Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Russian Chicken Soup

We belong to a wonderful Homeschool Co-op where I teach Jr. High PE and co-teach Food Class. Our Co-op meets once a month to study a different foreign country, sort of unit study style. So, each class focuses on a different aspect of the country: Food, PE, Science, Art, and Social Studies. Food Class can be challenging...finding recipes that will entice the kids to try new and different foods, trying new cooking techniques, and finding exotic ingredients. I have throughly enjoyed learning though.

Some of the recipes I've made for Co-op have became family favorites. The most requested of all has to be Chicken Soup with Dumplings from Russia. The recipe has even been requested by those outside Co-op when they've witnessed us eating it at lunch (including the husbands work). Since food is definitely one of the basics of life, I decided I would put some of our favorite family recipes on the blog. I can't think of a better way to save and share the yummy recipes. So, I'm starting with the Russian Chicken Soup. I'll print the original & my modified version.

Chicken Soup with Dumplings

DUMPLINGS
1 jumbo egg
3 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill (optional)

SOUP
5 cups Chicken Stock, or canned broth
2 medium-size boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
8 baby carrots, peeled
1 large rib celery, sliced
1 large fresh, ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
Finely minced scallion (green onion) for garnish
Finely chopped fresh dill for garnish

1 To make the dumplings, break the egg into a small bowl, then add the flour salt, pepper, and dill, if desired, and beat with a fork until smooth. Set the dumpling mixture aside.
2 In a soup pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil, then add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, for 15 minutes.
3 Dip a teaspoon into cold water, scoop up about ½ teaspoon of the dumpling mixture and lower it carefully in to the simmering soup. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, dipping your spoon into cold water before you make each dumpling. You should have about 8 to 10 dumplings.
4 Add the tomato, increase the heat to medium low, and cook until the dumplings rise to the surface, 5 to 7 minutes.
5 Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with scallion and dill, and serve.

Serves 4 generously

Russian Chicken Soup with Dumplings Misty Style

DUMPLINGS
1 jumbo egg
3 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill (optional-I’ve also used a country herb mix)

SOUP
5 cups Chicken Stock, or canned broth ( I use one carton, plus a ½-3/4 cup of water or broth from the chicken)
2 medium-size boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
8 baby carrots, peeled (or a couple large carrots-peeled and shredded)
1 large rib celery, sliced (optional)
1 large fresh, ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (or, one can organic diced tomatoes)
Finely minced scallion (green onion) for garnish (optional)
Finely chopped fresh dill for garnish

1 To make the dumplings, break the egg into a small bowl, then add the flour salt, pepper, and dill, if desired, and beat with a fork until smooth. Set the dumpling mixture aside.
2 In a soup pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil, then add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, for 15 minutes.
3 Dip a teaspoon into cold water, scoop up about ½ teaspoon of the dumpling mixture and lower it carefully in to the simmering soup. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, dipping your spoon into cold water before you make each dumpling. You should have about 8 to 10 dumplings.
4 Add the tomato, increase the heat to medium low, and cook until the dumplings rise to the surface, 5 to 7 minutes.
5 Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with scallion and dill, and serve.

Serves 4 generously

To make heartier, I slow cook a whole chicken, then skin & pull the meat off the bone, tear up a bit & add at the very end (when everything else is done). In Russia, chicken is too expensive to use like this. They would make the food last by making this with the chicken’s broth.

You do not have to add the green onion or dill, it is yummy either way.

Also, I usually triple or quadruple the dumplings, cuz my daughter really loves dumplings.

I don’t always use salt, either, you don’t need it. There is a lot of flavor in the rest of the ingredients. Oh, and Rachel Rays Chicken Stock has the best flavor (so says my husband & I do really like the flavor).

Mom's Night Out and Middle of the Night Talks

I don't get a Mom's Night Out very often. I don't lament that fact either. But when I do get a Mom's Night Out...oh, I really do enjoy the time to talk to a friend with no interruptions. Okay, we do get a couple of calls on the cell phone-each, but we could ignore them if we wanted to.

Even though it's freezing cold here, my friend & I met at DQ for ice cream. Mostly, we just needed a warm, quiet place to talk and laugh our butts off. I am blessed with wonderful friends. This one is a fellow homeschooler, who shares being born in September, having two kids, belongs to the same homeschool groups. She is someone I can talk to and be myself. We are both totally in love with our husbands, so even if we have a little annoyance we need to tell the other one about, we know that we are totally thankful for the men God gave us. We laugh about the kids, and sometimes the husbands, antics. We can discuss politics and not argue. I know that I left last nights Mom's Night Out refreshed and ready to tackle bedtime at home.

