Why You Should Drink Milk

Milk is delicious, healthy and yet it's been turned into an evil that it isn't.  This website is really fun and shows that a lot of the things we're taught about milk are simply false. Even though I grew up on a dairy farm and understood that whole milk is a better, healthier product than the 2% - skim milks, but I still thought it was fattening. Did you know that whole milk is only 3% fat? WHOLE milk. ...and I don't mean the whole milk they sell at the store. Much of that is altered and the fat is removed. This is a fact that I wasn't aware of until today when I checked out the 97 Milk website.
I am reminded of a simple the simple truth that we should ever stop learning... and also that we should never stop drinking whole milk. Don't believe the fads, don't believe the propaganda.

97 Milk Website

P.S. I am an advocate for raw milk which sadly this website doesn't promote. I guess you gotta take the good and leave the rest.

Cook Me Curry

I went out to dinner for Thai with my friend, Chris, a few weeks ago. I hadn't ever ordered curry before and I thought I hadn't tried it either, so in favor of a new experience I ordered a green curry. Well, it was one of those moments where I was struck with my complete 'blondness' as I realized I've actually been cooking curry for the past year. Although it's true, I've never had curry at a restaurant, I have made it at home a number of times. Some things in life are just too obvious. ;)

As it happens I was working for my dad's boss' wife last Summer. She was in charge of cooking meals for the concrete crew. Which means she planned out the meals and I cooked them. Haha! Knowing how picky guys can be she had me make some really delicious meals. This recipe was one she had me prepare and it was so easy and delicious! Something different from the same old meals I was used to at my house.
If you want to make an easy meal, something that will please everyone, try making this curry:

Fragrant Chicken Curry

2 T. curry powder

1 t. ground ginger

½ t. cinnamon

¼ t. cayenne pepper

2 T. vegetable oil

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and boned
(meat pulled into large chucks – 3 ½ to 4 cups)

1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth

To serve: Cooked basmati rice, chopped fresh cilantro and mango chutney

Mix spices in small bowl. Heat oil in a dutch oven or small soup kettle over medium-high heat; add onion and saute until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spices; toast until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add chicken; stir until completely coated with spices. Add coconut milk, tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer; cook uncovered until flavors blend and stew is thick, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with cilantro and serve over rice. Pass chutney separately. Serves: 6
 

 

One thing Mrs. E. changed was the rice. I haven't tried making the basmati rice yet but this Indian rice recipe is to die for. In fact, Mrs. E.'s brother-in-law who was from India taught her how to make this rice recipe, so it's authentic Indian cuisine. It goes really well with the curry recipe as the spices in each dish compliment each other.
I must say, I did not use a rotisserie chicken. Instead I boiled a chicken in water (with generic spices: salt, pepper, garlic). It's like killing two birds with one stone as it provides your meat and your broth. I also don't have curry powder on hand so I used the "Thai Kitchen" brand of curry paste. I also haven't tried the cilantro or the mango chutney, but I'd imagine they'd both be nice.

Indian Rice

onion, chopped

cooking oil

2 c. rice, raw

stick of cinnamon

6 whole cloves

6 peppercorns

½ t. tumeric

chopped tomato

green peas

Brown onion. Add spices. Add rice. 1 can of chicken broth; the rest water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
(in essence cook brown rice as normal, substituting part of the water for chicken broth, and adding other ingredients when you start to cook rice)

Thankful it's almost Thanksgiving.

The days have been full of milking cows mostly. My knees are hardly getting used to the exercise, although I think my muscles have grown from carrying around those heavy milkers. I do enjoy my job immensely.  The only thing that could be better would be milking my own cows in my own barn. I hope that will come in time.

