what is in wheat

This is taken from the Nutrition Almanac

what is wheat?

Germ(embryo) is 2 1/2 % of kernel, Bran is 14% of kernel , Endosperm is 83% of kernel

This is a good question. Grain is the seeds of various grasses. This includes Wheat, rye, oats, rice and barley. You will hear them called "the staff of life" because many of the cultures of the world live on grains to survive.

A grain of wheat contains three layers. The germ is the heart and it will sprout when the grain is planted. This is rich in B vitamins, vitamin E and some fats and proteins. You can count iron which is a mineral in this list.

The endosperm is the largest part of the grain, it is mostly carbohydrates, some vitamins and minerals.

The bran is the covering of the grain, it is mostly fiber with a trace of B vitamins and likewise a trace of iron.

Because of the fats in the the heart layer the grain, once ground, will begin to go rancid. This is the off taste in whole wheat flour that isn't used fast enough. I would put your bag of whole wheat flour in a freezer bag and keep that flour in the fridge or freezer to avoid that rancid taste. Or as I do I grind it and use it right away. I have the Vitamix grain container and it will grind a little over a cup at a time. On top of the rancid taste there is a mold that will grow in old flours that can be dangerous.

White flour has the bran and the germ removed for long storage. This also removes the healthy part of the grain. That is why you will see the term "enriched" on white flour products. This is the best reason for using whole grains, nothing taken out! Nothing lost in the removal. I did ask you to knead and form your bread on white flour if you had it. The reason is that without the bran it won't stick to you or the dough so much, the bran grabs and holds to what it touches.

The bran or covering of the grain is sharp and it is the reason whole wheat bread can be flat, the bran can cut through the stretching gluten. We've done our best to get around it in the recipe below by really heavily developing the gluten and using a short raising time with a large amount of yeast. It's a wonderful loaf of bread, compare it with other recipes you have used. The loafs can fall apart easy (not enough gluten threads holding things together and bran cutting through). I think my favorite use of whole wheat flours is flat breads. The worlds cultures have long ago perfected flat breads all we need is to learn how and in minutes you can make a pita, a Naan, a chapati, etc. I would make it my hobby to learn to make flat breads to go with my food storage. It is the fastest, easier bread known to mankind! Would you like some recipes? If you learn to make flat breads you can take any grain in the world and make something good to eat from it. Another thing you may not know about wheat is that it is used as the following foods, bulgur (cracked wheat), Couscous made from Semolina which is the inner, granular, starchy endosperm of hard or durum wheat (not yet ground into flour); used to make pasta and semolina milk pudding. It is the gritty, coarse particles of wheat left after the finer flour has been extracted. Can you think of some other ways in which wheat is used besides flour? I will follow up this blog with a list of exactly what is in each grain of wheat. My first Vegetarian cook book I used (started in the early 1970's) tells you to make sure every day has a large variety of foods. Don't serve two dishes using the same food. I can see that if you want to get the best chance at health you need a lot of different vitamins, minerals etc. This never serving two of the same foods in a day insures that. Any more questions of wheat? Really just a seed even if in it's whole form it is sometimes called a berry, it is really a kernel!

Here is the finished product to tempt you

pioneer bread step by step

Photo #1 is the wheat after it's 24 hour soak

Photo #2 is what a batch of wheat looks like when blended, water added

Photo #3 is the dough resting after a good long kneading. can you see how I tested with a finger punch?

Photo #4 is what a risen loaf looks like just before going into the oven

The only photo not yet taken is a nice buttered slice of hot bread!

Are you ready to make some?

Got wheat?

So would you like to do some cooking with your wheat berries?