Back home, everyone was happy to see me & I was happy to see them. This kids & I read three chapters of The Adventure Girls at the K Bar O Ranch, which put us a little past regular bedtime, but we were all dying to find out the end of the book. The Husband wanted to hear all about Girl's Night Out. Did I complain about him? No! What did we talk about? All sorts of things.

The Husband & I have had the most wonderful talks and discussions while doing the Fireproof Couples Study. I must say though, we always have the most wonderful talks in the middle of the night/early morning. For some reason, when we both wake up in the middle of the night and start talking, we cannot stop. We talk about everything. We have such great talks, not just about the everyday workings of married life, but really deep talks.

My mother-in-law has said how wonderful it is that all of her married kids are friends with their spouses. She can see that we really enjoy each other and have fun together. I must say, we do. There have been some rough stubborn times and also adjustments, like when we had each child, but I adore my husband even more than when we were dating.

I am excited for our 10th anniversary this year. I was telling my friend at Girls Night Out, that 10 years does not seem so long to me. My friend said that 10 years was pretty long these days. I explained to my friend that I always compare marriage to my great-grandparents. They were married 73 years and 11 months before grandma went to heaven. Grandpa joined her a month later to celebrate their 74th anniversary. I wrote an article on them for my Feature Writing class in college. Oh, I treasure that. They were still here to interview in person. Grandma died the week Thomas & I were married.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Preparing for the Mini-Conference

I've been working a lot this week on preparing to speak at a Home School Conference for the first time. It's only a mini-conference for our local home school support group, but I am excited that I was asked to speak. I do feel like I have a wealth of knowledge to share for one who is not considered a veteran home schooler (you know, those who've been home schooling for 15 or 20 years). I wrote up an Ad/Teaser to share with the group, because my class title is kind of vague, and we don't seem to be getting the interest the mini-conference was expected to have. Though, I wonder if part of that is the date. Why did we pick Valentine's Day for the mini-conference? What were we thinking? I know I was there for the original planning meeting....???

Anyway, here's my Ad:

Do you like to save money?
Has the economy got you down?
Are you home schooling on a budget?
Would you like to get curriculum for FREE?
Have you been wanting to try unit studies or lapbooking,
but don't know where to start?
Would you like to home school with practically no money
and still choose your own curriculum?

If you answered "yes" to more than one of these questions, then
Homeschooling on a Shoestring and Lapbooking
is the class for you!

I'll even show you how to home school with a shoestring!

Yes, I'm actually going to show my class how to home school with a shoestring. Most of it will be how to use the library, unit studies, lapbooking, free downloads, free websites, and other free curriculum opportunities to home school well, fun, and effectively for cheap.

I'm thinking of adding a lot of my info to the blog, both for others and myself. I would love to have the information in a more easily accessible format than I currently have. I have a lot of work to do, but when I'm done with my conference notes, I should have things pretty much organized. Though, I'm not sure how to add all that to the blog. I have a couple of friend who might help. ;)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Thoughts on the Presidency and Vows

I've been alive for six presidents now, counting the one sworn in today. I have voted in four elections (ever since I was old enough to vote). I've voted, and my candidate has won. I've also voted, and my candidate has lost.

Since this year was an election year, we've studied the Presidents in our home school. I've learned more about the Presidents of the United States this year by teaching my children, than I ever forgot from my own education in the public school. We started with The President's Rap, from The Essential Raps by Ron Clark, which is a rap song that teaches the presidents from 1 to 43 with added Presidential Facts! Did you know that President William Harrison (#9) only served 30 days? So, after we all had the Presidents memorized in order, we began to study about each one. We're currently on #6, John Quincy Adams. Did you know that Quincy is actually supposed to be pronounced Quin-zee, not Quin-see? Oh, the things I've learned!

Not to mention all the things of learned about the hearts and minds of our fore fathers. I completely agree with President Washington that political parties only cause discord. He was so right to stand his ground and not join a party. I have never joined one myself, and will continue to vote for who I believe is the best person for the job.

I now have a great understanding of patriotism and the heart of this great country of ours. I did not vote for our current President Obama, but I found myself in tears watching the ceremony today on television. I can only compare this to how people cry at weddings. Once you understand what those vows mean, I can't help but be brought to tears (at least the brink of them) at a wedding ceremony. The same happened with the oath of office, other speeches and prayers today. I hope and pray the President Obama means and understands every word he pledged.

