Is That a Turtle in My Soup?

Is That a Turtle in My Soup ?

          The sky is ominous and Charlie has been barking most of the morning.  I’ve been out several times to see what the issue is but I have no idea what would be causing him to bark continuously.  He is facing the garden area and I’ve been through it three times looking for little critters; rabbits, squirrels, birds, yet there is nothing that my old eyes can see.  

The compost pile catches my attention and I open the make shift gate which is a pallet.  This is to keep the critters out and the compost in.  I find what I am looking for and what has kept Charlie preoccupied most of the morning.  It is a little box turtle.  It quickly senses my presence and pulls its head into its shell and closes up shop.  It is as interesting to me as it has been to Charlie.  I never noticed how a turtle closes its shell before today.  I am curious as to what it is eating from the compost; coffee grounds, egg shells, onion peelings, more coffee grounds, an avocado peeling, potato peelings?  I notice a baby chameleon skirting around the pallets.  I watch both the turtle and the chameleon for a few minutes wondering if the turtle will poke his head back out and perhaps eat the chameleon.  At that thought the chameleon, as if he could read my mind, disappears off into the compost pile.

After several minutes I decide that the turtle is not going to pop his head back out, so I go back to the house to work on my list of things to do.  Charlie continues to bark.  I think about bringing him close to the turtle, but decide that would be a disaster and he would probably try to play with it and end up killing it like he did the possum.

When I go back out the second time the turtle has moved about four feet from where it was to the top of the compost pile.  I sneak up on it slowly.  It spies me but does not retreat to its shell.  It stays completely still watching me as I’m watching it.  It has a piece of grass in its mouth.  I watch it watch me.  We are having a stare down.  It is apparent that it will not move while I am close watching so I leave.

A little while later I go back a third time to see how far the little turtle has travelled but I cannot find it.  I look everywhere and it is nowhere to be found.  I wonder how a little turtle can move so far in such a short time and I am reminded of James 5:11 ~ Indeed, we count them blessed who endure.  You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord — that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.  PERSEVERANCE!

The turtle had a goal, a place to go.  Although I frightened it and prevented it from moving as quickly as it may have journeyed it was indefatigable.  Sometimes I think I have to be more like the turtle with my faith and my trust in the Lord.  Persevere.  Sometimes I feel like I am just going along slow and never reaching my goal. I realize my earthly goal can never compare to my heavenly goal.  But sometimes I feel like God has put me in a place not unlike the island of Malta where he stranded Paul; a time to be slow, a time to reflect, a time to heal, a time to be patient.  {Ecclesiastes 3:1-8}  There is a time for everything.

Living in a fast paced world, this is very bizarre to me.  Things need to be done.  I am impatient.  I want to race for the crown.  I want it now.  I want my knowledge.  I want my wisdom.  I want it now.   For three days I have been plagued with a terrible headache.  I never have headaches that last for more than a couple of hours.  I reflect on the turtle.  I am reminded that every single moment that God gives us is a teaching moment or a learning moment.  Am I teaching or am I learning?  The turtle is put in my life to teach me to slow down.  Will I learn?

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with the endurance the race that is set before us.  Hebrews 12:1

Just because I have a list of things to do and just because I want to get them done and get them done now, doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do or the right time to do it.  There is a time for everything.  There may be something that hinders our race (like a headache) to the crown, but if we are open to God’s leading and if we are indefatigable and we persevere, God is faithful.  He gives us not always what we want but always what we need.

© Crackerberries 2011

Brandied Pear Preserves

3½ quarts peeled, cored and chopped pears

2¾ cups water

10 cups sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

¼ cup Gran Gala Liquor

Combine pears and water and cook on medium high heat, covered for one hour.

Gently mash pears.  Measure 2½ quarts mashed cooked pears.  Add 10 cups sugar and 1/3 cup lemon juice.  Cook 50 minutes until gel stage (220º). 

Remove from heat and stir 5 minutes to prevent fruit from floating.  Stir in stir in ¼ cup Gran Gala triple orange liquor; spoon into hot sterilized jars and process in boiling water bath 20 minutes. 

