Taste Sensations

My father-in-law has a word he uses to describe something which tastes exceptionally fabulous:  "succulent".  I like it.  That's what I'm talking about.

This was so yummy there's none left to see.

Piquant.  Truly.

Some of the best tastes in the world include the fresh piquant zing of lemon and creamy, dreamy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.   

Are you impressed by my use of the word “piquant?”  It means “pleasantly pungent or tart in taste.”  Today I’ve got recipes to satisfy each of those particular cravings.  Maybe you don’t crave such things.  Feel free to comment about what you do crave at the end of this blog.  I’m actually working on developing a craving for Activia peach yogurt (you may think you know what it’s for, but it really does taste good) because that’s so much better for me than the foods I’m talking about today.

First of all, lemons are amazing.  They are beautiful, they smell fantastic, and they taste great with sugar, on seafood, in iced tea… my mouth is watering just from typing this.

One of my absolute favorite desserts is Lemon Sponge Pie.  I feel it is misnamed, because a pie named after a cleaning implement is not very appetizing.  And the pie doesn’t even strike me as being particularly spongy.  My mother makes a most excellent Lemon Sponge Pie and I have already requested that she make one for my next birthday-- which is momentous since she has been baking chocolate cakes for me every November for forever.  Many decades.  Of scrumptious chocolate cakes.  But I'm ready for something new!

Enough introduction.  Here is the recipe handed down from my “Square Pink Marshmallow” grandma--see previous post : 

Lemon Sponge Pie

¼ c. melted butter

1 c. sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

1 lemon, juice and peel

1 ½ c. milk

3 stiffly beaten egg whites

Blend butter, sugar and flour.  Add agg yolks, lemon juice and grated peel, and milk.  Fold in egg whites.  Pour into crust.  Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes, then at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool, then keep chilled in refrigerator.

Bake one for yourself.  And tell me how smooth and wonderful it is especially on a hot summer day.

You won't believe how good this is 'til you try it.

But… sometimes you just need chocolate.  Warm, thick, melty chocolate is even better. 

This is Bekah.  Isn't she cute?  She & Katie totally agree with me about chocolate.  Did I ever tell you that I told Katie in 2nd grade that one of the official food groups was chocolate and she went and told her teacher about this, thinking I was serious.  Bad Mommy.

Katie & Bekah made a fabulous gourmet dinner for Wayne & I on our anniversary in June.  For dessert, we had Amazing Peanut Butter-Chocolate Molten Cake.  This dessert may have stayed on my waistline for two weeks, but it was worth it.  Unbelievable.  They said it was easy to make too.  I haven’t tried it again yet to test it, but I believe them.  They are pretty reliable girls.

Amazing Peanut Butter-Chocolate Molten Cake

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate

½ c. butter

1 c. powdered sugar

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

6 Tbsp. flour

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

¼ tsp. vanilla

½ c. thawed Cool Whip

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high 1 to 1 ½ minutes or until chocolate is almost melted.  Stir with whisk until chocolate is completely melted.  Stir in powdered sugar.  Blend in whole eggs and egg yolks.  Stir in flour; set aside.  Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended.

Pour half the chocolate batter into a 1 qt. soufflé dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with layers of cream cheese mixture and remaining chocolate batter.

Bake 20 minutes or until edge is set but center is still slightly soft.  Cool slightly.  Serve topped with Cool Whip.

Is this picture too big?  I didn't think so.

Note:  you can substitute 7 custard cups for the soufflé dish.  Place filled custard cups on baking sheet; bake at 425 degrees for 13-14 minutes or until edges are set but centers are still slightly soft.  continue as directed.

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So, there you have it.  Two amazing, mouth-watering recipes.  I want some RIGHT NOW!  But alas, no one is here to make it for me and I’m too hot and lazy to make it for myself.  I know!  Chocolate pudding is cold, and easy.  Perfect!  And here are some bonus pictures from our fabulous anniversary dinner in June...

Ozzie is just so ugly,  he's cute.

Our chefs and servers.  Aren't they dear?

The happy couple (didn't mean to be matchy-matchy).

Sweet Katie with the main course.

Murky Morning

I am a word person.  I like them.  I've been mocked for "reading" dictionaries and encyclopedias.  And my family may mock, but the kids had fun with "Encyclopedia Trivia" after dinner when they were kids.  Either me or my husband would sit with an encyclopedia volume from our 1973 set of World Book and flip through it, directing random questions to each person around the table.  Here's how it works...

David, what is the name of the places where coins are manufactured?
Katie, what kind of galaxy is the Milky Way?
Bekah, is gravity stronger on the moon or on earth?
Lisa, if you saw a milk snake, would you make someone kill it?
Wayne, what's the first name of the guy who invented the Morse code?

