~ N O V E M B E R 2016 ~

     So, I am hoping you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Again, forming homemaking skills was not attempted as much as I would have liked this month, but I did get some things done!!

B A K I N G:

So, I was able to donate cookies to a couple different events, but I will talk about that in the December post. 

          But I also got to make two pumpkin pies; something I had never done before! I don't like pumpkin pie very much, but my family wanted me to make them. 

I made two different pies; one was just pumpkin (above)...

...and praline pumpkin pie (that is why it is all crackely on top).

PRALINE PUMPKIN PIE:

(Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 unbaked pastry shell (10 inches)
• FILLING:
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1-1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• Additional chopped pecans, optional 

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the pecans, sugar and butter; press onto the bottom of pie shell. Prick sides of pastry with a fork. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°.
2. For filling, combine the eggs, sugar, flour and spices in a large bowl; stir in pumpkin. Gradually add cream. Pour into pastry shell. If desired, sprinkle chopped pecans on top. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. 
3. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

C r a f t i n g:

          

          So, the Catholic school in town always has an annual craft fair in the fall; this year, three of my friends and I split the cost of a booth and sold our various kinds of crafts there. I made crocheted wash-cloths, drink coasters, and hot-pads. 

I tagged them....

My craft "business name" (if you could call it one yet) is Apple Tree Crafts.

This was my stuff

         And that is our table. Slightly crowded, but not bad. I didn't make much money (just enough to cover my cost of the booth), but it was a great experience, and lots of fun.

H o m e y   h o u s e:

          So my friend's mom hosted a caramel apple party. It was a blast!!! It was small, simple, and really fun. Old traditions should never be forgotten, because sometimes fun is forgotten with them.

           

         Thanksgiving was at our house, then my Aunt's house, them my Uncle's house! But this is our house; a quiet thanksgiving lunch for 5. 

And even though most everything is dead this time of year, it is still very beautiful on cloudy days.

          Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and November. I am very exited as I am slowly gaining more time to spend at home doing the things I really love.

God bless,

Claire R.

       " May the God of peace be with you all. "

              Romans 15:33a

~ O C T O B E R 2016 ~

Ok, so I know this is a little late for an October post, but I didn't want to wait another month. :)


This fall has gone so fast, and November is already here!! :/

For those of you who don't know, this is what fall looks like from the top of the flint hills. :)

So I didn't do a hole lot of variety in the department of homemaking skills; as you probably know life can get quite busy.

B a k i n g:
Ok, so I LOVE baking. it is one of my very favorite things to do. Some of the things I have been baking are:
HAMBURGER BUNS!!!!!

     The recipe I used can be used for hamburger buns...

or rolls...

...or really anything! It is super easy, because you don't have to let it rise; it rises in the oven! So here it is:

Easy no rise buns (or pizza dough, or bread, or rolls):

2 ½ C warm water
6 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp oil
6 C flour (can use white or whole wheat)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Stir water, yeast, sugar and oil together. Leave for 5 minutes until it becomes frothy on top. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Knead. Roll out if making a pizza base or shape for use as buns / bread / loaf. Paint with oil or milk (if you can be bothered). Bake at 375 F for 10-15 minutes.

~

     I also made pie! (So the picture of the finished pie on here is a little blurry. :(  )

This pie crust recipe is from one of my favorite picture books called 'How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World'. It was the first one I ever used, and I don't think I have ever used a different one.

My favorite Pie crust (from How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World):

   ~ 2 cups flour

   ~ 1 tea. salt

   ~ 1 cup butter (semi soft)

   ~ 1/2 cup ice water

Sift (and I do mean sift) the flour and salt together. Cut in (rub together with fingers) the butter until it is nice and crumby. Add a LITTLE BIT of water at a time until a nice soft ball forms. Divide it slightly different than half, and roll out the smaller amount and use as your bottom crust. Place filling in the bottom crust in the pie pan, and design your top with the rest of the crust. Bake at 425 F for 45 min. 

~

     However, it was the filling that was REALLY good! I think I found my favorite pie. :) The actual recipe was Apple Blackberry, but since the blackberries would have cost $8.00, I tried strawberries instead. AND IT WORKED!!

Apple Strawberry Pie filling:

   ~ 6 cups sliced apples

   ~ 1 pint (about two cups) strawberries (washed and sliced)

   ~ 3/4 cup sugar

   ~ 4 Tbl. flour

Mix it all up together, and use as your pie filling!

 

So, like i said, the picture is a little blurry, but the pie was great!!!

~

C r a f t i n g:

I haven't done much crafting lately, except for crocheting. I am making washcloths, drink coasters, and hot pads to sell at a craft fair near us next week. I am very exited about that!

 I am not going to talk a lot about crocheting this time, but I will in the future. :)

~

G a r d e n i n g:

I definitely did not get as much gardening done as i wanted to this year, but I promised myself that NEXT YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT!!!! 

I did, however get a couple things:

This is my overabundant, can't hardly give them away POTATO CROP!!! GREAT, RIGHT??? 

However, what I lacked in potatoes, I gained in LEMON BALM!! They were sure right when they said that stuff would spread!!! (Just so you know, lemon balm is basically a mint that is VERY lemony.)

 So I tied it up in bundles, and am drying it for making salve or maybe tea, or who knows what else! You will notice I am using rubber bands; the reason for that is because as the plant dries, it shrinks; the rubber band will shrink with it and still hold onto it, unlike string that will stay the same and give the stems a way to fall out.

 AND, I am starting a winter indoor herb supply! Not much, but a few to grow through the cold months. This is a great way to get rid of old seeds, if you are like us and you buy seeds and don't use them all! Just take some old jelly or mason jars (whatever you have on hand), place about an inch of gravel at the bottom, and then fill the rest to about an inch from the top with potting soil (bagged is best so you don't get a bunch of weed seed). bury whatever kind of seeds you want in the dirt, and water only slightly every day. Place in a sunny spot.

Well, that is about it for now; I know I am really not doing much, but it is a good start to the things I really want to do well. I hope that you will try some of these things; i don't want this blog to just be all about showing you what I do, but that other people can try these things, and get good at these skills along with me (because trust me, I am not good at any of them yet; but there is always time!).

Have a blessed rest of your fall!

These are some of the last annual flowers I had from planting them this spring.

God bless,
~ Claire R.
 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Welcome, One and all!!!

Hello, people who read this (Who will probably consist mostly of friends, at least for now. :)!!

So one of my BIGGEST dreams is to become the BEST homemaker I can be. Now, of corse, I am not ready to be a wife, get married, or even leave the house yet, but I DO however want to create homemaking skills while I am still at home, and use them once I get married. I want to bake, and cook, and crochet, and sew, and clean, and plan meals, and keep chickens, and garden, and make soap, (and salve, and lotions and balms and things) and can, and have home-remedies for things, and learn how to be a better host. 

So you can see why I am starting now. :)

I will try to post once a month, sharing what I've been doing, giving recipes and patterns for projects and things. Seasons are Very important to me, so a lot of my posts will be season based. 

Well, thanks for reading! I hope this blog will inspire us all to become better at the art of the home!!

  "Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates."

~Proverbs 31:31

God bless,
~ Claire R

"...So that you may follow in his steps..."