We have been so blessed lately. Social interactions with wonderful people have made us feel loved and welcomed. It is such a joy to know that wherever we go, we just have to open our eyes and open our hearts and we will find kind and loving people who take us in.
May the new year bring this joy and peace to you and yours. May this year be the best yet as you work on personal goals in all the important areas of life: spiritual, physical, social, and intellectual.
As we each think about, ponder, and consider what we want in these areas we can make a plan for the new year with one or more goals in each of these areas.
May this be the year when our dreams will come true!
It all starts with a dream.
A dream becomes a goal when we make a plan.
A plan includes action steps and dates for completion. It also includes a way for accountability.
As we fulfill our goals we can be filled with gratitude as we notice all those who helped us succeed. Especially Heavenly Father.
With loving wishes to all who strive this year in any way. May we all work together and share our successes with each other.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
New To Me Watercolor Technique
A few weeks ago I happened onto a YouTube watercolorist who had a new to me technique. I decided to try it out.
This was my first attempt.
This is pretty ragged but it was fun.
Start with three very wet dots of paint. Get your brush wet, then dab some of the water on a towel. Finally, reach into the center of each dot and sort of drag the paint out, wobbling your brush as you go. When the first three petals are complete, drop in two more dots and repeat the process.
At this point you can add some dark color in the center then drag out some stems. If you feel like you have made a mess of it, you can add some spatter to kind of counteract the effect!
This is fun. It is not very good but it is fun. I will do more of them until I get some that I really like. I mean, I do like this, just see so many places for improvement.
This was my first attempt.
This is pretty ragged but it was fun.
Start with three very wet dots of paint. Get your brush wet, then dab some of the water on a towel. Finally, reach into the center of each dot and sort of drag the paint out, wobbling your brush as you go. When the first three petals are complete, drop in two more dots and repeat the process.
At this point you can add some dark color in the center then drag out some stems. If you feel like you have made a mess of it, you can add some spatter to kind of counteract the effect!
This is fun. It is not very good but it is fun. I will do more of them until I get some that I really like. I mean, I do like this, just see so many places for improvement.
Monday, December 30, 2019
Munchie Monday: Copy Cat Minestrone Soup
Dear One LOVES to eat at Olive Garden. He/we do not do it often, but each time it is delightful. (The closest OG is about one hour away. Too far to "go out to eat"...unless we are in the neighborhood!) I like the kale sausage soup. He likes the minestrone soup. I was able to find a recipe somewhere on the internet. Of course, I had to make some changes...!
Start by cooking 1 cup white beans covered with 2 inches of water above the level of the beans in an Instant Pot. Pressure cook on HIGH for 30 minutes. When cooked, drain and set aside in a separate bowl.
In the now cleaned Instant Pot inner liner bowl place
3/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup peeled, quartered, sliced carrots
1 zucchini cut in half lengthwise then finely sliced
2 teaspoons garlic minced
1 14-15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 quart homemade (or commercial) vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup small pasta--bowtie is great, though small macaroni is normal
1 cup cooked and finely chopped collards--or you can put in 2 cups fresh chopped baby spinach
Mix well with a long-handled wooden spoon. Put the cover on and cook for 5 minutes on HIGH.
Do a quick release, but do it sort of intermittently. That means press down on the release valve for 10 seconds then let go for 10 seconds. Repeat until pressure is down.
Add the drained cooked white beans. Stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste If necessary after adding the beans, reheat the soup.
If you are a garnish person, chopped fresh parsley makes a pretty garnish.
When I made this the first time (and took a picture!) we did not have small pasta so I used whole wheat spaghetti that I broke into small pieces.
The soup is good enough that Dear One serves it to himself when he goes to the refrigerator to find something he wants to eat. Having shared that info, I am sure you will understand that this is a pretty good soup. Enjoy it!
Start by cooking 1 cup white beans covered with 2 inches of water above the level of the beans in an Instant Pot. Pressure cook on HIGH for 30 minutes. When cooked, drain and set aside in a separate bowl.
