My last post was in November, 2009. Most of you know why...my 26-yr-old daughter Saralyn had a stroke on January 3, 2010. Last year disappeared in a blur of hospital stays, rehab facility, moving in with Saralyn and Landon to take care of her, home health visits, trips to therapy, another surgery to replace the missing piece of skull bone, and many, many doctor visits. Then in December our family moved to Ohio where Jim accepted the pastorate of West Chester Wesleyan Church. And that was 2010!

Labels: Recipe

Fresh Blueberry Pie and Scrapping

Today I want to talk about scrapping, not the fighting kind, but the "paste it in an album" kind. For years as we traveled from church to church, we lugged along boxes and boxes filled with "the stuff of our lives"--pictures, kids' drawings, school papers, more pictures, trophies, awards, more pictures...you get the idea. I know Jim was aggravated moving so many boxes of "Marg's Stuff", thinking it would never make it out of a box and into something permanent. And I always felt guilty, which is something I do quite well, worrying that precious memories were being ruined in damp boxes cause I couldn't find the time to do something with them.

In Calgary I visited with a friend who had chronicled her family's vacations in wonderful scrapbooks full of pictures, stickers, artwork, little boxes of dialog; gorgeous books that were fun to look at and full of memories for her family. That evening got my brain working. Soon after, she asked me to help her start a scrapbooking class at church, as an outreach to our community. That was the beginning. Ruth has kept it going, expanding, holding all-day workshops in the church foyer, ladies meeting ladies from outside the church, developing friendships and inviting people to be a part of their lives and their church life, if they don't have one.

Meanwhile, my mom was approaching a milestone birthday, and so was Jim's mom. What better gift for a huge birthday than a memory book? I emailed all the sisters and begged for photos, anything they were willing to part with of their kids, especially pictures of them with the Grandmas. I already had 20 years' worth of school pictures, plus occasional family reunion or holiday photos. I set up plastic containers labeled with my kids' names, the cousins, Christmas, reunions, etc. Then I sorted, sorted, SORTED! It actually was fun, and felt SO GOOD to get the pictures out of boxes and into my plastic bins.

The next part is history. The completed books of their lives, starting with baby pictures and moving through the years, mostly focusing on the grandkids, those books were a HUGE success. But something else happened. I found that "scrapping" as I called it, put me in touch with the little Margie I used to be! I felt creative again, excited to be doing something fun and rewarding and GETTING RID OF THE GUILT! It was a win/win situation. Yes, the books and supplies cost money. After awhile I quit keeping track. I decided you can't put a price tag on memories! And when a person is gone, all that is left is pictures and memories, right? (No one has left yet, but I know someday I'll have to face that.) After the moms, I moved on to do a book for Jim on his 60th birthday. It is precious to him, showing the "days of his life." And of course, it is expandable! There are more days coming.

So--this is to encourage those of you who have boxes of memories. There never really is a good time to stop housework, leave the outside flowers, forget the laundry and go do some scrapping. That's why I had been married 29 years before I tackled those boxes. Somehow I thought I was supposed to get all my "work" done before I could do something fun like play with memories. You know what? That never happens. You NEVER get it all done. And there will come a time when you will be too old, too tired, too crippled, too SOMETHING to even care about pictures any more! So, my challenge to you is...stop putting it off and start scrapping! Do something once a week. Find your local store and buy that first album. Go to Wal-mart and check out the scrapbook aisles to get you excited. There's a whole world out there waiting for you, and a family who will absolutely love your books when you start making them. It's worth it.

Did you think I forgot about the blueberry pie? No, it's a recipe I got at the Scrapbook Shoppe last week. It's wonderful for a summer evening, perhaps a treat while you sort through photos!

Fresh Blueberry Pie (or strawberry, or peach)

8" graham cracker crust, or a baked crust (make sure to let it cool)
3 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried
1 cup sugar
3 TB cornstarch
1 cup water
3 TB lemon jello powder (or strawberry, or peach)
(Note: DON'T use sugar-free. It doesn't come out right.)

