Sourdough Crackers

I shared this recipe several years ago, but it is still a family favorite. Since I've been sharing sourdough recipes recently, I thought I'd post it again.

The flavor of these crackers is wonderful. They remind me of goldfish, even though they contain no cheese! I'm glad these things are good for you because I can't keep from eating them!

The dough is soft and tender and I found it a little hard to roll out.The easiest way I found was to roll them on parchment or a silicone mat and then transfer to the baking sheet. I've also rolled them directly on a baking sheet with no sides. And I've also tried using my pasta roller. All methods work. And the effort is so worth it!

Sourdough Crackers

1 cup sourdough starter
1/4 cup softened butter or lard
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine the sourdough and butter and mix thoroughly. Mix the salt in with 1/4 cup flour and add to the sourdough mixture. Knead it all together in the bowl, adding as much flour as necessary to make a stiff dough. The amount of flour needed will vary depending on how thick your starter is. I usually use the whole cup.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or put a lid on the bowl to prevent it from drying out. Leave the dough at room temperature overnight or several hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Divide the dough in four portions. Roll it out on a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper using a rolling pin, until it is very thin.

Garnish if desired. I like a little garlic powder or rosemary.


Transfer to your baking sheet. Cut the dough vertically and horizontally with a pizza cutter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until just golden brown. If you rolled the dough very thin - such as with a pasta roller, you may only need to bake 10 minutes.


Watch your children devour these before they have a chance to cool.


Variations: You can also add seasonings and spices directly into the dough. Chili powder, rosemary, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder are all options.

Light My Candle - Now In Stores

Stephanie Leinbach, author of Light My Candle, was in my area recently visiting book stores. She took the bother of coming out of her way to visit me.

It was the first time I met, in person, someone I only knew through the web and email. I know you are not to invite internet strangers to your home, but I thought Stephanie was safe. (She was!) But I had an attack of middle school insecurities. "What if she doesn't like me? What if I can't think of anything to talk about?" Not that I had anything to worry about. I think we could have talked a few more hours without difficulty.

I asked Stephanie if I could post a list of bookstores that are carrying Light My Candle, Prayers in the Darkness of Miscarriage. If you would like a copy of her book (and I highly recommend it) you can save postage if one of these bookstores are near you.

Don't look for it at Border or Barnes and Noble, these stores are the little mom-and-pop type. Most are operated by Mennonites or Amish. They are the stores I love to poke around in as you may find anything from sturdy clothes pins, baby socks, spatulas, fabric and, of course, books!

Here is the list of stores where you can find Light My Candle.

