Tag Archives: Homemaking

Brian’s Chopped Salad

07 Friday Aug 2009

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Daniel 1: 14 -16 The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked better and more robust than all the others who had been eating from the royal menu. So the steward continued to exempt them from the royal menu of food and drink and served them only vegetables.

   17 -19 God gave these four young men knowledge and skill in both books and life. In addition, Daniel was gifted in understanding all sorts of visions and dreams. At the end of the time set by the king for their training, the head of the royal staff brought them in to Nebuchadnezzar. When the king interviewed them, he found them far superior to all the other young men. None were a match for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  

 The Message

                                                                                                                               fof

 My brother-in-law Brian is the only person I know who eats more veggies than my husband.   My husband likes salad but has observed that the animals in the wild that appear to be the largest, fattest animals on the planet seem to be vegans: elephants, hipopotamus, rhinocerous, manatees…all salad eaters, while the sleek, lean kings of the African plains and Eastern jungles are all carnivors: lions, tigers, and such.  Anyway,  After Brian made the salad and it was such a big hit at the beach even with my pack of carnivors, I decided to try it out on my health conscious family in Iowa on my recent visit.  On a particularly beautiful day back home on the Mississippi River I made “Brian’s Salad” for my sister Peggy and her family…We ate it for 4 days straight, sometimes for lunch and as a side for dinner. 

1 Head of Bok Choy

1 Bunch of Turnip Greens

Bag of Spinach

1 Head of Cabbage

1 Head of Lettuce

1 Bunch of Red Leaf Lettuce

1 Bunch of Sprouts

1 Bunch of Cilantro

1 Stalk of Celery

3 Lemons squeezed onto the salad

6 tb. of chopped Garlic

1/2 Vidalia or Sweet Onion chopped

Radishes ~ sliced

Cherry Tomatoes

Sliced Almonds

Sunflower Seeds

First, rinse all your veggies thoroughly.  Trust me on this, its a lesson learned the hard way: a few extra minerals are good for you, but too much grit is a bad thing as far as your fellow diners are concerned (just ask my father-in-law).  Chop every thing into small bite size pieces according to your personal size preference.  I prefer ours very small, like a chopped salad for more intermingling of flavors and textures.  Add green scallions, 8 tb. of chopped garlic, (1) vidalia onion sliced or chopped, radishes, and cherry tomatoes if available, bag of sliced almonds and a handful of sunflower seeds. Squeeze (3) lemons on top of it all and toss.  Add tomatoes onto your plate when serving.  You will be able to keep this in the fridge for 5 days with a loose cover on top saving you time in the kitchen, keeping your kitchen cooler during the summer, and providing a healthy food alternative for your family.  The salad tastes better every day and it’s so refreshing without dressing.  I recently served this gigantic salad in a punch bowl for a Friday night pizza party.  Everyone laughed about the punch bowl, but the salad was completely gone after sending a small bit of left overs home with a few new fans.  There is no fixed formula with this salad, so change it up as often as you like adding other items you prefer, being careful to add only items with a long shelf lives into the salad mix, and then adding the shorter shelf life items to your plate at the dinner table.  Otherwise, all your hard work chopping will be spoiled in short order and you will be feeding your garbage disposal in a day or two instead of your family and friends.

Resting from Chopping,

Trish

Make Do Silver and Copper Cleaner

25 Monday May 2009

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makedomondays

Friday morning, I worked diligently setting up my first baby shower here in Texas. I enjoy hosting women’s events, bridal showers, teas, birthdays, etc.  Ann has convicted me of making do and I did not have my copper or silver cleaner after our move from Arizona.  We were not able to move any cleaning supplies, so it was another case of having to make do.  I learned through a quick Google search that adding a cup of vinegar and a cup of salt to a large boiling pot of water would remove the tarnish from my copper tea kettle.  The instructions were so simple it was hard to believe: “Boil item in pot for two hours. ”  HAHA …are you kidding me?  Two hours later I was astounded to see my kettle looking presentable for the shower. 

