Letters to My Friend - Until You Eat It

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 

When my mom was a little girl she hated oatmeal porridge. Sometimes when she refused to eat it, her mother made her sit at the table until she had finished it. As I recall, on one occasion she was still sitting there when lunch time rolled around. I don't know when she finally did get it down, but it was a hard lesson for her.

My Gramma also taught her children to eat the things they didn't like first so that they could get them out of the way. This works pretty well, since once the serving of what you don't like is gone, you're free to enjoy the rest of your meal. It did backfire on my mom's youngest brother once when he was a little boy. He didn't like peas. He and his siblings were guests at someone's home without their parents being present, and they were served peas along with the rest of their dinner. My uncle ate his right down so quickly that the lady was impressed and, remarking that he really loved peas, she generously gave him another helping. Thankfully, his siblings spoke up and told her why he had gobbled his peas down. Being a very understanding and gracious lady, she told him he didn't have to eat the second helping, much to his relief.

Years later, when we were kids in our own home, I remember my mom putting food in the fridge that one of us had refused to eat. The offender was told they would have eat it at the next meal (probably before they got anything else). It seems like my sister might have pushed this through two meals once, but I don't remember clearly. Much of the time, however, we were made to eat the food one way or another.

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The Thousand Word Project - Oranges and Greens?

A Beautifully Set Table

 
A comparison of God's word and a well set table.

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

We like to see a well provided table - plenty to go around, food that will be filling and flavorful.

Many of us appreciate an attractively set table - dishes, food, flowers, tablecloth, etc. all in a pleasant arrangement.

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The Lord has set beautiful table for us in His word.

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Memories of Great Meals - One Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 103:1-5 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

Fresh Beet Salad

Photo property of Sister in the Mid-West - Simple Inspirations

Root vegetables are a good way to make a winter salad. This beet and carrot slaw style salad with fresh apples and lemon juice from Sister in the Mid-west sounds like it would be refreshing and very nutrient rich. 

By the way, I was thinking that a handful of fresh cranberries before shredding or a handful of dried ones added afterwards could add a nice flavor variation. Also, if it isn't quite sweet enough for you a bit of honey or your other favorite sweetening could be added. This is a versatile recipe. You can make variations. It would be good served with a variety of meals as well, or added to sandwiches or wraps. The color alone makes it a winner for making winter meals pretty. :-)

Simple Inspirations - Beet Salad Recipe!

Texas Memories - Noodle Beans

 

These noodle beans made a lot of food, however, the consistency was just a little weird and they didn't can or freeze well. I don't remember if my dad grew them one or two years before we decided that ordinary green beans were more to our liking. Plus, if you tried to cook them without cutting them up they just looked weird. Like earthworms. Yeah, not the most appetizing thing to have on your plate, unless you happen to like earthworms. 

Pretty Edible - Mixed Berry Muffins

 

To make these colorful (and delicious) muffins simply replace the frozen blueberries in your favorite blueberry muffin recipe with frozen mixed berries. Yum! :-)

Pretty Edible - Cauliflower with Cheese

 

This is so easy to make. Simply cook your cauliflower whole. Make sure it will sit flat by checking it on the counter/bench. Trim the stem if necessary. Place in a pan big enough to hold it without crowding it in tightly. Add enough water to come up about half way. Add salt to taste.

After it is cooked, carefully remove it to a bowl where it will look pretty and immediately sprinkle generously with grated cheese. You may also sprinkle it with paprika or black pepper if desired. Serve hot. 

This is obviously a great side dish for a meal, but it could also be a meal for a few by itself with maybe some crackers or chips to accompany it.

Aged Hot Pepper Sauce Recipe from Sister in the Mid-west

Peppers grown by my dad in Tennessee.

 
Sister in the Mid-west at Simple Inspirations posted a recipe recently for aged or fermented hot pepper sauce. My dad loves this kind of sauce and he recently figured out how to make his own using Tabasco peppers that he grew. I don't know if he has a recipe or not as he tends to "fly by the seat of his pants" when cooking. (Yeah, that's partly where I got it.) This recipe sounds similar to what my dad probably did, so I thought it would be interesting to share it. I'll ask my dad about his recipe later, if I remember. :-)

My Aged Pepper Hot Sauce "Recipe"

Please let her know if you try her recipe. :-)

Regrowing Vegetables from Kitchen Scraps

Here is video showing how you can grow new food from vegetable trimmings. If you don't have a garden to plant the things in later after they root and sprout, you can plant most of them in pots. The pots would need to be large. For potatoes you would need something quite large since they are going to grow under the surface and will need plenty of room.

