Kitchen Blessings

I have always been the kind of cook that can have 1 or 2 things going at the same time, but not 3. And that is within the same meal, like making dinner. Something gets put in the oven or covered to keep warm while I tend to the rest. I have learned and respect my limits.

I was in the midst of several baking projects and stood back in awe as I watched how the Lord was blessing me in my efforts. I had already made my Coconut macaroons, which were baking, and had homemade whole wheat bread rising for the second half, and was making dinner when I realized what was happening. Words can't even begin to discribe the feelings I had. It just confirmed for me that all things are possible with God, and that were there is true effort the Lord blesses. I am so grateful for His help.

If you look closely, the bread is rising under the green towel on the stove, the cookies are in the oven and I'm cutting the sweet potato for dinner. In front of me is my trusty homemade cookbook of all my favorite or collected recipes...held together with blue duct tape! No graceful way to hide that!

The first completed baked good: (No sugar) Coconut Macaroons! Made with a touch of honey, sliced almonds and lots of unsweetened coconut.

Homemade bread from scratch for C! He loves bread. This one was new for me. I used a recipe from the back of the King Arthur flour bag and it called for honey or molasses and powdered milk. C says it's very moist and tastey!
This was our supper. Seasoned roasted chicken breasts with cubed sweet potato's, steamed green beans with slivered almonds. Very tastey! I make all my seasonings, this one has cayanne, curry, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

All praise to Him, for all the food provided and the creation put it all together.

God's peace,

Dee

Sunday Brunch

We had a wonderful couple over for breakfast. Mark & Krista w/ baby Kate. Chris enjoys making pancakes on Sunday's (or waffles) and makes all the fixin's to go with it. I was so excited to have them over to catch up and fill our tummies with warm homemade pancakes. We enjoyed a wonderful "catch up" chat time with them before off to church!

God's peace~

Dee

Home cooked Breakfast

Many friends always gasp when they hear I don't eat dairy, wheat (flour) or sugar. The first question is always "what do you eat"? I have posted some other meal ideas, but here's another:

Breakfast this morning:

Scrambled eggs

Steamed Kale w/ olive oil and a sprinkle of salt (kale is good for calcium)

Hot butternut squash cereal w/ almond milk and toasted walnuts (very yummy!)

Bon Appetite!

Part of being a homemaker is studying nutrition for your family. Since my dietary needs are also part of my studying I have learned how to "Eat to Live" rather than "Live to Eat".

God's Peace be with you~

Dee

My Valentine

He is my protector. He is my best friend. He holds me when I want to world to disappear. He loves me with all my developing wrinkles. He loves me inspite of my past. He is my love.

I baked him a homemade batch of chocolate chip cookies this morning (his favorite) and took some to his class at the college. (We are taking 1 class together so I see him.). You should have seen the look on his face. My husband was so moved by my loving gester. It was worth all the time I took to do it. That warm feeling I get in my tummy that says "I did it" I gave him something to show him how much I love him. In return while I was out grocery shopping My Valentine left me love notes all over the house:

C took an erasable marker and wrote on the glass and mirrors all around the house. To bad you can't see what this one says! {wink}


My Love note on my kitchen window.
Isn't he sweet!

And the best part was outside. He shuffled his feet around to make them. How cute!! I'm so in love.

Thank you Lord for my husband.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and God's peace.

Mrs. Dee Peterson

Snow Day

It snowed all day yesterday and the college closed for the afternoon due to the of snow and ice. That meant I got a little snuggle time with C. :-) He has such a big heart. The back steps get slick and the dogs have a hard time, so after it snowed he was out sweeping off the snow to keep it from icing for the dogs. Isn't he sweet.

You can see our littlest dog was trying to attack a snow covered ball. It was funny to watch her growl and jump at it, then spit it out and stick out her tongue due to the ice on it.

She's the little princess here.

A stitch in time

My sewing buddy (he's talking to C as he takes the pic!)


Carefully stitching while thinking of the patches in the quilt.

This past weekend I was able to get to some much needed repairs on a quilt that I have. My grandmother made this many years ago (before I was around) and used bits and pieces of fabric from her clothing and my dad's clothing. What a treasure. Ever since I inherited a box that had her linens in it I have had this on my bed to use on those cold nights. Needless to say, here in Ohio those nights are often. This morning it was all of 7 degrees here!! Thanks be to God for my quilt.

