John and the Rattle Snakes

Just thought I would post a picture of...

John and the horses and one of the Rattle Snakes that he killed under the house. He was under the crawl space fixing the pipe to our "Grey water" pipe when he spyed this rattle snake over in the corner. It was a scarey experience. She shot it with our shot gun and the shell went through the wall and knocked out some of the tiles under the steps going down into our garage... But the job is done and haven't seen any more. I'm sure that Rattle snakes are just a part of Arizona. One always needs to take precausion!!

Been helping with the food bank in Elfrida. It's a great way to get to know the people in the community. Walmart in Douglas donates the food for this bank and last month donated over 20,000 lbs of food to just this bank alone. Ove 500 people in this valley get food from this bank and a smaller one in Sunsites. It's been a fun thing to do on Wed. mornings. The lady on the right is 94 years old and she's such a trooper. Right in there helping with the distribution!! Not sure of the other one's age, but she is a retired lady.. not really retired. They still have a hay ranch in the valley.

Well, until next time... Ready to go out for a jog amongst the Pecan trees.

I thank God for my little Pecan Track.. wishing you were here to join me!!

New and Exciting Retirement? A Pecan Orchard in Arizona

Un-benownst to us; we would never of dreamed that this winter would lead John and I to Arizona. Elfrida, the small town that most would'nt write home about. But a great town of nice people, hard working farmers and of course all trades. Down to earth great people.

The Lord brought us here and it's even surprising to us.

We have about 110 Pecan trees. Not anything compared to most of the Pecan farmers around us. But enough nuts that we have to do something with them and get them harvested. I will try and post the process and we enter into it. It's a great way for John and I to do something together; be out in the fresh air, live where it is warmer (although today it is about 37 degrees outside; and to day by day let the good Lord show us how to serve Him.
As we speak; John is on the tractor with the "Dump Wagon" honking for me to get out there and help him... I'll post more as I have the time. Enjoy your day and remember; staying close to Jesus is the key to happiness amidst the trials and challenges of these times we are living in.

Talk soon, Jan ( and John)

Waffles, Healthy, Yummy Style

Waffles for Breakfast!

READY!! After 10-12 Minutes

READY for your Favorite Toppings. ie. Fruit Sauce, Honey, Maple Syrup...

I love waffles. That could be due to my disasterous failures at making healthy pancakes.

I have tried many times to make Healthy pancakes (Ones without eggs and white flour). Poor John he tries to eat them,,, but I don't think that even the birds would eat my failures. Anyway, the opposite is true about my waffles. Although they have had their horrible failures when I lifted the lid before the timer went off at 10-12 minutes. Then you have to clean your waffle iron. It's a tedious job and the family or hubby or guests don't get waffles for breakfast. Another MUST for waffles is to make sure you put some form of nuts or Olive oil in them. If this is left out... They won't come out of your waffle iron. I've tried and had failure as well. So now I will give you my ingredients and you can have fun making them. Get up a little early so that you aren't tempted to lift the lid on your waffle iron because you have many to make and want them to hurry. It's also nice to make them ahead when you have the time and all you need to do is put them in the toaster or covered with foil in a baking dish in the oven for heating. Oh, and when the waffle iron has cooled and you are ready to put it away. DO NOT WASH It!!! If you have done this, you may want to brush oil on it and then heat it to High and close the lid down. Let it heat for about 5 minutes. It should then be ok to use and will not stick the next time you want to use it. (Hopefully) :)

Recipe:

Place the following in the blender:

6 whole Dates

1/4 cup Cornmeal

2 cups Whole Oats

1/2 tsp. Salt

3/4 cup Soaked dry Garbanzo's (ie. Chick Peas)

4 cups Water

2 TB Olive Oil or 1/4 cup Cashews (A Must)

Blend until smooth

Pour into your hot Waffle Iron and set your timer for 10 Min. If, when trying to lift the lid, it doesn't want to lift, then set the timer for 2 more minutes.

There you have it. I hope that you will enjoy these. I always take the ones we don't eat and put them in plastic bags into the fridge. If you aren't going to use them in a week, (Which doesn't happen here often) then they can be frozen.

You can experiment with some of the ingredients. I was thinking that one could put some pumpkin in the mixture. Add your pumpkin pie spices to it. And put some Maple syrup in it. Great for a light evening meal too!

