The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. — Isaiah 40:8

Many of us have memories of May Day. Not because we celebrate the origins of this sweet holiday, simply because we remember making little May Day baskets filling them with fresh flowers and hanging them on a door of someone very special, ringing the door bell and running. Hiding, laughing and trying not to be found out by the recipient. all the while watching the surprised look and smiles of those receiving the little fragrant cones.

Before the first of May I would find myself pondering the thought of creating little May Day surprises for our friends at Dry Creek.

It was a nice break from all my formulas:} As usual we were busy around here with spring farm work, filling orders, out of town visits, formulating and more formulating:} Though as I was running from one thing to the next I thought, “we could do this, the girls and I will just take a couple hours after am chores, whip up 63 { that was not a typo:} and be at Dry Creek as a family by lunch. Simple:} This was on Monday.  So Rick and I went into our favorite shop, Ellensburg Floral.

Believe me when I say it is a most delightful experience just walking into this shop, it appeals to all my senses. Truly you can always find that something, something special. Every time I go in to her shop it feels new all over again. They are always switching it up in there and bringing in new and irresistible treasures. {Not to forget? She carries AFF products including our new Baby B line:} Dottie helped us to pick out just the perfect spray roses, in an array of delicious colors. { of which I am sure many of our friends had out their back screen door:} We also added a lime green button flower {I know she told me the name though my brain is filled with formulas not flowers:} We were set for the next day, simple right? Wrong:}

It was a beautiful May Day morning. We were excited, why not, I would be working with beautiful flowers and my sweet girls this morning and then get to visit friends and be back by the afternoon to get some work done. Simple, right? We put on some fun music {of which every good project needs } The tables were set up , stations organized, a plan communicated and agreed upon by all as how to proceed. No one was shocked by the number because they have grown up in this home.

My life has been one of multiplication, from 7 blessings, to food, goats, lotions and soaps. The list could go on and on. No problem, I know my multiplication tables, we home school right?:} Lets just say that I may have underestimated the time factor just a teeny, tiny bit. OK we didn’t make it there by lunch, dinner worked just fine:} What started out as a two hour project, ended at approximately 7 hours with more than the girls. We enlisted Rick and Lewis too. I said they were to learn new skill sets on our family farm today:}. I was desperate ok, looking at the clock I was terrified with the thought of what if it were May 2 and we were delivering May Day baskets? That would never do!

There is nothing like your own family business to refine all communication skills and working and growing together. Much love, laughter and glitter were in the air!{ with only a few tense moments in getting the point in the cone just right:} {Just kidding, kind of:} We did arrive just before their dinner hour and delighted all of our hearts to see their smiles and tender hearts receive and reminisce over the sweet little May Day Baskets, and May days of long, long ago. My advice to you is to start planning for May Day in early April, and by all means get your flowers from Ellensburg Floral!

“Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” Proverbs 31:28

Mothers deserve our daily honor, blessing and appreciation. They are our comfort, encouragement and first teacher. Although some of our mothers have passed on from this earth, their lessons they have taught us and their memories live on.  I still do things a certain way because my mother said that was the way it was to be done; we are whom we are in part due to our mother.

Living with my sweet Kimberlee these past 33 years has allowed me to see her constant mother’s heart with all of our 7 blessings and now 4 grand blessings.  Her heart is to minister to each one according to their individual gifts.  It is amazing to me how each of our blessings are similar in some ways, but hugely different in so many other ways.  Kimberlee seeks to touch each of their hearts in a meaningful way to them. It is an incredible delight for me to be a part of it all.

As we take a few moments to recognize and bless all the mothers in our life, we want you to know we have created a limited edition lotion and soap combination for you to give as a unique, one of a kind gift.  Kimberlee has married our lavender and rose essential oils into a delightful blend for a lotion and companion soap gift set.  You’ll notice that the lotion label is blushed with a whisper of pink! When you purchase an 8 ounce lotion at our regular price of $21.95, you get a complimentary heart-shaped soap in lavender rose too!

These will be available in limited edition until they are gone.  Order it here: http://andersonfamilyfarm1979.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=121

I love spring!!! I just love everything about it! Everything is starting to bloom, Goats are giving birth, the fields are greener than ever, and I’m starting to train my horse Patriot! I love my horse! I love to run up and down his fence line with him, watching his mane blow in the wind.

So this is Patriot my horse!!!

I love to pick him dandelions! They are one of his favorite treats!

I pick him big bouquets! He loves eating them and I love arranging them!

I use grass and dandelions and I pretend that I am a flouriest! I arrange every blade of grass. I feed it to him, and watch him devour it!

He is so beautiful! I can’t wait till I can take him out in the big field and ride him!!

