Monday Linkies and recipe

aaaggghhh...I can't post pics of my dress....because I ain't finished it yet! bththffftt!

It's been a busy busy week....I'm posting linkies for you today! *big smiles* Enjoy! Tell what was your favorite???

• If you are into the whole extreme couponing like me, you might love this new site...they give freebies, giveaways and coupons all on one blogspot.



• Possibly one of my all-time favorite shops evaaaa....:)



• If you are looking for vintage wedding ideas or renewing your vows like me, this is THE site to go to...if you love photography....this is it!



• speaking of photography....Clayton Austin inspires me! He manages to capture the essence of their mind, body and soul in each portrait...wow...it's truly art! You must scroll down and see the piano shoot!



• I want this lamp shade!


• I snagged these shoes to go with my dress for the ceremony...they were so adorable when I tried them on...the sale ends today for buy one get a second off...I got these for 8.99!



• Have you visited SpoolNo.72???? Super cute online vintage shop! I LOVE their dresses!

Lastly, I leave you with the ultimate, delicious breakfast casserole dish from the Farm Chicks...love them! Check out their blog and read their story! :)

Sunshine and Sausage Casserole:

12 to 15 servingsHands on time: 20 minutesTotal time: 1 hour 15 minutes

1/2 to 3/4 pound pork breakfast sausage (not links)

10 large eggs

2 cups cottage cheese

2 cups grated jack cheese

1 7-oz can diced green chili peppers

1/c cup chopped green onions

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup butter, melted

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook, breaking up with a spoon ans stirring occasionally, until browned-5-8 minutes.

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to cool.Lightly oil a 9x13-in glass baking dish. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sausage, cheeses, chili peppers and green onions. Without stirring, add the flour, then the baking powder and then butter; and then stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until set--40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes; then serve.

It's seriously good~

Aubrey xo

The Dirty Dozen

What do you do when the farmer's markets are closed for winter and it's hard to buy fresh in season????

Winter's in New York seem really long...I can buy som fresh produce from the Amish and Mennonite farmers, but not a whole lot of fresh organic fruit. Have you heard of the dirty dozen?? Here's a link to a list of fruits and veggies numbered from best to worst. The dirty dozen is the name given to those fruits and veggies that are the worst contaminated with pesticides, chemicals, ect. The ones that are rated the worst you should definitely be buying ORGANIC! For example, celery is among the worst, so I buy organic celery. You should read this to understand why you should be aware of the dirty dozen. Print a copy of the dirty dozen and take it with you when you grocery shop!

Least Contaminated: THE CLEAN FIFTEEN

The vegetables least likely to have pesticides on them are onions, sweet corn, asparagus, sweet peas, cabbage, eggplant, broccoli, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Over half of the tomatoes (53.1 percent), broccoli (65.2 percent), eggplant (75.4 percent), cabbage (82.1 percent), and sweet pea (77.1 percent) samples had no detectable pesticides.

Among the other three vegetables on the least-contaminated list (asparagus, sweet corn, and onions), there were no detectable residues on 90 percent or more of the samples.

Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on any of these least contaminated vegetables.

Tomatoes had the highest likelihood, with a 13.5 percent chance of more than one pesticide when ready to eat. Onions and corn both had the lowest chance with zero samples containing more than one pesticide.

The greatest number of pesticides detected on a single sample of any of these low-pesticide vegetables was five (as compared to 11 found on sweet bell peppers, the vegetable with the most residues on a single sample).

Broccoli had the most pesticides found on a single type of vegetable, with up to 28 pesticides, but far fewer than the most contaminated vegetable, sweet bell peppers, on which 64 were found.

The fruits least likely to have pesticide residues on them are avocados, pineapples, mangoes, kiwi, papayas, watermelon and grapefruit.

Fewer than 10 percent of pineapple, mango, and avocado samples had detectable pesticides on them, and fewer than one percent of samples had more than one pesticide residue.

Though 54.5 percent of grapefruit had detectable pesticides, multiple residues are less common, with only 17.5 percent of samples containing more than one residue. Watermelon had residues on 28.1 percent of samples, and just 9.6 percent had multiple pesticide residues.

Now how can you tell if a product claiming to be organic is REALLY organic...here's some information to help you understand what purely qualifies as REAL organic!

This label must be on the front of the package.

"To qualify for the organic seal, a farmer must follow detailed rules for how crops are planted and grown, how animals are raised, and how wastes are treated. The approach emphasizes sustainable farming, conserving soil, and encourages biodiversity. Animals are to be raised outdoors as much as possible and with access to pastures to ensure their welfare." (1)

If the label states "100% organic" the contents of the package will only contain organic ingredients and will bear the label as seen above.

Products that are labeled Organic, will contain 95% organic ingredients. These packages will also carry the label as seen above.

Products claiming "made with organics" must contain at least 70% percent of oganic ingredients, but will not carry th USDA Organic label.

Information regarding the National Organic Program can be found here.

Buying organic is great, it's even more important if you know where you're food is coming from and how it is produced/raised. I highly recommend this movie, "Food Inc." If you have netflix, you can watch this on instant play, or check your local library, or even rent it....it's very enlightening as to where your food comes from and the choices you can make to make a difference in how and where we get our food sources. If you do decide to watch the film I would love to hear your thoughts.

Read this post on wordpress for a highlight on the movie's contents. :)

Till next time~ Aubrey

papaya, German, and knitting

I've not been feelin' up to blogging much lately. Long nights and headaches keep me from wanting to stare at any screen ...or books for the matter. Speaking of screens, I LOVE skype!! I love being able to "see" my husband when we talk in the morning.

So I bought a papaya yesterday...one of the "food to eat on my bucket list"...yes I have a list of foods...I love all ethnicity of foods. So no, I've never tried papaya before and it keeps coming up in my nutrition class so I got one. I wasn't impressed like I was with the mango the first I had that. WOW...I've been seriously missing out...that stuff is sooooo incredible! The papaya maybe resembles a cantelope? Anyway, I don't know that I"ll buy it again (kind of a relief cuz if was pretty pricey for one) but it was good in some organic french vanilla yoghurt. I put some papaya with banana in the food processor and served it with the yoghurt, flaxseed, and granola. Pretty yummy dessert!!

I did learn that Papaya is a wonderful meat tenderizer and that your meat will fall to pieces leaving a piece of papaya overnight on your meat. I typically tenderize the meat with lemon juice overnight.


Finally got to go thrifting with my girls the other day and found a whole bunch of goodies. I only have pics of two so far....three bucks for the dress I'm wearing! I look pretty gross here, but I couldn't wait to show you my finds. I don't get as excited when I buy retail as I do when I find something from the thrift stores. I LOVE the thrill of the hunt and snagging a lovely outfit for mere pocket change!



Genevieve's sweater dress we found thrifting.

Today was our first day for language classes at the library. We learned a LOT! It was a lot of fun, and the cool thing, is that our teacher is German AND she is an Army wife and was quick to offer lots of important information that will be quite handy when we move to Germany. The kids took lots of notes and actually pronounced the words correctly. I think they will pick up on their German pretty easily!

kids with their German teacher, she is sooo sweet!

change of scenery...school at the library

Haleigh's second hat she's knitted. I love it!

Hope you all are having a good week~ Aubrey

going away party and pumpkin gingerbread

Over the weekend I threw a spur -of- the- moment suprise-going- away- party for some friends who are moving to Germany! They were so suprised :) I love suprising folks.....






I'm a bit of a prankster. Originally we had intended on throwing an 80's party, but it got postponed till November, however I had not yet informed this certain friends about the cancellation and was VERY...so VERY tempted to let them come in their wigs and 80's costumes anyway. heehee That would've been hilarious!!!! Don't you think? Especially since I had people coming to the 80's party that didn't know them! Ha!







Anyway, I'm sorry I was really bad at the camera, since I was doing the planning ect. We hung balloons, streamers, and I made the most fabulous cake ever. Pumpkin Gingerbread with cream cheese icing! Ahhhh....I made homemade icing and wrote "We will miss you" on the cake and finished it with fall leaf sprinkles in different colors.


Pumpkin Gingerbread:


Ingredients
3 cups sugar (or substitute with honey) :)
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.
In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.



I put mine in a 9x13 and iced the top with cream cheese icing.



We laughed alot, talked about traveling, Germany, our futures, and played a game of Scattergories. There was a total of 7 kids running around and a baby. :)

fevers, garlic, and ginger root.

Super long stressful day yesterday. A friend of mine has a little boy who became very ill in the last three days with really high temperatures. He was on Amoxicillin for a viral infection...how about that? (note sarcasm) I came over to help, as she was beside herself what to do...poor thing was miserable and mom was willing to try anything.





Long day, long story short...after 5 ginger root baths, garlic enemas, garlic and Vit C shots, ect...his fever broke in the middle of the night. She thinks he may have strep, but the doctors tests all came back with no sign of mono, strep, or anything else...just viral.


Ginger happens to be very good for colds and fevers...it makes you sweat. It also makes a warming tea and soothes the throat and nausea. Ginger also provides superior relief from pain in swelling in arthritis patients, because it provides a powerful anti-inflammatory protection. It is a concentrated source of magnesium, vitamin B6, and potassium, as well as free-radical-scavenging manganese and copper.




I gave him garlic for infection and also for fever. The garlic enemas I only do when the fever is terribly high. He gargled all day with garlic and sea salt.

Eucalyptus rub was given to rub on his neck and chest for infection and breathing. Eucalyptus is excellent at killing strep...it is very TOXIC so it is not used internally, so only in aromatherapy here.


All that garlic chopping and boiling ginger was watering my appetite for Chicken Adobo and rice, so I went home long enough to make a huge pot and took it over to my friends.





