IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

CHRISTMAS EVE 2009

What do you do on Christmas Eve? Go to Church - celebrate the reason for the season.

Maybe after Church you have family over - eat dinner or have delicious cakes and cookies for dessert.

My family goes to Queens, NY for a true Italian Christmas Eve with the 7 fishes. There are shrimp, bakalou, lobster, crab, white fishes, made in every delectable way, after which there is complete chaos opening gifts.

Me? I would prefer to stay at home and watch the movie - It's a Wonderful Life. I have watched this movie every year since I can remember. It is a movie about a guy who decides that perhaps the world would have been better off if he had never existed. Clarence, an angel, comes to show him what his world would be like without him and it seems that everyone is so much worse off without his help. He returns to his life and is eternally grateful for his family and friends and for Clarence, who finally receives his "wings" for helping this guy realize he wants to live. Every time an angel gets his wings - a bell rings.

It is just a wonderful, sappy, happy story and just gets to me every single year. Spending Christmas Eve, with Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and the Lord. Can it get any better? Yes, it probably could - spending it with my family and the Lord - but right now this is the way it is and I am grateful.

MOMMY IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN WEST MILFORD

Last Wednesday, Jenifer, my 37 year old daughter woke up with a very high fever and sicker than she has ever been. All of a sudden, I was back to being mommy and taking care of my sick child, along with her two children, my grandsons. I made phone calls to the doctor, he prescribed an antibiotic over the phone. With all of the sickness going around, even the doctors don't want the patients coming into the office. Back in my day, as a child, the doctors used to make HOUSE CALLS. I remember our family doctor coming into the house carrying his little black doctor bag. His visits almost always brought on that dreaded shot of penicillin and a prescription. I used to have to take my capsules with applesauce.

Jenifer became the child again, needing her mommy. I made chicken soup as well as MY mother sending chicken soup. All of a sudden, what were Jenifer's chores, became mine. Had you asked me before this if I thought I was capable of all of this, I would have said no but through the grace of God, I had the strength.

Jenifer is on the mend now but not 100% so I am continuing to take care of her. I think that this is a turning point in our relationship even if she doesn't know it yet. You see, all this time, she figured she was so grown up that she didn't need mommy for nurturing, but guess what - she surely does. As long as our moms are here with us, we always need her to take our temperature and make us chicken soup in bed.

AN OLD FAMILY RECIPE FOR CHICKEN SOUP

About 3 lbs of chicken on the bone cut up with skin on.

6 large carrots

2 leeks

some pieces of turnip

some dill

a couple of pieces of celery

6 to 10 red potatos (if desired) small potatoes cut in half

water

salt & pepper

Cut the carrots and celery in chunks

the leeks,turnips and dill can be bought at the store in a package called soup greens or bought separately.

put the chicken -carrots-soup greens in pot and cover with water until there is about a couple inches over the ingredients. Bring to a simmer and let simmer until the chicken is falling off the bones.

You might have to skim the top of the water and also try to get as many bones out after the chicken has cooked. The bones give the soup a good flavor. Do not put the potatos in yet because the best thing to do is after the soup is done - put the whole pot in fridge overnight and take off the "fat" from the top in the morning. The fat rises and forms like a crust and comes off easily.

About an hour before serving put the cut up potatos in the soup and cook them until tender.

Remember to taste the soup before adding too much salt or any other flavors you desire. I happen to love my chicken soup bland and therapeutic but my step dad likes a little kick so he adds other things.

Serve and enjoy.

BLESSINGS

This Cooper Hawk sat outside my bedroom window for an hour which is very unusual for them. I always feel that this kind of visitation is a reminder how awesome our God is. I took as many pictures as I could through the window, knowing if I opened it, he would fly away.

MATZO STUFFING OR KUGEL

Here is another family recipe that has been in our family for generations. While most people that I know are eating cornbread stuffing or bread stuffing, we are eating matzo stuffing which can also be called a 'kugel'. I didn't even know that any other stuffing existed until I went out into the world and saw what others made. Even though I do love all types of stuffing or dressing, this remains my very favorite.

MATZO STUFFING OR KUGEL

1 box of matzo

3 eggs

2 lbs of white button mushrooms

2 or 3 stalks of celery

1 large onion

tons of butter

cut up the mushrooms, celery and onion in pieces about 1"x 1"

take at least 1/4 lb of sweet butter and put in pan and slowly melt - then put the mushrooms,celery and onions in to sweat - not saute.

break up the matzo into pieces - not teeny pieces but about 2 X 3

put them in a large collander and just run water over them to soften a little.

