Home-made Deli Roast Beef
Finally, I got to try my hand at making deli roast beef yesterday. I used an eye round roast, rinsed and patted dry. I forgot to weigh it, though. Next time I try this, I will weigh it so I could journal the roasting time. The roast was coated with olive oil, including the ends. On top of that, it was coated with pepper, salt, garlic powder, & onion powder. The spices get patted into the meat, and I discovered it is better to do this with a flat surface of a cup, for the spices stuck to my fingers.
The roast gets placed on a baking rack in a pan and roasted at 500 degrees for 20 minutes, reduce the temp. to 300 for another 30 min.- uncovered. Use a meat thermometer to check the inside of meat. I followed the times mentioned above and the roast was still very raw (the inside temp. was 140 degrees), so I roasted til temp. showed between med. rare - well done (between 160 - 170). We are not too thrilled to eat blood dripping meat. Take out of oven and cover meat with an aluminum foil tent, or lid for 20 min.. It is then ready to slice. It will have a dark, hard coating.
It needs to be sliced VERY thin and this can be done only if you have a VERY sharp knife. I found it easier to use an electric meat slicer.
The last step was the taste test and we found it was delicious!!
Other spices of your choice could be added, such as cheyenne etc, as long as it is powdered. I bagged up the slices and put into freezer for weekend sandwiches.
Definitely cheaper than store bought deli roast beef and it was not difficult to make at all. It was worth the time it took.
Until next time....................
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Home-made Deli Roast Beef
Other spices of your choice could be added, such as cheyenne etc, as long as it is powdered. I bagged up the slices and put into freezer for weekend sandwiches. 
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Lump of Clay
Wednesday, 09 December 2009
Lump of Clay
In the middle of the Great Potter's wheel lay a lump of clay, waiting, waiting to be molded into that beautiful pitcher. Now for the Potter to work that clay, it has to be soft, pliable, and willing to be worked. The process of molding that lump of clay can be lengthy, for all the air bubbles need to be worked out, or it will be imperfect. This process is painful, for what lump of clay enjoys to be pounded, kneaded and then maybe pounded some more. But it is for it's own good, it is the process towards perfection. We are the lumps of clay in God's hand. We are full of "bubbles" and need to be kneaded and pounded, but the Potter's hands work with tender loving care. The process goes alot smoother if we choose to be soft and willing in His hands. We need to yield ourselves to Him, and trust Him, for he knows the end result and will do what is best for us. It is not always an easy place to be, in fact rarely is it. But, when I think of this analogy, it brings me comfort and peace in the midst of the workings. In times when I want to rebel against the kneading (and those are more times than not), I am miserable and certainly not peaceful. If we endure, the end result will be a vessel worthy to be used by the Great Potter.
You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray
In His love,
Until next time...........
Saturday, December 5, 2009
What a Fun Class
Saturday, 05 December 2009
What a fun class!
Yesterday was our last class till after the new year begins, so we decided it was time for more of a fun time, instead of "lecture" time. Mr. Dave had informed me that he & I would have the current events for this class. I was able to find an interesting article in our recent Newsmax magazine on the decline of manners. What has happened to the rules of etiquette? Why are people rude and disrespectful? It seems the decline began in the '60's and the reaction to the Vietnam War. "Attitudes towards authority deteriorated and people simply began to live for the moment". We live in a self-centered society and people wonder why they should care about others and "what's in it for me". I think this younger generation's manners would turn the generation of our grandparents gray in a day! I encouraged the children to treat others with respect, open car doors for the women, give a firm hand-shake while looking the person in the eye, carry that grocery bag for the elderly woman, call people Mr. & Mrs. or ma'am or sir. We need to be the example!! Dave's current event was on Obama coming to Allentown to talk about what the government can do to create jobs. He didn't expound on that too much. Will discuss in further details in an upcoming class.
We then played the "civics' bee" game. Boys, who wanted to be called Navy Seals, against the girls, who called themselves Ladies of Liberty. Mr. Dave would ask questions, alternating teams, and if the answer was correct, that team got to move 3 spaces. If it was incorrect the other team got a chance. The questions asked were from all the notes that were given from classes up to this point. It seemed everyone had a great time. The Navy Seals won the game - sorry Ladies of Liberty! Great effort!
The last part of class time, we put together grocery boxes. Each family contributed food, enough of that item for 10 baskets. The children had to wrap their boxes in pretty paper....
Then they arranged food in boxes however their creative minds lead them to.
The box was finished off by putting clear wrapping over the top, attaching a snowflake that the student made and a card.