I think we need a bigger house. Mostly so that we can invite more people to our thanksgiving feast. The head count this year is over 25 people... and will likely increase by the time we get to the big day. Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. Not that Christmas isn't nice as well but more of the family can come to our Thanksgiving feast. I wish I could make all the pies. I love making pie.... But with my new job I'll only have four hours each day to accomplish things this week. Therefore I'll be making the apple pie. Most people don't really do apple pie justice. They make them flatter than pancakes... but what you need to do is pile your apple slices 5 inches high because when you bake your pie the apples will shrink down.


I'm getting excited already! Well, time for this girl to go get some things done. Coffee break is over.
We have a friend in the hospital, a relative who's in hospice and a friend's grandma who just passed away. It reminds me of how fleeting time is and how precious people are. Spend time with your family. Enjoy the time while it lasts. Be thankful for the abundant blessings we have in this life.
Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Hypertension: Keep it from affecting you.

According to the CDC:

High Blood Pressure in the United States:

• About 70 million American adults (29%) have high blood pressure—that’s 1 of every 3 adults.¹
• Only about half (52%) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.¹
• Nearly 1 of 3 American adults has prehypertension—blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal, but not yet in the high blood pressure range.¹
• High blood pressure costs the nation $46 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications to treat high blood pressure, and missed days of work.²

Knowing a number of people who've suffered from hypertension I decided to do some digging around to find ways to help lower and prevent it. The last thing you want is for your doctor to prescribe for you a blood pressure medication so finding natural ways to fight anxiety, stress, and hypertension/high blood pressure were my goal.

Here are some of the methods that I've discovered, some of which are really easy or at least important to implement:

1. Homeopathic Remedies:
There is one really awesome remedy that could help a lot called Nat. Mur. and you can find it at most health stores or online.

Natrum Muriaticum

If you want to research it you can pop that name into your google search bar and read about it, but otherwise know that it helps with anxiety, stress, depression, worry, high blood pressure... etc.

A secondary remedy is homeopathic doses of Phosphorus. Although it whether this remedy works may depend more on specific indicators of your condition, it would be worth looking into if you can't find Nat. Mur.

2. Herbal Remedies:
Some of the #1's are common cooking herbs! Check out this website. Basil, cinnamon and cardamom are the top three that help.

Also on that list there is celery seed. My brother Jed goes on a fishing trip once a year with his buddies and all they eat is bacon. During this time his chronically high blood pressure goes down.   LOL ... maybe bacon is the way to go? A lot of the naturally cured bacon is made with celery. There are many who say to stay away from bacon and other highly salty foods, still it is an interesting side note. If you're interested in eating bacon I'd recommend reading Dr. Mercola's review.

ALSO.... here are so practical and tasty ways to help yourself out. Try these fun recipes! Notice the first thing it mentions is cutting salt? ....and the homeopathic remedy is like a vaccine. If you look up Nat. Mur. you'll find that it IS sodium chloride. It's such a small does though that it's like a finger print. Barely traceable. Yet, your body recognizes the "finger print" and sends antibodies to fight away the "poison" therefore actually treating your real problem!!! Win/Win situation.

3. Diet:
Salt, Sugar and Gluten....
Sugar is worse than salt for blood pressure! Sugar is like the worst thing we can put in our bodies because it creates inflammation and inflammation causes a TON of issues in our body. The problem is that sugar or a lot of ingredients that come in sugary foods are addicting. It's hard to stop eating it but sometimes you have to decided you don't want to wake up anymore with the health problems that control your life. Mind over matter.

Watch this fun little video about sugar:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4CZ81EmAsw
Another thing is WHEAT. Yes... like sugar it seems to be in EVERYTHING which makes it SO HARD to eliminate. But it's wreaking havoc in your life. According to Dr. Mark Hyman in this article (which you should read or just watch the video) "Health problems caused by gluten sensitivity cannot be treated with better medication. They can only be resolved by eliminating 100 percent of the gluten from your diet." "Gluten is also linked to many psychiatric and neurological diseases, including anxiety. depression, schizophrenia, dementia, migraines, epilepsy, and neuropathy (nerve damage). It has also been linked to autism."

