Tag Archive | food

Delicious Scones

Feb16

My sister, Judi always sends wonderful birthday gifts. This year she sent a package of scone mix. My husband had never eaten Scones and I haven’t made any from scratch in over 32 years so I was eager to try the mix.

 

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So I pulled out my favorite mixing bowl, added water, stirred and used a large spoon to “drop” them onto the parchment paper covered pan and placed a few in the toaster oven and covered the bowl with plastic wrap so that we could have fresh scones the next night.

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They turned out beautifully!

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I brushed the top with softened butter. They were delicious! I will not say how many we devoured but John loved them.

 

John at the Liberty Station in Bedford, Va

That’s my guy! (This photo was taken last year but it is one of my favs.)

We left one for you!

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We had one left to share with you! It went great with Peppermint Tea. Shall I pour a cup for you?

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I will definitely make these again. I might add a few more cranberries and dots of butter to the batter. The refrigerated batter worked out well the following day. I still prefer to cook from scratch but this was wonderful and was so easy to prepare.

 

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If you have considered buying this product, I definitely recommend it.

Thanks, Sis!

Snow!

Jan18

A snowy day in Lynchburg, VA

After days of rain and much anticipation, the snow finally arrived. I was sure we wouldn’t get any snow today since the temperature didn’t drop below freezing. It was in the low forties most of the day and finally the temperature dropped into the thirties and beautiful white flakes graced our skies after four in the afternoon. It snowed a few hours and in our neighborhood, it still looks like a pretty white blanket covering bushes, trees, sidewalks and yes, the roads. According to the television, Lynchburg, Virginia received over four inches. I am sure children are cheering – schools are closed tomorrow and many businesses have delayed opening until mid-morning.

I don’t know what it is about snow that is so exciting. After all, it causes inconveniences, delays and hazardous driving. And yet, the mere mention of the fluffy white stuff takes me back to my childhood. Playing in the snow, freezing fingers and toes, riding the sleigh downhill with friends and family. Coming inside to a nice warm house, smelling of just baked cookies, hot cocoa and homemade soup simmering on the stove.

My thoughts returned to my grandparents home in the Midway section of Vinton, Va in 1964. I spent every weekend with my grandparents, since I still had not gotten used to the idea of living with Mom and my stepfather in Garden City. (Just a few miles away but to a child, it seemed like we had moved to the other side of the world.) Of course, my preteen aunt, two good friends and two cousins made trips to stay with my grandparents even more enjoyable – especially when it snowed. We had a great hill for sleigh riding!

It snowed that weekend. Wonderful, beautiful, fluffy snow. My Aunt, cousins, friends and neighbors had a wonderful time building snowmen and riding sleighs down the steep hill. When we came back inside, however, the aroma of that house will forever be ingrained in my memory. Granddaddy had cooked that day. Pinto beans, fried potatoes, cornbread, slaw and Granny had made my favorite cake. To this day, that fragrance takes me back to that day.

I wasn’t thrilled to leave on Sunday afternoon when Mom and Jerry came to pick me up but then Mom reminded me that my new cousins, Pam, Donna and Tammy were coming over to play. What a day!

It seems like we had a lot of snow in the sixties – or perhaps it was just a lot of wonderful memories!

Hope you have a beautiful, snowy, memory-making weekend!

Blessings,

Kathy

Little Isabel’s Christmas Joy ~ part 1

Dec20
Little Isabel’s Christmas Joy was posted in 2012 but I thought someone may enjoy reading the story again as we prepare for the most wonderful day of the year – Christmas!
Christmas Joy

Isabel’s Story
By Katherine Hinchee Purdy

Isabel’s long curls bounced as she jumped and clapped her hands. “Papa’s coming, Papa’s

coming,” she sang while skipping into the kitchen where Mama was taking out a tray of ginger

bread men from the oven.

“Isabel,” Mama softly chided the child, “you will be out of energy before we trim the tree if you

keep that up!  Besides, Papa and the boys have work to do before they bring the tree into the

house. Climb up on the stool and help me decorate some of the cooled cookies.”  Mama

walked around the kitchen work table, tied Isabel’s hair back with a ribbon, placed Isabel’s

Christmas apron over her head, and tied it in the back. “Have you washed your hands?”

“Yes ma’am,” Isabel said as she picked up a flat butter knife and began spreading frosting on a

butter cookie.  “Mama, do you want me to add some banilla?”

“I think you mean vanilla, dear. I have already added the ingredients while you were skipping around the room.”

“Oh, may I add some ba- I mean vanilla next time?” Isabel asked as Mama carried the empty bowl to the dish pan.

“I’ll bet baby Sylvia wishes she could help too!”

Mama looked at the baby in the cradle in the corner and smiled. “Perhaps next year she can

help. Maggie is only three years old but she did a wonderful job helping with the first batch of

cookies.”

Isabel looked over at her sister napping on the cushioned chest against the back wall, covered

with her favorite quilt. She envied her sister but refused to give in to the urge to nap since she

had declared herself “too old” to nap on her fifth birthday. Besides, if she napped she might miss

something and this little girl didn’t want to miss anything.

Mama turned to the stove and gently used the spatula to remove the cookies from the pan and

placed them on a cooling rack and then stepped into the back porch and returned with a napkin

holding a disc of cooled dough for another batch. While Mama’s back was turned, Isabel quickly

ran her finger around the bowl of icing and quickly popped her finger into her mouth just as Mama

returned to the kitchen.

“Save the icing for the cookies Isabel or you’ll ruin your appetite for supper.”

“Yes ma’am,” Isabel whispered and lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, child. I did the same thing this morning. The temptation was too great. Just

one more taste and then you can put a ribbon hole in this last batch of gingerbread boys so that

we can hang them from the tree.”

