Sunday Lunch

White Chicken Chili

Fruit Salad
(escarole, diced pears, red grapes, pine nuts, fig vinaigrette)

Toasted Cornbread

 Pinot Noir
 Coffee

Easter Feast

Honey Baked Ham
Squash Casserole
Roasted Asparagus
Beet Salad
Deviled Eggs
Black Olives
Pretzel Rolls

Zinfandel




German Chocolate Cake

H. Baptism II

Since, Lord, to thee

A narrow way and little gate
Is all the passage, on my infancy
Thou didst lay hold, and antedate
My faith in me.

O let me still
Write thee great God, and me a child:
Let me be soft and supple to thy will,
Small to my self, to others mild,
Behither ill.

Although by stealth
My flesh get on, yet let her sister
My soul bid nothing, but preserve her wealth:
The growth of flesh is but a blister;
Childhood is health. 

George Herbert
English Poet, Anglican Cleric
1593 - 1633


Photo taken 10 April 1988
on the occasion of the baptism of DD#3

After church we (17 adults & 8 children) enjoyed the following menu at Cochise ~
Fresh Ham
Sausage-Cheese Grits
Marinated Cold Asparagus
Tomato-Artichoke Aspic
Orange Fruit Cups
Zucchini Bread

Bloody Marys or Mimosas
Sun Tea
Coffee

Potato Chip Cookies
Fudge Bars
Lemon-cheese Cake

Southern Living, April 1986

Sundays are Special

Each week Sunday's routine is set apart from that of the other six days.  One way we express honor to our King is that we dress differently.

Another way is to enjoy a fellowship meal after congregational worship (sometimes at church, sometimes at home).

Today DD#3 blessed us with her baking skills:

Peaches 'n Pecans Cake

But first we have to eat our vegetables ~

Cauliflower Maranca

Steamed Green Beans

Grilled Yellow Squash

Pickled Okra

Toasted W.W. Biscuits

Sweet Tea

Chardonnay

Coffee








Beans, squash, and tomatoes are compliments of neighbors' gardens.  Pickled okra from the local farmers market.  Peaches and pecans Georgia-grown as well!

CWAC Details

Arriving around 4 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, we just have enough time to unload/unpack before it's time to head outside for our daily, informal 5 o'clock gathering known as Circle Time.

We all bring a cool beverage and an appetizer.

Visitin' happens.

After the Sunday morning 2-hour outdoor photo session when my mother takes pictures to use for the family calendar my parents produce, we picnic together.

Everyone brings their own plate outside for more visitin' because we all believe ~

Food and meal-times shared

 have always been thought of 

as a closer kind of communication

 than simply talking to people,

 without eating together.

Here's what my week of menus looks like ~

Saturday:  Honey Baked Ham, Cauliflower Salad, Baby Butter Beans, Cornbread, and Pound Cake

Sunday:  Krispy's Fried Chicken (purchased locally),

 Potato Salad,

 Steamed Green Beans, 

Sliced Tomatoes, Pickled Okra, 

Cornbread

and the

Celebratory Cookie Cake

Monday:  BBQ Pork, Baked Beans, Coleslaw, and Brownies

Tuesday:  Summer Herb Pasta with freshly grated Parmesan, Steamed Asparagus, Rice Krispie Treats

Wednesday:  Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches, Corn on the Cob, and Fresh Peaches

Thursday:  Frogmore Stew aka Low Country Boil, Caesar Salad, and Birthday Cake

Friday:  Leftovers Picnic = Fun idea where everybody clears his/her 'fridge in preparation for leaving.  Kind of like a pot luck (providence) dinner!

That's all for now.

Gotta get ready for Zumba class.

Addendum ~
Favorite B'fast = Hard Boiled Egg, Fresh GA Peach, Black Coffee
Favorite Lunch= Gazpacho and Pimento Cheese on Frito Scoop

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 4

Painting, Sketching, Sculpturing

Commenting on this week's reading assignment for book club, I propose that illustrating falls into the category of hidden art that Edith Schaeffer is promoting.

While she includes some of her own sketches in this section, which are very good and helpful, especially for keeping youngsters attentive during church,  I found myself curious about the illustrator of Hidden Art.

So, who is Deidre Ducker?


Nee Haim, Deidre encountered the Schaeffers while enrolled at the English school in Champery (1948-52).  She attended Francis' little church and together with classmates would enjoy the Schaeffers hospitality.  She married Richard Ducker in 1960, and together they were some of the first official students at L'Abri.

As an artist, Deidre had the privilege to illustrate not just the Hidden Art of Homemaking, but also L'Abri.   Only one additional title shows up when searching for her work: The Reason Why You Need Christ.