I'm sharing the recipe for this amazing filippino dish here:





Chicken thighs/legs skinned


1 cup soy sauce


2 cups water


1/2 cup vinegar


2 bay leaves


tbs of fresh grated ginger


one tea ball of pickling spice


1 tbs of sugar


paprika


5 cloves of garlic...chopped.





Brown chicken in oil and sprinkle all pieces with paprika. Then add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 45 minutes. Remove tea ball and bay leaves before serving. Serve over rice.





Tip on garlic: to get the most health benefits from Garlic, let it sit for a minimum of five -ten minutes after chopping to allow the health-promoting allicin to form...before adding it to cooking or eating.





Tidbit about me: My dad is half Filippino. Most of my dad's family still lives in the Philippines except for his immediate family and a few uncles and an aunt.








XOXO


Aubrey

Fall and Lentils

The world around me is a fury of orange, reds, and yellows. Fall has to be the most gorgeous time of the year in the Adirondacks.



Today is Columbus day{we got a library book about this holiday}. We did some school work and are heading to the Black River for some fall hiking with our friends. I don't normally take off for this holiday, but it is a gorgeous day..cool, crisp, sunny, and it would be plain torture to keep my kids locked inside for school on a day like this{another reason why I homeschool}....And sadly, I will not be here for another Fall season in the beautiful Adirondacks!







Lentil Soup in the crockpot...for supper!





1 cup dried lentils
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
32 ounces chicken broth
1 cup water
8 teaspoons tomato sauce
Directions
In a 3 1/2 quart or larger slow cooker combine the lentils, celery, carrots, onion, garlic and ham. Season with basil, thyme, oregano, the bay leaf and pepper. Stir in the chicken broth, water and tomato sauce. Cover and cook on Low for 11 hours. Discard the bay leaf before serving.

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 222 Total Fat: 6.1g



Lentils are an excellent source of protein, fiber, and folic acid.



Lentils, like other beans, are rich in dietary fiber, both the soluble and insoluble type. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract that snares bile (which contains cholesterol)and ferries it out of the body. Insoluble fiber not only helps to increase stool bulk and prevent constipation, but also helps prevent digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis.

Lentils are excellent in lowering cholesterol, they are of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders since their high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal.Lentils also provide good to excellent amounts of six important minerals, two B-vitamins, and protein-all with virtually no fat.

History:
Lentils are believed to have originated in central Asia. They are one of the first foods to have ever been cultivated. Lentil seeds dating back thousands of years have been found at archeological sites in the Middle East. Lentils were mentioned in the Bible both as the item that Jacob traded to Esau for his birthright and as a part of a bread that was made during the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people.

I think I would LOVE to try this:
Moroccan lentil soup is easy to make. After cooking lentils, add diced vegetables of your choice and season with tamari{soy sauce}, coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne.

Off to go hiking~

Aubrey

Book club and Molasses Crinkle cookies

Actually enjoyed the rain today...it was soothing to my mood. I had to turn the heat on as it was pretty chilly this morning. I think the cold is here to stay now.






Tonight was book club. Last month we read this book! Outstanding read!



Each time we meet we choose a new book for the month. We are reading this one for November.
A summary of this book...the true story of the Chapman family their struggle of faith and hope through the tragedy of the loss of their five year old daughter.



We choose to pick biographies off the book list for the next few months. We have enjoyed everyone of them so far.



A friend recently asked how to go about starting a book club. Here's some pointers if you're interested in starting your own.



What kind of book club? Mystery, classics, ect? A good number is 5 to 10 max, I have 8 to 10 that come.



Choose a night of day that is most convenient for your group. Choose a place. I have a friend who holds hers at her local library. I do mine in my home.



We usually serve refreshments, coffee, ect. Usually we take turns on bringing dishes. Each time we meet we draw a name to choose a book for the next month. I try to choose books that can be bought on Amazon for under 10 dollars. Also a lot of these books can be checked out at the library if they don't want to own the book for their own library. Me...I collect books...so I purchase all mine.



I usually have a list of topics, questions or discussions to talk about the book. This helps keep the discussion moving and steer the discussion where you want or don't want it to go. :)



I believe November will mark a year that our book club has been going! Everyone enjoys coming and once a month is usually doable for most people's calender.



Tonight I made Molasses Crinkle cookies for book club. I think they are my favorite cookie. I used sprinkles that looked like fall leaves.




Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ginger
granulated sugar

Preparation:
Mix shortening, brown sugar, egg and molasses thoroughly. Measure flour by sifting. Blend all dry ingredients; stir in molasses mixture. Chill. Roll dough into 1-1/4-inch balls. Dip tops in sugar. Place balls, sugared side up, three inches apart on greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each with two or three drops of water. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, just until set but not hard. (Double recipe makes 3 cookie sheets full.) I only bake them for probably 8 minutes so they are perfectly chewy!