Advent, Advent....

This is the magical time of year I anticipated as a child, and now my children do. Advent :). It is the countdown, 4 Sundays before Christmas Eve, or Solstice. Today we lit our first candle.

Even though I do not come from a religious family, we always celebrated Advent, in our own way. I do with my family. Our wreath is not alive, since we cannot gather our our pine boughs close by. But we have our wonderful little wreath, we add real little treasure to it every years for our celebratons.

"Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt,
erst eins,
dann zwei,
dann drei,
dann vier.
Dann steht das Christkind vor der Tuer."

I found this wonderful description of Advent, both the Christian and the Pagan way :).
http://www.blogher.com/simple-seasonal-practice-christians-pagans-and-those-between#comment-139779
Find your way to this wonderful tradition, whatever it may be..

Cooking with the Spirits - Hello, Papa :)

Certain things I cook are not only tradition, they are linked to certain loved ones in my life. If they have passed over, the process of preparing, cooking, and then enjoying "their" dish brings them rignt into my kitchen, and to our table.

This one is from my Papa. You can buy Rotkraut in a jar in Germany (and now in the states in certain deli stores), but there is nothing like the real thing. This goes well with turkey :).

P.S. We all cook with the Simpler's Method, or like Amelia Bedelia...a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. Adjust to taste.

Rotkraut (Red Cabbage)

1 or 2 heads of red cabbage, cut into "shreds", not too thin
1 large onion
Bay leaves and whole cloves
1 sour apple
Nutmeg
Sugar, vinegar

I use a large cast iron pot for this recipe :).

Glaze cut up onion in vegetable shortening. Add cabbage, and about 2 cups of water (you can do a half water, half red wine :)..), seasonings. Let cabbage cook down a bit, add quartered apple. Simmer for about 60-90 minutes. Add a little apple cider, sugar, and salt to taste. If you like your Rotkraut thicker, you can mix a little cornstarch with cold water and add it, it makes the sauce thicker.

Voila'!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brewing.....

Lots of healing....We are almost waiting for the herbs to jump up and start singing!


Finished product :)...getting ready to pass out to friends.


Kitchen scene. You would think I am a little "Martha" :)....Too good not to share.

As I am getting rid of things we don't need, I am beginning to find my Spirit that was smashed beneath some stuff under some pile :). I have spent the last two days mixing teas and making Elderberry Syrup. My house smells divine, though a bit like a distillery :). I am also finding that my youngest child has a knack for the herbs (the nose knows!) like me, whereas my oldest is in charge of the "descriptions and marketing" of new Goddesses :). We have decided it is time that our ranch finds us, so we can live off the land with our animals..... as long as there is an internet connection........

Countdown to a new life.

"You have to practically die, and wake back up".

Not his exact words, but that is what Dr. Wayne Dyer told me the other night at 2:30 am on PBS. I could not sleep, and thankfully was so frustrated that I decided to while my life away by watching TV.

Why would he say this? Well, what I heard was that you have to practically die and wake up "brand spankin' new" in order to drop all your baggage, your bad habits, your toxic friends, family, and life in general.....unless, of course, you are committed enough to begin following the Tao. Dr. Dyer fascinates me. Check out his "Change your Thoughts, Change your Life".

I swear I heard him say: "So Heike, the first step is to follow the 80/20 rule. And start in your closet, then tackle the rest of your life."

"Oh, and Heike? Get going now, 'cause you have a LOT to get rid of before we can continue."

In case you, as I, did not know the 80/20 rule before Dr. Dyer made it up for me personally:

You use 20% of your ______________(fill in the blank with your favorite. Mine immediate list: shoes, clothes, books, yarn, fabric, beads, shoes) almost every day and every time you need ___________________ (shoes?). The other 80% of your _____________________ sit there unused. Take that 80% and give it away immediately, with love. Then take your favorite item of your 20% of ________________, and give it to someone with love. There, that is ONE of the steps to changing your life.

Wow. This show came after a few other signs were dancing in front of my face, it is time for some radical change. Since then I have shredded 5 million pieces of paper, helped my kids sort through books, cleaned out my fridge (20% edible, LOL), and tomorrow I am finally ready to give my closet a radical shake. (Goodbye, green go-go boots, good bye embroidered vest...and some other loved family members.).

