Wild Cooking Adventure: Sourdough and Jelly

We just came from the land of the sourdough, both in cooking and in locals.  (Alaska calls their long time homesteaders "Sourdoughs" for those not familiar with the term.)  And sourdough bread remains a popular baked item there.  Many have heard of Dick Proenneke from the television show and I was given some of his sourdough starter from a friend of a friend and kept it alive and well until I had my second child (plus two cats, a puppy and six chickens) and I let it go too long without feeding it and it died!  I'm still kicking myself for that, but I recently learned that you can't transport sourdough starter.  Well, you can, but over time, the local yeasts will overtake it and it will take on the local characteristics.  Sourdough is unique to the area, isn't that interesting?

Wild Yeast Trap Set.  Complete with guard dog!

So I recently began to get a hankering for sourdough again.  I always wondered where the starter came from, I'd only been given jars of starts before.  So the wonder that is Pintrest came to the rescue again and I found that you can capture wild yeast right out of thin air!  Christina Keibler is very knowledgeable has great written and video instructions, but it's basically just flour and water in equal parts.  You leave it in a bowl outside, stirring every few hours to incorporate more air into the mixture.  After about 24 hours you can see the bubbles and "hootch" (clear liquid from yeast) forming and that's it!  She also has a recipe for bread from the starter you can find on this page.  I'm still working on the quirks of Oregon yeast to get a big fluffy loaf, but the flavor is amazing!

Then I got to thinking about jelly and what I have on hand, and I recalled a recipe I have for rose petal jelly.  This rental that we're living at has an abundance of gorgeous rose bushes around it and a good many were just starting to drop their petals.  So my sweet daughter and I plucked them up and followed this recipe by Luckybeans for the jelly.  It turned out a vibrant fuscha red and took a little mending  (it didn't want to set up) but now has a lovely light flavor.  Just a beautiful process as a whole.  So lots more photos of this:

I love that glowing color!  And making good food with what we already have, and getting the little ones involved and learning new skills.  I'm going to chalk this one up as a win! =)  Do you have any fun new food projects planned?  I always love to hear what everyone is up to!  Happy Memorial Day Weekend and I hope in your celebrating you can appreciate those who serve and have served.

Expecting Joy (and Nausea): Morning Sickeness Gift Basket

Havin’ a Baby!  (Morning Sickness Basket)

 

 

Worth the Morning Sickness!

 

No not me! =)  My dear friend just, JUST found out they were expecting baby #6!  Wow!  So excited for them! With so much joy, she’s also experiencing the common morning sickness (though you wouldn’t know it by looking at her!  That woman has endless energy!)  Those of you who’ve had to deal with that know it’s miserable, especially when you want to be soaking up life and cherishing every moment!

 

Eagerly Expecting

I’m going to insert a little excerpt of my first pregnancy here so you know where I’m coming from.  I should clarify.  My first successful pregnancy.  My very first pregnancy was a couple months prior and (this never stops hurting!) our first baby went to heaven in the second month.  But, to encourage you who are having morning sickness, it usually means that your baby and your body are progressing healthily!  So when I started feeling “off” a couple months later, I took a negative home pregnancy test.  A little discouraging, but I understood these things take time.   But a couple weeks later, I started crying profusely at a TV episode about the Iditarod (I’d almost NEVER cried at any movie!) and Josh said I should retest.  Sure enough!  Our little guy already had a beating heart by the time we were even sure he existed! 

What joy and excitement!  And then came the morning sickness, gradually progressing through the first couple months, then intense until the last couple.  I ended up feeling sick nearly the entire pregnancy and actually had hyperemesis gravidum (extreme morning sickness) with my first.  I lost more weight (25 lbs) though the second trimester than I gained in the whole pregnancy.   Even sounds could set it off!  It was so weird!  I couldn’t even listen to some of my favorite music because it made me so nauseous!  Anyway, raw ginger was the only thing that would touch it.  I would seriously chew on it raw.  Now the idea of that nearly makes me sick! =)  When it reached the clinical level, I did accept a prescription medication for a couple months so that I could continue working and maintain a healthy pregnancy.

He arrived!

There are a lot of suggestions out there about how to ease the symptoms of nausea, but they can have different effects on different individuals, even different pregnancies!  I was only minimally nauseous with our daughter and I only threw up once (and that was on a very turbulent, windy jet landing in Seattle!) 

So in putting together a little basket for my friend, I definitely wanted to include ginger, and I found a recipe for homemade ginger ale sweetened with honey to include.  You know, to whip up in all her spare time.  Yeah, I’ll throw in some pre-made, too.  =)  Just want to make sure it has real ginger in it.  Many brands now don’t.   I got ginger capsules that some pregnant friends swore by, but they didn’t touch my nausea either pregnancy.

