In my opinion, a near-perfect day! I think the time spent at Adoration before lunch certainly helped on that score. Chores got done, dinner preparations in place, so I earned some time at the sewing machine. I gratefully put it to good use and got almost all of my 42 quilt squares pieced and ready for the next step.
As it usually goes with me, I'm halfway into one project and my mind is already turning to other ideas. I always have a hard time staying on course when the 'creativity' sets in.
A huge cloud burst this afternoon put a wet shine on our streets and dipped the temperatues down to much cooler. I'm glad I settled on hot soup for dinner. My husband jokes that I seem to make hot soup way too often in the heat of summer. Got it right this evening!
Looking forward to an evening with my family and some time to work on a shawl I'm crocheting. Hope the good Lord blesses you all with the same!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Hot Potato Soup - from my kitchen to yours!
Sharing our evening meal with you only without the bacon as it still is a Friday in Lent!
Hot Potato Soup
1/4 cup bacon drippings
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk
4 cups peeled, finely diced new potatoes
1-1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
1 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
In a large kettle, heat bacon drippings. Saute onion and celery, until soft. Blend in flour over medium heat until golden brown. Stir in chicken broth and milk. Add potatoes, stirring until soup bubbles and thickens slightly. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese one handful at a time until melted and smooth. Season with mustard, salt, and pepper. Serve with a sprinkle of crispy bacon pieces and finely chopped parsley.
Hot Potato Soup
1/4 cup bacon drippings
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk
4 cups peeled, finely diced new potatoes
1-1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
1 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
In a large kettle, heat bacon drippings. Saute onion and celery, until soft. Blend in flour over medium heat until golden brown. Stir in chicken broth and milk. Add potatoes, stirring until soup bubbles and thickens slightly. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese one handful at a time until melted and smooth. Season with mustard, salt, and pepper. Serve with a sprinkle of crispy bacon pieces and finely chopped parsley.
Last-minute ending for a dinner . . .
There are some days when I can manage dinner or preparing a dessert. Naturally, dinner get done, first, much to the dismay of children. Here is a quick sweet ending to your meal that doesn't take any time at all to prepare and tastes good, too!
Rosy Stewed Pears
3-4 fresh pears peeled and thinly sliced.
⅔ cup cranberry juice
2 teaspoons of freshly grated lemon zest
1 cinnamon stick broken into pieces
Combine all ingredients and microwave for approximately 10 minutes. Let cool, remove the cinnamon stick and enjoy. They have nice tang and the recipe can be easily doubled.
Hint: Always have a carton of vanilla ice cream socked away in the freezer for just this occasion as the pears taste great over a scoop.
Rosy Stewed Pears
3-4 fresh pears peeled and thinly sliced.
⅔ cup cranberry juice
2 teaspoons of freshly grated lemon zest
1 cinnamon stick broken into pieces
Combine all ingredients and microwave for approximately 10 minutes. Let cool, remove the cinnamon stick and enjoy. They have nice tang and the recipe can be easily doubled.
Hint: Always have a carton of vanilla ice cream socked away in the freezer for just this occasion as the pears taste great over a scoop.
Echo of a Requiem
To say my mother enjoyed music would be an understatement. She loved everything from Gregorian chant to opera and musicals. If there was a church choir, my mother was there, participating, directing, and living each song through every note she sang. Her love of anything musical spilled over into our home. In spite of myself, I was exposed to many evenings of music, whether it was choir practice, a musical on television or time spent at a symphony. Unfortunately, I was unappreciative a lot of the time and only went along because I was underage and had no choice!
All my growing up years, my mother’s sweet, high soprano accompanied her daily tasks. I don’t think she even knew she was singing or humming. I silently rebelled during my teens and am guilty of turning up my radio to tune out my mother’s songs. I often wished she would just stop, if only for a day or two.
Over the years, my mother suffered several small but destructive strokes. They were silently impairing her ability to deal with day-to-day life. She was in a home for about four of those years and I watched my determined, witty, fun-loving mother become confused and scared. The music stopped although it was a couple of years before I realized it was gone.
