Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Great, a cookie that contains two items that are good for us: pumpkin and oatmeal. The bonus is that it tastes good especially enrobed in cookie dough!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal - not cooked!
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.

Cream the butter and gradually add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to just combine. Add the pumpkin and then the flour mixture. Mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop dough by tablespoonsful onto a lightly greased or parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove cookies to a rack to cool.

Ideas . . .

Remember, there is more than one flavor of 'chocolate' chips these days!

1/2 cup of diced dried apricots is good.

You could do half chocolate chips and half raisins.

A thin lemon icing on cooled cookies raises them to a new level.

Just to chuckle!

Some quirky humor from my college daughter! Check out her blog:

http://theinjoke.blogspot.com/

She just posted four, new comic strips.

Another good one for the day!

It's never too late to become the
person you might have been."
- George Elliot

If only we can firmly instill this in our children . . .

People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives.

- J. Michael Straczynski

Fast and Easy Chocolate Dessert

Got this recipe from a friend. Haven't had time to try it, yet, but it looks good. Anything chocolate with my family goes over well. I like the fact that you can throw it together and not worry about it the rest of the day. It is great when you can fuss over a wonderful meal and still provide dessert.

Chocolate Surprise

1 package chocolate cake mix 1 container (8 ounces) sour cream 1 cup chocolate chip morsels 1 cup water 4 eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 package instant chocolate pudding mix Spray Crock-Pot slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or lightly grease. Mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, eggs, oil and pudding mix in bowl by hand. Pour into Crock-Pot slow cooker. cover and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours or on High 3 to 4 hours. Serve hot or warm with ice cream or whipped cream topping. This is a recipe made for personal creativity! Any flavor cake mix and instant pudding will work . . . And it doesn’t necessarily have to be chocolate chips. Don’t forget butterscotch, vanilla, peanut butter . . .

The Modern Diocese

Words you never expect to hear: Your parish is being closed. It is happening more and more yet, the impact, when it happens to you is devastating.

After the initial shock and, yes, tears, you begin to ask questions. Is the parish a financial drain on the diocese? Is attendance down? Are spiritual and physical needs not being met? And you check into these questions and discover that not only is the church mortgage covered, there is a surplus in the parish account. Many of the Masses have standing room only. Morning Mass, early as it is, has it’s faithful attendees. There are prayer groups, various parish associations, and charity workers. The bishop, however, wants to close the parish and consolidate it with another one. One would assume the co-parish in consolidation is going through many of the same heartbreaks and pain.

On the bishop’s plus side, he would be able to provide the parishes more adequately with pastors given the current vocation crisis. Instead of the several‘small’ parishes, he would have a few megaparishes, newly-built, and a icon to modern progressiveness. Where are the people in this plan?

Closing local parishes and moving them to an advantageous location for all people, leaves many people behind. Will these people find another parish? This seems unlikely as the consolidation effectively moves several parishes out of reach. Human nature indicates that many people would just stop attending Mass, perhaps, migrating to a local church, possibly not Catholic. Was this possibility figured into the bishop’s calculations? Should it be a matter of concern?

On the other hand, there would be the people who wander from parish to parish every Sunday, never daring to settle in, merely fulfilling their Sunday obligation, and tossing in a token dollar for the collection. They haven’t any loyalty to one particular parish now. Their time, talents, and treasures will not find a place in the Church. Seems that would be a big impact on diocesan finances eventually. Was this possibility figured into the bishop’s calculations? Should it be a matter of concern?

A new church that seats over 2,000 is an impressive sight. Being part of the masses at Mass makes you more of a number, however, rather than a soul. Would your pastor even know you actually exist? When he greets people after Mass, will he remember a face or merely cope with this weekly exercise of handshaking more people than he can count. Would you be merely an envelope number in the office bookkeeping?

Bishops continually speak of the Catholic parish, the church community. Many parishes facing closure have a long history of community. Children have grown up in them and now-elderly parents find comfort in the pews. They are a parish. They are known. If they aren’t at Mass, someone will notice, care, and investigate. Building community is not a quick growing event. It takes years of small building blocks of humanity to just begin to perfect it . . . and it will never be perfect but the foundation is there. You close churches, you close off a lot of established life. You close off community. You wonder if the bishop views community and parish life in the same way you have experienced it in action?

One can understand the bishop’s panic at the lack of vocations. It doesn’t look good when you don’t have enough qualified men studying to step in the void. It’s a shame the parish churches have to take on the burden. Many dioceses are experiencing rapid growth in vocations to the point where every parish will be covered and then some. Instead of closing down parishes in progress, a bishop might take time to study what is bringing in vocations in other dioceses and, perhaps, work towards that end first. Megaparishes may look impressive but will our young people find examples in the crowds that will lead them to a sacrificial life?

