Our Little-House-On-The-Prairie-inspired experiment with "vanity cakes" was, as the preacher said, "vanity and vexation of spirit". They would not puff up, but ended up to be small balls of egg-y bread. Not what we aimed for, but they were edible. I think the next time we try it, we will not add so much flour to the batter. (It's supposed to be sticky.) If you've ever attempted making these, or would be brave enough to try, let me know how it goes!

...But since we had the frying fat hot, we made some Navajo Fry Bread! We like to make it from time to time. It's so yummy, and it makes for an easy meal, with whatever toppings you have available. We top it with refried beans, salad and either dressing or salsa. Good stuff! We used this recipe this time. The bread came out slightly crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, with a yummy, brown flavor. Very good!

(What's with the broccoli? you might be thinking. That is Ann's button for the Food on Fridays she hosts on her funny, informative, and very clever blog. Go check it out!)

Getting back to Scrumptious Oatmeal, but posting a photo which will evoke more appropriate olfactory memories...


(much better...)

Maybe you wouldn't normally put the word "scrumptious" before "oatmeal". But be it ever so humble, oatmeal doesn't have to be boring!

Because it is so nutritious and CHEAP, we eat it for breakfast a few times a week, which could get monotonous were it not for a few tricks which I will share forthwith.

Method #1: Put your pan on to heat, adding a heaping spoonful of butter to melt. When melted, add your measured oats and stir to coat with butter. Continue stirring, allowing the oats to toast until you smell the wonderful aroma filling your kitchen and making your stomach growl. Then add the measured water and salt. Stir and cook until done.

Method #2: Cook the oats according to directions, then add one or two cubed bananas, a little vanilla, and a handful of chopped nuts, and brown sugar. Banana Nut Bread in a Bowl!

Method #3: Melt butter in your pan, then throw in a peeled, cored, and chopped apple. Saute the apple pieces until they soften, then add the oats, water and salt. Cook until the oats are done, then add cinnamon and brown sugar to taste.

Note: Packages of oatmeal always instruct you to boil the water, then add the oats. I've always wondered why? I end up with lumpy oatmeal when I do that, no matter how furiously I stir while adding the oats to boiling water. So I stir the oats into cold water, then bring it to a boil. Works for me!

A certain group of Baptist ladies recently were discussing the yummy phenomenon of Fried Apples. I had never made them before, and one of them said (essentially), "Oh, you just melt some butter in a hot skillet, throw in some sliced and pared apples (preferably tart) with a little sugar, and fry them until they're soft."

That sounded easy enough. Someone else had mentioned how good they are on top of French toast. Hmm, crispy-tender, buttery French toast with warm cinnamony-gooey apples over the top... My pregger-brain latched on to that thought, so that's what we did for breakfast the next morning!


Here's how I made Fried Apples:

Peel, core and slice 7 or 8 tart apples (for a skillet-full, or you can half the recipe). Melt 3 to 4 Tbsp butter in a hot skillet, then add the apples, stirring to coat. Sprinkle brown sugar over the apples (to taste) with a dash of salt, and fry until they soften and start to brown and caramelize.


They should make a nice brown juice as they cook. Stir in some cinnamon, and serve warm.

...Your French toast will thank you! :o)

Yesterday was our Joseph's seventh birthday! It gets more difficult every year to hide anything from him, but we were able to pull off a couple of birthday surprises for him.

His big sisters helped me make cupcakes. I needed some kind of animal theme, and the ickier and slimier, the better.


Frogs! Perfect.


Lotsa frogs!


Jessica's adding the eyes. She and Jillian take special pleasure in preparing surprises for others! They also made him some birthday cards, and a storybook written and illustrated, with the main character being Joseph himself. :o)

We took our froggies and an urn full of hot tea to church with us in the evening. We so much enjoy attending the church here in San Juan when we are not in La Esperanza at the new mission. There were hymns, an excellent sermon on praying fervently, and some special prayer time.

After the prayer service, Pastor Oto invited Joseph to stand before the church so that we could sing to him. This video shows the rest... Enjoy!




