The Week That Was, 2-11-19 to 2-17-19

Clockwise from upper left:  When I realized I had not provided my son with a matching cookbook to the one I prepared for our daughter when she married, I got right to work on compiling recipes.  Upper right:  This is our 3 year old grandson, with his VERY OWN box of chocolates on Valentine's Day morning.  Bliss!  Lower right:  Our weather this week:  snow, sleet, some more snow, and more sleet...  Lower left:  Our 3 year old granddaughter sent us a Valentine that she painted herself.  

Because of weather, I stayed inside all week and feel a little bit stir crazy, but when I was counting my blessings this morning I realized I have nothing to complain about.  Many of my friends and family would have loved to switch places with someone who can arrange her schedule to stay home when the weather is nasty.

I found a project to occupy my time.  I was talking with my son one day a few weeks ago and was directing him to a recipe, "I'm sure it's in that cookbook I made for you," I said.

"You didn't make a cookbook for us, Mom," he said.

Oh dear.

Sure enough, when I checked the archives I found several file folders of family recipes, compiled as I had begun work on a loose leaf binder of recipes for our son and his wife at the time of their marriage.  I'd never finished the project.  They have been married for seven years.

To quote my good friend, Grover, "I am so embarrassed."

Well, better late than never.

As I've sorted and organized recipes, I kept tagging those I wanted to make again soon. Winter days make me hungry anyway, and spending several days sorting recipes made me feel like cooking.  Here are a couple I tagged to make this coming week for just Farmer John and me, as we weather this winter weather together:

Grandma Irma’s Sausage and Rice

“Easy and Good”

Brown:

·      ½ pound sausage with

·      ½ cup chopped green pepper and

·      ½ c. onion, chopped, and

·      ½ cup celery

Add 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water, cover and cook until rice is done. 

***

Grammy’s Hot Chicken Salad

4 cups cooked, diced chicken (4 to 5 chicken breasts)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2/3 cup slivered almonds (may be toasted)

¾ cup mayonnaise

1 cup grated cheddar

2 cups finely chopped celery

 1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 teaspoon minced dried onion

1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

1 and ½ cups crushed potato chips or corn flakes

½ teaspoon pepper

¾ teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients except cheese and chips.  If it seems too thick add a cup of chicken broth. Place in baking dish (9x13) and add cheese, then chips, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

****

I made the following recipe for just John and me on Valentine's Day, such a splurge and so good!  I believe I got the recipe from our daughter, Melinda--it is egg and dairy free.  

Brownie Pudding Cake

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup milk (can use rice or oat milk)

3 Tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 and 1/2 cups boiling water

Preheat oven to 350.  Stir together flour and next three ingredients, along with 3/4 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl; stir in milk, oil, and vanilla.  Spread batter in a 8 inch square pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  

Combine brown sugar, cocoa, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a smaill bowl; gently pour over batter in pan smoothing with spoon.  Gently drizzle 1 and 1/2 cups boiling water over batter, being careful not to disturb layers.  

Bake at 350 about 25 minutes or perhaps longer (depending on your oven and metal versus glass pan) until cake layer forms on top and springs back when touched.  A pudding like filling forms--don't think it isn't done when the fudgy goodness spills out as you serve the warm cake.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.  

The Little Things

I must confess that although I know better, during these dark winter days I have lapsed to discontent with my lot in life. The beginning of a new year is conducive to this kind of sin; we want to do better and accomplish more this year than last. And, for those of us who are older, there is the feeling that we might not have a lot of time left in which to get a move on toward the ephemeral "How I always thought things would be."

It's human tendency to look past treasure that is right in front of us, and I'm no different.  It's an ongoing challenge not to feel panic when my house is a mess, even if there is a precious grandchild standing right in front of me.

But...when I looked back over photos from the last month I was able to let my disorganized closets and unpainted woodwork slip back into their proper places: low on the priority list.  Parenting taught me that precious childhood years don't last very long at all.  I hope I've gained wisdom as a grandparent to enjoy the precious "little things" with whom I've been so blessed in this season of my life!

