Hey guys,
If you want to get my new ezine on a regular basis, please sign up on the link to the left. It will be short & sweet, but packed with great information, household tips, and delicious, easy recipes. I'll be sending it out about twice a month.
Thanks,
justjulie :)
Friday, November 27, 2009
Leftover Turkey: What to do with Leftover Turkey?
Hey friend,
Many of you have leftover turkey you are wondering what to do with, so I wanted to share this yummy meal we had last week. It calls for leftover turkey, but at the time we didn't have any, so I just used cooked chicken, and it was still delicious.
Hope you like it. :)
Moo Shu Turkey (or chicken):
8 flour tortillas
3 T. Hoisin sauce
2 T. soy sauce
3/4 tsp. Asian sesame oil
3 tsp. olive oil
1 pkg. (8 oz.) mushrooms, sliced -- I didn't have, so used canned.
1 pkg. (16 oz.) shredded cabbage mix for coleslaw -- I didn't have this either, so just used 1/2 head cabbage, sliced thin; 1 grated carrot; finely chopped green onion.
1/2 medium red pepper, thinly sliced. Didn't have this either, so used green pepper. We like green pepper better anyway, because it's not as sweet as red.
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. grated, peeled fresh ginger -- use the real stuff, because it makes it taste authentic. Only take off what you need from the bulb, and freeze the rest until you need it again. (keep the skin on the portion of ginger bulb you will freeze).
3/4 lb. leftover turkey, shredded. About 2 cups.
1. Mix hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth; set aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in nonstick pan; cook mushrooms until they are brown & liquid has evaporated. Set aside in bowl.
3. Heat remaining 2 tsp. olive oil in skillet; cook cabbage mixture, green or red peppers, and sliced green onions for 3 minutes. Stirring constantly.
4. Add ginger & garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
5. Add shredded turkey, hoisin-sauce mixture, and mushrooms. Heat through.
6. Heat tortillas.
Each person can place mixture in tortilla and roll. We also added more hoisin sauce in tortilla before rolling. Like you would with sour cream or another topping.
This was so delicious. My son said it was a "10!" He said it tasted like restaurant food. It really did, so give it a try. Let me know if your family loves it ..... or hates it.
Many of you have leftover turkey you are wondering what to do with, so I wanted to share this yummy meal we had last week. It calls for leftover turkey, but at the time we didn't have any, so I just used cooked chicken, and it was still delicious.
Hope you like it. :)
Moo Shu Turkey (or chicken):
8 flour tortillas
3 T. Hoisin sauce
2 T. soy sauce
3/4 tsp. Asian sesame oil
3 tsp. olive oil
1 pkg. (8 oz.) mushrooms, sliced -- I didn't have, so used canned.
1 pkg. (16 oz.) shredded cabbage mix for coleslaw -- I didn't have this either, so just used 1/2 head cabbage, sliced thin; 1 grated carrot; finely chopped green onion.
1/2 medium red pepper, thinly sliced. Didn't have this either, so used green pepper. We like green pepper better anyway, because it's not as sweet as red.
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. grated, peeled fresh ginger -- use the real stuff, because it makes it taste authentic. Only take off what you need from the bulb, and freeze the rest until you need it again. (keep the skin on the portion of ginger bulb you will freeze).
3/4 lb. leftover turkey, shredded. About 2 cups.
1. Mix hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth; set aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in nonstick pan; cook mushrooms until they are brown & liquid has evaporated. Set aside in bowl.
3. Heat remaining 2 tsp. olive oil in skillet; cook cabbage mixture, green or red peppers, and sliced green onions for 3 minutes. Stirring constantly.
4. Add ginger & garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
5. Add shredded turkey, hoisin-sauce mixture, and mushrooms. Heat through.
6. Heat tortillas.
Each person can place mixture in tortilla and roll. We also added more hoisin sauce in tortilla before rolling. Like you would with sour cream or another topping.
This was so delicious. My son said it was a "10!" He said it tasted like restaurant food. It really did, so give it a try. Let me know if your family loves it ..... or hates it.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Holiday Party Planning
Hello Friend,
Major party time lies just around the corner -- Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years. You can stay on top of your entertaining with a little bit of planning.
In this blog, I hope to give you useful tips for entertaining and a recipe for our favorite holiday tea. :)
The 2 basic components of entertaining: cleaning the house & the food.
1. Your greatest asset is planning ahead. As soon as you know you are on point for the Thanksgiving or Christmas feast -- start planning!
**Plan your menu -- you may want to try a few new recipes and then of course, the tried and true favorites.
**Divide up who will bring what & e-mail or notify them right away. Keep a copy yourself; post on the refrigerator. You can send a friendly reminder the week of the celebration.
**Keep the easier food tasks at your house, as well as, those items which are difficult to “bring in” like the mashed potatoes.
**Also, keep the food items you insist follow a certain recipe at your house. We love our sweet potato puff recipe and would really miss it at a holiday celebration. :) You’ll love it too.
I have never served it when the recipe wasn't requested.
http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/sweet-potato-puff.html
**A nice division of food could be;
At the party house:
Meat, potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, holiday tea, coffee, creamer & sugar.
Assign to guests:
Salad or vegie, rolls, pies or dessert, olives, pickles & cranberries, paper products, drinks.
You may also include appetizers.
**If you are providing all the food; it will be a little more challenging, but doable. Go easy on new recipes, so it doesn’t add too much stress.
**Make your bars & cookies early and freeze them.
**Make pies a day ahead.
**Consider just tossed salad for the vegie or simple buttered green beans.
**You could order your rolls from a local bakery to save on time.
**The olives, pickles, and drinks just require purchasing and storing in the refrigerator.
**Plan your menu with timing, food preparation difficulty and your oven’s cooking capacity in mind.
2. Set up your schedule for the week prior to the party -- this will include grocery shopping & specific cleaning tasks. Follow this schedule to complete all your cleaning within the week. http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/cleaning-schedule.html
OK, your menu is planned, food items distributed, and your schedule is planned for cleaning.
3. Some cleaning tips: clean as you go. This is my greatest cleaning tip of all time.
Put things away right after using them; tidy the living area & kitchen every day; wipe the counters; load the dishwasher; etc.
This will help you prepare for your holiday entertaining, because you will only need to do your standard cleaning for the party.
The clean as you go philosophy allows your house to essentially, be clean all the time. :)
THE WEEK OF THE PARTY:
1. Post your schedule on the refrigerator & follow it for cleaning -- each day do what’s on the schedule, so you don’t run behind.
If you find yourself falling behind; don’t fret, just keeping moving forward. The next day may involve a few more tasks, but you have allowed enough time for everything to get done.
**Involve your kids, http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/chores-for-kids.html
**If your week is really busy the week of the party; plan to do some of your cleaning tasks the week before. A little touch up the week of the party should suffice.
**Your schedule should include grocery shopping a day or two prior to the party.
2. Be sure your linens are ready for the party -- table cloths, etc. Be sure to put them in the wash if needed and allow time for ironing if necessary.
This is the time to dig out your serving platters -- clean ahead and set out. Add this to your posted schedule.
**I recommend using sturdy, decorative plates, cups and paper products for large parties -- it’s the only way to go!
Makes clean up a breeze -- you’ll still have plenty of pots and pans to do.
3. THE FOOD:
You should be able to complete some tasks ahead during the week of the party; mix pie crust, crack ice, stock drinks, make cookies or bars and freeze.
http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/perfect-pie-crust.html
Add it to your posted schedule.
**Some dishes can be assembled a day ahead, and stored in the refrigerator, like sweet potato puff and mashed potato casserole.
http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/mashed-potato-casserole.html
**You can also make your pies a day ahead or the night before.
THE DAY OF THE PARTY:
1. Relax. You are well prepared, so you can enjoy your celebration.
2. Depending on what meat you are serving, you will most likely need to start this early in the morning.
2. Make your rolls -- you may need time for dough rising, so get this done early in the morning.
We love this delicious, very simple bread recipe. http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/60-minute-bread.html
3. If you haven’t assembled your potato recipes (sweet & regular); do this next. If you are making mashed potatoes on the range, peel your potatoes, and place in a cooking pot with water. This will keep them from browning until you are ready to cook -- plan for enough time to mash them. OR, if baking, a little bit before you want to start eating.
