A Great Treat

good afternoon beautiful ones.   yeah, I'm back with another little treat.     so we're gonna do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" segment.      although I didn't get a picture, I will the next time I make this and I'll share it with you all.

I had gone grocery shopping Friday, I think it was and there was some good fruit on sale.     and when it's on sale, I get a little for the coming week.       well, they had some plums.      I got a bag of them and I already wish I had gotten 5 more bags!!!!!!       I'll be going back, probably tomorrow and getting 3 or 4 more bags and I'll slice them thin and put them on my dehydrator and then I'll be able to make this treat that I'm gonna share whenever the notion strikes.   that could end up being dangerous.  hahahahaha

I made what I call "Plum Crisp".       I keep a mason jar filled with the "crisp" mix.      I put about 2 cups of old fashioned oats, about 1/4 cup of flour, 3/4 cup of granular sweetener and I use monkfruit sweetener, a tablespoon or more of cinnamon, a teaspoon of cloves, about a half teaspoon or more to your taste of salt.      I write the mixture on the jar, so it's easy to refill.      I shake it up real good and stick it in the cabinet.    when we want a crisp, that part is easy.

next, I get our little dishes out and spray them with avocado oil to help prevent sticking.      I sprinkle about 2 tablespoons full of the crisp mixture on the bottom of the little dishes.       then I get 2 plums and wash them good and split them and take the pit out and slice up a whole plum for each little bowl.     I get about 20 slices per plum for each of our little bowls.       I love them really thin.        once I'm done with the plums, I'll sprinkle a good tablespoon of monkfruit sweetened over the plums in each little bowl.      then I'll get my lemon juice and pour about a tablespoon of lemon juice directly over the plums.        next, I'll take my crisp mix and sprinkle about 2 or 3 tablespoons over the very top.      the very last thing I use is a tablespoon of butter.      real butter.       I cut very tiny pieces of butter and drop it all over the top of the crisp.     getting it spaced as evenly as possible is key.      pop them in a preheated 350* oven for about 30 minutes and it is purely delightful!!!!       not overly sweet and just enough acid from the lemon juice to really make it sweet tart.      it is one of our favorite treats of all time.

so, when I get more and get them sliced up and on my dehydrator, I'll be in business.      I'll make a notation on my jars that it takes 20 slices per little bowl to make the crisp.   then I can make these anytime we want them.       it's also a pretty economical dessert and easy to make on a whim.     and the next time I make them, I'll get a picture of them.      they are so delicious.  and they are lovely to look at too.      hahaha

well, I hope you enjoyed this quick little segment of "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".       I hope you've had a most spectacular day.    I also hope that at some point during this day that you've thanked God for it.       He made it just for us and there will never be another day like today with all the opportunities this one has had.        Tomorrow isn't promised, yesterday was, and all we have is today, right now and the opportunities available in this moment.       thank Him and praise Him for today.      Thank You God for Your many blessings upon us all!!!!       Thank You for salvation thru the shed blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ!!!!        if you know Christ as your Savior, you my friend, have so much to be thankful for.     so let's praise Him before the day is over.      love and hugs y'all, patty

2 minutes in the kitchen with me

good morning lovely friends!!!     hope all is well in your neck of the woods.     praying that all are surviving the heat this summer.       we just have to be careful about what we do and when we do it outside.    with august coming upon us, for fun, we'll have to count the number of fogs we have during the month and then see if we have that many snows this winter.    hahaha

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let's do a "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".      I had ran out of my favorite buckwheat pancake mix that we get at the local Amish store.        we really enjoy it and had been missing it.       the bag that it came in said that I had paid almost $7 for a bag that was not quite 1 lb.       when I ran out, we started to make a run to the Amish store.       something else came us, we didn't make it.       2 or 3 weeks passed and we still didn't get there.       I finally broke down and just ordered a 5 lb bag of organic, non gmo buckwheat flour from amazon.     and after about 6 weeks of being without, we finally got it.

it came the other day and I set out to get a recipe worked up for our use.       I also made it up just in the dry ingredients and then add my wet ingredients to it when I'm ready to make waffles.      this is what I done and you can do it however you see fit.

Patty's recipe for Buckwheat Pancake/Waffle Mix

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 cup ap flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup raw wheat germ

9 tablespoons of non fat powdered milk

4 tablespoons of granular sweetener (sugar, monkfruit sweetener, stevia.....you can add more if you want to, or even leave it out)

1 tsp salt

2 tsps baking powder

I measured all the ingredients out in a half galllon jar and shook it to mix it real well.    this is like the "meals in a jar" that are so popular today.     as you can tell by the measurements, this makes a little over 4 cups and I'll get several batches from this one jar of my pancake/waffle mix.

also, you can use 3 full cups of buckwheat if so desired or any combination of the 3 flours I mentioned, plus you can add any other flours that you may have, to this mix.     I'm just winging it with this and it will probably evolve over time.  