That would be great for Thanksgiving or Christmas buffets... Think I'll try it next time.

Adding Blueberries or Raisens, Carob Chips could also make it interesting. Let me know how you do..

Hugs, Jan

Garbanzo's~Chic Pea's/ Hummus-Differant Ways to Use

Since leaving the world of Cheese, Eggs and Milk, I have tried to find different ways to satisfy my desire for especially Cheese. Well, I think I have found it. And if you can't make it from scratch, you can buy it very readily in the stores now. Already made for you in many different flavours. It's HUMMUS!

But I will tell you, that it is a great sandwich spread, Taco filling, along with your Pinto beans, And a great dip for Veggies and one of my favorites; Spread it on your Pizza crust.

First of all I will show you my process of making the Hummus;

Hummus:

I pressure cook my dry Garbanzo's. After the knocker starts knocking I cook them for about an hour and a half.

Then: I place the following into my Food Processor:

1/4 cup Sesame Seeds (I like them lightly roasted)

3/4 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Onion Powder

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

Blend until Smooth

Then add to the Above Mixture:

1/4 Fresh Red Pepper

or Hot Red Pepper (Make sure you take all the seeds out)

Blend

Then add the following:

4-5 Cups of Garbanzo Beans

1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice

You may taste it and adjust the lemon juice according to your liking.

Now you have the Hummus that you can use for a dip or on top of your Pizza Crust.

I always make two Pizza Crusts when I'm making my bread. So there is always one on hand.)

Pizza:

Spread the crust with the Hummus. Then add your favorite Tomato Paste. Place it in the oven. Bake it until it is warm. While you are doing this;

Saute in 1TB of Olive Oil or Grape Seed Oil or just plain water; the following:

Chopped Onions

Sliced Olives

Chopped Peppers

Sliced Mushrooms

Gluten steak slivers (Recipe is on my blog for the Gluten Steaks)

Or Sliced Firm Tofu

Broccoli

You may add anything that you normally like to put on a Pizza

After the above items are soft, then you can take the Pizza out of the oven and place the sauteed Veggies on top of it.

It's ready to enjoy and serve.

I hope you will enjoy the Hummus on your Pizza. It gives me the Cheese Element that I have a craving for.

...........................................................................................................................................................................

Over at Rawk Out Blog, Sharon had a great recipe for Raw Dehydrated Corn Tortillas. She has Step by Step instructions on how to make them.

( You may find some other great Raw Food Recipes on there as well)

I just finished a batch of them this morning. I love them!! Pulled out my dehydrator and put the little circles of the batter onto, Parchment paper and put them in the Dehydrator. Had it running most of the afternoon and over night. It should take about 16 hrs. These are great for dipping into the Hummus. And these chips have NO FAT and are so good for you! Next time I'm making a double batch. These will be gone in no time. These are great for dipping into your freshly made Hummus! Sooo Goood!

Hope you want to try them too!

(With of course, the Hummus you have made above!)

So Much for the Squash and Pumpkins in our Garden this year...

Do the Best with what you got......No eating them, but can display them. LOL
At this time of the year it is fun to bring in the root veggies from the garden. Carrots, Potatoes, and the Squash and Pumpkins. All the rewards of watering ,weeding etc.... are finally coming to an end.

I was feeling pretty sad that our weather/rain/ crazy Summer, didn't give us any Pumpkins or Squash this year... But... John said that we did have something.... Look at the cuties :) Atleast I can put them in an arrangement. So for the best that they could do this year, we still have some green little guys that I could put in my Milk Glass dishes. They say: Make lemonade out of Lemons. I'm making arrangements out of flopped squash. LOL Where there is a will there is a way. Don't think I would want to try to eat them though. Can you imagine the bitterness....

Hugs, CJO

Gluten Steaks- "Jan's Style" For your Holiday Entrees

Thought I would post my recipe for my Gluten steaks. Around the Holiday Season one tends to make a little more entrees and special meals more than any other time of the year.

I like to use my steaks for Tacos, Spaghetti "Meat Balls", Wraps, Stir Fry's, or just by themselves. Blend them in the blender a couple at a time and make your own Vega Burger and use anywhere you would use meat.