4. Wash the vegetables or salad. Cut up additional vegetables if necessary. Mix the dressing.
5. Place the olives, pickles and cranberries in a dish or tray; cover and refrigerate.
6. Place butter on trays & set out salt & pepper on serving table.
7. Have your family help with rearranging the furniture or setting up the tables and chairs. This can be done a day or two in advance.
8. Make the holiday tea.
9. Get your coffee brewing. If you aren't using a large pot, make some ahead and put in air pot to keep warm; brew some more. Set out your powder creamer, sugar & spoons. Liquid creamer can come out once your guests arrive.
10. Have your meat ready about a half hour before serving, so you can carve.
11. Make gravy.
When your guests arrive, have a place for their coats, boots/shoes and purses, so it’s not all dumped at your front door.
Put your kids in charge of that if they are old enough to handle it.
I hope this helps you enjoy your holiday celebrations!
Blessings to you,
Julie :)
Our favorite Holiday tea; recipe from Jean
5 individual tea bags
5 cups boiling water
5 cups unsweetened apple juice
2 cups cranberry juice
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1. Bring water to a boil in large stock pot; add tea bags.
2. Steep tea for 8 minutes; discard tea bags.
3. Add remaining ingredients to tea; simmer & stir until sugar dissolves.
4. Turn off heat & reheat as needed.
Enjoy!
Major party time lies just around the corner -- Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years. You can stay on top of your entertaining with a little bit of planning.
In this blog, I hope to give you useful tips for entertaining and a recipe for our favorite holiday tea. :)
The 2 basic components of entertaining: cleaning the house & the food.
1. Your greatest asset is planning ahead. As soon as you know you are on point for the Thanksgiving or Christmas feast -- start planning!
**Plan your menu -- you may want to try a few new recipes and then of course, the tried and true favorites.
**Divide up who will bring what & e-mail or notify them right away. Keep a copy yourself; post on the refrigerator. You can send a friendly reminder the week of the celebration.
**Keep the easier food tasks at your house, as well as, those items which are difficult to “bring in” like the mashed potatoes.
**Also, keep the food items you insist follow a certain recipe at your house. We love our sweet potato puff recipe and would really miss it at a holiday celebration. :) You’ll love it too.
I have never served it when the recipe wasn't requested.
http://www.keep-your-home-
**A nice division of food could be;
At the party house:
Meat, potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, holiday tea, coffee, creamer & sugar.
Assign to guests:
Salad or vegie, rolls, pies or dessert, olives, pickles & cranberries, paper products, drinks.
You may also include appetizers.
**If you are providing all the food; it will be a little more challenging, but doable. Go easy on new recipes, so it doesn’t add too much stress.
**Make your bars & cookies early and freeze them.
**Make pies a day ahead.
**Consider just tossed salad for the vegie or simple buttered green beans.
**You could order your rolls from a local bakery to save on time.
**The olives, pickles, and drinks just require purchasing and storing in the refrigerator.
**Plan your menu with timing, food preparation difficulty and your oven’s cooking capacity in mind.
2. Set up your schedule for the week prior to the party -- this will include grocery shopping & specific cleaning tasks. Follow this schedule to complete all your cleaning within the week. http://www.keep-your-home-
OK, your menu is planned, food items distributed, and your schedule is planned for cleaning.
3. Some cleaning tips: clean as you go. This is my greatest cleaning tip of all time.
Put things away right after using them; tidy the living area & kitchen every day; wipe the counters; load the dishwasher; etc.
This will help you prepare for your holiday entertaining, because you will only need to do your standard cleaning for the party.
The clean as you go philosophy allows your house to essentially, be clean all the time. :)
THE WEEK OF THE PARTY:
1. Post your schedule on the refrigerator & follow it for cleaning -- each day do what’s on the schedule, so you don’t run behind.
If you find yourself falling behind; don’t fret, just keeping moving forward. The next day may involve a few more tasks, but you have allowed enough time for everything to get done.
**Involve your kids, http://www.keep-your-home-
**If your week is really busy the week of the party; plan to do some of your cleaning tasks the week before. A little touch up the week of the party should suffice.
**Your schedule should include grocery shopping a day or two prior to the party.
2. Be sure your linens are ready for the party -- table cloths, etc. Be sure to put them in the wash if needed and allow time for ironing if necessary.
This is the time to dig out your serving platters -- clean ahead and set out. Add this to your posted schedule.
**I recommend using sturdy, decorative plates, cups and paper products for large parties -- it’s the only way to go!
Makes clean up a breeze -- you’ll still have plenty of pots and pans to do.
3. THE FOOD:
You should be able to complete some tasks ahead during the week of the party; mix pie crust, crack ice, stock drinks, make cookies or bars and freeze.
http://www.keep-your-home-
Add it to your posted schedule.
**Some dishes can be assembled a day ahead, and stored in the refrigerator, like sweet potato puff and mashed potato casserole.
http://www.keep-your-home-
**You can also make your pies a day ahead or the night before.
THE DAY OF THE PARTY:
1. Relax. You are well prepared, so you can enjoy your celebration.
2. Depending on what meat you are serving, you will most likely need to start this early in the morning.
2. Make your rolls -- you may need time for dough rising, so get this done early in the morning.
We love this delicious, very simple bread recipe. http://www.keep-your-home-
3. If you haven’t assembled your potato recipes (sweet & regular); do this next. If you are making mashed potatoes on the range, peel your potatoes, and place in a cooking pot with water. This will keep them from browning until you are ready to cook -- plan for enough time to mash them. OR, if baking, a little bit before you want to start eating.
4. Wash the vegetables or salad. Cut up additional vegetables if necessary. Mix the dressing.
5. Place the olives, pickles and cranberries in a dish or tray; cover and refrigerate.
6. Place butter on trays & set out salt & pepper on serving table.
7. Have your family help with rearranging the furniture or setting up the tables and chairs. This can be done a day or two in advance.
8. Make the holiday tea.
9. Get your coffee brewing. If you aren't using a large pot, make some ahead and put in air pot to keep warm; brew some more. Set out your powder creamer, sugar & spoons. Liquid creamer can come out once your guests arrive.
10. Have your meat ready about a half hour before serving, so you can carve.
11. Make gravy.
When your guests arrive, have a place for their coats, boots/shoes and purses, so it’s not all dumped at your front door.
Put your kids in charge of that if they are old enough to handle it.
I hope this helps you enjoy your holiday celebrations!
Blessings to you,
Julie :)
Our favorite Holiday tea; recipe from Jean
5 individual tea bags
5 cups boiling water
5 cups unsweetened apple juice
2 cups cranberry juice
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1. Bring water to a boil in large stock pot; add tea bags.
2. Steep tea for 8 minutes; discard tea bags.
3. Add remaining ingredients to tea; simmer & stir until sugar dissolves.
4. Turn off heat & reheat as needed.
Enjoy!
The flood & Emily
It's been a while since I've written. Many of you know our last month has been crazy.
Our Emily had a ruptured appendix the day of the heavy rains/typhoon here in the Philippines.
She had gone that morning with friends to Daniel's volleyball game -- we stayed home that day because an out of country friend was stopping by. By 10:30 a.m. that morning, we had lost electricity; and the rains hadn't stopped all through the night. It seemed inevitable that she would have to stay at the school with other stranded game goers. We didn't know she had a ruptured appendix yet, she just was not feeling well.
Daniel and his team never made it to their game; they were stuck in water & stopped traffic on the freeway. They ended up walking to a team members house through the rain & flood waters and stayed the night there -- they walked for an hour..... I was frantic!!
Emily texted saying how terrible she felt, but what could I do? We certainly didn't expect appendicitis, and we couldn't get to her; I thought she had the flu -- all the roads were blocked, which you may have seen on the news.
By morning, the rains had stopped; we still had no electricity and no telephone. We figured the kids would be heading back to us that morning -- little did we know the roads were still blocked with waist-high water, stranded cars and debris.
