Christmas Memories, Shishito Peppers and Coleslaw

good morning lovely  friends!!!!        I hope your morning is going well.        we just got in from our walk this morning.          it's a nice brisk morning and it felt good to get out in the day.       we try to walk 3 or 4 times a week and I usually get 2 or more miles, but this morning, we both have a lot on our agendas, so I just got a little over a mile and  a half.       I'm pleased with that, since I know I'll have a pretty full day.        I hope y'all can get some exercise in  too, it's just seems right and good.       hahaha

I hope to have some pictures to share with y'all of what has been on my dehydrator and there will be many more to come.    I think I had told y'all  that I had oranges and cranberries on my dehydrators and hopefully this first batch will come off soon this morning.         I look forward to having more of both in my dehydratedstash  cabinet.        if feels getting more stuff put away.        I hope y'all are figuring ways to save money and save more food for your families.         dehydrating is a fun and easy way for me to do just that.

one of the things I've been doing with the cranberries and oranges is to make powder from them with a little bit of monkfruit sugar blended in with the powder.        I add that to my breakfast jars when I'm making them.        it is so wonderful.       for my breakfast jars, I'll add: 

a ***scoop of chia seeds, 

same scoop of ground flax seeds, 

same scoop of monkfruit powder, 

same scoop of peanut butter powder, 

same scoop of cran-orange powder, 

1/4 cup of old fashioned oats 

almond milk up to the bottom of the jar just before the ring starts.    

stir that real good, put lid on and sit in fridge till next morning.        take the lid off and add  1 tablespoon of coconut milk and stir that really well and enjoy!!!

I make 6 of these at a time.          so I have breakfast for 6 mornings and it is so delicious!!!

at some point in time, I'll share with you what I make for my husband for his breakfast.

***the scoop I use is a little less than a tablespoon but more than half of a tablespoon.        I got it years ago in so protein powder.         it's black,  has a  little long handle and the scoop comes to a rounded point on the bottom.        you may have some just like it.  

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with Christmas being less than a month away, I thought I would share this.        it may be a reshare, but it's always a good read for me to go back to every once in a while.         I hope it sparks some good memories for you.           it always does my heart good to see how I have been blessed and think about some of the Christmas gifts from Christmas past.        I wrote this several years ago and I still have a lot of the presents mentioned.         I think I wrote this back in 2014, I'm not quite sure.

Good evening y'all.          It's been kind of a gloomy day today and that does not help at all with lifting my spirits.            It seems every year around this time and earlier that some of the sadness of life creeps in.            No matter how hard I try, it just does.           I know that some of y'all know exactly what I'm talking about.              Life events, over the course of my life and the lives of others seem to come to the forefront with the gloomy days of winter.             Oh, don't get me wrong, not every day is gloomy, but some are and that's what this post is about.           Just to prove to myself that not every day is gloomy.

Do you remember a special present that you may have gotten at some point in your life?            I'll bet everybody can name several special gifts they have received at Christmas.           I too, could name off several very easily without even thinking about it.              One of my special gifts was the last present that I got from my Grandmother Susie Anderson before she went home to be with the Lord.         The Christmas of 1968, she got me a doll.             This wasn't just any doll, this doll was me!!!        She was a little girl with a long blond pony tail, pudgy cheeks, a red gingham check shirt and a pair of overalls.   This little doll was as country as country could be.          She also had her hands made into fists, like she was gonna punch someone.          Maw said it reminded her of me, because I had so many older brothers and was always ready to fight if necessary.           I remember her laughing one of her beautiful, wonderful and glorious laughs.         Oh, to hear that again, and I will someday.          I think of that doll often and I see it every day, because I still have it.

Another gift I remember getting was a gift from Momma and Daddy.        It was a coloring book.   Almost an inch thick and it was Christmas themed.         Along with the coloring book came a big box, you know what I'm talking about, the big box of 64 crayons!!!          I loved that gift so much.        Give me a coloring book today and I'm in my happy place.         I savored each page of that coloring book.    I cherished each crayon.        I was probably 12 years old when I got this gift and I had for many years after I was a married woman.         We had moved to TN and I gave both the coloring book and what was left of the crayons to someone that used them for classes in an after school program.        The kids that got to color the pictures were tickled pink and I was tickled pink too.        I think of the coloring book and box of crayons often.