Brush the crust with a thin coating of corn starch to keep the pie from getting soggy. Place berries in the cool crust, making a nice mound. In medium pan combine the sugar and cornstarch, stirring till there are no lumps. Add the water and stir till dissolved. Cook this liquid over medium heat, stirring constantly about 5 minutes until it starts to boil, gets thick and clear.
Remove from heat, cool slightly. Stir in the jellow powder till dissolved. Pour this cooled filling over your fruit, tilt and tap the pie pan until the filling has settled evenly in the pie. Chill at least 3 hours, then serve with Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream. Or plain, with coffee. It's delicious!

Labels: Recipe, Scrapbooking

CRANBERRIES AREN'T JUST FOR THANKSGIVING ANY MORE!

Just returned from a visit to friends in Alberta, Canada. Brought back a recipe for Cranberry Chutney. You are probably eating turkey sandwiches if it's hot and you don't want to cook; try this with your sandwich and see if it doesn't perk it up!
CRANBERRY CHUTNEY (fabulous on sliced turkey)

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
12 oz cranberries
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup peeled, diced apples
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions: 1. Bring water & sugar to a boil over medium heat.
2. Add all remaining ingredients & return to a boil.
3. Reduce heat & simmer 15 minutes or until apples are tender.
4. Pour into glass mixing bowl & let cool to room temperature.

Here's a cool idea. Make a delicious, festive appetizer: Spread low fat cream cheese and cranberry chutney on a tortilla wrap. Roll and cut into bite sizes. Wonderful!

Labels: Recipe

Years ago I found a little book in Kenya called "The Creative Homemaker". I didn't have TV at the time, so read anything I could get my hands on. This paperback by Mary LaGrand Bouma had a few of her family recipes at the back. The "Graham Gems" recipe for quick muffins became a Marshall favorite. She says "If you preheat your oven immediately, you can be serving these a half hour after getting the recipe out." That's true; the other great thing is you can add absolutely anything to them for variety. I have added different kinds of nuts, pared apples, apricots, pineapple bits, coconut, chocolate chips, bananas, poppy seeds and lemon flavoring...the sky is the limit!

Marg's Marvelous Muffins (a.k.a. Graham Gems)
2/3 c brown sugar
1 stick margarine (1/2 cup) (or butter)
1 egg
1 c sour milk (put 1 t. lemon juice in your milk to sour it)
1 small teaspoon baking soda
2 cups stone ground whole wheat (graham) flour

Grease or spray with Pam a 12-cup muffin tin. Blend sugar and margarine; stir in egg. Add other ingredients. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375 - 400 for 15 minutes. Makes 12. Before spooning into muffin cups you can add 1 cup of any of the following: raisins, chopped nuts, chopped dates, chopped dried apricots, diced apple pieces, etc. Mostly I make them plain and eat them with butter and cheddar cheese for breakfast. (Mary L. Bouma's words)

This was copywritten in 1973, long before whole wheat anything came into vogue. Regular flour works too, but the whole wheat makes them healthier and chewier. I use 375 degrees instead of 400, and it took about 17-18 minutes last night. The toothpick should come out clean, and the muffin be pulling away from the pan. I lift and tip each muffin side-ways in the pan to let the steam come off the bottom (with my toothpick), then get them out and onto my rack to cool. Hypie says I make the best muffins in the world. It may not be true, but it keeps me baking! :)

Labels: Recipe

Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of the day my son changed his name to Hyperion. I decided to make his favorite birthday cake, a recipe I got from a friend, Leona, years ago at our Oregon City church. This cake became a family favorite, the designated choice of both boys on their birthdays. One year in Canada I bought all the ingredients and sent them to Landon in law school in Atlanta. And at the price of Canadian postage, that was probably his whole present that year.

Leona's Fabulous Butterskotch Cake

1 yellow cake mix (plain, not with pudding)
1 small butterskotch cooked pudding
2 cups milk (you won't even notice if you use skim)
6 oz butterskotch morsels (see why the milk won't make a difference?)
pecans (or peanuts if pecans too expensive)

Cook the pudding with the 2 cups milk as directed on the box. Whisk in the cake mix, stirring thoroughly. Pour into a greased 9 by 13" pan. Sprinkle morsels and pecans on top. Bake the cake for around 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

My oven is weird, so I baked mine closer to 45. You can take it out when the middle is still a bit gooey...that's one of the charms of this dessert. If you eat it warm with cool whip or vanilla ice cream, the gooey-ness is fantastic. Hype doesn't like cake, but loves this one. You know how food evokes memories? This butterskotch cake has come to mean "celebration" in our family, synonymous with family good times and laughter. We all needed it last night.

