Donut Frenzy at Our House!

 I recently acquired one of those mini-donut baking machine gadgets. Initially, I thought them a frivolous idea but once I tried it, I was hooked. It baked up six mini-donuts every three to four minutes. It actually helps to avoid binging on warm donuts because the first few bites of most anything are enough to cure the munchies . . . and, mini-donuts are just that amount. Have to admit, however, I did feel I had to try one of each kind I made.

Oh, and if homemade donuts weren't enough, these were gluten-free donuts!

Here are a few links to cookbooks I like for cooking/baking gluten-free along with one for that handy donut baking gadget.

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Shoestring-Quick-Easy-Love-Fast/dp/0738215937/ref=pd_sim_b_1 This cookbook has the donut recipe in it both plain and chocolate.

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Bible-Editors-Favorite-Recipes/dp/1605537233/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Great, overall cookbook for making gluten-free food.

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Shoestring-Recipes-Eating-Cheap/dp/073821423X Check on Amazon as you can get all three of these cookbooks for around $35.

http://www.amazon.com/Babycakes-DN-6-Doughnut-Maker-Yellow/dp/B005PO9TT4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371052492&sr=8-1&keywords=baby+cake+donut+maker Perfect for making gluten-free donuts. I use a pastry bag for putting the batter in neatly.

 

My secret for the cinnamon donuts? While they are still warm, I brush/dip them in melted butter and then roll them in a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a minute dash of cayenne.

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Friday After the Second Sunday After Pentecost

Solemnity

“…an unending spring of life, giving hope to every person, has streamed precisely from the Heart of God’s Son, who died on the Cross. From the Heart of Christ crucified is born the new humanity redeemed from sin. The man of the year 2000 needs Christ’s Heart to know God and to know himself; he needs it to build the civilization of love.”
Today is the solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The feast dates back to the 11th century, but prior to the 17th century the devotion was embraced mainly by mystics such as St. Bernard of Claivaux and Gertrude of Helfta. In 1673, Margaret Mary Alacoque, received a vision of Jesus’ compassionate heart, pierced by the sins of the world, which gave impetus to the devotion. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated humanity to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He explained the Sacred Heart as both, “a symbol and living image of the infinite love of Christ.”

Wonderful Story . . .

This was a happy ending thanks to a dog!
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/06/06/family-dog-saves-abandoned-newborn-baby-brings-infant-home/
Seems like 'man's best friend' cares more about life than many of the human 'masters' do!

Life Adjustments . . .

Although everyone has to take a driving test in order to get a permit to operate a car, it seems that many forget all they learned the minute they legally get behind the wheel of their own car. It used to be that when a traffic light turned green, I would immediate proceed across the intersection. After many near misses, I have learned that the traffic that previously has the green light are not about to forfeit their right to keep going through the intersection . . . even if they are doing so on the red. These days, I observe the light has turned green, look both ways to see what the other drivers are contemplating, and only then move into the intersection. I don't want to get hit and getting hit even when you are going on the green light, is a daily possibility.

Today, I was coming down our residential street which sports a double-yellow line indicating that there is no passing on the street and it can only be crossed if turning into a driveway. The speed limit is supposed to be 35 mph because there are children and joggers in the area. I had come to my home and had my directional signal going to indicate that I was turning into the driveway. Just as I was half way turned towards my driveway, a car tears past me on the left side just missing hitting me directly on the driver's side. A speeding car and a illegal passing maneuver and near accident which would have resulted in serious injury. The car practically drove up on the curb - not to actually avoid hitting me so much as to not have to reduce his speed in going on his way. No respect for human life and total disregard of basic driving rules.

These problems are encountered often and I have learned to be extra careful. This morning, I was making a left-hand turn on the green arrow and a woman comes zooming in front of me. Her green light had long turned red but she kept driving anyway. Since she passed so closely in front of me, it was plain to see that she was chatting away on her cell phone (against the law in California while driving) and seemingly oblivious to her infractions of the law. I also noticed she was dressed for work as a nurse. This cause me some reflection. I had to wonder if she observed all the safeguards and rules required for good nursing and medical practice. It might sound like a silly thought but if she doesn't care about rules of the road that are n place for a reason, it is scary to think that she might also take shortcuts, etc. in her treatment of patients.

Discipline and obedience are not usually in play on only parts of our life. A person who cares about their job, their family, their children, should also care about every aspect of their being in this world. Yes, this was kind of an offbeat way for me to make this observation.  I know that for myself, that if I let one aspect go undone or ignored, the laziness and disrespect eventually creeps into other situations or obligations. Given the self-centered world we life in, today, I think my thoughts just might have a lot of veracity.