Wisconsin

Millers Country Bookstore, Sheldon

Cloverdale Country Store, Curtiss

Brubaker's Sewing & Furniture, Withee

Michigan

Colonville Country Store, Clare

Illinois

Clearview Fabrics & Books, Arthur

Missouri

Excelsior Bookstore, Versailles

Ridgeway Book Store, Knox City

New York

Spring Lake Fabrics, Savannah

Virgina

Blessings Christian Bookstore, Harrisonburg

Rocky Cedars Enterprises, Dayton

Books of Merit, Dayton

Spring Creek Fabrics, Bridgewater, VA

Kansas

Gospel Book Store, Hutchinson, KS

Maryland

Mattie Lowery's, Hagerstown, MD

Ohio

Keim Bros. Country Store, Millersburg

Old Blacksmith Shop Gifts, Charm

The Gospel Shop, Sugarcreek

Troyer's Bargain Store, Sugarcreek

Gospel Book Store, Berlin

Country Furniture & Bookstore, Millersburg

Farmerstown Broom & Book Store, Sugarcreek

Mt. Hope Fabrics & Gift Shoppe, Mt. Hope

Faith View Books, Fredericksburg

Yoder Bargain Store, Fredericksburg

Maysville Fabric, Apple Creek

Little Country Store, Dalton

Pine Tree Fabric, Apple Creek

Summit Valley Fabrics, Apple Creek

Pleasant Hill Country Store, Fredericksburg

Yoder's Drieds & Gifts, Millersburg

D & J Fabrics, Dundee

Pennsylvania

Esh's Store, Newburg, PA

Mountain View Bookstore, Orrstown, PA

Hillside Country Store, Shippensburg

Rocky View Bookstore, Newville, PA

Country Dry Goods, Greencastle

Burkholder Fabrics, Chambersburg, PA

Naomi's This and That Store, Gettysburg, PA

Fisher's Country Store, Bedford, PA

Witmer's Clothing Store, Myerstown, PA

Home Messenger Bookstore, Myerstown, PA

Wise Dry Goods, Loysville, PA

Big Valley Dry Goods, Belleville

Clay Bookstore, Ephrata

Bartville Fabrics, Christiana

Furnace Road Shoes, Quarryville

Fisher's Variety Store, Myerstown

Fisher's Housewares & Fabrics, Bart

Gordonville Book Store, Gordonville

Ridgeview Bookstore & Fabrics, Gordonville

Cedar Lane Dry Goods, New Holland

JOY Bookstore, Schaefferstown, PA

Friendship Bookstore, Burnham, PA

Country Traditions, Martinsburg

Wooden Bridge Dry Goods, Kutztown

Beaver Run Country Store, Mifflinburg, PA

Crossroads Gift & Bookstore, Lewisburg, PA

Keystone Housewares, Mifflinburg, PA

Ken's Educational Joys, Ephrata, PA

You also may contact Stephanie directly at lightmycandle@abcmailbox.net to purchase Light My Candle.

Under Foot

Thank you so much for all your expressions of sympathy over Jason's death. When we got home from the funeral and I checked the email, I was astounded at your many reassurances of prayer for Jean and the family. I can't tell you how much that meant to me.

And please keep praying. The adjustments and decision making for Jean has only just begun. As a family, we want to support Jean but it is hard to know just what to do. Her church has been surrounding her with practical help and expressions of love.  How good to see the Body of Christ in action.

Times like this make me evaluate my own life. Am I'm living in such a way that I will have no regrets if this were my last day on earth? I hope I don't lose the urgency of living  life with an eternal perspective.

On the home front, of course, no progress was made on the house addition during the week. But on Saturday, Ed's brother and nephews helped him put in the floor. The wood laminate snapped together easily and they had the whole floor installed in one day!


After a month of living with a plywood and concrete floor that was impossible to clean, it is absolutely wonderful to have a real floor!


After a quick mop job, we couldn't resist bringing in some furniture. The base board isn't in yet and we aren't sure even what furniture will eventually be in this room but what fun to see the room come together. My daughter says "it is like a real house!"

Reality

Sometimes you wake up in the morning, never knowing where you will be by evening.

This became very evident this weekend.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, a house addition update.

On Monday, my sister came to help me paint. Because of her help, I finished the trim painting on Wednesday.


One Friday, our construction crew came and installed the trim. I love the finished result.


Sometimes it is the little things, like finally installing the door hardware, that are appreciated the most.


Ed spent his evenings working on the brick in front of the house. I don't have any photos of him working since I took the children to Bible school every evening. Ed was able to work uninterrupted and I was pleased at his progress.

On Saturday, we decided to take some time off to do some fun things with the children. Sometimes it feels like our lives have been consumed by work. We went to watch some radio controlled airplanes for a while in the morning, worked in the garden a little, then packed up our camping gear. Ed was helping with the chores at my parent's dairy farm this weekend. We thought we'd camp out at the little cabin in their woods.

After the evening milking, we joined my parents at a community picnic. Ed had just sat down with his plateful of food when his cell phone rang. It was one of those calls where time sits still and you think you have to be in a nightmare that you will wake up from soon.

