Doh. DOH. DOH!

So…get this…YEARS ago, I bought a food saver vacuum sealer. It was awesome. It had an attachment on it that would seal wide mouth jars. Except, I didn't have very many wide mouth jars, and I wanted to get the other attachment that would allow for regular mouthed jars so I could seal up the old spaghetti sauce jars I was using to store bulk spices. Flash forward a few years….in the interest of getting rid of plastics in my home, I bought bunches of wide mouth canning jars. I stored all sorts of things in them. Dried fruit. Nuts. Flours. Seeds. Leftovers. The attachment never occurred to me because it wasn't the one I needed. This summer: vacuum sealer just won't seem to seal the bags anymore. Ben votes for a new one from Costco. An awesome one. He says, we should get the jar attachment. I have one, I tell him, but it only does regular jars, not wide mouth. You should order it. I do. Amazon for $10.56 including shipping. Still awaiting its arrival. Yesterday, I clean out the cabinets and find the jar sealer. Jody, this is for wide mouth jars. No, it's not. Look. Ben sticks it on a wide mouth jar.

Top o' the mornin'

"St. Patrick's Breastplate," a Christian hymn translated from Old Irish lyrics, originally attributed to St. Patrick:

I bind to myself today
the strong virtue of the invocation of the Trinity:
I believe in the Trinity in the Unity,
the Creator of the universe.

I bind to myself today
the virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with his Baptism,
the virtue of his crucifixion with his burial,
the virtue of his Resurrection with his Ascension
the virtue of his coming on the Judgment Day.

I bind myself today
the virtue of the love of seraphim,
in the obedience of angels,
in the hope of resurrection unto reward,
in prayers of patriarchs,
in predictions of prophets,
in preaching of apostles,
in faith of confessors,
in purity of holy virgins,
in deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
the power of heaven,
the light of the sun,
the brightness of the moon,
the splendor of fire,
the flashing of lightining,
the swiftness of wind,
the depth of sea,
the stability of earth,
the compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's power to guide me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to teach me,
God's eye to watch over me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to give me speech,
God's hand to guide me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to shelter me,

God's host to secure me,
against the snares of demons,
against the seductions of vices,
against the lusts of nature,
against everyone who meditates injury to me,
whether far or near,
whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
against every hostile merciless power
which may assail my body and my soul.

Christ, protect me today
against every poison, against burning,
against drowning, against death-wound,
that I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop deck,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
the strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity,
the Creator of the universe.

Valentine Hearts

Once the Christmas decorations came down, things looked empty, and I realized I really didn't have any Valentines decor. (I think it's happened that we don't get the Christmas down until Feb. 2, so it seems silly to put up anything Valentine-y then).

Anyway, this year, I decided to craft a few things. I was inspired by my friend Val's Christmas hearts. Molly even sewed up one side and stuffed the one pictured above. I was thinking I would make these into a garland or a wreath, but wound up just filling a jar with them. Later, I may add ribbons for hanging or put them on a wreath, but for now, I like them in the jar.

These lovely pictures are thanks to my husband, Ben.

Fall Snacking!

It's October, folks! And what better way to celebrate that fact (and the fact that I have, like, a dozen cans of pumpkin in my cupboard--no, I can't explain it) than have some pumpkin-y snacks? We already baked up some yummy pumpkin muffins. Last weekend, the kids enjoyed some pumpkin pie smoothies for breakfast, and on Monday, I mixed up another batch and poured them into popsicle molds. Pumpkin Pie Popsicles!

My friend Val, must have been on the same wavelength, because she posted a recipe for some yummy Pumpkin Milkshakes last week (Look! We're not the only ones who use canning jars for drinks!).

Today's snack will be some almond-flour ginger snaps and pumpkin dip. Yum.

Oh, wait, I think this is a better way to have them!

This dip will be tasty with apple slices, too, so I'll probably slice up some of the apples Ben picked up at the orchard this week! Yeah for fall in Michigan!

Recipes:

Pumpkin Muffins (from The Healthy Cooking Coach)

I doubled this to use a whole (15 oz.) can of pumpkin

Ingredients:
1½ cup almond flour
1/3 cup arrowroot
1 teaspoon – non aluminum baking powder
1 teaspoon – baking soda
1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon – salt
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries, optional (I did a few with cranberries just for me)
3 large – whole eggs
3/4 cup – canned pumpkin
1/4 maple syrup

1. Liberally grease 8 muffin tins with ghee, palm shortening, or virgin coconut oil. If you have empty muffin tins you will need to fill them half way up the sides with water to prevent warping during baking. Be careful when removing the pan from the oven to avoid getting burned by the hot water!
2. Combine the almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, spice, sea salt, and optional raisins in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs in another bowl or the workbowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or in a blender. Add the pumpkin or squash and maple syrup or honey. Mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour mix into the 6 tins.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes on the middle rack in the oven until muffins pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides and invert over a cooling rack. When cool, cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for longer storage. They also freeze well.My note: To moisten and bring back that fresh made taste, you can wrap a muffin in a white cotton or linen towel. Place it on a steamer basket or rack over boiling water, cover the pot, and steam for 3 minutes, then serve.

Calories for entire recipe: 1499 Calories per muffin: 187

Note: Maple syrup has a lower carb and calorie count per tablespoon compared to honey.

