Homemade Condensed Cream Soup

I've been seeking to minimize the amount of processed foods in my pantry and use as many natural ingredients as possible in my cooking.

I've now cut out creamed canned soups thanks to this entry in the Lancaster Mennonite High School's recipe book I inherited from my grandmother.

It doesn't take much time at all, uses ingredients I always have on hand, and my family thinks the recipes taste so much better!

The following recipe makes the equivalent to 1 (10 oz.) can of creamed soup.

3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. milk, stock, or 1/2 c. of each

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and salt. Cook until bubbly, then whisk in milk/stock and cook until thick and smooth--stirring often.

Variations:
MUSHROOM--Saute 1/4 c. chopped mushrooms and 1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion in the butter before adding the flour and remaining ingredients.

CHICKEN--Add 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning or sage and cooked chicken (if possible). Be sure to use broth w/the milk.

CELERY--Saute 1/2 c. chopped celery and 1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion in the butter before adding the flour.

BROCCOLI--Saute 1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion in the butter before adding flour and remaining ingredients. Then stir in 1/2 c. chopped, cooked broccoli.

CHEESE--Add 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese and 1/4 tsp. dry mustard.

*Recipe courtesy of Elaine W. Good, Class of 1962

Enjoy!

Sorta' Crunchy

Ever take one of those online quizzes to determine your "crunchy"-ness?
You know, hybrid-drivin', granola-makin', cloth diaperin', veggie gardenin'...okay, you get the idea.

I am not a huge fan of online quizzes...most of them are quite silly and pointless in my opinion. However, I was curious where I would fall on the crunchy scale.

I was kind of disappointed. I thought I'd be more crunchy. I wasn't even middle-of-the-road!
I thought surely raising chickens would be worth something...nope! Nada, zip, zilch.

Fine! I'll make my own crunchy quiz.

Join in if you'd like and post your score in the comment section.
(***This quiz is for fun--not condemnation! Different strokes for different folks, right?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. CHILDBIRTH:
4 points--homebirth, unassisted
3 points--homebirth w/midwife
2 points--hospital birth, no pain med.'s
1 point--hospital birth

2. DIAPERING:
3--cloth diapers, wash own
2--cloth diapers, diaper service
1--disposables

3. FEEDING:
4--breastfeed
3--breastfeed, pump
2--pump and formula
1--formula

4. FOOD:
3--buy only organic/grow own, health food store, vegetarian
2--buy some organic, grow some, limited processed foods
1--buy some natural, whole grain foods, local

5. VEHICLE:
4--bicycle or walk
3--hybrid
2--compact car/station wagon
1--minivan/SUV/truck

6. AU NATURALE:
4--herbal remedies, little-to-no makeup, chemical-free hair/skin products
3--some herbal remedies, some chemical free hair/skin products
2--herbal remedies
1--vitamins

7. HOUSEHOLD:
3--green cleansers, make own
2--green cleansers, buy
1--some green

8. THE 3 R's:
5--compact florescent bulbs, consignment shop, recycle glass/cans/paper, market bags, compost
4--compact florescent bulbs, consignment shop, recycle glass/cans/paper, market bags
3--compact florescent bulbs, consignment shop, recycle glass/cans/paper
2--compact florescent bulbs, consignment shop
1--donate clothing, household items

9. COOKING:
3--soak grains, raw milk, meals from scratch
2--some homemade bread, natural ingredients, most meals from scratch
1--some meals from scratch

10. SCHOOLING:
4--homeschool/co-op
3--desire/plan to homeschool in the future
2--private (religious based) school
1--public school

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, tally them up:
25--33 Totally nutty
16--24 Can't deny the crunch
10--15 Kinda' crispy
0--9 Instant oatmeal

Goodbye Holes, Divots, and Scuffmarks!

We had just signed all the paperwork making it ours. As I walked into the kitchen of our new place 3 years ago, my eye immediately zeroed in on the grapefruit-sized, paper-bag-brown spot in the middle of the floor. The previous owner had disguised it well under a small rug during showing. Her chocolate lab apparently didn't lose sleep over such silly things as holes in flooring.



Even though the vinyl linoleum was on the thin side, throughout moving day as I was unpacking the kitchen, I found myself sidestepped the hole--my peripheral vision and the slight unevenness of the floor enough to make me feel off-balance. I've since then added to my list of things that make me feel off-kilter, but that's a whole other post and not what you signed on to read today, is it?



I've made patches to no avail. I've tried everything on the scuffmarks. The divots were beyond my control. And then I just had to make my peace with it. It was going to look ugly until we had the funds to replace it.

3 years later...


BEFORE:




Is there something wrong with me? I'm alittle giddy because of a piece of linoleum.
AFTER:




It is obvious that the kitchen walls have not been painted since the house was built 12 years ago. Now I just need to find a nice, light, neutral color to offset the white trim, backsplash, and shutters.

Retreat

Time with other women. WONDERFUL.

Uninterrupted conversation, gales of laughter, delicious food, shared tears...family. PRICELESS.

It was a first.

The first that I've been part of anyway. With my mom's oldest sister and her adult children spread across the U.S., and many of my cousins and I being in the young family season of life, it is downright rare that we are together without children.

A few weren't able to make our getaway...and we sorely felt their absence. In the end there were 8 of us, ranging in age from early 20's to upper 50's. Sisters, in-laws, cousins, mothers, daughters.


It's been a year of joys, challenges, celebrations, and loss since my grandfather passed away last October. This retreat was oh, so timely for all of us. It surely did wonders for my heart and soul.

I hope we can make it an annual thing.

Lastly, I only took one picture! I can't believe it...ONE! Guess I was too busy flappin' my gums and gigglin'.

Bugger!

The view out the back window is usually so nice...

Lately, however, the view has been obstructed.

If you look real close, you can see some of the 13 "obstructions" that were perched on the right window alone!

It seems whenever I catch one that has managed to sneak indoors, I let another one in as I fling the previous intruder out! I don't want to squish them. I'm sure they're called stink bugs for a reason.

Anyone know why they are suddenly showing up in hordes?

School Time!

I have had a VERY excited little girl in my household this week.

Tuesday was the first day of Pre-school!

Natalia is enrolled in a program offered at Pete's old school and after I visited last fall I was thrilled to have found a great program that fit our budget. There is a supervising teacher, around 12 student teachers (juniors and seniors), and around 12 pre-schoolers. It runs 3 days a week for 2 hours each morning, yet is early enough that we still have a nice amount of down-time together before lunch. (I was a bit nervous about getting out of the door with 2 kiddos by 7:45, but it hasn't been bad! Ask me in mid-January though and I may say differently.)

Mrs. B has been doing this for over 20 years, her program is one finely-tuned machine, and I love how she is giving her student teachers a real taste for what it takes to be an educator. Her love for what she does just oozes out of her, and I love her sense of humor.

Natalia's first words to me after I picked her up after her first day were, "I just LOVE pre-school and Mrs. B!" (I just knew she would.)

Cheap Labor

Got a "honey do" list that's a mile long?

I know some people whose rates are dirt cheap!