The year was 1970 and another gift that I think of often is a gift that I got in 4th grade from the person that drew my name in the gift exchange.         It was a puzzle.        I always loved puzzles.       Still do.   I got this puzzle put together and I loved it.        I named the puzzle "Alley Cat".          It was a pretty good sized puzzle.             We didn't frame the puzzle.           We had a big living room right off the kitchen.           It had a beautiful hard wood floor.           It was before the days of wall to wall carpeting and Mom and Dad had gotten a big area rug to put in the center of the living room.          The way all the furniture was placed in the room, there was only one of the corners of the rug that was not held down by a piece of furniture.            We looked and looked for somewhere to put my puzzle.         We finally settled on that corner of the rug.            We raised that corner up and slid that puzzle under there and that's where Alley Cat lived for many many years. 

From time to time, I would check on Alley Cat.           If I went missing, I could usually be found in the living room with the corner of the rug raised looking at that puzzle.        Every once in a while, I would take someone and show them our little Alley Cat.          It would be a good surprise for whom ever I showed it to.          When I got married, Momma wanted to know when I was gonna get my puzzle.       I kept saying some day I would bring Alley Cat home.          Daddy passed away in January of 2012 and Momma sold the home place that fall and that's when I finally brought Alley Cat home.

I take Alley Cat out every once in a while and look at her and then put her back up.         I really need to put her in a frame and hang her up somewhere.          But, I just don't know if I could bare to look at it on a daily basis.         Alley Cat has a special place in my heart and I'll never get rid of her, but she's a sad little thing.         When I got her out a little while ago to take a picture of her, I cried.        I don't know why.          I just know that every time I think of Alley Cat, I cry.

I guess that adds to some of gloominess around this time of the year.           It also adds to the joy that I have all year around.           Having something from the past that has been shared with a lot of people over the years and remembering the looks on peoples faces when they got to see Alley Cat has been fun to think about.          Seeing smiles come across faces and maybe the look of surprise in their eyes.   And then telling a quick story about how it came to be there.         Alley Cat lived there for 42 years and I think everyone actually enjoyed having that cat in the house. 

She has been in my home for 9 years now and I got her out and looked at her and the memories came rushing back along with a few tears.          Memories of putting her together, and putting her in her living place for all those years, then bringing her home.        I took a picture of my little Alley Cat.       I put her back up, I don't know when I'll take her out again, but she's here and I can take her out whenever I need to and then put her back up.          While time has rushed on since I got her as a Christmas present in the 4th grade, she hasn't aged a bit in 51 years.         When I take her out and look at her, I am right back there as that 4th grader putting her together and then reality comes rushing back in and I realize all the changes and all the loss that has taken place during those 51 years.       And I know more changes and loss will take place in the coming years, but Alley Cat will forever be that sweet, sad, big eyed kitten with wonder and hope in her sad eyes.  

Blessings y'all.

Alley Cat is now 53 years old and hasn't changed a bit in all those years.         when I look at her I feel as though I haven't changed either.         because she still makes me cry.        it seems with each passing Christmas, she gets sadder and sadder with all the changes and I guess I do too.         I know I have a lot to be thankful for and I surely am, but I hope that God will someday let me know why this particular puzzle touches me so.     

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ok, let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me" segment this today.       how about that!!     these are Shishito Peppers.           they are mild in flavor.           only about 1 out of 10 are hot.         you never know which one is gonna be hot.             they are about the size of jalapeno peppers.          the wall of the pepper is not as thick, by any means, as a jalapeno pepper, but they are close in overall length.    they are delicious raw .         but they are especially delicious blistered.        blistering them enhances the flavor and makes them kinda nutty flavored.           it's really hard to describe how delicious they are.          the second picture is how I blistered them.        this time I used about a half tablespoon of real butter.      (I let mine get a little darker than what you see in the pan and I also blotted off some of the butter)  next time I will try avocado oil.      they are delicious on sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches also.          they are also good to just eat as a side.           the long stem on them is the perfect handle.  hehehe            if you see these anywhere, I would encourage you to try a few, they just may end up being a favorite of yours too.        if you get some, be sure and save some seeds.       and you may be able to grow some for yourself.          

these are very delicious and I would definitely encourage you to try them.         they have a flavor profile that can't be beat.         I dehydrated most of what I grew this summer just because I love to make powder and add it to a lot of dishes.        if you find any, be sure and try them.        better yet, get some seeds and grow some.        

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I have gone thru some of my older journaling.           Journaling that I do for myself, but sometimes do share.            I love to see how the Lord has helped me grow over the years and how He has spoken to me thru His written Word.          This is my personal journals, that's all it is.         I have shared them in other formats, but decided to share some here too.         Maybe, just maybe, others will be blessed by the sharing of these ever once in a while.  

