Fall Garden

After a beautiful, gentle rain, I had to get outside.  I went out to visit the garden and couldn't believe my eyes.  It was actually quite beautiful.  There can be no argument, Autumn is a beautiful season.

Come take a look...

The air is fresh and crisp...

Doesn't this make you want to slow down and take a deep refreshing breath?

Go ahead, I know you want to...

Maybe you need to, just like I have been needing long deep breaths myself.

Oops, made myself yawn... :0D

By this time I'm feeling refreshed and inspired.  I remember last year.  This time last year was cold and the garden was long since retired.  But this year, these cosmos flowers have only now come into their own.

I couldn't help but rescue this tomato from off the vine because I knew the forecast called for more rain.  This could mean frosty temps, so I didn't want it left out in the cold!

It's almost hard to believe the garden is retiring...

These flowers look so ethereal.

There's something so idyllic about this view... so pretty.

Well, the garden is retiring.  Here's the proof.

At least there's enough seed for next year!

  Seeds for more ideas, and more plants!

Pursuing a Myth?

 Just when I was feeling really despondent, my sister comes through like no one else can!  She sent me an email containing an article called, "What Makes Us Tick? The Ten Desires That Drive Us" by Hugh Mackay.

It starts out explaining that sadness is as natural and no less valid than happiness.  As a society we expect to be happy most of the time and that we view it as if it is a tangible goal and that it is a 'natural' state to be in all the time.  In reality we would not know happiness if it weren't for it's opposite, sadness.  To feel ALL emotions at varying times is to experience the full spectrum of being human.  "There is no sovereign emotion," states the article.

"Mackay maintains that the fleeting moments of bliss and joy only make sense because they represent a contrast to the experience of pain, trauma, or sadness or even with those times when we feel trapped by routine."

He goes on to say, "Ancient wisdom suggests that the pursuit of personal happiness is counter-productive.  The more you seek it, the less likely you are to find it.  Asking, 'how can I become happier?' is a classic sign that we have missed the point.  He suggests that, 'how can I become more useful?' might be more appropriate."

He does not cite any particular source of ancient wisdom, but my favorite source is the Bible!  This is what the Bible is all about, relationship.  It's not a religion, it's a way of life.  It's how we can better serve God through our service to one another!  It says that is how true happiness is found.  That is, true contentedness and fulfillment.

"Given the turbulent times, Mackay asks are we exacerbating the problem by putting too much emphasis on 'positive outcomes' and not enough on the process of living courageously, kindly, or even nobly?"

The article continues, "Mackay hopes that happiness is beyond people's control.  Happiness is not something that can be summoned at will.  If ancient wisdom teaches anything, it is that the deepest forms of happiness - satisfaction, contentment, peace of mind - have almost nothing to do with pleasure and do not come to those who desire and pursue them.

"For Mackay, the test of a 'life well lived', lies in the quality of personal relationships and the care we devote to them.  Everything else is peripheral, and mostly trivial.

"He believes that personal relationships are the test-bed of sensitivity, moral courage and capacity for love.  These are, he says, not only the source of life's richest meanings, but - as people struggle to establish them, nurture them, and sometimes forsake them - they teach that notions like happiness or sadness are mere accidents of our fluctuating emotional state.  These are, Mackay maintains, incidental to the great realization that it is in loving we are made whole."

 

 1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
 8 Love never fails...  

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13 (NKJV)


Like the mythological unicorn, happiness cannot be captured, controlled or maintained like a possession.  But we can have something even better and more fulfilling simply by treating others as we would love to be treated (Luke 6:31).  When do we feel our happiest and most fulfilled?  Of course it's when we serve others out of love and concern for them!  And isn't it true that no one cares how much we know, or how good we are at something?  What they WILL remember is how we made them FEEL!

Low-Fat Pumpkin Muffins

I made these wonderful pumpkin muffins from scratch!  Most of my baking is from scratch.  We live 60 miles from town with at least 17 miles of irregularly maintained dirt road.  This  means we can't just pick something up at the store on a whim.  It helps to plan a menu to help make sure I have the ingredients I will be needing.  This also means I try to keep my menu simple and versatile.  Baking is an effective way to accomplish that.

