Restoration

As you mamas know (you daddies too) that life is wearing, weary work at times.  We forget to depend on our mighty God and take it all upon ourselves. 

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. - Psalm 62:1

For me, when I get to feeling this way, I know I need a change of scenery.  I feel the deep longing for the peace and serenity of quiet woods.  My soul feels a deep longing to reconnect with God's handiwork and to feel His presence without the daily hustle and bustle of the area we live in.  There is one sermon out of the many I have heard that really sticks with me.  Have we lately spent time listening to God?  Without any noise?  I find that life gets noisy and distracting.  A walk in the woods is a good way to get that true, deep silence to hear His voice.

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.-Psalm 55:22

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

When I get home from a trip that has been to visit God's natural handiwork, I feel recharged, renewed, and all those good "r" words like that. 

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. - Psalm 46:10

Now that I have shared a few pictures with you that I have stored away as a mental picture that I can pull out to savor and take a mini-recharge even when I can't get away, what are yours?

See?  Now, savor your mental picture moments that help restore your soul and to reconnect with God.  Find the quiet and restore your heart and soul.  Blessings. ~N.

Nettle Tea to the Rescue!

When I was a little girl, I grew up in the country.  While we weren't farmers or growers of crops of any kind, we did harvest wild blackberries, find orphaned baby calves to keep alive from the neighboring farm, catch tadpoles and frogs, had forts to build and many other fantastic things.  But one thing I remember vividly, was the sting and itch and burn of nettles, all three sensations at once.  I was not a fan.  I remember tears running down my face as my mom would try to sooth my searing skin.  My siblings and I would shriek and warn each other whenever we encountered some in our play.

So, you can imagine, when I heard about Nettle Tea, I was a bit apprehensive.  I was given some from a good friend's mom and it has been sitting on my shelf.  This week changed my mind about the plant I once hated so.  

My oldest (as you may have read earlier) has food allergies and oxalate sensitives.  He had a super bad flare this week, and we are not quite sure from what.  His muscles hurt all over, he wasn't sleeping well, his poor little joints ached.  And right along with all of it was the poor concentration, crabbiness, irritability and low frustration level.  One day his beautiful brown eyes were all blood shot.    The final straw was a nice red, puffy, dotted rash on his truck, thighs and neck.  As I did my google research to try and find a new set of skills/tricks to sooth my poor boy (since the normal ones weren't working) I had my memory jogged about the nettle tea up on the tippy-top shelf in my cupboard.  I raced over, pulled it down, blew off the dust (just kidding, no dust, but it sounds better doesn't it?) to make some for my boy.

I did not have the proper tools to make it, but as I glanced around my kitchen, I spied my french-press coffee maker.  I grabbed it and proceeded to make the tea.  Once it was made, I approached him gingerly.  You see dear Internet friends, I given my kids all kinds of good stuff.  My boys now put on the "sniff, barely sip, how awful will this one be?" face when I approach them with something new.   But all that worry was for naught.  He loved it!  AND most importantly, it gave him relief.  Rash has subsided, mood is better, muscles and joints feel better, and we both got to sleep through the night.  Let me tell you, I have a new view about the nettle plant and I like it.

My French Press, not only does it make great coffee but great tea!

To use the French Press, first temper it with hot water from the tap.

While the press is tempering, heat your filtered water to almost a boil.

When your water you have been heating is ready, empty out the tempering water and put in the Nettle Leaf

Add your almost boiling water and let sit for 10-15 minutes or whatever your desired strength is.

When your tea is done seeping, press down until the press is all the way down.

Once my brew has finished seeping, I put it in a glass jar.  I keep it in the fridge and reheat it as needed or drink cold.

Have you ever had a complete mind change about something you hated disliked?

Wordless Wednesday

Let's Try a little of This and a little of That.....

Having kids with allergies, there are a few things we just don't use.  One that I greatly miss is Worcestershire Sauce.  (I love saying it.  Fast.  Three times.  Try it!)  

We can't have it, due to the fact it has corn in it.  Now, when a recipe calls for the yummy stuff, I usually just add (throw) in a few ingredients that are on a label of Worcestershire sauce into my dish I am making and call it good.  

