Do you want something simple to give to friends and neighbors?  Here are some quickies; if you have more time you might like Candy Cane Bread, shaped and decorated like a candy cane.  
Recipes for the fudge and the gingerbread syrup are below.

For the jars to pour syrup in, I save jars through the year: spaghetti sauce jars, pickle jars, jelly jars,baby food jars, peanut butter containers (don't use those for anyone with peanut allergies!)...
After Christmas, anything that didn't get used gets put in the recycle bin, and I have cupboard space once again!

Cherry-Almond Fudge

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
7 oz. marshmallow creme (may use 7 oz. marshmallows instead)
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. cherry flavor  (I used wild cherry, and it was amazing!)
1/4 c. dried cherries or cranberries, finely chopped
1/2 c. almonds, chopped

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment or foil; butter well if using foil.  Set aside.  Combine the sugar and milk in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring often, then boil for 3 minutes.  Pull off the heat, then add marshmallow creme, chocolate chips, almond and cherry extracts, and dried cherries.  Stir until smooth.  Pour into prepared pan, and sprinkle with chopped nuts.  
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm, then cut into squares.  Store airtight at room temperature.

Makes just over 2 pounds.


Gingerbread Syrup 
(notice this recipe is basically the same as above, only without the marshmallow, and with extra milk to make it pourable)  If you don't have cinnamon chips, use white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips, then add 1-2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, to taste.


2 c. sugar (can use brown sugar for deeper flavor, or add 1 Tbsp. molasses)
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. milk
12 oz. cinnamon chips (I used Hershey's brand)
1 tsp. ground ginger OR 1 drop ginger essential oil
1/2 tsp. ground cloves OR 1 toothpick of clove oil
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. pecans, toasted and finely chopped

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and milk to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.  Stir in cinnamon chips, ginger, cloves, salt, and stir until smooth.  Stir in pecans, then pour syrup into jars.  Store in the refrigerator.  Warm before serving.  (If too thick, microwave briefly.)

Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

This is a fun thing to put in kids' lunches.  Peanut butter dip has all the familiar flavor, but is smooth and creamy, like good frosting.  Just not as sweet.  It's great with carrots or bananas.  It takes just two ingredients if you use regular (sweetened) peanut butter: equal amount of peanut butter and water.  Yep.  That's it.

Just so you know- creamy peanut butter is a little easier to mix with the water, but you can use either.  Depends on if you like little crunchy bursts of peanut.

Do you ever use Pedialyte or sports drinks for sick children?  Below are some homemade, very inexpensive, and fully functional substitutes.

 We've had an impressive virus at our house lately; my 7-year-old ran a fever for an entire week (with an ear infection on top of it), and now the 4-year-old has the fever-causing virus.  Younger children get dehydrated so easily, so mine get a water bottle to keep with them at all times while sick- but it's "lemonade" water.  It really is lemonade, a little on the weak side and with salt.  I add a couple things to their water bottle, and it helps replenish the minerals and salts they lose while fevering. It tastes better to them than plain water, which helps, too.

I prefer the lemon- if you have fresh it's fantastic-, and lemon seems a little easier on upset tummies than the orange juice.  Lemon is also supposed to help alkalinize your body and cleanse the liver, both of which may help you recover faster.  The salt really is important*.  If you use unrefined coarse or sea salt, you'll also be adding critical trace minerals. (If you only have refined salt, I understand, it's OK, just not as good for our purposes here.)    For the sweetener, I use raw honey because that's what I have in my pantry.  Don't use honey if you're making this for a child under 1 year old because of possibility for botulism.  Sugar can be substituted, but doesn't have the trace minerals that honey does.  If your child likes the flavor of molasses, that's even more nutritious than honey.  My next batch will use blackstrap molasses- the amount of minerals in there are amazing!  And, after all, nutrition is the name of the game when someone's sick! This drink can also be frozen to make ice cubs or popsicles.
Note:  blackstrap molasses is not very sweet at all, and is somewhat of an acquired taste.  If I make some for myself, I tolerate the flavor, but for my children, I use no more than 1 Tbsp. blackstrap and 1 Tbsp. honey.  Using regular molasses is much more palatable to children, and even then I recommend using half molasses and half honey.

Lemon Electrolytes

16-oz  bottle of  water
3 Tbsp lemon juice or juice from 1 lemon (grapefruit juice works too)
1/8 tsp. unrefined salt
2 Tbsp. honey and/or molasses 

Pour about 1/2 cup of water out of the bottle (you're drinking it, not dumping it, right? :)  Add the lemon juice, salt, and honey or molasses. Put the lid on and shake hard.

If you want to mix up a bigger batch to keep in the fridge, use 1 quart of water, 1/2 c. lemon juice, 1/4- 12 tsp. unrefined salt, and 1-6 Tbsp. honey or molasses.  Makes a little more than a quart.

Orange Electrolytes

One 16-oz water bottle, half  full
1/8 tsp. unrefined salt
1 tsp to 1 Tbsp. honey or molasses
about 1 cup orange juice

Add salt and honey/molasses to the bottle, put the lid on and shake hard until mixed well.  Fill the bottle up the rest of the way with orange juice.

