Homemaking – Page 18 – Home's Cool!

The A-OK Breakfast: Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs!

Posted on April 11, 2011March 18, 2015 by Katharine

Are you ever too rushed or too un-awake to cook a breakfast? Sometimes I am and that’s when I turn to my secret stash of gold: a small bowl of hard-boiled eggs stored in the fridge.

Hard-boiled eggs are nearly too easy. You just open and eat. If you want, you can really exert yourself and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Or go all the way and slice them, too.

If I find that slick, greenish coating on the yolk, though, I feel less hungry, fast.

Avoiding the green yolk is easy if you know how to boil an egg. Because breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I love sharing these instructions with anyone who will listen.

To Boil an Egg Hard:

Be sure eggshells are clean and uncracked. Wash with soap and water just before using. Amazing how many folks don’t mind germs on eggs! Germs can be lethal and some parasites do not die at boiling temperatures.
Be sure the raw eggs are old enough. Very fresh eggs that are hard-boiled are difficult to peel. Raw eggs will keep a long while under refrigeration; store-bought eggs are usually several months old before you even buy them. I find that if I keep my hennies’ incredibly fresh eggs at least three weeks before I boil them, they are far easier to peel.
Thick-bottomed Pan
Use a straight-sided pan with a thick bottom. Shown here is a thin, stainless pan with a thick aluminum plate bonded to it.
Pan of Eggs
Load only the number of eggs that will fit in a single layer into the pan.
Extra Inch of Water
Cover with tepid water at least an inch over the tops of the eggs.
Add about 1/8 teaspoon salt to water. This supposedly aids with peeling.
Set pan to heat at medium setting; high heat will crack eggs. Stay nearby and monitor its progress.
Boiling
Once water is boiling, set timer and boil for only one minute.
Cover Ten Minutes
Remove from heat and cover pan for ten minutes.
Cooling Water
Cool immediately under running cold water. Dry and store hard-boiled eggs in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Ready for Fridge

That’s all there is to it. If you have followed these instructions exactly, you will have instant wonder-food for your breakfasts, any time you want.

And a couple of eggs plus a cup of coffee will cost you about 25 cents.

Homemaking, Inspiring

Is Your Water on the Rocks?

Posted on April 6, 2011September 26, 2017 by Katharine

Our five chickens would die without us. We have to check on them at least twice per day. It’s only natural: every critter in the four-state area wants to eat either our poor little hennies, or their feed. From time to time, a rat will even try to prevent their accessing their own water supply. It does this by piling rocks into the water trough, which is only about 1 ½” wide. One night of rat work can mean no water in the morning when the hens leave the roost and need a drink.

So we go down to the hen house every morning, remove rocks from the water, make sure no fresh coon tracks lie in the dust around the building, and hand out treats like bits of bread or cereal. They really love the first morning visit.

How about you?

Do you find yourself waking up to rocks in your water? What do I mean?

Maybe you have been asleep. Sleep is not bad; we all need rest. We can rest in the Lord or take an understandable nap. We suffer without it. Sometimes we might even snooze on the job—tsk! While our eyes are closed, though, sometimes the enemy slips in and harasses us in ways we don’t realize.

Once we wake up, we really need a drink. We haven’t met our hydration needs for a long while. That Living Water can be just the thing to quench that thirst, but where is it? Why is it not where it should be, where it always was?

Some rat has been inserting rocks. What we really need is the Solid Rock, but what we find is an irritating pack of pebbles. Foreign platforms, foreign ideas, foreign habits, small but many, are in the way, blocking our access to the life-giving, thirst-quenching water.

So we wait for the owner to come on down and help us. He clears the way to the water and we drink deeply of trouble-free water and find refreshing. Then, to make sure we love, trust, and remember him, he hands out treats: wonderful bits of nourishment we like better than the daily ration and that cause us always to wait expectantly for his return.

How is it with you? Have you been napping on the job? Thirsty? Not finding the water you expected where you expected it?

Wait. The Master will come to you and clear it all up for you.

And will treat you to something special.

Homemaking, Who's the mom here?

How to Survive a Virus

Posted on April 5, 2011April 5, 2011 by Katharine

Stuff’s been going around. Every day brings us closer to the eventuality. Sooner or later you will run into one of these bugs and knowing what to do will greatly enhance your sick experience.