Place the matzo in a bowl -

beat the 3 eggs and put in the matzo

pour the vegetable mixture in the bowl

melt at least 1/4 lb butter again or 1/2 stick of butter and pour over mixture and mix everything together. You want you mixture to be moist but held together.

Put in a buttered casserole dish and bake at 375 until firm and looks cooked to you. DO NOT DRY OUT.

This recipe is just another that should not use any substitutes such as yucky margarine because margarine contains water and just tastes different.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and try it at least once.

Please check out my creamed mushroom dish a few blogs down. Another very old family recipe.

Happy Holidays!!

NEW LIFE

I have a Christmas Cactus on my desk and part of the miracle is that it still lives. I have never had a green thumb so therefore, all of my house plants never make it past the age of a few months. My good friend, Helen, gave me this about 2 years ago and it just keeps giving me the miracle of life.
It has survived falling on the floor, sitting on the window sill getting chewed by the cats, over watering, under watering. This Christmas Cactus is a true gift from God via Helen.
Just recently I noticed that another flower was budding so I decided to take pictures in its glorious stages. 
The praises can only go to One.


This original post was done in 2009.  
I am re-posting because this same Christmas cactus has 10 new flowers this month.  A miracle.

Please scroll down for the comments.♥

GETTING INSPIRED

I have been trying to feel inspired to write in my blog and it has been a couple of weeks now.

I have been trying to sell a custom designed card for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in order to raise some money for a Christian sister named Anastasia. Her mom has terminal cancer due to breast cancer and she is in hospice care.

Here is the link - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32770509

I realize the economy is really tough now and spending is difficult but I just keep hearing in my head, that the Lord gives back ten-fold.

I am a seller on Etsy.com and have had very little sales which is fine by me but when it has something to do with giving - I am there.

I belong to an online Christian Women's group on Etsy called Team Christian Artists and Crafters. What a wonderful group of women and if you need prayer - this is where you go.

You might already know that I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 at the age of 50. Being new to all of that, I went along with a lumpectomy, chemo therapy and radiation. I was angry the entire time and it might have been my anger that pulled me through all of that. Three years later I was diagnosed once again and this time, knowing more, I opted for a bilateral mastectomy, after which the lab came back to tell me that there were no cancer cells in the breast tissue. My oncologist suggested a little chemo therapy, to which I replied "there is not such thing as a LITTLE." I put my faith in the Lord and the lab results and I am a breast cancer survivor now for 10 years.

Not everyone is as blessed as me and I believe that the Lord has plans for all of us.

SOPHIE'S CREAMED MUSHROOMS ON TOAST

Food and recipes have always been a crucial part of our family. Sophie was my great-grandmother, the person who I was named after. She had passed away before I was born. She came here to America from Lithuania with my great-grandfather Jacob, probably around the late 1880's. Along with her came these delicious recipes, one being creamed mushrooms on toast.

I follow this recipe exactly as written even if I think I could skip a step because I am afraid that it might not taste the same. One time my cousin tried to jazz it up with spices - WRONG! big mistake. These are the most scrumptious creamed mushrooms you will ever have.

5 lbs white button mushrooms

2-1/2 lbs eastern potatoes

1 whole onion left whole

1/2 lb(2 sticks) Breakstone sweet butter - NO SUBSTITITUTES

3 pints heavy cream or enough to cover mushrooms & potatoes in the pot

cut mushrooms into pieces about 1 inch sq. and clean with water put in pot-cover with water and bring to a boil - strain out water

put mushrooms back in pot with whole onion-cover with water-bring to a boil-strain water and take out onion. Add the potatoes

While the mushrooms are being boiled to oblivion and these are the steps that you THINK you can skip(but DON'T) peel and dice the potatoes raw.

So, in the pot you now have the mushrooms and the raw diced potatoes, add the heavy cream to cover them and put in the 2 sticks of butter.

I never said that this recipe was for the feint of heart or dietetic!

keep on a low light and allow to simmer. The butter will melt. You can add salt and pepper to taste. while this is simmering, gently squash SOME of the potatoes - up against the side of the pot to thicken the cream. We really can't say exactly how long this will take but I have been known to have this simmering on a low light for a few hours. STIR every so often because you don't want the bottom to burn! The following day you can add a little milk to loosen them up for re-warming, if you want to.

serve over toast. YUMMY!

This is a dish that we have always saved for special occasions but my family wishes we could have it a lot more often.