Food for thought. Ha-ha! Get it? Add food to any story you are working on – be it the main character, a walk-on part, the conflict, or part of the setting. I can see, I mean taste it now…a maple oat nut scone walks into a coffee shop…
Thanks, Robin! Thanks, Tara!
via STORYSTORM 2018 Day 22: Robin Newman Has Food for Thought
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1
While I always remember to give thanks this time of year, I wish I would remember to daily recall the many blessings and gifts the Lord has given me.
We hear the saying,”Christmas is not just one day, but 365 days a year” and “Keep Christmas alive every day of the year.” I think the same could be said of Thanksgiving.
I’m just going to bring my New Year’s resolutions forward a bit…I’d like to spend 2018 remembering and giving thanks each day. Happy Thanks-for-giving from 1 to 365.
Happy Thanksgiving, lovely ones. I pray you are surrounded by loved ones, great food, warm houses, and thankfulness.
Feeling thankful.
Do you ever taste something and it takes you right back to a specific time and place?
That just happened to me. Tummy rumblings broke my concentration from a writing task, so I grabbed a slice of Swiss cheese from the fridge. At the first bite, I was instantly transported to France. Such delicious memories!
My husband and I were on a short-term missions trip in Paris. Near our motel was a wonderfully fascinating store, Auchan. Auchan had pretty much anything one could want or need at reasonable prices. The chocolate aisle and cheese cases kept us returning nearly every day for meal items. Yes. Chocolate and cheese do make a meal.
Today’s bite of Swiss cheese took me right to the cheese counter. The gentleman who worked the cheese aisle was so very kind and cut us off a chunk of Swiss from the large wheel. With our garbled French and hand gestures, he whacked off the hard rind and sliced the rest for us – perfect. He even gave us a bit to taste, just to make sure it was what we wanted. We wanted.
Fresh baguette, sliced Swiss, some fruit and veg, all the makings of a perfect meal. Thank you, Mr. Auchan cheese guy. You made our day.
How about you? What have you eaten that transported you back to particular event or location? I’d love to hear about it. Just so I know I’m not the only one who is consumed with love for food.
Let’s not forget the crepes! Be still my hungry mouth…
Summer farmer markets, oh how I look forward to you! Enjoy this throwback post from August 2009.
Place Monge (Paris) fountain on Sunday Market day
In France, one of the things we truly enjoyed was the Sunday market held in the Place Monge town square. One could buy ANYTHING needed for eating, drinking, or giving. One Sunday we encountered a simultaneous flea market, but I could never figure out when another was going to be staged. I so wanted another chance at finding treasures!
On any given Sunday, there was no lack of choices for purchase at the market. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers were squashed in among stalls of stinky cheese and fish, raw meat and poultry. Lucious homemade breads competed for the winning fragrance award with occasional ‘meals made for you right now.’ The entire experience was a delight for the senses. Taking home the goods – mouth-watering sustenance.
Flowers at Sunday Market
Meat vendor at Place Monge
Produce vendor at Place Monge
A meal comprised of market fare from Place Monge
Many years ago, in the Yakima Valley, a Sunday farmer’s market was hatched. Of course, being at church most of each Sunday, we did not frequent the market. In fact, we boycotted it simply because it should be held on Saturdays (our opinion) so market workers and go-ers could attend church on Sunday. Granted, I don’t believe our boycott gained any new members of a church anywhere…
With our recent life change of full Sunday church responsibilities to experiencing ‘house church’ at a local park on Sunday mornings, we decided we would check it out – to see what the rest of the valley does on Sunday mornings. It seems that many residents take pride and joy at what is locally available, fresh from the fields, and the hands of gardeners, farmers, and crafters.
Sunday Market in Yakima
Pleasantly surprised, we found a plethora of aromatic and tasty produce, fruit, home-produced crafts, and food items. Mixed in was a variety of ethnic food stalls (I love the panset and lumpia) and shoppers galore.
Checking out the goods
An added bonus was musical entertainment. Steel drum music was such a wonderful accompaniment to the outing.
My oldest grandbaby (now he is 7) hits the Sunday Market
We encountered people we knew, interacted with community members, and socialized under the hot sun. Purchasing fresh produce and showing off our grandson were top prizes for the day.
Hayden with Papa at the Yakima Sunday Market
I guess the boycott was a misguided waste of time. The Master Gardener did not stick Himself in church and stay there all day on Sundays. He was out among the people, out in the community. Perhaps more productive to relationship building, making new friends, and reaching out is to be where the people are…not where we think they should be, but where they actually are.
A challenge to myself – where are the families in my community on any given Sunday morning? Maybe it’s time I found out…and made some new friends.
Creamy tater tot casserole (without the tater tots)
Living in the RV, I am constantly challenged to adapt old recipes or create new combinations. With winter upon us, well literally in a few short days, plummeting temperatures – single digits next week! – care must be used when cooking in the electric skillet. As we creatively balance what can be plugged in, turned on, and vice versa in regards to heaters placed below the RV to maintain water flow, let me say the breakers have been tripped on a daily basis.
