A recipe for you and me

Years ago, my late husband, Mario did one of many wonderful things, he complemented me as I was learning to cook, on almost everything I ever tried to make. It was WONDERFUL incentive and surely gave me my love of baking and cooking. When I married at the tender age of eighteen, I knew NOTHING (my sweet mother, who really didn't like cooking that much, but was a good cook none the less, told me that she would not teach me to cook because my poor father had to go through her learning to cook and it wasn't fair to do that to him twice!).


Mario was in the Army and a week after we married, I was in Alaska with him. I remembered that my mom used dried green peppers in her hamburger, so I went to the Commissary and could only find dried red peppers. Thinking they were the red variety of green peppers, I liberally sprinkled them over my made up hamburger concoction for my new husband. One bite and I ran to the faucet for water. Mario, on the other hand, said "Yum" and even ate seconds, despite my warnings. The next morning he got up (or tried to) at a right angle...he bit the hot peppers and the peppers bit back!! Never did that one again!


For the first few years I bought cake mixes, pancake mixes and hamburger helpers etc. until one day I decided to cook and bake healthier and more creatively. Consequently, I came across this terrific recipe for banana (or any fruit) pancakes:

BANANA PANCAKES

1-2 lg Egg(s)

2-3 Ripe bananas (or a cup of whatever fruit you like)

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Baking powder (I use Rumford because it has no aluminum in it)

1/2 C Oil (I use sunflower oil since it is so good for you)

3/4 C s Oatmeal, ground (I put regular oatmeal in a blender) or whole oatmeal (great for the heart)

1/2 C s Sour cream (buttermilk works great too)

2-3 Cs Milk (I use 1%)

1 TBs Milled Flaxseed (this is something new I've tried and it is so healthy and tastes great in everything, almost)

2 1/2-3 1/2(?) Cs Flour (I use unbleached)...you have to decide how thick you want your pancakes, so try the first one and see. If you are using blueberries, it is important to make it extra thinck or they will burst and stick to your pan.

Grease your pan or skillet with sunflower oil on a medium heat, pour 1/2 cup batter onto hot pan, wait until you see some bubbles in the pancake and flip and cook on other side. Butter (I use real butter) and serve (I also use real maple syrup...the health benefits make up for the extra expense as it is so good for you and so are the blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry and strawberry syrups by Smuckers).

Once cooled, any wrapped up leftovers refrigerate (or freeze) nicely and you have breakfast the next day or so!

Since I love cooking as well as baking, I am willing to be experimental, especially if a loved one expresses interest in something specific, so when Michael told me that he loved butterscotch, I thought, hey, let me try some all natural butterscotch pudding. Instead of using the web, I decided my mom's really old cookbook would be the way to go. Well, I don't know who thought up this rather demented recipe, maybe someone who didn't really like her husband, but I followed the directions and whoo, baby, it was not only lumpy, but the taste was kind of, sort of, well basically just awful. My step daughter Kelly came home and she normally loves my deserts and some of this goop was still in the fridge (I was hoping getting really cold would transform it into something edible). Kelly loves most things, but she walked into the dining room with a look of disgust and said "What IS this"? Having tasted it myself and trying not to snicker, I asked "What's the matter, don't you like butterscotch pudding?"

There is a happy ending to this tale of woe...I didn't give up, used some logic, altered the recipe and Voila...a very yummy and EASY all natural, smooth, edible butterscotch pudding:

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING

1 1/3 Cs Brown sugar


4 TBs Real butter (not only healthier, it does make a taste difference)


5 Cs (1%) Milk


1/2 C Cornstarch (again, I use Rumford because it is not a modified cornstarch)


2 Tsp Vanilla (all natural)

Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in a medium sized pan, add milk and stir thoroughly, then turn heat on to medium. Cook till it comes to a gentle boil, but stir often so that it does not stick to the bottom. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Pour into seving dishes and eat warm or cold. This recipe can be cut in half, but we really like this pudding so this gives about 8 servings.

Please remember, the MOST important ingredient in any recipe is love!


~~~Lord, I thank you for the blessings of all the natural ingredients You give us to make our food.

Some Har hars and Hee hees

Ring a Bell?
Father John is walking down the street one day when he notices Nathan, a very small boy, trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street. However, Nathan is very small and the doorbell is too high for him to reach. After watching the boy's efforts for some time, Father John moves closer to Nathan's position. He steps smartly across the street, walks up behind the little fellow and, placing his hand kindly on the child's shoulder leans over and gives the doorbell a solid ring.
Crouching down to Nathan's level, Father John smiles benevolently and asks, 'And now what, my little man?' To which Nathan replies with a beaming grin, 'Now we run!'

A recently ordained priest, Father Henry, was to hold his first ever graveside burial service at a pauper's cemetery for an destitute man with no family or friends.
Father Henry, not knowing where the cemetery was, made several wrong turns and got lost.
He eventually arrived an hour late, the hearse was nowhere in sight, the spade was next to the open hole, and the workmen were sitting under a tree eating lunch.
Father Henry, being a reliable young priest went to the open grave and found the vault lid already in place. Feeling guilty because of his lateness, he preached an impassioned and lengthy service, sending the deceased to the great beyond in considerable style.
As the good Father returned to his car, he overheard one of the workman say to the other, ' Do you know, fancy that, I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty five years and I ain't never seen anything like that.'

Today's Hymn
Reverend Clive Morgan was completing his homily in St John's Church about the dangers of alcohol and the need for moderation and temperance.
He announced at the end of the sermon in a loud, clear voice, 'If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river.' With even greater emphasis he added, 'And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river.' Finally, he intoned in an extremely serious manner, 'And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river.'

The Reverend Morgan then sat down. Jerry, St John's leading chorister stood up and announced with a smile, 'For our closing hymn this Sunday, let us sing together hymn number 109: 'Shall We Gather at the River.'

Hopefully this won't scare you too much, but more will be added to this post after I go down and make some home-made banana pancakes!!

With a full tummy, I am back. By the way, this recipe is very easy to change to peach, blueberry etc. pancakes and I have done those as well. It's just that bananas are SO healthy for us and by the time they look pitiful and ready to throw in the freezer, they are perfect for the pancakes.

I didn't realize that these three jokes would fill up the blog so much, so I won't add much more, just to let you know that tomorrow I will share some of my funny (that depends on the receiver and the maker) recipe surprises. Also can share the easy home-made pancake recipe, if you like.

Also, one little snicker... while Michael was busy in the shower singing to himself and generally having a great time, I walked in and hid on the other side of the towel rung (which he hung for giants like himself, way up there) and waited patiently. He finished and attempted to pull the towel off the rung and I held on to the other part of the towel, so he pulled harder...after the third time he opened up the shower door to see what was causing the towel to be so stuck and he burst out laughing!

~~Lord, the blessings you give us are tremendous, thank you for laughter.

Hooray the week starts with a crazy "Tag"

Okay, well , this is a tad delayed because I got tagged a few days ago by Diana (being the kind that doesn't give up easily, once again I am going to try to see if you can click on her name and get to her blogspot...I think I can, I know I can, chug chug said the little red engine...)

So here goes:

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Getting to go off with Michael on our Anniversary this month, just for a little dinner.

2. Seeing the grandbabies in May (which is Ria's birthday, her husband's and even Jonathan's)

3. Watching the garden and the flowers growing from seeds we planted (but I think checking every hour or two is NOT working for me)

4. Playing some outdoor games, like badminton or hose Michael down when he's not looking (my very favorite)

5. Seeing new pictures of my grandbabies (hint, hint, Brande) in Arizona (maybe you can see some pictures of these adorable little ones if the click thing works!)

6. Picking lots of blueberrries (Mimi allows us free picking and she has a bazillion) and making blueberry pies and muffins

7. Going to Fernbank museum and hopefully, the zoo (I keep a strong hold on Michael so they don't keep him as he does "go ape" there)

8. Hopefully getting to Whitewater too

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. I went to church twice...also went to see another session of "The Lamb's Supper" with Dr. Scott Hahn (super insightful and interesting)

2. The second time I ended up in the "wrong" place, thinking they were only offering this prayer session in Spanish (which is fine because I speak it), then discovered that it was still going on in English in the small chapel, so I got some of both!

