Be Still My Soul

"Come to Me ( Jesus ), all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you , and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my load is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Sweet Pear & Apple Salad~Jamie Oliver Friday

This is a delicious and EASY salad to make. Perfect for an autumn side dish, or in my case, dinner. This is the time of year to use very available fresh apples and pears, and we have a lot of apples from our orchard and that 1 perfect pear! This is the only pear to stay til fruition on our small espalier pear tree, and it looked perfect. Well, when it finished ripening inside it proved to taste perfect too. I decided to use it in a Jamie Oliver recipe and I am glad I did. So here is the recipe for Sweet Pear & Apple Salad With Bitter Endive & Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing~ whew, a long title. You will need:

• 4 heads of endive ( a mixture of red and white if possible ) *at $4.99 a pound I decided to choose a different type of endive, a curly leaf endive that was $1.99 per pound, cheaper,more befitting my budget and I mixed it with red lettuce from our garden~k.b.
• 2 good eating apples ( I have a whole tree full to choose from right outside~ k.b.)
• 2 pears ( or 1 perfect pear?k.b.)
• a handful of fresh soft herbs ( chervil, tarragon, parsley-use any one) torn or roughly chopped

• DRESSING:2 ounces strong blue cheese
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche ( or sour cream mixed with whole cream k.b.)
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
• 4 Tablespoons cider vinegar
• 6 Tablespoons water

"This is an adaptation of an old-school French endive salad. Belgian endive is quite a bitter leaf, and to contrast the bitterness I've used the sweetness of the fruit, the twang of the vinegar and the creamy silkiness of the cheese. I think it is important to make this with good quality apples and blue cheese." J. Oliver "Separate the leaves from the endive ( *let me say here, if you can get good endive reasonably priced it is so worth it and the curly leafed was not what Jamie used, but it was very , very good) then wash and spin them dry. Core your apples and slice them into matchsticks. Core the pears and slice into eighths and if they're a little under-ripe, grill them in a screaming hot griddle pan until lightly charred. If they're perfectly ripe, just place in a large bowl with the apple and most of the herbs." To make your dressing place all your dressing ingredients in a blender and blend for just 15 seconds until smooth. Taste to make sure you've got a little extra acidity in there to cut through the bitterness of the leaves, and season if necessary. Pour three-quarters of the dressing over the salad and toss-I usually dress the salad lightly using the tips of my fingers. Divide them between 4 plates and finish with a little extra virgin olive oil. Lovely with some walnuts crumbled over." J. Oliver I very much liked this salad, it was easy to make and I was able to use fruit from our orchard. I will make this recipe again, and next time I think I will sprinkle walnuts over it. I did not use all of our precious pear in the recipe, I put slices of the pear on the side because the pear was perfectly ripe and in no need of anything to embellish it, just someone to appreciate how very good a perfect pear can taste!

Miss Marple's At It Again!

My friend Kathleen crocheted me 5, yes FIVE little bears using some of my hand-spun Jacob Sheep wool. Do you see 5 bears here? I had a lot of work to get done today and as I was breezing through the house I spotted a ribbon on the dining room floor. It is the ribbon laying aside the bowl of bears. What the...? There is a white bear missing. No one home but me and...hey! MISS MARPLE!!!!! I looked everywhere for the bear but could not find it. I looked under all the furniture , in baskets of wool and yarn and no little bear. I did find some other things Miss Marple has hidden away. I found one of my felted balls and the big plastic spider under our bed. She carried the ball upstairs!I also found a missing sock she had hidden too, and a lot of dust bunnies. No bear. So later on this evening I decided to sweep and dust mop and lo, there it was! It was wrapped in the folds of a tablecloth , and although I had looked there, it must have been folded away very well but the little stinker Miss Marple had obviously come back for her prey and uncovered it for there was a little white leg sticking out as a give-away. I propped it up here in the spot I found it for you to see. Then as I was putting away the dust mop... ....Miss Marple was back, in a flash! I snapped her picture and rescued the only slightly damaged bear.So~ my yarn, my wee little sheep, wool felted balls, plastic bugs and teddy bears are not safe with her around. But neither is vermin, so I'll keep her.

Besides, I love her.

The Blessings Of A Good Dog Or Two

"Any woman who does not thoroughly enjoy tramping across the country on a clear frosty morning with a good gun and a pair of dogs does not know how to enjoy life." Annie Oakley

The top photo is of me and 2 of my beloved Labrador Retrievers.These two are sisters. They are from different litters though and the dog in the first photo, the one trying to climb into my lap, is Willow. She is 2 years older than Beatrix who is behaving herself at my feet. Do you know how hard it is to get a good photo of yourself with your dogs? My daughter was patient, and the dogs were both so excited to see the children, run around, try to get in my lap...and I love them. The sisters are perfect companions around here on Cedar Pond. They are from the last 2 litters of purebred Labrador Retrievers we bred. I miss having puppies around, but not too much. It is hard work to properly raise and socialize puppies. Then there is the emotional toll of selling them, and there is ALWAYS one puppy that steals my heart and I miss forever more (* Peppi). I do have two little heart- breakers here in the photos...although my husband did mention to me they both seem to be in need of a reduction in the amount of food they are eating, and looking at these photos I agree!