Yield: 6 pints

© Crackerberries 2011

Spicy Beef & Broccoli

½ lb tender beef, cut into thin slices

1 tbsp corn starch

4 tsp corn starch

4-5 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp fresh grated ginger root

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 cups broccoli florets

8 oz can water chestnuts, drained

1¼ cup water

1 onion chopped

Vegetable oil for cooking

Hot cooked rice

Combine beef, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, ginger and garlic in a small bowl; mix well and set aside for 15 minutes.

Combine water, 4 tsp cornstarch and remaining 3-4 tbsp soy sauce; (add a third tsp of red pepper flakes if you like it spicy) mix well and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in large wok over high; add beef and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from pan and add 2 tbsp oil and heat over high.  Add broccoli, water chestnuts and onions and stir fry 4-5 minutes.   Stir in beef and soy sauce/water mixture and cook, stirring constantly until mixture bubbles and thickens.

Serve immediately over rice.

© Crackerberries 2011

The Green Monster

THE RED HORNED GREEN MONSTER

It was a beautiful sunny day and I was out in the garden pulling up weeds.  I saw this very interesting creature on one of my tomato vines.  It was a lime green large caterpillar of sorts, with a red horn at one end of it.  It was some what leathery looking with white strips and little black dots.  I had never seen anything quite like it.  I left it basking in the sun on my tomato vine thinking this would be cool to see it transform into a beautiful butterfly.  I went about my business of pulling weeds in the garden.

The next day I was out in the garden and I noticed my tomato plant.  It reminded me of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree.  I quickly began to inspect it for bugs but all I could find was the beautiful leathery caterpillar.  After a little research on-line I found this little critter is very damaging to tomato plants.  So much for raising a beautiful butterfly; it went straight to the chicken pen. 

After it oozed out this purplish inky goop from where the horn was, a couple of chickens fought over it, pulled it in half and munched it down.  I assume the ink stuff was some sort of defense mechanism and I was a little concerned for the chickens that ate it hoping they weren’t poisoned.  They wiped their beaks off in the dirt and went about their normal scratching and pecking business.

We are similar to the caterpillar in a sense because we have the capability to destroy everything that comes in our path. “Hell and Destruction are before the Lord, so how much more the hearts of sons of men.” {Proverbs 15:11}  Wicked people plot deception in which the innocent are captured and victimized.  From what I gather, the caterpillar eats everything in its path until it cannot eat anymore and then it burrows into the soil and remains under ground through the winter going through a metamorphosis.  In the spring it emerges as a moth.  It transforms into something not as destructive as it once was.

The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.  From the place of His dwelling He looks on the inhabitants of the earth, He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works {Psalm 33:13-15}.  God created every single creature for a purpose.  The red horned green monster destroyed several of my tomato plants throughout the summer.  There were more than one of these little creatures and every one I caught I fed to the chickens.  These caterpillars reminded me that once God gets a hold of our hearts the renewal of our mind is transformed into a new creation {Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 respectively}.   Okay, so the ones that I caught transformed into chicken feed, but you do get the idea, yes?

We may not like all of the creatures that He created and we may question for what purpose it was created.  We may even feel this way about people sometimes.  As I reflect on the green leathery caterpillar with the red horn, I am reminded how I thought it was pretty at first.  But then I saw how destructive it became.  Once it turned into a not so pretty moth, it wasn’t as destructive any more.  We should remember that people can sometimes be the same way.  I was — sometimes I still am.  They may be really pretty on the outside but inside they are full of destruction.  Everyone is born that way; it is inherited by nature.  Of course you cannot scoop them up and feed them to the chickens, but you can pray for them and be patient with them and show them the love that Christ showed you. 

Once God gets a hold of their heart the metomorphosis will begin.                                                             

© Crackerberries 2011

Pear Pie

{Tastes like pear crisp)

We have a friend that brought us a few pears for processing.  A few in this neck of the woods equals about 50 pounds.  I’ve processed sour pear chutney, pear butter and pear preserves… pears coming out the ears.  Here is a pear pie I kind of just whipped up out of the blue.  If anyone is interested in any of the other pear recipes, let me know, I’ll share.

