Pioneer Woman at Heart

(2018 photo, the last time we grew them on the homestead) There was a point when organic butter at the grocery store became horribly high priced.  It's still high, but I try to stock up when they have coupons or a sale. However, I learned something new!  I have not tried it yet, but I have pie pumpkins planted this year.   There are concerns all over this country dealing with certain foods, shortages, price hikes and the like.   Most people are aware you can substitute unsweetened applesauce for oil when baking, but this next tidbit is new to me. You can substitute pumpkin puree for oil or butter when baking, using 1 to 1 ratio.  Meaning if your recipe calls for 1 cup oil, use 1 cup pumpkin puree. At harvest time, I roast the pumpkins (cut in half as shown in the photo), and let them cool down.  I scrape out the pumpkin, puree it in the food processor and freeze it in freezer containers. Of course there are many other uses for pumpkin puree, and w...

I don't know what I was thinking.  I had plans to clean a bathroom, muck the coop, do more decluttering. . . I managed to walk the box of borax to the bathroom though, and dug a few plastic storage drawers from the barn and washed them up. . . . . . being lazy, I skipped my work out (the horror!) after all my him-hawing, and baked a sweet potato/black bean frittata with dandelion greens.

After a trip to the library, I was back home baking yesterday. I was blessed with overly ripe bananas, so first I made banana bread (using my canned applesauce).  While that was baking, I mixed ingredients for the next item - chewy granola bars.  Lunch packings are now re-stocked.

Winter has been the strangest ever this year.  On Tuesday, we had rain, then snow, then rain again, then snow again, then rain and temperatures up to the 40's.   The house was still a bit chilly, so I baked two snacks for the family.  One, I baked Black bean Fudge Cakes (only in an 8 x 8 inch pan), and another batch of Zucchini Muffins.  Yum!  The oven warmed up the kitchen, and the Black Bean Fudge Cake was pretty good.  I love recipes from Clean Eating magazine.  I can use my raw honey, home canned applesauce and this eliminated the cost of flour.   The day before, I cooked up a large bag of dry black beans, so I reserved some for my cake.  A perfect way to keep "desserts" healthy around here (and low cost). Although, I can say the Black Bean Fudge "bars" were not the kids favorite.  They gobbled up the Zucchini muffins first.

Sunday morning breakfast consisted of whole wheat blueberry pancakes with homemade honey syrup , sausage and a side of Jicama hash browns. We have never tried Jicama, and know that it's also called a "Mexican Potato."   (midway through cooking) I peeled it, shredded it, and fried it.  First I diced an onion and cooked it in canola oil, then add the shredded Jicama with salt and pepper.   It is sweet.  Not what I was expecting, but pretty good anyway.  It contains no fat and is very low in carbs.  Next time I will add some garden green peppers to the onion.

I spent the other day mixing up several jars of Cinnamon Honey Butter.  They will be gifted for Christmas.

Although I have found recipes for applesauce breads using yeast, I needed something quicker yesterday. I used a Banana-Applesauce Recipe that didn't require any oil, butter, or shortening.   This turned out nice, and we didn't even make the optional frosting for it.  I love recipes where I can utilize something I already have made homemade, such as my applesauce.

 According to my kids, it "sounds nasty" and looks nasty.  However, it tastes pretty good.  I've been looking for healthier meals, and more with vegetables we don't eat enough of. The photo isn't that great, but it was taken at night.  Our lighting isn't that great in the kitchen. It's baked with a crust and the vegetables are topped on it.  The recipe did not say to cover the dish, and the onions got crispy and delicious.  The onions are what gives this dish flavor. Cabbage and Carrot Cobbler 1 cup water 4 cups shredded green cabbage 1 cup shredded carrots 2 onions sliced 1 1/4 cup plain White Wave dairyless (see notes) 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 2 tsp. low-sodium baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup soy or rice milk 2 Tbsp. olive oil Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the water, cabbage, carrots and onion in a large pot.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Uncover and co...

