Homemaking Meme

Posted on January 25, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Sallie at A Gracious Home made up a Homemaking meme that looks like fun.

Aprons – Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like?
No — I just don’t usually bother. But that is one reason I love wearing denim jumpers — hardly anything shows!

Baking – Favorite thing to bake?
Cookies.

Clothesline – Y/N?
No, though a retractable one like Sallie mentioned would be good for line-dry items or those times the power is out. We had one in our first home. The South is a buggy place, and too often I would end up bringing little critters in, plus the clothes would be stiff, whereas the dryer made them soft and I usually wouldn’t need to iron them. Plus I like being able to wash and dry whenever and not have to plan around daylight or weather.

Donuts – Have you ever made them?
Not totally from scratch. I made some once that were small and round without holes, and made some using canned biscuits. But I’ve never made yeast donuts.

Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day
The dishes, with occasional exceptions.

Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze?
No. There is no room for one anywhere in our house.

Garbage Disposal – Y/N?
No. I don’t really want one — I was always afraid of one of us accidentally getting fingers caught in there.

Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource?
The Internet. I have, though, just started Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged or Just Plain Tired Homemaker by Lynn Bowen Walker and it looks good. I’ve read The Messies Manual by Sandra Felton and looked at their web site, and I have gotten a lot out of Confessions of an Organized Homemaker by Deniece Schofield. But I like to glean what works for me from the books I read and not be tied down to one person’s “system.” For instance, Sandra Felton strongly recommends, almost insists on wearing shoes when you are housecleaning so that mentally you know you’re getting down to business and are not tempted to get distracted. Well, I’m sorry, I was raised barefoot and never got over it. 🙂 I rarely wear shoes unless I am going outside the house, and shoes have no bearing at all on how down-to-business I am when I clean.

Ironing – Love it or hate it? Or hate it but love the results?
I don’t mind it once I get started, but I hate to think about doing it. If I hang things up straight out of the dryer, there are only a handful of things that need ironing.

Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it?
In what we call the “dry sink” in the kitchen.

Kitchen – Color and decorating scheme
The lower part of the wallpaper is pink and white stripes and the upper part is a white background with pink roses and some small blue flowers, and a border with pink roses and blue edging connects them. The floors are a just-off-whiet linoleum with blue and pink lines. The kitchen sink and counters are blue (but they clash with each other, which drives me buggy if I think about it). The cabinets are a natural wood color.

Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?
This might sound redundant. but being able to be home.

Mop – Y/N?
I use one of those Swiffer wet things, but it needs a more thorough scrubbing right now.

Nylons – Wash by hand or in the washing machine?
I only wear knee-his and put them in a lingerie bag in the washer.

Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check?
Have to open the door as our light doesn’t work.

Pizza – What do you put on yours?
Pepperoni and sausage.

Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Check my e-mail or Bloglines or a couple of online forums.

Recipe card box – Y/N? What does it look like?
No. I made a scrapbook-type notebook for recipes.

Style of house – What style is your house?
Kind of a nondescript split level, about 35 years old, beige with brown trim. I’d love to change the colors, but that’s out of my hands. 🙂

Tablecloths and napkins – Y/N?
Only on special occasions.

Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland?
Sort of organized. It needs to be cleaned out. But I have a place for things and know where to find them.

Vacuum – How many times per week?
My kids do most of the vacuuming, and my desire would be to have it done once a week. But since they are only home on Saturdays and sometimes there are other things going on then, it’s more like every 2, sometimes 3 weeks. Our family room needs and gets it the most — that’s where everyone tracks in leaves or drops crumbs of food.

Wash – How many loads of laundry do you do per week?
Never counted it up before, but it is at least 8-10. I’ll have to make a note of that this week! I try to keep it within two separate days, but sometimes it spills over into more than that.

X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
Only on my most busy days. Many days I do have something of a mental list.

Yard – Y/N? Who does what?
My husband and sons do most of that. I’d like to do something with the flower beds but can’t physically.

Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
Most days it is cleaning up the kitchen, though occasionally most often Wed. nights after prayer meeting) will leave them til morning.

If you would like to participate or read others’ answers, go here.

A Soup Kind of Day

Posted on January 12, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I love soups in the winter, and today looks like a good soup day: grey and cold.

I especially love potato soups (like any of the kinds McAlister’s Deli has. No, this is not a paid ad. 🙂 ) I’ve collected a number of potato soup recipes but haven’t tried any of them yet — except this one, because it is quick. I found it in a Quick Cooking magazine (now called Simple and Delicious) (one of Taste of Home’s spinoffs). It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s good.

