Pumpkin Scones!

Oh my goodness! It has been so long since I've written on my poor neglected blog! But now that it's finally fall, I couldn't possibly neglect it!

So here is a good recipe for pumpkin scones we just tried.....unfortunately they were all eaten before I could take a picture though.

1 cup all purpose flour 

1 cup cake flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp each of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger

6 TBS butter

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup cream

6 TBS brown sugar 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 large egg

1. Whisk the dry ingredients and put them in the freezer (while you mix the wet ing.)
2. Mix wet ingredients, and put in freezer. (Take dry ing. out)
3. Mix butter into dry ingredients with a pastry blender. 
4. Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ing.
5. Put the dough onto parchment paper, roll out, and cut into triangles. 
6. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes. (Makes 1 dozen....so make a double!)

White Frosting:

1 cup, 1 TBS powdered sugar

2 TBS milk

Spiced Frosting (to go on top):

1 cup, 3 TBS powdered sugar

2 TBS milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 pinch ginger

1 pinch cloves

.....let the white frosting dry before you put on the spiced in a zigzag line. Try not to eat them all at once!

Persevere!

One step and then another,
And the longest walk is ended;
One stitch and then another,
And the largest rent is mended.

One brick and then another,
And the highest wall is made;
One flake upon another,
And the deepest snow is laid.

So little coral workers,
By their slow and constant motion,
Have built those pretty islands.
In the distant dark blue ocean.

And the noblest undertakings
Man’s wisdom has conceived,
By oft-repeated effort,
Have been patiently achieved.

Then do not look disheartened
On the work you have to do,
And say that such a mighty task
You never can get through;

But just endeavor day by day
Another point to gain,
And soon the mountain which you feared
Will prove to be a plain.

Rome was not builded in a day,
The ancient proverb teaches;
And nature, by her trees and flowers ,
The same sweet sermon preaches.

Think not of far-off duties,
But of duties which are near;
And having once begun to work’
Resolve to persevere.
- Author Unknown

A quote...

Lord,  I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to thee to be Thine, forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.

~Betty Stam

May this be our prayer too!

Hello all!
As I'm trying to get another blog started I decided to write some more to keep you updated. Two things are of a bit of significance.
1: Sunday afternoon my brothers Liam and Aiden were playing football in our yard, and Liam was diving for the endzone but hit his leg on a rock. He ran inside crying with his leg all bloody, and so we pulled out the first aid kit and cleaned him up, but it took a good piece of his leg :( Today Mom called our doctor, who suggested we come in and get it checked out. Liam ended up getting 8 stiches. (He seems to get beat up a bit....when he was 5 he had to have his head glued after an encounter with the corner of a wall, but that's another story.) Good thing he's a tough cookie!
2. My (iPad) keyboard has not been working for quite some time now, but last night I decided to try and see if it would work. I went to settings and turned Bluetooth on. I closed my eyes and prayed, "Dear Lord, I pray that you would make this keyboard work, I know that you can make it work, and I fully expect that you will. Amen." or something like that, anyway, when I opened my eyes a message popped up on my screen that said it "found" a keyboard, and did I want to use it? It has been working ever since. (In fact, I'm typing with it right now!:)Wow! that was a huge blessing!
So, those are the two things I had to share. I hope to post again soon! ~Madi

My first backpacking trip!

This last Saturday/Sunday, my dad took Aiden, Liam, and I on our first backpacking trip to Upper Priest Lake in N. Idaho. (About 2.5 hours away). We had a great time together, and got a good amount of exercise too, (6 miles to camp and 6 back). So here are some pictures!

Well, these pictures are just a little taste....blogger is kind of making them blurry, and it hasn't been very easy to work with at times, so I think (yeah I know, AGAIN) I might switch to a new blog, same Journeys In Girlhood, but using a different web address, etc. Hopefully, I will be able to tell you what it is soon.

For now, enjoy the rest of your August!

~ Madison

Yet another good recipe!

This is a great chocolate cake, using mostly honey and maple syrup to sweeten it. [Although, instead of coconut/palm sugar we had to use brown sugar :( ] I made it into cupcakes for my brother's birthday, and it made 24. They're moist and easy to make too! You can find the recipe here at The Nourishing Apron.
Side note; I didn't make the frosting given in the recipe, we just used Buttercream Frosting. And by the way, if anyone has a brownie recipe that uses honey instead of sugar, please let me know!
Enjoy your cake!

Soaked Bread Recipe

Mom recently found this bread recipe online, while looking for a bread recipe with soaked flour. It's a little bit like sourdough, and needs to soak overnight, but its really simple and easy! It's also delicious and is quickly becoming a family favorite! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

No Knead Bread Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water

Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel...something that can go into a 450F oven.)
_____________________

1. Mix dough: The night before combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until dough just comes together, it will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape and preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky, and bubbly. With a wet spatula dump dough onto a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge into a ball shape.    (You can use your hands just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick.) Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. when you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, turn over and dump wobbly dough into pot, using your hands to get the dough off the towel. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and cool on wired rack.

Delicious bread, baked by Mom.

 Recipe taken from: 2007 Steamy Kitchen, Inc. http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html

Some pictures.....

Here are some fun pictures I found, and thought I'd post (note: definitely not in order of time).....

                                    From L to R; Dad, Aiden, Mom, Liam, and Me in Moscow

      

                              Me with Danek as a newborn in our apartment in Spokane

                                              Grandma and I on Christmas....a long time ago

Owen about 1 year old; he's just so cute!

    

                                                       Left; Mom and I in our apartment in St. Petersburg    

Right; Liam, Me, and Aiden at Bleendonald's, our favorite donut place in St. Petes!  

Reading to Danek and Owen

Danek and Jackson

Owen, Danek and Liam

Owen Danek, Liam and our Dog Dudeman

                                                               Eleanor's 2nd Birthday

                                                                    Olivia and Eleanor

                                                                  Danek and Olivia

Some flowers at the UW campus when we took a trip to Seattle

Enjoy!

      

Rooster!

A while ago we bought 3 beautiful Black Ausrtalorp chickens, hoping to get some eggs. We had some suspicions about the handsome devil in the picture, but taking into account his extreme gentleness and quietness, we took 'him' for a 'her'....until we heard him crow at sunrise that is. Unfortunately we can't keep roosters where we live, and are hoping to find him a home where he (preferably) won't have to become dinner (at least not ours anyway). If you are interested in having a really great rooster, then let us know!

Praise the Lord!

Just wanted to share praise that Aiden, Dad and I passed the WDFW hunter's safety class after a long week of classes, and will Lord-willing have a chance to hunt together this fall! Thank you to mom (and others) for all your prayers!