Hey there!

It's me, Megan! Remember, that girl who wanted to use this blog as a journal of sorts to document her engagement, then totally forgot to post anything. Then, she got married, posted a little bit in 2014... well, she's still here, figuring out life, marriage, homemaking, and parenting.

"What?!" you say? Yes. I am a parent! It is a wonderfully REAL, messy, sleepy, refreshing, and JOYOUS journey I've stepped into, for 6 months now actually. I'll get more into that later.

I hope you'll forgive me for my absence. It's been over a year and a half! Life has been crazy and disorganized and a lot has been going on, including me trying to figure out who I am, what I'm going to do, and my role as a wife and mother and homemaker.

I'm still that foodie with a sense of adventure, homemade yogurt, and a desire to get back to the basics in life. To be more sustainable with my resources, and to use those resources to bless others.

I'll be using this blog to share a little bit of what's going on in my life, what I'm learning, my journey in gardening, recipes, and maybe a few pictures of my super adorable baby.

In my next post, I'll share what's up with this 'baby' business I speak of!

I hope you'll join me!

In Christ,
Megan

The best sp-ICED Chai Tea Latte!

Hey friends! Well, the summer is drawing to an end, and the school year is upon us! This is the first time since I was five that I don't have to go to school. I have many friends who are becoming teachers, finishing college, starting grad school, and even some that are sending their own kids to school! It is so much fun getting to see little ones on their first day of school. And, a lot more fun than when I was actually IN school! ;) am I right, or am I right?

And while I'm not in classes anymore, I find myself hungering for growth, knowledge, and wisdom. There are so many things I want to learn, and it seems like not enough time to learn them! From canning and pickling, to spanish, gardening, making a budget and a weekly menu, there is still SO much to learn! While I haven't gotten to most of this list yet, something I HAVE gotten to is finding new and amazing recipes! This one in particular is especially great!

It's not quite fall yet; however, I think I can safely assume that we are ready for some cooler weather! While the coveted Pumpkin Spice Latte hasn't reached Starbuck's lovers yet, here's a refreshing new recipe I found that will help keep you cool, and your taste buds satifsied!

This picture isn't posed at all! ;)

Before we get to the recipe that ACTUALLY works, let's reflect on this recipe I tried last year at Thanksgiving. I don't even actually remember where the recipe is, but it was one that was from scratch, and had about 10 very costly ingredients in it. In the picture, you can see the cinnamon sticks, cardamon, vanilla bean, star of anise, black pepper, ground cloves, fresh ginger, and grated orange zest. In all, I think it probably cost of $5 per cup... and it wasn't even good! The whole recipe only made enough for maybe 4 cups and took over an hour to cook. Total bummer.

That is why I am SO excited about this recipe! Totally simple, cheap, and makes a TON!

I'm not going to lie, I found this wonderful recipe in the box with my new Iced Tea Maker we got as a wedding gift, and it's is GOLD! If you love iced tea- black, green, herbal- or if you love iced coffee, I would HIGHLY recommend you get this iced tea maker! It makes 2 quarts and is perfect for parties or just keeping all to yourself! My mom also has this tea maker, and she's had it for over 10 years, so I know this will last me a long time!! It's also only $20, which is a great investment, if you're like me and love iced tea. (And no, I am not getting paid to say this!)

Now, for what you've been waiting for.

You will need:
6-8 bags of chai tea packets, I used TAZO (at least 6, but more if you like it spicy)
1/2 C canned sweetened condensed milk
2 heaping Tbs sugar
Ice

Now, fill up the water pitcher to the designated line and pour into reservoir. Fill with ice to the top line. Pour sweetened condensed milk over ice. Take the tea bags out of the packet and put them in the top of the dripper (scientific, official name of course). Put the lid on and up to the mouth of the tea maker and press the button!

During Brewing. You just know this is going to be good!

After brewing, with a large serving spoon or spatula, stir the chai goodness around until well combined. Stir in the sugar until dissolved and serve! It's that simple!! Serve in cute glasses with a dash of cinnamon on top to make yourself feel fancy.

There you have it! Super simple, and each can of condensed milk can make at least 2 batches of tea! So serve it at brunches, book clubs, what have you and let everyone be amazed and refreshed at the super cool recipe you brought! Just don't tell them how easy it was ;)

Have a blessed weekend!

DIY Crockpot Yogurt

Let me preface this by saying that the first time I tried to make homemade yogurt, it was...not so tasty. I did not strain it, and it had the consistency of drinkable yogurt, which I learned I am not as inclined to, if you will.