I have a wonderful bread for you to make. It's call pioneer bread because it uses basic ingredients and not a lot of them. This is a hearty, wonderful bread. The recipe makes only 1 loaf. Good for a test run. Let me know if you have problems. I made this bread all the time back in the late 70's. I was able to get hard red wheat berries from the church farm in Central California. My husband would go do work on the farm and in return we could purchase large amounts of wheat at bare bones prices. The date on the wheat that make the bread in these photos (baked this afternoon) says 2/10/74. It was stored in poly buckets with dry ice used in the bottom to exhaust the air. Today it is wonderful, gluten filled wheat! Amazing.

Pioneer Bread A good way to use wheat berries when you don’t have a grain grinder but you do have a blender

1 1/8 cup hard wheat berries.................

1 cup whole wheat/ white flour.................

1 tablespoon oil.............................

1 tablespoon of dry yeast...........................

1 tablespoon molasses or brown sugar........................

1 teas salt....................................

Take 1 1/8 cup un-ground hard wheat berries Rinse and soak in water to cover Soak 24 hours (yes 24 hours important) Remove ½ Cup soaking water and drain the rest out of the wheat. Warm (not hot) the ½ C. of soaked water and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of dry yeast over the warm water. Add 1 tablespoon sweetener, such as molasses or brown sugar. Allow to bubble up nice and high In blender or food processor grind soaked wheat in small amounts. This should be ground finely. (See note below) Continue until all wheat is ground. Add yeast, ground wheat, 1 cup whole wheat or white flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of oil. Mix well, knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise on kneading surface for 10 minutes. Shape into a loaf. Let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Remove from pan and oil the outside of the bread. I just take a stick of butter and un-wrap the end and rub it all over on the loaf. This gives you a loaf with an even texture in and out. Cool on its side. I’m having some slices of this with dinner tonight….Yum yum!

Hints for grinding the soaked wheat berries. I have a vita mix and it has a grain container with grain blades. This was a fairly easy job in this blender but in the 1970’s I made this in a oster blender and it was more work. Be patient and notice how my photos look.

1. Work in small batches. Dough will form under and around the blades. Remove it and put it in your mixing bowl. That’s a sign of a good hard gluten filled wheat! If you need to add a bit of water to help the wheat berries move, do it in tablespoons and keep track.

2. Add additional flour to counter the extra water. This is OK to do. The water will make your job easier, just go lightly on it.

3. The dough will be sticky. If you are kneading by hand you will find it hard so keep dusting your hands. I do mine in my Bosch mixer so I don’t have to tough the sticky dough. Use white flour for dusting if you can.

4. It’s fine if some wheat berries don’t blend, but most of them should.

More on food storage

I bought this book in 1974. I'm sure the price makes that clear to see, it's a big book!

I promised more on food storage. I'm not sure what you each need. You should store nutritious stuff right. Easy to prepare foods. Foods that are familiar to your family. It's just that easy.

Many people ask me how to prepare food from their storage. I'm asking why do you need that if you are storing what your family will eat? Aw yes you have a year's worth of wheat berries? Well you might have a gold mine there. There are now grain shortages, both wheat and rice. They are growing in price more and more. If you don't have any stored now is not a good time, it will cost you too much in most cases.

So now what? Beans. Yes a wonderful source of protein! I have can's of black beans, garbanzo, little navy beans, kidney, cannelini, butter beans, pinto, and small reds. Oh, all kinds! The added bonus with canned beans is you have some fluid in the cans that can be used by your body in an emergency. The other bonus is a can is good for resources. Think about this, if you have to cook something a long time it takes fuel, lots of fuel and a liquid to cook it in. Fine for most cases, but if you don't have easy heat sources, as in after an earthquake, you want that food in cans! You will save money to buy dried beans for storage, just remember to store the fuel you need to cook them. The other thing you need is a good hand operated can opener. Yes more and more cans come with pop tops. I'm not happy with these. I worry that they won't store as long, but just keep rotating them and you will be fine.

