Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas

Just like Thanksgiving, Christmas is planning. Hopefully you have all that done. If you saved your turkey bones from Thanksgiving, here is a great recipe.

In a large pot take all your turkey bones and water, and boil several hours or simmer all day. After the meat has come off the bones, take the bones out. Strain out the meat, and put in a pot and add the left over broth until you have enough for your family. The remaining broth can be saved or frozen for later use.

Add carrots, celery and potatoes to taste. Since the soup has been well cooked all ready you just need to heat it long enough for the vegetables to cook. Fifteen minutes before serving, add from 1/4 to 1 cup of rice depending on how much soup you made. Five minutes before serving you can add either a big handful of cilantro for a more Mexican taste, or poultry seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste. This is what we will start our Sabbath meal with Saturday night.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Thanksgvining Day

Thanksgiving just around the corner. If you like to bake, yet are running out of room, you have several options. My favourite is the roaster pan. Basically, stick the turkey in and leave it. If you live in a place like Texas where it is possible to be hot at Thanksgiving you can stick it on a table in the garage so as not to heat up the house.

My favourite recipe is:
cut apples and onions into quarters, and insert a clove into each quarter. Add a handful of celery and parsley. Cover the whole turkey with really fat bacon. Roast at 325 according to weight, 15 minutes per pound. After the first hour you might want to baste every 30 minutes and you might add a little more bacon. This always comes out nice and tender. I've been cooking it this way for forty years now.

You might also want to BBQ your turkey, in such case, chop up onion, coriander (cilantro), and Serrano peppers. Put in large zip lock, add turkey and sufficient beer to cover the turkey. Soak for a day or two, and then smoke for about 4-6 hours. If your internal temperature does not get to 180 degrees, put in oven, covered with oil until it does. For better flavour, soak the wood several days before BBQing. You should have a pit with a separate fire box to do this right, and put the turkey as far away from the fire as possible. You may baste with beer and spices if you desire.

Other possibilities are deep fat friers, oiless friers, or a gas grill with rotisserie. The gas grill with rotisserie works really well, and a small turkey will cook in an hour and one half. At this time I have no experience with frying turkeys, so we will leave that alone.

If I roast the turkey, I make stuffing, but I make it apart so the turkey will cook quicker. I make my cornbread the day before. To make the dressing, I take two 9" pans of cornbread, and break into crumbs. On the stove I add one stick of butter and a couple of eggs. If two dry I will add the drippings from the turkey. Fry chopped onion in drippings and add together with cooked celery. I will take a little water or drippings and put into the blender with a handful of parsley, a handful of time, three or four sage leaves, and a handful of time. Blend fully and add to dressing. Cook on the stove for about thirty minutes and cook in oven at 325 for about 30 minutes. Be careful not to burn.

For gravy, take some of the turkey drippings, add a couple of tablespoons of flour and cook. Add milk and thicken. Just before serving add two tablespoons poultry seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

The main trick to a good Thanksgiving dinner is planning. You should know who is coming, what and how much you want to cook, and have most of your ingredients in the cupboard. Not a bad time to check your spices either, because you'll probably want them for Christmas as well.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

22 September 2010: Credit Cards

Credit cards have their place, especially in building credit to buy a home, the only thing I believe that you should borrow money for (barring medical emergencies). The important things when you have a credit card are:
1) Pay the full amount each month, not the minimum payment.
2) Keep a checkbook register for each credit card. When you reach your maximum amount (what you know you can pay back, stop using it until you pay it off. I recommend using it for gas, etc. to build credit, but never pay the minimum payment. You can even pay it each week or two weeks by internet depending how you are paid. That way you can keep from over doing it.
3) Know and follow your limit.
4) If you lose your job, cut up your credit card and avoid the temptation. Credit card debt can really mess you up.It is too tempting to use that card if you have no job saying, "I'll pay it all off when I have my new job." I have experience here, as I am still waiting for that new job 12 months after being laid off.

