All or Nothing

My cell phone contract is about to expire.  I am finally free to choose the best company and plan currently on the market.  (and subsequently get locked into another contract.......but that's another problem altogether.)

As I peruse the available phones and plans, I don't know which phone to get.  The plans are pretty much all alike, with the exception of who actually offers even the smallest tidbit of service away out here in the sticks.  I just can't decide which phone to pick.  I love my smartphone.  I can do all manner of things with it, whenever I want.  I especially love that I can text and chat via wifi, which is a huge bonus out here where there is no cell phone service available on my sofa.  I consider myself a chronic "over-sharer" although I do make an effort not to.  There are days when I share everything though!  (appropriate things anyway.......) 

In utter contrast, part of me craves the simple life, without all the (literal) bells and whistles.  A life where I can just go out and be.  A life that was once the norm, is now considered weird and difficult.  I shock enough people when I tell them that we don't have cable television at our house and mostly watch PBS.  Imagine the looks of horror I would get if I pulled out a flip phone!  It would probably make the 6 o'clock news.  (Although most people would read about it on their Facebook newsfeed........)

Is it possible to live simply while being completely connected?  We read about air pollution affecting our environment every day.  But what about social pollution- can't that be just as toxic? 

I feel extremely hypocritical sitting here writing an online blog about the simple life, social pollution, and questioning my capacity to over-share.  But, then comes the question- if I don't put it out there, who will?  I once wrote a blog entry (elsewhere) about the merits about physical books versus e-books.  A "friend" read it and proceeded to mock me viciously about my use of electronic media to talk about why e-books will never replace real books.  He remarked that I should have "just written the blog entry into a notebook and stuck it on a shelf in the hopes that someone might read it" because that was essentially what I was arguing for. 

I see commercials urging people to get outside and "unplug" at the same time that I see commercials about a new camera that you can snap a picture with and it INSTANTLY uploads it to your Facebook feed where your friends can comment, like, and share.  I think my favorite is a commercial where two people are hiking in the mountains when suddenly the trees and landscape morph into a casino.  Instantly the hikers are jubilant and their hiking garb is swapped for casino swag. 

So what can I do?  It seems to be an all or nothing proposition.  Either embrace the social media world and succumb to social pollution (if there isn't a pic, it didn't happen!) and essentially become one of those people who drive through the mountains and stop only to snap a picture of the black bear on the side of the road while the Rangers try to keep people away..............OR..............become some sort of crazy person who eschews social media and is seen as elitist or reclusive, depending on who is doing the viewing. 

Is it possible to have the best of both worlds? 

Choosy Moms Choose..........Hippie

My son hated peanut butter.  Hated.  Jif, Trader Joe's, Peter Pan, Creamy, Crunchy................nothing worked.

So I gave up.

Until.......I tried Hippie.

Oh Yeah.  Hippie Peanut Butter hits the spot.  He LOVES my Hippie peanut butter.  And who can blame him?  It's fresh and he watches it go from peanuts to peanut butter before his big brown eyes.

There is something magical about watching something morph or grow or change.  As soon as we get home from school/work every day, he is in the garden, checking to see what's grown, what's changed.  When I make bread, he likes to watch me work with the dough and then watches it bake through the little window on the oven door.  He is learning to make his own cookies, and prefers to test the dough before they are baked and then eat them hot immediately after, complete with dramatics of "MAMA!  These are TOO good!  MAMA!" 

This kid is the kid that steals cooling pies off windowsills and eats them in the hayloft. 

My favorite part of making Hippie Peanut Butter is how easy it is.  And I know what's in it.

Here's what's in Jif Creamy Peanut Butter:
MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT.

Uh-huh.  Rapeseed?  What is that?  Mono and diglycerides?  Ew.

Here's what's in Hippie Peanut Butter:
Peanuts, Salt.

Uh-huh.  See what I'm saying?

So let's get down to business, shall we?

First things first- peanuts.  I go to (surprise surprise) Trader Joe's and get my peanuts there.  I use one bag Honey Roasted (so obviously more than just peanuts- I know) and one bag 50% less salted.  The combination is ideal for my family, who prefers their peanut butter be a little sweeter than just straight peanuts, and the 50% less salt helps keep the saltiness and sodium in check. 

You may use whatever peanuts you prefer.  And if you feel a little "yeah, right Hippie Mom, homemade peanut butter.  Psh."  Then make a small batch first to try it. 

Here's what you do:

Dump the peanuts in the food processor. Press go.