What do I do with my canned beans? I have a great Vegetarian chili I make that everyone loves. One of my favorite fast things to do with any kind of bean is open the can, I take out my Bamix (hand held blender tool) and put it right in the can and blend. When I pull the wand out I have re-fried beans without the frying. I can use these on crackers, in sandwiches, on tortillas for burritos, on flat bread for dipping into. You can add spices and garlic and a bit of olive oil for great dipping food. You have my black beans and yellow rice recipe on the CD.

Another good reason to introduce your family, and your food storage, to beans is how good they are for you. If you want a good cook book to work from go to the library and get "The New American menu" by David and Nicki Goldbeck. The book came out in 1983 and I bought it new and began using it then so if you have questions do ask. It's an excellent way to eat and lots of recipes. So beans have a good quantity of protein, an abundance of complex carbohydrates, calcium and iron. As you may already know soybean is very high in protein comparable to most meats, in usable protein and it stores longer and safer than meat. Remember my first food storage blog about the need for protein.

1 ounce of common dried beans 100 calories and 6.7 grams protein 1 cup common beans cooked 225-250 calories and 14-16 grams protein 1 cup sprouted beans 35 calories and 4 grams protein 1 ounce of dried soy beans 115 calories and 10 grams protein 1 cup soy beans cooked 235 calories and 20 grams protein 1 cup soy bean sprouts 45 calories and 6 grams protein Nuts and seeds are a nice source of protein but they go rancid so keep them frozen and rotate. I have pumpkin seeds, sesame, sunflower seeds, walnut, almonds, and pine nuts. These can go in cereals, baked goods on top of veggies, in salad. They add valuable oils and fiber to your diet.

I don't want to discount grains, they are very good for you and they do have protein but it takes a much larger serving of a grain to give you the quantity of protein you get in beans etc. Added to your meals you will increase the value of protein and give your body lots of fiber. Whole grains provide your body with vitamin B's, some natural oils and lots of fiber! My sister and I were remembering our daily breakfast of cracked wheat cooked and serve with honey and milk. It lasted easily until lunch. We were not hungry after that hearty meal. You'll find some recipes for this on your basics Cd.

I hope this gets you started thinking about some healthy foods to store. Next time I will cover the vitamins you can't live without and what to store to get them. Ask questions, offer us your ideas and thoughts. We aren't finished here yet. We will also cover the hows of storing whole foods, and preparation.

Now that all brings me to mind an old song I learned as a child. You can sing along too......

Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow Oats, peas, beans and barley grow Oats, peas, beans and barley grow Neither you, nor I nor anyone knows How oats, peas, beans, and barley grow.

For the tune, go to: http://www.kididdles.com/mouseum/o001.html

Lets go flying

So here's another burst of fun from one of my favorite books 'The Quality Tme Almanac'

We are going to fly a paper clip kite. First find a magnet. OK something off the fridge or maybe you have a nice strong one! All magnets will work just in different degrees.

Next you need sewing thread. Yes it needs to be nice light stuff so no knitting yarn. This has to be able to fly remember.

Of course the paper clips are next. And a curious child would be nice to have around.

Tie one end of a 12" piece of thread to a paper clip. Tape the other end to the tabletop of floor.

This is simple, catch the paper clip with the magnet and pull it up to the full length of the thread. You can even pull the magnet up and away slightly from the clip. This will test the strength of that kitchen magnet! he he

You can swing back and forth just go slowly and your kite will sway. This is something for those really young ones to watch as mom or dad does the show.

You can make magnetic spinners by tying one end of a thread to a handle on a high kitchen cabinet. Making the thread nice and taunt pull the thread straight down. tie it to something fun that will hold it down. Put three paper clips about 1" away from each up in the center of the thread. Now by moving the magnet up and down the surface just outside of the paper clips (that means don't touch those clips to the magnet) the paper clips will spin.

The book warns if this doesn't work.........Your magnet is too weak.