“May we have just one gingerbread boy today?”

“No dear,” Mama said as she placed the  cooled cookies into a tin. “If we eat them now, we won’t have any to place on the Christmas tree for you to nibble on Christmas day. Besides, we won’t have any to give away to our neighbors who don’t have children at home anymore. You know how Christmas cookies and gingerbread men always cheer up our lonely friends.”

“Yes, Mama,” Isabel said slowly and looked at the golden boys looking up at her with frosted features. “If we drop one on the floor may we eat it?”

“Perhaps if it is truly an accident, we could all share a bite.”

“Oh,” Isabel sighed and went back to work.

“Mama,” Isabel said as she carefully used a small dowel to place a hole in the last gingerbread

boy’s head. “I wish we could cel-eeee”

“Celebrate” Mama said with a smile.

“Cele-brate Christmas every day!”

“That would be lovely dear but we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We only have one birthday each

year. Besides, if we celebrated every day, don’t you think you would get bored?”

“Oh no,” Isabel said with a smile, revealing a space where a new, permanent tooth was just

beginning to show. “I can never get tired of Christmas.”

Just as she placed the last ribbon hole in the gingerbread boy, the back porch screen door

squeaked.

 

Silver Gravy Boat and Stand

Sep28

Earlier this week, I was cleaning out a cabinet and found my husband’s grandmother’s silver gravy boat. It was quite tarnished so I washed it, dried it, applied silver polish and buffed it to a nice shine.  I don’t know if you can see it in this picture but there is a fancy L engraved in the center. Unless the light hits it just right, the monogram is easily missed. After all, when John’s “Mamaw” placed this lovely item on the table, it was the gravy or sauce which held everyone’s attention. Right?

I can see it now. The family gathered around the beautiful pedestal table. Laden with good food to eat, dressed in her finest linen or crochet tablecloth, set perfectly with linen napkins and forks on the left of the plate; knife and spoon on the right. The water glass at the tip of the knife with the cup and saucer just north and east of the spoon.  A beautiful display awaited the family. Grandfather sitting at the head of the table, carving the meat, Mamaw at the other end of the table sitting quietly with her hands folded in her lap, joyfully watching her children enjoying the fruit of her labors. The silver gravy boat would be passed around from loved one to the next. I love that scene!

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One thing I noticed that when the silver is polished, it reflects things around it – like a mirror.  It looked pretty on the granite counter top but when I placed it on the wood chest, it took on a richer glow.

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Do you see the monogram? Look closely.  The angle of the camera also determines the visibility.

We are much like the old silver gravy boat. An empty vessel ready to be filled. A clean, polished vessel.

Unless it is filled with gravy or sauce, it is just an object to look at. No nourishment for a hungry family. No sweetness to make the food even more delicious. Without Christ, there is an emptiness. An empty shell. But oh, what joy when we have the Lord dwelling in us. Overjoyed when we delight in His Word.

Just like the setting affected the look of the polished silver, Christ can shine through us best when we reflect Him. By reading His Word, prayer and fellowship with other believers. I don’t know about you, but I want my life to reflect Him. Does one need to search for the monogram of my heart – Christ living in me?

Do You Remember…

Jul13

Do you remember the first real recipe you cooked? Not just helping Grandma bake cookies or opening a can of soup or even making your first PB&J but the first time you looked at a recipe and followed the instructions without assistance?

I remember it well because Mom made baked beans every weekend. One Friday when I was in the fifth grade, I came home from school and Mom asked me to make dinner. It had been a difficult day as the babies had been “fussy”. My little sister was two and my brother was probably teething at the time.
Fortunately, we had hotdogs and buns in the refrigerator. Easy to just fry or boil the hotdogs but we needed something to go with them. I pulled out Mom’s recipes and pulled out her baked bean recipe. (Nope. I did not add the hotdogs to the beans.)

Mom usually opened the cans and just dumped everything into the casserole dish with two or three strips of bacon on top – so it was easy to do. That’s what I did – exactly the way I had watched Mom prepare her recipe every week.

After years of practice, I  have made a few changes to the recipe. I began stacking uncooked bacon, slicing them into bits and frying them – drying the bacon bits on a paper towel while I sauteed the onion in the bacon drippings. Bits of bacon left on the bottom of the pan came off nicely if the juice from the canned beans is added and stirred with a wooden spatula to loosen what is left. It gives a nice flavor to the beans. Also, I have learned to simmer the beans a long time for a nice, thick sauce.
I only bake them once or twice a year now since they are so sweet. I just decided to make some at the end of this month for my sister’s birthday. They go well with fried chicken!

Kathy’s Baked Beans
(A variation of Mom’s Recipe)        

Ingredients

1 med to large onion – diced

(Green bell pepper optional)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses (I use Karo Dark Syrup)
1/4 cup hot water
1 cup ketchup
1/4 tsp. of dry mustard

(prepared mustard works in a pinch)

1/8th tsp. of vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
Bacon
2 cans pork & beans

Preheat 350@ oven
Cut several strips of bacon into smaller pieces, fry in frying pan. Remove the bacon onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb grease. Saute’ the onion in the bacon drippings.

Open cans of pork & beans and pour into large casserole dish or dutch oven. Add bacon bits and onions. Stir.

In sauce pan, mix the rest of the ingredients on medium heat until it almost comes to a boil. Add this sauce to the casserole dish and stir.

Bake covered 2-3 hours or Uncovered until the desired consistency.

Moms, what are your children learning by watching you? Are you following God’s Word as your recipe for life or are you throwing in a little bit of this and a little bit of that as you go along? What do they hear when you speak?

“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt,

that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

Colossians 4:5-6