Ed's brother-in-law Jason was also spending some time with his children on Saturday. They were playing in a small river near their house. The river is very shallow but unknown to them, there was a drop off where the water was 12 feet deep with a strong undercurrent. The children got into this current and were struggling. Jason went in to help his teenage daughter. All the children got safely to the bank, but Jason drowned.

Within an hour after the phone call, we had left the children with my parents (at least we had their pajamas, toothbrushes and Sunday clothes since we planned to camp there) and headed to North Carolina to be with Ed's sister Jean. It doesn't seem that long ago since Ed's dad's sudden death when we waited in the hospital for Jean and Jason to join us. We arrived at Jean's home in the wee hours of the morning. Sunday was spent planning the funeral and crying together as a family.

At this point I feel numb and emotionally spent. I know God is good and has all things within His control, but I still can't help but ask the questions. There is such a need for Godly men in our world. Why take a man who was so faithfully serving the Lord? A man loved and needed by his family?


The above photo is Jason, Jean, and their family when we visited them at their home last summer.

The reality is that everything on this earth is temporal. The homes we enjoy will not stand forever. The people we love will some day die. Our time here on earth is brief and fleeting.

I wonder if my heart is set too strongly on earth. I love making a home and enjoying our garden. But if Jason could talk to us today from the glories of heaven and the presence of God, I'm sure he would encourage us to release our grasp on this world.

Today we are frantically trying to finish up our work so we can head back to North Carolina for the viewing and funeral. I plan to take a break from blogging for the rest of the week. If you have emailed me recently, I apologize that it may be a while until I respond.

Go hug your children and husband. Look around at your lovely home. Thank God for it, realize that it will all be burned up, and heaven is more wonderful than you can imagine.

Drying Herbs

I love growing herbs. I love the textures, flavors and fragrances. Weeding my herb bed is one of my favorite gardening tasks. These are plants that are fun to bump into.

I use fresh herbs occasionally in cooking. I often keep a pot of herbs by the door for a quick sprig of parsley or chives.

But mostly I just grow herbs for the fun of it. Several times a friend has walked through my herb garden and asked how I use a particular plant. "I don't use it, I just grow it," if my usual reply. It sounds ridiculous. I have several thriving oregano plants yet I purchase dried oregano at the store. My mint bed is flourishing but winter time finds me buying dried mint for my hot tea.

Part of the problem is that I never think of drying herbs for winter use until fall. By then the leaves are wilted and ragged. This year I was determined to plan ahead.


I borrowed my mom's dehydrator  (still have not purchased my own) and went on an herb drying binge. I picked the herbs in the morning as soon as the dew dried from the plants. I did not wash them as they are not sprayed and I'm not worried about a bug or two.


I stripped the leaves from the  stems, placed them on the dehydrator trays and turned it on.

The aroma in the kitchen was wonderful!


The leaves dried in only a few hours.


A dehydrator is not necessary. In the past I have dried a few herbs in the attic. But I usually would forget about them until they were dusty and I didn't feel that the flavor was best. I am trying the dehydrator method in hopes to keep more flavor.


Once the leaves were very crunchy dry, I placed them in sealed bags and jars. Label everything well as dried leaves all start to look the same after a while.  I plan to keep the leaves whole until winter, then I'll grind just what I need to refill my spice containers. I'm even hoping to experiment with making some seasoning mixes like Italian seasoning.

I know that dried herbs don't cost that much. You can get them at the dollar store for very little. But I'm thrilled to finally be putting my herb garden to use and being able to grow one more item that I normally purchase. Of course, I'll still need to purchase the exotic spices like cinnamon and nutmeg that I'll never be able to grow in PA!

Do you dry your own herbs? Anything I should know?

Growing Sweet Potatoes

Several of you asked about planting sweet potatoes. I'm in no way an expert. It has actually been several years since I've even grown sweet potatoes. Sweet potato vines take a lot of space that I didn't feel I had the last several years.

