Tammy's Recipes

I love blogging, but the really good part is taking things into "real life".

A hundred recipes on a website don't really do any good if my family is eating PBJ for dinner. A motivating post about homemaking is useless if I spend all my time and energy staring at a computer screen thinking about doing things instead of actually doing them.

And while I love sharing bits of our life here in my blog, it's even more exciting to sit down and actually spend time with folks... in "real life". :)

About 6 months ago, I was blessed to meet a local blog reader. Living in a somewhat rural area in NW Ohio, in a (relatively) small town, I think we were both shocked to discover that we lived in the same town! :) We've made good use of living in close proximity, with lots of visits and meals between our families. :)

It's fun to have a local friend who's passionate about many of the same things as I am. :) I'm passing along my love for receiving blanket diapers and homemade cloth wipes, and she's introducing my boys to goats and chickens. Oh, and I swapped some of my excess asparagus for some farm-fresh eggs. I know, I know... I got the good end of that deal! :)

This morning, she and I headed out to some garage sales in a nearby town. Have my regular readers caught on to my budding garage sale addiction this year? It's Joshua's fault for encouraging it, along with the fact that my children keep outgrowing their clothes... ;)

When we got home, it was lunch time. I had some crock pot pizza ready, and warmed up leftover creamed asparagus over pasta, along with some veggies.

Yes, I serve leftovers to guests. Sometimes. Let's just say that the focus was on garage sales, not food. ;) Or, starve your guests and when you finally feed them, they'll rave about anything. Something like that. ;)

Here's what Ruth thought about it all. By the time lunch was over, she was exhausted. :) She's sucking her thumb in this picture -- something she's really fond of doing. She must take after her mommy (I sucked my thumb until 3rd grade).

Our attempt at garage saleing on Friday morning ended in a downpour and an over-heated car after the second sale, but we managed to make it back home safely. It was dark and rainy all day and I was so ready for a break from the week's work that I collapsed into bed at 7:45pm.

Thankfully, the rain has let up and today is sunny. My clothesline is filled, and as the wind lifts the fabrics in the breeze, my spirits lift too.

We skipped naps today, so the boys will be ready for an early bedtime. I think I'll leave the the bright computer screen and get some chores finished up before it's my bedtime, too!

Life. It's a whole lot bigger than what fits into my blogging time. :)

Why is it that a messy kitchen looks so much less messy in a picture?! :)

The kitchen table's full, too. It's 11:20pm and I am completely unmotivated to do all these dishes. So I'm using my blog to motivate me! Is that allowed? ;)

I'll be back with an "after" photo soon! :)

I'm just getting started on several of the things that needed to get done today. (It's 11pm and I still have two loads of laundry on the clothesline.) I guess it'll be a long short night.

I went to the dentist this morning. The veridct? Could be better, could be worse. The tooth that was hurting needs a root canal and crown. And I have a couple other cavities that need filled. My gums are doing okay and if I floss every single day instead of just a few times a week, I'll be great.

I will definitely be investigating some more affordable options for the root canal and crown (thanks for the suggestions on my other post, everyone!), as the total estimate for the work they want to do in my mouth came to about 6 of Joshua's paychecks. I could cry. Actually, I did.

So... yeah. Let's just say I've had better days.

Lessons learned:

1. Don't skip dental cleanings.

2. Ignorance really is bliss.

Crystal just declared that today is stop procrastinating about something day. And since I like to take Crystal's advice, I decided to call the dentist.

Calling the dentist has been on my "to-do" list for months. Back in January, I started having tooth pain after eating some chocolate. A few days of religiously brushing, flossing, and Listerine-ing alleviated the pain, and I resolved to eat no more chocolate.

Since then, the pain has come and gone, and I kept telling myself I needed to schedule an appointment, but honestly... I'm scared!!

I haven't had a cleaning in 8 years. (No dental insurance and a tight budget sometimes means I cut corners where I probably shouldn't.)

I also have a history of periodontitis. For that reason, I have dreaded going to the dentist ever since my teen years, and then just decided that ignorance is bliss and usually try my hardest not to think about how much work probably needs done in my mouth.

So, I made the dreaded call. The receptionist was reassuringly friendly. My appointment is Thursday morning. I'm guessing they'll give my teeth a good cleaning and then give me my fix-it options so we can decide what we can afford.

Any advice? Is it safe to even have dental x-rays when breastfeeding?

Someone at our house got out of bed on the wrong side this morning. (Hint: It wasn't the dad or the boys or the girl.)

After prayer, repentance, and apologizing, I turned off the computer for the day and got busy.