The students are to give their box to a U.S. veteran and have an "interview" with him/her. When class convenes in January, the students are to give a report on who they gave their box to, along with what war they fought in and any other information they gathered. These men sacrificed much so we can enjoy our freedoms. They deserve recognition and thanks. As the card on box says "A Sincere thank you for your commitment and service in defending our freedoms. Blessings to you during this Holiday Season! With respect,....................." The students did a great job and the boxes turned out really nice. Thanks to everyone participation!
Until next time............
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Civics Classes Continued
Tuesday, 01 December 2009
Civics Classes continued
Dave is still teaching the Civics class at our homeschool group. We have gotten behind in sharing the notes and pictures with you, so it is catch up time!
Notes on Rome- Rome began as a village near the Tiber River in present day Italy.
- 753 B.C. to 509 B.C. it was ruled by kings
- 509 B.C. to 27 B.C. Rome was a republic
- plebians – lower class
- patricians – higher class
287 B.C. plebians gained equal rights
88 B.C. reforms needed – Civil wars
49 B.C Julius Caesar became dictator
44 B.C. he was assinated
27 B.C. Augustus Caesar is declared Emperor
27 B.C. – 476 A.D. – Rome is an Empire
14 A.D. – Augustus Caesar dies and is declared a God
106-43 B.C. – Marcus Tullius Cicero lived
He was a Roman statesman, attorney, orator, former consul who defended the Republic and opposed dictatorship.
November 6th Class Notes
2 primary reasons for the fall of Rome
1). Corruption- (massive bureaucracy, inflation, political law)
2). Multi-culturally over-extended (they forgot what it meant to be Roman)
we discussed what it means to be an American?????
Cicero – 106 BC – 43 BC - Roman attorney, orator, and formal consul, who opposed
Rome’s drift toward dictatorship. Opposed Julius Caesar.
- recognized rules of "right conduct" from a Supreme Creator
- believed that Natural Law is the Creator’s order in how the world should work
- believed man’s ability to reason is from God and will lead to common sense conclusions in gov’t, justice and human relations
- believed that the foundation of Justice is love for our fellowman
- believed that what holds society together is love of God.
- was murdered for his political ideas
Cicero was getting a glimpse of truth
Truth
1). That which corresponds to reality as perceived by God
2). Conformity to fact or reality in exact accordance with that which is or has been or shall be
We act on what we believe is really real
History can be rewritten and distorted (historical revisionism)
Examples: Matt. 28:11-15
Denial of Holocaust
If you believe a lie you can be controlled by others!
Absence of truth brings bondage and manipulation
John 18:37
Romans 1:25
Insanity – lose of touch with reality and believing the lie is real.
World leaders can lose touch with reality and disregard Natural Law
Examples: Hitler, Mao
Also discussed whether feelings about something is more important about God’s truth claims.
**************
One of the students giving a current event...
Student who gave a report on Athens...
Our November 20th class was so excellent, as was the Nov. 6th class. I (Brenda) have been thoroughly enjoying being in Dave's class.
November 20th Class notes
Europe falls into the Middle Ages or Dark Ages, after the fall of Rome.Much of Europe develops a political and economic system called feudalism.
fiefs - tracts of land granted by powerful lords to loyal nobles called vassals (Prince, Baron, Duke or Count) in exchange for supplying knights.
- each fief had a manor (self sufficient agricultural community)
Jesus never did what most influential people in history have done. He was not:
Are all religions the same?
Are religions different ways of comprehending the same truth?
Can all be true?
3 Characteristics that are unique to Christianity
2.) "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s" - this is foundational to the idea of separation of church and state and limited Gov’t
- Human dignity – Jesus reached out to the lowest classes of people (lepers, poor, etc.) Mankind could now have a meaningful valuable life. They could now see themselves created by God for a purpose and to have a relationship with Him, regardless of wealth, status, race, etc.. This is the foundation of true human rights.
5.) service to others is noble – Luke 22:27, Mark 10:41-45. What a radical idea would have been for His day. Imagine Caesar viewing himself as a servant to others. This is the foundation of public servants.
- compassion – because of Jesus, throughout the centuries there was better care for the poor, sick and widows
Atheists will try to undermine belief in God and claim to have science and reason on their side. They believe that it is foolish and unreasonable to believe in God and that miracles are impossible, but remember Christianity is dependent on miracles. There are 2 ways to confront an atheist, using reason.
- because something exists today, something would have always had to exist, because you cannot get something from nothing. Therefore, that something could reasonably be an eternal God.
*****
A student presenting a current event...
and another....
We have a class this friday, so I will update you on that later.
Until next time.......
