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Grocery Bill Going DOWN?

by ladypbwiggins

I know I haven’t been posting much lately but I have been busy. I am adding new plants to my garden. I finally had to breakdown and clean the above ground bed my husband built before he got sick. While I was away at the hospitals, a neighbor’s cat decided it would make a great litter box. I started that process but I haven’t finished.

Awaiting completion of that job is the organic potting mix and spinach. When the spinach is moved I can plant the Thai Chili pepper that I bought. I will then have three hot peppers, jalapeno, fish and Thai Chili. The yellow and green bell peppers have fruit and more blossoms. I bought an heirloom tomato plant to add to the already fruitful Ace tomato plant.

Grocery bill going ⇓.

Do you know how much non-GMO, organic, heirloom tomatoes cost? I am determined to eat as much non-GMO vegetables and fruit as possible. My budget requires me to grow as much as I can. Garlic and Tumeric are next on my list.

Jalapeno blossoms
Tomato plant flourishing and “Fish” Pepper plant in the background growing

Green and Yellow peppers

Voiceless, Powerless

by ladypbwiggins

Why is there such a strong effort to bar people from the vote? Why is there such a determined attitude to keep certain people from the table? Why are lies spread that discourage people from trying? Because if I can keep you unheard, I will render you powerless.

This is the strategy of those who want to retain the power for themselves. We have seen the shift in our society because certain groups lost their voice.

During the severest time of the economic crisis, the 90%-ers spoke up and they were silenced. The method: make them appear crazy. There are always those who jump on the bandwagon with little understanding of the purpose or they just want to cause trouble. Were they infiltrated?

Black Lives Matter spoke up and suddenly there was an attempt to silence the sound of their voice.Speak up Black folks at the polls, in the arts, in the classroom. When we as an organized group did before, the nation and the world listened.

Y’shua or Jesus followers where are your voices? The world hears the voices of the religious Christians but not His followers. Is there a difference? Yes. Much like the Pharisees during Jesus’ time, the religious Christians adhere to the letter of the Word and selectively at that. Religious Christians check off the doctrinal boxes and are quite judgmental. They judge everyone but themselves. Y’shua followers, don’t have to agree with what you are doing but have the compassion to help you, listen to you, respect you while explaining why they believe you are wrong. That’s what He did. There is no condemnation.He only condemned the self righteous.

It seems those bent on destruction have no problem raising their voices of hate. Where are the voices of sanity, righteousness, hope, love, compassion, wisdom, construction?  Take back your power. Be heard.

As Michael Jackson so eloquently put it, Take a look at yourself and make a change.

Get educated about the candidates for Congress. We need to elect people who represent us. These last eight years this Congress, both Democrats and Republicans have represented a select few. Some have been there longer than many of us have been alive. It is time for a change. Select people who care about the welfare of the country. Let’s stop this political game of Dems vs Repubs.  We have abdicated power to them. Let’s take it back.

This should not stop with Congress. The candidates that affect you immediately are local. Check out any judges, assembly men and women, mayors, council people that are up for election.

We, the people, should be heard!

Take back your power!

Raise Your Voice!

Continued Search for Gluten-free Sandwich Bread

by ladypbwiggins

I have tried several different recipes for gluten free bread. They all have been described as guaranteed sandwich bread. The first one I tried looked okay but crumbled when you sliced it. That was the result for several of them. I was about to give up and then I found the recipe using Teff flour online. This bread is gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free and vegan bread. I have no health need that actually requires this kind of bread but if I can find one that is gluten-free that tastes good and slices for good sandwiches, I am on board. I am interested in anything that reduces inflammation. Arthritis, you know.  🙂

I didn’t know about Teff flour. It is a grain used in Ethiopian cooking for baking and as a side dish. It’s color ranges from light to dark  brown. I used a brown teff because it is the one I found in my favorite market. Bob’s Red Mill Teff Flour

I am learning about different kinds of flours and their uses. My only experience with sorghum was syrup my great-grandfather bought from a friend in the country. I didn’t know it could be made into flour. The recipe is below. It makes two loaves.  Enjoy

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1 1/2 cups millet flour

1/2 cup teff flour

1 cup sorghum flour

1 cup cornstarch (double the potato starch if you can’t eat corn)

1 cup potato starch

1 cup tapioca flour

4 tsp xanthum gum

1 tbsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp active dry yeast (not rapid rise)

Add:

4 tsp olive oil

3 1/4 warm water (not hot)

I halved the recipe to make one loaf. I mixed the ingredients much like making regular wheat bread. The difference is, there is no need to knead the mixture.  I allowed it to rise about 50 -70 minutes sitting on top of a warm stove. I baked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes uncovered. I then baked covered it covered for 35-45 minutes. When it has baked completely, let it rest on a rack to cool a little.

As you may have noticed in the picture the bottom and sides were beautiful. The top cracked open. I don’t know why. It was delicious while warm. The next day the top and sides were hard and a little more difficult to slice. After three days it began to mold. I guess we don’t eat it fast enough. Refrigeration was not an option because it dried out the loaf.The source of the recipe suggested making bread crumbs, or croutons after the second day.  I should have done that.

I may try it again or I may just turn to flatbread for sandwiches.

To read the recipe and the full instructions aprovchar.danandsally.com

 

Homemade Ketchup and Hot Sauce Update

by ladypbwiggins

This is the ketchup making update. I used fresh Roma tomatoes before. The recipe is found at What is This . I stated that I planned to try it with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and onion. I used dry sun-dried tomatoes so I had to re-hydrate them. I put the tomatoes in the Vitamix with enough water to cover and about an inch more. After the tomatoes were re-hydrated, I added garlic, onions,  and apple cider vinegar. I also substituted raw honey for agave. I fired up the Vitamix to high and pureed until smooth. It was a pasty texture. If you would like it more fluid add some water. I noticed the sun-dried made it sweeter than the Romas. I haven’t decided if I like it better but it is good. I think the next time I will leave out the honey and use distilled white vinegar.