Corny Potato Chowder

4 bacon strips, diced
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 can (15 oz.) whole potatoes, drained and diced
2 cups milk
1 can (14 – 3/4 oz.) cream-style corn
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/8 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan, cook the bacon and onion until bacon is almost crisp; drain. Add potatoes; saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the milk, corn, garlic salt, and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, until heated through. Yield: 4-6 servings.

I use the already-cooked-just-microwave bacon (we don’t use bacon very often, so that works well for us), then just mix all the other ingredients together and heat through. I don’t use that much onion either — more like a tablespoon of minced onion. And I use garlic powder rather than garlic salt and just add a few sprinkles of salt. I also buy the already diced canned potatoes.

We were talking about low-fat, low-calorie eating earlier this week — and this probably would not fit into that category. It would help to make it with skim or 1 % milk, and I’m sure not sauteing the potatoes in bacon grease helps a little as well.

Works For Me Wednesday: Healthy Eating

Posted on January 10, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Shannon, hostess of WFMW at Rocks in My Dryer, suggested that since so many were talking about needing to lose weight or make healthier eating choices, we should do a themed WFMW today sharing our tips on healthy (low-fat, low-calorie, low-sugar) recipes.

I didn’t really think I had anything. I don’t think a lot of what I make is excessively high-calorie, but it’s not really low-calorie either. There’s baked chicken or fish — toss in the oven with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and minced onion and a little margarine — but to me that’s kind of blah. OK for every now and then but nothing to get really excited about. I think that’s one thing that makes the dieting seem so depressing to me — having to eat like that all the time. So I am really looking forward to reading and gleaning from the other recipes and tips posted today.

I did happen to think of a couple of side dishes I make that would work for this theme.

Vegetable Medley

1 1/2 c. fresh broccoli cut into small pieces
1 1/2 c. fresh cauliflower cut into small pieces
1 1/2 c. baby carrots, sliced
1 T minced onion
1/2 c. water
1 T. instant chicken bouillon

Mix all ingredients. Microwave on high 3 minutes. Stir. Microwave another 3 minutes. Stir. Adjust cooking time according to how well-cooked you like your vegetables. We like our between crisp and mushy.

This is really an adjustable recipe. I don’t measure it out like that, but I was trying to give some kind of idea of amounts and proportions. You can use any kind of vegetables in any amounts that you like. I imagine it would work fine with frozen vegetables, though you’d have a longer cooking time, of course. For a really quick side dish, I’ve even poured a can of Veg-All into a bowl, added a little minced onion and instant chicken bouillon, and microwaved.

Fruit and Yogurt Salad

I have a dear friend who is a whiz at just throwing together really tasty and simple things, and once at her house she mixed some fruit, some vanilla yogurt, and sprinkled it with granola, and it was wonderful. A few months ago at a baby shower brunch I was asked to bring some kind of fruit dish, and made this. A couple of ladies really liked it and asked for the recipe. I told them it was basically any fruit + yogurt sprinkled with granola, but they wanted specifics. So this is the combination I made that day.

1 can tropical fruit, drained
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can pineapple bits, drained
2 bananas, sliced
1 small container low-fat vanilla yogurt
Granola or granola cereal

Mix all ingredients except granola and refrigerate. Sprinkle granola on top just before serving.

You could use fresh fruits, of course. My husband has somehow developed an allergy to most fresh fruits, but can tolerate canned or cooked, so that’s mostly what we have on hand. And most canned ones come in a “lite” version packed in juice or water rather than syrup, and that’s what we use.

Also on this theme, a few days ago I posted a link my son sent me called “What Does 200 Calories Look Like?” (though I did wonder if that should be “do” rather than “does.” But it has a page full of pictures of how much of different kinds of foods add up to 200 calories. It’s an eye-opener.

I’m off to Shannon’s for more great healthy eating tips!

Sewing

Posted on January 9, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Now that the recipient has received this, I can talk about it without spoiling any surprises. 🙂

A few months ago I had asked my youngest sister for Christmas gift ideas for my step-father. He’s always hard to buy for because he works so much that he doesn’t really have any time for hobbies or outside interests, and since I’m not right there I’m not aware of personal or household things he might need. She mentioned that a nightshirt I had made for him years ago was about worn out. Perfect, I thought. Not only is that something he could use and would like, but it was also have a more personal touch since I’d be making it (I’d looked for them in the stores before and couldn’t find them; my sister said she had bought some, but he said they weren’t the same — I think maybe because I use flannel and the ones in the store are just a woven, broadcloth type of fabric.)