After all, Dr. Dyer told me so.

In my next life, I will be a Drifter.

I have decided to be a Drifter in my next life. My family agrees that this would be the preferred lifestyle, so I don't have to do it alone. My dog does not care, as long as he is with us. We love the road, and discovering new places and people.

There, it is decided.

I have come to this conclusion after our recent road trip, and upon returning and facing the chaos of this house. On the road, we live so simple and happy, what happens when we come "home"? As of tomorrow, I am starting a new Dump the Junk challenge, as I seem to work better under pressure...

Scenes from our new life. Enjoy:


Our Gypsy Wagon :). The Big Blue Van is back in service, and we are loving having her back...


View from my bed in the morning...With the sounds of the crashing waves!


Robinson Crusoe casting? My children in their natural habitat.


And here we are, in MY natural habitat. I can't think of anything better than being by the Sea when the full moon is above us :).

"Fried Green Tomatoes", and then some....

One of my favorite movies is "Fried Green Tomatoes". I cried and howled with these women, and can watch it over and over again....

My friends know how much I love this movie, and that I LOVE to eat fried green tomatoes :). No surprise then, when a friend emailed me and asked if I wanted her green tomatoes before they get composted.

I had not idea HOW MANY tomatoes she was talking about! The Goddess was looking out for me, and the same day I picked them up, an email titled "How to make Homemade Green Tomato Relish" landed in my inbox, thanks to www.motherearthnews.com :)!

My first time making relish, and it is YUMMY! I have some extra....

So here you go, I copied and pasted the recipe for you, so you can make your own Green Tomatoes! (p.s. I used a bit less sugar, still sweet!)

Ingredients:
25 medium or 35 small green tomatoes
3 medium green bell peppers
2 medium sweet red peppers
3 medium onions
4 tbsp pickling salt
4 cups sugar
3 cups white vinegar
3 tbsp mustard seed
3 tbsp celery seed


Instructions:

1. Chop, process or grind all vegetables into a fine dice, then cover with the pickling salt and stir to coat. Let the mixture stand for 3 hours, then drain well.

2. Boil the sugar, vinegar and seeds for 5 minutes, then add the vegetables and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Seal in hot, sterile pint jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

What I am reading: "An Echo in the Bone"...by D. Gibraldon. This is the newest in the Outlander series, so I won't say much. I am a bit disappointed, was expecting ???? Anywho....I am only halfway through, might get better.

What I am manifesting: Organization. Trying to get my website updated for upcoming sales and the holiday season. I think every woman wants a Goddess for the Holidays, don't you?? :)

What I am thankful for: My family, and friends.

Great Cookie Challenge - Ugly, but fabulous!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went on a date, and he took me to see "Julie & Julia"! Isn't he fab??

I loved the concept of taking one recipe a day and blogging about it....I love Julia Childs for her quirky self. I could never commit to blogging about one recipe a day for a year (can you imagine!), but can certainly do ONE a WEEK!

On a recent thrift store treasure score, I found "The Great Big Cookie Book" by Hilaire Walden. Over 200 recipes :). So the kids and I are going to sacrifice ourselves and try at least one new recipe each week and share our pros & cons with you. And the recipe, of course :).

Applesauce Cookies
Makes 36
1 pound cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used applesauce)
3 tbls water
1/2 c sugar (I used 1/4)
1/2 c butter or margarine (butter only in this family!)
1 c flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon (we used almost 1 :)...we love cinnamon!)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking sola
pinch of salt
1/2 chopped walnuts
1. Cook the apples with the water in a covered saucepan over low heat until teh apple is tender. Cool slightly, then puree in a blender or mash with a fork. Measure out 1/4 cup.
2. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a baking sheet. In a medium-sized bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until well mixed. Beat in the applesauce.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into the mixture, and stir to blend. Fold in the chopped nuts.
4. Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until they are golden brown. Transfer onto a wire rack and cool.

Ok, our cookies were pretty flat, not round and brown like the ones in the book (B says they are not REAL cookies! :)..). But oh, are they yummy! They are not even completely cool, and we have eaten most of them (We DO have to test them, aye?).

Enjoy!