Sweet potatoes like warm soil. We usually wait until June to plant them. Often we plant them when we take the peas out as a way to maximize our garden space.

Sweet potatoes are grown from plants. You can purchase plants at a garden center or online. You an also grow your own plants. You will need a firm healthy sweet potato. If the sweet potato is starting to sprout, you have a head start. I assume that most grocery store sweet potatoes are treated with an anti-sprouting chemical. Look for organic sweet potatoes or get from a gardening friend. My sweet potatoes came from my mom and a friend. I don't know what variety they are but both of them had excellent sweet potato crops last year and they kept very well all winter. Sounds like traits I want to encourage!

Place the sweet potato in a jar of water. You want to submerse most of the sweet potato while allowing a couple inches above water. One of my sweet potatoes was so large it couldn't fit well in the jar. Change the water occasionally to keep from molding. Place in sunlight. Soon the sweet potato will send out sprouts, or slips.


When the sprouts are four to five inches long, pull them off the sweet potato. The sweet potato will grow more sprouts.


Place the sprouts in water. You can place a bunch of sprouts in the same jar. They will quickly grow roots.


When the sprout is well rooted, plant on a hill of soil about ten inches high. Keep the plants well watered while the roots are being established. We like to mulch the hill to keep back the weeds as the sweet potato grows.

While sweet potatoes can't be planted too early because they hate cold weather, they also can't be planted too late. My aunt, who has grown sweet potatoes to sell for years, says to plant on July 4 at the very latest in our area of PA. Sweet potatoes need several months of growing time before the first frost to form tubers.

I think I started my sweet potato plants too late. I didn't start them until May. I only have half my row planted now and my other sprouts are still rooting. Some of the ones I've planted seem to be dying and I probably didn't give them enough time to root. Next year I want to start the plants in March or April so they are well rooted by the beginning of June. One more task to add that to my early spring gardening list. Maybe having this written here will help me remember.

My husband just read an article on growing sweet potatoes at Mother Earth News that he found helpful.

Do you have any other hints on growing sweet potatoes?

Worth Reading

I'm continually looking for ways to become more efficient and better homemaker. These are some articles that encouraged me.

Quinn is sharing how she simplifies her cooking in A Plan for Food. I've been on the same road of organizing my pantry and cooking routine.

Jamie gives a super simple method of de-cluttering a home in Once a Month De-Cluttering. As I look forward to putting our house back in order when our home addition is finished, this post was encouraging way to break the process down in small bites.

Amy shares some of her goals in Gardening like my Life Depended on it. Providing much of our own food does take deliberate planning, especially for a new gardener.

Soft Rye Sourdough Bread

I've been having a lot of fun coming up with different variations of the soft sourdough bread. Besides the white/wheat, honey oatmeal, and 100% wheat, here is a rye version. Rye has a flavor all it's own but it is one of  Ed's favorites. Now that I have a simple recipe, maybe I'll make it more often.

Soft Rye Sourdough Bread


2 cup starter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup oil or melted butter
1/4 cup honey
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 
1 1/2 cup rye flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 T vital gluten (optional)
3 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients except salt for 2-3 minutes. Allow the dough to rest for about 20 minutes.

After rest, add salt and knead dough for about five minutes. If dough is too sticky, add slightly more flour but dough should be soft and not dry and stiff. Place in oiled bowl and allow dough to rise for 3-4 hours or until nearly doubled in size.

Divide dough into two pieces and shape into loaves and place in two greased bread pans. If a free form loaf is desired, place on greased baking sheet. Spray with oil and cover with plastic wrap to keep from drying out. Allow to rise for 2-3 hours.

When dough has risen, carefully slash the top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. For even browning, turn loaves halfway through baking time.

For the version pictured here, I mixed up a batch of whole wheat dough and a batch or rye dough. After separating the dough into two loaf sized portions, I divided each portion into four equal pieces. I rolled each small portion into long thin strands. Using two rye and two whole wheat strands, I braided the dough. Some of the loaves I placed into loaf pans and some I baked free form.


