New year prep

Good rainy day to all . Here in middle TN. we continue with our unseasonably warm weather, which by the way started back last March. Today is 60 with rain. Once again I am reminded why I moved here! LOL

Yesterday Zachary and Breanna cleaned the basement! I will count that as a Christmas gift to me. Not only did they clean the basement, but they did so with out fussing and working together!! A true Christmas miracle indeed! I was suffering from sinus headaches and that really made my day. Just seeing the basement clean made me feel better. I truly believe that a clean house can affect your out look on so many things. I am truly blessed by my family.

I have been busy making homemade croutons, ranch dressing, granola and bread. Cooking from scratch and with whole, good foods is certainly more time consuming, but it feels good to find uses for everything and waste nothing. I will have to keep you posted on the economical side of things. So far it seems to be a tad less expensive. But whole chickens here aren't any cheaper than buying flash frozen boneless skinless chicken breast in a bag , so probably won't do that again. The flavor of your own roasted bird is certainly better, but more time consuming in the cooking area. So six to one, half a dozen of the other. Guess it will be determined in the end by the current price when purchased. I pickled some garlic the other day as well. I tried some when we were in S.C. and loved it, but couldn't afford it at almost $8 a jar. So found a recipe on-line for about $3 a jar! It called for it to sit for three weeks before eating, so it will be ready on Knute's b-day - I can't wait! Tomorrow Bre and I are going to make Kimche, speaking of pickled food - LOL It is part of her unit study on Korea. Part of me wanted to opt out and buy some, I found it pre-made for about the same price as making my own. But the teacher side of me had a conference with the mom side and explained about how if she did it herself it would stick with her better that just tasting a jar made version. Once again, this will have to sit about two weeks before we eat it. Man our house is going to smell... I mean be aromatic.

Well as fate would have it, if we believed in fate, Knute and I were discussing our plans for a garden in 2008 , when in the mail our Burpee catalog arrived! We are hoping to get one put in on the cheap side and reap some fresh veggies all summer/fall. This year Bre planted some turnips and had good luck. I would love to plant some turnips, parsnips, rutabagas and sweet potatoes. I love boiling them and mashing them up in place of typical mashed potatoes. It is much healthier for you, and so yummy too! Also thinking of putting in some cucumbers, green beans and garlic. The kids always like to plant radishes in a container as well. We have tried this with carrots in the past with poor success, but more that likely will try again. So until we start prepping our garden area in late March we will content our selves with curling up with our catalog and making a wish list and checking it twice - LOL

Blessings, Beth Ann