Local Eats: Peaches

One of my lifestyle goals is to consistently choose to eat locally and sustainably. This is easier said than done! With five children in tow, it isn't convenient to get to the farmers' markets to hunt down local goods. It takes extra work and planning for me...and when I feel tired, I opt for convenience for energy's sake.

But when my grocery store advertised "South Carolina Peaches", I was there! I have bought pound after pound of them...so drippy sweet...summer goodness at its peak! And I have tried to get creative by finding new-to-me peach recipes to celebrate our beautiful state's local flavor.

How about Paula Deen's Peach Cobbler? I plan to bake this treat for our family's taste bud enjoyment tomorrow afternoon. Paired with some vanilla ice cream and we will be in fruity nirvana!

For my baby Luke (who actually just turned 1!), I just spent an hour baking some peaches for him. He sits in his highchair and squeals and grins when I place a heaping ramekin of these in front of him! All that peach juice running down his bare little chest just makes him all the sweeter!

And if I could just convince myself that canning isn't as hard as it seems, I would love to try to make this delicious looking peach butter. Wouldn't that make a lovely summer gift for friends or a hostess gift when you are a guest for dinner?

And doesn't this peach salsa look amazing?

How are you managing to use fresh, local ingredients creatively in your cooking?

Lovely Links

Here are some fun and interesting reads I have come across:

Trading Up...aren't we glad we ended up here?
Femivores...I see that I now have an official title.
The Homework Myth...I don't know a single family that likes it.
The Messy Middle...isn't it time we just accept it?
The Purist Trap...Lord, help me let go of "my way".

The Books of Summer

:: my summer reads so far ::

The Help ~ Kathryn Stockett
The School of Essential Ingredients ~ Erica Bauermeister
The Happiness Project ~ Gretchen Rubin
Olive Kitteridge ~ Elizabeth Strout
No More Words:A Journal of My Mother, Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~ Reeve Lindbergh
Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' ~ Paula Deen
Please Don't Eat The Daisies ~ Jean Kerr
Under a Wing: A Memoir ~ Reeve Lindbergh
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks ~ Rebecca Skloot
Ella Minnow Pea ~ Mark Dunn
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table ~ Molly Wizenberg
The Birth House ~ Ami McKay
The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir ~ Katrina Kenison
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt ~ Beth Hoffman
A Little House Reader: A Collection of Writings by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Give me some of your best summer reading selections?

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Doing What I Already Know

I love blogs. And books. And new ideas and concepts. And magazines. Any good resource. But goodness if I don't run up against "inspiration overload" on a regular basis. Do you?

I get struck by the crazy amount of information that we have access to these days. The ideas and choices are astounding...in cooking, in cleaning, in homesteading, in schooling, in crafting, in decorating, in serving, in organizing, in giving...you name it! There is so much good stuff out there, but sometimes it's like when you eat too much chocolate...you. just. feel. sick.

American Consumerism has found its way into the information realm...how much news or ideas or concepts can I devour today? We blow through blogs or books at lightning speeds to fill our hearts and minds...do we become like big dripping sponges filled with information that need to be wrung out in service and productivity?

Too many times all this inspiration just leaves me tired. It can create a lack of contentment with being simply who I am, where I am, with what I already have. Or subtle forms of guilt sneak their way into my mind...I should cook better, I should clean better, I should decorate differently, I should school differently, I should learn to do what she does....oh that nasty comparison stuff!

Can I be content doing what I already know to do?

Don't get me wrong...I am not going to cancel blog subscriptions or banish my books. It's the whole "all things in moderation"; when you recognize fatigue in yourself, find where the balance has shifted. I already have enough sewing tutorials to last me years. I already have a binder filled with delicious recipes. And I know the way that our family learns best in schooling. I know the way I like to clean and organize my day. I know the life I want to live.

I simply need to rest in what I already know, and live at peace from that place.

Sewing Moments

Normally I don't sew much in the summer, but a few projects here and there caught my eye and sparked some creativity. I had forgotten how much I love sewing. Baby-brain has kept my project queue minimal this past year...I just can't think effectively enough to read a pattern and complete it!

Here are a few simple projects I have worked on:

counting bean bags for a 4 year old birthday gift

a magnetic go-fish game for Will

for kicks patchwork ball for Luke

patching up some holes on a vintage tea towel

a pair of happy camping pants for Luke (still needs elastic in waist!)

simple table runner top that I pieced last night (hope to finish today!)

found this cute "Little Golden Book" fabric the other day...give me some ideas of what to make with it for my one year old?? was thinking maybe a library tote bag?

The Voice

As I was nearing the end of last week, I had a few rocky days. Spiritual turmoil and confusion. No matter where I turn I seem to always hear "the voices" of the Christian world telling me their opinions on this and that with the subtle message that their thoughts are God's thoughts and their ways are His ways for everyone. These voices influence me as I sit in the morning to open the Word...

I feel so unsure when I approach the Word. I read it with many of these commentators and Bible teachers' voices whispering their own particular interpretation of the passages. Stress starts building in my mind and heart. It causes me to question and wonder what it really means that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth?

I read the Word as a former minister to college students with shades of the Great Commission and discipleship influencing how I should apply the passages and I begin to feel that sinking feeling of "oh no, I am not doing enough for the kingdom".

I read the Word as one spiritually abused in a home church gone awry; these very words I read cause me to flinch as if I am about to be spiritually slapped by a righteously indignant and berating God who wants nothing less than sinless perfection.

I read the Word with the subtle influences of many--charismatics, evangelicals, theologians and authors from many backgrounds--each with their own version of "truth".

This was the heart-backdrop when I entered church on Sunday...a sense of foreboding.

As an 81 year old pastor (whom I had never heard before) began to speak, I thought, "How can I add another voice to the cacophony of 'authorities' swirling around in my head?" I was about to leave...the spiritual panic was drowning me.

But this gentle man shared his heart humbly.

"I don't know all the answers--I am still learning." He's been a pastor for over 50 years. He shared thoughts on prayer that are simple with the tone of kindness and encouragement--not as a "spiritual giant" who's trying to push me or convict me. I could hardly hear what he was saying because I was so overcome with how beautiful it was to be with him. His spirit exuded humility and simplicity and love.

Through this humble servant, I was reminded of the Word. Not the written Scriptures but the Word made flesh--Jesus. The Humble and Gentle One who gathers children, touches the broken, meets the needy, heals the broken-hearted, upholds the weak, and even fishes with friends. This Word doesn't make me shy away in fear. This Word by His very nature beckons me to touch the hem of His garment--to ask for healing for my spiritual diseases, to be settled by His presence, to learn from His gentle ways. The Authority of humility and service and love.

So I turn my attention away from the voices of Christianity that demand of my spirit and turn to the Voice of One who offers rest for my soul. I make my focus Jesus--not words on a page, not "right theology", not teaching of men, not principles for living.

Oh, to be a humble servant as He is.
A voice to others that points to His Voice.
Work that in me, Jesus, work that in me.