Enjoy that paper clip flying

Pondering harmony

I'm reading a series of books, mysteries taking place in the Navajo lands of the South West. The one I'm reading now is Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman. It was made into a movie which I saw and enjoyed so I put off reading this book thinking I didn't need to read it with the others. MISTAKE! As all of you ladies know a movie is missing all the beautiful prose you find in a book. A movie misses the small relationships that are in the written story. I'd like to share the first part of this book. It's simple example of the circle in life was thoughtful. I have always felt that everything has it's connection. I'm an outdoors girl and I think nature teaches us with strong impressions, but you also learn it raising children, caring for animals and just working through day by day life.

Now hold that thought, we'll talk more after I read you this little bit of Skinwalkers;

'When the cat came through the little trap door at the bottom of the screen it made a clack-clack sound. Slight, but enough to awaken Jim Chee........Perhaps the uneasy dream provoked an uneasiness about the cat. what had chased it in? Something scary to a cat-or to this particular cat.........(Chee begins to think about his on again off again girl friend as he's waking, a worring feeling brought her into his thoughts) Jim chee's conditioning-traditional Navajo-caused him to put that thought aside. All things in moderation. He would think more about that later. Now he thought about tomorrow. Today, actually, since it must be well after midnight.......(he begins to think of his days worth of police work)...He thought about the cat again, what had driven it in? The coyote, maybe. Or what?......

The cat had appeared last winter, finding itself a sort of den under a juniper east of Chee's trailer-a place where a lower limb, a boulder, a rusted barrel formed a closed cul-de-sac. It had become a familiar, if suspicious, neighbor. During the spring, Chee had formed a habit of leaving out table scraps to feed it after heavy snows. Then when the snow melt ended and the spring drought arrived, he began leaving out water in a coffee can. But easy water attracted other animals, and birds and sometimes they turned it over. And so, one afternoon when there was absolutely nothing else to do, Chee had removed the door, hacksawed out a cat-sized rectangle through it's bottom frame, and then attached a plywood flap, using leather hinges and Miracle Glue. He had done it on a whim, partly to see if the ultra cautious cat could be taught to use it. If the cat did, it would gain access to a colony of field mice that seemed ot have moved into chee's trailer. And the watering problem would be solved. Chee felt slightly uneasy about the water. If he hadn't started this meddling, nature would have taken it's normal course. The cat would have moved down the slop and found itself a den closer to the San Juan-which was never dry. But Chee had interfered. And now Chee was stuck with a dependent.

Chee's interest, originally had been simple curiosity. Once, obviously, the cat had been owned by someone. It was skinny now, with a long scar over it's ribs and a patch of fur missing from it's right leg, but it still wore a collar and, despite its condition, it had a purebred look. He'd described it to the women in the pet store at Farmington-tan fur, heavy hind legs, round head, pointed ears; reminded you of a bobcat, and like a bobcat it had a mere stub of a tail. the woman had said it must be a Manx. "Somebody's pet. People are always bringing their pets along on vacations, " she'd said, disapproving, "and then they don't take care of them and they get out of the car and that's the end of them." She'd asked Chee if he could catch it and bring it in, "so somebody can take care ot it"

Chee doubted if he could get his hands on the cat, and hadn't tried. He was too much the traditional Navajo to interfere with an animal without a reason.

Wow what a lot of life's lesson in just a page of a book. Did you catch them? There are several good points here.

The first of course is : If you feed a cat it's going to move in! Notice how Chee is trying to keep balance in his life. In his culture if you start having big troubles then you are out of balance. They have a ceremony to get you back in harmony, each ceremony different determined by what has happen. So to stay "In" harmony he works at his thoughts to not dwell on just his relationship with the on again off again girlfriend, or the job that is worrying him. What a lesson there is for us as women. What thoughts play in our heads too much? I think , am I pleasing this person, are my meals balanced, can anyone enjoy comfort in my messy home, am I too round in body for people to see how smart and loving I am? Oh I could go on and on. It consumes me. I need some harmony don't you think?

