Spicy Tomato Sauce

Spicy Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cups finely chopped yellow onions

4 lbs. ripe Roma tomatoes, skinned and seeded (I didn't use Roma's but what I had on hand)

6 ounces tomato paste

2 tbsp. minced fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper (or use less and add red pepper flakes to your liking)

4 cups water

5 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley (flat leaf) (I used dried)

     1.  Heat olive oil in a deep pot.  Add onions and cook, covered over low heat until tender and lightly 

          colored, about 25 minutes. 

     2.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 10 mins. Stir occasionally. 

     3.  Add water and cook very slowly, uncovered for 3 hours. 

     4.  Stir in the garlic and parsley and simmer for 5 minutes. 

     5.  Taste and correct seasoning, if necessary. 

Makes 3 quarts. 

*From the Silver Palate Cookbook

Waste Not Wednesday

Today I thought I'd do a post on how I took several food items that are normally thrown away and turned them into another useful product and thereby saving myself money in the future. Have you ever heard the saying, "Waste Not, Want Not"? I was sifting this saying through Scripture to see if it was a biblical thought and Proverbs 31:11....

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.

One commentary I read on this verse said that her husband 'knows she will take care that a proper provision is made for his household, and will not waste anything'. 1

I've been making a determined effort to not waste food. I really can't afford to waste food but it's amazing how much food does go to waste each month. We've been blessed with an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables this summer. Our vegetable garden is still producing and the trees on our property have been very generous. This week I picked 2 tall buckets of Granny Smith's and 1 bucket of Fuji's plus a previous bucket I made into 2 batches of applesauce and 8 jars of canned apples.  I would feel guilty letting all of this produce go to waste...especially considering our financial situation.It feels as if the Lord is raining manna from heaven. :-)  I've recently gleaned almonds and grapes and we're still cracking walnuts from previous months.

Here are just a few things I did within the past week to make sure food did not go to waste in our home.  

1.  Leftover bread turned into bread crumbs: We don't eat a lot of bread these days but my husband does like to keep a loaf of lower carb/high fiber bread on hand for an occasional sandwich. I had saved quite a few end pieces so I decided to make some bread crumbs. I recently bought a container of bread crumbs and was shocked at the price. Here is how I made them. I turned my oven on the lowest temperature and placed the bread on a cookie sheet. I set my timer for 30 minutes and then turned the bread over and set the timer for another 30 minutes. Be sure to check your oven after 15 minutes in case it runs hotter than mine. Make sure that the bread is completely dried out. You want it to feel hard and stale with no moisture left. Place the dried bread in a food processor. Use the blade and process until it's in fine crumbs. I also added Parmesan cheese and parsley flakes.

2. Free apples turned into Apple Butter for Christmas gifts.  I decided to use some of the apples I picked to make Apple Butter for gifts. I purchased small jelly jars. I found a great recipe on Food (previously Recipezaar) which is one of my favorite places to find recipes. I'm hoping to can more jars of apples this coming week after I can some spicy tomato sauce.

Here is the recipe:

Apple Butter

Ingredients

• apples ( enough to over fill slow cooker or 4 quart crock pot)
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 cups white sugar(I only added 1 cup of sugar)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Peel, core and slice enough apples to fill a 4-quart slow cooker or crock pot so full that the lid will not go down over it.
2. Add vinegar; cook for 18 hours.
3. If crock pot is fast cooking, cook on high for 10 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Add white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
5. Put into blender to blend it like apple butter. Mix all together and cook 4 more hours.
6. Seal in jars.

* The 'author' of this recipe is Brenda Hall from http://www.food.com (11492)

1 Clarke's Commentary

Preparing for Winter Comfort

Fall is right around the corner. I can feel and smell it in the early morning air. My thoughts are beginning to turn from the busyness of harvesting our small summer garden and fruit trees to preparing our home for the cold winter months ahead. I've learned over the past 30 plus years of 'keeping a home' that it's not wise to put off these preparations until the last minute otherwise my family suffers the consequences.

