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

Subtle Lightning Bolt...(or Savoring the Simple)

I came across an old picture of suppertime recently when all of the family still lived at home...

How ordinary that sacred scene seemed at the time!

I was really planning on posting this What's-for-supper Thursday last night
(click link for previous posts) but the old engine ran out of steam...

I thought I had a supper-menu planned until I cleaned out the fridge
and realized there are too many left-overs that need using
and I could not justify my original chicken dinner plan...

so, what to do with a bunch of less than stellar looking tail-end garden-gleanings?

Roasted Vegetables;

red and green peppers, carrots, beets, squash, sweet potatoes, brussels sprout and broccoli.
(last 3 veggies from store:)

Toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar,(a few tbsp of each) cayenne pepper (1/4 tsp)

 and sprinkle of kosher salt.

Bake at 400F til tender approx. 15-20 min. 

With the leftover hamburgers and mashed potatoes I tried an invention!

When Matt and Victoria asked 'what's this?' I wasn't sure what to call them so they are still

Hamburger and Mashed Potato Thingys.

Slice the burgers in half and put in a baking dish.

I had some 'tired' kale that needed using so I made a filling by browning in olive oil

 fresh chopped garlic, red onion and kale with stems removed.

Add a splash or two of apple cider vinegar, some salt and pepper.

I'm not mentioning amounts because I didn't measure and they vary
depending on how many people are being served.

Put a glob of filling on each burger half then top with leftover mashed potato filling;

To the potatoes I added pepper, paprika, parsley, two beaten eggs
splash of light cream and shredded cheese.

Garnished with a jalapeno pepper-ring.

Bake on top rack above veggies for same amount of time!

I'm realizing how quickly the numbers at the supper table are dwindling 

so I try not to take for granted the seemingly sometimes messy and mundane..

But the messy-and-mundane could be addressed while supper baked 

making eating time extra-relaxing! 

Supper hour minutes is a little later right now due to work schedules.

When I asked Matt for a verdict on the hamburger-potato thingys he said 

he thought of this scene from the movie What About Bob...😋

Life can draw us apart

The tide that furls and breaks

Turns what seems like common-place art

Into sacred keepsakes

Ah, Time can take its toll

Much quicker than we thought

Tying the strings of heart and soul

Into a tender knot

See how the daylight dims

So swift above earth’s prow

Gathering hours into hymns

With simple here and now

Where sometimes with a jolt

We are startled anew

By what the subtle lightning bolt

Of tick and tock can do

© Janet Martin

 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Let's Just Wait And See...

So, after getting winter-weary spring-wishers all excited a month ago because they predicted a swift, sudden mid-March spring, forecasters are now predicting a 'slower than expected start to spring in Ontario'! which makes me repeat what I always do when I hear a long-term forcast; 

"let's just wait and see" Today I read that Ontarions can perhaps expect a cooler than normal summer.  A month ago someone told me they heard we might have the hottest summer on record yet! 

I guess we;ll have to wait and see!

Today, BTW, was GORGEOUS!

So I baked Lemon Poppy-seed Muffins...

Below is a delightful few lines from the book Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes

Oh, let’s just wait and see

To guess at what may be

Is but to miss This Thing That Is

Slipping from you and me

Oh, let’s not fuss and fret

With words like What If, Yet

Let’s raise a cheer for Now and Here’s

Lithe bow and pirouette

Let loving fingers trace

This Very Present grace

Before we hold the ether gold

That softly took its place

So, let’s just smile and nod

As on we press and plod

Let’s make the best of Now’s request

And leave the rest to God

© Janet Martin

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

Rules of Relinquishment...and a few recipes!

Sermon to me-self😐 

Sometimes, even though being busy is a blessing, 

I miss some things that didn't happen this year...

(Somehow the end of August always feels like the end of summer)

...am very happy with all the 'summer' sealed in jars though!

This is Veggie Soup, Salsa(recipe below) 

and Marinara Sauce(new fav!)

Don’t hold too tight; put up a fight but only where it counts

The law and order of life’s rites of passage do not shift

Be humbly grateful for the mist that falls from Mercy’s founts

For every single day, to one and all is but a gift

Don’t mourn too long sweet summer’s song of days bound into sheaf

Or hunger for much younger feet and lips, to dance and sing

Don’t hate the pace of meeker grace, or face refined by grief

For kinder those near winter than those who’ve known only Spring

Don’t ache for what Time takes but rather praise God for its More

No matter whether rich or poor, Time treats each one the same

It never leaves us younger than we were the day before

And when our numbered days are spent we go from whence we came

Don't wallow in regret but set your eyes toward what waits

And where the clock ran out on dreams that never did come true

Don't cry, but try to cherish fully life's present estates

Because before we know it This will fall prey to time too

© Janet Martin

Salsa Recipe

20-24 cups peeled chopped tomatoes(scald tomatoes for easy peeling)

8 cups chopped green peppers(or green and red mixed)

6 cups chopped onion

1 jalapeño pepper (remove seeds for milder salsa)

1 garlic bulb

2 tbsp. salt

1-1/3 cups white vinegar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (optional)

Chop tomatoes and green peppers by hand

Coarsely chop onions with food processor

Section and peel garlic cloves 

(quick way to peel them is to press clove hard with a glass and peeling falls away)

Chop garlic and jalapeño finely in food processor or slap-chopper

Mix all ingred.and bring to boil slowly to avoid burning.

Simmer for two hours or until thick.

(1-369ML can of tomato paste helps to thicken it more quickly)

Put in jars then into canner. Bring to boil and steam for 15 min.

More Than Merely Potatoes and Chili

Writing poetry has given me the smallest of glimpses 

into what a teacher or pastor must struggle with daily...

downsizing large topics into bite-size pieces!

Speaking of bite-size pieces...

 (I got this potato-recipe from a friend so decided to try it for supper; Wash, dry, cut potato in half. Place cut side up on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, season with salt pepper and your favorite seasonings. I used garlic powder, dill and paprika. Bake at 400 til tender then top with cheese and veggies. I used only cheese to keep it kid-friendly but green onion and peppers would be delicious!)

 A reader asked me yesterday if I live in England, because of words I used in this poem 

'March Mosaic' .words like thatch, heath, cottage

( I told her I'm pure Canadian 

but believe I was influenced by English authors I am reading and by the settings of the stories)

It got me to contemplating how subtle and powerful Influence is!

Often we are not even aware of how deeply it affects us.

I love cooking for my Thursday night boys! 

But its good to be reminded, I am feeding them far more than chili and potatoes!

... as the old proverb states; Much more is caught than taught(or fed;)!

...and they're always 'digesting' far more than dinner!
(Grandson Brantley loves making a mess and making us laugh)

It often looks like nothing much

The things we see and hear and touch

Yet we are shaped by its immense

Persuasion, known as Influence

That theater of thought, we know

Is capable of quite a show

The cast that masterminds intents

Is birthed and fed by Influence

We live, surrounded by a world

Of good and evil subtly-swirled

As we decipher and discern

We Influence others in turn

God, pray we are drawn to Your Word

To keep pure vision undeterred

For You are our best defense

An infallible Influence

Remind us, while Want’s whispers woo

We touch others by what we do

…where childhood’s lovely innocence

Soon wears whispers of Influence

© Janet Martin

 Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 

 Romans 14:13

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.