How I almost lost my sanity or "more mindless garden talk"

I have clearly lost my mind. Why are you laughing? Let me explain...

We have added 5 new gardens to our existing 3 Square Foot gardens.
Each garden has 16 squares to plant a crop. Some crops can be planted 16 to a square (like carrots).
16 x 8 = an insane amount of crops to plant for which no human being has enough time in the world, let alone a busy homeschool mom with too much on her plate already.
Did you catch all that? OK, now you can laugh and pity me and take me out to dinner.

OK, so after I evaluated my sanity, I realized that I didn't have to plant everything in one afternoon, or one day, or even one week. Whew! Sanity saved. I remembered that Square Foot gardens practice staggered planting so that you aren't harvesting all of the same crop at the same time. Also, I take care of three girls during the week and guess what they will be doing for a few afternoons. That's right! Forced labor in the name of education. Don't send me a nasty comment. I am kidding. Sort of. No, I'm kidding.

Check it out! We now have enough squares to technically feed our family all the veggies we can possibly eat! And they are organic!

The triplets - Gardens 6, 7 & 8

The twins - Gardens 4 & 5

The three gardens from Fall 2011 - Gardens 1, 2 & 3 - still producing!

It can't all be veggies. French Lavender! 

It's time for Thyme! Sorry, that was corny. German and french thyme.

I never can have enough parsley. I've added three new plants. 

I've trench planted my tomatoes this year.
Interested to see how it goes.

This is the only bunny I ever want to catch in my garden!

two new broccoli plants. They won't be producing very long and
will be replaced by something else later on. Stevia (yes, the sweetener) is the plant
on the front left. Oregano on the front right. 

here we go again... my dog thinks we have built snack bins for her.
She will NOT stay out of the dirt! 

Strawberries! A new crop this year.

Eggplant - another newbie!

What Homeschooling and Cookies have in Common

Homeschooling your children is a little like baking cookies. We all have different recipes our families enjoy. Some insist on all organic ingredients right from their own farm. Some use a box mix. Some experiment with a mixture of home grown and store bought ingredients. Some get their recipe from the internet, a friend, or a cook book. Some recipes were passed down over the generations. Sometimes we even try out a new recipe now and then. Some are nuts... errrr... I mean throw in nuts.

When you are a guest in someone's home and served cookies, would you ever criticize the recipe? Would you say "You didn't do this correctly. You should have used all organic ingredients!". Never! That would be rude. However, if the hostess asked for your advice on cookie baking or asked about your favorite recipe, you would gladly share and it would be gladly received. You would be excited to give your friend your favorite sources for ingredients or a favorite recipe. They may try your recipe or get your ingredients and find their family dislikes it. Would you be offended? Of course not. Every family is different. Would you insist if they didn't make the cookies "the old fashioned way", by hand mixing the ingredients like you, that they were, in fact, not baking cookies at all? Ridiculous. Would you argue that your family recipe would always be better than any new recipe off the internet? You might if you were not open to trying new recipes.

Recently, I came across a line of discussion on a homeschool group where women were debating the issue of supplementing home educating with outside classes. Several old time home educators were criticizing one mother who had decided that what was best for their family was to supplement a class or two outside the home. They so much as told her that she was not, in fact, homeschooling at all because she was supplementing with outside classes. It made me so sad that these women have now instead of graciously presenting their favorite recipe for homeschooling, are criticizing others with words that cut and divide.

It made me pause to think of why these old time home educators might be reacting this way. I thought about these women and the fact that they were home educating when it was illegal or very soon after it became legal. They knew that this right was precious and hard fought. Did they perhaps think that these modern homeschool families were spitting in the face of this hard fought freedom? Maybe they are thinking "We fought for you to educate your children at home and now you are ending up right back in a classroom setting. How ungrateful of you." Now we are getting somewhere.

When our forefathers were fighting for their independence against the British, there was hard feelings against the British. We shot the British. A generation later, those feelings lessened. That energy was put to the task of growing the nation. They no longer pointed the business end of a gun at a visiting Brit. They remembered their past, but moved on.

