Hearth and Soul Hop - Volume 25

I personally had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the family and hope you did as well.  Family, food and good times are what makes life worth the hassle. 

I even got to do some hunting over the weekend with my boys and made some memories we'll never forget.....as well as food in the freezer.  Speaking of food....scroll down to the Hearth and Soul hop and see what's cooking!! 

The Hearth and Soul Hop is born as a continuation and expansion of the Two for Tuesday Recipe Blog Hop and we hope you will join with us in sharing our beliefs that food not only nourishes our bodies, but our souls! To really get clear on what we are talking about, please check out our nifty new mission statement!


Hearth and Soul Mission:

Food from your hearth, to feed your soul. Food that follows your intuition. Preparing food from scratch to nourish your family…body, mind AND soul! Food made with your own hands…infused with energy and passion and intent. Real food made by real people to feed real families (big and small, in blood or spirit). Ingredients from scratch, be it something grown in your garden or raised on your land…food foraged in the field or woods…food from local farms, farmers, or farmers markets…or even ingredients chosen by you from your local market that will be turned into something that feeds your soul. Tapping the food memory that each of us has stored inside; letting it guide and influence our own time in the kitchen.

We hope to embrace not only the “expected” areas of real food, but also those who want to incorporate healthier choices without sacrificing their love of food…how it tastes, the memories it conjures up, the comfort it brings. Yes, we’re trying to steer clear of packaged, processed, and boxed foods in favor of real foods….without absolutely excluding the sometimes frowned upon white sugar or flour (because the body craves what it craves…and sometimes things just don’t taste the same when you replace these). Making conscious choices and being present in the now with what your body needs…and taking steps towards exploring and enjoying healthier choices. If you take the time to listen, your body will tell you what it needs.

The warm comfort of the home hearth…stories, anecdotes, lessons, adventures, journeys, recipes, meals, beverages…we want to share the “why” of how food feeds more than just our bodies…how it also feeds our souls. After all, aren’t these the essential ingredients in defining real food? Please share links from your Hearth ‘n Soul with us each week.

Rules for linking:

Please use your best blog hop etiquette when linking. The rules are in place to help everyone have the best blog hop experience possible. Because of the overwhelming success of Two for Tuesday, a few changes have been made in the rules, so we kindly ask you to please review them so we can all be on the same page.

If you are new to a blog carnival, or blog hop, it is very easy to learn how to join in the fun! Simply go to the blog post for that carnival and scroll down to the bottom where you will see a small box that will say, Your Next or Your link here. When you click on that link, you will be asked to enter the URL of your recipe or article. Please link to your article only and not directly to your blog front page. The linky may ask you to upload a photograph from your computer, then you click next and leave a comment on the blog hosts post. You will also be asked to place a link back to the blog host, which means, adding in the URL of the blog hop post which you can copy from your browser address bar and insert at the bottom of your post. You could also choose to place a blog badge into your post, which was explained below. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

*A host will visit each link and read and comment on your post before the next linky period opens, because this is personal for us…we want you to know that we appreciate that you’ve taken the time to create a post, add a link back to the hop, and add your link! We’ll be sure to acknowledge this with a comment and a tweet on Twitter (using hashtag #hsoul).

-One link per week, please

-Must include a link back to one/any of the host sites (through worded link or badge) in individual post, not on sidebar…although we love having links on your page, as well (this benefits all of us). You will be sent a gentle reminder if no link is added to your post, we understand that sometimes people forget…but if it becomes a regular occurrence, (even though we don’t like to do it) your post may be removed. It’s just not fair to those who do take the time and show the grace to link back.

-Try to link a post that you think fits into the mission. You don’t have to link up every week…link up when you can. We welcome posts that are shared in other events. If you have an older, archived post that you want to add, we welcome that…as long as you go in and add a link back to Hearth ‘n Soul

-Linky will stay open from 10 pm Monday to 11:59 pm Wednesday (Eastern time).

Let the fun begin!!!

Thanks! Alex@amoderatelife,  Heather@Girlichef,  Christy@frugalcrunchychristy, Butterpoweredbike@HungerandThirst,  and Jason of Alternative Health and Nutrition

More Information for Those New to Blog Hopping!

...You veterans can just scroll down to the linky!

What is a blog hop you ask? Well, you can find out by visiting my Hearth and Soul Blog Hop page for a complete explanation, but basically, it is a way to link together various foodie love blogs so that you can enjoy many new healthy food recipes that you might not have been exposed to before!

