Joyful Survival

Update 4/9/2013--OK, well Leilani's sister informed me that she is not the author of the poem, but didn't remember who wrote it. I suppose that doesn't matter so much to me, as the sentiments are very real and appropriate for the pictures she includes here. It also is valid for any who have family and friends that have passed the veil of death.~

A friend of mine passed a few years ago, and I seem to mourn her still. She was forever writing poetry of rather melancholy subject matter. Some are very cryptic and probably mean volumes to her, but are more difficult for those of us who are on the outside looking into her mind. This poem, however, is so easy to understand based on the pictures she has attached to the hand written poem. Her mother just shared some pictures, and other wonderful things from her life, and I am so glad of this particular poem penned by Leilani.

It appears that she wrote this while her dog Melisa was still alive, but getting older. The picture is of Leilani and Melisa in a very familiar pose for them.  It was Melisa's birthday, and they were celebrating it in her typical loving fashion. You can almost speculate what prompted this poem, and I find it to be comforting in so many ways.

I'm sure that she never meant this for those of us who have survived her untimely death, but it is ever so comforting just the same. The attitude of surviving after the lose of a loved one is just the way I want to carry on after those I love pass on. The message is move on. If you wish to grasp on to the lose, do it in ways that comfort others, and thus comfort yourself in the process. The phrase "Feed not you loneliness on empty days," just hits the mark when followed by "But fill each waking hour with useful ways."

This is how we survive the lose of loved ones. Let go, let them pass. A friend once told me that a Buddhist nun told her that when we desperately grasp on to the memory and agony of the passing of a loved one, and go into long and deep grieving mode we hold the spirit of the person or animal in this plane of existence. I'm not sure if I believe this, or not, but on the outside chance that this is true, I want to be able to let go.

The message here is to fill your days with useful ways; volunteer, take up a hobby, stay busy and take care of yourself. In the end you will be united again when you pass without fear, knowing your loved one is waiting to greet you.

~Namaste

I am sharing the words, as the graphic of it didn't scan well.

When I Must Leave You

When I must leave you for a little while

Do not grieve and shed wild tears,
and hug your sorrow through the years,
but start out bravely with a gallant smile,
and for my sake and in my name,
live on and do all things the same.

Feed not your loneliness in empty days,

but fill each waking hour with useful ways.

Reach out your hand in comfort and cheer,

and I in turn will comfort you and hold you near,
and never, never be afraid to die,
for I am waiting for you in the sky.

                              ~Leilani Lea Hineland

What a Beautiful Girl

I found this exchange hilarious.  Can you imagine someone thinking that Ozzy is a girl.  ROFL.  Just couldn't resist this.  This is from my pinterest board, and it is public.  I didn't know how to link it.

Communion

I was cruising through Facebook today, and came across a post that made me groan.  It was an insult to most human intelligence.  People were not made to be alone.  We are made to exist in this world in families, and communities.  Our ancestors knew they needed to band together to assure their survival.  The industrial revolution has allowed us to forget these things.  We create huge government bodies to perform the functions that used to be the province of the community, and when our government fails, as it surely will, we become enraged by this.

We need to remember what the word communion really means.  I'm sure that many of us "Go" to communion on days of worship, and that is a true communion with God our Source.  The word communion has another deeper meaning that I believe Jesus meant when he suggested that we do this in remembrance of him.  Communion as defined in the Oxford American Dictionary means:  Social dealings between people.  Now here surely is the major meaning that Jesus would have considered when he suggested that we do this in remembrance of him.  It isn't about putting just bread in our mouths.  It's about establishing communion with the other people that have the same needs.  The same desire to survive in this world to the best of their ability.

Communion is how we establish the network that helps our community survive.  Community means that we have common interest, goals or origins.  It is no surprise that communion and community have a common origin.  Go into your community and see what you can do to establish communion. See what you can do to provide for a common need.  We aren't talking money necessarily, but we can read to the elderly, give a break to a care provider who needs a break, take some food to those in mourning, or provide a ride.  Volunteer work is always rewarding.  This is all about paying it forward, for believe me when I say, "someday you will welcome this type of aid yourself."  It is in your establishing communion with your community that you will assure the survival of humanity, both in the sense of the species, and in our kindness and humaneness.

Stepping down from the soapbox now.
Namaste

Shortbread Done Right Reload-Learn to Cook Series

The previous recipe is still OK, but when I went to print this for my hubby, I realized that there are some spelling and grammar mistakes in the previous version.  I also added another trick to the process.  This is now added to the Learn to Cook Series™

Tips & Tricks

Ingredient Tips
Shortbread recipes are pretty simple, but there are a few techniques that make them great. The first thing is to start with good "Butter"; real butter. Margarine is noticeably different. This is not a recipe that you will make if you are worried about calories. This is a simple indulgence, and very tasty.