The Annie Oakley quote above is so true, although I do not trek with a gun, I do love to take long walks on frosty days, well, any days, with my husband ~ and my dogs at my side. I love to take the dogs camping with us, and we have taken at least one dog on many a trip and been very happy we did. "We give them the love we can spare. In return dogs have given us their absolute all. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made." Roger Caras

"The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master." Ben Hur Lampman

Missing Little "T"

This Autumn tableau is in our sun room on top of the bottom half of an antique Kitchen Queen. Little 'T', our youngest grand-daughter kept suggesting I re- decorate it with the Christmas village and lights she remembers from her visit here last Christmas . She did enjoy standing in front of this display quite often though. There is a little fairy in a nest in a leaf bowl on the far left of the display. "T" seemed especially delighted at this.

The tiny bears and Miss Mouse joined our granddaughters for tea one day last week.

Little "T" and her cousins KN and MN who live very close to me, all had a tea party. The menu was cupcakes, brownies, cheese,crackers, cucumbers and ranch dressing...oh, potato chips too. ( Hey, I am a Grandma, not the one in charge of good nutrition) There were 2 tea pots, one held hot chocolate, the other peppermint tea. Of course, you HAVE to have marshmallows for the hot chocolate, so each granddaughter got their own bowl of marshmallows to add to her hot chocolate.

The granddaughters all dressed up for tea and brought their own dolls along. I had a good time with these precious little girls, and I hope they did too. Little "T" then went home with her cousins to spend the night with them. She was so happy and excited.

Little "T" with her Poppa. I do believe he is one of her favorite people. She often calls our home and when I answer the phone her first question is " can I talk to Poppa?".When I explain to her he is at work she asks when he will be home and then the conversation is pretty much over...after all, I am NOT Poppa. During her days here we had a wonderful time together, but every day she would ask where her Poppa was and when he would be home. Every hour or so the question would pop up. When Poppa did finally come home she would run to him and leap into his arms, follow him around talking to him and asking him a LOT of questions. My Husband definitely has a little buddy in Little "T" ! Little "T" went home today and I miss her. Waking up with her in the house is like waking up to perpetual sunshine. What a wonderful blessing she is. I have put all the toys away, cleaned up the spare bedroom she slept in, and looked at the photos I took of her during her visit several times. The blessing of this week- long visit is one I dared not ever hope we could have and just look at how my expectations and prayers were met and dealt beyond what I could have hoped.

Little 'T' & Answered Prayer

This is a picture of a toy truck my father made our oldest son many years ago. Our oldest son gave us the gift of the privilege of having his youngest daughter stay with us for one week. She has chosen to spend a great deal of her time playing with this very truck.She fills it with the Fisher Price People our sons and daughter played with almost every day of their childhood ( and into their junior high years, but don't tell anyone) and moves the little people around and all over our home. Little 'T' has set up the Little People house, barn and so many other toys I saved all over the living room, and she has furnished the little house with all the things a family needs. She has ongoing dialogs with the people and contents herself very nicely for hours playing with them and transporting them in the back of this truck my father made. My father was always busy making, creating, and inventing things from scrap wood and metal but he also had a real interest in the people important to him and this wooden truck contains a special and loving notice of our son, his grandson's unique tastes and interests. How much more can a person show love than to really notice what their loved ones love? Note the hand painted sign on the side of the truck "CALL DAVID'S C-1812". ( See, I ate one too) Our oldest son, Little 'T's daddy, was notorious for eating bizarre things. I do believe he would do quite well on on those Travel Shows that have vast numbers of devout viewers tune in to see just what strange things will be eaten this week. When our son was 3 years old I discovered him sitting in the grass and shaking his head...he then pulled out of his mouth a fluttering moth...and that was tame compared to other bugs and foods he would later eat..so you can clearly see my father knew his grandson! We took full advantage of having Little 'T' here and had 2 tea parties. The first tea party we invited my husband's parents to. 'T' decided for tea we should have tuna fish...to spread on crackers, potato chips, cherry chip cupcakes, brownies, juice and tea. Very easy! Her great-grandparents would have come for mud pies just because she was here, so tuna sandwiches were a very nice lunch with tea. 'T' and her great-grandpa, my husband's father, teased each other a lot. Most of the great-grandchildren are shy, Little 'T' is not , and she really is a hoot, so he had a great time with one of his younger great-granddaughters. Here Little 'T' and her Great-Grandpa have an interesting discussion. She boldly asks him about his eye, which is a bit droopy after nerve damage, his spots, his lack of thick hair. She points out her Poppa, my husband, is bald because his hair has slipped. Please note, to my dear Father-in-laws' benefit, he has more hair on his head than do both of his sons. Little 'T' told both of her Great-Grandparents she wanted them to stay at our house with her. She tickled my Father-in-law and cuddled him. She won our hearts. We are so blessed with this answer to prayer...she is the youngest of our son's 4 daughters...one of the little girls we ( and many of you ) have prayed for -for almost 2 years . Here are pictures to show you ANSWERED PRAYER! I cannot begin to tell you how my heart sings with gratitude, and my dear Father and Mother -in-law's hearts do too. My next post will tell a bit of the rest of the visit, but I want to end with this quote from Luci Swindoll~ "To experience happiness we must train ourselves to live in this moment, to savor it for what it is, not running ahead in anticipation of some future date nor lagging behind in the paralysis of the past.....Those special savored moments of fun, reflection, happiness, and pleasure give us a tiny taste of what eternity with Christ will one day be like."

