The thousand word project: Golden Layer (not) Cake

 

Garden Fresh -- Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers

 

A couple of years ago or so my dad grew these yummy but somewhat spicy banana peppers in our garden.  I also had basil in the garden that year, so it was an easy matter to cut the pepper lengthwise, remove the seeds, spread with cream cheese and then sprinkle with snipped basil.  Delicious.  A great simple “salad” too. :-)

Other options:
Use non-spicy peppers or spicier peppers
Use cheddar cheese paste instead
Use other fresh herbs: chives, oregano, cilantro, thyme
Add green onions

By the way, the cream cheese helps to moderate the heat.

The thousand word project: Pink Pearls

 

Mango Salsa

 

Recently I bought some mangoes for a treat for us, but to my disappointment, I discovered they were too sour to eat by themselves.  I recalled the fact that I’d seen a recipe at some point for mango salsa and thought I’d look it up online.  I found several recipes, but thought the combination of ingredients sounded a bit weird.  My husband, however, thought I should at least give it a try.  I picked one recipe that seemed the closest to what I wanted and then made it up to my own needs and tastes.  So, here’s the basic “plan”:

Finely chopped mango (1 and half small mangos made about 2 servings.)
Snipped green onion
Red pepper flakes
A little snipped cilantro
Salt
(Add a little sugar if the mango is still too sour – but – add it only a tiny bit at a time or you may get too much.  If your mangos seem too sweet, you may want to add a touch of lemon juice to add tartness.)

This salsa is good served with meat.  I think it would be especially good with pork.  It would be a zippy sauce to make a non-traditional hamburger topping. :-)  And, an added perk is the lovely color this adds to a meal!

The Threefold Promise -- A poem by Annie Johnson Flint

 

The Threefold Promise

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Oh, wonderful promises given
To those who wait on the Lord;
Strength for the faint who have fallen,
Power for weakness outpoured.

Blessed the threefold assurance
Thrilling the soul like a song:
They shall mount up as the eagles
On wide wings and swift wings and strong;

Run with the stride of the racer,
Leaping unwearied and free,
Till he comes to the end of his journey
And the crown of his effort shall see.

But the word for the worn and the weary,
Who know not the rapture of wings,
Who know not the joy of the runner,
What infinite comfort it brings!

Walk and not faint; the slow steppings,
The plodding dull round of the days,
The toil and the heat and the burdens,
The wearying halts and delays.

Oh, promise for those who are walking,
Who falter and stumble and fall,
The courage, the strength and the patience,
This is the sweetest of all.

Annie Johnson Flint

The Thousand Word Project: One Last Word

Brazil Nut Sensation

This was one of my Gramma Hoover’s recipes.  It was one of my dad’s favorites, but others of us like it really well too. :-)  It is rather pricey to make with the cost of Brazil nuts being what it is, but it makes a great rare treat.  I haven’t made this cake for some years now, and I interpreted her somewhat cryptic method of writing down recipes the best I could.

Brazil Nut Sensation

Sift together:

3/4 C. flour
3/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

In a large bowl put:

3 C. shelled Brazil nuts (whole)
2 8 oz. packages pitted dates
1 C. well-drained maraschino cherries

Sift flour mixture over nut mixture.  Mix with hands until nuts and fruit are well-coated.

In another bowl:

Beat until foamy: 3 eggs
Add: 1 tsp. vanilla

Stir this into nut mixture.  Spread evenly in 2 9x5x3 bread pans, greased and lined with waxed paper.

Bake: 1 hr. 45 min. (or 1 hour to 45 minutes?) – or until cake tester comes out clean.

Cool, wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate up to 5-6 weeks.  (Or freeze.)