A Birthday and Creamy Lime Coolers

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANA!!

I love you!

This past Saturday was Ana's Golden Birthday...she was 21 on the 21st!  Amy and I made her birthday meal for supper, and then in the evening we all watched the old film You Can't Take it With You.  :)

This is a delicious drink Ana asked to have with her meal.  Dad said tasted like a fruit salad.  

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice, chilled
1 T. Lime juice
1-2 T. powdered sugar
1/4 t. grated lime peel
1 cup vanilla ice cream, softened

In a blender, combine the pineapple juice, lime juice, powdered sugar, and lime peel; cover and process until blended.  Add ice cream; cover and process until smooth.  Pour into chilled glasses.
Yield: 2 servings  (I doubled it when I made it.)

ENJOY!

~Alyssa

Of Mints and Spring Rolls...

Last week we went over to help Emily make mints for her sister-in-law's wedding. They needed 1500, so we were busy! Mrs. M. and Grace came to help too, and it was fun to work together and visit.

Miss Sarah :)


Some of the finished mints.

Emily also showed us how to make Spring Rolls.
Later we all had them for lunch - so delicious!

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

This is a recipe from my Great-Grandma Emma. Mom remembers her making these and using pickle juice in place of the vinegar! These old recipes are interesting to read as they often have unusual ingredients and directions.

~Alyssa

Friends, Tea and Bread!

Yesterday we went to visit friends for the afternoon! We had tea and visited, and then helped bake bread, since they had gotten a large order for whole wheat loaves, rolls, braids, and also Cinnamon Swirl bread (pictures above). It was fun to work together in the kitchen!

~Alyssa

Visiting Friends!

Yesterday we went to our friend's home for lunch and the afternoon.

 

 After lunch, Hannah wanted to bake cookies, but they had no eggs.  So we searched online for no bake recipes...

  

 ..and found a recipe called "Dinosaur Food", which was fun to make and good to eat. :)

Mom and Mrs. M.talking by the fire.

  

 We had a good time!

  

~Alyssa

The French Chef

We have been watching these old Julia Child cooking shows called The French Chef , that Mom found through the library system. They were done in the 1960 and early 1970s and are such fun to watch! The shows were taped live and continuous from start to finish so everything is there - mistakes, little accidents and funny moments.  Dad even enjoyed watching them with us. :)

~Alyssa

Thanksgiving Weekend....

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving!

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home since Ana was getting over being sick. (We didn't want to possibly spread anything to anyone.) Some friends insisted on bringing us a meal - (that was so kind of them and it was very tasty!) - and then later on we watched the movie Dialtone and a music concert DVD by The Rochesters. It was a nice day. :)

For most of Thursday, all day Friday and part of Saturday our computer was not working. It was about 5 times slower than when we had dial-up connection. But Amy finally figured out the problem, and now it is working again! We are very thankful for that.

Friday we girls had Chiropractor appointments at 11:20 AM. We have never gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving that I can remember, but we thought we would stop at JoAnns before our appointment since we were in town anyway. We had about an hour there.  What were we thinking!?! It wasn't hard to find what we were looking for, but the lines at the fabric cutting counter and the checkout were very long, and slow. We ended up having to leave so we could get to our appointment on time. (The workers at JoAnns know us well, and they put our cart in the back room for us, so nothing was 'lost'!) We were not able to use the 20%off our total purchase coupon though, since we were not back to the store before noon. But we did find some good deals anyway. :)

Sunday afternoon we had practice for the Christmas program that will be this coming Saturday. In the evening they had a Thanksgiving 'Singspiration', which was nice.

I didn't take any pictures this weekend but here are a couple from several days ago:

These pictures are from the Saturday before last, when some of the ladies at church got together to make Lefsa.

~Alyssa

Eggplant-Ricotta Bake

We were blessed this year with an abundance of eggplant from the garden. It has been a fun challenge to find creative ways to use them up, and this recipe was a favorite. Besides being delicious, it had the added benefit of using up both eggplant and the ricotta cheese Amy's been making with our excess goat milk. :)

Eggplant-Ricotta Bake
serves 4

• 2 large eggplants (1 to 1 1/4 pounds each), sliced 3/4 inch thick
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese (1 2/3 cups)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 jar (16 ounces) marinara sauce (2 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 450. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Brush lightly on both sides with oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until eggplant is tender and golden, turning halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Brush an 8 -inch square baking dish with oil.
3. Lay a fourth of the eggplant in bottom of prepared dish; spread with half of marinara sauce. Top with another fourth of eggplant; spread with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat layers, ending with ricotta; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake until bubbling and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

~Alyssa

Horseradish....

