Apple butter, a hand-made Autumn card, homemade cloth napkins... Brandy's hosting a giveaway and it looks like fun! :)

Occasionally, I really wish we had a television! :) Like when the Seahawks were at the superbowl, or like tomorrow, when there's going to be a news broadcast about home birth in Missouri. Okay, so that's about once every two years, meaning I'm still glad we don't have one. ;)

But for those of you who do have a tv, and are at all interested in the status of midwife-attended home births in Missouri (it's currently a felony for a certified professional midwife to attend a home birth in Missouri), I got this email from my friend Mary Ueland -- the grassroots coordinator helping to change the ridiculous laws about midwifery in Missouri. (Read more...)

My friend Ashleigh had one of those meals... you know, like the ones I blog about here called "Tammy's Disasters"? Only hers is, of course, an Ashleigh's Disaster.

In her usual, entertaining way, Ashleigh writes about her perfect-fabulous-romantic-evening meal that turned out a little under-cooked and a little burnt. Yum! ;)

Last winter, one of our guest chefs, Lindsey, shared her recipe for Hearty Herb Bread. It's a delicious homemade bread that goes great with a hot bowl of soup!

One of my readers, Jane, wrote out a slightly-adapted version of this recipe, including instructions for mixing the dough in her Kitchen Aid stand mixer. She shared lots of photos, including this lovely one of her finished loaves!

Aren't they beautiful?! Head over to her post for the photo tutorial! :)

For any of you who are interested in once-a-month cooking, Bethany has once again posted her recipe list, ingredient list (for shopping), and lots and lots of photos from her August cooking!!

So head over to her blog and check it out! :)

Take it from Bethany... always check your grocery receipt before leaving the store... you might save yourself $245.00!! :)

P.S. If you've never made homemade egg rolls, you might also enjoy Bethany's photo tutorial of how she makes hers! Ours are similar, though we use chicken, and seal the wraps with wet fingertips before frying. :)

I was surprised to come across this blog entry from a lady in France, who made our bagel recipe and translated it into French for her blog! :)

Since I don't know any French, I emailed Aline, a reader and commenter who knows both French and English. I was happy to hear that all those French words were saying good things about the bagels... and not bad! ;)

It's been a while since I posted about other good blog posts, but only because of lack of time or energy! So, here are some recent favorites, and my commentary. ;)

First, if you enjoy food posts with photos, then head over to Meredith's blog, because shes been posting lots of interesting things... from gourment lunchbox meals (and here I thought I was doing good just to get my husband's lunchbox packed with food, never minding the presentation! :D) to flavored vegetable water (now I'm wanting to make hummus... thanks for the suggestion!) to all about party food (wow, those tomato sandwiches are on the menu for my breakfast tomorrow! ;D). For someone who always talks about my food photos, well, I think this is pretty stiff competition! ;) But at least she has some disasters every now and then, like I do. ;)

Now, anyone who likes books and free pizza, and who has homeschoolers in elementary grades, check out Bethany's post about Book-It for homeschoolers! I was excited to read that they allow homeschoolers to participate! I'll have to wait another 2 years before Yehoshua would be eligible though. ;) Not that we need any more motivation to read... it's already one of our favorite daily activities! :)

Crystal at Biblical Womanhood made some homemade hot pockets and posted instructions and photos! I have made something similar in the past, but it's always nice to be reminded (with pictures!) of a simple meal idea. My menus have had anything BUT "Everyday Cooking Inspiration" (our phrase at the top of this site!) recently! :P

I wanted to try Mrs. Wilt's Sweet 'n' Tangy Macaroni Salad recipe, but it just hasn't happened yet. :) Since Joshua prefers potato salad over macaroni salad, trying this recipe hasn't been placed high enough on my list of "want to make"s... yet. :)

And lastly... this isn't exactly food-related, but Court has some humorous, well-written, and interesting tales about being a new mom to 3. I've been reading her posts with interest... and just a little fear. I sure hope this isn't what I'm in for! :D Actually, I am going to use the mindset I had when Eliyahu joined our family (prepare for the worst case scenario --  fussy baby and no sleep for weeks -- and certainly not 20 minutes to make a meal!) which involved a lot of planning and resulted in a pretty smooth transition. At least, a whole lot smoother than Yehoshua's entry into our home ("What?! You mean babies don't sleep all day? Some of them actually cry... a lot?! Maybe I should have put some food in the freezer after all...").

Meredith posted about how she makes her basic fruit cobbler... quick, easy, and delicious! Since I've actually never made a cobbler that I thought turned out very well, I'll have to remember this post of hers. ;) Just today, I picked a couple quarts of mulberries (they're so big this year!) but I gave them to my mom... :)

And while you're over at Meredith's blog, she has a nice post about being a courteous guest. :) Always good food for thought, though as some of the comments left on her post suggest -- know your host and ask before doing. ;)

For example, I don't always like other people trying to cook in my kitchen, but joint cooking projects are usually fun. And who doesn't like help with the cleanup?! Even that can be tricky at times, though, when I have had guests insist on washing the dishes for me, when I would actually prefer to do it myself due to the large percentage of dirty dishes found when they've done the job... :)

However, while the guest has certain responsibilities, the hostess certainly has them as well, and a cheerful smile is more important than dirty dishes. :) More thoughts on hospitality can be found here.

Okay, friends... you have less than 24 hours to head over to Brandy's blog and enter her jam giveaway!!

In honor of her 24th birthday (and just for fun, too!), Brandy is giving away a gift package with apple butter, blackberry jam, strawberry jam, and currant jelly... all homemade from hand-picked fruits. See her post for more details!

And alllllll you have to do is leave a comment (well, I assume she needs some way of contacting you if you win, as well...) over on her post...

And as of right now, there are only four contestants. That means your chances of winning are really really high!! So be sure to enter. :D (Photo above is property of Brandy. :D )