There is another variation: use a german chocolate cake mix, a chocolate cooked pudding, chocolate chips and walnuts. We've never gotten past the butterskotch to try the chocolate, but it sure sounds good. And don't wait till a birthday to try this! The Lord may come back before you have a chance!

(If you would like to know why my son changed his name from Thomas to Hyperion, write him at hyperioninstitute@gmail.com.)

Labels: Hypie's birthday, Recipe

This picture has nothing to do with mashed potatoes; she's just so cute I decided to use her again! She's Carly Mix, granddaughter of my friendinCanada Virginia.

Anyway, I made fantastic mashed potatoes last night and decided to tell y'all exactly how to do it without making them fattening. It's possible! I discovered this years ago while trying to do a very-low-fat diet. They are so good I never quit making them this way.

Here in the South we like to leave the skins on. Adds fiber and vitamins. So I use red potatoes with thinner skins. Scrub them really well and cut into quarters. Boil just till tender and drain immediately, leaving some cooking water in the pan. (Maybe 2/3 cup for 8-10 red potatoes. You'll get better at eyeballing this as you try it several times. You can't go wrong; if they are too dry you can always add some skim milk.)

Now here's the secret ingredient: powdered milk! You just sprinkle some in and start beating with your electric beaters. Once you get the powdered milk and cooking water mixed in, add salt and fresh ground black pepper, maybe a TINY bit of margarine for flavor (or butter). Start tasting and adjust the seasoning. We add garlic powder and sometimes chives. The beauty is that you don't have to heat milk; the cooking water is boiling hot and the powdered milk adds flavor and NO FAT! And they are delicious! It's so fun to have mashed potatoes without guilt. My son and I decided last night they are in the top five comfort foods.

Labels: Recipe

Today's post is about S U B S T I T U T I O N.

If you know me well, you are aware that for the last two years Jim has been between churches and we have been just barely surviving. We have fought all sorts of battles, from small ones like cockroaches to large ones like almost losing our cars. Somehow, through the grace of God and our wonderful families, we have stayed in the game.

Some day there might be a book about this wilderness experience. For now, I am content to share some ideas with you, my blog-audience...blaudience. Hey, cool word! I want to give you a recipe that I made today, then tell you about substituting when you don't have the things you think you need.

Here's the original recipe: SLOW COOKER LENTIL SOUP (from the newspaper) serves 6-8

2 cups dried green lentils, rinsed & drained
8 cups canned chicken broth
1 meaty ham bone
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp thyme, crumbled
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups thinly sliced spinach

Combine all ingredients except spinach in slow cooker. Cover, cook on low 8 hrs. (high, 4 hrs) Remove ham bone and bay leaf; discard leaf. Remove & chop meat from ham bone; discard bone. Stir meat & spinach into soup; cover and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Okay, that's what my little card said. And as a newlywed, I would have made sure I had every single ingredient on hand. But after 35 years, plus the lessons God's been teaching me, I surveyed my almost bare cabinets and "made do."

I never have ham bones...plus, ham is too salty for every day. (New Year's Day, maybe) I had a cup of cooked chicken, so I threw that in plus extra buillon since the bone would have added flavor. Didn't have much celery. Figured up the total amount of chopped veggies, then substituted extra carrots for my lack of celery. Had half a bag of wilting spinach salad; picked all the slimy ones out and got enough for my soup. Only had one cup of lentils, so substituted my last cup of brown rice. AND...Jim just told me it's the best soup I've ever made. It's called "Cooking outside the Box." Hey--another great book title!

Labels: Recipe

Labels: Recipe

Labels: Recipe

I got this from Robin Miller on the Food Network yesterday. It is cheaper and lower sodium than teriyaki sauce.




2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced


Whisk together and voila!

Labels: Recipe

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Name:Marg Marshall

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