Hard work is always a good, productive way to vent some steam, and with three young children it's never difficult to fill a day with hard work.

It rained all day. I'm looking forward to getting out tomorrow, and I know the children are, too. The laundry piles up quickly when there are 3 rainy days in a row. :)

"'And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.'

"So ends the work of creation; and with nightfall, a new world is about to begin. A world of holiness and tranquility. A world within a day, the seventh day. For on the seventh day, God rested, and God blessed the seventh day, and God sanctified it."

-Yarda Hashabbat (the Sabbath descends)

We've received a number of requests for us to share more about how we observe the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the highlight of our weeks, and we are so blessed and refreshed by its observance! :)

Read more...

Some questions left by a recent commenter:

Your cooking is very rich. What are your thoughts on postpartum weight loss and being thin verses chubby? What are your thoughts on how media portrays beauty?

First, if you haven't already done so, you might enjoy reading my post titled Balance in Eating from a couple months ago. :) That post sort of explains our typical diet, which might not be quite as lavish as initially appears from the many recipes here. ;)

I am not what I would consider particularly thin, but I am also not considered overweight according to charts. Since weight and size varies so much from person to person, I'll just say that I am at the very top of what is considered a healthy weight for my height.

Of course, true healthiness isn't about certain numbers on the scale, and I actually don't weigh myself very often at all, since doing so only reminds me of what the scale used to say when I was 18... which was a considerably smaller number. I've found that doing things to be healthy (exercising, drinking lots of water, eating good foods, etc.) and not focusing on my weight is the best way for me to keep a good perspective on things! :)

I know thin people and chubby people who are unhealthy. I also know thin people as well as chubby people who are very healthy. Exercise and diet are far more important than a clothing size or a number on the scales.

About postpartum weight loss -- I think any weight loss should be done in a healthy manner. Not too quickly, and with exercise and healthy eating as the focus.

I was going to write out all my thoughts about postpartum weight loss, but found this article which pretty much covers everything. :) I personally don't worry about or try to lose weight until my baby is at least a couple months old. And no, I'm not one of those people who just lose all the extra weight without some effort. ;)

How the media portrays beauty? I haven't seen much true beauty in mainstream media. I am thankful that my husband sees me as beautiful just like I am. And honestly, we rarely expose ourselves to modern secular media outside of the news (which we read online). :)

Louise asked this question on my last pregnancy update:

I have been wondering how you manage to stay in shape while eating all the yummy food and desserts that you make?

Good question! :) I think one of the pitfalls of having a food blog is that most of my blogging centers around, well, food... even though food isn't the focus of my existence, and we certainly believe in and practice moderation! :)

I honestly don't cook large fancy meals all the time... or even most of the time. A typical family dinner for us usually includes three foods -- a main dish (with meat), a cooked vegetable, a side bread/pasta/potato, and whatever else I happen to have (fruit, salad, baked goods). You might notice this in the pictures I post of our dinner plates: I usually take a picture of the plate of food I am about to eat... so if the plate is one-third or one-half full of cooked veggies, that's what I'm really eating! :) 

We do love to make bigger meals for company, so when we have guests, we end up having a much larger meal (5-6 foods plus dessert). When it's just us, I don't usually have a special dessert made. We might have a little ice cream from the freezer, or I might have some muffins on hand, but we don't have dessert every day.

Joshua does make some really amazing cheesecakes, but even those aren't our everyday fare. ;) The last cheesecake Joshua made was about 3 weeks ago, and we served some to our dinner guests. I froze the leftover pieces, and have eaten three (small) pieces since then. There's still cheesecake in our freezer, which will probably last until the next special occasion when Joshua makes a new one! :)

So, we eat fairly balanced meals, and keep our portions in check. In the warmer months, I love taking brisk walks (some of my exercise ideas can be found here!), though I must confess that exercizing regularly is something I have to work at.

We had such a fun, full day of visiting with family. :) I slept in until 8 this morning, and then started right in on my dinner rolls. Joshua made breakfast for us, and then made some eggless egg nog. :) Yes, I know there is cheesecake in this picture... we will get the recipe typed up tomorrow! :)

The dinner rolls took up most of the morning (with no time for pictures -- so I'll take some tomorrow!) and in-between forming rolls and baking them, we managed to fit showers and kitchen clean-up and getting-ready-to-go. :)

Yehoshua and Eliyahu had a blast playing with their cousins, and completely wore themselves out. When we got back home at 7 pm, they both went straight to bed! :) At their ages right now (3.5 and almost-2), they are old enough to play nicely with other children and don't get into so much trouble. I could actually visit with other people while keeping an eye on them as they played! :)

In many ways, this time before the new baby's birth is relaxing, and I'm enjoying some of the freedoms of having "older" children. :) I know I will enjoy having a newborn in a few months, but I'm also enjoying "right now"...

