Apple Butter Perfection

So after a miserable first attempt and a whole day of cooking, I made a second double batch of apple butter and after the day of cooking, got it right where I wanted it.

If it weren't for my mom and all the cooks that came before me in my family, I wouldn't be able to cook some of my favorite recipes.

So for all who don't have a good recipe, here's their recipe that is really not too difficult and quite yummy. I made a double batch and it yielded 13 1/2 pint jars of apple butter. Bonus: The house sure smells fabulous the whole day as the apple butter cooks:).

16 Apples - about 6lbs (I used Golden Delicious, but there are several good cooking apples you can use).
2 quarts water
1 ½ quarts apple cider
3 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice

Cut apples. Cook in water until soft. Run through food mill. Bring cider to boiling, add apples, sugar and spices.

There are two ways you can cook it after that:

Stove top:
Can cook at simmer on top of stove, stirring often until thick. Place in sterilized jars.

Oven:
Place in roasting pan and place in preheated oven at about 325. Cooking times will vary depending on the oven. Mine was about 6 1/2 hours, my mom said hers tends to be a few hours longer. Stir once every 45 minutes - more toward the end. Place in sterilized jars with about 1/2 inch room at the top when completed.

Tips:

~ When it begins to thicken, you can test to see if it is the correct thickness by sticking some in a small bowl or plate and cool it down to see how thick and spreadable it is. My first batch failed because I cooked it to a certain thickness in the oven and by the time it cooled, it was way too thick to spread.

~ After filling the jars, you can skip the water bath to seal it if you do this. Scoop it into the jars immediately, add a sealing lid and a rim and screw tight. Turn upside down on kitchen towel until cool. Generally the lid will seal from the heat.

It's a great recipe to cook when you are spending the day at home - especially when it's cool outside.

Thanks Mom!

Becoming Better Stewards of Our Environment

I've really felt God push me to consider more effects of our daily living on the environment. For those of you who are skeptical - hear me out.

I used to think a lot of the environmental causes were a ridiculous amount of hype and people who were a little wacky trying to show they really cared about something. However, in the last year, I really feel like there are truths in a lot of it. Through prayer and contemplation, I feel like just as we are to be good stewards of God's gifts in our lives such as our abilities and talents, we are also supposed to be good stewards of the gifts he has given us such as the environment we live in. God asks us to be good stewards of all the gifts He gives us, not just some of them.

So my husband and I are trying to figure out small ways we can do this. We don't have a lot of extra money right now and we are in a new place so it can be challenging, but one of my favorite newest things that seems to be catching on are reusable grocery bags. Most of the local grocery stores have begun carrying these reusable grocery bags. I didn't know how they would work, but at $.99, I figured we could buy a few, try them out, and if we liked them buy a few more each time we shopped until we had enough we would use on a regular basis.

I like using them so much! They hold a lot more than it first appears, probably because they won't tear like plastic, and they have sturdy handles that make them easy to carry. I now have seven and got 95 percent of our groceries to fit in them when I went shopping this weekend (we usually go on a big trip once every two weeks, and this was the week).

While I don't have time currently to do a ton of research on this right now, this is information from a National Geographic article in 2003.

"The numbers are absolutely staggering," said Vincent Cobb, an entrepreneur in Chicago, Illinois, who recently launched the Web site http://Reusablebags.com to educate the public about what he terms the "true costs" associated with the spread of "free" bags. He sells reusable bags as a viable solution.

According to Cobb's calculations extrapolated from data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 on U.S. plastic bag, sack, and wrap consumption, somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Of those, millions end up in the litter stream outside of landfills—estimates range from less than one to three percent of the bags.

The figures may not be totally up to date, but even if we consume half that amount today, switching to reusable bags would still have a major impact on our environment.

I don't know about your household, but I know we throw away tons of those bags yearly because we just can't reuse all of them. We use them as liners for trash cans and lunches and bags for trips, but we can only use so many in a year.

We have always recycled and have increased our recycling to all the packages we can in our house, but I think this is one pretty painless step many of us can do to truly help reduce our waste in our world. I don't know how long these bags will last, but I figure even if I can get a good year out them, think of all the plastic bags I will have not used and kept out of landfills.

