When I “hung up” with you last Saturday, our family gathered together to spend the rest of the day celebrating our daughter’s 16th birthday with a family activity and then a swim in the river. It was a great day! The rest of the week brought a cold to everyone but me (so far?). I did lots of dishes to make up for missing helpers! But that’s okay, I enjoy the warm water and the satisfaction I feel when everything’s all cleaned up.
Really quick, I want to invite you to join me in a FREE telesummit on health and longevity. I’ll be speaking on the simple and traditional methods of food preservation: dehydrating and fermenting. Twenty other speakers will cover topics such as health, fitness, weight loss, and nutrition. It begins on Monday, August 12, so be sure to get registered today! You can listen to all, some, or just one of the presentations (mine, of course). Each morning you’ll get an email telling you who’s up and what the topic is and where you can go to listen. Plus, it’s free, so what’s to lose? Free registration is here.
Our week-in-pictures is below. 🙂 I’d love to hear how your week has gone — share in the comments below.
Our Week in Pictures
By the way, most of these pictures are from @TradCookSchool on Instagram, which I welcome you to follow for a daily glimpse. 🙂
Our family activity to celebrate the birthday was to make paracord survival bracelets. We enjoyed it and decided we want to do more of it. (We couldn’t help but order Paracord Fusion I and II so we can do more!)
The next day, I went on to film this project for August’s thank you video, and our cat Scar joined me for a snooze in the middle of all the equipment. Life wouldn’t be the same without her. 😉
Back to Saturday — after making the bracelets, off to the river we went. The river was cold; the day was hot. Perfection. We had a great time. My emotions were overflowing the entire day. Our children are great friends and help each other and enjoy doing things together and love God with their whole hearts. I could want nothing more.
Running errands during the week, I got dragged to the thrift store by a friend. Kicking and screaming, of course. 😉 While there, I found this clay pot. I didn’t put it in my basket right away. First I posted on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter asking what it could be. Lots of ideas came in, though nothing was quite right. Intrigued anyway, I bought the pot.
When I got home and showed it my husband, he decided to do an image search. And he found the answer! It’s a Chinese Yunnan clay chicken soup pot, a design created over 200 years ago. Supposedly creates incredible flavor! I can’t wait to try it. You can read more about the pot’s history here including great pictures of how to use it, plus a recipe: Not Your Grandmother’s Chicken Soup.
Now about the garden. We are swimming in zucchini and squash! And cucumbers! And lettuce (which is turning bitter… so sad). My tomatoes are still green. We’ve had a few cherry toms though.
I can barely find the base of the cucumber plants for watering. But that’s okay. To have big, productive cucumber plants is a dream come true.
How was your week? I hope it was blessed!
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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Hi Wardeh,
Could you tell me where on the river you guys like to swim? My family is newish to Douglas County and between the current and the blue green algae, I am never sure where to go. I had a scary experience in the rapids near Amacher park, but your picture looks so inviting.
Tamara near Melrose
Tamara, sure, I will email you! 🙂
Hi Wardeh,
these are fabulous for baking bread! A bit fiddly for loaves but great for out-of this-world buns! I put it in the oven when I first turn the oven on and bake with it at 250c with the lid on for half the time suggested in the recipe and then take the lid off for the rest of the time. Depending on the colour I want, I may juggle those times and sometimes drop the temp a little for the finishing time. As long as the buns are ready to go before I remove the pot to put the buns in, it will still hold the temperature well. I get fantastic oven spring and lovely crispy crusts using this and other clay pots for baking.
I never grease it because the heat in the pot seals the dough as soon as it hits its hot surface and it never sticks even when it’s a sticky dough.
It’s uses are myriad. I hadn’t bothered to find out what it was designed for for but I tried out all sorts of cooking in it. Afterwards I wash it and if it’s still smelly I leave it out in the sun for a day before baking bread in it. I’ve never had smells transfer to the bread.
I love your site and am learning heaps. Thankyou for your generosity.
Margaret in Roleystone, Western Australia
Dear Wardeh,
Thank you for sharing your week in pictures. It’s fun to see what you are all up to.
So, you got dragged kicking and screaming to the thrift store and found that fabulous pot?!? You poor thing! There is a pot just like that at the thrift store in my town. It’s been there for a loooong time. Now I know what it is. Thanks for sharing the info. I wonder if it will still be there when the store opens Tuesday morning…..
Have a wonderful day tomorrow.
Regards-Jamie
Jamie — 😀 So it’s been there a long time, huh? I wonder if it will be there when you go next time? 😉