Kitties

There is nothing quite like watching babies play.  This wild mamma decided that the shed might be a good place to have her babies.  We can't get near any of them, but they sure are fun to watch.  I have heard that once you feed them, they are yours.  Guess what we have.

Backpacks For Kids

Children at school will lack a snack,

‘Cuz free and reduced lunch sometimes lack

Take home their din-din in a sack

Weekend backpack, weekend backpack

A friend of mine inspired this poem

Her love for kids just flows like foam

Instead of hungry mouths that roam

Send some meals home, send some meals home

Fill a backpack, loaded with food

Get involved with big attitude

Turn it into a giant prelude

To share some food, to share some food

Start your own thing, don’t be intrepid

It could be a new box top lid

Show some love like mini Cupid

Backpacks for a kid, backpacks for a kid

My friend puts backpacks together for some children in the school that are needy.  I think it is so note-worthy that it could become world wide and just be a new way to help.  School will be starting up and what a way to help those less fortunate.  There are lots of organizations that do this… what a great way to get involved and give back to the community.

Cherry Tomatoes & Hot Peppers

When in Rome …

Do you have an over abundance of those leftover garden vegetables?  Believe me, as a native Mainer I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be deep-frying cherry tomatoes, but… as they say, in the South, “it ain’t food unless it’s fried”.  These fry up so tasty and who would have thought anything fried could be good for you? 

1-2 dozen cherry tomatoes

1-2 dozen hot peppers (I used jalapeño and Chile peppers)

1 cup self-rising buttermilk corn meal

½ cup all purpose flour

1 egg

1¼ cup beer

1 tsp Creole seasoning

Oil for deep frying

Wash and dry veggies and let stand at room temperature before cooking.

Combine corn meal, flour and Creole seasoning and mix well.  Beat egg slightly and add to beer, pour over corn meal/flour and mix well. 

Dip veggies in batter to coat.  Be sure to cover all of the tomato before dropping into the oil or they will pop.

Cook in batches a few at a time.  Peppers for two minutes or so and one minute for the tomatoes.  Cool at least 10-15 minutes before eating tomatoes because they are very hot.  Serve with your favorite dipping dressings.  Honey mustard and Ranch works really well.

© Crackerberries 2012

Cranberry Fig Jam - In the Bread Machine

™

Too many Figs?  Here's an idea for you.

My bread machine has a jam cycle and I’ve never tried it because, to me, making jam in a bread machine just seems like cheating.  Today I had some leftover cranberries, and the fig tree looks so sad with all of those over ripe figs that I just can’t keep up with.  The birds are helping, but they only eat half of a fig, and then move on to the next one.  I decided to try out the bread machine where it's so dang hot to stand at the stove stirring, and stirring, and stirring.

2½ cups mashed figs (about 2 dozen)

1¼ cup mashed cranberries (½ bag)

1 pouch of Certo liquid pectin

3 Tbsp lemon juice

Put all ingredients in the bread machine and press the jam cycle.  My bread machine does a 2lb loaf size.  Recipes should not exceed 3½ cups (mine did by ¼ cup and I didn’t have a problem).  Good luck.  I can’t wait to try it again! 


Yield: five 8oz. freezer jars.

©Crackerberries 2012

Preserving the Kitchen

The air is hot and humid and the scent

of strawberries fills the kitchen. 

Summertime and jalapenos,

green peppers, cucumbers,

and ripe cherry tomatoes fall off the vine. 

Fresh plump figs droop on the branches

waiting to be picked.

The kitchen today is hot and steamy

with the old canning pot bubbling away. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining…yet. 

First we whip up a specialty batch

Of strawberry fig preserves

(be sure to stir that pot often, honey). 

There’s nothing better on a homemade

grilled biscuit than fresh preserves. 

Follow up with a batch of mustard pickles

 – a very secret recipe,

oh and just for shits and giggles

throw that Okra in one of those jars,

no point in letting them go to waste.

Garlic and fresh basil

with diced onions and oregano

simmered all day long

cooks up a delicious tomato sauce. 

Twenty-six jars preserved and

my chores are done for today.

Tomorrow is a brand new adventure. 

Thirty ears of corn await metamorphosis into

Old Time Corn Relish once those ears get husked. 