Well, I got daring this week and made an actual batch of Worcestershire sauce to keep in my fridge, and I would say it was successful.  It isn't exactly the same, but close enough and I thought it tasted pretty yummy.  AND now I don't have to try and add ingredients one at a time to a recipe when I am cooking.  I can now just pull out my jar, shake and add.  YEAH!

As I have mentioned before, I am a horrible recipe follower.  I just kinda grab, pour or shake into my hand and add.  I really was proud that I measured as I made this so I could reproduce it and share it with all you mamas who have allergy kids.  Here it is.  Feel free to adjust to your taste buds. 

Start with a clean glass jar with a lid.  I just used a pizza sauce jar and lid that I had washed out and saved.

1 cup Apple Cider vinegar

2 TBSP molasses

1 TBSP dark brown sugar

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp garlic powder (we like garlic, a lot!)
1/2 tsp chili powder (again, adjust to your taste, feel free to start small and get big for bold taste)

1/4 tsp to 1 tsp turmeric (adjust to your taste preference)

1/4 tsp dry mustard 
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ginger (adjust to your taste preference)
1/8 tsp clove

There are two ways to make this:
1.) Add ingredients together in the glass jar and shake.  Put in fridge. (This is my quick way when I have NOT made it ahead of time, which is often.)
2.) Add ingredients together in a small sauce pan on the stove.  Bring to a gentle rolling boil, turn down and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Let cool, pour into glass jar and store in fridge. (This is the way for all you prepared and do ahead kinda people.)


This will keep for two weeks.

Optional ingredients:

**You can add water to "thin" the taste, about 2-4 tsp.

**Feel free to add anchovies or anchovy paste.  We don't eat it, so I didn't add it.  I would guess about 1 tsp.???? 
**We don't use pepper, it is high oxalate, but feel free to add 1/4 tsp. pepper.

Friday Favorites

August Favorites

Back to school sales   I love the prices and stock up for the whole year.

Minnesota State Fair  First time I went was with my husband when we first started dating.  We have gone every year since that first time.  He even asked me to marry him there during the Steve Miller Band concert when they played our favorite song.  He was creative enough to slip the stage hand an note asking Steve Miller to dedicate the song to us.  Which Steve did.  Pretty cool, huh?!?!  Our children have never missed a State Fair in their lives.  Yup, guess we are die-hards.  Oh, and don't forget the food! Bring on the food!

Lake Elmo Park Reserve  We love their man-made beach that looks like a small lake with sandy shore and bottom.  We go early when its hot and leave when the crowds come later in the day.  A plus is that it is chlorinated.


Harvest- While my garden area is quite small for now, I love that there are things growing and producing food I can pick and serve.  We did pie pumpkins, zucchini, summer squash, some mystery squashes, and 4 kinds of tomato plants.  Can't wait to start harvesting!  (and eating!)

Most of all I love that I get to keep my kids home when everyone else is sending theirs off and then we get to go on great field trips with almost no one around at the museums and parks.  It is almost like having a private opening of the museums and parks.  Love it!


What are your favorite things about August???

Wordless Wednesday

Cookies that even Darth Vadar will Love

A good friend of ours hosted an outdoors showing (using a projector and his white siding) of Star   Wars complete with a themed party!  It was a blast.  I made sugar cookies for my boys (allergen free) so they could enjoy sugar cookies just like their friends.  I adapted an old favorite sugar cookie recipe so that the boys could eat it.  It was a yummy success!

Sugar cookie recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1 1/2 cup sifted corn free powdered sugar (I suggest regrinding if "lumpy")
1 cup butter (Earthbalance Soy Free)
1 Egg or 1 1/2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring (I like Frontier brand flavorings)
1 tsp. Bob's Red Mill baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla (I like Frontier brand flavorings)
1 tsp. cream of tartar (my secret ingredient)
2 1/2 cup Gluten Free Flour mix (Bette Hagmann's blend recipe, featherlight or the regular GF works best)
2 tsp. gar gum or xanthum gum

Cream butter and sugar until mixed
Add egg and flavorings
Stir in sifted ingredients

Chill 2-3 hours or overnight
Bake at 375 degrees 7-8 minutes

This dough will be crumbly, work carefully and patiently.  It will not hold together like regular sugar cookie dough.

Dough is a bit crumbly, it takes a bit of Patience.

Turned out super well and yummy!

Waiting for Jedi training.

Fighting Darth