Same with homeschooling. Yes, those freedoms were hard fought and we honor their struggle. We also keep an eye out to protect those freedoms. But homeschooling is legal now. We don't have to hide in the shadows and homeschool our children. We proudly exclaim that our children are home educated. We gather in huge groups and encourage each other. We even form small groups and educate each other's children. We bring in experts to educate our children in areas we ourselves are not well-versed in in. So let's celebrate our freedoms and our differences. Old timers, celebrate the fact that our newbies are spreading their wings and searching out new and different ways to educate their children. You might even learn something from them. They might even learn something from you.

But, unless asked, keep your recipe to yourself and go add some nuts to your own organic fruitcake cookies. Great, now I'm hungry for cookies.

A yummy Gluten/Egg/Dairy Free Dessert

I was determined to make a yummy snack for a friend that is gluten/dairy/egg free. That was a challenge, but not impossible. Call me silly, but I kinda liked the challenge. More like an adventure. What will be the texture of this flour substitute? How will an egg substitute perform?

What did I learn? That the substitutes work very well and are quite good! And Enjoy Life chocolate chips are so yummy!

After browsing the recipes on the Sensitive Pantry's website (gluten/egg/dairy free recipes), I found one that peaked my interest... Deep Dark Chocolate Muffins. It seemed that chocolate might cover a lot of the strange substitued food tastes like the flour and egg replacer and plain coconut milk yogurt. Well... yes and no. Yes in the final product, no in the batter. I was worried after I sampled some of the raw batter (which was egg free so it was ok). The final product was quite different! Very yummy!

Here is that recipe with a modification:

Deep Dark Chocolate Muffins

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your muffin pan with liners—makes about 6 or 7 jumbo or 12 cupcake sized muffins.

Whisk to combine and set aside:

½ teaspoons EnerG Egg Replacer
2 tablespoons warm water

In a large mixing bowl mix together:

1½ cups GF Flour Blend
½ cup pulverized walnuts*
2/3 cups organic coconut or cane sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

In a 2 cup measuring cup whisk together:

1 6oz container plain or vanilla yogurt (for dairy-free/vegan use coconut milk yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon molasses (optional) I used it!
½ cup water  warm coffee
egg replacer you prepared earlier
1/3 cup grapeseed or other vegetable oil

Pour about half the wet mixture into the dry and give it a few turns with a spoon or silicone spatula. Add the rest of the liquid and stir until combined.

Add to the batter and mix in:

These are so delicious!

½ cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Spoon into the paper liners filling them about ¾ full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and enjoy.

*I pulverized the walnuts in a small food processor (or you might be able to use a coffee grinder) until they were the size of large grains of sand. Measure after they’re chopped.

Breakdown of Cost for Square Foot Gardens

Gardens 1 and 2 - cabbage, oregano, cilantro,
lettuce, celery, parsley, broccoli, kale, rosemary and
three decorative flowering plants

We had such a mild winter this year in the Houston area. After the heat and the unprecedented drought of this summer, any temperature dip was a welcome relief. While I am not looking forward to another sweltering Houston summer, I am looking forward to spring and all that it brings in the garden.

If you have been following this blog, you know that I stepped into Square Foot Gardening the fall 2011. I started out with only three 4 x 4 gardens. I had wonderful results and I am ready to see what kind of yields I can get from a spring garden. As you can see from the pictures below, we have been very busy! We have added an additional 5 boxes! This will give me 8 boxes which gives me the recommended 2 boxes per family member. I cannot tell you how amazing it has been to go outside and "grocery shop" in my own backyard. All the winter vegetables are coming to the end of their growing season and now it is time to plant all our spring plants. This winter, we have enjoyed fresh organic cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet peas, tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, celery, lettuce, green beans, oregano, kale, green onions, rosemary...

Garden 3 - end of the winter garden, broccoli, green onions
2 kinds of lettuce, kale and sweet peas going strong!

One of the benefits of Square Foot Gardening is that you don't have to dig into the soil or amend your soil. However, you do have to have a flat surface to put your 4 x 4 garden on. My small city lot is relatively flat, but the spot I needed to put my new gardens on was uneven. We flattened out the ground where the new gardens would go, removed a bush and a tree that were taking up valuable garden growing area. My friend had a large amount of newspaper that she generously let me have. We laid it down about 6-8 sheets thick* and rolled out weed barrier and placed the boxes where they will go. Next, we will add the pine bark nuggets around the boxes and Mel's Mix in the boxes. You do not have to put weed barrier and pine bark nuggets around your boxes, I just like it and think it looks pretty.