3. Tried to surprise Michael by planting the last gardenia bush (always try NOT to do any extra work on the Lord's day) only to discover that there was a HUGE, mammoth boulder or maybe just a really big rock in my way, so the surprise was on me and Michael got the rock out today before going to work

4. Made home-made tapioca and strawberry deserts

5. Made a ham and pasta salad

6. Kept up with all the dishes getting dirty (I suspect that the dishes spit food on each other when I'm not looking or HOW could there be so many so often?)

7. Called all three of my children and they sounded wonderful as always

8. Tried to watch a movie on Television, "The Courageous Heart Of Irena Sendler"

8 Things I wish I could Do:

1. Comfort and cuddle and feed all the hurting people in this world

2. Comfort and cuddle and feed all the hurting animals in this world (they would probably let me smooch them as well)

3. Play with lions and tigers and baby elephants (this will have to wait for Heaven or I will end up in Heaven a little ahead of schedule)

4. Teach those who hate or harm that love is the ONLY answer

5. Fly, but not an airplane, just me flying around merrily and that way I could meet all the wonderful people here in blog land

6. See my children and grandbabies every single day and have all of them joyfully going to church with me too (this one makes me sigh)

7. Protect all my loved ones

8. Retain the ability to make people laugh and laugh hard and praise God for it

8 TV Shows I Watch:

Hold on to your socks here because the answer is ZERO, although I really tried to watch that made for television movie but they kept on interrupting it with weather forecasts, like we cared about an imminent tornado...gosh those weather people need to get REAL! Seriously, they came in during the last twenty minutes and had the thing going across the bottom but a weather person who kept repeating the same thing over and over about strong winds over Kennesaw and there was Irena Sendler left with those bad guys hitting her with a club on her legs and we don't know what happened because this weather lady was on a roll and talked for 30 straight minutes, mostly about Kennesaw!

Okay, now it is time to get ready to go to the Alleluia choir to sing at a funeral.

~~Thank you so much Lord for the blessings of 8 things in our lives.

The Lamb loves us

It's Divine Mercy Sunday...what a blessing to have a merciful Saviour!!!

THE U IN JESUS

Before U were thought of or time had begun,

God stuck U in the name of His Son.

And each time U pray, you'll see it's true,

You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.

You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,

For U, He was born; that's why He came.

And His great love for U is the reason He died.

It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?

The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,

and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.

When JesUs left earth at His upward ascension,

He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.

'Go into the world and tell them it's true

That I love them all - Just like I love U.'

So many great people are spelled with a U,

Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?

It all depends now on what U will do,

He'd like them to know,

But it all starts with U.

He is the Good Shepherd and we are His cute little sheep.

At church today, I will be blessed to do the second reading and I'd like to share a little of it with you. It is from the first letter of John, chapter 5:1-6



"Beloved: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith."



I honestly NEVER watch television (amazing, huh?) but with some instructions (there are THREE remotes to this TV!) I hope to watch this movie tonight as it should be very uplifting:

"The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"
Sunday April 19th
9:00 pm ET/PT
CBS

About the Show

As a Polish Catholic social worker in the early 1940s, Irena Sendler created and led a conspiracy of women who moved in and out of Warsaw's Jewish Ghetto disguised as nurses employed by Warsaw's Health Department. Though they worked under the guise of merely attempting to prevent and contain the spread of Typhus and Spotted Fever, Sendler and her brave cohorts emerged each time with the children of consenting Jewish parents. The children were sometimes sedated and hidden inside boxes, suitcases and coffins as a means of rescuing them from their imminent deportation to death camps. They were given new identities and placed with Polish families and in convents. Sendler kept a hidden record of their birth names and where they were placed with the hope that they would some day be reunited with their own families. In 1943, the Nazis discovered Sendler's daring and dangerous ruse and arrested her. She was tortured by Gestapo agents and suffered broken feet. On the day of her scheduled execution she was rescued by "Zegota," the underground network with which she worked to save the Jewish children.

As a result of Sendler's efforts, approximately 2,500 children were smuggled to safety. Not a single child she rescued was ever betrayed or discovered by the Nazis.

The movie is based on the authorized biography of the heroine, Mother of the Children of the Holocaust: The Irena Sendler Story, by Anna Mieszkowska, published in 2005.

We make it so hard on ourselves all the time and yet the answer is so easy....we can all be saints if we just use love as the answer for all the problems in the world.