Tonight I’m going outside in the heat

and pretend to be a kid again. 

I’ll find a rock and wrap it

in a white handkerchief and

toss it up in the darkened sky

and wait for bats to come diving after it.

Just so I can laugh at the thought

of doing nothing,

or something close to nothing.

©Crackerberries 2012

FanStory Addiction

Improve your writing.  That was what I thought I was going to do.  Join FanStory, a place for writers to improve their writing technique.  I can’t argue the fact that I did improve my vocabulary in the four short months that I spent on FanStory. I learned some punctuation and verb usage as well, but nothing that E.B. White or an English book couldn’t teach me.

What is the draw?   Post a piece of writing and immediately get writing critique from other members.  This is all good, because isn’t that what all writers want?  We want honest feedback about our writing. Is it good or is it bad?  Can we get an honest opinion with suggestions on how to make it better?  I was hooked, and for $6.95 per month I could post two pieces of writing a day and get at least two people (FanStory tells you three reviews, but that is not accurate) to read and comment about my work. 

Within three weeks of being a member on the site, I had an exploding profile and I was rising within the ranks.  The excellent rating was awesome, and the five, and often six stars fit real well with my exploding status, and my ego.  I was on top, and my writing was outstanding.  I was blind.  Little did I know that everyone on the site who would put the time and effort into reading to make the FanStory monopoly money to promote their work would have the same exploding status that I had. 

It was hard at first, because I wanted to give the writers good, honest feedback about the piece that I was reading.  I found that I was spending six to eight hours, and sometimes even more than that, a day to read poems and stories to give my detailed review. 

A review is based on the star rating system. Six stars would be for a piece that is simply an outstanding piece of work.  Ironically, a member is awarded six six-star reviews to hand out each week.  Only two can be awarded to a member per month.  If someone writes outstanding work all the time they are only able to collect a six star rating from each member twice per month.  Five stars would indicate that the piece is excellent and no changes need to be made.  Four stars is a good piece but certain adjustments need to be made, be it spelling, punctuation, etc.  Three stars is a piece that is off to a good start, but needs quite a bit of work.  Two stars is a piece that needs a lot of work and one star is a major revision (why bother even making the effort?).

What I found after sometimes spending forty-five minutes to an hour on one piece that I gave a thorough review on, (spelling, punctuation, thoughts on how the piece could be improved) was that most people didn’t really want my suggestions and balked at the thought of receiving anything less than five stars.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I fell into that star rating too.  Please don’t tell me my piece of work is anything less than excellent.  But then when I did get a review with less than five stars, I really took the time to see what it was that the person reviewing it was trying to tell me.  Unfortunately there are not enough of these detail oriented members on FanStory to out-weigh the bad.  Too many people review and give a standard five star rating with some happy comment about how this piece was interesting and had a good feel to it. (Blah, blah, blah, basic B.S.) 

There are contests that are member created as well as site created.  In my opinion the member created contests are just a way for members to give accolades to their friends. I entered several and the pieces that won were not the best piece in my humble opinion.  I also entered the site created contests and supposedly there is a FanStory committee that chooses these winners, however, no one knows who these committee members are.  Needless to say, I never won a contest entered.


I met some people, just like one meets on any social network forum.  The thing that I was trying not to do was to treat it like every other social network where everyone wants to be your friend.  I don’t care what anyone tells you and what anyone says about internet forums and social networks.  We do not make friends over the internet.  We are people and it is our inherent nature to care about ourselves and what we ourselves want.  It is hard not to fall under the cunningness of people, which I did.  I believed what people told me, and I trusted people I had never even met.

After four months of playing the game of rising in the ranks and letting my housework, bills, correspondence, relationship with God and my husband slide, with God’s urging, I finally realized it was a bad addiction.  A very bad addiction.  The whole thing came to light when I read a poem of an idea/concept that I had shared with one of my FS “friends” who took the idea and wrote it in their own words.  To me, that was God saying, “Can you hear Me now?”  I responded most certainly, “Yes, Sir, I can, and I am done with this, and thank You, very much for having patience with me.”  It was time to put an end to the silliness of playing on a social media and get on with some real writing.
 

Remember who you are, change what you are and become what God wants you to become today. 

© Crackerberries 2012

Crackerberries Tomato Chili Pepper Pie

Preheat oven 350º

Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup self-rising corn meal

2/3 cup shortening

¼ cup ice water

Combine flours together and mix well.  Cut in shortening and mix in water.  Press into 10x10 inch baking dish.  Prick bottom and sides of crust all over.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until slightly puffy.

Filling:

6-8 good size tomatoes, sliced (I used black krim and beef steak)

¼ cup sliced chili peppers

1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise

2¼ cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

Sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheddar on the bottom of the crust.  Mix 1½ cups cheese, mayonnaise and peppers together until well combined.  Layer tomatoes, then mayonnaise mixture two times; sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over top and add fresh ground pepper.  Bake 350º for 40 minutes.  Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

© Crackerberries 2012

Sweet Gherkin Pickles

Jerkin’ Your Gherkin 

 

Picked fresh from the garden

We think that’s a bargain

Wash them and put them in brine

Salt water makes them fine

Overnight let them soak

Believe me it’s no joke

Cold cucumbers work best

Harder than all the rest

Slice them with some onion

Making pickles is fun

We’re in this heat working

Jerkin’ on the Gherkin

Sliced Sweet Gherkin Pickles Recipe

½ cup salt
2 quarts water

Combine and pour over cleaned whole cucumbers, let stand in fridge overnight.

1 qt cider vinegar
6 cups sugar

Combine following spices in cheese cloth and tie
1 tbsp whole allspice
1 tbsp whole cloves
½ tbsp celery seed
½ tbsp mustard seed
1 stick cinnamon (2” long)
1 bay leaf

Drain and rinse cucumbers and slice
4 cups small white onions
2 cups sliced carrots
12-16 cups slice cucumbers

Bring sugar and vinegar to a boil. Add spice bag and vegetables and return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Remove spice bag, pack vegetables in hot sterilized jars. Return syrup to boil and pour over vegetables. Process in hot boiling bath 5 minutes Yield 6-7 pints

© Crackerberries 2012

Hullabaloos - Rush Limbaugh

Hullabaloos

Controversy is so much fun to comment on.  Recently Rush Limbaugh was attacked for calling a woman a slut.  Perception; apparently Limbaugh perceived that because the woman was in favor of President Obama’s proposal of health insurance providing free birth control, his assumption was that she was sexually active and therefore labeled her with the term “slut”.  I suppose it was wrong for Mr. Limbaugh to insinuate such a thing, and although usually good with his commentaries, he sometimes comes off as a pompous chauvinist. We must realize this is America where free speech is encouraged.  {Even though I don’t think any of it is free … that’s a whole other blog.}

Maybe the woman was convicted by the suggestion that she was a slut.  A slut is just a slang word for a slovenly or immoral woman.  Remember the incident at the well with the Samaritan woman?  Jesus told her to go get her husband and she said she didn’t have a husband.  Jesus pointed out that she had known five husbands and the one she was with now was not her own.  (John 4:16-18)  Not that Rush Limbaugh should be compared to Jesus in any way, shape or form, sometimes it is the truth we hear that convicts us to change.

Think about it; I know when I get upset by being talked about or called a name it most likely has to do with the fact that I am convicted.  The Holy Spirit is a strong fortitude and He will bring the devil out of a person if they listen and submit to His calling.  Try Him on sometime.  Just listen to that little voice inside.

In a world that has changed so much and there is so much more change to look forward to, it is important to focus on the things that we can change.  We need to change our way of thinking and look at the things that won’t ever change.  God’s Word never changes.  God’s statutes never change.  He is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same tomorrow.  Our world may go through all kinds of changes (good and bad) but there is only One Almighty who is always in control of everything and anything. 

Rush apologized, not that it has made any difference to the woman.  He lost followers and she gained support.  It’s a crazy, ever-changing world we live in.  If we stick to the rules that God wrote and we trust in Him, hullabaloos such as this won’t be an issue. 