Peppermint, my other lifesaver, is also a must.  Peppermints are good, but sometimes just the sweetness is counteractive in this case.  Peppermint oil is very helpful.

Have you ever tried acupressure?  I feel like it made a dent in the nausea sometimes.  Was it just a mental change?  Possibly, but whatever works, right?  Pressing two fingers against the indent of the inner side of your wrist (just before your thumb) can be helpful.

Fresh or frozen lemon can alleviate the symptoms of morning sickness, also.  To use the whole thing, cut a small slice from an end to suck on, then place what you don’t use in a day in the freezer and keep slicing off pieces as you need them.

Cold: while it was winter in Fairbanks, it was so nice just to be able to step out on the porch for a breath of fresh air.  When that’s not available, a cold pack around the back of your neck can really help!  These can later be used as heat packs for any painful cramping! I found this easy, inexpensive pattern for one from Satsuma using dollar store socks!

Breathe and try to relax: anxiety can increase nausea

Finally, hydration.  This can be super hard when anything at all in your stomach makes you want to hurl, but as much as you can, keep yourself hydrated.  Sucking on ice chips or taking tiny sips seems to help.

What have you found to be most helpful in alleviating morning sickness?  Any other ideas for the next basket?

Note: this was written some time back, but I am revising it for another friend currently expecting!

Get Out! 7 Ways to Help Parents Go Outside with their Children in Winter

Getting Outside: Parental Inspiration

 

Don’t you love all the inspiration online for things to do with kids outside! Places to go, things to see and even information on how important it is!  Then it’s 30 degrees (or less!) and all that great knowledge just doesn’t seem worth the effort to get out the door.  Although I wasn’t as regular about it as I ought to have been, my cut-off for taking the little ones outside was -20F (That’s about when it starts to hurt just to take a breath).  We walked our mile in some pretty cold temps, with the babies strapped onto me and so bundled they could hardly see!  As they got older they were moving and having so much fun, they become quite oblivious to the cold!  Now that we’re in more of the southern portion of the PNW, we’re dealing with the days on end of constant rain.  No, it’s not as cold, but it is a challenge of its own. 

Another member of an online moms group that I’m part of recently posed a question, and many more chimed in with similar issues.  Their children had plenty of motivation to get outside, but they were either too young or in an area where it was not safe for them to be outside by themselves. The moms were asking each other how they motivated themselves as parents to get out there!

I scrolled on at the time, but kept thinking about it through the day.  It can be hard sometimes, and often I am the biggest deterrent for my kids getting outside! Just because I don't want to get cold or wet?  I am so grateful that the place we are renting has enough land around it that I am fairly comfortable letting them play right outside the sliding doors where I can keep an eye on them.  At least for a short amount of time.  But inevitably they want to explore farther and farther or go to parks or hiking.   All of which I’m so glad they enjoy, except now I have to go out, too! =)

So I thought I’d share a couple things that get me going when I really just want to stay in. 

1.       Knowledge: being outside is good for all of us, despite the weather.  We will all be happier if we do it. 

2.       Proper attire: this doesn’t have to be expensive clothing in most cases, although in the negative degrees Fahrenheit, I did have a good winter jacket, long johns and boots.  But anywhere, the key to cold is layers.  Long johns or leggings under jeans, as many shirts as I can layer and still be able to move, a couple socks and you can withstand a lot, especially if you’re moving.   Even a couple extra layers under a rain coat and wellies (i.e. rain boots, splashing boots, mire boots, galoshes) can make you feel cozy despite the damp.  Just be sure to shed if you start getting too warm.  The survival mode in the back of my mind kicks in and reminds me that sweating in cold is BAD because now your under layers are wet.  When you stop exerting yourself, you’ll get REALLY cold!

3.       Ulterior Purpose: Get outdoor chores done while the little ones get their wiggles out.  If they’re having fun on their own, there’s always something I can get done while I’m out there, whether it’s just tidying up the yard or taking care of critters.  The ambitious side of me feels so satisfied when I can check some of those things off the list!  Or maybe this could mean making a phone call while they’re on a playground or just focusing on something they’re learning out on a hike.  On our last hike, we had just practiced writing the letter G, so while we were ascending, we set a goal of finding 25 things that started with that letter!  And we sort of count outside time as part of school.  They inevitably learn something every time they step out the door, and they definitely exercise, so I count it a win-win. 