I pulled out my silver and tried the same thing.  I learned in my search that I could line a pan with foil, pour baking soda all over the item and top off with boiling water to cover.  Once again I thought there was no way this could work.  I save foil because my husband’s grandmother who lived during the Great Depression taught me the value of reusing foil by cleaning and saving it.  I have a hard time reusing it, but I am persisting in my effort to honor her frugality. To my suprise yet again,  I waited and watched all the tarnish fall off a pan full of silverware.  How could this be?  Why had I wasted so much of my time in the past polishing?   

Thank you Ann Kroeker!  Making do is once again eco-friendly!

Traveling Pants…Make Do and Dye in Blue.

27 Monday Apr 2009

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 makedomondays

Lydia, the maker of fine purple cloth in the book of Acts,  closely resembles my life after college where I was privileged to sell exquisite, high-end women’s clothing, the purple cloth of our day.  Loving it so much, even after moving to a fancy desk job at the corporate office, I worked any weekend shift available at the retail store Mandels.  Their clothes were the staple of my business wardrobe.    God is molding me to be more like hospitable Lydia as I interface with my husband. Lydia was known as God-fearing, something I hope and pray comes to mind as you know me…something I aspire toward in my daily walk  

Meet Lydia:

“On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting.  We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them.  One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman.  As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the master gave her a trusting heart and she believed!”

 After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.  “We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” (Acts 16:13-15, The Message)

 I wrote a study for women leaders on Acts, mostly to share all the incredible insights wise men and women had poured into me while in Chicago, and to freshen and cement the teachings into my brain. Fun note… I would sneak into D.A. Carson’s class whenever I could, and sit with all the scholars.   Sticking out like a sore thumb with my faux black fur vest and matching hat…complete with leather gloves trimmed in black fur, who was I kidding?  I’d sit in the back row and glean.  I could only glean from the words spoken in English…the class required both mastery of written and spoken Greek…ouch, that’s why I had to sneak. 

I love dyed cloth like Lydia.  Every 6 months I dye my jeans with Rit dye and they are a crisp, cool, blue indigo much like the water at Lake Travis.  The jeans have traveled east and west as much as my weight.  Just like the girls in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, each girl had a different figure, but the pants miraculously fit each one as the girls shipped the pants around to all the exotic locales the girls visit.  

Make do with blue, and dye your jeans to keep them fresh looking. On a note of interest, Thyatira, our new friend Lydia’s hometown,   was famous for its purple dye. A handful of kosher salt in the hottest water your machine will give you and dye away. Throw in a worn out white top and girlfriends, you’ve got a new look for the weekend…extra slimming when you where the same shade top and bottom. 

We learn so much from the prayerful women sitting riverside on the seventh day…2000 years later.

Rest in Him, Trish

Food on Fridays..Make Do Tabbouleh

17 Friday Apr 2009

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Saturday was my Birthday, I turned 45.  Traditionally on my special day I lolly-gag around the house and talk to my brothers and sisters, spend a relaxing day in my “jams,” and Todd cooks up a magnificent dinner,and this year, my sweet daughter whipped up an exquisite dessert.  Though I usually go for Baklava, this year it was Italian Sponge Cake by request.  “Little Chef” did a fabulous job with a challenging recipe.  

Saturday was also the day before Easter, and preparing dishes for church and our family was both unavoidable and my delight.  Entering a market or store of any kind was not on my plan.  Tabbouleh is always a standard side dish to our roast lamb every year and this year was no exception. 

Prep time 15 minutes

1/3 c bulgur rinsed and drained

3/4 c boiling water

1tb evoo

1 tb fresh lemon juice

1/2 ts. grated lemon peel

1 tb. chopped fresh cilantro or mint

1/2 ts. salt

1 c of English cucumber …diced

1/4 c diced green pepper

1/4 c finey shredded and diced onion

Pour boiling water over bulgur…let stand…whip together the rest and combine and chill till serving.

Atkins For Life, pg. 309  Robert C. Atkins, M.D.