One warning to those who do not support the Susan B. Komen Foundation due to their support of Planned Parenthood clinics, there are bags floating around, especially this month since it is breast cancer awareness month, that are pink and a percentage of the sale goes to the Susan B. Komen foundation. It is not listed on the bag, but I looked up the information and they seem to be the only charity benefiting.

Happy shopping and let me know if you have any great ideas on ways to reduce waste.

Life Is....

I just really like this quote - especially the last line.

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it!
- Mother Teresa

Decluttering

One thing I truly enjoy, as many of my friends seem to, is organizing and decluttering. Although I really don't like having to move, one thing I love is going through the boxes of stuff we have and getting rid of a lot of it that has piled up.

I just took another few boxes to the Salvation Army Thrift Store and it feels so good to 1) be able to pass it on to someone who may be able to use it and 2) get rid of it and have less stuff.

To me, it's amazing how freeing decluttering and organizing life can be. After having my son, I finally understood what so many of my friends and family had discovered earlier on, most likely with their first kids ... kids toys build up quickly and kids only "need" a few items otherwise they are overwhelmed.

I have already gotten rid of some toys my son, who is 18-months-old, received because he just doesn't have room for them.

One thing I have learned through this as well is that keeping every item from every experience is silly. Not only do have so much you never actually look at it again, but it also just takes up more space.

Additionally, the more "stuff" I have, I find more distractions in my relationship with God and more difficulties focusing on my faith life.

I mean, who really needs the VHS of a movie they really liked when they were younger...we realized since our wedding five years ago, we have watched a total of 3 or 4 VHS tapes, mostly in the first year.

So one of my current goals is to not have items in storage with the exception of items like baby clothes that we may not be using today but may likely use again in six months. I find a lot of times I don't even remember what I got rid of and the most difficult part is letting go of whatever it is.

I try to go through the house once or twice a year and always feel so relived once i get through it. Afterwards, I often find it easier to relax and focus on life more fully and what is truly important.

Ahhh - The Birthday of A Mom

So I woke up tired, but happy because it was my birthday and it's difficult to really be down on your birthday - or at least it is for me.

My husband made me a fabulous breakfast and my son and I drove him to work so we could use the car for the day. I was driving back when I heard my son start yacking up his breakfast all over the car. At first I was like, "oh no!" and then I started laughing.

I pulled to the side of the road and started cleaning up the mess, stripping him down to his diaper and using wet wipes to mop as much up as possible. Being very pregnant, I got a little sick myself. After we got the initial mess cleaned up, I thought about it the whole way home. Even if I didn't want to, there was that beautiful smell permeating our car so the thoughts lingered.

I thought about how your perspective, expectations and desires in life change as you have kids. When I was younger, my birthday meant I didn't have to do any chores all day long. I could play with my friends, talk on the phone, etc. It was such a gift - so much better than most material possessions.

Even when I was a young adult and a young married person without kids, the day was still all mine. I could do whatever or not do whatever I wanted. I could sleep in, go to a spa, hang out with friends or just be.

Now as a mom, all that is totally different....and I LOVE it. No my idea of a perfect birthday is not cleaning up barf....that was way, way down on the list. My ideal birthday now includes just being....being with my husband and son. Enjoying a nice meal and celebrating the life we have together. We didn't go out to a fancy restaurant (although my husband made a dish only to be rivaled in the best places around). We didn't have a day without kids - instead I chose to keep my son home the daycare he is still attending because I missed him and wanted to spend the day with the ones I love. There was no last minute getaways or anything else as grand. It was exactly what I hoped for. A day playing with my son and enjoying time with my husband. I did some laundry, and worked on the kitchen a bit.....but it wasn't a bother.

When I think of all the ways I have been blessed in my life, I can't imagine it any other way and I try to spend more time looking at the positives instead of the negatives. I may not have all this laundry or dishes in my life.... or I may never spend a birthday cleaning up barf...., but then that would mean I wouldn't have a little person or a husband that I am doing it for either. That trade-off would never be worth it to me.

I'll take the extra dishes and laundry any day:)