The Stuff of Life

After being sick all last weekend, I had a busy week catching up from behind. I have been trying to reestablish our “anchors” so that things can run somewhat smoothly even if something unexpected comes along. (Anchors are those things that remain the same every day, day in and day out.) It has gone okay. The kids are finding that they have a lot more free time than they realized was available to them. This is so different than the survival mode we’re used to when The Dad is away.

Dub received a word of encouragement from his guitar teacher the other day. When he arrived for his lesson, one of the first things his teacher asked was how much practice time he got in since the previous lesson. Dub said, “Not very much. I think I only practiced about twice.” I didn’t catch what the teacher said, but I did catch what he said later, after he and Dub played one of the pieces Dub was supposed to have practiced. He said, “Wow. I would give you an A on that, if I gave grades! If you had told me you practiced every day, I would’ve believed you!” That was really nice to hear. He didn’t have a great practice week last week, but in general, he has been practicing more consistently, and it shows.

One of the things I’ve been trying to emphasize with the boys, something that has been sadly lacking for way too long, is the fact that God has a plan for each of them, and they need to work hard so they can be ready to do whatever it is that He has for them. You might be amazed at the difference in attitudes when I remind them of the eternal perspective. They are no longer striving after things that aren’t going to matter in a hundred years, but are more contentedly working toward something that has eternal value. I have got to work on helping them keep that perspective in focus. I’m not sure when I slacked off on that, but I did, and now I pray that God will help me get back on track. Time is going so fast and before I know it, these men-in-training will be all grown up and these prime opportunities will be gone. But let’s move on to slightly less heavy things …

Some of us in this family have weight issues. A while back, I had a great menu/grocery shopping/cooking system that worked well for us. Somehow we got into shopping in such a way that I can’t make a menu ahead of time. Women who are more culinarily talented than I could throw a two week menu together in 5 minutes, but I am not one of those women, so, when someone in this house decides to try to improve upon what works for me in the kitchen, that usually throws things into a state of chaos, and several waistlines tend to suffer. Tomorrow, I’m going to sit down and straighten this mess out. [whine] Oh, how I hate almost everything involved in meal planning with food issues! It’s soooo confusing and frustrating and discouraging and haaaaaaard!! [/whine]

I can’t remember, at this late hour in which I can hardly keep my eyes open, if I’ve shared about my attempt to read through the Bible in a year. If not, this time I’m using The Daily Bible. It is a chronological reading of the Bible. The format is similar to a “regular” book. Each chapter and verse is not numbered the way that it is in most Bibles, but the references are for a range of verses and are located in the margins next to the corresponding passages. There is some commentary and background information within each day’s reading for added insight.

Most Bible reading plans that get through the whole Bible in a year have the reader reading from 3 or 4 different books of the Bible each day. The Daily Bible sticks with the chronology and doesn’t skip around. For me, this has been a really good thing. In the past, I have had a very hard time sticking with Bible reading plans that have you read from multiple books at once. Maybe it’s just me, but I like the way The Daily Bible is set up, in that it’s read like a book, and I highly recommend it.

It seems like there was something else, but I’m going cross eyed, so I’ll just have to share whatever profound and utterly important thing it was some other time.

Good night!

Laundry

I have done 9 loads of laundry so far today.  I still have three or four to go, not counting bedding, but I might get finished tonight before I run out of steam.  My dryer dries so much faster since I changed the vent.  It dries even faster than after I changed the belt.  I can’t get over it!  It’s keeping up with the washer!  It might even be energy efficient now, even with a full lint trap.  8-|   Not that you should neglect the lint trap.  I’m just saying.

So there you go.  Make sure your dryer vent is up to code and cleaned out and change the belt now and then and you won’t have to sit around all day waiting for your clothes to dry.

Works for Me Wednesday: Brown Sugar in a Pinch

I’m sure this is something everybody knows but I can’t think of anything else that “works for me”. I never think of anything until it’s too late.

Rather than wasting time going to the store for brown sugar, make your own. I usually wing it as far as the measurements are concerned. I buy black strap molasses in a squeeze bottle in the syrup section at the store. I squeeze about two seconds worth of molasses (works out to about a tbsp, I believe) into two to three cups of white sugar and mix well. If it’s too dark - it usually isn’t - I add more white sugar.

