Savory Beef Tenderloin

Ingredients:

3/4 pound Beef Tenderloin

2 tsp. chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dry marjoram leaves

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp coarsely ground pepper

1 Tbsp margarine

1 small onion, thinly sliced

3/4 cup beef broth

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Procedure:

Trim fat from beef. Cut beef into four 3/4 inch slices. Mix marjoram, sugar, pepper, and rub on both sides of beef slices.

Melt margarine in 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Cook beef in margarine 4-5 minutes on each side, turning once, until brown and done to your preference (my case medium). Remove beef to platter :keep warm. I throw mine in a microwave, in which I have warmed some water for tea; it's nice and warm.

Cook onions in drippings in 10 inch skillet over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions is crisp-tender. Mix broth, wine: pour into skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour over beef.

Salt is not needed as the broth has plenty, and the sugar and herbs give it a marvelous flavor.

Tips:

·         Fresh marjoram is the best.

·         Cast iron skillet is the bomb

·         I've heard some friends say they used nonalcoholic wine, but I just can't bring myself to do that.

·         This is such a great taste, that I don't miss the grill for the winter

·         I buy a whole tenderloin and dress it out myself.  I get lots of stew meat, but it is so much nicer.

Nutritional Information: 4 Servings

·         180 calories, of which 80 calories is fat

·         9g fat

·         3g saturated

·         50 mg Cholesterol

·         200mg Sodium

·         7g carbs

·         1g fiber

·         20g Protein

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I needed a storage place for this vital information on nutrient deficiency symptoms in my garden. It has been extremely helpful to me, and I thought it would be helpful to others.

Nutrient	Function	Deficiency symptoms	Sources
Nitrogen (N)	Required for all phases of growth and development	Lower leaves light green or yellowish; stalk short & slender, plant is stunted.	Blood meal, composted poultry manure, feather meal, worm castings.
Phosphorus (P)	Strengthens stems, helps in resistance to pests and diseases, fruiting and flowering	Lower leaves and stem are reddish; upper leaves are dull, pale or dar green, plants stunted; failure to flower or produce fruit, premature dropping of fruit.	Bone meal & rock phosphate (slow release), colloidal (soft) rock phosphate, fish meal, fish hydrolysate - Other sources
Potassium (K)	Required for formation of all sugars, starches and proteins; contributes to cold-hardiness; root development.	Lower leaves spotted with dead tissue (usually at tips and between veins), mottled or curled; underdeveloped roots, stem tissue may appear weak	Composted manure, wood chips, greensand, seaweed (kelp), wood ashes (use with caution). Beware of excess K
Calcium (Ca)	Required for cell growth and division, helps plants use nitrogen	Tip burn on lettuce, blossom-end rot in pepper and tomatoes, development of thick woody stems. Young leaves of terminal bud hooded. Die back at tips and margins of leaf	Bone meal, gypsum, lime, ground oyster shells. Soluble Ca may be helpful during growth. More
Sulfur (S)	Constituent of protein and certain vitamin complexes.	New leaves are yellowish. Veins and tissue between veins are light green.	Composted manure, gypsum, Sul-Po-Mag.
Magnesium (Mg)	Constituent of chlorophyll; required for enzyme action.	Whitish patches appear first on older leaves, between leaf veins due to insufficient chlorophyll (chlorosis). Leaf tips & margins turned or cupped upward	Dolomitic limestone, Sul-Po-Mag, Epsom salts
Boron		Young leave of terminal bud are light green at the base, the bud eventually dies. Hollow stems	Boric acid
Iron (Fe)	Often caused by alkaline soil	Leaf veins green, rest of leave yellow (chlorotic), stalks short & slender, yellow leaves on upper parts of plants, poor growth of new shoots	Acidify soil if too alkaline, Greensand, manure
Copper (Cu)		Slow growth, died-back of shoot tips, spotty or marked chlorosis	Grass clippings, sawdust, wood shavings
Manganese (Mg)		Slow growth, sporodic maturing of plants, yellowing of areas between leaf veins, spots of dead tissue scattered over leaf	Add organic matter to correct pH
Selenium (Se)		deficiency rare	Manure
Zinc (Zn)		Leaves abnormally long and narrow, turning yellow or spotting; thick leaves; stalks with shortened internodes	Manure, rock phosphate

