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posted by Donald on 06/21/07

Did you ever wish you could make breakfast in the crock pot too?

Well believe it or not you can and this recipe is one that has not only met all our own criteria but has become a staple on our weekly menu year-round.

2 c. wheat berries (whole kernels, raw)
7 c. water (pure water if possible)
a sprinkle of salt

Cook on low overnight and serve hot. Wheatberries will be soft but not mushy. It makes enough for up to twelve bowls and is best with home-made granola, raisins and fresh bananas. Some have it with milk & brown sugar as they would any other hot cereal and leftover wheatberries are good on pancakes.

So that’s our “secret recipe”. We’ve found that few have heard of a crock pot breakfast but maybe once you’ve tried it you will pass the word yourself. Here in West Virginia we know that a hearty healthy breakfast is one thing that can put you up the hill!

“Give us this day our daily bread . . .”

4 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by James on 04/5/07

Maple sap is really amazing stuff. It is one of the only natural sources of truly pure drinking water. With a sugar content of between 2% and 3%, the sap is very useful in at least three different ways.

First, we found that sap is an excellent drink just strait from the tree. We call it “sweet-water”. Bringing it in from outside, we strained out any dirt or bark, stuck it in the refrigerator, and served it for the next meal. It is not only cool and refreshing but healthy and sweet!

A second way we used it was for cooking. We just boiled 1 gallon of sap down to two quarts to make “sap-concentrate”. The sugar content is much higher so it is too sweet for drinking but perfect for replacing the water when cooking oatmeal or wheat-berries. No other sweetener like honey or brown-sugar is needed.

Then we made real maple syrup! Using three large pans on the stove, we kept the fire on all day, boiling down 2 gallons of sap per hour. By the end of the day, we had boiled down about 15 gallons of sap to 2 quarts of syrup. We did this on several different days and canned a total of two gallons of syrup. It took a lot of patience and diligence but with everyone tapping in to help and volunteering to watch the boiling sap for awhile, we can look forward to enjoying this sweet delicacy for months to come!

Proverbs 12:17 rang true in our household as we labored away: “The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.”

6 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land, Recipes

posted by Esther on 02/11/07

This cake is much more than fluff and icing; there is really something to it! I liked the dense texture and  ginger bread taste of the molasses. Mom and David put it together for Michael’s 26th birthday which was on the 7th of February and it turned out really good. They used the apple butter in between the layers and Donald decorated the top with a very appropriate winter design.

1cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
3 eggs 
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Applesauce or apple butter (Note: If using store-bought applesauce or apple butter, you might want to add a little cinnamon and nutmeg and a little sugar, and cook it down a little.)

Cream together butter and sugar till light. Stir in molasses; add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating after each addition. Cut wax paper rounds to fit 8-inch cake pans. Grease and flour (we use Pam instead). Pour 1 1/3 cups batter into each pan. (Refrigerate remaining batter.) You can put the batter in the pans, sprinkle with flour, and flour your hands and just pat it to the edges. Bake at 350° until done, about 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on rack.

Wash pans (we actually didn’t), replace wax paper, grease and flour. Repeat with remaining batter. You should get 5 layers.  Stack cakes with applesauce or apple butter.

From Keaton Mills Family Cookbook

This cake was a great complement to a great birthday.

7 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by Donald on 01/27/07

Oats! Their hearty whole grain taste is one of my favorites. In this recipe Mom combines them with coconut, honey and wheat germ to make the granola bars that we’ve come to enjoy both at home and on the road. They’re delicious but not overly sweet, packed with energy and easy to transport. Try for yourself!

1 cup of raisins
2 eggs

5 cups of oats
1 cup of whole wheat flour
½ cup of wheat germ
½ cup of coconut
½ cup of sliced almonds or sunflower seeds
1 cup of dry milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla
½ cup of oil or applesauce
1 cup of honey
¹/3 cup of water

Soak raisins in eggs for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine dry ingredients. Add raisins, eggs and wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Firmly press into greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before cutting. Let cool completely before removing from pan. Makes about 30.

5 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by Esther on 12/23/06

Thursday evening found David and I, in full Christmas spirit, busily making our first batch of gingerbread cookies. We had just finished mixing up the dough when David peeked in the bowl, noticed it was sticky, and remarked, “I think we need another half cup of flour!” Looking at the recipe, I saw to my amazement that it read: “add up to one half cup additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking”. Wow! David is a natural chef!

As soon as the dough was ready, the cookie-cutting crew came. Unsatisfied with with the limitations of the cookie cutters and overflowing with artistic creativity, Donald, Michael, James, Daniel, Jonathan, David and I set to work creating original gingerbread men (and women!). The amount of dough that secretly disappeared in the process goes to show how tasty this recipe is.

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine, melted
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ cup evaporated milk
1 cup molasses
4 cups stone-ground or unbleached flour unsifted

Combine the sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the melted margarine, evaporated milk, and molasses. Mix well. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly. The dough should be stiff enough to handle without sticking to fingers. Knead the dough for a smoother texture. Add up to ½ cup additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. (We ended up adding a whole other cup.) When the dough is smooth, roll it out ¼ inch thick on a floured surface and cut it into cookies. Bake on floured or greased cookie sheets in a pre-heated 375° F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done if they spring back when touched.

3 Comments » | posted in Recipes