Month: January 2012

Macaroons

Okay so — the title should read “Chocolate Covered Macaroons” but they didn’t quite turn out the way I expected them to so I left out the chocolate.

I followed the recipe to a “t” and left the cookies in for the minimum time of 20 minutes instead of the 25 minutes. It was still too long. The second batch was left in for 15 minutes but those came out too mushy. So — I’m guessing 18 minutes might have been the perfect number.

I also halved the recipe but I don’t think that should have made much difference.

In any case, they came out moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. Not too bad for a first try. Macaroons are one of my favorite cookies.

Ingredients

  • 1 -14-ounce bag shredded coconut (I used sweetened but the original recipe doesn’t differentiate)
  • 1/2 can (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tablespoon sour cream
  • 1/2 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix the sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla together.
  2. Add the shredded coconut.
  3. Mix all of this together making sure that all of the coconut is covered with the milk mixture.
  4. Using an ice cream scoop place mounds of the mixture on parchment lined baking sheets.
  5. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until the coconut is nicely browned.
  6. Cool on a cooling rack.

They turned out just fine. But — when it comes to macaroons and coconut, I like it all.

Enjoy! (You can buy parchment paper online — click on below to check it out.)

[amazon_link id=”B000E7A6BM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]UltraBake Parchment Paper Sheets - 12 × 16½[/amazon_link]

(The original recipe was found at http://bakedbree.com/chocolate-covered-macaroons.) 

New Church

Finally, after a year of having lived in Minnesota, we have found a church to call home.

Southview Seventh-day Adventist Church

The church is in Minneapolis which is approximately 30 minutes from where I live. Not too bad on a clear day but it might not be manageable when there is snow on the ground. The Pastor told me that the roads are usually clear in the area though.

One nice thing about this church is that they have live streaming so if I couldn’t make it to church then I could watch it at home. More and more churches are doing this for their members — especially for elderly members who can’t make it to the services.

The experience we’re having is quite different from the church I attended in Seattle that had 20 members when I left it. The Southview church has about 400 members. They have greeters who welcome us (most times) by giving us a bulletin with the order of the church service. Since the church is so large, I don’t think the greeters can tell who is or isn’t a church member so we haven’t been asked to sign their guest book.

That is unfortunate as it leaves little, if no, opportunity for someone to follow-up with visitors. That has been the case with us. I have always thought that in order to be “visitor friendly” someone should follow-up with people who visit.

We do have to figure out how to make friends with there being so many people. One suggestion is for us to join a small group at the church. From there we can expand our “friend” base. I know that they have a person who coordinates visitation to the elderly and I’m hoping to be part of that group.

Southview Seventh-day Adventist Church

 

Super Pacs and the End of the World

When I woke up today I didn’t feel very good. A cold is fighting to overtake me but I’ve been fighting hard against it.

Consequently, I decided to stay home today and rest. So I turned to the Pioneer Memorial Church at Andrews University for my live stream sermon of the day. Clicking on the bulletin for the order of the service, I came across these remarks from the Pastor, Dwight Nelson.

“Look, I’m not suggesting that the just concluded Iowa caucuses and the upcoming New Hampshire primary are strategic pieces in some sort of apocalyptic end game. but I would invite you to ponder the power of the press and/or paid political ads.

Even the talking heads within the beltway of the nation’s capital this past week have been chattering in amazement over the swift collapse of one candidate’s heretofore anticipated victory in Iowa’s caucuses. Riding high in the pre-caucus polls, the candidate’s sudden tumble from prominence has been attributed by most news media commentators to the power of negative political advertising, financed by political action committees (so called “super Pacs”). The $2.8+ million that these technically “independent” super Pacs invested in Iowa alone are evidence enough of the power of negative advertising. i.e., it works!

What’s that have to do with the rest of us who will never touch $2.8 million in our life time? Stepping away from political allegiances or nuances, it does make you wonder, doesn’t it, how fickle we the public are, if three-weeks of non-stop television and radio ads can actually change our minds? Never mind those who justify this gushing of advertising dollars into a relatively, politically inconsequential rural state.

It still makes me wonder how easily swayable we Americans are to the power of the media, the press, the advertising agencies. Which being interpreted means, I wonder if, in a time of crisis or critical decision-making, a relatively small cabal of individuals—with the financial horsepower to back themselves—could sway an entire nation to pursue a particular course or come to a particular decision. I wonder if the American public (perhaps even the global public) could be as easily persuaded as the Iowans were.  Include some momentous catastrophe (financial, natural, political) and it wouldn’t take much to “guide” the public to a desired outcome, would it?