Chopping up all my ingredients, cilantro, green pepper and onions I reached into my crisper and pulled out a zucchini.  Zucchini is not in my recipe, cucumber is.  Reluctantly I diced the unwanted veggie and tossed it in my bowl.  Sauntering over to grab the bulgur wheat out of my pantry, I noticed we were out, but hey, I had sesame seeds.  We recently moved and replenishing cooking staples seems to be a never ending battle for me.  We frequently eat pancakes from the Better Homes and Gardens cook book (p. 88) and “kicked it up a notch” with the bulgur wheat (as well as flax seed, chopped nuts, berries, whatever adds interest and nutritional value).  Substituting the sesame seed for bulgur wheat, and the zucchini for cucumber, I proceeded with my preparations.  It was an experiment in making do, and my family knew it…hey, I knew it.  Just because something looks like something else doesn’t mean it has the same nature and characteristics.  My tabbouleh was sub-standard.  Edible yes, tasty…sort of. 

Do you have any make do spiritual practices?  A book you’ve grabbed a hold of and become so excited over you reference it more than the Bible, or give it greater authority that the word of God.  Maybe it becomes you daily devotion instead of sitting with God’s word.  Spurgeons’ The Soul Winner has been that for me.  The book is boxed up and sitting in the never-never land garage attic right now.

Spurgeon speaks directly into the crevices of my life unhindered in ways that other books never can, but its not the eternal breath of God, no matter how close.  If God’s word is the real thing, don’t make do with the faux-tabbouleh’s of the literary world.  The Word of God stands alone in its authority, and must be directly piercing into you, just like the Sword that it is.  Great authors like Spurgeon are excellent mentors and teachers along your journey, but never substitutions for the real deal. 

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” 

John 10:27 KJV

Rest in Him, Trish

Passover and The Angel of Death on Golfview Lane

10 Friday Apr 2009

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Yesterday was Passover and Maundy Thursday.  Passover  marks the start of the Jewish Feast of Unleavened Bread that recognizes God’s salvation of the Jewish people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt some 4,000 years or so ago.   On the eve of Passover, on the night that Jesus was betrayed, he celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples and essentially telling them it was fulfilled in him, that the bread and wine of the Passover meal were symbolic of his own broken body and blood that would be shed on the cross just the very next day!  Spending time creatively hearing God’s word as I prepare my home for the festivities of each week not just Holy Week is vital to my soul care.

 Last Sunday Todd’s message was “What’s So Triumphant About the Triumphal Entry?  (After all Jesus was crucified by the end of the week).  He encouraged us to read through the parallel passages each day this week to review the events leading up to His betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion.

 Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11 and Luke 19:29-38 were my companions, while preparing dishes for the weekend and viewing scripture filled videos as I folded laundry and ironed for Easter.  The Matthew DVD by the International Bible Society is a new Southard must this year.  Helping set all my senses to the events of the week,  I sipped chicken broth and drank grape juice,  “Wild Purple Smash,” by Wylers.  

We enjoyed a not so traditional Seder evening meal and Todd read through the story of the Last Supper, discussing the significance of Christ in the Passover.  A restful simple evening which set our hearts to the things of God.  Wikipedia (hardly an authoritative source on the Passover, but adequate for my purposes) coached me on the significance of bitter herbs( we used cilantro). Several other additions and solemn insights came from a memorable evening with my friend Susan who allowed us to celebrate the Jewish Passover with her family last year.   They do not see Christ in the Passover.

One of the most searing memories I have of Holy Thursday was reading the story of the Passover to my daughter one morning in 2000 and later watching  two four year old girlfriends, one from a Christian home, one Hindu, swipe paint brushes above doorways and giggle up and down the hallways of our apartment building.  Seeds of simple faith at work in the heart of child.

“What are you girls doing?”

“Oh Mom we are putting blood above every door way so the angel of death will pass over all these families.”

I sat the girls down and told them in very basic language the rest of the story.  I was afraid they wouldn’t realize our Lord had paid the price of the guilt of sin by his life on the cross.  My daughter laughed again….”Oh Mom I told her already and they ran off.” 

“Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes.  And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not.  You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it.  Have you seen Jesus?  If so, you will want others to see Him too.  “And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either” (Mark 16:13).  When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don’t believe.”

