Same Picture Different Recipe "Aunt Karen's Strawberry Bread w/Strawberry Butter

Same picture different recipe.

Still sticking with the strawberry and the family theme though even sticking with aunts and their recipes.

This one is Mark's sister Karen's, our children's Aunt Karen.

I call her Aunt Karen all the time because the kids do.

I loved this the first time she brought it to us and I still do, the Strawberry Butter that goes with it is just "icing on the cake" so to speak, or I guess in this case, "butter on the bread."

You've got to try it, you're gonna love it.

Bread:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 10 oz. pkgs. frozen strawberries, thawed and drained (save the juice)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2  9x5 or 5 mini pans. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Make a well in center. Stir in eggs, oil and strawberries, mix well. Pour into prepared loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (small pans, 20-25 minutes)

Butter:
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1/2 cup of the berry juice you saved
1 cup powdered sugar
Beat until creamy and refrigerate

To serve slice the bread and spread some of the strawberry butter all over it. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

I add different fruits to butter a lot times and it is great for adding a little something extra to toast, or waffles, pancakes, french toast, or just life in general.

Strawberry Season is Among Us!

Mark brought these in tonight and so of course you know I got around here and made him some pie crust.

He just finished off his first Strawberry Shortcake of the season.

Our family always enjoys the Strawberry season. Pies, shortcakes, bread, Strawberry Butter and Jam.

I remember my dad telling us about how years ago when his Aunt Dorothy was a teenager her mom and dad, my dad's grandparents had a large berry patch and they picked, packed and sold the berries.

My Great Aunt Dorothy wrote her name and address on the bottom of one of the berry boxes.

Some young man saw it and rode all the way down to see her.

She was excited but not for long, as the story goes my Great Grandpa ran the guy off before she even got to meet him.

In honor of my sweet Great Aunt Dorothy I'm sharing with you her Strawberry Pie recipe. It's always been my favorite.

It's a basic recipe.

Basically the best.

1 cup boiling water
3 TBSP. Strawberry Jello
3 TBSP. Cornstarch
1 cup sugar
a few drops of red food coloring

Cook until thick, then cool. Gently fold berries into the glaze and pour into a baked and cooled crust.
Refrigerate.

I Practiced What I Preached, I Listened Quietly... Sorta

Remember me telling you about how every time I post  how we should be, I am almost instantly put in a place where I have to eat my words,  live up to them or both.

It happened again.

If you are a follower of my page you know I have been posting about listening. Just tips and hints about being a good listener.

Well, guess what? Mark told me something and I didn't want to listen, I wanted to scream, but I knew screaming wouldn't change anything because I've taken that approach other times over the last 30 years to no avail.

Olivia's open house is this Sunday.

The chickens all went out earlier in the week.

This is  a good thing, I thought Mark would be a little less stressed and have some extra time.

He just told me a man called and wants chicken litter, a lot of chicken litter.

That means cleaning out the barns, that mean stirring up the smell and attracting flies.

He sees no problem with this.  He has no idea why I should be concerned about cleaning out barns and hosting an open house all in the same weekend.

But then this is the same man who found a large dead feeder steer  on the fourth of July one year and brought it to the end of the drive way for the dead animal wagon to pick up.

It was 97 degrees and we were having both sides of the family for fireworks and a cookout and this steer was at the head of the driveway as they pulled in.

The only thing that saved me was they were all farmers too or had been farmers and knew the routine but still, I mean really, on the fourth of July.

Soooo, since I had just told you all how we should practice being the listener we want to be, that's what I did.

I didn't say a word, I practiced what I  preached, I just listened.

Well, really I was giving him the silent treatment but it sounds much nicer to say I just listened quietly.

Our Homeschool Journey Ends Today and It's Been Wonderful!

After being sad last night I am much improved this morning.

Last night I had already gone to bed when Olivia came in and laid her sweet little head down with me and said, "Mom, tomorrow is my last day of school."

Suddenly the last twenty years of my life flashed before my eyes.