My mother died in 1997 around three o’clock on a Friday afternoon in Lent. I gave thanks to God that she was through with her last sufferings. I also thanked God that my husband, children and I had an hour with her late in the evening the night before she passed away. She had not been very responsive the last couple of weeks, however, when we walked into the room and she heard my voice and that of my husband, she struggled mightily to sit up and say something. I think she was saying good-bye. We sat on either side of her bed for that hour. We said aloud the prayers she could no longer utter. We made sure she had a Scapular and St. Benedict medal for her final time here on earth. I cried because I knew I could have been a much better daughter and now it was too late to give her earthly comfort and attention. I wept because I knew the music would be gone when she left the world.
When I got the news of her passing, a friend told me I could still be close to her, souls could talk to souls, especially ones that had loved each other so much. As I wandered aimlessly around the house, trying to absorb the loss, I saw my choir music. I knew I would be singing in the Latin Mass choir on Palm Sunday. I realized with fresh tears that my mother’s music hadn’t stopped, it was merely time for her to pass it on.
All my growing up years, my mother’s sweet, high soprano accompanied her daily tasks. I don’t think she even knew she was singing or humming. I silently rebelled during my teens and am guilty of turning up my radio to tune out my mother’s songs. I often wished she would just stop, if only for a day or two.
Over the years, my mother suffered several small but destructive strokes. They were silently impairing her ability to deal with day-to-day life. She was in a home for about four of those years and I watched my determined, witty, fun-loving mother become confused and scared. The music stopped although it was a couple of years before I realized it was gone.
My mother died in 1997 around three o’clock on a Friday afternoon in Lent. I gave thanks to God that she was through with her last sufferings. I also thanked God that my husband, children and I had an hour with her late in the evening the night before she passed away. She had not been very responsive the last couple of weeks, however, when we walked into the room and she heard my voice and that of my husband, she struggled mightily to sit up and say something. I think she was saying good-bye. We sat on either side of her bed for that hour. We said aloud the prayers she could no longer utter. We made sure she had a Scapular and St. Benedict medal for her final time here on earth. I cried because I knew I could have been a much better daughter and now it was too late to give her earthly comfort and attention. I wept because I knew the music would be gone when she left the world.
When I got the news of her passing, a friend told me I could still be close to her, souls could talk to souls, especially ones that had loved each other so much. As I wandered aimlessly around the house, trying to absorb the loss, I saw my choir music. I knew I would be singing in the Latin Mass choir on Palm Sunday. I realized with fresh tears that my mother’s music hadn’t stopped, it was merely time for her to pass it on.
Brrrrr . . . the cold and rain has arrived!
I arrive at church early every morning so I can get in my daily walk before Mass. I am the best reference as to how cold is it by how fast my walk goes! This morning, I kept up a very brisk clip as it was COLD!
Potato/cheese soup is on my menu this evening to celebrate a brief return to winter. It's been awhile since I've made this soup so it will be doubly welcome today after we all complete a good day's work.
Already have my ironing board out and after I catch up on my husband's shirts for work, I hope to get a few more squares on my quilt pieced together. It is also Friday which means all-day Adoration at our parish so I plan to drop by and visit our Lord before lunch. Has the makings of a good day so I'm praying God grants it continue to be so!
Potato/cheese soup is on my menu this evening to celebrate a brief return to winter. It's been awhile since I've made this soup so it will be doubly welcome today after we all complete a good day's work.
Already have my ironing board out and after I catch up on my husband's shirts for work, I hope to get a few more squares on my quilt pieced together. It is also Friday which means all-day Adoration at our parish so I plan to drop by and visit our Lord before lunch. Has the makings of a good day so I'm praying God grants it continue to be so!
Our government . . . deep sigh . . .
The Republicans want to defund Planned Parenthood which I think is fair because why should everyone's tax money go to something that is on the controversial side to most. One politican kept saying it wasn't about abortion but screening tests for women. Not exactly true as the majority of their business goes to abortion and contraceptives. Everyone's money SHOULD be their own with a choice to where it goes.
