Ham and Lentil Soup

Do you ever wonder what to do with those lentils in your pantry. Well, here is a great recipe for using those beans.

Ham and Lentil Soup
Needed:
2 c. lentils
2 c. diced ham
2 ribs celery diced
1 tbls. minced garlic
3 large carrots diced
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2 quarts water
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to crockpot. Turn on low and cook 8-9 hours. I usually check mine every now and then just to see if it needs a little more seasoning. Serve with warm homemade bread and a salad for more veggies.

Good morning!

Good morning from Whisper Wind. we are moving slowly this morning. The rain moved out and the frigid cold moved in. It was tough getting the fire going before I even had my coffee. We have two fireplaces in our home and use them to heat the house, until we go to bed. We don't every leave the fire going while we sleep, so we use our central heater for that. I much prefer the fireplaces. They always seem to make a home feel warm and cozy. We also love to gather in front of the fire for schoolwork on cold days. It was hard getting up this morning cold mornings always make the bed feel so much better. But alas, duty calls and I had to get up. Friday is a pretty easy day around here. It is the days that we tie up all loose ends and get the house tidied for the weekend. The weekends are a nightmare around here. It seems the house gets messier over the weekend than the rest of the week. So I try to tidy and straighten again in preparation for this household meltdown. I guess that is why Monday's is such a busy hectic day around here, I am trying to get the house back in order from the weekend. Well, I guess I had better get busy for now. Even though it is an easy day it is still a full one.

Inflation and What it Means to You

Well inflation is here and if the federal government has its way it will get worse. The 700 billion dollar bailout is now over 2 trillion dollars and rising. Where is the government getting all this money? Simple, the Federal Reserve Bank is printing it as fast as they can and then the Federal Government (and consequently we the people) buy it from them. This "money" is not money at all it is paper and nothing more. That is another story, though, we are talking about inflation. So what is inflation? Well, to make it really simple inflation is when the value of the dollar goes down, and the cost of goods goes up. You have less buying power. What cost you today 1.00, tomorrow will cost 1.25 and two weeks from now will cost you 1.75. Meanwhile pay rates can't keep up and at the rate of unemployment (500,000 jobs lost in November alone) means that you can no longer afford to buy that 1.00 item at the cost of 1.75. Now, we have economists in Forbes Magazine calling for a drastic decrease in the dollar overnight. Each American at this point is in debt 500,000 dollars. That isn't personal debt folks that is what your government has given of your future earnings to big bankers and corporations who could not manage their businesses! What does this mean for you and for me, us little guys struggling to make ends meet. It means you don't have much time left before you may have to go stand in a bread line. We take a stick of gum for granted. When Russia was the communist Soviet Union people in Russia thought gum was a luxury item. Are you prepared for rising food costs, clothing costs, utility costs. If you are struggling now then chances are you aren't. I highly recommend learning everything you can about being self sufficient. If you think you can't because you live in the city, think again and then check out the Path to Freedom Project. Those folks live in the middle of San Francisco and they put me to shame. Our goal here at Whisper Wind is to be self sufficient. I learned a lot from my grandparents and then I have learned more over the years. There are things I am still learning. So I encourage you all to join me and let's all learn together and teach each other. I always say to prepare just in case of an emergency and folks our economy is a category 7 hurricane and 10 category 5 tornadoes wrapped up in one and this monster is headed straight for us. I know that sounds like doom and gloom, but folks this stuff is real. The spending gets worse in Washington and they no longer care what We the People have to say. May God Bless and keep you all.

Keeping Eggs out of the Cold

Just a few ways to keep eggs without refrigeration

1. Fresh eggs can be kept on the sideboard or kitchen counter for up to a week with no refrigeration.

2. For keeping fresh eggs up to 6 months- Take a small amount of salt butter (must be salt butter, no margarine and no salt free butter, as salt butter does not go rancid) put it in one hand and coat the shell of your fresh egg so that every pore is covered. Air is the enemy of your egg. Doing this seals the air so that it doesn't make the egg go bad. Next dry a sufficient amount of bran in the oven making sure it is thoroughly dry. Moisture is the number 2 enemy of eggs. Layer some of the bran ina box and place your eggs small ends down in the bran not letting the eggs touch the bottom of the box. Once you have a layer of eggs, then layer on some more bran, making sure you get in between the eggs. Then place another layer of eggs and another layer of bran. Now you are done and your eggs will last about 6 months.

Always check your eggs before using, there are a couple of ways. Place the egg in water, if it floats and doesn't sink throw it out. Always crack eggs in a seperate bowl in case one is bad you haven't ruined a whole recipe or meal.

Disclaimer* I do not recommend any of this for store bought eggs as they are already several weeks old when they get to the store. I have not had a problem with this storage method, but that is not to say that someone else won't. Please understand that I am not responsible for the quality or non quality of your preserved eggs. Thanks.

Dependant on Refrigeration

We in American society today are so dependant on refrigeration. In fact the bigger the refrigerator the better. Well here at Whisper Wind we want to cut down and possibly cut out our refrigeration needs in the future. Why would we want to do this? How can we possibly do this? We NEED refrigeration! Well, no we don't. My grandparents did just fine without it as did generations before them. Only the wealthier folks in the city had an ice box (the kind of refrigerator that took a huge block of ice delivered every other day by the ice man). Folks in the country didn't have ice delivery, so they had no need of an ice box. How did they live without refrigeration? Well, I have decided that I am going to share what I have learned about non-refrigeration as we here at Whisper Wind farm slowly but surely dwindle our need for that energy sucking monster. One think hurricane Ivan taught us was that it was really bad, really expensive to depend on a refrigerator or freezer. So come join us in our quest towards independence and away from dependence.

Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

This is an awesome peanut butter pie recipe. It is wonderfully creamy.
Ingredients:
1-4 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. milk
1 8 oz. tub whipped topping
1 graham cracker pie crust

Instructions:
Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy then add peanut butter and milk. Beat again slowly until smooth. Blend in the topping until there are no white streaks. Pour into pie shell and freeze. Serve with whipped topping, peanuts and drizzled with chocolate. Enjoy

Games?! Really?!

Homechooling with games, who knew education could be this fun. We use quite a few games in our homeschool curriculum from boards games to internet games. Old fashioned board games like Scrabble and Boggle are great vocabulary and spelling builders, while Monopoly and Life teach about finance and math. See education can be fun and when you kid needs something a little more high tech to suit their fancy then we can turn to the internet. Some great sites for all things in the educational department are Funbrain and I Know That. Both sites have wonderful games that help your child with whatever they need help with. My daughter was having a hard time learning her multiplication tables. We tried flash cards and drills and whatever else that I could think of and still struggled. Finally, I happened upon these sites and found some games that deal with multiplication tables. Within 2 weeks of playing the game that she liked the best she had her tables memorized and has not had a problem since. Wow what a fun way to learn with no frustration. Even though she doesn't need the game anymore she still likes to play it in her free time. Of course their are more game sites than just these two, they just happen to be our two favorite. National Geographic also has games for kids as well as other popular channels. So think about adding a little extra fun in your home education program and see how quickly they learn.