We had to level this patch of the yard a bit

Newspaper, weed barrier and then the boxes
Next comes the pine bark nuggets and Mel's Mix

Here is the other garden just off the patio. The other frame is just off camera.

I would also like to address the cost of the boxes. When you start out, you have to purchase the lumber, materials for the climbing nets and the "Mel's Mix" which is vermiculite, peat moss and compost. Each year, you only need to replace the compost and the plants. You can reduce this cost by growing your own plants from seeds and making your own compost from kitchen and yard scraps. The vermiculite was the most costly and hard to find. I finally located it at Cornelius Nursery in Houston for $30/bag. I just found out that Steinhausers might carry it for $20/bag, but I have to confirm that.

Here is the cost breakdown to build 3 boxes and 2 climbing vines:

The boxes themselves:
Top Choice pine lumber 2 x 6 x 8 for the boxes themselves - Lowe's 6 boards @ 3.14 each = $18.84
(word to the wise here - have Lowe's cut it in half for you in the store before you leave - FREE)
(more words to the wise - DO NOT use treated lumber. You don't want those chemicals to seep into your nice organic soil)
Premium furring 1 x 2 x 8 for the dividers that go on the top of the box  (have Lowes cut these in half too)- Lowe's 9 boards @ .75 each = $6.75
Box of outdoor wood screws 3" long - we already had this - but it is approximately $3.00 for a box 
TOTAL for 3 boxes is $28.59 or $9.53 per box


Mel's mixture inside the box:
Vermiculite - 4 cu. foot bags - you will need two Cornelius Nursery $29.99 each = $59.98 (do not have a heart attack here - you will never have to purchase more for these boxes. That's it!)
Peat Moss - A 3.8 cubic foot compressed expands to 8 cubic feet. I couldn't find it in this size. So I purchased two 3 cu. foot bags (they are compressed and poof out) - 2 bags at Lowe's $9.75 each = $19.50 - you won't need all of it (again, you will never again have to purchase more for these boxes.) 
Compost (get as many different kinds as you possibly can find... cow, chicken, mushroom...) for three boxes you will need 8 cubic feet total  - it costs me approximately $15.00 total for all my organic compost. If you make your own, it will be FREE the next year. You will have to replace a trowel full of compost for each square each time you plant a new plant in that spot. 
TOTAL for 3 boxes is $94.48 or $31.49 per box. 
I may be able to take that down to $74.50 or $24.83 per box if I can confirm the Steinhauser price. 
Don't panic! REMEMBER - that is the starter cost only. After the boxes are started, your only cost for soil will be in compost and that can be FREE if you make your own compost from kitchen and yard scraps. 


Weed barrier cloth - WeedX roll 3' x 100' (you will use this for many, many boxes)- at Wal-Mart $18.72 You may be able to find a smaller roll for less. We purchased a large roll because we use it in other areas of our yard. 


2 Climbing Vines (I only put climbing vines on two boxes) (simple instructions are in the NEW Square Foot Garden book:
1/2" electrical conduit 10 feet long. 4 @ $1.69 = $6.76
1/2" Insider Corner pieces 4 @ 4.34 = $17.36
Netting (I found one big enough to cut in half and use on both) $4.97
Rebar 3/8 x 24"- 4 @ 1.52 = $6.08
TOTAL for 2 nets $35.17 or $17.59 each

Now that those three boxes are built, and I have made my own compost and grown my own starter plants from seeds I previously purchased, my out of pocket this year for those three gardens is practically nothing. It will make the harvest that much sweeter! Happy planting ya'll!

