Strawberries!

 I've been saying for awhile now how I was looking forward to strawberry season and that I really wanted to try to make some strawberry jelly.

Well, when my hubby was traveling back home this past weekend, he noticed that along the coast it was harvest time for strawberries. He stopped on the side of the road and bought me this case--it is 15 pounds of strawberries. All for only $4.75. what a great deal!!

But then my dilemma was, what do I do with all these strawberries.  And I will only have 2 days to use them all before we are travel for a week.

Well, so far I managed to squeeze in making strawberry coffeecake,  strawberry syrup (to put on pancakes or waffles), strawberry bread and then 2 batches of strawberry jelly.  And, of course we've eaten plenty of fresh strawberries, and I still froze 3 quart size bags full. 

I think we'll have strawberry muffins when we return!

Positive Reports and Testimony of God's Power

All day today, so far, they have received positive reports on little Elias!!  He has had a slight fever, but it is lower than it was yesterday, and the doctors believe his body is fighting the infection.

They also decided to slowly start taking him off the ventilator, which is a good thing!

This afternoon, John was able to go in and see Elias, and he said that this was the first time that he has seen Elias awake and alert.  Elias got so excited when his mom walked in the room that the nurses were doing everything they could to calm him down!  They ended up making Luisa leave the room so that he would calm down some.

He is doing better than he was yesterday.  Yesterday, it all looked grim. The doctor only gave him a 40% chance of survival.  We sent out emails and prayer requests, and HUNDREDS, of people have been praying.  Ruben and Luisa have been overwhelmed to see the messages and emails from people they don't even know!

After everyone started praying for a miracle, it was a amazing to see how God was working in his little body today!!!  :)

This afternoon, a nurse rushed in to the unit and started telling everyone, "They are doing the procession outside with the little virgin.  Go out there! She will make your family members all better."   Literally everyone in the room (well, not the patients), but about 100 people,  ran outside to pray to the little virgin and to give money, all with the hopes that she would heal and save their family member.

The only ones left were Ruben, Luisa, and John.  The nurses asked why they weren't rushing out there too, because this would make him all better.

Ruben and Luisa have been a witness and testimony to the power of the one true GOD during their stay there!! They were able to share with the nurses today. They have been able to share with other family members that are there. 

Praise the Lord for the work HE is doing! Praise Him for how He is already being glorified! May He continue to be glorified in all of this, and may He use this to be a testimony of Himself and to bring people to Him!!

Elias is still not out of the woods. They still consider these next 2 days as critical and say that if he is still doing good on Friday, then his chances of survival are really good.

Elias update

The doctor just gave them really bad news. Elias has had a fever again.  The dr. said, "This scares me to death."  He also said that he has never seen anyone survive the surgery that Elias had.  We are praying for a miracle!  Also, pray for Ruben and Luisa, as they are not handling the news very well!

URGENT Prayer Request

Many of you remember us mentioning the names Ruben and Luisa, the pastor of the church in Huancane, where we used to live.

Their little boy, 2 year old Elias, is in critical condition.  On Friday evening, he swallowed a flat battery, about the size of a penny.  He had to be transferred by ambulance 5 hours away to a better hospital over night and arrived there early Saturday morning.  That afternoon, they performed surgery to remove the battery, and also to repair the hole that was made in his esophagus as the battery acid leaked out. 

He was told that he would be in the ICU for at least 10 days and then the doctors would know more.  John flew to Arequipa to be with the family during this time, and just this morning, the doctor let them know of the very serious state Elias is in right now.

Yesterday afternoon, Elias had a fever. This is a sign of infection, which is not good.  Today the fever is gone (a praise!).  However, the doctor told him that the 5th and 6th days are the critical points (Thursday and Friday).  Basically, the dr. told them that he if can live past Friday, then he will have good odds of surviving.  The dr. said that right now he has a 50% chance of dying and a 40% chance of living. (I'm not sure what the other 10% are?)  The fear is that an infection will set in from the acid and saliva that leaked out of the hole in his esophagus and spread to the rest of his body.

PLEASE PRAY that no infection will set in! Pray that his little body will be strong enough to fight off infection and that he will heal fully and quickly.  Even if he survives now, the dr. explained that he could still have future problems (scar tissue closing his throat, etc).  Pray that he will heal completely and not have any further problems! Pray for guidance and directions for the doctors and wisdom in knowing how to treat him.  Pray for GOD to be glorified in all of this! 

Ruben and Luisa have been told how many people are praying for them and they are very encouraged by that right now.  Luisa said that she has , "full confidence he will heal because of all the people praying for him." 

These next few days are critical.  When you think of 2 year old Elias, please remember to pray for him!

Thank you!

Baking...

I have to confess. I love to bake.  I mean, I really LOVE to bake!! Cookies, cakes, breads, all sorts of stuff!! And it isn't that I just love to eat it all; I just like to make it all.  When I was pregnant with my oldest son, I didn't have too many cravings.  What I craved was baking something!  We ALWAYS had baked goods at our house. I shared most of the stuff with friends and our house helper at the time was more than happy to help eat some of it during her morning break.

I've recently been on the quest for healthier options that I can make. I still want to make something. I just don't want to have all unhealthy stuff around the house. 