We need a way to get back into harmony at times. We talked about a song or some music to change our mood, but this isn't what I mean here. Harmony is that feeling that we are in balance, we know who we are, we can exist with others, we can feel comfort in our life. No not that we are in control because who is ever really in control? Harmony is something that is only inside and nothing on the outside should touch it. But things do touch our inside, our harmony.

The Navajos have a beautiful ceremony restoring harmony, full of sand painting that remind you of stories you would have been raised with as a child. A Blessing way can last a whole week, all your family and friends come, there is the ceremony and food and time together. when the sick person is finished they not only feel loved they feel in harmony.

There is a ceremony we can do to put us back in balance. We each have them. Starting the day with prayer. Using our time to do something new. Reading a different kind of book. What can we do to get into balance? I'm sure you have ideas. I think a good way to start is to look at how our life goes and see if we can see where there is too much of something and too little of something else. One thing that comes to mind is time away from responsibility.

I missed my yearly weekend retreat with friends this year and it had me thinking how much a mom needs those brakes away from her responsibilities. How I've loved those moments away. When my first child was a baby a short couple of classes in cake decorating taken with a friend refueled me for most the year. You need your "little get aways", your spouse needs his little get aways. I think the only way this helps keep you in balance is for you to know you are going to have that brake. Put it on the calendar, dinner with girl friends, a fishing trip for him. If you have that time in your future and you know you will go then you can put up with cranky children on hard days, you can set aside frustration with spouses that can't easily be solved and hold off for that time away. No money. Oh my I know all about that. The library has group reading programs you can go to, the church has classes for women, a walk around the block with other women. Oh so many things that don't cost a thing. Do this for yourselves.

Plan something now OK. How often? Oh for me once a year is good but for mothers of those kiddos' do something once a month. Have some time for yourselves. Maybe you are thinking a month in the tropics but wouldn't even an hour away help?

Back to the cat. Try as hard as Chee did to make this cat safe and cared for he couldn't make it work. It was a city cat in a very wild world. He kindly sent it away to the city to his on again off again girlfriend to have and love. I felt better knowing that cat was no longer coyote bait! The tail less cat in the photo belongs with #5 child of mine. Kricket lives with me now and is as sassy now as she was 10 plus years ago.

Family night turtle cookies

These are fast, good and fun.

Like mini brownies, like little turtles.

If you have the 1974 Ukiah ward cook book you have this recipe.

if not (unlikely)......... Here is Janet Fawsons treat for FHE, or movie night.

Family night turtle cookies-Janet Fawson

Melt 1/2 cup butter with 6 tablespoons cocoa Stir together well

Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (to taste)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

now add 1 cup flour and a dash of salt. Don't over stir. It will look like brownie mix.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a hot waffle iron. You can make these really small for the tiny people or larger. Cook 1 min or less depending on size. This is fast, don't burn these. Take a wooden pick to gently lift these out an onto a cooling rack. They are wonderful warm. Dust with powdered sugar or let them cool a bit and put a dot of frosting in the center. Add pecans for that turtle effect. Your choice. Do these as you find fun. I got 21 medium Turtles from this batch

knock knock, who's there?

One Tues while I was watching the baby I heard a knock knock in the back side of the house. Odd I thought. My husband was off swimming and Lilly was sleeping who could be knock, knocking? I must be hearing a random sound. I went on with what I was doing when again, Knock knock and again knock knock. OK maybe the neighbor girls needed something, a horse loose or one of them hurt. OK I'll go and check this knock knock out. I listened as it continued with brief stops. I found it in the kitchen window, my garden window. The lilac outside the window was bouncing in a way the breeze wouldn't produce. Yes there it went again, knock knock. Tap tap. A little something was knocking on my window over and over. I tip toed into the room the baby was sleeping in and took out my camera and snapped a photo just as he realized I was there and with shock on his face he stopped the tap tap, knock knock and...... (see photo below)........................off he went. Nice to have such a surprising visit. Reminders we are not a world all our own. We are a world of many.