My husband and I were talking about just this very thing on the way to church. This coming winter will be a bit more challenging since all of my household items are not under one roof. Since we are temporarily living on my aunt's property in a small studio I have many of our household items stored in her sheds. It will mean much less work for me if I can prepare now while the weather is mild instead of waiting until a storm hits to start searching for extra blankets or running into town for medicine. I'll also save money if I can prepare ahead of time while watching for the sales on medicine.

Here is my winter checklist.

• Oil lamps: I only have room for 1 oil lamp in our little place. It sits on my kitchen counter. It is full of oil and ready for use with a lighter sitting next to it. 
• Flashlights: I have a flashlight sitting on my end table next to my bed, next to my husband's chair in the 'living room' and one on the kitchen counter hidden behind the oil lamp. I've learned the hard way that when you live in the country it gets VERY dark (think 'no street lights') when the electricity goes out. That is NOT the time to try and find a flashlight. When we lived in a larger home I had a flashlight in every major room.  I need to check the batteries and purchase more batteries for backup. 
• Extra blankets: I'll be pulling these out to see if they need to be washed. 
• Electric blankets: The electric blankets will need to be plugged in to make sure they are still working.  My daughter found one on sale last year so I purchased it for a backup. They are horribly expensive if you buy them in the middle of winter so I try to purchase ahead of time at the lowest price. The heat helps lessen the pain in my husband's back so I always want to have an extra one on hand. 
• Heating pad 
• Small room heaters need to be located and cleaned. We do not have central heat and air.
• Winter clothes need to be pulled out of storage and washed. I need to take inventory of what we have and what we may need to purchase. I think we probably have enough clothes and coats to get us through another winter without any purchases. I've been picking up a few winter tops at the thrift store through the summer when I see them on sale. I just purchased 2 long sleeve blouses for less than a $1.00 each. 
• Cold and flu medicine: I'll be taking inventory of what we have on hand, checking expiration dates and then watching the ads for 'free' products through the drug stores. We had our first round of flu and colds this past month. I was thankful to have cold medicine I had received free last year. 
• I'm researching a few herbal remedies I want to try this coming year. One is an herbal tea recipe for colds and I'm also hoping to make cough drops. 
• Soup: I made some wonderful, rich chicken broth that is waiting in the freezer to be made into chicken soup. I'll also be watching the sales for Campbell's Chicken Soup, just in case I'm the one who gets sick so my dear husband just has to open a can. I always try to keep a couple of extra meals in the freezer .. just in case. 

I love being able to make our home warm and comfortable. I remember how much satisfaction I felt when I used to tuck my children into a warm, clean bed at night. I miss those days but I find that same since of satisfaction knowing my husband's needs are met and he is warm and comfortable.

 She has no fear of winter for her household, 

for everyone has warm clothes. (NLT)

That's my beginning list. I'd love to know what you do in your households to prepare for the winter.

A little this and that...

My honey is on the mend from his cold (still coughing) and it looks like I won't be escaping the nasty little bug. So, I tried to take it easy the past few days. Our church is having our Sunday service at the river for baptisms. We'll have a pot blessing after service. I'm so hoping I will be well by then.

So.. let's see.. what did I do today? In between resting and coughing I roasted the Poblano peppers from our garden. I used some for Chile Rellenos. Since I wasn't feeling well I did the Rellenos in stages. I don't have a dishwasher so I roasted the chile's early and washed those dishes. Then a few hours later I peeled the skins off of them. Then later I made the sauce and washed those dishes. That left with me with just a few skillets and our plates and silverware after dinner. I wasn't up to washing a sink full of dishes. The older I get the easier it is to work in stages. I find it much easier to break big jobs down into smaller portions.