We desperately need cuts in spending and when one side presents the cuts we need to address, the other side resents any cuts to the entitlement programs. The Republicans would like to pass something that would insure the military pay would not be affected by this delay in balancing the budget and the president won't sign off on it. Tell me, how good an employee would anyone be if they had to do life-risking work and know that their family at home would not be getting any money for food?
The same with so many other union programs. They won't allow realistic cuts that would bring us all closer to a more viable government. In Los Angeles, there is something like a 45% student dropout rate yet the teacher unions want their usual pay hikes, free medical, and good retirements. In the private sector, one can just imagine how long an employee would last doing less than 100% in their job.
The older I get, the more amazed I find myself at the stubborness and blindness of people. We are supposed to have a represetative government but it sure seems that each politican is in it for him/herself. Have to wonder and certainly have to pray.
We desperately need cuts in spending and when one side presents the cuts we need to address, the other side resents any cuts to the entitlement programs. The Republicans would like to pass something that would insure the military pay would not be affected by this delay in balancing the budget and the president won't sign off on it. Tell me, how good an employee would anyone be if they had to do life-risking work and know that their family at home would not be getting any money for food?
The same with so many other union programs. They won't allow realistic cuts that would bring us all closer to a more viable government. In Los Angeles, there is something like a 45% student dropout rate yet the teacher unions want their usual pay hikes, free medical, and good retirements. In the private sector, one can just imagine how long an employee would last doing less than 100% in their job.
The older I get, the more amazed I find myself at the stubborness and blindness of people. We are supposed to have a represetative government but it sure seems that each politican is in it for him/herself. Have to wonder and certainly have to pray.
My childre are glad I'm not a guppy parent! : - )
"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time."
-- Edith Wharton
"A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education."
-- George Bernard Shaw
"Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs."
-- P. J. O'Rourke
-- Edith Wharton
"A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education."
-- George Bernard Shaw
"Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs."
-- P. J. O'Rourke
Been through that!
Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
Japanese Proverb
Japanese Proverb
Who is that knocking at my door . . .
Every month around our neighborhood, the Jehovah Witnesses come streaming in and approaching every door with their booklets and faith sharing. My husband's mother says she NEVER opens the door to them but yells through that, "WE are Catholic and don't believe in your stuff so GO AWAY!" Effective but, in my personal opinion, it doesn't carry out the "they will know we are Christian by our love . . ." concept we should observe in our dealings with anyone.
I don't mind them coming to the door. I gladly open the door and listen to what they have to say and then either defend what they are saying about my faith or share some aspect that we actually have in common. If they get stuck on a set subject line they are supposed to be putting forth that day, I just change the subject. Yes, I defend my religion but I don't demand that they agree with me. When it is all said and done, it is up to God to decide everyone's final outcome.
Lately, however, I'm getting more and more frequent visits which is unusual. Once they discover that I'm firm in my faith, they don't visit again until the next round of new Jehovah Witnesses come by and consider us new territory. I got a visit, yesterday, and while we were talking, I was getting an impression that I couldn't quite figure out. When they left, it hit me that they were the only ones out that day and I was the specific 'target'! I guess being polite has put me on their prospects list!
I won't stop answering the door. I won't stop exchanging points of view. They are, however, going to be very disappointed that I'm not going th change.
Life is always interesting if you participate in it!
I don't mind them coming to the door. I gladly open the door and listen to what they have to say and then either defend what they are saying about my faith or share some aspect that we actually have in common. If they get stuck on a set subject line they are supposed to be putting forth that day, I just change the subject. Yes, I defend my religion but I don't demand that they agree with me. When it is all said and done, it is up to God to decide everyone's final outcome.
Lately, however, I'm getting more and more frequent visits which is unusual. Once they discover that I'm firm in my faith, they don't visit again until the next round of new Jehovah Witnesses come by and consider us new territory. I got a visit, yesterday, and while we were talking, I was getting an impression that I couldn't quite figure out. When they left, it hit me that they were the only ones out that day and I was the specific 'target'! I guess being polite has put me on their prospects list!
I won't stop answering the door. I won't stop exchanging points of view. They are, however, going to be very disappointed that I'm not going th change.
Life is always interesting if you participate in it!
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