  Chambers, April 9

It is a Good Friday!

Rest in Him, Trish

Rest in the Rabbitat

25 Wednesday Mar 2009

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Tom and Susan Bean built a rabbitat out of very simple materials and attracted cottontails to their Flagstaff home.

Tom stated in the February issue of Arizona Highways, ” I began throwing carrots into the burrow entrance, ”  In fact, I started to ring a little bell each time I went out with a carrot.  In a surprisingly short time,  the desired Pavlovian response occurred, and rabbits began to come out and await their carrot.”

The few followers I have on this blog may have picked up my focus is to rest in the Lord and what that entails in my daily living.  The “Unnatural Habitat” article has been stewing around in my brain since it arrived in the mail and the following are just some changes I made to help the wildlife in my habitat. aka husband and teen daughter.  Here are the carrots:

Step One

Forget the house for the morning and spend the entire morning studying God’s word.  I began in Chambers and he led me through a morning of contemplation on “Friendship with God”  (March 20th).  Everyday I visit and chat with my Father all day, but today He was my friend as I poured through Genesis 18 and then onto my WYAMDaily prayer calendar readings.  Writing in my journal, thinking and forcing myself to be still in His presence for the morning hours.  A big help withnoise reduction in our new home has been the elimination of the TV noise. Unhook  it if you have it in your house.  We are 2 1/2 months now without it and no one is complaining, our time with God has expanded exponentially.  My family occasionally views shows on the internet. The accompanying quiet is oh so….tranquil.  We all have library cards and check out movies just a quick walk away from our library.  We also occasionally rent, but you would be surprised at the selection.  Our library will order a popular request.

Step Two

Remove all clutter from most surfaces daily.  Clutter removal is visually restful to the eyes and moving has made this quite a challenge to me.   This week I moved 6 boxes out of the corner of the dining room into the garage.  Just physically lifting and relocating them was a challenge, last night during dinner I didn’t have to stare at them and think “where will I put everything in those boxes”   The “putting” just may be to the local Disabled American Veterans van if they pick up here in Texas.

Step Three

Food for the wildlife.  My travels this week included a very long trip to the grocery store where I purchased all the things my family loves to eat.  My husband loves salmon, and the special of the day was salmon so I bought 5 and stored 4 in the freezer.  My daughter likes snacks so I took her with me and she selected all her favorite snacks to fill the pantry.  Her delight in picking them, the expression on her face as I said yes each time she placed an item in the cart was worth it all.

Step Four

Treat myself to cleaning help.  I called a local house cleaner and asked if she would ever consider coming for one hour to help.  She had never been asked for one hour, but if that is what my budget afforded she would gladly accept.  Five hours later “Josey and the Cleaning Cats” (that’s really the name of their company) arrived and cleaned for exactly one hour and threw in an extra 1/2 hour for free once they figured out my husband was a Pastor.  I insisted they leave at one hour, but they insisted back it was important to them to give in a small way also.  I cleaned things all afternoon in preparation for their arrival knowing they would be able to come in and do a special forces attack on my habitat if they didn’t have distractions of bunnies everywhere.  MaggieBry3866.wordpress.com has a very funny blog on this.  Our teen daughter could not understand why we cleaned before the cleaning ladies arrived, but it became perfectly clear once she saw them decendon our home and attack it with great speed and intensity of purpose.

My family members are organized and efficient.  I have prepared painstakingly to have them arrive home to a lovely, clean, picked up place of solace.  My room in heaven is filled with books,and messy piles of stuff I adore.  My casa here is occupied by others so the work today will show them my tangible response to their desires.

We all stuggle from time to time with the question “Do they really know me?”  One look at my husband or daughters precisely cleaned and ordered closets will tell you they don’t waste time looking for things.  One area is in line.  The Rabbitat is ready.

Homemaking is important and today was my artful expression of love to my family.

“A whole generation of women exhausted themselves trying to have it all, when we should have encouraged them  to examine the choices and pick out the ones that suited them best”  Thomas P. Farley

A restful rabbitat suits me best.

Rest in Him, Trish