SEVEN things I love about Joseph:

1) He throws so much energy into everything that he does!

2) He loves his family, and frequently tells us so.

3) He is a good artist.

4) He sings with all his heart, and has already written some songs about the Lord.

5) He's all BOY, and some day I know he'll be all MAN. (*sniff*)

(Here's Joseph mixing concrete, con mucho gusto!)

6) He loves to be Daddy's helper, and works so hard to please him.

7) While it's hard to get him to read anything else, he really enjoys reading the Bible at Family Devotions!

I love you, my boy! Happy Birthday!

We have had some really cloudy days. It looks like it's trying to rain, and it is quite too early for rainy season! Makes the landscape around our house look as cool as it is - between 50 and 60 degrees F.


Our neighbors are all getting their fields ready for the next planting. The cool weather is nice when they're hard at work outdoors.


But I have a cozy little indoor nook for these babies! Jessica and I planted tomato seeds back in November.


I am dreaming of big, ripe, juicy, homegrown tomatoes!


We have had a couple of sick-o's in the house. Poor little J.B. and Joel have that upper-respiratory-snotty-nose-headache-sniffly-sneezy misery going on. It has passed among most of us, and hopefully is on its last leg.


Nothing some home remedies and snuggle-love won't take care of. :o)


Speaking of love, Daniel got pretty creative with the pancake batter the other day...


What would you call this, pancake art? Batter splatter?


Nothing says "I love you," like pancakes...

...Unless it's cheesecake, which is my hubby's treat of choice. I made him one for Valentine's Day, and let me tell you, my search for the perfect recipe is over. This one was smooth, creamy, toe-curling, cheesy goodness! Maybe I'll share the recipe for my Food on Fridays post this week. I have to make it again, since I didn't take a photo of the last one. ;o)

I hope you all are having a blessed week!

There were some really nice turkeys at the store in Xela. They were a bit expensive (about $3.00/lb) but it was worth it, since the alternative is to butcher and clean one myself! (I've done chickens before, and would prefer to never have to do that again. Another story.)

We got a big one, since we're having a few other families over to our house on Thanksgiving Day. Here's Big Tom [before]:


He looks intimidating to me. He weighs more than my toddler. At least he won't struggle much!

We're not going to stuff this year. I read that stuffing makes the turkey come out dry, so I'm making dressing in a crockpot instead. Today we're baking pies and doing prep work for Big Tom. Here's one of my faithful kitchen assistants, toting her baby brother:

Joel finds kitchen duty soooo boring! ;o)

The girls are really getting in on the pie-making action.





These are special flour-salt-and-cream-of-tartar mini pies. (i.e. PLAY DOUGH)

I personally prefer my pie crusts with a leetle less salt, so I'd better get to it.

Blackberries are abundant (read: CHEAP) this time of year in Guatemala, as I think they are right now in parts of the U.S. as well. These were so big and juicy, Daniel couldn't resist buying several pounds of them.

That is a lot of berries.

So the girls and I have been having fun in the kitchen, baking up all sorts of blackberry goodies, and popping fresh berries into our mouths as we go.

Jillian made some yummy little tarts. (They did not last long!) We also experimented with two cobbler recipes. One consisted of a batter we put into the prepared baking dish, then just dropped the berries on top. It turned out more like a cake.

Oh, but then... Then we made this:


Using this recipe.


You roll out the pastry dough, put the fruit on top, roll it up and slice it like cinnamon rolls.


If your favorite part of the cobbler is the crust, this recipe is for you! To me, if the crust isn't good, the cobbler isn't good. This one is really good!

The power has been out for the better part of the day, and we couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the protests going on in town. It would blink on briefly from time to time, but mostly we just did without. So I'm posting quickly, while we have power!

I gave up on getting laundry done, but I did fire up the one thing that functions without electricity: My gas oven.

I (heart) my gas oven!

We had some strawberries on hand that were a bit past their prime, so I made three loaves of Strawberry Bread. It turned out so moist and good, I thought I'd share this delicious recipe with you.