4.       An excuse to ignore chores for a few minutes: this is such a horrible, procrastinator’s reason, but if I’m honest, the thought has crossed my mind a time or two.  And usually after I’ve had a little fresh air myself and listened to the little giggles and adventures, I’m in a much better mindset to get things done than before!

5.       Recruit others: I’m much better at sticking with a plan to get out somewhere if I know someone else is expecting to meet up with us.  And it sure helps to have another grown-up to share (and commiserate) the experience with, plus the littles are extra excited to see their friends!

6.       Go somewhere new: exploring a new trail or park always sounds better to me than just hanging out in our yard.  Although it is just that much extra effort and time, so this one is a little situational.  Or just go somewhere you already know you love!

7.       A piping hot mug of tea (or coffee if that’s your cup of tea.  Ha!)  This is probably my biggest help!  And now I’m going to spend too long telling you of my favorite travel mug from Contigo (Note: I am not being compensated at all for writing this, but I did obtain permission to use their name here).  I first realized what great mugs they were on a -30F morning if Fairbanks.  This is the type of temperature at which boiling water, if thrown into the air, will freeze before hitting the ground.  We rushed out the door to an indoor playground we were helping with, but not without my trusty cup of tea.  It was still too hot to sip on the drive down, and in the rush to get in, I left my mug in the car!  I was a little out of sorts the whole morning thinking about my lovely tea sitting out there in the cold, hoping that when it froze it didn’t damage the mug. Three hours later I came out to find my tea not frozen, but WARM still!  Not piping hot, granted, but still drinkably warm even after 3 hours in 30 below zero!  I also just love that the lid has two locks so I can let my little ones play with it and I don’t have to worry at all about it spilling.  A real life saver on some Sunday mornings in church when that’s ALL they want to play with to be semi-quiet.   It’s the right shape to fit in a cup holder, yet holds as much tea as my regular large mug.

 

Those are my biggest motivators, but I’m always up for more ideas!  I’d love to know what inspires you to get out with your little ones in bad weather! Would you comment your ideas below for others to share?

 

Frozen Pipes and Star Analogy

Making friends with the neighbors

Do you ever start looking back through old photos and sort of get lost in time.  Our Decembers have often been interesting months.  Most notably, of course, was two years ago when our daughter was born in the midst of an Alaskan snow storm. 

So Tiny!

But both the year before that and just last year, December was the month the temperatures finally dropped low enough and long enough for our pipes to freeze despite our pipes being wrapped with electric heat tape and in frequent use. 

The inside of our windows come December

It was a bother, but really, not that big of a deal.  Especially in the lower 48 here, we can become so used to having things a certain way, anything else becomes shocking and pitiful.  But so many people up there live in dry cabins anyway, our being without running water for those few weeks at a time was generally regarded as a minor inconvenience. 

 There were water stations in town where you simply hauled your tank (be it pickup bed sized or the 7 gallon blue ones like we had) and filled up whenever you were in town.  We were thankfully close enough to the Fox springs to be able to fill up with that pure water without having to drive into town.  Or, if we were really in a pinch, we had all the water we wanted right outside our door.  All we had to do was set pots of snow on the stove to melt and boil. 

He loved this job!  Good science experiment, too!

 Being careful to avoid the yellow or brown patches, of course.  An older, single nurse from the hospital I worked at up there said she felt much more prepared to survive in the winter than in the summer should something happen, because she had all that fresh water all around her and a stove to heat it on!

December 2012

 

December 2014

Tiny bits for washing dishes.  Showers were obviously out of the question, but washing up with a washcloth was usually sufficient.  We would give the babies shallow baths in the galvanized tub.  Then use that water to spot clean laundry.  An outhouse would have been nice.  And I really understand the relatively high density of outhouses in the area.  One flush takes a lot of water!  You just get used to thinking about things differently and learn not to waste something even so common as water. 

At the plumbing store...again.

And then the electricity would go out every so often, but every house out of town had a stove.  Maybe this sounds crazy, but looking back, I really appreciate how those times grew me and caused me to get creative and see things in a new way.  It’s so rewarding to be thrust into a potentially dangerous situation like that and come through with flying colors.  Like a victory.  I am very grateful for our new home here in Oregon and love that we get to settle here, but I hope I never lose the lessons I’ve learned nor forget the adventures we’ve had in Alaska.