*A word about newspaper: It really does the trick at keeping out the grass and weeds. You absolutely do not have to clear out the grass or weeds before laying down the newspaper. We had to even out the ground before putting out the newspaper, that's why you see dirt in our pictures. The newspaper is very effective at wiping out everything but you must lay it down thick. 3 sheets thick will not do it. Go for at least 6-8 sheets thick or more if you have enough to spare. If your grass/weeds are tall, go ahead and mow them very short just to make it easier to lay down the newspaper. Weed barrier cloth must be laid on top of this as the newspaper will eventually decompose. If you are putting out the weed barrier around your boxes, you will also need to put something on top of the weed barrier cloth as a further barrier. I suggest large/medium decorative pine bark nuggets in a thick layer (2"). I do not recommend pine bark mulch. The nuggets decompose slower and you get longer life out of them. Mulch will do in a pinch, but try to find the nuggets. You'll thank me later.

Gluten Free Recipes - modifications of my favorite blog recipes!

Gluten free cooking sounds so intimidating doesn't it? It really isn't. Our home school group "Real Meal Blessing Team" has the privilege of cooking for a family that eats gluten/dairy/egg free. I have modified my regular recipes here to help our group find some recipes. I am not holding myself out as an expert or anything, but really it isn't that difficult to use your favorite recipe, check the ingredients, make a substitution or two if necessary and go for it. I hope this inspires you! I also noted that I need to invest in stock in the Muir Glen Company. You'll see why when you start looking through the recipes! I promise I do not work for these people (but maybe I should). 

HEB has a large selection of gluten free items. Check out the list here http://www.heb.com/static/pdfs/Gluten-Free-List.pdf You can also check your recipe items here http://www.celiaccess.com/

Here are the recipes on my blog that have gluten/dairy/egg free options. Look toward the end of the blog entry to see the modified recipe:
Chicken Cacciatore
Enchilada Casserole
Inside Out Cabbage Rolls
Rice Dressing
Spaghetti Sauce & Meatsauce or Meatballs
Sticky Chicken & Rice
Rice Pilaf
Chicken Corn Soup
Taco Soup

Please also look here for more recipes 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Healthy-Recipes/Gluten-Free/Top.aspx

http://glutenfreegirl.com/

http://gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Dessert? Yes please. Remember no egg here. There is a really good powdered egg substitute I have successfully used in the past called "EnergG Egg Replacer" which is dairy/egg/gluten free and can be purchased at HEB. 

Fudgy Brownies a/k/a a good diversion from your New Year's Diet

A friend wanted me to share my brownie recipe. Here it is:

Fudgy Brownies
4 squares of unsweetened chocolate (1 ounce each)
1 cup butter (softened)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt (I like Kosher)
1 cup walnuts (or pecans if you like)

Heat oven to 350. Grease your pan or use parchment paper at the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Melt the chocolate in your microwave according to the package directions. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the melted chocolate. After the chocolate is well mixed in (and cooler), add the eggs one at a time (mixing well between each one). Mix in remaining ingredients (except nuts). Don't overmix here. Mix just until all the ingredients are incorporated. Mix in nuts in just a few turns of your mixer. Spread in the pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You can frost them with your favorite frosting after they cool slightly.

A optional topping we sometimes do is peanut butter. Put your favorite smooth peanut butter in a small zipper bag. Cut off a small portion of one corner. Pipe lines up and down the longest side of your pan a few inches apart. Take a toothpick and drag it through the lines. Drag it the other way. Here is a tutorial on another blog http://sweetopia.net/2010/04/how-to-marble-royal-icing/

More Winter Garden Beauty

Thought I would share a few pictures of my winter garden to help brighten you day! Isn't God's creation magnificent!

huge head of cabbage! Check out my feetsies at the bottom. of the picture for scale. 

cauliflower

huge head of cauliflower

Garden No. 3

Sweet Pea flower

Beautiful sweet pea pod - we have been eating them raw in salad - delish!

Regrowth of broccoli. After you cut away the initial head, you get tons of little shoots that come up.

a big fat, gorgeous Kale plant. Is there anything more beautiful?

My first harvest of cauliflower. Yummy! I'm going to try the mashed  them like mashed potatoes. 

Easy Enchilada Casserole

 Do you own a cast iron skillet? If you don't, you should think about investing in one. They are not expensive and the quality of cooking you can do with one surpasses any fancy skillet. Browning meat in cast iron is wonderful and you can't beat cornbread made in a cast iron skillet. The recipe below calls for one. Sure, you can get by with your regular pots, but a cast iron pot makes it so much better.

