Focus Amidst the Chaos

When I saw this picture I thought it fit this post perfectly.

Isn't this what life seems like sometimes? 

      I so needed my devotional reading this morning. Usually when I do not have a specific Bible Study that I am doing I follow the daily readings laid out in The Word Among Us. It is a Catholic devotional magazine based on the daily mass readings. No I am not Catholic but I picked it up one day in a waiting room a few years ago in Alaska and liked it. I like how it has an Old Testament reading for the day and a New Testament reading and most of the time like the daily meditation. God has really used it to prompt me to dive in deeper on multiple occasions.

      Anyways, today the New Testament reading was Matthew 14:22-36, about Jesus walking on water to his disciples' boat during high winds and waves.  

 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Matthew 14:28-30

     Then when discussing this passage the devotional says "As Peter looked at Jesus, the storm seemed to fade away. All that mattered was that Jesus was there, defying the laws of gravity and banishing fear. In that moment, Peter's heart was lifted above the waves, and he stepped out of the boat. Jesus became the source of his confidence and security, not the boat. Even when he turned from Jesus' gaze and began to sink, he called to Jesus for help, and he was saved."

     Again, I really needed that today. We have a lot going on in our life right now, some of it circumstances that like the waves we cannot control. It is so easy to lose our focus and look down, taking our eyes off of Jesus. However that is when we start to sink. If we keep our eyes on Jesus those circumstances tend to fade out and get blurry, we rise above our circumstances with renewed faith, and ability to keep moving forward even through the storm. When we do start to sink He is there to pull us back to Him when we call out to Him.  When I read this passage this morning I felt like Jesus was reaching out His hand to me, calling me to keep my gaze on Him and stay above the craziness going on in our lives right now. I felt like He was reminding me where my focus needs to be and reminding me of His power.



"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 3:14

Simple Homemade Vapor Rub

There are tons of recipes out there on the internet for homemade vapor rub, I am sure most of them work great. This is a simple, quick one that works well for us. It was one of the first things I made with essential oils and helped to convince me of the benefits of essential oils. :) To read the long version of the story you can read here Essential Oils. The short version is, it was late at night, my son had a chest cold and was having bad asthma attacks before we knew he had asthma, my hubby was out of town and well you get the picture. My friend told me to make some vapor rub with essential oils, rub it on his chest and his feet and put socks on. It helped a lot to soothe and support his respiratory system and I have used it several times since.  There are other recipes that are more complicated and some that call for beeswax but since this works for us, I saw no need to do something different. We keep this in our room where the A/C stays on most of the time and so the coconut oil stays pretty well solidified. Again because this is being rubbed into the skin I would suggest a higher end essential oil like doTerra, Native American Nutritionals, Young Living or Mountain Rose Herbs

Ingredients for kids and elderly
1/2 cup coconut oil
8 drops peppermint essential oil
8 drops eucalyptus essential oil
8 drops lavender essential oil

Ingredients for older kids and adults
1/2 cup coconut oil
15 drops peppermint essential oil
15 drops eucalyptus essential oil
15 drops lavender essential oil

Mix all the ingredient together and you are ready to go.

If you want it thicker consistency you can whip the coconut butter with some shea butter or you can melt some beeswax and mix it in. I do not find it necessary but some do.

You can use other essential oils as well, like lemon, tea tree, rosemary, pine, basil, chamomile, orange and others. If you do add more EOs however, you will need to adjust the number of drops you put in as it needs to stay safely diluted. There is a good chart / print out for diluting here Dilution Chart.

DIY Homemade Deodorant

 

 

As part of my journey to start to reduce unneeded chemicals in our lives I decided to have a go at making my own deodorant. While my cancer was not breast cancer, now that I have had cancer, I am more susceptible to getting cancer again and I figured the less chemicals near my lymph nodes and breasts the better, plus it is more cost effective. I came across this blog and recipe about a year ago, added it to my favorites, determined do make it.   http://thehumbledhomemaker.com/2012/10/natural-homemade-deodorant-recipe.html   I just recently made it for the first time. :) Nothing like procrastinating. I did switch to using store bought natural deodorant a long time ago but making my own felt like the natural next step. Now that I have made it, I really wish I had done it sooner. It was soooo easy!! At the bottom of the post you can read my assessment and tweaks I might make next time.