One book you may want to take the time to read is Wheat Belly. Also, Grain Brain is a good book, too. To read a little about the main concepts of Wheat Belly check out this website:http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/against-the-grain-how-wheat-wrecks-your-health.html
And if you're sad because gluten-free means no more tasty foods check out The Gaps Goddess! Her lovely photos of healthy desserts will make you change your mind. :)

4. Reduce Stress:
Find ways to get rid of the unnecessary stresses. Too many activities... focusing on problems... letting them overwhelm you. This isn't something I can give you any particular info on because I'm not in your head. You know your thoughts and which things are causing the most grief. Talk to someone, pray, remove things that cause stress in your life and find time to relax. This will help greatly. Check your daily routine to make sure you're getting enough sleep, proper diet, sunshine and things to keep your equilibrium and tranquility at top notch.

5. Be Happy:
No, seriously... if you're feeling glum maybe you need some B happy vitamins. B12 is a good place to start. B6..... or maybe a B Vitamin Complex? Sometimes we're just deficient, often times due to diet (gluten often prevents the body from absorbing the nutrients our bodies so desperately need). Vitamin D is also important and you can get a test through your doctor to determine if your levels are low. Check out Dr. Mercola's products or some other healthy resources for vitamins and supplements.

So much can happen in a moment.

I think that's the worst title ever. Rules.... Sentences aren't titles... and you should never start a sentence with "so". LOL but I'm feeling a bit worn out as there's been so much happening lately. This Summer has been busy, full and fun. Lots of work.... lots of play. I've been tubing with friends, taken road trips to visit friends... been to a Bible conference, and then I've put in a lot of hours at work to make up for all the fun. I can't complain. Even now the clock seems to be ticking the time away from me and I have so much to accomplish today. Therefore I will share a few photos that will give you a picture of the events that have occurred lately:

My friend, Kay Lee had a birthday so we made sure to celebrate with  lunch at Red Lobster, pedicures, tubing down a river and a movie!

 

 I've been learning how to use my big, new Canon camera... but till I get adjusted I keep my powershot handy. :)

 I went down to a Bible conference in Chicago with a bunch of friends! It was so much fun!!!

 Late night snacks at IHOP!!!

 Some of my wonderful friends....

 So my car broke down on the way home. A cop helped us out... we got a tow to a truck stop... where we waited for two hours till my dad could come pick up my car, and give us a ride home. Didn't get to bed till 2:30 AM!!!! =S


AND..... my cousin Julianne got married on Friday. Which also happened to be my Grammy's birthday. So it was a big celebration... and the wedding was planned in ONLY 48 hours, as the groom was visiting on leave from military and they decided to just get married!!

 My uncle, Julianne and my Grammy...

 Roman & Julianne

 My brother, Isaac, read some scriptures and spoke some words...

 My daddy did the marrying. :)

I was privileged with the responsibility of taking the photographs.... which proved to be tricky since we had a lot of evening sun and shadows.

I also had the opportunity of baking the cake.... with a little inspiration from a friend and the flowers they gave me to use, it turned out pretty nice for the short notice I had to prepare it and being that I'm not a professional cake baker. ;)

We'll see what the rest of the summer.... 

"Look at all this milk!"

As you know, we sold our dairy cows, but being spoiled and rather used to drinking our pure, unadulterated raw milk, we kept a few cows. At first we were only milking three and since we had calves to feed there was no spare milk to drink. Then our most favorite and highest producing cow freshened and we had a surplus of milk! ....and a few days later our pet cow, Maggie, freshened! So we have milk coming out of our ears! Since it is (sadly) still illegal to market and sell raw milk we have had to think of ways to use up what we've been blessed with.

I haven't minded the extra work as I've been able to experiment in the kitchen with recipes I hadn't been able to try before! =) Butter, butter milk, ice cream, sherbert, panna cotta...
I thought I'd share a few pictures.... so your mouth could drool a little, too. ;)

So first it started by letting the cream rise. Jersey cows are know for their high components (i.e. their milk comes with a lot of cream!) and butter was in order:

 

Our antique butter churn with wooden paddles. It does the trick!!

