happy birthday to son #1

This is Casey, our oldest son, and his lovely bride Jasmin. Casey turned 27 years old yesterday. He used to think that the 4th of July fireworks were in honor of his birthday. Just-missed, Casey!

Casey, we are so very, very proud of you. You are a great daddy and husband, placing your family first with God's guidance, and there is nothing we hold in higher esteem. We love you!

best whole grain pancakes - ever!

This is my favorite cookbook!

I love to bake - and eat anything sweet, especially if it's homemade. But I always feel guilty afterwards. That's why I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my King Arthur's Whole Grain Baking Book. If I'm gonna eat my dessert, I want to cancel out some of the bad with some yummy whole grains!

This book is amazing! Everything I've baked from it has been so tasty with the exception of Chocolate Chip Banana Bread - which I don't like anyway. I've been making notes on every recipe I try, so that my future bakers will know just what I thought.

And what do I think of the whole grain pancakes? Well, let me just say, this: there is no reason to make any other kind again! Forget the crumbly, white flour kind you find in a bag or box at the grocery store. Yuck! I never used those mixes anyway. These are tender as can be and taste so fresh and wholesome! The first time I served them to my son Jimmy, I had to be sneaky and didn't tell him they were whole grain because, at the time, he didn't think he liked anything whole grain. I'm excited to report that he devoured them, and so did his lovely wife Liesa!

The full recipe is at the bottom of the page.

These are the ingredients

- Whole Grain Pancake mix

(Made from the book and stored in the freezer for quick use)

- A large egg

- Milk

- Yogurt

- Orange Juice

(The OJ takes away the bitter taste that some people find in whole wheat)

After you stir everything together, you let it sit for fifteen minutes. 

This allows the bran from the whole wheat to be absorbed.

This is what mine looked like after I let it sit for about an hour. 

Like the three bears - I went for a walk.

Cakes on the griddle.

Yummy! Even Tom likes whole grain pancakes!

My plate - I ate every bite! 

The eggs were fried in my cast iron skillet without using oil.

Here's the modified King Arthur recipe for the mix:

3-1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (grind them until their chopped fine, but not a powder)
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon soda
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients first. Add the vegetable oil slowly while mixer is still running until a clump of mix will hold together if you squeeze it in your hand. If not, add one tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct. Store indefinitely in an airtight container in the freezer.

For pancakes:

1 cup mix
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 large egg

Stir together, then let stand for at least fifteen minutes or the batter will remain thin. Cook on griddle or cast iron skillet for 3-4 minutes on first side; 1-2 minutes on second. I never oil my griddle. If you've got a great griddle, and  it gets to the right temperature, you shouldn't need to. Enjoy!

where does the time go?

Today is Jimmy's birthday. He is twenty-three years old! This photo was taken when he was about seventeen, I think. He had a black eye from woodshop, but I can't exactly remember how he got it. I know he gave it to himself.

Jimmy has a great sense of humor. On his Facebook page he posted, "Twenty-three years ago, today, the world became a much better place." He was just kidding around, but I agree with him. So, Happy Birthday, Jimmy. You have always made our world better.... We love you, and are proud to call you son.

twenty-five: rooster earrings

Chickens! Over the past few years I convinced Tom to let me get some chickens. I love to bake, and wanted my own fresh eggs from my own chickens. Plus, we have the space - so why not use it? I love their clucks and crows and the way they follow me around hoping for some chicken treats! Tom is a good sport and didn't complain when I "accidentally" got the flock up to about 70. Oops! But now we are down to a manageable 22. That's not counting the guinea fowl (10) or the red jungle fowl (7) - of course. Those aren't chickens, you know! I love these sweet rooster earrings!

twenty-six: birkenstock sandals

Birkenstock! Oh my goodness, do these ever bring back sweet memories. Tom and I used to play co-ed soccer - like up to three different leagues a week, plus we'd travel to tournaments. It was so fun. We stopped after Tom had multiple knee surgeries. He was so fast and scored so many goals. I was a decent player, and held my own, but he was amazing. *sigh* Anyway, after the games we noticed most of the players were putting on Birkenstocks. Up to that point, whenever I saw people wearing these, I just thought they were hippies wearing ugly shoes. Yuck! Sandals with socks! It was so weird. Then one time at a tournament in Mendocino, my big toenail was practically peeled off (eek!), and I couldn't put on a regular shoe. Off we went to a cute shoe shop in town. And that's how I got my very first pair of Birkenstock sandals. I still have those original ones. The new ones have been upgraded in the foot bed. Now they have a bit of extra padding and are even more comfortable. Yay!

twenty-seven: cribbage pegs in "i love you" box

My honey is so very sweet. Today he got me a cute little wooden box that says I Love You. The box is designed to hide little things inside. He put in a pair of blue cribbage pegs to represent the game he plays so much. I definitely don't love it like he does, but I do dabble in it once in awhile. He plays in tournaments on weekends often, and we have to travel to get to them. I do enjoy the travel time together. Oh yeah; he said the pegs are blue to match my eyes!

jordan's cookie bouquet

Jordan had a dance recital last night. She was absolutely adorable! Could there be anything cuter than a five year old girl on stage smiling and dancing with complete joy?

Instead of flowers, I decided at the last minute, to make her a cookie bouquet. The recital was at 7:00 p.m., but there I was at 6:00 p.m. racing around trying to finish these. You really should let them dry overnight, but that was as long as I could make it. I roped Tom into helping me by having him cut the ribbon, so he was there watching me panic. I recently made these sugar cookies for a friend's wedding favors, but never into a bouquet: I was flying by the seat of my pants. I had planned to just put them in the cellophane bags and tie them together, but they totally sagged. I was frantically wracking my brain thinking of ideas: cardboard, sticks from somewhere in the house - anything to give it some sort of support. Leave it to Tom to come to my rescue! He suggested we use some silver plastic knives we had left over from Jimmy and Liesa's wedding. They worked perfectly - in a red-neck sort of way. (Ha Ha) I definitely want to make more of these, and I plan to use these knives until they are gone! So, if you ask for one, you'll have a few knives to use later.

Anyway, Jordan loved them!