But back to the topic at hand which is developing creativity, aka practicing undiscovered talents, I am encouraged that there could be something artistic buried deep in my bones.

For years I'd never seen my mother do anything other than doodle, generally while talking on the telephone.  After her children were grown/gone, she started taking art classes.  For 25 years she painted.  Here's a link to her website.  Now (almost 80 years old) she *paints* with Adobe's Photoshop program, creating greeting cards, scrapbooks, and photo albums.

She's definitely a spark lighting fire to dry wood.




Photo taken after this past Sunday's dinner when we enjoyed this menu ~


Baked Chicken Piquant
Brown Rice
Steamed Green Beans
Chutneyed Sweet Peppers
French Rolls

Strawberry-Rhubard Pie a la mode

CWAC Review


Back home from our week-long family reunion at Callaway Gardens, the celebratory week is really not complete until we've recapped the festivities around the Sunday dinner table.  Here's the only photo I remembered to take that day ~

of my tablescape.

I'm kicking myself for forgetting to photograph the food and the people  :-(

Any who.....

On Friday (the last full day of our reunion), I started thinking about Sunday's menu when touring the Jenny Jack Sun Farm in Pine Mountain, GA,

That's when I made my purchase of:

Green Beans, Yellow Squash, Sweet Onions, Purple Peppers, Tomatoes, and Cantaloupe.

A veggie plate was formulating on my taste buds, but once I got home I realized that I had miscounted the number of guests.

So, I added a smoked turkey breast to round out the meal.

Here's the menu ~

Bloody Mary Cocktail or White Wine Spritzer (while I rolled out the biscuits)

Bates Farm
Smoked Turkey Breast (a 2010 Christmas gift from my brother &his wife)
Brown Rice en casserole
Steamed Green Beans
Sauteed Yellow Squash 'n Onions
Whole Wheat Biscuits

Sweet Tea or Water

Blueberry Crisp a la mode
Coffee

We told lots of stories, shared photo memory cards, and made plans for next year.

Yup, that's right - already talking about next year!

Mother's Day Menu

Beef Stew Gaston
Steamed Cauliflower
Multi-grain Roll

2006 Cotes du Rhone Red Wine

Apple Pie a la mode
Coffee

The fun thing about this menu is that I prepared enough to send each of my guests home with leftovers - enough for another meal.

Photo of my nephew with his grandmother.

Yes, grandfather was there.

And KSJ.

Le Cadeau Ideal?  NCIS Season 3  ;-)

Sunday Sermon at Chalcedon Presbyterian Church was delivered by Guest Pastor Donald D. Crowe, author of Creation Without Compromise.

Traditional Fare

New Year's Day Menu

Collard Greens
w/pepper sauce

Roast Pork

Baked Sweet Potato

Black-eyed Peas
w/Chow Chow

Cornbread


Then dessert ~

(more) Cornbread, butter, and lots of sorghum syrup!



This year one dinner guest enjoyed sorghum for the first time.


Is there any sorghum at your house?

Day Before Thanksgiving Menu

Honey Baked Ham
Potato Salad
Succotash
Stewed Cabbage

Cavit Pinot Noir
Sweet Tea

Vanilla Ice Cream
Chocolate Chip Cookies




O most merciful Father, who hast blessed the labours of the husbandman in the returns of the fruits of the earth; We give the humble and hearty thanks for this thy bounty; beseeching thee to continue thy loving-kindness to us, that our land may still yield her increase, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen!

Fall Menu

Beef with Currants

Baked Barley

Steamed Carrots

Sauted Kale

Buttered French Bread

Black Swan Merlot (2008)

Dessert (recipe link) 

Vivian's Apple Pie a la mode

Memory Verse of the Week ~

So teach us to number our days,

that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Summer Supper

Chicken Salad-stuffed Tomato
Fruit 'n Nut Bread
Fresh Pineapple Chunks

Pinot Grigio


Home-grown tomatoes are prized possessions in the South and I dont pretend that I can grow them.  I do, however, gladly receive them from friends and give them their place of honor at mealtime.

Just because we'd already enjoyed BLTs earlier this week did not mean that we couldnt have tomatoes once again. 

Tomatoes inspire not only new menus (chicken salad creation by DD#3), but also gastronomic verse in the style of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Here's some tomato love poetry which I copied from a 2006 Washington Post article.

 Sonnet #43, Kitchen Style.

