Chicken Paprikash and spaetzle.

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This is always a favorite at my house.  But especially when it is cold.

AND it is cold.  10 degrees F this morning- with expected snow showers

-later turning into an icy coating.  Brr!  We need some comfort food-badly!

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Start off sauteeing an onion in a tablespoon of oil.

Most of my recipes for soups and main dishes start out that way.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced

6 to 8 chicken pieces- small breasts,thighs and drumsticks

1 to 2 TBS. olive oil

3 TBS Hungarian paprika- I like the smoked rather than the sweet

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

sliced carrots- about 3 large

2 ribs of celery, sliced small

1 package frozen peas

Spaetzle , recipe here.

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Place chicken in pan, and sprinkle with s+p to taste,

then sprinkle paprika over the pieces.

Brown one side and then turn over and gently sprinkle

some more paprika on top.

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The name is Paprikash- so you basically are coating each piece.

Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the chicken loses the pink raw look.

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Add carrots, celery and chicken broth.

009Cover and cook about 45 minutes.

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Turn over pieces once more, add peas and let simmer another

10 minutes or so- don’t overcook- you want the peas a bright green.

012Make spaetzle

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And enjoy!

Psalm 91- Where do I dwell ?

 
Psalm 91
Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
         Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
         My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
         And under His wings you shall take refuge;
         His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
         And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
         And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
         Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
         To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
         Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
         The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
         I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
         I will be with him in trouble;
         I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
         And show him My salvation.”

This is one of those Psalms that people keep quoting to me when

troubles appear.  It is a psalm of comfort and promise- and makes for

good reading.  But I don’t read it the same way people quote it to me.

I don’t  see the promise made to believers.

My husband and I discuss Scripture, and this is one that we are in agreement

upon.  This psalm is speaking more of Jesus Christ and His position and

placement in God’s care during His earthly ministry.

Because – although I do trust in God’s providence and protection-

although I bow to His authority and throw myself upon His grace and

mercy- although I have been grafted into His family through the agency

of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice- I have to seriously consider the

question- “Where do I dwell?”.

This is the verse I am looking at today.  Verse one sets up the premise for the

rest of the psalm.  “ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High”…

WHO is that?  It is Jesus Christ – and He alone who dwells there.

This is not about me.  It is not about us.

We dwell here on Earth.  We can keep our mind set on Jesus.  We can pray

unceasingly- rejoice in His presence in our lives and seek to do His will.

But- we dwell here. 

We can’t move into the Father’s house and expect Him to provide for our needs

and protect us from the consequences of our decisions.

He does protect believers who are fulfilling His will- sometimes.

And sometimes, believers who are in dangerous places- following

God’s plans- spreading the Gospel- sometimes they are killed.

Or imprisoned- or tortured for the sake of their belief in God.

We dwell here.  And God loves us. 

And sometimes, we are attacked by disease, and terror, and evil.

And sometimes, we die.

This psalm is not filled with promises of protection for believers.

It is about the relationship between God and His Son.

And it is beautiful and real and comforting.

Because we are part of that relationship-

and we are not alone.

Pocket book slippers- in a couple of hours!

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Size No.10 Needles
4 Ply chunky yarn
Cast on 5 sts.
Knit 6 rows.
Next Row: Increase in 2nd stitch of each row until you have 22 stitches on the needle.
Next Row: Increase in each stitch to 44 sts.
Next Row: Knit 2, Purl 2 for 6 inches.
Next Row: Knit 2 together across giving you 22 sts.
Next Row: Decrease in 2nd stitch at beginning of every row until you have 5 sts.

Knit 6 rows.
Cast off, fold in half and sew the K2, P2 sides together and the 5 sts on top together to form strap.
Decorate with buttons or beads , embroidery, ribbons- whatever your heart desires!

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They are really cute and quick to make!  And they fit into your purse!

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I made these today!

