Pool Party

Had another crowd here last night as Andrew's college and career class came after church to swim. At Andrew's request I made lasagna - THREE of them to be precise. And they all got eaten along with corn, garlic bread, and ice cream and peaches. They just about splashed all the water out of the pool with all their belly flops and antics. I'm always glad when young people have a good time in a good way.

Mary Lee was not here - she is in Cleveland visiting her friend from art camp. I talked to her briefly on the phone today - she wants to move there. :-) She flew alone yesterday for the first time. It's kind of hard on a mother to watch her teenage daughter disappear through security at an airport knowing there are all kinds of crazies out there.

Saturday

- Inservice starts Monday. I'm actually ready to go back this year, at least as much as possible considering I don't feel so great.

- Andrew goes to see Ernie Haase and Signature Sound today. He's been thrilled about this for weeks.

- A group of teenagers were here Thursday night. They swam and then played a rousing game of Monopoly. It always blesses my heart when good kids can get together and have good, clean fun.

- I went to a yard sale this morning and got seven hats that would be perfect for the play "Our Town" if we do it this fall. Maybe that's a sign?!!

- Two people made the peach muffins recipe posted below. One said "yummy" and the other one said they didn't quite turn out - were a little gummy. I do remember that happening a time or two, and wonder if humidity might have something to do with it? Or maybe they just need a little more flour.

- The Olympics opening ceremonies (what I watched - I went to bed at 10:00) were an incredible display of technology and pageantry. Each segment was fascinating. However, during the segments about the "spirit of harmony flowing throughout" etc., and similar ideas portrayed several times, I couldn't help but think that paganism doesn't have to look dark and black - it can be displayed in beautiful and entrancing forms such as what was shown last night. I always think of what my dad said about China after spending eight weeks there - "If the world is dark, then China is abjectly dark."

Visitation

Tonight I went to the visitation for our former pastor, Dr. Russell Rice. I don't think there is anyone who ever knew Dr. Rice who doesn't smile when they think of him. He was a people person extraordinare. Tonight he was dressed in his best "preaching suit," with his hands crossed, his Bible in one hand and his glasses in his other, and he looked so natural that he could have just gotten up and gone to the pulpit.

I remember telling him once that I needed 15 minutes to discuss some missions matters with him. Two hours later, I finally had to get him to stop telling stories as the kids were out of school by then! Or when Mike was in the hospital with back surgery, and he was telling stories so intensely that he didn't notice when Mike's supper tray came. . .and the food started cooling. . .and got colder, and colder. Dr. Rice was oblivious, he was having such a good time talking to Mike and me one on one.

I remember Dr. Rice's love for the Monterrey missions work, and will never forget watching him hand out Scofield KJV study Bibles to a hundred or so Mexican pastors during the Bible conference in 1998 that we took about 30 people to Mexico to participate in. People were his love, his heart, his ministry. He had no need at all to extol his own virtues and was not out for himself. He was a great man.

Peach Muffin Recipe

Okay, I've had two comments on the last post and both have requested the recipe for peach muffins! So here goes (BTW, only my mom, sisters, and Illinois family members would probably know what the Rassi cookbook is.) :-)

PEACH MUFFINS

1 stick butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups peach puree (5-6 medium peaches pureed in blender, including skins)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, then peach puree. Add in flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and vanilla, and stir just until well mixed. Line 12-muffin and 6-muffin pans each with paper liners. Fill until all batter is gone. Bake 350 for about 20 minutes or until slightly brown along edges of liners. Makes 18 really, really good muffins and something very different from the usual peach recipes!

Peaches

Last week of summer - Day 1. Makes me sad even though it has been a very relaxing summer for me. Today I took care of some ripe peaches - made them into peach muffins. They were a favorite of Andrew's when he was a child . . . because they didn't have "humps."


First you blend the peaches - skins
and all.

Then you make the muffins using a Peach Bread recipe from the Rassi Cookbook which calls for two cups of peach puree. They might not be real dramatic to look at, but they are delicious. They're flavored with cinnamon as well.

My family likes these so much that I put up several freezer bags of peach puree each summer so that we can have peach muffins several times during the winter as well.

And there's fresh peach jam behind the muffins as well - made last week. It's been wonderful to have peaches this year. Last year there were none, and we missed them.