To make a 4-braid loaf, I followed the directions in Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. The four strands are connected at one end and given a numbered 1 to 4. As the strands are braided the number changes with it's position. Follow this pattern: 4 over 2, 1 over 3, 2 over 3. Repeat until you get to the end and pinch the tip to seal.

Does that make any sense? It really is easier then it sounds. Of course, you can make a all rye loaf, a braided loaf just looks extra special.

For more bread inspiration - see Yeast Spotting.

June in My Garden

Is it June yet?

You say June is halfway over?

I'm not sure where I've been - but I do know I haven't been wondering what to do.

Maybe it would be good to sit down and figure out what I want to do in my garden before the month is completely over.

Our garden is taking the spare moments of time left from working on our house. And there has not been many spare moments to find. As you saw in the garden tour, some weeds are thriving from our neglect. The only good part of our garden is what has been mulched with leaves and grass clippings.

So here is the list of what I HOPE happens in the garden this month!

1. Plant sweet potatoes.

2. Plant a late crop of potatoes. We find a planting of potatoes around Father's Day is perfect for winter storage. But we have found that the heat makes the seed potatoes rot faster. We do not cut up the seed potatoes but plant them in whole pieces. In the spring, when I planted the early potatoes, I saved the smaller seed potatoes for this late planting.


3. Inventory seeds for fall garden. Seed displays will soon be taken down at garden centers and will be impossible to find in July or August. But if it is as dry as last summer, I'm not going to feel like planting a fall garden.

4.Start broccoli plants for fall. Or just play it lazy and plan to pick up broccoli plants at the garden center.

5. Weed, prune, dead head flowers - a little upkeep will keep the garden looking it's best.

6. Mulch - the busy (or lazy) gardener's best friend. We cover our garden with grass clippings and/or leaves and eliminate most weeding the rest of the summer!

7. Water as needed. Unbelievable, for having a wet spring, we are already dry.

7. Enjoy the strawberries, new potatoes, and peas!

Those of you who subscribe to Home Joys by feed reader or email may have noticed some difficulty. Last week it wasn't posting and then yesterday it sent all the posts at once. I think it may have lost at least one post but hopefully it is all working fine now. Sorry for the inconvenience.


And if you don't subscribe, it is easy, free, and (usually) fast way to catch up with your favorite websites. You can sign up on the right. (And did I mention it is free?)

The Trimmings

It is so good to feel that the end is near in our addition project!

Ed could have done the trimwork himself. He enjoys a little woodworking. But at this point we are all ready to get this project finished. It seemed wiser to call in the professionals. My brothers crew spent two and a half days here this week and completed a ton of work. Ed enjoyed helping someone who knew what they were doing!

 Cutting the trim.


They built the window trim in boxes.


And slid them into the windows.


The other two men worked on siding.


It looks so neat and finished!


I now have miles (at least it  feels like miles) of trim to paint.


My project this week is going to be paint, paint and more paint! Anyone want to come help!

Favorite Children's Nature Books

Summer is the time to spend more time outdoors and enjoying God's creation.

But for a family of book lovers, summer is also a time to read!

Here is just a few books that have inspired us to learn more about the world around us.


The Kid's Nature Book by Susan Milord
This book has a project or something to learn for every day of the year. Wherever you live or whatever your interest, you will find something of interest in this book. Each day includes two or three paragraphs or information about some aspect of nature such as weather, birds, or plants. When I feel "stuck" on a nature project, this is the book I turn to.



