Winter Wednesday: Snowmen Snacks

It's weird that I don't feel like making anything weird.  Or maybe it's normal, which would be weird for me.  I don't know, it's probably the winter blues.  Let's just make it a Winter Wednesday for this week, okay?  It's been a little too chilly for real snowmen, so let's bring the fun inside where it's warm.

Tuesday's Twist: Lemon-Basil Lentil Soup

Tuesday's Twist:  A basic recipe with a fun twist.  In other words, just another excuse for me to play around with weird recipes I've been dying to try.

Chilly winter days call for soup.  Fun bowls and spoons definitely help chase away the winter blues.  The bowl was a Christmas gift from my mom.  It was handmade for the Empty Bowls project to help fight hunger.  After a simple meal of bread and soup participants take home an empty, handcrafted bowl as a reminder of the all the hunger and empty bowls around the world.  The hand-carved wooden spoon stands up on its own and is nothing short of amazing.

Mindful Monday: Self-Control

Mindful Monday: On Monday's I'm going to share what's been on my mind. I by no means have any of this figured out, I'm just thinking out loud here.

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. -Proverbs 25:28

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. -Galatians 5:22-23

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. -Titus 2:2

Then they (older women) can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. -Titus 2:4-5

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. -Titus 2:6

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.  -Titus 2:11-12

Therefore, prepare your mind for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. -1 Peter 1:13-14

The end of all things is near. Therefore, be self-controlled and alert so that you can pray. -1 Peter 4:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a lurking lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. -1 Peter 5:7-9

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. -2 Peter 1:5-7

Still hungry? Check out similar posts on these words patience, peace, hope, trust, free, joy, wait, truth

Food for Thought: "Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation." -Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

Flashback Friday: Soda Cracker Macaroon Pie

Flashback Friday: Revisiting a recipe from long ago

Still enamored with this vintage mixer, I decided to whip up some more egg whites.  I love how that mixer works.  Unlike my last mixer, it effortlessly transforms egg whites and sugar to stiff, snowy white peaks.  It's the little things that make me smile.  Anyway, this meringue acts as the base for a pie recipe belonging to my great-grandma.   The term pie is used loosely here as the dessert resembles a pie only in shape.

Crushed soda crackers, nuts and vanilla are folded into the fluffy white base and spread into a pie pan.  Great-Grandma Hattie folded in chopped dates for a little variety and usually served up a slice with whipped cream.  Her daughter, Carol (whose cookies we ate last week), wrote it is "excellent served with ice cream and chocolate syrup."

Flexible Friday

I have this week's Flashback Friday recipe made, but the post itself will have to wait until Saturday.

In the meantime you can pray for one of my coworkers who had a heart attack yesterday.  I don't know anything more than that and am picking up extra shifts starting today.  

Between an unexpectedly extended babysitting job and extra hours at work I decided not to cram in blogging too.  I'll finish the post and have it up sometime after I get off work.  Though the recipe is nearly a century old, it will be even older by tomorrow :)  Thanks for being flexible.