Bigger batch: 2 c. water, 2 c. orange juice, ¼- ½ tsp. unrefined salt, 1 Tbsp. honey or molasses.


*The recommended salt amount varies from 1/4 per quart to 1 tsp. per quart. Since I'm feeding this to children, I use the lower amount.  Recipe sources I looked at include the University of Connecticut Health Center, The Rehydration Project, Southern Utah University, LiveStrong.com, and http://www.cheekybumsblog.com/2012/04/living-naturally-homemade-electrolyte-drink-move-over-pedialyte/

Nutrition facts:
lemon juice: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1939/2 
orange juice: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1973/2
honey: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5568/2
molasses: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5573/2  
blackstrap molasses: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=118&tname=foodspice

Tonight I stood in the kitchen with my 10-year-old daughter; I kneaded bread rhythmically on the counter while she prepared pumpkin for the first time, scooping out seeds, cutting carefully into cubes to be steamed.  We had music playing in the corner, Handel's masterpiece "Messiah" emanating from a  pink Barbie CD player.   Nevermind that my daughter was in charge of the pumpkin because she'd poked holes in it with a pencil (a smiley face, but now it wouldn't store through the winter) or that it was 11pm and both of us would have liked to been asleep.  Some days the schedule just goes out the window.  But as I showed her what to do - and not do!- then watched while she eagerly and carefully cut the pumpkin- I had the feeling I think every mother gets every now and again.  The feeling that this  is what life is about.  Joy in learning.  Joy in being with family.  Joy in seeing abilities and confidence bloom in someone you love.  Joy in working together, in passing skills on to the next generation, and in helping them see the results of honest effort.  Joy in beautiful music and gratitude for those who created such uplifting works.  Joy in my Savior, his life and example.    
Joy to the world!  -for all these joys are available to everyone to some degree.

If you'd like to hear the whole Messiah- which is the best way to hear and understand its message- here you go.
Notice the music above is over two hours long... it's the entire work.  Handel wrote this in only 24 days- hundreds of pages of music for choir and instruments. It was written to help the listeners understand more about Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  The lyrics are taken directly from the Old and New Testament, and go through His life, from before his birth, clear through his sufferings, Atonement, resurrection, and glory.  A good, short video giving some of the background can be found here, or see a fantastic blog post here.  I love to feel the power of the music and the message.    At one point while this music was being composed, a friend came to visit and found Handel sobbing with emotion after writing the Hallelujah chorus. Handel is quoted as saying "I did think I did see all heaven before me and the great God himself."   It is customary to stand while that chorus is sung... but did you know the chorus is referring to Christ's Second Coming?  The scriptures this chorus comes from are Revelations 19:6, 16, and 11:15.  It, like the "Christmas" song Joy To the World (which Handel wrote the music for), are really a celebration of the future day when Christ rules as the righteous King of kings. (You can read more about the background of the custom of standing here.)
  He signed the work "S.D.G":  Soli Deo gloria, or "glory to God alone".

Most people claim the best-known bit, the "Hallelujah Chorus", as their favorite, but the two below are my favorites.

Between helping a sick 7-year-old catch up on homework, driving the carpool today, running kids to appointments, and half of them needing to be at their church youth activities an hour later, I needed an easy and quick dinner tonight.  I had a batch of bread dough rising, so I heated the oven to 450 F, took a loaf's worth of dough, rolled it out to fit a greased cookie sheet, and baked it for ten minutes.  While it cooked, I pulled out shredded cheese, opened a can of olives and one of pineapple, and stirred together some red sauce: 1/3 c. tomato powder, 2/3 c. hot water, and 1/4 tsp. salt (or use one 8-oz can of tomato sauce), then spices to taste: a few good shakes of oregano, basil, black pepper, onion powder, a pinch of fennel... whatever you have and smells good with it. 
Spread the sauce on the hot pizza crust, sprinkle on the toppings, then put under the broiler for two minutes, until bubbling.  If you want a few more mixing/cooking details, see this other post.

Since I'd only used part of the can of pineapple and also had some coconut milk in the fridge, I made Pina Colada:   

1 (20 oz.) can of pineapple (or almost a can, in this case)
1/2 cup coconut milk (or use 2-3 Tbsp. shredded coconut and 1/3 c. water)
Half a tray of ice cubes or one handful
1 Tbsp. mild molasses
1 drop lime essential oil or 1/4 tsp. lime zest (optional but adds just the right touch)

Combine in a blender; turn on high until smooth.  Add a little sugar or honey if it's not sweet enough.

I didn't use any more sugar; the lime boosted the flavor enough that the drink didn't really need anything else.

To the pizza and drink, add a salad or other vegetable, and there's supper!

Ever since I tried a Mango-Orange-Banana smoothie at a little ice cream joint in Logan, mango with orange has been a favorite combination.  We make our own version of that original smoothie, which our kids call "Dad's Famous Mango-Orange Smoothie"- because he's the one who makes it the most often.  Maybe I'll post that recipe sometime.  (Meanwhile, it's in The Chameleon Cook- you could always buy one from me!)

Anyhow, waffles or pancakes are the standard Saturday morning breakfast around here, and the typical American pancake syrup is way too sweet for our liking- or at least too sweet for the mom in me.   As a result, we have all kinds of things to go on our pancakes- Apple Cider Syrup, homemade Elderberry jelly thinned with some water, a can of peaches drained and pureed then spiked with a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg, Golden Delicious apples sauteed in a bit of butter and stirred with a little brown sugar, ... and this, today.  

I was more than a little surprised to find frozen mango chunks at our local dollar store.  It sure saves time peeling then cutting the fruit away from a large pit.  The 10-ounce bag I bought from Dollar Tree is enough for two batches of this.

Mango-Orange Sauce
Makes about 1 3/4 cups

1 cup mango chunks
1 1/2 c. orange juice
2 Tbsp. instant clear jel* or Ultra Gel
1-2 Tbsp. honey or sugar
a couple drops orange essential oil, optional

Put everything in a blender or food processor, and turn on high until smooth.
If your mango is frozen, this mixture will be pretty thick at first.

Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream or sour cream, or a dollop of vanilla yogurt.**The Instant Clear Jel thickens the sauce. If you can't find it, substitute 1 Tbsp. cornstarch OR 2 Tbsp. flour, then bring the sauce to a boil to thicken it.  
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To make the waffles, use the Basic Quickbread Formula with 2 c. liquid, 1/2 c. oil, 2 T. sugar, and whip the egg whites.  This ends up looking like this:

Waffles
Makes 6-8 waffles

2 cups buttermilk, OR kefir, OR milk mixed with 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 eggs, separated
1/4-1/2 c. oil OR melted butter or coconut oil
2 cups flour (I use whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat your waffle iron/s.  Beat the egg yolks with buttermilk and oil.  Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar, and stir until just a few lumps remain.  Batter will be a little bit thin. With clean beaters in a clean grease-free bowl, beat the egg whites until medium-stiff peaks form.  Fold them into the batter.  Cook in waffle irons, using about 1/2 cup batter apiece- depending on how big the waffle iron is!    If waffles aren't being eaten as fast as they come out, put them on a cooling rack so they don't get soggy as quickly.

This is a dairy-free version of sweetened condensed milk, using honey as the sweetener.  For some other ways to make a substitute for sweetened condensed milk, including some with dairy, see here. 
It doesn't need cooked, which not only makes it super fast to make, but is great if you want to use raw honey and keep the enzymes.
Due to the fiber in this recipe, it won't be as smooth as the store product, but it is still thick, creamy, and sweet. 

This has one rather obscure ingredient: coconut butter.  That, however, is super easy to make, and will store at room temperature for a long time.  Months, at least.  
Coconut butter is plain, unsweetened coconut ('macaroon coconut') that has been pureed in a blender or food processor for several minutes, until it becomes liquid and creamy.  It, like coconut oil, will solidify at temperatures under about 75 F, but can be gently heated to liquefy again.  If you make your own, use at least 2 cups of coconut to begin with so there's enough in the blender or bowl to puree.  This much will give you about 1 cup of coconut butter.  If you want other ideas on using this coconut butter, see here or the Tropical Traditions recipe blog, where they call it Coconut Cream Concentrate.

No-cook Honey-Sweetened Condensed (coconut) Milk
Makes about 14 ounces

2/3 c. honey (7 oz. by weight)
1/4 c. plus 1 Tbsp. water, warm but not hot
1/2 c. coconut butter (also known as coconut cream concentrate), warmed


Add the warm water and coconut cream to the liquid measuring cup you have the honey in. Whisk together.

Mixture will thicken as it cools to room temperature, but can be used right away.

To thicken faster, cover and put it in the fridge.

This can be used any way that you'd use regular sweetened condensed milk, EXCEPT in the no-bake cheesecakes that call for lemon juice.  It won't thicken up properly there, because the condensed (dairy) milk thickens by the lemon juice curdling it.  Coconut milk doesn't.

Try it with the Two-Minute Fudge recipe!
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One tablespoon of this sweetened condensed milk contains 1g of fiber, 1g of protein, 7g fat, and 19g sugars.  The regular canned stuff has no fiber, 3g protein, 3g fat, and 22g sugar.

So this recipe is higher in fat, but it's a healthy fat.  It's lower in sugar, plus contains coconut fiber, which has shown an ability to reduce the glycemic load of foods by slowing glucose release.

Do you always have problems making crust?  Or maybe your great-aunt's favorite recipe works fine one year, but not the next?   This recipe may solve the problem for you.  When water soaks into flour, it creates gluten, which is fantastic for bread but makes pastry tough.     The method below 'protects' some of the flour from soaking, by coating it with fat.  This crust turns out flaky and tender, as long as you don't overwork the dough after adding the last flour and the water.   Just remember- cold and quick.  Keep it cold, handle it quickly so it doesn't get tough.  Cold and quick.  And yes, you need to spoon the flour to measure it.  If you don't, you'll have different amounts of flour packed into the cup each time.  It makes a big difference here.


If you need a pie recipe, check out the Holiday Pies post.


Rolled-out Crust 
This makes a single crust.  Recipe can be doubled.

1 ¼ c. flour, spooned in to measure, then leveled off
¼ tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening or coconut oil, or 6 T. cold butter, sliced
¼ c. cold water

Combine 3/4 c. of the flour with salt and shortening.  Mix with an electric mixer for 30 seconds, until it is a paste and just starts to clump.  Add remaining flour, mix in a couple short bursts just til evenly mixed.  Sprinkle with water, a fourth at a time, lightly mix until it holds together when you grab a handful.  Form into a ball, wrap, and chill 30 minutes.  (You can freeze it at this point, too.)  Chilling helps gluten relax, re-firm the fat, reduce sticking, and keep from shrinking.  Roll out on floured surface, shape, fill, bake. Less handling= less gluten= more tender.

When the recipe tells you to blind bake, do you really need to weight the pie crust?

The crust on the left was lined with foil or parchment (either works), then filled with wheat kernels to hold the pastry in place while it baked.  The crust on the left WAS the same size before baking- but with nothing to hold it, the sides schlumped down, shrinking the crust.  This essentially changed a 9" crust into an 8" crust!

If your crust bakes up lower on one side than another, you don't have to be content with putting less filling in it. Fold a piece of waxed paper, parchment, or foil in half to double its thickness, then use it as a dam on the low side.  Leave it there until after the filling has chilled and set, then pull it out.  Now would be a good time to add a whipped cream border!

Still don't want to mess with pie pastry?

Try a shortbread crust, crumb crust, or cookie crumb crust.
Or skip making a crust, and make this Impossible Pumpkin Pie!

Just for fun...

because I hate being stuck in a rut.
Because I like to make things fun sometimes.
Because this takes almost no effort!

Since there is a group of us eating breakfast, Igenerally we cook one bigger pot of oatmeal, then add brown sugar or honey at the table.  We'll often have some nuts either on or in the oatmeal (depending on the child) to give the breakfast enough sticking power that my kids won't be hungry an hour later.

This time I had soaked some almonds overnight, and right before serving the oatmeal, it dawned on me that the ends very much resembled eggs.  Maybe hummingbird eggs.  Except they're the wrong color.  And I won't pull out the Jordan almonds for breakfast.  Cute, anyway.  

To make this nest:
1 cup cooked plain oatmeal (or flavored, doesn't matter)
1/2- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 small handful almonds (hazelnuts or macadamias would be spectacular here!  or maybe grapes)

Put the oatmeal in the middle of the plate.  With a spoon, push to form a well in the center, just like making a well for gravy for mashed potatoes.  :-)  Sprinkle with the brown sugar, then arrange nuts in the center, wide side up.  Serve to your baby birds.  Or whoever you have.  

About six years ago I discovered my boys had a vocabulary problem.  They were using one word to describe everything that tasted good: 'heavenly'.
This bothered me for two reasons-  one, I'm sure heaven is much better than the best food, and two, they weren't expanding their vocabulary.  This was a perfect time.  So we pulled out a thesaurus and looked up 'delicious' to come up with a new word to use.  'Toothsome' had them rolling on the floor laughing, so that became the new favorite.  
I've discouraged them using 'heavenly' very often- but I'll tell you, that was the first word that popped into my head (I didn't say it!) when the first spoonful of moist, custardy, caramel-y, pumpkin dessert hit my tastebuds.  

My apologies to Heaven.
  

This is a modified version of Caramel Bread Pudding.  (The link has other ways of using up stale bread, too.)  The spices in this play a supporting role to the pumpkin flavor: just enough there to help you notice the pumpkin, not the spice.  If you want to taste the cinnamon, double or triple the amount here.

Caramel Pumpkin Bread Pudding- fills a 9x13 pan

15 slices good-quality white bread, cut into 1” pieces (about 16 cups or 20-24 ounces)- baked until crisp (about 10 minutes at 450 degrees)
1 ½ sticks butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
¼ c. honey or corn syrup  
5 tsp. vanilla, divided
2 1/2 c. half-and-half, or use the last ½ cup evaporated milk from your can (above); use whole milk for the remaining 2 cups here.   
5 large eggs
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. cinnamon  OR 2 tiny drops cinnamon essential oil
1/4 tsp. ground cloves OR 1 tiny drop clove essential oil
1/2 c. toasted nuts, optional

Melt butter and sugar together in a saucepan on medium-high heat.  Stir about 4 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.  Remove from heat and stir in cream or evaporated milk, corn syrup, and 2 tsp. vanilla.  Pour one cup of this caramel into a greased 9x13 pan.  

Set aside one more cup of caramel, to use as topping later.  

To the remaining caramel, add the half-and-half (or mixture of evaporated milk and whole milk).  Beat the eggs together, then whisk in pumpkin, cinnamon, and cloves.  Whisk in the half-and-half mixture.  Add remaining vanilla.  Fold in the bread, and let sit until soaked through, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Put bread mixture into the 9x13 pan, bake about 40-45 minutes, until the top is crisp and the custard is barely set.  Sprinkle with toasted nuts.  Serve warm, with the reserved cup of caramel drizzled on top.

Where I live, the question is less whether one should vote for Romney or Obama, and more whether voting for Romney or either Goode or Johnson is better, on principle.  

Do you have carved - or not- pumpkins sitting around now?   Or do your neighbors?  Will they share?
If you have a pumpkin farmer nearby, even better.  Their selling season is over.  If you act fast, they're often happy to let you glean for free.  If you wait, the pumpkins will likely get tilled into the ground.

 If the pumpkins are not cut, you can store them for a couple months if you like- dry (NOT sitting on cement!!), cool (under 75 F), and dark is best.  Most often my whole pumpkins stay firm and fresh until about January or February- this is at about 65 degrees F, stored off the floor and on a layer of cardboard or newspapers to absorb moisture- but I've had a Hubbard that stored until the next July, and a spaghetti squash from a year ago!

But let's say you have a pumpkin that you'd like to cook with. 

Fresh has so much more flavor than the stuff in a can from the store.  

Smaller pumpkins tend to be sweeter, bigger ones more watery.  But you can always drain off extra liquid if you need to.  Below is a slide show on how to make your own fresh puree.  You can see here for another, more detailed post on making the puree, or see previous posts on finding,choosing, buying,storing, or dehydrating them.


Click on the "Pumpkin" category on the right for recipes.

Pumpkins are one of the most inexpensive, nutritious vegetables around... right now they're under 20 cents per pound where I live.  One cup (8 oz.) of pumpkin has more than 700% of your daily Vitamin A needs, 7g fiber, 3g protein, 19% RDA for iron, 17% RDA for Vitamin C, and 6% RDA for calcium.  All this for 83 calories and about 10 cents.

We grew a few, but the garden was pretty sad in general and we ended up buying a couple for our annual pumpkin-carving party at Grandma's house.  (To tell you how bad the garden was... the only pumpkins that survived were in the SANDBOX, where one son had spilled some pumpkin guts in late spring.  Yeah.  Go figure.  They even survived our free-roaming chickens.)

So now we have several carved jack-o-lanterns to set on the front porch for Trick-or-Treating.  The day after Halloween they'll get cleaned, sliced, and either cooked or dehydrated and turned to powder. My kids are excited at the possibilities.  Their favorite is pumpkin pie, but this shake tastes just like it, in a fraction of the time!

Pumpkin Shake
1 pint vanilla ice cream (about 4 heaping ice cream scoopsful)
1 1/2  c. milk
1 1/2 Tbsp. pumpkin powder*
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice OR 1/8 tsp. cinnamon plus a dash (to taste) each ground cloves,     ginger, and/or nutmeg
2 Tbsp. brown sugar, OR molasses, OR honey

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix on high until smooth.  Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

*If you don't have pumpkin powder, use 1/2 cup plain pumpkin puree, and reduce the milk to 1 cup instead of 1 1/2 cups.

Optional mix-ins:
2 Tbsp. raisins (add before pureeing so they get finely chopped)
2-3 oz. cream cheese
2-4 Tbsp. chocolate chips

Get this recipe and many more ways to use pumpkin, free, from The Great Pumpkin Cookbook.

There's just over a week left until Voting Day...

And people here in Utah have been asking what they need to know about the proposed Utah constitutional amendments.  There is a state voting website, vote.utah.gov , where you can read what the proposed change is along with a "for" essay and an "against" one, but I think some dialogue is missing.  This is what I'd like others to know about the proposals this year:


Constitutional Amendment A-  Joint Resolution on Severance Tax  

There are a few problems I see with this proposal.
1- the budget shortfall it creates until 2044 or whenever the interest generated catches up to the annual amount pulled out of use.

2- the inflexibility of the mandate.  Do we need RULES for everything?  They tend to discourage the use of reason and common sense in each year's budget.  How about understanding and living by principles instead? Yes, there are ways to access the severance tax fund in an emergency, but this seems too restrictive for the time we're in; see #3:

3- this appears to actually TAKE from future generations:  it takes away our ability to pay down our current debt. According to the Utah Debt Clock, our state has $19.5 billion in debt.  This is where we are truly stealing from future generations.  The greater favor we can do for them is to pay off our debt now, then have our state representatives learn to stay within a budget.   

If you made $40K each year but spent $46K annually, would you put money aside into a low-yield savings account while you were $39K in debt?  Those are the numbers that Utah Debt Clock translates to. 

This proposal would most likely be a great thing if we were debt-free. But we're not.
The smart thing would be to pay off debt as fast as you could with everything available, then live within (= BELOW) our means.  That's how we prepare for the needs of future generations.
My vote: No on Constitutional Amendment A


Constitutional Amendment B- Joint Resolution on Property Tax Exemption for Military Personnel

No 'against' statement was given at vote.utah.gov.  When I called the Lieutenant Governor's office to ask why, they said those 'for' or 'against' statements must be submitted, before a certain deadline, by the senators who voted for or against it.  Nobody submitted the 'against', though there were some who did not vote for it. You can go to le.utah.gov to see who voted for or against this resolution.

This is not a matter of if I/we appreciate military sacrifices or not, though it's painted as such.  It is a matter of if an additional expense is justified in our state budget.  See budget numbers above.

This amendment proposes something that equates to a pay increase.  If it is truly justified, let's have a straightforward pay raise, then, rather than adding further complication to our tax system.  

Are our military people going to be in favor of this amendment?  Most likely.  It would be very tempting to me to push for something that exempted me from paying property tax; the only ones who like the tax are the cities and departments being handed the money to spend.   In addition, this proposal will decrease revenue, leading to "the government taxing entity" increasing property taxes on the rest of us.  I'm tired of being slowly bled to death by 'minor' fees.  They add up.  Furthermore, I will never truly own my own land, as it can be confiscated if I fail to pay property taxes.  It is not fair to say that some of us are subject to that threat and others are not.

Sympathy and gratitude do not justify further mandatory redistribution, especially in a manner that is easier to hide.  

Daniel McCay, a state representative from Riverton, voted against this resolution.  When I spoke with him, he said he voted 'no' because there are better- more straightforward- ways to deal with this than waive tax requirements. He was also concerned that this opens a new door- if we exempt active military, then what about firemen?  Police?  Teachers?  Other public sector workers? 
My vote: No on Constitutional Amendment B


Proposal for Salt Lake County Bond- Open Space, Natural Habitat, Parks, and Community Trails

This is a vote to allow additional debt of $47 million on a 20 year loan, plus interest, plus additional annual expenditures of $581,000, all paid for by tax revenue. General Obligation bonds, like this, are paid for through raising property taxes.

As of June 30, 2012, Salt Lake County itself has nearly $254 million in 'general obligation' bond debt.  This one proposal would take us to $300 million in debt. In 2004 we had $106 million in debt.  Let's not make it worse. Last year SL County paid out $21 million in interest (see chart pg. 155).
My vote: No on County Bond

This weekend I participated in a moms' retreat- our own little 'Education Week'end, you might say. (See here for one of the addresses we heard.)
We each brought food for either the dinner or brunch the next day.  Most of the ladies there try to eat very healthfully, and some of them have dietary issues like gluten intolerance, so I made a gluten-free, dairy-free (CF= 'casein free'- the protein in milk) cake. 

I actually used a cake mix- Pamela's Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix- which uses evaporated cane juice for the sugar, and organic grains.  That way everyone could eat happy.  Everybody- regular wheat-eaters included thought the cake was absolutely delicious.

By the way, this brand of cake mix makes two 8" or 9" layers.  Not all of the GF cakes mixes do.  Some, like Betty Crocker, only make one 8" layer.  So take that into consideration if you're pricing them.

GF CF German Chocolate Cake

Bake and cool one chocolate cake, using a two-layer sized gluten-free mix, or from scratch.  One good recipe is at Living Without.(This recipe calls for 1 c. coffee, to intensify the flavor- if you don't prefer to use coffee, use hot water instead and 1 Tbsp. molasses.  Reduce sugar by 1 Tbsp.)

Lower-fat, Dairy-free Coconut-Pecan Frosting (also egg-free) 
3 Tbsp. potato starch or tapioca starch, OR 5 Tbsp. rice flour
3/4  evaporated cane juice or brown sugar
1 c. coconut or rice milk
¼ c. coconut oil
¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla
½ c. pecans, toasted and chopped fine
1 c. shredded sweetened coconut, toasted

Stir together starch and sugar, then gradually mix in milk.  Add coconut oil and salt, then heat and stir over medium-high.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbling.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, pecans, and coconut, reserving 1 Tbsp each nuts and coconut for garnish.  Chill first if spreading on a tall cake, frost immediately if spreading on a sheet cake.

A couple weeks ago I received a newsletter from the American Family Association, titled
"Who Should Christians Vote For?, published October 9, 2012  
I read the letter, read the article it referenced, and then sent a response to both the letter author and article author.  Below are the original newsletter, the article link, and my response.

Please look deeply at the underlying principles in this election and the long-term results of what each candidate proposes.  Will it help limit government to what the Founders intended?  Is it truly Constitutional?   Is it right, or is it wrong?  Is it based on force, or based on choice and natural consequences?  As important as is this presidential race, however, your local elections are even more important: you have much more relative influence in those.  Please really study the candidates and issues, and then vote in a way that will strengthen the moral fiber and accountability of each citizen.  

_____________________
The newsletter: 
Dear Rhonda,There is some discussion within the Christian community about who to vote for in the upcoming elections. Some are even questioning if they should vote at all. In the race for president, on the one hand you have one man who claims to be a Christian yet supports causes and policies that clearly violate biblical morality like abortion and homosexual "marriage."

On the other hand, we have a gentleman who is a member of church that promotes a different theological doctrine than historical Christianity teaches. What to do?

I have an excellent article here, written by historian Stephen McDowell, president of the Providence Foundation, that answers this dilemma to my satisfaction. It is not short, as it is well thought out and well documented. But it answers a lot of questions in a biblical manner.

I encourage you to read and then send it out to as many people as you can.

Obama, Romney, Other: Who Should Christians Vote for in the 2012 Election?

Sincerely,

Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association

_____________________
My response:

Dr. Stephen McDowell, 
Tim Wildmon, of the American Family Association, sent me a link to your article "Obama, Romney, Other: Who Should Christians Vote for in the 2012 Election?".  It was an interesting read for me as an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called 'the Mormons'.  While I agree with the conclusion and many of the reasons in the article, I would like to set the record straight on my religion.
   
 In the article, you state "Mormonism is a non-Christian religion with fundamental theological beliefs that are contrary to Christian orthodoxy.  Mormons do say they believe the Bible and that Jesus is divine and their savior, but this is not in the same sense as Biblical Christianity."  and then later write, "Neither candidate acts like a regenerated believer who meets the qualification of fearing God as the Bible presents." 

#1, non-Christian religion
It seems self-evident that a church with a name like the one I belong to would believe in Christ, the Anointed, my Savior.   Mr. McDowell quoted Noah Webster later; I'll refer to the same man's words here.  First off, let's define Christianity.  The 1828 Webster's Dictionary, published by Noah Webster, defines a Christian as "A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety."  I study Christ's life and examples, as well as the teachings of his prophets through all ages, work to obey them, and emphatically proclaim that I am a Christian, as are other members of this church. 

#2, contrary to Christian orthodoxy
Now, about it being "contrary to Christian orthodoxy"; hopefully I've established that we are Christians, so what is the definition of 'orthodoxy'?  Let's go back to Noah Webster: orthodoxy is "a belief in the genuine doctrines taught in the Scriptures". Our church's Article of Faith #8 states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.  We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.".  In other words, I recognize the Bible as scripture, as well as the Book of Mormon.  I personally believe the genuine doctrines taught in the scriptures and try to govern my life by them.  Admittedly, a problem arises here because our doctrine differs from other Christian sects.  However, each sect's interpretation of doctrine differs from each other; who is to say which one is correct? I believe only the Spirit of God can whisper that to us. We ought to build each other up and look for the good, not tear each other down. The important parts, I believe, are that we recognize our complete dependence on our Savior's grace through his Atonement and our great responsibility to love and serve him and his children.  

#3 Jesus is divine and their savior but ... not in the same sense,
As to our recognizing Jesus as divine and our Savior, the critical points I believe are in harmony not only with the Bible but with most sects' interpretation of them.  Jesus is divine.  He is God, or rather the Son of God.  He is our Savior- he saves us from both spiritual death through our baptism and enabling us to repent and become more Christlike, and from physical death through his Resurrection and the promise of our own.  How is that not a Biblical interpretation?

#4, "Neither candidate acts like a regenerated believer who meets the qualification of fearing God as the Bible presents."  
While I disagree with some of Mitt Romney's opinions, and feel that our religion supports my viewpoint, I disagree that he acts like an unregenerated man.  How do you recognize a reborn man?  By his fruits, the degree to which the Spirit of the Lord has affected his life and his actions.  You see this in devotion to serving others, which shows his devotion to serving God.  Some of the chapters in the Book of Mormon record the words of a very righteous king in the Precolumbian Americas, King  Benjamin.  After recounting his years of service to his people, he tells them he worked hard to not only not be a burden to them, but to also avoid burdening them with heavy taxes.  He tells them this wasn't to boast, but to point out that he can face God with a clear conscience.  Then he says, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."   This man, King Benjamin, is one of our scriptural heroes and a prime example of living a Christlike life, and I think Mitt Romney will try to emulate not only some of Benjamin's finest points, but of the example of our Savior.  He has already demonstrated his willingness to help and serve others.

While I agree that Mitt Romney is likely not going to help us return completely to a non-socialist government, I can tell you that he is a Christian, he does fear God and lets that influence his life and choices, and that he has been 'born again'.  He is definitely the better choice between Obama, whose god seems to be the government, and Romney, who recognizes more that the way to true greatness is freedom and serving God and each other.

I bear you my testimony that Christ is our Savior, that he cares deeply about this nation, and that the way to return to greatness is to return to individually having God's law written in our hearts and displayed through our actions.  I invite you to read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and to read through both it and our church's website to find what we really believe.  

Sincerely,

Rhonda

This roast was was tender, juicy, and bursting with savory flavor.
You can use the same ingredients with a beef roast, or even with a whole chicken.

 It was great for our Sunday evening dinner- it happily cooked itself while we were at church. I used a 6-quart slow cooker. This made enough for all 8 of us, plus some leftovers to pack in lunches.

So... I've listed the ingredients I used- but I rarely make this kind of food exactly the same way twice.  Use whatever vegetables you have- potatoes would be really good, but we had mashed potatoes on the side  this time.  With this roast, the mushrooms add to the savory flavor, and the small bit of tomato adds a boost- but you can leave them out anyway if you like.  Adding a tablespoon or two of tomato paste or tomato powder would have the same result. And if you leave out the mushrooms, consider adding a couple splashes of soy sauce or Worchestershire sauce to keep that meaty flavor high.  

Rosemary Pork Roast with Vegetables
2 onions, quartered
3 lb. pork roast
4 tsp. salt, divided
6" sprig fresh rosemary OR 1 1/2- 2 Tbsp. dried rosemary
1/4 c. minced garlic chives OR use 2-4 minced garlic cloves
2 lbs. carrots
1 lb. mushrooms, quartered
1 tomato, cut in 8 wedges

Add the carrots, mushrooms, and tomato and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tsp. salt. Put the onions in the bottom of a slow cooker, then add the roast (mine was frozen SOLID).  Top the roast with garlic chives, rosemary, and 2 tsp. salt.  Add the carrots, mushrooms, and tomato and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tsp. salt.  Put the lid on, then cook on high 6 hours or until everything is tender.  If your roast wasn't frozen, it may only need 4-5 hours on high, or 6-8 on low.