I would also note that you should start this project no later than 5 PM, because it takes a long time to heat up, cool down, and then you'll be letting it incubate for 12 hours, so if the incubation period starts at 11 PM, you'll have to be available the next day at 11 AM to strain and bottle the yummy yogurt! Just some tips I wish I'd heeded in hindsight!

Why do you want to make homemade yogurt? Good question! For me, I love cooking, experimenting, and I'm always looking for fun/easy ways to make food at home instead of buying the more expensive version at the store! I also love the taste of fresh yogurt and I use it in everything! From making parfaits with honey, vanilla and fruit or fruit preserves, to stirring it into creamy sauces to give a little tang and a healthier alternative to sour cream, mayo, and heavy cream. It is slowly becoming a staple to have on hand at our house! I've also heard of people using it for cosmetic purposes!

What you'll need:

Crockpot

1/2 gal of milk (I used whole, and you could certainly use 2% I'm sure. PLEASE do not use skim. None of that milk water here!)

1/2 C active live culture yogurt (I personally use Fage 2% plain greek yogurt because it's packed full of protein.)

Cheesecloth (Yes, you really really need this. Unless you want drinkable yogurt. To each their own.)

Large Strainer 

Large and small mixing bowl

mason jars (or just these tupperware. Honestly, I think the tupperware is easier to clean.)

Ladle

Thermometer

So here it goes! Pour the 1/2 gallon of milk into the crockpot. Throw the lid on and set it on low for 3 hours. You want the temperature to get up to 185 degrees in order to prepare the milk proteins for yogurt cultivation. I checked mine every hour until it got up there. I think if you keep it at 185 for about 30 minutes, it will start to thicken, but I've never tried it.

Turn off the crockpot with the lid off, and cool back down to between 100-115 degrees. You do not want to kill the active yogurt cultures you're about to introduce to your warm milk. I got impatient and added some ice cubes to help cool it down. Still turned out great!

Now, here is where I forgot to take pictures. After you cool down the milk, using your small bowl, scoop about 1/2 C of the yogurt into the bowl and slowly ladle some of the warm 115 degree milk into the bowl and whisk. You want to bring the temperature of the yogurt up slowly as to not kill the cultures. When the yogurt mixture is almost up to temp with the milk, pour the mixture into the crockpot and whisk until combined. 

Put the lid back on, wrap in an old towel and place in the oven with the light on. We are incubating deliciousness here, friends. We like to be warm and snuggled, and so does this yogurt. Leave it in there UNTOUCHED for 12 hours. Do not sneak peeks. You will only disturb and jeopardize the magic. 

After 12 long hours, take out your new cultivated yogurt and marvel! Oh wait.. it doesn't look too great yet? Well, that's where the next step comes in.

Lay down two layers of cheesecloth in the strainer that is sitting in your large bowl. Make sure the cheesecloth is large enough, or else it will fall into the strainer and...it can get messy. Ladle the yogurt into the strainer and place uncovered in the fridge. Every 30 minutes, take it out, pick up the strainer and pour out the whey. You will be AMAZED at how much liquid will drain from this goodness. Not sure what to do with this leftover whey? Try these recipes for whey by the Prairie Homestead!

Once the consistency is how you'd like, fill up your containers with this fresh, yummy yogurt! I am so glad I found out how to do this, because this recipe made 2 1/2 pints of yogurt for $2 compared to $4 or $5 for a pint of greek yogurt. It's delicious, and I think once I get the hang of it, it will be an easy recipe to make every week!

I love adding wildflower honey and vanilla extract with granola for a yummy, protein filled breakfast! 

Try this recipe! Mix 1/2 C yogurt with wildflower honey (to taste) add a capful of vanilla, a spoonful of peanut butter, and a dash of cinnamon to make a yummy dessert for fruit and cookies! Sprouts Traditional Ginger Snaps are my favorite right now!

Make this recipe and let me know what you think! Did you do something differently? Do you have a short cut? How do you eat your yogurt?

New Beginnings

So. I just looked at my last post...and saw it was published LAST August. Crazy, huh? I can't believe I haven't posted anything since then. I guess I had a lot going on or something.. it's not like planning a wedding, being a full time student, working an internship and as a teacher's assistant took up any of my time. Man, I am SO glad that semester is over. Wait, did I just mention wedding planning?

