Thankful Thurs #16

1. Mrblocko agreed to take Blockette to Soccer practice so I wouldn't have to freeze.

2. It was a nice day for the actual game.

3. Grilling season is upon us.

4. The roses at the library are blooming.

5. I've sucked Mrblocko into watching Downton Abbey with me...and he seems to enjoy it.

6. Mrblocko is an excellent dish washer.

7. Hand me downs.

8. Advil.

9. Getting the knot in that aweful strechy cord to stay knotted when I fixed a little girl's bracelet at church.

10. The wind seems to have calmed down.

Easter Meringues

I don't know why it is, but we have no Easter traditions in our family. Oh sure, the Easter bunny visits, and we cook up a ham, but that's it. I thought that was particularly odd considering all the little quirky things we do for Christmas.  It's even more odd, when you think about it, that if there was no Easter (I'm referring to the Christian holiday, not Ostara), there'd be no Christmas.

Anyhow, when I saw this fun recipe for meringues over at the blog Mommy's Idea Cookbook, I thought it would be a fun thing for all three of us to do together as a family, and possibly start a new Easter tradition.  This recipe incorporates Scripture into the baking steps, each relating to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Even though we were all exhausted from all the yard work we'd done during the day on Saturday, and we were getting up for the 6AM service on Easter Sunday, we made these Easter meringues right after dinner.

Goldfish crackers optional

I'd never made meringue cookies before, and with last year's Resurrection Roll Flop, I was a bit worried they wouldn't turn out as planned.

But they did!  The centers were hollow like they were supposed to be!  And they tasted light as air.

Mrblocko thought the cookies were too sweet, but Blockette and I loved them.  I plan on making these again next year!


Easter Meringues from Mommy's Idea Book
1 c. whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 c. sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Preheat Oven to 300 F. (Note: Do this first, don’t wait until you are half way done with the recipe!) Place pecans in Ziploc bag and let your children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.

Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.

Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 c. sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us, He wants us to know that and He wants us to love Him as well.

Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.

Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.

Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed.

Read Matthew 27:65-66.

IT”S TIME TO GO TO BED!

Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Sunday morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On Resurrection morning, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matthew 28:1-9.

THE LORD JESUS HAS RISEN!!! HE IS ALIVE!! (...yup.)

Kushari

I had never heard of Kushari before, but stumbled upon it when I was looking for meat free recipes to make over Lent. Kushari (or Koshary, kosheri, or koshari) is a popular dish in Egypt made from rice, noodles, lentils and sometimes chickpeas.

The recipe I used for kushari was from the blog Whats 4 Eats.

I really enjoyed this dish, although it did make quite a lot and I was glad when the leftovers were over.  The recipe does take up all 4 burners, with cooking the rice, noodles, lentils and onions, so that was a bit of juggling that I was not used to. I was pretty proud of myself that I managed to time the cooking so that everything was ready at the same time.

The recipe says to cook the lentils for 30-45 minutes and the directions on the lentil bag said that they only needed to be cooked for 20 minutes.  I figured overcooked lentils would be better than undercooked ones, so I cooked them for 45 minutes.  Mrblocko and I both thought that the texture was a little more al dente that it should be, so next time I'll cook the lentils for a full hour.

I'd also double the sauce and onions for topping.  I wished there was more of both.  I might try adding garbanzo beans next time too.  If I make this for dinner, not for Friday over Lent, I'll add a few diced chicken breasts to the mix as well.

Kushari slightly modified from Whats 4 Eats
1c uncooked Rice (I used medium grain)
1 c uncooked Macaroni pasta (ditalini would be great too)
1 c uncooked Lentils
1 bay leaf
2  T olive oil
1 Onion, chopped finely (increase this to 2 next time)
2 cloves minced Garlic (increase to 4-5 cloves next time)
1 15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes (use 2 cans next time)
1/2-1 t Pepper flakes
1 t cinnamon
1 t cumin
Salt and pepper -- to taste
Oil for frying
2 Onion, sliced thinly into half moons

Start with the lentils.  Simmer lentils in 2 c water with the bay leaf (don't forget to remove the bay leaf after the lentils have finished cooking!), covered for 45-60 min until tender.

About a half hour into the lentil cooking time, cook the rice in 2 c water, covered for 20 min until done.  Also boil the water for the pasta and prepare per the package directions. 

Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a heavy skillet. Add the sliced onions and fry until they turn brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels.(I started this at the same time as the lentils, and once the onions were cooked I started preparing the sauce.)

While the rice, pasta and lentils are cooking, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and garlic. sauté until the onions are translucent and wilted, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce,pepper flakes, cinnamon and cumin, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, add a little water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place the rice, macaroni and lentils in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and stir together gently with a fork. Portion the mixture into individual bowls and spoon some tomato sauce over each portion. Top with crispy fried onions and serve hot or at room temperature.

5 Minute Mac n Cheese

Today's recipe has been brought to you by another day of lunch boredom.  A few weeks ago I wrote about the 10 minute baked potato.  But what if you don't have any potatoes?  Or, more likely, you are so hungry lazy you don't want to spend even 10 minutes making yourself lunch.

If that describes you to a "T" then the 5 minute macaroni and cheese from Picky Palate is right up your alley.

I only had a single cup of cooked leftover noodles in the fridge, so I cut the recipe in half.  As I had a reduced amount of ingredients, I scaled back on the cooking time as well. (2 minutes and then 1 and a half minutes.)