So I had this great idea and good intentions, but I didn’t get going on it right away, and then our church’s ladies’ group missionary Christmas project came up, then Christmas activities, and I sadly realized I wasn’t going to get it done by Christmas. However, his birthday is a few days after Christmas, so I aimed for that.

When I went shopping I was looking for blues and browns, but all I could find were reds. I wasn’t quite sure if he’d like that, but…it was all I could find.

I have to admit I am not a confidant seamstress. I have to pray over my sewing. I tend to make really dumb mistakes. And there is something about either the way my brain works or the way sewing instructions are written that just does not mesh. Oh, basic side seams, sleeves, even buttonholes are fine. I have never been able to do zippers according to any instructions I have read — I had to figure out my own way (and I usually avoid zippers if what I am sewing can be pulled over my head. Thankfully this project had no zippers.) This nightshirt had neckline instructions that just did not make sense, even with reading them over a number of times (and even with having made this pattern before). So what I have to do in those situations is to take it step by step and do what the instructions say line by line. Sometimes in the middle of it, then I can understand what to do. Sometimes, though, even then it doesn’t really make sense to me, but somehow, praying over it the whole time, it comes out like it’s supposed to.

At some point in this process this time, I thought, you know, the Christian life is a lot like that. Some of God’s instructions don’t make sense until we are in or on the other side of a situation. Sometimes even then we don’t understand quite why or how it all worked, but — we know Him, we know His character, we know He has a reason for what He asks. And we walk by faith.

I guess I could say I sew by faith. 🙂

Well, anyway, it finally all came together — not perfectly, but no major disasters along the way (thank you, Lord!) It was in a plaid fabric, and I tried to match the plaids at crucial places. The side seams were easy to match (I just hate to see plaid garments where the plaid lines along the side seams are “off”), but the neckline was trickier. My sister did e-mail me that my step-father really liked it, even the color. So I am glad. 🙂 Here is the finished product:

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Keeping on top of kitchen clean-up

Posted on January 2, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Some years ago when I was very sick and out of commission for several weeks, and my poor dear husband had the household duties heaped on top of his work schedule and caring for the kids, he implemented something that I thought was a great idea. Every night following the usual kitchen duties of cleaning up after the meal, loading the dishwasher, wiping off the table and counters, etc., he would do one “extra” kitchen job, like cleaning the hood over the range or cleaning the microwave. That way all those extra little jobs didn’t pile up into the need for a big major overhaul which he didn’t have time for.

I don’t do that every night, but I do it occasionally, and it does help maintain the kitchen in a better level of cleanliness.

For more helpful workable tips or to link to your own, see Rocks In My Dryer.

Buttons

Posted on December 30, 2006 by Barbara Harper

Some weeks ago I saw the cutest little soft trees at The Sparrow’s Nest (wonderful blog with many homemaking posts). I haven’t made them yet (still want to!) From her link I found the pattern for the trees at little bird’s handmade. While there I looked around (lovely site! I highly recommend it if you want to get inspired about crafting!) and discovered these adorable button wreaths here and here. I have always loved buttons — I don’t know what it is about them — and this looked so cute and easy. But I had so much so do for Christmas, then some other responsibilities this past week, and last night was the first chance I got to attempt them.

I couldn’t really get an idea of the scale for them from the pictures. I googled “button wreath” and found some other people had made them about 3 1/2 inches high. I began to look through my button collection and saw all the heart-shaped ones (one of my other loves is heart-shaped things), and thought — Hey! Maybe I could make a heart-shaped one! I Googled “heart shape” to find a pattern (my free-hand stuff, even simple shapes, is way wobbly) and found one the size and shape I wanted — I wanted this one to be a little bigger — and printed it off on card stock. The tricky part was making the heart-shaped hole in the middle for a wreath, but between measuring, my husband scanning and printing a smaller size of the heart shape, and eye-balling it, I finally got an acceptable shape. I cut the heart-shaped pattern out of cardboard. Then I decided I wanted to do a small ornament with a heart shape, but not with the whole in the middle. I didn’t think that would need to be as heavy as the cardboard, so I got one of those thin pieces of cardboard from the back of a package of computer stationery (I knew I had been saving those for a good reason! 🙂 ) for it.

Basically you just glue buttons on to the shape. I started with flat, plain buttons and added the shaped and decorative ones on top as I filled in spaces. I used a small hot glue gun. I imagine craft glue or tacky glue would work, but would take longer to dry and work with. I glued a ribbon for hanging it on the back, then backed them both with white felt (I read that some other used decorative paper for backing).

I was so pleased with the results!! Here is the ornament:

I realized afterward that the little Christmas tree is a charm rather than a button, but that’s ok. 🙂

Here is the wreath:

I just love the vintage look, even though none of the buttons are vintage. Some of them I’ve collected over the years; many were from little bags of them that Michael’s used to sell (I don’t know if they still do — I am going to check!!)

