Food for thought

Obituary
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valued lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition! It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled it in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone

Homemade Bagels

Bagels
1 1/4 cups warm WATER

1 packet RAPID-RISE YEAST

1 1/2 tablespoons SUGAR

3 1/2 cups ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

1 1/2 teaspoons SALT

1 EGG plus 1 tablespoon WATER for egg wash (optional)

OLIVE OIL for brushing (optional)

KOSHER SALT for sprinkling (optional)
Pour the water into a large bowl, and add the packet of yeast and the sugar. Add the flour and mix well to form a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, adding additional flour as necessary, for about 10 minutes. You should have a firm and "springy" dough at this point.
Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 40 minutes.
Punch down the dough and form it into a log; cut the log into 8 pieces. In a large pot, bring 3 to 4 quarts of water to a boil, adding a tablespoon of salt to the water once it begins to bubble. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
In the meantime, you may form the bagels. Poke a thumb, dusted with flour, through the center of each piece of dough and stretch the hole with your fingers to make the traditional shape. Set aside on a lightly floured surface, and repeat the steps for the remaining pieces of dough. Cover the bagels with a cloth, to prevent the dough from drying, until the water is ready.
Drop the bagels into the boiling water, 2 or 3 at a time, and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove the bagels to a wire rack and drain briefly.
When all the bagels have been boiled, place them on baking sheets (1 inch apart), brush lightly with olive oil or an egg wash, and sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. Many other toppings are suitable as well, such as sesame seeds, sauteed minced onions or garlic, and poppy seeds. For a sweet option, add a tablespoon of sugar to the boiling water instead of salt, and dust the bagels with a cinnamon and sugar mixture after brushing with an egg wash.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes (time is based on baking in a convection oven; adjust accordingly to your needs). Remove from the baking sheets and cool on racks.

The girls and I made these bagels for the farmers market last weekend. They were a hit, so I thought I would share the recipe here. They are not that difficult to make, I always thought that they would be, but they turned out perfect and this is only the 2nd time I have ever made them...

Enjoy!

Thank God for dirty dishes

Thank God for Dirty Dishes

Thank God for Dirty Dishes,
They have a tale to tell.
While others are going hungry,
We're eating very well.
With home and health and happiness,
I shouldn't want to fuss.
For by this stack of evidence,
God's very good to us.

Author unknown:

Off to the market......

This week has been very busy. The girls and I are going to the farmers market tomorrow with all of our baked goodies. We are all very excited to say the least. I will have to update more on Sunday or Monday to let you know how it went. For now enjoy the beautiful summer weather. Thank You Mom, Aunt Pat, and Mrs. Dillard for all of your help.

Soft Butter Spread

SOFT BUTTER SPREAD:

make your dollar go further.....

Description:
A fluffy butter mixture that's easily spreadable
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup water, at room temperature
Instructions:
1. Using an electric mixer, blend butter on HI until fluffy.
2. Continue mixing, and slowly add oil. Continue mixing and slowly add water. Mixture will turn white and be very light and fluffy!
3. Chill until set. (See additional notes.)

Thank you Tammy @ http://www.tammysrecipes.com/ I have been using this to stretch our family's dollar for about a month now and we still get to enjoy the taste of butter, it just goes a bit further.

From the mouth of babes.....

This was my conversation with my 4 yr old son today:

I was laying on the floor in our family room reading a book and entertaining my 10 week old darling daughter, when Brody came wandering down stairs. All of my children were having "quiet time" and so I was a bit surprised to see Brody, but figured he needed water or something like that.

Me: "Hey Brody whats up?"

Brody: "Mommy did you know that Jesus is here."

Me: " He is?"

Brody: " Yes he is upstairs."

Me: "Where upstairs?"

Brody: "In Grans room."

My mom stayed here while I was having my baby to help me with the kids, so now the extra bedroom upstairs is "Grans" room.

The hair on my arm stood up, because he did not think about what he was about to say, he just blurted it out as if we always have Jesus upstairs in Grans room. Anyway...

Brody: "I asked him to color with me."

Me: "did he color with you?"

Brody: "yes, I colored a cat and he colored

an apple and a snake."

I told him that was really special, then there was a moment of silence, and I was going to go back to reading my book, when....Brody said

"Mommy, did you know that Jesus is still here."

Me: " No I didn't. where is he now?"

Mind you, my heart is racing a bit now, as all of my doors and windows are open, and I am beginning to think that maybe there is a "Man" in my house.

Brody: "I'll go find him"

then he ran out of the family room for a moment. The next thing I knew he came squealing back into the family room...."MOMMY HE'S COMING!!!!!!!."Then he jumped on the love seat and stared at me.

Me: "Where is Jesus now Brody?"

Brody: "Can't you see him mommy, he is standing right in front of you!"

I really had chills going up and down my spine. First of all, if Jesus was in my house, I was in big trouble because it was a big mess, and I was just laying around reading. :0) What an amazing conversation I had today with my little man. He really is special. And I am amazed at what our children see and hear.....