Small Town Life In Big L.A.

Pumpkin Fellowship! A Mini Retreat

Last night we enjoyed a Women's Pumpkin Fellowship at church. It was a night to take a break from our daily lives, enjoy the Fall season, share a candlelight dinner, and relive the fabulous women's retreat some of us attended in September.

It's nice to relax and converse while waiting for everyone to arrive.

We had a lovely spread of goodies. As for me, it was time to try a new recipe, Roasted Butternut Squash Salad. I think it was a hit. Roasted Butternut Squash, pecans, dried cherries, and feta on a bed of spinach with maple dressing. Check out this recipe. Perfect as a Thanksgiving side.

There were fruit platters, dips, pumpkin chips, and pumpkin salsa!

We weren't lacking in the dessert department! We all savored Sylvia's homemade apple tart as well as pumpkin cakes!

 

 

 

At the end of the meal we were treated to Crystal's Autumn Spiced Coffee. Yum! It was comforting to take back to the "living room" as we gathered round to share.

But first our Group Photo. WE had a blast doing several takes and came up with a winner!

What a great group of sisters in the Lord! Our sharing time was meaningful. Each of us spoke of a favorite memory of the retreat. There were so many good ones, the testimonies, quiet bible time, worship, food, shopping, weather, fellowship, and more! The retreat was called MISSION POSSIBLE. The main theme being that sometimes the Lord will lead us to step out in faith to minister in areas that we don't feel equipped for. That's OK because it's when you rely on HIM that you get to see Him work through you. What you feared can be the thing the Lord uses to be one of His greatest blessings. 

Sylvia's Valentine Lunch

It's not everyday one turns 80. My dear friend Sylvia (standing next to me) celebrated this milestone earlier this month and the rejoicing continues. She has been such a godly example and inspiration to us and I wanted to do something special that she would enjoy. She is full of the joy of the Lord. She looks amazing doesn't she!

All of us are "foodies" and love the Lord so this venue was right up our alley.

Here's a closer look at our table. The beautiful heart pics were crafted by none other than Mary S and beautifully adorned my raspberry muffins.

We started off with Valentine Kahlua coffee, piled high with whipped cream.

Mary's love banner parades above tuna cups.

We all enjoyed this freshly baked focaccia from a famous Chatsworth Italian deli.

This healthy hummus is made with garbanzo beans, tahini paste, and lemons, and topped with Spanish paprika and black sesame seeds.

Sylvia loves to bake and brought this colorful platter of sugar cookies and meringues.

Colleen's roasted squash with avocado, fresh basil, and smoked mozzarella was off the charts good.

Paying homage to Sylvia's Italian heritage we enjoyed heart shaped Caprese salad with lots of fresh, cracked pepper.

Here we have roasted fingerling potatoes with lemon zest and oregano.

A foodie afternoon like this would not be complete without two episodes of The Pioneer Woman!

My friend from Turkey gave me this silver vase and I wanted her to see how lovely it looks on my mantle. It brings joy to my heart every time I look at it.

What a blessed Valentine birthday celebration this was! Let's do it again! Happy Valentine's Day! Thank you Lord for the special women you have put in my life!

An EASY Recipe for a GERMAN APPLE PANCAKE...Yum!!!

Today is the first day of Fall and I'm on an apple kick. I have a list of new apple recipes to try with the peck of apples we got at the apple farm recently. Today is PUFFED GERMAN APPLE PANCAKE day. As usual I've taken a new recipe and combined it with others to get the best result. This pancake was beautifully displayed along with B-A-C-O-N!!! on the dining room table just a short while ago. Now the plate is EMPTY! Here's how to make yours. Your hubby and kids will love it. If you're single you'll need to exercise self control.

* preheat oven to 400*

* heat 3/4 C milk in the microwave for 20 seconds

TIP: if the milk is warm the pancake will rise higher.

* in a large ovenproof skillet, saute until golden and soft:

3 apples, pealed and thinly sliced...sprinkled with brown sugar & cinnamon to taste

* Add 3T butter near the end of sauteing

In a blender mix:

3 eggs

3/4 C flour

2 tspn vanilla

3/4 C warm milk

* pour batter over apples

* bake 20 minutes or until pancake is puffed and golden

It should look like this.

* loosen the pancake with a spatula and invert onto a serving platter

* sprinkle generously with powdered sugar

Cut into wedges and enjoy!

"If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing."..."But for you, O man of God, flee these things. "

1 Timothy 6

How To Make The PERFECT Apple Crumb Pie

The Fall season is an ideal time to bake an Apple Pie. Over the years, through trial and error I have compiled some easy techniques that will ensure your pie, with homemade crust mind you, comes out perfect everytime. The one pictured here is on my kitchen counter cooling as I write and the whole house smells divine.  

A pie is only as good as the fruit inside. Start with flavorful, ripe apples. This pie was baked with Jonathan Apples from the Pulford Apple Tree Orchard in Tehachapi. Not only are they delicious but they bring back great memories of our recent getaway with dear friends.

THE CRUST:  to avoid dough sticking to everything, your soft and liquid ingredients must be cold. Always keep your Crisco in the fridge so it's ready for pie baking. Water must be refrigerated and iced...Don't over mix the dough. You should be able to see flecks of butter...Use parchment paper to keep the dough from sticking. OK, ready?

* heat the oven to 450

* in your Cuisinart add 2 C flour, 1 tsp. salt, 2/3 C chilled Crisco, 2 T chilled butter. Pulse 10 times.

* add 5-6 T ice water. Pulse until dough forms into a ball

* flatten dough into a disc and place on a piece of floured parchment paper. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough. Cover with another piece of parchment and roll out to be slightly larger than the pie plate you are using.