They had both headed home with their respective families they were traveling with, but had gotten stuck along the way. At 9:00 a.m. our friend called to let us know they had taken Emily to the hospital and they thought she had appendicitis. She had a fever and had been vomiting all night, and was in indescribable pain. I had to get to her! We had no idea what the roads looked like.
We started out in the car, but didn't make it 10 feet on the main road -- cars stopped everywhere; people milling; trees, branches and debris everywhere; road dividers turned over and strewn across the streets -- it was impassible.
Phil brought me to our neighbor, friend and fellow Action missionary; he took me on his motorcycle, and we tried to see if we could get through. Our first try was met with waist deep water; we turned around and tried another way. That was also met with waist high water. I decided to head out and see how far I could get on foot -- the hospital, with traffic, is an hours drive; without traffic, is about 20 to 25 minutes. It's a good jaunt away. I just started walking; the whole time praying for my baby girl to be fine and that the doctor's would have wisdom. Our friends were trying to reach me and I was trying to reach them, but we had no reception on our cell phones -- incredibly frustrating!
The water was waist deep and I just plunged in, and started trudging through it. Hundreds of people were doing the same thing as me -- I wondered, "Why would you be doing this if you didn't have to?" So, I guess they must have had to -- I saw pregnant women, old men & women, infants, children, all walking through muddy water to reach their destination. Each side of the road had people walking in a different direction. Large equipment trucks would pass by with 50+ people on them -- hanging to the sides to get a reprieve from the strong water. I thought, "I've got to get on one of those to get going faster." But, each time they passed by, they were jammed full.
I'd ask of people heading towards me who had already crossed the way I was headed, "How much further?" One man said 2 kilometers, and I thought, "You have got to be kidding!" "Waist high water for another 2 kilometers?" That didn't seem possible! But, he confirmed that to be true.
My mistake -- I always convert kilometers the wrong way -- I double it up, not divide it by 2. So, I thought it meant 4 miles left when in actuality, it was only another mile in waist high water. Phew!!
Until I figured that out; I thought I would have to turn back -- I would never make it another 4 miles in this water. It was too difficult. Then, I heard someone call my name.
Oh yeah, I should tell you I picked up a broken broom along the way to test my footing ahead of me. The Philippines is notorious for having open man holes, so I didn't want to fall in one.
Anyway, back to hearing my name. It was another missionary mom who had been at the game, spent the night and was walking the other direction -- she was with her son, a classmate of Emily's. They had abandoned their car about a half hour back and they were walking home. When she told me it was only a half hour more through that water; I was encouraged and fortified to keep moving forward. I knew once I got through the water; I would still have quite a walk, but at least it was on solid ground. I want to bear witness that when I was ready to give up; the Lord put someone in my path to move me forward. Thank you God!
I should also say that many people were praying for Emily at this time, and for us to make our way to the hospital safely. Everyone I saw on the way that we knew; I told, and Phil quickly let our Action leaders know, who patched it out to the team. Later in the day, I believe he was able to let our stateside girls know.
As I looked to the left, I saw a fishing boat being pulled by a man in the water. The boat was pretty full, but I could see room for myself. It was on the other side of the road, so I started running through the water, and yelling, "I have to get into that boat!" "My daughter's in the hospital, and I have to get there!" I was hoping they would have compassion on me. :) They didn't want to let me in, but I wouldn't take no for an answer and just started getting in. Their eyes all got wide as the boat leaned to one side while I got in; but, it leveled out again. :) The immerged man covered the remaining distance of water quickly, and as soon as the boat grounded, we all hopped out. I handed him 15 pesos and was on my way in only ankle deep water.
Abandoned cars made a maze of the road -- I simply walked wherever there was open space. It was an incredible sight -- the roads weren't cleared for a week; other places still have standing water.
Who should I see in one of the parked cars, but my son and a few members of his team. He got out and we headed toward the hospital. He said I looked like some sort of tribal woman -- I guess I looked pretty crazy :) I was soaked up to my waist from water; my hair was soaked with sweat and I had been pushing it back haphazardly; I had a broken broom as a walking stick and I had strapped my purse around my neck, so it wouldn't get wet. I guess it looked a little crazy, but you parents know -- when it comes to our kids; we'll do anything!
We continued on, trying to hitch rides whenever we could. People didn't seem to want to give rides -- I'm not sure why. Maybe they were afraid to be stopped & robbed -- I really don't know. Public transportation is very available in the Philippines on a regular basis; but, this was not regular, so there was no guarantee of a ride. I tried hitching with a man on a motorcycle; a van; a truck and a jeepney; but nothing. When the next van drove past me; I called him a jerk and slapped my hand on his window. Yikes!
Dan said, "Mom, let me flag down the rides and no more hitting cars." Wise boy. :)
We picked up several rides and then were able to land a taxi, which took us the last 5 miles. I almost couldn't believe it when he said he could take us the rest of the way to the hospital! I was so thankful!!
When we arrived, Emily was in the emergency room and they were getting ready to admit her. They felt as though her appendix had ruptured; she was fighting the infection, and we were waiting for a physician. Several more tests were done to verify the rupture, and to rule out anything female. Low and behold, they found a cyst on her left ovary. This was shocking to say the least. I remember thinking, "We'll just take one crisis at a time, and concentrate on the ruptured appendix, and deal with the cyst after." I also thought that in God's Providence, this may be the reason she had a ruptured appendix -- to find the cyst.
They decided to do a more exploratory incision because of the cyst on the left and the ruptured appendix on the right. So, she had an incision from under her belly button to just about her pubic area -- like a cesarean. They had started giving her antibiotics about 5 p.m. --- not soon enough for me. I knew we were in a race against time with the infection that was going through her body from the ruptured appendix. We were still waiting for the surgeon to arrive -- he was caught out in the waters somewhere. We finally requested another Dr. When he saw Emily, he had a 2 hour surgery ahead of her -- my patience was getting tested. She went into surgery at 7:30 p.m. about 12 hours after she arrived to the hospital; and probably 24 to 36 hours after her appendix ruptured.
I believe the Dr. we had was God's choice and that's why the other Dr. was not able to arrive. This new Dr. was God's annointed to do the surgery on our Emily.
The surgeon removed her appendix and cleaned out the puss; the OB - GYN drained her cyst. It turned out to be a follicular cyst which can fill up with liquid. The body typically absorbs the liquid, but hers didn't. She said it had no characteristics of cancer, and she was not worried at all. It was a "normal, abnormal." She will have a follow-up ultra-sound and CT scan within the next few weeks for the cyst.
Through it all, Emily was incredibly brave. We are so proud of her. Her friends were gems to her -- they were prayer warriors for her, and encouraged her all the way. Our friends and family lifted her and us up in prayer; and God healed her. He took away her infection, and cleared up the few complications she had after the surgery. Emily knew that God had safely placed her on the right side of the water, so she could get to the hospital. I'm not sure how she would have gotten to a hospital if she had been at home with us. She was with other missionary women that I trust and respect, and they took care of her. Our friend, was stayed with her and us through the surgery that night, is a nurse, and speaks fluent Tagalog, so she was there to help Emily and us. Thank you God for going before us and putting everyone and everything in place.
Colossians 1:17 says "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Amen to that!
Well, there's more to say, but I've talked a lot already.
God used this to touch Emily's heart & open her eyes and I am thankful for that -- she is too.
She loved the Lord before this, but He showed His faithfulness to her, and that has changed her. :)
Blessings to you all, and may God meet you in your lives.
Julie :)
Our Emily had a ruptured appendix the day of the heavy rains/typhoon here in the Philippines.
She had gone that morning with friends to Daniel's volleyball game -- we stayed home that day because an out of country friend was stopping by. By 10:30 a.m. that morning, we had lost electricity; and the rains hadn't stopped all through the night. It seemed inevitable that she would have to stay at the school with other stranded game goers. We didn't know she had a ruptured appendix yet, she just was not feeling well.
Daniel and his team never made it to their game; they were stuck in water & stopped traffic on the freeway. They ended up walking to a team members house through the rain & flood waters and stayed the night there -- they walked for an hour..... I was frantic!!
Emily texted saying how terrible she felt, but what could I do? We certainly didn't expect appendicitis, and we couldn't get to her; I thought she had the flu -- all the roads were blocked, which you may have seen on the news.