Use the juices to make gravy, or just ladle them over the meat and vegetable as they're served.

If you're making homemade bread, you're bound to have a few crumbs.  Most of the crumbs come from slicing the bread, but there are always a few in the bottom of the empty bread bags, too.

It's common to just shake them into the sink or the garbage, but is there anything else!

Oh, yeah.

Since they're already dry, they don't spoil if kept fairly airtight.  I scoop them into a plastic container with a lid and save up until there's enough to do something with them.

Add to hamburger to extend it a bit
Use in  Meatballs
or Zucchini Cakes
coating for Chicken Nuggets

You can even use them as a substitute for oats or flour in recipes- 
1/2 c. crumbs = 1/2 c. rolled oats, 
1/2 c. crumbs = 1/4 c. flour

Or use them in place of graham cracker crumbs for a pie crust.  See below.

Crumb Crusts
1 ½ c. graham cracker crumbs 
¼ c. sugar 
5-6 Tbsp. melted butter 

Stir together crumbs and sugar, mix in butter. Press firmly and evenly in a 9” pie pan. Chill 1 hour OR bake at 375 degrees 6-9 minutes, til edges are brown (and it smells wonderful).  
Use a blender to crush the cookies/crackers, or a cereal box liner or big zip top baggie and a rolling pin
Breadcrumb crust:use dry breadcrumbs, increase sugar to 1/3 c. You’d never know!
Chocolate Crust: use 1 ½ c. crushed chocolate cookies (take out creme filling), don’t use the sugar in the crust recipe.
Gingersnap Crust: use all gingersnap crumbs or part gingersnap, part graham. Leave out sugar.
Nut crust: add 1/3 c. finely chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts, or other to any crumb crust.
Vanilla Crust: use crushed vanilla wafers, leave out the added sugar.

 
Try it!  (Now, won't you feel thrifty?)

They are the bane of some people's existence, the best friend of others.  Some people turn them into casseroles, but they often turn into soup at my house.

What are they?

Leftovers.

Yup, love 'em or hate 'em, we often have 'em sitting in the fridge or pantry.  That last half-cup of gravy, a lonely bowl of chili, a stack of day-old (OK, maybe several-day-old) corn tortillas...

They call out to be useful.  To be loved.  To be eaten.  Maybe disguised first.

Dinner tonight was Tortilla Soup, sort of a Mexican twist on chicken noodle soup.  So how does this tie into using leftovers?  Those dry tortillas got cut into strips, then toasted in the oven while the soup cooked.  The soup itself was made using water, some Mexican-type fat free salad dressing (like a watery lime-cilantro salsa, a great flavor base), a cup of leftover meatless chili (for fiber, heartiness, and deeper flavor), that aforementioned 1/2 cup of gravy (providing a little body and more chicken flavor), a package of frozen cooked turkey from just after last Christmas, and a can of corn (sweetness, saltiness from the 'juice', and a pleasant 'pop').  The tortilla strips were stirred in at the last minute because they disintegrate if you cook them much.  If I had any fresh cilantro or sour cream it would have gone on top as a garnish.  Cheese would be delicious there, too. 

Take a look in your fridge and see- what can you do to give those leftovers another shot at life?

Leftover Tortilla Soup  the way I made it.  Feel free to improvise; that's what this is!

10-12 corn tortillas, cut in 1/2" wide strips
1 quart water
1 (14 oz.) can whole kernel corn, WITH the juices
10-16 oz. salsa or similar
1 cup of chili or 1 (14 oz.) can of beans
2 cups cooked diced chicken or turkey

Spread tortilla strips on a baking sheet, put them in the oven about 8" under the broiler, just long enough to toast them a bit, about 2-8 minutes, depending.  (The idea is that if they're toasted, they might not disintegrate as quickly in the soup.  I might be wrong.  They at least have a better flavor when toasted.)

Combine the water, corn, salsa, beans/chili and chicken/turkey in a 3-quart or larger pan.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes to combine flavors.  Remove from heat and stir in tortilla strips.  Taste, then add salt and pepper if needed.  If it needs more flavor, a little lime juice, chopped cilantro, chicken bouillon, or chili powder would taste good.

Have fun!

I have a large freezer; this lets me stock up when perishables are on sale or overflowing in the garden.  The freezer is full of fruit, vegetables, butter, nuts, shredded cheese, and meat.
Having a freezer means extra expense to run it; to cut operating costs I have a manual-defrost freezer, which takes about 2/3 as much electricity to run.

The reason a freezer needs defrosted?  Each of the shelves in the freezer has cooling coils running through it.  Whenever you open the door, new air gets inside, and this air always has some moisture in it.  This moisture condenses on whatever is coldest- the coils- and freezes.  It gets thicker with time, and that layer of ice traps the cold.  This makes the freezer work harder and harder to cool.  Ice blanket= bad.   
 
Defrosting every 6 months is usually about right.  It's a little hassle, but pulling everything out reminds me of what all is in there. Seeing it all again= good.  

At any rate, you're trying to melt all the ice out of the freezer while NOT letting all that food thaw.  There are some tricks I've learned along the way to help with that.  Watch the slide show above to learn them.