This is a chickadee. Charming little birds. We have three types that live in our back pasture. Read the story and find out what he is doing. That is my garden window and I took this photo from my kitchen.

What is the secret to being a great parent?

We were longing to go to a movie. As a product of the movie generation it hits us often without satisfaction. So to avoid massive disappointment, in the current movie makers offerings of lacking imagination and creativity, we watch a midnight program on what is good and what isn't. At least on the opinion of the reviewers.

side note:

http://preview.gospelcom.net/index.html This is my online choice for families who want to see a movie. Clear information on what you'll need to know to take your family to good movies plus suggestions for other choices if that one isn't a good fit.

Anyway back to the TV review show. Both reviewers were carrying on about a family movie that is coming out about a girl on an island. And of all the good stuff they had to say they added, "and parents will feel like they are at a movie they enjoy too" Now that is great. A movie I would enjoy too. In looking back on raising children this sums up my best advice.

Live a family life where even mom and dad can feel like it's something they can enjoy.

I remember in college psychology class they were saying current research was showing that even kids raised in hard environments can grow up fine if and I will put this in caps, IF THINGS STAY CONSISTENT. That means if you're a parent that likes to speak kindly or not, or if you're strict or you're lenient, your kids will adjust to your style and grow up OK if you are consistent. (Now don't misread this as meaning any kind abuse is OK, it's not. And your child will fight all his/her life to feel normal inside if they are abused.)

I wonder if this is still the case, do kids adjust to what is the norm in the household no matter what your child raising style is?

So back to my best secret for being a great parent. You must enjoy yourself. Don't wear yourself down trying to be perfect. Don't take any one part of your life and over do it. And you must have fun, enjoy that precious time with your kids as they grow up (disclaimer: If you have teens we need to talk, it's a different world for sure. I had 5 who hit their teens one after the other, I know how this goes) Find some humor in your world, do something that is fun for both you and your child, surprise them now and again.

I learned it's best (teens included) that they never know what you might bring out of your bag of imagination. In the middle of a horrible day if you put all the chairs in the middle of the room and toss a sheet over them and crawl in the middle, believe me you will get every ones attention, and hopefully they will join you and soon everyone will be laughing. Thank goodness my husband is a true impromptu person, it helped a lot when out of the blue I'd start gathering stuff and announce I felt like a hike. I have some great followers in my family who know how to collect in 10 minutes and be in the car.

So what is your personal style? what can you do to keep them guessing? There is delight and fun to be found. I read somewhere that bandage wrappers pulled open in the dark makes a nice spark. Well we spent weeks going up to my big dark closet opening bandages and everything we could find that might make a spark. Life should be surprising shouldn't it? There is enough cleaning, worry, cooking, lack of money in our lives. What is there that is just fun for us all? Find it, use it, keep finding it and always have a surprise on hand. Learn to laugh at this crazy job you do as a parent. It is pretty funny that we could be kids for 19 years or so and suddenly think we could be parents ourselves! Do cut yourself some slack. Your kids will be OK. Just keep trying. and never let them think they know what is coming next. Awe the secret, let life be full of surprises for all.

some ideas to get you started:

They can't or won't sleep and you are at your wits end so are they. Take the lights and put them so you can do a few shadow animals on the wall, forget the battle.

Afraid of the dark. Take an empty spray bottle call it monster spray and give it to them to dissolve anything that's scary.

Are lifesavers still out there? Well wint O green sparks really well if they still make it.

Being a Den mother in the scout program gave me a million great fun things to do. I'll pass some along later, but soda and vinegar bubbles nicely and add a little color and you can amaze most kids.

put your clothes on backwards and wait to see who notices.

Etc, Etc, Etc!

Happy Third anniversary

WOW,

It's a busy time of year. As I watch grand child #8 her parents are both working wishing they could do something on this day of their third anniversary. Guess I'll give them a coupon for baby sitting so they can go out later.

