{ A day in the kitchen }

 

 

The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home!

 

I think we've all heard that quote, and I for one am a firm believer in that it is absolutely true.  It is where we cook meals for our families, where we bring family together and where we sustain our bodies with nutritious food.

 

I love being in my kitchen and love spending time in it, pottering around, cooking, or doing dishes (I know that sounds weird, but I find doing dishes by hand, very relaxing).   Most of the time, you will find me in that room, in my happy place, where I feel the most at easy and calm.

Cooking is something I have enjoyed since very little.  I've told the story, I think a few times, of when I first started being interested in pots and pans and cooking.  I was just 5 years old, sitting at my great grandmothers feet.  I wanted so much to have my own set of pots, so my grandmother took me to the local store, in a small village in Portugal, and bought me a set of play pots and pans.  

I still remember it as if it was today.  They came in a big transparent bag, with a knot at the top, and I proudly carried it all the way home.  I wouldn't let my grandmother carry it, I was so proud of that set, that I wanted it all to myself.  Hahahah

When we got back home, my great grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table peeling potatoes, for lunch.  I sat at her feet, pulled out one of the pots, and asked her if I could cook too.  She passed me a small peeled potato, which I asked her to chop into small pieces and she obliged with a smile on her face.  I popped it in the pot, added water and salt and pepper and said I was going to make a soup.  She just smiled through it all, encouraging me.

So, as you can see, cooking has been ingrained in my soul since a very young age, and I think that's why to this day I absolutely adore being in the kitchen cooking for the family. 

So come into my kitchen with me.  I had my family over this weekend, and I decided to surprise them with some Portuguese desserts.  The first is for Bolas de Berlim, which if I were to translate would be Balls from Berlin.  Not exactly a great name, but it apparently was brought over to Portugal by German Jews fleeing World War II, and since Portugal was a neutral country, a lot of Jewish people immigrated there.  

 

Anyway, these fried donuts, filled with a delicious egg cream, are typically sold not only in bakeries throughout Portugal, but you will find them all over the beaches during the summer.  They are very reminiscent of our childhood in Portugal and one of our favorite desserts.  They do take time to make, and of course since they're fried and full of sugar, it's not something I make very often at all.  

 

I think the last time I made them was years ago.

 

So before I got to work on those, I quickly got dinner in the crockpot, so I wouldn't have to worry about it.

Then I got to work, and oh my word, the result were delicious perfect looking Bolas de Berlim, which my stepmother actually thought were bought at a bakery.  What a blessing and a wonderful compliment to me!

I may have a recipe on the food blog already, I'm not sure, I will check and if I do I will leave it linked here for you, but if not, then I'll be sure to get these on the blog this week.

They take some effort but are well worth it.

The recipe called for 12 but I actually ended up with 28 because I made them a bit smaller and doubled the recipe.  We have a big family of 16, so always need to make more.

The recipe I just linked for you above is not the recipe I used, this one came from an old Portuguese cooking magazine which I have collected for many years.  Teleculinaria!

Gorgeous!!!  (although I will say, I am regretting eating 2 of these, because I'm still paying for it today and that was Saturday that we had the family over lol)

I also made another Portuguese dessert which is kind of like the Portuguese Cookie Cake which I've shared here before.  You can find the recipe here if you want to make it, and I do suggest you give it a try because it's delicious.

This one however, is made the same way, but instead of a buttercream filling, it is layered with whipped cream that is mixed with pineapple jello and pineapple chunks.  It is so refreshing and easy to make and yummy too.  

I don't have this recipe on the blog yet, so this one will be going up very soon.

I ended my day in the kitchen, with a yummy dinner of Coney Island Hotdogs, and two amazing desserts to serve to the family.

They were a hit, and nothing was left, not a crumb.  

There is a pleasure that comes from serving your family, and seeing everyone enjoy your food.  It's a blessing for sure.

Thank you for joining me in my kitchen.  I hope you all have a blessed Wednesday.  Take care friends ♥

{ Blackberry picking }

Imagine if you will, a Saturday morning, wide open spaces, fields of green, cows out on the pasture and blue skies as far as the eye can see.

We set off in the morning.  Me, my husband and daughter.  The 17 year old boy as always, would rather just stay home and sleep.  You know how teenagers are.

We weren't quite sure what to expect at the little farm, we had never been there before and heard about it through one of Jasmine's customers.  What we did know was that we needed some fresh air, some time out of the house where for at least an hour or so, we didn't have to think about our situation.

I will talk about it at a later date.  I want to jot it all down, to have another testimony of God's blessings and lessons, on my blog.  To have it recorded as part of our lives, as another difficult blip we encountered.

But I can't right now, I just can't seem to find the strength or energy to talk about it any longer.

All I will tell you is that he is being recommended for termination, but that a final decision has not yet been made.  He will have his say, his time to explain his side of things, on the 13th of July.  So is this all over?  Not yet.  We know that God can do whatever He chooses to, and it's not over until HE deems it so.

We are prepared as best as we can, but everything else is in God's control, after all it is HIS battle and not ours.

So we wanted out of the house for a little, just to clear our heads.







I wish I could describe the feeling of being out surrounded by rows and rows of beautiful berries, with birds chirping above, a little breeze blowing and nothing but land around us.

There is something magical that takes place when you ground yourself in nature, hand it to God and just let go.

We walked the rows and rows, looking for the best looking berries.  Many were not yet ripe, so we dug around under the leaves and in between bushes, to find the bunches of big blackberries.   And when I say big, I mean big.  We found some that were almost the size of the palm of our hand.