Graham cracker crust:

1¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup flour

5½ tbsp melted butter

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Press into 10” pie plate.  Bake 350º for ten minutes.  Let cool.

Filling:

7 cups peeled, cored and sliced pears

1 tbsp grated orange rind

4 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice (from the orange)

½ cup sugar

Combine all ingredients; mix well and spoon into prepared crust.

Topping:

¾ cup flour

6 tbsp butter

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground mace

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp cardamom

Combine all ingredients except butter and mix well.  Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.  Sprinkle over pears and bake 400º for 45 minutes, reduce heat to 350º and bake 15-20 minutes longer until pears are tender.  Serve with whip cream or my favorite, vanilla ice cream; I love it for breakfast.

© Crackerberries 2011

And The Beat Goes On ...

And The Beat Goes On ♥

Compliant people politely deny their boundaries to keep the peace.  When they finally do stand up for themselves it is so out of character people close to them automatically assume that something is wrong and they blame someone else.  Perception does not equal truth—is the glass half full or half empty?

It all started back in elementary school; first or second grade, I believe.  Jody Barton asked me to spend the night at her house.  She lived about five miles from our house (actually we lived in a trailer and I was always too embarrassed to invite friends to my house).  Jody lived in a big old farm house with lots of trees around it.  It was a fun place to play.  I loved Jody.  She was my best friend. 

Back then we had party lines on the telephones and it just so happened that my parents shared a party line with Jody’s parents.  Every day at a certain time, which we had determined on the bus ride home beforehand, we would pick up the phone simultaneously and talk to each other for hours or until one of our mothers told us that was enough, which was usually the case. 

When Jody asked me to spend the night I did not know how to answer.  I had been to her house on several occasions to play.  Her house was very big.  A little girl could get lost in that house, especially in the dark.  It was not that I didn’t want to spend the night with my friend, but I was dreadfully afraid of the dark.  I still am.  (I have a very over active imagination when it comes to monsters and the boogeyman). 

I was afraid to tell Jody that I was afraid of the dark because I thought she would make fun of me, but I was more afraid to spend the night in that big G-I-N-O-R-M-O-U-S house in the dark.  I had to think of something.  So what did I do?  The same thing any normal elementary school child would do.  I lied.  I blamed my mother.

Those situations, as I have learned through the years, continued to surface over and over again.  I felt bad for lying to Jody back then about why I couldn’t spend the night.  I think what made me feel worse was that she asked Bonnie Fox to spend the night and after awhile they became best friends and I was eliminated from the picture.

Peer pressure is a terrible thing.  It can make you do things you wouldn’t normally do.  I learned very quickly how easy it was to put the blame on someone else (my mother, my kids, my husband) rather than stand up for myself regarding the things that I didn’t want to do.  It was much easier to blame someone than to take ownership and risk the abandonment of my so called friends.

This revelation came to me most recently because I made a choice.  I made a choice to stand up for what I believed instead of blaming someone else.  It was such an eye-opener to me because I never realized how compliant I had become over the years.

With a best friend you don’t need to pretend and you know you’re accepted for who you are and what you are no matter what… even at your worst your best friend loves you.  You can tell your best friend anything, share all your secrets, and not have to worry about being ridiculed … or can you?

Let no corrupt word proceed from your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers. ~ Ephesians 4:29

We have to be careful what we say to each other, even or especially with our best friends.  Feelings can be hurt.  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.  The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.  ~ James 3:6.

Unless they are doing something Biblically immoral, unethical, wicked, illegal or sinful, some times it is better to keep our opinions to ourselves.  Just because we think a certain way or we live a different way or our views are not the same, it doesn’t mean we get to impart that knowledge as truth on our friends.

I guess that is why some people think friendship means “a ship that is big enough to carry two in fair weather but only one in foul”.

