St. Patrick's Day

This post is a little late.  We had a fun St. Patrick's Day.  I made Mary a green clover pancake.  She was surprised when she came to the breakfast table.  Mackie wanted some too!  Rich fixed a wonderful lunch of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.  We read the true account of who St. Patrick was and then Mary wrote about the story of his life.  The last picture is of my flowers on our front step.  Spring has sprung! 

 

Sixty-seven Years

We had a delightful evening celebrating my in-laws wedding anniversary.  They were married March 20, 1949.  We took them out to beautiful restaurant in Grants Pass called Taprock.  The food was reasonably priced, delicious and the service was excellent.  We had so much fun afterward walking around outside of the restaurant.  It is located on the Rogue River with a lovely walk way, so you could enjoy the birds and wildlife on the river.

Healing Broth

I made this a few weeks ago and it was a hit at our house.  I changed a few things...I added frozen chopped spinach and kale because I didn't have parsley and I flavored the water with chicken stock and I added both sweet potato and carrots and I added rice noodles to make a little more hardy than a broth.  We made it for ourselves then I made a big pot of it for my in-laws for a Sunday dinner.  The fresh ginger and turmeric is so good for you.  We have been taking a turmeric supplement lately and it is so good.  I was so happy to not get a cold this year, even when Mary and Rich got one.  I started drinking a lemon and ginger tea each night and it was really made a difference too!

 

 

Healing Broth

Ingredients

 

4 carrots, chopped or 1 sweet potato, cubed
2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
2  onions, sliced
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 cup of shiitake mushrooms, fresh or dried
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bulb of garlic (about 6-8 cloves), minced
1 inch of fresh ginger root
1 inch of fresh turmeric root
8 cups of water
Optional: Chili peppers or red pepper flakes

Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a gentle boil. Turn heat down to low and allow to simmer for about an hour. Strain and sip for a mineral rich, healing and restorative broth. 

Homeschool Unit Study - Penguins

Wow, I have been kind of sparse on the posts lately.  So, I thought I would do a couple tonight.  We have just finished up on a homeschooling unit on penguins.  Mary loves animals, especially penguins.  First she made the cover for her pocket book.  Each pocket holds a set of activities to do.  We did reports on the different kinds of penguins, she made a chart of all the heights of the penguins, we did their life cycle, we made a bulletin board design.  We learned so much and had a bunch of fun doing it.  That is what I love about home school is you can study what your child loves and learn all the skills they need in math, writing, spelling, and even history.  We also read a wonderful book called, "Mr Popper's Penguins."  It was delightful and Mary loved to so much that we read it twice.  So here are the pictures of our different activities. 

 

Valentine's Day and Callahan's

We had a really nice Valentine's Day weekend.  Rich took a couple of days off.  One day we made a trip up to the Siskiyou Summit to go to dinner a wonderful steak house that has been there for years.  I had never been.  Rich had just been up there working on their ice machines but never eaten there.  So we had a fun adventure.  We were not disappointed with the service and food!  I have also included a slide show of our whole weekend.

 



 

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Poached Pepper Poppers

Rich came up this most wonderful recipe and served it for breakfast this morning.  I have included the recipe below.

Poached Pepper Poppers
How many pepper poppers did Peter Popper poach?

 

(makes 6)
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
1 Anaheim chile or Jalapeno (if you like em hot) finely chopped
8 large eggs
1/4 c mozzarella
1/4 c sharp cheddar
pinch season salt
pinch garlic powder

Soften vegetables in microwave on high for approx 4 min., and then allow them to cool uncovered, meanwhile butter the poacher cups and cover the bottom of the cups with a little of both mozzarella and cheddar. Beat eggs and add vegetables and spices, then mix well, pour cups full of egg mixture and cook in poacher for 10 min. , poppers will puff up. Serve with tabasco, or your favorite salsa, Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Cakes through the Years

I was going through some old pics and thought it would be fun to post pictures of all the Happy Birthday Jesus cakes we have made.  Each Christmas Eve as a family tradition that Rich and I started, we bake a cake and decorate it.  We make it different each year and Mary gets such a kick out of it.  We light the candles and sing Happy Birthday!  It is a special time to remember what Christmas is all about, celebrating the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to earth as a baby, born to poor people in a humble stable, yet the King of all the Universe!

2009

2010

2011

2012

 

 

2013

 

 

2014

2015

Chocolate Cinnamon Angel Cloud Pie

Rich found the recipe for this pie when he was looking through one of our old Christmas cookbooks.  It sounded so yummy to him that I decided to make it for our New Years Day dessert.  I had thought about making it for Christmas but we always make a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve and then eat it after Christmas Day dinner.  This pie recipe turned out so yummy.  It is sweet, light and fluffy.  It is nice to have after a big meal because it is not too heavy or filling.  The only thing I will change is put it in a graham cracker crust.  I think it will be a tradition around our house from now on!

Recipe:
2 egg whites,
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar,
1/2 cup sugar,
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon,
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked,
FILLING: 2 egg yolks,
1/4 cup water,
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips,
1 cup whipping cream,
1/4 cup sugar,
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and vinegar on medium speed until foamy. Combine sugar and cinnamon; gradually beat into egg whites, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Spread into the pastry shell. Bake at 325 for 20 -25 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool. For filling, whisk egg yolks and water in a saucepan. Add chocolate chips; cook and stir over low heat until a thermometer reads 160 and mixture is thickened (do not boil). Cool. Spread 3 tablespoons over meringue; set remainder aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream, sugar and cinnamon until stiff peaks form. Spread half over the chocolate layer. Fold reserved chocolate mixture into remaining whipped cream; spread over top. Chill for 6 hours or overnight. Refigerate any leftovers. Yield: 8-10 servings. Enjoy!