I also find it comforting when I'm sick, or just want to rest with a cup of tea. The stitching required was much needed as some of the fabric is starting to wear thin. Some patches aren't the most professional, but it is holding it together nicely and I can get many more years of use out of it again.


As I sit and repair this quilt, I can't help but look at how wasteful I've been with some clothing for the kids and us. If we don't like it or it's worn out, how many have I just donated to tossed when the fabric could be used to make a memory such as this wonderful quilt my grandmother sewed with love. It has allowed me some time to ponder those items we dearly love and don't want to toss. What better use for them than to cut pieces of fabric and start collecting them for a quilt!



~God's peace be with you today,

Dee

Just a waitin'

My beloved husband loves when I make homemade rolls. So I tried something different and used the recipe for a bread loaf. He was so excited that he came down and sat in the kitchen watching it bake. He is so cute. It made me feel good that he was so excited for some homemade baked goods. It really doesn't take very long, and it is so much more nutritous than the store bought stuff. There is room for improvement though. I'm trying to get it more fluffy. I only use whole wheat, so I'm doing some research to see what I can do to make it more bread like.

Old Blue

Last night the truck I had inherited just closed for auction on ebay. I've got mixed emotions about selling it, but sometimes we have to make a decision that will preserve our serenity. Selling this will do that for me.

I got what my reserve was, and get this, the bid came in with 4 SECONDS left. God is so amazing. If He wants it done it will happen, but I always am reminded that it is in HIS time not Dee's time. I had given up on selling it even as Chris kept hitting the refresh button as the bid was closing. It wasn't until the last 4 seconds that this guy's bid came in. I am so glad for him too, he really wants this truck and is so excited about getting it.

The new owner lives in NY and I'm sure it will be well taken care of. He is so excited.

It's a long story as to why I needed to sell it. I won't go into the nitty gritty here except that most of the memories I have with that truck are not uplifting. God has wanted me to let that truck go since I inherited it last year when dad died. I didn't listen, and once we moved to OH we had it hauled out here. What an eye opener. Sitting in this truck as an adult when all the memories are when I was a kid. God knows what's best. I am being obedient and trusting He is the guide for my life.

I am so excited to see someone get it that really wants it. It's a God thing that's for sure.

God's peace,

Dee

The blessing of herbs

I have read in the Bible several times, the Lord gives us herbs for our needs. Today, I am Praising the Father for the herbs He has provided for me. I have come down with the "Steubenville crud" as many folks around here so lovingly state. Actually I think it's just a mild flu, no fever - again thanks be to God. So what happen's when the wife is down and out....

My loving husband steps up to help and plays nurse, all while exercising lots of patience as I tend to get short tempered when I'm sick. I love you C! Thank you for all your hard work today and nursing me back to health.

Part of this process is keeping all other family members from getting sick. That means my loving C has gotten his daily dose of Emergen-C, Echincea 2x/day and his multi vitamin. For me,oh the list.

Thursday I started with: extra Vit. C, GSE 2x, and my special "Kill a cold" drink (see below)

Friday: The same above, but I added Oscillo... yes it really does work. By the evening my headache and body aches where almost gone. I did add probiotics right before bed.

Today: GSE, Oscillo.., and my special drink. The headache and body aches are gone now, but the cough and runny nose just won't take a hike, so I am keeping up the the "special" drink.

Many of you have seen this on my blog before. Every winter I give this recipe out, and as a friends husband said "well this oughta' kill somethin', hopefully not me!" Ha! But he drank it and was better by the next day.

Here's my recipe:

A warm mug of water

1 FRESH garlic (don't use the powder stuff that won't do diddly) - known to kill viruses

A little less that an 1/8 tsp. Cayanne - known to increase blood flow and can help expell mucus

If desired honey to taste (roughly 1/2 - 1 tsp.).

Crush the garlic into the mug, add the sprinkle of Cayanne and a touch of honey then sip, DON'T CHEW the garlic! That's important, that will keep you from having strong garlic breath.

One of these a day, no more then 3 days in a row. Usually only one is needed, unless you have the flu.

And Voila:

A potent drink that has chased away many a cold in our house. Aside from a cough, I am doing much better, in only 2 days. God is amazing. Now if I'll just park it and enjoy the rest, rather then trying to jump in and help so much. Hmm..I hear the pillow on the couch calling me.

God's peace be with you~