July Daybook

FOR TODAY

July 1, 2013

Outside my window...

are dogs, a cat, kittens, chickens and a pig

 who never cease to entertain us :-)

I am thinking...

about the cool front that blew in last night 

and how very nice the weather has been today

I am thankful...

for food grown in our backyard

In the kitchen...

I made strawberry banana pops this afternoon

I am wearing...

an Aggie t-shirt and running shorts

I am creating...

more organized, streamlined areas of my home

in hopes that when I go back to work in the fall

homekeeping will be easier 

I am going...

to the beach in two weeks! :-)

I am reading...

"Thinking in Pictures - My Life with Autism" by Temple Grandin

and I just finished "Muscle and a Shovel" by Michael Shank

I highly recommend both! 

I am hoping...

to read several more books this summer 

I am learning...

to be better at recycling

Around the house...

I'm cleaning and organizing room by room

I am pondering...

what I want to can this summer

A favorite quote...

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have,

but rather recognizing and appreciating what we do have." ~ Frederick Keonig

One of my favorite things...

butterflies

A few plans:

to have some friends over for the 4th of July

A peek into my day... 

treating the chickens to some lettuce

Linked to The Simple Woman's Daybook - July Edition

Roasted Squash

Our squash plants have done really well in the garden this year.

And even though boiled and buttered is my favorite way to eat them,

I've been on the look out to find new ways to prepare our bounty.

This evening we had roasted squash and it was really good.

I chopped up several crook neck, one large zucchini, a purple onion and one clove of garlic.

Then, I tossed the veggies in an 1/8 cup of oil and added some salt and pepper.

I baked them at 450 for about 30 minutes.

They were very tasty. :-)

From the Farm Blog Hop #40

Strawberry Banana Frozen Yogurt Pops

You'll need -

1 lb strawberries

3 bananas

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Enjoy!

Makes approximately 12 pops.

Linked to Wise Woman Linkup July 3rd
Share Your Cup Thursday #64

National Blueberry Month

July is national blueberry month!

I thought I'd share some of our favorite recipes that use

delicious, fresh blueberries.

Here's our top ten, in no particular order. :-)

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Blueberry Scones

Heart Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

Blueberry Quick Bread with Vanilla Sauce

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Blueberry Crostata

Blueberry Lemon Tea Cookies

Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberry Hand Pies

Linked to Homestead Barn Hop #117, 

Wise Woman Linkup July 3rd

From the Farm Blog Hop #40

Share Your Cup Thursday #63

Farmgirl Friday #115

Menu Plan

Supper Menus
June 30th - July 6th

Sunday
leftovers
Monday
country fried ham, old fashioned stuffed tomatoes, roasted summer squash, country white bread 
Tuesday
fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, zucchini onion pie  (just zucchini, the chickens didn't lay me enough eggs to make the pie!)
Wednesday
spaghetti with marinara sauce
Thursday
4th of July cookout - hotdogs with all the fixings, deer sausage wraps, homestyle macaroni salad, baked beans, chips, veggies and dip, watermelon, chocolate eclair cake, firecracker cookies
Friday
out for supper
Saturday
leftovers

Linked to Menu Plan Monday

~summertime peach smoothie~

2 peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped

1 banana, frozen

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

Place all in a blender and blend until smooth. 

Enjoy!

From the Farm Blog Hop #40

~every moment~

"The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, 

and surely it is in the everday things around us that the beauty of life lies." 

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist: Writings from the Ozarks 

Linked to Wise Woman Linkup July 3rd 

Asian Quinoa Salad

This Asian Quinoa Salad was planned for supper this evening,

but Mr. H. decided he wanted to go out to eat.

So I whipped it up to enjoy for lunch today and tomorrow.

Quinoa, purple cabbage, red bell peppers, edamame, cucumber, and carrots!  Yum!

~milk and honey~

I've been on a kick lately of making one of my favorite 

homemade breads - Milk and Honey Bread.

This evening I gifted out a loaf to my secret sister at Bible class.

Tied up with a sweet yellow ribbon. :-)

Linked to Homestead Barn Hop #117

Butterfly Beauty

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful;

for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament.

Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky,

in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Linked to Wise Woman Link Up June 26th

Share Your Cup Thursday #62

From the Farm Blog Hop #39

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #114 

Homestead Barn Hop #117 

PF Chang's Copy Cat Complete!

I've shared recently how much my family enjoys the chinese food restaurant 

PF Chang's.

And, also, how I enjoy making 

"copy cat" recipes at home.

Our "PF Chang's at Home" meals typically include -

yummy lettuce wraps

spicy kung pao

and spicy green beans.

But, something has been missing.

If you've ever been to PF Chang's you might have tried their special "house" tea.

It is so very good and one of my favorite parts of eating there.  

I usually go through at least two, if not three, glasses 

to help cool down all of that yummy spiciness. ;-)

Most of the time when we have chinese food at home,

I like to make our tea taste a little like what we get a PF Chang's.

I have brewed Lipton's jasmine passion fruit green tea

and Lipton's mandarin orange green tea.

Both go really well with chinese food, but they don't taste exactly like that

wonderful tea at PF Chang's. 

But, recently I discovered the secret!

Last time we ate at PF Chang's was while we were in Austin celebrating

my daughter's birthday with a group of her friends.

When I ordered my tea I requested the "mandarin tea".

The waiter was a little on the snooty side ;-) and he said, 

"M'am I believe you mean our mango tea."

I replied, "Oh yes, please, thank you."

He left.  Everyone laughed at me ;-) and then I enjoyed my tea.

But...that snooty waiter made me realize that I had been looking 

for the wrong thing at the grocery.

I needed to look for mango tea, not mandarin tea!

Bingo!

I got this box (on clearance for $1!) brewed it up,

poured it over ice and took a sip.

I immediately hollered to Mr. H.,

"Come try this!  I just made PF Chang's tea!!" 

And with that, our PF Chang copy cat meal is now complete. :-)

~summer afternoon~

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been

the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~ Henry James 

Menu Plan

Supper Menus
June 23rd-29th

Sunday
leftovers
Monday
kung pao chicken, lettuce wraps
Tuesday
crock pot enchiladas
Wednesday
leftovers
Thursday
spicy black bean burgers with chipotle mayo and avocado slices, french fries and spicy ketchup
Friday
asian quinoa salad
Saturday
out for supper

Menu Plan Monday 

~cucumber water~

Cucumber water.  Have you heard of it?

Evidently it's very popular - just check pinterest. ;-)

My sister-in-law made some recently and my daughter loved it.

When I brought our first two pickling cucumbers in from the garden this morning

one of them was kind of funky shaped, 

so we decided to slice it up and make some cucumber water.

water, ice, thin cucumber slices

and a few hours in the fridge

It is very tasty and refreshing!

So far, my cucumber plant doesn't seem to be going crazy like in summers past.

If it doesn't take off, maybe we'll skip making pickles

and just make cucumber water all summer! ;-)

Now if zucchini water tasted good, we'd be all set...

Linked to Homestead Barnhop #116, Wise Woman Link Up June 26th, 

From the Farm Blog Hop #39, Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #114