The Scroll #144 Frustrations, Pantries and Hummingbird Tongues

The Scroll #144 Frustrations, Pantries and Hummingbird Tongues  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

​ ​ Good morning Dear One! Let's try this again, shall we? This makes my fourth attempt over the past 2 weeks to write you but something keeps happening within my email program and when I click to the next screen, what I've written disappears! How completely FRUSTRATING! It's like the time in 2007 when I lost a 5 lb (Sam's Club size) bucket of coleslaw (and it's been lost since!). But that is a story for another time. If you happen to see a bucket of 14 year old half used bucket of coleslaw, please let me know. I'm sure it's mine. But enough of that Grossness and Irritation, right? It's Friday and we have a small reason to celebrate (because the weekend is coming) so..... Let's GET ON WITH THE FOOD! On Loaves and Dishes, we've done a lot in the time I've been unable to use this email program. We've got a crockpot lentil soup that will really blow your mind if you haven't been a lentil soup eater before. Lentils are a real terrific source of all kinds of great stuff (are they a super food? I can't remember). But anyway, rarely does something that is good for you actually taste this good. If you've never cooked your own crab legs, it's super easy and my son in law says that it tastes better than restaurants at the beach! Just pick up some frozen legs at the grocery and I'll show you how. Did you ever wonder how people get that perfect soft, tender, tasty chicken for chicken salad or enchiladas? Does yours come out dry, chewy and grow in your mouth? No problem. Just poach the chicken. Here's my "NO FAIL" method. Then, I have a bunch of stuff for new cooks or people using new equipment, like: Pressure Cooker Baked Potatoes, How to Cut a Chicken Wing, How to Boil Pasta, How to Reheat Pasta Sauce and How to Cut Peppers for Kabobs. ____________________ HERE'S AN IDEA, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK... Thinking about Mother's Day made me also think about how many of us are planning on get togethers over the summer? Restaurants are crowded and many are shut down forever but hey, guess what, my deck is open and with a few easy/delicious recipes in hand, I can get together with friends right at my own house! (You can too!). The problem I'm finding is that grocery stores are STILL often out of critical ingredients. However, if you have the right items stocked in your pantry, it's no problem. I have several dishes that I ALWAYS keep the ingredients for on hand and ready to go. I would love to share these recipes with you in a cookbook that also has associated shopping lists for the the pantry staples! Then, like me, you are ready for a party at any minute! If you are interested, please click "reply" to this email to send me an email and then just give me a short line about being interested so I'll know? I would love to hear what you think. __________________ HOT COOKING TIP OF THE WEEK This week I spent quite a lot of time reorganizing and restocking my pantry and freezers. Since way back in 1996, I have kept a large pantry out of necessity. We moved to the WAY FAR OUT country and back then it was simply too far to drive into town for a few forgotten or used up items. Instead, I made monthly long haul grocery runs to the city and returned with enough groceries to last for a month. Having this pantry has helped me numerous times: When hurricanes have knocked the power out for a couple of days. No problem, switch to my already planned for "no power" mode. (Generator for the freezers, grill and propane camp stove for cooking, percolator for coffee - that item is ESSENTIAL). When everyone stocked up for Y2K, I only needed to replenish a few of my usual stock items and we were good to go. The first part of the pandemic with the lock downs, no issues here. We just used from our stock and replaced as we found things at the grocery. Over the years, I've found that certain things work better than others. Here's some of those pointers, in case you are looking to keep stock up a pantry that is actually usable. Think in terms of what you actually eat. If you eat a lot of dried beans and rice, then by all means, stock up on those. (I use a vacuum sealer for these and they keep much longer that way). If you DON'T usually eat dried beans or don't even know how to cook them, then don't stock up on them. Stock up mostly on items that you will use. This way your pantry doesn't go to waste with a lot of items that will sit and expire. Think in terms of your pantry being like a small corner grocery store where you can go pick up a few items until you can get back to the store. Stock up on items that you wouldn't be able to cook without. For example: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, ketchup, mustard, mayo, bbq sauce, A1 sauce, vinegar, sugar, flour, etc. Of course, shelf stable items are a must. Let's use ketchup as an example. For our family, I try to keep a 6 months supply on hand. I know that we use about 1 bottle of ketchup every 2-4 weeks (don't ask me why, I don't even know who is eating it). This means that to keep a 6 month supply, I need about 6-8 bottles of ketchup in stock at all times. Depending on how much room you have, try keeping full flats of canned veggies, they stack nicely and you can organize it so that it's easy to find. Think about other supplies you need for your household as well like paper products and cleaning supplies. Rotate your stock so that you are using up your older supplies first. Have some items in your pantry that you can use to make a simple meal quickly. For example, you'll find hamburger helper in my pantry. Do I like this particular food, not really. However, since I also keep ground beef in the freezer, I can thaw it quickly and I can have a pan of hamburger helper ready in less than 30 minutes, no sweat. That saves us from an expensive and equally un-nutritious meal out. I have some instant potatoes, powdered gravy and stove top stuffing too. Are these what I serve all the time? nope. But I have them and use them for time crunches or when I've run out other ingredients and need something for my meal. I'll share a secret. Want to know the most used items in my pantry? Here's what I'm continually having to stock up on: Velveeta (we like the Aldi shelf stable kind), macaroni noodles, ketchup, A1 sauce, sugar, rice and mayo. Weird, eh? ____________________ THREE LITTLE THINGS The little baby robins in my back yard flew away uneventfully. Our deck is FINISHED! YAY! I'm enjoying it so much, what a blessing. Hummingbirds. Boy, they are little things. I love feeding them and watching them zoom around our porch and deck. My new feeder is glass on the bottom and if you look under the feeder while the bird is eating, YOU CAN SEE HIS TINY TONGUE licking up the nectar!!!! How cool is that? I've probably shared too much telling you that and now I'm afraid I seem like a weirdo, but oh well, we are friends, right? ____________________ A FINAL THOUGHT I sure do hope that when I save what I've written here that it actually does SAVE and then I can send it to you! Even if it doesn't save, I want you to know that I think about you and how you are and what you might be cooking up in your kitchen often. I really want to provide the recipes that you need here at Loaves and Dishes and I want you to walk away with any encounter with my work knowing that you are cared about deeply. I'm holding you up in my prayers and asking for peace and healing from whatever ails you. Asking that you'll feel the love in the world for you and know that you aren't alone. I promise, you are not alone. So, with that, I'll move on with the "sending" part of this email. God speed my friend. I'll see you next Friday in your inbox, God willing and the creeks don't rise (and the email service works properly). Love you! Wendi ​ ​ ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile | PO Box 82 , Danbury, NC 27016