It's official!!

We are celebrating and praising the Lord. My dear hubby passed his board re-certification test. Yesterday was my birthday, and today we have this great news. I couldn't have received a better present.
As some of you may know, we have been through this process three times in the past year and a half. The first two times we were quite disappointed with the failing scores. But we now see that the Lord was working with us to let go of all control and let Him handle it. That is so hard to do! With this test, we were finally able to say, "okay Lord, whatever you decide to do, we will praise you anyway." We determined to praise Him even if it was a failing score. What a trial it was to get to that point! The trial is over, and we both admit seeing spiritual growth through it all. Growth is painful, I see that now! But oh what joy when we overcome in Jesus!

We won't even go there...

I'm not even going to touch the fact that I haven't blogged in oh....forever! I have good intentions but...anyway, no excuses. On to my post.

I was very blessed last week. I went to Atlanta and stayed at the Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge with a friend. This is a lodge run by the American Cancer Society. My friend Judy has leukemia and had a stem cell transplant. She stays at the lodge because she has to go to the hospital every other day for treatments. Since her immune system is so suppressed, she needs a caregiver to stay with her and support her in every day activities. That's where I came in. Last week was my turn.

There are so many guests at the lodge who are facing such enormous challenges, yet they are always smiling and caring. I can't tell you how many times someone came to me to ask how Judy was doing if they didn't see her with me. They have genuine concern for each other. They check on others after doctor's appointments, they encourage each other when going through severe pain, and they rejoice together when milestones are reached in their recovery. We all celebrated together when one couple "graduated". The husband's treatments were done, he was doing well, and they were allowed to return home. It was a great moment.

There are some there who are very discouraged, scared and down. Others come to stay at the lodge alone, because they have no one to support then in their illness. Other guests are quick to rally around them, include them and encourage them.

Throughout the week, I praised the Lord for my health, and also thanked Him for the lessons learned in caring, compassion and encouragement.

I was only there one week, but it was a week I will never forget. It was such a privilege to care for Judy and meet each of the guests there and learn a little about them. I wouldn't trade that week for anything!

I pray daily for Judy and her husband. Now I have new friends to pray for and I am grateful.

It's been a busy couple of weeks....

The past couple of weeks have been super busy. I had two graduations (my two nieces), camp meeting (what a blessing, can't wait for General Conference), and an anniversary trip to Callaway Gardens (3 years). It was all enjoyable and fun. Everything however , happens at the beginning of May. I almost wish it was more spread out , then I would have other things to look forward to in the summer. Oh well, I will enjoy quiet time at home with my dear hubby and my garden. I'll post pictures of my garden later!

I'm DONE!!

I 'm just a little excited because I am done with school! I'm not a teacher, but a minuteman. My kindred spirit, is the head girls dean at the boarding school near me. Not content to have me just living nearby, she convinced the principal that I needed to step in any time they needed assistance. Well, that's what I did... for a whole year. I enjoyed the time with the students, but I missed my time at home baking bread, sewing, cleaning, and gardening. Yes, even cleaning. Now the school year is over and I almost don't know what to do with my time! Almost. Trust me, I'll find things to do. I'll keep you posted.

Wet and soggy, but we have our seeds!

Some friends and I took a girls road trip the first weekend in May. It was to to the Baker Creek Spring Seed Festival in Mansfield, Missouri. It was a soggy mess, but oh so much fun. In all, we traveled about 15 hours to get there, through washed out roads, rain storms and mud....lots of mud! We would do it all over again to get our seeds for our gardens. That's what I call determination!

A wonderful promise to remember...

Red barns along countryside, Vermont

"Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved" Psalms 55:22

I woke up very early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So I got up to do my Bible reading, and this was one of the verses. It was just what I needed to see. I hope it's just what you need too.

Blessings!

May God bless all of you mother's out there with wisdom, patience and grace. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Never say never......

In April I went to a two day seminar by Mountain Media Ministries. Now, I have been to their seminars before, but this time, they had a mini-class on canning. It was everything you needed to know to get started, and where to get more information for continued learning. Very good.

I should have learned my lesson many years ago about saying "I'm never going to ....." I said that about living in the South, and here I am in Georgia. Well...I said that about canning too. Now I want to learn all I can about canning so I can put up my garden produce. One of these days I'm going to learn.....never say never!

What is it?

For the past couple of springs, we have had this fella visiting in our yard. We weren't sure what it was and always guessed it was a ground hog or something. We never took time to check it out, because we were too busy chasing it out of our yard. We didn't want it to become too comfortable since we do have a garden on the other side of the yard.

Finally, this spring, I took some pictures of it before we went to Texas. We got our answer! My wonderful nephew McGyver took out his animal tracking book and there, staring up from the page was a woodchuck(also known as a groundhog). Thanks McGyver!

Now, it says that you can use cayenne pepper around where they are entering to keep them away. I haven't tried it yet since it has been raining steady for days. If anyone else has ideas, I'd sure appreciate hearing them!

Shhh...listen to the silence...

When dear hubby and I went to the Smokey Mountains last month, we thought we knew silence.

We live outside of a relatively small college town, that's pretty quiet. In the morning, we can hear the woodpeckers, and all manner of other birds that I cannot identify. At twilight in the warm months, we watch the deer come out of the woods on one side of the street and go into the woods on the other side. It is so quiet, and we love it.

When we went to the mountains, we were amazed at the silence! It was so refreshing, not to hear cars or the ambulance going by (we have two hospitals in our town, and even though we don't live near them, we do hear the sirens), or even other people. There were no telephone's ringing or even the hum of the computer. We really didn't know silence!

Now that we've experienced real silence, we crave it. Although it's not often, I'm not really upset when the electricity goes out around here. I realize how much noise pollution is in our "quiet" house. I now understand why sometimes it can be so hard for me to hear God's voice. We have decided to make it a priority to get away periodically and enjoy the "real"quiet.

Shhh....listen to the silence...and enjoy.

Recipie for Mini Baked Doughnuts

Here is the recipe for the mini baked doughnuts. It makes 20.

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp (scant) nutmeg
1 tiny pinch or shake cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (I use lemon juice)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
egg replacer for 1 egg
4 Tbs Earth Balance

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients with a whisk to mix thoroughly. Combine wet ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium low heat and mix until Earth Balance is melted. This mixture should NOT get too hot, you should be able to stick your finger in the mixture. It should feel slightly warm.

Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. It should form a very soft dough.

Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out dough into your ungreased nonstick mini-doughnut pan. Smooth out the top of the dough with your fingers, this will make for more even, prettier doughnuts, but isn't crucial. Also, you can put dough in a zip lock bag, cut a hole in the corner and squeeze out into pans.

If you over-fill, your doughnuts will come out looking like it has a little muffin top. Not the end of the world, but not very doughnut-like either.

Bake for 12 minutes. They should not be browned on top, but a tester will come out clean. Invert hot pan over a cutting board or cooling rack to release doughnuts. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

I just mixed lemon juice with powdered sugar to make a glaze and dipped the "bottom" half of the doughnut (the side with the nicer shape) into the glaze and then in shredded coconut.

Use your imagination with decorations! Have fun!

Success!!

Finally, I have had success making biscuits! No, really, you don't understand. I have never been able to make biscuits that haven't been flat, hard, hockey pucks. No matter how hard I've tried.



Well, Friday was my redemption day! Previously, I read an article about making the perfect biscuits. Well, I followed their advice about shifting the flour before adding all the other ingredients, using a light hand when kneading, pricking the dough with a fork before cutting them out, and not twisting the biscuit cutter when pushing it into the dough. And you know what? It works when you follow the directions! Go figure! I had biscuits that were not flat, and they were light and flaky! Well, okay, light might be pushing it. When are biscuits ever "light"? I was so excited, I had to blog about it! Whooohooo!
Oh, and P.S. the doughnut recipe is on the way....

Oh how cute! And fun too!

For Christmas, my sister gave me mini doughnut pans (Thank you Annie!).

They aren't necessary, but oh so fun! Here I made my baked doughnuts and dipped them in a powdered sugar/lemon juice frosting and then dipped them in shredded coconut.

They were so fun to make, and even better to eat. They were just too cute! I read one suggestion to roll them in cinnamon, nutmeg and powdered sugar right when they come out of the oven, and no one can tell they didn't come straight from a box at the store. I must try that next!

I know...I know...it's been awhile....

A lot has gone on since I last posted. Good and..challenging. For one, my dear hubby and I went to the Smokey Mountains for a weekend away. It was a time of quiet reflection, to listen for the Lord's voice, and to know what He wants us to do. Little did we know how much we would need it! The blessings of that weekend have stayed with us through leaks in our basement, uncommunicative contractors, and finding out hubby's job is going to end in three months!
In the midst of all these challenges, we also took a weekend to go to a Restoration International Family Camp in Florida. Their encouragement to be content in present situations, to live the country lifestyle in our homes, and to enjoy the blessings of the Sabbath, was very timely for us. Now as we face all these challenges, we have peace. The Lord said He will never leave us or forsake us. We claim that promise every day, and we believe it! He is going to see us through. We are seeking peace and finding it. Praise the Lord!

God Is Shaping Our Characters

Back in November I asked you to pray for my dear hubby's certification test. We've been waiting on pins and needles for the results (at least I have!). We got the news last Friday that he did not pass. I think I was more upset than he was at the news. Since that time, we have been praying, talking and listening a lot. God is good. He is working to perfect our characters and that's what's most important. My dear hubby says that he is disappointed by the results, but he is thankful that the Lord is working in him to have peace. We have grown so much during this waiting time. So we feel that the Lord has answered our prayers, just not in the way we would have thought. We are going to take some time to go away, pray and listen for His voice speaking to us. I am also so thankful for our families and friends who have been so supportive and encouraging. I feel like this is going to be a year of prayer and fasting for our family!

Not passing the test isn't the end of the world, but having that certification is an added confirmation to his practice. He can take it again, as many times as he needs to, but it's a very expensive test, so we'll be praying about that too. We both want to thank you all so much for your prayers. They were felt and appreciated. Please continue to keep our family in prayer as we seek to know the Lord's will for our future. We will continue to praise Him for His goodness, and we'll be praying for you too!

Carob Pudding

I am a chocolate lover, and it has been hard to switch to carob. My dear hubby has no problem with carob, so I decided to make this pie. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was! Even my sister who is quite hesitant about carob really liked it. Now that's saying something! My friend in California gave me this recipe. Her church had just completed a CHIP program, and she got it from their cookbook.

1 3/4 cup soymilk
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup cornstarch
2Tbs roasted carob powder
1Tbs Roma, Pero or Caffix
1/4 tsp salt

• Combine these in an unheated saucepan
• Mix to dissolve cornstarch
• Cook and Stir over medium heat until pudding bubbles and thickens
• Remove from heat.

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup dairy free malt-sweetened carob chips
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

• Add the above to the pudding and mix well.
• Cool slightly
• Pour into pre-baked crust and chill ( I used a graham cracker crust rather than a regular pastry crust, and it worked well.)
  

Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake

I'm a sucker for anything that says "cheesecake", it's one of my favorite desserts. This one got mixed reviews. My mother and I loved it. My dear hubby and sister were like, "ehh, it's okay...". They're not big fans of rum flavoring, and you can definitely taste it in this recipe! If it's too much, just use less rum flavoring or more of the vanilla flavoring.

Recipe courtesy of:
Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake

1 12.3-ounce package extra firm light silken tofu
1 8-ounce package Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegan eggnog (see note)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons brandy or rum (I used rum flavoring)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, packed (I'm not that good...I used regular nutmeg, not freshly ground!)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 prepared graham cracker or oatmeal cookie crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the tofu and put it and the Tofutti cream cheese into your food processor. Blend until smooth. Add the sugar and eggnog, and process again until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except crust) and process until completely smooth, about 3 more minutes. Pour into the pie crust and bake in the middle of the oven for about 55 minutes (do not allow to brown). Filling will be slightly jiggly, not completely set until chilled.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until completely chilled (the longer, the better). Serve sprinkled with additional grated nutmeg.

Note: You may use vanilla soymilk instead of eggnog. Just increase the brandy to 3 tablespoons and the nutmeg to 1 teaspoon and add an additional two teaspoons of sugar.

FatFree Vegan Kitchen is one of my favorite websites for recipes. She has wonderful pictures and good results...check it out!

Okay, next up surprisingly was a winner with everyone....Carob Pudding Pie! Stay tuned.....

Kitchen Tast Test Continued

On today's Kitchen Taste Test: Vegan Pecan Pie.