By morning, the rains had stopped; we still had no electricity and no telephone. We figured the kids would be heading back to us that morning -- little did we know the roads were still blocked with waist-high water, stranded cars and debris.
They had both headed home with their respective families they were traveling with, but had gotten stuck along the way. At 9:00 a.m. our friend called to let us know they had taken Emily to the hospital and they thought she had appendicitis. She had a fever and had been vomiting all night, and was in indescribable pain. I had to get to her! We had no idea what the roads looked like.
We started out in the car, but didn't make it 10 feet on the main road -- cars stopped everywhere; people milling; trees, branches and debris everywhere; road dividers turned over and strewn across the streets -- it was impassible.
Phil brought me to our neighbor, friend and fellow Action missionary; he took me on his motorcycle, and we tried to see if we could get through. Our first try was met with waist deep water; we turned around and tried another way. That was also met with waist high water. I decided to head out and see how far I could get on foot -- the hospital, with traffic, is an hours drive; without traffic, is about 20 to 25 minutes. It's a good jaunt away. I just started walking; the whole time praying for my baby girl to be fine and that the doctor's would have wisdom. Our friends were trying to reach me and I was trying to reach them, but we had no reception on our cell phones -- incredibly frustrating!
The water was waist deep and I just plunged in, and started trudging through it. Hundreds of people were doing the same thing as me -- I wondered, "Why would you be doing this if you didn't have to?" So, I guess they must have had to -- I saw pregnant women, old men & women, infants, children, all walking through muddy water to reach their destination. Each side of the road had people walking in a different direction. Large equipment trucks would pass by with 50+ people on them -- hanging to the sides to get a reprieve from the strong water. I thought, "I've got to get on one of those to get going faster." But, each time they passed by, they were jammed full.
I'd ask of people heading towards me who had already crossed the way I was headed, "How much further?" One man said 2 kilometers, and I thought, "You have got to be kidding!" "Waist high water for another 2 kilometers?" That didn't seem possible! But, he confirmed that to be true.
My mistake -- I always convert kilometers the wrong way -- I double it up, not divide it by 2. So, I thought it meant 4 miles left when in actuality, it was only another mile in waist high water. Phew!!
Until I figured that out; I thought I would have to turn back -- I would never make it another 4 miles in this water. It was too difficult. Then, I heard someone call my name.
Oh yeah, I should tell you I picked up a broken broom along the way to test my footing ahead of me. The Philippines is notorious for having open man holes, so I didn't want to fall in one.
Anyway, back to hearing my name. It was another missionary mom who had been at the game, spent the night and was walking the other direction -- she was with her son, a classmate of Emily's. They had abandoned their car about a half hour back and they were walking home. When she told me it was only a half hour more through that water; I was encouraged and fortified to keep moving forward. I knew once I got through the water; I would still have quite a walk, but at least it was on solid ground. I want to bear witness that when I was ready to give up; the Lord put someone in my path to move me forward. Thank you God!
I should also say that many people were praying for Emily at this time, and for us to make our way to the hospital safely. Everyone I saw on the way that we knew; I told, and Phil quickly let our Action leaders know, who patched it out to the team. Later in the day, I believe he was able to let our stateside girls know.
As I looked to the left, I saw a fishing boat being pulled by a man in the water. The boat was pretty full, but I could see room for myself. It was on the other side of the road, so I started running through the water, and yelling, "I have to get into that boat!" "My daughter's in the hospital, and I have to get there!" I was hoping they would have compassion on me. :) They didn't want to let me in, but I wouldn't take no for an answer and just started getting in. Their eyes all got wide as the boat leaned to one side while I got in; but, it leveled out again. :) The immerged man covered the remaining distance of water quickly, and as soon as the boat grounded, we all hopped out. I handed him 15 pesos and was on my way in only ankle deep water.
Abandoned cars made a maze of the road -- I simply walked wherever there was open space. It was an incredible sight -- the roads weren't cleared for a week; other places still have standing water.
Who should I see in one of the parked cars, but my son and a few members of his team. He got out and we headed toward the hospital. He said I looked like some sort of tribal woman -- I guess I looked pretty crazy :) I was soaked up to my waist from water; my hair was soaked with sweat and I had been pushing it back haphazardly; I had a broken broom as a walking stick and I had strapped my purse around my neck, so it wouldn't get wet. I guess it looked a little crazy, but you parents know -- when it comes to our kids; we'll do anything!
We continued on, trying to hitch rides whenever we could. People didn't seem to want to give rides -- I'm not sure why. Maybe they were afraid to be stopped & robbed -- I really don't know. Public transportation is very available in the Philippines on a regular basis; but, this was not regular, so there was no guarantee of a ride. I tried hitching with a man on a motorcycle; a van; a truck and a jeepney; but nothing. When the next van drove past me; I called him a jerk and slapped my hand on his window. Yikes!
Dan said, "Mom, let me flag down the rides and no more hitting cars." Wise boy. :)
We picked up several rides and then were able to land a taxi, which took us the last 5 miles. I almost couldn't believe it when he said he could take us the rest of the way to the hospital! I was so thankful!!
When we arrived, Emily was in the emergency room and they were getting ready to admit her. They felt as though her appendix had ruptured; she was fighting the infection, and we were waiting for a physician. Several more tests were done to verify the rupture, and to rule out anything female. Low and behold, they found a cyst on her left ovary. This was shocking to say the least. I remember thinking, "We'll just take one crisis at a time, and concentrate on the ruptured appendix, and deal with the cyst after." I also thought that in God's Providence, this may be the reason she had a ruptured appendix -- to find the cyst.
They decided to do a more exploratory incision because of the cyst on the left and the ruptured appendix on the right. So, she had an incision from under her belly button to just about her pubic area -- like a cesarean. They had started giving her antibiotics about 5 p.m. --- not soon enough for me. I knew we were in a race against time with the infection that was going through her body from the ruptured appendix. We were still waiting for the surgeon to arrive -- he was caught out in the waters somewhere. We finally requested another Dr. When he saw Emily, he had a 2 hour surgery ahead of her -- my patience was getting tested. She went into surgery at 7:30 p.m. about 12 hours after she arrived to the hospital; and probably 24 to 36 hours after her appendix ruptured.
I believe the Dr. we had was God's choice and that's why the other Dr. was not able to arrive. This new Dr. was God's annointed to do the surgery on our Emily.
The surgeon removed her appendix and cleaned out the puss; the OB - GYN drained her cyst. It turned out to be a follicular cyst which can fill up with liquid. The body typically absorbs the liquid, but hers didn't. She said it had no characteristics of cancer, and she was not worried at all. It was a "normal, abnormal." She will have a follow-up ultra-sound and CT scan within the next few weeks for the cyst.
Through it all, Emily was incredibly brave. We are so proud of her. Her friends were gems to her -- they were prayer warriors for her, and encouraged her all the way. Our friends and family lifted her and us up in prayer; and God healed her. He took away her infection, and cleared up the few complications she had after the surgery. Emily knew that God had safely placed her on the right side of the water, so she could get to the hospital. I'm not sure how she would have gotten to a hospital if she had been at home with us. She was with other missionary women that I trust and respect, and they took care of her. Our friend, was stayed with her and us through the surgery that night, is a nurse, and speaks fluent Tagalog, so she was there to help Emily and us. Thank you God for going before us and putting everyone and everything in place.
Colossians 1:17 says "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Amen to that!
Well, there's more to say, but I've talked a lot already.
God used this to touch Emily's heart & open her eyes and I am thankful for that -- she is too.
She loved the Lord before this, but He showed His faithfulness to her, and that has changed her. :)
Blessings to you all, and may God meet you in your lives.
Julie :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Best Lasagna I've ever had!
I have tried several lasagna recipes over the last couple years to find the perfect lasagna and have been sorely disappointed......until tonight. This lasagna tasted like it was made straight from one of the diners featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" --- my favorite Food Network show. SO YUMMY!
The thing is I veered from the recipe, which is what I think cooking is all about. To me, recipes are "guidelines" -- some need to be followed more closely, and others have quite a bit of flexibility. I think that's the genius behind being a great cook -- knowing from experience where you can veer and what will taste really good. I think anyone can learn this with a little bit of instruction and creativity.