I used to be of the opinion that if it involved using the oven, then it was, well, involving.  Now I am of the belief that it has saved me time, energy, and money.  Muffins are now an integral part of our meals, especially breakfast.  Living so far from a town or grocery store makes the time it takes to make these a practicality.  Take these Pumpkin Muffins for example.  While doing school work with the kids, I also cut up and steamed two of our garden grown Pie Pumpkins.  In only took about 15-20 minutes to steam them until they fell off the skin.  Since we are right there on the dinning room table doing school, I can easily use the same time slot to do this steaming, separating, and pureeing.  The pumpkin puree then goes into the fridge.

The next morning I pull out the puree and prepare these muffins.  Here's the recipe:

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  (or 1/2 tsp each of cloves & nutmeg and 1/4 tsp each of allspice and ginger) 
• 1/3 cup pecan pieces

• 2 large egg whites or 1 large whole egg
• 1 cup fresh pureed cooked pumpkin
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup

      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spread out the pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for about 5-8 minutes.  Lightly grease muffin tin.  Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.
     In a large bowl, mix first 7 (dry) ingredients together including toasted pecans.  In a small bowl, mix together last 5 ingredients.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Spoon into muffin cups and bake 20 - 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool 1 minute and then serve!

These are delicious warm with a little butter or margarine!!!  Add a cup of green tea and an egg and you've got breakfast!

This recipe was modified from it's original which is found in this indispensable little book....

Her recipe is called Pumpkin Bran Muffins.  I've had this little book for over 10 years, and over time have learned her tricks and I've learned to modify them according to the ingredients I have on-hand.

By the way... Those two pie pumpkins I used to make the puree was enough to make two from-scratch pumpkin pies and 3 batches of pumpkin muffins!

That was just over 9 cups total of pumpkin puree out of two medium sized pie pumpkins!  Wow!

Honestly, I think we are spoiled!

Soup's On!

Money can be really tight sometimes.  Seems to be more so than it used to be.  So, like most households, I am looking for ways to cut the food budget.  For two weeks we had to make due with the most basic of essentials, such as ingredients for bread and a pot of beans and rice.  Not kidding.  This is the cheapest way to eat.  And when you have no money, it's comforting to know it's also very healthy.  No frankfurters and beans, nope, those franks are too expensive and they have questionable ingredients!

A pot of beans isn't anything worth mentioning, especially when I couldn't put my favorites in the pot; onions and garlic.  We didn't even have any margarine to put in the bowl of beans.  But, it was healthy!  Add a slice of homemade wheat or rye bread, and we were fed.  This hasn't been the first time we've had to be ultra thrifty in our meals.  It's a budget-imposed fast so to speak.

So maybe you can imagine my joy and thankfulness when we got a little money and I could go buy some more basics!

I had some fresh clean beef from our rancher thawing in the refrigerator.  Now that I could get some vegetables I was able to make a soup!  Beef and Vegetable Barley Soup.  Yum.  This is comfort food.  Nothing like clean unadulterated beef.  Good stuff!

The magic of soup is that you can make it last while filling stomachs, especially hungry growing tummies.  It's healthy, filling, and relatively cheap too.  This batch of soup for example was made in a 3.5 quart soup pot.  The beef was a trade for labor.  With the cost to make this soup divided by the number of servings, it came out to about $0.47 per serving.  Not bad for a family of five!  Not bad at all when you consider the healthy nourishment we all get.  Obviously eating out, fast food or otherwise can't begin to compete with this value.

Knowing what vegies I use the most of, and knowing which ones I can grow, would obviously reduce the cost even further!  This is my goal for next year!

 

This was the second soup I made this week, Pasta and Bean Soup.  It had no meat in it, so I added brown rice in order to make the protein that comes from the combination of beans and rice.  I never was a lover of beans until I learned to make pintos to my liking.  Then after trying this recipe (and modifying it for the protein) I fell in love with these little white navy beans!  I love that it only takes about 2 hours to cook them compared to about 8 hours for pintos!  I really liked the clean light flavor of these navy beans.  I will be using them a lot more often!  This soup was cheaper than the Beef and Barley above.  With about the same number of servings it came out to be $0.40 per serving!  It was delicious too!

These two soups fed us for a few dinners and a couple of lunches too.  Approximately 32 servings came out to be $13.68 which averaged out to about $0.43 per meal, per person, for one whole week!  I love my job!

I am really looking forward to growing those vegies I use the most of; tomatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots.  If I could grow celery, I would.  I haven't used potatoes much for years, but I'm coming back to them for the sake of filling my boys' tummies up.  So, I shall be attempting to grow potatoes next year as well.

Can I get the cost of soup down to something like $0.10 per serving?  Sounds like a delicious challenge!