It's Relative

(No.  This is NOT a Christmas post.)

He sat at the puzzle table and said,

"Boy!  It's hard finding all these border pieces..."

Meanwhile, I was at the kitchen counter

perusing a favorite cookbook in search of something to make for dinner.

"It's hard coming up with meals all the time," I said.

Then, under my breath--

"Hard is relative."

(Very relative!)

Liverwurst, Facebook, and Me

It all started with one of those silly Facebook posts --

a "remember this" one, as I recall.

And it was about liverwurst.  Braunschweiger.

Actually, "goose liver" is what I remember my mother calling it.

Anyway, I remember that I loved it.

A few years ago, a friend of ours fixed a spread made
with braunschweiger and cream cheese

for a carry-in we'd been invited to.

 The Facebook post reminded me of it

and I shot off a message to him to see if he could make me one for $10.

(I know the price of cream cheese has gone through the roof!)

To make a long story short, 

within 24 hours this beautiful - and large - ball arrived.

Friends who commented on the Facebook thread are clamoring for the recipe

AND a liverwurst party is being planned for after the holidays.

Should be fun!

By the way, if YOU like it, what's your favorite way to eat it?
And please, no information about how unhealthy it is!

Meals

Old recipes are the best--with a little tweaking now and then, of course...

Meals--planning, preparation and cleanup--occupy more time than I realized!  Leisurely they wander in and out of my minutes and hours.  They take me to cupboard and cookbook; internet and recipe file.  I search refrigerator and pantry for them.  I travel, too.  Superstores and small-town grocery.  Occasionally a roadside market.  Slowly they take shape.  Each one unique; odd combinations of time and taste and what's on hand. I find a surprising pleasure in their creation because I wasn't always "into" cooking.

 (This observation from my journal entry a few days ago.)

I Had Help

Mother's recipe....

Dad's assistance...

Heavy duty stirring.

Cookie dough now "chilling".

We'll make balls of it, flatten them, and bake.

I'll store them on the back porch until our family gathering next week.
Hopefully they'll last till then.

 

Two Men and a Backseat Driver

It was Sunday afternoon, and to break up our table game routine,

we looked up the Barn Quilt Tour description from the Archbold (OH) Sesquicentennial celebration

and set off--

Two Men and a Backseat Driver!

These are six of the ten barns/quilts on the tour.

Our outing included stopping to see a small herd of longhorn cattle,

waiting for a train,

and a few dead ends.

We returned to play a couple more games

and enjoy a lunch of Indiana cantaloupe, a variety of baby tomatoes,

and curried chicken salad in croissants. 

It was a relaxing way to spend Sunday afternoon and evening.

Barns
Functional. Enduring.
Strong. Silent.
Decorated now.
Kissed with simple beauty.
Crowned.
Like royalty.

The Tenth

 It's a tiny book.  An old book.

It sits with two similarly-sized books in a convenient place for quick reading.

I reached for it and read the prayer for September Eleventh.

It was EXACTLY what I needed to pray in that moment.

Only later did I realize that I was reading it on the tenth.

Sometimes it happens that way.

On a lighter note

~also on the tenth~

I made a pot of creamed soup out of some leftover vegetables.

It was a soup-sort of day and it was DELICIOUS!

If you're interested, you can read more about it here.

Monday Morning

Chocolate zucchini cakes baked & frosted for tomorrow's funeral dinner; car into shop for repair; kitchen cleaned up; phone conversation with daughter; contemplating a Kierkegaard quote on a friend's facebook page; counting my blessings; praying for brothers and sisters suffering because of their faith in Jesus Christ, for our children and grandchildren, parents, and friends facing health and relationship challenges...

 "Perhaps just in this weakness God will meet you and come to your aid. This much is certain: the greatest thing each person can do is to give himself to God utterly and unconditionally - weaknesses, fears, and all. For God loves obedience more than good intentions or second-best offerings, which are all too often made under the guise of weakness.

Therefore, dare to renew your decision. It will lift you up again to trust in God. For God is a spirit of power and love and self-control, and it is before God and for him that every decision is to be made. Dare to act on the good that lies buried within your heart.

Confess your decision and do not go ashamed with downcast eyes as if you were treading on forbidden ground. If you are ashamed of your own imperfections, then cast your eyes down before God, not man. Better yet, in weakness decide and go forth!"

(the Kiekergaard quote)

My Sane, Not-So-Simple and Sacred Week

Rare and wonderful days earlier this week were spent with

our daughter and five of our eleven grandchildren.

I took the older two shopping for school supplies and was slightly staggered

by how much they are required to bring along with them to school

and the cost of it all... 

 

The weather couldn't have been better for outside fun!

 Believe me, we packed it in!

 Wednesday, I had an appointment with the surgeon who inserted my new hip.

At the same appointment, I was given the date of September 23rd

for a knee replacement.