When you "doctor" up a recipe; be sure to write it down on your recipe card so if you liked the changes, you can do it again :)
That's the preamble to the recipe.
I adapted this recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" -- the yellow version, he had his own sauce, but I used my favorite marinara sauce instead.
Ingredients:
1 - 1 and a 1/2 cups Bechamel sauce (recipe below)
8 oz. cottage cheese (this is my addition)
3 cups, more or less, marinara (recipe below)
Lean ground chicken & lean ground pork, (about 1 1b. each) browned & seasoned
Grated Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese, grated (my addition)
Kosher salt & coarse black pepper to taste
Lasagna noodles, about 9, cooked al dente
1. Make your marinara. See recipe at http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/best-marinara-sauce-ever.html
I always have some of this in my freezer, which made my lasagna easier tonight. Make enough of this great marinara to have some on hand all the time. For the lasagna recipe, you may need to thicken up the marinara. Do this by cooking it longer and reduce it a bit. Tonight, I added enough meat to thicken it up, and had cooked up this marinara a couple times which made it a little thicker.
2. Cook your noodles in salted water until al dente -- slightly firm; drain.
3. Brown the ground chicken & LEAN ground pork together, season with kosher salt, black pepper and italian seasoning. Use your good judgment for the seasonings & of course, taste it!
YOU have just made an easy HOMEMADE SAUSAGE that's lean and tasty.
4. Combine the marinara and seasoned ground meat.
5. Make the bechamel sauce: 1 1/2 T. butter, 1 1/2 T. flour, 1 to 1 1/2 cups milk.
Melt butter in pan, add flour -- make a paste; add 1 cup milk, cook on low to medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Add a little more milk if necessary -- I didn't.
Season with kosher salt, black pepper and white pepper to taste.
**To date, this is my favorite bechamel sauce (french for white sauce), because it doesn't taste of
flour.**
You are ready to assemble the lasagna.
Grease your 9 x 13 glass pan with butter.
Layer:
Noodles (about 3)
Spread 1/2 of the bechamel sauce on the noodles
Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese over sauce; add some black pepper if you think it needs it.
1/3 of the meat/marinara sauce
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
Light layer of mozzarella cheese
Repeat this layering again, except on one layer use the remaining bechamel and the next series of layering, use the remaining cottage cheese.
So:
Noodles, bechamel, meat/marinara, parmesan cheese, mozzarella;
Noodles, cottage cheese, meat/marinara, parmesan cheese, mozzarella.
**Don't go crazy on the mozzarella cheese; that was one of my husband's favorite part -- it didn't taste like just cheese. You could taste all the other lasagna goodness!
The original recipe doesn't call for cottage cheese -- that's why I didn't add a lot, and we liked it that way.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes.
The bechamel sauce makes this lasagna so creamy! We loved it!
Enjoy :)
My cooking/baking adventures for the coming week, so stay tuned:
1. Homemade English Muffins -- I am into making everything from scratch, because we can't get ready-made items here -- sauces, certain breads, etc. I am also testing to find the very best recipes for homemade everything!
2. OR, homemade bagels -- we'll see what I fancy this week.
3. Individual chicken pot pies with the best pie crust ever.
http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/perfect-pie-crust.html
4. Peach pie (peaches from a can) using the same pie crust as above for the bottom, but a sugar cookie crust on top. Yummy! I've got to make something delicious with what I can get my hands on.
5. Oven caramel corn -- I usually can't stand mixing salty with sugary stuffs, but I tasted this and it was magnanimous.
I made Apple Fritters last week, and they were delectable Dar-lou-nee! I'll share the recipe on another post.
To the journey,
justjulie
The thing is I veered from the recipe, which is what I think cooking is all about. To me, recipes are "guidelines" -- some need to be followed more closely, and others have quite a bit of flexibility. I think that's the genius behind being a great cook -- knowing from experience where you can veer and what will taste really good. I think anyone can learn this with a little bit of instruction and creativity.
When you "doctor" up a recipe; be sure to write it down on your recipe card so if you liked the changes, you can do it again :)
That's the preamble to the recipe.
I adapted this recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" -- the yellow version, he had his own sauce, but I used my favorite marinara sauce instead.
Ingredients:
1 - 1 and a 1/2 cups Bechamel sauce (recipe below)
8 oz. cottage cheese (this is my addition)
3 cups, more or less, marinara (recipe below)
Lean ground chicken & lean ground pork, (about 1 1b. each) browned & seasoned
Grated Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese, grated (my addition)
Kosher salt & coarse black pepper to taste
Lasagna noodles, about 9, cooked al dente
1. Make your marinara. See recipe at http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/best-marinara-sauce-ever.html
I always have some of this in my freezer, which made my lasagna easier tonight. Make enough of this great marinara to have some on hand all the time. For the lasagna recipe, you may need to thicken up the marinara. Do this by cooking it longer and reduce it a bit. Tonight, I added enough meat to thicken it up, and had cooked up this marinara a couple times which made it a little thicker.
2. Cook your noodles in salted water until al dente -- slightly firm; drain.
3. Brown the ground chicken & LEAN ground pork together, season with kosher salt, black pepper and italian seasoning. Use your good judgment for the seasonings & of course, taste it!
YOU have just made an easy HOMEMADE SAUSAGE that's lean and tasty.
4. Combine the marinara and seasoned ground meat.
5. Make the bechamel sauce: 1 1/2 T. butter, 1 1/2 T. flour, 1 to 1 1/2 cups milk.
Melt butter in pan, add flour -- make a paste; add 1 cup milk, cook on low to medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Add a little more milk if necessary -- I didn't.
Season with kosher salt, black pepper and white pepper to taste.
**To date, this is my favorite bechamel sauce (french for white sauce), because it doesn't taste of
flour.**
You are ready to assemble the lasagna.
Grease your 9 x 13 glass pan with butter.
Layer:
Noodles (about 3)
Spread 1/2 of the bechamel sauce on the noodles
Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese over sauce; add some black pepper if you think it needs it.
1/3 of the meat/marinara sauce
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
Light layer of mozzarella cheese
Repeat this layering again, except on one layer use the remaining bechamel and the next series of layering, use the remaining cottage cheese.
So:
Noodles, bechamel, meat/marinara, parmesan cheese, mozzarella;
Noodles, cottage cheese, meat/marinara, parmesan cheese, mozzarella.
**Don't go crazy on the mozzarella cheese; that was one of my husband's favorite part -- it didn't taste like just cheese. You could taste all the other lasagna goodness!
The original recipe doesn't call for cottage cheese -- that's why I didn't add a lot, and we liked it that way.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes.
The bechamel sauce makes this lasagna so creamy! We loved it!
Enjoy :)
My cooking/baking adventures for the coming week, so stay tuned:
1. Homemade English Muffins -- I am into making everything from scratch, because we can't get ready-made items here -- sauces, certain breads, etc. I am also testing to find the very best recipes for homemade everything!
2. OR, homemade bagels -- we'll see what I fancy this week.
3. Individual chicken pot pies with the best pie crust ever.
http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/perfect-pie-crust.html
4. Peach pie (peaches from a can) using the same pie crust as above for the bottom, but a sugar cookie crust on top. Yummy! I've got to make something delicious with what I can get my hands on.
5. Oven caramel corn -- I usually can't stand mixing salty with sugary stuffs, but I tasted this and it was magnanimous.
I made Apple Fritters last week, and they were delectable Dar-lou-nee! I'll share the recipe on another post.
To the journey,
justjulie
Saturday, September 19, 2009
My stupid oven!
OK, so I have a dumb oven.
What does that mean exactly?
I'm not going to drone on and on about the background of my oven woes; but, I'll give you the short version.
I actually have two ovens -- one American sized oven and one Filipino sized oven (small).
We bought all the appliances that were in the house when we rented it.
Sidebar: In the Philippines, you have to buy your own appliances when you rent a place. The owner doesn't usually provide anything. Renting in the Philippines is another blog... or fifty blogs!
ANYWAY......
We moved this summer to another house closer to the school -- I love it and it's so convenient!