Konigsberger Klopse or meatballs in brown gravy

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Ingredients:
  • ½ lb. ground pork
  • ½ lb. ground beef
  • 2 small, day-old rolls or 2 slices of bread
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 small onions, 1 chopped fine, 1 quartered
  • 1 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp butter or margarine, divided
  • 4 cups vegetable or beef broth
  • salt and pepper
  • 5 whole peppercorns
  • 4  allspice berries
  • 1 bay leaf (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2-3 Tbsp Golden Sherry
  • 2-4 Tbsp sour cream
  • 24 capers, drained

 

Method:

Soak the day-old rolls in water and squeeze almost dry.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter and cook 1 onion, chopped fine, until translucent.

Cool, slightly.

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Place the ground meats in a bowl, add cooked onion and the rolls, broken

in pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste, about ½ teaspoon salt and

¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix everything well by hand or with a spoon until

mixture can be formed into round meatballs. Add a few tablespoons

of broth if necessary to achieve this. Form 10-12 meatballs.

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Bring the rest of the broth, with the cracked spices and second onion,

quartered, to just under a boil and add the meatballs carefully.

Cook until done, about 12 minutes. Remove meatballs and keep warm.

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Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan and add the flour, making a roux.

Little by little, stir about 1 ½ cups of the meatball broth, strained,

into the roux, stirring to keep the sauce smooth. Add the capers.

Add the sherry and season the sauce to taste with lemon juice

and sour cream. Add the meatballs to the sauce and serve.

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Add boiled potatoes,carrots and carmelized onions and a green salad-

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And enjoy!

Baking for a visit-

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Can you see the design?  I used a stamp of a lion and the lamb.

You can see it better in person.  Maybe YOU should come over for a visit!

I love stamping baked cookies!  Especially these Swedish ginger cookies-

they get a little larger and crunchier and have a cool design.

My son and his family are coming for the weekend!

So I also made bread!

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A cheesy flat bread… to go with some spicy pumpkin soup.

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Sourdough Rye with caraway seeds.

I love the spicy pumpkin soup, recipe here.   I added some fresh ground

cardamom this time!

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I love grinding it myself- and it is Extra aromatic and fresh!

Cardamom is quite expensive.  I usually buy my spices at bulk stores and get it

fresher that way.  But I left this ingredient out of the soup last time because:

1) the stores didn’t carry cardamom (WHAT?  I was in a remote place in Virginia)

2) the store I found that carried it wanted $20+ for a medium size bag.

So I waited until I came home to my own little stash!

 

Halloween bread bears 006(Forgot to mention bread bears for Aidan!)

People should come over to visit more often!

Swedish Ginger Cookies( pepparkakor)

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I’m in love with these cookies!

They are flavorful and crunchy and PERFECT!

I do not remember where I got the recipe- if you recognize them from

your blog let me know.  I’d like to thank you profusely for sharing the recipe!

I have a log in the refrigerator and I’ve been making a dozen a day.
If I made more, I’d eat more.

Here’s a great recipe for wonderful tea cookies!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

3 TBS molasses

1 TBS hot strong coffee

2 3/4 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsps ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped candied ginger peel

Method:

Cream together butter and sugar, add coffee and molasses, and

mix well.  Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture.

Stir together until you have a smooth soft dough.  Knead  3 times

on lightly floured surface. 

Refrigerate covered for at least 1 hour.

Either make into a roll and slice or roll out thin and cut into

shapes.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes and cool on wire rack.

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Careful- they are addictive!

A Kitchen post

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My friend Celia, over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial often shows some of

the riches of her kitchen in a series called “In my kitchen”.  It is a lot of

fun looking at all her exotic and fun items.  I thought, since right now I

have much of the bounty that Meredith brought back, I, too, would put up

some of the items in MY kitchen!

Above I have oils and vinegars-  Australian Pukara Estate oils –truffle,grove gourmet and

a triple pepper- plus two pomegranate balsamic vinegars and a dark sweet cherry

Balsamic!

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I have Japanese noodles, smoked salmon from Washington,and a very savory mix of

of curry and mushrooms- written only in Japanese- so I’m only pretty sure that the

vegetable is a mushroom.

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Take a closer look at the smoked King Salmon from Seattle Pike Place Market!

I’m looking forward to some good sandwiches with these babies!

