Prairie browns...

silver

A Recipe to Enjoy...

About a week ago, I mentioned a wonderful potato/sausage soup that Mama concocted, and there were a couple of requests for the recipe! I have attempted to create a proper "recipe" from what she did...hopefully it makes sense. Hope you like it!
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Creamy Peasant Potage



2 strips bacon, cut into pieces
2 bratwurst, casings removed, sliced
6 mushrooms (6 ish...however many you want!), diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
5 med. potatoes, peeled, quartered, and sliced
1 can of evaporated milk
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
chicken broth or bouillon
a little olive oil

Begin by rendering the bacon down a bit in your soup pan to let out some of the juices of the bacon. Add the bratwurst, onion, mushrooms and garlic. Slowly saute these together in the pan to caramelize...a low heat would be best, because you want to avoid burning! (When Mama made this here at my house, we let them caramelize together for at least half an hour to forty minutes.) You can add a bit of olive oil here if there aren't enough bacon juices to keep the ingredients from sticking while they caramelize.

While that is sauteing, in a separate pan boil the potatoes in a pan with just enough broth (or pure water & chicken bouillon...not too heavy on the bouillon) to cover, until tender. Add to the meat, onion, garlic & mushroom mixture. Add the evaporated milk. In a bowl or glass measuring cup mix together the 1/4 cup of cold water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add to the soup. Simmer until thickened, making sure that it doesn't stick. Enjoy!








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The Best Toast

Alright, I know it sounds silly to put a recipe in here for toast, of all things. But I assure you that this way produces an exceptionally good toast! Mama showed me how she does it last Tuesday when she was here as well, and my man and I had it with our "Creamy Peasant Potage" :).

Anyway...what she did was take a loaf of stale french bread, and cut thick slices off of it by poking a large fork into it all the way around the loaf where she would have made the slice with her knife, and then pulled the slice off with her fingers. You know how you split an English muffin to put it in the toaster? It's like that. So the slice that you get isn't perfectly smooth on the side...it's kind of rough, and there's little "mountains and valleys" made out of the bread :). Then you just put those slices on a baking sheet and broil them for about five minutes. Watch them, because you'll want to take them out as soon as they get goldeny and almost brown on the peaks and crispy on the outside. Then spread them with butter and serve with your potage! It is delicious made this way...just like where you would read about in books where they put their bread on toasting forks and toast it in front of the fire.

~*~ "When the girl returned, some hours later, she carried a tray, with a cup of fragrant tea steaming on it; and a plate piled up with very hot buttered toast, cut thick, very brown on both sides, with the butter running through the holes in it in great golden drops, like honey from the honeycomb. The smell of that buttered toast simply talked to Toad, and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cosy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one's ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender; of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries." ~*~
~from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

~*~ poem ~*~

A poem to consider by John Donne (1572-1631)~

Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for you
As yet but knock; breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp’d town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth’d unto your enemy;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Quilting Monday

Yesterday was a truly good day. The morning was a bit of a catch-up-from-the-weekend morning...straightening, putting away, cleaning the hearth, etc.
In the afternoon I was able to spend some time with my man's sisters, which was so nice! We stopped by the new thrift shop here in town to browse a bit and then went to the craft store to buy some fabric for Ana to make a quilt with. Afterwards I brought my crocheting back to their house with me, and we all worked on various projects together and drank hot tea to stay warm :). When Ana's fabric was washed and dried, we began to cut out the squares. I was surprised at how quickly it went with both of us cutting. :) We were able to get all of one color done and about halfway through the other. Soon she'll be able to do the fun part and sew them all together!
Ana, Leah, and my man's mother made a delicious supper, and when my man got off of work he came over and we all ate together. It is so good to have family living close enough that we can live our daily life together. Thank you, Father, for this blessing!

A Good Weekend

Sorry about the length of time since my last post! My man and I had a very good weekend. On Saturday we drove to the house of some dear friends of ours and stayed for the weekend, which was delightfully fun and edifying. I am so thankful for fellowship like that!

Friday~keeping the woodstove going...weather warming up (-5!)...errands around town in my man's pickup...workboots and corduroy pants...listening to ipod~*~

(Below) My man's good friend and his sweet wife (who is now my dear friend!) were so hospitable to invite us into their home...C and I had a lovely time making molasses cookies together! (right pic)

~We had a great time playing games together as a foursome in their livingroom~

~S and C twice made us the best Orange Julius...ummm!...cheese and grapes and Clue~

Kind and Merciful God

I'll be gone with my man over the weekend visiting some friends, so I thought that I'd post the hymn for this next Lord's Day early...

This is a favorite of mine that we sing in church sometimes. I like the melody that we sing it to, lovely but with a minor touch that makes it poignant. Since I can’t post the melody, you’ll just have to imagine if you don’t know it.

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Kind and Merciful God

Kind and merciful God,
We have sinned in Your sight,
We have all wandered far from Your way;
We have followed desire,
We have failed to aspire
To the virtue we ought to display.

Kind and merciful God,
We’ve neglected Your Word
And the truth that would guide us aright;
We have lived in the shade
Of the dark we have made,
When You willed us to walk in the light.