Adapted from Organic Gardening archives at http://www.organicgardening.com/
Pictures of nutrient deficiencies
Deficiencies in tomatoes http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/Garden/02949.html
Deficiencies in tomatoes http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=3&id=289   X   Y   Z
Color pictures of mineral deficiencies in plants  http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/min-def/list.htm
http://www.ehow.com/info_8203173_symptoms-nutrient-deficiency-bell-peppers.html
Guide to Nutrient Deficiencies in Your Vegetable Garden http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=57

Blossom end rot discussion http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pepper/msg061225038414.html 

Shenpa-Revised

Shenpa is a Tibetan word for hook. It is that rising, clenching feeling I get in my gut when something has risen to my consciousness, and my mind ruminates on that thing, until the situation jerks the hook and I'm caught. My mind rolls it over in my head, and generally my mind is screaming one of these negative phrases.  1) What the hell were/are they thinking, 2) That is just so unfair. This is a major, big hook for me. 3) There is no possible way that this could be true, yet it is.  My knee jerks up, and I'm off to the races. I generally throw a fit on Facebook, which actually gets support and further fuels my angst. HALT!!!

The only REAL thing that I can do that will improve any bad situation is to work on my own negative reactions and actions. To that end I will always deal fairly with everyone. I will recognize the moment of tightening just before the hook is set, and relax into the feeling, and watch it as it passes. 

My negative reactions do more to maintain the tension, than to ease it. My angst at these situations raises the world's negative energy level. What I can most successfully do to change this moment is to relax, let it pass naturally, and then raise my energy level to a more positive vibration. This practice will raise the energy level of the whole world.

If you think that your energy does not matter, as you are only one person, you're wrong. You may be one person, but you have a sphere of other people that you interface with who will be affected by your energy, which will also raise their vibration level. This is an exponential process. One person can do a lot; unfortunately, this goes in both directions. 

One must recognize the shenpa that threatens to dissolve your peace of mind. Relax, and steady ourselves in the moment, and raise your energy vibration when the shenpa passes.

Recognize the Illusion,

Namaste

Pictures Galore

The title says it all.

Gonna Share these with the family.

A Memorial Day Tribute to My Dad

My father served in WWII, and was in the 12th Armored Tank Division. He drove a tank until they figured out that he could cook. This brought him a lot of interesting stories and recipes that he shared with us. He was late going to war, as he was 28 years old which made him too old unless things got really bad. Needless to say they did. He was 32 when he was released from the army, which was at the end of the war.

The pictures are of my father in his uniform, which was taken at Camp Campbell in Kentucky.  My mother got this picture taken to send to him. However, she and a friend of hers would drive down to Camp Campbell to visit her husband and dad, as they were both stationed there.

Mom managed Wilson's Sandwich Shop in Findlay, Ohio so dad would have the job when he came back from overseas. This was a really difficult time for her, and many of the wives that also worked at Wilson's to make ends meet.

I will post more on this area, as I find the time to do so. I can't seem to locate all the pictures that I scanned to make an album for mom, but will find the eventually.

Thank you to all veterans, and current men in uniform.

A Course In Miracles-My Take on It--General

This is my first thoughts on the ACIM. I am still in the process of getting it straight. It is terrible rewarding, and destroys all illusion and fear. I do now know what I am, and that in itself diminishes all fear. Death was my biggest fear, but since this world is only an illusion, and that which I am can never be destroyed what is left to fear. Death is merely the shedding of a useless carcass, but what I am goes on for eternity.