Instructions for making pancakes/waffles:

1 cup of mix

half cup of water, (maybe more depending on the combination of flours you use.  some flour is thirstier than others.)

1 egg

2 tablespoons of avocado oil (you can use any oil you prefer, or you can use melted butter)

mix well and let sit while waffle iron heats up.  then pour into waffle iron and cook till it tells you they're done.

this will fill my square waffle iron one time.  it makes 4 smaller waffles and 2 apiece is plenty for us.  if you have a larger family, then make more.  if you like them and want more, just make more.  hahaha

I wrote the instructtions out and taped it to the jar that I've got my mix in.     if I do any fine tuning to the recipe, I'll make notations on my jar and then come back to my recipe and readjust it as necessary.

I know what the ingredients are that's in my mix.     even the non fat powdered milk was "clean" as far as ingredients go.      whereas the mix that I had gotten at the Amish store had a list of ingredients in it as long as my leg.      so I love having control of the ingredients I use.

the 5 lb bag of buckwheat flour fit perfectly in a gallon bucket that I had just emptied that had beef gelatin in it.       since it was a food grade bucket, I used that.  I also wrote my recipe for the pancake/waffle mix on the lid so when I run out, all I have to do is read the lid.     I like simple and plain and this is both.

I also wrote the date on the bucket lid.      it will be interesting to see how long this lasts me. and how many batches of waffle mix I get from it.   

considering the fact that the buckwheat flour was around $15 from amazon, and like I said, it was a reputable brand, I know I'll save money.       it could be the very buckwheat flour that they use at the Amish store, I don't know.       while I love shopping local and shopping at the Amish store, we also have to take into consideration, the prices and our checking account.      when prices go up, my job is to find ways of spending less.      I'm not loyal to any product, store or any individual that doesn't care about us and what we can afford.        never have been, never will be.       I shop local when I can, but I'm not busting the bank for businesses that make it hard to shop local.       I have never cared what others do and still don't.         I'm looking out for us and everyone has to decide for themselves who they support.        having said that, I hope someone finds this recipe useful.

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well, short and sweet this time.     better than nothing though.     just know that if you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ, that's the best relationship you'll ever have.     Christ loves you and so do I.    blessings to you all.   hugs and love, patty

"a broken vessel, willing to be used"

good morning beautiful friends!!!         it seems like it's been forever since I've been on here and it has been.      I have to apologize to myself and to you all for my absence.       I need to apologize to God too, because I had promised Him that as long as He was with me in this blog, I would keep on doing my blog.  He has kept up His end of the deal, but I haven't.     

sometimes life gets in the way and this year has been one of those times.        nothing big, but just a lot of little things and then when I think I might find the time to write a blog post, something else comes along to steal a little bit more of my time and joy.

so this morning, I decided, after my walk and talking with the Lord that I would see what I could do.      so this blog post is gonna different.      I'm not concerned about capitalizing words or punctuation and not really even concerned with spelling, so just overlook all that and read.        I don't think God cares about things like that, and I'm not going to either.       what He cares is "a broken vessel, willing to be used".

so, while we was walking this morning, I was praying and talking to the Lord.       I pray daily, and most days I never end our conversation.    it's just always an open ended prayer.       because I'm constantly in prayer.        confessing sin, praising Him for His mercies daily, thanking Him for His goodness and for all He has done for me and my husband.        just thanking Him for life itself.      asking Him for His protection in all that we do.      you get the picture.

the last few years have been trying at best, for everyone.         most people have let their guards down and let the enemy in.        I'll have to admit, I have been one of those people.        I have become a hard hearted person again.       is this easy to admit?        no, it isn't.       it's difficult, it breaks my heart.        while we was walking, I just asked God to make me "a broken vessel, willing to be used" again.      as a child of God, I want to be used.         I want to always be willing to be used by God.       I want to show compassion and mercy, just as He has shown compassion and mercy to me.       I don't want to be a pushover or someone to be abused by others,  but I do want to show compassion and mercy.        I want to always stand up for what is right.       I don't want to ever defend someone blatantly living in sin, but I do still want to be able to show compassion and mercy without compromising my beliefs, according to the Word of God.        as I weep and shed tears, I haven't decided if it's tears of joy or tears of sadness.        

