Pumpkin Soup

Here's yet another picture of a soup I've made this month.

I had some for lunch with brown bread.

That *wedge* in the picture was my dessert:

Brie stuffed with fig preserves and roasted, salted pecans and baked in puff pastry.


Yum!



Here's the link for the recipe.

Stay tuned for more photos because the split pea will be served next week as well as turkey noodle.

We Gather Together



Eight adults were in the dining room. The kitchen table was set for five first cousins.

Italian White Bean and Sausage Soup




Yummy and different! Check out this recipe from Janet who is the sister of Donna. I shared this with my office friends, who gave it rave reviews.

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Family Poetry

Absence

With leaden foot Time creeps along
While Delia is away:
With her, not plaintive was the song,
Nor tedious was the day.

Ah, envious Pow'r! reverse my doom;
Now double thy career,
Strain ev'ry nerve, stretch ev'ry plume,
And rest them when she's here!

Richard Jago
English Cleric
1715 - 1781

Wonder if we're related?

Magnolia


I would like to plant a magnolia in my back yard. Click on the time to tell me about a favorite tree in your yard.

Turkey Stock

Today I am slow-roasting a turkey. I know it's a little early. Thanksgiving is still five days hence. But I will need the stock. So, after pulling all the meat off the bones this evening, I will freeze the meat for later use. I will put all the bones and skin in a large (8qt) stock pot and add two carrots, one very large white onion, two stalks celery, a clove of garlic, a few peppercorns, and enough water to cover all that. After bringing it to a boil, I will reduce the heat and let in simmer four hours with the lid cocked. After it cools downs a bit, I will drain the stock, toss out the bones/skins etc, and place the remaining liquid in the refrigerator to chill. The next day, I will skim the hardened fat off the top of the stock and relish in the taste of homemade turkey stock.

Now you are wondering what I will do with that stock. I need at least six cups for the cornbread dressing and four cups for the pearl onion gravy. Oh, and six cups for the pumpkin soup. That only leaves a bit for turkey noodle soup or turkey tetrazzini, two of my favorite Thanksgiving leftovers.

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Thanksgiving Blessings

Today I made two dozen of these treats. Plus I roasted some Georgia pecans for the upcoming holidays.

Fun website for stirring up creative and organizational juices.

How ready are you for next Thursday?

Onlookers by Lucy Shaw

Behind our shield of health, each
of us must sense another's anguish
second-hand; we are agnostic
in the face of dying. So Joseph
felt, observer of the push
and splash of birth, and even Mary,
mourner, under the cross's arm.

Only their son, and God's,
in bearing all our griefs
felt them first-hand, climbing
himself our rugged hill of pain.
His nerves, enfleshed, carried
the messages of nails, the tomb's
chill. His ever-open wounds
still blazon back to us the penalty
we never bore, and heaven
gleams for us more real,
crossed with that human blood.

Wow! Have you ever had a poem grab the the first time you read it? To me it usually takes reading over and over to comprehend most poems. Furthermore, there is a Flannery O'Connor quote after the title in the book Sacrifice of Praise where I found Onlookers.

Sickness is a place...where there's no company, where nobody can follow.

Suffice it to say that I am praying for those who are ill and infirm today.

Click on the time to comment and leave the name of a sick friend who needs prayer.

Hillsdale in the News

Wish I could have been at this dinner party.

Kudos to Michael Sessions

Isaiah's Job

Albert Jay Nock is the author of a very insightful article written in 1936. Carmon mentions it. And to you, I commend it as well.

Be encouraged :)

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Integration

In the second to the last paragraph of Mrs. Schaeffer's chapter entitled *Integration,* she states: 'This true integration comes only when man is integrated with the Trinity.'

I am mildly intrigued by Rosa Parks

O Lord, help me to see people the way You do.

Quick Tortellini and Spinach Soup


2 Tbs olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 large onion, minced
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
13 Cups chicken broth
13 oz spinach/cheese tortellini
30 oz crush tomatoes, packed in puree
10 oz fresh spinach, coarsely chopped



Heat olive oil in large stop pot over medium high heat. Sautee onion and garlic, until translucent. Add herbs. Stir well. Add broth and bring to a boil. Stir in tortellini. Simmer 10-12 mins until tortellini is cooked. Stir in tomatoes and simmer another 5 mins. Add spinach. Cover and turn off heat.

