Normally I choose a mediation from one I've enjoyed during the week. Not so today. This is one that I needed to read and meditate on, because I haven't really enjoyed some of the people in my life this week. Nor did I feel loving and attentive.
When people bother you in any way, it is because their souls are trying it get your divine attention and your blessing. - Catherine Ponder
We are in constant communication with one another and with God in the spiritual realm. No matter how singular our particular course may appear, our path is running parallel to many paths. And all paths will intersect when the need is present. The point of intersection is the moment when another should seeks our attention. We can be attentive and loving to the people seeking our attention. Their growth and ours is at stake.
We can be grateful for our involvement with other lives. We can be mindful that our particular blessing is like no one else's and that we all need input from the many significant persons in our lives. There is no insignificant encounter in our passage through life. Each juncture with someone else is part of the destiny of both participants.
I will look carefully and lovingly at the people around me today and bless them, one and all. They are in my life because they need to be. I, likewise, need them.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
AMANA HOPPELPOPPEL
Don't you love saying the name of this dish! Of Germany heritage this hearty, chunky hodgepodge is perfect for weekend breakfast or brunch. This reminds me so much of a dish my grandfather made when I was a child. He made his with sausage. More about that at the bottom of the post.
Serves 4
print recipe
adapted from A Real American Breakfast
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 to 6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium to large onion, cut into large dice
3/4 pound small waxy red potatoes, boiled until tender, then cut into 1/4-inch slices
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the milk, parsley, salt, and pepper. Whisk just long enough to combine; you should still see large bubbles. Set aside.
Fry the bacon until brown and crisp in an 8-10-inch skillet. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve it. Add the onion and saute' until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue cooking until they are golden with some brown edges. Stir in the bacon, then pour in the egg mixture. With a spatula, turn the mixture over a couple of times to combine, scraping up from the bottom, then pat the mixture back down into a thick layer. Cover and reduce the heat to low, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the eggs are lightly set but still very moist. Don't overcook. Spoon out and serve immediately.
Amana Hoppelpoppel with German Sausage: Substitute cooked bratwurst or other wurst for the bacon. Start with 4 to 6 ounces sausage sliced into very thin half-moons, friend to crisp the edges. Depending on the sausage's fat content, you may need to use a tablespoon of oil or butter for the frying. You want enough fat left in the skillet to saute' the onion and flavor the eggs.
Serves 4
print recipe
adapted from A Real American Breakfast
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 to 6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium to large onion, cut into large dice
3/4 pound small waxy red potatoes, boiled until tender, then cut into 1/4-inch slices
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the milk, parsley, salt, and pepper. Whisk just long enough to combine; you should still see large bubbles. Set aside.
Fry the bacon until brown and crisp in an 8-10-inch skillet. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve it. Add the onion and saute' until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue cooking until they are golden with some brown edges. Stir in the bacon, then pour in the egg mixture. With a spatula, turn the mixture over a couple of times to combine, scraping up from the bottom, then pat the mixture back down into a thick layer. Cover and reduce the heat to low, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the eggs are lightly set but still very moist. Don't overcook. Spoon out and serve immediately.
Amana Hoppelpoppel with German Sausage: Substitute cooked bratwurst or other wurst for the bacon. Start with 4 to 6 ounces sausage sliced into very thin half-moons, friend to crisp the edges. Depending on the sausage's fat content, you may need to use a tablespoon of oil or butter for the frying. You want enough fat left in the skillet to saute' the onion and flavor the eggs.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Tabasco Cottage Potatoes From the Oven
With all the beautiful Yukon Gold potatoes I'm getting from David's garden, I'm making potatoes for every meal. We have all made cottage potatoes, but I love this recipe because it can be made ahead, perfect for Saturday morning breakfast, and it comes from the oven, not fried.
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish
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2 pounds Yukon Gold, russet, or other baking potatoes, unpeeled, cut into neat 3/4-inch cubes
Salt to taste
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
2/3 cup diced green bell pepper
2/3 cup diced, red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, use your homemade or favorite store bought
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese or a combination, optional
Bring the potatoes to a boil in a pan of well-salted water and boil until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Don't overcook!