But to get to the riding, you have to start with the training. That’s what I’m doing! Our dear neighbor is so kind to come over and teach me. I would not know where to start. But I would NOT even be able to do any of it if it was not for my Lord. He has helped me to overcome my fear, and to start training Patriot with his help!!! By his Pure Grace my horse will get trained!  He is my strength I will put my trust in him!

I have always loved horses for as long as I can remember! They are just so amazing and beautiful animals! My favorite is buckskin! That’s what Pate is!

My goal is to be riding him before this year is up!!! That is if all goes as planned.

I have never been bucked off before, but I am counting on having that experience at least once!!!

I am looking forward to all of the adventures I am to have with Patriot on the ground and on his back!!

This will be my last Scotland post. In just a few months it will have been a year since my trip to Scotland. It seems impossible. Time goes too fast. Looking back into my memories of Scotland, there is one more that I would like to share here.

We were a few days into our journey. It was after dinner and we were heading to a local Church for a prayer meeting. The Church was small, well it wasn’t a Cathedral. But it was beautiful. Its stone tower, spiraling into the dusky sky, had a huge clock on it.

We stepped inside. Large windows, wood-paneled walls, a hushed congregation. We worshipped together, a short message was delivered, then we closed our eyes for prayer. Members of the congregation prayed out, their Scottish accents laced with sincerity. They prayed for revival and salvation to sweep Scotland. They prayed for missionaries spreading the gospel. And they prayed for us, the tour group. They prayed for our safety and blessing while we were in Scotland. There in that small Church in Scotland, with my eyes closed, hearing these brothers and sisters in Christ pray, I felt the incredible blessing of unity. No matter where we are in the world, when in the company of other believers we can enjoy a sweet bond through the blood of Christ. That night in Scotland I had a taste of just how sweet it is to be united with other believers.

As we were leaving the Church, the sun was sinking low, casting hot pink on the clouds. I shivered in the chilly breeze. An older lady, stepping out at the same time, saw me shivering. Patting my arm she said with a little laugh. “Where’s your sweater? You’re in Scotland, lass!”

This made me smile.

I was in Scotland. Reveling in God’s goodness, alongside His people there. It was a gift I will never forget.

We’ve had a taste of summer these last couple days. Sprinklers, sunburns, and grilled dinners on the patio have filled our hours. The sky is wide and blue. The sun burns bright and long till it sinks in the west.

Then a soft breeze arrives to relieve the heat of the day. We’ve spent star-lit nights on the patio, gathered around a boisterous fire. We roast marshmallows, we laugh and talk, we watch the flames dance and the stars move. Last night, the warmth of the day was trapped close to the earth by hovering clouds, creating the perfect atmosphere for thunder and lightning. Brilliant pink and white bolts split the darkness wide open. Stars wink directly over head. It was beautiful. Incredible.
My dear aunt from Utah is here for a wee visit right now, sharing in all the summerness with us. We love having her here!

As I mentioned, grilled dinners are our menu plan for these summer nights. One night we grilled steaks, grown here on our farm. We had named our cows after the villains in Jane Austen’s novels, hoping that come butchering time it would be easier. As the delicious smells of sizzling steak on the barbecue wafted through the air, we all agreed the cows had been a good idea.
We had grilled pizza one night. Fresh goat milk mozzarella bubbled and browned over the smoky heat. Another night we pulled Alaskan salmon, that our friends had given us, from the freezer. It turned out lovely.

For this post, I don’t really have a recipe to share. Just some thoughts and ideas for grilling. When grilling salmon, I feel that less is more. We went with a few simple ingredients to reach the delicately flavored end product. After rinsing the salmon fillets, we patted them dry with paper towels and brushed them generously with melted butter. Off  to an excellent start! Then plenty of salt and pepper and fresh lemon slices went on top, and that was all!

We put them on the hot grill over simmering briquettes. We love using the all natural briquettes from Trader Joes for our grill. Because they’re all natural you don’t have to worry about your food being infused with chemicals while it grills. Briquettes deliver a good flavor, smoky and full, but not over-powering.

Even if it’s not summer yet you can still enjoy the taste of it. Just grill something. Dust off the grill, pull out steak or salmon, add a little butter, lemons, fresh herbs, briquette heat and you’re set for a delicious grilled dinner.

Now I’m going to be up front about this bread right from the start. If you try it once you will most likely become addicted. This should hardly be called bread. Soft buttery squares of dough are layered with heavy handfuls of cinnamon and sugar.

It bakes with dough spilling out of the pan. When you take it out of the oven the edges are browned and crispy. You impatiently pull it, piping hot, out of the pan. The crispy edges give way to a tender, moist center oozing with butter and sugar.

Once you’ve had it, you’ll crave it. Nothing else will be able to take its place.