I got married! It's been three months already, and this beautiful journey called marriage is pretty incredible. I'm still a noob, but here are three things I have learned so far:

1. I am selfish. And like... I made a decision to attach myself to someone. And one of their purposes is to make me more like Christ. And I'm not there yet, so...it can be a painful process at times- pride speaking-  but luckily I picked someone who is gracious about telling me when I am wrong. And I do the same for him.

2. The root of joy is gratefulness. The first few months we were married, I complained. A lot. We had everything we needed, yet I was in the habit of not being satisfied with what God had given me. It was pretty unattractive. Of course, God has given me everything I need, and will continue to give me what he knows I need in His time. To combat this, I've started a gratitude journal and I write down everything I am thankful for. Small, large, everything. I've found that I'm starting to recognize these blessings and gifts in my life much easier. I've begun to not focus on what I don't have, but what I do, and I've realized that it IS enough.

3. Boy roommates are the best. I get more closet space. He can reach things on top shelves for me. He thinks everything I cook for him is the greatest ever (well...almost). He picks great movies to watch. He's super attractive. And he's always up for snuggling.

But I digress ;)

These months have been so much fun! We also just got an apartment together after having saved up during the summer. After sleeping on the couch and air mattress for two weeks, we got to buy a king size bed in CASH! What?! This bundle of springs and soft cushiony pillows is the best decision of our marriage so far. Did you know that it's basically two twin sized beds put together?! It's magical.

Here are a few pics from our new place!

Before I got married, I used this blog to share what I had been learning...which seems silly now because even though we had read so many marriage books, when we got married, we realized we didn't know anything.

Now, I'm hoping to use this blog to document tried and true recipes, crafts and projects I'm working on, and sharing what the Lord is showing me in this crazy awesome journey.

Have an incredibly blessed day!!

Megan Birmingham

perros and bacas and queso, oh my!

So, it's been over a week and a half since I've written and now I'm here sitting in the airport about to fly home! The days have been long, but the weeks unjustly short. So let's recap, shall we?!

Last Wednesday, we had the pleasure of going to a hydro-electric plant near Turrialba. Renewable energy, especially those from hydro-electric plants, supply 90 percent of Costa Rica's energy! They have enough to sell to other countries as well! It's crazy to think that the average Costa Rican home uses 100 kw per month while the average U.S. home uses over 10,000 kw per month...Something doesn't seem right. Only 8 percent of the U.S. energy is renewable. So there's a little something to chew over.

The next day, Christmas in July to be exact, we had the most wonderful day! We first stopped by a small organic farm owned by Edwardo and Flori! They grow coffee, bananas, and have goats, and vegetables/fruits that they sell at the local farmers market in town.

Coffee beans before they're ripe.

Me and Hannah, who likes bananas.

Once the coffee bean is peeled, it looks more like what we know coffee to be! 

Ripe coffee beans.

THE cutest goats in the world!

Guys. This is wild cilantro! Ya'll know how much I love cilantro! 

Putting the dried beans into the roaster. As you can imagine, it smelled amazing!

After that fun adventure, we drove about 45 minutes to Carla's parent's house for lunch and another wonderful adventure! Her father owns a dairy farm where they make Turrialba cheese for the country. This is a fresh cheese, with the texture similar to mozzarella, and the flavor a bit saltier and closer to cottage cheese. It's really good ya'll!

We have some photogenic bacas up in here!

He wouldn't fit into my suitcase...

This one probably would have eaten my suitcase.

The Get-in-my-bucket-list #45: Milking a cow! 

After her farm, we visited Carla's aunt's house for some lessons on homemade tortillas and bizcochos. They are made from a corn flour, milk, turrialba cheese, and salt! Seriously, these were amazing! No pics to show though.

So. my favorite part. After the lesson, we were tricked by Eric and Joanna to think we were going on a nature night hike. In the rain. Luckily that WASN'T the case, and we went to their house instead! Homemade pizza and a Guaro Sour lesson from the prof himself! Then. The best part happened. Some guys showed up and MADE. US. CHOCOLATE. Like what?! 

So here's the process: you getcho self a cocoa fruit and ferment and dry the beans. Then you wash them off and roast them to this beautiful cocoa color. Then, you put them into this churner and BAM. It's chocolate. You may want to add some condensed milk for sweetness, but seriously. What is this.

The best chocolate I've ever tasted. Ever. Like, why is there even any other "chocolate" junk even out there?

I'm really happy about this, as you can see.

