C.S. Lewis - Quote...

 

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.”

 - C.S. Lewis

DITL- Random Pix...

 

Storm is rolling in.

My Orchid is almost ready to bloom.

New camera. Sorry about the learning curve.

Golden Eagle.

Heating up pancakes in the Sun Oven.

Cast iron.

Spilt rice. Ugh! It went everywhere.

My cactus has bloomed for the second time this year.

Sunset view from the East

My Favorite Cookbooks...

I love books. You know, the kind that are actually made from paper. I like the feel of having a book in my hand. Add a cup of hot tea with honey and I am a happy camper. I believe that knowledge is important and having it at my fingertips is empowering.  I don't have to depend on the internet or a power source in order to read. Books are a form of security for me. 

Cookbooks are not only a source of knowledge, but also a source of entertainment. I like the challenge of making good food without breaking the bank. We all have to eat, so why not make it fun, healthy and as affordable as it can be? I like simple recipes that have simple ingredients. I can use my imagination and make a feast out of basic ingredients. Number one tells me all the time that I never follow a recipe and he is right. I substitute ingredients all the time. I do this to use up what I have on hand. 

Traveling to the store to purchase ingredients in this day and age does not make sense anymore. It is 74 miles round trip to the closest grocery store. Lets break the gasoline cost down for an extra excursion to the grocery store. Gas on average is $5 a gallon. It takes at least four gallons to get to the store and back. That is $20 just to go to the store.

I purchased most of my books from yard sales, thrift stores, used book stores and I have purchased  books from stores that offered deeply discounted prices. Paying retail is not for me. 

More-With-Less Cookbook is an amazing book with lots of tips from people who have experienced all kinds of conditions all over the world on the mission field and in homes across America. The goal of this cookbook is to have enough food for everyone in the world. This is so important in a world full of food shortages.

Back To Basics is more than a cookbook. This book is all about traditional skills and traditional foods. This book taught me how to bake bread like no other book could. 

This is a cool cookbook. It is based on the spoon method of calculating the cost of individual recipes. The prices may no longer apply, but this book is still so relevant to the circumstances that we find ourselves in today.

Spoon Method Rating System.

Quilt Country is all about people who live completely free from all modern conveniences. These are their recipes that they use everyday and they can cook!

The Joy Of Cooking is all about serious cooking. From basic biscuits to bisques. You will not be disappointed. The techniques in this cookbook are a gold mine of knowledge.

My arsenal of go to cookbooks.

This is the absolute best sandwich and toasting bread recipe. This is the recipe that finally taught me the basics of bread making.   

This is my "Wonder Bread". 

Mrs. Smith

"Fighting Words" Round 3 Memory Verse...

Psalm 139:7-10 CJB

7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I lie down in Sh’ol, you are there.
9 If I fly away with the wings of the dawn
and land beyond the sea,
10 even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.

I thought that this Scripture passage was just so beautiful and so true. I hope that it blesses you today as much as it has blessed me...

Mrs. Smith

Homemade Big Mac... Bun Recipe

The secret to this recipe is getting the buns to rise in height instead of width. I make this happen by cutting 5 inch tall wax paper strips and 6 inch tall strips of foil that I double over for support. Make the strips about 15 inches long. This should allow you to to connect the edges by creasing the edges together. These strips can be reused over and over. 

The bread dough is made from the basic dough recipe that I frequently use with a couple of tweaks. I use all purpose flour instead of bread flour for a lighter dough and I add more sugar, because hamburger buns are sweet. 

I only made six buns along with a loaf of bread.

Ready to bake.

You don't have to be exact on the measurements for the strips as you can see. They will store better if you cut them all the same size.

Buns are rising.

Big Mac with homemade fries.

Dough Ingredients:

2 1/2 C Warm Water

3 Tsp Yeast

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Tbs + Soft or Melted Butter (Vegetable Oil Can Be Substituted)

5 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour (+ flour for kneading)

1 Tbs Salt

Add warm water, melted/softened butter or oil and sugar to a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add half of the flour and all of the salt. Mix well with a sturdy wooded spoon.

Keep adding flour until a soft dough forms.

Once the dough has formed, dust a counter or other hard surface with flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes adding small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.

After kneading you should have a very soft stretchy dough.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn dough until coated completely in the oil.

Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and knead for 3 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 equal pieces.

Form into 12 balls. 

Place on a large greased baking sheet with plenty of space in between each one. 

Lightly oil the tops and sides of the dough balls.

Wrap cut wax paper strips around dough balls.

Wrap doubled over foil strips around the wax paper for support. 

Crease edges to hold strips in place.

Let rise until dough is about 3 1/2 inches tall.

Carefully remove the wrap from each bun.

Gently coat each bun with melted butter or oil.

Bake in a 450* preheated oven until browned.

Let cool completely on a rack before slicing into three sections.

Make your "Big Mac" with your favorite toppings.

