For the Love of Pickles

I'm very sad today.  I'm realizing I didn't make nearly enough dill pickles last summer while there were cucumbers in the garden.  The Pickle Keeper is almost empty.  And it's only January.  That means it's 7 more months until there'll be cucumbers ready to pick out there again.

I might just cry.

Or break down and buy a few cucumbers at the grocery store...

Here's a peek inside my 1980's vintage 2-quart Tupperware Pickle Keeper.  If I find any of these at a thrift store or yard sale, I think I'd like to have a couple more.  They are lovely, wonderful, useful things.  Maybe Tupperware still makes them?  But if you know me you know that I am cheap, so I'll look around for awhile before I even consider getting a new one in this year's pretty designer colors.

Since there's no water bath processing involved, I'm not sure this really qualifies as canning but I've done it this way... well, since the '80s and have never had spoilage.  I've even cheated and re-used the brine.  Yikes! The pickle confessions are coming out!!

The recipe came to me from my Mother's good friend, Bea Williams.  The Williams' lived across the street from us in Idaho Falls when I was a little kid and she was always my (honorary) Aunt Bea.  I think I was well into school-age years before I realized we weren't really related.  Bea was a simple woman.  She worked hard all her life and had a very strong sense of right and wrong and exemplified the idea that you just treat people well.  She is one of the kindest and most generous adults I remember being part of my childhood.  Every kid should have an Aunt Bea!

To make Aunt Bea's pickles simply pack whole small cucumbers (or larger ones cut into wedges about that same size as you can see I did in the photo) into 1-quart jars with dill weed and sliced garlic according to your taste.

Add to each jar:
2 Tbl salt
1 cup vinegar
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp alum
pinch of pickling spice

Fill each jar with cold water. Put on caps and sealers and store in a cool, dark, dry place. Ready to eat after 3-4 weeks. Can be stored up to a year.

(I make a double batch directly in the Pickle Keeper and just push it to the back of the fridge for a few weeks.)

I linked this post to Homemaking Link-Up #59

And to the Weekend Bloggy Reading Link Up at Serenity Now

Setting goals for 2012

Several years ago and feeling like I was having a not so fun mid-life crisis (yes, I'm an early bloomer!) I set out to fix whatever was causing my discontent.  In the process I happened to read a couple of very different books.  Actually I read so many books on the topic that for a few weeks I was pretty much the designated Queen of Self-Help.  But there were two in particular that had ideas that meshed so I could combine them into a method that works for me... Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss and Be Your Own Life Coach by Diane M. Scholten.

When I first started  working this out I decided on 8 key areas that define, for me, what a happy and balanced life looks like.  Then I wrote out short affirmations for each of them.  These really haven't changed much over the years.

Personal Development.  I am happy with the person I am becoming and where my life is going.
Friends & Family.  I have friends and extended family who I love and who love me.
Career & Money.  My work is satisfying and enables me to meet my current financial obligations, save for the future and obtain the things I really want.
Physical Environment.  My home is a sanctuary.  It is beautiful, comfortable and clean and I am proud to share it with others.
Spiritual Fulfillment.  I am assured my thoughts and actions are in accordance with God's plan for my life.
Romance.  My words, actions and thoughts show those around me that I love and value them.
Health & Fitness.  I am healthy and fit in all areas of my life.
Fun & Recreation.  I am open to expanding my comfort zone to include new people, places and things.

My next step is all about assessing balance.  It's a look at where I am going into a new year.  And yes, I'm a geek... I put it on Excel to make a graph so I could see how I was progressing year-over-year.  The graph is set up by assigning a point value between 1 and 10 to each area indicating my level of contentment.  1 means things are pretty darn crappy and 10 denotes that it just can't get any better.

This helps me visualize balance, or in some years the utter lack of it, and focus on what I most want to accomplish.  Once I have this frame work in front of me I jot down 4-7 things in each area that I think will help bring me happiness and better balance in the coming year.   For example, under Physical Environment for 2012 I have these items listed:

• Develop a thorough and workable cleaning plan and DO IT!
• Add some "cuteness" to the decor so my home feels more cozy and welcoming.
• Major project:  Patio (currently 1/2 done!) and yard/garden.
• Chimney caps on remaining open flues (because of the puddles on the basement floor).
• Finish Emergency Binder.

That gives me an outline to decide on the specific tasks that I need to do.  It also provides a checklist because I'm addicted to that feel-good rush from checking things off lists.

That's how I set goals.  I try to make a habit of looking at my list every day to keep me on track.  How do you do it?  What method works best for you?

Cook for 1 or a crowd?

I grew up as a Mormon girl.  And with that came the expectation that I'd need to know how to feed a family.  Cheaply... but still conscious of nutrition and taste.  And while that expectation has never come to fruition, I still find it more comfortable to cook for a crowd than just for me.  Cooking for 1 kind of intimidates me somehow.  Every now and again I try it, though.  This was my latest venture into single portion cooking.

Chocolate Cake-in-a-Cup

4 tablespoons self raising flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
Chocolate chips
A small splash of vanilla extract
2 big coffee mugs to cook the cake in

Mix dry ingredients together. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.  Add the chocolate chips and vanilla extract, and mix again. Divide mixture between the two mugs. Micro-wave on high (1000 watts) for 60 seconds (for one cup, a bit more for two). Allow to cool a little and serve.

Ok.  It actually makes two rather large portions.  It was surprisingly easy and so good!  I'm thinking up variations with different flavors of chips and extracts and toppings now.  Definitely adding this to my dessert repertoire.

But... I'm digressing from the point I wanted to make about how it's easier to cook in family proportions.  Cooking from scratch can be a lot of work.  Hence the popularity of mixes that offer the opportunity to have part of the recipe pre-made.  So many of the convenience mixes from the grocery store (for example... Hamburger Helper, Bisquick, brownie mix) have ingredients that compromise on nutrition and rely on fat and salt for flavor.  Over many years, I've acquired a nice collection of recipes to make my own mixes.  And I want to share them with you.  I also want to grow this blog into something that generates some income from sponsorships, limited advertisement placements, workshops and speaking invitations... that kind of stuff.  Before that can happen I need lots more people to join.

So I'm asking for your help.

Again.

And I'm willing to make it worth something for you.

I've compiled these recipes into a nice booklet called Cooking with Homemade Mixes.  It's 16 pages  of simple to prepare mixes and ideas about how to use them.  Most are completely shelf-stable so they work well to meet your food storage goals. Plus the recipes for Casseroles, Desserts and Soups are designed to be packaged in 1-quart canning jars and are suitable for gift giving.  I've even included simple gift tags with the preparation instructions you can print and attach with a complimenting ribbon.

To get going, you need to join (or be one of the awesome and supportive people who've already joined) then post a message with a link back to my blog on your facebook, twitter, myspace or other social media account OR send emails to at least five of your friends with the link.  Ask your friends to join and post a comment with your name in it.  When I go in to approve comments, I'll just choose not to publish them... but it's a good way for me to keep track.  When 5 people have commented with your name (and anything else they want to say) I'll email you the booklet.  It's really that simple!  Then you can try the recipes out and see if you like them as much as I do.  See if they also taste better and save you money and time in the kitchen.

(Photo credit and recipe props to the blog crumbs: recipes to feed your family)

I've added this post to the Homestead Barn Hop #44

Live Like You Believe

An observer once wrote about George Albert Smith: "His religion is not doctrine in cold storage. It is not theory.  It means more to him than a beautiful plan to be admired.  It is more than a philosophy of life.  To one of his practical turn of mind, religion is the spirit in which a man lives, in which he does things, if it be only to say a kind word or give a cup of cold water.  His religion must find expression in deeds. It must carry over into the details of daily life."

Many times I've said our actions are the natural outpouring of our faith.  If we believe in a God who does good things for us, we will do good for each other.  This was the subject of today's Relief Society lesson... basically reminding each of us to live like we believe.  It made me think of this 10-minute video.

And after I came home and searched out the video again, it made me wonder what my excuse is... Surely, if he could, then I can.

Some Thoughts on Consecration

It's my turn to speak again in Church tomorrow morning and I was given the topic of Consecration.  I started my preparations by looking up the word... Wikipedia gave me these two definitions:

• setting apart for the service of God of both persons and objects, and
• solemn dedication to a special purpose or service.

And it told me that consecration literally means "to associate with the sacred."

In his October 2010 Conference address D. Todd Christofferson quoted Richard L. Evans from the film 'Man's Search for Happiness.'

"Life offers you two precious gifts -- one is time, the other is freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will.  You are free to exchange your allotment of time for thrills.  You may trade it for base desires.  You may invest in greed...

Yours is the freedom to choose.  But these are no bargains, for in them you find no lasting satisfaction.

Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for.  And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement.  And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing.

A prophet of God has said: 'Men are that they might have joy' -- a joy that includes a fullness of life, a life dedicated to service, to love and harmony in the home, and the fruits of honest toil..."

He went on to point out that God designed this mortal existence to require nearly constant exertion.  By work we sustain and enrich life.  It enables us to survive the disappointments and tragedies of our mortal experience.  Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self worth.  Work builds and refines our character, creates beauty and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God.  A consecrated life is filled with work... sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated, but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires.

For evidence that a consecrated life is a life of labor we need only to look to our Savior, who we each try to emulate.  Luke 2:48-49 tells us that "He was about His Father's business" beginning early in His life.  Even God, Himself, is glorified by His work of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of His children.  As His children, we have a natural desire to participate with Him in this work.  Thomas Carlyle said, "All true work is sacred; in all true work there is something of divineness.  Labor, wide as the Earth, has its summit in Heaven."

In Romans 12:1, Paul said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God."  But... how do we do that?  Jesus demonstrated that a consecrated life is a life of service.  We see it in the accounts we have of His day to day life, going about doing good and serving the needs of those He met.  Hours before the agony of His Atonement began, the Lord humbly washed His disciples' feet.  John 13:14-16 tells us the words he said to them:

"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him."

Those who quietly and thoughtfully go about their life doing good offer a model of consecration.  So very often it is our simple acts of kindness that confirm Divine love and awareness to another person as we go about doing good; as we go about seeking for ways to serve and meet the needs of those we come into contact with. Doing this work is how we can best emulate the kind of life the Savior led.

A consecrated life is a beautiful thing.  Its strength and serenity are as the "very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit" in D&C 97:9.  The consecration of many who have gone before us and others who live among us has helped lay the foundation for our happiness just as future generations will take courage from our efforts and see their debt for the possession of all that truly matters.  In making the conscious decision and required effort to consecrate ourselves as sons and daughters of God we have claim on this promise from Moroni 7:48:  "that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is..." We will recognize Him because we've remade ourselves and become like Him by consecrating our hearts, minds and efforts to His service.

I hope this is making you wiggle in your seats just a little bit.  It surely made me wiggle as I was reading and composing thoughts these past few days because it made me see my lack.  It helped me see where I can do better work.  This unknown internet quote came across my computer a couple of days ago, "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled.  For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."  I invite each of you to join me in a challenge to seek to incorporate the concept of consecration more fully into your lives; to make the effort of His work a part of who you are deep inside so that your actions become a natural expression of your faith and hope.  This work is the path to real happiness.