Coconut Oil Candies

When the Ben's away the Jenn will play..

In my sojourn on the internet, I came across the idea for coconut oil candies from a traditional foods menu mailer site. That sounds interesting, but they only have suggested ingredients without a recipe.. So I ran off to the kitchen.

I had 2 1-ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate, and pulled out the honey. The coconut oil is next to the stove. To make it melt quicker, I chopped up the chocolate and my finger and jimmied a double-boiler (I haven't one, I just put one pot in another).

One jar of honey was almost out, just about 1/4 cup left in it. (note: floating the honey in the pot of water as it's heating can make it easier to pour, just don't leave it to heat enough to burn you.. replace honey jar with littler pot). When the chocolate began to melt, I added the honey. Still was too bitter, so I added another 1/4 cup - :) I like honey. Then, unthinking, I added 1/4 cup oil. I should've added just 1 Tbsp at a time, I'm thinking that just 1 or 2 Tbsp would have been just about perfect for looks when cooled.

Although, the whole idea is to increase the lauric acid intake, so lots of CO didn't bother me. Pop them in the fridge overnight (or freezer while you write your blog post), and...

(insert cookie monster sounds as I indulge in my candy)

The texture's a bit too oily, as expected, but the flavor's wonderful. If I had dessicated coconut (unsweetened coconut flakes) that could soak up some of the extra oil and give a nicer texture. Maybe some peanut butter in there next time. Yummy.

Note: the ice cube tray turned out to be a poor choice. Better would be to pour into a bowl and let cool in fridge. The resulting candy was very pliable, even when cold, that I just broke/smooshed the excess oil and folded it in, then formed little candy balls.

“Save Some for Daddy”

Our CSA bouquet has lovely lilies this week! And the 'surprise' was strawberries.. Which I promptly hid in the fridge when we arrived home.

Of course, one can't easily hide berries from a 3 year old! Just before dinner, she had them out and I told her to save some for Daddy. There's a bite out of every berry, but he can at least get a nibble if he wants some.

Under the Needle

I finally got to the dentist yesterday. It's been a while.. Last time was in Colorado.. That last time, I was given a high-fluoride toothpaste which made me ill, then we moved out of the country.

So, now it's time to settle in and see the 'damage' that being without a dentist has done over the last 5 years. More than anything, the 'milk makes me sick' thing (low calcium intake) mixed with nursing and pregnancy has begun leeching a little calcium from my teeth. Thankfully, my wonderful friend with a cow introduced me to raw real milk and I can drink that fine! (Dentist reaction: "Is that safe?" Me: "If you make sure the source is clean and sanitary!")

I'm missing a filling, a second is half gone, and a third 'doesn't look so good' (and is amalgam). So, I will be getting a little work.

I mentioned the fluoride making me sick to the dentist and that I'd been researching a little and heard of a product called Recaldent that is supposed to heal through calcium and phosphate replacement. She was interested and just called me back today to tell me she found a product with no fluoride that she can order called MI Paste. That combined with my new water-pick should help as I change my diet towards more nutrient-dense foods!

Jeans Skirt

I finally feel productive!

It's funny, no matter how many times I clean, I have to do it again. No matter how much I cook, I just have to do it again! But, whenever I sew, I have something that I can use over and over again. Sure, I'll sew again, and something quite similar, but that will last me a year or two minimum.. generally.. as long as the children don't have scissors.. or I don't use the bleach..

I was recently gifted 4 pairs of jeans. These don't fit me (too small) and I don't generally wear jeans any more, so I did a web search. I found 2 tutorials that pointed me in the right direction.
I started off trying to sew the center front seam flat.. I should know better! It's even commented on here on notMartha, if I'd read before starting..), so I tried again. I grabbed the other pair of a close colour and got snipping. This time I used the info on savvyseams and opened up the back really close to the yoke in center back. This worked out great because there just wasn't room for my ..um.. matronly rump without that.. (Hey, they're size 2S! But, because they're low-riders, the waist fits above my hips, I just had to relieve the squeeze).

First, I sewed the upper side seam of the craptastic first attempt straighter, then laid that on the jeans front sides up and pinned it for the triangle. Pin, twist, pin, fold, pin, stitch...
Then, repeat for rear. I only had so much fabric, so I matched the bottom hems and smoothed the fabric to work for me from there.

I want to do the tiered style for AJ's skirts someday.

Ye Olde Switcheroo

One of the interesting things about my beloved husband is that he works with computers all day. Online, mind you. And, he gets the RSS feed from my blog. But, he rarely checks what's I've written unless I ask (hehe.. is this a "knock on wood" or what?).

So, the mess...
Do you think he'll notice?

Now, if I can only muster the strength to put the computer armoire back in the office and bring the bookshelves back out here..
Who wants to live in an office?

Soup, It’s What’s For Breakfast

Working through our vegetable pile. So far, we've made Squash and Sun Dried Tomato Soup and Peppers With Almonds.. hold the almonds, we were out (Nourishing Traditions, p.222 and p. 395) - Both were delicious! And, last night I filled the crockpot with my own version of Harvest Sausage and Vegetable Casserole (from a Betty Crocker 'Slow Cooker Meals' booklet, dated 'Display until Jan 2006). I had a keilbasa in the freezer and those veggies sitting there..