Kind and merciful God,
We have broken Your laws
And in conduct have veered from the norm;
We have dreamed of the good,
But the good that we could
We have frequently failed to perform.

Kind and merciful God,
In Christ’s death on the cross
You provided a cleansing from sin;
Speak the words that forgive,
That henceforth we may live
By the might of your Spirit within.

Kind and merciful God,
Bid us lift up our heads
And command us to rise from our knees;
May our hearts now be changed
And no longer estranged,
Through the power of your pardon and peace.

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Words: Bryan Jeffery Leech, 1973
Music: Traditional Swedish Melody; adapt. Bryan Jeffery Leech, 1973
ELFAKER 12.9.12.9

Tea and Making Soup

My mama, sister and brother came to my house this afternoon. Sissy has piano lessons with my man's sister Ana (here in town), so my brother stayed and visited during the lesson...we chatted about all of life!...and then Mama and sissy came back and we had tea. Uummm. Black tea with milk and sugar. In pretty teacups. The woodstove was warm to drink tea by on this cold day (-14 this morning!)...and when we were done with our tea, Mama helped me make supper. She created her own recipe for a most delicious creamy potato, sausage and mushroom soup with carmelized onion, garlic, and bacon this week and brought some of the ingredients so she could show me how she makes it and so my man and I could have it for supper. It looks, smells, and tastes so delicious. Thank you Motherdy!
~pics: (left) my kettle warming up the water to make tea, and (below) sauteing onion, garlic, bacon, sausage, and mushrooms for our wonderful soup~

Sweeter than Honey

Psalm 19:7-14

"The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
The judgements of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also
from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer."

Another collage page...

~Whites, Creams, and Browns~

my afternoon

Yesterday afternoon I was babysitting my two little friends again...this time they brought along their little horses to play with in my living room. There was a general trying-on-all-of-my-vintage-aprons party (which was adorable). I had a few minutes to sit cross legged on my kitchen floor, listen to the classical radio station, and put together a couple of collages in one of my notebooks. I went through the stack of magazines that I had here earlier this week and tore out any little picture that I would want for a collage (not the majority of what was in there!) and I found enough for a few more pages in my notebooks. :)

All three of us had a yummy afternoon snack of banana bread...mine with the addition of a cup of lukewarm black coffee. I decided that I definitely prefer my coffee hot and with cream in it...;)

Here are the pages of my notebook...they're just a right-brained collection of pictures representing things that I love (kind of like this blog!). You'll notice a reoccurring theme...kitchen, home, hearth, home-making. I am so thankful that God not only gives us commandments to be keepers at home, but also provides great JOY and fulfillment in doing it!

(Again, if you can't see the picture very well, just click on it for a larger image!)

Snippets

There is a certain meal that I have a great weakness for...whenever I mention (again) to my man that this is indeed my favorite, he says, "Yes, I know!" (I guess I've mentioned it a few times...) For a while there I was making it quite frequently...until I had compassion on my poor man one day and began trying to do more research in the cookbooks that I got for Christmas...attempting to introduce more variety into our meals. But I can't resist making it once in a while. It's not some fancy gourmet something-or-other with a rich sauce, or an impressive roast and potato doo-dah. It's simply chicken pieces roasted with onions and lemon, salt and pepper, and some sort of rice--like today's white rice steamed with sauted onion and my mama's homemade chicken stock--and of course a salad and iced tea. There you have it. Katya's Great Confession of Food Weakness. My favorite. I like making it. I like looking at it. I like eating it. In "the old days" when I'd be downstairs in the school room doing school (like when I was doing English and American Literature right before dinnertime...the which I loved inordinately), I'd make an abbreviated version...Mama or I would make a salad and then just put shredded chicken pieces right in the salad. Iced tea made it a meal for a king. Or maybe just a queen, since this seems to be a sort of girly lunch. Today was a sort of day when I could indulge in making it again.


On a different note, I am enjoying the winter sunshine today. Yesterday was majorly cozy with all that snow coming down. But it was a bit cloudy all day...(I suppose I would be too if I were a cloud, trying to keep all that snow up in the sky as long as I could.) But this morning dawned bright and clear, with the sun reflecting orange-y on my neighbors' windows as it came up, and white smoke rising in the air from people's furnaces. (Is it smoke that comes from a gas furnace?) It just so happens that the place to find the best sun-patch in my house is the bathroom, which is alright, I suppose, because it's right off of the main room and I can keep the door open to enjoy the sunshine. I love sunshine and enjoy it whenever I can. Anyway, until later...

The Never-Failing Well

I keep this quote in my kitchen next to my stove to remind me.
I am so thankful for the writings of Charles Spurgeon.

(If you can't read it, click on the picture for a larger image.)

Spare Oom and War Drobe

Cozy winter days with lots of snow always remind me of Narnia and of Lucy stepping out of the wardrobe and into the snow...