In the now cleaned Instant Pot inner liner bowl place
3/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup peeled, quartered, sliced carrots
1 zucchini cut in half lengthwise then finely sliced
2 teaspoons garlic minced
1 14-15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 quart homemade (or commercial) vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup small pasta--bowtie is great, though small macaroni is normal
1 cup cooked and finely chopped collards--or you can put in 2 cups fresh chopped baby spinach
Mix well with a long-handled wooden spoon. Put the cover on and cook for 5 minutes on HIGH.
Do a quick release, but do it sort of intermittently. That means press down on the release valve for 10 seconds then let go for 10 seconds. Repeat until pressure is down.
Add the drained cooked white beans. Stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste If necessary after adding the beans, reheat the soup.
If you are a garnish person, chopped fresh parsley makes a pretty garnish.
When I made this the first time (and took a picture!) we did not have small pasta so I used whole wheat spaghetti that I broke into small pieces.
The soup is good enough that Dear One serves it to himself when he goes to the refrigerator to find something he wants to eat. Having shared that info, I am sure you will understand that this is a pretty good soup. Enjoy it!
Friday, December 27, 2019
Food Friday: Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
It is so wonderful to have a tasty meal that Dear One likes. This is one of them. It is also another of the Lenny and Shalva Gale at LifeIsNOYOKE's recipes. They are so good.
When I went to the Dorr Farm on Friday I picked up a head of broccoli. It looked really good...so Broccoli Cheese Soup without the fat AND with lovely flavor came onto the menu.
Steam 1 head broccoli that you cut into florets. Steam just until bright green then set aside to cool.
In your high speed blender add:
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 red bell pepper, washed, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons granulated onion
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Blend on high speed for about 4 minutes.
Add:
1 cup vegetable broth (I used homemade so it had no salt in it)
1/2 block of tofu (I used Trader Joe's Super Firm tofu)
Blend these for 1-2 minutes.
Add the steamed broccoli and pulse 2-3 times so the broccoli is broken up but still has a little texture.
By now it is hot and ready to eat. We ate it right then and both loved it. Take my word for it, I was surprised on Dear One's account. I asked him if this was something we could take to a party. He said, "Of course!" You could have knocked me over with a feather.
This recipe makes four good-sized servings. We put the leftovers in the refrigerator in a glass jar. I really like storing food in glass. I feel like the chemicals in plastics are doing in my brain and body, so...this is what I like to do, though it does not always happen.
You can see that the broccoli virtually disappeared into the soup, so anyone who does not think they like broccoli will be surprised to learn the great taste is actually broccoli. This reminds me of a story.
Many years ago a young man named David C. came to visit us on the farm in South Royalton for a while with our much older cousin. (Actually our cousin was our father's age since Daddy was a lot younger than his oldest sister who was the mom.) Mother had made potato salad. David told her it was the best thing he had ever eaten and wanted to know what the secret ingredient was. It turned out to be onions. He did not believe onions could be so good. I think that was one of the first times I knew about ingredients in food making a difference in flavor. I was pretty young. I have loved onions every since. Sometimes I tease Dear One by eating an sweet onion sandwich in the evening. Now that I think about it, I would like to go downstairs and make such a sandwich now. Sadly, we only have yellow onions and red onions. The last red onion I ate had QUITE a bite to it, so no sandwiches there.
It is late as I write so the only store option is a long way away. It is also raining hard. Driving in the rain in the daylight was a challenge today. At nighttime it could be deadly. I won't go out and get a bag of Vidalia's now.
When I went to the Dorr Farm on Friday I picked up a head of broccoli. It looked really good...so Broccoli Cheese Soup without the fat AND with lovely flavor came onto the menu.
Steam 1 head broccoli that you cut into florets. Steam just until bright green then set aside to cool.
In your high speed blender add:
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 red bell pepper, washed, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons granulated onion
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Blend on high speed for about 4 minutes.
Add:
1 cup vegetable broth (I used homemade so it had no salt in it)
1/2 block of tofu (I used Trader Joe's Super Firm tofu)
Blend these for 1-2 minutes.
Add the steamed broccoli and pulse 2-3 times so the broccoli is broken up but still has a little texture.
By now it is hot and ready to eat. We ate it right then and both loved it. Take my word for it, I was surprised on Dear One's account. I asked him if this was something we could take to a party. He said, "Of course!" You could have knocked me over with a feather.
