and a half has been pretty good...I've done pretty well at sticking to my diet guidelines, and exercising consistently.  Blogging about it helps--I don't want to have to come back here and tell you I was lazy!  And thankfully, the numbers are starting to reflect the hard work!

Current weight: 150 lbs (halfway to goal #1 already!)
Waist: 30" (1 inch down)
Upper arm: 11 3/4"
Hips: 42" (this is my biggest problem area...takes REALLY hard work to see change there!)
Thigh: 24 1/2"

The first week of exercising was great.  I had tons of energy and was able to work out at a pretty high intensity level.  This week felt harder...like my muscles were in protest.  I don't know too much about sports nutrition, but I'm wondering if that first week my body was running on excess stored carbs.  With that "extra" depleted, I'd love to see some of those fat stores start to disappear too:)  Interesting thought.  The human body is amazing!  One of the best things about paying attention to your body and your nutrition is learning about how it works and how best to "feed" it.  It feels good to have some control in this area!