But, this house, and the country for that matter, use 220 volts of power. If you don't know, the United States uses 110 volts.
Well, I thought my American sized oven was 220 volts because it was bought here.
No can do!
It's 110 volts, so I haven't been able to use it yet.
I'm trying to get 110 into the house or some solution to use my nice sized oven again; but that is happening very slowly.
ONE POSSIBLE PROBLEM:
The day we moved in, I plugged the oven into the 220 when I didn't know my oven was 110 and I smelled burning --- so I'm not sure if I fried it.
If we rewire the house, it still might be shot because I fried it, so...
We looked for an oven yesterday and I found one I love!
It's beautiful and I even think I dreamed about it last night.
I say "I think" because I slept so terrible last night, I'm not sure if I was sleeping or just
dreaming about it as I lay in bed waiting for sleep.
Why can't I use my Filipino sized oven?
Well, I can and I have been using it but it's really small, so it doesn't fit every pan that I have.
And it doesn't work properly -- when you open up the door, the flame blows out, so you always have to restart the flame.
Which leads to the next problem with it: It doesn't keep consistent heat -- there's no reason to have a gauge to set the temperature because the oven heats at whatever temperature it wants to anyway. It has a possessed mind of its own.
There is no guarantee anything will come out properly when cooked because it's so temperamental.
See my problem!
We used to be able to make the yummiest breads (in my big oven) and now they just taste tasteless (in the small oven) -- the texture is blah, and the shape is narly. Downright nasty! And I wanted to really start making killer breads, so now I'm disappointed & frustrated.
I even began to question my cooking & baking skills, which I have always considered myself a better than average cook. Oh dear!
I was so flabberghasted this last week that I even considered making a clay oven outside. I googled it and printed off a "recipe" to make my own clay oven.
All you need is sand, water and hay or rice hulls. I can get all that stuff!
So we're going to start on the plans this week. Sorta cool & very "green."
Actually, my husband is so keen on the idea he wants to use it as a possible livelihood project for Filipinos. He could teach them to make clay ovens and they could sell them for income.
One of our ministries to the Filipinos is teaching livelihood projects, so it fits.
The thing is that the average Filipino doesn't use an oven, so we would need to access the need and evaluate whether they could make money from it.
Rich Filipinos use ovens and so do expats and missionaries, so they might appreciate a clay baked pizza or hearth breads made in their own clay oven.
Svveet!!
So, lesson to be learned from my frustration: God works things out and may have revealed a new way for Filipinos to make money from the nature that surrounds us so bountifully.
To the journey,
just julie
What does that mean exactly?
I'm not going to drone on and on about the background of my oven woes; but, I'll give you the short version.
I actually have two ovens -- one American sized oven and one Filipino sized oven (small).
We bought all the appliances that were in the house when we rented it.
Sidebar: In the Philippines, you have to buy your own appliances when you rent a place. The owner doesn't usually provide anything. Renting in the Philippines is another blog... or fifty blogs!
ANYWAY......
We moved this summer to another house closer to the school -- I love it and it's so convenient!
But, this house, and the country for that matter, use 220 volts of power. If you don't know, the United States uses 110 volts.
Well, I thought my American sized oven was 220 volts because it was bought here.
No can do!
It's 110 volts, so I haven't been able to use it yet.
I'm trying to get 110 into the house or some solution to use my nice sized oven again; but that is happening very slowly.
ONE POSSIBLE PROBLEM:
The day we moved in, I plugged the oven into the 220 when I didn't know my oven was 110 and I smelled burning --- so I'm not sure if I fried it.
If we rewire the house, it still might be shot because I fried it, so...
We looked for an oven yesterday and I found one I love!
It's beautiful and I even think I dreamed about it last night.
I say "I think" because I slept so terrible last night, I'm not sure if I was sleeping or just
dreaming about it as I lay in bed waiting for sleep.
Why can't I use my Filipino sized oven?
Well, I can and I have been using it but it's really small, so it doesn't fit every pan that I have.
And it doesn't work properly -- when you open up the door, the flame blows out, so you always have to restart the flame.
Which leads to the next problem with it: It doesn't keep consistent heat -- there's no reason to have a gauge to set the temperature because the oven heats at whatever temperature it wants to anyway. It has a possessed mind of its own.
There is no guarantee anything will come out properly when cooked because it's so temperamental.
See my problem!
We used to be able to make the yummiest breads (in my big oven) and now they just taste tasteless (in the small oven) -- the texture is blah, and the shape is narly. Downright nasty! And I wanted to really start making killer breads, so now I'm disappointed & frustrated.
I even began to question my cooking & baking skills, which I have always considered myself a better than average cook. Oh dear!
I was so flabberghasted this last week that I even considered making a clay oven outside. I googled it and printed off a "recipe" to make my own clay oven.
All you need is sand, water and hay or rice hulls. I can get all that stuff!
So we're going to start on the plans this week. Sorta cool & very "green."
Actually, my husband is so keen on the idea he wants to use it as a possible livelihood project for Filipinos. He could teach them to make clay ovens and they could sell them for income.
One of our ministries to the Filipinos is teaching livelihood projects, so it fits.
The thing is that the average Filipino doesn't use an oven, so we would need to access the need and evaluate whether they could make money from it.
Rich Filipinos use ovens and so do expats and missionaries, so they might appreciate a clay baked pizza or hearth breads made in their own clay oven.
Svveet!!
So, lesson to be learned from my frustration: God works things out and may have revealed a new way for Filipinos to make money from the nature that surrounds us so bountifully.
To the journey,
just julie
Friday, September 18, 2009
Beignets -- French for Donut Holes :)
Hello Friends,
Today was my second attempt at Beignets, which is a fancy way to say donut holes.
They are delicious!! -- in any language.
So soft and airy; addicting beyond belief.
I'll share the recipe and what I learned in making them.
What I learned, and hopefully will help you when you're making them:
1. This recipe makes a lot of beignets, so unless you're feeding your child's school; make half the recipe.
2. It says to roll the dough out and cut into 1 inch squares -- well, I wanted to drop them like a dumpling into the hot oil like I saw on the Food Network show "Chopped." Don't do that; follow the recipe because they are too thick otherwise. I had much better luck today when I made mine about 2 inches x 2 inches, so that's a little bigger than the recipe, but they worked just fine.
3. The recipe says to heat the oil to 350 degrees; well, that was too hot for my beignets. They were brown in seconds and doughy in the middle; so, I heated my oil to about 250 degrees and they did just great. Use a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature. When frying, I took the oil off the flame if the heat got out of control. You will have to see how your range works with the oil and how quickly it cooks the beignets; adjust the heat as needed.
4. One last thing: I didn't have time this morning to let it rise for 2 hours, so I only let it rise for 1 hour and they still turned out great; almost better than the first time. You decide for yourself.
Here's the recipe; Enjoy!
This recipe is from one of my favorite Food Network stars -- Paula Deen. My all-time fav is Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (between 100 - 110 degrees)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast -- 2 1/4 tsp.
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep-frying (use a small to medium saucepan, and fill oil to about 1 - 2 inches deep)
3 cups powdered sugar -- just put a couple of scoops in a ziploc and add more if needed; you may not need this much.
Directions:
Mix water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together.
Mix egg mixture with the yeast mixture.
Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
Add shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour.
Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray.
Put dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap or towel.
Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares (or 2 inch squares).
Deep fry, flipping when one side is light to golden brown.
After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towel.
Toss them with powdered sugar in a ziploc bag.
Enjoy!!
Today was my second attempt at Beignets, which is a fancy way to say donut holes.
They are delicious!! -- in any language.
So soft and airy; addicting beyond belief.
I'll share the recipe and what I learned in making them.
What I learned, and hopefully will help you when you're making them:
1. This recipe makes a lot of beignets, so unless you're feeding your child's school; make half the recipe.
2. It says to roll the dough out and cut into 1 inch squares -- well, I wanted to drop them like a dumpling into the hot oil like I saw on the Food Network show "Chopped." Don't do that; follow the recipe because they are too thick otherwise. I had much better luck today when I made mine about 2 inches x 2 inches, so that's a little bigger than the recipe, but they worked just fine.
