I Just Had to Share

We had pork tenderloin for supper tonight and it was sooooooooooo good that I just have to share it with you.  The picture does not do justice.  It was oh-so-tender-and-delicious.  And I will also share the recipe because I'm just that nice.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rub:
1        tsp      Chili Powder
1/2     tsp      Paprika
1 1/2  tsp      Salt
1/2     tsp      Pepper
1/2     tsp      Cumin
1/2     tsp      Cinnamon
 
4-7ish           Strips of Bacon, cut in half
 
                     Carrots
 
Combine the above ingredients and pat all over the pork.  Put the pork into a roaster and cover the pork with the bacon strips.  Add a little water and put in a 325 F oven. Let cook for about...2ish hours.  Add the carrots and cook for another 15-20ish minutes.
 
Glaze:
1      cup      Brown Sugar
2      tbsp     Flour
2      tbsp     Cider Vinegar
1/2   tsp       Dry Mustard
 
Combine the glaze ingredients in a saucepan and heat.  Pour some over the pork.  I didn't use it all; in fact I think I used less than half, but the original recipe used it all so I put it up there for your own discretion.  I am going to freeze my leftover glaze for the next time.  Cook the roast for another half-hour-ish.  Take out and enjoy!
 
Sorry about all the "ish"es.  I am a very random cook so I don't really have set times for anything.  If it's done, it's done.  I hope you all make this and enjoy it.  My hubs couldn't stop raving about it tonight.  
 
Bon Appetit!

The Glittering Leaves of Fall

About a month or so ago I read a post at The Homeschool Classroom about a glitter-tree craft that I stored away in my brain to do with Abby.  We finally got around to it this week.  (I had completely forgotten on what site I found this so I had to go digging through my Reader looking for it.  Of course it was one of the ones at the bottom.)

She liked to pour a lot of glue on, without smearing it around much.

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So decisive about which colour to pick.

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Right at the end she got a little distracted and wasn't as interested in glittering the leaves as she was in pointing to and naming various body parts.



Like armpits, for example.



It was actually really simple to do, and since I used an old cookie sheet, there really wasn't any mess.  The only part that I found hard was drawing the leaves onto the cardboard.  I am not an artist, so we just got leaves that were the basic tear shape.  I did attempt a maple leaf, but they looked so pathetic I didn't have the heart to cut them out.

The Motive Behind the Prayer

I am so thankful that we have an interactive God, not just some stone/wood idol that sits on the shelf and does nothing else.  Yes, it does require more effort serving my God, but the benefits are eternal.  What He has been speaking to me last was about reasons and motivations for worshipping Him.  He showed me that in my heart I was only worshipping Him for the benefits to myself. 

Like I know that God is the only one who can change me and my heart.  I am constantly stressed.  So I go to Him because I want Him to unstress me.  I need an attitude change.  I go to Him.  Yes we need to be going to Him not ourselves or any other human.  But God is God!  He deserves to be worshipped just because He is. 

There should be no other reason.  He is awesome.  He is righteous.  He is holy.  I could go on and on.  And I shouldn't be coming to Him for my selfish reasons.  I need to praise Him for being Him.  And if my problems never get fixed, that is inconsequential.  But that isn't likely to happen, because if I consistently praise God, and keep my attitude about Him right, the rest of my life will fall into alignment.  Because by focussing on God, I am focusing on the most important thing and also am feeding my spirit.  And a helthy spirit will definitely improve my mind and body.

So my encouragement to everyone is to take a break from our petitions to God, and to just think about who He is.  It is a thought that is too big for me, and I could think about it all day and still not get my mind around Him.

Now It Feels Like Summer is Truly Over

Yesterday we pulled up the remnants of our garden.  I kind of felt sad doing it, even though the plants were all mostly dead from frost anyways.  Earlier in the week I had harvested the last row of potatoes, and got 24 lbs.  That made me happy.  I had enough carrots left for one last beef pot pie last night (we didn't get a very big carrot crop).  I have frozen beans in the freezer, but only enough for about 2 meals since the crop came late.  And I have been blanching, peeling, seeding, chopping, and freezing tomatoes to save for tomato sauce.  I have around 3.5 lbs frozen and had hoped to get another 5-7 lbs, but we lost a lot of tomatoes to frost.  I brought some green ones inside to try to ripen them here, but I've never done that so I hope it works!  I put them in a box with a banana.  Cross my fingers.

I have to admit that I am what I call a minimalist gardener.  I really like the idea of a garden and enjoy working in it, but I also don't want too much trouble.  I weed for the first couple months but after that I tend to let it go.  I enjoy eating the produce, but am not going to kill myself with tons and tons of different vegetables, and I can't since I don't have a ton of room anyways.  I turned a hillside flower bed into my vegetable garden.  Maybe it doesn't look as pretty, but I like the look of practicality.

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My gigantic potato plants with the carrots at the bottom

Potatoes on the right, tomatoes just visible on the left with my onions in the middle on the bottom (I don't want to talk about the onions)