Showing posts with label supper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label supper. Show all posts

Monday, August 1, 2022

Rainbow-Feast





She pulls a rainbow from her garden
Savours every shade
Because a rainbow from the garden
Is the best feast ever made

Thank-you, God!

© Janet Martin





Friday, November 22, 2019

November's Supper Hour

Let's start with dessert since it is not the norm at our house
but guests always give a great reason for a treat, which was the case last night.
So what is a quick go-to when you suddenly realize 
there's nothing in the house and we need dessert?!
Banana Pudding!
Scald 3 cups milk
While it heats mix 1/4-1/3 cup of cornstarch with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt.
blend and add 1/3 cup COLD milk.
Add to scalded milk whisking briskly all the while.
Reduce heat to med-low and stir until mix says 'blub-blub-blub',
then add a splash of vanilla extract , stir
and pour over sliced bananas!
Serve warm or chilled and topped with fresh whipped cream.
This dish makes me feel like a little girl
on those rare nights when supper was either tapioca of cornstarch pudding.
Simple and satisfying.

The main course was a mix of Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday's meals rolled into Thursday!
How does this happen??!!
Well, it started with Sunday, coming home from church, 
anticipating a crockpot holding nicely browned potatoes and roast beef.
Alas, because all the words are worn off the settings I had turned the knob too far 
and it was not set at high but on the 'keep warm' setting, 
leaving lukewarm, still hard potatoes.
All was not lost however because they still cooked
 (though not in time for lunch)
 and turned out to be a big help during fall housecleaning midweek.
On Wednesday I shredded them, added chopped chicken 
leftover from Tuesday night's roast chicken dinner 
( plus a bit of chopped ham), sprinkled in some corn, 
made a sauce with leftover gravy, 
leftover swiss-chalet-dipping sauce 
and a can of cream of mushroom soup+water.
Toss and pour in pan
(The crumb topping under the shredded cheese is ground up rosemary-cheese scones
 which Victoria tried a while ago but they were not edible! 
I was not home when she made them
or I might have told her that 1/2 cup dried rosemary is definitely a misprint!
But ground and used sparingly these 'flopped' scones are great as a savoury topping!
I named it Chicken Cordon Blu Casserole because of its richness and ham-chicken-cheese.
It was a big batch so we had enough for last night's main dish...
 

Monday's contribution; Cabbage Rolls... 
The Cabbage Rolls take a bit of time to prepare but are well worth the effort!
An autumn highlight at our house after the winter-cabbage is gathered.
(I use green cabbage in a LARGE pot of boiling water)
Last but not least...the salad, not leftover😊
consisting of a base of mixed spring greens, topped with thinly shredded red cabbage, 
shredded red beet, chopped cucumber, crumbled feta and roasted unsalted sunflower seeds.
Drizzle with dressing of your choice. (I prefer dressings on the side)

Something about the rain lashing at windows 
and the wind rattling at loose shingles and soffits (hopefully not!) and doors
makes us feel extra-humbly blessed to have a roof over our heads
and a place to call home-sweet-home!


 
These days the dark falls early
Deep blue turns to ebony
November’s rain taps windowpanes
The wind moans like a sea
And front-porch lights hail ‘welcome’
From heav’n-on-earth’s modest dome
And heavy hearts turns lithesome
At the sight of home-sweet-home
Where it is not ‘the dressing’
That makes this place so dear
But the precious, sacred blessing
Of gathering loved ones near
And thanking God for mercies
That we could never earn
Glad, as the dark falls early
For each loved ones safe return

© Janet Martin







Friday, November 15, 2019

Sacred Gift


What was for Thursday-what's-for-supper?
Something I put in the crock-pot much earlier today because it was going to be a lively one!

 This stew is a meal on its own but bread and cheese is a nice side...
In the oven it's a four/five-hour stew but in the crock-pot it's an all-day stew.
Since the beef was pre-cooked I put it in the crock-pot at noon.
Also, because I have my own canned tomato juice
 I used it instead of the V-8 juice.(to be economical)
Not the same but still perfectly fine.
I also skipped the tapioca and sugar to keep it simple.

I love this yellow bean salad with all things beef!
This is how I preserve half of the yellow bean crop.
(I hope you can read it. I needed to retrace the faded ink of this recipe
 I brought from home 31 years ago)
Dressing for this bean salad;
A scoop of mayo
a squirt of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. each of brown sugar and vinegar
2 tbsp light cream or milk
whisk dressing then pour over beans, chopped white or red onion and hard-boiled eggs...
(adjust amounts to bean ratio)
top with freshly ground pepper

it's such a friendly little word
a tender pick-me-upper
a warming, welcome-homeward tug
a hug. 
We call it supper

As we sit  'round to share a meal
Let's thank God for each other 
and never over look the gift
of gathering 
for supper 

Janet Martin




Friday, October 18, 2019

Autumn Supper Hour (or ten minutes ;-)

 It takes a  lot longer to make a meal appear than disappear, huh?!!