Reading and Reading!

Well, I have been reading voraciously lately. That's one advantage to being a little under the weather and not really feeling well enough to do much else. It's also something I'd better do this week as. . .school starts for me next Monday. I don't usually read much fiction but have consumed three novels in the last few days, and two of the three were really, really good reads. Will share more in detail about them in the next couple of posts.

I've also found a website called Faithful Reader that has wonderful book reviews, and one reviewer in particular, Marcia Ford, who has very similar thoughts to mine about books. For instance, about one author who wrote one particular novel that I thought was better than her previous things I'd read, Marcia Ford comments on an award the book won, "It's certainly the best, or among the best, from [this author] and the accolades it has received should encourage her to maintain the higher standard she set for herself with this book."

But the neatest thing was what happened when I finished a book this evening called The Mending String by Cliff Coon. After finishing the book and then reading the acknowledgements, he thanks the members from his writing critique group - and one of my old roommates from college, a good friend over the years, was mentioned! I'm sure it's her because he lived in the same town. She's been interested in writing for sometime, but I didn't realize she'd gotten her name into something put out by Moody Press! My claim to fame!

Packages and eBay

Packages are coming in every day with the things I've ordered for the library. I have always loved this opportunity in the summers. The $$ has been more limited this year due to a very tight budget at school, but someone very kindly gave $100 to extend the resources. With those extra funds I was able to replace a number of DK Eyewitness books and add several that we don't have. The elementary students especially love those DK Eyewitness books, and they are a good set of books for them to concentrate on.

I'm trying very hard to get resources that are educational, not just time fillers. That's why it was good to find things like animated cartoons of a number of famous classics; also a set called "Liberty's Kids" that shows two child "reporters" who are reporting on the history of our nation during the Revolutionary time period. Also there are a lot of NOVAs, National Geographics, and History Channel Modern Marvels out there if one searches. Some of the Modern Marvels can be very interesting - we're getting Candy, Fireworks, and Computers, for example. I try to get DVDs where possible, but if a VHS is available really cheaply, it is sometimes an option.

It's just very heartwarming to see new resources and books being used once the school year starts. It is a "ministry" for me.

My Little Fiddler

From time to time I take a notion to look at Hummel figurines on eBay in hopes of getting a good deal. Now, I'm not much of one to have a lot of "stuff" around to collect dust. But Hummels are different because they bring back memories of two dear great-aunts who collected them.

Usually I look at what's selling and then quickly lose the notion of getting one due to the prices. With two teenagers, one in college, there are just too many other demands on my $$ to be indulging in Hummel-buying at this stage of life. However, I've been looking for a "Little Fiddler" off and on for some time. He's just such a cute little guy, and with Mike taking up the violin a couple of years ago he's been the one I've had a desire to get.

So last week, I found one that was a really good deal. Bidders were shying away from the auction because the seller's feedback was not very good. I emailed her and she wrote back and explained the reason for her low feedback. I decided to give it a shot and take the risk--and am now the proud possessor of a 5" Hummel "Little Fiddler" for a very good price. Isn't he cute?

More Thoughts on Kingsolver

I've been reading this book (see post below) at every opportunity, with a feeling of urgency that now is when I must do the things I want to do as summer is almost over and my time will no longer be mine. I've got more thoughts about her today:

--This family is truly devoted to what they are doing. There are essays included from the college-aged daughter as well as the author's husband. Their garden includes unbelievable variety, and I'd love to try some of the squashes, potatoes, and other vegetables that she describes--they grow several varieties, some heirloom, of every vegetable they produce. Many I am unfamiliar with.

--I went to the grocery store for a few things this afternoon and looked at it in a new eye. One hears all the time about the overprocessed foods that we consume, but they are everywhere. Right in the lobby of the store were potato chips and instant pasta salad--both products far removed from their roots--and that was just two of hundreds, maybe thousands, of examples.

--This is a good opportunity to see that there is something to be learned from everyone. It is apparent that Kingsolver's life philosophy and religious roots are far removed from mine--for example, she sees far eastern Buddhists through the same lens as any other religious belief. She describes things in very evolutionary terms at times. Occasionally she is somewhat coarse--not dramatically so; not nearly enough to reject the book. Earthy might be a better word than coarse. But she has some great principles to digest (no pun intended).