The ornament is about 3 1/2 inches; the wreath is 6 inches. The larger wreath does take up a lot more buttons, so I’d go with a small one unless you just have a lot of buttons you need to use up. 🙂

I haven’t done much of anything crafty for a long time, and I was delighted to get back into it with these projects. I want to make some more next year for other people. I’ve been enjoying looking at various crafting blogs over the last several weeks and excited about doing some new projects this year! 🙂

By the way, I’ve found all kinds of variations on the little soft trees I mentioned at first. My favorites are the ones at The Sparrow’s Nest, little birds handmade, turkey feathers, and Mississippi Girl, but there are many variations — there are some creative people out there! There is even a Flickr category for them!

One of THE best things to do with leftover ham

Posted on December 26, 2006 by Barbara Harper

…is Swiss Ham Ring Around.

I first saw it on a grocery store pad of recipes, I think put out by the Pillsbury Company.

1 cup fresh or frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
1 tablespoon margarine or butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped parsley or parsley flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 can Crescent Rolls
Grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350°F. In large mixing bowl, combine margarine, parsley, onion, mustard and lemon juice: blend well. Add cheese, broccoli and ham: mix lightly. Set aside. Separate crescent dough into triangles. On greased cookie sheet, arrange triangles points toward the outside, in a circle with bases overlapping. The center opening should be about 3″. Spoon ham filling in a ring evenly over the bases of triangles. Fold points of triangles over filling and tuck under bases of triangles at center of circle. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until golden.

I usually leave out the parsley, and I don’t cook the broccoli thoroughly since the mixture is going to be baked.

It’s hard to know what to serve with it, though. Tonight I just had carrot sticks with it. Sometimes I’ve made macaroni and cheese as a side dish. Since it has bread, vegetables, cheese, and meat all together, though, you can just serve it alone if you’d like. 🙂

FiddleDeeDee at It Coulda’ Been Worse has started Saturday Stirrings where we can share favorite recipes and find new favorites. I hope you will join in!

I am using an archived post this week. This is one of my most-often searched for posts, especially right after Easter and Christmas. 🙂 So I am just going to link to it rather than copying and reposting.

Harvest Loaf Cake

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Barbara Harper

A few days ago in the Holiday Meme, I mentioned that Harvest Loaf Cake was one of our favorite holiday desserts. I had originally gotten the recipe from a friend when I had it at her house. She and I both moved away and lost touch, and, even though I have given this recipe out to individuals, I felt a little funny putting it out there in cyberspace: I didn’t want to be giving away some cherished family recipe to the whole world. Plus I was the only person I knew who made it, so there was a little bit of wanting to keep this as one of my signature dishes. Then my friend DeAnna mentioned searching the Internet for the recipe. I had never thought of that, so I searched, and, lo and behold, I found several copies of it with a few slight variations. So, since it is already “out there,” I decided to post the recipe I have:

Harvest Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. pumpkin, canned or cooked
3/4 c. chocolate chips
3/4 c. nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cream butter or margarine in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar. Cream at high speed with mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. At low speed or by hand add and mix in dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin; begin and end with dry ingredients, blending well after each addition. Add chocolate chips and 1/2 c. nuts. Pour into pan and sprinkle with 1/4 c. nuts. Bake 65 to 75 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Drizzle with glaze. Let stand six hours before slicing. (Recipe will also make three small loaves; bake 50-55 minutes.)

Glaze:

1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 to 2 tbsp. milk

I use canned Libby’s pumpkin for this, and one can will be enough for two batches, so I always make two at one time (or six small loaves). (There is always a dollop of pumpkin left that I never know what to do with. I used to save it until it became green and fuzzy: now I toss it. Any ideas for an extra 1/4 – 1/3 c. of pumpkin?) This recipe also freezes extremely well. (By the way, we have never let it stand six hours before slicing. 😀 )

I have to admit I am not the best of cooks: I alluded to baking disasters in an earlier post. Even though I follow the directions exactly, oftentimes my end result is not what the finished product is supposed to look like. But this comes out perfectly every time (a credit to whoever invented this recipe in the first place). Here is one of the small loaves from a batch I made last night:

Even though the name sounds more like an autumn recipe, we like to use it for the holidays. I don’t make it at Christmas because we have all those pies then, but usually some time in early December I make some for us and some for gifts.

And Sheri, if you ever read this, thank you for this recipe! It has become a treasured family favorite and a favorite to give as well.