I love a bread recipe that makes 2 loaves.  With our family size, it's the best way for me to make the most of a recipe.  I love this recipe, as it contains two items from my garden, is another use for our eggs, and uses butter. Our long term goal is to have a jersey cow and make our own butter. Zucchini Pumpkin Bread 1 cup butter (or stick margarine) 2 cups sugar 3 eggs, beaten (or 3/4 cup egg substitute) 1 Tbsp. vanilla 1 cup grated zucchini 1 cup canned pumpkin (I used pie pumpkin puree) 3 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. cloves (ground) 1 cup chopped nuts Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, vanilla, zucchini, and pumpkin, and mix well.  Combine other ingredients and then add to creamed mixture.  Blend well and pour into 2 greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pans.  Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 2 loaves (Source:  The Zucchin...

The crusts were made using crushed homemade whole wheat (honey) graham crackers.  I really need to buy another pie pan.  The clear glass one is a teensy too small.  It's not as big as my other one.  My  9 year-old helped with the crusts.    I have never baked a pumpkin pie from home grown (or store bought) pie pumpkins.  I used my own home grown ones for these pies, and put more puree in my freezer.  There were so delicious.   Of course our farm fresh eggs went into this pie.  I used a recipe from Allrecipes, that required a can of sweetened condensed milk, but now I am searching for a recipe that uses yogurt instead. Once I learn to make yogurt from raw milk, I can make these pies even more homemade, avoiding high fructose corn syrup and other unwanted elements. I found this recipe to try when we do make our own yogurt: Alton Brown's Yogurt Pumpkin Pie You can't get more "pioneer" than that.   (The...

I kept about 3 cups crushed, homemade graham crackers.  I also have about 3 cups puree pumpkin I kept for making 2 homemade pumpkin pies.  I may post picture of those pies later, or tomorrow.

Today is another bean baking day.  Although I should be cooking up more navy beans, I decided to cook 2 pounds of dry chickpeas.  These freeze well after they have been cooked, rinsed and drained well.  Typically, I use them for hummus, but these are nice for other recipes as well.

While hanging my sheets on the clothesline, several things came to mind.  The peace and quiet out there some how triggers my thoughts into over drive. I'm already starting to save the waxed liners from boxed cereal.  Those are washed and dried, and cut into squares to line between zucchini pancakes that are frozen.  The arrival of planting season makes me think of all that zucchini we grow, and what I need to be doing with it to save us money on food and cook healthy. Each year we have learned what we can do better than the last, and prepare for canning, freezing, growing, and saving seeds.  Each year we prepare better than the last, gain knowledge, and eat healthier. Even though we spent about 4 hours shoveling snow, I was able to get in 2 loads of laundry, make homemade chili, and write a rough draft for a book review. I will share the book review later today or in the next few days, depending on my chores.  I need to write in several journals, updating...

We did not get the 4 1/2 inches of predicted snow.  We did, however, get a layer of freezing rain.  You can see it on my clothesline.  The photo is not the greatest.  The wind was horrible this morning, and still is. Today, I am baking up 2 lbs. of dry kidney beans, and 3 lbs. of dry black beans. 

Getting back to the gym, after being sick, has been great for me.  The sun shining today is always a welcome to my body and soul. Today, we are trying a new fruit - Pummelo.  It is best for jam and jellies.  It's been fun trying new foods. I'm still plugging away on another hope chest blanket.  My goal was 2 rows a night, and I've pretty much kept up with that.  It's about 60 inches wide. Besides reading library books, magazines, and my Bible, I have been working on more articles.  Items added to my mini "bucket list":  dehydrate eggs, can grape jelly, and add hand towels to the Christmas crochet list.

Today is bread baking day, and not the bread you are probably thinking about.  I grated and froze many bags of zucchini from last year's summer garden, and they bless us with zucchini bread.  Two loaves are already baking as I post this. Next on the list - banana bread.  Every time I bake, certain things come to mind.  For example, I added applesauce in place of oil in the first recipe, and it reminded me to can applesauce this coming year.  I now have a "mini" bucket list of items I need to start making from scratch, and a "to-do" list for other things that come to mind.  I typically use stone ground, preservative free whole wheat for my 1/2 of the white flour.  Each summer I make one or two trips and store it in my freezer.  When I bake, I make notes on my lists, as to what I need to stock up on and what I am running out of.  Each year I can plan it much better than the previous year. These breads are wonderful for my kids lunch pac...