Ingredients
2 heaping tablespoons beeswax pellets
1 tbsp shea butter
5 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder (for sensitive skin)
1/4 cup aluminum free baking soda
10-15 drops lavender oil
10-15 drops tea tree oil
10-15 drops of other essential oil of your choice (I chose Ylang Ylang because it is supposed to help with fibromyalgia
3-4 new or used (cleaned out) deodorant tubes twisted all the way back down. When I did this, it made 3 regular sized and two travel sized.

I got the beeswax pellets at our local craft store but you can get them on Amazon, Mountain Rose Herbs, or Aromatics International. The shea butter I got off of Amazon but you can also get it at Aromatics International or Mountain Rose Herbs, probably at your local health food store as well. The aluminum free baking soda I got at our local health food store Down To Earth but you can also order it from Mountain Rose Herbs. For the essential oils, you can choose which brand you want. Since it is being applied / rubbed into the skin, I suggest a higher quality brand. I recommend doTerra, Native American Nutritionals, Young Living or Mountain Rose Herbs.  For the deodorant tubes, you can get them on Amazon, possibly your local health food store or local craft store. For me where we live, it was actually more cost effective for me to buy the cheapest deodorant at the grocery store (93 cents each), and cleaned them out.

Directions

1. Melt beeswax in a double boiler. If you do not have a double boiler you can put them in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water.

2. Add shea butter and coconut oil and heat until just melted, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat and add cornstarch and baking soda. Stir until smooth.

4. Add essential oils and mix well

5. Pour into old deodorant tubes and let sit a few hours before adding the tops. You will want to fill them until they seem to almost overflow because they will fall down a good bit once cooled.  You can see from my picture, my tube was a tad lumpy, I stirred it up better before pouring the rest.

So there you  have it, a quick and easy way to make your own deodorant! I am excited to have finally done this!

After using it for a little while, here is my assessment.

Does it work?

Yes, it works. :) I do not have to apply it any more often than I did the store bought natural deodorant. I apply it 2 -3 times a day but again I did that with the store bought stuff. I sweat a lot. I work out hard almost everyday, soaking through my work out clothes, I am in menopause so have periodic hot flashes causing me to perspire, and I just naturally sweat a lot. So 2-3 times a day may sound like a lot for you but for me it is normal. I hiked Diamond Head just this weekend with the family and had no complaints. :)

Would you make it again and if so what changes would you make?



Absolutely I would make it again. The only complaint I had was that it did not set up quite as well as I would have liked, my guess is because we live in the tropics. Not much stays in a solidified state in my pantry because of the warmth. So I think once it is time for me to make it again I will probably add a little more beeswax, maybe 3 heaping tablespoons rather than 2 to see if it sets up a little better. I will update this when I do. It still works fine. I keep it in our bedroom where we keep the A/C on and I smear it on with my fingers rather than rubbing the bar on it.



Quinoa with Bell Pepper and Pine Nuts

This dish very much reminds me of couscous dishes I ate growing up in Africa which is probably why I am so drawn to it. In all honestly it could be just as easily made with couscous but I use quinoa because I cannot eat wheat.  I think it is yummy and great for a light lunch and easy to make. Oddly enough when I first came across the recipe it was part of a recipe for stuffed bell pepper and was supposed to be the stuffing but I liked it just as well on its own. If you want the whole recipe for stuffed bell pepper just ask me. I got it out of the cookbook Vegan Fire and Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes, http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Fire-Spice-Sultry-Recipes/dp/0980013100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401930187&sr=8-1&keywords=vegan+fire+and+spice
This is one of those types of recipes you can add or detract ingredients as you see fit. Like you could easily add some carrots, peas, or green beans.  Not part of the original recipe but I added to it are ginger because in case you have not noticed by now, I love ginger, and I also added mint to it.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, bulgar, barley or couscous or grain of choice

2 cups vegetable stock or water

1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion chopped

½ cup chopped celery

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 small fresh hot chiles, seeded and minced (optional)

¼ cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup mint (optional, not in original recipe)

ginger chopped (optional, not in original recipe)

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup currants

¼ cup pine nuts

1 teaspoon sugar or natural sweetener

Freshly ground pepper

 

Directions

Cook quinoa and 2 cups vegetable stock according to package directions. Set aside to cool. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, chiles, and chopped bell pepper and cook 5 minutes or until softened. Add parsley, mint (optional), ginger (optional), dill, cumin, lemon juice, pine nuts, currants, sugar, quinoa, and salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.

