Scraps and Snippets ~ Last Farm Day and a Song...

Yesterday was the last official farm day of our extended CSA season. I can't believe there were still veggies to pick and pack. But there were. Spinach leaves the size of my hand, a bag of mixed green lettuce, sage, rosemary, thyme. (Makes me want to burst out in song. Oops, more about that later.) Tomatoes, Swiss Chard, garlic, radishes, turnips and beets. A full bag of yumminess. We had been recycling boxes every week. The picture shows just a few of the bags we packed. 24 of them that almost covered two 8 x 4 tables. That's a lot of stuff to pick, to wash, to weigh, separate, and pack. But it finished the year on a tasty note and shows that even baseball sized hail can not kill spirit, only a few plants. 

Now on to &'s embarrassing moment. 

She and I tend to be singers. (Not in public, usually, mind you). The songs we sing are usually motivated by what is going on around us and set to popular tunes/and or composed on the spot tunes. I suppose I started this twisted little thing. When the kids were little I'd sing while I drove. Or when they were pouting, or throwing temper tantrums, or whining. Sometimes in moments of cuddling, but the kids would usually put their sweet little hands over my mouth then. So maybe that's why I'd sing where the could not reach my lips. Anyhoo. I just made up songs and got a real kick out of it if they rhymed accidentally or fit into the tune. The louder the background noise (whining et al) the louder I sang.

& has this "gift". We actually have called her the singing bush girl (the movie Three Amigos...if you've not seen it, you are missing out.). So, on Sunday, the dogs had just gone out to go potty and & let them in and began singing to them. I was upstairs and heard the singing, and since it's a usual background noise, I didn't pay attention. Until I heard conversation. Uhhh. What? 

& had her back to the front door, pretty much standing in the doorway, the door was open save for the glass storm door. She was singing to the dogs and texting. Singing real loud. Suddenly, from just behind her she heard a timid knocking. She silenced the song, turned and faced some young, slightly smirking man on the other side of the glass. He was just going through the hail-whacked neighborhood leaving a business card if anyone was looking for a carpenter. 

I wonder if he's telling the story about the crazy singing lady.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Culinary Conference Two Thumbs, Two Paws Up...

Part 2 of the Culinary Conference.

Isa's session was tasty and entertaining. She brought three kinds of cookies. The maple walnut cookie was amazing, surprisingly beating out the double chocolate one.

She also has a dry sense of humor. This is my favorite. I am so not dry. If I think something is amusing, it falls out of my mouth followed by laughter...my own, sometimes ONLY mine. But someone with dry humor can deliver a killer comment with no emotion even flickering across their features. Isa delivered.

She started with a matter of fact comment that pretty much slayed the group. The previous gals had shared the details of the construction of their cookbook which included lots of local history. One piece, a rare find, proved the legend of the creation of the famous Reuben sandwich in our neighborhood. One of the gals shared that New Yorkers had claimed the sandwich beginning in the 40's, but the cookbook authors have a menu with proof that it was served locally in the 20's. I don't know if these gals were taunting the New Yorker in the audience or were clueless that they were tossing a gauntlet...

Isa began her session and mentioned she grew up in New York, where the Reuben sandwich was created. Ha.Ha. 

You just have to love people, don't you? One guy's phone rang right in the middle of her talk. It didn't just ring, first an electronic voice loudly chimed each digit of the phone number calling him. Then the ring. He did excuse himself to answer it. A few minutes later he returned, told Isa that his friend was in some other state, and wanted him to tell Isa that she loved one of her salad recipes. Unfortunately, Isa was in the middle of a sentence, during her speech, at the time he delivered the message. Yeah.

The picture of Isa gives a nice fun house effect. The lights were half on, half off as she had a power point going. This was snapped just as my mom finished telling her that & and I are big fans and we were going to begin stalking her. The fuzziness of the picture is because I really don't know how to take a picture of someone who's just been notified of impending stalking without being real creepy doing so... I think the lighting does a great job highlighting that moment of horror for Isa.

The other picture is one of her power point ones, one of her cute kitties and a friend. Not sure if this is the famous Fizzle cat, but regardless, it's a cute one.