I would like to start a what's-for-supper weekly post.
and the plan was to do it last night but that didn't work out
so here it is, the morning after...

I got a Pampered Chef pizza stone recently and finally had a chance to try it out! YUM!!
(google a pizza dough recipe that works into your time-frame) 
Also, had to settle for cheddar cheese instead of mozzerella because I didn't have any on hand. 
(Pizza is one of the most versatile foods I can think of!)
With the leftover pizza dough I made a few cheese rolls so we had the option of rolls or pizza with bean soup I prepared earlier in the day after cooking a ham bone the day before.
Skim fat then to the broth I added in proportion to pot and broth-batch-size,
a lot of thinly sliced onions, thinly sliced cabbage, some chopped celery, 
precooked black beans and navy beans, a handful of chopped parsley, 
a hefty pinch of black pepper and some bay leaves...
(for extra flavour I added a few envelopes of onion soup mix as well.)
I would love to know what extra seasonings would work 
with this combination so that I can keep it 'pure'!
(I added no salt because ham broth and soup mix is salty)
Add water, in proportion to batch size for desired flavour and consistency.

The delight of the supper crowd, (aka Matt and Victoria) was SO worth the effort!
Made supper feel like a simple celebration for a work day completed...well almost. 
(there's always the cleanup after.)

this is what yesterday's day-end felt like...

The rush of rain has eased; the trees bedazzled with its gems
Blue and gray weave a brooding blanket tossed across the day
The colours of October flare and dim on wooden stems
As twilight layers deepen and fold outdoor worlds away

Suppertime, like a simple celebration, warms and cheers
The lights of home beckon and draw our weary loved ones back
The Thing that turns us older as it spins laughter and tears
Is sweeter round a table where dusk trails night’s veil of black

…and makes us count the simple blessings that haste overlooks
It wakes a wordless hymn where time is both tender and brusque
And stirs an ache for pages sealed in fond echo-bound books
Yet makes us more aware of what slips through us dusk by dusk

The day is gathered in; darkness harvests earth's gold and red
We bow our heads in gratitude where swift the seasons roll
Thankful that Time slows down a bit in bowls of soup with bread
As supper’s simple celebration warms body and soul

© Janet Martin

After watching some pizza-dough-tossing videos I decided I'd like to learn to toss it like a pro!
Ha-ha! practice is required if you don't want to look like a snowman! 

Here is one video to teach the art of tossing a pizza crust
(note; some say never use a rolling pin to roll out the crust but rather just press with your hands)
I've tried both ways and the pizza disappears regardless! 😉




  

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Of Homemade Soup and Biscuits

I have NO idea what to make for supper tonight, I said to Victoria at 4:30
 (because I forgot to take out the chicken last night, to thaw.)
"Soup would be good" said Victoria
Yes! The perfect way to use up one of my five heads of cauliflower I bought on sale😀😋


Cauliflower Soup and Cheese Tea Biscuits...
Simple Satisfying Supper! Yum!



Let's celebrate our hunger where November's early eve
Has drawn a starry blanket 'cross the miles we brave yet grieve
Let's celebrate the brooding backdrop with a slice of cake
Or homemade soup and biscuits like our mothers used to make

Let's count our many blessings; pray the Lord to bless our meal
And not get tangled in the gossamer of 'how we feel'
Since summer has forsook us and the dark is like a glove
Filled with the muffled music of those days and years we love 

Let's linger longer at the table now; no need to rush
The outdoors are asleep beneath the minimalist's brush
Let's celebrate our hunger with a cup of tea and cake
Or homemade soup and biscuits like our mothers used to make

Janet Martin~  



Day 14 PAD Chapbook Prompt: write a hunger poem


Monday, January 5, 2015

How Sweet It Is...

Click on images to enlarge...

 These potato wedges were today's special part of supper because its a snow-day! Mix scant tablespoon each of black pepper, dill-weed, garlic-powder and paprika and then a healthy pinch of salt. Add to a large bowlful of potato-wedges. (Potatoes well-scrubbed, not peeled) Drizzle with olive oil. toss and bake at 400F until golden-brown. Approx. 30 min. Served with a side of meat-loaf, green beans and tossed salad.

Sometimes I’ve become so accustomed
To the everyday-ness of it
That I forget to notice
How sweet it is

Sometimes its shapes and colors
Placed on platters, in bowls
Are more like simple habit
Than a miracle

But sometimes its invitation
Slips soft, *like a love song or rhyme
To begin dusk’s celebration,
It’s supper-time

…and I don’t want to grow accustomed
To the everyday-ness of it
Lest I forget to notice
How sweet it is

© Janet Martin

Tonight, suddenly it hit me what a gift it is to be able to sit down every evening with those we love to eat supper...

* I tried letting the invitation 'slip soft like a love song' but I didn't get any response until I cranked up the volume to a rockin' ..."S-U-U-P-P-E-E-R!!