This recipe makes four good-sized servings. We put the leftovers in the refrigerator in a glass jar. I really like storing food in glass. I feel like the chemicals in plastics are doing in my brain and body, so...this is what I like to do, though it does not always happen.
You can see that the broccoli virtually disappeared into the soup, so anyone who does not think they like broccoli will be surprised to learn the great taste is actually broccoli. This reminds me of a story.
Many years ago a young man named David C. came to visit us on the farm in South Royalton for a while with our much older cousin. (Actually our cousin was our father's age since Daddy was a lot younger than his oldest sister who was the mom.) Mother had made potato salad. David told her it was the best thing he had ever eaten and wanted to know what the secret ingredient was. It turned out to be onions. He did not believe onions could be so good. I think that was one of the first times I knew about ingredients in food making a difference in flavor. I was pretty young. I have loved onions every since. Sometimes I tease Dear One by eating an sweet onion sandwich in the evening. Now that I think about it, I would like to go downstairs and make such a sandwich now. Sadly, we only have yellow onions and red onions. The last red onion I ate had QUITE a bite to it, so no sandwiches there.
It is late as I write so the only store option is a long way away. It is also raining hard. Driving in the rain in the daylight was a challenge today. At nighttime it could be deadly. I won't go out and get a bag of Vidalia's now.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Sometimes Surprises Are Welcome!
It is always wonderful when a surprise works out. This is mostly a new experience for me. Most of my surprises turn out either not to be surprises or they are not welcomed by the recipient for some unknown reason. This time was a slam dunk!
Our bathroom counter has been a total disaster despite the fact that it is probably four times larger than any previous bathroom counter. My sister suggested a shelving unit. I found a Honey Can Do unit on Amazon for not much money and figured I was smart enough to put it together. It arrived and was stored in our bedroom behind the Josephine chair (well, I call it a Josephine chai. It is really a chaise lounge.) Dear One actually put the Amazon box there for me.
Now the trick was to get it put together without Dear One finding out. One day when he was out riding his bike I got it two-thirds together and realized there was something wrong with it. The directions had failed me. I thought. Then the garage door opened and I knew the biker had returned so I put everything in the tiny closet in the workroom until another day.
Several nights later I was awake in the middle of the night and thought it was time to go at it again. As I entered the room I found a SECOND set of directions (Steps 1-4!!) on my desk. This made a huge difference. In less than 30 minutes I had the rack taken apart then reassembled properly and stored in the closet.
You will notice the buckets of roving that are just waiting for me to give myself permission to start spinning wool again. That day is coming....
Now for the real fun!
Early morning on Christmas Day I thought I heard jingle bells in the street so I assumed good old Santa and his merry reindeer were ready to do a little work. I quietly got out of bed, went to the closet, and, without any lights, and also without jamming the rack into some wall on the way, managed to get into the bathroom without awaking the slumbering husband. I shut and locked the door, turned on the light, and very carefully set up the storage rack. Previously I had brought in two clear storage bins to put everything into.
So, you are right: it does not look that great BUT it is so fabulous to have the counter mostly empty. AND Dear One was totally flabbergasted. Of course, it was probably less then ten minutes after I had come back to bed that he got up for a bathroom trip. He was gone quite a while. When he came back to bed he said, "How did you do it?" I told him we could talk in the morning since I was just about asleep.
So, for once, not only was it a real surprise, but he really liked it. Win on all sides. Makes me really happy.
He surprised me, too. With a beautiful necklace. I would show a picture but then you would see my double, or maybe treble, chin up close. Can't do it. Maybe some day. I did lose 30 pounds this year so maybe if I lose another 30 next year...?!
Our bathroom counter has been a total disaster despite the fact that it is probably four times larger than any previous bathroom counter. My sister suggested a shelving unit. I found a Honey Can Do unit on Amazon for not much money and figured I was smart enough to put it together. It arrived and was stored in our bedroom behind the Josephine chair (well, I call it a Josephine chai. It is really a chaise lounge.) Dear One actually put the Amazon box there for me.