Right now, A Moderate Life, Girlichef, Hunger and Thirst, Frugalcrunchychristy, and Alternative Health & Nutrition are teaming up to share the Blog Hop with their audiences. If you haven't been to their blogs before, then you certainly should, as they are tremendously creative cooks who are passionate about health and food and all are taking steps to cook more wholesome and soul nourishing food. This means you get exposure to four blog audiences for the price of one link, so we should really rename this 5 for Tuesday! :)

So, please link a recipe using the linky tools below and your link will be shared over 5 different blogs and with 5 different blog audiences. Recipes should include healthy ingredients and can be old or new recipes or posts. Articles on real food, slow food, foraging, herbal remedies, local food, sustainable food, organics, gardening or any healthy eating information is also welcome. Each participant's link will be tweeted and given a high quality feedback comment to increase your exposure.

Please use your best blog carnival etiquette and use the URL to your post, and not your blog landing page. Please post a link in your article back to the blog you are using the Linky Tools with and if you want to, please share the hearth and soul hop badge listed below to promote the Blog Hop. We would ask you to subscribe to our feed and Tweet the Blog Hop as well if you would be so kind!

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spaghetti pie guest post at a moderate life Foraged Apple Sampler Party Winter Veggies Pasta delicious GIVEAWAY cookies & a cookbook + pb bread Gobhi Masala/ Curried cauliflower with cashews Frugal Follies - Sweet Potato & Pineapple Casserole gluten-free pumpkin spice cake with maple cream cheese @ chicken tender Winter Warmup and a giveaway Latkes Pumpkin Pie & Crust - Healthy (er) w/ low sodium Turkey Rice Soup - Loving My Domestic Life Smoked Wild SALMON+ Roe Chive Cheeseball @ Nourishing Creations Pot Roast and Rolls Brisket & Vegetables Pork Wontons @ Sense of Home Easy Egg drop Soup! Crustless Pumpkin Pie A GIngerbread House Contest NON-ALCOHOLIC NUTRIENT-PACKED EGG NOG-Kelly the Kitchen Kop Homemade conveniece and play time! Green Beans & Almonds - Asian Style Coconut Curry Soup using Chicken or turkey Chicken Lasagna Kachumber Salad Indian Style Cabbage & Peas Tabbouleh Bread and Kibbeh Burgers The Trimuphant Return of Just Another Meatless Monday! Cauldrons and Crockpots: Celeriac soup! Asian Pesto Udon --Deb @ Kahakai Kitchen Crispy Crunchy Roast Potatoes Pear Custard Bars Slow cooker corbbread dressing Gingerbread Pot Roast with Porcini Mushrooms Vegan Chile Verde Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage and Toasted Hazelnuts feeling overwhelmed? where to start with traditional foods @ nourished w/ love Chocolate Whipped Topping Butternut squash and carrot soup Mexican Ravioli Casserole Of Such is the Kingdom: Cake Balls Sweet & Spicy Short Rib Tacos Losing Creek Farm - GF Raspberry Chocolate Coconut Cookies Post-Thanksgiving Recovery Meal Chocolate Pecan Tart - from heartland Renaisance Dr. Laura @ WhoIsLaura. com - Homemade Vanilla Pumpkin Cream Puffs @ The Prairie Homestead No Yeast Yogurt Bread Bread Stuffing for a Crowd Michael Symon's Italian Braised Beef with Root Vegetables Paprika Chicken Stew with Pierogies Toffee Crunch Pie Ruth Chris Vanilla Cream with Berries Ridge Gourd and Ginger/Green Chili Curry White Chocolate Popcorn Slow Cooker Japones Pork with Thai Red Curry turkey and dumplings Cheeseburger Macaroni Pineapple Pie Nutmeg Butter Sauce Local Apple Relish - Hella Delicious Pain Aux Amandes/Almond bread Pork Chops with Saffron Baked Potatoes Brazilian Shrimp Stew with Black Beans Turkey and Rice Soup and How to Make Stock Super Easy Chili Cornbread Casserole Buffie Wellies Appetizer Koleh Koleh Ellie's Cherry Almond Chocolate Clusters Boneless Stuffed Turkey Spinach and Feta Turnovers Baked Sweet Potato Fries Low Calorie Latkes Caramelized Onion Meatloaf Holiday Treats Guide Dill & Vegetarian Chicken Casserole Stuffed Flank Steak Jacques Pepin Cranberry Chutney Hormone Hypocrisy?: Curried Acorn Squash Soup

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Down Memory Lane

I had a proud moment this morning...one of many where my kids are concerned. 

My oldest son goes to the local elementary school and at the assembly this morning in the gym, was singled out for November Student of the Month!! (cue dramatic music)  One of the things I love about his school is they push the kids to achieve, and then recognize it when they do.  No coddling allowed.

Now he has always been a good student but struggled a good bit last year with his reading.  His grades were good with the last report card and to his delight, and mine, he had all A's on his progress report....Bringing two medium B's all the way up. 

The best part about all of this was he had NO idea that this was coming.  The look on his face when his name was called was absolutely priceless.  I got it on video and look forward to showing it to his kids someday, that is if the future can still view our primitive, prehistoric records.....

After I congratulated him and got back to work, I began to think about the school accomplishments that happened during the "OLDEN" days as my kids call it when I was young.

I don't remember any particular moment, shining brightly for all time, though I suppose there were a few. 

I was a good kid when I was young and a good student.  I was scared to talk back or sass the teachers because when I was little (before dirt was around) every teacher had a paddle and would light you up when you needed it.  That was worrisome enough to a young man to say nothing of what my dad would do when he found out!!!

He would send me off to school with a lunch box and a smile but every so often would shake his finger at me and say "Don't make me get a phone call today...  Cause if I do...." 

I never truly found out what he would do until I got to high school how the end of that sentence turned out....

As it happened, I did very well in the regular classes but sometimes struggled in the advanced subjects.  It turns out I struggled when I didn't feel like doing the work not because I couldn't do it.

One of my least favorite subjects was an advanced math class and while it started out fine, my grades quickly fell to sub-zero levels.  My dad had all of the meetings with the teacher, and gave assurances that he would stay after me, and so on and so forth...

My grade came up and then leveled off, came up a bit more and then started falling.  The reason I know this is because my dad requested weekly reports from Mr. O'Neil, the math teacher.  He would dutifully write down the grade, sign it with a flourish, and send me home to face the music.

When the grade started falling, I put in some serious study time, let me tell you.....

In a very short time I could have won the Nobel Prize.....for forgery....  This was a transgression to be sure, but certainly one of my most plain vanilla offenses at the very bottom of the list when I was younger.

As I recall, I squeaked by with a C in the Calc I class, the minimum to pass in those days....but probably showed an A- or B+ to dad all those years ago.

I finally told him 10 years or so ago at a family get together around the dinner table...not because of a guilty conscience...just one of those story telling moments when you shock your parents with tales of your youth.

Luckily for me, there is absolutely nothing that my boys could do that I haven't done, or thought about doing to pull the wool over somebody's eyes and stay out of trouble.....

What are some of your school stories??.................

Feel Good Friday

I'm a voracious reader. Magazines, books, articles, and especially news items consume a significant part of my life. I own a television but don't have satellite or cable and apart from watching a movie with my boys, rarely turn it on. I get fed up with the endless stories of tragedy, heartache, betrayal and "blood & guts" as I refer to it.


I have found that I am infinitely happier in my life when I don't listen to it. I stay very informed about the news of the day especially as it can affect my little corner of the world but apart from that I could care less.

I do however, love to hear real-life stories of triumph, perserverance and personal sacrifice for the greater good. Those stories that lift you up and make you proud to be in my case an American but in yours wherever you call home. The stories that renew your faith in your god, country and fellow man. The ones that bring a smile to your face later that day, week or month. Those are the ones that we don't hear enough about and this is my small effort to change that.......

Read this story from MSN......

Thanksgiving Stories of Kindness and Courage: Victor Perez.

NOVEMBER 25, 2010Sevil Omer, MSNBC


(Max Whittaker) "I'm trying to make sense of all this hero stuff."
says Victor Perez.  He chased down a suspected kidnapper and
helped free an 8 year old Fresno, CA girl.

  If someone had told Victor Perez at the beginning of the year that he'd soon find fame because of a heroic act, he would have laughed.  He couldn’t even find a job.

 But the events of Oct. 5 were so unbelievable that the 30-year-old unemployed construction worker was left shaking and speechless.

"Never, ever in my wildest dreams would I think something like this would happen," said Perez, who is credited with saving the life of an abducted 8-year-old girl. "I'm trying to make sense of all this hero stuff."