Tolerance vs. Loving . . .

The Devil's Plan For DestructionWritten by Guy Finley

The chief devil calls together every possible evil entity that is in range of his magnetic voice and says, "How can we interfere up there in the world that dwells between ours and the Light we despise? What can we do to further deceive human beings? We must keep them living in the dark, unaware of the Light that wants to release them from our influence. I want something so evil, so sinister, that no one will know what happened. Who's got a good idea?"

That instant the flames of all the little imps gathered there in the smoldering dark go dim; they're afraid of their leader, who will fry them for failing. A day later, as planned, they all return with a few ideas, although nothing spectacular. Then, out of nowhere, one tiny imp hops on the shoulder of the chief devil and whispers something in his ear. A second later, and *kaboom* flames shoot out of every pore of the chief devil as he shouts, "Ah! I have the plan in hand!"

He looks around at all of his lieutenants, each of whom is assigned to certain individuals on Earth, and gleefully instructs them: "I want you to go up there and slowly spread among the sleeping masses the idea of 'tolerance.' Do whatever it takes to succeed. Convince them that this idea is their own, and that they should start teaching that learning to tolerate each other is the same as loving one another. Oh yes! This is my best deception yet! It's a real killer!"

---

Gluten-Free and Suffering? You think? :-)

When I mentioned to a friend that we were trying a gluten-free menu, her first explanation was, "You are going to starve!"

As I try to type and munch on a warm oatmeal cookie from the oven, I don't feel deprived of anything! It seems that eating gluten-free has exploded on the scene and just about any 'normal' recipe you have enjoyed, can now be worked into a gluten-free format. No, bread will never be exactly like the wheat version but we are finding a lot of bread recipes that actually appeal to us more. The challenge adds a lot to my interest in baking and no one around here has lost any weight over the gluten-free lifestyle. When we decided to try going gluten-free, my husband started rattling off the favorite Christmas cookies he looks forward to each year and wanted to know if I could still make them. So far, I have either adjusted recipes or found gluten-free versions - some of which we have liked even better.

Today, I tried a gluten-free version of oatmeal raisin cookies. As you can see from the pictures, they worked out very well. Since the first batch is almost gone, I'd venture I could pronounce them a success. The recipe can be found here: http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/thick-chewy-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/ The only changes I made to the recipe was omitting the chocolate chips and adding some freshly-grated lemon zest and two tablespoons of chia seeds for some added fiber.

I have a small collection of gluten-free cooking/baking books on hand now and have found recipe keepers in each of them, however, my favorite author has to be Nicole Hunn. She has written two cookbooks to date : Gluten-Free on a Shoestring and Gluten-free on a Shoestring - Quick & Easy. I like her books as she does, indeed, simplify gluten-free recipes with basics. If you follow her advice, you will actually save money rather then feel like you are putting out more money to do this. She also has a Blog that I highly recommend as there are even more recipes listed there.

A sideline to our adventure into gluten-free eating is that less than a month into it, my husband realized that he does have a mild case of celiac. Once we got the gluten out of the house and his system, he had been able to put aside all the digestive medications he has been taking for years. It was by mere accident that I picked up a book on being gluten-free. It was amazing that my husband said to go ahead and see how it goes. Looks like God sent the message and, for once, we listened!

Girl Scouts and the Real Agenda . . .

Over the years, I have had many people encourage me to have my daughters participate in the Girl Scouts. My initial reason for not joining was the constant sales required by the girls in the troops. There was the annual cookie sale and then, at least in earlier times, some kind of calendar sale going on. Although I'm sure they did more than compete for selling the most of anything, all I ever heard about from other mothers was the cookie sale competition. How much of the profit went back to the individual troops, I can't say but it seems like the people at headquarters pull in good salaries.

Later on, I checked out a Girl Scout manual and didn't like the path they were taking on health and morals. Today, my avoidance of the group for my children was rewarded:

http://www.lifenews.com/2013/05/31/girl-scouts-join-planned-parenthood-at-huge-pro-abortion-conference/

I found this horribly sad. I've heard rumors of this sort of activity but to see it in print and know for a fact that the Girl Scouts support the wholesale murder of babies, is sickeningly. I've had arguments from well-meaning Catholic mothers who have daughters in the organization. They claim that they don't allow this discussion in their groups and keep it clean and moral. I have no doubt of that but how is the profit from their fundraisers ultimately used? And isn't a person judged by the company they keep/support.

It is disheartening, however, to see girls actually selling their cookies after Mass in some parishes. Either the pastors are uninformed or they just don't want to make waves. Given the current change in the Boy Scouts' bylaws, it will be interesting to see how many chose Faith over values.