I do not know this lady, but she lives in the same part of the US as we do. Her aprons are a fun addition. :-)





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Lazy Day Peppers

1 pound hamburger (or ground meat of your choice)
1/4 lb bacon, sliced
1 onion, minced
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 - 4 green peppers, chunks (1 inch)
1 28 oz can tomatoes, broken up
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs paprika
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups water

Brown hamburger and bacon with onion. Add remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes (add more water as/if needed) or till rice is tender.

Thanks to Denise, South Dakota

Berry Fun - Berries and Chocolate for Breakfast

Early summer or late spring is the time for fresh berries. How about making something simple like pancakes or a bowl of oatmeal into something special by adding chocolate chips and fresh berries on top? These are so good you could practically serve them for dessert, but no one will complain of an extra special breakfast. :-) Make sure the pancakes or cereal are very hot when you put the chocolate chips on in order to get that yummy melted chocolate effect. Besides tasting delicious, this is also a very pretty breakfast!

One Bed Garden - Successive Plantings

Here is a video showing how much food can be grown in one small bed over the course of a growing season by making successive plantings (reusing spaces). This could be done in even a small back yard (garden).

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

In a medium bowl, mix together:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, mix together:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (sometimes I add more than this :-))
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Mix the "wet" ingredients together until everything is moistened, then add in the flour. Mix everything together until well-combined (I've only done this by hand with a big fork, but I suppose you could use one of those big mixers if you don't like mixing stuff by hand. I can't promise the results will be the same though!)

Drop by level tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes.

Thanks to Elisabeth M. of Texas

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The sugar has not been reduced in this recipe, so feel free to make adjustments if you wish.

Lil Hunsaker's White Beans

Lil Hunsaker's White Beans

From my dad, Steve Van Nattan who spent years tuning pianos. He got some great food from his customers sometimes: "I found this exceptional bean soup at a customer's home in Tubac, Arizona."

• White Northern beans or lima beans (In the words of Country Bevins, "Them greezy Michigan beans")
• Red Onion
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper  
• Cilantro
• Parsley

Cook the beans as you usually would. For a clear soup broth, cook beans and drain before adding water, onion, garlic, oil, lemon, and salt. If you drain off the first water, save it for later use since it is full of food value. For a clear broth, clear beef broth could be used to add flavor. After the top six ingredients are cooked and ready to eat, shred the cilantro and parsley into the soup and serve.

For the chili lovers, red pepper could be shaken on, or a few drops of Tabasco added. Habanero in moderation would also add a real special touch to this dish.

A garnish of the cilantro, parsley, as well as green onion tops could be served in a side dish to be added at the table.
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Editor's Note: Cilantro is already growing in the southern parts of the US at this time of year. In areas with more winter it won't be long before you can plant it. Fresh cilantro is one of my favorite herbs. :-)

How to Make Your Own Brown Sugar

Photo property of shop.myblueprint.com

Making your own brown sugar is very easy. My mom started doing it years ago because we enjoyed eating it on our hot cereal and it was more expensive than white sugar. (That's one of those ridiculous things where you pay more for something that takes less effort because brown sugar isn't processed as long as white, but I digress.) My mom made hers in a food processor. I make mine in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This tutorial shows mixing it by hand with a fork.

Make Brown Sugar

Worth Repeating - A Bit of Humor

Here are some fun food related quotes I posted in 2010. I added the images from my collection. :-)
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"The thought of two thousand people crunching celery at the same time horrified me." - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). Explaining why he had turned down an invitation to a vegetarian gala dinner.

Have you heard of the garlic diet?
You don't lose much weight, but from a distance your friends think you look thinner.

Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat. – Fran L.

The West wasn’t won on salad.
- North Dakota Beef Council advertisement, 1990

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~Jim Davis
“I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o'clock in the morning.” ~John B.

“It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat.” Robert Fuoss
My favorite animal is steak. ~Fran L.

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. ~Calvin Trillin

A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat. ~Old New York Proverb

And I find chopsticks frankly distressing. Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites and any number of other useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back 3,000 years haven't yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food? ~Bill B.

The Thousand Word Project - The Spice of Life

Variety is the very spice of life,
That gives it all its flavor.

Excerpt from "The Task"
by William Cowper.

Feel Good Friday - Mi Tierra - An Immigrant Story Worth Hearing

This is the true story of the results of the efforts of a Mexican immigrant couple who started a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. The place has become a landmark through generations of hard work, attention to detail, and quality food and service.

The Thousand Word Project - Bowls Full of Color

Psalms 103:5  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things...