I am really getting into making these condiments. I grilled some salmon for dinner so I tossed some Serrano peppers, and red peppers on the grill. They got a little of the salmon oil on them so I wasn’t sure how that was going to affect the hot sauce flavor. The next morning I made oatmeal for breakfast. While I was waiting for the oatmeal to come to a boil, I threw the peppers roasted and fresh with a pinch of salt into the Vitamix with some distilled vinegar. I left the seeds in. Awesome stuff. It was so quick and my supply is renewed. It is hotter too. Love it.

It was so simple. I did not use any recipe for the hot sauce. Glad it worked out.

Walk With Me Back To Basics

by ladypbwiggins

I have been listening to Christian teachers and pastors. I have been listening to those who have many questions about the belief system they grew up with. I have been listening to non-believers and all of this brought me to a realization. We have focused so much on prosperity that we have forgotten some basics. We have confused onlookers because our behavior shows little difference to that of Wall Street financiers or street thugs. It’s about the money or the bling. Before you get it twisted, I believe God wants to bless us financially but my problem is not with the wealth but our attitude and behavior.

I decided to go back to basics. I decided to study the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and John who walked with Y’shua; who recorded from different perspectives His teachings. I mean who else can give us insight on what He taught better than Himself.

I began with searching for the answer of a few questions I had.

  1. Exactly how did He get the name Jesus? I knew it wasn’t His given name. He was Israeli after all.
  2. Why did Isaiah prophesy that He would be called Immanuel and then was named something else?
  3. What was His authority that I should listen to Him?

Now I know someone is going to be shocked by that last one. I have no doubt that He has authority but I want to reaffirm from the Word the basis for my belief. That is for you real holy people who don’t need to be introspective sometimes. I am not perfect so I have to check myself.

Over the coming months I will share my findings, especially Y’shua’s teachings for that is my true objective for this study. I know there is more than what we limit ourselves to in the knowledge of our God-designed power, authority and behavior. I invite you to

Walk With Me!

The Last Element

by ladypbwiggins

I just love Chipotle’s Sofritas bowl. When my husband was in rehab it was the nearest reasonably healthy choice to the facility. That is where our relationship began.I could eat it almost everyday but my budget won’t allow it.I decided try making my own. The beans, corn, rice, cheese and lettuce with salsa was easy. But how do I make sofritas? I knew they used tofu and I thought how they cooked it was what made it Sofritas.  While browsing through my Vitamix  cookbook I discovered a recipe for sofritas. It was a sauce. Who knew? I marinated the crumbled tofu in the sofritas sauce and then cooked it in a slightly oiled saucepan. It tasted good but did not have the expected texture. My only thought was, I didn’t blend it long enough. All of the veggies used were fresh so it lacked a specific taste I was looking for.  So my next attempt will use roasted peppers.I will also grill the sliced tofu. If that doesn’t work, I will try tempeh.

I will continue to experiment until I get the taste I am have in my taste memory.

My Garden Beginnings

by ladypbwiggins

I have been thinking of beginning my own organic container garden but I just kept putting it off. I am not a natural garden interest type person. I just like the fresh produce. One day I was standing in my favorite organic market looking at the cost of vine ripen organic tomatoes and thought if I had started my garden by now I would have my own. I then moved to the yellow bell peppers and the cost of those were ridiculous.

That’s it. I am starting this garden I declared inside.

I bought organic soil and fertilizer after conferring with a successful gardener friend. I proceeded to the plant section to discover that they sold organic seeds but not organic seedlings. I googled organic nurseries in my area and found one very close to my home. I thought they only sold landscape vegetation. I discovered they sold non-GMO organic vegetable plants.

Inside myself again I screamed “Yes!”

I bought yellow onions, green onions, jalapeno pepper, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and tomato plants. I spent approximately 15.00 for a sustainable supply of veggies.

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The other thing I did to insure some of these plants had a chance at survival was to purchase a self-watering container. It holds two gallons of water and the plants drink as they need it. The tomato and jalapeno plants are in a conventional pot. I pray I don’t kill it. My thumb is real light green.

 20160217_151024                                            It has begun.20160217_151013

To My Tortilla Making New Friends

by ladypbwiggins

You will be my new friends if you help me with my homemade tortillas. My daughter-in-law and I spent some time together making our first homemade tortilla. It was really a funny experience. She had broken her glasses and couldn’t read the instructions and I had injured my hand an couldn’t manipulate the dough. We jokingly called this time, the Blind and Maimed Hour. Nevertheless, we made the tortillas. They tasted good and fulfilled the purpose but we were not satisfied. We used the instructions on the Masa Harina bag. It was simply the flour and water. The tortilla press I own did not make them flat enough so we used a rolling pin. Then we placed them on the grill where they didn’t hold together when folded. (We were making tacos)

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So to my new friends, how do I keep them moist and held together? If I get this right, I may almost never buy tortillas again. It was really easy. I like easy and quick.

Catching UP

by ladypbwiggins

So far behind.

My laboratory experiments stacking up.

Documents I need to read.

Clothes I need to wash, car too

Rooms I need to clean

Groceries to purchase

Meals to prepare

Research for Outreach Center

Making plans, making plans

Rest

When will I ever CATCH UP.

(You all should be laughing now because I know I just described your life, too!)

See, I forgot categories and such.