Borscht

I have some awesome girlfriends. For real. For this, I am deeply blessed. On Friday evening, I got together with a few of them to make this delicious dish- Borscht. I'm not a huge fan of beets, but I'm all about getting together with my girls, drinking some wine, and slicing and dicing some veg to put into a healthy dish. So, we did just that. This recipe is courtesy of my sister-from-another-mother, Kim. Ann, shredding beets

This attachment for the KitchenAid Mixer is extremely helpful for this recipe.

Look at all that veg! And, this soup is so pretty. The picture doesn't do it justice!

I love these ladies! Our soup is delicious and I'm so happy that I was able to bring some home for my family to enjoy. It's in the freezer hanging out, waiting for a cool fall evening! ****************************************

Borscht Recipe 18 cups water 9 T vinegar (1/2 C) 2 T salt Ham bone or can use bacon, pork chop etc. for flavor 6 C shredded beets 4 C shredded potatoes 2 C shredded carrots 1 onion shredded 2 C (shelled) peas 2 C shredded cabbage 1 C cut beans (cut into 1 inch pieces) Prepare the above veggies and place in cold water, salt and ham bone. This is important to start all veggies together in cold water. They don't lose their color this way. In a separate pan: 1 sm onion 2 red diced tomatoes 1 t chopped dill Saute together in margarine till soft. Then add 2 cans of tomato soup to the mixture. Add tho veggie mixture Simmer for 2 hours or until the veggies are tender. If soup is too thick or too sour add 1 to 2 C water. (my family's tradition is to add 1 T of cream per serving, says Kim)

"Before" Photos of our "new" home!

Here's the house we're going to renovate. There's lots of history here, man. Chad's dad grew up in this house. His grandfather lived here until he passed away. It was built in the 1950's (you may will be able to see that when you look at the photos). Scroll down and take it all in. Lots of character and charm here. You'll see me pop up in a few of them- checkin' things out.

Indiana Home Grown

I have a new favorite book "Home Grown Indiana". The reason I like this book is because it's a great resource for anyone who is looking to learn more about food, farming, and eating local. From this book, I have learned where the term "organic" comes from. I've learned about pasteurization, raw milk, raw cheese, and raw honey. And, all of the pros and cons of all of that. I'm not going to chat about the do's and dont's of food production and consumption here. Everyone has a different opinion on that. Just wanted to throw this great reference out there in case you are interested in learning more. If you don't live in Indiana, hopefully there is something comparable available for your state. Last year we began buying our meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey) from a local farmer in Greencastle, IN. It's coming from Red Barn Farms. Check out his website to learn more. Really. Do it. You won't regret it. And if Greencastle is too much of a hike for you... you may just find another farm closer to you in the book I referenced above.

Changes

New Blog! New House! New career! New life! Wow, wow, wow! Being that this is the first post of our family's new blog, I feel inclined to explain what the heck is going on, i.e, why I have created this blog to begin with. I'm pretty sure this is my third attempt at a blog. I've found it difficult to be consistent with it because, well, honestly I don't make it a top priority. I'm hoping to do better with this one. And so, off we go! Our family is at the beginning of making some very big changes. Actually, we are making one HUGE change, and along with that, there are lots of big changes. The HUGE change is that Chad is changing careers. After nearly 13 years as an engineering coordinator in Greenfield, IN, he (we) have decided that at some point in the future, we will be taking over his family's farm. What does this mean? (here come the part about the big changes)... we are moving. We are moving to Shirley, IN. We currently live in Fishers, a northern suburb of Indianapolis. Great schools. Great neighborhoods, great neighbors, great community, and AWESOME church. We are very happy here in Fishers. In fact, we love it here. And for a very long time, I would almost never have imagined living anywhere else. However, over the past year or so, I have started to think very differently. I wouldn't say I (we) changed our minds, but rather, we had a huge change of heart. My husband is not a quitter. He is extremely loyal. And so, I believe and so does he, that there has been some serious divine intervention (more on that later) in our lives which has allowed us to open our hearts to the possibility of moving to the family farm, and, one day, taking it over completely. And so, I guess you could say that we are going to be farmers! The farm is approximately 900 acres. Chad's dad farms corn, soybeans, and some wheat. We are at the beginning stages of renovating Chad's grandfather's house, which was built in the 1950's. The work on the home will begin in October, and we will probably be moving early spring...maybe before. At this point we really don't know. We do know that things are moving forward. We are excited. We are scared. But, we have peace. We have peace that this decision is what is right for our family. And that God is leading us in this direction. I can't believe I am nearing the end of this post and this is the first time I'm mentioning God! The "Guy up there" (my oldest son refers to God this way), is leading the way. We are following. My intention for this blog is to share all things in home renovation, all things farm, all things God, all things homeschooling, all things love, all things joy, all things cooking, all things family, and all things that are frustrating about all of those things! I'll do my best to keep this up. Lord knows I am going to need some place to pour out all of the things going on in my head as we take this journey. Peace! Nicole