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A collection of pesto and sauces- all in Italian- mushroom, pepper, olive,etc.- I

intend to make my own pasta for these or maybe some fresh Italian bread for

dipping!

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These lovely bottles contain olive oil.

Mostly in Italian with pithy English translations- (Of course- for the

pasta-, Using mainly in Neapolitan cookery, and, my favorite-

for make witty

a candid pasta)

That last one has olives on a skewer and oregano, basil, and assorted

peppers and spices nestled in the bottom!  For make witty!

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I also have many assorted Japanese sauces to go with those

noodles.  The yellow labeled one is called aji-pan and has a

wonderful citrusy light flavor!  It goes very well with a splash

of rice oil as a salad dressing !

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Last night I made Kalua pig and pulled it to go on these yummy Semolina BBQ

rolls with Dixie Grill Sauce from Oahu!

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I also made these delicious Swedish ginger cookies!

I can’t remember whose blog I got the recipe from- if you recognize them,

let me know.  They are fantastic- and no cinnamon!

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Allyson got me this wonderful thigamatropic straw broom!

I love brooms- I love twisted handles-this makes me smile!

(and I’m sweeping the floor more than once a day!)

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In my kitchen, I have this nifty new frame for digital pictures!  I love

it! ( thank you, Jordan!)  He programmed it to do a slide show- so I just sit

and watch my loved ones while I’m drinking my coffee!

What’s in your kitchen?

UPDATE:

 

snack pack from Japan

A happy little pair! Packaged together- it looks like a watermellon and fish crackers-no?

 

 

NO! It is dried tiny fish and peanuts and rice crackers! This is what they have in Japan for snacks at the baseball games. Meredith sent me this in a package- without an explanation and I've been wondering why- WHY?

 

And that is also in my kitchen!  WHY?

Psalm 119-vv33—40- The Message

33-40 God, teach me lessons for living
      so I can stay the course.
   Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—
      my whole life one long, obedient response.
   Guide me down the road of your commandments;
      I love traveling this freeway!
   Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,
      and not for piling up loot.
   Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
      invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
   Affirm your promises to me—
      promises made to all who fear you.
   Deflect the harsh words of my critics—
      but what you say is always so good.
   See how hungry I am for your counsel;
      preserve my life through your righteous ways!

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Sometimes, staying the course is really hard.

Sometimes, it is downright scary trying to travel

God’s freeway.

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You are holding on, white knuckled, to the wheel-

and the Nor’easters of life are blowing hard against you.

 

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But you look over and the signs point to the cross.

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And in the midst of the storm-

You are reminded that Jesus Christ loves you.

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That is such a wonderful truth that the storm passes over-

and you are back on solid ground.

And somewhere between the Psalm and Chincoteague, you

have affirmed that this is the highway- or should I say that

God’s highway is the one we can always love traveling on!

(a special thank you to Allyson for her fortitude and courage

in doing the actual driving in these photos!)

Salted Breadsticks (or cheese or seeded)

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These are not your typical Italian-style bread sticks.

I got the recipe from a Hungarian friend of mine and they are in texture more

like a Kifli cookie.  But they are savory and so flaky and good.

Try them _ I KNOW you will like them.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups plain AP flour

3 tsp. salt

2 sticks (1/2 lb.) butter- room temperature

1 TBS yeast

1/3 cup warm water

16 oz sour cream (1 lb)

2 egg yolks (you will use the whites when you roll out dough.)

Proof yeast in water.  Mix salt and flour in large bowl.  Add all other ingredients and mix

together well.  Knead lightly and form into ball.

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Turn bowl over onto top of counter and allow to raise 1/2 hour.

Roll out and brush loosely whipped egg whites on top.

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Fold up- keeping whites inside dough- and allow to raise another 1/2 hr.

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Roll out again- and sprinkle with seeds, salt, or cheese.

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Cut into bars, twist and place on parchment paper on top of baking sheet.

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Bake at 350 degree F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

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These are light and flaky and buttery!  Dip into a marinara sauce or spread with

a pate- these are great- I like them plain instead of a roll with salad.