Now the trick was to get it put together without Dear One finding out. One day when he was out riding his bike I got it two-thirds together and realized there was something wrong with it. The directions had failed me. I thought. Then the garage door opened and I knew the biker had returned so I put everything in the tiny closet in the workroom until another day.
Several nights later I was awake in the middle of the night and thought it was time to go at it again. As I entered the room I found a SECOND set of directions (Steps 1-4!!) on my desk. This made a huge difference. In less than 30 minutes I had the rack taken apart then reassembled properly and stored in the closet.
Now for the real fun!
Early morning on Christmas Day I thought I heard jingle bells in the street so I assumed good old Santa and his merry reindeer were ready to do a little work. I quietly got out of bed, went to the closet, and, without any lights, and also without jamming the rack into some wall on the way, managed to get into the bathroom without awaking the slumbering husband. I shut and locked the door, turned on the light, and very carefully set up the storage rack. Previously I had brought in two clear storage bins to put everything into.
So, you are right: it does not look that great BUT it is so fabulous to have the counter mostly empty. AND Dear One was totally flabbergasted. Of course, it was probably less then ten minutes after I had come back to bed that he got up for a bathroom trip. He was gone quite a while. When he came back to bed he said, "How did you do it?" I told him we could talk in the morning since I was just about asleep.
So, for once, not only was it a real surprise, but he really liked it. Win on all sides. Makes me really happy.
He surprised me, too. With a beautiful necklace. I would show a picture but then you would see my double, or maybe treble, chin up close. Can't do it. Maybe some day. I did lose 30 pounds this year so maybe if I lose another 30 next year...?!
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Merry Christmas to All!
Merry Christmas to all our family, dear friends and blog pals! May you have a wonderful blessed day filled with love and joy contemplating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His unspeakably glorious blessings to us all: His love, His example, His Atoning sacrifice for us all bringing resurrection to each of us and eternal life with Him if we choose it.
This year we have sent out fewer cards than before. It has been such a lovely time making the cards, envelopes, and the letter. Dear One wrote the letter this year and I edited it. The cards were all made using frisket to mask out the star then Gelli printing the actual artwork. It was so much fun to make and such a joy to think about each person who would receive the card. I hope you know that I think of you as I write these blog posts. I miss family and friends so much, especially now that we are really far away from you all. Never fear, we are making wonderful friends here but will never forget (as far as never forgetting goes as we age...!) you who have been our "golden" friends for so many years.
Here is the last of the prints:
Each of the prints is unique. Some are more attractive than others but each one made with love.
Below is the letter we included with the few cards we mailed. The colored text is my additional commentary.
+++++++++++++++
Hello from Sumter, South Carolina! Christmas 2019
This year we have sent out fewer cards than before. It has been such a lovely time making the cards, envelopes, and the letter. Dear One wrote the letter this year and I edited it. The cards were all made using frisket to mask out the star then Gelli printing the actual artwork. It was so much fun to make and such a joy to think about each person who would receive the card. I hope you know that I think of you as I write these blog posts. I miss family and friends so much, especially now that we are really far away from you all. Never fear, we are making wonderful friends here but will never forget (as far as never forgetting goes as we age...!) you who have been our "golden" friends for so many years.
Here is the last of the prints:
Each of the prints is unique. Some are more attractive than others but each one made with love.
Below is the letter we included with the few cards we mailed. The colored text is my additional commentary.
+++++++++++++++
Hello from Sumter, South Carolina! Christmas 2019
• In February, we got permission to fly to Utah
for the weekend wedding of our oldest grand-daughter, Grace, on a cold, windy day at the Brigham City Temple.
Janus graciously provided our airfare from Portland OR to Salt Lake City
UT and back. It was so wonderful to be there with family and friends for this glorious occasion. Amazingly, the flight from Portland to Salt Lake City took about the same amount of time it took us to ride the train from the airport to the closest train station to our apartment! A sweet sister, Ashley, in our ward got permission for us to park in her parking lot for that weekend.
 |
| Last day on the mission at the Rose Festival in the Lloyd Center. |
• In April, Jonathan and Alissa
Crossett decided to buy our family home, thus making us homeless for the first
time in our marriage. Also, Elder and
Sister Thorup arrived to begin training to replace us in the Mission office. It was so great to know that Crossetts would continue to love that property...especially the brook and swamp on the opposite sides of the acreage. It was also a most wonderful experience to train this marvelous couple who would spend the next two years assisting our mission president with the work. We loved them immediately, as we had loved those who had gone before.