My plastic wrap wouldn't seal properly on the bowl so the liquid sort of exploded in the microwave.  That wasn't so fun.  Next time I make this I will use a bigger bowl.

The first time I took the macaroni out of the microwave I had a bit of a shock.  There was a lot of liquid in that bowl.  So I stirred it and nuked it for the second round, and crossed my fingers.  I probably should have put a new sheet of plastic wrap on the bowl, because it was this second wave of microwaving that made the mess.  Aside from the mess, the liquid went down to a normal level for mac n cheese.

I had a bit of clumping with the cheese.  I happen to love cheese, so this wasn't an issue for me.  I'm not sure if the clumping was due to using too much cheese, or the fact that I used the pre-shredded stuff from a bag.

Overall, this was a good speedy lunch.  I'll have to experiment a bit more to get the recipe to turn out just how I like it, but I feel it is worth the time to tinker with.

Five minute macaroni and cheese from Picky Palate
1/2 pound cooked pasta of choice
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup whole milk
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place pasta, cheese, milk, salt and pepper into a large microwave safe bowl. Stir to mix. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and microwave for an additional 2 minutes. Stir until creamy and smooth. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

En Garde

Get it? En garde. Fencing. And this post is about our fence.

Good one. Right?

I'll give you a moment to collect yourself from that knee slapper.

So our fence is now officially finished. It's nothing fancy, but it's not going to fall over if you sneeze or even think about looking at it.

Before: Left side

You'll notice half the fence has rotted away.  Very classy looking.

After: Left side

Ta DA! Now we have a big almost 6ft wide gate on this side.  This gate is so big I can barely open and close it.  It's nice to have a wide gate.  You never know when you might need it. 

 Too bad half the giant lilies got trampled on.  If they come up next year,  I'll have to find a place to transplant them. 

Before: Right side

This side wasn't nearly as bad as the other one.  But the gate was just awful.  The door was too low to the ground, so in the winter the door would freeze itself into the mud.  It also had no latch.  And no handle.  The wood was so rotted that it would fall off after a few uses.  Last year I got tired of reattaching it so I just left it off.

After: Right side

The new gate opens the other way, I'm not sure why. Builder's choice I guess. Now it has a handle, and here's the cool part, the gates can only be locked and unlocked from the inside. Seems more secure this way to me.

I didn't take a picture of the back because the guys who put it up came over and had it down before I realized I should snap some pics.  You'll have to take my word that it was pretty rotten, visually and literally.  I mean one of our neighbor's tree's had grown into the fence.  That doesn't do much for the structural integrity of the fence.

It's nice to actually have privacy.  Before you could totally see the neighbors through the rotted gaps in the fence.

The fence is far from perfect, and a few people asked if we were going to paint it.  I like it the natural light color.  Sealing it only darkened it minimally.   I'm sure it will get darker with age, but I'm going to enjoy it the way it is for now.  The backyard seems so much brighter than it did before.  I guess getting rid of a huge grey run down mess will do that!

It's the middle of April!!

Those of you in more warmer temperate climates won't understand why I'm so jazzed about the fact that it is mid April. Usually the daffodils are just starting to bloom. They are long gone, and so are all but the late blooming tulips.

I think this tulip looks sort of like a peony if you squint.  I just love the little hint of pink.

Speaking of pink...My bleeding heart bush is blooming nicely too.

Every year I"m convinced that I've killed it.  It's in a mostly shady part of our yard, so it usually doesn't do well.  As the plant has had a lot of warm days before the trees have gotten their leaves, it's got more than it's usual share of sunlight.  Dare I hope for a second bloom from this little guy.

And most amazing of all...

I noticed that my strawberry plants have started to flower!!!!  Crazy!!!!  Maybe I'll actually get some strawberries this year!

Sparkly Silver

I thought this was just so cool that I had to share. I found these directions on how to remove tarnish from silver jewelery over at Stuff Grandma Made.

I'm pretty skeptical about these supposed miracle home remedies, but I figured, if it didn't work, or ruined my jewelery, it was stuff I wasn't wearing anyhow because the tarnish made them so ugly. 

Before cleaning

Now I was only 100% certain that two of the items, the calla lily earrings and the leaf ring, were actually silver, and not silver plate.  I was pretty sure that the star ring and the twisty earrings were plated, but might not even be silver plated.

The original directions do state not to use this method on items that are silver plated, as it could damage the metal underneath.  But, as I explained earlier, I wasn't wearing any of these things anyhow because they were so tarnished.  I felt I had nothing to lose.

After cleaning

Woah! Look how shiny they are! I can't believe it worked so well.

Want to know how I did it? 

Take a piece of foil and line a heat resistant bowl or dish.  Combine 2-3 teaspoons each of table salt and baking soda with enough boiling water to cover your jewelery.  The jewelery should be touching the foil and each other.  Then you let it soak for 5 minutes.  Polish with a towel to get them to shine.

I did have to let the twisty earrings soak for an additional 5 minutes because they were so horribly tarnished.  And for some reason there was a mild stink of sulfur for the 5 minutes the jewelery was soaking.  That was really odd, but the odor did subsided so I'm just going to chalk it up to one of those weird things.  The jewelery seems fine so who really cares.

I'm just so happy to be able to wear these pieces again!