Almonds drying in the oven. Steel cut oats soaking for breakfast the next morning. Shepherd’s pie awaiting to be topped with mashed potatoes and frozen the next day. Cooked chicken and broth cooling in the fridge. A double batch of protein bars, cut and individually packaged for easy consumption . Clothes all ironed . . . dirty dishes in the sink.
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Well, Sourdough Sally, you have finally earned your name and your keep. I confess there were times I wanted to be rid of you. Oh, it wasn’t your fault – you did produce some good waffles, yummy tortillas, and great bagels. Problem was, I was just plumb tired of sourdough anything. Maybe it was my pregnancy hormones changing my taste buds, but whatever it was, I suddenly didn’t like the taste of sourdough anymore, even when the finished product wasn’t actually sour.
Yet, somehow I managed to keep you alive . . . and boy am I glad I did! Because these English muffins are quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted, if I do say so myself. And best of all, they don’t taste like sourdough – they have a hint of yeastiness to them instead. Mmmm . . .
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Mmm . . . It’s almost like having warm apple cobbler for breakfast. It’s easy. It’s light and fluffy and fun to eat. Need I say more?
Okay, so this recipe isn’t exactly the healthiest: While sugar needn’t be involved, you can’t make this pancake with 100% wheat flour or it won’t turn out very fluffy. (I’ve tried.) Puffy oven pancakes should be, well, puffy and airy! You can, however, make it with half white wheat and half all purpose. Oh, and the orginal recipe states that this is a recipe for four, but I don’t know who could eat just a fourth of a pancake! It’s easily devoured between the two of us.
Okay, let me give you the recipe real quick before I head into the kitchen to make one of these myself!
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The other day, I told Caleb what I thought of my pregnancy experience so far:
The first trimester is a little discouraging. I mean, I feel like crud most of the time and my baby looks like a dinosaur.
No laughing, you guys. This isn’t funny, you know.
Oh, and I also decided that I have felt like a little kid again…Since I became a picky eater and it seems all I did for a while was eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom! (Thanks to a certain little kumquat sitting on my bladder. 
)
Anyway, it actually wasn’t that bad and it’s all worth it for such a great cause. But in the meantime, the well-intentioned words I received from friends and family – such as, “It will all be over soon” – didn’t help me much at the time. Here are a few things that did:
Continue reading…
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Now, I know what you may be thinking:
Do we really need another blog post about making vanilla extract? Because if you’re like me, you’ve been overwhelmed with the countless options google presents you with. But that’s exactly why I’m writing this post for you – to save you hours of frustration as you try to decide which method is best.
You see, the main problem with most homemade extracts is that they simply aren’t flavorful enough. As I understand, that’s because factories have their own methods for producing them and they have equipment which we at home simply don’t. But that’s okay; as it turns out, this is a very easy “problem” to fix.
The secret is to use way more vanilla beans to vodka than most recipes call for. I also chop them into half-inch pieces to increase the surface area that is exposed to the vodka.
So are you ready to get started?
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I’d always wondered why foaming soap cost so much. I mean, it just looks like watered down soap to me. Then I found out that…..it is. When I saw how easy it was to make my own, I almost felt silly for sharing the “recipe” with you. But if you’re like I was, and you didn’t realize this was possible, you’ll be happy to see how incredibly easy it is to make your own and save a good chunk of change. And, let’s face it – it’s just more fun to use instead of the regular ‘ole stuff. There’s more bubbles and….well, foaminess!
So, are you ready for this? Here’s what you’ll need:
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Even though I love surprises, I’m horrible at keeping secrets. And this secret was a very big one: Caleb and I are expecting our first baby in April! Right now he’s the size of a kumquat. Or the size of a prune. I prefer the prune, since I’m not very familiar with kumquats. I wonder what they taste like? Hmm . . .
Anyway, the other reason I’ve been gone so long? It’s called morning sickness. Or all day sickness. For me, it meant that looking at computer screens for any period of time caused me to feel nauseated. Apparently computer screens have this barely noticeable, yet constant flickering which can trigger nausea. Who would have thought?
So, now that I’m feeling better, I hope to start posting some more exciting and useful articles for you. Including some on pregnancy! Look for a post about my first trimester in the next couple of weeks. Hard to believe it’s already almost over!
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Tired of using those “cream of” soup cans with mystery ingredients in your favorite dishes? Frustrated because the “natural” or “organic” versions don’t seem to taste quite right and are too costly?
I’ve been there. And I thought, “Why can’t I just make my own?” Well, you wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to find a recipe that worked as well as the canned versions. But after several “experiments,” I’m happy to say that I’ve finally developed a recipe that tastes great.
This recipe is adapted from passionatehomemaking.com. The original recipe is actually for a cream of mushroom soup, which I haven’t tried because my husband and I don’t eat mushrooms. But I’m sure it would turn out well for those of you who enjoy them.
Anyway, here is what I do. This will make the equivalent of one can of cream of soup from the store.
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So I purchased a bowel detox kit….Wait, no, please don’t run away! This isn’t that scary, I promise! Let me start over:
A few weeks ago, I did something I had never done before: I had nothing but juice (and water) for three days straight. This was my first attempt at juice fasting, and truth be told, I wasn’t too sure I could do it. So yes, I’m pretty proud of myself right now. (And yes I know that there are people who have done it for weeks and even months at a time. Don’t burst my bubble, m’kay?)
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If you were to ask me, “What’s one item you always carry with you?” I’d say lip balm. You see, I can’t stand for my lips to be dry. Not even the least bit. I’m always reaching in my pocket for my little tube of moisture, but some days it comes up missing.
The problem is, the stuff I like to use costs about $3. I know that’s not a lot, but I go through it pretty quickly and occasionally I will lose an entire tube of it – usually right after I bought it, too. And who likes to lose $3? Not me!
I just knew there had to be a cheap, simple way to make my own with ingredients I already had. So today, I decided to make my own lip balm for the very first time. And guess what? I was right – this stuff costs pennies and it works great! Let me show you how.
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