End of November Hodgepodge

Nevada, October 2010

 Wednesday again, and time for the Hodgepodge with Joyce and friends at From This Side of the Pond.  Head on over to get the questions.  Then answer them on your own blog and go back over to Joyce's to link up!   Here are the questions for this week:

1.  What's something blogging has taught you about yourself?

Blogging has reminded me of how much I love to write.  It has taught me many things about disciplined use of time and fine-tuning my writing to phrase the information I want to share in the most effective way.  It has taught me that I can be organized and plan ahead to schedule posts.  It may also have showed me that I never seem to run out of things to say (just time to say it in).  Not sure if that first part is good or bad.

(Next 2 photos also from Nevada, October 2010)

2.  Leftovers...are you in the 'reheat and eat' camp or the 'put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them' camp? What's your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?

We love leftovers at our house.  We love it when we have enough leftovers for an entire meal.  My least favorite thing to have as a leftover is salad with dressing already on it.  My most favorite thing ... hmmm.  Just about any soup is better reheated.  Thanksgiving leftovers may be my very favorite.  (And this year we don't have any!)

3. 'Me time'...your thoughts?

This is a hard one to answer, but I'm glad you brought it up.  I think it's healthy for anyone to have some time they can sort of call their own.  Otherwise we can burn out very easily.  On the other hand, I think we often tend to think we "need" more time than we really do, and some people are downright selfish with it.  I have learned that if I need time, the Lord will provide it.  In looking through the archives at this blog, I re-read this post: A moment to catch my breath and was blessed all over again as I was reminded what God had done for me in that busy season.

The most important "me time" that we can possibly take is a quiet time with Him every day.  It grounds us and settles us and prepares us for whatever the day may bring.

I also feel that I need some creative minutes every day, but I don't always get them as such.  I've learned that doing something creative doesn't have to mean dedicated time to work on a needlework project or a blog post.  I can find creativity in preparing a meal or figuring out a better way to do a task.

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

Hmmm.... usually a recipe!  My daughters have nicknamed my phone number "Mom's cooking hotline" and even friends call occasionally for recipes or cooking advice.  I once had a missionary friend email me from Panama to ask for a recipe of mine she'd misplaced!

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.

I'm going to say wood smoke.  We had a Franklin stove when I was really young, and then later a fireplace, where we often roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.

We also had a really nifty outdoor fireplace, which we kids absolutely loved, but it got destroyed the year we tried boiling maple sap on it.  After that, my dad built a sugarhouse for boiling sap, with all of the right equipment in a smaller size.  But the outdoor fireplace was never rebuilt.

My grandmother's summer cottage where we all loved to spend time was redolent of wood smoke from the fireplace there.  To this day the place has its own unique scent -- decades of wood smoke have permeated the pine paneling.

The cottage is behind the children.  See the white steps?

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The closeness of Christmas.  I cannot get over how quickly it is coming.   I'm never ready, but this year I'm far less ready than usual.  I have, however, purchased a number of gifts already, so that's something, at least.  (The plate below was a gift from my daughter, last year.  Love it!)

So another Hodgepodge post comes to a close.  Happy Wednesday, all!

From the November archives, part 2

Taken in Nevada, October 2010

As promised, I'm back with a second post from the November archives.  Two recipes and a more thoughtful post concerning time. 

Fiesta Sweet Potato Soup is a big favorite at our house.  Black beans, spicy sausage, tomatoes with chilies -- it's a great combination of flavors.  It's a very warming soup just perfect for winter evenings.

Best Gluten Free Pizza Crust  may not be everyone's idea of the very best, but we like it a lot.  A good gluten free pizza crust isn't easy to find.  We often make a veggie pizza with pesto sauce and it's great with this crust.  It's an adaptation of a gluten free focaccia bread recipe.

Lastly,  this post is a good reminder for me in this busy season.  I hope it encourages you, too.  A moment to catch my breath is an account of how God gave me just that, in a very unlikely place.  For tomorrow's Hodgepodge, one of the questions Joyce has posed concerns "me time."  This post sort of fits with my answer to that.

One more post from the November archives on Thursday.  Then, can you believe it, we're headed into December!  Yikes.

From the November archives, part 1

 (The gorgeous photo at top is from my 2001 Autumn in the Air booklet, a freebie from Cracker Barrel.)

November has been a busy month and I hadn't found time until today to look around in the archives for posts to share with you all.  This is the first of three posts concerning links from the archives that you might enjoy.  The posts I chose seem to be mostly recipes, so enjoy!

Green and white dishes, a post from 2008, shows some of my favorite dishes to use for Thanksgiving table settings, but they would look nice during the Christmas season, too.  If you enjoy seeing old dishes, you will like this post.

This Soup and bread post, from 2010, is billed as fall comfort food, but it would be an enjoyable menu during December or any of the winter months.  The soup is an unusual creamy lentil soup and the bread is an herbed oatmeal pan bread.  Mouth-watering!