How do I love thee, tomato? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and might
My palate can reach, when remembering out of sight
Your peak month of August, when you bear fruits of juicy Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most urgent need for a BLT, by sun or moon-light.
I love thee with abandon, as Venus might her Mars or Vulcan
I love thee purely, as surely as the summer wanes
I love thee with the passion of my appetite
Above all fruits, and with my childhood's eye of Georgia tomatoes
As if they were falling from the sky.
I love thee with a hunger I seemed to lose
With my lost innocence (and the icky mealy tomatoes of January)! I love thee with the smell,
Unlike no other in the garden, and your vine-ripened sweetness
That bring me smiles, tears, only at this time of year! -- and if the farmers choose
I shall but love thee better after many bowls of gazpacho.



What your favorite summer garden vegetable or fruit?

Bless This Food, O Lord

Shrimp 'n Grits, Pickled Beets, and Green Beans
French Bread

Cavit Pinot Grigio (not pictured because it's all gone)  ;-)


We enjoyed this meal after hearing a sermon on Psalm 75.  This marks the halfway point in our pastor's preaching through the book of Psalms.  In his introductory remarks, JCMIII marveled at how this divine poetry *gets inside us*.  Despite the vernacular, I grasp his meaning and concur.

My prayer is that the words of the psalmist(s) become so familiar to me that they would always come easy in conversation.  Even more so, I hope that they spill out of my mouth when I am old and gray, and perhaps not in my right mind.

Then this food, this bread, this Word of God, would truly be a blessing.

We closed the service by singing Psalm 75 to the tune Belmont C.M.

Here's the paraphrase ~

To Thee, O God, we render thanks,

To Thee give thanks sincere

Because Thy wondrous works declare

That Thy great name is near.

When my appointed time is come,

I'll judge with even hand.

Though earth and all its dwellers melt,

I make its pillars stand.

I to the boastful said, "Boast not!"

To vile men, "Lift no horn!

Do not lift up your horn on high,

Nor speak with neck of scorn!"

For not from east nor west nor wilds

Comes exaltation nigh,

For God is judge, debasing one,

Another raising high.

The LORD pours out a foaming cup

Which well-mixed wine contains,

And every wicked one on earth

Must drink; the dregs he drains.

But I will tell it evermore,

To Jacob's God sing praise;

And horns of sinners I'll cut off,

But just men's horns I'll raise.

From the Book of Psalms for Singing, copyright 1973 and published by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.


Bless this food, O Lord,

and us to Thy service.

In Jesus' Name, I pray

AMEN

Summertime

Memorial  (Decoration) days have long been set aside to remember and honor war heroes.

 Principally after the War Between the States, most legislatures established specific dates scattered throughout the Spring.  Georgia (and Florida) chose April 26th; North and South Carolina May 10th (Stonewall Jackson's demise); Kentucky and Louisiana chose June 3rd (Jeff Davis's birthday). 

Here we are now, the fourth (or final) Monday in May, celebrating since 1967, the federally-legislated holiday.  Many strive to keep us true to the purpose and others ignore them, thinking that *memorial day* signifies the beginning of Summer.

Sigh ~

I have four nephews in the Army right now.

I wonder what each is doing today?

One is in Jerusalem, according to his FB status for R&R.

One just returned from his honeymoon, again FB status info.

The activities of the third and fourth are unknown, but neither are in Afghanistan.... at the moment.

But whom I really like to remember is William Ferguson Smith, Confederate soldier and great, great grandfather. I've written about him here.

All in all, we'll enjoy our traditional summertime fare and pray for our soldiers before we partake.

BBQ Babyback Pork Ribs
(recipe compliments of Janet Walworth)
Oriental Coleslaw
Corn on the Cob
Toasted French Bread

Iced Tea or Beer

Ice Cream Sandwiches

What do you think?

I'm reading up on the Battle of Seven Pines.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One ha' penny, two ha' penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha' penny,
Two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns!






So, it's true. I'm enjoying half of a hot cross bun for breakfast. It's sharing the plate with my hard boiled egg and my hot tea (PG Tips compliments of my favorite Brit.)

And for the curious (or not) ~ here's Sunday's after church menu:

Roasted Leg of Spring Lamb
Eggplant Casserole
Steamed Asparagus
Sauted Sweet Orange Peppers
Croissants

Black Swan Shiraz

Carrot Cake
Coffee


Lots to do between now and then.

Pictures will follow.

Corned Beef and Cabbage


Call me impatient.

I couldnt wait any longer.

Even though St Patrick's Day is not until March 17th,


I've already enjoyed the traditional fare once this past Sunday.

Now I'm looking forward to planned-overs tonight!


I braised the corned brisket (for three hours on Saturday morning in a dutch oven filled with water) and wrapped it in aluminum foil for Sunday's re-heating (with the time bake function on my oven.)

Then I used some of the liquid (stock) in the pressure cooker to steam the potatoes, onions, and carrots.

I re-heated the veggies while I was at church on Sunday by using a timer attached to the crockpot?








See the cabbage there in the background.... on the far left?

I did wait until we got home from church to fix that. 

After slicing the head of cabbabe into big chunks, I steamed it in the pressure cooker with approximately 1 cup of stock.


Here's a link to the Irish Soda Bread recipe complete with photo.

A Cavit Pinot Noir complimented the flavorful meal.

Dessert, you wonder?

Georgia Peaches I'd *put up* last August, then served with Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream, a Pecan Sandie Cookie and a cup of Starbucks Verona Coffee.

What's your favorite way to celebrate St Patrick's Day?

Sufficiency of Scripture for the Church

Here ye, here ye!

I have heard this fine sermon twice today and am prepared to listen again.

Join me?

Using Exekiel 43 as a starting point, my pastor of 32 years preached the Good News by proclaiming the Headship of  Christ for His Church.


The title of *Senior Pastor* or *Bishop* is nothing compared to the Name of Jesus to which every knee shall bow.

The Westminster Divines relied upon Ezekiel 43 to introduce their Book of Church Order in 1643.

And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, - and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.

In the same way that Christ died for the invisible church (the repentent, redeemed sinner), God also died the visible church (repentent and redeemed)AND sees her as white as snow: perfect and blameless because of the work and sacrifice of His Son.

This is so comforting.

While it may seem unusual to use Ezekiel 43 as the basis for the sermon, there were a host of additional Scriptural references.  But, do take the time to read Exekiel chapters 40 - 48 in order to understand the context in which the prophet was speaking in order to focus and train the eyes of his charges on future glory.

Restoration!

We sang hymns to reinforce these doctrines.  From the (blue) Trinity Hymnal:

Behold! The Mountain of the Lord (272) - based on Is 2:2 (Scottish paraphrase)
Zion, Founded on the Mountains (369) -  based on Ps 87:1

Approach My Soul (423) - based on Heb $;!4, 16 and written by John Newton (a favorite)

Glorious Things of Thee (269) - again Ps 87 but verse 3, and John Newton

We celebrated communion and submitted our tithes, hoping in the Lord.

Then, never forgetting that a good theology will invariably produce a good meal,

we returned home show enjoy Sunday's menu  ~

Beef Stew
French Bread
Merlot

Begian Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts
Black Coffee



Yes, there was broccoli in the brisker ....only to be overlooked.

I'd had enough vegetables for one day. (ref Dan 1)
Grin



Artwork Credit:
Open Door Chapel
Oil on Canvas
16" x 20"
by Margaret Jordan

Fall Birthday Menu


Pork Roast (crock pot)
with apples, onions, celery & raisins

Fordhook Lima Beans
Steamed Cabbage
Corn Muffins




Cavit Pinot Noir


Pumpkin Cheesecake
(Cheesecake Factory)


Opening presents is fun no matter where you are!

Special Cakes

This past Sunday we celebrated DH's birthday with this fancy dessert.










I myself love to cook and bake. But this year I'd just returned from a week-long family reunion at Callaway Gardens and didn't have enough time to *do it all*. Thank goodness I believe that outsourcing is an integral part of being an efficient homemaker :)

That's how Jill's Cakes and Bakes comes into play.

While I was busy in the kitchen preparing this menu:

Roasted Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Steamed Broccoli
Beet Salad (actually Sis-in-law prepared this family favorite)
Pickle Tray complete with peaches, okra, and olives
Garlic Bread

Plantation Tea
Coffee

Jill had already done her part.

It just seemed *smart* take care of this detail before I left for vacation. The holiday weekend dictated the timetable and the shop was closed on Saturday. So, the cake had to be picked up on Thursday; sat boxed in the 'fridge for three days; and still was maximally moist for Sunday evening's party.

Jill also prepared the cake for DD#2's wedding last August.

I really hope her shop continues to grow.

If you live nearby, I highly recommend her cakes.












What about you?

Who helps you out in a pinch?

Is there a special bakery you recommend?

Father's Day Menu


Baked Pork Chops 'n
Rice

Collard Greens

Grilled Yellow Squash





Pinwheel Croissants

Black Swan Merlot
Tea/Coffee

Banana Pudding
(made with Nutter Butter cookies)



At church today we were blessed by worshipping together with the saints: singing hymns and psalms, hearing the preached Word of God, participating in the Lord's Supper, and receiving the benediction.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! Psalm 57:11