I have lost myself in the mix of all the change that has taken place over the last few years.        and I'm asking, pleading with God to make me that broken vessel, willing to be used by Him again.         I want the joy back, I want the sparkle that I know I've had.       I want to always be ready to defend the Gospel and always ready to speak a word of blessing over someone who needs it.       I want to even be able to speak that word of blessing over myself.       I haven't been able to do that for a while.    

I really don't know how I'm gonna be able to do this without getting back to my blog.        I have been saying for the last 2 or 3 years that I'm gonna get back to it and it I don't.       I don't "feel" like it does me or anyone else any good.        and that's one of the main things that I want to get away from, is my "feelings".         they lie!!!!       you know what I mean if you belong to Jesus.        our "feelings" can quickly get us in trouble.        so the Lord wants us to operate in "what we know", not how we "feel".

one thing I "know" is that when I do my blog, I am in communication with my Father.        the Holy Spirit is with me helping me.       Jesus said that I can do all things thru Him, He strengthens me.       so, these are things that I know.         I know these things!!!!!!       but the enemy wants me to forget the very things that I have based my life on for all these years.       it's been a struggle here lately.       the enemy keeps me upset about something all the time.  things that are beyond my control and I fall for his tactics.       

so I have been praying  and decided I would share my struggle with the very ones who have helped me in the past.        and I know that you will help me in the future.         just knowing that someone pops in and reads something I have written makes a difference.         just know that I do appreciate that.

I don't know if my struggle will get any better or not.         I just know that if I don't try to pull myself out of it with the help of the Lord, I'll never be better than I am right now.         I've been reading the bible thru each year for a few years now.         this year is no different.       I'm still reading and hopefully will make it thru before the end of the year and then start over.       that takes time, but it's time well spent.   I am reading a different translation each year.    that has been a great way to read the bible.        I stay in a translation that is translated from the original greek, hebrew, aramaic.        I don't care for the translations of other translations, because they get weak and watered down and messy.       that's some of the problems that we have today with people claiming to be christians.        they are basing their lives on weak, watered down and messy behavior.          and that is where some of my issues as of late is coming from.

but anyway, this is where I am and I'm trying to get out of the muck and mire of the world and get back on track with where I know that God desires me to be.         I know that He can help me.         I sure can't do it without Him.        y'all pray for me and I'll continue to pray for y'all.       

if you don't know Jesus, let me ask you "why not?"        don't base your knowledge of Jesus on me or what anyone tells you.       base your knowledge of Jesus on what His word says about Him.        but do let me tell you that He wants to be your Lord and Savior.        it is the best gift that you'll ever receive in this life time.       it is a gift that has eternal blessings.        those blessings last forever when we are finally with Him.         God made a way for us to be in right relationship with Him thru the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.         He wants to be your Lord and Savior.        we just have to admit that we are sinful and that we confess those sins and that we want Jesus to be our Lord and Savior from this moment on and accept that He IS our Lord and Savior.        if you know that you have done this, then we are in the family God, together!!!!         if you haven't accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior yet, why not?           there is no time like right now.         blessings on you all, dear ones!!!

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this morning when came back from our walk, our sunflower was open.    yay!!!!        I didn't plant the seed that this sunflower came from, a bird did!!!!!        I am so tickled to see it too.         I look at that as a blessing and gift from God this year.        I hope I can save some of the seeds from it and have more along the fence next year.         the fence is the neighbors and it's a tad bit messy looking, but I can see it being beautiful with a bunch of sunflowers.         so I hope this can become a reality.          I do have a couple of pictures of this beauty.

the top one was made on Sunday and it has a big old beautiful bumble bee in it and there was also a tiny sweat bee in it.      I am so tickled to actually have a sunflower.     

this picture was made this morning, Monday morning and it has small butterfly on.       he wouldn't open his wings so it just looks like a bug sitting on it.      hahaha          notice how the center of the sunflower has opened up more than it was on Sunday.        I guess that's what the bees and insects are doing, pollinating each seed now and it will soon be fully pollinated.        I'll have to keep watching it as the days progress.          it's really been fun finding it and watching it grow.          just a little blessing from God that has turned into a big blessing.

well, that's about all I have today.          just pray for me as I pray for ya'll.        if you read or seen anything here that is worthwhile, share it with someone that may need to see it.       we never know what others are dealing with and how we can be a blessing to others.          I pray for your day to be a blessed day and look ways that you God has blessed you today.       ask God  to make you "a broken vessel, willing to be used", and I promise you He will use you in a might way!!!  blessings on you today.         hugs and love, patty