I was craving cinnamon bread. It seemed that everywhere I looked there was another recipe for it. I read, compared, and researched different recipes, because I was really hungry for some good cinnamon bread and if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. I finally narrowed it down to two recipes. One was from a “Cook’s Illustrated” magazine, the other was from a blog called “Joy the Baker.”
I was feeling indecisive. I considered just making both of the recipes. My friend Kirsten thought that might be a bit obsessive. Maybe it would be… I finally settled on Joy the Baker’s recipe. And now, I never need to look for another cinnamon bread recipe.

Cinnamon Bread Dough

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
4 ½ tsp dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
½ cup butter
2/3 cup of milk
½ cup water
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Filling

2 cups sugar
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
½ cup of butter

*this recipe fills two 4 ½ inch by 8 inch loaf pans.

Put 4 cups of flour, your sugar, yeast, and salt in a bowl.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and milk together until butter is just melted.

Then add water and vanilla. Let the mixture cool till it’s about 115 to 125 degrees. Pour the milk mixture and the eggs into your dry ingredients.

Mix it with a spatula. It’s going to feel like the eggs and flour mixture won’t come together, but just keep stirring it. Add another cup of flour, to another cup in-a-half depending on how your dough looks. You want the dough to be pretty moist and sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about an hour till doubled in size.

When your dough is ready, melt your butter in a saucepan till it’s just beginning to brown. Split the sugar and spices into two separate bowls.

Deflate your dough and cut it in two even pieces.

Roll each piece into a large rectangle about 12” tall and about 20” long. {or as long as it will go} Use a pastry brush and spread half of the browned butter on each rectangle. Then spread your sugar and spice mixture on top. It may seem like a bit too much sugar. But it’s not.

Slice your rectangle into four even pieces that are about 20” long and 3” wide.

Stack the strips on top of each other and cut them into five even stacks of squares.

Now paint the loaf pans with melted butter and stack your squares of dough in it.

Let them rise for 30 minutes. You’ll see your dough start to creep up to the top of the pan.

Pop them in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

You might want to have a cookie sheet under your pans because this bread tends to want to spill over, dripping with butter and sugar.

Try to let it cool for ten minutes. If you can. But don’t let it get too cool, because it’s the absolute best when its piping hot!

One of these loaves, hot out of the oven, wrapped in a cellophane bag, makes a perfect gift.

Waffles always make a good breakfast. In our family, waffles or pancakes are our Sunday or Saturday breakfast. But really they’re good any day you make them! This particular day, I felt like waffles that are light and crisp. Mary and I started  pulling out ingredients. We pulled out the bright orange “Betty Crocker” cookbook that looks about a century old. I love that cookbook.

Cookbooks are always better when they have that “lived in” look. The pages are brown around the edges. They have dried egg yolk, oil spots, and crusty batter covering some of them. It looks loved and well used.

Being my usual multi-tasking self, I made some strawberry sauce and set it bubbling on the stove-top, while I started the wheat grinder filled with soft white wheat berries.

I was stirring the sauce, blissfully unaware of what the wheat grinder was doing behind me. I turned around. The lid of the grinder had come off and the whole kitchen, floors, counters, were covered in a fine white dust! Oh goodness! It would appear that I’m not as good at multi-tasking as I sometimes think… Bother. Having to clean the kitchen from a flour snowstorm tends to slow breakfast down a bit. But on with the waffles!

Classic Waffles

4 eggs
4 cups milk, buttermilk, {or I usually use our goat milk keifer which can be used as a substitute for buttermilk.}
4 cups flour {I always use pastry wheat flour}
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
heavy ½ cup shortening {I use Organic all-vegetable shortening}

*I always swirl a couple heavy tablespoons of cinnamon into my waffle and pancake batter

Mix your eggs and keifer.

Add your dry ingredients and shortening.

Mix well and add cinnamon if you want.

Then scoop your batter onto a hot waffle grill.

We love our waffles with a sunny-side-up egg on top, so I had a pan of eggs bubbling on the stove-top.

Serve with an egg on top, some strawberry sauce, natural syrup, and a bit of powdered sugar. Perfect.

Then when breakfast is over I pull on pink rubber gloves and do the dishes.

Its dark outside. But we’re all hungry for some dessert. We had frozen cranberries, pecans, and white chocolate. Hhhmmmm…Time to pull out my pastry recipe! So I did. I made pastry, stuck it in the freezer. Rolled it out, and cut circles out of it. I brushed the pastry circles with egg wash. Meanwhile, Mary, who is always my expert not to mention patient helper in the kitchen, was chopping up cranberries and pecans. We mixed them with sugar and flour, put a small scoop on each tart and popped them in the oven. The pastry baked up flakey and crisp. The cranberries caramelized in the high heat. Then we sprinkled shavings of white chocolate on top. Delightful. Simply delightful.