 Lastly, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are an interesting and different variation on traditional snickerdoodles, and are very tasty.

More from the archives tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Thankful Heart

Lovely image from Gooseberry Patch

This past spring, while cleaning out an old roll-top desk at my parents' home, I found a folded, yellowed page from the November 24, 1963 This Week magazine.  Some may remember when this magazine came as a supplement with the Sunday newspaper.

The entire page was taken up by a poem titled Thankful Heart, by William Fitzpatrick, a Pulitzer Prize winner for distinguished editorial writing.  He was evidently a poet, too.

Thankful Heart

We thank Thee, Lord,
This hallowed day
For these Thy gifts.
Thanks for the way

The falling leaves
Renew the earth --
Symbol and promise
of Man's rebirth.

Thanks for the fruits
Of field and plow
We planted then
And harvest now.

Thanks for the sea
And summer shade ...
Beauty of sky
And silent glade ...

Thy watchful eye,
As children played.
Thanks for Thy trials
That somehow made

Us more like men.
O Lord, for these
We thank Thee, then
On grateful knees.

By William Fitzpatrick.  Pulitzer Prize winner for distinguished editorial writing.

A beautiful, meaningful poem, I thought.  I see why my mother saved that page from This Week.

Wishing you all a blessed and meaningful Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving hodgepodge

This gorgeous graphic is from the amazingly talented and generous Abby at Little Birdie Blessings.

Wednesday again, so that means it's time for the Hodgepodge with Joyce and friends at From This Side of the Pond.  Take a break from your Thanksgiving preparations and head on over to get the questions.  Answer them on your own blog and then go back over to Joyce's to link up!   Here are the questions for this week:

 1. Tradition...how tightly do you cling to tradition when it comes to holiday gatherings and celebrations? For instance do you always do the cooking, never eat at home, always go to grandma's, never miss the parade, always watch football, never change the menu, always eat at 2 PM, etc.? Have you ever celebrated Christmas or Thanksgiving away from hearth, home, and family? How did that feel?

We do not cling tightly to tradition AT ALL. We have had Thanksgiving dinner here, for up to 30 people or so; sometimes with only three or four people.  We have gone elsewhere.  We don't cling to a specific time or menu.  The only thing we have never done is to eat out on Thanksgiving, but we are pretty much planning to do that this year.

We did spend Christmas away from home one year, traveling to a distant state with friends to visit at the wife's parents' home.  It was enjoyable in many ways but it felt downright odd.

2. Help...is it easy for you to ask for help or are you a do-it-yourselfer? How is that a good/bad thing?

I can -- and do -- ask for help if I need it. It's good to acknowledge that my way is not necessarily the only right way.  It's good to allow others to help, if it's a blessing for them to do so.  I think probably the best thing about being willing to ask for help is that it reminds us how insufficient we are in ourselves.  If we think we can do everything ourselves, we aren't as likely to acknowledge our need for God -- not only for salvation, but also in the needs of our everyday lives.

3. Abundance...what is there an abundance of in your kitchen?

Baking ingredients.  I've had to bake for so many funeral luncheons lately that I really stocked up.  And that's good because I can also begin my Christmas baking.

I'm going to add in a recipe here.  I baked a caramel pecan pie yesterday and mentioned it on Instagram last night.  I've already had one request for the recipe, so ... here you go.

CARAMEL PECAN PIE

36 caramels, unwrapped*
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup pecan halves
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Combine the caramels, butter and milk in a heavy saucepan; heat until the mixture is creamy and caramels are melted, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt with an electric mixer; gradually blend in the caramel mixture. Fold in the pecans and pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake at 350º for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Cool pie until firm before cutting or serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

* This recipe (which is from Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book 7) predates the wonderful caramel baking nuggets, which are easier to use.    If you use those you will need about 1 1/2 cups.

4. Name...the smallest thing you're thankful for? the biggest?

Hmm ... certainly the biggest thing I'm thankful for is my salvation.   To have been delivered from the power of darkness, and having been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son (as Colossians 1:13 so eloquently puts it)  -- well, I can't think of anything bigger than that.  The smallest thing I'm thankful for -- I try to be thankful for everything.  There are no small blessings, in my book.  Big or small, they are all straight from God and all undeserved.

5. Key...What do you think is the key to living a more grateful life?

Recognizing that all we have comes from God.  I can't find the quote I'm looking for, but someone has written something like this: "To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us ... and He has given us everything."

 
6. State your own random thought here.

I simply cannot believe how quickly this year has passed.   It's not just that I am getting older; I have actually heard my youngest daughter say the same thing -- it feels as if we had only recently started into  January.  The year has flown by and I feel as if I have very little to show for it.

Photo from Photos Public Domain

Two pies for Thanksgiving

... one new, one tried and true!

Yesterday at church we had a harvest dinner theme to our potluck.  One lady cooked a turkey and  others brought fantastic side dishes, salads, and pies.  For my pie contributions, I used one old favorite recipe and one that was brand new to me.