The second secret to really flaky, great textured shortbread is rice flour. My recipe is made with one cup of flour, and it does pretty well with just all-purpose flour. By substituting 1/4 cup of rice flour as part of the one cup flour, the texture is improved greatly.

Flour Freshness is important to this delicately flavored recipe. Because there aren't many ingredients in the recipe the rancid taste of old flour will stand out, you need to be sure that the flour is fresh. One of my favorite tricks for keeping flour fresher longer is storing it in the refrigerator. I put it in a glass or PBA safe plastic canister. PBA safe plastic is simple, play by the numbers, use containers with recycling numbers of #1, 2 or 4 and avoid the others.

Utensil Tips
I use the Brown Bag Shortbread Pans. These have proven to be outstanding for shortbread, and you can put them in the dishwasher, what a time savings. Most of the shortbread pans have intricate designs, and trying to wash them by hand proves to be very difficult. A pie plate will also work for this, but does not give the same browning on the bottom.

Do not try to process this with a mixer; I don't care how fancy it is. For one thing it makes the dough texture coarser, and for another the dough doesn't come together as nicely; quite a lot of unnecessary cleaning also. This is sooo easy to do by hand. All there is to clean is a bowl, spoon, and pan. Oh yeah, and a measuring spoon.

Ingredients

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter at room temperature

¹/₃ Cup Powdered Sugar

¼ teaspoon Vanilla-I prefer Watkins Double Strength Extract

¾ Cup All Purpose Flour-Make sure it is fresh with no rancid aroma-I like King Aurthur.

¼ Cup Rice Flour-Fresh with no rancid aroma-Bob's Redmill is what I use.

1/8 teaspoon of salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Spray Brown Bag shortbread pan with nonstick cooking spray; be sure you get good coverage of the surface so you don't have a sticking problem. Make sure the spray is fresh and doesn't have a rancid smell. Using any other method to grease the Brown Bag pan may result in areas of poor coverage due to the patterns in the pan. A pie plate can be greased anyway you want.

In a small mixing bowl cream the powdered sugar, and butter together.

Add the vanilla to the butter & sugar, and mix thoroughly.

Add the flour and work it into the butter mixture. When it starts coming together I dump it into a bit of plastic wrap, and fold up two sides and press the dough together, give the wrap and dough a quarter turn and press again.  I pull the wrap off the dough and repeat until the dough is in a ball that doesn't fall apart ¹.  Then I just pick it up in my hands and knead it by folding it in half, and squeezing it together; then in half again and squeeze. I keep doing the fold/squeeze until I have nice smooth dough. This can take a few minutes to do right. I've been known to walk into the living room to check on the TV while kneading the dough. :) You can use conventional kneading methods on a floured board, but my texture is lighter because I'm not incorporating additional flour into mine.

Place the dough ball into the center of the pan. Press it out to the sides of the pan, try to maintain and even layer. I make sure that I press all cracks from the edges of the dough. Prick the dough with a fork all over, to allow steam to escape from the bottom of the pan.

Place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

When it comes out of the oven I run a knife around the edge of my pan to loosen the shortbread. I place a dinner size plate over the top of the shortbread pan, and flip both of them over. The shortbread will probably just drop out of the pan, but if it doesn't, wrap the plant and pan on the counter, and it will drop out. If you didn't get enough nonstick spray, then some may stick in the pan.

I cut mine on the cut lines of my pan design, which is 8 pieces as soon as it comes out of the pan. A pie plate works for this also, and you can cut that into 8 pieces as well. Cutting it immediately make a much nicer presentation than when it cools more. If it is cold, all you get is a bunch of crumbs, and that looks, well...crumby.

This is so simple, and so good. I make this when I deserve an indulgent treat. My poor skinny hubby would like it more often, but my health just won't handle that, and I can't eat just one. I'd be willing to bet that most people would have trouble just eating one piece.

1 Add text.

I hope you enjoy.

Namaste

New Years Day Good JUJU Sausage & Sauerkraut Yummmy

I'm not a superstitious person, and I don't think my mother was either, however, we ate this meal every New Years Day for good luck.  I think it worked, because we have all lead rather charmed lives.  I expect it is a combination of all good education on the ethics that my family, especially my mother, continually filled our heads with.