Well, we can only go through butter so fast, even though my family is known for going through (at least) a pound of butter a day. I decided it would be wise to make ice cream:

Vanilla came first.

...next it was strawberry.

I also made some Lemon Sherbert (not pictured), which didn't look as pretty but tasted incredibly good!

Through a perusal of the milky recipes the internet had to offer I learned of an Italian dessert, maybe similar to flan.... though easier to make, called Panna Cotta. 

The reveiws online were raving about how easy and tasty Panna Cotta was. I simply had to try making it. The results were rewarding... and everybody enjoyed it!

Since I didn't have the little dishes, known as ramekins, I made it in a big pan which worked nicely as well. Of course I had to share all of my baking adventures on Snapchat. My poor Snapchat friends. ;)

I used a cookie cutter to make the experience a bit more delightful, and since Valentines Day is this weekend, a heart was the shape of choice.

This is a recipe worth making!

Yesterday was my brother Channing's 18th birthday so I had to bake a cake. It was supposed to be a Black Forest Cherry cake. 

 

I started following the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cook book only to get to the dry ingredient section and realize I was supposed to make something gluten free. I had to call my sister and get a different chocolate cake recipe... and I ended up combining the two (since I'd already made the butter & fudge-like batter supplies). I used ground flax meal and coconut flour instead of all-purpose flour... I added extra eggs (like, 6) and added some extra virgin olive oil. It turned out to be the most delicious and moist cake I've ever made. And I've made a lot of cakes!

I made a "Fluffy White Frosting"... which consisted of egg whites, cream of tartar and a sugar-water syrup. It was so tasty that I had trouble keeping everyone from eating it before I was able to frost the cake!

Well.... I thought I'd finished making the cake. BUT.... adding a little chocolate really made a world of difference!! I think it turned out to be the prettiest cake I've ever made as well. :)

 So when are you coming over to try something sweet?! :)

Better Late Than....

So I had a birthday a few weeks ago. It was extraordinarily fun mostly because of the wonderful people I have in my life, whom I am ever thankful for. I just wanted to share some of the pictures:

I started off the day by milking cows for Tyler... bright and early at 5:45. I guess it was fitting since I was born at 5:25am. Then my friend Sandy took me out to the Norske Nook for breakfast!! =)

Sandy, looking lovely as usual.

Trying to take a "selfie" is harder than you'd think. =P

A few days prior to my birthday my Grammy M., my cousin Julianne and my sister Emily & her two little babes went out to eat at Olive Garden!

Julianne purposefully posing for a "blackmail" photo! She's not afraid to be silly for a picture! Just one of the things I love about her!!! ;)

 My lovely sister, Emily!

And alas... there are no pictures of Grammy. :(

....but Alice and I took one together!! :)

Then at the last minute my mom and I were trying to plan dinner and in order to have artichokes I had to drive 30 minutes to the city to get supplies. I stopped on my way home to snap a picture with my friend Jon, who shares the same birthdate!! =)

I barely made it home in time to milk cows! ...but I had fun with the ladies.... and Sandy told Tyler to make sure to give me a bonus or a beer for my birthday! Haha! My friends are awesome! =) Ty was a bit confused as to why I didn't just take off on my birthday, but I suppose I miss cows and milking is fun..... and you should do fun things on your birthday, right?

 When I arrived home from milking my family had a most delicious meal ready! My favorite: artichokes, pork steaks and sweet potatoes!! ...and my little sister, Janelle, made me the most incredible chocolate cake!!! It was SO MOIST and it was gluten free, too!! Double bonus!

I was given the fun "Happy Birthday" wine glass from my friend Courtney's mom! =D

Over all it was a really fun day. I was able to spend quality time with my family and friends, not to mention the thoughtful birthday calls and a gazillion messages on Facebook. :) I'm a lucky girl.