3. The recipe says to heat the oil to 350 degrees; well, that was too hot for my beignets. They were brown in seconds and doughy in the middle; so, I heated my oil to about 250 degrees and they did just great. Use a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature. When frying, I took the oil off the flame if the heat got out of control. You will have to see how your range works with the oil and how quickly it cooks the beignets; adjust the heat as needed.
4. One last thing: I didn't have time this morning to let it rise for 2 hours, so I only let it rise for 1 hour and they still turned out great; almost better than the first time. You decide for yourself.
Here's the recipe; Enjoy!
This recipe is from one of my favorite Food Network stars -- Paula Deen. My all-time fav is Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (between 100 - 110 degrees)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast -- 2 1/4 tsp.
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep-frying (use a small to medium saucepan, and fill oil to about 1 - 2 inches deep)
3 cups powdered sugar -- just put a couple of scoops in a ziploc and add more if needed; you may not need this much.
Directions:
Mix water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together.
Mix egg mixture with the yeast mixture.
Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
Add shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour.
Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray.
Put dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap or towel.
Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares (or 2 inch squares).
Deep fry, flipping when one side is light to golden brown.
After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towel.
Toss them with powdered sugar in a ziploc bag.
Enjoy!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Lizard on the toilet
Hey friend,
I'm inspired, so am writing a second blog today.
I promise to get to food -- I'm trying a new recipe today for home made crescent rolls, so I'll tell you how it goes and pass on the recipe if I like it. Because we can't get packaged crescent rolls here, I need to find one from scratch -- I want to make the most yummy crescent chicken recipe that oozes with cream cheese; and a delicious breakfast treat using crescent dough. I'll add them to my next post :)
Okay,
I just returned from the states about a week ago -- I was getting my 3rd daughter settled into college. I was there for 5 and a half weeks, which is kind of a long time, so I think I am experiencing some culture shock in my return.
In the Philippines, there are certain creatures that always share our living space -- cockroaches, lizards, mice and ants. Certain homes boast more than others. To me, lizards are the most mild and I barely notice them anymore. Lizards eat mosquitos, so that's a plus. Nervertheless, I don't enjoy when they fall out on my head when opening up a cupboard -- which has happened. I also don't enjoy when they crawl out of the cereal box when I go to open it -- that has happened too; no lie. I also don't appreciate their waste droppings on my kitchen counter every morning -- the cockroaches leave those gems too. I suppose the mice do too -- yuck!
As much as I don't mind the lizards, I did spot one this last week, which sort of gave me the shivers. I was shuffling into the bathroom in the night trying not to get wakened, since middle age has kept me wide-eyed in the middle of the night on occasion. I noticed something dark on the rim of the toilet; it moved -- it was too small for a mouse (I hoped) and too big for a cockroach, so I figured it was a lizard. I inched closer hoping it would move on; it didn't. Rubbed my toe along it's back to send it packing; it squirmed down the side of the toilet and on the floor. I'm glad I spotted it, and didn't sit down on him -- that slimy little creature would have really woken me!
Moral of the story: Be thankful for indoor plumbing with no creepy crawlers, AND if you happen to be using an "out-house" check before you sit or squat.
Blessings to you,
just julie :)
I'm inspired, so am writing a second blog today.
I promise to get to food -- I'm trying a new recipe today for home made crescent rolls, so I'll tell you how it goes and pass on the recipe if I like it. Because we can't get packaged crescent rolls here, I need to find one from scratch -- I want to make the most yummy crescent chicken recipe that oozes with cream cheese; and a delicious breakfast treat using crescent dough. I'll add them to my next post :)
Okay,
I just returned from the states about a week ago -- I was getting my 3rd daughter settled into college. I was there for 5 and a half weeks, which is kind of a long time, so I think I am experiencing some culture shock in my return.
In the Philippines, there are certain creatures that always share our living space -- cockroaches, lizards, mice and ants. Certain homes boast more than others. To me, lizards are the most mild and I barely notice them anymore. Lizards eat mosquitos, so that's a plus. Nervertheless, I don't enjoy when they fall out on my head when opening up a cupboard -- which has happened. I also don't enjoy when they crawl out of the cereal box when I go to open it -- that has happened too; no lie. I also don't appreciate their waste droppings on my kitchen counter every morning -- the cockroaches leave those gems too. I suppose the mice do too -- yuck!
As much as I don't mind the lizards, I did spot one this last week, which sort of gave me the shivers. I was shuffling into the bathroom in the night trying not to get wakened, since middle age has kept me wide-eyed in the middle of the night on occasion. I noticed something dark on the rim of the toilet; it moved -- it was too small for a mouse (I hoped) and too big for a cockroach, so I figured it was a lizard. I inched closer hoping it would move on; it didn't. Rubbed my toe along it's back to send it packing; it squirmed down the side of the toilet and on the floor. I'm glad I spotted it, and didn't sit down on him -- that slimy little creature would have really woken me!
Moral of the story: Be thankful for indoor plumbing with no creepy crawlers, AND if you happen to be using an "out-house" check before you sit or squat.
Blessings to you,
just julie :)
Biting Ants!
Hey friend,
Sorry it's taken so long to write again, but I have been stateside and didn't have access to the internet, which doesn't make sense when I read that sentence, since in the states EVERYONE has access to the internet! Except my 86 year old mother, which is reasonable -- I was staying with her and could'nt leave her alone to check my e-mail. Enough about that.
One thing I've learned in my short blog experience is that you need to be in the mood to blog -- or at least, I do. To me, it feels weird to yammer on about things and wonder "Who gives a rip?" about anything I'm saying, which I can understand; so the mood needs to strike and I need to say "Who cares about what people think" and blog. Blogging feels a bit like "mouthing off" since you can say whatever you want, so here goes :)
Living in the Philippines poses it's challenges -- tap water doesn't just come into the house all the time like it does stateside. Everyone has a tank in their yard, and city water fills it periodically; or for us, we have a well, so we need to turn on a pump every morning and afternoon to fill our tank. This assures us we will have water in the faucet every time we turn on the spigot. So, that's the background.
Our pump is half across the property attached to a termite infested "in-law" quarters -- it is uninhabitable. Why, oh why attach it to that stinking house?! What were the builders thinking?! I have to trudge through ant infested walkways to get to it! Thus, my title for this blog -- "biting ants!" These ants are crafty -- you don't feel them crawling on you until they take a bite out of you. And they sting like the dickens; and swarm. You can't stand still for a minute or you'll have hundreds crawling up your legs; I still feel like they're crawling up me and that was 30 minutes ago. It's material for a serious horror movie.
I'm going to try and Raid spray the life out of them today, but there are so many. Surprisingly, there are few pest control companies in this country, which doesn't make sense because biting and crawling pests reign supreme here. And really, the Raid spray I have is only for cockroaches, but it's poison so it ought to kill them. You would think someone would say, "Hey, I should invent a way to get rid of these annoying biting ants." They would be millionaires in no time!
So the moral of this story is: Be thankful if you don't have to turn on a water pump just to have tap water from your spigot, AND be thankful your yard is not filled with biting ants!
Blessings,
just julie :)
Sorry it's taken so long to write again, but I have been stateside and didn't have access to the internet, which doesn't make sense when I read that sentence, since in the states EVERYONE has access to the internet! Except my 86 year old mother, which is reasonable -- I was staying with her and could'nt leave her alone to check my e-mail. Enough about that.
One thing I've learned in my short blog experience is that you need to be in the mood to blog -- or at least, I do. To me, it feels weird to yammer on about things and wonder "Who gives a rip?" about anything I'm saying, which I can understand; so the mood needs to strike and I need to say "Who cares about what people think" and blog. Blogging feels a bit like "mouthing off" since you can say whatever you want, so here goes :)
Living in the Philippines poses it's challenges -- tap water doesn't just come into the house all the time like it does stateside. Everyone has a tank in their yard, and city water fills it periodically; or for us, we have a well, so we need to turn on a pump every morning and afternoon to fill our tank. This assures us we will have water in the faucet every time we turn on the spigot. So, that's the background.