(Sharing with Hearth and Soul)

A book review and a bit of a rant

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Barbara Harper

Lynn Austin’s A Woman’s Place was not on my fall reading list — I don’t think I have read anything of hers before and was unaware of this book until a few weeks ago when I saw it on the shelf of our local Christian bookstore. It caught my eye, but I bypassed it a couple of times before finally deciding to give it a try. It’s the story of four women who, for various reasons, find themselves working at a shipyard during World War II. I don’t want to give away many of the details and spoil it for those who might want to read it, but it covers a lot of ground for one book: the individual stories of each of the women and how they came together, the negative attitudes toward women in the work place, the fate of the husbands, brothers, family members, and friends fighting overseas, the resistance to African-American workers, and journeys of faith. Overall the story was good and I learned a few things I had not known about that era in time.

There were two elements of the book, though, that disturbed, saddened, and frustrated me — it especially disturbed me to find them in Christian fiction from a Christian author.

The first was the demeaning attitude towards housewives. To be fair, I do understand that in a work of fiction the characters are going to hold to and espouse views that are not the author’s and that that provides some of the conflict and plot development in the book. I’m sure that the issues raised were ones that were discussed many times over by people in those situations at that time (and they still are being discussed today). Yet this attitude was presented over and over by most of the characters in many situations, with the phrase “just a housewife” being used over and over, the attitude that one could not be fulfilled or find herself by being “just a housewife,” the attitude that there were many occupations worthier and more important than being “just a housewife.” There was only one female character who had anything positive to say about being “just a housewife” and who viewed it as a ministry of loving God and others.

In all honesty, I hate the term “housewife,” because I am not married to my house. I prefer the word “homemaker” because that is what I see as my first ministry: making a home for my loved ones, a home not just in the physical sense of cleaning and cooking (though that does make up the bulk of the work), but a home where my loved ones can find respite, where they can be nurtured and can grow. Realistically, no, it’s not always romantically idyllic, and, yes, there are moments of drudgery. I think many homemakers do have times of feeling unnoticed and unappreciated as Ginny did in the book. But I think that occurs in any occupation. I don’t think the only solution to that is to go find something more “important” and “fulfilling.” I think the solution is to do everything, even the most humbling tasks, as unto the Lord, to find ways to incorporate beauty and creativity and mental stimulation into everyday life, to reach out to others and find ways of ministering. I wouldn’t say that no Christian wife and mother should ever work outside the home. But I do find my God-given role as a wife and mother both important and fulfilling.

The second recurring theme that bothered me was the defiant, argumentative “standing up to” people, especially people in authority. Now, again, I want to be balanced: I do believe in standing up for what one believes, standing up against injustice, etc. Near the end of the book one of the characters, the wife of a rather domineering and authoritarian husband, says, “The Bible says I must honor you, and I always have. But that doesn’t mean that I must always agree with you. And it doesn’t mean that I can’t tell you what I think.” I do agree with that. But I don’t agree with the spirit that manifested itself in many characters and situations in the book. I think it was wrong for Ginny to defy her husband’s wishes by continuing to work. It’s not that I objected to the plot line, but it bothered me that everyone, even the professing Christians, encouraged her to do so. I’ve been taught that wifely submission is not just the idea that “If push comes to shove…,” “If he insists…,” “If he makes me…, ” then I have to do what he says, but rather it is a voluntary arranging oneself under the husband’s leadership. The only time I could see Biblical justification for a wife to outright defy a husband’s wishes would be if a Scriptural principle were involved (Acts 4:18-20). Again, if this just came up in this one plot line, it would be one thing, but this “standing up to” people with a defiant attitude came up so often it seemed to me to be a theme rather than just an individual plot line.

Those are my impressions, having just finished the book this morning.

Thanksgiving decorations

Posted on December 1, 2006 by Barbara Harper

(Friday’s Feast post is below.)

Before I change gears completely from Thansgiving to Christmas (I know, I know, most people are in full-fledged Christmas mode already. I like a little lag time inbetween 🙂 ), I wanted to post a few of my Thanksgiving decorations. I didn’t put up many fall decorations at all — it was just too busy to get them up. But I did want to add a few Thanksgiving touches.

These are my little pilgrims and Indians. I got them at a craft show in GA when we lived there. That craft show is one of the things I miss most about that place! There don’t seem to be many here in SC any more.

My husband got this Boyd’s Bear figurine for me on my birthday in August. ♥ I love those leaves — I got them through a home party called Home Interiors several years ago and I haven’t seen anything like them since. I’d love to find more. They have the fall colors only muted and pinkish, which works well in my house with pink in several rooms.

Here is a close-up of the figurine: