Isn’t this lovely? This is our master bedroom as it is now. Quite the distance it has come since purchase date! I LOVE it and am so much enjoy spending time in it. Just being able to close the door and have a little privacy is something that I hadn’t thought about as being precious before. After not having it for many months, I assure you it is quite precious. We still have some trim work to do, and our closet is not yet painted nor does it have anywhere to hang clothes yet, but all in all, it’s really quite cozy. Michael did so many hours of work wiring the room and tearing apart the old ceiling, and then putting the shiplap on the ceiling. I truly love the space. And the more work we do on the house, the more it is becoming our home. It’s been such a labor of love, and we are enjoying spending time here and continuing the work. It’s beginning to feel like home.
This week’s duties for me included not only getting the boys off to their first week of school, but also canning lots of tomatoes. I bought 35 pounds of tomatoes at the local farm stand, so managed to get put up some pints of garden salsa, diced tomatoes, and pints and quarts of plain tomato sauce. I really like having my own sauce canned up, it is amazing in the depths of winter to pull one of those off for a nice pot of spaghetti sauce, a chili or a lasagna. Nothing I’ve ever purchased gives the same fresh flavor as a home canned sauce from vine ripened tomatoes. It’s like opening a jar of sunshine every time! I still need to do many more jars, and so I will pick up another case or two of tomatoes while the getting is still good.
Being a long weekend for those of us that work outside the home, and a cool and rainy day to boot, I decided to make some autumn spiced pancakes. So yummy! I switched the recipe up a little and added some cornmeal for a nutty crunchy flavor. A hit with all the menfolk here. I made a double batch so that I could have some for tomorrow for them to heat up as well. Are you like me? Are you tired of the “pumpkin spice” everything? I’ve been “pumpkin spicing” things for the last 30 years, long before it was a fad, so seeing pumpkin spice Oreos and Cheerios, and toothpaste. Well, that’s enough of that now. But, I do love putting the flavors of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg into yummy items beginning when the weather turns colder. Since it is only a high of 58 degrees predicted today, I thought it would be a nice breakfast to have some flavors of fall pancakes. No pumpkins have been harvested here yet, still early in the season, but the spices of pumpkin pie are enough to get the fall season going. Thought you might enjoy the recipe for these pancakes in case you wanted to create a breakfast of autumn flavors for yourself.
Flavors Of Fall Pancakes
Makes 8 six-inch pancakes
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c cornmeal (I used finely ground, corn flour would also work)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4-1 1/2 milk (any kind will do, but I prefer whole cow milk)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbs canola, coconut or olive oil
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, make well in the center of mixutre. In smaller bowl combine all wet ingredients, mix thoroughly. Pour wet ingredients into well in dry ingredients and combine until all dry is mixed in. Let sit for 5 minutes. If too thick, add more milk until pouring consistency. Pour by 1/4 cup amount onto hot pan or griddle. Turn when bubbles appear in middle. Cook until done. Top with maple syrup and/or sliced apples or peaches. Yummy!!
That’s about all the news for today. I did take some pictures of the shower to show you, but it’s tough to see the way it came out because our bathroom is not that big and so the pictures are pretty close up, like this one.
As you can see, I have not yet covered up the finish nails with paint, I will get there, just having it done this far is amazing, don’t you agree?
Not much else to report. If you’re interested in my salsa recipe, let me know, it’s pretty good. I don’t eat cilantro, as it tastes like soap to me, so mine uses parsley in it’s place.
Until next time, be good to each other, be well and blessings to you all.
Grace Note Homestead 