Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Monday, February 12, 2018

With What We Have...

Do you ever get tired of the same cook-and bake-scenery, wishing for fresh ideas to shake things up? 
Does it seem like, in spite of a rainbow of choices we end up with 'faithful spud' thudding our cooking pot (partly because no one ever says 'ew! what's this?!:) to a potato?
Well, dear cook in the kitchen of life,
welcome to a meander through an orchard of delicious possibilities and nostalgia!
Meet Rose, who makes everyone feel at home in her corner of the world
 as she shares recipes, reflections, and snap-shots of nostalgia! 
This is my attempt at Blueberry-lemon Muffins from her latest post.
Because I didn't have muffin liners mine look a little different from hers. 
I topped them with cinnamon sugar instead of the butter and sugar-dip suggested in the recipe, 
 so they could cool a little more before removing them from the pan. 

 Enjoy your choices today!
We may not always be able to choose the 'ingredients' we are handed in life
but we always choose how we use them!

With what I have, Lord make me glad
And not inclined to pine
Because of something someone had
That I wish would be mine

With what we have, Lord, make us fit
To touch the charge You grant
And never sit and pout a bit
In hopeless pits of ‘can’t

With who we are, Lord, make us brave
Lest we miss out on what we have
While wishing on a star

With what we have, Lord, help us choose
To serve its purpose well
Before the dimming of gold-blues
Where twilight’s shadow fell

© Janet Martin




Monday, August 22, 2016

As Time goes By



So sorry! Supper was half over before I remembered that I was going to take pictures of it. 
We had slow-roasted beef, fresh from the garden potatoes, carrots and coleslaw. 
I did remember a picture of the best part...the birthday girl and cake.

God bless you, Melissa, on your 22nd Birthday



As time goes by we learn a thing or three about its clocks
How round and round the hours go in teeny ticks and tocks
And all the while we smile and bear the cares of now and here
Tick-tock, tick-tock whispers the clock and steals another year

As time goes by we try to make the best of its demise
We grapple with the gray and gold that tumbles through our sighs
And learn how swift the gift of holding turns to letting go
How soft the tick and tock of time delivers blow on blow

As time goes by we realize its bite-size bit by bit
How nothing stays the same for long so we should cherish it
Tick-tock, tick-tock, whispers the clock and turns summer to fall
Sometimes it seems like time does not leave us much time at all

As time goes by it leaves behind the way things used to be
Its give-and-take a subtle, aching synchronicity
And often we are shaken by its bitter-sweet finesse
Tick-tock, tick-tock whispers the clock with double-edged caress


As Time goes by we sense a silent but undeterred Force
How, the longer we live the nearer we come to its Source
Tick-tock-tick-tock, whispers the clock that only God sustains
Tick-tock, tick-tock, whispers the clock ‘til only Soul remains

© Janet Martin


Unbaked Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/3 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (I used broken Choc.-chip cookies)
1/3 cup melted butter
Mix and press in 9" springform pan.

Filling:
2 (250g each) pkg. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
4 squ. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

Beat cream-cheese until smooth. Blend in sugar. Set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Let sit 5 min. Stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves then blend gelatine mixture into cheese mixture. Beat in melted chocolate. Fold in whipped cream. Smooth over prepared crust.

Melt 4 ounces( 4 squares) semi-sweet chocolate. stir in 1/3 cup sour cream.
Spread on cheese-cake.
Garnish with fresh raspberries (optional)
Chill 4-6 hours before serving.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Thursday Thoughts on This and That...



Are you enjoying the Olympics? We try to stay tuned a little during our busy summer days.
 How else can we show appreciation for the endurance and years of training these athletes have committed to.
Last night when I was biking (it was hot, my tires were a little slack, the gravel on the shoulder loose, and biking was hard!!) so I pretended I was an Olympian, determined to cross the finish-line (aka home-driveway;-)
It made me think of another finish line that Paul talks about long ago…
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?
Run in such a way as to take the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline.
They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.…
1 Cor.9:24

May our daily goal be to run the race with endurance so that someday we may proclaim,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
2 Tim.4:7-8


If you want to be a success,
And if you want to be a star
If you want to make a diff’rence
Then be faithful,
 Right where you are

Not in some far and future day
Not in some better this or that
Oh, if you want to be a star
Then be faithful,
Right where you’re at

***

Piety is not enough
To save the sinner’s soul
But salvation, God’s perfect love
Makes Imperfection whole