There are a few recipes that I've found and have been making for a few weeks.  Today was our (mine and my 3 year old's) baking day while brother was at school.

We did 2 loaves of whole wheat bread--to be honest, I'm still looking for an AWESOME whole wheat bread (no white flour mixed in) that works great at over 10,000 feet.  Any ideas?   Please help!!!

Then we did some homemade granola (last time they came out more as bars; this time I had more "chunks"), sticky balls, pecan pie larabars (recipe posted in previous post), and a new recipe--Fruit & Nut Crisps.

If you'd like to try some of these homemade goodies, here ya go. I got all of the recipes from other sites, and I just tweaked them a little (mostly to the ingredients that I could actually find here).

 

Granola or Granola Bars—

I use the recipe from  100daysofRealFood and I just tweak it to the ingredients we like to have it in:

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats (if you want bars use steel cut oats so it will stick together better)
• 1 cup raw chopped almonds
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup raw hulled sesame seeds (optional)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract



Granola "chunks"

• Also need – parchment paper

Directions

1. Place an oven rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a large rimmed rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place the oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, seeds and spices in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine.
3. Heat the butter and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Stir in sea salt and vanilla. Remove from the heat.
4. Pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are evenly moist. Turn the granola onto the prepared pan and press firmly with a spatula to create an even layer, about 1/2 inch thick. Bake until the granola is firm to the touch and a deep golden brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. (The granola will become crisper as it cools.) Cool completely in the pan, then lift an edge of parchment and break the granola into pieces (if making bars) or break it up into small chunks by pounding it in a zip lock bag (if making cereal). Store in plastic bags or air tight container at room temperature. The granola will keep at the height of its texture and flavor for 2 weeks. Serve with dried or fresh fruit and milk or yogurt, or eat out of hand.

Makes about 3 pounds

Sticky balls

Sticky Balls—(affectionately named by my 3 year old b/c they are sticky when he helps me make them!)

1 cup oatmeal

½ cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

½ cup coconut flakes

½ cup chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix everything in a medium bowl until well blended and there are no remaining dry spots.  Let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!

The Fruit & Nut Crisps will come after I finish the 2nd part of making them!

Garden

Did you know that Peru is the land of potatoes? Many sources say there are around 3,000 varieties of potatoes grown here!  I've seen a bunch of different ones here--long, thin, finger shaped things, along with white, yellow, brown, and red potatoes. And don't forget the ones that are purple and white inside. There are sweet potatoes too--the kind that is orange on the inside and a kind that is white on the inside.  There are also a LOT more varieties that I still don't recognize and I haven't tried.

Last year, when we moved in this house, we didn't realize that there were potatoes already planted in the little garden area and in the terraces.  We don't know who planted them, and we were sure surprised when we saw the plants starting to grow!  (We've seen enough potato plants to be able to recognize them.)

This year, rainy season is just beginning and so it is the time to start planting.  We weren't sure at first what to plant; then we decide to stick with what we know grows the best here--POTATOES!!

Hopefully, we'll see some little purple flowers growing soon as those potatoes start to form! :)

New Apron

It all started when I got a couple of new pairs of jeans last month.  One day, as I was baking some bread, I looked down and saw a flour hand print on my darker pair of jeans.   Hmm...I never noticed that before on the light color jeans.  I decided if I am going to unconsciously wipe my hands on my pants, then maybe I should actually get an apron. 

A friend had posted a picture on Facebook of aprons that her and her daughter made.  I thought it was such a cute idea, and I knew that I needed to try it!!

I found a pattern and instructions on line, spent a couple of afternoons during nap time, and WA-LAH---a new apron!!

Birthday

This post is only a couple of weeks old, but I had to share some pictures from my little man turning 3!!


While we were in the states, we wanted to do a party with family.   We've never been able to give him a big party, and this was the first year where he really understood it all.  He was So excited to be able to pick out Thomas the Train as his theme!

Wearing his Thomas shirt, of course!  He's showing off his new bookbag--Thomas!

In Peru, on his actual birthday we did something small for him, and he was excited to wear his party hat again.

Homemade Pecan Pie Larabars

Ok, so these came out even better than I expected! They are great!!

I had to share right away!  I saw this recipe a little while ago and I've just been waiting for time to try them out.  It was SO easy to make them! The only problem is that I haven't been able to find dried dates in Peru (I brought these back with us last month). 

Here's the recipe from deliciouslyorganic.net:

Pecan Pie Larabars
Makes 10 bars4 1/2 cups pitted dates
3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper (horizontally and vertically) and then brush with coconut oil.
2. Pour dates into food processor and process until they become paste-like and form a ball in the bowl (if your dates are very dry you can add a tablespoon or two of hot water to help them break down). Pour dates into a large mixing bowl. Place almonds and pecans in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour the nuts over the dates and also add the vanilla, cinnamon, and pinch of salt. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until combined. Press mixture into baking pan, cover (I just used the parchment that was hanging over the sides of the pan) and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Remove from fridge and cut into 10 evenly-sized bars.

I wrapped mine up in individual pieces to keep in the fridge/freezer for when we want a handy, healthy, snack! :)