A Psalm of Praise, of David

Psalm 145

1 I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6 Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And I will tell of Your greatness.
7 They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness
And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
9 The LORD is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,
And Your godly ones shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power;
12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14 The LORD sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
16 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.
20 The LORD keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Heidi’s birthday tea

’tis Heidi’s birthday week, and I have prepared a birthday tea in her honor. Since she is in the Midwest and I am in the Pacific Northwest, it is the concept, not the reality, that matters.

What we are having is an avocado topped with Gorgonzola cheese and nuts, and dates stuffed with Gorgonzola. I can eat Gorgonzola cheese with the help of a couple of Lactaid; I am not sure whether Heidi could or not, but in any case, reality prevails this time, and I am the one who will partake of her lovely birthday tea.

I chose mango-passionfruit tea for the occasion because I like the color, and because its flavors evoke warmth of place and warmth of heart.

Happy birthday, dearest Heidi!

Pumpkin Soup

1 kg (2lb) pumpkin

 750g 1.5 lb) tomatoes

 500g (1lb) onions

pepper and salt

water

2 chicken stock cubes

Peel pumpkin and cut into pieces; skin tomatoes; peel and chop onions. Put all vegetables in pan. Add water to cover, stir in crumbled stock cubes.

Bring to boil; reduce heat, simmer until pumpkin is tender. Puree or rub through sieve. Season to taste. (Refrigerate if serving cold) Garnish with a little sour cream and chopped chives.

Serves 6 to 8. We love this as a hot soup but is nice cold as well. I usually put the ingredients into the crock pot, adding a couple of peeled, diced potatoes and slow cook until soft. (The picture  is not mine! I have never actually served Pumpkin Soup out of the pumpkin.)

Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts

Mrs. Young, a lady I clean house for gave me these wonderful nuts one year as a Christmas gift. Our whole family enjoyed them so much that I asked her for the recipe. She got the recipe from an old magazine she had saved years ago. It’s a good, healthy snack and would also be good to serve at a party.

Whisk two egg whites with a wire whisk. (they whisk easier if you let them warm up a bit at room temp)
2 10 oz. cans Planters Mixed nuts (or plain peanuts can be used)

Mix in medium sized bowl the sugar and spices:
6 TB dark brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
optional 1-2 tsp garlic salt (I used 1 and 3/4 tsp)

Add spices to 2 whisked egg whites. Add the mixed nuts. Stir to coat well. Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Spread nuts evenly on cookie sheet.
Bake for 300 degrees 10 mins.
Turn nuts over then bake 8 more minutes.
Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight container. I had to break the nuts up a bit after they cooled.

She mixes the cooled nuts with small pretzels, M&Ms and raisins, sort of like a Chex mix, but they’re also very good plain.

Sunny day in a red sweater

It’s a Veterans Day not like past Veterans Days that I remember. This is a Veterans Day of very present death: death by war and death by hatred. But all death is because of sin. Eight Stryker soldiers from my hometown Army base, and the Fort Hood massacre by the lunatic Army psychiatrist made death very present. Air Force Two boomed over my house early Tuesday afternoon; at least I’m pretty sure that was what it was. We don’t get a lot of 757s landing here, and this one was certainly flying low enough for landing. I’ve been reading accounts of Kimberly Munley with admiration. I admire her not just because she’s a hero and she took down Dr. Death, not just because she hit her target while under fire, but because she avers that she was just doing her job; it was confusing out there, she said, but her training kicked in. Nothing special, it’s not about her. She’s clear about that, clear as the shots that rang out on a decently pleasant Texas day no one had any reason to think would be eventful, much less historical.

I’m hanging out at home, a not infrequent occurrence, reading a book on biblical ethics, reading up on news events, drinking tea, and watching the Cat sleep, get up and eat, yank a couple of toys out of his box, and bat them around for a minute before walking off to stretch and lie down. A couple of flickers are aerating my lawn with their long beaks, for what reward I’m not sure, but I wish they liked toadstools. Ours are beginning to provide shade for a microcosmic backyard planet. I’m wearing my red tabard sweater, a gift from my friend Jane that she knit for me a couple of years ago. She inspired me to get back to knitting. Right now knitting is on hold, but I hope that my repetitive strain injury will eventually resolve to the point that I can knit again, even if I can’t type. I can use voice-recognition software to write, but there isn’t any voice-actuated sock knitting software, at least not yet.

Our bamboo, green and tall and lithe, waves languidly against the blue sky and some power lines. We have so much, in those things alone.

Many, O Lord My God,
are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered. — Psalm 40:5

My times are in Your hands!

This is from a longer quote sent from Grace Gems daily emails. I need to be reminded of these things often because I’m such a slow learner.

“My times are in Your hands!” Psalm 31:15

…We shrink from suffering, from sacrifice, from struggle–but perhaps these are the very experiences which will do the most good for us, which will best mature our Christian graces, which will fit us for the largest service to God and man.