Okay, enough reminiscing.  I guess what I was leading to is gratefulness.  I know Thanksgiving is over, but it really should be a mindset rather than a single holiday, anyway.  Choose to be content, to be grateful for the things you do have, especially during this crazy month of gifting.  Remember all we have been given, the best gift of the offer of Living Water with the birth of Jesus!  Yeah, that’s “Christianeese.”  I’ve got to stop that, but I like the analogy.  Jesus Spirit living with those who love Him is likened to Living Water that is vital for full life and quenches the thirsty soul.  !  I love Christmas as much as the next person, but it’s just the beginning of the story!  The climax will have to wait until Eastertime, though! =)

We haven’t really started celebrating yet, mostly waiting until after our upcoming birthday party, although Christmas tunes are finally playing regularly.  We did do one activity in preparation for Christmas that I thought I would share because I feel like it was a fun learning activity for my littles.  We had an apple that was starting to look like it was dehydrating from the outside after it had sat on the shelf for much too long.  I brought the littles over to watch for the hidden star as I sliced the apple around its girth.  What delight when they found the familiar shape in the middle. 

 

 As I continued to cut thin slices to (finish) dehydrating for our popcorn/cranberry garland, I told them about the star that shone when Jesus was born, that the shepherd’s saw in the fields and that the wise men followed for their long journey.  The star was there for everyone to see, but the wise men knew what to look for, sort of like how we knew how to look for the star in the apple.  I’m not sure if the analogy played out perfectly, but it was fun to talk about as we worked together.  I’m always up for new Christmas ideas and I know there are tons of amazing traditions and ways to celebrate Christmastime out there.  I’m curious, how do you start off the season? 

Sorry for the dark photos!  Sometimes life doesn't happen in perfect lighting! =)

 

Mountain Apple Dumpling Recipe

 

 

Do you still have any apples left?  As promised, I’d like to share with you our Mountain Apple Dumplings.  Now, I’d like to tell you some wonderful, woodland tale about backpacking deep into the Cascades and stumbling across a story book cottage of a sweet, elderly, mountain lady who kindly shared with us her treasured family recipe.  That’s the fable that plays in my head when I hear the name but, no, not quite so romantic.  The name comes from the secret ingredient: Mountain Dew.

Is this healthy?  Eh, “healthy” is a continuum, right?  It’s better than some, has real fruit in it and is amazingly delicious!  This recipe is quick and easy and always ends up being a hit at get-togethers.  I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been asked for this recipe!  And the funny thing is that, though I got this recipe from my Mom ages ago, she and I have both evolved it to our own tastes, and now we would write it out completely differently.  So take this recipe as a general guide and have fun with it!  I’ll include some comments about different ways you could tweak it. 

 

Mountain Apple Dumplings

Ingredients:

2-4 apples

2 refrigerated crescent dough (or pie dough)

1 c. butter (she uses 1/2 cup)

½ c. sugar (or 1 cup for tart apples)

1 can Mountain Dew (I don't usually have soda in the house and have used orange juice in a pinch.  I works, but changes the flavor)

1-2 TBSP Cinnamon (I like to add nutmeg, cloves or allspice, too!)

See!?  Every ingredient is adjustable!  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Core and slice apples into 16 pieces.  You may peal them if you desire, but I usually leave the skins on. 

 

Wrap each slice in a triangle of dough (it’s okay if it’s not completely covered) and place in greased 9x13” pan. 

 

They will probably all be touching.  Pour sugar evenly over dumplings, then spices over the sugar. 

 

 Gently (so as not to wash all the sugar off dumplings) pour butter, then Mountain Dew evenly over dumplings. 

 

Cook for one hour, then enjoy!  These taste amazing warm with a little ice cream!

 

Can I just share the story of this plate while I have it in a photo.  I know it’s not much, but I think it’s beautiful: emerald on the top and cobalt underside.  My kinda colors!  So, we were on our daily walk down our dirt/ice road last breakup (spring) in Fairbanks.  As the snow had just begun to melt it revealed this beautiful plate, surprisingly unbroken, on the side of the road.  Though I immediately wanted to take it home (is that gross?  I sanitize!) I figured it belonged to someone farther down, so I set it upright in a snowbank so any one passing would be sure to see it.  I let a week pass and it remained, so I brought it home and thought of it as my lovely scavenger’s treasure.  Not long after before we were having a meal on our porch because it was finally ABOVE FREEZING!!! And the baby pushed the plate off the table and it shattered into a million pieces.  Aw man, sad!  Oh well.  I threw it away.



Does he remind anyone else of a tiny Kristoff?

My walking buddies

 

 

The next day on our walk, I found the exact same plate in the exact same spot!!!!  What?  Wow, thanks, God!  Hee hee!  Now my little miracle plate makes me happy every time I see it.  And who said God doesn’t care about the little things! =)