Can you tell what volume I am using?  I hope so!  And by the way, the answers to the questions are:
a mint, a spiral galaxy, the earth, yes, and Samuel.

What does this all have to do with anything?  It was MURKY this morning outside when I went out to walk.  The second definition of murky from dictionary.com is

"obscure or thick with mist, haze, etc., as the air."  I took a bunch of pictures on another murky morning recently and have been waiting for a recurrence so I could blog about it on an appropriate day.  I just love how you can see everything in layers, and just how soft the morning feels.  And if a mourning dove sings you can hear one here, that's just icing on the cake.  Here's my murky morning pictures:

 

This morning, before I left for my murky walk, I read that Jesus is the light of the world.  Just remember that if your world seems murky (dark, gloomy, confused), hand it over to Jesus and wait for the Light to burn away the haze.  Sometimes it takes a while.  But He has the answers.  And sometimes we need to just live with seeing the near things while the big picture is out of focus for a while.  Clarity will come when you need it.  "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  --John 8:12

Have fun playing Encyclopedia Trivia and enjoy your day whether it's murky or crystal clear!

Book Review: Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

I wasn’t immediately thrilled by the idea of a book about a little boy who went to Heaven and came back to tell about it.  I don’t know why.  I’ve read 90 Minutes in Heaven  and really liked that one, but I guess I just figured this would be more of the same.  But this book was captivating.  Little Colton Burpo didn’t just come out of surgery and start telling everyone about his experience:  his story came out in bits and pieces as other events brought things to mind.  He wasn’t trying to impress anyone, he just was mentioning what he saw or what Jesus told him—almost as a “by the way.”  What Colton said about things he saw and experienced in Heaven were so innocent and simple, yet Biblical and profound that you know a 4-year-old would never have been able to fabricate or “dream up” all these things.  Details about relatives he had never heard of, and Biblical parallels of which he could have no knowledge validated his reports.

His absolute love for Jesus and Jesus’ overwhelming love for Colton (and everyone else) is so evident in this book.  The simple theology Colton was able to express touched me the most.  An example is when his father started to explain to his kids what Good Friday was, he said, “Colton, do you know why Jesus died on the cross?”  Colton’s immediate answer was “Well, Jesus told me he died on the cross so we could go see his Dad.”  Who talks like that?  Kids will parrot a Sunday School answer to such a question, but I’ve never known of a Sunday School teacher who used “Jesus’ Dad” to refer to God the Father!

The other event that touched me the most was went Colton freaked out his babysitter by crying so hard over missing his sister.  He wasn’t referring to his big sister, Cassie, but to the sister he met in Heaven who his mother has miscarried before he was born.

This book made me love Jesus even more.  And it makes me excited to meet Him in Heaven some day, along with loved ones I miss and others I haven’t yet met.

Book Review: PrayerWalk by Janet Holm McHenry

The subtitle of this book is “Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength & Discipline.”  It’s a great subtitle, except that it leads one to believe that it is a book for women only.  Any Christian woman or man could benefit from reading this book.  We all know that both praying and exercising are things we should do, but both often fall to the way-side.  McHenry tells her own story of beginning to prayerwalk out of desperation in her own spiritual life and because her middle-aged body needed to get back in shape.

I usually take my dog.  He's getting in better shape too-- but he lets the praying up to me.

When I was about half way through this book, I began prayerwalking myself.  I absolutely love it.  Of course it helps that the weather has been perfect for me on Pennsylvania early July mornings, and I know the discipline will become more challenging when the weather doesn’t cooperate.  But McHenry gives excellent ideas for prayer topics, warns against pitfalls of walking too much too soon, tells tips for prayerwalking with a partner, and explains how it will benefit your community (and others for whom you pray) and you personally--body and soul.

A benefit of prayerwalking is getting to enjoy God's creation each morning.

I have found the discipline to be challenging because my mind still does a lot of wandering; yet rewarding because this is time set apart for the Lord (and nothing else) each day.  Even after I return home from my walks, my thoughts turn more easily and frequently to God in prayer.  To quote the author, “It takes time to intercede for others in prayer before the Father, and prayerwalking allows for that time.  Intercession is an essential ministry, not a last-minute, last-ditch effort of casually throwing things in God’s lap.  Prayerwalking is not an easy way to ‘take care of prayer’ while you get good exercise.  It is a call to spend rich time with God, carrying others’ loads.  The walking is only a means to make it all happen.”  Prayerwalking has truly revolutionized my prayer life and rejuvenated my relationship with God.  Without this book, I wouldn’t have embarked on this prayerwalking journey.

Although I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, that fact has not influenced the content of the review.

If you would like, you can rate my review on the Multnomah website at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/10406

75 Cousins

I come from a big family.  A really big family.  I have about 75 first cousins—give or take a couple.  It gets confusing.  Some of you are thinking, “Impossible.  She is including 2^nd cousins or 1^st cousins-once-removed or pets or something.”  But it’s really true.