Our garden is in full production. Yesterday (in between coughing spells) I canned 8 quarts of apples.  Last week (did I already tell you this?) I pressure canned a batch of homemade tomato sauce and another batch of whole tomatoes plus one pint of pickled beets and a batch of salsa.  I'm growing the wrong kind of tomatoes for canning. I should be growing Roma's. If we are still living here next summer then I'll plant Roma's (Lord willing).  I've made several huge batches of salsa and still have tomatoes coming out our ears. I think I'll make some spaghetti sauce next and use it with the zucchini.

I spent some time gathering scriptures on a biblical communication and a wife's tongue for a friend and then rested while listening to Hinds Feet on High Places.

All in all it was a very nice day!

Cheap deodorant this week at Walgreens

Walgreens 8/15-8/21

The best deal I found this week were (supposed to be) free deodorants. I had 3 coupons (buy 1 get 1 free). Remember that when the stores offer a B1G1 free and you have a B1G1 free manufacturer coupon you end up with both items free.  But, this B1G1 free coupon had a limit which was .50 cents less than the sale price. So, I basically ended up paying .50 plus tax for the Right Guard deodorant which is still a great price.  I shouldn't have to buy deodorant for quite a few months.

The Command to be Hospitable (regardless of where you live)

I thought when we downsized (to a home that was smaller than our last garage) my 'hospitality' days would be over. Our previous homes housed many family gatherings over the years and I loved it!  I really did! I loved the preparations and I loved cooking and baking for my family and friends.

It's obvious due to the size of our new little bungalow that we won't be gathering 30 plus loved ones into our home for the holidays. But, we are still given the command to be hospitable in Romans 12:13 no matter what the condition or size of our dwelling.  It's not a suggestion or an option.. it's a command for a follower of Jesus Christ. So with that command the Lord gives His grace and as always makes it very possible.

Trying to obey the command to be hospitable while living in a barn has revealed some interesting things about myself that I didn't know or didn't want to face.  I never thought of myself as a materialistic person.  I never thought material things were important to me or that I tied material things to my reputation. We lived most of our married life in older homes and from paycheck to paycheck. It's only been the last 15 years that things changed for us financially.  We lived in several nice homes but I never imagined that pride had set in due to what we owned.  It wasn't until we moved into a barn that I began to see my pride surface.   Our situation has brought this sin to the surface and for that I am grateful because it clearly is opposite of everything Christ represented. (He was born in a barn! *Smile*)

Recently this sweet lady wanted to come by our home to take care of some business. I had been to her house and it was a big and beautiful. I found excuses to delay her stopping by  for several times until I realized what I was doing. I finally just got it out in the open and said, "we live in a barn". Whew! I felt so much better not pretending we were something that we were not. Now that the pretense is gone I can just focus on making her feel comfortable when she visits. 

I think learning to be content with your present situation involves embracing it as directly from God's hand. We are thankful for our little place. It's a great blessing to be rent free while we wait for a determination from Social Security. I want to thrive where God has placed us... not hide in embarrassment. God promises to withhold no good thing from those who are His and I believe He has fulfilled that promise in this provision. I've reminded myself often that 'this' and all it entails is a GOOD THING.. a precious gift given from the hand of God.

Lord willing, I will write soon about the practical things I'm  learning concerning hospitality in a small place.

My friend Pam came for lunch.

(Kevin said something silly and made us laugh!)

I'm so content...

Everything has changed ... yet nothing has changed!

That is what I was thinking this afternoon at the end of a full day of work in my little home. Yes, my surroundings have changed... my space is smaller.. much smaller!  I am still doing many of the duties I did in a home ten times this size.. just on a smaller scale. There are still dishes to be done daily, furniture to be dusted, a bed to be made and a floor to be cleaned.

The 'fun' part is that I can finish my housework lickity split! I love that! Since we moved into our small space I'm able to spend more time studying God's Word, reading good books, ministering to His people and studying areas that interest me in God's Word. I hope I don't ever have to give that up for a big home again.

I'm content... happy as a bug in a rug... thank you Lord for this wonderful gift of time and freedom!