• In May, we began shipping boxes to Vermont (things that would not fit in the car). (It turned out we had been on a high acquisition project for two years! We sent home LOTS of boxes. A gigantic number. Even after giving away a lot of good stuff plus leaving things I thought were useful in the mission apartment for the next missionary couple. Bob was a bit put out. Fortunately he loves me and recovered from the pain of paying the shipping bills.) Also, we traded in our Camry for a new hybrid Camry.
• On June 1st, we had a mission wide conference
at which Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf presided.
Previously, we had Elder Quentin L. Cook visit. We had other members of the Seventy visit,
too. We had the pleasure of having an
interview with Elder Pearson. These Brethren were such an inspiration to all of us missionaries. We loved each visit and cherished meeting them and learning at their feet.
• We were able to get to Utah in
time for our daughter, Megan’s,
wedding to Fritz Coleman. We helped on
setting up the reception. We had a
reunion gathering while in Utah with all the nearby senior missionaries we had known
while in Portland. It was such a joy to again be with family plus the added joy of communion with our dear missionary friends. Times never to be forgotten.
• We finished up our work in the Mission Office
on the 6th of June and began our long drive east. We stopped at Mitsi Corwin Jones' home in Wyoming as we drove to
Vermont. Mitsi had been so kind as to prepare a wonderful meal for us that we took with us as we still had hours to drive before stopping for the night. The picture included in this card was taken at the Rose Festival (by Sister Thorup) at the Lloyd Center the day before we left Portland. It was so sweet to be there, and to share that day with our dear new friends.
• On June 17th, we began the long drive across
the country (from Utah after the wedding preparations, celebration, and lovely days with our grandson so his mom and dad could get away for a few days together) with our first destination being Sumter, South Carolina, in hopes
of finding a home there. Bob had spent months looking for a new home for us, a state where retirees would be welcomed and a temple and ward meetinghouse would be nearby.
• We spent two days looking at
houses in the Sumter area with our realtor, Reggie Sumter. We wanted a home
near the chapel and near the Temple. It turned out that the house we chose was about 2 minutes via car and less than half an hour for a slow walker from our new house. It also turned out to be a "smart green house". Totally new experience!
• We spent the month of July
working on the boxes we had shipped home as well as the furniture and things
that we were going to ship to Sumter, SC via U-Pack semi-trailer. We loaded 15 feet. We spent as much time with family and friends and farewells as we could squeeze in. There were so many people we could not work into that rugged schedule, to our tremendous chagrin. Please note the invitation at the bottom of this letter!!! Also, we culled even more of our stuff. So difficult to part with treasures, and not-so-treasures, but stuff we had loved for years. We think we know a tiny bit how the pioneers in our Church felt when they said goodbye to family and friends as they began their trek across the ocean and across the country to join with other church members in the West. So wrenching.
• We closed on our new home in
Sumter on August 2nd with our belongings still in transit from VT. After about two months the living room furniture we had ordered finally arrived. It was so wonderful to be able to invite people to come over and have a place for them to sit other than the hard dining room chairs! Before the truck arrived with our other furniture we only had the stairs to sit on or the car in the garage to sit on! Fun times. Well, memorable times, anyway!
• We were called to be Young Single
Adult Advisors in the Sumter Ward after speaking in Church a week earlier at
the end of September. We have 150 young singles to minister to. Well, we have to find them first. So far we have found two of them who are now married! Good news for them. It has been fun to make birthday cards for each of them in an effort to get into contact with them. So far only four cards have been returned with bad addresses. We now have a young woman as representative. She is a go-getter and a real help. Together we may be able to reach out to some wonderful young people.
• We were called to be Ordinance
Workers at the Columbia SC Temple and started training in Nov. It is such a joy to be in the temple again on a regular basis. The temple is less than an hour's drive away. Glorious.