Pastor Paul teaches our two youngest grandsons during children's time. 

January 12 Snow

January has catapulted past, fueled by end-of-year bookwork and short days filled with bird feeding, house cleaning, and careful treks over slushy country roads and once, through dense, melting snow-fed fog, to visit Mom at the nursing home.  But the morning of January 12 was beautiful, and deserves the time I've spent today composing this post.  I want to remember this day.

I am no longer able to go outside during bright sunlight because of rosacea and ocular rosacea, but the morning following this snowfall was overcast with no wind, and so I pulled on my snow boots as in days of yore and spent a precious hour taking photos of the snow that coated every surface.  It was wonderful.

Farmer John does not appreciate snow because of the difficulties it poses to his commitment to take good care of his livestock, but even he seemed to appreciate the beauty on this day.  A magical moment occurred when a large white-tailed buck stepped out and stared at me from 200 feet away.  I had only my phone camera and so his rack doesn't show in the photo above, but it was lovely nonetheless.

Gingerbread People from the Red and White Checked Cookbook

I learned to cook from the Better Homes cookbook pictured above, left.  The copyright page is missing, but I received it as a wedding gift and so it is a 1974 edition or thereabouts.  By 1989 I considered the old cookbook too worn to keep using, and bought an updated edition. But it turns out that I am so fond of my old, first and best cookbook, that I have never used the newer copy much at all.

Farmer John decided to make gingerbread men this year, and without consulting with me, he pulled out our "new" Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (which you'll note is nearly 30 years old), and found "Gingerbread Cutouts" on page 114.  We adapted the recipe for our allergic grandchildren and came up with the egg-free version below.  Oh and just for the record--John does not decorate cookies, and since I know how to use an icing bag outfitted with a Wilton tip, I did frosting duty.  It was a quick job, but they do look festive.

Our oldest grandson, Daniel, said, "I like these cookies!"  A new Christmas tradition is born!

Egg Free Gingerbread Cutouts

1/2 cup shortening

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup applesauce (instead of egg)

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Grammy's buttercream frosting (below)

Red hots

Beat shortening with an electric mixer for about a minute.  Add applesauce and beat another minute at medium/high.  In a separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients together. Add about half the dry ingredients, the molasses, and vinegar.  Mix until thoroughly combined, add the remainder of dry ingredients, mix until combined.  Refrigerate dough 3 hours or overnight.  Divide dough in half, roll about 1/8 inch thick, cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.  Place 1 inch apart on greased (or parchment covered) cookie sheets at 375º, for about 6 minutes.  Cool thoroughly, decorate or frost as desired.  

Grammy's Buttercream Frosting

Note:  Grammy does not measure.  All proportions are approximate.  

1 pound or so powdered sugar (use C&H; some store brands are gritty)

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

Juice from half a lemon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup softened butter or Earth Balance margarine

Enough warm water to desired consistency, about 3 tablespoons

Beat well with electric mixer, use immediately so that it will set up as it cools.

A little family history: the copper coffee pot pictured above was found half-buried in an old barn when my grandmother and mother (Grandma Opal and Grandma Anna Ruth) were strolling around the lot of a farm estate sale.  They dug it up and took it to the owner, who said, "It's yours."  Grandma Ruth cleaned it and had a tarnish-proof finish put on it, which may well have spoiled any value as an antique, but has kept it shiny and coppery all these years.  I love it.   

A Birthday Milestone

Upper left: My precious grandchildren and me.  Clockwise from upper right: a beautiful gift was a bracelet with our grandchildren's birthstones; selfie of Farmer John and me; Rebekah Ruth and her parents; the road ahead, taken on the morning of my 65th birthday; my sweet grandsons and their parents; and my cake with mercifully fewer candles than would have been strictly accurate.   

My daughter, Melinda, coined the term"slippery slope" to describe how everyone's holiday expectations can collide, and hurt feelings may happen despite the best of intentions.  She has said that avoiding holiday angst when lots of people gather is "a slippery slope." 

My 65th birthday was a milestone I feared.  On that date, my teaching license expired and will not be renewed. As I approached the day I dreaded it emotionally.  I felt the message that would hit my heart would be something like this: "Happy birthday, you are no longer a teacher, and now you are on Medicare;" two potentially upsetting milestones!  But my family worked hard to make the celebration sweet, and then a dear friend called to bring me this message:  "When I prayed for you it came to me that you are still the Lord's child.  That is a relationship with no expiration date."  

Alleluia!  

 Lord keep our hearts open to the joys of our celebrations, protect us and be in our responses to the inevitable hurts that occur when lots of precious people, each with their own expectations, gather together. Please Lord, don't let us cause hurt to others out of our own heartaches, and may Your Name be praised and honored among us as we celebrate Your birth.  

Praying to remember this Christmas season that it's all about Jesus.  

Aunt Barbara's Peppernuts

Left: Our Christmas tree is loaded with sentimental ornaments, many made by our children and grandchildren; Upper Right: Aunt Barbara's Peppernut recipe; Middle Right: our mantle decor...I felt conflicted about Santa being there but made a creche the centerpiece for the grandchildren to arrange in front of the fireplace; Bottom right:  A stained glass Christmas tree made by our daughter, Mindy, when she was about 8.  The frosted window in the background show the results of our November 25 blizzard; we had about 3 to 4 inches of drifted snow here and the Interstate highway a mile south of our house closed for a few hours due to low visibility.  

Farmer John has fond memories of his Aunt Barbara, who each year makes a batch of Peppernuts:  spicy, crunchy, bite-sized cookies.  John has adopted his Aunt Barbara's tradition and earlier this week he used her recipe to make a batch of his own.  They are a little bit addictive (no one can eat just one).

Here is Aunt Barbara's recipe:

Peppernuts

1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 and 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon anise oil

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or English walnuts, optional (John does not use)

5 cups flour--or more

In a large bowl, mix flour, spices, and baking soda together with a whisk.  In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the sugars and margarine together until well blended, add egg and anise oil, beat until fluffy. Add the flour/spice mixture a half cup at a time, alternating with small amounts of the water.  Refrigerate dough overnight.  Roll into long ropes (you may need to add more flour to handle dough), then use a sharp knife to cut 1/8th inch thick, thumbprint-sized pieces.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 350º until light brown.  Cookies should be crunchy when cooled.  

Moose and the Pumpkin

Moose showed no remorse and actually seemed grateful to me for providing such a nifty chew toy.  I asked him politely not to do this again, and to his credit he's left the other two porch pumpkins alone.  

All's Well That Ends Well...

Every farm worker knows that moving equipment from field to field is one of the less exciting jobs on the farm.  Combining corn, wheat, and soybeans = fun!  I even kind of like sitting at the edge of the field watching John swath or bale hay.  But I find moving the combine and the grain cart and the semi from a neighboring farm to the far south field (about 8 miles) to be pretty boring.  And so I entertain myself best I can.

Tonight I drove John to the neighbor's hayfield to bring home his tractor and baler, a 12 mile round trip.  The sun was setting and everything was so beautiful that I kept stopping to take phone photos.  I found an interesting angle in the side mirror and began working to get a photo of the approaching tractor and baler.  I was clicking away when I heard the tractor downshift and realized about a dozen tons of farm equipment was almost upon me!  I gunned the motor of my little Chevy Trax and got out of the way.

Farmer John is used to my ways and was undoubtedly watching me closely.  Whether we are on a walk or moving equipment field to field he knows my penchant for taking photos.  But next time I'm leading the way and simultaneously taking photos, I will strive to remember that objects in the mirror are closer than they appear!