Ecuador 2010

This is our church youth group.

They left yesterday (7/16) to travel to NY then they are off to Duran, Ecuador where they will be spending 12 days building a 3rd floor onto the school that they started years ago. Here's a link to a South America map.

http://www.mapsofworld.com/ecuador/ecuador-political-map.html

I couldn't get the image to save to my computer!

They will be flying into Guayaquil. Duran is southeast (?) of there.

Baking Day w/ Pics & Recipes

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 c. margarine 1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 t. soda

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

3 c. quick oats

1 c. raisins

Mix first 9 ingredients together in mixer. Stir in oats & raisins by hand. With small ice cream scooper, place 2 scoops of dough per cookie onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake @ 350* for about 10 minutes.

Homemade Wheat Bread

1 c. warm water

2 T. oil

3 T. brown sugar

1 t. salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 c. ground wheat flour

1 c. bread flour

1 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 t. yeast

Put in order into machine. Hit dough cycle. Let rise. Take out & roll into a rectangle with rolling pin. Roll dough into loaf. When finished rolling up, pinch together. Put this to rise in a greased bread pan, with pinched end on bottom of pan. Let rise again til double in size, about 35 minutes.

Bake @ 375* for 20-25 minutes. Brush top with butter when done.

The fruits of my labor!

Blessings!.· ´¨¨)) -:¦:- ¸.·´ .·´¨¨)) ((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-Miki -:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Our Very First Garden....EVER!!!

Here are some pictures of our garden that I took today. Not too bad for some former "city slickers" huh?

The whole garden

Cucumbers in the back.

From left to right: carrots, green peppers, banana peppers, & head lettuce.

Green beans & zucchini. Onions, Anaheim peppers & corn.

Peas on the left & cabbage on the right.

Tomatoes: Better Boys, Romas & Cherry(?)

The Cherry (?) tomatoes just mysteriously appeared.

Better Boy tomatoes

Cabbage.

I've been having problems with cabbage worms & I read that if you dust the cabbage with self-rising flour it will kill the worms. So I am trying the flour before I go out & buy chemicals. The flour is supposed to expand in the worm's stomach & kill them with they eat it.

Zucchini leaves.

Our first zucchini!

Which I floured & fried for last night's supper.

YUM!!!

Blessings!.· ´¨¨)) -:¦:- ¸.·´ .·´¨¨)) ((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-Miki -:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Deep-Dish Cherry Pie

A few days ago my youngest daughter & I picked a small bucket full of cherries from one of our cherry trees so I decided I had better do something with them before they went bad. I made this recipe this morning. I have never used cherries picked from a tree in a recipe before but this one turned out pretty tasty!

Deep-Dish Cherry Pie

Old-fashioned, deep-dish pies were baked in a casserole with just one crust on top. To catch any juice that bubbles over, put the casserole in the oven on a baking sheet.

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. lime juice

1/4 t. grated lime rind (I omitted this since I didn't have any. Tastes just fine without)

4 c. fresh or frozen pitted tart red cherries

*1 store-bought or homemade pie crust (mine was homemade. see recipe below.)

*Note: If using pie recipe below, only use 1/4 of roll

1. Preheat oven to 375*. In large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, lime juice, & lime rind. Add cherries; toss til cherries are coated. (If using frozen cherries, let mixture stand for 15-30 minutes or til cherries are partially thawed but still icy, stirring occasionally.) Pour cherry mixture into a 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish.

2. Place pie crust on top of cherry mixture. Trim crust to 1" beyound edge of casserole. Fold under the extra crust & crimp edge. Cut slits in crust. Brush with mixture of egg & water; sprinkle with a little additional sugar.

3. Bake for 50-55 minutes or til crust is golden. Cool on wire rack for 1 hr. before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Perfect Pie Pastry

Makes enough for 2 pies with top crusts

4 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. sugar

2 t. salt

1 3/4 c. shortening

1 egg

1 T. cidar vinegar

1/2 c. water

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, & shortening in large bowl & blend til it has the texture of coarse crumbs. In small bowl, whisk together egg, vinegar, & water. Drizzle over flour mixture & mix thoroughly. Shape dough into patty, wrap in plastic wrap, & place in freezer for 45 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.

2. When chilled, form dough into a long roll, & divide into fourths. Roll & use immediately, or wrap each portion separately & refrigerate or freeze.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! I am moving over here from Homestead Blogger where I have been blogging for about 5 yrs. They currently changed all the settings & it's way too confusing for me & not so much a blogging style anymore so I have decided to relocate. My name is Miki (pronounced Mike E). I have been married to my husband, Mike, for 17 1/2 yrs & we have 2 daughters. Ashley is 16 1/2 & Katie is 13. Ashley just finished up her first year back to school. She will be a senior this coming fall. Katie is currently going into the 8th grade in our homeschool come this fall. We attend a Mennonite church in Ohio where we have been members since April 2001. We have just recently moved to the country after living in the city our whole married life & most of our childhoods. So come & share our journey with us as we go from "city slickers" to "country bumkins"! :D Thanks for visiting & please stop in again!