Remember, unless it is a house or emergency medical, if you have to borrow, you probably do not need it. If you can keep driving that old car till it reaches 300,000 miles, that gives you time to save up for a new(er) car.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

21 September 2010

Got an automatic dryer, for best results when using it on the automatic rather than times setting, do not overload, and make sure everything is the same material. i.e. nothing but blue jeans, or just t shirts, or just dress shirts. Doing so will allow the drier to work more efficiently. If you are alone and need to wash and dry various things together, use the timed setting as opposed to automatic.

Time for the winter garden if you live far enough south. We have planted tomatoes and squash. In October we will be planting cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and related veggies. We won't plant them all at once, so they won't get ripe at once. Broccoli can be planted even in some of the colder climes. Milt freeze don't seem to hurt it. Don't have a yard, you can still plant tomatoes, peppers, egg plants etc in pots. Just make sure you water them and give them sun.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

9 September 2010: Rosh Hoshaanah

Following the Jewish Calendar, today is Rosh Hoshana, the Jewish New Year. Last night we had a festive meal, and dipped our bread and apples in honey signifying that we would like God to give us a sweet year. The shofar will be blown today. The shofar is a ram's horn trumpet with a distinctive sound. Trumpets were used to announce the coming of the king. Our King of course is Yahweh Shabbaoth, the Lord the Lord of Hosts.

Following the lessons and collect is a short poem on my reflections celebrating Rosh Hoshanah in a Messianic Synagogue some years back.

Readings:
Numbers 29:1-6
Jer. 31:1-19
Genesis 1:1-31

Collect:
Father as on this day we commemorate the creation of human kind, help us to repent in truth from our many sins, and to learn to truly walk and talk with you as did Adam and Hava. Let the shofar truly call us to be with you, and may you grant us a sweet year to come. This we ask through Yeshua haMoshiach who lives and reins with you and Ruach haKodesh, one God in glory everlasting. (white)


What Does the Shofar Say


Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Awake, sleepers arise!
Don’t be like sheep, so sound asleep,
Letting the wolf in the door, to destroy, corrupt and more.
He’s in the music, promoting drugs,
He’s on TV promoting sex and rebellion,
He’s in the school teaching one to be a hellion.
Parents, do you love your children,
Then teach them, teach them.
At their rising, at their sitting,
Going out, coming in, at their eating,
Jesus Christ is Lord, He died for you, and many more,
And expects to be your Lord.

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Awake, sleepers arise!
Don’t be like sheep, so sound asleep,
False shepherds abound misleading the sheep,
Saying science, psychology is King.
If it feels good do it, if it hurts no-one, ‘tis not a sin, or so they sing.
Jesus is not Lord, he’s just one way, of which there are many more.
Stand up O sheep, flee from such shepherds, For at that last day, they shall flee, or
Be astounded, upon finding resurrection is true,
But alas they are blue,
For never having known Jesus, they have condemned themselves,
And those who followed them to a future so bleak,
That to think upon makes me weak

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Ti ra! Ti ra! Arise, charge, ‘tis time to fight the good fight,
‘tis time to show the adversary our might.
Put on the Gospel Armour, refrain from retreating,
It is time to gain souls, it is time to gain kings,
It is time to show the world our Lord and King.
We have been asleep, allowing Satan his will
And we have had to pay the bill.
The time is over, Satin take cover,
For the church is called to be on the move.
Blow the shofar, blow the trumpet, Good Christians, ATTACK!
You are the mighty hosts of the Lord, armed with his Spirit and Word,
The battle is yours, the war is the Lord’s.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Saving electricity or gas

A reminder, especially for those who have had a hot summer. While the weather is nice, save money by drying your clothes on a clothes line. This ancient form of utilising wind and solar power will often leave your whites whiter. For best results, put all coloured garments inside out to give a reprieve from fading. Take clothes off while still slightly damp and put them on hangers and you won't need to iron, or for those really high maintenance items, let them tumble on no heat for fifteen minutes or so. In the south, you can probabley keep drying on the line into October.

Also, most detergents work fine in cold water. If you are bleaching to kill germs anyway, hot water doesn't make that much difference, and can really add to your gas or electric bill.