Category Archives: homemaking

Homemade Hummus

I don’t know about you, but I have been noticing that the price of hummus has gone up in the past few month!! A few weeks ago I bought a medium sized container and it cost almost $8 with tax!!! I brought it home and it was gone in 3 days! Our family eats a lot of hummus; we use it on sandwiches, as dip for our veggies, on crackers and we mix it with homemade salsa as a dip for nachos. It is delicious and it is high in protein which is important to us because our family doesn’t eat meat. I decided that I didn’t want to be spending that much money on hummus. ($20 a week on hummus is a bit steep) SO….I set out to make my own. It has taken me a few tries to get it the way we like it but I was able to make some and it only cost $1 and it made twice as much as the $8 one I had purchased in the grocery store.

Here is the recipe; thankfully, it is simple and quick.

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic (or more if you really like a garlic taste)

19 oz of chickpeas (you can soak your own for 24hrs in water and drain or used the canned chickpeas, drained)

4 tbps fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp homemade tahini (if you used store bought use 2 tbsps, the homemade has a much strong taste)

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Mince the garlic into the food processor. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, oil and salt. Blend until it is creamy and well mixed. If you want to thin the mixture, add a small amount water until you get your desired consistency. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Proverbs 31: Preparation or Perfection?

If you are a woman, a wife and especially a mother I am sure you have heard this verse in the Bible numberous times; Proverbs 31:10-31. It is a verse that I have heard many people debate over. I have heard some woman joke about how impossible this is to attain and I have heard others who make it their life mission to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

So what does it mean? Is it literal? Am I supposed to spin by own wool, purchase land and sell it for a profit? How does one learn from this verse and apply it to her life?

Here is my understanding…

I believe that the Word of God is written on purpose and is intentional. I know that God allows everything in the Bible to be put there for a reason and I believe that there is much that we can glean as woman from this passage. In my opinion is was not put there to make woman feel badly about themselves nor do I think that it should cause us to strive for perfection in our lives, or make our outward apperance look perfect in the eyes of men but rather it should inspire us to trust God in everything. I believe that we NEED to focus on the many character traits of this “Proverbs 31 woman” and apply those traists to our lives.

The first trait I recognize is that she is a woman who is intentional. Everything she does is done on purpose. She plans ahead and organizes her life so that her family is taken care of and have what they need. That may look different for different woman depending on your personality, ability and life skills. But whatever you do make sure that you do it on purpose! (usually this involves planning and forethought, but not always:)

Secondly, she is a woman of wisdom. She knows the times and seasons in which she lives and chooses to plan her life accordingly. Because of this wisdom she profits from her various tasks, she isnt’t prideful about it, she is providing for her family.

Thirdly she is family-focused. Everything that she does centers around her husband and her children. They are her priority and the reason behind all of her labour. Obviously our relationship with the Lord needs to be our first priority but after that our family comes first. Are the decisions you make and the time you spend being invested in your family?

Forthyl, she is a strong woman. I believe this is emotional, spiritual and physical. Because of her faith in the Lord and her willingness to serve her family she can bear the weight of her work. She can handle their complaints, she can physically meet their demands and she can guide them spiritually to their Savior. Remember joy = strength. To be a woman who is strong you must be joyful. The enemy is always trying to steal my joy as a mother. The meanial things that happen or small accidents that take my joy off of mothering my little ones to the clean up agenda. I need to continually remember that if the enemy steals my joy he also steals my strength and I am left weak and powerless. I sometimes wonder if this is why so many mothers are so weak and defenseless in battle, we have lost our joy in the Lord. GOOD NEWS: choose to get the joy back and it’s yours!!! Joy is not an emotion it is a choice. Simply remembering who you were before you made God the leader of your life compared to who you are now should send joy shivers down your spine:)

Finally, a Proverbs 31 woman is led by vision! She has a vision for her family and it guides her life. Having vision gives us a road map to navigate our lives. It enables us to get from point A to point B easily and effectively.

Reading this passage of Scripture is not about; kniting our children’s clothing,  stayed up all night, purchasing a vineyard, made our kids bedding, and feeding the poor? NO!! It is so much more, however if you want to do the above go for it!! We need to glean what we can from her character and apply that to our lives. I believe that this woman is a picture of what is mean to completely rely on God in every area of her life and as a result profit greatly. (not just monetarly. We need to realize that we are called to be women, wives and mothers who are strong and intentional, who are wise and family-focused, who are vision-led followes of Christ whose mission is to raise our families to follow Him. It is not a standard of perfection it is a call for preparation! I believe it helps us to plan and prepared to be all God has called us to be.

Ask God what His vision is for your family and be intentional about seeing it through till the end.

I bless you to possess all the character traits of a Proverbs 31 woman. I bless you to listen to the Lord and obeys His leading, as a result, natually, your children WILL arise and call you BLESSED and your husband also and your life and theirs will be a testimony of God’s greatness on the earth!!!