Warm the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and bell peppers and saute' until just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Tabasco, paprika, seasoned salt, and pepper and remove from the heat. Mix in the potato chunks, coating them well. Proceed with the baking if you wish or, to allow a fuller blending of flavors, cool briefly, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
If refrigerated, uncover the potatoes and let them stand at room temperature while the oven preheats to 375 degrees F. Bake the potatoes for 25 to 30 minutes, until richly brown and crunchy in spots. If you are adding the cheese, scatter it over the top, then return the skillet to the oven for 1 minute. Serve hot.
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish
print recipe
2 pounds Yukon Gold, russet, or other baking potatoes, unpeeled, cut into neat 3/4-inch cubes
Salt to taste
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
2/3 cup diced green bell pepper
2/3 cup diced, red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, use your homemade or favorite store bought
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese or a combination, optional
Bring the potatoes to a boil in a pan of well-salted water and boil until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Don't overcook!
Warm the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and bell peppers and saute' until just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Tabasco, paprika, seasoned salt, and pepper and remove from the heat. Mix in the potato chunks, coating them well. Proceed with the baking if you wish or, to allow a fuller blending of flavors, cool briefly, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
If refrigerated, uncover the potatoes and let them stand at room temperature while the oven preheats to 375 degrees F. Bake the potatoes for 25 to 30 minutes, until richly brown and crunchy in spots. If you are adding the cheese, scatter it over the top, then return the skillet to the oven for 1 minute. Serve hot.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Sweet Potato Home Fries
Who doesn't love home fries! But, in my opinion sweet potato home fries are just the ultimate. If you don't have leftover sweet potatoes or frozen, you can make equally good from scratch. Starting with raw potatoes means a longer cooking time, but they require little more than an occasional stir. The instructions below are for raw. Adjust your cooking time if using leftover or frozen.
Serves 2 generously as a mail dish
4 as a side dish
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 to 2 pounds peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary just before serving
Minced chives or parsley, for garnish
Warm the butter in a 10to 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the potatoes, and when coated with a bit of butter, season them with salt and pepper and cover the skillet. Cook for 20 minutes, during which you should hear only a faint cooking sound.
Uncover the potatoes and cook for 30 minute longer, turning them at 10-minute intervals and patting them back down. When you turn them the first time, stir in the onion and bell pepper. As the potatoes soften, pat them down more lightly, bringing as much of their surface in contact with the skillet as possible without mashing them.
Cook the potatoes for about 20 minutes longer, turning them at 5-minutes intervals. During the last 10 minutes, bring the heat up to medium and, if you wish, add more salt and pepper and the rosemary. The home fries are ready when the potatoes cubes are richly browned and clearly crisp with tender, melting centers. Plate them immediately, scatter with chives or parsley and serve
Serves 2 generously as a mail dish
4 as a side dish
print recipe
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 to 2 pounds peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary just before serving
Minced chives or parsley, for garnish
Warm the butter in a 10to 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the potatoes, and when coated with a bit of butter, season them with salt and pepper and cover the skillet. Cook for 20 minutes, during which you should hear only a faint cooking sound.
Uncover the potatoes and cook for 30 minute longer, turning them at 10-minute intervals and patting them back down. When you turn them the first time, stir in the onion and bell pepper. As the potatoes soften, pat them down more lightly, bringing as much of their surface in contact with the skillet as possible without mashing them.
Cook the potatoes for about 20 minutes longer, turning them at 5-minutes intervals. During the last 10 minutes, bring the heat up to medium and, if you wish, add more salt and pepper and the rosemary. The home fries are ready when the potatoes cubes are richly browned and clearly crisp with tender, melting centers. Plate them immediately, scatter with chives or parsley and serve
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Hillbilly Smoothie
Most folks would call this Buttermilk with Crumblin's, but I think Hillbilly Smoothie adds a little something to it. This had to be one of my dads favorite things. I can still see him sitting at the kitchen table eating this. You can have this for breakfast, dinner, snack or supper. For supper you might want to add fried green tomatoes, and for breakfast a nice slice of cantaloupe. Don't turn your nose up at this until you try it. Wonderful!