Sometimes I have a little taco meat leftover after my family eats my ground beef tacos. I usually save this in a small tupperware in the freezer. When I get a good amount, I make nachos or Enchilada Casserole. I thought you might like the recipe for my Enchilada Casserole.  

Tortillas - I love to use Guerrero uncooked Taco Tortillas. A dear friend told me about them and I haven't used anything else since. Of course you can substitute already cooked Tortillas, but once you brown your own Guerrero tortillas in your cast iron skillet, you may never switch back. I brown them quickly in my black cast iron pan with the tiniest amount of corn oil. After the tortillas are done and the pot is nice and hot, you can cook the meat.

Taco Meat - (You can make a double batch and freeze half for another day of Tacos or Nachos)
1 lb. Ground Beef (low fat) (you can also use ground turkey)
1 Tbl. Olive or Corn oil
1 finely chopped yellow onion
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tsp. cumin
2 stems of cilantro chopped
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Kosher salt
dash of Cholula Hot Sauce (or your favorite mexican hot sauce)

Brown the ground beef in the vegetable oil in a heavy black cast iron pan. The browner, the more flavor you will have. When the meat is browned, saute the onion and garlic until they turn clear. You don't need to remove the meat to saute the vegetables. Add the rest of the seasonings and 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low  for 10 minutes.

Enchilada Sauce

• • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 yellow onion, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  2  cans tomato paste + 4 cans of water
• 1 (28 ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes Muir Glen Organic
• 2 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  

Saute the onion & garlic in the butter. Once the onions turn clear, add the bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 20 minutes. Run through your blender to make a smooth sauce. I highly recommend the blender if children will be eating. This recipe makes more than you need for the Enchilada recipe below. Use the extra to spread on a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, roll and microwave until cheese melts for a quick afternoon snack. This sauce is so much healthier and more delicious than any canned sauce!

EASY ENCHILADAS CASSEROLE
2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese
6 flour tortillas
Taco Meat (above)
Enchilada sauce (above)
1/4 - 1/2 cup sour cream
sliced jalapenos (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Use 9 x 11 pan. Spray bottom of pan with non-stick spray. Layer with flat tortillas first, meat, a few small globs of sour cream all around the pan, enchilada sauce. Then again: tortillas, meat, sour cream, enchilada sauce top with cheese. You can also add jalapenos on top. Cover with foil (sprayed with non-stick spray) Bake for 20 minutes in 350 oven. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Gluten/Dairy Free Option

Enchiladas 


Taco Meat - (You can make a double batch and freeze half for another day of Tacos or Nachos)
1 lb. Ground Beef (low fat) (you can also use ground turkey)
1 Tbl. Olive or Corn oil
1 finely chopped yellow onion
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tsp. cumin
2 stems of cilantro chopped
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Kosher salt
dash of Cholula Hot Sauce (read here to see Cholula is gluten free)


Brown the ground beef in the vegetable oil in a heavy black cast iron pan. The browner, the more flavor you will have. When the meat is browned, saute the onion and garlic until they turn clear. You don't need to remove the meat to saute the vegetables. Add the rest of the seasonings and 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low  for 10 minutes.


Enchilada Sauce
You can totally cheat here and get the HILL COUNTRY FARE ENCHILADA SAUCE MEDIUM which is Gluten Free at your local HEB

• • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 yellow onion, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  2  cans tomato paste + 4 cans of water
• 1 (28 ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes Muir Glen Organic
• 2 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  

Saute the onion & garlic in the butter. Once the onions turn clear, add the bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 20 minutes. Run through your blender to make a smooth sauce. I highly recommend the blender if children will be eating. This recipe makes more than you need for the Enchilada recipe below. This sauce is so much healthier and more delicious than any canned sauce!


EASY ENCHILADAS CASSEROLE
6 corn tortillas
Taco Meat (above)
Enchilada sauce (above)
sliced jalapenos (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Use 9 x 11 pan. Spray bottom of pan with non-stick spray (Pam original is gluten free). Layer with flat tortillas first, meat, enchilada sauce. Then again: tortillas, meat, enchilada sauce. You can also add jalapenos on top. Cover with foil (sprayed with non-stick spray) Bake for 20 minutes in 350 oven. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Santa bought me a shiny, pretty thing

I got some shiny, blingy things for Christmas. My husband bought me a new range and microwave. Some women might be put off by a gift of appliances. Not me! I love anything shiny that comes with a butter softening feature. That's right, butter softening. Mmmmm!