Proverbs 31:10-31

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Making Homemade Cream Cheese

We experimented with another recipe a couple weeks ago and despite my skeptism, the outcome was amazing! We decided to make our own cream cheese, it was simple, inexpensive and it tastes amazing! I don’t actually eat much cream cheese but my kids like it on bagels and crackers for snacks.

What you will need:

– 1 large bowl

– cheesecloth

– 2 cups organic plain yogurt

– string

– pinch of salt

– dried herbs such as basil or dill

How we did it:

1. Place the cheesecloth in the bowl and pour the yogurt onto it.

2. Lift up the corners of the cheesecloth and tie the string around the top. Hang the bag on a kitchen cabinet over the large bowl. Position it so that the liquid from the yogurt will fall into the bowl.

3. Let the yogurt drip for at least 24hrs, the longer you leave it, the drier it will get. (we hung ours for about 30 hours)

4. Remove from cheesecloth and place into a clean bowl, mix in salt and herbs, if desired. Spread on crackers or bagels and enjoy!

This activity was again really fun for the kids to participate it and it was an added hit because it was edible:)

May you be blessed today! May you recieve the grace you need to be everything He created you to be!

Making Homemade Butter

This is  a fun hands-on activity to do with kids. We are studying the pioneers/early settlers in our homeschool unit study and this activity fit right in! We all took turns shaking the jar and it was fun to watch it begin to coagulate, turn to buttermilk and then into butter.

All you need is:

– 1 cup organic whipping cream at room temperature (we bought organic to try to get the more pure form of cream, if I you have a cow you could use its cream…but unfortunately most of us do not have that option)

– 1 Mason Jar with secure lid

– 1 bowl and wooden spoon

Here is how we did it:

1. Pour 1 cup of organic cream into a mason jar, tightened the lid and began to shake. (of course it would be much easier to put it in the electric mixer but it was an activity to show the kids what it was like for the early settlers to churn their own butter)

2. After 10 minutes or so of shaking you’ll notice the cream has seperated in to a bluish-white liquid (buttermilk) and yellow clumps (fat). The longer you shake it the more clusters of fat will stick together and soon it will be a large lump in the jar.

3. Pour the butter and buttermilk into a bowl. Carefully pour out the buttermilk, wash the butter with cold water and press against the side of the bowl.

4. Taste the butter and work in a bit of sea salt if you like:) I love the taste of this butter, it tastes pure and doesn’t contain all the additives in the store bought stuff! We don’t really eat butter that often but occassionally use it in baking. Hope you have as much fun as we did!

 

They were pretty proud of their creation:)

Healthy Baked Apples

Pre-cooked apples

I baked these for desert a couple weeks ago and they were a hit! All you need are5 or 6 large apples and some baking ingredients for the filling. I hope you enjoy! They are perfect on a cool fall day. WARNING – bake them well in advance of when they will be eaten, especially if you are giving them to little ones, they take a LONG time to cool!!!!

Ingredients:

5 or 6 large apples, cored and peeled at the top

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 maple or brown sugar

1/4 cup multi-grain flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup coconut

A handful of mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine oats, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter and stir until it is well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and using a small spoon fill the inside of all the apples.

Bake at 350F for 40 minutes.

Allow time to cool.

Enjoy!

Healthy Pumpkin Cookies

I created a yummy pumpkin cookie recipe as I have been craving them lately:) You can use fresh cooked pumpkin or the canned pumpkin it doesnt make a difference.

Mercy helping me press the cookies down.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked pumpkin

1 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 egg

1 tsp rice milk

1 tbsp vanilla

2 cups multigrain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine wet ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and stir until completely combine. Spoon onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350F for approx 10 minutes.

Enjoy with a warm cup of tea!

May you be blessed beyond measure today!

The Outdoor Classroom

Mercy exploring her outdoor artifacts:)

We have been enjoying the outdoors this fall. The weather has been beautiful and we have been taking every opportunity to get the kids out and encourage them to explore God’s creation. We went for a hike on the weekend. Our city has some incredible trails that we have become aware of and we did it as part of our science class. As a homeschooling family we take every opportunity to turn “school” into a field trip. One of my biggest goals as I teach my children is to cultivate a love for learning so that as they grow that love with grow with them. Whether you homeschool your children or not you can take every opportunity to explore life together, it creates lasting memories!

Our explorer’s list

My husband wanted to make this hike different from other hikes that we have taken in the past so we wrote out a list of things that needed to be found and gave each little one a bag to collect their items. After the hike we put everything out on the picnic table and talked about what we had found. We discovered new textures, colours, and quantities of these items. We used bonoculars, magnifying glasses and our 5 senses to explore. It really gave the kids something to work for, as they thought that our list was more like a “treasure map”:)

I sometimes find it hard to have a little one with me while I am teaching the older two, however this was an awsome way to include the baby, she got a piggyback, on our trip. She laughed, talked and eventually fell asleep:)

We also included a trip to the conservation authority in our hometown as part of this field trip. We were able to talk about the importance of conserving nature and that God has given us this world to take care of it. (Just as he told Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis) The kids also learned about the importance of conserving certain areas of nature for the animal and water; we touched on pollution issues as well. The kids learned so much, as did Jim and I, BUT most importantly they had fun doing it!

He thought it was hilarious that he could hid behind this branch…we would pretend like he disappeared:)

May you enjoy the beauty of creation all around you. Make memories with your little ones this week! Remember every adventure outside can be an outdoor classroom:)!

Counting the spokes on the pinecone

Looking closely at the designs on the rocks

That’s my son, loves to turn everything into a gun! Seriously how does he come up with these ideas??:)

A Simply Thankful Life…

Enjoying the fall in our backyard!

My heart is full of thanksgiving as I take a moment to reflect on all of the incredible blessings in my life. I am SO thankful for…cool autumn walks, changing fall colours, baby kisses and snuggles, a creator who loves me, the sound of little feet that pitter pat down the hallway, a son who is beginning to look like his father, a warm home, my little girl’s blue eyes and blond hair, amazing friends, a fun backyard to explore in, warm coffee, freedom to dance, hearing little people call me “mommy” all day long, being loved, being able to love others, a wonderful family of believers, long distance friendships that I can count on, coconut muffins, being born in this generation, sharing life with my best friend, being home with my babies, not knowing what tomorrow hold but feel hope and anticipation every morning I awake.

May you enjoy rich family time this weekend. May you have a wonderful thanksgiving as you remember the One to whom all “thanks” is due!!

Drying Herbs

If you want to make the most of your garden herbs this year here is an easy idea to make them last even longer! I decided to dry my herbs and jar them to use over the winter. It took about two weeks to dry them. All I did was cut them off the plant and place them in a small basket to dry. You can lay them on the counter or hang them, the goal is to allow the herbs to be exposed to air all around them.

Once they had dried completely, I labeled a few jars and crumpled the herbs in them. They smell amazing and will be wonderful to use in various dishes this winter. It made me glad to not have to throw out perfectly good herbs!

 

Thankful for Toddler Tantrums??

Our Mercy girl!

I think over the last two weeks I am more emotionally exhausted from the temper tantrums that my 3 year old has been throwing than everything else I do in my life COMBINE! We have been dealing with Mercy’s wonderful and expressive emotions over the weekend and it has been taxing on ALL of us!

She is my first 3 year old girl and I must say that she is quite different than our son Judah. I have come to realize that when she enters into the overwhelming cloud of her emotions there is no rational or logical answer to her problems. She is simple exercising her WILL in hopes that she will get whatever she wants. UNFORTUNATELY for her, we do not give her whatever she wants so she gets upset and tries to find other ways to get her way; yelling, crying, spitting, screaming, tell me she “hates having time outs, they are boring”, throwing items, you name it, she tries it! I have been reminded by many wise mothers that “this too shall pass” and that it is important to remain consistent and eventually she will learn. I am beginning to wonder if “I shall pass-out!” before she gives in:)

Somedays I wonder why she is still fighting? It seems as though she is hoping to accomplish something…but what? By the end of her tantrum she often doesn’t even remember what she was upset about in the first place. My son wasn’t like this, he would cry over something realize he couldn’t have it and then move on. This is different. This is really hard.

I am reminded of my life as I watch her flail her arms and cry about something that really isn’t that important. Do I ever do this? Maybe not physically but emotionally and spiritually do I tantrum? Are there things in my life that I want so bad that I will do whatever I can to achieve them?

I remembered a situation recently where I thought a certain situation was going to work out in my favor but in the end it was delayed and fell through. I was angry and frustrated. I complained to the Lord, whining about all the implications of this situation and the concerns that I had. I basically had a spiritual temper tantrum and then finally got over myself! Since then I have been thinking about the importance of a verse in the Bible. It is in the book of Thessalonians 5:16, it says “Be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. I felt like reading this was like a spiritual spanking. Who do I think I am trying to complain and argue my way out of situation that God has allowed to come into my life? What was I hoping to achieve?

Just like my Mercy, her situation was out of her hands but rather than choosing to obey she wallowed in her sadness, self-pity and anger. Anger turned outward is hostility and rage, anger turned inward is self-hatred. Rather than obeying the Lord, being joyful, prayerful and thankful I was complaining and grumbling. I apologized and asked God to give me a new heart one that was grateful and trusting. Since then the situation has taken a turn for the best and hopefully in a couple days it will completely resolve itself. I love how my kids reveal mysteries to me every day by their actions and behavior. I suppose I should be thankful for Mercy’s tantrums because they have proven to be opportunities for me to learn and grow;)

Do you ever experience personal temper tantrums? What are some ways that you can avoid having them? What are some practical ways to be joyful, prayerful and thankful?

I pray that you will enjoy a day of peace and confidence in our gracious God. May you know the deep love He has for you. May you have the grace you need to be His hands extended to your family today!! Blessings!