"Next moment she found that what was rubbing against her face and hands was no longer soft fur but something hard and rough and even prickly. "Why, it is just like branches of tree!" exclaimed Lucy. And then she saw that there was a light ahead of her; not a few inches away where the back of the wardrobe ought to have been, but a long way off. Something cold and soft was falling on her. A moment later she found that she was standing in the middle of a wood at night-time with snow under her feet and snowflakes falling through the air.
...She began to walk forward, crunch-crunch over the snow and through the wood toward the other light. In about ten minutes she reached it and found that it was a lamp-post."
~ from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I am thankful for an understanding brother who knew that I would not want to start my own home without Narnia, and therefore bought me the complete set that I could take with me when I got married! Love you, W!

(I have discovered that the only problem with warming my coffee up on top of the woodstove is that, although the drink itself gets nice and warm and perfect for drinking, the cup gets too hot to touch with my mouth...I guess I'll pour it into another cup!)

My Tuesday

We got lots of snow last night and this morning! I woke up to four-ish inches on the ground and more snow falling down, swirling in the wind. It is still snowing in the early afternoon...big, fluffy flakes...piling high because it is so cold out (4 degrees according to weather.com...feels like -4). I shoveled off the front step and a little path to the mailbox, but decided to leave the rest for my man to move out of the way with the snowblower this evening because there's a lot ;). The woodstove is keeping us nice and cozy...I just have to make sure that I don't put too much wood in the stove at once or it gets up to 80 or 85 degrees in the main room!

This afternoon is a babysitting afternoon...two sweet little girls, which means two extra little pairs of shoes on the mat! They are coloring in a coloring book at the table in front of the woodstove. They were looking for the pictures of horses to color in! I am pleased with how well they're sharing the same coloring book :). S went and found my old baby doll and is making sure that she stays warm in front of the stove. C thinks that she'll go and write a story about a horse now.



I have gotten twelve hexagons done for the afghan that I bought the yarn for last weekend. There are still 71 left to go, but at least it's a start! I hope to get a few more done today. I really like the pattern for the afghan (I got it from my man's sweet sister L...she's working on one too!). I think I'll go work on them a bit more now...

All Your Heart

Here's a little reminder from my calendar that I love (the artist is Carol Endres)...
(thank you for getting it for me, Mama!)

The Lord is my strength!

"The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him..."
Exodus 15:2

"For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
And sets me on high places....
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip."
Psalm 18:31-33, 35-36

Lord's Day Hymn

Thou Lovely Source of True Delight

Thou lovely source of true delight
Whom I unseen adore
Unveil Thy beauties to my sight
That I might love Thee more,
O that I might love Thee more.

Thy glory o’er creation shines
But in Thy sacred Word
I read, in fairer, brighter lines
My bleeding, dying Lord,
Oh, my bleeding, dying Lord.

‘Tis here, whene’er my comforts droop
And sin and sorrow rise
Thy love with cheering beams of hope
My fainting heart supplies,
Oh, my fainting heart supplies.

But ah! Too soon the pleasing scene
Is clouded o’er with pain
My gloomy fears rise dark between
And I again complain,
Oh, and I again complain.

Jesus, my Lord, my life, my light
O come with blissful ray
Break radiant through the shades of night
And chase my fears away,
Won’t you chase my fears away.

Then shall my soul with rapture trace
The wonders of Thy love
But the full glories of Thy face
Are only known above,
They are only known above.

~written by Anne Steele

Winter Sunset

~the winter sun going down in the west shining on my wind chimes and my twig wreath~

Weekends, part 2...wood for the stove

~*~wood chopping time in the garage...my sweet brother-in-law is helping my man to cut up our stacks of pallets with his new chop saw~*~

our wood pile before...a pickup load of pallets...the new chop saw...a trailer full of wood

Weekends

Weekends, for me, start on Friday 'cause my man works four 10-hour days each week. I love having it that way...we're able to get lots of projects done! Today was a getting-the-groceries and chopping-wood-to-keep-us-warm-in-the-coming-month day. Here is a collage of pictures from my day! Ana is here and we're having fun taking lots of pictures :).

~keeping the fire going on a very cold day~

my hat...it's cold out!~*~work boots...a must on a Friday~*~luv lemons

work jeans

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New yarn for an afghan that I'm starting. I love these colors...so soothing!

Wintry Days

The Treasure I Desire

I must share with you this my favorite hymn. I haven't found a tune that quite fits it in my mind...perhaps some day. But for now I delight in reading these words, and thinking on Christ, who is "the treasure I desire". Let us pray to our Lord that the cry of this hymn writer's heart would be the cry of ours as well!

Christ is the Treasure I Desire

Jesus is all I wish or want,
For Him I pray, I thirst, I pant;
Let others after earth aspire,
Christ is the treasure I desire.

Possessed of Him, I ask no more
He is an all-sufficient store.
To praise Him all my powers conspire--
Christ is the treasure I desire.

If He His smiling face but hide
My soul no comfort has beside.
Distressed, I after Him inquire--
Christ is the treasure I desire.

And while my heart is racked with pain,
Jesus appears and smiles again.
Why should my Savior thus retire?
Christ is the treasure I desire.

Come, humble souls, and view His charms
Take refuge in His loving arms,
And sing, while you His worth admire,
"Christ is the Savior I desire!"

~author unknown (written in or before 1801)