Basic Recipe

Jan's Gluten Recipe


This is just for a 2 quart pan- about 15-20 steaks

Gluten Flour 3 cups
Soy Flour ¾ cups
Water 2 3/4 cups

Mix all of the above together and knead for about 3 minutes (I find that the texture an firmness of your dough will be the texture of your steak after it is done.
If it seems to soft you may add a little more flour into it as you are kneeding it to make it firmer.) Having your hands wet while working the dough seems to make it a little easier to work with. The dough really sticks to your hands. Don't panic. LOL Just put your hands under warm running water and work it off.

Then divide the dough into 2 pieces

Wet the bread board and your hands

Roll out into long logs and slice the pieces off with a sharp knife and then you take the pieces and press them down with the palm of your hand on a bread board until flattened and then drop them into the following cold broth.

You can use Chicken McKay's Yellow seasoning for the light steaks and
also they have a Beef flavoring too... You just flavor the water that you boil the steaks in and taste to
see if it's not too salty.... until you have the right flavor... Or you can use the following recipe that I use.

Note: the flavor of your broth will be the flavor of your steaks.

The Broth I use is below:

Broth:
Pan 3/4 full of water and then 1 cup of Soy sauce or 3/4 cup of Dr. Bragg's Liquid Amino's ( the amino's seem to be more salty than the Soy Sauce) or Tamari,

2 Tb of Onion Salt
Optional: add some chopped Onion and Celery

(Note: Taste the broth for saltiness or flavour... You can add more to it as you like...
The steaks take the flavor and saltiness of the broth)

Or: you can add the following into your water for a broth as well:
the above mentioned seasonings-Chicken McKay seasoning or the Beef style.

1/drop the little round pieces of gluten steaks into the broth
2/Set the heat to medium and put a lid on them for about 10 minutes....(Watch because if they
are in too small of a pan, they want to boil over)
3. Take the lid off and they will be puffed up.
4. Continue to cook them for 30-45 min. longer.(the puffiness turns to a firm steak, and a good texture) They will then be a nice texture for steaks, or Grind a
couple in the blender at a time and then you have burger.... For Spaghetti, Lasagna, burgers, pocket breads and stir fry, Your favorite Roasts..... The list goes on...

For steaks,,,,, I fry them.... But you can also bake them.... shake the steaks in a flower mixture of :
flour, onion powder and salt to taste. I fry them in a small amount of Olive Oil, but they can be baked as well.

Place on Pam Sprayed cookie sheets and turn after it is brown and to the other side.
The broth can be thickened with cornstarch or flour for gravy to pour over the steaks.

Life Is What Happens While You’re Waiting for the Grand Moments....(that never happen?)

Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter.....

Just got off the phone with a friend that I hadn't heard her voice in years. Was great to talk and catch up on our lives. Her encouragement to continue with my blog, is the results of this new entry.

When one is waiting for direction in life, it seems like the world is standing still. But all along the things around you keep progressing forward. A person needs to do something. So I look around me and I see that the garden produce still needs something to be done with it. The house needs some Fall cleaning, the summer clothes need to be put away and the boots and sweaters need to come down on the lower shelves. One thing for sure is that God is there to give me strengh for each day. I can still have my morning times with God that carry me throughout the day. I can still try and touch another heart with joy. I can be cheerful and happy to lend a helping hand wherever I am called. I can try to make this day a better day than yesterday.

As the world around me is changing it colors and the feeling of a definate crispness in the air is starting to break upon me; I pray that I will grasp the newness of this time and make it the best Fall Season of my life.

The above pictures are the Spring, Summer and Fall, Winter as they contrast around me.

Wonder what the future has in store? All is well, when God is in control!!

Just for Today

'All we have to do with is this one day. Today we must be faithful to our trust. Today we must love God with all the heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Today we must resist the temptations of the enemy, and through the grace of Christ obtain the victory. Thus we will watch and wait for Christs Second Coming. Each day we should live as if we knew this would be our last day on earth. If we knew that Christ would come tomorrow, would we not crowd into today all the kind words, all the unselfish deeds, that we could? We should be patient and gentle, and intensely in earnest, doing all in our power to win souls for Christ." HP 355

Isn't this what life is really about, in the world that is in a constant change?

Hugs, and Prayers, CJO