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The Welcome Home - Good Things & Recipes Letter
March 11, 2004 
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House-keeping and Home-Keeping
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness,
not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things.
Titus2.3


Good Morning dear sisters! As I get back on track sending you weekly
letters, I’m afraid for a while they’ll be sent on two separate days… it’s a
bit easier this way for me and maybe for you, too! I pray this letter finds
you well and keeping up with your house-keeping and home-keeping!

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Do you ever think of your life in two parts: Your house-keeping and your
home-keeping? Well, you know that anybody can come in and do your
house-keeping… but only *you* can do the home-keeping. A builder can build
you a beautiful house; a decorator can fill it with attractive furnishings
and artistic touches; a caterer can come in and prepare and serve delicious
meals and while all those things seem nice and sometimes you might be
tempted to hope they *do* show up and do all those things, only *you* can
make your house a home. All those things will be just that: things---if you
don’t make the house a home. I really like what Nancy Campbell shared at a
retreat last fall… she said something like, your children won’t remember all
that went on in your home or everything you did, but they will remember how
it *felt* there. Does your home *feel* good? Does it feel warm and
inviting, safe and sheltering, nurturing and loving? You know, if you
hesitated to answer or you aren’t sure it does *feel* like any one or all of
those things, then you know it’s time to work at making it so. I know there
are extenuating circumstances that prevent the home from “feeling” good or
warm all of the time---but even in trials, sorrows or sickness, we can still
make a home feel warm, safe and welcoming. Sorrow skips no home… but even
in sorrow, our home can be a safe-haven for our family. As we learn more
and more of home-keeping, we’ll learn more and better ways to keep it warm
and inviting.

Investing in home-keeping
This means we’ll search out ways to arrange and decorate or keep our homes
to accommodate its purposes. As we have children and go through the changes
or stages of life, if our minds are set to home-keeping rather than
house-keeping, then we’ll have a very good start to a home that’s “a home to
remember.” We’ll have our hearts and minds set to learn to incorporate or
keep new and old ways of doing things, ‘treasures’ old and new, new and old
traditions---old friends and new, hearts set to worship, to sing and to
pray; these are what make houses: home. The more we know and love the LORD,
the more our houses are homes of worship and prayer, the more our homes will
be known as places of rest and refreshment---instead of tension and strife.
When a house is not a home… and the mother isn’t nurturing the family, then
the family likely wants to be *anywhere* but there! The adage is true: If
Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! Were we to have a glimpse or to
catch wind of the tones of our homes, would we see and hear sweet things or
bitter? When mama is angry and bitter, then the family pays quite a price
and the wounds of words sear deeply. The hope and prayer for us as
homemakers, is that we’d be a sweet offering to the LORD, that our work
would be to and for Him as He’s our provider and guide. This sweet
fellowship must be cultivated and guarded and in so doing, our behaviour
will reflect our time spent drinking from the well of God’s Word.
Otherwise, we might consider how it would be if all the members of the
family were to sit ---feeling better on the corner of the roof to avoid the
brawling woman beneath and inside the wide house. (proverbs 21.9; 25.24)
 

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Kathryn’s Spinach Soufflé
(Please assemble all ingredients and all the needed utensils before you
begin preparation!)

1/3 Cup minced onion
1.5 lbs. spinach (Half of a Costco Bag) (washed and trimmed very well!!)
¼ Cup butter
¼ Cup Flour
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 ½ Cups Milk
6 Eggs (separated: yolks in a small bowl and whites in a mixer bowl)

Grease a soufflé dish (she used 13x9” pan)

1) Place ¼ inch of salted (about a teaspoon) water in 5 qt. pot, and bring
to a boil; add spinach and onion and return to a boil using a fork to “toss”
spinach as it begins to boil. Cover and cook for three minutes. Remove from
heat and drain spinach well. Puree by “pulsing” spinach in a food-processor
until smooth---but not totally liquefied. Place the processed spinach in a
bowl—set aside.

2) Heat butter in a sauce pan and add flour, salt and pepper and blend
until smooth; slowly stir in milk and stir until sauce is smooth and thick.

3) In a small bowl beat egg yolks and then add a little of the hot sauce,
stirring quickly then all the egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot sauce
(this prevents “scrambled eggs!”) in the sauce pan and cook over low heat
until thickened---don’t boil this! Remove from heat and stir this mixture
into the spinach and blend well.

4) Preheat oven to 325˚

5) In the mixer bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Then *fold* the spinach mixture into the whites and pour into the prepared
soufflé dish. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the depth of your
pan---the 13x9 cooks faster than a deeper soufflé dish would). Remove from
oven when the soufflé is puffy and golden.

We use spinach soufflé as a side dish and also to make “Eggs Florentine”
---On half a toasted English muffin, buttered then topped with a slice of
Canadian bacon, a spoonful of spinach soufflé topped with a poached egg.
Very tasty---to gauge how many servings we’ll need, we usually “allot” a
half muffin (with the toppings) for children and 1 or 2 English muffins
(with the toppings) for men.

“Autumn in my Kitchen”
“Morning Glory Muffins”
http://www.practicalkitchen.com/seasons/fall/autumn_in_my_kitchen.shtml 
(Check out the other delicious recipes as well!)

1 1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup raisins
4 large grated carrots (2 cups)
1 apple, shredded
8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

”Sift together the sugars, flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt into a
large bowl. Add the fruit, carrots, nuts, and stir to combine. In a separate
bowl whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour this mixture into the bowl with
the dry ingredients and stir to blend well. Spoon mixture into cupcake tins
lined with muffin papers. Fill to brim of each cup. Bake in preheated 350?
oven for 35 minutes. Toothpick inserted into the middle of muffin will come
out clean when muffins are done. Cool muffins in pan for 10 minutes then
turn out on rack to cool. Yield is 16 muffins. Muffins improve even more
after 24 hours. Freezes well.”


Here’s a recipe for you to try for brunch or tea time…
http://brunch.allrecipes.com/az/BstfthBstBlbrryMffins.asp

If you’re having chocolate craving or are looking for some TNT (tried ‘n
true) recipes for a special occasion, why not take a look at the Hershey’s
site. http://www.hersheykitchens.com 

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It’s an awkward thing to recommend her site---in the midst of legal
troubles---true or untrue, violations or obstructions or no… Martha Stewart
has given women all over the world ideas and practical encouragement in the
home and kitchen. I recommend many of her recipes as we have found them to
be excellent and easy to follow. Now, her recipes are not always “easy!”
but you really can follow the instruction and come up with a beautiful
presentation that will delight your family! Even if you’re not accustomed
to doing “fancy” dishes, you *can* if you’ll follow the directions!! There
are many very very useful and good ideas on her site. See:
http://www.marthastewart.com 

Now… don’t try to become something you’re not… but try new things… do new
things! By this, I mean, if “sage” is not your colour… it’ll never be your
colour… so trying to get that Martha Stewart look will not be yours unless
you just use the good ideas with *your* personal style in mind. You may
love how it all looks in someone else’s home… but for yours, it just might
not work! Try new things… and make them your own kind!

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Well, that’s all for today. Thanks for staying for coffee and a visit. I
pray to have many good things for you next time!
Many blessings to you as you seek to serve Him in your home today!

With love, pamela

Welcome Home!!
AChristianHome.com  ©2004

 

 


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