Month: January 2023

Cooking for one

by

Do you stand in front of the refrigerator wondering what to make for dinner? Do you buy the same thing nearly every week from the grocery store? Are you tired of eating leftovers for a week when you do whip up your favorite chili, meatloaf or casserole? Do you throw away food because of expiration dates or maybe because leftovers have turned into a science project? These scenarios occur when you are cooking for one.

cooking for one
Fresh ingredients, Photo by slc

About three weeks ago, I finally decided to end the on-going decision of what to eat, spending time at the grocery store, eating leftovers, and throwing away food. I started the meal delivery service HelloFresh. What a major difference it has made in my life.

I look through about 35-40 different meals and pick three (can also choose 2 or 4) meals a week. This week I am having One-Pan Beef Enchiladas Verdes (830 calories), Italian Chicken over Lemony Spaghetti (740 calories), and Meatloaves with Creamy Thyme Sauce (760 calories). Yum! Each meal comes with the ingredients in the correct portions to prepare enough for two people with easy to follow directions. Only ingredients you provide are the olive oil and/or butter.

Read more

Preserving a husband?

by
preserving a husband
cookbook emblem
preserving a husband

I have written a couple of posts related to cookbooks and recipes recently. So, when I saw this 1952 Ophelia Ladies’ Aid cookbook from Exira, Iowa at a flea market, I could not resist buying it for $1. My Mom graduated from high school in 1952 and shortly thereafter she married my Dad.

On page 68, I found this unusual recipe for Preserving a Husband.

Be careful in your selection; do not choose too young and take only such varieties as have been reared in good moral atmosphere. When once decided upon and selected, let that part remain forever settled and give your entire thought to preparation for domestic use. Some insist on keeping them in hot water, even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good, by garnishing them with patience, well seasoned with smiles and flavored with kisses to taste. Then wrap well in mantle of charity, keep warm with a steady fire of devotion, and serve with peaches and cream. When thus prepared they will keep for years.

I guess I needed this recipe back in 1983 when I married and maybe my husband did too. I failed at “preserving my husband” after 21 years of marriage. Maybe I should have been more “careful in (my) selection.” No regrets though as I have been happily divorced for nearly 19 years now.

You just never know what little nuggets you find in these old cookbooks. What’s in yours?

Acquainted with grief

by

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…

Isaiah 53:3

I heard this verse last month at church and thought, “Wow, that describes my life in 2022.” You may recently become acquainted with grief too. I have an elderly friend whose husband passed away suddenly, a former student who lost a much anticipated pregnancy, a brother whose wife died, a sister and a friend who battled cancer, and I experienced the loss of a close relationship.

Through the grief, how did you cope? I leaned on my faith, books and close friends every day.

acquainted with grief
Journeying Through Grief booklets

Luckily, I was in a Bible study small group of about ten women who met weekly throughout the year. These “sisters” listened patiently and prayed for me. Norma even sent me personal notes and three Journeying Through Grief booklets by pastor and clinical psychologist Dr. Kenneth C. Haugk. Norma is a Stephen Minister volunteer at my church. Her timely personal notes and booklets brought me healing and strength.

The author’s note inside the first book reads, “You’ve received this book because someone cares about you. The person who gave it to you knows you’ve lost someone very dear to you. When you lose someone you love, you lose part of yourself. And that can hurt–deeply. I hope you will allow me to walk alongside you through your grief journey….”

Read more