As my sister said in her blog, I did post a a recipe for a vegan pecan pie, but it was not the pie shown in her pictures from Christmas. This is the recipe for the pie in her pictures. The first recipe, is from Mountain People's Market Co-Op and Kitchen. This recipe, from Bryanna's Vegan Feast , was recommended to me, and I do like it. What's the difference between the two? Well, if you are wanting a pecan pie that is, "like grandma used to make", then you want Bryanna's. It has the filling that is most similar to an original pecan pie. The first recipe that I listed, it's more like....I'd say a caramel pie with pecans. It uses barley malt syrup that makes it thick and....well...caramel like. That's the best I can describe it. I like them both, but they very different from each other. Since I listed Mountain People's recipe once already, here's Bryanna's:

Bryanna's Vegan Pecan Pie

You have a choice of sweeteners:

1. 3/4 cup water PLUS 3/4 cup light unbleached cane sugar (Florida Crystals is what I use) AND 1/2 cup brown sugar packed. OR 1 and 1/2 cup maple syrup

2. 3/4 cup of water
3. Pinch of salt
4. 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 41/2 Tbs cold water
5. 2Tbs vegan margarine
6. 1tsp pure vanilla extract
7. 1-2 cups toasted unsalted pecan halves (I use 2 cups. 1 cup I chop and add to the filling and the second cup I put on top of the pie after I put it in the pie shell.)
8. 9"pie crust, unbaked

STEPS:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Poke the pie crust all over with the tines of a fork and pre-bake for 3 minutes. Remove from oven to a rack.

In a medium saucepan combine either the water and sugar mixture OR the maple syrup with the second 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Add the salt and the dissolved cornstarch, whisking vigorously. Stir and cook over high heat just until the mixture thickens and is clear. Remove from the heat and stir in the margarine and the vanilla-stir until the margarine is melted. The mixture will still be fairly liquid.

Pour this into the pre-baked pie shell. Arrange the pecan halves on top, pressing them down into the mixture a little. Place the pie in the middle of the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake 30 minutes. The filling will still be "jiggly"-don't worry; it will set as it cools. Cool on a rack for about 1 and 1/2 hours, then refrigerate until thoroughly cooled and set.

Like I said, I add 1 cup of chopped pecans to the filling before going in the pie shell and then put the remaining 1 cup on top of the pie. That's my thing, but you make it how you like it best!

Next on Kitchen Taste Test......Vegan Eggnog cheesecake! Yumm!

Kitchen Taste Test

Here is the recipe for the German Carob Cake we had for Christmas dinner. I got this recipe from a friend, and I don't know what cook book she got it from. If I did, I would provide the appropriate credit. Anyway, I like this recipe, because I'm not much of a carob fan, but I like this cake. I'm still working on it, because it's a little dry to me. I added 1/2 a cup of unsweetened applesauce and it helped. I think I'll add even more next time.

German Carob Cake
3 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2Tbs Ener-G baking powder or 1 Tbs Rumford baking powder
2 cups Sucanat or turbinado sugar ( I just use the Florida crystals)
1tsp salt
6Tbs carob powder
1Tbs powdered coffee substitute (Roma, Postum, Caffix)
2/3 cup unrefined canola oil
2 cups water
2tsp vanilla extract
and I added 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. You may add more to make it a more moist cake.

STEPS:

• Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another.
• Combine liquid to dry ingredients and mix until moist and most lumps have disappeared.

• Pour into two 9-inch cake pans and bake immediately in preheated 350 degree oven. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

Walnut-Coconut Frosting
Bring to a boil in a small saucepan:
3/4 cup nut milk or soy milk
1tsp vanilla
1Tbs almond butter
1Tbs cornstarch
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
Stir constantly until thickened. Add:
1 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Cool slightly before spreading on cakes or bars.

Happy New Year!

God is good! He has brought us through another year. To me, it's kind of exciting to see what the Lord is going to do for us in 2009. My dear hubby and I had a "party" last night to celebrate the new year. We made a fire in the fireplace, played games, ate popcorn and cookies and ended it with a wonderful worship together ( a real rip roaring time, to be sure!) We did this to celebrate the fresh start 2009 brings us. 2008 was a hard year, but I am thankful that I can look back and see how the Lord brought us through. I am confident He will do that and more in this new year. I look forward to it! I hope that you do too.

Oh...and by the way...for those who read my sister's blog, the vegan dessert recipes are on their way.....