If you have a teeny tiny food processor, please be aware that you may have to give the little motor cooling breaks so you don't fry it.  Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.  Let's just say that after I made my first batch, I received a new GIANT food processor that can handle the load and doesn't smoke when I use it.  

At first, the peanuts look like pebbly dirt. 

Peanut Pebbles..........

Then they start to clump. 

It's hard to get a good picture of peanuts in the processor........

Then they do what I call the Peanut Tsunami where this giant peanut wave works its way around the processor bowl, devouring all the other peanut pieces. 

Eventually it starts to smoooooth out. 

Smooooooth

When it hits smooth and creamy, without any weird lumps or bumps twirling around in there, it's done.  (If you like crunchy, toss in some more peanuts and run the processor again just to break them up into smaller pieces.)  

Refilling the Hippie jar.

Go ahead and taste test it- it will be a little soft and warm.  Grinding peanuts causes friction, which causes heat.  It's all good, because warm, soft peanut butter pours so much easier into a jar.  (I use an old Jif jar, or a glass Mason jar- whatever is handy.)  Once you pop it in the fridge for a few hours, it will stiffen up to a firmer consistency, or you can leave it out and it will stay soft.

Deliciousness......

Once you realize how easy homemade Peanut Butter really is, you can make it and give it to your friends and family.  Introduce them to the wonder that is Hippie living.  A fresh loaf of bread, a jar of Hippie peanut butter, and a jar of local Honey would make an excellent housewarming or hostess gift. 


Questions, comments, concerns- let me know below.  I would really love to hear about your Hippie adventures. 

Peace & Love Y'all- Hippie Mama

"Vegetarians can't grill..........."

.......or so they say..........

No, really- they do.  It's summertime- I talk about how much I love to grill.  Most people who actually know me are a little ........whaaa???.........you?  grill?........but aren't you mostly vegetarian?  What can you possibly GRILL?!  Grills are for MEAT!  Grills are for MEN!  ((insert man grunts))

Um....no.  My ex-husband actually set the grill on fire and made the worst hamburgers EVERY single time he started the grill. (*snickers*)

I'm a bit more gifted with the flames of wonder and might.

And I do it with veggies.

RAAAAH!

But seriously.........it's easy.  Vidalia sweet onions, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini......whatever you have on hand.  I toss it in olive oil, sprinkle it with a little salt, a little pepper, maybe a dash of cajun seasoning for a little kick and toss it on a hot grill.   Be careful- the potatoes will try to fall between the slats of the grill. 

SHAZAM!!

And then........I drizzle it with some Balsamic Vinegar Reduction.  It's like a magic potion.  It's easy.  Take about a cup of balsamic vinegar, pour it into a saucepan and bring it to a low boil- add about 1 tsp of sugar (raw if you have it) and let it simmer until it reduces by about half.  It's so good- you've got to make some.  You will be drizzling it on salad, raw veggies, grilled veggies, pizza, bread.....pretty much anything.

But wait.......I also make the bread on the grill.  Yeah- grilled bread.  Trust me. 

You make a pretty basic ball of dough, divide it, flatten it, cover it with olive oil and grill it.............

Oooooooo........yeah.

Take 1/2 tsp of Active Dry yeast and add it to 1/2 cup of really warm water- mix it in until it dissolves and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Now......add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 1/3 cups of flour.  Mix it up into a dough ball and knead on a floured surface for about 2 minutes.  Let it rise for 30 minutes.  (Turn on the grill- let it get hot- grill veggies- by then, you will be ready for the bread.)

Take your dough ball and divide it into 4 hunks and flatten them out into discs (or roll them out- your choice).  They will look like little naked pizzas.  Brush them with olive oil and toss them on the hot grill.  See what they look like in the picture above?  Yup- that's the goal.  It doesn't take long.  Maybe 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how well done you like your bread.  Be sure to shut the lid and hold all the heat in to bake them.  Be sure to brush them with olive oil before you flip them.  You can also sprinkle them with Italian seasoning, or whatever you like.  (Again- they are good with a little balsamic reduction........)

There you go- how to be a Bad Mother Griller......without meat (or any animal anything.)

Yeah- I don't post often enough, but when I do- it's totally worth it.  :)

Hippie Runner Granola

Granola.  Gotta love it, right?

But not the store bought kind.  They put stuff in there.  Preservatives and junk, you know?

Blech.

