Its Been A Busy Day

What a beautifully busy day!  The peonies I picked at my mother-in-law’s are blooming in their blue vase and the sun has finally come out after several stormy days. I have been busy working in the house today and have gotten a lot accomplished. I can remember the days when I had lots of babies and small children and how I thought I would never again accomplish more than the basics of living. I can smile and cherish those memories now that my children are all over 12 years. It does get easier in some ways.

Besides the usual things that fill my day like homeschooling, laundry, cleaning, ministry work and cooking, I’ve been able to get several other things done.

I got some cabbage shredded and in the jars to make kraut and I am using my new Pickl-It jars.  I will let you know how it goes, but when I made pickled daikon radishes the other day, they turned out great!

I also pickled some eggs. Here is my recipe:

Brine:
1 cup organic cider vinegar
1/3 cup rapidura, you could use brown sugar
4 whole cloves

Bring the brine ingredients to a boil, let simmer til the rapidura is dissolved. The rapidura or brown sugar will make a muddy looking brine, don’t let that put you off. I guess you could use white sugar and have a clear brine, but the taste…. nothing like using natural ingredients! You could also put some sliced red onions or some jalapenos in the brine.

After you’ve cooled the brine just a bit, pour it over the peeled eggs in a jar that has a tightly fitting lid. Fill it up and cover the eggs. This is a great way to use up those Easter eggs, by the way. Let the jar cool and then put the lid on tightly. Store these in the refrigerator. They will be ready to eat in 3-4 days but the longer you can keep from eating them, the better they will be when you finally dive in!

I am preparing for my ladies Bible study group tomorrow. We are on our last lesson in our book about Becoming A Woman of Grace by Cynthia Heald. We eat lunch before we study. Here is our menu:
Turkey Pot Pie – I cooked a turkey on Easter and will use that and the broth to make the pies. I will use a packaged puff pastry for the topping. I use diced celery, carrots, red potatoes, onions and green peas in the pie. I make a gravy using 4 tablespoons of flour, 4 tablespoons of butter cooked til golden then add 2 cups of thick, raw milk and maybe a bit of gelled turkey broth.
Then I cook it all up with the meat and put it in a casserole.
I cook the pastry separately on a cookie sheet then place it on top of the cooked pie to serve.

Fresh homebaked bread. Probably Whole Wheat.
Green salad from the garden! Our lettuce is coming in like crazy with all this rain and it is tender and delicious. So I will make a salad with the different lettuces, green onion, fresh thyme, fresh basil, cucumber and homemade french dressing.
Coconut Cake – made with fresh coconut on Easter, then the leftovers frozen. I will defrost the cake in the morning and it will be ready for lunch.

Tonight’s supper is also turkey leftovers. Turkey Divan made quickly using homemade sour cream, or yogurt, fresh cheddar cheese, steamed broccoli and seasoned with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

Left overs can be a great help to a busy day!