Tips for Thyme. Well, really just one tip.

so I tried scrambled eggs with chives and thyme this morning. and pepper and cheddar and mozzarella cheese and milk. I know y'all are getting tired of all of these egg recipes. I'm thinking of something pork-choppey--maybe Thursday okay?

However, back to the regularly scheduled program: It'll really be just some tips, okay? The eggs were delish! However, I've found getting the (pretty small) leaves off of the Thyme stems can be difficult. So, I am passing on my knowledge. (ha! like this is something earth shattering, yeah?) Hold the top of the stem with your left hand (or your right--i suppose--if you are left--handed. I am not left-handed, therefore, I hold the stems in my left hand. Ummmmm. Can you tell I'm tired? I'm starting to babbbbbbllllleeeeeee) Okay, hold the thyme with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand. Don't hold it too tight or pinch it as that will cause whatever is below your fingers to break off and then you'll have to start alllllllllllll over again.
Okay, hold the stem with the left, take your right forefinger and thumb and run them down the stem. The leaves below your left hand will just jump right off of that ol' stem. You will; however, have to pinch each of the leave which were growing at the top off the stem off one by one, but hey, at least you didn't have to do all of 'em that way, yeah?

And no picture today as I seemed to have misplaced my adapter thing-ey. I'll prolly have to go spend some money tomorrow on another one. :/

Goodnight, Dear Readers. ;-P
Lolly Fabulosa :)

Music: Eagles-Take it to the limit.
Creedence Clearwater Revival-I put a spell on your.
Lionel Richie-Dancing on the Ceiling
Roger Miller-It happened just that way

Things that are cool about Pop, # 7

Even when he is being stubborn, he is polite.

We were out taking an evening walk.

Pop: Well, I'm about ready to turn around and go back home. You?
Me: That is a great idea, Pop. Let's do it!

We turned around and headed back home and then a few moments later...

Pop: Well, I'm about ready to go back home. You?
Me: We are headed home, Pop. We'll start seeing it up ahead of us in a few minutes.
Pop: Nope. We need to turn around. It is behind us.
Me: See those trees up yonder? Our house is right behind 'em.
Pop: Well, I know who is wrong and I know who is right. And I'm right.

He was too polite even to tell me "You are wrong." I was thankful that I was walking a bit ahead of him otherwise he'd have seen the huge smile on my face.

Pineapple Mint/Chives scrambled eggs

Listening to: Beach Boys: Kokomo, Eagles:


I have somehow become a huge fan of eggs in the morning. I hope what the doctors say about eggs not being bad for you anymore is true cos I'm usually eating 1-1/2 of them every day.
So, this morning (di mattina in Italian), Pop and I were both hungry so we baked biscuits (from the pack), cooked bacon and scrambled eggs. I decided to try to herb/mint eggs again. Here is what I did:

I cut 3 long shoots of chives. They averaged 14 inches in length. To make their preparation easier, I used some (clean) scissors and cut them up into little pieces about 1/10 of an inch long with the scissors. Since I could bundle the stalks together, it made it fast and easy. Remember, that you can choose a pair of scissors specifically for the kitchen and use them only for that purpose. The scissors can be washed after each use--in hot water--so that they stay safe.

Then I picked the leaves off of three or four "branches' of pineapple mint. Once picked, the leaves equaled about 1/8 of a cup, packed. You can choose whichever type of mint you'd like. I have about six different types of mint growing in my garden, so it makes choosing more fun. Usually in the spring, you can get a wide variety of herbs at the local nursery. Once you re-pot them, they can grow quite big.

I cut the mint up with a smaller knife--a steak knife--because the larger knives don't seem to cut as easily. Perhaps they are less sharp?

In a small bowl, I cracked two eggs. We only had two. Usually, I use three. The recipe will prolly be better with three eggs. I add some milk, about one tablespoon of pepper, I grated some cheddar cheese (use how much makes you happy!) and then added the herbs.

