1 c. melted coconut oil (Olive oil is cheaper, but coconut oil has lots of health benefits!)
1 c. honey
½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbs. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
5 c. old fashion rolled oats (Not quick cooking)
Nut, coconut flakes, seeds, and dried fruits are all optional
Line and grease a large cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a large bowl whisk together melted coconut oil, honey, cocoa, vanilla, and salt.
Stir in oats and any addition things like nuts, dried fruit, etc… Spread mixture on lined and greased cookie
sheet and bake for 10-15 min.
Notes: Keep a close eye on the granola while it’s
baking, it’s no good if it’s burnt; you want the granola to still be just a
little soft because when it cools it will harden some. I recommend storing leftover
granola in an airtight container. The more times you make this the more you
will find what works best for you: you may like less or no cocoa powder, no or
more salt, or like it baked more or a little less….. This is a really simple
recipe that you can play with! This recipe can be cut back if you don’t need 5
cups of granola, for my family 5 cups will last all of two days.
Summer is past, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I feel
the rest of this year is whizzing past me. 2012 has been a good year in many ways and
many new things have been discovered, learned, accomplished, and put away for a
season. I hope to bring all of the things out of the *attic* soon, but for now,
other things call. It’s exciting to think of what the New Year may hold… a little
scary too, but what I really want to talk about doesn’t change from season to
season: it will be the same no matter what the New Year holds! I want to write
about the faithfulness of the Lord. I usually right about fairly superficial
things: crafts, recipes, decorating, gardening, so on, but none of these mean
much without purpose.My purpose in life
is to serve my Creator by serving others… it is the most fulfilling thing you
can imagine…. I didn’t say it’s always spectacular or pretty, but it truly is fulfilling
when my heart is set on someone other than me!
“I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service. 2 And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” Romans 12:1-2 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 “For I know the
plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for
welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like
this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to
receive’” Acts 20:35.
On this fulfilling journey,
(serving God by serving primarily my family), there are some hardships and
pains I have and will encounter: everyone has hardships and trials. They come
in many colors and packages, and mine happens to be that my Mom has bone
cancer. This means a lot of different things for my family, but I can sum it all up
by saying, a lot of things have been flipped upside down. I struggle with many
fears: that I won’t be able to handle my
circumstances, that I’m not strong enough, that I will mess up or do something
wrong... etc, but then the truth of God’s word finds me in those moments and shines in
my fearful heart the light of truth: “And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 “ Theses things I have
spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33.
When I am honest, I must say that I learn a great deal through trials! Trials
teach me to focus on others, to sympathize with others better, to not strive in
my own strength, and to lean on the arms of Jesus. So in the moments when I can’t
go one step farther I remember that I don’t have to, God’s strength is
sufficient for me and he is faithful to provide what I need when I need
it!
“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to
anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalms 86:15 “22 Because of the
LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 Thy mercies
are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 “God,
who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is
faithful.” 1 Corinthians 1:9.
Deuteronomy 7:9 has become one of the most
comforting verses to me, “ Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he
is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them
that love him and keep his commandments to
a thousand generations;”
The truth behind whatever trial you face is God is faithful! I am so thankful to be serving ‘the faithful
God’!
Wow! What a busy Summer! As you can tell, we haven't had much time to post, and I still don't have a lot of time; so this post will be short and sweet! This Summer has been extremely busy... just the way I like it! As I get older I appreciate the different season of weather and life so much more, in fact though I love Fall, I am sad that our crazy Summer is coming to end and this chapter (Summer 2012) is closing. God has been so good to us this Summer, as He always has in the past, and I thought I would just share a few highlights from the past few months. Later I will hopefully get the chance to expound on some of the gardening, canning and cooking...fun!
As for canning
Fig preserves
Cherry preserves
Pear preserves
Peaches
Pears
And then........
120 quarts of GREEN BEANS!
All work and no play makes *Jake* a dull boy! ;D
Olivia got bored....so she brought the weighted exercise ball to life!
and so the Summer went by......more life flew by!
I can't wait to tell all about the canning experience and share some great recipes (mainly for cupcakes! <3) .......for now......the house needs painting the laundry needs sorting and the bacon, for delicious BLT's, needs frying!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Farmers' Market is in full swing! Lots of yummy vegetables are coming inn and plenty of ripe fruit as well! Me and Audrey are in an extremely busy season and do not expect be able to come back out to Market until September, but there is still lots to see at The Hitching Lot Farmers' Market downtown Columbus!
We had a tea party/brunch for Mother's Day and one of the very neat things we made was an edible arrangement. Not only would we have to drive to pick, but we would have to pay $$$ a great deal more than if we just made it! I figured that we save at least $72 by making our own! So this is what you'll need to make your own edible arrangement:
Fruit (I would suggest grapes, pineapple, watermelon, honey dew, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, peaches.... stay away from fruit that is really soft, like bananas!)
skewers (12''-18'')
A large vase, basket, or decorative container
Foam (To support/hold the skewers)
Chocolate chips for melting (Optional)
Kale or Lettuce for covering the foam around the base
Wash all the fruit (Use a drop or two of grapefruit seed oil, more on that later!)
Cut your fruit into wedges, balls, cubes, and other fun shapes! (We used a cookie cutter to make heart and star shapes.)
Place the strawberries on the skewers and dip in chocolate. I then had an extra vase or two on hand to place the strawberries in rather than laying them down on a pan. (That would make an undesirable flat side on the strawberry!)
This was the final product! Amazing!
I would like to say that a little creativity goes a long way on projects like these, and that this was Audrey's project (except for the strawberry dipping ;D) and she did an amazing job!
