Blogging the Old Fashioned Way...

aka "using a pen and paper."

My 2 month old little girl who loves to be held, nursed, and cood at is making sure I don't get much time at the computer. My 2 year old boy who is all about swinging and sliding and picking dandelions is making sure I don't get much time inside the house at all. That basically leaves me sitting under a tree on a blanket all day.

SO nice, but not exactly conducive to blogging!

Rather than fight it, I've decided to go in a new direction this Summer. While the weather is nice, I'm going to focus less on trying new recipes (they take the longest to type up - and who wants to stand over a stove in the warm weather, anyway?) and instead work on something I blogged about in March... a series on getting started in the kitchen.

It has become apparent as I've begun hammering out ideas, however, that the information I have to share is better suited for a book than a blog. Enter: the pen and paper. Since I'm having a hard time creating good blog posts anyway, this is the perfect project for this stage of my life. I'll write/scribble/sketch out my ideas on paper during the day, and steal a little time to transfer them to the computer every once in a while after the kids are in bed.

It's my goal to have an e-book available to you by the Fall.

This doesn't mean I'm abandoning Eat From Your Pantry by any means! I will still be sure to post Make it Yourself Monday every week, and I will get other posts up as I have time. Believe me, I've got a TON to blog about - just no time! Don't expect daily posts again for a while, but please don't forget me! Make sure you are connected to EFYP on facebook, twitter, and RSS feed by clicking around on the left under "connect." And stay tuned for more info about my new project! :)

Make it Yourself Monday Recap

In addition to Mother's Day, we also had the joy of celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary this weekend! We've been so busy that I thought I'd give myself a break today and take some time to do some more organizing on the blog rather than typing out another recipe to share.

Over to the left under "Navigation," you'll now find a Make it Yourself Monday link that will take you to a page describing the general guidelines for participating, as well as links to previous MIYM posts. For your convenience, I'll also list them here:

Make it Yourself Monday

Bread Crumbs

Cora Ruth

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Food Processor Ice Cream

Crockpot Yogurt

Granola Bars

Condiments

Nut Butter

Tortillas

Take some time today to browse through the posts from previous weeks, and link up your own below!

Eat From Your Pantry Recipes

The good news is, I've been writing here at EFYP for long enough that I've got quite a bit of content to share (this is post #141). Bad news is that the site was becoming harder to navigate.

Now, if you click the "Recipes" link to the left under "Navigation," you'll find an alphabetical list of the recipes I've blogged about. They are divided into three categories (main dishes, sides, & desserts).

Alternatively, you can browse through all posts labeled "recipe," or scroll down the page and look through all of the other labels (like chicken, soup, & beans) to get ideas.

Hope that helps, and please let me know if you can think of any other ways I can make this site better for you!

Make it Yourself Monday: Tortillas

I will never buy tortillas from the store again after making these! The recipe is the basic tortilla recipe from More With Less Cookbook* (a great book for pantry cooking!) with the changes Katie from Kitchen Stewardship made (butter for shortening, etc.):

Homemade Tortillas

Mix together:
2 c. flour
1 t. salt

Cut in with pastry blender or two knives:
¼ c. butter (slightly softened)

When it looks like crumbs, add gradually:
½ c. room temperature water

Toss with a fork to make stiff dough. Knead thoroughly until smooth and flecked with air bubbles. (Just a few minutes.) Refrigerate 4-24 hours and allow to come to room temperature before rolling out.
Divide dough into 8-11 balls, depending on how big you want your tortillas. Roll on a lightly floured surface or between sheets of wax paper. Heat an ungreased griddle or cast iron pan very hot (400 degrees) and drop tortillas on it.

Cook about 20 seconds, until lightly flecked with brown on one side, then flip until brown spots appear on the other side. Serve immediately or refrigerate (or freeze) in airtight container.

**Tip** I placed my balls of dough between two sheets of parchment paper (could also use wax paper) to roll them - I was able to get them much thinner than just rolling them out of a board.

I used 1 cup whole wheat flour from this company, and 1 cup spelt flour. I skipped the refrigeration step b/c I didn't have time. The texture was perfect!! You can find lots of variations on the recipe over at Kitchen Stewardship.

*Amazon link

What have you made recently that you could find pre-made at the store? Link up so we can learn from you!

Linked to Homemaker Mondays