Yesterday, I woke up to a leaf littered landscape.
Apparently, I had slept through the windy tempest that tore through here Thursday
night and plucked the leaves off the tree limbs; scattering them across the
street and piling them under the trees …
Leaves:
Leaves …
Leaves:
My Hens & Chicks was getting buried.
Everywhere was leaves …
Peppermint flavored coffee perked in the kitchen,
scenting the morning with the promise of forgotten memories triggered by the
scene outside: I could feel my senses waking up; I was getting excited for the
approaching Season!
But, the excitement kinda startled me.
I hadn’t expected to feel excited just by seeing
the fallen leaves or smelling the delicious aroma drifting from the kitchen.
I wasn’t expecting to feel
anything.
Bob’s been physically absent from my life for 11
months/2 days/3 hrs. & 26 secs.; and I’ve been nearly comatose for just as
long.
I have been waiting for my life to
kick-start – I have been wanting to live my life in
color again.
Yet, I was unprepared yesterday morning to feel.
Something: anything.
The unfurling excitement that piqued my
consciousness kinda startled me.
But I can get used to it.
I am healing.
My limping heart can use a little excitement to pump life back into it ;-)
I am sure Bob was smiling. And glad I am not
getting lost in the missing of his physical presence in my new life/home.
Bob’s love surrounds me, and Yeshua is helping me
see color in my new life again; I am comforted knowing that.
I drank a cup of coffee and got the house in
shape for Pam & Cheryl’s visit. These gals and their husbands have been
God-sends to me. Literally. I do not think I could have survived my husband’s
physical death if the gals had not immediately come alongside me, and their
husbands stepped up to lend helping hands (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/01/his-grace-is-sufficient-for-me.html).
Things have changed some since the post link
above was originally posted, but Cheryl & Mike, and Pam & Frank have stuck
and remained true. They are good people. Elohim has blessed me greatly, and I
am thankful.
I didn’t get fancy with spiffing the house up – and
the quick cleaning would not have passed the spit-n-polish muster expected of a
military brat upbringing … but my quick cleaning earned me a respectable
{pass} ;-)
HERBED POT ROAST Recipe: While I waited for them to arrive, I grabbed a
pot roast from the freezer and a bag of green split peas from the pantry; I decided
to add 2 more recipes to the Cookathon meal I made the other day: (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/11/cookathon-day.html)
The pot roast and pea soup could cook
while we visited. I make everything - I can get
away with - in my crockpots ;-)
I just place all ingredients in the pot, set the
temperature to HIGH until it reaches boiling point, then I turn it to Low and
let it cook for about 6 hours.
Herbed Pot Roast (I always cook carrots in my roast; I like carrots)
But, for the cooking purists, I will post the
directions as they are written in my ‘Betty Crocker’s Cookbook’
cookbook.
==HERBED POT ROAST Recipe ~ 8 servings
4-pound Beef Roast (arm, blade, bottom round,
rolled rump or chuck eye) * 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt * 1
teaspoon Black Pepper * 1 Teaspoon dried Marjoram Leaves * 2
cloves Garlic, crushed * 1 cup Apple Cider * 4 medium white
Turnips, each cut into fourths * 2 medium stalks Celery, cut into 1-inch
pieces * 1 medium Green Bell Pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces * 1
medium Onion, cut into quarters * Kettle Gravy (recipe follows)
Cook beef in a Dutch Oven over medium high heat
until brown; reduce heat. Sprinkle with marjoram and crushed garlic. Add the
cider. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer on top of range – or cook in
a 325-degree oven 2-1/2 hours. Add turnips, celery, and green pepper. Cover;
cook until tender, about 1 hour. Remove to a warm platter. Prepare gravy; serve
with beef.
KETTLE GRAVY – Skim excess fat from broth. Add enough water to broth to make 2
cups. Shake ½ cup cold water an ¼ cup all-purpose flour in a tightly covered
container; stir gradually into broth. Heat to boiling; stirring constantly.
Boil and stir 1 minute.
**WHAT I DID WITH MY POT ROAST:
Herbed Pot Roast with veggies & a slice of Pumpkin Spice Bread: portioned out for freezer make-ahead meals.
SPLIT PEA SOUP Recipe: I like soups – my husband ate them because I
made them, but he preferred meals he could sink his teeth into ;-)
That said, this split pea soup is delish!
Dutch Split Pea Soup
Out of all the split pea soup recipes I have on
hand, this recipe from my ‘Jane Brody Good Food Book’ cookbook, really
is my favorite split pea soup. I think you will say the same when you taste it
:-D
This is a long-simmering soup, so I always make
it in my crockpot.
But the original recipe is written for the
stove-top, so that is how I am posting it …
The flavor of this soup improves with age, so it
can hold a few days in the ‘fridge … or be frozen. If necessary, carefully add
more broth before reheating it (you don’t want it to be too runny).
==DUTCH SPLIT PEA SOUP ~ 6 servings
1 pound (2 cups dried) green Split Peas *
6 cups Water * 4 cups (approximately) broth (chicken or beef)
* ¼ pound smoked Pork or Ham, diced * ¾ cup chopped
Celery, with some leaves * 2 Leeks (white part only), thinly
sliced & washed well * 1 large Onion, chopped (about 1 cup) *
2-1/2 cups diced Potatoes * 1-1/2 cups did Carrots * ½ teaspoon
Sea Salt *1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper * Dash Hot Sauce or
¼ teaspoon Cayenne
In a Dutch Oven, combine the peas and water.
Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the peas from the heat, cover
the pan, and let stand for 1 hour.
Add the broth, pork or ham, celery, leeks, and
onion. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer
soup for 1-1/2 hours.
Add the potatoes and carrots, and cook the soup
for another 15 to 30 minutes (the peas should disintegrate). If the soup
gets too thick, thin it with additional broth. Season the soup with salt,
pepper, and hot sauce.
**WHAT IT DID WITH MY PEA SOUP:
Pre-made meals bagged, tagged, and ready for the freezer. I froze individual servings of the pea soup ... and kept a bowl out for a lunch.
I’m set – meal-wise for at least a month or more …
every once in a while, I do grab a Thai takeout meal when I am in town; or a Liver/Onions
Supper at the Indy Diner. Just because ;-) But, in general, I prefer my own home-cooked meals.
When the gals arrived, we settled in for a nice
long chat session ;-)
We always have fun when we get together – we are
good for each other.
And, of course, the Wilsonville fiasco came up (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2019/11/catharsis.html)… but it was okay: it happened, it’s over, I am boldly moving forward … the
kid’s – without realizing it, actually liberated me & gave me the
freedom necessary to earn my wings to soar.
Without additional trauma drama – the absence of
Bob in my life is enough trauma to my bleeding heart; I don’t need the kid’s
ridiculous cruelties hamstringing me and setting me back on my road to
recovery.
I am healing.
With the help of my friends.
3 hours later, after Pam and Cheryl left, I gave
my aching jaws a rest (from laughing and talking) while I finished the
kitchen towel set I have been working on - this one is not for sale ... I am keeping it for my kitchen:
MOD Christmas Kitchen Towel Set; I LIKE it :-D
Yesterday was a good day filled with delicious
kitchen scents hovering in the background, Fall’s anticipation lending
perimeter color to my healing life, good friends giving balance & depth to
my new ‘becoming’ life, and the assurance of Bob’s love & Elohim’s healing
all around me.
Good feeling – good coffee – good friends – good
love surrounding me.
Life is becoming enjoyable again.
I love you, Babe.
Always.
OX