Here I am with 4 of the 75.  Do we look related?  Our dads are 4 brothers (2 of these ladies are sisters, got it?)

 

My mother is one of seven children.  Four boys and three girls.  She is the next-to-oldest.  I am one of 22 grandchildren on that side.  

My Mom's family.  She is the tall girl in the front.

 My father is one of fourteen children.  (Basically my grandmother was pregnant all the time.  My dad joined the Navy at age 17 right before his youngest brother was born). Ten boys and four girls.  He is the next-to-oldest.  I am one of approximately 60 grandchildren on that side. 

My Dad's family.  He is wearing the sailor hat in the back.  His oldest sister is holding the youngest sibling.

I am the youngest of four children.  I have three children.  And they have two first cousins.  Yes, just two.  I can’t even imagine.

My immediate family at our wedding: me & my handsome groom, parents, 2 brothers, a sis-in-law and a niece.

We had a family picnic today (July 3) at my parents’ house.  They’ve been having this picnic annually for many years.  They decided at some point in time that it would be fun to have both sides of the family all come at the same time (what were they thinking?!).  About 75 people were there this year.  Yes, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the total number possible including all the aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and out-laws.  But it’s still a nice representation.  Everyone brings food and lawn chairs and we all try to catch up with each other since "the last time.” 

 

A boyfriend, a girl and her aunt.  (The girl is my daughter!)

This is just the "regular" food.  You shoulda seen the dessert table!

And we reminisce about the good old days.  Like the reunions when we were kids where we could eat ice cream with little wooden spoons and drink orangeade from cartons all day long.   "Remember, it was the place with the swimming pool with the giant sliding board?  And the merry-go-round thingie with seats and hand-and-foot bars that you pumped to make it spin around?"  How awesome was that!

She didn't have a little wooden spoon, but she did have ice cream!

My uncle, one of the 14 siblings.

In-laws and out-laws-- telling fish stories?

Of course, now we also compare cholesterol levels and what common genetic issues we have inherited.   But it’s great to be with people who have known you forever, who somehow look a little bit like you and who you had sleep-overs with 40 years ago (was it that long ago?)

In the foreground, my aunt & my mom-- 2 of the 7 siblings.

 

You know, I keep trying to get my parents to stop having these annual picnics.  They are in their 80s and it’s a lot of work to get it ready and clean it up.  But they love having it, and people love coming.  They don’t want us to lose the family connections, the aunts & uncles, cousin-niece-nephewness of it all.  I understand that.  And I know it won’t go on forever.  My kids with their two cousins can’t keep straight all of their great-aunts and uncles, much less their countless second cousins.   But it’s okay.  They will have their own traditions.  

Definitely out-laws.  But also my favorite picture of the picnic.  Thanks Lori!

You know what? 

I’m happy.  Just for today, I got to ride that merry-go-round with my cousins one more time.


P.S.  The best pictures you see on this post were taken by my photographer 1st cousin-none-removed, Lori.  I like her!  I'm gonna keep her.  And the rest too.

Thirsty?

Ugh! He's dragging behind me with his tongue hanging out.

Fifth day prayerwalking update: I love this! Even though I get distracted by my own thoughts and my dog (who pooped out early today and had to be taken home), all-in-all it’s been great to have a whole hour devoted to connecting with my Savior and Friend. Jesus walked so much while He was here on earth, that it just seems like a very natural way to stay in touch with Him now.

Water is necessary to the prayerwalker & her companion.

This morning, before I set out, I was reading in John 7 where people in Jerusalem were questioning who Jesus really was. Listen to verses 37-39-- “Jesus stood and said in a loud voice (He wanted to make sure they heard what He said!), ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.”

"Willoughby Run"

So then I looked up other references to God being living water in my handy-dandy TNIV Reference Bible and took note of a bunch of things:
1. the living water refers to the Holy Spirit
2. drinking it results in eternal life
3. living water refreshes us in an ongoing way; we’ll never be thirsty again
4. no imitations will work
5. it’s free
6. it satisfies
7. we drink it, and in turn it overflows from us

"Marsh Creek"

Of course, then, as I prayerwalked I took note of all the water and dry places I passed. We need rain. Things are getting brown and shrivelly around here. But around the creek banks, all kinds of green stuff are flourishing. We will flourish too if we drink the living water and “bathe” in it daily! One of my all-time favorite verses is Jeremiah 17:7-8-- “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Is this great stuff or what?!! I want to be a tree planted by that living water, just constantly soaking in the presence of God! I hope & pray that everyone who reads this blog will have that same desire. And that no matter how much we falter, we’ll keep coming back to our God who loves us like crazy.

"The Hose" soon to be put to good use on my flowers.