Many more thoughts will be forthcoming as I progress down this path.

Love to all, in the truest sense of the word,
Namaste

I am that I am

Mother's Day Tribute

To all the mothers out there have a Happy Mother's Day. I hope you are surrounded by a loving family that bless your life by their mere existence.  My family is a true blessing to me, and I love them all. Have a blessed day.

My mother is no long on this level of existence, but I have some really fond memories of her to share with you.

Here she is with all of her grandchildren. I remember when she decided to let the racing strip grow in here hair. It was very fashionable at the time, and it was a precursor to the beautiful white hair she would have at the end of her life. She was always a great supporting factor in my sister's and my life.  She loved those little grandchildren in a way that was manifest in different ways with each of them.

Mom always had a somewhat whacked out group of friends that were members of her card club. They met once a month at different houses, and mom got the Halloween draw that year. She is in the red skirt, and her partners in the picture are from left to right, Dottie Korb, Mom, Sandy Parkins and one of the funniest people but I forgot her name. If I remember it, I will edit this post. Sandy is a dear friend from school, and the daughter of Dottie, which explains the similar costuming. What a hoot.  However, this explains a lot about just who mom really was.

 And here we have a costume change. Mom and her sister's wanted to dress up in there brothers clothes and get a picture. Mom was a day late and a costume short for the picture, and hadn't had enough time to procure a cigar (a cloths pin) so she used her finger. However, you can see that mom was always interested in costuming, not really. This is so cute. From left to right I believe that Aunt Oral (Nique) Hartman, Mom Edith (Nique) Fenbert, family friend unnamed, and Aunt Blanch (Nique) Kownatsky.

Although there is no costuming involved here, this is the occasion of one of the funniest episodes in my mothers long life of funny episodes.  This is the occasion of her 60th birthday. Mom and I had talked about birthdays at one of the kids parties, and she mentioned that she had never had a birthday party. As soon as she left my house, I went into action. I called my sister in Texas, and explained that she was going to be 60 and that she had never had a party. We quickly realize that this must be remedied and set into action. We invited the world to the party. All the family and friends we could find.

The morning of her birthday we started a day of unexpected delights for her. My father had ran Wilson's Sandwich Shop my entire life, and they allowed local organizations to decorate the windows with water soluble paints to advertise there benefit programs. Well my sister and I decided that we needed to announce to the city this birthday, and, besides she stopped there everyday for coffee on her way to work at the jewelry store.

Next we had a corsage of mums sent to her at work with the banner Happy Birthday Mum, and later in the day we had a friend Charlie Hanline go to the store to sing happy birthday to her. She later reported that she was concerned that her boss would be upset, however, Charlie knew them and cleared it with them first. While all that was happening my sister and I decorated here car, and I give her credit, she drove it all the way down Main Street in Findlay, Ohio as that was where she lived.

My husband and I took mom out to dinner while everyone packed by house for the surprise party. Mom mentioned at dinner that she was surprised how much I had accomplished in one day, and asked if my sister Paulette was there. We had decided to surprise her at the party, so we denied that Paulette was in Findlay, now there is the set up for the funniest thing I have ever witnessed.

When we arrived at my house, no cars near the house. Mom was thinking she was going to see my kids so they could wish her a happy birthday. She walks into a completely packed house, and is completely overwhelmed by people, there is the second set up process. She is hugging, and shaking hands of lots of friends and family, and here is the fun part.

My sister steps out in front of my Aunt Hazel, and mom looks puzzled by hugs her, but it is clear that she does NOT know who that woman is, remember we told her Paulette was not here?  Paulette says, "You don't know who I am do you?" Mom gives the best punchline ever, "Honey, you face is familiar, but I just can't remember your name!" Buwahahahaha, and we all chime in, "A face only a mother could forget."  At which point mom is so shocked by what she did she just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights. Then they hugged and laughed all night about the face only a mother could forget.