My husband isn't a stupid man. He knows that a happy cook means yummy in the tummy. He teased me that he expected my cooking to rise to a "whole nutha level". I chuckled back that it wasn't possible. I am happy to say I was dead wrong. My husband is happy to say that I was dead wrong.

I am soooooo glad I got a double oven. I have used both ovens simultaneously many times. Love it! If you are on the fence about this feature, get off and get the double oven! I love the warming feature. I have used it several times. I wish both the top and bottom ovens were convection. Only the bottom is. I have used the convection bake and roast. I have noticed that my bread is browned very evenly with the convection bake but it didn't shave any time off. Didn't notice a big difference in the convection baked chicken and it only shaved off 15 minutes from the baking time. I'm still experimenting, so I reserve the right to change my initial opinion.

The loaf on the right was baked in a convection oven

My husband only installed the microwave a few days ago.It should really be called a convection oven with a microwave feature. I have THREE ovens! I haven't had a chance to test out the convection oven feature in this appliance yet. The popcorn feature is amazing! It weighs the popcorn bag and adjusts the time accordingly. It also senses when it is done. My favorite feature is the butter softening. It's pitiful, I know it. But I LOVE this feature. The defrost feature of this microwave is amazing! It defrosts it perfectly without hot spots. The ground meat was just like I got it from the butcher.

Now, getting to this happy point has been a bit of a bumpy road. Got really great service at our local Lowe's appliance center. Gave positive feedback to the store manager. Delivered to the house and installed. Check. Hmmmmm... why does the convection fan keep kicking off? That's weird. E-mailed Kitchenaid customer service. They said that wasn't right. Called and confirmed with a different customer service person. OK then. We have a problem. Called Lowe's. They delivered a new one. Hmmmmm... same thing. Kitchenaid customer service confirmed AGAIN that the fan should stay on all the time. Called back and asked to talk to a technical person. Doesn't exist at Kitchenaid. What? Told the story again. Put on hold. Manuals pulled out. People consulted. Oh no, the fan DOES actually kick on and off. Everything is hunky dory ma'am. Really? Wish Kitchenaid knew their products. Would have saved me a bunch of trouble.

The manual that came with the Kitchenaid Double Oven Convection Gas Range Model KGRS505XSS is awful. The Kitchenaid convection microwave KHMC1857WSS manual is worse. For what I dropped on these things, they should have come with an in-home demonstration or at least a video online. Throw me something Kitchenaid! I remember when my mother bought one of the first Amana microwaves. We had a whole microwave cooking class at the appliance center and a huge cookbook with detailed instructions. Gone are those days. Is it too much to ask for a decent manual that actually mentions any of the features? I guess so.

I'm still testing out all the features, but so far I'm pretty impressed. I'm just really thrilled to have an oven that actually holds a temperature.

God has my back

Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? I Cor. 6:7


Believers can be unbelievably ugly to one another. That is the enemy's way dear friends. Destroy it from the inside. Recently, I was on the receiving end of ugliness. Someone was telling lies about me. I wasn't there to defend myself but God, my Defender, was there. My Defender came to my rescue even before I knew I was being wronged. God made sure the lie was later heard by someone who absolutely knew the truth. She spoke the truth out and set it straight. I am so thankful for those friends that defend you when you aren't around. My friend called me and told me about the lie. My first reaction was that the truth needed to be told and the person set straight. I called a friend and asked her to pray with me about the right way to handle this with the other party. She had been there when the lie was told and she was already praying about it. I sought God's wisdom through His Word and He gave me I Cor. 6:7. Really? Let it go? I'm in the legal profession and I long for justice. God showed me that He had already taken care of it even before I knew there was an issue. He didn't "let it go". He handled it. He didn't need me to take care of it further. I am so thankful to my ever-present Defender!


"The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Proverbs 12:19