right now

 

Right now I'm:

more than a little obsessed with my newest hobby, embroidery. And french knots? Oh how much fun they are! I'm loving these cute patterns from Sarah Jane.

making up for a terrible week last week by making these yummy and healthy truffles for a little Valentine's Day treat (recipe below).

enjoying turning my built-in in the dining room into my craft cupboard. Out goes the china, in goes the yarn and fabric.

loving the quiet pace of Mondays when Shane is home and he and the girls work on Bible Study Fellowship together in the afternoon.

making this citrus cleaner and looking forward to making these canning jar soap dispenses too.

planning some new sewing project from this book and looking for the perfect pattern for peasant dresses for my girls.

thinking about and planning some homeschool writing classes that I may be teaching in the fall.

loving the way I feel since I cut out grains and increased my veggies by 50%. I finally got the green smoothies just right and that combined with a hard boiled egg make the perfect breakfast. And I'm loving the challenging of  making old favorites grain free (like mini pizzas on butternut squash rounds instead of dough or lasagna with zucchini noodles instead of pasta, or baked spaghetti with spaghetti squash "noodles"). Fifteen pounds down (since Jan 1) and I feel so much more energetic too.

Healthy Chocolate Truffles
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut butter or coconut cream
Unsweetened shredded coconut

Melt together honey, coconut oil and coconut cream/butter. Mix in cocoa powder. Put in freezer for 20 minutes (not longer or it will get too hard). Scoop out and roll into balls. Roll in unsweetened shredded coconut and store in fridge

Thanksgiving Squash Rolls

These delicious squash dinner rolls are my favorite no-fail bread for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other special dinner during the fall months. Made from scratch using any kind of fresh squash or canned pumpkin, they are oh so easy to make and always turn out perfectly soft. I get so many requests for this recipe I'm posting it here to share with you.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm milk
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 egg lightly beaten
3/4 pureed squash or canned pumpkin
5 tbsp real butter (room temperature)
4 or 5 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp butter melted
2 tsp poppy seeds

1. Combine milk, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Add egg and beat well to combine.
2. Add squash and 5 tbsp butter and mash with a fork until butter is all mixed in. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix with wooden spoon. Slowly add more flour by the cupful until dough collects and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Knead for 2 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Place in a big greased bowl, cover with a towel and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm location. I put mine in front of the wood stove or in a warmed up (and then shut off) oven.
4. Punch down dough, turn out on a floured surface and knead for about 7 minutes until smooth and supple. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Cut dough into 4 balls; cut each ball into 6 pieces (24 pieces total). Roll each piece into a round and arrange on a baking sheet so they barely touch. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Enjoy and let me know how they turned out for you!