Serves one
I don't think you need a printed recipe
About 1 1/2 cups ice cold buttermilk in a well chilled tumbler
1 fist size square of cornbread, preferably buttermilk cornbread
Pour the buttermilk into an oversize tumbler. Crumble the corn bread into the glass and stir with a long-handled iced-tea spoon. Sip, spoon, and swoon.
Serves one
I don't think you need a printed recipe
About 1 1/2 cups ice cold buttermilk in a well chilled tumbler
1 fist size square of cornbread, preferably buttermilk cornbread
Pour the buttermilk into an oversize tumbler. Crumble the corn bread into the glass and stir with a long-handled iced-tea spoon. Sip, spoon, and swoon.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Butternut Squash Soup
When Edie was here a few days ago she was talking about butternut squash soup and I knew I had a recipe that I really liked but couldn't find it. Well in my amazing orderly filing system here it is. I think this might be an old Southern Living recipe, but I do make some chances. The one below is the original recipe.
I use fresh squash that has been peeled, cubed, and roasted until tender and I use homemade chicken broth.
8 servings
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6 bacon slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (12-ounce) packages frozen butternut squash, thawed (or 3 1//2 pounds peeled, cubed and roasted fresh)
1 (32-ounce) container low-sodium fat-free chicken broth (or homemade chicken broth)
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt (I use 1)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used fresh grated)
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Garnishes: sour cream, fresh thyme sprigs
1. Cook bacon slices in a Dutch oven until crisp. Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in Dutch oven. Crumble bacon.
2/ Saute' onion and carrots in hot drippings in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add celery and apple, and saute 5 minutes. Add garlic, and saute' 30 seconds. Add butternut squash and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until carrots are tender.
3. Process squash mixture, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to Dutch oven. Add whipping cream and next 7 ingredients. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until thickened. Top each serving with bacon. Garnish if you wish.
I use fresh squash that has been peeled, cubed, and roasted until tender and I use homemade chicken broth.
8 servings
print recipe
6 bacon slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (12-ounce) packages frozen butternut squash, thawed (or 3 1//2 pounds peeled, cubed and roasted fresh)
1 (32-ounce) container low-sodium fat-free chicken broth (or homemade chicken broth)
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt (I use 1)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used fresh grated)
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Garnishes: sour cream, fresh thyme sprigs
1. Cook bacon slices in a Dutch oven until crisp. Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in Dutch oven. Crumble bacon.
2/ Saute' onion and carrots in hot drippings in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add celery and apple, and saute 5 minutes. Add garlic, and saute' 30 seconds. Add butternut squash and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until carrots are tender.
3. Process squash mixture, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to Dutch oven. Add whipping cream and next 7 ingredients. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until thickened. Top each serving with bacon. Garnish if you wish.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saint and Scripture Sunday
Every time I read this meditation I think of my niece Angie. She has had so many changes in her life over the past few years. Dealing with constant pain, two surgeries, loss of job, children in college, a new teenager, constant battles with the insurance companies. Her ability to deal with all this simply shows me her strong faith.
The universal human yearning (is) for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change. - Willa Cather
The spector of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us. Only time can assure us of that. And it will, just as every change we've survived up to now has done.
Changes are gifts, really. They come as hallmarks to our present attainments. They signify successful growth. And they announce our readiness for more growth. How we struggle to understand this, and how quickly we forget it once we have adapted to the change. The struggle is then repeated the next time change visits us.
We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us comes with our trust in God, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth-enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now.
Change means I am progressing, on course.
The universal human yearning (is) for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change. - Willa Cather
The spector of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us. Only time can assure us of that. And it will, just as every change we've survived up to now has done.
Changes are gifts, really. They come as hallmarks to our present attainments. They signify successful growth. And they announce our readiness for more growth. How we struggle to understand this, and how quickly we forget it once we have adapted to the change. The struggle is then repeated the next time change visits us.
We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us comes with our trust in God, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth-enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now.
Change means I am progressing, on course.
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