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Showing posts from November, 2014

Sunday Scripture: Lamp

Thy word is a  lamp   unto   my   feet , and a light  unto   my  path.   ~Psalm  119:105

Black Vultures

We found this flock of black vultures by the roadside, waiting out the cold in the early morning, waiting for the sun to warm the rivers of air and create thermals. And when the sun does it job, they will float on the circular currents, waiting for death, waiting to clean up after it. These vultures have a job to do, and they do it well.

Quilt Cabinet

I bought this old cabinet at an auction more years ago than I can remember.  I used it to store quilts in the house we lived in before we moved here in 2002.  It has been in the garage since we have lived here, full of old paint cans and spiders. Hub cleaned out the garage this summer, and cleaned up and repaired the cabinet.  Inspired by the folks at  Furniture Flips , he searched the internet for different ways to paint. He used a crackle technique that involved Plaster of Paris and school glue.  You'll have to talk to him if you want specific instructions. Here it is now; in the corner of our living room with a few quilts inside. I'm really sorry I sold a bunch of old furniture at a yard sale. Hub could have redone it all.  I'm guessing I'll have to find some more at auctions.

Thanksgiving

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the  Lord  is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5   KJV

Sage

There's no way you can make good corn bread dressing without sage. My mother never grew oregano, rosemary, or basil.  She didn't have clumps of chives or thyme.  But like most all the people we knew, she had sage growing in a garden corner.  You had to have sage to season  pork sausage and Thanksgiving dressing. This is what real sage looks like--not that powdery stuff that comes from the store.  This fresh sage is so pungent that a little goes a long way.  Two chopped leaves are plenty for a big pan of dressing.  It tastes so much better than the canned powder. This sage has been growing in a container by the garage for three years now.  We have had a hard freeze already, and it is fine.  It can be dried by picking the leaves off and storing them in a dry place, but I can see no reason to do that because it stays green all year here. I'll be happy to share a leaf with you if you want to try the real thing in your dressing tomorrow.  

Corn Bread

If you can't think of anything to be thankful for during this season of thanksgiving, think about corn bread. Corn bread is the oldest bread in the United States.  The Native Americans had been feasting on it for years before the colonists got off their boats.  Thanks to the generosity of the Native Americans, many colonists were kept from starving by this staple. Corn bread is the cornerstone of Southern cooking.  Because the early settlers could grow and grind their own corn, corn bread was served three times a day in many homes.  For breakfast, the hot corn bread was covered with butter and molasses.  For dinner and supper, it was served with meat and vegetables.  My mother would not have thought about setting the table without some corn bread. For Sunday supper, we had beans with ham and corn bread, with a little onion on the side.  It is Hub's favorite meal. He loves cooking bread in this skillet with wedges, because every piece has crunchy crust. Tomor

Christmas in Dixie/Downtown Florence

Last Saturday, the merchants in downtown Florence had a Christmas in Dixie Open House to kick off the Christmas shopping season.  They are giving away some fabulous prizes before Christmas.  To enter, you have to spend $25 in one of the shops or restaurants downtown.  We had dinner at the FloBama Friday night, so I have one entry in already! We have such a beautiful downtown area.  We went early, so it wasn't crowded while we were there.  The temperatures had warmed very nicely since the beginning of the week, and it was fun just walking around. The Court Street Market has several different shops inside. There is a wine and cheese shop, and Jack O'Lantern Farms with fresh produce. They had these Japanese persimmons, and they were huge, as you can tell by the one I'm holding in my hand below. They also have locally made honey, soaps, canned relishes, and many more things that you wouldn't see at the regular grocery store. I

Sunday Scripture: Thankful

  O give thanks unto the  Lord ; for he is  good; for his mercy endureth for ever. ~1 Chronicles 16:34

Persimmons

No one has to tell a child not to eat unripe persimmons twice. Once a child takes a bite of a green one, the memory stays with him forever. It's that bad. I speak from experience. We hunted them, however, because we wanted to see what was inside the seed. The seed, when opened, could reveal a knife, fork, or spoon. We spent hours opening persimmon seed. My sister's husband was from Maine, and when he first came to the South, he thought this search for persimmon cutlery was the weirdest thing we did. Some say that persimmons  can predict the coming winter. Some use them to make a tasty  pudding . Some say they are the favorite food of opossums, and if you wanted to hunt a 'possum, you would look for them in a persimmon tree. Personally, the best thing about them is how beautiful the orange globes look against the late fall sky.

Pumpkin Bread

With the abundance of pumpkin we have right now, I decided some pumpkin bread might be good.  Here's how I made it: Here are some of the things you will need. In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients.  They are: 1 2/3 cups plain flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon allspice Mix them all up real good. In another large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.  They are: 2 eggs 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup water After the wet ingredients are mixed, add the dry ingredients and stir.  There is no need to get out the mixer; they just need to be folded together. The batter will be thin, with a consistency similar to pancake batter. Fold in 1/2 cup raisins.  You can leave these out, but if you do, yours won't be as good as mine. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped nuts.  I used pecans, since they w