This salsa was a hit at a recent Memorial Day party. My tomatoes are still producing, even with the 90 degree weather. It’s because they’re in part shade, I think. I will begin another batch this summer in the filtered shade and see what happens.

Salsa for onion averters
Several tomatoes diced (ditch the larger clumps of seeds)
As much fresh garlic as you can handle, minced
Green chilies (fresh, but canned if you must)
Green onions
Dash of lime juice
Large batch of cilantro
Little salt and pepper
Some ground cumin to taste
Extra virgin olive oil

Process some of it if you like it runny. Let it chill several hours before serving to blend flavors.

Like sandwiches, salsa is a very personal thing. I don’t like raw onions, but I found that green onions are a good substitute. I don’t believe I’m missing any good thing from this recipe.

Just a side question— Why do all the men hang around the grill when there’s only one set of tongs? If it weren’t for the chip bowl, they’d never come inside. I’m just asking.

Heather writes:

Hey Amy, some topics I’d like to hear from you on are: a list of resources to read on Homesteading, how do people rationalize taking on such a huge debt for the land, post a new recipe or two, and how do you deal with clutter and finding time to rid yourself of it? You could toss in your thoughts on how to instill character in your children and ideas on how to show your husband how special he is with very little privacy (i.e. the little ones I am trying to instill character into being underfoot!) What is your current favorite Scripture passage and why? What are you doing for the Fourth? Or just ruminate on which attributes of God stick out the most at the moment.

A list of resources to read on homesteading
The very best list of resources on simple living is Cumberland Books. The free catalog is more than an inventory of books, but it is chockfull of commentary on simple living. Say “hello” to the Saenz family for me. If you are looking for something particular, they can point you in the right direction.

How do people rationalize taking on such a huge debt for the land
I’m not one of those, so I don’t know.

A new recipe
Here’s what everyone orders me to bring to potlucks, picnics, and dinners:

The Very Best Potato Salad in the World
3 lbs. cooked, cubed, and then chilled red potatoes
1 c. olive oil (this is the key)
¼ c. white wine vinegar
4 large Tbl. mayo
4 t. dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper
As much fresh minced garlic as you can stand
Parsley

Mix ingredients and pour over potatoes. Chill. Then get out of the way or you’ll be run over by the stampede.

How do you deal with clutter and finding time to rid yourself of it
There’s some truth in the statement by Edwin Teale, “Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.” The way I would say the same thing is, the less doodads you own, the less time you have to find to wax them. The reason I say “some truth” is because my life goal isn’t to reduce my workload, per se, but to concentrate my efforts laboring at the right things. I think Teale might agree, though, as the more important things tend to surface once clutter-clatter is eliminated.

Clutter—material or not— is the noise of life. Clutter is (are?) the things that keep us from doing the will of God. When my husband and I looked hard at our life, we found we needed to avoid some things that were commonly perceived as noble. Someone once noted that the enemies of the best are the things that are good. Why is that? Because we can spot a bad thing easily enough, but our consciences resist letting loose of good things, never more so than if it comes Jesus-stamped. Thinking about this is a good first step.

The easiest way I’ve found to get rid of clutter is not to acquire it in the first place. This is one reason I don’t shop as a source of entertainment.

From Mad Magazine: The only reason a great many American families don’t own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.

The first phase in eliminating clutter is to determine how you acquired it in the first place. The next steps become more obvious after you figure out the first.

Have I ever steered you wrong?! Here is another recipe to add to the files. I’m always on the lookout for meals that a.) use as few steps, dishes, ingredients as possible b.) can be made ahead to avoid the bewitching hour and c.) taste pretty good without feeling guilty.

I put this together last night for Saturday morning breakfast. My husband put it in the oven this morning, and we all felt the love. It was almost too easy that I deemed it “suspect,” and therefore didn’t try it out before now.

It tastes just like regular French toast, except that you don’t have to stand over a skillet to cook each one. Put it together tonight, and then you can thank me in the morning. I’ll be waiting, (sans holding my breath, just in case you forget me). Take the credit before your adoring family, and I’ll tip my apron to Large Family Logistics for the head’s up.

Oven French Toast
10-12 slices of bread
1 1/2 c milk
4 eggs
1/3 c honey (out of honey, I added a little bit of sugar but I’m not sure it was necessary)
1 t vanilla
3/4 t cinnamon

Grease a 9×13 pan.
Mix liquid ingredients and spices.
Put a layer of bread in, then pour a little of wet mixture over. Add second layer.
For variety, add a layer of apple slices or berries and cream cheese.
Refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees for ~ 40 minutes.
Serve with maple syrup.