"True action hero"

 California authorities hailed Perez as a hero after he chased down a suspected kidnapper and helped free an 8-year-old Fresno girl. Fresno's mayor declared Oct. 7 "Victor Perez Day" and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger described him as "a true action hero.

"Looking back on the frightening moments when he chased down and confronted the suspect, Perez said he felt that he had no choice but to act.

"I just had to do the right thing," he told msnbc.com. "My mom always told me that no matter what, you help people. Her message: 'Look out for one another.'"

The child's mother said Perez saved her daughter's life.

 "He was heroic, very decided, and he risked his own life for someone he didn't even know," the victim's mother said in Spanish. She said her daughter, who was sexually assaulted during the ordeal, is recovering and undergoing counseling. Msnbc.com does not identify sexual assault victims as a matter of policy.

 "Save her"

 Police say 24-year-old Gregorio Gonzalez, a suspected gang member, abducted the child from in front of her Fresno apartment on Oct. 4, prompting a statewide Amber Alert.

"I think that man's intentions were to kill my daughter," the mother said.

The morning after the abduction, Perez and his cousin, Flor Urias, were watching TV in Urias’ house in an east Fresno neighborhood that Perez described as so bad that "people with common sense" avoid it.  A special report about the kidnapped child flashed on the screen.  Perez saw a picture of the suspect's vehicle, a rust-colored truck. Recognizing the area where the abduction occurred, Perez walked outside with Urias and pointed in the direction of the crime scene. It was three blocks away.

Perez didn’t get a chance to walk back inside — a pickup resembling the suspect's vehicle drove by. Perez jumped into his white 1988 Ford truck, shouted to his cousin to call police and gave chase.

 "Something more than human came over me," Perez said. "When I was next to his truck, I saw the little girl. I saw her eyes, I saw fear. I knew I had to do everything I could to save her from more harm."

Perez cut off the suspect's truck three times before he finally forced him to stop. The girl opened the pickup door and fled. Soon after, police arrested the alleged assailant.

Since then, Perez said he looks ahead to a better future: Get a contractor's license, spend time with his sons, Andres, 9, and Daniel, 13, and keep praying for the young girl's healing.

He said he has had offers for work and will accept a position once he earns his license. People donated money after a fund was set up in his name. He said he wants to use those donations to pay back arrears in child support.

"This has changed my life so much," he said. "I am a better Christian and I thank God for everything. I hope to God this child gets better."
 

What better story could a person find to give thanks for?!?!?!  Tell us your thoughts in the comments.....

Whats In Your Diet Wednesday? TurBaconEpic Thanksgiving

First of all I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to and fro.  Family, food and friends are what it's about after all. 

As you all celebrate Thanksgiving with your family and friends eating rich food and feeling guilty about it the next day.....Take heart....Chances are you didn't have this many calories to count!!







My normal Do You Dutch Oven? post will be delayed one week in honor of spending time with the family but I would invite you to come back for Feel Good Friday to wrap up the week.

What is the most outrageous meal you ever had for Thanksgiving or any other occasion?  Tell us in the comments....

Tasty Tuesdays! Flourless PB Cookies

I love this time of year....you know why they call it Thanksgiving??  Cause it's the one day a year that nobody has to watch what they eat, no diets, no guilt, nada....That's a heck of a lot to be thankful for!!

This week I'm proud to announce my first ever appearance as a host on the nationally renowned Hearth and Soul hop!  I just hope these lovely ladies will allow me to fetch the coffee, mop the floors, tend the garden and wash the cars when I'm not working or sleeping.... 

We'd love it if you would contribute your recipe by clicking on the linky at the bottom of the page.   After you finish with the Flourless PB cookie post, head right over to the Hearth and Soul hop and show us what you've got!  The link stays open until Wednesday night.

Now for the recipe!!  By the way I love peanut butter cookies more than is humanly possible....just sayin'

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix ingredients well and spoon or roll into balls placing evenly on cookie sheet.  Bake approximately 8 - 10 minutes. (I cooked mine for 12 but I have a convection oven that sometimes is confusing on time.)  Let cool and enjoy!!

They're still very soft at this point and I can't wait to try them!

Note:  If rolled into balls, dip a fork in sugar and flatten slightly before baking.  Otherwise you end up with PB cookie balls.....but they're still Gluten Free!!

This post is part of the following blog carnivals.....Go check out these great sites!!

Hearth and Soul
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday