A "Basket"...

Like I said once before, sometimes I just play. :D

I have a small stand of basket willows, and a few weeks ago, my husband pruned them for me. I decided to attempt a basket. I used the smaller parts of the willows and a few strands of Wisteria vines and came up with a... cough... "basket." Primitive, to be sure, putting it kindly, but it was loads of fun and I like it and will use it.

Here it is:



The bottom:



The inside:



I put a small cloth in it and will keep what's left of last year's garlic harvest in it:



And this is where it hangs in the kitchen:



Along the same lines.... the grandchildren are still here and we have built "forts" out in the woods for them. Here are some pictures:











They will be here through Easter Sunday. I will miss them so much when they go home, and yet, as I often say, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened!"

This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday!

Baking Powder Biscuits

The quest for the perfect biscuit that is also healthy has come to a successful end! These are amazingly tender and flavorful biscuits. They are made with whole wheat flour that I sprouted from wheat berries, just until a little tiny sprout started showing. Then I dehydrated and ground them into flour.

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups sprouted whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon Rumford baking powder
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1 cup cold whole raw milk

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together thoroughly.

Grate the butter into the flour mixture, a small part at a time and stir it in gently to get it covered with flour so the butter pieces won't stick together.

Pour in the milk and stir with a fork, just enough to moisten all of the flour.

Sprinkle a little more of the sprouted flour on your work surface and dump the dough out onto it.

Press the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter and place the biscuits on a baking sheet. You may place them close together OR leave room between them if you like them to be more crispy.

Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 - 12 minutes. Watch them carefully, and bake just until they start to brown on top and the bottoms are browning.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a basket lined with a cloth to serve.

I can't describe the taste of these biscuits. I just know we all love them!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

You have GOT to try this recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies! I just baked a batch. Oh my! They are delicious! I ended up with 30 cookies. There is only 0.17 teaspoon of honey in each one, and they are nicely sweet. Here is the link where you can find the recipe:

http://eatnourishing.com/recipe/sourdough-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/#comment-2004

Whole grain, properly soaked, eggs, healthy fat and just a touch of honey. Perfect.

Wholesome Butterscotch Pudding

Now that I retrenched, I am trying to develop more recipes to replace the ones I eliminated on my blog. I just made this pudding, and it is To Die For!

Butterscotch Pudding - 8 servings

1 quart raw goat milk (or whole milk)
1/3 cup non-GMO cornstarch ( or arrowroot powder)
1 cup Rapadura (or Organic Sucanat)
1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (or sea salt)
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon butter
3 eggs

Beat the eggs very well.

In a microwave-proof bowl (I use my 2-quart Pyrex measuring bowl) combine the milk, cornstarch, Rapadura, salt and vanilla extract. Whisk together thoroughly.

Place the bowl of mixture in your microwave oven. Process on "high" for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and whisk well. Add the butter.

Then, do it again, and keep doing it 1 minute at a time, whisking well in between, until the pudding thickens and starts to poof up a little bit.

Immediately pour about 1/4 cup of the hot pudding into the eggs and whisk it together very well.

Pour the egg mixture back into the pudding and whisk that together thoroughly.

Allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving or store it in your refrigerator.

Frozen chocolate banana desert!

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The granddaughter that is visiting us currently LOVES this desert and I promised to make it while she is here, so today I did. It is quick and easy, delicious and nourishing!

Here is what you need:

A blender
Some cups or little bowls

4 ripe bananas
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons maple syrup (or raw honey)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

It's simple - put all of the ingredients into your blender. Put on the lid and blend on high until smooth. Pour the mixture into serving bowls and freeze.



It is best if eaten as soon as it is frozen, but if it freezes HARD, it is still yummy, it just takes more muscle to eat. :)

Linked to Real Food Wednesday!

Grandchildren, again. :)

Two of our precious grandchildren are visiting us for a few weeks. Yesterday, this young lady showed me she was trying to learn "Someone Like You," that Adele Adkins sings. I found a site online where I could purchase a download of the music at a very reasonable cost. She practiced it some last night, and this morning, has learned a page and a line. She's doing very well. It's a joy to hear a child practicing piano in our home again.

I Love Breakfast.

You may read advice about breakfast in many places. Some say to skip it if you aren't hungry. Some say it's the most important meal of the day. I suppose it's very much a personal thing, but to me, Breakfast is my Favorite meal of the day!

Whether I am hungry or not, I always eat breakfast. I have found that if I skip it, then I want to snack all evening and that is definitely not healthy!

In the picture you can see what I have for breakfast the majority of the time. A nice pastured egg, fried in butter, with a piece of my homemade whole wheat bread made into toast and buttered, and a small glass of milk kefir. This enjoyed in the morning, when the sun is not quite up yet, at our table, with my husband... that is a very happy and relaxing time of the day.

I read once that Julia Child said something to this effect:

Eat 3 meals a day. Have a little of everything. Not too much. No seconds. Don't eat between meals.

I agree with her. I really think our stomachs need a rest with no food in them. And I know that I sleep much better going to bed "hungry" than not. Obviously, I'm getting plenty of food in those 3 meals, if I'm not losing weight! I think that what we think is "hunger" is often not really that.

Everyone and every ~ body is different. Young children, with tinier stomachs, and when they are growing, obviously would need to eat more often.

We all have to call this for ourselves. Get to know yourself... what agrees with you, and what doesn't. How much and when. Pay attention.

How did I get off on that? Well, I really do LOVE breakfast. :)