© Crackerberries 2011

Pork Pie

Meat Pie

Ingredients

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie shells I make my own but you can use the store bought ones.

1 pound ground lamb

1 pound lean ground pork

1 pound lean ground beef

2½ cups coarsely mashed potatoes

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

1½ tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 egg beaten

Directions

Brown ground meats over medium heat until thoroughly cooked. Drain off grease.

Mix together cooked meat, potatoes, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and allspice.

Line a 9 inch pie dish with pastry. Spoon meat mixture into pie crust, and top with second pie crust.

Brush top crust with egg and sprinkle with coarse salt. Shield crust edges with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove foil for final 15 minutes of baking to brown edges.

© Crackerberries 2011

Granola Cookies

I really didn’t mean for these to come out the way they did, but they taste just like a granola bar made into a cookie.  I even crumbled one up and ate it in yogurt for breakfast the other day.

½ cup butter flavored Crisco

½ cup peanut butter (next time I will use a little more peanut butter)

1 cup brown sugar

½ granulated sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp maple extract

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

¾ cup all purpose flour

¾ cup whole wheat flour

3 cups dry oats

½ cup dried banana chips

½ dried figs

Preheat oven 375º.  Cream the Crisco and peanut butter together for 30 second; add sugars together in large mixing bowl and beat until fluffy.  Add maple flavored extract and eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. 

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda together, slowly add to mixture and stir until well blended.  Add oats, banana chips and dried figs and mix well. 

Drop by scoops on ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart.  Bake 375º 10-12 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet immediately and cool on wire racks. 

© Crackerberries 2011



General Tso's Chicken

This one is for you, Michael ♥.  If I remember correctly you like a lot of sauce so double that part of the recipe!

CHICKEN
1 lb boneless chicken meat
1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 egg, lightly beaten

Fresh ground pepper

1-2 tbsp cornstarch

SAUCE

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp dry sherry

¼ cup chicken broth

2-3 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

2 tbsp minced garlic

EXTRAS

3 green onions

1½ cup fresh broccoli florets

5-10 red hot dried chili peppers

Oil for frying

Cut chicken into one inch cubes and combine with eggs, soy sauce and pepper.  Add cornstarch to coat the chicken; set aside.

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl, stir well to dissolve the sugar; set aside.

Slice green onions and break apart broccoli florets.  Heat oil in large wok to 350º-360º; drop chicken cubes in hot oil a few at a time; cook, stirring and flipping often until golden brown and crispy (3-4 minutes).  Drain on paper towels.

Clean out wok and add 2 tbsp oil; once it is hot, add broccoli and stir fry 1-2 minutes; add green onions and red hot chili peppers and stir fry until aromatic (2-3 minutes).  Add chicken back into wok and mix everything well.  Push chicken and veggies up sides of wok creating a well in the center.   Pour in sauce and stir constantly until thickened.  Mix in chicken and veggies and serve immediately with egg rolls and rice.                                

 

© Crackerberries 2011

I'll Be Your Foxtrot

I’ll Be Your Foxtrot

          It was a dark and stormy night… (I always wanted to start out a story like that) and Charlie was the instigator.  There is always a troublemaker and a follower.  Foxtrot can be curled up in a ball, sleeping peacefully and Charlie will stand over him swatting him with his paw until he wakes up to play.  If Foxtrot doesn’t wake up right away and pay attention, Charlie will commence barking and swatting with the paw.  I have watched this go on for 15-20 minutes until Foxtrot finally gives into to the provocation of his brother.  As I watch this morning ritual I am reminded of their escape a few weeks back and more recently the incident with the possum.

          They had barked most of the night and as soon as dawn came, the barking ceased.  I checked on them to be sure they had not escaped again and Charlie had something in his mouth.  He was running all around and playfully trying to get Foxtrot to play tug of war.  I thought they had torn part of the blanket that covers one of the dog houses.  I went out to get a closer look and to my morbid surprise it was a possum.  Charlie was carrying it in his mouth just as proud as could be.   It was dead.  The first thing that came to mind was Lennie Small petting the rabbit in Of Mice and Men.  “I’m sorry, George.”