Ladle soup into warm bowls and top liberally with grated parmesan cheese.


This was sooooo easy and sooooo yummy on our first very cool night of Fall. Click time to comment :)

Mrs. Schaeffer's quote for the day:
*Food and meal-times shared have always been thought of as a closer kind of communication than simply talking to people, without eating together.*

Color and Organization

This post is actually a test of my ability to add pictures to my site. You're looking at a book shelf in my office and the canvas baskets are a tool to help with organization. A before picture would really add to the explanation. Not sure if I have one. This Fall has seen some accomplishment in weeding out the unnecessary clutter. Click on the time to comment on one area where you have succeeded in organization!

Dana

Bold : Irish


Charming, witty, original and idealistic you have a creative and inventive mind with great intuition. Your broad vision, perceptive powers and compassion gives you an instinctive understanding of peoples needs. You are a natural leader who has a talent for inspiring and teaching others and always display fairness, honesty and integrity. You are always seeking a new challenge for your vast creative potential.


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Dessert

One Marble Brownie
Scoops, Breyers Coffee Ice Cream
Drizzle, Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Enjoy after a long day of cleaning, scrubbing, and re-organizing.

Click on the time to comment about one of your favorite desserts.

Chicken Ritz

Dip boneless, skinless chicken breasts in melted butter. Then dredge in a crumb mixture which is made from 1 lb of Ritz Crackers crumbled and stirred with 1/2 cup grated Parmeson Cheese.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes on foil-lined baking sheet in an oven which has been preheated to 325.



Planned-over meal from this recipe: Homemade Chick Fil-A Sandwich

On a fresh bun, layer mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickle before adding warm 1/4 chicken breast. Serve with chips and coleslaw.




Many moons ago, this chicken was served with a sauce, which I never prepare now. But for the sake of posterity, here it is - 1 can condensed mushroom soup and 8 oz sour cream. Stir together and warm over low heat.

News Flash

The most important thing that one can do this week is sit under and listen to the preaching of the Word of God. What was proclaimed in the sermon you heard this morning?

Despite the fact that I heard lectures all weekend from some of the most important Christian theologians/preachers/evangelists in the US, despite the fact that a Supreme Court nominee is being questioned for his *fitness*, despite the fact that two of my daughters participated in the GSU Honor Chorus this weekend, NOTHING surpassed the sermon I heard on the exposition of the Word of God, found in Amos.

Pray that in this time of famine of sound hearing and preaching, which represents God's judgment on our apostate culture, that many more would be convicted not only to hear and but also to preach.

Click on the time to post a comment. Thanks

Labor Day*s*

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. Exodus 20:9

Dont get me wrong; I love Monday holidays...no mail to sift through. But do turn your attention to Chuck Colson's commentary today. Be mindful that being *able* to work six days and rest on the seventh is a blessing.

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Spurgeon

*But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord.* Morning 8/30

I despise the thought that I could be labeled unfaithful, untrusting, or insulting to my Savior. But in fact, I have acted as such. Forgive me, Lord.

Eureka

Used to express triumph upon finding or discovering something.

I am so tickled that I thought to wear a pair of 20 year old glasses, while I work on my computer. Now I can see without holding my bifocals at a crazy angle!

Let me explain. Ordinarily I wear contacts: one for distance and one for close-up for the entire day. Also, I own a pair of prescription bifocals, which I wear for approximately one hour in the early morning and one hour in the evening. But I have noticed that the bifocal glasses are not comfortable to wear while working on the computer. If I take them off completely, the screen is a blur. If I wear just a set of reading glasses, the screen is still a blur. Hmmm What about those very old glasses in which the distance prescription is too weak. TaaDaa!

Are you impressed that I could find those *old* glasses. What a pack rat!!

Click on the time to leave a comment. One day I will figure out how to change that>