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. 

Homemade Tomato Soup Tutorial - Video

Here is a tutorial for homemade tomato soup from Mary's Nest. (Although she lives in the Texas Hill Country also, I do not know this Mary.) :-)

My sister and I have made cream of tomato soup from scratch and it is really good, but this is not what this Mary is specifically making although she tells how to make this soup into cream of tomato soup at the end. Let me say this, it can be hard to get the cream to mix in nicely without curdling. There is a trick to it. So, if you want to make that I suggest looking up some instructions on how to mix in the cream with the least risk of curdling. Or, you could use sour cream or softened cream cheese to make your cream of tomato soup. Because these two products are already soured, they are less likely to give you grief. (Also, if you cream does curdle the soup is still edible, it just doesn't look as nice.)

She also talks about adding basil at the end and making this into a tomato basil soup with parmesan on it. Another yummy option you can try if you like Mexican is to add some cumin and then sprinkle it with grated cheddar and chopped black olives. This would be delicious served along side quesadillas. 

Tomato soup is a good lunch or supper staple for cold weather, but it can be good any time. If you don't want to make it and serve it the same day you can make it ahead and store it in the fridge for a few days. I am not sure if it would freeze well, but it would be easy to reheat from the fridge. If you are making cream of tomato soup I recommend waiting till you reheat it to add the cream.

Enjoy!

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In Honor of Fathers

A collection of scripture and illustrations in honor of fathers.

In Honor of Fathers

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Artist unknown.

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.

Turkey Ham Special

This is an original recipe of my own as far as I know. I started making it years ago. You can make changes according to your preferences as it's very easy to make and switch up for variety or personal taste. You could use avocado or pickled beetroot in place of the tomato. You could also pop it into a bun or pita bread and eat it as a sandwich. 

This dish can be used for a quick lunch or for the meat dish of the main meal. If you use it for the main meal, you could slice the turkey ham a little thicker than you would for a lunch. Also feel free to change up the meat. It could also be made with sliced turkey or ham or roast beef or chicken breast. Just be sure it is fully cooked before hand. (Maybe a new use for leftovers?)

You will need:

Sliced turkey ham (or other meat)

Sliced tomatoes 

Sliced cheddar or cheese of your choice
Onion and garlic powder (optional).

Place a slice of turkey ham on a microwave-safe plate. Sprinkle lightly with the onion and garlic powder if you are using them. Place slices of tomato on top of this, and top with slices of cheese. Cook in microwave till the cheese is melted to your satisfaction. This is one serving. Repeat until you have a serving for each person being served.

If you don't use a microwave this could be done in a frying pan on the stovetop with just a little water and oil in the pan and a close fitting lid to hold in the steam. It will take a little longer than the microwave. 

If you are making this for a larger family you may want to try laying the turkey ham slices, etc. in a greased baking dish or pan, and baking it in a conventional oven. I have not tried this so, you will have to experiment. You probably should put the cheese on after the turkey ham and tomatoes are partially cooked.

Random Thoughts On the End of November

 

So, November is over.  Another Thanksgiving week has come and gone.  Ours was different from any we’ve had before, but I suppose one could say that about many others we’ve had as well. :-)  This one…well, I’m glad it’s past in many respects!

The last week and a half of November certainly had some big challenges for me.  Things I’d been forewarned about that I knew wouldn’t be “nice” along with some surprises that were far from pleasant.  One surprise is a new health issue that I was hoping was a fluke, but apparently it isn’t.  (What is it about being in your 40s – all of the time new things popping up and not wanting to settle back down?)  There were also some trials that I’m not free to discuss, but that were emotionally draining nonetheless.  (At least they didn’t affect our household directly!)  Also, the evening before Thanksgiving the daughter/sister of some friends had a serious health problem which added a real burden to the holiday.  (Thank God she is doing well, all things considered, and is home from the hospital now!  She could have died!)