Tomorrow. I have to share &'s hilarious "oops" moment that has NOTHING to do with Isa.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Culinary Conference Two Thumbs Up

A neighboring library sponsored a Culinary Conference on Saturday. It was pretty much all about the celebration of food. The city's local college has a culinary program with a terrific reputation and, as I found out, a bistro. (Going to have to try that.) They also put together a cookbook as a fundraiser for a scholarship program in memory of a classmate who passed away. It was a fascinating panel discussion. None of them, including the instructor, had worked on a cookbook before.

The library provided lunch. Nice. Even a sage hummus. Double nice. Serendipitously, there was a cookbook exchange. We could bring cookbooks we didn't love and try to find cookbooks we could. And we did. Several Vegan/Vegetarian books to choose from. Nice. The event was free. NICE!

And if that wasn't enough, there were framed menus from old restaurants. Some were just cool to look at, and some were memory provokers. The prices. Yikes. My mom pointed out the menu from the restaurant at the bus station that she and dad ate breakfast at the morning after their wedding. Ha. She said at the time she thought he was romantic, but after seeing the prices she realized he was just cheap. Ha. Of course that was 50 years ago.

Our area is known for some pretty impressive restaurants. The library director said the reputation of fine dining helped him make his decision to move to the area.

All of that was really nice. But the cherry on top was Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Dare I finish this post tomorrow? It seems cruel. But I have so much to say. Cliffhanger.

Scraps and Snippets ~ The Kind Diet ~ Reviewed

The Kind Diet

Alicia Silverstone

My Review:


Alicia Silverstone's Vegan/kindness tome went with us on a recent road trip. The passengers in the car passed it around and read up on some of what Alicia had to say. She gives great information on how and why to go Vegan. She shares delicious recipes. Her peanut butter cups and Rustic Pasta are amazing, and many pages in our copy of The Kind Diet have become stained and/or dogeared in the months since the road trip.


Alicia's voice is friendly girl-next-doorsy and she shares little stories, encouragement and pictures from her life. Her book is part why, and focused on the Kindness of plant eating, to animals, the planet and the human body. (Without graphic pictures and horrific stories of packing plants.) The how of her book is broken down into simple categories. In each category, she gives hints and examples and role models.The just getting started category, of those who are taking baby steps into Vegan eating, she labels flirts. The stricter and more devoted Vegan category is next, with tips and hints for those willing and ready to commit to a strict plant-based diet. Finally, she gives insight on the next class of plant-eaters, the Superheroes, those who embrace Veganism and take their passion to the next level. Some of her ingredients are not super easily grabbed at the local grocery store. Some I had not even heard of. She explores the debates on grains, sugars and soy. Discusses organics, pantry supplies, and the pros and cons of eating Nightshade vegetables. Her information includes a good, solid overview of how to get the nutrition the body needs from eating plants.


I don't think this should be the only Vegan cookbook you purchase if you are Vegan or going that direction. However, it's a good one to grab if you are a flirt, and it should take you to the edge of the Superhero chasm. We refer to it and cook from it often.

Scraps and Snippets ~Italian Cheezy Toflets w/ Garlic Tomato Sauce ~

Italian CheezyToflets with Garlic Tomato Sauce

1 pkge extra firm Tofu

Other veggies if desired. I used tiny, chopped up eggplant.

Marinade:

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice

3 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Breading:

4 TBSP nutritional yeast

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Sauce:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

4 diced tomatoes

salt to taste

Drain and press tofu. Slice into cutlets (1/4-1/2" thickness, I got about 14). Drizzle or brush marinade on both sides of tofu. Let sit a few hours (overnight would be great but mine didn't sit very long.) Dip tofu slices in dry breading mix. Heat skillet and brown/crisp tofu slices. Lay in bottom of 9 x 13 casserole dish. If you have extra breading dump it over the top of the slices, or mix it with the other veggies you might be using. Put the veggie layer, if using, on top of the tofu. Let it sit. Mince the garlic and let it sit a few minutes. Heat the tsp of olive oil, toss garlic and saute until golden. Add chopped tomatoes. Dump garlic tomato mixture over the tofu slices. At this point I'd shake some sea salt over the whole dealio. Mine needed salt. Bake at 350 for approx 25-30 minutes. Serve with bread, salad, and whatever else sounds good. Serves 4-5

Serials and Scenarios ~ Rick Lawrence's Sifted

What Will Your Troubles Reveal About You?