One of the first and most important tools for fighting off a virus is Good Health. Having good health generally consists of the following:

Eating good food
Avoiding sugar
Taking vitamin supplements
Drinking enough water
Exercising regularly
Getting enough sleep
Eating enough garlic.

You probably already knew these were good habits, but think of these others, too:

Take your children with you instead of putting in daycare.
Avoid self-serve food situations.
Watch what you touch in public.
Do not shake hands; or else wash afterwards.
Keep your children out of the nursery at church.
Use the fizzed virus prevention medications, when appropriate.
Up the garlic content of your food.

If prevention does not keep you well, though, what are the next steps? Here is what our family does:

We take Oscillococcinum as directed on package.
We take Sambucol as directed on package.
We take vitamin C stir ins, at least one per day.
We take echinacea/goldenseal capsules as directed on package.
For stuffy nose, we use a generic Sudafed by day and generic Benadryl by night.
For congestion we use guaifenesin.
For cough control we use valerian and/or a mentholated rub.

Oh, and we hardly ever have to go to the doctor!

Coffee-ism, Homemaking, Inspiring, Recipes

The A-OK Breakfast – Turning Eggs Into Oatmeal!

Posted on April 4, 2011April 11, 2011 by Katharine

Turning Eggs into Oatmeal? Yes—Check it Out!

Well, I did say low carbs, last week, didn’t I? Yet sometimes I get a hungering for the tastes of days gone by. I remember an egg and oatmeal dish from my youth called Golden Oats. When I looked it up, I found far more oat than egg, a sort of crumbly mix to which you add juice. Too many carbs! What do I do?

I eat oatmeal.

Of course, if I overdid it, I would ruin the diet, so I allow myself about one tablespoon of it. Are you confused, yet? Let’s just have the recipe and get on with it!

A-OK Oatmeal

1 T. uncooked oatmeal
1 T. butter
1 serving stevia powder
1 t. cinnamon
2 eggs
a dash of cream

Brown the oatmeal in the butter lightly, over medium heat.

Whip eggs, cream, cinnamon, and stevia together thoroughly.

Pour over oatmeal in pan, stirring and chopping until eggs are set. Serve hot with additional cream, and a small serving of pomegranate juice, and/or coffee or tea.

Tastes a LOT like a bowl of oatmeal. No need to add sweetener. Of course, in this land of free speech, it is illegal to say the stevia adds sweetness, so I won’t say that!

Do you know the difference between wisteria and lilac? This is wisteria!

Homemaking, Womanhood

The Costliest Perfume

Posted on March 31, 2011March 9, 2018 by Katharine

Do you ever have a day when you have to unload before you can function? It’s like having your arms full of groceries when someone wants to shake hands. “Hello. Glad to meet you. Let me unload, first…”

Today, chick checks are driving me nuts. We’ve had horrible troubles with a wicked old raccoon, torturing our poor hens have to death and then leaving them to die. Chickens cower when I check their feed and water. Rain waits until I’m half-way past the lilacs on the way to the coop, before it sends a few drops directly over the rifle. Then I have to dry the rifle so carefully.

After lunch, and after the lunchtime chick check, is when I decided it—I had to unload before I could function any more and definitely before I laundered shirts. I calmed myself and gathered gloves and a lopper. Eight joyous branches later, and our dining table centerpiece was doing what lilacs do best. They may be too much perfume for one meal, but are just right, for right now. As the house fills with their scent, I relax.

I once had an opportunity to visit West Bend, Wisconsin, during the bloom time for lilacs. West Bend must have a policy about lilacs because everyone there has them, even fast food places. Arriving at dusk, my family and I wandered out of our car and into the spicy sweetness. Their essence was too strong to recognize on the balmy evening air, but it was sublime, as it is in my house, right now.

Was it like that when Mary bathed and anointed Jesus’ feet? The Word says the house filled with the perfume. Jesus said we always would remember her, too. I feel glad for her sake, but I wonder why He said this and why we remember her.