Our pump is half across the property attached to a termite infested "in-law" quarters -- it is uninhabitable. Why, oh why attach it to that stinking house?! What were the builders thinking?! I have to trudge through ant infested walkways to get to it! Thus, my title for this blog -- "biting ants!" These ants are crafty -- you don't feel them crawling on you until they take a bite out of you. And they sting like the dickens; and swarm. You can't stand still for a minute or you'll have hundreds crawling up your legs; I still feel like they're crawling up me and that was 30 minutes ago. It's material for a serious horror movie.
I'm going to try and Raid spray the life out of them today, but there are so many. Surprisingly, there are few pest control companies in this country, which doesn't make sense because biting and crawling pests reign supreme here. And really, the Raid spray I have is only for cockroaches, but it's poison so it ought to kill them. You would think someone would say, "Hey, I should invent a way to get rid of these annoying biting ants." They would be millionaires in no time!
So the moral of this story is: Be thankful if you don't have to turn on a water pump just to have tap water from your spigot, AND be thankful your yard is not filled with biting ants!
Blessings,
just julie :)
Sunday, August 9, 2009
The movie Julie & Julia
Hello Friend,
This is my first blog of all time, but certainly not the first time I expressed my opinion :) I am full up on opinions! And I would love to hear from you & what you are thinking.
If you read my "About Me" you know that we live in the Philippines full-time serving as missionaries to the urban poor. I am stateside right now bringing my 3rd daughter to college, and to help with my mom who is not doing well.
I have spent 2 weeks with my daughter and her husband in Delaware before we head to MN early tomorrow morning. We have had a great time with my 4 daughters and son-in-law -- relaxing, sight-seeing, playing games, making great food, and now we are having a Smallville marathon. We don't want the night to end and have our time together come to a close, so we're staying up all night. Coffee time soon! :)
We've made some great eats and I will share those recipes in another blog soon.
We saw Julie & Julia yesterday, and we all loved it.
Let's talk about it :)
What I loved:
**Julia had so much joy in life -- she adored her husband, she loved food and wasn't afraid to admit she loved to eat. I loved that about her. She appreciated even the little things of life -- I actually think that is part of the key to experiencing joy; being able to find joy in the little things.
**She was not afraid to love people and showed great interest in them.
** She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, but she did it will grace & tact; and respect for people -- I liked that.
I could relate to her so much because she felt obsessed with cooking, and that's how I feel right now. Being stateside for just 2 weeks has allowed me to use a kitchen that's "my size" again and get ingredients at every store, have hot water come from the kitchen spigot, use a dishwasher!! -- Yeah for dishwashers!! I love cooking in this country; it's so convenient! I have ordered about 5 great cookbooks from Amazon that I can't wait to get and study.
I told my girls just a few days ago that I want to study cooking and learn so much more about the techniques. I have been cooking for 26 years and consider myself a reasonable if not pretty good cook, but there is so much more to learn.
My new passion is breads -- I want to work through a book -- I truly thought about it before I saw the movie yesterday :) Some of the books I've thought about are: The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Artisan Bread in 5 minutes, or Julia Child's "How to Cook." Let me know what you think and if you want to join me. I hope I can get the ingredients in the Philippines. That's one of my challenges, but I need to embrace this challenge and/or alter recipes to make them work. Hey, I'll blog about it! Original idea :)
Back to the movie.
**Julia Child was really tall -- 6'2" I believe. She was way taller than her cupboards and stove -- it looked like most things in her kitchen really. That's my situation in the Philippines -- the counters are not American sized so I lean over or sit on the counter when I work in the kitchen.
Yet, the size of her kitchen didn't affect her love of cooking, and that inspired and encouraged me. She looked at her challenges with joy and with determination -- it encouraged me to look for ways to deal with the challenges I face in my own kitchen; no hot water, short counters, small oven, limited availability of ingredients, no dishwasher, and excessive heat.
**Julia and her sister adored each other and expressed it with exuberance -- I loved that! It reminded me of my kids -- they love each other and truly enjoy each others company. They laugh with each other and it just brings such joy to my heart. I am so happy they have each other.
The only thing I didn't like about this movie was to find out that Julia Child smoked. I'm sorry but I can't see why anyone who loves food and appreciates good taste would suck ashes & smoke into their mouth and lungs. I just don't get it.
And, I wish that Julia and Julie would have met -- I couldn't understand why supposedly Julia Child thought Julie had somehow disrespected her. Julie loved Julia and appreciated all the great things about her -- she totally respected her. I was a little disappointed that that's how it ended, because I like a happy ending, and it seemed to leave you hoping for a meeting.
Anyway, those are some of my thoughts on the movie. I'm sure Julia Child's books will be flying off the shelf as more people see this movie :)
Blessings to anyone out there who reads this,
just julie :)
This is my first blog of all time, but certainly not the first time I expressed my opinion :) I am full up on opinions! And I would love to hear from you & what you are thinking.
If you read my "About Me" you know that we live in the Philippines full-time serving as missionaries to the urban poor. I am stateside right now bringing my 3rd daughter to college, and to help with my mom who is not doing well.
I have spent 2 weeks with my daughter and her husband in Delaware before we head to MN early tomorrow morning. We have had a great time with my 4 daughters and son-in-law -- relaxing, sight-seeing, playing games, making great food, and now we are having a Smallville marathon. We don't want the night to end and have our time together come to a close, so we're staying up all night. Coffee time soon! :)
We've made some great eats and I will share those recipes in another blog soon.
We saw Julie & Julia yesterday, and we all loved it.
Let's talk about it :)
What I loved:
**Julia had so much joy in life -- she adored her husband, she loved food and wasn't afraid to admit she loved to eat. I loved that about her. She appreciated even the little things of life -- I actually think that is part of the key to experiencing joy; being able to find joy in the little things.
**She was not afraid to love people and showed great interest in them.
** She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, but she did it will grace & tact; and respect for people -- I liked that.
I could relate to her so much because she felt obsessed with cooking, and that's how I feel right now. Being stateside for just 2 weeks has allowed me to use a kitchen that's "my size" again and get ingredients at every store, have hot water come from the kitchen spigot, use a dishwasher!! -- Yeah for dishwashers!! I love cooking in this country; it's so convenient! I have ordered about 5 great cookbooks from Amazon that I can't wait to get and study.
I told my girls just a few days ago that I want to study cooking and learn so much more about the techniques. I have been cooking for 26 years and consider myself a reasonable if not pretty good cook, but there is so much more to learn.
My new passion is breads -- I want to work through a book -- I truly thought about it before I saw the movie yesterday :) Some of the books I've thought about are: The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Artisan Bread in 5 minutes, or Julia Child's "How to Cook." Let me know what you think and if you want to join me. I hope I can get the ingredients in the Philippines. That's one of my challenges, but I need to embrace this challenge and/or alter recipes to make them work. Hey, I'll blog about it! Original idea :)
Back to the movie.
**Julia Child was really tall -- 6'2" I believe. She was way taller than her cupboards and stove -- it looked like most things in her kitchen really. That's my situation in the Philippines -- the counters are not American sized so I lean over or sit on the counter when I work in the kitchen.
Yet, the size of her kitchen didn't affect her love of cooking, and that inspired and encouraged me. She looked at her challenges with joy and with determination -- it encouraged me to look for ways to deal with the challenges I face in my own kitchen; no hot water, short counters, small oven, limited availability of ingredients, no dishwasher, and excessive heat.
**Julia and her sister adored each other and expressed it with exuberance -- I loved that! It reminded me of my kids -- they love each other and truly enjoy each others company. They laugh with each other and it just brings such joy to my heart. I am so happy they have each other.
The only thing I didn't like about this movie was to find out that Julia Child smoked. I'm sorry but I can't see why anyone who loves food and appreciates good taste would suck ashes & smoke into their mouth and lungs. I just don't get it.
And, I wish that Julia and Julie would have met -- I couldn't understand why supposedly Julia Child thought Julie had somehow disrespected her. Julie loved Julia and appreciated all the great things about her -- she totally respected her. I was a little disappointed that that's how it ended, because I like a happy ending, and it seemed to leave you hoping for a meeting.
Anyway, those are some of my thoughts on the movie. I'm sure Julia Child's books will be flying off the shelf as more people see this movie :)
Blessings to anyone out there who reads this,
just julie :)
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