Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!

Make sure you let your dad know you appreciate him! 

Psalms 127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Living In The Present Moment

Living in the moment is not being distracted by the future or pontificating over the past. I think there is value in reflection and also in planning ahead. We need to maintain balance in our lives, though. I don't want to spend so much time thinking ahead to what might be, or brooding over what has been, that I lose the moment that I am living. I want to be grateful for the present. Now is the only time I really have. (not including eternity, of course.) I don't know what a day may bring forth. Right now I can do something that matters, why wait until tomorrow, next week, next month, next year,..............

Matthew 6:34 

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

Proverbs 27:1  

Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Italian Chicken Marinade Recipe

Italian Chicken Marinade

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup white wine vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)

1 tsp. Garlic Salt

1 tsp. Pepper

1 TBS. Worcestershire sauce

1 TBS. Oil

Up to 5 lbs. Chicken

Mix. Pour over chicken. Marinade at least 20 minutes. Grill normal size chicken breasts 7 minutes on each side. (The gigantic breasts from Aldi take 10 minutes on each side.) Remove from grill. Cover and rest 5 minutes before slicing.

This chicken is great served warm or chilled. Cold leftovers make a wonderful addition to pasta salad.

Book Report: Peterson Field Guide to Finding Mammals in North America

Peterson Field Guide to Finding Mammals in North America by Vladimir Dinets is a wealth of knowledge on where to find mammals. I don't know how Mr. Dinets has been able to travel to as many places, and get familiar with the areas, as he has. Mammal Watching is not as much of a hobby as Bird Watching, but Mr. Dinets expects that to change in the future.

This book is broken into several sections. In the first part of the book Mr. Dinets goes through the North American content region by region highlighting what parks and and wildlife refuges are in the areas and what mammals you can find there. Mr. Dinets goes into a lot of detail on where he has seen certain mammals and how likely you are to see the same types of mammals.
In the second section Mr. Dinets goes over each type of mammal and where they can be found. There is a short part on trapping animals for observation. The glossary is extensive.
This book can be used in a multitude of ways. If you are planning a trip, for example, and you want to look up the areas you will be visiting to see what type of mammals live there, you can go to the section that address that particular region. Another example is: if you want to see a specific mammal, you can look up that mammal in the section where that mammal is talked about and you can see a list of locations where that mammal lives.

There are not photographs of every animal that is mentioned, but there are a lot of photographs.

I learned a lot about mammals by reading this book. I had no idea there were so many kinds of whales or bats, or what a Coati was or a Marten was or a Pika was, I could go on. This book has fed my curiosity and left me hungering for more knowledge about mammals. I would really like to read an identification guide for these mammals or something that gives more details on the animals life's and habits.

Genesis 1:25

 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Cutting Up Jeans For A Rag Quilt

I recently cut up 10 pairs of jeans that Mr. in The Mid-west had worn out. I have been collecting them for some time. From 10 pairs of jeans I got close to 120 squares for my Rag Quilt, 10 zippers for skirts, and a bunch of scraps that I think I will use for stuffing or making fire starters or something. Waste not, want not......

So I added the square pieces to the stack of squares that I been accumulating for several years. I think I have enough now to make a Rag Quilt. I am so excited to get started!

As I looked through the square pieces I had cut a couple years ago I saw that I had been much more desperate for material in the past. I had used a seam ripper and taken all the stitches out so I could unroll the hems and use every last scrap. 

I thought I was being frugal now, but I was way more frugal then. 

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am planning to share some pictures of the finished quilt when it is done.

Are you working on any projects? Let me know in the comments section!

Birthday Cake Recipe From BA Kitchen

This is a great Birthday Cake recipe. It uses an interesting butter-in-the-flour technique. This is a recipe by Claire from the BA Kitchen. If you go to their web site they have some really helpful step by step pictures to go with the instructions. HERE is a link. Every time I have made this cake it turns out rich and fluffy, with a moist crumb, and great flavor.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

I have used this recipe as the base for Pineapple Upside-down Cake, and it works really well. I make a half recipe of Birthday Cake and pour it into one 10 inch cast iron skillet, over the caramel topping.

Here is the full size recipe, which will make a 9×13 inch cake.

Claire's Birthday Cake

1 cup Butter, softened and cut into 1" pieces

3 1/4 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 eggs and 5 egg yolks

1 1/4 cup Buttermilk, room temperature

2 Tbsp. Oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract

Before starting prepare your 9×13 pan by greasing generously with some butter and then dusting with flour. Also, preheat your oven to 325° F.

First whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the soft butter pieces and, with a whisk or whisk attachment on your mixer, mix until the combination looks like cornmeal. You want the butter to be coating all the flour.

In a second bowl combine the eggs and yolks, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract, stir until everything is combined.

Make a hollow in the flour mixture and pour half of the buttermilk mixture into the hollow. Stir until all combined. Add the last half of the buttermilk mixture and, again, stir until all combined. Once the batter is smooth beat on high speed for 1 minute, until the batter turns glossy.

Scrape the batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes.

Peanut Curry Recipe

I first made this recipe back in 2015 when I was challenging myself to try a new recipe every week. I really liked this recipe and wrote about it on my blog. You can check out the old post HERE. 

I hadn't made Peanut Curry since that time. A couple of weeks ago I made it again. I was looking forward to tasting it again, and when I did, I wasn't disappointed. 

I highly recommend that you serve this meal with the garnish of cilantro and fresh lime. It really adds a lot of flavor and balance.

Peanut Curry Chicken (My Rendition)

1 Tbsp. salt
5 tsp. curry spice blend
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional)
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp. ground, dry ginger
6 garlic cloves, minced  
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
about 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, depending on desired thickness
1 pound zucchini, cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, cubed
1 green poblano pepper, diced
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
serve on rice
garnish with Fresh Lime, Cilantro, and Peanuts   

1. Mix salt, curry, paprika, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl.
2. Place chicken pieces in a separate bowl and add 1/2 of the spice blend. Mix together thoroughly to coat each surface with spice blend.
3. Heat oil over high heat in a heavy pot. Brown half of the chicken pieces on all sides. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add onion to pot. Saute until onions start to turn translucent and golden, 1 or 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook about 1 minute. Stir in remaining spice blend; cook and stir one minute. Pour in chicken broth. Add browned chicken along with accumulated juices. Stir in peanut butter and ketchup. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
5. Transfer zucchini, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, and peanuts to the pot. Stir to mix. Continue simmering until chicken and vegetables are fork tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of peanuts and chopped cilantro.

A Lovely Tea Pot!

A few years ago I wrote a post about a tea pot that I was so happy to have. I had bought it at a garage sale. My sister found some tea cups of the same style and mailed them to me. At the end of the post you find out that I didn't get to keep the tea pot long because I broke it. I was so sad! You can read the post HERE.

This is a long overdue, follow up post. I read my old post recently and realized that I never told the rest of the story. 

The Rest Of The Story.....

My sister heard about my catastrophe and sent me this little gem for my birthday at the end of that summer!

Isn't she so sweet!

She looked on eBay until she found a tea pot with the matching blue design.

It even has these opaque, rice shaped details that the tea cups had, as well. 

And, some foreign markings on the bottom.

It is the perfect size for the little cups that she had bought for me, previously.

Sometimes in the afternoons I brew  some tea with this set for me and my little boys.

My sister has a history of tea related gifts. You can read about the
French Press she gave me, HERE, in this post.

Thank you for stopping by! Do you have a special tea pot? Let me know in the comments section! :)