The end product was not bad. It was definitely interesting. I wonder if the additional egg would tone down the pineapple mint enough to make it just right. I'll have to try again. If any of you try this recipe with a larger amount of eggs, let me know how it turns out.

I enjoyed the meal!

Love,
Lolly Fab :)

Mint Rosemary Eggs

I tried something new. I paired Mint with another herb from my garden. I'd been thinking about it, but haven't tried yet. So, yesterday, I had Mint Rosemary scrambled eggs along with bacon and plain ol' regular (non-whole-wheat) pancakes.
The pancakes were okay, but not as good as they could be, yeah?

So, I cut up some rosemary, some mint, added pepper, mozzarella cheese and milk and scrambled the eggs. You'll see in the picture that the amount of rosemary--once chopped--was rather small. That was evident in the taste. I should have added more of both. I keep forgetting the lesson that MORE is more when using fresh herbs. I could taste the rosemary-a very tiny bit--sometimes. I could taste the mint a very very tiny bit. In the end, however, the eggs were tasty. They just weren't as unique and "zing-y" as I'd hoped. I'll try again sometime.


Oh! I forgot. The pancakes weren't completely just plain ol' pancakes. I added cinnamon. Prolly at least a tablespoon-ful. They were delish--just not whole wheat delish.

Hope you enjoy!

Lolly Fab

p.s. I had a picture of the finished product, but it has disappeared. :(

New Blog

Just for your information, I've started a new blog--a picture blog--here on blogspot. Check it out, if ya wanna!

Here it is:

http://pollyannascameraphone.blogspot.com/2010/08/20aug10.html

Things that are cool about Pop, # 6

Pop: Where is everyone?

Me: Well, Dale is just down the road at his house. He is prolly eating dinner with his wife, Chrissa, and his boy, Cole. And I'd imagine that Marilyn is home with Alan and Kyle.

Pop: Well, where is my wife, Mary?

Me: Well, Pop, I heard Marilyn say that she is staying a few days with Sharon over in Houston. They're going shopping. They might spend all your money. Whaddya think about that?

Pop: Well, I think they could do it, don't you?

Things that are cool about Pop, # 5

We were watching the beginning of The Andy Griffith Show and--as I am wont to do--I was whistling along with the theme song. I'd never heard Pop whistle, so I asked him, "Pop, can you whistle?"

"Sure," he said and he began to whistle a very basic whistle. We whistled together for a while and then Pop stopped abruptly.

"I can whistle for girls" he said with a straight face and I laughed out loud.

"You can?" I asked.

"Yep. See." he said and then demonstrated by whistling a very manly construction worker wolf whistle.

New Phone!

I got my new phone today! YAY! I'm so excited. It has a qwerty keyboard and a camera and a voice recorder (i can take "notes" if I'm driving and think of something to write) and voice commands, etc. I'm really looking forward to having one that is a step up from the last one. I've had it for two years and this new one really kinda TOTALLY ROCKS in comparison.

The number should be the same. anyway--not a super important blog, but I had to shout it!

:)

Lolly Fab :)

My First Letter

I found this letter whilst sorting through some boxes this morning.

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

Headquarters 2856th Air Base Group (AFLC)

Griffiss Air Force Base, New York 13440

6 August 1969

Loralee Ford

c/0 TSgt & Mrs. P. Ford

8943 Turin Road

Rome, NY 13440

Dear Loralee,

This is probably one of your first letters. I want to be one of those to welcome you to our great, big world and to congratulate you upon choosing such a lovely home. If you had searched the world over, you couldn't have found a nicer Mother nor a finer Dad.

I know how happy and proud they are of your arrival, you are, without doubt, one of the most precious gifts they have ever received. In fact, you are so precious that they will want you to have the very best of everything, including of course, Christian training in the home, Sunday School and Church.

I hope that you are well aware of the queenly place which you now occupy. I have been told that a king can do no wrong (neither can a queen) so I trust that you will not exercise your authority in loud and lusty edicts too often, especially not at 2:00 A.M. Too much exercise of this queenly right may be quite a tax upon your most loyal subjects.