Megaparishes will solve the bishop’s immediate problems, to a point. They won’t promote vocations. And, to be honest, most people will, eventually, migrate way up the road to the modern hulk on the hill featuring comfortable stadium seating for hundreds. The bishop will pull in the majority and the smaller groups of people left behind in the closures will be minimal compared with the ‘big’ picture. The bishop will have the larger number of Catholics safely within the confines of their Faith. You can’t sacrifice the ‘greater good’ for a few, right? Jesus spoke of that in his parable about the Good Shepherd. I wonder what He thinks about all this?

Another Pumpkin Muffin - Can there be too many?

As you might have figured out, we like to incorporate pumpkin into our recipes around here and don't wait into the holiday season to do so. Here is yet another pumpkin recipe that will send out a waft of good smells that will bring your family to the kitchen. Try making them clean up the baking mess in exchange for a fresh, hot muffin! Hey! It could happen!

Pumpkin Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened (one stick)
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cukp evaporated milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Topping

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons softened butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the egg. Add the pumpkin and milk and mix thoroughly. Add the baking soda, salt, spices and zest. Gently incorporate the flour and don't overbeat. Fold in the walnuts. Pour into vegetable oil sprayed muffin tins.

Mix together the topping ingredients until they are crumbly. Sprinkle over each muffin and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden. Makes 12 muffins.

Ideas . . .

Mix a softened stick of butter with a touch of honey and grated orange zest to serve with the muffins.

Rules of Organization by Barbara Barthelette!

Worry no longer! I have set out basic rules for making your life easier and taking the stress out of having a home and family! :-)

1. Get everyone longer jeans and skirts to cover mismatched socks.

2. Better yet, get everyone beige socks.

3. Coordinate children’s clothing to match the main meal of the day; red - spaghetti, brown - stew, etc.

4. Make safety pins a fashion statement.

5. Let dog and cat in the house just before short-notice guests arrive and blame the animals for any clutter.

6. Ban socks and promote sandals during the summer.

7. Go ahead and wash all the whites with that one red sweatshirt and avoid the suspense of when will it happen.

8. Explain away cobwebby corners as science studies in process on arachnids.

9. Keep closet doors scrubbed, cleaned, and never open them when anyone outside the family is in the house.

10. Never date the messages written in dust.

Cranberry-Apple Sauce

When we were shopping at our favorite warehouse store, yesterday, I saw they had big bags of cranberries on sale. My favorite time of the year! I purchased three bags and secured them in our freezer at home. They are fresh but freeze wonderfully and we enjoy them in many recipes during the year especially in smoothies. You aren't likely to find them in the stores past January so I make sure I stock up during the holiday season.

One of the mainstays of my Thanksgiving table is always a large dish of homemade Cranberry-Apple sauce. It goes so well with both the bread stuffing and the turkey. I also provides a bright spot of color midst the turkey, stuffing, and gravy!

Cranberry-Apple Sauce
3 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tart apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 teaspoons of freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest
1/2 cup orange juice (No juice? Water is okay as a substitute.)

Cook the cranberries, 1/2 cup water, and sugar over medium heat until the cranberries burst open, about 8-10 minutes. Add the apples, lemon zest, orange zest, and orange juice and stir to combine. Cook until the apples are tender. Don't overcook until they are mushy! This takes about 10 minutes. Stir as needed to prevent burning. Cool and store in the refrigerator. Should be served chilled but we have been known to enjoy it soon after it is cooked!

Don't want apples in your cranberry sauce? Use four cups of cranberries and leave out the apples.

Sharing a favorite book . . .

This is one of my favorite books. It is out of print but still possible to find it in some dark shelf in the library or on-line. It is well worth the read.

Title: Judith’s Marriage

Author: Bryan Houghton

In this book, we find a woman determined to maintain the Faith she converted to in the 1950's in spite of the many challenges presented to Catholics all over the world in the sixties. Her greatest joy and deepest hurt all come from the religion that brought her should and union with God to light.

Although fiction, this book provides an excellent story and history of the times preceding and following the Vatican II counsel as seen and lived by a Catholic woman and her family. Whether you embrace the liturgy you find in our churches today or long for the pre-Vatican II times, you will probably read this book in one sitting to see how it all turns out for Judith and her marriage.

There are many ways to die for your Faith and it doesn’t always require a bloody demise in uncivilized climes. Sometimes, martyrdom comes slowly through words, deeds, and actions. And, sometimes, people, like Judith, receive their suffering from those who should have cared for her spiritual welfare the most.

It all comes down to free will . . .!

"A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world."
-- John le Carre

"Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace."
-- Oscar Wilde

"Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less."
-- Rabbi Julius Gordon

"I have too much respect for the idea of God to make it responsible for such an absurd world."
-- Georges Duhamel