The old favorite was this

CRUMB TOP APPLE PIE

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Unbaked 9” pie shell
6 apples, peeled, cored, sliced
Lemon juice

Crumb topping:
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt
1/2 cup butter (may try using less; I think I've used as little as 1/3 cup before)

Begin by mixing together the brown sugar and spices in a small bowl. In the pie shell, alternate layers of apples with the spice mixture. Sprinkle each layer with lemon juice before adding another layer. When all apples and spices are in pie shell, make the topping by mixing the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and dash of salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until crumbs form. Top the pie with the crumb topping.

Bake the pie at 450º for 15 minutes; then reduce the heat to 350º and bake 30 minutes more. Serve warm if desired with cheddar cheese or ice cream on the side.  (For the potluck, I served it at room temperature and did not serve with either ice cream or cheese.  Every scrap of this pie was eaten!)

This excellent pie comes from Jane & Michael Stern’s wonderful cookbook, Square Meals. I have made this pie so many times that its page in my handwritten cookbook is freckled with apple juice and spices!

Now don't look at the several steps and decide this is too complicated.  It's actually very easy.  The hardest part is peeling, coring, and slicing the apples.  Once you get that solved (which I sometimes do by using one of those hand-cranked peeling/slicing/coring gadgets) it is literally as easy as pie.   My only quarrel with those gadgets is that they slice the apples a bit too thin, which can make for a mushy pie.

 🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂

The new recipe is Cape Cod Cranberry Pie, which I found in the Gooseberry Patch book Christmas Pantry.   This is made in a pie pan and slices fairly easily into wedges; still, I suppose it is not technically a pie for one makes no actual crust.  Still, it was delicious and I will definitely make this again for it was so easy.  I made this pie gluten-free simply by substituting the Bob's Red Mill 1-for-1 flour.    Here's the recipe:

CAPE COD CRANBERRY PIE

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 - 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour (regular, or gluten free)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Spray a 9-inch deep dish pie pan with non-stick baking spray.  Place cranberries in prepared pie pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar and the walnuts; stir to combine.  In a bowl, mix remaining 1 cup sugar, melted butter, flour, eggs, and vanilla with a whisk (I used a hand mixer).  Pour this batter over the cranberry mixture in the pie plate.  Bake at 325º for 45 minutes or until brown.

Another time, I may cut down on the sugar in the batter part of the recipe.  I think 3/4 cup would be plenty.  The recipe also called for 1/4 cup of oil, but I didn't use it.  I felt that oil was unnecessary since there is quite a bit of butter in the recipe already.  It turned out very well and I will make this again, likely at Christmas time.

If  you needed some fresh inspiration for Thanksgiving pies, I hope you have found some here today!

Gratitude challenge progress, part 2

This delightful graphic is by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

Just checking in today with another update on how things are going with the Gratitude Challenge over at Revive Our Hearts.  For some exciting, encouraging news, I'm happy to report that I was able to work on two days' worth of the challenges often enough so that I am now caught up.  I'm right where I should be and so thankful for that. 

Today I want to share what I learned from the Gratitude Challenge, Day 6, titled "In Fresh Wonder of God's Mercy."

I was reminded that the best thing that has ever happened in my life is being saved from the sure destruction that my sins deserved, and ushered into the family of God.  Today's devotional observed that, sadly, time seems to dull our appreciation of Christ's magnificent, sacrificial work on our behalf.  Yet, thankfully, gratitude to God can reopen that wonder to us.

One believer's paraphrase of Romans 5:8 is as follows: "God demonstrated His love toward us in this: While we were in open, hostile rebellion against Him, having no interest in Him -- not only that, but also actively despising Him and all that He stands for -- Christ died for us."

The "Gratitude in Action" assignment was to take time to wonder anew at the mercy God has had upon me, letting my gratitude swell and overwhelm me once again.  I was to read Romans 5:1-11 and to make a list of the blessings that are mine in Christ Jesus and thank Him for them.

Here is the list I came up with:
🍂  Justification by faith
🍂  Peace with God
🍂  Access by faith into God's grace
🍂  Rejoicing in hope of the glory of God
🍂  The ability to glory in trials, understanding that they are working for my good
🍂  God's love shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit
🍂  Saved from God's wrath by Christ's sacrifice
🍂  Reconciled to God
🍂  Joy in God.

And this is the prayer that I wrote thanking God for these blessings:

"Lord, I am amazed as I look at and ponder the many incredible blessings in just these few short verses.  That I can be reconciled to and have an actual relationship with the God of the universe, whom I had offended -- it is just beyond comprehension.  That He is working in my life daily and that His love, joy, and peace are integral parts of my everyday life ... those truths are simply mind-boggling.  How very thankful I am for all that You have done for me and for all that You do in my life each day.  Thanks and praise seem like very small responses.  May You help me to live a life of joyful service to You!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

So thankful that I've been able to participate in this Gratitude Challenge, as I'm finding it a real blessing.  I'm continuing to thank God for one of my blessings each evening in November on Instagram as well.