It had been almost twenty years ago I had started to home school Heidi and now here was my baby girl telling me only one more day.

Maybe it was because it was late or because it was dark or because Liv was there beside me but I was surprised to be so emotional.

You see, I've dreamed of this day.



Heidi Joi, Jessica Joi, Lucas Marshall and Olivia Joi

I dreamed of it on those days when the last thing I wanted to do was to have school and the last thing they wanted to do was to have school.

I dreamed of it on those days when they just couldn't get it either because I couldn't get it or I wasn't explaining in their language.

I dreamed of it on those days when we got on each others nerves and I was about to go over the emotional abyss.

The days I wanted to pull in front of West Washington School and say, "Here you take them!" It was days like that I dreamed of a day like today.

While everyone who has ever attempted to school their own children knows there are days like that the truth is they are the exception.

I can honestly say I would never and I mean never trade a single day of the last twenty years of my motherhood for anything.

I remember when they each one started to read, I can still see the look in their eyes when something clicked.

I remember all the projects and crafts and stories.

I remember one day a week weather permitting we would go to the park, sometimes the Salem Park, sometimes Spring Mill and sometimes just that over look pull off on 135 south of Salem.

Then I thought about going to the nursing home to read to the residents. We would go to the living room area and I would read Little House on the Prairie while the kids sat with the residents who came to listen.

We went on field trips,local of course. They played soccer at the Y.

There were piano lessons, swim lessons, 4-H projects, violin lessons, karate and crocheting lessons.

They worked here on the farm with their dad everyday after school was over.
They picked tomatoes, packed tomatoes and sold tomatoes.

They raised feeder pigs, calves, and chickens.

They sold eggs and had ducks.

We ate together lived together, worked together and learned together.

I know there were things my children didn't get like they might have got if they went to a public or private school.

I also know they got a lot they wouldn't have got had they gone.

Heidi has decided to make her home her career. She is a wonderful cook, terrific with money, and an encouraging, helpful, loving wife.

Lucas is beginning his last year at Indiana State in Terre Haute and is doing wonderful.

Jessica completed her cosmetology school and has been working for two years now building up a great clientele.

Olivia will start school in the fall and her course is undecided but she is leaning toward the medical field.

While I''m pleased with all of that my real joy is in the kind of people they are.

They are not perfect, mistakes have been made and more will be.

They didn't have perfect parents, our mistakes were many.

When they were little I didn't realize how great my mistakes, now I do.

I ask as every mother does for mercy on my failures.

How many nights have I stayed awake asking God to please have mercy and fix what I had hurt. To restore what I had broken, either with a harsh impatient word or response.

When I survery my children now, I have to say God is faithful, He did step in, He did raise them up in spite of me.

I bow before Him and give Him all the praise, the honor and the glory for my children and I thank Him for giving me such a wonderful gift and for opening my eyes so that I could taste it to the fullest.

So today finds me at the end of a road.

I'll have to take one of the many turns I see, I'm thinking it will be the one with Mark standing at the end of it.

I'm sure he thinks it's about time.

Kitchen Things I've Learend Along the Way

Today I'm going to post a little list of things most know but some don't and everyone needs to.

Hope it's helpful to someone.

When you are frying bacon to keep your bacon from curling up don't turn it to often. Cook it slow and only turn when it is desired crispness on one side.

You know your potatoes are ready to mash when you can smash them on the side of the kettle with a fork.

Always use real butter.

Don't salt dried beans until they are almost done or they won't soften.

Rule of thumb for frying chicken is  oil heated to 350 degrees before you put the chicken in, add slowly and don't overcrowd your skillet, I always fry in two skillets. Turn meat every 15 minutes for about 45 minutes to an hour. When juice runs clear you know it's done.

Buttermilk makes the best cornbread. Melt butter in your cast iron skillet on the stove top add cornbread to it and let sit on stove top until it bubbles at edges then place in hot oven to finish.

If your brown sugar gets hard you can put it in a ziploc with a slice of bread and it will soften again.