For all our crowing about the independent American spirit, the truth is that a stadium full of screaming fans can pretty much set the agenda for an entire city, can’t they? Apparently the apocalypse thinks so. In no uncertain terms Revelation 13 describes “all the world” (v 3) being led down the primrose path of disaster.


Which is why I love the corollary narrative in Daniel—the compelling story about three young politicos who refused to yield to the full-court press of the press and the government.  The entire nation (as it were) bowed down to the king’s golden image—but not Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego:
“Our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:17,18)  i.e., we will not be bought or persuaded away from our allegiance to the Creator.

God give us that threesome generation when we will need it!  But in the meantime, the next time the press or the super Pacs attempt to persuade you in 60 seconds what to think or do, do the Shadrach thing and simply refuse.  Your allegiance to God in the New year isn’t for sale, no matter when the world ends.”

Amen to that Pastor Nelson!

Food Variety

I haven’t had very many posts recently with new recipes because we’ve had a guest who has been cooking for us almost every day. The food is varied — Indian, Kenyan, Greek, etc.

Here are some pictures of some of what we’ve had recently:

Turkish Winter Stew with Tyropsomo Bread

(This soup and bread was delicious!)

Vegetarian Pastichio, Peas and Potatoes, Greek Salad

The vegetarian pastichio is a baked pasta dish. It was very good as was the peas with potatoes (although it could have had a little less oil). I am partial to Greek salads so I have to say it was great.

Vegetarian Spinach Lasagne with Garlic Snow Peas

The lasagne was perfect. Crusty on the edges just like I like it. The snow peas were not overcooked but crisp.

These recipes may eventually make their way to our guest’s website, www.travelthesenses.com

 

Fatwood

What is fatwood? That’s a good question.

I had never heard of it until I started trying to think of creative gifts for my husband for Christmas. He’s more of a tech guy but since we moved to our new house he’s become more of a fire-making, flannel wearing, wood chopping kind’ve a guy.

So, what does one get a man to help him transition from urban to rural life? Fatwood!

Fatwood is a type of kindling that comes from pine trees. It makes starting a fireplace fire real easy.

Fatwood

The kindling contains a natural compound called Terpene (normally produced by plants, particularly confiers).

We have been using 1-2 small pieces of fatwood instead of newspaper to start our fires. It works very quick and helps to spark the larger pieces of wood.

I purchased a 25 lb box from LL Bean as they had free shipping and I had read good reviews regarding the use of it. But you can get it from many places (click the picture below to check on one example of where else to purchase it although I had very good service with LL Bean).

Since fatwood is so combustible, it must be kept away from the house. That’s understandable as one should do that even with “regular” wood.

[amazon_link id=”B005I7LH48″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]50 Lb Box of Fatwood Kindling Fire Starters[/amazon_link]

 

Snow Blower

We finally received enough snow so that we could try out our new Greenworks Electric Snow Blower. Normally our snow plow man comes when there is 3 inches or more on the ground. This time he didn’t come which was kind’ve strange. He’s only been to our house one time — in December.

Greenworks Electric Snow Blower
Greenworks Electric Snow Blower

The snow blower worked fairly well. My husband was a little more proficient at using it than I was. One has to give it a good nudge to get it moving. Other than that, it worked just fine.

Most people use a gas snow blower so they don’t have to worry about the electric cord. I can see where that might be more convenient. However, I’ve read that with the gas snow blowers you have to be careful to balance the amount of gas and oil. So — either way there is something to worry about. It’s all a matter of preference.

I prefer the electric snow blower. Just plug it in, push and away you go. Interested in purchasing one? Click the picture below to check out costs.

[amazon_link id=”B0030BG1L8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Greenworks 26032 20-Inch 12 Amp Electric Snow Thrower[/amazon_link]

 

Inari

One of my favorite appetizers is called Inari. We normally serve it during the Christmas holidays so it’s a real treat.

I thought it would be a little hard to find it in the St. Paul area but I was surprised that there are actually 2 places we can find them. One is the sushi deli at Cub Foods in Woodbury and the other is a restaurant called Sushi Tango, also in Woodbury.

Inari is made with an outer fried bean curd “skin” pouch that is soft and is filled with sticky rice. It is very delicious and can be made at home (if you can find the pouches – see below to order).

Inari

A very filling appetizer that can be served with other “hand” foods.

[amazon_link id=”B0035QLZSC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Hime Seasoned Fried Bean Curd (Inarizushi-No-Moto) (Pack of 4)[/amazon_link]

New Years

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce

People make such a fuss about the start of a new year. In reality, we open a page of our “book” every day. Each day we start with blank pages. We write what goes into this book  with our words and actions.

Resolved: To live each day as if it were my first.