It is our hope that you will grow up in a household of faith, where many hands of fellowship and encouragement will always be stretched out to help you. May God bless you and keep you always is my most earnest prayers.

yours in Christ

Henry Edelenbos

Hospital Chaplain.

Charming Things

Most of y'all know that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I've stayed up 'til midnight the watch the first showings of two--maybe three--of their movies (and the book release of Book 7) and I intend to do so for the final two movies coming out in the next year. My 37th birthday party was Harry Potter themed. I even have a Gryffindor themed outfit to wear on special occasions. I love Harry Potter.

I'm also a music lover! My "style" might not be very modern or fashionable, but I love my tunes. My IPOD--at one time--was filled with 1800 songs. Presently, I happen to have fewer songs, but the loss of my inaugural library is a whole 'nuther story. If I am in the kitchen--where the IPOD docking station sits, the music is on. If i'm cooking, I'm singing. If I'm doing dishes, I'm dancing--and singing, also. I love music!!

I'd never thought of it in this way, but it could be said that I'm "charmed" by music and Harry Potter (and well, reading in general). If I was able, I might spend a great deal of my time reading or singing. Doing these things just make me--well, happy! So, my thought was at this point: what would happen if I had to give them up?

We sang a song in worship this morning. Part of it goes this way: "...all the vain things that charm me most. I sacrifice them to His blood." The song is--of course--a way to remind ourselves that serving and loving God is our most important job. But I began thinking about that idea. What are the things which charm me most? Harry Potter, reading, and music certainly rank highly on the list. I'm sure with greater effort (and time) I could add a few other things to that list. What is on your list? I'm being serious, now! What are things that really make you happy to do them?

Then imagine having to give them up. No more reading anything for fun or learning. No more singing anything or at any time except worship. No more.....(insert thing that charms you most). Now, I'm not saying we couldn't survive without all these charming things, but--to be truthful--they do add some happiness to our lives, yeah?

I was pondering the whole idea when I thought of the first century Christians who--instead of securing their physical lives--refused to deny Christ even in the face of their destruction by wild animals or military sword.

I thought of Christ who--instead of calling 10,000 angels to save Himself--suffered the shame of the cross in order to secure our salvation.

I thought of Stephen who--instead of lying to avoid stoning--told the Truth--BOLDLY--to his murderers; and therefore, lost his life.

These people put God exactly and precisely FIRST in their lives. Do we? I'm not saying we should throw out our IPODS and libraries and all the fun little charming things we have. However, we really must have an attitude and behavior that indicates to God that we put Him first. He has to be our first priority. And I suppose it wouldn't hurt one bit if we found a way to have spiritual things on our list of things that "charm" us most. It'd be easier that way, wouldn't it? ;-P

The question remains. Can we do it? Can we sacrifice the things which charm us in order to live a life which pleases and glorifies our God? Can I? Can you? Just some food for thought.

Things that are cool about Pop, # 4

I had just finished making some banana bread for our lectureship this weekend. I was singing. I was dancing. I was cleaning. The Black Eyed Peas' tune was blasting from my IPOD docking station.

Y'all know the chorus, yeah?

" i gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night

that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night."

So, I'm cleaning and dancing and singing and when the song ended, Pop--who had been looking at some things which were lying on the sideboard said to me,

"Well, I'm sure hoping for a good night tonight!"

"Me, too, Pop. Me, too!"

I can't help but laugh at how naturally funny this 82-year-old man is--just naturally living in a world which has changed some much since he was my age--half his life ago. He often brings a smile to my face. I wonder how he'd like Billy Joel? ;-P

Here is a great video of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K21cZ65jVHY

Things that are cool about Pop, # 3

Pop and I were having a midnight snack--literally. It was midnight--of homemade cookies. I had made them the previous afternoon.

"Whaddya think of the cookies, Pop?"

"They're pretty good."