So as you can obviously tell, that was the best Christmas in July a person could ever really have. The next morning, (Friday) we caught a taxi for our 5:30 bus ride to Manuel Antonio on the Pacific Coast. Remember, when no one in your group knows Spanish, things can get a wee bit stressful. After a stressful day of travel, we just crashed in our hotel room for the day. On Saturday, we caught a bus to the beach for some awesome bronzing action.

Yep. This was our view. Pretty spoiled, I know.

That night, we all got fancied up and went out for happy hour and dinner in Manuel Antonio.

We went to El Avion, a restaurant made out of an old fighter jet. There was a bar inside, and the restaurant surrounded it. 

Got my picture in the cockpit!

This past week has been kind of crazy with essays and a group project, but it's been so much fun! Yesterday, we left Turrialba at 5:30 and drove to one of the largest Volcano's in Costa Rica! Luckily, we packed pants and fleeces because it was cold and rainy up there! 

And then, this was our view. We didn't get to see the crater, but at least we got to see the edge of the world!

What the crater is supposed to look like.

Me and Caity were sad we didn't get to see the volcano.

We were realllly high up! You could definitely tell the air was thinner up there!

On a path up to a different crater. It was straight out of Wizard of Oz. Still wondering where the flying monkeys were.

Here is Sandy, the friendliest squirrel you will ever meet. He jumped up on people's laps and stuffed rocks into his mouth. I think the altitude got to his cute little head.

So here you have it peeps. Last part of my Costa Rican adventure! There are so many things I learned through my class and time here, and I cannot wait to share that with you! Be on the lookout for a new blog post hopefully soon! And now, I await the flight that will bring me back home!

Monte Verde

It's been a week since I've posted, and we've been learning a lot through lectures, and field trips. I probably haven't blogged much because frankly, there's been so much going on over here! Also, most of the week, I haven't gotten many pictures. 

Monday, we had an early wake up call, and had to be ready to go by 6 AM. Though tired as we were, it was completely worth it! We met up with a couple scientists who were studying birds by the cocoa and coffee collections in CATIE and got to see how they track birds and use that information to see how forests and environments are providing for each species. We saw a Basalisk Lizard (yes, those totally exist!), and got to eat a banana straight off the tree. Emilka opened up a cocoa fruit and we got to taste the fruit that eventually becomes chocolate! 

Thursday, we got to visit the recycling plant within CATIE and got to see first hand the work that goes into sorting recycling. It was a lot of work to separate different materials, such as plastic, metal, glass, aluminum, and paper. People would even leave food in the bottles/containers and we had to clean it out by hand. This is how it's done in the US as well. Manual labor that doesn't even make much in return. The main purpose of doing this though, is to try to reuse things as much as possible to reduce waste in landfills and help provide a cleaner earth. 

Thursday night after dinner, Enrique passed out Karaoke lists... So of course I had to participate. Complete with my ray bans, rain jacket, and funky hairdo, I rocked out to Everything by Michael Buble, and Hey Ya by Outkast. Made a few Tico friends who insisted on getting their picture with me. I see this as a good sign of my delightful singing skills.

Friday morning came swiftly as we climbed into a cramped van at 4 AM. Heading to Monte Verde for a fun adventurous weekend, mountain roads don't make one feel good on an empty stomach. Never the less, we made it to Monte Verde around 10 and got to stay at the cutest cabina at the Capulin Hotel and Farm. They have their own dairy farm that used to be used for income, but now they only use it for tourism.

A little cabin by ours that isn't used anymore. Still SO beautiful. 

Stopped a bit before getting there to take some beautiful pics!

Seriously. My favorite. On the side of the mountain right next to some great clouds. It's awe inspiring.

Everything is covered in moss and dew all day long. So great.

We got to see Coati families foraging for fruit. They are the cutest, and most unusual. Mix between racoon, monkey, lemur?

Our tour guide had a birding telescope and picked out some really great birds. This pic was taken through his lens. Baby hummingbirds waiting for momma to get back.

The road less traveled.

By the waterfall!

The fig strangler. It grows around an existing tree and slowly kills and devours it. It ends up being hollow on the inside. 

We were also lucky enough to see a male and female Kuedcal birds in the forest. This is the female, and they are pretty rare to see in Costa Rica at this time of year. Very beautiful.

On one of the 6 sky bridges in Monte Verde. So fun walking in the canopy!

