The Sparrow's Home: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.

How to Preserve Basil

August 8, 2016 by Susan 12 Comments

Freezing basil to add to recipes year round is so easy! All you need is basil, olive oil and ice cube trays. It’s my favorite way to preserve summer.

There’s nothing like walking out onto your deck and picking fresh basil to add to a recipe. But sadly, for much of the year in Minnesota, that is not an option.

I am a terrible gardener, but I’ve always been successful with basil. It grows gangbusters for me, for some reason.

Several years ago, I looked into various ways to preserve my harvest. To maintain freshness, I decided against drying. I found a number of different methods of freezing herbs. Some involved water as a base, some oil. I tried both methods and have settled into what I like best. Olive oil.

This is such an easy process, y’all.

Food for Thought: # 2

August 4, 2016 by Susan Leave a Comment

The Sparrow’s home was created to build community. We all have so many things coming across our feeds and desktops throughout the week. Sharing some of what I’ve been reading I hope spurs you to check out something new, and share with us what you’ve been reading.

I hope you check out some of these links. And I’d love it if you commented and let me know what you think of them. They range from household tips that I’m learning, to lifestyle tips, family, and spiritual growth.

First Day of School Traditions for Your Homeschool

August 3, 2016 by Susan 11 Comments

When I say the words “first day of school”, what do you think of?

Sharpened pencils, that first swipe of crayon on a page, cracking open the glue sticks?

As a homeschooling family, we have tried to remember to take advantage of the freedom afforded us. We’ve incorporated travelling into our schooling, for one thing. Another thing that I’ve tried to do is make the first day of school unique.

Since we’re still several weeks out from school starting for most folks, I thought I’d share some of our best first days with you to hopefully get your creative juices flowing!

Quick Refrigerator Pickles

August 2, 2016 by Susan 12 Comments

Have an abundance of cucumbers? These refrigerator pickles are a little bit sweet, a little bit tart and a lot easy!

I don’t know if these even technically qualify as ‘pickles’. I suppose you could call it a marinade, or even a cucumber salad. I call them pickles because they look like pickles, and I eat them like pickles.

Whatever you call them…make them!

Do you have an abundance of cucumbers this time of year?

We get veggies from the local CSA we belong to, and have been getting lots of cucumbers lately. I LOVE fresh sliced cucumbers, but it’s nice to have different ways to make them. Especially ways that make the goodness last!

Because these aren’t covered in boiling brine and pickled for months, they have a fresh, cucumber-y crunch and taste. They last in the fridge for several weeks.

Online Protection for Your Family: Keep Porn Out of Your Home

August 1, 2016 by Susan 15 Comments

We protect our family in every other way. Why do we forget this? We’re sharing real ways to protect your children and family from pornography online.

I don’t know a single mother that would let her child play near a street without supervising him. We make sure that our whole family is buckled in before we leave the driveway. I could make a list of 100 things we all do to protect our families every day.

Why in the world do we let our computers, cell phones and other devices go un-monitored?

You want to know why I think? I think that we want to believe that our husband, our children…that we are not susceptible to the myriad of temptation that awaits in cyberspace.

If you think that, I’ll start out nice. I’ll give you that one. Maybe your family is not ever tempted to do wrong online. Ever. But guess what? The bad stuff is so pervasive and sneaky that it shows up even when you’re not looking for it.

Food for Thought: Volume 1

July 28, 2016 by Susan 2 Comments

Part of what The Sparrow’s Home was created for was to share resources, information, and inspiration. I thought it might be beneficial to further that conversation by sharing some things occasionally that I’ve been perusing.