Enjoying the Discoveries of Living a Simple and Frugal Life
Buttermilk, Harvest, & Powdered Sugar
What a full month it has been… I have not even had time to sit down and write! So many good memories were made, family visits, places traveled, baked goods in full swing, and now I sit in my reading chair contemplating this season in the middle of an ice storm.
I had about a half gallon of milk going sour in our refrigerator even though the expiration date is still two weeks out! So I searched Pinterest all day looking for fun and easy recipes that require a lot, and I mean a lot of sour milk. They were new recipes minus the sour milk coffee cake, which of course always turns out perfectly. The buttermilk biscuits were monstrous and about as dense as a cinderblock but oh so delicious. The buttermilk pancakes were nothing to write about, but there was plenty left to freeze for quick breakfasts.
When all was said and done, I made it through 2 dozen eggs, 2 lbs. brown sugar, and a whole 5 lb. bag of flour. It was about time to make more brown sugar anyway. Did you know you can use a pastry cutter to mix together 1 cup of can sugar with 1 Tbsp of molasses to make light brown sugar??
AJ came in around noon from the wood shop and saw the fiasco taking place in our kitchen and said, “Woah! It’s not even Thanksgiving yet!” Using the back of my hand to wipe away flour from my forehead I replied with, “Yep, we’re doomed.”
Speaking of “doomed”, my summer garden has come to a close. With the impending freeze, I knew this would be my last opportunity to work the garden. My fall seedlings are planted, the last of my tomatoes are harvested, along with our infamous one watermelon. I spent most of the evening on Sunday salvaging what I could and cutting down the tomatoes, jalapeños , and a few broccoli plants to make room for radishes, lettuce, and salad bowl mix. They all fit nicely under a clear plastic bin that can act as a greenhouse until harvest.I’m going to try ripening these green tomatoes in a paper bag with other produce like those very ripe bananas you can see on the right.Oklahomans are feeling the stress of this current ice storm rolling through central Oklahoma. It started yesterday morning and so far has put 1/2 inches of ice on the roads and trees. Another quarter inch today will cause branches to snap. Many are without power.I am grateful that we still have power and I can sit at my window and watch the powdered sugar form on the grass and trees outside. I have Christmas music playing and a candle burning. Last year on Christmas Day, we were wearing shorts and enjoying the sunshine as we grilled out and played in the backyard so it wasn’t a “white Christmas”. With the forecast warming up into the 60’s next week, I want to pretend that today is my “Powdered Sugar Christmas”.
Home with Hope 