•
Pattie’s sister, Jessie, and her husband, Johnny, came to visit us for the weekend in October.
They kindly brought an electric piano to furnish our home. We had the best time visiting though it was only a few hours.
• Bob’s sister, Ginny, and her friend,
Doug, came to Sumter to visit us in our new home and do some sight seeing. We went to South Carolina Zoo, and Swan Lake
to see lots of swans and the Sumter museum where they were having a Pow Wow. It was the first time we had stopped "moving in" to do any looking around the area. It was fun to do it with Ginny and Doug. We hope to continue checking out the area as time goes by. We are mostly well situated in the house by now. Well, having said that, my workroom is still somewhat of a disaster. There are still about a dozen boxes in the the garage that need to find new homes...mostly in the workroom. Also there are rows of books on the floor in our bedroom. We are hoping to purchase a bookcase each month starting in January until we have the books all in their new home. At least, that is my hope! We keep going back and forth between getting rubber wood bookcases on Amazon that we have to put together ourselves or going to the furniture store where we bought the rest of our furniture and paying a huge bill. Our tv table project makes me agree with Bob that the furniture store might be the better idea, BUT the extra $200 or $300 makes me NOT want to go that route! However, I got a "Christmas present" for Bob that entailed putting together a project. It went together pretty well, even though I didn't have the directions until it was halfway together and I realized it was not going to work as put together. In the middle of the night recently I was awake so I started again and had it done within 30 minutes! Nice.
• We went to New Bern, North
Carolina for Thanksgiving and helped Pattie’s sister, Jessie, and her
husband, Johnny, with making pies for the Marines at Cherry Point Base who didn’t get to go home for the holiday. It was a wonderful time and we felt very useful as well as having a good time. Sharing that time together was a treasured experience.
We welcome letters or packages at
1740 Trevino Dr., Sumter, SC 29154.
If you are in the
area, we have a guest room waiting.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM BOB AND PATTIE CROSSETT
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Gingerbread House
In Relief Society a couple of weeks before our ward Christmas party we were invited to provide table decorations in a centerpiece contest. I smiled to myself and thought that would be a joke. I am just not at all good at decorating anything. (Just ask our tiny granddaughter who was living with us once and said, "Grammie, you should decorate your house for Christmas." This was when we were still living in the log cabin. Well, I have not improved very much...except to throw around some blankets and afghans I have made, plus we have put paintings by family and friends on our walls, but none of that is Christmas.
Well, as the days went by, I thought, "Why the heck not?! I can do something."
We were invited to bring a side dish, rolls, or dessert. I decided to make Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese and Sixty Minute Rolls. If the ideas spinning around in my head panned out, I could bring dessert, too.
We happened to stop at Joann on our way home from Thanksgiving at my sister's home. There, at the very front of the store, was a table of Gingerbread House kits! It was a kit. It had to be easy, right?! So we took it home with us. Now the wheels were really spinning.
First I made some nice cut out sugar cookies and iced them with Candy Melts. They did not look good but they tasted fine. My sister had given me some tree cookie cutters so I cut out trees and put green candy melts melted on them. The round cookies had chocolate candy melts. We had some small heart silicon molds so I made red and white candy melt hearts. Next I made some Reese's Peanut Butter Cup trees. If you look carefully in the pictures you will find them. So cute. So chocolate peanut buttery. Quite popular!
When we got to the party we laid down a long sheet of wide aluminum foil, put the Hansel and Gretel house down with mini-marshmallow snowbanks and trees all around. Then all the cookies were laid out.
It was fun. Dear One helped a great deal with the set up. AND...we won the Most Creative prize. You should have seen the children (and adults) at the end of the night scarfing up the treats!
Well, as the days went by, I thought, "Why the heck not?! I can do something."
We were invited to bring a side dish, rolls, or dessert. I decided to make Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese and Sixty Minute Rolls. If the ideas spinning around in my head panned out, I could bring dessert, too.
We happened to stop at Joann on our way home from Thanksgiving at my sister's home. There, at the very front of the store, was a table of Gingerbread House kits! It was a kit. It had to be easy, right?! So we took it home with us. Now the wheels were really spinning.