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
This & That
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
This & That
A while back I had blogged about our sunflower and cold-frame experiments. We had cut the sunflower heads, put them in paper bags and put them in the basement to dry. When we opened them to remove dry seeds, we discovered that most of the heads rotted. I am not sure, but maybe the heads were not dry enough when we cut them? I read that we could've let the flowers dry in the garden by tying paper bags over the heads while they were still on the stalk. The bags would prevent the birds from getting the seeds and from the seeds falling to the ground, but the air still could get through.(?) If it would rain, the bags would have to be replaced, though. I have my doubts on whether we will attempt that experiment again in the near future.
The hay bale cold-frame experiment? That has been interesting. After about a week, the lettuce and onions started popping through the soil. I was excited! Then, I forgot to "open a window" on a hot day, and the lettuce went down hill fast. Now, the only things that are growing are the onions and something else that I didn't plant. The soil was some compost, and I believe the seeds were already in the soil before it made it to the cold frame. The other issue was that the hay bales themselves started to decompose, which effected how the windows fit on top. So, the lesson learned with this experiment is that we would rather have a hoop house. Maybe next year......
With this being the end of the season for broccoli, we ended up doing 3 banana boxes full the last two days. The boys were big helpers once again.
I decided to try some brussel sprouts. They were sold still on the stalk, so we had to cut them off, soak in salt water, blanch for a few minutes, then into the freezer they went. Only Dave & I like them, so we only bought 5 stalks, which gave us about 6 quart.
We had about 6 head of cauliflower to either put into freezer or can. Some of us love pickled foods, so I found a recipe for pickled cauliflower (vinegar, sugar, celery and mustard seeds and turmeric). I canned 7 qt. and have 2 qt. in fridge to eat. It is not as good as chow chow, so I am not sure how popular our pickled cauliflower is going to be. It is fun to try new things every now & then, and sometimes we discover a winner of recipe that our family loves. To top off the day, Ben brought home the hamburger from the beef we had butchered at the shop where he works. Everyone always enjoys packing the burger. First we weigh it into 5 pound "lumps".
Then it gets packed into ziploc freezer bags, pressed flat and carted off to the freezer.
From the beef, we had as many roasts saved as possible. The shop wrapped and froze those for us. After Thanksgiving, I am going to try my hand at making deli roast beef and I will let you know how that all turns out.
May each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Until next time...........
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Life of a Farmer
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Life of A Farmer
A farmer's day starts before the sun rises in the morning, anyway the farmer at this home does. Maybe I should mention here about the different farmers. There are chicken farmers, hog farmers, crop farmers, beef farmers, vegetable farmers and all these raise what their name describes (and I don't know what time their day gets started)
. Then we have dairy farmers. These farmers milk cows and provide the dairy products your purchase at the store. In the category of dairy farmers, we have some that milk 2 times a day, 3 times a day, some every 16 hours or less, and some once a day. You have small family farms, like us, who milk anywhere from 30 - 100 cows. Then you have what we call the cow factories, where they milk hundreds of cows. Only on family farms, the cows will be milked in tie stalls. There are stalls that the cows will go into and be tied and either remain there all the time or be left out to pasture between milkings. In the "factories" the cows are milked in a parlor. They are milked and immediately released back into a holding area. Usually these cows never go out to pasture, they remain in this holding area where there are stalls that they can lay in. Things certainly have progressed in the dairy industry, for now there are robot milkers, but to me that is not true farming, so I will not go into that. I am only going to focus on what it is like here on our farm. We milk 2 times a day, morning and evening. Dave is usually the first one out of bed about 4 - 4:30. Either Georgie or Ben will go to the barn with him at 5 - 5:30 to milk. Everyone else goes out around 6:00ish to feed the cows, heifers and calves. It takes approx. 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. to milk. Each person has their responsibilties. Dave, Ben & Georgie are the milkers,
Solomon feeds and does manure management.
Uriah & Oliver (with my help) feed calves.
We usually are all back in the house around 8:00 for breakfast. Needless to say, everyone is hungry by then, so we try to have a nuturious breakfast of greek eggs and/or potatoes. We also enjoy leftovers for breakfast or I will fry up vegetables with scrambled eggs. Dave lays down for a nap, and we try to start school around 9:00. Dave is then off to do his masonry jobs till late afternoon and then it is chore time again. We try to have everything wrapped up by 6:00 -6:30, eat supper, and since it gets dark early, the children go to bed 8:00 - 8:30 and us soon thereafter. This is a typical week day here at our home. Weekends, chores are the same, but we are able to get projects done on Sat. and on Sunday, we go to church and either have a day of fellowship or have family time at home. We have had people tell us that farmers are a special breed of people and after thinking about that, I think they are right. Nobody understands a farmers life, unless you are or were a farmer. It looks like a life of ease, just working at home with the family milking cows, but there is so much more that goes into it then what people realize. Don't get me wrong, it is a good life and it brings alot of positives with it. It also can be never-ending. The cows don't stop producing milk on weekends or holidays. For vacation, we try to do things very close to home or we do staycations, where we stay at home but plan a weekend camping out in the yard with a campfire only doing necessary chores. This past weekend, we went to Camp Swatara for the day, hiking, playing on playgrounds and sitting by pond. It was fun and refreshing! If you happen to have farmer for a neighbor or friend, tell him how much you appreciate his hard work and sacrifice to provide a product that is wholesome. Nowadays, it is not a paying proposition, but that is for another blog.
