3rd Anniversary

 I had not really been thinking about it, but this week marked the third anniversary for this blog. I didn't plan any celebration - but I do hope to host a giveaway next week. I won't spoil the surprise, but we are enjoying some wonderful fragrances at our house.

I didn't want to let the opportunity slip by to thank all of you for stopping by Home Joys. I also noticed this week that the number of subscribers has doubled in the last two months. I am honored that so many of you take the time to visit, comment, and enjoy this little corner of the web. If you want to join the subscribers, sign up by email or feed reader on the right column.

In the past few weeks, I had the privilege of meeting several of you in person. I admit to a few butterfly flutters whenever a lady walks up to me and says, "I think I read your blog." I find a bit of security behind the a computer screen. To learn that a stranger knows me well enough to pick me out of a crowd is rather intimidating. But I love learning to know the smile behind a reader's name and your words of encouragement  inspire me to keep writing.

Thanks so much for the dozens of ways you have blessed my life in the past three years!

New Ways to Make Pizza

I have a problem, an obsession, a dysfunction.

I'm never completely satisfied with a recipe. No matter how many times I make the same recipe, I'm convinced I could still make it better, healthier, tastier.

And there is always the possibility that a better recipe exists out there that I have not yet tried.

There is no way of counting how many pizza crust recipe I have tried over the years. We eat pizza weekly, which gives many opportunities to make pizza crust. When someone starts a conversation with "I tried your pizza crust recipe..." immediately my mind is leaping to wonder which pizza crust recipe I was excited about at the time I gave her the recipe.

Typically, no matter what recipe I try once or twice, I always come back to my Mom's tried and true pizza crust recipe. After finding a way to turn the recipe to 100% whole wheat and crisp up the bottom crust, I liked this recipe even more.

But my recipe dysfunction is still alive and well. I knew there was more options to try.

One of those was baking on a stone. I have always heard that stone baked pizza was the best. Period. I found a baking stone and a pizza peel at a yard sale but they sat in the cupboard. I was too intimidated to try.  Until this fall when my friend Nola gave me her recipe for pizza crust that they bake in their grill on a stone.

I adapted the recipe, first adjusting the size for a larger batch for our family, then replacing the sugar with honey and the white flour for whole wheat and decreasing the total amount of flour. By now she probably wouldn't even want her name to be put to this recipe and I'm sure her original tastes better, but this version works for us.

Pizza Crust


1 1/2 cup warm water
4 cup whole wheat flour
1 T olive oil
2 tsp honey
2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast
cornmeal

About an hour or two before you plan to eat, mix all ingredients but 1/2 cup flour and cornmeal. Allow to rest for five minutes. Knead five minutes adding additional flour if needed. Rise for 1-2 hours.

If using a stone, preheat in 550 degree oven. Sprinkle peel generously with cornmeal. If you don't have a peel, use the back of a baking sheet. It works just as well, just doesn't look as cool.


Divide your dough into however many pieces you wish. I like to make three 12 inch pizzas. Roll out your dough and place on peel.


Add toppings as desired.

Slide pizza onto hot stone in oven - or bake on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Bake at 550 degrees for 5-7 minutes.


Ask us in a year what pizza crust recipe I'm using. But for now, this is our all time favorite!

Still picking berries!

I thought strawberries were my favorite thing to grow. But red raspberries may be moving to first place.

I have no idea when we started picking them. I really should keep better records. They did struggle during the summer with the dry weather. The berries were few and small.

But with all our fall rains, they are now big, juicy and abundant!


I only have about eight plants, but we plan to extend the row next year. Rarely do the berries make it to the house. They are normally snacked on right off the bush.

But last week I was able to pick a pint and save them for muffins. Yummy! It is a thrill to pick fresh fruit from our garden in late October.


And maybe, best of all, the plants are perennial, take almost no care, and have few pests other then some beetle damage to the leaves and bees who love the berries as much as we do! Oh, well, they need to eat, too!

Besides red raspberries, we also have yellow raspberries which are also doing well. Our blueberry plants are trying to die, and succeeding. The blackberry plants have not decided to take off yet, hopefully next year. All of our berry plants are only a year or two old, so we are still learning.

Do you grow raspberries? Is it usual to have them this late in the season?

Egg Puff

We love breakfast, and not just any breakfast, but a real cooked breakfast.

Maybe it comes from Ed and I both growing up on dairy farms. By breakfast time, some members of the household had already been up for hours milking and feeding cows.

Whatever the cause, since we were first married, no morning is too harried to not include breakfast. Occasionally, cold cereal will suffice, but on those days we are all thinking about lunch by 10:00. I have found that we all have a better morning if we have a breakfast that contains protein and whole grains.

If you are not accustomed to eating breakfast or if cereal or fruit is your usual breakfast (quick sugar rush but no lasting energy source) I'd encourage you to give breakfast a try. It may take your body time to adjust to eating right away in the morning. But you should be able to adjust your other meals to eating less if you give your body good fuel to work on throughout the day.

I'll be sharing some of our favorite breakfast recipes this month. The first is a recipe that my grandparents served at their bed and breakfast. I love that it is very adaptable to any taste and whatever is in the fridge. But best of all, all the prep can be done the day before. In the morning, all I do is slide it in the oven, set the table, and call the children!

Egg Puff


6 slices bread
2 cups milk
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 cup cheese

Options:  sausage, ham, bacon, peppers, onion, mushrooms, etc

In greased 9x13, place torn pieces of bread. If meat is desired, fully cook or brown. Sprinkle desired meat or veggies on bread. Beat eggs, milk and salt together. Pour over bread. Top with cheese. Sprinkle with other seasonings if desired. (Maybe basil, or rosemary?) Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Hearty Grain Bread

I haven't shared any bread recipes recently. Fall finds me in the baking mood again. This recipe is full of the chewy nutty stuff I love in a bread to share with a bowl of soup! While the recipe calls for white and whole wheat flour, you can easily substitute all white or all whole wheat flour.

Hearty Grain Bread
Adapted from Recipes from the Old Mill


4 cups water
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup raw bulgar
1/2 cup butter1/2 cup honey
3 T yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup sunflower seeds 
2 T vital gluten (optional)

1 T salt
4-5 cups white flour


Bring water to boil. Pour over oatmeal and bulgar. Add butter. Cool to lukewarm.
Add honey, yeast, whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds, vital gluten, and salt. Mix well.
Add 4 cups white flour. Mix well. 
Allow dough to rest for five minutes. Stir, adding additional flour if needed.
Knead for about 10 minutes until soft and elastic dough.
Cover and rise until double, about 1 hour.
Punch down and divide and shape into loaves. This makes four sandwich loaves or three long braided loaves or many smaller loaves.
Brush with beaten egg. Garnish with rolled oats.
Allow to rise for about 1 hour.
Bake at 375 for 15-30 minutes depending on size and shape of loaf.

Caramelized Onion - Potato Gratin

With cooler weather comes a desire for comfort food. And this potato recipe is pure comfort food to me. I can't eat only one serving of this onion and potato dish!

Caramelized Onion - Potato Gratin


1 1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 T Parmesan cheese
3 T butter
2 larger sweet onion, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T flour
3 1/2 cup milk
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp red pepper
8 oz shredded cheese
3 lb potato, peeled and sliced

 Mix bread crumbs, parsley, and Parmesan together and set aside for topping.

Cook onion in butter for 15 minutes. Add garlic, cooking one more minute. Add flour and cook for one minute. Stir in milk and seasonings, whisking often until thick. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

Layer potatoes and sauce in greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Pillowcase Dresses

This week a group of friends got together for a pillowcase dress party. With a little ribbon and binding, a pillow case was turned into an adorable little dress.


I didn't hear the final count, since I left while the others were still going strong, but a dozen ladies created 30 + dresses.

These dresses will be shipped overseas. I can just imagine the delight of a little African girl to receive a new dress.


Want to join the fun? You can find many tutorials and directions for pillowcase dresses online. This would be a great project for mothers and daughters to do together.