* peel off the top piece of parchment. Slide your hand under the bottom sheet of parchment and quickly flip your dough in the plate. Once it's where you want it peel off the top piece of parchment.

There's nothing worse than having your dough stick to the rolling pin and make a mess. COLD INGREDIENTS and PARCHMENT PAPER prevent this. You can buy Parchment Paper at the $1 store.

* trim the crust with kitchen shears so it hangs no more than 1/2 inch over the plate. Design the edges as you see fit, pressing with your thumb or making ridges with a fork.

TIP: to avoid a soggy crust it is important to prebake the crust. I bought a bag of little white rocks from the $1 store or you can use beans.

* cover the crust with a generous piece of foil. Fill the pie with rocks to weigh down the crust and keep it from rising. Bake for 12 minutes, remove rocks and COOL. Meanwhile prepare your filling.

FILLING: Mix

6 large, tart apples peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

2/3 C sugar

5 T flour

1 tsp cinnamon

* TIP: sprinkle flour lightly on the cooled crust. This keeps it from getting soggy as it bakes.

* place the filling in the crust

CRUMB TOPPING  Mix until crumbly

2/3 C flour

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C cold butter

Sprinkle topping on pie covering all of the apples.

TIP: Use a pie guard to cover the edges so the crust doesn't burn. They look like this and can be purchased at Williams Sonoma and home stores.

Bake your pie for 10 minutes at 450*. Turn oven to 350* and bake 50-60 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Hope these tips help you in your pie baking. Enjoy these pics from the apple orchard.

And now here's a piece of the pie...YUM!!!

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

 

 

Chatsworth Lake Church Women's Fellowship April 2011

We were all in Spring mode as we carved out this night ahead of the busy Easter season. We started with a candlelight dinner followed by part 3 in our "Joseph" series. We read the accounts in Genesis of the dreams God gave him. After watching them portrayed in the movie some of us shared dreams the Lord has given to us. Yes, this is one of the ways the Lord speaks to us. It is not a common occurrence but when the Lord gives you a dream you know it's from Him. It's vivid, it's concise and He has a purpose in giving it to you. I have had 3 in my 30 years of walking with Him. Two of those dealt with future things that were to take place. The dreams were a confirmation and comfort once the events took place. You can find the account of Joseph's dreams in Genesis 37.

We were laughing so hard for this shot! I hope I didn't crush Lynette!

Food is always a focal point at our meetings. I was in the mood to try some new recipes. This MANGO PUNCH is so easy. It's Mango juice and Gingerale. That's it! The key is presentation. The night before I made an ice mold. Pour the juice & ale into a pretty punch bowl and decorate with herbs and floating fruit.

We emptied this bowl of BLUE CHEESE COLE SLAW with pecans.

This is a pasta recipe I saw on "Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives". It's homemade marinara, pasta, herbs, and beans. The "kicker" is at the end you roast garlic powder in EVOO and stir it into the pasta.

This PIG CAKE was the star of the night. Once you have the right ingredients it's a cinch to make. Perfect for a potluck. Click HERE for the recipe.

The evening was further enhanced by a big bouquet of fresh herbs from Rabia's garden. They looked and smelled heavenly.

She also brought grapefruit picked from her tree. It's so sweet you don't need sugar. Rabia will be flying back to her other home on the Aegean Sea in Turkey this Easter. Hey, maybe we should have our next fellowship there! What do you say girls???

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. On behalf of all of us at Chatsworth Lake we pray you come to know what we celebrate this Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and he ROSE FROM THE DEAD to sit at the right hand of the Father. All of us that believe this have an eternity in heaven with Him to look forward to. Now that's reason to CELEBRATE!!!

New York Style Crumb Cake

New York & Paris All On One Plate!

Inspired by Anna's Blog I had to try this recipe. It was DELICIOUS! Now I know how to get those great crumbs. I forgot the final step, which is to sprinkle with powdered sugar...next time.

Parchment Paper Is Key To Easily Removing The Cake.

My Mother's Stuffed Green Peppers

Just Out Of The Oven

This is a dish I grew up on. It's in the top 5 of my favorite foods. Why? It's delicious, it's easy, it cooks awhile and smells great the whole time. A perfect "comfort"  food. My friend Ken Mask asked for the recipe so here we go.

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2) Meanwhile make 3C cooked rice.
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4) Cut tops off 6 green bell peppers and remove seeds & stems. Parboil peppers 10 minutes to soften. Remove & drain.
5) In a bowl, mix rice & 1-1 1/2 lbs. ground beef.
6) Stuff peppers with rice/ beef mix and set in a large dutch oven.
7) Place any extra rice mix and cut up pepper tops in bottom of dish around peppers.
8) Around the peppers add 1 can tomato soup, 1 can chopped tomatoes, and water until liquid comes all the way up the sides off the peppers. Do not cover the peppers with liquid.
9) Place 6 strips of bacon across the tops of the peppers.
10) Place uncovered in the oven for 90 minutes.

When done let sit for 10 minutes or so. Serve with mashed potatoes and ENJOY!

The Perfect Winter Comfort Food

Upside Down Caramelized Apple Cake

Have A Slice!

It's fun to try a new recipe. I found this one in the January issue of Southern Living Magazine. Almost all of us have a cast iron skillet. It intrigued me that this cake is baked in one. Perfect for a cold winter's day. It's a fairly easy recipe and it turned out just like the picture in the magazine. You can find the recipe here .

Just out of the oven

Upside Down Caramelized Apple Cake

Love my new vintage toile plates!