Jamie Oliver Friday & Thankful to Be Able To Post!

This is the Jamie Oliver meal we had last Friday. Here I thought I was a good little Girl Scout and prepared ahead of time with delicious results. However reality and life do exert their prerogative to totally thumb their noses at me and usurp my plans. I know this NEVER happens to any of you. Shortly after my last post our computer caught a virus and had to be sent to the computer hospital , whereupon we paid an extra fee to have our dearly beloved computer restored quickly. Our computer came home with amnesia and thanks to a dear friend ( and NOT the computer hospital ) we have some semblance of computer function and now I have to relearn my computer, and he has to re-learn us. Namely , I have to figure out where all the files and pictures are hidden , as the back-up disks the computer hospital made for us grouped all my precious pictures in strange ways and places. As I work out the game of hide-and-seek with my pictures I was able to locate Jamie's picture and download the last meal we made using his book. Here goes... Jamie's Balsamic-Baked Onions & Potatoes With Roast Pork "This dish has attitude-it uses a lot of balsamic vinegar but, trust me , it works really well!....I've chosen to serve them with pork, but beef or lamb works just as well." J. Oliver You Will Need:

• 3 and 1/2 pounds medium sliced waxy potatoes ( all purpose..we used potatoes from our garden) peeled and quartered lengthwise
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 7 ounces butter, cubed
• a bunch of fresh rosemary leaves picked and chopped
• 1 whole bulb of garlic, quartered or smashed
• 5 medium red onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 and 1/2 cups cheap balsamic vinegar

For The Pork

• a small bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons freshly ground fennel seeds
• 1 - 3 and 1/2 pound pork loin ( or beef or lamb of choice)
• olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 sticks of celery trimmed and chopped
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 wineglasses of white wine
• extra virgin olive oil

"Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the potatoes into a pan of boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes, then drain and return to the pan. Chuff them up a bit by shaking the pan. To prepare the meat, scatter a handful of finely chopped rosemary leaves onto a large chopping board. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and the ground fennel seeds. Roll the pork ( or roast of choice) across the board, pressing down hard so all the flavorings stick to it. Get a large roasting pan that your pork will fit snugly into, and place it on a burner over medium high heat. Pour in a little olive oil and place the pork in, fat side down, sprinkled with any flavorings remaining on the board. After a few minutes, when the pork fat is lightly golden , turn it over and add the garlic cloves, onion, celery and bay leaves to the pan. Place on the bottom shelf of your pre-heated oven for an hour, basting it halfway through. ( For the last 20 minutes of cooking you may need to cover the pork with a bit of damp waxed paper to stop it coloring too much.) Get another roasting pan into which you can fit the potatoes in one layer, and heat it on the stove. When hot, pour a glug of olive oil into it and add the butter, rosemary and garlic. Add the potatoes and toss them in all the flavors. Add the onions and all the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes on the burner to reduce the balsamic vinegar a little. Place the pan on the top shelf ( of oven ) and cook for around 50 minutes until potatoes and onions are dark, sticky and crispy- removing the pan to toss the onions and potatoes half-way through. After an hour , the meat should be cooked. Prick it with a sharp knife- if the juices run clear, it's done; if not, pop it back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, keeping the potatoes warm . Remove it from the oven and let it rest on a plate for 10 minutes. Pour away most of the fat from the pan and mash up the garlic and onion. Place the pan over the burner and add the white wine. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half,scraping all the meaty, marmitey goodness off the bottom to make a tasty little sauce, and season if necessary. Pass through a sieve into a serving pitcher. Then slice the pork and serve it with your incredible baked onions and potatoes, drizzled with the pan juices. Great with some nice greens on an arugula salad." J. Oliver The vegetable portion of this recipe is delicious all by itself! We decided the wine sauce was not worth the effort because the sauce from the vegetable dish was superior to it. The pork loin I bought was on sale, however this would be delicious as a beef or lamb dish too. And don't think this recipe requires an expensive cut of meat, it does NOT! Worth making and great eating. Thanks again Jamie! BTW, I served home-made buttermilk biscuits slathered in REAL butter and home-made yellow plum jam along-side this dish.