Oh. I posted about Jeanette’s Brown Sugar Shortbread yesterday. The last time I made brown sugar, Aunt Buttercup helped me. She didn’t mix it well enough, but good enough There were tiny chunks of molasses, or extra dark brown sugar, or something, in those cookies and they almost passed as pecan tassies! The inadequate mixing added a bit of interest to the look of the cookies.

Find out what works for others.

New Years Eve

On This Last Day of 2007

I’m still working on the 4 item list from last night but am now sitting bundled up on the couch with the warmth of the laptop.  I don’t know how, after eating all of the junk we have over the last couple of weeks, dragging our resistance into the dirt, that we haven’t caught something long before now.

Christmas was good. We got to see almost all of our parents’/step parent’s children and grandchildren. Only one person and her significant other were missing. They were greatly missed. Maybe next year. Since the little guy was sick, our previous plans sort of went out the window but it was okay anyway.

My Downfall - Baking

Jeanette from Egg Free Baking stopped by a little over a week ago and boy am I glad she did! We have made her Brown Sugar Shortbread recipe twice. It is definitely a keeper! Everyone liked them. If I wasn’t trying to get and stay healthy, I’d go make another batch right now and eat them all myself. They’re that good. I encourage you to check out her website even if you aren’t allergic to eggs.

Just a recap of what else was tried and true at our house in 2007:

The gingersnaps have only turned out the way they are supposed to once, but they have still tasted great every time I’ve made them. The dough is supposed to be rolled into 1″ balls. They are supposed to flatten and get “snappy” but they don’t. They are soft and dessert-spicey. VERY good, but not like traditional gingersnaps. I have tried this recipe using various fats and nothing seems to make them turn out the way they did at first. I keep meaning to look back at the recipe as originally posted but I keep forgetting.

Cocoa Crazy Cake made into cupcakes, frosted with Vegan Buttercream Frosting and refrigerated overnight are SOOOO good. I have to say that the aforelinked Cocoa Crazy Cake recipe is the most cake-like eggless chocolate cake recipe I have ever had. It is so moist!

Winter

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to the radio and heard the weatherman say, “It’s not spring yet.” Huh?? It wasn’t even winter yet. We have gotten some snow since that time. In fact, we’ve gotten enough snow to make it look like winter. Well, tonight we have a winter storm warning. I am so excited!!!

I can’t think of a better visual of starting afresh than a blanket of snow making everything look fresh and clean.  Nothing like a clean slate. 

Happy New Year!

Why Do Cookies Fall?

That has come up a couple of times lately. I hope the person who was asking was able to find the answer. If not, I’ll tell you what I know.

Based on my limited experience, it could be a couple of different things. If you’re using an egg substitute, you may not have gotten the cookies into the oven fast enough. I’m not talking about Egg Beaters, people. Those still contain eggs and therefore don’t count. I’m talking about egg free cookies in which a leavening other than eggs is used. Non-egg leavenings work because of a chemical reaction that starts as soon as the dry ingredients are mixed with the wet, i.e. baking soda and vinegar. The reaction of a non-egg replacer spends itself fairly quickly so you need to have a plan to move fast once your ingredients are mixed.

The other thing that could make your cookies flatter than usual is the types of fat you use. It’s best to follow the recipe as closely as possible if you don’t have all kinds of time and money to throw into the trash. Unless you’re dealing with food allergies. In that case, all bets are off and you can count on throwing away some cash while you experiment, but it will be worth it if you can come up with a tasty substitute for your favorite cookies.

I think cookie flattening also happens when you grease the cookie sheet. That’s a big mistake, and one that comes from being in cake baking mode. Follow the directions. Sometimes you slick up the cookie sheet and sometimes you don’t. (If you’re baking hypoallergenically, you probably will!)

I’m so glad tomorrow is grocery day. The Nicklebee sweet teeth are a’screamin‘.

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Edited 2-14-08:  Here’s a link to a pretty good response to someone’s question about why cookies flatten.  How to bake “flat-free” cookies.