Easy Stovetop Granola

This recipe is a favorite of mine. I have made it quite a few times now and love it! It's great as a cereal with milk, or I also like it sprinkled on top of yogurt as a snack. It's easy and quick to make.

A bowl of yummy granola:)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon molasses
1 cup dried fruit and nuts

Add old-fashioned rolled oats and 1 tbsp butter to the pan and toast for 4 minutes. Spread the oatmeal on a cookie sheet to cool.

Using the same pan, melt butter, molasses, honey, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir untill well mixed and bubbly.

Add oatmeal back to pan along with any other dried fruits, seeds or nuts that you might like. Cook and stir for another 4-5 minutes.

Spread on a cookie sheet to cool. If you like little clusters of granola, spread it out very loosely and don't over-handle. Place in a 170 degree oven for a few minutes. Turn oven off and let granola rest for another 2-3 minutes before removing from oven. Store in an airtight container. If you like a softer granola, skip this step altogether. If you prefer it more crunchy, let it remain in the oven for a little longer -- it hardens while cooling. Enjoy!

Perspective For Mothers

"As the years go by, you forget the bad parts. Or at least you put them in perspective as unimportant. Before you know it, you're wishing you had a baby around again. But be careful not to wish you life away.

First you wish you were pregnant. And then you wish you had a big belly to show off. But when the belly gets to be a burden, you wish for labor to come. And as soon as it comes, you wish it were over. You wish for the baby, and then you wish he was older. You wish your children toilet trained and done with school. You wish them grown up. And then you get what you wish, and your children are gone, and you've wished motherhood away.

The time it takes to have a baby is so fleeting and so full of everything, that maybe there isn't opportunity to savor it until it's over. And when it's over, you're left with you photographs and your memories and your regrets that you didn't appreciate it all the more at the time. You forget how busy you were and how tired. You remember only how wonderful it was to be a mother, and is.

So savor every morsel of motherhood as it comes along. It's important to make it count."

~~ Alexandra McCall (slightly revised) ~~

2011 Seeding

On May 6th we were finally able to start seeding. Thus far it has been going relatively well with only a few mishaps (getting stuck, having things break etc.). This year we are growing: canola, wheat, flax, lentils, and alfalfa. There is a buddy seat in one of the tractors and Abigail and I have enjoyed riding with Graham.

Inside the tactor.

Looking behind us from inside the tractor.
Here we are stopped to add canola seed to the tank.

Some of the unseeded acres.

The tractor.

Acres already seeded with Canola.

Behind the drill.

Rock Paintings

I thought it would be fun to do a little rock painting, and so, after I found some smooth rocks at my in-laws, I had fun painting the below animals. :) Around a month ago I was able to get a bunch of acrylic paint for 40% off at a craft store so that's is what I used for these.

What I've done so far.

A little piglet, I think this one is my favorite:).

Lion.

Hamster.

Rabbit.