"They have chocolate chips, pecans, coconut, and bananas in 'em."

His eyes widened, and then he replied, "Well. They have everything in 'em, don't they? If ya can't survive on these, then you can't survive on anything!"

-------------------------------------------------------

Moments later, we were still munching on the aforementioned cookies. I picked up a cookbook which I'd recently received for my birthday. While flipping through it, I read aloud the names--and sometimes the ingredients--for several recipes.

"Roasted Red Pepper Soup" I read.

A look of disgust came over Pop's face just before he replied, "I don't believe I'll have any of that, Thank you."

Saying Goodbye to Balloons

As my aunt and I were leaving Houston to head toward Galveston today, she stopped at the Dollar Tree, handed me two dollars, and send me into the store to pick out a "something special." The item I was to buy was a balloon. There were no rules about which balloon I chose. It could be a happy birthday balloon for me cos we were celebrating my birthday on this trip to Galveston. It could be a bright smiley face cos we were also celebrating the memory of my mother--my aunt's sister--on this trip. It didn't matter what I chose.

I walked over to the balloon area and reached up to grab the "passel" (get it?) of balloons and looked 'em all over carefully. There was a congratulations balloon. There was a birthday balloon or two--and one even had the princesses on it! There WAS even a smiley face balloon, and I was considering it seriously when my eyes landed on the PERFECT balloon--a bright shiny yellow star. Only those who know my mother will understand the significance of this balloon and realize how PERFECT it was. My mother's signature always had a moon and star just behind the last "E" in "Pattalee." (kinda like i have a smiley face over the last "E" in my name. Once I saw the yellow star, there was NO OTHER BALLOON.

Needless to say, I purchased the balloon with my aunt's money and we were on our way to Galveston. We chatted all the way there about this and that and finally made it into town and were first in line at the Ferry!

We made it over to Boliver Point and to a beach where we intended to let the balloon drift off into space, hopefully being found by some stranger somewhere who would read the notes we taped to its strings. We each wrote a note. I think i forgot to tell you that fact earlier.

My aunt wrote a cute note which said the following:

8/3/2010 Galveston Bay

Hi There!

I am "tourist" here today and sending this balloon up to my Sister. If you find it and call, you'll get a treat. :) Angie (xxx) xxx-xxxx.

I didn't realize hers was going to be so light-hearted! I wrote a serious note, to my Mother--though I knew she couldn't read it. I said:

03AUG10

Dear Mother,

Did you know I just celebrated 41? That means it has been nearly 8 years that you've been gone. I miss you, ya know and often have questions I wanna ask you.

I want to say thank you. So much of what is best about me came from you--except, of course, the things which are best about me which came from Daddy. :) Things are well and I'm really looking forward to the best part of my life. I wish you were here to enjoy it with me--to help me edit what I write and to laugh, and to sing, and to be silly. I love you and miss you.

Lolly Fabulous

P.S. if you find this--give me a call--->whomever find this! (xxx) xxx-xxxx

My aunt was totally prepared. She had 3 x 5 cards in neat colors, two pens, a sealable plastic bag so the cards wouldn't get wet, and tape with which we could tape our cards to the balloon.

We arrive at the beach about 4:00 in the afternoon and I got out to let the balloon go. I did and was astounded to see it go right back over my head and toward the ground. The wind was blowing enough that it kept going slowly--about five inches off the ground--away from the ocean and back toward the beach houses and patches of long grass. It had gone just a bit when my aunt told me to go catch it. I began to run after it--and the wind picked up! It was like my own special comedy of errors. (I think because it was meant for Mother, there almost HAD to be some funny, crazy thing occur. At her memorial service when we spread her ashes--the wind picked up at just the right moment--and a few of her ashes came back and landed right on us!)

So, here I was chasing this "hello Mother" balloon back up the beach. Since it had a head start, the balloon soon ended up rolling its way through the long grasses--getting stuck and freeing itself just before I got there--several times. Finally, I caught it and my aunt tried to lighten its load by cutting off the enormous amount of string affixed to its bottom.