My husband and I are doing the Fireproof study for couples (based on the movie Fireproof). If you haven't seen Fireproof, it comes out on DVD January 27th. I will be buying it, but I encourage everyone to see it...rent it a Redbox (probably you should reserve it), or just buy it. The movie is wonderful! The part of the study we just completed was on marriage vows. The information talked about covenants, and what marriage vows really mean. They are not temporary, or reliant on what your spouse does for you. When a person makes a vow, that vow is 100% on them, no matter what the other person does. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. McVey, taught us that "You are responsible for your own actions." She was one smart lady. I didn't understand for the first five or six years of marriage that my contentment and responsibilities to my vows were not contingent upon how I thought my husband was holding up his vows. Thank God, He showed me the light!

I also thank God that we live in the United States of America. President Obama is not a dictator, he is a leader. We have checks and balances. We have three branches of government. We have the right to vote.

"When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it.
He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it."
Ecclesiastes 4-5 NIV

Friday, January 16, 2009

Momma Baby Steps

Oh, there are so many things I have been wanting to write about. I love to write & I miss journaling. My head is always writing something... a letter, a story, an article, and now posts. Getting them written is the challenge! I decided I'm making Friday my blog day. Hopefully, in the future I can manage to write more often. I truly love writing. Writing is cathartic for me. Right now, I just can't seem to eek out the time to write more often. So, this is one of my Momma Baby Steps.

You know, a girl has to start somewhere. I'm trying to get back into the swing of working out again, but I can only seem to manage one day a week on the treadmill. That's okay for now...Momma Baby Steps. I started doing yoga again, and I can usually manage at least a partial session of that each morning. I think I'm getting in a full yoga workout every other day. I'm alright with that.

I learned last year that I wasn't doing a very good job of taking care of me. So, I'm working on that by taking baby steps. I'm taking bubble baths and enjoying them. I really enjoy incense in the bathroom. I have a crazy large supply of it, because I used to buy it whenever I found some that I like the smell of. So, I'm enjoying incense with my bubble baths again...at least once a week.

There's lots more I could write about, but I promised the kids I would be upstairs as quick as possible, and this little bit feels pretty good for today!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Keeping Your New Years Commitments

The blog title is from the Friday Heart of the Matter Online Meme. I've been thinking & composing in my mind what my first blog post would be, but still not writing anything. This seemed like a good a start as any. Bear with me, because I'm not very technologically inclined.

I don't always make a New Years Resolution, but I inadvertently did this year. We (my family & I) wrote a New Years Letter this year, instead of a Christmas Letter. This is an excerpt from it:
I have learned this year that I need to slow down, and enjoy life, and all the wonderful people in mine; I thank God for all of them, including His Son, the greatest Teacher I am privileged to know and call Friend.
So, that's my resolution for 2009: I resolve to slow down, and enjoy life, and all the wonderful people in my life. A deep sigh comes with that, because it's easier said than done in 2009.

This week my daughter said, "Mom, I wish we weren't so busy." I replied with, "I wish we weren't either." Truly, I wish we were not so busy. At this point, in the middle of a school year, I find myself wishing I could start back in August, or July, and change some decisions and commitments. I'll do my best to slow down, even if I can't change the past.

My New Years Resolution goes along with the inspiration for the title of my blog, which is the song The Basics of Life, by the group 4 Him. I turned on the radio on New Years Day and that was the song playing. The song never gets old for me, and the words of the chorus always ring true:

"We need to get back to the basics of life,
A heart that is pure and a love that is blind,
A faith that is fervently grounded in Christ,
The hope that endures for all time,
These are the basics, we need to get back to the basics of life"

As a home school family, you'd think we have lots of slow time, but this was the first day all week that the only place we had to be was home. I often wish for a previous generation's slower pace. Finding that slower pace, I believe, involves getting back to the basics.

When I wake up in the morning I need to remember that God is the only one who can give me everything I need. I shouldn't expect my husband, or my children, to give me anything. Whatever I get from them is bonus. Without Christ I can do nothing, but with Christ all things are possible.

Our church has a sort of motto: Love God, Love Others, Serve Both. I learned this year from studying "To Love, Honor and Vacuum", by Sheila Wray Gregoire, with Lori at The Heart of the Matter, what the difference between being a servant like Jesus was and a sub-servant is (which is not a good thing). In the "other" category my family has to come first. I've told my children more than once that we should treat each other at least as good, or better, than we treat people outside our family. I know my mother said the same thing to my brother, sister, and I when we were children. Which means, I need to serve my family first. If I can't do things first for my family, I don't think I should be out trying to love & serve someone else.

God gave me my children to love, serve, teach, and be an example to first. They are my ministry in this season of life. I need to pour out the blessings I get from God on them (and my husband!) first. I know that when I do, those blessings spill over onto so many other people.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" Ecclesiates 3:1 NIV