While I wait, I am doing some exercises to strengthen muscles

and returning to the Fast-5 lifestyle to drop some pounds 

I've accumulated since my fall & subsequent surgery in March.

So WHY did I bake this Zucchini Spice Cake tonight?!?

Answer:  Because I was gifted (again) with some wonderful garden vegetables,

including zucchini!  Along with the veggies were two pieces of cake like this and the recipe.

I couldn't resist and plan to pass it along to a few friends who might be encouraged

by receiving it.

This morning I led a hymn sing at a nursing home.  It's always a blessing,

and as usual I came home a bit hoarse and very happy.

 Now, I'll relax the rest of the evening and read this book.

I don't agree with everything in it, but it's very thought-provoking.

 A lot more happened this week including time spent with Mother in the nursing home

and dinner that night with Dad at Bob Evans and coffee with a friend.

This, my friends, is my sane, not-so-simple, and sacred week at a glance.

Last to Know

I'm sure everyone already knows about Asian Slaw.  (I'm usually the last to know!)   I've had the recipe for a couple of years now.  It's a hit just about anywhere I serve/ take it.  Yesterday was no exception.  This is the largest of my glass mixing bowls.  It was pretty full.  It came back from the potluck empty.  Well, empty of slaw, anyway.  Sitting inside it is a jar of homemade zucchini relish.  It's the BEST!  A friend sent it home with me.

Asian Slaw

3 pkg. beef flavored raimen noodle soup, break up noodles

1 pkg. 16 oz. slaw mixture

1 c. salted, roasted sunflower seeds

1 c. sliced almonds

1 bunch green onions, chopped

Layer those ingredients.

Whisk together:

1/2 sugar

3/4 c. oil

1/4 c. white vinegar

3 of the flavor packs from the raimen noodles.

Pour over the slaw & cover tightly.

Chill 24 hours before serving.

Toss & serve.

 An outdoor worship service and baptisms...

 food and conversation...

swimming & fishing.

All in the company of our wonderful church friends.

It was a great Sunday.

Fasting and Feasting

I think a few of you  know that since February I've been following a food plan that has resulted in significant weight loss AND a blood pressure reading within "normal" boundaries.  (This is maybe the HUGEST benefit of the discipline I've been practicing.)

It's called Fast-5 by some and is a form of  Intermittent Fasting. While I don't like the word "fast" (it doesn't FEEL like fasting), it does describe what I do for 19 hours every day.  The other 5 are considered my "window" to eat.  

There's another kind of fasting that I want to incorporate into my life - with even MORE determination than I have been applying in my eating habits!  I copied it quite awhile ago from a Lenten meditation which I failed to document.  I want to:

Fast from judging others; feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from the darkness around me; feast on the light of Jesus within me.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from actions that pollute; feast on deeds that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from pessimism; feast on hope.
Fast from worry; feast on trust.
Fast from guilt; feast on freedom.
Fast from complaining; feast on complementing.
Fast from stress; feast on self-care.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from selfishness; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from apathy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from idle gossiping, feast on spreading the good news.
Fast from being so busy; feast on peaceful silence.
Fast from being in control; feast on letting go. 

(I just realized as I reread these that practicing THIS kind of fasting 
should ALSO help my blood pressure!)

Carry In - Carry Out

 These pictures are misleading...

because although the spinach salad was hands down 

the best-ever-spinach-salad I've ever eaten...

 the curried chicken salad flavorful and relatively healthy...

the fruit combination refreshing...

and the guacamole (served with chips) over-the-moon delicious,

these weren't the BEST part of the Ladies' Home Connection yesterday!

No.  First there were the ladies themselves--

each with her own "flavor".

There was the simple and gracious hospitality of our hostess,

the time of honest sharing of personal concerns and prayer,

and the Word.  God's Word.  

John's Gospel, chapter 1, specifically.

I was particularly impacted by the invitation of Jesus to the two followers

(and to me), "Come, and you will see!" 

An invitation to personal and life-changing intimacy with Jesus!

We all carried IN food for the body, 

but we carried OUT  fresh insight, joy, and food for thought.

 "We don't want to just be informed by Your Word; 

we want to be infiltrated and inflamed." Gerhardt duToit

 Since my recipe tab/page disappeared (?????), I'm trying to rebuild it.
What's YOUR favorite carry-in dish?

Pie

   

Pie knows no cultural or political boundaries. Pie makes people happy. And happy people make the world a better place. That’s why the world needs more pie." ~ Beth Howard

A Facebook Friend recently posted this quote, a link to Ms. Howard's blog, and word of her new book.

Now let me say right up front that I like to eat pie with the proverbial "Best Of Them".  However, I'm just not a very good pie-baker.  Still, I purchase pie plates of various makes and sizes at bargain prices in thrift store thinking, "Someday I'm going to bake more pies!" Or, "I can bake (So-and-SO) a pie and just give him/her the pie plate, too!" 