Chickpea Salad with Balsamic / Dijon Vinaigrette

Love this salad, especially with the vinaigrette. All the tastes blend well and with the chickpeas in it, for me it makes a whole meal. Sometimes I might add a little ground flaxseed or nutritional yeast to it but it does not really need it.

Salad Ingredients

13 ¾ oz can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed. (or use dry beans and prep according to package directions).

½ cup chopped onion

1 cup diced celery stalks

1 cup diced carrots

½ cup fresh parsley, minced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced (optional, original recipe did not call for it but I use it)

1 cup seeded and diced cucumber

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger (optional, original recipe did not call for it but I like it)

Combine all ingredients and toss with vinaigrette. Cover, and chill for 1 hour before serving

Vinaigrette Ingredients

1 garlic clove, minced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons flaxseed oil (or add in a little more olive oil or other oil)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

Ground pepper to taste                         

                         Combine all ingredients and blend well (I use a protein shaker cup to mix it)

Mexican Casserole

This recipe is super easy. I genuinely cannot remember the name of the cookbook I originally got this recipe from. I have probably been making this dish at least a decade. I first made this because we had gotten some cans of corn at a case lot sale and I was trying to find recipes I could use corn in. The original recipe did not even call for corn but when I saw this recipe I thought it would go well in it and the rest is history! My husband loved it the first time I made it and it has been a favorite in our household ever since.  I make it for pot lucks, special occasions and just because. My son likes to put in flour tortillas and make it into a burrito.  My daughter eats it just as is and likes it.

Ingredients

1 can corn

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 cans pinto beans, drained

1 can(8ounces) tomato sauce

½ cup mild chunky salsa

1 tsp chili powder

1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

Directions

Heat oven to 375

Cook beef in 10 inch skillet over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown, drain. Mix beef, beans, tomato sauce, salsa and chili powdered in ungreased 2 quart casserole dish.

Cover and bake 40-45 minutes, stirring once or twice, until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 

DIY Key hanger / letter holder from old shutter

If you saw my previous post about the picture hanger / dislplay made out of a small old shutter I picked up at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store you may have noticed that there were two pieces to the old shutter.  Well this is what I used the second piece for. Again I was not blogging at the time so I do not have a step by step picture instructional to it but feel free to ask me any questions.

 

  After

Before

  

I did have to strip the paint off this one to then be able to stain it.  Let me tell you, stripping this was a huge pain because of how close the slats were. My recommendation would be to use one that was not painted if you come across one. Regardless, I am happy with how it turned out.

 

     First I cut the slats to have the desired opening at the top. Then I stripped the paint off. After that I put wood putty in the holes the slats came out of, let it dry and sanded it down. Then I stained it, let it dry and spray lacquered it. I had an old thin piece of wood from a previous project that I used for the back, sprayed it with chalkboard paint and nailed it to the back of the shutter. The hooks I think I picked up at Lowes.



Alsatian Apple Tart

     This post is a little longer than normal, for the recipe scroll down to the bottom.    
     I have never made traditional apple pie but instead make this Alsatian Apple Tart for all the holidays and other events throughout the year and it is always a big hit.

     When we lived in Heidelberg, Germany we often went to Strasburg which is in the Alsace region of France. This area of France over the centuries has gone back and forth between belonging to Germany or France so much that they kind of formed their own culture including type of food. It is usually very rich, creamy and delicious. I truly enjoyed this area of France. 

     We always knew that my grandfathers side of the family came from Alsace Lorraine and while I was in Germany my mom did some bonifide geneology tracing our ancestry and even got in touch with some distant relatives. So a few months after my son was born my mom, aunt, cousin and I took a road trip tracing our roots and ancestry to Bitschwiller les Thann in Alsace, eating our way into oblivion along the way. 

     Keep in mind this is before I started actually cooking for real. This was also before the internet is what it is today. Not to date myself but lets just say at the time AOL was one of the only e-mail providers, we had no pinterest and no gazillion recipes to go through online.

