Luck O' the Irish!

Pshaw.

Who am I kidding?

Luck has absolutely nothing to do with all that went on in this old house this past weekend.

 The gathering that commenced had everything to do with the unmitigated, miraculous gift from the gracious hand of God.  Period.

 There is no other explanation of the incredible blessing that a gathering of that magnitude could take place.  There are schedules to orchestrate, travel in fickle weather, illness to hopefully stave off, menus to design, recipes to cull, bathrooms to clean, beds to make and all the endless everyday that happens in life.  
How else could this be done except His powerful Hand?

 And speaking of His Hand, what about the reason for our gathering?
To celebrate the lives of people that have profoundly influenced so many.

Hubby, celebrating an exuberant 60 years.

Miss Viv, whose birth altered my life forever, turning The Big Four.

My Thirdsie, my intellectual, philosophical, mercurial, hilarious son, turning a chapter in his life at age 28

My absent son in law, Baby Girl's Hubby, who makes us so proud and pleased to share him with his family, turning 26.

These special, special people were created and designed for this world, this family at this time, is nothing short of divine.

Former babies of mine, turning delightfully into the most wonderful of adults and bringing their babes into the gathering, is something that is not easy to describe.

Seeing parenting skills that are remarkably, comfortably familiar yet vastly improved upon, makes me smile down to my toes.

Watching the next generation play with the things of play of many years ago, brings to life the bygone days....

Feeling the joy of adding an additional Big Girl pretend granddaughter with all her wit and input and help, well -over the moon....

I think you get the idea.

*sigh*

Now, the REAL reason we gather:
The. Best. Corned. Beef. Recipe. Ever.

4 lbs corned beef brisket
2 onions, sliced
1 bunch parsley, tied
1 bay leaf
1 onion stuck with cloves
Pepper to taste
1 large carrot, sliced
2 lbs small round new potatoes
2 lb cabbage, cut in wedges

Place beef in large pot, cover with cold water.  Bring to boil; discard water.  Add fresh water to cover, and all the ingredients except potatoes and cabbage; bring slowly to boil, uncovered.  Skim foam.  Cover' simmer gently about 4 hours.  Remove parsley, cloved onion.  Add potatoes, followed 10 minutes later by cabbage. Cover; simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes and cabbage are cooked.  Makes 6-8 servings.

(author's note:  My group of 11 consumed 4 hefty briskets...All that was left was photographed and used in the BG's Hubby's own recipe: Corned Beef Hangover Omelets, the next day.

VERY IMPORTANT!!  YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS MAKING THE IRISH MUSTARD SAUCE!!

IRISH MUSTARD SAUCE!
1 TBLS cornstarch
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tbls butter
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp grated horseradish
2 egg yolks, beaten

Combine cornstarch, sugar, mustard and salt in heavy quart pan.  Add water. Stir over low heat until mixture thickens and boils.  Remove from heat; add butter, vinegar, horseradish.  Beat a little of hot mixture into egg yolks, then add yolk mixture back to pan.  Cook slowly, stirring, until sauce thickens slightly.  Serve with corned beef. 


Enjoy!!
(interested in the Irish Soda Recipe from Dublin?  Leave a comment! :D 

Four Times the Fun

' I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.'  3 John 1 :4


Years ago, I remember telling my youngest to copy this verse and put it on the refrigerator.  I remember thinking what a joy it would be to be able to watch my grown up children embrace truth and live it fully.  My hope, in those long ago days, was to be able to live long enough to rejoice with the John of the bible who spoke of his 'spiritual' children.  I still have that verse in it 's childish scroll among my belongings.  It still gives me a thrill.

I had the unmitigated pleasure to share this past weekend with my two daughters and their two daughters each.

I had the pleasure to observe them parent.

I had the fun to hear their discussions about oh so many matters.

I giggled while Hazey Jay discovered humus for the first time.

I let out a little, excited scream as Miss Viv read her very first word.

I had the pleasure to make them dinners and lunches and treats as they nursed their babies.

I laughed at the chaos that four little girls can cause in a relatively short time.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Hubby picked up the slack and cleaned up after dinners.

I loved watching this little ol' house live up to it's large family potential, utilizing all it's spaces.

I gloried in painting with the little girlies.  Any excuse for this Mimi to paint....

I snickered to myself to hear the countless, 'Mimi, Mimi, Mimi, Mimi!!', when I left the room for a minute.

I smirked hearing the exact same words that used to come out of my mouth, hearing it from my two daughter's very similar voices.

I cringed when I realized that the birthday cupcakes I was making for Baby Girl, Vanilla Latte Cupcakes, were minus the 2 cups of sugar required.  grrrrr.

I had the rapturous Mimi time that made me smile in my sleep.

I had the big fun to change diapers and help in the potty with those so inclined.

I loved the deep conversations, revealing more and more of the character of my sterling grown up girls.

I watched as my girls struggled with the things of mamahood: Am I doing it right?  Am I too soft?  Too tough?  Too tired?  Too distracted?  My heart went out to their spirit of being overwhelmed too many times in too many days..

And my heart burst quietly observing those tender moments, just mama and daughter - those sweet, nustley, lovey- dovey times that warm a mama to the core.








Yes, I rejoice with John....

The Eatin' Season

 Had a bit of a giggle today when, perusing my recent photos, I discovered that they all involved food!  The preparing, serving and the socializing that revolves around the table- this is a good thing.  When the temperatures turn frigid and the sidewalks are sloppy, I believe our nature turns bear/cave like.  We internalize and seek the warmth, be it fire or oven.  But it truly seems selfish to keep all this warmth to yourself.

Winter is the time to bring others in.  You do Christmas and Thanksgiving because you 'have' to.  It's just what's expected.  But when you beckon others to your home and hearth during the winter dreads, you make a statement: ' Sure it's nuts outside.  Sure we all are getting kinda cabin feverish.  Maybe the crafting you've been bent on doing for so long is in a stalemate.  Whatever the reason, The Winter Months are the perfect time to throw open your door to prepare meals for others and enjoy the focus of the indoors....

This past month, I've hosted my Fleur de Lis friends for a Comfort Food Fest luncheon.  I love this group and all it's varied personalities and back stories.  I could listen to them for a long time.....

One dinner party was canceled due to the fact that I got the date wrong.  Made an entire meal for a friend only to re read the Facebook message and found that the date was scheduled for the following week....No worries there!  Hubby and I scooted our chairs close to the fireplace and had a luscious, scrumptious dinner just the two of us......

Last week, amidst the schizophrenic weather, I scheduled the aforementioned dinner party for the night of cold, cold snowy.  I included another girly friend to join us because she wants to learn to sew as well.  You see, if I plan about anything, I tack on dinner to it.  It just suits me to feed the body as well as the soul.  Jesus used meals and food in about all His dealings with people, so I think it's good policy.

We feasted deeply then scooted upstairs to learn the basic of sewing so that one friend could go home with capes for her stuffed animals.  She had a bit of travel in the nasty weather.  Good thing we decided to eat the yummy baked apple dessert she prepared for us in house, by the fire while the street crews cleaned off State Route 37 for her.  What some people will go through to learn to sew.......

 (As you can see my her very fine Wild Things hat.scarf, mitties snow protector, she was suited up for the weather.  As were her stuffed animal buddies.)  See what you miss when you hibernate by yourself?  We three had a grand time and experienced lots of raucous laughter.  The perfect remedy for cabin fever.

Baby Girl and her Baby Girls are in town for a brief stint, and you can be under complete assurance that feeding them is high on my priority.

Saturday, while it snowed, we, once again, landed ourselves near the fireplace while Lil Lady played around us and Delightful Della entertained us with her coos and beauteous smiles.

Dinner time brought about home made stew with Cloud Biscuits (thanks to Joyce Mundy's mama's recipe!)

Leftovers?  Pshaw.  The teeniest amount....

  For some reason, BG mentioned home made doughnuts sometime in the course of our lazy day.  I haven't made homemade donuts for many, many years, but for some reason, I just could not get the thought out of my mind.  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/02/homemade-glazed-doughnuts/  provided just the thing.  Even though BG had to depart for nitey nite time for the girlies before she had a chance to experience, warm fresh cooked donuts, I did pack up some (key word: some), of the delicious dough to cook later.  I, on the other hand, set to it as soon as the dough permitted.  Can I describe the noises that are made when you sink into a sinfully yummy, sugar dusted, nice warm carb creation on a snowy winter night?

Yes, well........


Do you have favorite winter recipes?
Don't you know that there are others out there very eager to try them?
Don't you know that there is very few times in the year where you don't have seasonal expectations other than the dead of winter to be still and visit your buds with a sated palate and a full tummy....

Do not let the Eatin' Season slip by you.....