I have spent wasted far too many moments waiting for everything to be "perfect" before being thankful, content, and happy. It's so much better to just stop -- and enjoy the right now with which I've been blessed. :)

I wrote this post for my personal journal in March of 2006, back when Eliyahu was a newborn. :)

Have you ever heard of someone praying that they would enjoy cloth diapers? Well, I did, 2 days ago.

"Wait a minute," I know you're thinking, "isn't this the girl who raved about using cloth diapers just a year or so ago?!"

Well, let me tell you about why I prayed... and how Yahweh answered :)

(Read the entire post!)

I recently read something that got me thinking about my blog content.

And since I write a recipe and cooking blog, I post a lot about food. I also enjoy making things from scratch, and pinching pennies. My blog content is focused and doesn't always have a lot of variety in topic, but not because I don't care about lots of things. There's only so much time in the day, and I have to choose a tiny portion of our lives to write about!

We've never really felt the luxury of "lots" of money, and if we didn't live frugally, we would be deep into debt by now. Sure, we do without some things that we could probably afford... like going out to eat. (Actually, our reasons for not going out to eat are more about quality preferences!) 

I'm sure we could manage eating out once a week. But could we manage eating out, buying ready-made foods, driving the car frequently, always using the electric dryer, buying disposable diapers, buying new clothing, and without everything else we do to save money? Absolutely not!

But your budget might allow for more of those things. And I hope you know that I think that's perfectly fine! :) I'm really into homemade bagels right now, but that doesn't mean I think everyone has to make their own. I use cloth diapers, I love cloth diapering, but you can use whatever keeps your baby clean and dry! (Just don't complain to me about the price, that's all! ;D)

I love simple, everyday things. I like to cook, I love Yahweh, and I love my family. So this is just my little disclaimer... yes, there are more important things than the things I blog about. And no, I'm not over here passing judgment on those of you who really don't want to make homemade laundry soap or use old socks for dishrags! ;)

It amazes me sometimes, how my Heavenly Father knows exactly what I need, and when. I love getting encouraging comments and emails, like this comment posted earlier today:

"I've been reading your blog for a few months, and I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy it. Of all the different blogs I read, this one makes me feel the most comfortable or at home :) I guess maybe because we have similar interests and you seem to be an easy going person. I just felt like I needed to tell you that you are encouraging and uplifting and I am blessed to get to read your words :) Thanks so much!  --Jessica, mom to three BUSY little girls"

And here, all day, I had been wondering, "How in the world can I blog a real picture of what I think about life in general?!" I know the answer is that I can't, and I don't have to be able to! :) But I'm so thankful that God is using this little website to encourage others!

But it's late, and I'm rambling. Good night! :)

Self-discipline. You know, I have so far to go on this one!

I'm working on a list of goals for our family right now (well, mostly for me, involving the children, since Joshua has his goals already mapped out!) and I need to set some more (better) boundaries for myself.

One of my goals is to exercise regularly. Exercise is so beneficial, in the short term (energy!) and long term (overall health). I really can't sit here worrying about this or that additive in my food, when I refuse to get adequate exercise.

I may not be able to eat 100% organic food and avoid every single harmful ingredient completely, but I CAN exercise. So why worry about what we can't change, when we're not even doing the things we CAN?!

So, when I saw Crystal's new podcast yesterday, I forced myself to not listen to it. Instead, I listened to it while I exercized this morning! It was an enjoyable listen, as I expected! ;)

After being rather sick for almost a month, I'm excited about feeling well again and getting back into exercizing!! :)

In every generation let each man look on himself as if he came forth out of Egypt.

As it is said: "And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: It is because of that which Yahweh did for me when I came forth out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:8).

It was not only our fathers that the Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed, but us as well did He redeem along with them.

As it is said: "And He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore to our fathers" (Deuteronomy 6:23).

Therefore, we are bound to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, honor, bless, extol, and adore Him Who performed all these miracles for our fathers and for us. He has brought us forth from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to celebration, from darkness to great light, and from bondage to redemption.

From a Haggadah provided by Beit Hallel

May our Heavenly Father grant you a blessed Passover as we remember Yeshua's sacrifice, atonement, and deliverance!

February comes, and the stores start trying to market things which they say will show our loved ones that we care about them. Be it flowers or candy, spending money is supposed to prove our love.