Rick Lawrence explores God’s “sifting” to discover why we suffer in this life.


Worn down by the troubles in your life? Overwhelmed by piled-up problems? Worried about others who are hurting? In his book, Sifted: God’s Scandalous Response to Satan’s Outrageous Demand, Rick Lawrence offers fresh biblical perspective on pain, based on a single Scripture snapshot: Luke 22:31-32.


“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” These two simple verses from Luke’s account of the Last Supper launch a profound exploration of the meaning of trouble in a Christian’s life. Suffering is inevitable, and if we’re honest, the explanations commonly offered often just don’t hold up or help very much. But Jesus’ perfect metaphor of sifting provides fresh perspective on why we suffer and what the sifting process can reveal in our lives.


Peter was to be “sifted like wheat”—shaken hard, beaten, and finally separated from his false identity. Satan was the one causing it, but Jesus would allow it. Lawrence’s verse-by-verse exploration offers insight, comfort, challenge, and a call to greater intimacy with the God who allows our pain because He wants us to know who we really are and what we can become.


If we believe that Christians are still sifted today, why do we so often judge those who are experiencing hardships? They must have done something wrong. God must be punishing them. But suffering is inevitable, whether it comes in the form of life-shifting catastrophe or the drip-drip-dripping of daily troubles. Sifted will encourage those who are facing trouble now and those who will face it in the future. It will encourage us to see our pain as a means to greater knowledge and intimacy with Christ. Lawrence offers a rigorously honest, deeply challenging, yet powerfully comforting exploration of the trials that beat us down, the good God who allows our troubles, and the incredible beauty the process of sifting can reveal in us.

About the Author: Rick Lawrence has been editor of GROUP Magazine, the world’s most widely read resource for Christian youth leaders, for 23 years and is the co-leader of The Simply Youth Ministry Conference. In his role as “Youth Ministry Champion” at Group Publishing, he leads the organization’s expeditionary efforts to challenge, encourage, and equip youth pastors. Lawrence has authored hundreds of magazine articles and is the author, co-author, or editor of 31 books, including JCQ’s: 150 Jesus-Centered Discussion Questions, Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry, and the adult/teenager small-group curricula Make Their Day and Ten Tough Things. He’s a consultant to national research organizations and a frequent conference and workshop speaker. Lawrence and his wife, Beverly Rose, live with their two daughters in Denver, CO.


Sifted: God’s Scandalous Response to Satan’s Outrageous Demand by Rick Lawrence

David C Cook/August 2011/ISBN: 978-1-4347-0074-2/300 pages/paperback/$14.99


My incomplete thoughts : I can't do a full review yet. I'm so behind reading and reviewing. However, I have started Sifted and am impressed with the depth of Scripture usage and the study of this intriguing and a little unsettling conversation between Jesus and Peter. More to come. But in the meantime, check it out.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Farmish Thoughts...

This will automatically post while I'm at the farm today. How fun is that? 


Okay. Fun might be overkill. I do love the autopost feature of Blogger, though. 


There is a rumor that it will hit the mid-70's today. And if the weather today is anything like yesterday, it's going to be fabulous. 

Did I mention we found a tomato worm while we cleaned up the garden? Remember the tomato worm? The horned devil of the bug/insect kingdom? The farmer had a ritual dance to make them go away. And to dispatch with one is horrendous and hideous, and may necessitate counseling. This sucker, the one we found, had fortunately already crossed over and it was as long as my pinky finger, and as thick around, too. UGH! Shudder. I'm thinking the farmer dance might just be a natural girlie reaction to a wicked ugly critter vs. a chant to make them go away. 


Tomorrow won't be a Vegan or food post at all. Just so you know. Today was going to be the same, but I'll be at the farm. Farm = food and veggies. And I've found out that today is World Vegan Day. The US has a total of four events to celebrate. But worldwide, whew, apparently there are lots of Vegans out there. It's a whole alternate reality for sure. Here's a comprehensive website if you are interested.