We tried again. And it got stuck in the grasses again! Finally, my aunt and I decided to cut off the notes and drive over to the houses which backed up to the Intercoastal Waterway. This time when I let it go, the balloon immediately soared into the sky and was up, up, and away! It flew up there so quickly and we soon lost sight of it. It was a neat moment--my aunt and I sitting in her car watching the balloon we bought to celebrate my mother disappear into space. I'm really glad we did this little "something special." It made me happy. And, though I love and miss my Mother very much--what made me even happier is that--finally--I didn't cry.

Just do it--Be Fearless!!!

My aunt, is a really interesting person. She will be 72 next month and is a retired teacher. Whenever I spend time with her, I learn something new. She is fearless and giving and not afraid to try things. She knows what she wants and she figures out how to do it. You'd think that someone who is nearly 72 and has had 3 or 4 surgeries in as many years would be timid and homebound. Not so with my aunt! When I lived in Kilgore, she drove 5 hours to spend some time with a friend of hers--and, of course, to see me. We took a week long driving tour of east New Mexico and West Texas last year to celebrate my birthday. We explored the city of Los Angeles and her environs and took a cruise to Mexico. She is just amazing. I want to share something she recently did. This little episode in her life illustrates perfectly her go-live-it attitude.

There is a new Mexican restaurant in her part of Houston. It is called El Toro. Her first trip there--to "check it out" began with her waiter asking her what she would like to eat. She had looked at the lunch menu (prices between $ 6.89 and $ 9.89) and was disappointed to find that--as usual in most Mexican restaurants--they didn't have ONE meal that had just what she wanted. She spoke her mind about it--nicely, of course.

"They never have exactly what I want on one plate. I like this and this and this and I want that thing, but not exactly that way, and they never have it."

"Well," asked the waiter, "What DO you want?"

Rather pleased, my aunt said, "Well, I'd like 1 ground beef crispy taco, 1 chicken flauta, some pico de gallo, 1 cupola queso (yes, she said it that way), 1 cupola sour cream, and instead of guacamole, can I just have some sliced avocados?"

"Yes, of course" said the waiter, "We can do that for you."

My aunt was pleased. She just wanted what she wanted and knew she would have to pay for it. She figured this one meal was going to run her more than $12.00, but she was going to enjoy it because it was EXACTLY what she wanted. The meal came out and was perfect. She enjoyed it immensely. Then came two surprises. The first one came when she was presented with the check. The bill for her lunch plate was--not $12.00 or more--but $ 6.89, the lowest of the lunch combo prices! I think that restaurant has made itself a loyal customer--and, in fact, I'd like to go there one day, also.

The second surprise came when the manager visited my aunt during the last minutes of her visit to El Toro. He asked how she liked it, and, of course, she answered positively.

"Good!" he said, "Well, we'll be able to do that meal for you any time you come to visit"

"Maybe you should name it then." she suggested. "How about 'The Nonita?" (Nona is grandmother in Italian)

"Yes!" Said the manager, "It shall be the Nonita." And, my aunt has returned to El Toro a time or two, and always has the Nonita. Her fearlessness has produced--at least at this particular Mexican Restaurant in west Houston--her very own meal, just like she likes it--perfect, every time!

Yay, Auntie! Good for you. Hopefully, we'll all have the bravery to--every now and then--speak up and get something--some small thing--which makes us happy.

Google Imaging Yourself

I guess I wasn't ready for bed after all, yeah? Maybe I'm over-tired cos I'm sure that this blog might be super extra crunchy chocolate surprise silly. Okay. Background: I have no automatic, let us download this picture I just took from my handy dandy camera or phone. (However, I think I'll be able to afford the right one NEXT week) Therefore, I often have to search the internet for photos of things that represent the subject on which I am writing. I usually use google images to find my photos.