© Crackerberries 2012

Springboard for the Catalyst

Springboard for the Catalyst

Ever have something that means so much to you, and you hold it to your heart so dearly that when someone else uses it or tries to take it from you, the result is devastating?  I have learned in my short 46½ years of life that when I commence to idolatry, God sets me straight in a hurry.  He uses the most unexpected people, or things that I wouldn’t imagine could be used to bring something good. (Then I remember the story in Esther of Haman)  As much as I hate these incidents, I am thankful.  I know that He is teaching me a lesson, and if I am not open to learning, my growth with Him will not increase.  How does John the Baptist put it?  “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)  No one likes humiliation, and I for one, hate to admit when I am wrong, especially when I’m not.  But sometimes in order to move forward, and grow spiritually the way God has planned for us, we need to humble ourselves, accept defeat, and be willing to let go of the thing that we have held onto so tightly.

My sister and I have had a rocky relationship ever since the day she was born.  In fact rumor has it that I tried to kill her by whipping her with a dog choker chain when my mother brought her home from the hospital.  I don’t know if that is true or not because I was only 18 months old.  Who remembers anything when they are 18 months old?  I do remember a lot of fighting growing up, a lot of competing for attention, and a lot of blame put on the other one for whatever reasons: spitting behind the couch, lighting a fire in the closet, whose idea it was to go in the road across the street to the neighbors house … the list can go on and on.  All siblings go through some sort of rivalry.  I always thought they grew out of it.  Apparently this is not so, or so I am experiencing in my now 40+ years of life.

I grew up thinking that my aunts and uncles all loved each other because they would gather at my grandparent’s house several times a year.  All of us kids would play outside and have fun, and have great expectations looking forward to the next function we could come together for.  Unfortunately, as I grew older the coming together commenced to being sicknesses and funerals.  Little did I know the aunts and uncles hated each other, held grudges towards each other, and finally when my grandparents both died, the covenant was broken, and the aunts and uncles didn’t need to gather for anything anymore. 

I have been doing a Bible Study that touched on generational sin.  Exodus 20:5-6 has revealed so much to me in these past few weeks, and I am filled with new hope.  My sister was my springboard this week.  I recently tried to reconnect with her.  She has so much going on in her life that she doesn’t take the time to correspond with me, nor anyone, as she was quick to point out.  I really just wanted her attention, and wasn’t looking for any hostility, which unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, that is all our relationship has ever been — aggression.  But within the short communication that we had with each other, she was the springboard I needed to admit my imperfection, and ask God to help me with rebuilding the ancient ruins that have held me captive for so long.

The thing I have held onto is my undying desire to be a writer.  I have written since I learned how to write.  Apparently unbeknownst to me as well as other members of my family, this also has been my sister’s dream since the third grade.  I had this idea that I wanted to write first.  I guess that is the competitive ego within me coming out.  There are a million gazillion writers out there.  So my sister gets to go to college for free and get all of these writing degrees under her belt and maybe she will make it as a published writer before me.  Good for her.  All my best goes out to her.  God has helped me realize through her, that if I have something I want to do, do it.  No one can stop your dreams and if you think someone is stealing them or taking something from you, you probably shouldn’t have a hold on them so tight anyways.  Everything is Gods, and He will give you what you need.  This is what He gave me today, and I know it has been a long few months since I’ve posted anything.  If it’s His will, more will come in due time.

© Crackerberries 2012

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

This is the easiest cake I have ever made; one pan and ten ingredients.

2½ cups flour

1½ cups sugar

½ cup cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla

2 cups brewed coffee (I used hazelnut)

Cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350º

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in ungreased 13x9x2 inch metal baking pan.  Stir together until mixed and then form three wells in the flour mixture.  Put vegetable oil in center well and vanilla and vinegar in outside wells.  Pour coffee over top of mixture and stir crazy with a fork until well mixed.  (Do not use mixer).  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over top.  Bake at 350º for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

© Crackerberries 2011

The Christmas Sweater

The Christmas Sweater

          December is that time of year when we dig out all of our stuff: Christmas decorations, Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas recipes, Christmas cards, Christmas movies, Christmas books, and my favorite Christmas sweater.  Some people spend a lot of money on Christmas shopping buying Christmas gifts and clothes to dress up in to go to Christmas parties and food to make Christmas candy and Christmas cookies.  As I dug my sweater out of the storage box and smiled at how it made feel to wear it at Christmas time I recalled a story about these two brothers name John and James.