That being shared…here is a fun new way to make a classic.
RV Electric Skillet Tater Tot Casserole
(1 dish cooking)
Ingredients:
olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
a small scoop of minced garlic
2-3 small potatoes, diced
1 lb. ground turkey
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 cup frozen peas
Mrs. Dash, about 1 T.
black pepper, about 1 tsp.
dried sage, about 1 tsp.
crushed peppers, optional
chicken broth
grated cheese, optional
Directions:
1. Add olive oil to electric skillet and heat it to about 250-300 degrees. I constantly adjust my temperature setting depending on speed of cooking, so play with your temps.
2. Add onions, garlic, and carrots. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned.
3. Add potatoes, cream of chicken soup, 1 can of water, and 1 can of chicken broth. Note: I like my casserole creamy as opposed to thick. Add more broth as needed to taste.
4. Add black pepper, crumbled sage, Mrs. Dash, and crushed peppers to taste. We love spice, so I am heavy-handed with the peppers. Stir, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir often.
5. Add broccoli, beans, and peas. Adjust liquid content with broth, again to taste.
6. Cook until all ingredients are heated through and potatoes are soft, perhaps 5-10 minutes more.
7. Serve immediately with grated cheese.
There you have it. Tater Tot Casserole without the tater tots!
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Almost bursting open sunflower. As Kevin says, my sunflower jungle is alive! |
By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
I’m amazed at how quickly the garden is taking over the backyard.
I’m sad that several icky pests are winning and eating as much as they can (slugs, earwigs, pill bugs, and aphids). Since I prefer not to spray my garden with pesticides, it’s a daily battle to find those critters. Loss is expected.
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Strawberries are still blooming, though they are exhausted! |
But mostly, I’m happy to see this dirt produce food and beauty for our eyes, nose, hands, and tummies. I supposed I could add ears to that list, as the bees are a humming, though they classify as beauty not food. At least for us. The cats love to snatch and gobble them up.
Here are some things growing in the garden.
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Oregano, much loved by bees, is heading towards full bloom. |
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Tea roses – beautiful though they were plagued by aphids early on in the season. |
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Creeping thyme, a walkable plant (you can walk on it). But watch out for bees! |
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Edible thyme is blooming. |
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Radishes are tasty and almost gone. Mmmm |
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Sunset lily. I love the color of these blooms. |
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Ripening Roma tomatoes. |
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The pumpkin plants that are threatening to take over our tiny backyard. Soon, it will be true. |
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Poor, sad, dwarfed okra. I’ve replanted 4-5 times. This is the best so far. |
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Wax beans love my back yard. Green beans? Not so much. |
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Dill entices more bees and is ready for canning. |
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Part of the sunflower jungle. |
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Lavender and friend. |
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Raspberries are coming on strong, much to the delight of the icky pests. |
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Baby zucchini. |
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The parsley is blooming. Those tiny sweat bees love this stuff. |
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Garlic. I have no idea when it is done! |
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Kale. |
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Baby yellow squash. If you squint, you can see someone else was impatient to try it. Go away, bugs! |
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Sage. This is also in bloom. But there is more than enough to go around. Five times around. That’s my garden so far, all from the backyard. I’d be happy to share, especially the herbs. Has anyone else grown okra? What trick am I missing (other than heat, which I think it really needs)? Happy tasting, smelling, seeing, touching, and hearing in your garden today! |
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A sweet potato and a few onions… |
By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
You do know the nursery rhyme about Old Mother Hubbard, right?
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
To get her poor doggy a bone.
When she got there,
The cupboard was bare,
So the poor little doggy had none.
Presenting, on life’s stage, Old Mother Hubbard.
Played by Angie.
Seriously.
Old Mother Hubbard needs to go shopping for groceries. Now.
I resist grocery shopping. I don’t know why. I will scrounge, create, and do everything I can to make it last just one more day. All to avoid grocery shopping.
Maybe it’s the lines, the crowds, the cost, the forgetting something on the opposite end of the store and making repeat trips, the foraging through produce to find the freshest, the struggle to open produce bags, touching raw meat packages…
Probably it’s the having to take it all home and put it away.
But I so love having food to use when I prepare meals!
We are down to wilted celery, one sweet potato, a few onions, and garlic. Oh, I think there may be a dried up bit of ginger hanging around as well and some frozen peas and corn. Almost out of milk, yogurt, and bread.
Two pieces of frozen salmon and one package of frozen ground turkey make up the protein portion of our diet (per what is in the fridge/pantry/cupboard). I suppose I could count the canned chicken and tuna.
Well, that sounds like I have plenty for another day of Grocery Store Avoidance.
Yippee!
Frozen Food Tip:
Guess what?! The package directions actually work for frozen brussel sprouts! I’ve never even glanced at the directions, but did so last night on a whim. You can MICROWAVE the entire package – and they come out perfectly moist and not soggy and gross!
Love, Laughter, and Life 