Until next time..............
. Then we have dairy farmers. These farmers milk cows and provide the dairy products your purchase at the store. In the category of dairy farmers, we have some that milk 2 times a day, 3 times a day, some every 16 hours or less, and some once a day. You have small family farms, like us, who milk anywhere from 30 - 100 cows. Then you have what we call the cow factories, where they milk hundreds of cows. Only on family farms, the cows will be milked in tie stalls. There are stalls that the cows will go into and be tied and either remain there all the time or be left out to pasture between milkings. In the "factories" the cows are milked in a parlor. They are milked and immediately released back into a holding area. Usually these cows never go out to pasture, they remain in this holding area where there are stalls that they can lay in. Things certainly have progressed in the dairy industry, for now there are robot milkers, but to me that is not true farming, so I will not go into that. I am only going to focus on what it is like here on our farm. We milk 2 times a day, morning and evening. Dave is usually the first one out of bed about 4 - 4:30. Either Georgie or Ben will go to the barn with him at 5 - 5:30 to milk. Everyone else goes out around 6:00ish to feed the cows, heifers and calves. It takes approx. 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. to milk. Each person has their responsibilties. Dave, Ben & Georgie are the milkers, 
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Am I a Hypocrite
Wednesday, 04 November 2009
Am I a Hypocrite?
Are you? This has been brewing around in my mind for a very long time. What is a hypocrite? The dictionary says it is: "a person who pretends to be what he is not; one who pretends to be better than he really is, or pious, virtuous, etc. without really being so." The question again is: am I a hypocrite and are you? A hypocrite will "sound a trumpet" when he gives money or goods to gain attention for himself. A hypocrite will make himself obvious when he prays. When he fasts, he will make sure that people will notice. He will use himself as the standard of judgment for which he judges others. A hypocrite will draw near unto God with his mouth, and honor Him with his lips, but his heart will be far from God. He puts stumbling blocks in the way of the sinner who is repenting and being converted by being a false leader. He makes a show of religion while extorting money from the poor and widowed. With his mouth, he destroys his neighbor. His outward appearance seems righteous to men, but he is full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. He is very careful to keep all the "regulations", such as tithing 10% etc., but overlook mercy and faith. Just go to Matthew and you will find all these references and more. It is so easy to become a hypocrite. We want to fit in, to be accepted, to be looked up to by others. Isn't it heady when people compliment you on your spiritual insights, your wonderful Godly family, your educated children, your delightful marriage relationship, your ability to pray in front of people, your ability to teach the Gospel and lead people to repentance, etc? But, is it really as it appears? Is your family really Godly? Are you really praying publicly for God's approval, or is it to impress people? Is your marriage really as delightful as it appears to others? Are your posts on Facebook, or on your blogs truthful? Or are we "beefing up" our words to make people think we are something? (I am asking myself these questions too and not meaning to target just "you"). Do we cave into all the peer pressures around us to find acceptance? Am I a hypocrite and are you? God has made each one of us exactly how HE wanted us, but for some reason we want to be the person who everyone else thinks we should be. When we surrender to this temptation, we will find that after awhile we have no idea who we are and we have become a hypocrite. We only need to look at the scriptures and God tells us what we should believe, how we are to speak and act, and how we are to present ourselves outwardly. The only person we are to compare ourselves with and gain approval from is JESUS CHRIST and when that is done we will realize that we fall way short in all our accomplishments and have nothing to boast about except that He gave His life for us, out of His love for us. He knows whether we are being genuine or not and He despises fakiness! "Woe unto you......hypocrites". Woe means: "great sorrow; grief; misery". So, the question is once again: am I a hypocrite? The verdict is.... quilty! I am VERY genuine when I say I HATE it in myself and am uncomfortable around others who are not "real" or genuine either. The rest of the question is: Are you? And if your verdict is "quilty" also, join me in a journey to becoming a TOTALLY genuine and truthful servant before God and everyone we come into contact with. May our lives mirror the life of Jesus.
Until next time.........
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