Super Yummy Breakfast Muffins

I just made this small batch up as Pete needed some lunch today and baking bread was not an option. I'd say this serves 2 for lunch - we call them breakfast muffins though, as that's the meal they were first made for, a few months back.

This is very 'ish' in terms of measurements

1/3 medium home grown zucchini
4 mushrooms
1/3 capsicum

all whizzed in the hand held food processor and tipped into a mixing bowl

3 large free range eggs from grass scratching hens
2/3cup raw organic milk
2/3cup grated cheese
2/3cup of browned minced beef (grass fed, chemical free)
1/4tsp Celtic sea salt

Mix this all in with the vegies

3/4cup SR Flour

Mix the flour in completely, spoon into greased muffin pans and bake till golden on top at about 160 degrees
(the longer slower cooking is because of the high vegie / lower carb mix)

Multiply for larger batches... I'd like to x it by 4 and do in a cake tin and see how it turns out... It would take longer to cook but would result in less fiddly dishes when feeding more people!

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Lessons in Pumpkins and Prayer

I'm really loving having our BIG vegie patch this year... BIG for us anyway... I know others with 5-10 times what we have.... but at about 30 square metres, we're about 5 times bigger than we were last year, so that counts as BIG to me.

Soon after Pete dug over the garden bed and removed most of the weeds and over grown grass (I say most because it's almost impossible to remove it all and those little bits left in do keep multiplying - one must be diligent!)

Lesson 1: Very similar to sin in our lives wouldn't you say?

so, soon after he prepared it for planting, we (I) noticed some self sown seedlings. From my limited knowledge, I called them cucumbers.
Within a few weeks I could see they were too big to be cucumber leaves and figured out they were instead self sown pumpkin plants.

Lesson 2: We don't know all we think we know... be prepared to learn more and adjust one's convictions

At the other end of the garden, I had (while the cucumber thinking was happening) planted some pumpkin seeds and after 4 weeks of nothing from them, I was sure it was a failure... though another couple of weeks later we did have emerging seedlings

Lesson 3: Patience

A couple of months ago, the pumpkins that were self sown were a disappointment. Seeming to be all male flowers...males can't have babies, pumpkins or otherwise (no lesson here, I know a little about reproduction LOL)

The pumpkins that we planted at the other end were flourishing. Well, their leaves were. Only 2 were fertilised and growing into full size pumpkins. The other females were having no success as the males were always flowering at the wrong time for the bees to take their pollen and fertilise the females... and so no more pumpkins growing. 8 weeks or more of  'still nothing'

Well early last week I decided to pray over the pumpkin patch - very simply I prayed 'Lord bless this pumpkin patch with abundance. Provide us with enough to eat, enough to give away and enough to preserve' (for the winter).

What can I say... a week later we have more than 7 fertilised pumpkins, and quite possibly many more on the way by the looks of things - you can be sure about 4-5 days after possible fertilisation that they'll grow to adulthood or not. And now I say "The Lord provides".

Lesson 4: Seek Him first and He WILL add everything else!

Since then God's said to expect more than 20 all up. And that those given away are to be passed to others, for them to pass along - given to those willing to share the story of Gods provision as they pass along the pumpkin. Our sole purpose in existing is after all 'for His glory'.

Pumpkin patch from seed. Pumpkin #1 is to the right of the centre and just behind the bright flower - hard to see but is rather large, guessing about 2kg at the moment. #2 is bottom centre, smaller - probably about 1.5kg. Both are not far of being ready.

Fertilised pumpkin in the seeded patch - this is about 12cm long at the moment

Fertilised pumpkin in the self sown (from supermarket pumpkin scraps) - quite different shaped pumpkins in this patch but still butternut!! This one is about 10cm long at the moment.

Hoping for an early cool change

This heat has me so worn out - on good days I have about 3 hours of 'productive energy'... this heat and humidity drops it down to about 1 hour so I am very much keen for the cooler weather to return - Please Lord!

Last night it was 24 inside (in the room with the air con that is, and it had been up to 29 in that room!) when we went to bed and 26 outside. Well it did get a few degrees cooler an hour or so after we went to bed... but by morning, we're back up to over 27 degrees! Can I say Yuk?!

Ah well, I can't change it and this house needs some attention so that will be my focus this morning. This afternoon will be busy but 'self driven'... I've to drive 45 minutes to collect 100kg grass fed, chemical free, freshly butchered beef... and then bring it home again. Hoping the butchering schedule is all on track so there's not too much waiting involved! Once I return, I need to get 65kg of it into MY fridge and freezers and then I have 3 others coming to collect smaller portions - one friend and her 7 kids are coming from a couple of hours away to collect theirs (and do a few other things in Melbourne with their day)... I don't see this lovely lady nearly often enough so I am very much looking forward to this. Around about the same time as pick ups and dinners I also have a friend setting up a camper trailer in the driveway for about a week, for another friend and her 2 kids to stay in while the renovations on the house are being finished off.... it was going to be a couple of nights ago but the heat at night has made it better for them to borrow someone's cooler lounge room floor - ours is not cool and we're up from 5am daily and often using the lounge LOL. Summary: there will be a few people coming and going tonight!!!

So, in my couple of weeks of 'this weather is yuk, I can barely function let alone blog.... what has been happening?
Pumpkins (who ever knew vegie gardening could be so much fun!), tomatoes, children, piano, preserving, holiday planning, Treasured Moments and more - how great that so much of life happens by itself LOL

Stay tuned for those updates - but first, with it being almost 7am... I need to get the day happening!
There is a kitchen to be cleaned, rooms to be tidied and a busy day to organise (yes, not much happened here in yesterday's heat and now it's catch up time)

Have a wonderful day where ever you are!