Let me tell you about homemade granola and how easy it is.  My Gramma always made us homemade granola bars.  I like to make homemade loose granola cereal.  I do a cinnamon chocolate pecan almond granola.  That's what I'm about to show you how to make.  BUT, it is really simple to play around with this recipe.  I did- that's how I came up with this variation.  I looked on Pinterest for granola recipes, tried one, and then dinked with it until I created my perfect granola.  (Which is absolutely delicious mixed in with some vanilla yogurt!)

My *very* official recipe  (Vegans can substitute coconut oil for the butter!)

Here's my very secret and official recipe.  Intense, right?  First things first- gather your stuff!!

The line up.

I'm not fancy, as you can see by my containers.  I use local raw honey.  The bag in the middle contains the raw pecans that I picked up at Kroger.  The bag on the right has Trader Joe's Cinnamon Almonds in it.  They are so good.........so I use those instead of raw almonds.  But raw almonds are awesome too!  The bottom right is coconut- it's totally optional.  If you look back up at the post-it, there is nary a shred of coconut listed, but I threw it in to see what would happen.  Not much- the cocoa and cinnamon over-ruled it.  Oh well.

Everyone needs a good heavy-duty spatula!!

You know what you DON'T see?  Raisins!

I love raisins.  My first batch of granola had raisins in it.  But.........put raisins in the oven for 30 minutes and they actually turn into little pieces of gravel and you will end up picking them ALL out of your granola.  Trust me.

Cinnamon Almonds--Chop 'em up!

Now- chop up them nuts!  You don't want big old hunks of nuts in your granola, so chop them up.  They don't have to be chopped into oblivion, just chunked up so they can mix with the oats, etc.

Raw Pecans--Chop some more!

Nuts actually chop up really easily and nicely.  Even the roasted cinnamon almonds.  And if you like walnuts, add those too.  I don't like walnuts and my sister is allergic, so I don't like to run the risk of setting her into anaphylatic shock.  I keep a walnut free house.

Mix the dry.

Once you've mixed all the dry stuff together so that everything is coated and the cinnamon and cocoa smell is making you hungry, add the honey and melted butter!  (Vegan??  Use coconut oil instead!)

Add the honey and mix some more

Really mix the honey in, so that it coats everything!  Add a little extra if you want to.  This isn't an exact science.  Recipes are like the Pirate Code- they're really just guidelines.  You can taste it too.  It's nummy.  You could probably add chocolate chips to this shindig too.  Or maybe cinnamon chips.

Put it on a baking sheet

Now that you have a gooey mass of deliciousness, dump it all on a baking sheet.  Then throw it in the oven at 315 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.  Be sure you reach in a stir it around every 8 minutes or so.  It ensures that everything will brown nice and evenly. 

NOM NOM NOM

When it's done, pull it out, and try it.  It should be wonderfully crunchy and tasty.  Once it cools off completely, put it in an airtight canister or container.  I don't know how long it keeps because we never have it around that long.  I've put it in yogurt (sometimes with bananas), mixed it into my oatmeal, had it straight with milk, eaten it dry for a snack, sprinkled it on ice cream.......the possibilities are endless.

If you try it and like it, let me know.  If you try it and add something new, let me know.  If you try it and it comes out wonky, tell me that too.   But don't say I didn't warn you about the raisins!!!

Front Porch Barbershop

I try to be frugal.  It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does.

Haircuts.

Why would I pay $10-$15 for my kiddo to have a haircut?

I did it.  Once.  ONCE!

Fortunately, I've spent the last 10+ years around military types, so I love short short hair on men.
Fortunately, I have a little boy who loves the Army and Navy.
Fortunately, I know how to do a military fade or straight buzz.

I bought a Wahl clipper kit when Kiddo was 4.  It was $50.  I have more than gotten my money back.

The only trick I've discovered is a certain little boy's aversion to sitting on a stool on the front porch and having his hair buzzed off.  He likes it once it's shorn, but hates the buzzing and cutting aspect of it all. 

Last weekend, I figured it out.  Give the kid the iPad with the camera on and let him take pictures of the haircut in process.  He can see what's going on and be distracted!  Bam!  Success!  (Except that I've been picking hairs off the screen and cover for days...........)

I use the number 4 guard for winter with #3 for blending on the sides and backs.  I honestly hate it because it's too "long" and looks shaggy to me.  In the spring and fall, I use the #3 and as it warms up, I go to the #2.

Last summer, it was 112 degrees almost every day.  I used the #1 guard, which is an 1/8th of an inch.  I did it by accident.  I didn't check the guard that was already on the clippers- I assumed that it was the #2, when it turned out to be the #1.  Oh well- we both loved the outcome!