     I liked the food so much I started looking for a cookbook specific to Alsace. I found plenty in French but none in English. I went as far as buying one in French thinking I could make do. Again though I was not the cook I am today. At the time besides making all my son's baby food, if it did not come out of a box or freezer package my husband and I did not make it.  I do not know how but my mom found this out of print cookbook in English from 1981 and gave it to me.  http://www.amazon.com/The-Cuisine-Alsace-Pierre-Gaertner/dp/0812054032/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401144602&sr=8-1&keywords=cuisine+of+Alsace 

 

    

 

 

 

     I think the first thing I made out of the cookbook was Kugelhopf which is like a sweet bread baked in a pan that is like a bundt pan. I will have to make it and post pictures another time. This Alsatian Apple Tart was soon to follow though. I loved it in the bakeries in Alsace and the recipe seemed farely straightforward to me.

     I think this is when my love of cooking started although it did not kick in, in full swing until after my son had to go on a special diet. I will have to say it was not only about cooking for me though. I really did love Alsace and this was a way of keeping a piece of it with me and brings back fond memories every time I open the cookbook. Who knows maybe my relatives generations ago also made some variation of some of the dishes I cook out of it. :).           

The recipe calls for creme fraiche or heavy cream.  If you can find creme fraiche, I highly recommend you use it. The custard sets better and quicker that way. If not though, the heavy cream works fine.

 

 

Ingredients

 

Pie dough (found here pie crust, just make the dough and follow the directions in this recipe)

2 ¼ lbs cooking apples, approx. 5 apples

1 1/3 cups confectioner’s sugar

2 eggs

½ cup of milk

½ cup crème fraiche or heavy cream

Ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Core and peel the apples and cut in half. Place apple halves cut side down on a work surface and cut straight down into ¼ inch thick slices. Keep the slices together. Roll out the dough and use it to line a buttered 11-inch tart pan.

Place 9 of the apple halves slices together in the shell. Use the tenth half, separated, to fill in empty spaces.  Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the sugar. Bake in a hot oven for 25-30 minutes. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining sugar, then add the milk and cream. Pour cream mixture over the apples and put back into hot oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until custard is set (this may take longer of using heavy cream instead of crem fraiche). I kind of stick a fork in the top of the custard poking through the top to see if the custard is cooked through. When tart is cooked, sprinkle lightly with the cinnamon. Remove sides and serve warm.

On a side note during out trip to Bitschwiller les Thann we saw this coat of arms above their version of City Hall.

 

So soon after our trip I made this one out of wood to give to my family. If I can get a better picture of it from them, I will. This was taken a long time ago, before blogging.

 

Pie Crust

This is my go to pie crust recipe for pies, quiches, tarts and anything that calls for a crust. and it works well.

Pie Crust

2 cups all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, in small pieces

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup water

Mix flour with salt. Cut butter into the flour until mixture is of particles like small peas. Add the egg yolk and water. Mix well with a fork. Knead the dough a few times until it forms a smooth ball. Wrap in wax paper and chill until ready to use, at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out dough on a floured surface to the desired size, making the dough about ¼ inch thick and 2 inches wider than the bottom of the tart pan. Line baking pan with dough and prick the bottom with a fork. Line shell with cheesecloth and fill it with dried beans or rice. Bake crust in hot oven until lightly browned – about 10 – 12 minutes for larger crusts and less time for smaller ones. If it is for quiche only bake 7 – 8 minutes.

Crock Pot Ribs

I have never made ribs before but came across this recipe for the crock pot and thought I would give it a try.  http://www.stacymakescents.com/easy-crock-pot-ribs    I am so glad I did!! They turned out so well and everyone in the family loves them! Plus it was really easy to make. Took little time and effort in the morning and had a great meal in the evening.

P.S. Check out her 100 Days of No Processed Foods Crock Pot Style http://www.stacymakescents.com/100-days-of-no-processed-meals-crock-pot-style    You will not be dissappointed!

Easy Crock Pot Ribs

5 lbs ribs

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons sucanat or brown sugar

5 tablespoons ketchup

¼ cup water

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Combine garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub into meat. Lay ribs in the bottom of a 5-6 quart greased crock pot. Layer if necessary.  In small bowl combine sucanat (brown sugar), ketchup, water,  Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Pour over ribs. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat reaches 170 degrees. Remove meat from crock pot and serve.

 

You can use the remaining juices to make sauce for it, the original recipe calls for you to do so but my family liked it without the sauce so I do not bother with it.  If you want to though, leave the juices in the crock pot, add some flour to it to thicken it up and cook for about 30 minutes on high. The original recipe called to add corn starch but we did not like the taste of it.