          John, the older of the two, and James played on a little league baseball team many years ago.  Even though the two played on the same team they both were in competition with each other always trying to be better than the other one.  James could hit a home run like it was nothing and John could pitch strikes all day long.  James couldn’t run and John couldn’t catch, but the coach always did his best to help them each excel at what they did best. 

One Saturday afternoon game it was the bottom of the ninth and the brother’s team was down by two runs.  There were two men on and James was up to bat.  John was coaching at third base.  If James could hit the ball far enough into the outfield he could have plenty of time to run the bases and make it home.  He stepped up to the plate and the crowd was cheering him on while others were making fun of him because they knew he couldn’t run that fast.  He whacked that ball hard and it flew right out into the bushes at the edge of the outfield.  “Run! Run!” everyone was yelling.  James took off running, tagging first base, and the outfielders were searching frantically in the bushes for the ball.  “Run! Run!”  James kept on running and tagged second base. 

The crowd started yelling more and clapping.  “Throw it!  Throw it!  Run! Run!”  John saw that the outfielders threw the ball into the short stop.  “Run, James!  Run!”  John waved James onto home plate.  James was running and the short stop threw the ball and James was running so fast and the ball was coming so fast.  Instead of the ball going into the catcher’s glove it hit James right in the head and knocked him out cold.  He ended up in a coma and after six days, his parents took him off the life support and he died without ever waking up. 

John grew up always feeling responsible for his brother’s death.  Even though he married and had children of his own, he missed so much of their lives because he spent more time in the bottle than he did at birthdays and other memorable occasions.  Eventually his wife divorced him and he grew into a lonely, grumpy old man.  One Christmas Eve, John was by himself as usual when a knock came on his door.  It was one of his grandsons.  Ironically it was the one named after his brother, James.  He came in with a book in one hand and a thermos in the other.  “Grandpa, I have to share something with you before it’s too late.”  The old man gruffly said, “I don’t want to hear it.”  But James was persistent and he took two mugs down from the cupboard and filled them with hot chocolate from the thermos.  Then he opened his Bible and he spoke.

“One night there was a bright star which guided three men who were the three wise men to the birth of Jesus, who later in life became a carpenter and a fisher of men and souls.  He had twelve apostles who spread the Word of Christ.  But on one black day of hatred, envy and death, He was crucified.  He shed His blood for us to purify and save us.  He rose and is now in Heaven seated with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He did all of this because of His great love for us.”

“Grandpa, everyone says you’re a mean old man because of what happened to your brother.  What happened to him is not your fault and Jesus loves you and forgives you.  You don’t have to feel like it’s your fault, just talk to Jesus and tell Him how you feel.” 

Of course John, being the grumpy drunk that he had grown into wasn’t going to listen to what anyone had to say and he kicked his grandson out of his house and told him if he was going to preach to him not to bother coming back again.  That night, John died in his sleep.

There is a lot more to that story, but that is enough to make a person contemplate what they are holding on to this Christmas.  As I started to write out our Christmas cards I thought about whom I had to forgive and who I needed to speak a kind word to.  There is so much stuff that gets in the way of our lives that sometimes we lose sight of the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas.  It is not about the stuff. 

This little baby boy born in a manger came to live a sinless life only to die a brutal death on a Cross in order for us to have eternal life.  We celebrate His birth for that.  When we get “wrapped up” (no pun intended) in all the other stuff, when we forget to forgive someone, when we over eat or over drink or over spend, when we get so involved in things, we lose sight of what is important.  This year when you dig out your Christmas sweater think about why you are wearing it and remember what the celebration is all about.

© Crackerberries 2011

Oysters

Oyster Casserole

Ingredients

1 pt oysters

2 cups Ritz crackers, (crushed)

½ cup butter, melted

½ tsp salt

¾ cup heavy cream

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup oyster liquor

1 tsp Texas Pete or Tabasco Sauce

Directions

Drain oysters, reserving liquor.  Chop ½ of oysters, keeping the rest whole.  Combine crumbs, butter, salt and pepper.  Spread 1/3 of crumbs in greased 8 inch baking dish.  Cover with ½ of oysters, and spread another 1/3 of crumb mixture over top of oysters.  Add remaining oysters.  Combine cream, Worcestershire sauce and oyster liquor and mix well.  Pour over oysters.  Top with last of crumbs.  Bake in 350° for 45 minutes. 

© Crackerberries 2011