--Kingsolver talks often about CAFO-raised animals (confined animal feeding operation). She discusses how these animals--usually cows and chickens--are raised in pens half filled with muck and manure; this in comparison to the free-range animals which she is willing to eat. I know there is a giant food pipeline through which meat is produced. But I find it difficult to believe that the two extremes are all that exists. Surely there is some middle ground for the raising of meat animals.

--I feel like I've really failed my two kids in this area. My son is happier with a frozen store-brand pizza than with a fresh vegetable of any kind except maybe corn. While we did better than some households, they got plenty of boxed macaroni and cheese and other processed foods when they were growing up.

--And a final thought: This woman has a beautiful way with language. For example, when describing a stop at a farm during a trip to Italy, she describes how overgrown squashes are disposed of there. She says "At home we would have considered these "heavers" (that's what we do with them, over the back fence into the woods). But these were carefully stacked against the back wall of the house like a miniature cord of firewood, presumably as winter fuel for a pig or chickens. The garden's secondos would be next year's prosciutto."

Or here: She is describing doing battle with a very large, very stubborn pumpkin, wanting to use it for a Thanksgiving pumpkin dish: "Or so I'd thought, before I knew this one would not go gentle into that good night (as Dylan Thomas advised). Even our meanest roosters hadn't raged this hard against the dying of the light." That's good stuff.

I even tried a recipe from the book tonight, modified slightly below. Andrew and I are the only ones at home, and naturally, he's not interested in it. But I made a 1/3 batch of the recipe below and thought it was delicious:

ZUCCHINI ORZO

3/4-pound orzo pasta, cooked
1 chopped onion
garlic to taste
3 zucchini, grated
Olive oil
Thyme and/or oregano
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Saute onion & garlic in oil. Add grated zucchini and cook about five minutes longer; remove from heat. Stir in spices, cheese, and orzo. Salt to taste. Serve warm or room temperature.

A Good Book - ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL by Barbara Kingsolver

I've been reading a very interesting book titled ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE by Barbara Kingsolver. She's written a number of fiction books, and I recognize the name, but don't know much about her work since I don't read much secular fiction. However, this non-fiction work is quite a book. Its original premise is to journal the progress of her family's decision to eat nothing but local food for one year; however, in the process it also educates the reader about much of our food-buying processes and how the food pipeline has changed so dramatically in our lifetime.

The reader quickly becomes apparent of how much we have lost in the culture of eating and cooking food. Kingsolver laments that loss throughout the book. She says mothers are losing the "eat your vegetables" war because vegetables do not taste good any more--they've been genetically bred, not for taste, but for durability to travel thousands of miles. We want to satisfy our tastes for strawberries, melon, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables year round, and it doesn't seem to matter to us that we're getting a poor reproduction of what they should taste like--we want what we want now. (A great encapsulation of society today!) Furthermore, she points out that in today's market, 87 calories of gasolines are required to get one calorie of usable food to our mouths. That's what it takes to satisfy our all-encompassing but insipid tastes.

And she makes painfully aware the family enrichment we've eliminated with our eating decisions. Listen to this quotation from pp. 126-127:

"When my generation of women walked away from the kitchen we were escorted down that path by a profiteering industry that knew a tired, vulnerable marketing target when they saw it. 'Hey, ladies,' it said to us, 'go ahead, get liberated. We'll take care of dinner.' They threw open the door and we walked into a nutritional crisis and genuinely toxic food supply. If you think toxic is an exaggeration, read the package directions for handling raw chicken from a CAFO [confined animal feeding operation]. We came a long way, baby, into bad eating habits and collaterally impaired family dynamics. No matter what we do or believe, food remains at the center of every culture. Ours now runs on empty calories.

"When we traded homemaking for careers, we were implicitly promised economic independence and worldly influence. But a devil of a bargain it has turned out to be in terms of daily life. We gave up the aroma of warm bread rising, the measured pace of nurturing routines, the creative task of molding our families' tastes and zest for life; we received in exchange the minivan and the Lunchable. (Or worse, convenience-mart hot dogs and latchkey kids.) I consider it the great hoodwink of my generation."

Whew! That's powerful stuff, and very convicting. I'm only on page 157 out of 354, so I suspect any readers of this blog might be getting more in the days to come.