We came home with 8 pounds of blackberries and some raw local honey which I have been looking for, since the doctor suggested it for my allergies.

Not only did we have a peaceful wonderful morning, but it helped to put things in perspective and to give us ideas on what to do with our own land.  We have 3 acres, one of which is a huge field that is not being used for anything, other than mowing.  Let's not talk about that, it makes my husband cringe each time he looks over and sees that it needs mowing  LOL

One thing we talked about during this outing, was the need to do more things like this.  We get so caught up in the daily life, work, school, homemaking and so forth, that we let life just slip on by and don't enjoy it as much as we should.

When we were stationed in Arizona, we did things like this ALL.THE.TIME.   It felt like we lived life to the fullest, enjoyed every weekend, always found something to do as a family.  Then Curt retired, we moved to Idaho and from there, kids got big, life got busy and chaotic and we just stopped having fun.

It's time to get back on that saddle.

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend, I will be back tomorrow morning with my Happy Homemaker Monday.

Blessings to you all.
xoxoxoxo

{ Ear issues and a trip to the mall }

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon, to finally see what is going on with my ear.

I knew that it was allergy related, I knew that it was sinus related and usually it clears up on it's own, and so I waited 3 weeks to see if it would.  It didn't.

By Thursday night when I went to bed, I was in a bit of pain, my ear felt very clogged, I was dizzy and the ringing/buzzing in my ear was louder.  I knew then that it was time to make the call and go in.

I was almost 100% sure that it would be an ear infection.  Thankfully it turned out that it wasn't an infection, but I do have a lot of fluid behind the eardrum which is all brought on by my allergies. 

I have been given Singulair, Allegra, Sudafed and some allergy nasal spray.  The doctor did say it would take about 7 days for this all to clear up, so I guess I'll be dealing with the ringing etc. for a little while longer. 

But at least, it's a step in the right direction.

So, it's Saturday, and I haven't done much aside from the usual laundry and cleaning here and there.  The meds make me a little drowsy and I'm still not feeling very well so I've been resting as much as I can.

This afternoon though, we all went to pick Jasmine up from work and then headed to the mall.  She wanted to go get some things for work and also wanted to take us to dinner at Red Robin.

It's such a strange feeling when all of a sudden your child is an adult, making her own money and taking YOU out for meals.  Definitely a change, but a good one and we are incredibly proud of her.

{ Book Fair Haul }

Midwestern State University was holding their annual book fair this morning, so we went as a family to check it out, see what it was like and if we wanted to get a book or two.

As we stepped in we were met with this sight.....don't mind the plunger sign holders, I had quite a giggle at those.  

Books, books and thousands of books!!!

So the gist was, you either pay for the books that you buy separately, I think like $1 for paperback and $2 for hardback, or you buy a book bag for $8 then fill it with as many books as you want or can, then pay $10 for the filled bag.  In essence $18 for a full bag with as many as you can stuff in there.

That's what we did, and friends, boy did I stuff that bag.  By the end I had a hard time lugging it around, it was that heavy and that full.

Any kind of book you may have thought of, any kind of genre, big books and small books, hard cover and soft cover, over sized, history, science, romance, cookbooks and so on.

I felt completely overwhelmed at one point, not quite knowing which way to turn, and scared I would miss something I would later want.

But, I kept my cool and took my time.  We spent 2 hours there, just browsing, looking, picking up book by book.  Some went in the bag and others didn't.  I'm quite particular about my reading books and won't just take anything.  I was the last one to fill the bag hahaha

I was determined to fill that bag until I couldn't fit anything else.  I do love that it's all for a good cause, and for $18, I think it's a steal.

We then headed over for to the Cotton Patch Cafe for lunch.  We had never been there, and oh my word, it was not only pretty affordable but absolutely delicious.   They have some of the best Fried Green Tomatoes, I have ever tasted.

It was a nice lunch, it was a nice time spent with family.  We try to do this kind of thing at least once a month because life gets so busy and even though we live 5 minutes from each other, weeks will go by where we don't meet face to face.

Right, now let me show you my book haul.  I'm so giddy with excitement.

24 books.  Most of them hardbacks and most of them either by authors I love, books I've been looking for, for a while, and others from the genres I enjoy.

These two I threw in my bag because I love collecting old books.  They were in the section for old books published before the 1900's, so I had to get them.

Look at that....1897.

and 1891.

My brother actually pointed out the Pillsbury's Bake off Breads Cookbook, I gave it a quick browse and it's filled with yummy recipes.

Bridal Fashions - Victorian Era, because, come on you know I would grab that one :)

That is going to be such a fun book to read :)

Mary Balogh - The Secret Mistress
Stephanie Laurens - Temptation and Surrender
Kristin Hannah - Winter Garden
Maeve Binchy - Whitethorn Woods
Patricia Cornwell - The Body Farm

Ruth Glover - With Love from Bliss
Rebecca DeMarino - A Place in His Heart
Victoria Holt - The Queen's Confession
Lauraine Snelling - Amethyst
Jessica Stirling - The Iand Wife
Catherine Coulter - Prince of Ravenscar
Mary Balogh - The Proposal

Overall, I think I scored some really good books and I honestly can't wait to start reading, now to decide which one I will read first.

Oh and I just realized there is a book missing from the stash.  I got Phillipa Gregory's Meridon. 

It really was such an enjoyable day, family, laughs, books, yummy food.  Perfect Saturday, was just missing my girl :)