First I made some nice cut out sugar cookies and iced them with Candy Melts. They did not look good but they tasted fine. My sister had given me some tree cookie cutters so I cut out trees and put green candy melts melted on them. The round cookies had chocolate candy melts. We had some small heart silicon molds so I made red and white candy melt hearts. Next I made some Reese's Peanut Butter Cup trees. If you look carefully in the pictures you will find them. So cute. So chocolate peanut buttery. Quite popular!
When we got to the party we laid down a long sheet of wide aluminum foil, put the Hansel and Gretel house down with mini-marshmallow snowbanks and trees all around. Then all the cookies were laid out.
It was fun. Dear One helped a great deal with the set up. AND...we won the Most Creative prize. You should have seen the children (and adults) at the end of the night scarfing up the treats!
Monday, December 23, 2019
Munchie Monday: Collards!!!
Finally!! The collards are being harvested. I am so glad. I have such a great memory of one time we went to some southern place for a vacation and stopped at a farmers' market. There was not much there but there WERE collards. We/I bought a bunch of them which totally filled my arms. The cost was $3.00!
When we got back to the resort unit I got out a giant pot, added a little oil, chopped onions, and garlic then added a bunch of water and chopped collards and let it cook. I thought is was pretty good and have been hungering for them ever since.
On Friday after the YMCA class I put the Dorr Farm in the GPS and made my way out there. There is a lot of farm land not that far from where we live. It was a great trip. It would not be fun if it had been raining or if it was currently raining. There was a sign that said: "Road subject to flooding." Yikes. And the road to the farm was not in perfect shape that very day! After rain early in the week...
Anyway, I did get a big armful of collards and brought them home. Also sweet potatoes, cabbage, and broccoli.
After chopping one of the two bunches of collards into bite-size pieces I put them in the 8-quart Instant Pot along with a quart of vegetable broth and cooked the heck out of those babies. Actually I cooked them on high for 58 minutes...the same length of time we use for making vegetable broth.
Once they were cooked, I made a serving of grits, put a big spoonful of the greens on top then sprinkled with Tajin. What a great meal! What a great breakfast! Lunch and Dinner, too! I love this stuff. They are so tender and delicious. Amazingly, it holds me for hours. Such a great thing.
This was totally vegan...no ham bone or fatback or other fabulous pork-y thing. The nice girl who helped me at the farm suggested seasoning the collards with Goya ham seasoning. Piggly Wiggly had those packets so I used them. Tasty. Probably too salty but...
You will probably notice the absence of Dear One mentioned here...he is not a fan. I do hope that eating them every day does not turn my skin green like eating tons of carrots turns your skin orange.
When we got back to the resort unit I got out a giant pot, added a little oil, chopped onions, and garlic then added a bunch of water and chopped collards and let it cook. I thought is was pretty good and have been hungering for them ever since.
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| Collards ready to chop. The spine has already been stripped out of each leaf. |
Anyway, I did get a big armful of collards and brought them home. Also sweet potatoes, cabbage, and broccoli.
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| Collards chopped, washed, and stuffed into the Instant Pot. One whole bunch was chopped! |
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| After 58 minutes in the Instant Pot, this is what is left! They really do moosh down. |
After chopping one of the two bunches of collards into bite-size pieces I put them in the 8-quart Instant Pot along with a quart of vegetable broth and cooked the heck out of those babies. Actually I cooked them on high for 58 minutes...the same length of time we use for making vegetable broth.
 |
| Collards and Tajin on a small bowl of grits. Yummy! |
Once they were cooked, I made a serving of grits, put a big spoonful of the greens on top then sprinkled with Tajin. What a great meal! What a great breakfast! Lunch and Dinner, too! I love this stuff. They are so tender and delicious. Amazingly, it holds me for hours. Such a great thing.
This was totally vegan...no ham bone or fatback or other fabulous pork-y thing. The nice girl who helped me at the farm suggested seasoning the collards with Goya ham seasoning. Piggly Wiggly had those packets so I used them. Tasty. Probably too salty but...
You will probably notice the absence of Dear One mentioned here...he is not a fan. I do hope that eating them every day does not turn my skin green like eating tons of carrots turns your skin orange.
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