 

 

Two little tart plates

But when I read this quote this morning, my heart was stabbed with the thought of what (WHO actually)  REALLY is meant for sharing, connects people, knows no cultural or political boundaries, and makes people happy. 

Pie is no substitute for Jesus. 

 

 

 

Landon MacDonald recently tweeted, "I hope my tombstone says, BORN. FOUND JESUS. TOLD EVERYONE. DIED."    Me, too.

It's embarrassing, really.  The number of pie tins/plates I have.

I can't remember the last time I baked a pie.
But I'm telling you, "The world DOES need more Jesus!"
And there's a Best Seller written on that subject.

1/2 Price Christmas Candy

 I was so (self)-impressed with my post on my diet/health blog,
that I brought it over here to remind me.

• Just because the mini Hershey bars are 1/2 off, doesn't mean you have to buy them.
• Just because you bought them doesn't mean you have to eat them all in one night.
• Just because they're still 1/2 price and yours are just about gone doesn't mean you have to go back and buy some more.
• Just because I've posted this doesn't mean I won't...

Leftovers

 One of the few downsides of not hosting a thanksgiving event is the lack of leftovers.

It's actually a pretty BIG downside for me!

I really do like cold turkey sandwiches and cold stuffing/dressing, too.

That's right.  Cold stuffing/dressing.

Oh, well.  Instead of food, I have memories.

Beautiful tableware - even paper dessert plates,

turkey place holders made by one of my granddaughters for

LAST year's dinner (she forgot to bring them then, 

so we used some of them at brunch today).

 Family...

and music - always an important part of our gathering.

"For the beauty of the earth....Lord of all to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise."

What's YOUR favorite Thanksgiving Day leftover?

Speaking of Blogging Friends...

A wonderful surprise arrived in our post office box yesterday!  I SEE things like this in Somerset Magazines, but I'm not sure I've ever actually held one in my hands before...Thank you, DARLA!

It has found its home on our (fake) fireplace mantel along with the year-old white ceramic pumpkin and the little plastic ornament. Inspired by the all the reminders of the season and the nippy air this morning,  I think I shall make some pumpkin soup for our mid-afternoon lunch/dinner today!

BREAKING NEWS!  I just "invented" pumpkin soup!  1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup of water, a can of  100% packed pumpkin,  about 1/2 cup of chunky peanut butter and milk (I used skim) to make it the desired consistency.  A taste test resulted in the addition of some white pepper.  Yum!  Can't wait to have a bowl this afternoon!  I've put ingredients for our favorite bread machine bread into the bread maker.  It will go well with the soup, I think.

How I Found My Pumpkin

Read more about the pumpkin shortage HERE.

There was no pumpkin to be found at the two major grocery stores nearest me.  Then I went to Save-A-Lot in a small town nearby.  At all stores, I was informed either that pumpkin was a seasonal item not yet in stock OR that there was a shortage and they didn't know WHEN/IF they would receive it this year.

That's when Facebook kicked in.  I posted about my dilemma. Don noticed and told me that his father who lives in the Pumpkin Capital and home of Libbey Cannery (Morton, IL) said that the fields were too wet to harvest the crop last year and a shortage exists. In fact, he wrote:   There was an article last year about the shortage and it featured a picture of one of Libbey's marketing execs hugging about 6 cans of pumpkin! It was all that was left of 2009 production! I heard rumors that cans were going on ebay for quite a bit of money!  Brenda (Chicago area) told me: Our local grocery stores had been out of pumpkin for months but now I have seen again--just last week in Jewel and Aldi. A friend of mine had missed it and went and bought two cases from Aldi.  

My husband was at work in a neighboring town, close to an Aldi.  I texted him, and he agreed to check it out.  He came home with 4 cans.  (I should have told him to buy two cases!  I might have been able to sell them to WalMart!) 

More pumpkin recipes on my recipe page--thanks to Jacquelyn!

This afternoon, I made these pumpkin muffins.  I didn't have the maple flavoring to put in the frosting or the toffee bits to sprinkle on top....but here is how they turned out.

Thank you, Facebook Friends!

Have YOU had any trouble finding pumpkin this year - or is it too early?
What will YOU do with YOUR pumpkin?

When was the last time YOU got help from a Facebook Friend?

Outdoor Worship & Carry-In Meal

 

Our annual Outdoor Worship Service took place this morning without the storms that were predicted earlier in the week.

Most sat UNDER the tents.  A few chose to sit in the sun.

There were games and water balloons to throw...

...and of course, food!

I took Cream Cheese Scalloped Potatoes in my crock pot (recipe here) and Oriental Cole Slaw (recipe under Recipe Tab at the top).  I came home with two empty dishes and many compliments as well!