This past Saturday Mr.s R. gave a class on making Horseradish 'relish', (I'm not exactly sure what to call it - it's a condiment for meat).

We all scrubbed and peeled the roots...

... which were ground by hand and then whizzed up in a blender with vinegar. It has a is very pungent aroma and brings tears to the eyes!
We made several little jars of it, which should last for a while. :)

~Alyssa

A Fall Meal

Missions Conference

Last week Wednesday through Sunday was the missions conference at church. There were 3 missionary couples and one man who came by himself.

We girls helped Mrs. K. and her daughter Moya with the food preparation for each evening's meal. Wednesday evening was Italian night. Pastor D. made Lasagna and we ladies made spaghetti, a salad, and bread. Mr. Nelms spoke the first evening about supporting native pastors.

The second evening we had Chinese food. We made Wanton soup, and rice with stir fried vegetables. Yum!

Moya, Mrs. K. and Mom stir frying the beef and chicken.

The young ladies of the church sang "Go Light Your Candle" that evening, and Mr. Hacker (missionary to Poland) gave the message.
He spoke from 2 Corinthians.
1:3-11 The life message built into us through trials is a powerful witness to the reality of God. God uses His children's pain to touch others around them; we can comfort others in their affliction.
2:14-17 We should be a divine odor! We don't want to have a neutralized odor, but we are supposed to have the pungent aroma of Christ.
3:17-4:1 We reflect the Lord's glory.
4:5-10 The gospel in us gives us the power not to be crushed.

Jonah fell asleep!

Friday evening was Mexican night.

We made burritos, Spanish rice, chips, and Moya made a cake.

Mrs. K. making the tortilla chips.

That evening Mr. Krueger (missionary to the Philippines) spoke and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson sang Find us Faithful. Both the message, and the duet were very good!

Here are a few of my note from Mr. Krueger's message:
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16
Good deeds are not to draw people to ourselves. Our deeds preach a message. Words are important but actions have the most impact since people make decisions about our beliefs based on what we do.

Jonah sleeping again!

Mr. Nelms was excited to find a fritter in the shape of his home state!

Saturday evening was an 'international potluck' supper. People were encouraged to bring a dish from another country. Ana and our neighbors, Rebecca and Sarah, made two different Romanian cakes together. They turned out very good!

Amy and me in the kitchen. :)

All of the missionaries answering questions.
From left to right: Mr. and Mrs. Krueger, Mr. Hacker, Mr. and Mrs. Nelms, and Mrs. and Mr. Anderson.

Mr and Mrs. Anderson are working towards being missionarys to Israel. They were such a dear couple, we really enjoyed getting to know them.

Mr. Anderson showed us how to blow the shofar. I really like the sound it makes.

It was a full week but a good one. I enjoyed being able to get to know the missionaries over a few days time.

~Alyssa

A New Recipe!

We needed to use up a bunch of egg yolks this week, and I found THIS RECIPE for Egg Yolk sugar cookies while searching on the internet. They are very good!


~Alyssa

"Forgotten Kisses"

Yesterday I made these Meringue Cookies - called Forgotten Kisses - to use up a few egg whites that were left over from a quiche we made.

They were very simple and fun to make! (Find the recipe HERE.)

Yum!

~Alyssa

Zucchini Yeast Bread

We have a lot of zucchini in our garden, so we have been trying to think up creative ways to use it.

I needed to make bread, so I grated up some zucchini to add to the liquid. (I made two batches of bread and added about 1 pound shredded zucchini to each batch.)

The bread turned out very moist and nice.
I think Dad will like it. :)
~Alyssa

Smores!

Saturday evening we grilled outside....

....and had smores for dessert - a fun summer treat!

:)

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

Depression Era Cooking With Clara

Episode 7 - Poorman's Feast

Note: When preparing Lentils, be sure to check for stones. :)

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

Depression Era Cooking with Clara

Episode 6 - Sunday Breakfast

Do you all enjoy these little cooking shows, or not?! There are only a few left but it would be nice to get some feedback.... :)
~Alyssa

High-Rise Muffins

We had these high and hearty muffins for breakfast this morning. :)
(Recipe HERE.) They are somewhat similar to a biscuit or pound cake in texture. The recipe can be customized with different flavorings, nuts, fruit, etc. The basic version is rather plain, but good with stronger tasting jams and jellies.
~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

Depression Era Cooking With Clara

Episode 5 - Cooked Bread

~Alyssa

Way Back When-sday

Depression Era Cooking With Clara



Episode 4 - Peppers and Eggs with Bread

~Alyssa