After I looked for a perfect seagull photo, I wondered, "Hmmmm, If I google imaged MYSELF, what would happen? Well, an enormous amount of images came onto the screen of my laptop. I mean--a lot. All of them had nothing to do with me, at all--excepting the very FIRST one! It was me at my 20 year high school reunion! I had David Balcer on my right and Donny Obuch on my left and we were smiling away.

I decided to try this new toy out with other names. I tried each and every one on my "followers" list. No dice. I tried my momma. Nothin' doin'. I tried a famous--in the brotherhood, anyway--preacher who taught me in bible school. Nothing really, except there was a picture of a bible that when I clicked on it brought me to a website with some of his sermons. That was kinda cool. I even tried my boss, but--alas--there were no pictures of her on the internet, which I guess she is prolly happy about.

Anyway, it was just something fun I did. Maybe y'all should try it! Or, tell me who you think I should look up next time!

love y'all,

Lolly Fabulous

The Seagulls by the Ferry

We were on the ferry, my aunt and I, leaving Bolivar and heading to Galveston. We saw a flock of seagulls--and we raaaaaannn, we ran so far away--well, not really cos we were on the ferry, yeah? Sorry about that digressions, but I had to make a reference to my teen years during the 80s, didn't I?

So, back to the seagulls. They were flying in their commonly accepted form--a "V." I thought it was so pretty to see it in real life, so I pointed it out to my aunt. Just as she turned around, the birds left their usual formation and began a different one which I'd never seen--or heard of--before. They began flying in a circle! They stayed in that new formation for as long as I looked at them. I thought it was the coolest!

As usual, my aunt knew what was going on up there in the air. The birds were circling because food was nearby. If they stayed in the circular "holding" pattern, they could swoop down and bag a fish when it was convenience. There was an odd looking ship which I'll call a "dredging" ship for lack of a better name. Turns out the channel gets too much dirt in it, sometimes, and on a fairly regular basis, this Dredging Ship has to journey over to the place where the ferry crosses and dredge up the dirt, place it atop itself, and--when it is finished dredging--carry it to a different location, such as the beach. If they don't do this dredging, then the big ships which come from Portugal and Denmark and Japan can't get through to the docking place to get rid of their cargo.

The bird--when this occurs--know a good thing when they see it, so they circle the wagons and get them some grub! It was really a neat thing to see.

Another cool seagull dealio. As we chugged along back to Galveston on the ferry, the birds began flying right next to the ferry--way up there at the top. What was really amazing is that these birds knew enough to use the current which came off the ship to help them fly. At one point--when I took a picture--there were probably 8 to 10 birds flying along evenly progressing along with us at the same speed we were--not flapping their wings at all! They were using the force of the wind coming off of the ferry. I can't think of another couple of words to describe it, except for "COOL." sorry for the lameness them, but it works.

Thanks for reading, y'all! Now it is off to bed!

No longer Cinderella

I'm not last. What I

am--I'm not quite sure of yet,

but I am not fourth.

Pride is in his voice

and encouragement in his

tone and I'm not fourth.

It is just we two

and no other kids can play.

I ain't fourth no more.

I felt fourth, ya know?

Guess I really wasn't. I

WON'T be fourth again.

Venison Sausage Gumbo Casserole

One of my birthday gifts was a Paula Deen cookbook The Lady and Sons: Savannah Country Cookbook. Of course, I want to try out as many of them as I can.
Another of my birthday gifts was a day spent with Rachel in Beaumont. Part of what we did was walk around the Beaumont Farmer's Market, whereat I--and Rachel--purchased and shared some okra, some jalapenos, some eggplant, and some cayenne peppers. I was looking forward to using them, so I looked for a recipe which called for okra. When I first saw the recipe, I was a little put off. Shrimp Gumbo Casserole? Blech! Something about the texture of shrimp makes me uncomfortable. Well, I know that I can change up whatever I want to change, so I gave it another look. My first thought was to make it with chicken, until I remembered that we had Venison Sausage in the deep freezer in the back. Now, while Shrimp Gumbo sounds nasty, Venison Sausage Gumbo didn't sound half bad, yeah? So, here was how I did it:

I chopped the venison sausage and set it aside. It is the encased, smoked kind. Really delish AND shot by Cole Younger Whitehead and his Daddy last autumn. :)
I chopped in a rather small manner approximately 1-1/4 cup onion. It was a large onion. The recipe actually called for a cup; however, there was some leftover when I finished chopping up the onion, so I just added it to the recipe. (It didn't hurt anything at all, case you're wonderin')
I chopped, finely, one cup of celery--about 4 stalks.
I chopped about six sections of Garlic (what is the word that means garlic section?) I could have used a lot less, but since I was using my new garlic chopper tool, I had to use more cos the garlic chopper tool often leaves too much in the tool. It is very useful in the chopping part; however, I often have to use more than normal.
I poured about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a big pan and let it heat.
I sauteed the onion, celery and garlic. I ended up having to do it on low for a longer period of time cos I have never made this concoction before today and I wasn't really sure when to do part 1 and how long before part 4 should I start part 3 and all that jazz.
I spent the next twenty minutes chopping.
8 roma tomatoes-and when I was done, I tipped the wooden chopping board toward the bowl with the tomatoes, so that I could get all the juice which had escaped in the chopping process. For your info. The recipe actually called for a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes. I like using fresh, if possible. You can do whatcha want to do, of course.
About 6 sprigs of fresh lemon thyme. I merely stripped the tiny leaves off of the stem and added them to the tomatoes. If you have to use dried, it calls for 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.
About 20-25 fresh medium okras, cut into 1/8 inch slices.
-I chopped one small jalapeno and one cayenne pepper, as small as possible.
About 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and fresh apple mint leaves. It was...eehhh....1/3 mint to 2/3's basil. Just after I finished chopping the two, I worried that the mixture might be too weird, but it turned out okay. I was substituting both the basil and the mint for lemon pepper, by the way. I really don't like lemon pepper, so I made up my own little dealio.
I added all the chopped ingredients, including the sausage, to the sauteed mixture and began stirring them all together.
I added pepper, to taste, which for me means about two tablespoons full and a dash of salt.
Then, the entire mix simmered for about twenty minutes. If there is any chance that you don't want to do the cornbread topping (thus making it a casserole) you prolly oughta simmer the gumbo stuff until it is boiled down to the consistency that you want. During the cornbread baking part, some more of the liquid is boiled off in the oven; therefore, if you leave off the cornbread part, you'll have to leave it on the stove for a bit longer. I don't know how long. This will have to be your experiment. However, if I every decide to check things out on this matter, I'll let ya know what I have discovered. If you do, perhaps you could let on what you learn, also.

Meanwhile, I had to make the cornbread mixture. Here is where I may have run into a bit of trouble. It is really a pride issue, to be honest. I love my own recipe for homemade cornbread, so though the cookbook gave me "directions" for the topping, I snubbed my prideful nose at it because it called for cornbread muffin mix. I suppose one could use a 12-ounce package of corn muffin mix, one egg, beaten and 1/3 cup milk as the recipe required, but I used my own recipe. Turns out I made too much. So, I'll have to tweak the recipe to see how to change my recipe to make it the right amount. I'll try to remember to add my recipe at the end of this blog.

Okay, so where were we? When I finished the cornbread recipe I poured the mixture onto the gumbo mix and put it in the oven, 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then I did the dishes, of which I was very happy after we ate cos I was too full to do the dishes by that point.

The result? It was tasty; however there was too much cornbread. It was kinda spicy cos of the jalapeno and cayenne, but you could subtract those foods from the recipe if spice isn't your thing, yeah?

All in all, I liked it and will try it again, I am sure. Perhaps y'all can try it, too. I'll have something new to report in the next couple of days. :)

Love,

Lolly Fabulous :)

Cornbread recipe:

Pre-heat oven 450

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoons powder

a dash of salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup cooking oil or melted shortening.

add all the dry together, set aside.

add all the wet together.