~~~Thank you God for giving us the blessings of answers by trying to be loving always to all people.

The Oasis

Well, Savoring Saturday just sounds so appropriate, doesn't it? So many of us look forward to the week-end. We all need a little Oasis where we can refresh ourselves and our souls. God, in His

infinite wisdom, gave us Sunday to make sure we rested in Him and got refreshed.

Since I so enjoy "Blog traveling", I get to see so many Blogs and so many approaches to this form of journaling and communicating. It's wonderful that there are so many passionate people who want to help change our world and make it better, to make us aware of political problems and possible solutions.

But we also need an oasis or two and my prayer is that this little Blog of mine can provide an oasis for the world weary, some laughter and craziness mixed with lots of God's Presence and Love. Far from ignoring the strife in the world, I pray most hardily for peaceful and firm resolutions, while being pro active as in sending the red envelopes for the pro life stance (I had to make my own envelopes and you haven't lived until you've tried to make an envelope out of construction paper...whoever does the mail at the White House is probably still on the floor laughing!), to the White House...I still need to send the tea bags there, such a shame we aren't supposed to send used ones so that they are not wasted.

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle


What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, and then crumbled swiftly into dust before the ringing death-knell of a laugh! ~Agnes Repplier


So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter. ~Gordon W. Allport


Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. ~Victor Borge



A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. ~Irish Proverb


Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. ~Bob Newhart




~~~Thank you Lord, for the blessing of all the oases in our lives.

Precious plants, tremendous trees and a gorgeous garden

(This is the second of a two for one post day!)

This is just a really neat picture of the blooms on our red delicious apple tree. I took this a week or so ago and it was a dark and cloudy day (now that sounds like a good start for a novel!)TThese little tiny broccoli plants are now in the garden, planted a couple of days ago by Michael himself, who loves broccoli (guess he believed his mom when she said they were little trees and he was a big dinosaur).

Marvelous Michael got so much fence up yesterday when I came back from prayer group, that my mouth just hung open (hoping someone would stick a brownie in it) in amazement. I had actually teased him by giving him "undoable in the time allotted" chores and then he did them because HE didn't KNOW they were undoable in the time allotted. This is the back view of the fence where there will be hand-made gate (Tinka is peeking through).


This is the front with a hand-made gate.

Now for sleepy men and excuses:

More sleepy men...they're everywhere, they're everywhere!

Michael and I are supposed to go out to finish up some planting and mulching etc., but he is saying (as usual) that he has to wake up first. Let me explain that he can say this after being up for two hours, but it really means:

1. Maybe if I say this enough times or wait long enough, Marcy will forget all about it (this is a pretty lame one).

2. Maybe some random act of God will occur (something on the "parting of the Red Sea" line) and it will be done without me (can't you hear God chuckling over this one?).

3. Maybe some random act of God will occur and it will start snowing (Now I think He is tsk tsk tsking at Michael).

4. Maybe if we wait until the mail comes, we will have won a gardener if only we watch a sales presentation lasting 52 hours or more (much as he hates sales pressure, this one he might go to).

5. Maybe the neighbors will knock on our front door and beg to do the work for him (or maybe, more likely, Michael will go door to door begging them!).

Are you awake yet, Michael? It's not happening (imagine me singing this in a singsong voice like in Snow White).

Michael himself just added a couple of choice ones:

6. Maybe our dog Tinka will dig the holes to plant the trees (this IS a possibility, except for keeping her it in the desired location).

7. Maybe my wife will just do it for me (this hallucination has me convulsing with laughter!!!)

I received this in an e-mail. Personally, I have never been too concerned about the intelligence level of my right foot, but , for those of you who want to be smart all over, here you go:

"HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?

"This is hysterical. You have to try this. It is absolutely true. I guess there are some things that the brain cannot handle. HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT? You have to try this please, it takes 2 seconds. I could not believe this! It is from an orthopaedic surgeon............ This will confuse your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't. It is pre-programmed in your brain!

1. While sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you so! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so. "