Strawberry Bread

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour loaf pans.

3 cups flour (I used half whole-wheat.)
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 T cinnamon

Combine these ingredients, then make a well in the center. Then add...

4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups oil

Combine well, then stir in...

1 cup chopped pecans
16 pkg frozen strawberries, with the juice
(I used fresh, not frozen, and added just a bit of apple juice for moisture.)

Pour batter into two or three loaf pans and bake at 350 F for 40 minutes (three loaves) or up to 60 minutes (for two large loaves).

The recipe included a glaze to drizzle over the top, but we found that entirely unnecessary.



...I also made two apple-cheese pies, not to be confused with cheesecake. Didn't have a recipe, so this was just an experiment. I'll probably post about them once we've tasted them!

Marla is one of the young people that attends the church in San Juan. Saturday her family invited us over for lunch at their house.

This is Marla's mama. Next to her is their woodburning stove, where our meal was cooked.


Here is some of the group that was there:


Left to right: Marla's mom; her sister Dora; friend's mom; friend whose name I can't remember; Marla; and another older sister who cooked our delicious meal.


Johanna's digging in!


We had chicken that reminded me of a Guatemalan dish called Pepian, but it wasn't exactly that. I would call it Chicken and Broccoli Yum!


We enjoyed the Guatemalan hospitality. Casual, comfortable, and so friendly...
















And look what Jillian, our animal-lover, caught:


This little pigeon flew down to the patio, Jillian cornered it and caught it, and it seemed perfectly happy to come home with her!

For years I put off trying to make flour tortillas at home, thinking it must be too difficult. And why go through the trouble anyway, when they are available at the store, mass-produced, packaged, and ready to go?

Welll, I found out that those icky mass-produced, ready-made tortillas are not to be compared to hot, homemade ones. And they are actually very easy to make! Here's the recipe we use. I call it mine, because I've adapted it :o)

4 cups flour (use as much whole wheat as you want)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup olive oil
1 to 1 1/4 cups water

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Sprinkle with oil, and mix until you have even crumbs (no big ones). Stir in one cup of the water, then add just a little at a time until you have a workable dough (meaning when you knead it, it doesn't "crack" where you bend it). Knead about twenty times.

Let the dough sit for 10 minutes, then start heating a large skillet or griddle to med/high heat, not high enough to make it smoke. Your cooking surface should be dry, not greased. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls, and roll them out into circles as thin as you can get them. Cook the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side, or until the dough is firm and you see browned spots.

These are so delicious while they are hot! We have eaten them with refried beans, cheese and salsa, etc. They are also yummy for a snack, with butter and honey on them. Oh, the possibilities.

They take about twenty minutes to make, start to finish, and that is if you roll them out, like I do. If you happen to have a tortilla press, you could whip these out all the faster!

¡Buen provecho!

I hope all you mothers out there enjoyed some special blessings today! Here in Guatemala, El Dia de la Madre is always on May 10 instead of the second Sunday in May, as it is in the States. So this year I had two Mother's Days. :o)

My children honored me with some homemade gifts, lots of hugs and kisses, a song, and even a blender! (Maybe we'll have smoothies tomorrow :o)

My husband fixed lunch for us. We always have the same thing on Sunday: pot roast and veggies in the crockpot. It is always delicious, and it sure makes things easier on Sunday afternoons to have lunch ready for us when we get home from church! Want to try it? Here is our recipe:

Sunday Dinner

On Saturday night, turn your crockpot on high, rinse off your roast and place it in the crockpot. Cover the meat with tenderizer (I use all-natural papain, no MSG) and spices. Whatever is on hand is fine; you can experiment with rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, whatever smells good to you, just don't overdo it! ;o)

Next, pile on the veggies. We usually put in carrots and potatoes or cabbage. Quarter a medium onion and put it on top. Add some salt, pour in water almost to the top, cover, and turn the pot down to low heat to simmer all night.

Next morning you'll wake up to an aroma that will make you want to eat roast for breakfast!

Makes Sundays all the more restful for this Mamma. May the Lord bless all you other Mammas out there, today and every day!