Mix them all together 'til they're just barely mixed together, ya know?

if you're making cornbread, add it to the a greased pan and bake for 20 t0 25 minutes.

By the way, I only had buttermilk, so--according the nice stranger in the dairy section at Kaine's--I used 3/4 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup water to replace regular milk. I love this recipe. This is the only way I make cornbreak unless I have no other option.

Things that are cool about Pop, # 2

I was doing the dishes when I noticed that the handle on the pan I was washing had come a little loose. I turned to Pop to ask if he knew where the screwdrivers were located. As I asked, I rummaged around in the sideboard and eventually found one. "YAY!" I cried as I carried the tool over to the sink and began to fix the pan. The 'fix' only took about twenty seconds and I asked Pop "Isn't it great how easily that was fixed, Pop? Not any great hassle, yeah?"
"Well" he said, "I'm just glad I wasn't hit with it!"
I laughed and said "With what, Pop?"
His voice held a smile as he said, "Well, with that pan! Used to be that women would hit their husbands with pans!"
I knew he was kinda kidding, so I played along. "What!?! Surely most women don't hit their men with pans, do they?"
"Yep, they do!"
"Well, Mary never did hit you with one, did she?"
"No." he said quite seriously, "She never did beat me up with a pan. No one really did."
"Really?" I asked, disbelief in my voice, "So you weren't beaten up by any of your classmates when you were younger?"
He turned around to look at me squarely in the eyes and said, "Well, here is how it was: There were 9 boys and 3 girls in my family. People pretty much left us alone!"

Are ya SURE I can't ever lose it?

I was reading II and III John, Jude, and Philippians today and some things occurred to me.
In II John verses 4 and 8 there are some very interesting phrases, especially in light of the idea some have that you can never lose your salvation.

4 "I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father." and
8 "Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward."

and in Jude 5-7 "now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgement of the great day. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they int eh same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire."

All of these Scriptures give a clear indication that:
a) staying faithful is a Command of God, and
b) staying safe spiritually is not an automatic thing.
1. We each have responsibility to strive constantly toward our own reward.
2. There are plenty of examples in the Bible of people who didn't keep it (their
reward.)


The Bible is way clearer than we think it is on such matters. we have a responsibility to God to stay faithful and if we don't live up to it--in obedience to His laws--we will lose our salvation.

Just some things to ponder, y'all.

Lolly Fabulous

Friday Lunch BBQ

So, Pop and I had steak for lunch Friday! I'm not sure the cut or type of steak Marilyn bought, but it was delish! It was a really thin sliced and looked like it was already "tenderized." I marinaded it in BBQ sauce (store bought--I know, I'm a big cheater!) and cooked it on the grill. Yum!

The fun part was the veggie part. I cut up a potato, an apple, and an onion. I cooked the small cut potatoes first for a while by themselves in a spot of oil and some water. When the potatoes look about 1/2 to 3/4 done, I added the the apples and the onion. I also added chopped lemon thyme and the tips of some green onions and--of course--a ton of pepper. I stir-fried it all together 'til they were all done.

Y'all!! Are you listening? I'm talking some serious yum here. I even went back for seconds. When I had about four bites left, I analyzed what was left and ate accordingly--two bites of potato all by themselves--so that my last bite could be equal parts potato, apple, and onion. As I put the last tasty morsel in my mouth, I thought "Hmmmm, I'm kind of like the vegetable version of the 'fruit and cereal lovers' on those old raisin bran commercials, yeah?"

Anyway, the whole compilation made for a very, very tasty lunch. Pop even said, "It was GOOD." I would recommend trying it. And I hope you enjoy it! By the way, I got a Paula Dean (or is it Deen?) cookbook for my birthday. Tomorrow? Venison Sausage Gumbo Casserole. Be assured, however, that I may change an ingredient or two.

Love y'all,

Lolly Fabulous :)