          We always thought Foxtrot was the dumb one, but as time goes on and I watch these two meatheads, I begin to see Foxtrot as Charlie’s Nathan.  I am reminded of the story in the Bible about King David and Nathan.  David didn’t want to go out to battle.  He wanted to stay home, lie around, eat bonbons and hang out with friends.  One night after having a big supper he was relaxing on his bed, chilling out, when he decided he needed a breath of fresh air.  He went out on the roof and was looking around at the candle lights flickering all over the kingdom when he noticed this sweet looking chick taking a bath.  Wow, he thought, I’m going to know her; which he did.  In those days, “knowing someone” was doing some mattress dancing.  Turns out Ms. Bathsheba was Uriah the Hittite’s wife, not someone King Davie should have been getting it on with.

          Charlie is like David; always after what he’s not entitled to and not supposed to have.  I picture the conversation before they left the yard.  Charlie says, “Come on Fox, baby.  Let’s go check out those two hot babes down the dirt road.  You know they want us!”  Foxtrot replies, “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Chuckie.  I think we’ll get in trouble if we get out.  We are tied up for a reason, for our own good.”

          As the story goes, Bathsheba ended up knocked up and King David hired a hit man to take out her husband.  She mourns the death of him and then ends up moving in and becoming David’s wife.  All of this really ticked off the Lord so he sent Nathan.  Nathan was a pretty cool guy and a good friend of David.  Nathan realizes that David can’t just go around killing women’s husbands because he thinks they are sweet looking and he wants to know them.  So he has to come up with a way to tell David this without David getting mad and killing him. 

          Foxtrot is Nathan.  He reminds Charlie all the time if it were not for the security of where they live, they would be out in the wilderness fending for their lives, sleeping in the rain, eating possum.  Charlie thinks about it and recallss the taste of possum in his mouth.  “They are only good to play with, wouldn’t want to make a steady diet of it” he says. 

          Nathan explains to David about a rich man that stole a lamb from the poor man.  This rich man had everything he could dream of having, but the poor man only had the lamb and cherished it with his life; fed it food from his plate even.  This made David very angry and he said the rich man had to be punished; he should die.  Nathan risked everything, his friendship with David, even his life, and said, “Yo, Bubba, that rich dude is you, man.”  Silence and Nathan held his breath waiting to see how David would respond.  Thank God, he came to realize that he had sinned against the Lord and spared his friend his life.

          Foxtrot loves his brother and doesn’t want him taking off by himself getting into trouble so he goes with him.  But while they are out romping in the wilderness, he talks him into coming home.  Of course he had to lose a bet about catching fish and he had to go for a cool swim.  But he stands up to his brother and tells him right from wrong.  Foxtrot is Charlie’s Nathan. 

          We all need a Nathan or a Foxtrot in our lives.  We need that one friend that will stand up and take a chance to point out something sinful in our life that we have hardened our hearts to and cannot see.  If you have a Foxtrot, thank the Good Lord for him/her.  If you don’t have one, pray for God to put one in your life.  If you have never read the story of David and Nathan you can find it in 2 Samuel chapters 11 & 12.

© Crackerberries 2011



Mac & Cheese Eastern Style



Mac and Cheese ~ Eastern Style

3 cups pasta shells/macaroni

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 medium onion, caramelized^☼

1 cup chopped ham

Salt & pepper

Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.  Combine milk, eggs and parmesan cheese and add to pasta; mix well. 

Layer pasta in 2 quart greased casserole dish pasta, shredded cheddar and ham; do this two times ending with pasta. 

Spread caramelized onions on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake in 350º oven for 30-40 minutes until top of casserole is brown and bubbly. 

Let cool five minutes before serving.  My mother always says to serve macaroni and cheese with beets but I served with homemade pickles.

^☼   To make caramelized onions, add 2 Tbsp. butter to cast iron fry pan and melt; add sliced onions for 5-8 minutes, tossing often, until onions are tender and brown.

© Crackerberries 2011