This dish is a good combination of savory and sour, with just a bit of sweet and loaded with umami.  The flavors burst in your mouth.  The feel of this dish on the tongue is so satisfying that I eat way more than I should.  Oh that never happens, OH yes it does all the time.  OK here is the Good JUJU meal for 2013.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons grape seed oil
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Sausage, Polish, kielbasa, smoked-I like the kind that comes in a ring.  Chicken or turkey work here, but you may need a little more oil.  I found some good beef, pork and chicken combos.
• 1-1/2 Cups Rhine white wine
• Large Jar Sauerkraut-Drained and rinsed well; I used Eden Brand organic
• 2 cooking apples-cored and sliced-organic see this article about organic apples
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar or 3 Tablespoons Sucanat
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 crush juniper berries
• 1 bay leaf
• Ground pepper to taste
• Boiled Potatoes-I left the skins on.  I scrubbed them well with a brush and cleaner  I cubed them and cooked them at same time.

Procedure

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven.  I really like to use my ceramic-over cast iron, covered one here, as you don't want to use anything reactive/metallic as you will get an off flavor from the high acid content, and the cast iron will keep even heat and nothing will burn in it. *I did see some new research on the iron skillet concept though, and it looks as though using one to cook acidic food is a good way to get iron into your diet.  As a chemist I realize that this would be true, but also, it might be hard on the pan also.  I'm going to try this some time, but not now. See recommendation here.
• Place the onions in the hot oil (do not get it hot enough to smoke).  Cook and stir for about 2 minutes and add the garlic, cook until onions are soft.
• Toss in the sausage and let this brown well, then remove from the pan.
• Pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan.
• Throw in the kraut, apples sugar, and spices; cover and cook until apples are done and falling apart into the sauerkraut, about 15 minutes.
• Throw the sausage and boiled potatoes into the Sauerkraut mix; cover and warm for about 10 minutes so the potatoes and sausage pick up the kraut flavor.
• Plate and enjoy.  This is an excellent winter food; very balanced.

I hope you enjoy this dish.  It is a winter favorite at our house.

Namaste

Smothered Cube Steak-Change Up Recipe©

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Oven Temperature:  350° F

When this starts cooking the whole family will be hanging out just waiting for it to be done.  This smells as good as it tastes.  It is simple and hearty.

Ingredients

• 1.5 # about 6 pieces of Cube Steak
• 1 Can Campbell’s Tomato Bisque
•  1 Can Campbell’s Beef Consommé
• ½ cups of diced onions, and mixed color dice bell pepper of choice-Each will give the steak a different flavor
• 1 Stalk of Celery chopped
• 2 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• Dried Onion Granules for sprinkling on steaks while browning.  I’m not wild about the smell of frying beef.
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp of Parsley Flakes
• Salt & Pepper to taste.  I don’t add salt, because there is lots of it in the soups.

 Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 350° F

Sprinkle the onion granules on the steak. Brown the steaks on medium high in an oven-proof Dutch oven.  One Tbsp of olive oil is enough for browning, depending on where you buy the steak, as some has less water in it.  While the meat is browning mix all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, reserving about 1/4 of the beef consomme.  When all the meat is browned take it out of the pan and deglaze*(how to below) the pan using some of the beef consomme.  Place the meat back in the pan.  Pour the sauce over the meat making sure it is between layers.  Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the meat.  If you need more liquid, just add some water.  Bake for 1 hour or until meat is cooked through.

Reduce the gravy that is left in the bottom of the pan until it thickens to a good consistency for mashed potatoes.

Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie.  I like spinach salad with mine.

How to Deglaze the pan:

Remove the meat from the pan.  Pour the beef consomme into the hot pan, and use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up the browned on meat bits from the bottom of the pan.  This is the deglazing, and should be done while the fire is still under the pan.  Place the meat back in the pan and proceed with the recipe as defined above.

Change Ups©: 

• Add 1 can of flavored diced tomatoes, or stewed tomatoes, instead of the tomato bisque.
• Use soy sauce instead of the Balsamic and Worcestershire, and add 1 Tbsp of sweetener of choice.
• You can leave out the onion granules if you don’t mind the smell of frying beef.
•  Add 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek to either rendition of this sauce.
•  Serve over brown or white rice of choice.
• .Use wine to deglaze the pan, and skip the balsamic vinegar in the sauce.

 The term Change Up Recipe is a copyright of WTP.

New Take on an Old Rub for Turkey & Chicken

I grew many of my own herbs this year, and have been trying to incorporate them into my recipes.  I previously put the recipe for the Best Turkey Ever on my blog, but these were made with commercial products.  Although this one has a commercial product in it, it also contains my own Italian Herb Mix and Black Sage.