So. I found a vine. And. I may or may not have tried to swing on it. Also. I may or may not have almost fallen off the edge of the mountain. It's harder than it looks.

The largest of the bridges!

An incredible view of this beautiful place.

Over the course of the weekend we went to a serpentine observatory, did a bridge walk in the canopy, went to the cloud forest and got to talk with our tour guide who was born in Costa Rica, but his parents founded Monte Verde in the 50s. Such a cool perspective of life and growth within a small amount of time. 

One of the main themes of the weekend for our group was thankfulness. Sometimes, it's hard to stay positive when things go wrong, but we must remember the gifts and blessings bestowed upon us. We get to experience a new culture, new beautiful views, and learn about the world around us. Let us not dwell upon small shortcomings, but rejoice in the joys of the present. 

As we're learning more and more about sustainability, I find myself thinking about the larger picture. Even if everyone in the world lived sustainable lives, you will still find war, famine, selfishness, and greed. We have been called to steward our resources well; however, only Christ can change this world permanently.  Only He can sustain us fully. Only He can make right the injustice. Only he can fulfill us. 

We still have about ten days left, but I can already tell that the amount of personal growth as well as knowledge about our world has been greater than any other trip, even mission trips I've ever been on. We are called to lead sustainable, resilient lives. In every area we should strive for excellence for the Glory of the God who created us. Be looking for a post soon about how we can achieve this!

God Bless, and Pura Vida!

Weekend numero uno!

Because there was so much going on this weekend, I decided to squish everything into one post! Friday, for our activity, Eric took us into town to check out the market. This market is a real treasure, because everything is producer grown! Everything is supposed to come straight from the source. This is good both for consumers and the producers because it cuts out the middle man, thus providing more money for the growers and less for consumers! Plus, you get to meet the people who grow the produce! It makes it very relationship oriented. We bought fresh honey and cinnamon rolls for the mornings, got to try my first passion fruit!

This is what I like to call, the alien fruit. Seeds are similar to pomegranate and very sour! Each one is connected to those little nodes reminds me of sour skittles! Very tasty!

We also got to try some other fruits!

They sell bananas still on the branch! 

Starfruit. Very pretty, maybe for fun summer drinks, quite sour to just eat.

Pe Ji Balle. It's a fruit, that tastes like a savory potato dish with tons of beautiful seasonings. But it's just been picked off the branch. So, yeah, not quite sure why we don't just eat these for every meal.

Red guava! It's the sweet kind. Much more palatable than the white kind that usually has worms inside...

This is like a leeche, and very tasty! Cool outer covering too!

This. is. the. best. Candied coconut. Made with molasses! Seriously, could eat tons of this stuff!

On Saturday, we slept in (as much as we could from the early rising sun) and made it a relaxation day! We went to the pool and swam and laid out to get our bronze on. We were then invited to go out with one of the master students from UNT and some locals for dinner and hanging out. We got to get dressed up and spent the night laughing and possibly getting slightly overcharged for the food.

Now, for the best part of the weekend, and also a part of the top 5 days of my life thus far, Sunday! We woke up around 7 and took a bus to zipline through the jungle and raft through the Pacuare River! Sadly, I didn't take my phone (for obvious reasons) so I didn't get any pictures, but hopefully I 'll get some up on facebook soon :) The tour was about 2 hours long and full of beauty! There were about 10 pieces of the course and some of them were daunting rappelling lines where we lowered ourselves to the ground from 50 ft platforms. It was amazing! They last zip line was about an 1/8th mile long and overlooked the rainforest! I would COMPLETELY recommend it! 

The second was even better. Imagine a high energy, 3 hour beauty tour in the one of the world's top 4 white water rafting rivers. And that's what I did! Seriously, the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my entire life! Level 4 rapids and an incredible view and quite the workout! I fell in at one point, which may or may not have made the experience more epic. I wish I could show you pictures, but then again, you should really just go see it for yourself :) 

Things I've taken for granted:

Fabric softener. Today (Monday), we were able to finally wash all our laundry. We had one of those pod things which was helpful, but then we put things on the line. They smell great! But they feel...a bit crunchy.

Drier weather. Don't get me wrong, it is SO completely gorgeous here. Breezes and rain every day. However, the mosquitos find me quite delicious. Like filet mignon. I've heard it could be linked to blood type. If that's the case, I may just end up getting a blood transfusion. But, it's whatever. 

I'll write more about our adventures we had today, tomorrow! Have a great day! God bless and Pura Vida!