Monthly Archives: February 2014

My Sisters Kitchen

I am holding my breath for Spring. Well actually I am not doing that because I need air and it may be a while before the balmy temps of that illusive season arrive.
Until then I will dig deep and consider all that I have to be thankful for
which is much!
One reason for thanksgiving at the moment is that I am here, at my sisters house, visiting our mother.
You see, our mother lives in this town, far from my own. This town is where my sister lives and we are thankful that our mother is close. To at least one of us. I am not visiting my sister because she isn’t here.
Our Mother is NANO and we love her dearly.
Nano is in her 93rd year and lives in a place here in this town where people of her age often live. She is cared for and still cares for herself. A little.
Sometimes my sister takes a break and visits a different part of God’s amazing World. When she goes, I leave my own town and visit hers. This way our mother has one of us within arms reach. When I come to visit our mother, we pack her bags and transport her from the place where she lives, to my sisters house. It is sort of like a vacation for Nano. I cook for her and we visit and she knits and we watch the birds on the other side of the window.

It is cold here. Very!
But we are not! The furnace is turned up and the sun is shining on the other side of the windows and we are thankful to be here, in my sisters house, together.

For the next 13 days I will be cooking and baking and visiting with our mother here in my sisters Kitchen. It will be fun! And maybe when I go back to my own house and my own kitchen, the snow will be melting and maybe, just maybe I will open the windows to feel the spring air and hear the birds.

Beautiful Sunshine
Beautiful Sunshine

From the inside out

Only Sometimes

Certain treats are not the best for us
but every once in a while
they are good for the soul.

Such things as cinnamon buns, butter tarts, chocolate cake and coconut cream pie would be on the ‘do not eat’ list for the very health conscious.
However…
Well, I am a firm believer in moderation.
Not EVERYTHING in moderation as the old saying goes. But SOME things in moderation are actually on my ‘fine every once in a while’ list. Only whole, true, real ingredients (no edible oil products please)
Make them!
Eat them!
Enjoy them!
Don’t feel guilty about it!

**Go and brush your teeth and don’t enjoy it again for a few days.

**Pam’s tip:
After I have a lovely desert or a plate (or bowl) of something delicious and rich I go straight to my electric toothbrush and give my mouth a good cleaning! Sometimes I even floss!
That’s the signal to my brain that it’s over. I am finished. I am free to carry on with my day or evening and the enjoyment of the deliciousness stays with me but the temptation is gone.

Stay tuned for the above mentioned recipes in the days ahead!

‘Nice big salad’

Of course a ‘nice big salad’ can mean just about anything since ‘nice’ is a very personal, subjective thing.
I will tell you what our little one considers to be ‘nice’ when it relates to a salad and you can decide for yourself whether it coincides with your definition of ‘nice’.

Salad is popular at this city homestead. We have been known to devour large quantities in a single sitting. You may want to adjust your amounts accordingly but the platter in the picture in combination with a piece of salmon, fed three of us. At dinner! Check recipes

A Dinner of Salmon

Our Littlest little one came to town. She requested Salmon for dinner along with a “nice big salad” and with pleasure I obliged. My very favorite way to eat fish, is fried. That may have something to do with my Eastern Canadian roots. (My dad was from Newfoundland) Easterners speak of ‘fish fries’, with a look that says, pleasure. Roasting, baking and steaming is of course healthier but fresh fish freshly fried, pleasure indeed.
Most often though, I bake my salmon. I have never quite gotten the hang of a ‘fry’ so I stick to what works for me.
Easy, quick and delicious.

Salmon please
Salmon please

It’s late, for me!
Tomorrow will be here before I know it and I wonder if my first thoughts will be good ones. The kind that set a tone of joy at the start of a new day.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 God wrote down so I would have something good to read. So I would have something good to think about. So I could wake up in the morning and have hope for the day. The things I think, the words I say, I don’t want them to start here, in me. I want them to start with God and then run through my soul and then sit for a minute in my brain and become something real and good.
Words
But not mine. God’s and if only I could live them.
But I can
Not because I am strong or of a sweet spirit.
Only because Jesus said, “My Grace is all you need. (I am all you need.) My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Tonight is quiet.
Everything is still. It is late, for me! And God is here. He. Is. Right. Here! I will rest!
Not because there are no concerns or troubles. But he told me, all of us, His little ones, not to be afraid because He is with us. Always.
Sleep, with a thankful, quiet heart. He is here! And there! Tomorrow is a new day and His plan for the day is that I will trust in Him
Wait on Him to give me words and thoughts that turn into blessing, for me and for the ones who come close.

Your Word is Truth
Your Word is Truth

Dinner on a chilly day

At the close of this winter day I leave you with a tingle of your tastebuds. Check out the recipe

I hesitate to post this recipe for one simple reason. I am not Italian! I have friends who are Italian and would be much more knowledgable about this sort of recipe. I am not mennonite either, but I can whip up a mean batch of cucumber relish and I can pretty much can peaches in my sleep. (well not really)
So even though this may confirm I am rather bold, here goes.

Before we get started I feel I need to give you a bit of background information. WE do not eat Mayonnaise. Well I do like “cold egg”, some call it egg salad, tuna, salmon, mixed up and made into sandwiches. Of course you need some mayonnaise, just a bit, if you are mixing for sandwiches.
My little ones however, will NOT eat anything that appears to have a dap or dollop or more, of the white stuff.
My oldest son has been known to say “I do not have a physical allergy to it but I DO have an emotional allergy.” (!)
But these precious ones not only turn their noses up at the dreaded mayo, but just about anything super creamy!
like ricotta.
So if I am making lasagna or other foods that require a little bit of something soft and white it is imperative that I produce my own. Hence, the bechamel included in this recipe. Just a bit, but at least I can tell them it’s a bit of milk, a bit of flour and a bit of butter. This, they will accept.
You may choose to use some ricotta and please do if you wish, but I prefer just a bit so the flavour really comes from the sauce.
Try this recipe!
You will love it!

Chicken Lasagna
Chicken Lasagna