***

It is not enough to wish
Wish sires despair
Better then, to take each plea
And turn it into prayer

***

Who of us, in all this fuss
Has every answer; none
Who of us does not need trust
In He whose will is done?
Who of us can say our way
Is better then, than His?
Who of us midst all this fuss
Remembers this; God IS

***

Thank-you God, for morning
And for noon and night
Thank-you that we do not know
What waits beyond our sight
Thank-you for Your promise
No matter what the plight
Morning, noon and night

***

We grow old with our habits
Thus we should be on guard
And mold our habits with great care
For they make who we are

***

Ability is like a bud
Lifted on root and stem
How hardly it could bloom, my love
If not held up by them

***

Stay the course and do not waver
Fight the fight and do not quit
Live, but not to gain man’s favor
But for God who ordained it

***
We becomes who we ought to be
Not by self-centered quest
But in God first, then others needs
Thus we become our best

© Janet Martin


Hope you have a happy Thursday. 
Here Thursday promises to be another scorcher so I better finish my Cucumber Hotdog Relish before it gets too hot...

 This mixture of cabbage, cucumber, green tomatoes and onions sat overnight. It is ready for red peppers and celery, then boiling with a sugar-vinegar syrup and sealing.
Actually, why don't I give you my mom's recipe? 
It is yummy on hotdogs, burgers, tuna sandwiches and sandwiches in general!

Hotdog Relish

8 large cucumbers or 12-16 med.
I small head of cabbage
12-18 green tomatoes depending on the size of them
8 med onions
put through course grater.
Add a handful of salt and let sit overnight.
In the morning, drain,
add 3 chopped red peppers and 1 bunch celery, chopped

Bring to boil:
2 cups vinegar
7 cups sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. tumeric

Add veggies. 
(make sure you have a heavy pot and stir constantly to keep it from burning)

boil 15 min. 
Put in jars and seal!

A few hours later...I forgot what a big batch this is! Recipe can be halved if this is too much.
On the other hand, this lasts for years in the fruit cellar.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Life's Salad Bowl



When you’ve got fixin’s for a salad
Life is fine
Bitty kiss and cuddle, darlin’
Little sip o’ wine
Splash o’ laughter, dash o’ tear
Hint o’ things to come, my dear
Tug o‘ heart and cup o’ cheer
Begs the soul to dine

When you got fixin’s for a salad
Life is grand
Bitty heartache, hope and hunger
Sifting through love’s hand
Pinch o’ prudence, second chance
A whole heart full o’ romance
Invites life’s taste buds to dance
All across the land

When you got fixin’s for a salad
Life is good
This and that and thus, my darling
Makes soul-food
Smidge o’ sunshine on the face
Slice o’ somethin’ nice to taste
Overflow the bowl with grace
M-m-m-m, m-m-m-m, good

© Janet Martin

Life is a little like salad, isn't it?
a lot of this and that mixed together to create something surprisingly nice!

Imagine if the phone never rang, if no one ever needed your help, if nobody came and went in your home leaving behind a trace of their presence...
I pinched off a big HUFF as I looked into my son's bedroom. Definitely someone living there!!
...then I looked into Melissa's room where everything stays exactly the same unless she drops in for a visit.
I think I prefer the clothes-salad in Matt's room;-) 

Speaking of salad(my very favorite food in the world, in case I've never mentioned it)
I 'invented' one the other day that was so delish...I want you to enjoy it too!
With gardens spilling over with fresh produce its fun to experiment.



Janet's Summer Salad
Break up lettuce, any variety will do.
I used ice-berg and butter-crunch(a home-grown variety)
Slice some cabbage on top(amount depends on how large you want the serving)
Add sliced onion rings(I like red onion but any will do)
diced cucumber,
green pepper(or red) chopped
a diced tomato(optional)
some broccoli flowerets
black beans
shredded mozzerella cheese
and sprinkle with toasted sunflower and flax seeds 
I added chicken but it is also great without
 (you can pick and choose which items to use or omit as well)

Dressing
(large batch; leftovers can be stored in refrigerator)
place in blender;
3/4 cup wh. sugar(less is you prefer less sweet)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/8 to 1/4 cup soy sauce(I prefer it less salty)
healthy pinch of black pepper
blend then slowly add;
3/4 cup olive oil (or 1/2 olive and 1/2 canola)
blend again
then drizzle lightly on salad