I sliced up the potatoes into 1-inch slices (next time, I think I'll just cube them so there's less work to feed the children in the morning). There weren't any onions, so I just used the dried minced onions and shook in maybe a handful (the recipe called for 2 medium onions, I aimed for max of 1/2 a cup). Chopped up the sausage and put the rest of the chicken stock from the fridge into the pot. Um.. no carrots or cabbage... skipped it.. Haven't the Italian dressing - mental note to make some, though I'd already forgotten that until I just reread the recipe - and forgot to add the Dijon.. Ah, tomatoes, I chopped up 3 or so tomatoes, and could have added a sweet pepper, but didn't. Then grabbed another cup of chicken stock from the freezer since the stock in the fridge didn't cover everything.

This morning, we had soup for breakfast. And, it was good.

Veh-tuh-Bulls!!

I joined a CSA and my first farm box came today. The strawberries didn't survive long enough to be photographed -the girls took them straight to the table and gobbled them up. And, my husband got me flowers. Okay, so they're an option in the box, but hey, he gets me flowers every week this way!

This shouldn't be too hard to use up this week.. Their website has lots of recipes, plus they include a flier with recipes in the box. My goal is to use the vegetables each week. If anything's not used by Tuesday, it needs preserving.


Who needs dolls?

We Take Requests

Ben: You really ought to update your blog.
Me: Really?
Ben: Yeah, the room's looking better, and -you know- people at work read your blog.
Me: Ah, so it's really an image thing?



Yes, it's so much better!!
May I introduce you to (cue music) The Clean Corner:



What's that? Really? It doesn't look much like a sewing area? Well, silly, it's not. This is where we had decided to put his computer..

Why does he seem to be tormenting me so? Ah, that's my own fault. It seems that when a woman is used to her husband not being home (say, you live in one state and he works in a separate state half the year or something like that) that she gets used to putting things where she wants them. Then, say, when he takes a new job and the whole family moves somewhere new and she sets up the house, and everything seems to be in the right place... until honey comes home from the office.. Then, it's a really thoughtless thing to ask him, "Where do you live?" (referring, of course, to where he ought to really be setting his backpack and putting his papers, ie not on the counter).

So, I really had this all coming.

My 'sewing room' is now our 'sitting room' where he can enjoy time with his children (and wife), and the 'family room' is now a, well um.. it's an office... (sigh).

So, now I'm no longer pampered with my own place for my stuff (isn't that what the Feminazis have been fighting for? Equal rights), and have to put it away somewhere and just get out the project I'm working on. Like how I figure most of the rest of the world probably operates.

Need A Game Plan

August 23, I took this picture of my living room. I'd just started homeschooling intently and got booted from the sewing/craft/school room. Last week, I ran off to SoCal (perhaps in a desperate attempt to reclaim sanity). Sunday night, I arrived home to the same scene. So, Monday, Ben moved the pile of boxes to the garage.

Over the last month or so I've also come to the point where I realize that I have no job satisfaction. Perhaps it's just a case of "Post Partem Blues," but I've come to realize that I rarely like what I do. Sad? Yes. From the day I brought my first child home, I've been accused of being a bad mother. Why? Oh, that first time I offered to let a friend hold him even though he was asleep in the car seat. My reasons: a) they go back to sleep any where, and b) they sleep in the night sooner if they learn day is a time to move about.

My mothering has improved with the use of the sling. Now, I leave the carseat in the car, no matter what. Baby asleep? Baby goes in sling (or bed, when we're home), and no one can tell me how awful it is to wake a sleeping baby. Baby goes right back to sleep as I walk.

At times, though, I've almost convinced myself that all those cruel and heartless voices are right. How does one care for a home and children, feed them constantly, teach them, and get anything done.

Since Ben stuck them right under my feet, step one in the new plan is to get rid of as much crafty 'goodness' as I possibly can. Sturdy, useful, and/or expensive tools will be put away. I'm hoping to finish things (hahaha), one at a time. First up is a box of dresses for AJ that Susan and I cut out while I was visiting this weekend. I deem them important because AJ needs clothes.

This isn't helping, either. Smoke does me in (head first, then if too much I get ill), and the wind has certainly shifted. Today, I can smell -almost feel- the smoke. Holiday Sky (Monday, Labor Day):

Long Weekend

The good kind. Ben asked me to have the chickens gone by the weekend. No one up here was interested in them, so I asked my friends down south and they said they'd take them. Ben asked me to price posting them. Wednesday night, he told me that I could just drive down. With this having been a holiday weekend, we were concerned with traffic. The children and I left as soon as we were ready Thursday morning, about 10:30AM, and took short breaks so as to not overheat the birds. Now, the online directions say to go on the 5 all the way to the 91 to the 57N.. Who in his right mind wants to drive through LA any time near rush hour? We were on the 210 in Pasadena by 4PM. Only one hour of traffic and we were on the 57S, smooth sailing.

The birds have a new home and I had a nice visit. Sue had a rude introduction to mothering. BB didn't want to go to bed, and didn't till midnight, that first night. 5AM Friday, she was screaming. By the time she settled down, Cow was wide awake... Little brother stopped by Friday night - Cow screamed every time she looked at him (I think she was tired). We had lunch Saturday at Chuck E. Cheese with my older brother and family. Sunday morning, we finished packing and drove to Cal's new place and he and I made breakfast and the children played Sheep (if you have not played that game, do). We finally left about 12:30PM and drove back north. It was 109F.

This afternoon, I spoke with my MIL (mother-in-law) and she asked how much Ben did to cleanup the living room..
me: "Nothing, he played video games all weekend."
mil: "And he's still alive?"