T’was the week before Thanksgiving and time to talk about how much we all lovvvve that cranberry sauce. After all the fuss ya’ll made last year, I went ahead and served it. It’s not like me to let my convictions crack under pressure, but I do a lot of things in the spirit of hospitality. (Like refrain from licking the spoon when I cook.) It seems a certain generation still has an affinity for cranberry sauce with the lines from the can still on it. Do me a favor, eh? If you’re going to serve the canned cranberry, at least mush it up in a nice little glass bowl or something?

Every year we always have to recount the time that my grandmother sat down, took a bite, and declared to God and the nations, “This is the worst dressing I ever put in my mouth.” The year was 1986. I could’ve said “the worst cranberry sauce” to make it fit with my post better, but that’s not the way the story goes.

Moving on. A busy mom of five little ones sent me this recipe for The Official Amy’s Humble Musings Annual Cranberry Post, 2006 edition. It looks promising, but you’d better get started now. It looks like it’ll take you a week to make it.

But before we get to our cranberry recipe, first a little joke. It goes like this: A turkey farmer was always experimenting with his breeding practices in order to produce a better turkey. His family was fond of the leg portion for dinner and there were never enough legs for everyone. After many frustrating attempts, the farmer was relating the results of his efforts to his friends at the general store get together. “Well I finally did it! I bred a turkey that has 6 legs!” They all asked the farmer how it tasted. “I don’t know,” said the farmer, “I never could catch the blasted thing!”

I’m glad my day job has no end.

Cranberry Sherbet from Marcia Adams’ Cooking from Quilt Country–an excellent and beautiful Amish cookbook.

1 pound cranberries (4 cups)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 quarts plus 1 cup water
2 tsp. unflavored gelatin (I use one box orange flavored Jello)
6 cups sugar (I use 5 cups)
2 tbs. cold water
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 egg whites

In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries, 1 cup of the water, and 2 cups of the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook just until the sugar is
dissolved and the berries pop open. You can help them along by mashing them a bit with a spoon as they cook. Cool slightly, then puree in a food processor or force through a sieve. Add the orange and lemon juices to the puree.

Meanwhile, boil the remaining 2 quarts of water and the remaining 4 cups of sugar for 20 minutes in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. Dissolve the gelatin in the cold water, mixing well with a fork, Add a little of the hot sugar syrup to the gelatin mixture, then stir back into the remaining hot syrup. Add the cranberry mixture and blend. Pour into refrigerator tray or two 13×8 inch flat pans and freeze until mushy, about 30 minutes.

Pour into a large bowl, breaking the mixture up slightly. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold about 4 cups of the cranberry slush into the whites until combined. Then add this to the remaining cranberry slush. Pour back into pans and freeze about 30 minutes longer, until the mixture is frozen about 1 inch in from the edges of the tray. Stir the sherbet again, then freeze until firm.
When completely frozen, soften slightly, pack in plastic containers, and store in the freezer until serving.

I just dump the orange Jello into the syrup and mix it. I use two large (9×13 size) Rubbermaid Take-Along disposable containers to freeze the mixture in and then combine it down to one to store the sherbet in when it’s finished. As I remember it takes much longer to freeze than Ms. Adams says; it’s a lot like making bread–not very hard but it takes a lot of time. Also, as Natalie Dupree says: “This makes a gracious plenty.” Our family of seven can eat for a couple of weeks on this till we are sick to death of it. It is very sweet and a little goes a long way, but it sure tastes great with the pumpkin pie!!

After 4th of July, I think I like Thanksgiving the next best. How about you?

Call off the dogs already. How do you even know that my Chicken Pot Pie is decent? Because it’s not my recipe, that’s why. Here is a version that I tweaked from the recently published MOMYS cookbook.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 Pie Crusts (your own or purchased), unbaked
2 T. Butter
2 T. Flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. pepper
1 c. chicken broth
¼ c. milk
2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1 ½ cups vegetables (I use fresh potatoes and carrots, frozen peas)
Dash of minced onion

Preheat oven to 425. Line pie plate with one crust. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat and stir in flour, salt, thyme, and pepper. Cook until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk and broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly for one minute. Stir in chicken and veggies. Pout into pie crust. Top with the second pie crust. Seal edges, cut fancy slits for airing. Bake on cookie sheet 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

This is for one pie. You have to do fancy math to make eight.

A woman confided to me at a New York dinner party, “Honestly, who has time to cook anymore? My daughter will probably grow up wondering what a kitchen is used for.” The lament had the predictable blend of weariness and braggadocio, unremarkable except for this woman’s post at the helm of one of the nation’s major homemaking magazines. (link)

There are many family life ideals I’ve had to sacrifice on the altar of practicality, but regularly eating dinner together as a family is one we’ve managed to hold onto. We have a houseful (and a handful), and it’d be easy to justify regular on-the-go eating or a’ la carte grazing. It’s not that eating together is next to godliness. There is nothing about sitting down together at the dinner table that makes one family more spiritual than the next. However, I think there are certain rituals that make it easier to keep connections with one another and do the things required of us—namely, to raise children who know God and what He requires of us. Eating together is one of those things that make parenting easier in the long run.

When Greg was gone 12-14 hours a day for many years, he’d be up by 4 or 5 a.m. so that he could get his work done by dinnertime. Even with heavy work weeks, we usually sat down at 5:30 for dinner. Part of that, admittedly, is that I was DONE with the day by 5:30 p.m. and in real need of reinforcements. (I think the “done” feeling moves up an hour every time we add a baby.) The other part is that we just enjoy it.

In the early years, I think it’s more about establishing habits, manners, and pleasant children than it is about having meaningful, deep conversations. The fun part comes later, and we’re just moving into that stage ourselves. When they’re little, you’re teaching them how to be the kind of people that others enjoy being around, so that when they grow up, they don’t play the victim. If you are snubbed a party invitation, your time is better spent figuring out why than complaining about it and bemoaning other people’s cliques. It’s what I always say, anyway.

I saw this list of 10 questions from a father’s perspective (here’s the link) to ask your children if you need some fodder. A few are appropriate for dinner and some aren’t, depending on the number of people around the table:

• How are your devotions?
• What is God teaching you?
• In your own words, what is the gospel?
• Is there a specific sin you’re aware of that you need my help defeating?
• Are you more aware of my encouragement or my criticism?
• What’s daddy most passionate about?
• Do I act the same at church as I do when I’m at home?
• Are you aware of my love for you?
• Is there any way I’ve sinned against you that I’ve not repented of?
• Do you have any observations for me?
• How am I doing as a dad?
• How have Sunday’s sermons impacted you?
• Does my relationship with mom make you excited to be married?
• (On top of these things, with my older kids, I’m always inquiring about their relationship with their friends and making sure God and his gospel are the center of those relationship. And I look for every opportunity to praise their mother and increase their appreciation and love for her.)

Now, I began my writing 20 minutes ago for the express purpose of sharing a Jambalaya recipe with you, but I got carried away. The reason I wanted to share it is because I love recipes that only use one dish. This makes cooking more practical and probable if cleanup is a breeze. Now, we dirty two pots because I make a Kid Version and an Adult Version. Greg and I like it hot and spicy. This is a rule I rarely break (making kiddie food), but I transgress the law when I must turn up the heat. You just gotta do it sometimes.

Jambalaya
(This is Dave’s recipe, but I included my notes as well.)

3 TBSP vegetable oil
2 cups yellow onions - diced
1 cup green bell pepper - diced
1/2 cup celery – diced [Amy: I use celery seed]
4-5 cloves garlic - chopped
2 tsp cayenne pepper
S&P to taste
1lb smoked sausage
1lb diced chicken
4-5 bay leaves
2- 14.5 oz cans diced tomato (can be flavored)
3 cups of uncooked rice
6 cups chicken stock [Amy: I use water and bullion.]
2 cans Goya pigeon peas [Amy: 1 peas, 1 black bean]
Chopped green onions to taste

I usually start by browning the chicken in the same pot I’m going to cook everything in. [Amy: I use cooked, cubed boneless chicken in my freezer. You can find so many uses for it!] I season the chicken with S&P and Emeril’s essence or you can season it with paprika, garlic, S&P, and a dash of cayenne. The Chicken does not have to be cooked through just browned. Remove the chicken and add onion-season with S&P and the cayenne. [Amy: I don’t remove it, as it still works and the baby is crying…]

Sauté onions until translucent, add bell pepper and celery. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes add garlic and bay leaves. Add sausage and sauté until sausage has browned add reserved chicken, canned tomatoes, and rice. Let cook for 2-3 minutes in order for the rice to absorb flavor. Now is as good time to check the flavor - you can add more seasoning if you feel it needs it. Pour in chicken stock and pigeon peas, bring to a boil, give it a good stir, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Simmer 30-40 minutes or until all liquid is gone – there is no need to stir. After liquid is gone stir jambalaya add green onions and let rest 4-5 minutes covered. Serve! You can add shrimp to this recipe but I would wait until the end even if the shrimp are already cooked as shrimp tend to get tough if you overcook them.

Amy here again: Now to do the kiddie version, half everything, using just the chicken, sausage, rice, chicken stock, and black beans.

And just to share some link love, here are two sites you might want to visit. Tammy’s Recipes is worth a stop just to look at the pictures. And finally, you might be interested in The Family Meal Table DVD if you need some renewed vigor on the subject.

I do believe I got carried away here. I must need some cheesecake, which is legal when you’re T-minus 5 weeks.