Grace and Mary’s Cranberry Tartlets

*For the pastry recipe reference my quiche post. I just made one batch of pastry dough.
*this recipe makes ten 5” tartlets.

2 cups of frozen cranberries
1 cup pecans
¼ cup brown sugar plus more for sprinkling on top
¼  cup to ½ cup flour
1 egg yolk for painting
shaved white chocolate for garnish {if desired}

Once your pastry is chilled, cut it out.

I just used one of our bowls as a reference for my cutting. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Paint your pastry circles with egg yolk. Chop up your cranberries and pecans, mix with flour and sugar. Scoop about a ¼ cup of filling on each circle.

Sprinkle some brown sugar over them and bake for about 10 minutes or more. I baked mine on pizza stones.

Pull them out and sprinkle with chocolate if you want.

These were a perfect late-night treat…

I was searching through a breakfast cookbook around noon, looking for something to try. I came across a German apple pancake and decided that was the one! Mary just laughed and started peeling some green apples for me. She’s so sweet. As usual, I was trying to make it in a fraction of the time that it was supposed to take so I didn’t stop to think. Like I should have. You’re supposed to start cooking the pancake on the stovetop and finish it in the oven. So you’re supposed to use a dutch oven. Well I was doubling the recipe so I didn’t think it would fit in our dutch oven. I had the brilliant idea of using our stone 9 by 13. Stones are not supposed to go on the stovetop. Not supposed to. Well, I didn’t stop long enough to think of that… Ignorantly, I plopped the stone on top of the burner and turned it on high. Stuck my butter in the pan to melt and turned around to chop apples. There was an ear-splitting sound. Like someone banged the metal blade of a knife on a pot. I turned around startled. There was a giant crack right down the middle of the stone! I jumped as another resounding ‘pop’ filled the air. I turned off the burner and moved the stone. Uuuuggghhh… In case you didn’t know, I have a knack for breaking dishes. Dishes of all kinds. Usually expensive kinds. Like my Mom’s favorite Portmeirion plate… The same week that I broke the stone baking dish I broke another ceramic baking dish when I put it in the oven on convect roast. If you’re considering using a stone on your stovetop, or roasting something in a baking dish, don’t do it. It’s really not a good idea. Trust me.

After despairing over the broken stone, Mary helped me rally my spirits and we moved on with the pancake, using an appropriate pan this time…

German Apple Pancake

10 eggs
3 tsp. Vanilla
¼ cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
4 large tart green apples, peeled and chopped

Whisk all these ingredients together till well blended.

In your ‘stovetop safe’ pan place a couple tablespoons of butter, with a couple tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of cinnamon.
When the butter is melted add your apples and stir around until they’re soft and the sugar is starting to caramelize.

Shake your pan so that your apples are evenly distributed, then pour your egg mixture over the apples. Sprinkle the top with more cinnamon and cover so that it can bake.

At this point, you can either finish baking the pancake in the oven {only if your pan is oven safe!} or you can just finish it on low heat on the stovetop.

When its baked through, slice and enjoy hot with maple syrup.

Breaking the dish did take some of the fun out of this pancake for me. But eating it, made it all better.

With Easter right around the corner, we had an Easter Blessing open house last Saturday.  Easter is such a special time for us. It’s set in a season where everything around us is bursting with new life. Green grass is sprouting, gardens are growing, flowers are peeking, baby goats are born, fluffy chicks are hatching.

And in the midst of all this beautiful new life God has created we celebrate the miraculous resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The miracles all around remind us of that one pivotal miracle in the history of the world. Where God sent his only son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and after Jesus paid the debt, God raised him from the dead to reign with him in Heaven. That is the miracle that we celebrate on Easter.

Our house was bursting with baby Spring animals but Saturday morning we woke up to snow! Cold and clear outside, warm and bright inside.

Pale yellow, pink, and spring green ribbon decorated the inside of the house.

Vases of pale green daffodils waiting to push through soft yellow petals, were scattered around our house.

Pots of bright pansies stood on our porch, along with a couple of soft baby goats, frolicking in fresh straw.

Inside we had a galvanized tub of fluffy, yellow chicks chirping away.

This open house was the first time we featured our new “Baby B” product line. Rich lotions, creamy diaper salves, healing oils, and tummy butters graced with delicate scents.

We are so excited to be offering this new line of pure all-natural products for your baby’s sensitive skin.

It is always a blessing when we have an open house.

Whether our crowd is large or small, it’s always a poignant reminder of how perfectly our Lord orchestrates life. Everyone who should have been there, was. It’s the same each time we have an open house, and I’m always amazed. I shouldn’t be. We pray, we ask God to bring the people He desires to be there, and we can have peace in the knowledge that He does!

Thank you to everyone who came out to our farm Saturday, despite the snow!