Autumn Blessings to you

Hello~

The changing of the seasons has always been close to my heart.  God made the seasons, each for it's own reason. Our bodies naturally live with that..even though we may not be aware of it.

Through the years and learning more about the seasons, agriculture, the Church and the seasons and my own experience of "nesting" each Fall, I have come to love the change.  Except Spring.  Yes I love the flowers and I love the colors and Easter especially, but after a long, cold, icy winter when Spring arrives in late March I am ready for flowers and green.  This doesn't usually happen until May.

So, I struggle with Spring. I guess it is a sort of impatience. I often struggle with that. God's timing not Dee's is my frequent phrase.

So today I decorated just a bit, changed my pillow covers on the couch (which I learned from a very easy tutorial on You Tube. Each took about 30 min. No zippers, no buttons. Love it!) changed my rug by my front door and still need to change my wreath.  Ooops.

I don't do the whole house now.  With just Mr. P and I and we live in the country, it's just enough to lift my spirits and show a change of seasons within our home too.

Sometimes I add God's naturally decorations which I love the most!

Tonight for dinner we had a pot roast, roasted potatoes and carrots, green beans and a very yummy Apple Crisp that is gluten free, and no refined sugar ( I use maple syrup). We actually had the Apple Crisp for an afternoon snack while we waited for dinner to cook.

I wish you Fall Blessings and may God provide you with decorations in your area to enjoy.

Homemade Apple Crisp and tea to welcome Fall.

A Birthday outing

Last week was my husband's birthday and the one thing he wanted was to spend the night somewhere different. We went to The Springs in Pagosa. It was amazing.

The Mother Spring was 144 degrees and from what we read about the history of the Springs, the Ute Indians used to go there...many, many many years ago...and found that a disease that had spread in their community was not being healed by any means they had. They prayed and danced and did a traditional fire to their god.  The next morning this main spring was bubbling in the place where the fire was. They approached it and all that went into it was healed. When settlers found it, there were tracks leading away from the spring so they later learned the story.

We were able to go in several springs , I only went in with my feet in a pool that was 97 degrees.  My husband tried several, with 104 being the most he could do.  There is one called the Lobster Pot...if you go in you get a t-shirt. Ha!

The springs run naturally and there was a study done in 2011 and the American Geologic group went in to find out how deep it really is.  They stopped after 1,000 feet! WOW!

People are not allowed in the Mother Spring due to the temperature.  Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

This is the entrance.

Mr P by the natural spring at the entrance. I don't think you can see it, but the cool morning air with the hot spring caused steam to rise.

Mrs P.  by the Mother Spring. One part of the story was to my right.

This little guy was warming himself on a rock as we walked across the street to breakfast.

Here, the springs naturally drip down to join the river that goes by.  Years of minerals formed and the tree branches as well have minerals.

Just fascinating.  God can sure create some amazing things.

I hope you enjoyed.  You can go to the website to learn more of the 24 pools around the property, there are also springs around Pagosa and all of these you don't have to pay to see. That's the best part!

Have a blessed day. 

Fun t-shirt

When it's one of those days:

Grandma's Banana Cream Pie with a twist

Hello Ladies,

Several years ago a very wise older homemaking mentor of mine, Marg, taught me that men naturally have a sweet tooth.  They seem to be born with it.  When SHE learned this from a woman, she did the same experiment I did, and found the same results. The experiment?  I, as Marg did, started watching my husband with eating treats.  If I didn't make anything, he would dig to find things to make something instant and sweet.  Ice cream with shaved chocolate topping, Buttered toast with jelly, anything.  If we went out he would order an amazing dessert that was huge.

Now just to caveat, I don't eat sugar. So 9 times out of 10 when he orders something, I get tea or a fruit cup, but usually I just enjoy how much he enjoys it.

So, back to my experiment.  I love to read old homemaking books and found one last winter that the author spoke of "you must make your husband some sort of sweet course to satisfy his sweet tooth. So daily make sure to pack a bit of something you made in his lunch." Wow!

So I made a plan and didn't tell him.  The first weekend of the month of May, I made a pie - (banana cream that month), the second week - some sort of cookie (his favorite chocolate chip), the third week - some sort of cake (like apple cake made gluten free with honey), and the fourth week- a fruit bake something, anything with fruit in it (I made a apple crisp with strawberries and chocolate chips in it).  I told him if he played his cards right, the dessert would last from Sunday at least until Wed or Thursday.

The result! It worked.  He stopped digging. He doesn't go out and get huge desserts with gosh knows what in it, and I get to try various recipes each month. :-)

I didn't make much in August with many events in our home so I got lazy, store bought cookies and pieces of dark chocolate. The result...he started getting "fru fru coffee" as I call it, and doughnuts at men's group at church.

So this month, I have just made a second attempt at a banana cream pie. The last one turned out good, but I used a regular homemade gluten free pie crust. As I said, it was ok.  I also didn't care for the cornstarch.

This time around I used a different recipe and sub'ed all sorts of ingredients.  The results....fabulous!!

Keep in mind I am no chef, just love to make treats without sugar.

So here is the recipe:

Grandma's Banana Cream Pie with a twist

1/2 c. Maple syrup
1/3 c. Gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 c. Rice milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 T butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 med. bananas

1 pie crust (see mine below for an option)
Whipped cream (we don't use this)

1. Make the crust first: 3T melted butter and 1 1/2 c. crushed graham crackers. use pastry blender or your hands. ( don't have a pastry blender).

    Line pie crust pan or 8x8 pan with parchment, then press in crust. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan, combine maple syrup, flour, and salt.  Pour in milk and stir.

3. Cook over med stirring constantly until thick and comes to a boil for 2 min.

4. Remove from heat, stir a small amount of cream into the egg yolks, then return to saucepan.

5. Cook for 2 min, staring constantly. Remove from heat

6. Add butter and vanilla, mix well and allow to cool slightly.

7. While it's cooling a bit, slice the bananas and place on crust.

8. Pour cream over top of the bananas.

9. Cool or refrigerate about an hour. Top with whipped cream and banana decorations.

Refrigerate leftovers, making sure to cover completely with Cling Wrap so the air doesn't dry it out.

(Original recipe from Genius Kitchen titled: Granny's Banana Cream Pie by ratherbeswimmin)


**Update- Well, it was amazing, though it didn't set.  It was more pudding.  I will add either more flour or arrowroot starch next time. But oh my, was it tasty..**

Peace be with you,
Mrs. Peterson