But, as my dad says, the Lord always balances our experience.  There were some sweet blessings from my Savior just when I needed them most to help me over the hurdles or pick me up on the other side!  I had some sweet emails and messages that were an encouragement.  We enjoyed the Lord’s supper with our church family the weekend before Thanksgiving.  We had visits with family and friends that were a blessing and a help.  There were times for self-examination that, although not pleasant, were useful and hopefully productive.  We had some interesting and busy times as well.  Some things got done.  Some friends joined us for Thanksgiving dinner and we had some food adventures too.  I thought it might be fun to share some of these things with you.

First of all, all three of the working men on the property were off the whole week, which was nice for all the families.  Also, the weather was beautiful most of last week – mostly sunny and warm.  The fall colors were splendid here!  There are oak trees on our property that put on a gorgeous show some or most years.

[Colors may appear brighter than they actually were. :-) ]

One day my brother and sister-in-law loaded up the majority of the metal junk we had sitting around waiting to be sold as scrap and actually took it in.  My husband helped them load the truck and rented trailer they used.  This was a happy thing because it got rid of some real eye sores as well as giving them a little income they needed for housing expenses (unexpected repairs)!  There were 6 defunct appliances sitting behind our well house!  Yeah, you might say we’ve had some lousy experiences with appliances on this property over the last 6 years!  On average, one dud per year!  I won’t try to explain why they sat there as long as they did.  :-)  But, they’re gone!  That’s the main thing. :-)

I also had the pleasure of seeing my husband use my rotary cutter and cutting board for the first time!  (I keep trying to tell him that he would enjoy some aspects of quilting.) :-)

He was cutting little fabric loops to hang some string lights in our bed room.  These lights are not for Christmas, but for ambiance.  They’ll be used all year.  Of course, this is the time of year to buy them and he wanted LED for the lower watts, so we picked some up when we were in Costco one day.

This is how he used the tabs.  The fabric blends quite well with the trim.

For various reasons, not everyone we invited for Thanksgiving joined us, but our friends who recently moved here did as well as my parents.  We were a smallish group of seven.  (I blurred the picture for their privacy.)

They are also all three not supposed to eat gluten, so SURPRISE – we had our first gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner! :-)

Chicken baked with coconut flour, butter and spices.
(This is something I had done before.)

Potatoes baked with coconut oil and herbs.

Tabouli made with quinoa, gluten-free pasta salad and rolls, two kinds of hummus, and watermelon rind pickles (made by me).

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t take a picture of the desserts.  They were mostly store-bought.  There was one pie and cookies and an interesting dessert my mom made with brown rice flour.  (It didn’t turn out the way we expected, but it was good.)

The gluten-free foods that were styled after traditional ones varied in goodness.  I’d say the rolls, tabouli and cookies were the best.  Everything tasted good, but some things had a different texture.  The food also affected my system a little differently than the usual gluten foods do.

Thanksgiving weekend is also my husband’s annual baking holiday.  He loves to bake bread, but he doesn’t do it much because of the time commitment that it requires.  So, he sets this time aside to try to bake at least one bread of some sort.  (Some years he does two!)

This year he made cinnamon rolls!  Yes!  He made them the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day and part of our local family joined us to eat them warm from the oven.  We had more the next morning when some of us ate breakfast/brunch together.

Maybe it’s been too long since I had cinnamon rolls, but even with all respect to my mom, I think these were the best I ever ate!  They were SO good. 

If you have a Kitchenaid stand mixer, he used the recipe in the cookbook that came with it.  He made some slight changes, the most significant being that he used half white whole wheat and half all-purpose flour (plain white).  He also used a different glaze recipe since we didn’t have the ingredients the cookbook called for.  He found one online that was made with butter, powdered sugar, water and a generous amount of vanilla.  It turned out great.  (But, they were more sugary than what we usually eat!)

Even with the extra work of having company (I did start early and pace myself) and all the extra things going on last week, my husband and I were still able to make it to church Sunday night.  (We usually go for the evening service since we drive quite a distance.)  I am very thankful for that since usually I wouldn’t have expected to be up to going!  Then the Lord brought these verses to my specific attention during the preaching of the word - 2 Corinthians 7:5-6  For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us…

Praise the Lord for His kindness and for the many blessings!