Pioneer Woman at Heart

  I have stored ginger root in my freezer for years.  I simply wash and dry it on a vegetable drying mat. I wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and tuck into a freezer bag.  I simply take it out when I need it, and re-wrap it and put it back in the freezer. Recently, I have learned of a second way to store it.  Thanks to the cooking channel and learning new tips and tricks in the kitchen. Cut and peel the ginger root.  Place in an air tight glass jar with sherry or brandy, and place in your refrigerator.  Hm.  It will be nice to have it already peeled. I've dubbed my home "loony lane" for this month.  My husband is putting down the hammer, added with a time limit, to get the bedroom packed up and off the carpet.  The problem is, he doesn't understand I can't do it all by myself with that amount of time. I swear, he is going to make me lose my mind.  I had to drag him into the walk-in closet and explain that everything on two shelving units ...

I pulled the last two bags of garden carrots from the freezer.  I added them to dinner last night, and made Honey-Ginger Carrots.  It's very simple to make too.   (Homemade tuna and noodle using homemade mushroom soup and soy free tuna, honey-ginger carrots and organic peas). Boil the carrots

You would think the jalapeno's in the chili would have opened my sinuses but they did not.  I ended up brewing up hot ginger tea and that seemed to do the trick. Sadie enjoyed her homemade dog food.  She devoured it.  I give thanks to the blog " With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart " for posting the references and information regarding making homemade dog food. 

With some fresh cut broccoli, and sugar snap peas, I thought it would be a perfect time to make a chicken stir fry (over organic brown rice).  I whipped up a batch of homemade teriyaki sauce for it.  And there really is organic soy sauce.  Check for it in the organic section of your store, or near the regular soy sauce.  Not all stores carry it.   Also, I use one brand (Wholesome Sweeteners) of light corn syrup that does not contain high fructose corn syrup.  It is organic and non-gmo verified.  I do have to order it online from a healthy living store.  Our stores here do not carry it. 

Yesterday I made 2 loaves of homemade Steel Cut Oat Bread.  This was a first time recipe for me.  I have never used steel cut oats in a homemade bread before. This is another "from pile to file" recipe....

From Pile..... . . .to File - Extreme Clean. I pulled another magazine page from my hoarded pile of recipes, and made Woman's Day magazine's Ginger Bars (Sept. 2010, just Google the recipe and you'll find the site). I'll admit, I had my doubts about this recipe. We are still experiencing cold temperatures, so baking in the kitchen just helps heat this place up a bit.  Speaking of heat, Hubby installed the new auger on the pellet stove last night and we fired it up.  It is so nice to have heat again.  

Of course, organic ginger root is best, however we rarely find it in our grocery stores.  We typically find it at a nature store about 2 1/2 hours from here.  Why don't they have more of those stores everywhere?  We really could use one here.

Don't throw tomatoes at me just yet. Ha ha!  I found this wonderful book at our library.  It's full of edible gift ideas (many that are brilliant ideas for handmade/homemade Christmas gifts), and there are a few that I plan to try early this year.  Just sharing in case you are looking for new ideas.

(the beautiful snowflake kitchen towel was part of a Christmas gift from my Mom) Here we go again.  Cough, cold, and flu season.  However, I used my youngest daughter's technique with Google ("no time to shop" but it's really no way to get out of the driveway,  and the fact I need to make it with what I have on hand and stay warm inside), and came up with a cough syrup recipe.  We got dumped with snow, and today by afternoon the temps will be that glorious -20° to -40F.  Even banks closed today.  So....  (don't forget to click on "read more")

The temperature here dropped to the 20's last night, so I made soup to warm us all up.  I admit, I had my doubts that the kids would eat this soup, and I was pretty sure a few would refuse to even taste it. I've been experimenting this week with sweet potatoes.  They were on sale, so I stocked up on some.  This recipe comes from Allrecipes , and contains sweet potatoes, carrots, an onion and an apple.  It also contains freshly grated ginger and red lentils too.

I have been looking through some of the recipes I collected over last summer.  Recipes that I had not yet tried.  I found one that uses sorghum, and I just had to bake it!  I buy locally produced sorghum and honey, so I had the ingredients.  I just adapted it with organic ingredients and our fresh farm eggs. Sorghum is still a form of sugar, so it is not recommended for diabetics.  However, from the articles I have read, most forms of sorghum do not contain gluten.  And like Molasses, it is a good source for iron, potassium, and calcium.  In one article, I read that it contains more antioxidants than blueberries.  I find this interesting.

Although my naughty hens got into one strawberry beds, I was able to pick enough for a delicious summer fruit salad.  Here is the recipe for the dressing: