Nancy on the Home Front

Goal Setting Update Week 33

Much as I loved our vacation it is so nice to be back home! Now to finish up the year strong and complete the rest of my goals! Here is this weeks goal setting update!

Continue to monetize my blog. Thanks to all of you who have checked out my page on Amazon! I so appreciate those who have made purchases through my links and my page. Running a blog has many hidden expenses and I appreciate all of your support!

2. Create a cookbook. Vacation is over and it’s time to complete this goal! With over 400 recipes to put into a document this is a time consuming goal. Of all of my goals this is the one I look forward to giving you my goal setting update and saying this one is complete!

goal setting, recipe box, recipes, prudent living

3. Have 20 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. Now that we are back home it is time to resume our daily walks. This past weekend was the Elephant Garlic Festival in our little town. They even had a car show on the main street of town. I love when they close down the street for special events!

4. Explore ~~ten~~ 3 parks or hiking trails in the state of Washington or Oregon! No new parks this week. Time to plan a few day trips. Love having these goal setting weeks to keep me motivated to accomplish my goals!

5. Incorporate 20 2 new recipes into our dinner plans with the focus on healthy eating. No new recipes to report this week. Last week was too hectic with getting home and getting back into the routine of planning meals and shopping!

6. Read 35 7 new books this year. Finished the book The Pull of The Moon by Elizabeth Berg. It wasn’t my favorite book by this author but I did enjoy it. I also finished a quick read on the airplane ride home. It was a fun book called The Hot Flash Club , by Nancy Thayer. Very light reading, what I call a beach read! Perfect for the long flight home.

7. Complete ~~Four~~ 1 knitting or sewing projects this year. Just one more project to complete this year. However knitting has been put on hold until the weather cools off.

8. Visit family on the west coast. No new plans to visit extended family on the west coast. Instead we’ll be heading to Washington state to celebrate our youngest granddaughter’s birthday!

9. Explore ~~Six~~ 4 new museums in the area. No new museums this week. Hopefully we’ll get back on track in the next couple of weeks.

10. ~~Find A New Home~~ COMPLETED! Wonderful to have this goal completed! Our new house is finally feeling much more like our home. The majority of the unpacking is behind us and we just have some art work to hang on the walls. So nice to have this goal completed!

“The measure of a great life is whether it matches your dream.“
Marie Forleo, Entrepreneur

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site.

For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Nancy On The Home Front.

Visiting New England

Recently we spent several weeks visiting New England. Although I have lived in several different areas of the country I was born and raised in New England and for me it will always be home.

What do I like about New England? I love the old homes that you see walking around our hometown of Guilford, CT. Imagining what it must have been like to leave your homeland for a new country and settling in an unknown country.

I also love the water. I was raised on salt water and am very comfortable swimming and boating on the water. My husband was also raised knowing how to use boats, both sailing and motorboats. He is happiest when on the water!

Spending time on any body of water is special and appreciated. Whether enjoying an afternoon with friends on a lake or relaxing at the beach. I just love being on the water.

Watching our grandchildren playing on rocks that have been enjoyed by five generations of my family was a memory in itself. I remember playing on these rocks as a child and then watching our children collect snails and search for crabs under the same rocks. Now my grandchildren had the opportunity to play on the same rocks! I think they could have spent the afternoon just looking for crabs and snails and small fish. It’s a special place indeed.

Of course spending time with family and extended family was so wonderful. Just all being together and enjoying relaxing time together was so special. Many memories were created and I hope the young ones never forget this special time we had together.

We tried to see as many of our friends and family that we could. Now that we live so far away I appreciate the times we can get together.

All too soon we were enjoying our last sunset on the east coast and getting ready to fly back to our home on the west coast. I love where we now call home but I will always enjoy visiting New England.

Lentil and Quinoa Pilaf

Looking for a vegetarian side dish? This Lentil Quinoa Pilaf could even be used as your main meal. The recipe makes 2 servings but could easily be increased to feed more. This simple meal comes together in under a half an hour.

We’ve been trying to eat less meat this summer and this lentil and quinoa pilaf made a perfect meal. Lentils not only provide protein but are a good source of fiber. Quinoa is an excellent plant based protein source as well, providing 4.4g of protein. You won’t need to worry about feeling hungry after this filling meal.

Lentil and Quinoa Pilaf

Ingredients:

3 tsp. Olive oil
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
½ medium onion, diced
½ medium red pepper, diced
½ tsp. Paprika
¼ tsp. Cumin
½ tsp. Turmeric
½ cup cooked quinoa
½ cup cook lentils
3 tsp. Lemon peel
3 tsp. Lemon juice
4 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over medium high heat. Add the carrot, celery, onion, red pepper, paprika, cumin and turmeric. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the quinoa, lentils, lemon peel, lemon juice and parsley to the cooked vegetables, heat over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is heated through. Serve.

We did not have any leftovers after making this dish, but I imagine if you did have any leftovers they would be delicious the next day as well.

Composting is Easy! Give it a Try!

You may remember that one of the first things we set up in our backyard of our new home was a home composter. Well it hasn’t been that long and already we are producing compost. Composting is easy!

Our few gardens need all the enrichment they can get. I think the house was built and the majority of the soil was scraped away. I can’t wait to add our beautiful black compost to the garden beds. I think the plants will be very happy.

Over the weeks we have been adding kitchen food scraps (no meat or cooked food), lawn clippings and the various weeds I pull from the garden. We’ve also been adding some of the extra mulch that was piled too high around our fence. If we don’t move the compost from the fence the wood is going to rot. As we added ingredients to the composter we would occasionally give it a spin to mix everything up. So much easier than doing it by hand the way we used to hand turn our compost piles in Vermont.

By adding our food scraps and lawn clippings to our composter we are sending less to the landfill. As the nutrients are returned to the soil, phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen and many trace minerals are released back to the soil for better plant growth.

In the fall we will add leaves to the compost bin as well. The benefit of using a tumbler is that the compost is produced much quicker than by the conventional bin system. We were told it would only take 3-6 weeks and they were right. The consistent rotating of the compost both aerates and heats contents to a fast finished compost.

If you haven’t tried composting yet now is the time to give it a try. Composting is easy and the benefits are numerous.

Goal Setting Week 32 Update

By the time you read this post we will be on our way home. I am looking forward to getting back to my regular routine and updating my goal setting week from home rather than on the road! However we had a fabulous time with family and friends and it was so hard to say good bye to everyone!

Continue to monetize my blog. This is my ongoing goal. Have you taken the time to check out my page on Amazon? This page is where I put all the items I just love, from favorite cookbooks to gardening tools. Please check it out. I do thank all of your who have taken the time to check out my Amazon page and purchased from the various links in my bog posts. It is slowly paying off and it’s nice to have some money coming in to pay for the expenses of blogging.

2. Create a cookbook. This week this goal is moving to the front. Time is flying by and if I want to accomplish this goal this year I have to make it a top priority! I look forward to updating my goal setting week when this goal is accomplished!

3. Have 20 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. Hopefully this goal will be a routine. While on vacation it was not a problem, we were with swimming, riding bicycles or walking everyday! Now that we are back home I have to continue.

5. Incorporate 20 2 new recipes into our dinner plans with the focus on healthy eating. Spent the last week with our oldest daughter and she made a fabulous Vegan Noodle Salad. I think I could eat this for the rest of the summer, it was so delicious!

6. Read 35 9 new books this year. Racing to finish the book The Pull of The Moon by Elizabeth Berg. I thought I would do a lot more reading while on vacation. It just didn’t happen. By the time I crawled into bed at night I was too tired to read. Problem is I have several library books on my kindle that have to be finished before they have to be returned.

7. Complete ~~Four~~ 1 knitting or sewing projects this year. Just one more project to complete this year. However knitting has been put on hold until the weather cools off.

8. Visit family on the west coast. What a fantastic time we had visiting family and friends on the east coast. Now we’ll have to make plans to visit some extended family on the west coast!

9. Explore ~~Six~~ 4 new museums in the area. Not sure if this counts but we visited the Yale Peabody Natural History Museum. I had visited this museum often as a children and then again with our own children. So you can imagine how much fun it was to visit the museum with our grandchildren!

“The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact, those people have goals.“
Seth Godin

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site.

For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Nancy On The Home Front.

Summer Jam: Blueberry Lime Jam

I love the taste of homemade summer jam in the middle of the winter. It brings back such memories of summertime and the abundance of fresh berries. I’m always looking for jam recipes with a slight twist, an unusual ingredient or flavor. Previously I have made Strawberry Fig Jam, today I am making Blueberry Lime Jam. This recipe has a hint of lime in it, which makes it taste ever so refreshing. The recipe makes about six 8-ounce jars. Perfect for stocking your pantry or for gift giving.

We may not have our own blueberry bushes now but we are in a very agricultural region of Oregon with all sorts of berries and nut trees everywhere. Thankfully there is no shortage of pick your own blueberries! I will fill our freezer and pantry one way or another!

Blueberry Lime Jam

Ingredients

4 ½ cups crushed blueberries
Grated zest and juice of 1 large lime
1 package of regular powdered fruit pectin (1.75oz)
5 cups of granulated sugar

Directions

Before you start prepare your canner, jars and lids.

In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine berries, lime zest and lime juice. Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary by adding hot jam. Wipe rim. Center the lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Removed canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

In the middle of the cold winter months enjoy the fresh taste of this jam on your homemade bread.

Making Your Own Mint Extract

I use vodka each year to make my own homemade vanilla; I’ve also used vodka to make sour cherry cordial. This year I decided to try making mint extract. Since I’m not growing my own mint yet in our new garden I found an excellent source of mint at the local Farmer’s Market. In making your own mint extract you only need two ingredients mint leaves and vodka. What could be easier?

Mint Extract

Ingredients

1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 ½ to 2 cups of vodka

Directions

Rinse the mint and pat dry. Remove the leaves from the stems. Crush the leaves using your hand or a wooden spoon.You will need 1 cup of crushed mint leaves. Place the leaves in a clean pint size jar. Fill the rest of the jar with your vodka. You want the mint leaves to all be covered.

Put a tight lid on the jar and store in a dark, cool place for two months. Strain the vodka and pour into some small decorative jars. Keep one for yourself and give the rest away! Making mint extract is so easy, especially if you have an abundance of mint in your garden.

Wondering how to use your extract? Use mint extract in cooking, it is a delicious addition to baked goods such as brownies, cookies and cakes. Make your own peppermint ice cream! Mint extract can be added to tea for a refreshing pick me up. You can even use it as a household cleaner, just add 2 tsp of peppermint extract to 1 cup of water and use in place of a commercial spray cleaner.

I think I’m going to have to investigate making other kinds of extracts, such as almond or orange. Have you tried making your own extracts before?

Goal Setting Week 31 Update

Enjoying our time with family and friends on the east coast! Our weather has been absolutely beautiful. Gathering everyone for a family reunion doesn’t happen very often. It is so wonderful to catch up with everyone! Not a lot of progress for this goal setting week but I am getting exercise!

Continue to monetize my blog. This is my ongoing goal. Have you taken the time to check out my page on Amazon? This page is where I put all the items I just love, from favorite cookbooks to gardening tools. Please check it out. I do thank all of your who have taken the time to check out my Amazon page and purchased from the various links in my bog posts. It is slowly paying off and it’s nice to have some money coming in to pay for the expenses of blogging.

2. Create a cookbook. Well just because I have my laptop with me doesn’t mean I’m getting work done! Sometimes it is more important to just enjoy life!

3. Have 20 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. Exercising has not been a problem. Lots of walks with friends and swimming! Even did a ten miles bike ride which was so much fun! The scenery was stunning.

4. Explore ~~ten~~ 3 parks or hiking trails in the state of Washington or Oregon! No parks this week just enjoying the beach and the biking!

5. Incorporate 20 2 new recipes into our dinner plans with the focus on healthy eating. Trying to make wise choices while on vacation is a struggle. Did make my chicken stuffed with basil and mozzarella which was a big hit.

6. Read 35 9 new books this year. No new books finished this week, who has time to read while on vacation! I am currently reading another one of Elizabeth Berg’s books called The Pull of The Moon. Just on chapter one but I think I’m going to enjoy it!

7. Complete ~~Four~~ 1 knitting or sewing projects this year. Just one more project to complete this year. However knitting has been put on hold until the weather cools off.

8. Visit family on the west coast. Loving my time on the east coast visiting family and friends. Enjoying being able to swim everyday either in a lake or the ocean. The beach is my happy place! My husband is enjoying his time on the water as well, I think his happy place is being on a boat!

9. Explore ~~Six~~ 4 new museums in the area. We may have time to visit one or two museums while on vacation. My grandson wants to go to the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven, CT. They have a full size dinosaur!

I love spending time with family and friends and I do look forward to getting home and starting a new goal setting week.

“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. .“
Earl Nightingale, Motivational Speaker

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site.

For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Nancy On The Home Front.

Sparkling Sweet Pepper Jelly

I may not have my own vegetable garden this year but there are plenty of fresh vegetables around either from our CSA or from the many Farmer’s Market’s in the area. I’m slowly working on replenishing my pantry after our cross-country move. So far I’ve made Strawberry Fig Jam and my very popular Rhubarbeque Sauce. Recently I made Sparkling Sweet Pepper Jelly. I’m looking forward to serving it this winter over cream cheese with crackers. You can use any color peppers to make this pepper jelly. I like to use a combination of sweet red, orange and yellow peppers. The pieces of red, yellow and orange pepper sparkle like jewels in the delicious jelly.

The recipe only makes 3 ½ cups so it won’t fill your pantry. If you can it in small jars you will have enough to give a few jars away as gifts.

Sparkling Sweet Pepper Jelly

Ingredients

½ cup each: evenly diced sweet red, orange and yellow pepper
¼ cup white wine vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin

Directions

Combine the peppers, vinegar and sugar in a medium stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a full boil over high heat and boil hard for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the pectin; return to a boil and boil rapidly for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Ladle into sterilized jars and process in your water bath canner as per instructions.

If you prefer a Sparkling Hot Pepper Jelly use 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced to replace the yellow or orange pepper.

This winter when the weather is cold outside we will enjoy this sparkling sweet pepper jelly in front of the fire. It will be perfect served with a slice of cheddar cheese on a cracker or with a little cream cheese.

Simple Jams: Fig Jam

After not being able to find fresh figs when I was making my Strawberry Fig Jam and having to resort to using dried figs, I am now finding an abundance of fresh figs. Simple jams are easy to make and I decided to make a batch of fig jam. I’m looking forward to enjoying this fig jam in the winter. I think it would be perfect with muffins, sourdough bread or with cream cheese.

This fig jam is made without added pectin; the figs themselves help make the jam thick.

Simple Jams: Fig Jam

Ingredients:

5 pounds of fresh figs
4 cups sugar
¾ cups water
¼ cup lemon juice

Directions:

Before beginning prepare your figs by completely covering the figs with boiling water. Let stand for ten minutes. Drain, stem and chop the figs. Measure 2 quarts of chopped figs.

To prepare the jam combine the figs, sugar, and water in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture slowly to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly to the gelling point. As the mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. This may take 30-60 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cook for one more minutes. Remove from the heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust your two-piece tops and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner. Makes about 5 pints, or moe if you have more figs!

Strawberry Fig Jam may still be my favorite jam but this plain fig jam tastes amazing. I’m already thinking of the various ways I can use this jam in the winter. Maybe try making a jam filled cookie?

Have you made fig jam before? How have you used it? I’m thinking it will be pretty tasty over my sourdough bread.