Of course, her story provides a glimpse into the seamier side of life in Jerusalem. Things were different, then. Adultery and prostitution were against the law, then. Nowadays they are just entertainment for the soaps crowd and fun pastimes for teens. Most kids of today have not heard and would hardly guess these activities are sin, would never be able to guess why. Almost no one can see the demise we’ve inherited from them. Ruined personalities, ruined families, ruined towns, counties—even whole states can trace their downfall to the ruin of marital faithfulness. Whole villages have thrown away the solid ground on which they built. It won’t take much of a wave to wash them away. It will be sad when it comes, and it only takes one village ignoring erosion to start a huge washout.

Will anyone ever see it? Will anyone ever feel sorry about it and stop it?

Mary did, although it meant embarrassment for her.

The perfume of lilacs, faithfully calling to us, can make a difference in this world. Like Mary. I want to be like her. I want to be always at Jesus’ feet.

Blessings of Habit, Coffee-ism, Homemaking, Inspiring, Recipes, Wisdom, Womanhood

The A-OK Breakfast – Veggie Frittata!

Posted on March 30, 2011April 17, 2011 by Katharine

Good morning!

The hardest thing about dieting, for me, is that the only way I can really lose weight and stay healthy is to cut carbohydrates. I dread that. I love chocolate-coated sugar bombs with milk and cream on them. I love pancakes with too much syrup. I love granola bars, instant milk stir ins, and smoothies.

The only way I can make myself follow a low-carb diet is to keep telling myself that sweet = poison. In a way, it is true, for me. Sugar sure is sweet and sure is poison. Most sugar substitutes are, also. Since I stopped allowing sugar past my lips, I have been tons healthier. I try hard to stick to only 10 grams of sugar per day, although I often go up to 15 or 20. Still, I try.

Now, lest we be confused, in my book, starch = sugar. If you paid attention in school, you learned that starch changes to sugar in the body, often as soon as while it is in the mouth. So–no sugar = no starch.

Exit: breakfast as we know it. Enter: eggs, the wonder-food.

Long ago when scientific empiricism ruled, children learned in school that eggs are nearly a perfect food. Soon after that, media sensationalism took over and we all became scared of the egg. Impossible! Now, surprise, surprise! the egg is coming back into vogue, probably because if we want, we can circumvent media tripe by watching the computer, instead, choosing to read the research for ourselves, instead of trusting the interpretation of those who have agendas.

Slowly it trickles down and grows to a deep sea of truth. The truth is, I cannot eat the average donut or cereal breakfast and lose. I ate that way for most of my life, and now, the part of me that processes sugar is worn out. It’s gotta be protein and greens for me.

I have learned, from long years of perfecting my breakfast menus, that I cannot tolerate egg after egg after egg, unless I do something drastic about the boredom. So I collect amazing egg recipes. Thinking others may be in the same boat, I have decided to share, every Monday, how I have beat egg boredom. (Yes, I know today is Wednesday. Minor glitch. Just think–you only have to wait five more days for the next installment.)

Today will be the Vegetable Frittata. It is so NOT breakfast-y, that it shocks the taste buds into sobriety while delivering tons of great nutrients to the fasting body, including one of the most easily digested protein sources, the lowly egg.

Here it is, in all its glory. Adjust it to meet your taste buds and your veggies on hand. Enjoy!

Vegetable Frittata

2 T. olive oil or butter
4″ sprig rosemary
1 or 2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 or 2 mushrooms, sliced
1 small tomato, chunked
2 eggs
grated parmesan cheese (opt.)

Warm oil with rosemary in covered saute pan for a minute. Add onion and garlic and saute briefly, stirring, until clear. Add mushrooms and increase heat slightly. Saute, stirring, until mushroom begins to shrink and brown. Onion should brown, also, and garlic should be nearly overdone. Increase heat slightly and add tomato. Stir and fry until tomato just begins to peel.

vegetable frittata-1 — Just After Adding Tomato

Beat eggs with 1 teaspoon water and add to pan, stirring constantly until done. If desired, contents of pan may be pushed into interesting shapes before egg sets.

vegetable frittata-2 — Prepared with Love

Sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, if desired, and serve with 2 ounces of pomegranate juice and/or 1 cup coffee or tea. Serves one.

Enjoy!

Okay, I know it’s a shock. Move to a sunny window, close your eyes, pretend you’re in Italy, and learn a new thing.

See ya’ tomorrow!

Good ol' days, Homemaking, Inspiring