But love isn't meant to be shown one day or even one month out of the year. As the second greatest commandment, "Love one another", thoughts of love should be on our minds daily. Read more...

Recently, Court asked me, "How do you honestly do it all?!" As happens in blog-world from time to time, we read the chronicles of someone's life (the tiny snippet placed in their blog!) and get it into our heads that they are perfect in everything they do, which leads (usually) to either jealousy and dislike, or unbalanced amazement and awe.

Crystal at Biblical Womanhood shared this post about "getting things done" (or, not!) and guess what! I've been there too! ;) My face still gets a little red when I get an unexpected guest and have to invite them in to a house littered with toys, laundry, and dirty dishes.

One guest spotted the pan of (cold) pizza left on the kitchen table and said, "Oh! Did I interrupt your meal?"

"Ummm, no. Actually, we ate lunch a few hours ago. I just never got the leftovers put away. Yet..." (Read more...)

I'm posting such a variety of blog entries this past week! I've really been having a blast blogging about whatever's on my mind and taking a week's break from my normal postings of menus, Works-for-me Wednesday tips, and Frugal Fridays at biblical Womanhood.

I love blogging about cooking and kitchen-related topics, but sometimes those things crowd out the everyday stuff that's really on my mind! Because no, I don't just think about cooking, recipes, and food all day!

And what I'm thinking about right now, is television. You can blame it on this post, where Barbara Curtis writes about her thoughts on television.

I've never owned a television, so the closest I've come to living with one has been when I've stayed at other people's houses. I don't think television "is evil". We choose not to have one for many reasons. Here are just a few, and in no particular order! (Read some of my reasons...)

"'And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.'

"So ends the work of creation; and with nightfall, a new world is about to begin. A world of holiness and tranquility. A world within a day, the seventh day. For on the seventh day, God rested, and God blessed the seventh day, and God sanctified it."

-Yarda Hashabbat (the Sabbath descends)

"My teacher used to say that all that's beautiful in this world was beautiful because it had limits, not in spite them. We see the beauty of the rainbow because we sense its disappearance. We see the beauty of the rose because tomorrow it will wilt and lose its petals. All beauty has an end in our eyes.

"Now, in the eyes of God, beauty is eternal. It has no end and no beginning; but for us this would not be possible. So God, with great compassion, sets light facing darkness, the ocean facing dry land, the earth facing the moon; and all is made beautiful by this setting, because all is made meaningful by it.

"The darkness lets go of endless secrets because the light shines through it, and the ocean finally reaches its shore because the earth is waiting there for it. All this exists within God's world, and comes and goes in God.

"But we can see the beauty of it only because there is a differentiation. Havdallah. And now the Sabbath is departed, and we are sad. And the Sabbath is made even holier because we are sad. And may the sadness we feel today illuminate our joy in the week to come."

-Havdallah (the "separation" between
the Sabbath and the rest of the week)

We've been enjoying Songs for the Sabbath as we rest and reflect on our heavenly Father's goodness to us. I just wanted to share the beginning and ending quotes from the CD.

We were recently asked why we don't celebrate Christmas. We get this question in "real life" once in a while as well, so we put together our top 5 reasons we have chosen not to celebrate Christmas. Read more...

The past week or two has seemed impossibly long... and there have been so many days of just work, work, work... and no stopping for play or reflection. YHWH has been sending blessings though, and I am just amazed by His goodness, yet again! Here is some of what I'm praising Him for today!

• Music! Yesterday, my younger brother Reuben came over and told us that he had gotten us a stereo! Our old one had become so temperamental that it would only play one certain CD and occasionally a tape (with coaxing). I am so thrilled because now we can listen to music downstairs! After over a year of not getting to listen to any of my music, I have plenty to choose from! :)
• Clearance sales at Aldi's!
• Visitors coming for a weekend... next weekend!
• Tea! My supply of tea was getting surprisingly low, but today it was replenished in a huge way! My friend Lin sent me several large packages and included tea... TONS of tea! Included were two boxes of tea from a really wonderful brand, Revolution Tea. I can hardly bear the fact that I can't try every single tea at once! Be on the lookout for lots of tea reviews soon (when I find time to take pictures and all that)! And to think that today at the grocery store I could hardly pull myself away from the tea aisle, but I eventually did, empty-handed (or would that be empty-cart-ed?), all the while not knowing that there was tea and more tea in the mail for me today!
• Free fruit! A friend gave us a grocery sack each of pears and apples! I can't wait to write about what we made with them! :)
• My babies... who are so kissable and sweet...
• Bedtime and a little nursling