I'm working on some fun posts, one on salts, and that 2nd part of what to store food list and how to use it. I have some recipes to share and some more fun things to do with your children. So keep watching. I've heard from many of you about your CD's. I'm so glad they arrived so quickly. Now put them to use!

April showers bring may flowers! Hope it's working cuz I'm got the showers!

Happy Birthday Flynn! 2 years old today.

Flynn's dad's 2nd birthday

It's wonderful to turn two years old. It has been passing through the one year olds of the family this year. I hope Flynn has had an exciting day and that someone brought in that donut with a candle to wake the boy. What is your birthday traditions?

I don't have any current photos of Flynn so I took one off their blog so you can see his cute little face!

The top photo is of Flynn's dad's 2nd birthday. Flynn is our sons little boy. The first grandchild in the family to carry that nice Irish family name. His claim to fame!

A few things to note on Basics Cd

Did you receive your Basics cd? I hope so. There are 393 files on it and I know you will be looking at it for a while. Hopefully putting it to use. I of course am seeing all that I wish I have included. (hence Basics #2 will be started) But my concern now is that I've noticed some things that need to be clarified. One does run out of time on a big project and I proofed it several times and still missed a few things.

1)

In the South Beach diet I put in a Phase 1. Well it isn't the South Beach phase 1 I had hoped for it is an Oprah diet push. If you want the phase 1 of south beach and I must say again I loved the south beach best of all I would be happy to e-mail you a pdf. Oh and the issue with a Pdf is that it prints exactly as you scanned it. so you get a nice 8.5 X11 paper when it prints.

2)

If you want to see the cute folder photos I put on when you open the Cd go to the top of your computer screen and click view and change it to thumb print. I don't know why it didn't stay that way when I burned the cd.

3)

Under Hypnoses I should have divided that folder into three folders. The tracks labeled unknown...2-9 are information on how it works and what it is and isn't. They can be listened to in order. I didn't put #1 in as it was just a music intro.

Then Body III and Nutrition, Practical matter I and II and III and IV have lots of information, who can be hypnotized, what should you think about during this process, what is good eating habits and these have some great ways to deal with food. Some of this will have repeated comments as these are from two different Cd collections. Both have helpful ideas for someone interested in dieting this way or any way. I did not put any hynoses sessons on this Cd thought you would just want to learn something about it. I use this even now, as it is such a help to me!

4)

I have included several Make-a-mix collections. This is where you make a big batch of a dry mix and keep it around for making quick food. I'm sorry but I moved these into their respective folders and now I'm thinking you might want to know where they are. Yes some of that fast chocolate snack cake sounds good on this chilly rainy day. There is make-a-mix cakes in the treats-cakes file. There is puddings in the treats-pudding file. There is master mix in the Hint and tips-cooking hints-master mix and how to use it. I have no idea what made me put it there. It is full of recipes for just about anything you can think of all made from a mix just like Bisquick. So hopefully this will help you located those make a head yummies.

I am sure I will find more. I guess I shouldn't look!

Oh and remember below if you want ,to get so close to that sound water, just click on the photo and it will enlarge and you can nearly touch that ferry. Smiles

This is for the displaced Northwesterners.

I thought this first trip to the beach would be like summer time. In some ways it was. There was sand, beautiful sand. The repeating sound of the waves was there. Oh and the smell of salt water, it was there. Family after family came down to the water with the same ideas we had. Are you getting home sick yet?

When the Ferry let go of that monster horn I felt like summer had arrived!

We took our camp chairs and quickly unfolded them, grabbed our lunch and began to settle in on the beach. Before 10 minutes had passed that brisk breeze coming off those snow covered mountains across the water had my hands frozen, my cheeks bright red and the chill began to set in! My husband went to the car and came back with his big swimming towel from his duffel bag. That covered my knees and they now were only cold! I'm not sure how long we lasted.

It was an important trip, to eat lunch at the beach. It was one of the big things I missed last year with my husband working out of state. It was one of the big things he missed too. It was also a tribute to the fact we had found a day so blue and so perfect for being outside after late march snow and ice cold nights. Finally, all in all we moved the car closer to the water, took our books and our chairs, opened the sunroof on the car and enjoyed an afternoon in the car looking at the sand, feeling the sun on our heads and listening to the ferrys!

Is Spring just a suggestion or should we embrace it as a pre-summer idea!

Spring flowers

I think Spring may show up soon. After March 31 snow and the brisk cold winds I think a flower or two would be welcome. I've done some research and here are the favorites for the Northwest.

Tulips: It surprised me to learn that they grow about an inch a day even after being cut. They love to reach for the sun. Sounds like a smart flower, it's hard to come by sun in the spring.

There are a couple of main varities: Tulip french-the big ones and Parrot-the ruffled ones. They got their name from the turks turbins as the little cuped flower looks like one. In the 17 century Holland was crazy about these bulbed flowers. one bulb was reportedly exchanged for two loads of wheat, four oxen, eight pigs, twelve sheep, two hogsheads of wine, four barrels of beer, two barrels of butter, 1000 pounds of cheese, a bed, a suit of clothes and a silver beaker!

Because daffodils start blooming in March around my birthday I grew up thinking they were my flower. I thought the narcissus was a different kind of bulb but I found out they are the same thing and the terms are just interchangeably used. Go figure. Another interesting fact. They have poisonous alkaloids and that means that deer, rodents and other troublesome pests tend not to wreak the same havoc on daffodils that they do on other spring flowers. Now I know why we see them all over! Survival of the fittest!

The grape Hyacinths I planted years ago finally decided to give me flowers this week. I love the frangrance of these tiny bluish purple hyacinths. Yes they are bulbs also but did you know they grow inside really easily? Think of all the frangrance you would have with a nice pot of them in the house!

My mother grew a lot of irises, but I have had little luck with them. I see them now and again. They don't really come from a bulb, but rhizomes. I looked it up and it almost means the same thing. Irises are named after the Greek messenger of the same name, who arrived on earth via a rainbow. They do grow in a rainbow of colors but like the others I think they need something to hold up the stalk when those heavy flowers start to bloom.

Crocusus are all finish now, those sweet end of the winter, early spring flowers. They let us know life goes on and I enjoy the way they peek up at us so gently as if to say "is it safe to come out?"

It's April Fools Day!

Another birthday, Happy Birthday brother-in-law Mike!

So Aprils fools day origin seems to be lost in antiquity. Some historians think it went to Romans times and the legend of Persephone the daughter of Ceres. she was taken away by Pluto to live in a lower world. However she could hear the cries of her daughter and spent all Spring searching for her. It however was a "Fools" errand. In the lower world she would never find her daughter! So how could this signal a day for merriment?

In France after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1564 news traveled very slowly. France was slow in learning that the new years day April 1 was now Jan 1. so the custom of New years celebrating and gifts continued on April 1st until the word finally got out. Now this sounds more like it.

For our family it's a day of comical surprise rather than practical jokes. Lunch meats came packaged with a paper copy of the meat on top. My mother used to leave the paper in my sandwich. When it happened not on April 1st I began to wonder if she accidentally left it that April Fools day before. It was a shock to bite into that paper meat!

The original idea was to take a brake from the daily routine and play together as a community. I think we are well past this.

However today a trip to the post office took place with great merriment! So everyone who ordered a basics Cd watch for a package like the above. I let the artist in me think "Basic" so the packaging is just that. Hope you enjoy it.

Maybe you can end you day by hanging your dinner spoons on your nose. Sounds like a fitting activity to entertain the family on Aprils Fools day! It's not hard to do. Heavy spoons are best as in old silver or your dinnerware. Warm it up a bit and just stick it on. Some people have trouble maybe the spoon isn't a good fit for them. For some people that ole spoon stays right on that nose.

Have fun!