Enjoy,

Mrs. Smith 

Winston Churchill Inspirational Quote...

This is no time for ease and comfort. It is the time to dare and endure...  

Winston Churchill

With all the crazy in the world I figured we could use some inspiration from those who have gone before us.

Mrs. Smith

Shofar...Shabbat Shalom...

We received our beautiful Shofar in the mail today. A Shofar is made from the horn of a ram and is mentioned 72 times in the Bible. They come in many shapes, sizes and colors and each one has a unique sound when blown. 

There is a technique to blowing a Shofar. It takes practice. The trumpet like sound is very loud. We are very excited to learn to use this wind instrument...

Now it is time to rest...

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Smith

Weighty Matters...Super Inflation...Extreme Gasoline Prices...

I had to go into the "Big City" for an appointment this week. I really dread going into the city. However, while I am there I do pick up groceries and other items that I can not get shipped to our home. I was unable to place a pick-up order, so I had to go inside. Their site was not working properly, so before even I got there there were price increases. I kid you not!!!

I have decided that we are not in Hyperinflation yet, but we are in Super Inflation. This is a new term that I have coined for our current economic state of rising prices.   

Compared to the last time that we shopped almost all of the items that we had purchased had gone up in price in three weeks time. They ranged from 10% to 78.9% increases. One $10 item went up $1.40 overnight! This is not sustainable! How can we continue at this pace? 

I do not shop like most people. I am not in the stores every week to see the price increases, but I do watch videos that alert me to coming price changes and I frequently watch to see what is out of stock. For reasons that I will explain below.

I have noticed a few trends that stores are using that I use as warnings of imminent price increases. Here are a few of those indicators:

If an item is out of stock for a long amount of time this usually means there is repackaging going on for shrinkflation and a possible price increase. 

Example: Ramen Noodles have been unavailable for some time now. I saw a video yesterday that they now have 24 packs instead of 48 packs in Cincinnati, OH with a price increase. 

If there are two different prices on the same exact item in different isles the price is about to go up and they need to sell out of the lower priced items. 

If there is a "New Lower Price" sticker and it has a future date on it the price is going to go up after that date. 

The last one that I have noticed indicating a price hike is that they do not have any price per pound signs on meat. You literally have to check each item individually to see the price per pound.

Please Note: Watch the best by dates. Stores are getting in delayed shipments from a year ago or longer. You could end up with an expired product or a product that you cannot use up before the expiation date. 

I also read the news about up and coming shortages and major price increases that are about to happen in commodities. Commodities are the basic ingredients in products. These increases are due to fuel costs, shortages, bad crops, trade wars, wars, weather, diseases and recalls. I could go on and on about the disruptions to our food supplies. It is disturbing to say the least what we have been witnessing for a long time now. 

With all this information that I gather I can make informed decisions about items that I need to purchase before the increases occur or sometimes I have to purchase something else to replace an item that is out of stock or just out of reach due to the high cost. 

I couldn't get into the station at the big box store. The lines were three and four deep. I watched prices all the way to town just in case and on my way back my second choice went up from $4.75 to $4.89 and my third choice went from $4.75 to $4.79. 

Sorry about the glare. For 33.913 gallons of 85 octane gasoline I paid $162.75. Needless to say, it was a very expensive day with groceries($194.77), a doctor visit $$$ and gasoline (162.75).

I hope that this post is helpful to you. I believe that we are in dire need of Divine intervention to slow this Super Inflation train down...

Mrs. Smith

Extreme Weather And Other Events On The Ranch

 

It was 90* here on Saturday. We have only seen this high of a temperature one other time and that was in Late July a few years ago for just a few minutes. Usually, we hit the high 80's for a couple days late in the Summer. We are high in the Mountains at around 9000 feet. This is an extreme temperature especially for early June. 

We were blessed with some cloud coverage that lowered it to the high 80's later in the afternoon. The sun is really intense at this altitude anyway, but with the heat it was too much for this girl. I like it in the 60's inside and out. In fact, I find it difficult to sleep when it is above 70* in the house. 

We kept the doors closed and the shades drawn. It hit 84* before noon. I was shocked. I'm sure we broke all kinds of records if they actually kept records in this remote area. I hope that this is not the new normal. 

On a lighter note, we saw our first Pronghorn Antelope baby on Friday and one on Sunday. They are so cute. This is also earlier than normal. Maybe the animals know something we don't. 

We lost our pet hen this afternoon. She died in my arms. I noticed yesterday that she had a dirty bottom and today she wasn't acting right. I brought her inside to clean her up and give her a warm soak in case she was egg bound. She died before I turned the water on. 

She loved to jump on our laps and lay down. She was a funny creature. Very smart. She was not hand raised, she just did it on her own. Very sweet natured. I took this photo a couple of days ago. She was just fine. No sign of illness or injury. 

Goodbye Sweet Friend, You Will Be Missed...

 

Mrs. Smith