Busy Hands Homestead

Last night's dinner was a surprising success.  I did not expect to watch the kids spoon the soup into their mouths - without a single complaint.  I even received complements.  That is rare out of the mouths of my children when dealing with anything spinach that I thought I would share the recipe.  (Sorry, no picture...) Spinach Soup  4 slices bacon fry bacon, remove from pan and set aside 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped saute onion and then add 1 teaspoon salt  6 medium potatoes, chopped  3 boullion cubes 3 cups water 2 Tablespoons butter simmer until the potatoes are soft take half of the soup, blend it, and return it back to the pot 3 Tablespoons flour 3 cups water  whisk the flour into the water and add to the soup, then bring to a boil 3 ounces cream cheese 2 cups chopped, frozen spinach dash of nutmeg and pepper stir in cream cheese and spinach, add nutmeg and ginger when the cream ...

aka: a new purpose for broccoli stems Our food scraps do not go to waste. A few are given to the dogs, some to the worms and the remainder to the chickens. In spite have having well deserving recipients of our food scraps, I do make an effort to utilize "the entire plant" in my kitchen. I recently prepared a few dishes that required the dark green crowns of broccoli, but not the stems.  I felt a little silly when I put the broccoli stems back into the crisper drawer of my fridge, but I had a plan for them. Broccoli stems are a part of the plant that even my husband will push aside and the kids, well, they usually just chomp the greenest of the green parts and leave the rest behind. So,  I felt even sillier as I rummaged through the freezer to retrieve a container filled with chopped up broccoli stems and I set it and the bag of broccoli stems on the counter.  I was going to turn all of these stems into cream of broccoli soup. I almost apologetically...

I posted images of the soda fire results here: at my new Sticks&Stones Workshop site. In addition to getting ready for the Holiday MADE fair (Dec. 9th from 11am - 6pm), I have been cooking dinner, keeping the house (some what) clean and trying to mark a few of those other nagging projects off of my list. I finally sewed two fabric baskets that I have been intending to sew for eons.  My sewing machine has been stashed away for months now because Sylvan can not resist climbing onto my lab and turning all the dials and pushing the few buttons while it is in use.   That dilapidated little cardboard box held Ivory's shoes and then Sylvan's as well and moved with us not, one, but two times and it is finally being recycled.  In it's place there are now two fabric baskets: one for Ivory's shoes and one for Sylvan's.  They took me only a few hours to make and were absolutely free.  I inherited the fabric when we bought  our house .  Adam has...

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.   It is even better than Christmas.  Why?  Well, it has all those things I love about Christmas (good food and family) and none of the things that makes Christmas stressful (the shopping and gift giving).  Thanksgiving has always been this big family event where we bustled around in the kitchen for days rolling and stirring and baking and then all this food is brought fourth and set onto a beautifully decorated table (or two).  People could be counted on for certain dishes.  I would make sweet potato casserole, my mom cardamon bread, Linda and Gigi would bring this cranberry salad I yearn for, my grandmother her Swedish fruit compote , etc...   and then we would all sit together and eat and laugh and go on a walk through the neighborhood and start all over again.   The last few years, we have spent Thanksgiving with friends and neighbors , sharing food and laughs and listening to a few folks jam whil...

There is a phone call I have been avoiding.  For weeks now, I should have scheduled a re-enrollment appointment at Ivory's school.  When our family advocate called, I quickly told her I would have to discuss the matter with my husband (not a lie: I really did have to talk to him) and when I run into her I assure her that I will contact her soon.  For the past year Ivory has been attending Head Start four mornings a week, while Sylvan and I are left to our own devices.   A few days ago I received a survey from the program and the last two questions were:  What are three things the program is doing well?  What are three things that need improvement?  Well, the play ground equipment is nice....  as I thought about it, gingerly pecking out my answers on the keyboard, it just became so much more apparent that Head Start is just a bad fit. I have been wrestling with mixed emotions for weeks now. Ivory seems to love the program, but it is a ...

I have been trying, like many other mothers out there, to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into our day. The promise of summer and the soon to come gardening season leaves me yearning for fresh produce. My shopping trips have resulted in boxes brimming with kale, beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lettuce, avocados, onions, apples, pears, bananas, and strawberries. As I stash them all away in my kitchen, I admit that I feel just a little guilty as I briefly consider just how far some of these item have traveled to find their way into my kitchen. I brush the thought away: “Soon it will be summer and I can buy most things locally.” My husband's shopping trips result in some other items finding their way into our kitchen. He had to return an item to ACE, which happens to be right next door to Albertson's, and I asked him to pick me up a few apples for the cookies I was making. He brought back apples, but ...

     Our household has been pulsing from chaos to mess, chaos to mess, chaos to mess. For the last week we (with the wonderful help of friends) have been shuttling everything we own, including our two dogs, seven chickens and massive piles of wood, across our neighborhood with Sylvan and Ivory in tow. Figuring out where to sleep, where to wash laundry and how to cook dinner on top of the mess. The washer and dryer are finally hooked up, and while many small piles remain everywhere, I am beginning to see our new house become a home.      All through this process I keep thinking of someone I love very much, who is day after day taking care of someone she loves very much, as he is fading away, and wishing I didn't live thousands of miles away. I have no words to offer. I know nothing of death and dying except that it is inevitable, and I often wonder what exactly we talked about in that Death and Dying class I took in college. Why is it o...