Keepers Harvest Meeting part 2

Hello dear ladies..

Hope all is well in your part of the world.. 

The storm has passed through and caused havoc... 

We are certainly praying for you all.. 

I don't think that we in Eastern Canada will get too much.. 

I haven't really had time to check but so far so good.. 

The wind is really blowing out there and a bit of rain but not too unusual... 

Now ... 

Back to the Keepers stuff... smile.. 

This is the other craft that we made.. 

Thinking it would be lovely for your gift pantry..

A mason jar of stove top potpourri... 

It smells heavenly and looks kinda crafty, eh?

We also made a tag to go along with.. 

The recipe is on the back.. 

Here it is... 

APPLE POTPOURRI

1 cup of dried apples

2 T. ground cinnamon or several broken cinnamon sticks.. 

1/4 cup of allspice berries..

1 T. whole cloves 

10 small pine cones... 

several drops of cinnamon or apple oil... 

The directions for using are on the tag up above.. 

Also a little update on the Apple Preserves that I left a link for you on the last post.. 

I made a pie yesterday with them and we loved it..

So different and delicious.. 

All I had to do was to make a pie crust and pour in a quart of the apple preserves and then top with more crust... 

I always brush on a little milk and sprinkle of sugar.. 

I baked it at 400 degrees F. for 15 minutes then lowered the heat to 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes or so... 

Today we went to the market again and I bought another big bag of apples to do up more of this.. 

Let me add that it was at Terry's suggestion.. smile.. 

I went out and he had a piece and mentioned that I was one great cook... smile... 

Now.. 

The famous lost recipe for Hot Mixed Pickles.. 

Hopefully, now that it is actually going to be on the web my friend Dawn and I will be able to find it... 

You ladies might have to remind us where it is next year, though.. grin.... 

HOT MIXED PICKLES.. 

1 quart of cider vinegar

3 quarts of water

1/2 cup of coarse salt

1/8 tsp. oil per quart

hot peppers  

This recipe says 3 pieces of hot pepper per quart... 

Sterilize your quart jars and add a mixture of clean veggies.. 

Cauliflower, carrots, celery, peppers, onions and zucchini... 

Whatever your prefer.. 

I would have liked to add green beans but by the time I found the recipe the beans were not local ... 

Heat the above mixture to boiling and pour over veggies.. 

Add the oil to keep them crisp and seal... 

I used half cider vinegar and half of my dandelion vinegar that I had put together in the Spring.. 

You have to let these sit for a few weeks to blend the flavors..

I have been into them already and wish I had of added more hot peppers..It is hard to tell how much to add.. 

One year I had too many so be careful... 

They are still tasty, though... 

The lesson was on the KITCHEN...

First of all we talked about the goals we have for our homes.. 

Most of all to make them a haven for our families where Christ is Lord and we as the Keeper of the Home do all we can to establish principals that generate this desire.. 

Many things can come against the home but our aim is for it to be a sanctuary for our dear ones.. 

No matter what...

We discussed how the Kitchen  is the heart of the home.. 

Many blessings are generated in the kitchen.. 

Things like nourishment, fellowship, joy, instruction, study, creativity, worship, warmth and affection.. 

We closed our eyes and imagined our own kitchen that we had just left.. 

We used our senses in remembering what we saw there... 

Was it clean?  Had we made any effort to decorate it nicely?

Could we picture our family there? 

Then we thought about what we could hear ..

Laughter?  Music? Anger? And the worst of all.. 

Dead silence?  

The kind where everyone is upset and things are at a stand off?  

How about smell?  

Perhaps the lovely smell of bacon and eggs cooking over breakfast and coffee perking away... Or sweet smelly things we plug in or a cozy candle? 

 Or should we change the trash bag? smile.. 

Then taste.. 

You know the Bible says to taste and see that the Lord is good.. 

Hopefully, he is at the heart of this room.. 

We can worship and feel his sweet presence there.. 

I shared with them that it is a good thing to use this room to make the special times ordinary ... 

I mean that we put ourselves out to make every day special.. 

In some little way.. 

Candles, fresh linens and a lovely meal do not need to be for special occasions only.. 

Your family are special all of the time.. 

Right?  

then we talked about how kitchens have been around a very long time.. 

We have always needed nourishment and there has had to be a place to prepare and cook it... 

Whether it was a place by the fire or in a common room way back in the time of the Lord.. 

So we took the time to imagine a kitchen in the day when Jesus was here on earth..

We talked about Martha and Mary and imagined their work place and what it would be like when they were preparing a meal for the Master..

Luke 10:41 

I had made up a wee story and read it to them.. 

But we will just chat about the gist of it all..

Martha liked everything done and done well.. 

She would get frazzled and a bit uptight if all was not according to what she thought was appropriate .. In fact, she was so busy doing what was necessary that she sometimes forgot what was most important.. 

But Mary ...

 She realized that her Lord was only here for a short time and whether the roast lamb was still in the oven or not she was going to take the time to hear what her Master had to say.. 

It was just too bad that Martha got herself all in a frenzy and even bothered Jesus with the whole deal.. 

But the Lord didn't mind.. 

Even if Martha was annoyed he loved her still..

 He called her his dear friend.. 

Isn't it wonderful that even in our busyness Jesus will be patient with us.. 

Every morning our kitchens are so busy.. 

Especially, when we still have children home..  There is just so much to accomplish but we need to train ourselves to make time for Him.. 

A time of prayer and some scripture will begin our day in a much better mode then the rush and tear .. 

And much better for our families when mama puts Jesus first... 

Really, we decided that if we are too busy in our lives to take time for Jesus then we are just too busy.. 

OK?  

That is about all, my dears..

I know this has been a very long posting.. 

I tried to cover so much as we had not had a meeting for awhile.. 

Here is your homework...

Write down some goals for your kitchen using the 5 senses and see what you can do to improve it... 

Then start working on them..

Such chores as  cleaning, organizing, decorating or just making special ordinary in some way.. 

Perhaps you want to paint an old chair or hang a picture.. 

Or do up some apple preserves or dig out some linens and make a special meal.. 

Write it all down and see what you can accomplish this month... 

Let me know how you make out and what some of your goals are..

(if you don't mind)...smile.. 

Thank you so much for your visit and your lovely comments.. 

Take care and have a blessed week.. 

God bless...