A Kid's Spring EcoJournal by Toni Albert
This was a find at the library (make that bookmobile!) We loved working through these pages. Each two page spread contains an excerpt from the author's nature journal, blank lines for journal-ling (which we didn't utilize since we were reading a library copy) and  a hands on project. Some of the projects were obvious such as catching fireflies. Others I had never thought of like make a mushroom spore print or attract night moths. We are read the Spring EcoJournal and are now on the  Summer EcoJournal. Since the author lives close to us in PA, the her seasons and observations coordinate closely to ours, though it would be a valuable book in other areas as well.


Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie
I bought this book just for me. Teachers and mothers need resources too! Keeping a Nature Journal is eye candy and a joy to flip through. The drawings and directions have inspired me to see nature in a new way. One of my goals for our family is to start nature journals this summer and I'm hoping this book leads the way!


As much as I've enjoyed these three books, none of them credit God as the Creator of all of life. I can ignore a little "millions of years" when the rest of the book is excellent but even better is a book that acknowledges God's wonderful design in creation. Pablo Yoder's books have filled this need remarkably.


The Work of Thy Fingers and My Father's World are both beautiful full-color hard cover books that share stories from nature. The author is a missionary in Central America and an avid lover of nature. While the animals and plants are completely different then the ones we will encounter when we take a nature walk, Pablo's curiosity of the world around him is contagious. The books share a good variety of plants, birds, insects, and animals. More then just an informational book, Pablo shares his personal experiences, such as swimming with a sea turtle, camping in the midst of a terrible mountain storm, and sharing a bathroom with a four legged creature. The book is enhanced by photography by Pablo's son. 

These are books that my children beg for "just one more chapter". My Father's World  is written for younger children, maybe elementary aged, and was perfect for our family, since even the parents enjoyed it. The Work of Thy Fingers is written at a little more advanced level. We still enjoyed the book but I think our children will get more out of it in years to come. If you are looking for interesting God-honoring nature stories, I recommend both these books.

Okay, your turn. What books inspire your nature study?

Come visit! Garden Tour by Vlog

I've been wanting to give you another photo tour of our garden. To keep it simple, I shot a little video. If you are viewing this blog by email or feed reader, you may need to click to the blog to view.

With the wet spring and house addition, the garden has been rather neglected. Just last week, much of the garden was still covered with weeds. Finally everything is planted, I think. But you'll still find many weeds.

What is growing in your garden?

Grow, Eat, Enjoy - Strawberries

If I could only pick one thing to grow

...that would be so hard...

But strawberries may top the list. Nothing beats watching your children run from the sandbox for a quick strawberry snack.

Our area has quite few pick-your-own strawberry patches, but I before we had our own patch, we didn't eat many strawberries. By the time I got a babysitter, drove to a PYO patch, picked, paid, and brought home strawberries, I had killed a whole morning. I wasn't going to do that often.

With our own patch, we enjoy fresh strawberries nearly every day, for several weeks. Strawberries do take some land, but even a small patch can give quite a few strawberries. The plants are pretty enough to be grown in a flower bed. We've even planted corn amongst our strawberries to maximize our space.

Grow

I've written quite a few posts on growing strawberries and don't plant to repeat myself.

Planting strawberries
Growing strawberries - including pest management
Bird netting for strawberries


Eat

There is so many great ways to enjoy strawberries. On waffles with cream, to top a salad, on homemade ice cream, added to lemonade, chocolate dipped and more.  We are known to eat strawberry shortcake for breakfast, lunch or supper.


Grandma's Strawberry shortcake



Strawberry pretzel dessert
Strawberry pie
Strawberry muffins



Strawberry scones


Preserve 

Strawberries are easy to freeze. Just wash and place in bags or containers. I freeze lots of berries to eat in smoothies all winter.

I've also frozen strawberries in a glaze and frozen strawberry lemonade concentrate.

If I have lots of berries, I like to dehydrate a few. The children love dried strawberries on their granola.

And, of course, there is always strawberry jam.



Enjoy


Now it is your turn. I know there is many more ways to enjoy berries. Please share with us your favorite recipe in the comments or link to a recipe on your blog!