 

Philippians 4:11  "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."

Paul was writing to his Christian brothers and sisters in Philippi and he had been thanking them for helping him.         But Paul had some very valuable lessons that he passed on to this congregation and he is still passing this on to congregations today.         He had learned to make do with he had.    Whether a little or a lot, what ever the situation, he had learned to be content.

Have we learned to be content?         Some people think contentment is a bad thing.       For me, I think contentment is one of the best things that can happen in  a persons life circumstances.        Some times, contentment can refer to the financial side of life.          If you happen to know how to stretch a little food to make a lot of food, you can have more contentment.          If you happen to know how to repair a rip in a piece of clothing or sew a button back on, there is more contentment.         If you can do home repairs yourself, there is more contentment.            If on the other side of that, you are always trying to keep up with your neighbors and all that they do, you may never experience contentment.

Are we content in our relationship with the Lord?       One of the things that I have always tried to apply to my life is this; "I do as I know to do, when I learn to do better, I do better."          I want the Lord to be my teacher.        I want the Lord to teach me to do better.         I do not want, ever, to be chasing after the next great idea or to be chasing after something that God isn't telling me to go for.       Some say, do you want to be satisfied with mediocre?           I say, if God has me at mediocre, then I know He knows what He's doing.          I know He is at work in me getting me ready for better than mediocre.        But, I don't want anything that He hasn't already planned for me.         I really feel that sometimes in our search, we are searching after stuff that He hasn't commissioned us to search for, therefore we have even more discontentment in our lives.

Sometimes we need to stop and take a breath.         then look at our circumstances and ask God what He has in store for us.       until He takes us to the next level, we really should ask Him to help us be content with where we are.         Whether we have a little or a lot, be content and keep on doing the work that God has before you and praise Him through it.         I am not saying we should ever stop trying to achieve what God has put before us.          My life won't look like yours and yours won't look like mine.          But discontentment will make both our lives look miserable thru the eyes of the onlooker.         God will bless us right where we are, in every situation, if we ask Him to do so.

Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Those don't sound like words from a discontented Paul.          Whether he had meals fit for a king or bread and water, whether he was behind bars or a free man, he was content.          His contentment came from Christ!         Yours can too.          I pray that if you don't have that contentment in your life that you will ask God for it.          Contentment will only come during the hardships of life.        Contentment comes through the struggle.         When we have come to the end of who we are, and realize we can't do it on our own, Christ is ready to strengthen you.         When Christ is your strength, when Christ is your everything, then Christ is all you need.          With Christ comes contentment. (7-7-2014, pjg)

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let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me", so I was working on getting supper going and I thought this would be something good to share with y'all.         we like coleslaw, but it gets weepy after a bit.  plus the coleslaw mix will get bad pretty quickly if you don't use it.      so, there's the dilemma.    I usually end up tossing at least a half of a batch of coleslaw.         and y'all know me, I don't like waste, I can't stand waste.        have I ever told y'all that I abhor waste.       well, now ya know.       hahaha  

the last batch of coleslaw mix I got, this is what I done.        once I opened the bag of mix, I took a new vac seal ziplock bag and put the opened bag of coleslaw mix in it and vacuumed all the air till it was flat and no air.         next time I made coleslaw I done the same thing.         that bag was over 2 weeks old and still as fresh as it was the day I bought it.          I just emptied that bag and opened another new bag of coleslaw mix and I done the same thing.          I flattened what was left of the coleslaw mix out in it's bag and stuck it down in the vac seal ziplock bag and vacuumed it flat and it will be good for 2 weeks or until I use it up and "no more waste".        those are 3 of my favorite words.      "no more waste".    yes and amen!!

so I have  some pics to show.  I make 2 batches of coleslaw, one for me and one for he.  (he being my hubby, hehehe) mine is fewer in calories and doesn't taste as good as his.      hahahaha       and that's what you see in one of the pictures.         anyway, this works like a charm for me, and "no more waste".  and that's a win all day long!!!!       yay!!! 

I hope you'll give this a try.       it really does save my coleslaw mix.        it stays so fresh till the bag is empty.

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I hope and pray you seen something here today that spparked some memories of Christmas past and maybe helped you remember some of the people in you life that blessed with a heart touching gift.      I hope you seen something that will help you in the kitchen at some time or another.        I also hope that you may have learned a little bit about contentment.         I try to be content with all my situations, because I try to remember that God is always with me.        I hope you know that He wants to love you and He made a wa way for you to be in right relationship with Him thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savor!!!!         blessings, hugs and love to you all, patty