Don't ever just pour your water or liquid into flour all at once. You have to add it in very slowly stirring after each addition or it will lump up and you'll never get the lumps out.

Even sweets need salt, Marks mom always says a pinch of salt in about everything keeps it from tasting flat.

Always measure exactly when baking. Level off your ingredients with a knife and don't shake flour down.

Don't over work pie crust or baking powder biscuits. They will be tough if you do.

Most cake mixes will be better and more moist if you bake them at 325 instead of the 350 the box calls for.

This is just a simple little list of things you may have known forever or some of it could be news to you.

Please add your comments of the little things you've learned along the way that someone starting out or maybe even someone that's been in the kitchen  a long time might not know.

I'm looking forward to learning from you!

In Due Season

I love to celebrate as well as the next person but from the conversations I've been hearing lately, I wonder if in our quest to make everything a big deal we have made it so nothing seems a big deal.

Maybe we've turned everything into a big burden.

It seems we try to make everyone experience everything sooner and sooner.

Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't wait to ride in the front seat?

It usually went down the line starting with the oldest.

It was just understood you waited your turn.

Then think about being a little girl and seeing the high school girls go to the prom. They were like a princess and you dreamed of the day that would be you.

But somewhere along the line we decided you shouldn't wait and started having 5th and 6th grade dances.

Then there is the whole issue of graduations, I've heard people say they have to go to pre-school graduations, kindergarten and Jr. high ones. They ask, do you take a gift to all of them?  If  I had a grandchild in preschool and they were having a graduation, of course I would go and of course,I would think they looked adorable but I would still find it unnecessary.

It sounded good but the truth is we haven't given our children anything by doing all of this, actually we've stolen from them.

Remember the saying, "Good things come to those who wait."  It really is true.

One of the biggest gifts you can give your children is the gift of waiting for the big things of life.

We all need to experience that right of passage, we need to be able to say with pride we've paid our dues, even in something as simple as getting to ride in the front seat.

Try not to cave into the pressure of giving it all to them to soon or one day you will find yourself unable to give anything pleasing.

We can't change everything but we are the captain of our homes and to a certain extent the course we chart is in our hands.

Chart with a voice of reason, in due season  it will lead to them into enjoying  a grand celebration!

The Apron Lady is Coming to Lost River!!

Every since we bought the farm at Lost River I have wanted to  use it to bless others.

I had all these ideas of how I was going to fix it up and decorate this old former Amish house.

Well, reality hit.

As Mark often reminds me we bought a farm not a house, the house just happened to come with it. A lot of money shouldn't be spent on the house at first because we have farm things to do. ( All you farm wives can recite this conversation word for word I'm sure)

It has been great to have the family dinners and holidays and I plan to keep that up. We're having a Mothers Day bonfire this Sunday night.

But I wanted to do even more. I kept thinking when I got things just how I wanted them, even though I wasn't sure how that was I would have something special.

I knew whatever it was while I wanted it to look nice, I mainly wanted it to look like my kitchen. I wanted it to be just like you happened to stop by just as the noon meal was coming up.

I wanted people to come in and be struck more by the home feel than by the decor.

Recently I asked myself, so if that's what you want why are you waiting?

So, I decided to go ahead.

I'm not waiting.

I'm so excited to announce the Apron Lady will be at Lost River on Saturday,Morning June 22 at 11;00 in the morning.

If you have not heard her you are in for a treat.

Bobby, Barb, Dana and I heard her last fall and she just did the Mother Daughter Banquet at Sugar Creek.

She brings her collection of aprons dating back as far as the early 1800s.

She will share the history of the apron and the changes in not only the apron but in the lives of women.

She is funny and informative and you will have a great time!

I know it's early yet but seating is limited so I wanted to let you know ahead of time.

Bring your family or friends and your apron or a family members apron, and most importantly bring the story that goes with it and share it with all of us that day.

Cost for the brunch and the speaker is $20.00.

If you can make it let me know.. I can't wait to have you all over!!