I enjoy making delicious food for my family to eat, but I especially like breakfast! About twice a week we have pancakes and eggs. Here is my standard recipe for Pancakes:

Sift together:
2 c flour (I use half whole-wheat)
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar

Then add:
2 c milk
6 Tbsp oil
2 eggs

Once mixed, spoon onto hot greased griddle. Brown on both sides.

This recipe makes enough for my family of eight, so if you don't feed that many, you can freeze the leftovers to enjoy another time! When I made them last, I spied two ripe bananas lying on the counter, begging to be used. So I peeled and mashed them, and added them and some chopped walnuts to the pancake batter. I lowered the heat on the griddle just a bit, so the pancakes would cook through the middle. They were delicious!

If you were to attend a birthday, graduation, or other party here, you would likely be served a pache like this, along with a cup of sweet coffee or tea. They are traditionally made of potatoes, but the rice ones seem to be more popular now. In the center is a piece of chicken or beef in sauce, a strip of sweet red pepper, and a prune. This is all wrapped up in a banana leaf and steamed until it sets. Looks humble, I know, but it tastes delicious! And if you get stuck without a napkin, the stiff slice of bread on the side can serve as one. ;o)

Like hashbrowns? You should try sweet potato hashbrowns! Here are some pointers:

Pour enough oil (we use olive or canola) into a skillet to cover the bottom about 1/4 inch. Heat skillet to med/high heat. Shred only about two sweet potatoes at a time, and put them directly into the skillet. Toss immediately to coat with oil, as they tend to oxidize quickly. Pat down and allow to fry until the bottom side browns, then turn. Once both sides are brown, remove the hashbrowns from the oil and allow to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. So yummy!

Speaking of cooking, my three daughters offer these handy tips when cooking in the kitchen:

Jessica (9 yrs) says, "Make sure you start with a clean counter, and put things away as soon as you are done."

Jillian (7 yrs) says, "Do not start cooking something, and then go take a nap."

Johanna (3 yrs) says, "Do NOT cook supper with DIRT."

My Aunt Jean in Texas gave me this recipe. We had some for breakfast this morning, along with our rice & milk, and it was delicious!

1 loaf of day old French bread (Break into pieces.)
1 sugar cane cone, break into pieces and bring to boil with about 1 pint of water. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla.
1 cup pecans
1 cup raw peanuts
1 cup raisins
1 moon of Longhorn Cheese, shredded (Cheddar will make it look greasy.)

Spray or grease a 9x13" pan and layer ingredients starting with the bread in the bottom. (bread, pecans, peanuts, raisins, then cheese) Pour sugar cane mixture over top and soak all the bread real good. Put into oven 300 degrees F and cook for about 2 hrs. (approx.) Love to all, Aunt Jean

It's a very versatile recipe, too. She uses wheat bread instead of white. I omitted the peanuts. She adds craisins with the raisins. If you can't find the sugar cone, try a cup of brown sugar in its place. I plan to play around with this recipe some more. It can pass as a brunch item, or a dessert. I hope you try it!

...Thank you, Aunt Jean!

One of the many good things we have picked up from the Guatemalans is to eat a light, meatless supper. This is a meal we had recently: black beans, chips and homemade salsa, with a tamale on the side. The children love it!

We tried this new recipe, and it yields a big 9"x13" pan of delicious brownies... The sides were great, but it was a little flat in the middle. Could it have been our altitude? (We are at 8,000 ft above sea level.) They are delicious anyway, even the flat ones from the middle of the pan. If you try this recipe, let me know how it works for you. (Make sure there's milk in the 'fridge before attempting this!)

1 c butter or margarine
2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
4 large eggs, beaten
2/3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c (12 oz pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c coarsely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or - oooooh! - macadamias!)

1. Heat oven to 350F. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan.
2. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and cocoa; stir to blend. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; stir this into the chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla, chocolate chips, and nuts.
4. Spread into prepared pan.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan and begin to crack slightly. Do not underbake. Cool completely in the pan before cutting.