The Italian Seasoning Mix is all dried herbs:

1 Part Rosemary-I don't like this much, but the herb mix isn't right without it.

3 Parts Oregano
2 Parts Marjoram
3 Parts Basil
2 Parts Thyme
1 Part Black Sage or regular if that is what you have on hand
1/4 Part Red Pepper Flakes or to taste-Grind this prior to placing in the other ingredients in the bullet in the next step.

Using the Italian Herb Mix:

It is great in spaghetti sauce.

2 Cans of Crushed tomatoes
1 Small individual serving bottle of nice dry red wine
1 scant Tablespoon of good cocoa powder (not a Nestle Quick type powder). I use Penzy's Spices; check it out here.  I use this in any tomato dish to amp up the flavor.
1 Teaspoon Sugar or equivalent of sweetener or choice
1 small onion ground in a blender-I don't want to see the pieces
2 carrots
2 or more cloves of garlic-to taste
1 Bay Leaf-Again I prefer the Penzys Brand, see it here

Cook this on low, in a heavy bottom pan for at least 1 hour so the herbs cook into the sauce well.  I will cook it until it reaches the desired consistency.  I use the heavy bottom to prevent sticking and scorching of the sauce.  You do need to stir this regularly to test the consistency.

This sauce is great warmed up, and improves after refrigeration over night.  It really is almost better the next day.  Serve over spaghetti.  Use in lasagna, or anywhere else you would use spaghetti sauce.

About Penzy's Spices.  I don't work for them, they don't pay me anything to push their spices.  I just appreciate good quality, and fair prices.  They have stores all over the country now, but I have been buying from them since I found them online in Chicago.  I bought 1 Pound of bay leaves from them.  I had no idea how much that would be, but everyone at work got some.  It is a massive amount of herbs.  I paid $15.00 for that then.  It would have filled over 50 of the regular spice jars, and the leaves would be broken and crumbled.  One ounce will fill a wide mouth quart jar and cost 7.30 now.  I use these for everything.  I just don't know how to cook without them.  LOL 

The most interesting part of this story is, that I tried to order some from them once and was told they didn't have any because they had to send the last order back to their supplier.  I asked them why they sent them back, and the lady said "He just didn't approve of the quality.  He wasn't going to sell that inferior product even if it meant he was going to have to tell his customers he didn't have any."  This speaks volumes for they type of herbs that are sold there.  I eventually got the bay leaves, and they were excellent.

Salad Dressing

This is good for Italian dressing with juice two lemons, or 1/4 C balsamic vinegar or 1/4 raspberry vinegar, and 1/2 parts oil; I prefer olive or canola oil.  I use 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Italian Seasoning Mix.  Shake until it emulsifies.  This is sooooo easy, and sooooo much better for you than the store bought stuff.  Keeps in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.  It really doesn't last long at my house.  We eat salads a lot.

Making the Turkey and Chicken Rub

I just hand crush the herbs before putting them into the spice grinder. (I use my Magic Bullet with the flat grinding blade for this.)  To this I add:

3 Tablespoons Italian Herb Seasoning
1 Tablespoon of Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 Tablespoon of parsley
1 Teaspoon of dried mustard
2 Teaspoons black pepper or pepper melange or to taste
2 Teaspoons onion powder

I grind this all together until it has a slightly fine grind, but don't make it a powder. See picture above for consistency.

To use on a turkey or chicken, spray the bird with oil, I used olive oil.  Rub the herb mixture on the outside skin.  Lift the skin on the breast, and rub the herb mixture under the skin directly on the breast meat. 

Place two bay leaves under the skin on each breast. 

Sprinkle some of the rub mixture inside the bird along with a bay leaf,  onion wedges, carrot, celery and a lemon or orange. Use just enough to loosely fill the cavity. 

Tie up the legs and cook as directed by the package. 

I put it into a shallow pan/dish with a wire rack to hold it off the bottom of the pan.  I put 1 can of chicken broth in the bottom of the pan.

I use a 350 Degree oven, and tent the bird with foil until the last 1/2 hour of the cooking time. 
Times will vary depending on the size of the bird.  I use the pop up timers for mine, but you can find all kinds of charts giving approximate times for the size of the bird.

WARNING:  This is not a complete guide to cooking poultry.  Please look up recommendations from the USDA here.

I hope you enjoy the Italian Herb Mix and Rub.  It really was a smash at Thanksgiving this year.  Everyone loved the rub, and said it was the best ever.  UhOh do I need to change the name of the other one to the Second Best?.

Thanks for stopping by.
Namaste