We should always remember that the object of living here, is not merely to have present comfort, to get along with the least trouble, to gather the most we can of the world’s treasures, to win the brightest fame. We are here to grow into the beauty of Christ, and to do the portion of God’s will that belongs to us!

There is something wonderfully inspiring in the thought, that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, for each life. We do not come drifting into this world–and do not drift through it like waves on the ocean. We are sent from God, each one of us with a divine plan for his life–something God wants us to do, some place He wants us to fill. All through our lives we are in the hands of God, who chooses our place and orders our circumstances, and makes all things work together for our good–and His glory.

It is the highest honor that could be conferred upon us, to occupy such a place in the thought of God. We cannot doubt that His way for us is better than ours, since He is infinitely wiser than we are, and loves us so. It may be painful and hard–but in the pain and the hardness, there is blessing.

Of course we may not know all the reasons there are in the divine mind, for the pains and sufferings that come into our lives, or what God’s design for us in these trials is. Yet without discovering any reasons at all, however, we may still trust God, who loves us with an infinite love–and whose wisdom also is infinite!

When we get to heaven, we shall know that God has made no mistake in anything He has done for us, however He may have broken into our plans–and spoiled our pleasant dreams!

It should be reason for measureless gratitude, that our lives are not in our own poor feeble hands–but in the hands of our infinitely wise and loving Father!

Excerpt from J. R. Miller, “The Lesson of Love” 1903

Pumpkin Roll

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe years ago.  She used to make pumpkin rolls to sell.  I’ve been doing some baking for one of my neighbors.  He asked me if I could make a pumpkin roll for some of his friends so I hunted up my recipe and tried it out today. I wish I had a digital camera  to show you how it looks.   Maybe one of my fellow Keeping House bloggers with a camera will bake it and post a picture here.  It was much easier and quicker to make than I thought it would be. My cookie sheet was a size bigger than the size mentioned, but it worked fine anyway.

3 large eggs

2/3 cups plain pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cups flour

Mix the wet ingredients together.  In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add everything together.  Since I use my own pumpkin, I baked it first then measured 2/3 cup pumpkin and blended it with the eggs in the blender. I added in the sugar then the dry ingredients and mixed till well blended.

Line a 10 by 15 jelly roll pan with wax paper (or use a cookie sheet with sides).  Spray the waxed paper with Pam then dust with flour.  Pour mixed cake batter into the pan.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350.  Put a clean tea towel or  cheesecloth on the counter.  Sprinkle the towel with granulated  sugar (or with confectioner’s sugar), covering an area the size of your pan.  When the cake is out of the oven, turn it face down onto the sugared cloth. Peel off the waxed paper.  Roll up the tea towel with the cake.  Let cool on wire rack.  When cooled, unroll it and top with icing.

Mix icing in mixer.

1   8 oz pkg. Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup confectioners sugar

Spread icing evenly then roll up again, this time without the towel. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze.

 

Wisdom from my Kitchen

This little gem appears at the bottom of my Macaroni Beef  recipe which I posted at  Mumma’s Place  earlier.

ooOOoo

HOW TO PRESERVE A HUSBAND

 

Be careful in the selection. Do not choose too ripe or too old. Best results if he has been reared in a healthy atmosphere. Some insist on keeping him in a pickle, others prefer to keep him in hot water, such treatment may make husband sour, hard and sometimes bitter. Many housewives have found that even poor varieties can be rendered tender and good by a garnish of patience, the sweetening of a smile, and the flavouring of a kiss to taste. Wrap him in a mantle of charity, place him over a warm steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream!

When thus preserved a husband will keep for years!

Coconut Curry Chicken in the Useful Pot (or out)

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

CROCK POT DIRECTIONS
I have adapted this to go in the crock pot because if you cook it in skillet, the house smells like curry for days.
I cooked the chicken in a skillet and put all of the other stuff right in the crockpot, mixed it all up, and put in on low (for almost 5 hours) and voile la! The first time I made it I added summer squash, and liked the addition. I cooked the squash separately in a skillet and then threw it in the crockpot for the last two hours.

*I stole this recipe from some online recipe site and adapted it for the crock pot.

*I wish I had taken a pretty picture of this to make this more blog-worthy.  Next time.

A Useful Pot and a Pumking

Ruben took me birthday shopping last night, and got me not only a Hardees hamburger with ketchup and onions and pickles on a sesame seed bun (you wouldn’t think would you, that I crave little else when given a choice of eateries: I’m not sure how I developed such an unsophisticated and insatiable taste), but a crockpot.  And a pumpkin.  My first pumpkin, and I have lost count of how manieth of my crockpots; but each of them have been beloved and significant, redolent of stewed potatoes and the immense blessing of having a kitchen and a home.

So, should I put the pumpkin in the crockpot?  And take it out again?  Like Eeyore with his piece of popped birthday balloon and the Useful Pot Pooh gave him, for putting things in?

(Basically this is a cry for help, for more crock pot and pumpkin recipes.)