~~~Thank you, Lord for the blessings of being able to do yard work and enjoy it.

Anything Goes

With a name like Thoroughly Thursday, one can post just about anything, so it comes in very handy...you might even be able to use it on a Saturday or Monday and really confuse people!

Is everyone totally confused yet? Yes, we are having Thursday's post this morning on Friday. I did say it could happen any day in the above short paragraph that I started on Wednesday evening! Yesterday was very busy and I need to go out and take some pictures so we can also have a Friendly Friday post.

First let me wrap up poor old Thursday. It is actually a very special day as Thursday mornings are one of my prayer group days, a day to meet with some wonderful ladies (we meet at Mimi's...the lady with the llamas and llama "beans") and pray for each other as well as the world in general. We also share close moments to Christ and I would like to share mine with you. Sometimes they are very small moments and sometimes they are huge. If we really check each day out, these moments are always there!I had to do a couple of rather long readings at church recently and it is always a concern of mine to bring meaning to what I read and attention away from me...to this end, even my earrings are conservative. Well, these readings were all about the passion of Christ which especially chokes me up on Palm Sunday and Good Friday...thinking about this, it was even a close moment to Christ by being called by the person in charge of the lectors and him asking me to do these readings. Okay, back to the exceptional moment...most of the time I just pray that God's message was heard and received in a special way and that I did it justice to some degree.

On Palm Sunday, as Michael and I were leaving church and going outside, this complete stranger, a lovely black woman with a very slight accent, came up to me and said what a wonderful job I had done reading and then hugged me, so I hugged the "Jesus" in her back very joyously!! It both humbled me and delighted me. Unexpectedly again, someone commented on my doing a good job on Good Friday, so God used His people to let this little redhead know that she can do His will . What an awesome blessing and I don't feel worthy and that's a good thing!

Okay, now I've got to get Friendly Friday together.

~~Thank you Lord, for the blessings of close moments to You, please help me to always look for them.~

Long Awaited Fish Emulsion

You, too can have a garden like this. Personally I don't know how, but they have it and this is a real picture. Hmmm, maybe "they" also have gardeners and butlers?

Now, for today's tutorial on natural fertilizers:

Magnesium and sulfur are the two major components of Epsom Salt (drat, you were supposed to be able to click on this thing and be zapped over to the page about Epsom salt...good thing I'm not Scottie on Star Trek!). Crop researchers have determined that magnesium is:
A critical mineral for seed germination.
Vital to the production of chlorophyll, which plants use to transform sunlight into food.
An aid in the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen, two of the most important fertilizer components.
Sulfur, the other major component of Epsom Salt, is also an important plant nutrient. Sulfur may:
Contribute to chlorophyll production.
Make the primary nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) found in most fertilizers more effective.
Although magnesium and sulfur occur naturally in soil, they can be depleted by various conditions, including heavy agricultural use over time. But unlike most commercial fertilizers, which build up in the soil over time, Epsom Salt is not persistent so you can't overuse it. Tests by the National Gardening Association confirm - roses fertilized with Epsom Salt grow bushier and produce more flowers, while the compound makes pepper plants grow larger than those treated with commercial fertilizer alone.

