Our Second Son

We are so happy to announce the birth of our second born Matthew Jonathan Engell. He was born at 6:41 in the evening on Tuesday August 14th. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 21 inches long.  My labor went really smooth this time and wasn't overly long. I went into labor around 7:30 in the morning. I kept going about my normal business for awhile. My contractions started picking up around ten.  And everything went steady and smoothly from there. I don't remember when the pushing started but it doesn't seem like it was too long.  And then Matthew was born at 6:41. I felt so good after he was born just relaxing in my bed holding my sweet little son.

Little Luxuries

Sometimes while living the farming life it can be easy forget to make time for little luxuries. Money can get tight so we don't buy extras or we can get so busy that time seems to be in very short supply. Recently I have been enjoying making sugar and sea salt scrubs. I have been selling them at the farmers market but I always make a bit extra for us. They are wonderful on dry feet, hands, knees, elbows or anywhere else. I use them in the shower on any rough spots from working in the garden. Andrew even likes to use them on his hands. So now I am going to share my quick and easy recipes with you. Enjoy!

Sugar Scrub

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 cup coarse turbinado sugar

1/3 cup sweet almond oil or other light oil

20-30 drops essential oil (I like blending vanilla and lime)

Sea Salt Scrub

3/4 cup sea salt

1/4 cup himalayan pink salt

1/3 cup olive oil

20- 30 drops essential oil (I have been using lavender and grapefruit)

For both recipes simply mix all ingredients together and store in a lidded container. I like to put mine in small cute canning jars.

Just a couple of cautions now. If using in the shower be careful because they can make the flour slippery. Also the sea salt one will sting or burn any open cuts or scrapes.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Recently I have been trying to get the freezer stocked with some quick and easy meals for the busy days of summer ahead. This week so far I have added one rhubarb pie, one empty pie crust, and four packages of ten homemade pita bread. I am planning to use the pitas for some picnics this summer. We have a delicious recipe for pitas with lamb, cucumbers, and yogurt. I will post it in a future post. For now I am going to give you the pita recipe. It of pretty simple to make and they turn out delicious. The most time consuming part is rolling them out.

Pita Bread

1 Tbsp. Yeast

1 Tbsp. Honey or sugar

2 1/2 Cups warm water

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Oil

6 to 7 Cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast and honey in water. Add salt, oil and 6 cups flour. Knead 5 to 10 minutes adding more flour as needed. Let rise until doubled about one hour. Divide into 20 equal pieces. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. Let rest on greased cookie sheets for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Just before baking flip pitas over. Bake 8 - 10 minutes switching position of pans halfway through. They are done when puffed in the middle and slightly browned. Sometimes I have some that don't puff completely but they still work, I just have to cut them open carefully with a knife. These pitas are not real big