I used cupcake liners instead of dealing with greasing the pan.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothies/Popsicles

2 bananas

1/2-3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 T (more or less to taste) pumpkin pie spice

4 droppers Sweetleaf Vanilla Stevia Liquid

about 4 cups raw milk (I just fill up the blender). You can use regular milk. Adding some heavy cream would make this extra yummy, though. For popsicles, pour into popsicle molds. These are Williams-Sonoma molds I bought off of E-bay a long time ago. My favorite popsicle molds are Tupperware. We have several sets of those I bought from E-bay at the same time, and another I actually bought from Tupperware.;)

Pumpkin Dip

8 oz. cream cheese

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

2 droppers Sweetleaf Vanilla Stevia Liquid

1/2 t. vanilla

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 T. cinnamon (again, the spices are to taste--I like to be able to taste that cinnamon!)

A pinch of salt

I whipped this up in my food processor, but it could easily be done in a blender, too. I topped this with roasted pecans.

Gingersnaps (From The Complete Idiot's Guide to Low Carb Meals)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar (I used palm sugar bought on the cheap at an Asian market near here; it has a lower glycemic index than agave nectar).

1T. Molasses

1 egg

2 t. freshly grated ginger or 1 t. ground ginger

1t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. cloves

1/2 t. salt

2 cups almond flour

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cream butter with sugar and molasses. Beat in egg. Add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Mix. Gradually add almond flour, and mix to a stiff dough. Form int 24 small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes

A few notes on this recipe: If you are a gingersnap fan, you're not going to get quite the same texture with this cookie, but it is a tasty spice cookie. When working with almond flour, it is good to let the cookies cool completely in the pan before lifting (or they'll fall apart). Use parchment! Also, you may wish to smoosh them down a bit. This dough won't really spread (and that might help with the texture, as I did not do this).

Fall Film Festival!

This year, rather than just focusing on October, I'm collecting some movies for us to watch up through Thanksgiving(after Thanksgiving, it's all Christmas movies!!!) . This is always a preliminary list, though I have checked out some reviews in making up this list. What we actually view is always subject to interest and mood at the time.

October picks:
Back to the Future 1 and 3--Er, we've watched 2, LOL.
Fairy Tale, A True Story
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Matilda
Goosebumps (from the TV series)
Wallace and Grommit Curse of the Were Rabbit
Harry Potter 1 and 2
Mad Monster Party (1967 Rankin Bass stop-action production!)
Scooby Doo and the Monster of Mexico
Forbidden Planet

November Picks:
Fly Away Home
Second Hand Lions
Swiss Family Robinson


Whatcha think?
Still considering...

Last week's snacks!

Monday--Ben came home early to take Liam for a foot check-up (appears to be healing nicely). Keeping the boot for another two weeks and soaking it nightly to prevent infection in the still open part of the wound. (Ready for a snack now?)

Ben popped popcorn for the kids for an afterschool snack. He makes the best popcorn.

Tuesday-- apple and carrot butterflies. The last of the carrots from our garden had spindly ends, perfect for antennae.

Wednesday--almond flour pumpkin muffins sweetened with a little maple syrup. I didn't take a picture, though I should have, I suppose. They don't look impressive, but they're yummy. I made a double batch, so they've been breakfasts and snacks and gone into lunch boxes all week.

Thursday--Orange Julius. 1 cup oj concentrate, 1 cup raw milk from the farm, vanilla stevia, 6 ice cubes whirred in the blender, whipped cream on top and some bat and pumpkin sprinkles. A second batch (minus one popsicle worth that I dumped on my feet) went into popsicle molds and was Friday's snack!

Fall Film Festival!

Before I post this year's preliminary list, a re-cap of last year's festival:

We listened briefly to The Witch Family, but no one really took interest.
Wallace and Gromit A Matter of Loaf and Death--We enjoyed this one, but we watched it again recently.

Wallace and Gromit The Curse of the WereRabbit--Still Good
Shaun the Sheep Little Sheep of Horrors--These are all good.
Earnest Scared Stupid (OK, this may be a huge mistake).--we didn't venture this one
Monsters, Inc. (we haven't watched this one in awhile)--I don't think we watched this in October, but we did watch it again recently. It is good.
Young Frankenstein--Decided against this one
Disney's Witches--We like this one, but it is a bit creepy.
Disney's Mickey's House of Villains--Good
Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (this includes Legend of Sleepy Hallow)--Good, and a little creepy.
Wizard of Oz--I think you know this one. We did not watch this last year, but maybe we will this year.
Clifford Halloween--Didn't watch
Little Monsters--um, watched part of this this summer, and do not recommend. Fred Savage and lots of curse words.
The Mummy (1932)-didn't watch
Dracula (1931)-didn't watch
Frankenweenie-didn't watch
Harry Potter (1&2)-I think we watched these when they were broadcast on cable TV around
Halloween. Always good.
Escape to Witch Mountain--The kids balked at watching an "old" movie, but liked it.

This year, I'm off to a late start. I posted on Facebook looking for ideas. I'm feeling like we've pretty well exhausted the family-friendly Halloween movie options. In the past, I've focused on October and Halloween-type movies, but I have always liked the idea of including some other Fall-ish movies on into November. I think this year's list will be good!