Just sprinkle it around the base of your roses/bushes and work it into the soil a little. It is also great for soaking sore feet or bodies, but I'm not too sure about migraines and soaking your head (poor Amy at A Redeemed Sheep is suffering right now from a terrible migraine and might be ready to try this!) SUPER bonus with Epsom salts = no odor!!

BONE MEAL

Bone meal is an excellent source of phosphorus with lower levels of nitrogen, calcium, and very little potassium. Bone meal is used for fruit and flower production.

It is also great because they don't go on and on about it! This is powdery, so be careful not to just "dump" it unless you like bone meal up your nose (I speak from experience here!)
It also has an odor you would not want to wear to, let's say, go to church or the mall or inside...you get the idea!

Blood Meal (now this one REALLY looked hopeful for getting zapped over to the info page where I got this because it made a little hand when I first did it! Looks like the little hand is just waving bye bye to me now!!!)

1. Keep your plant soil healthy with this nitrogen rich fertilizer Water and sunshine aren’t the only factors to a healthy, vibrant garden. You'll need good, mineral filled soil as well. Depending upon the crops you grow, soil that has been too often planted can start to lose its growing potential. Over time, the minerals and nutrients plants need to grow and stay healthy become depleted. Blood meal helps restore these lost nutrients and revitalizes fatigued gardening beds. Blood meal is an all natural powdered fertilizer that contains one of the highest, non-synthetic nitrogen counts (12-0-0) available. Made from powdered and dried livestock blood, Blood meal is an all natural, 100% organic fertilizer that is:
   Economically priced
   
2. (Bet you're wondering how I got this little 2 to appear here...well, I'm wondering too!)Easy to use
   Safe to store anywhere
   Works in gardens, yards, lawns, and soil beds
   Available in large bags for industrial applications
   Perfect for revitalizing soils that have been heavily worked
   Scent serves as a deterrent to common garden pests such as rabbits and deer
   Also helps accelerate composting breakdown of carbon based composts such as leaves and straw





3. Whoa, this three popped up out of nowhere, but I can deal with this. I just wanted to add that blood meal is supposed to also deter pets and deer and we haven't had a single deer in our fenced in neighborhood backyard, so it's working! Maybe I can make a four pop up...let's see...





4. Yah Hoo, but now I need to say something...hmmm. Okay, do not use blood meal inside your home or it will deter husbands, children and neighbors...also, just because it says blood meal does NOT mean it is a meal!
   Saving the "star of the show" for last...Tah Dah!!! Here comes the fish emulsion. In Arizona and maybe even here (one time), I could find it at Wal Mart, but now the only place I can find it is at Home Depot. You will love it...it does not disappoint...the "bouquet" is incredible, you will have many doggie friends as well as any other creatures drawn to all that smells disgusting. On the up side, your plants will be ever so happy and green and growing strong.

5.

Sorry about this...numbers are popping up everywhere just because I hit that bullet thing for one section! Fish emulsion has been a staple (NOT for meals, just for gardening) in my family for many years. MY son became a convert after living with us for awhile and used it at his home, on a tree that was just like his neighbor's tree and they were side by side. MY son's tree grew much larger and leafier than the other untreated tree. Wish I had a picture here as it was impressive.

Now fish emulsion is a liquid and not a pretty sight when it glops out of the bottle, but I save old milk cartons and count to 10 or 12 while it oozes out, then fill it with water the rest of the way, cap it and shake it and it's ready to go. Do the environment/your family/friends (if you want to keep them) a favor and really wash up well after this one.

If you use all these wonderful products, you too can have produce like this:

(How adorable is this?)

~~Thank you , Lord for the blessings of all these fine, yet smelly things, that help us to care for Your Creation in a sensitive way.