Archive for the ‘Karen’s Journal Notes’ Category
Happy Birthday to My Husband, Jim!
Dear Readers,
Today our family celebrated Jim’s birthday, and it was grand! Family came home and all of our sixteen children were here except for Janelle and her husband, Paul, who had traveled to Portland, Oregon, to be fair and spend time with Paul’s family for Thanksgiving. They alternate every other year, so we look forward to next year and having them here.
Brianne and her husband took Jim and me out for Jim’s birthday breakfast at the Max, where we talked for four hours! Meanwhile, back at the house, Kyler and Kelsey cooked homemade turkey pot pie from the Thanksgiving leftovers. It turned out great. And of course, Jim also chose to have his favorite dessert—German Chocolate Cake and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
Check out the pot pie recipe below for a tasty way to use up your leftovers.
Take care!
Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients:
1½ c. frozen peas and carrots, thawed under cold water
5 Tbs. butter
5 Tbs. all-purpose flour
¼ c. chopped onion
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1¾ c. turkey or chicken broth
⅔ c. milk
3 c. diced cooked turkey
pastry for 9-inch two-crust pie
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Drain peas and carrots; set aside.
- Heat butter in 2-quart saucepan over low heat until melted.
- Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat then stir in broth and milk. Place back on heat; heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
- Boil and stir 1 minute.
- Stir in turkey and vegetables.
- Prepare pastry.
- Roll ⅔ of the pastry into 13-inch square; ease into ungreased 9-inch square pan.
- Pour turkey mixture into pastry-lined pan.
- Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch square; cut out designs with small cookie cutter.
- Place square over filling; turn edges under and crimp.
- Bake until golden brown, about 35 min.
Yields: 6 servings.
Happy Thanksgiving 2010!
Thanksgiving is wonderful day to pause and reflect on the many blessings that we have and realize we have. It is also a day to reflect and give thanks on the many blessings that we take for granted, which include the many freedoms we take for granted each day, and the many gifts we have that come to us in a variety of packages.
The difficult challenge is to stretch our comfort zone to return our thanks and share our blessings with others in our all too busy lifestyle. Thanksgiving is a great time to take time and analyze how we can spend time giving to others in our daily lives and to those in our local communities and global communities.
Keisha made a pecan pie for our Thanksgiving dinner, and it was great. Following are the recipes she used. This pie crust is now our favorite!
Best Pie Crust
Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
7 Tbs. cold salted butter
¼ c. ice water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift flour into mixing bowl.
- Using large holes of a hand grater, grate butter into bowl with flour.
- Lightly blend butter and flour with your fingertips until texture is like coarse cornmeal; be careful not to overwork dough.
- Add ice water and blend until thoroughly incorporated.
- For dough into ball, and place on floured surface; roll out dough to ⅛-inch thick, adding flour as necessary.
- Place 8½-inch pie pan face down on dough, and cut dough to fit, leaving a border of about 1 inch.
- Line pie pan with dough, trim edges, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Yields: One 8½-inch pastry shell.
Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 c. white sugar
1 c. dark corn syrup
2 Tbs. melted butter
1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
⅛ tsp. salt
½ c. darkly roasted pecans, ground
1 c. med. pecan pieces
¾ c. pecan halves
1 unbaked 8½-in. pie shell
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare pie shell; set aside.
- In electric mixer, add eggs and beat on high speed until frothy, about 1 minute.
- Add sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, salt, and ground roasted pecans; beat on medium speed until well blended.
- Stir in pecan pieces; pour filling into prepared pie shell.
- Spread pecan halves on top filling, and press lightly.
- Bake for 40 minutes; reduce heat to 325 degrees F., and bake until filling is brown on top and crust is light golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
Yields: One 8½-inch pie.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Hood Family!
Remember God’s bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor.
Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light!
Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!
~Henry Ward Beecher
Here in the Hood Family, we love to celebrate Thanksgiving and we want to share some of that joy with you. We have so many things to be grateful for, and at this time of year we are particularly thankful for the warmth and love of family and our comfortable, welcoming home in beautiful Spokane Valley. We wish you all the best and brightest this Thanksgiving, and invite you to leave a comment sharing what you are thankful for this holiday. In the meantime, please enjoy the Thanksgiving trivia below, and have a blessed day!
Thanksgiving Trivia
- Contrary to popular belief, even though wild turkeys were around during the first Thanksgiving feast, they were not served. Instead, the Native American Indians and Plymouth colonists feasted on various seafood, deer, corn, eggs, squash, spices, popcorn and squashed cranberries.
- Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the United States. But it was Thomas Jefferson who opposed him. It is believed that Franklin then named the male turkey ‘Tom’ to spite Jefferson.
- Abraham Lincoln issued a ‘Thanksgiving Proclamation’ on third October 1863 and officially set aside the last Thursday of November as the national day for Thanksgiving. Prior to this, the presidents made an annual proclamation to specify the day when Thanksgiving was to be held.
- The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days.
- Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving, but
- The beverage of choice at the first Thanksgiving (and on the Mayflower) was beer.
- From 1777 to 1783 all Thanksgivings were celebrated in December except for in the year 1782. In that year, it was celebrated on the 28th of November.
- On the West Coast of the U.S., Dungeness crab is a common alternate main dish instead of turkey. Other common main dishes across the country include goose and ham. Italian-American families typically serve a baked pasta dish like lasagna along with the turkey.
- The average American consumes about 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day.
- 91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.
Spokane Snow
by Karen Jean Matsko Hood
Dear Readers,
Today we woke up to more snow in Spokane, and it is simply beautiful! Of course, it is not such good news for drivers. There are always a lot of fender benders in this kind of weather, which is always worrisome, especially when there are young drivers on the road. The Weather Channel reports that a lot more snow is on the way over the next ten days, and temperatures will dip below zero on several days, creating icy driving conditions. So even as you enjoy all the fun opportunities the winter weather provides–whether you are skiing, sledding, or just frolicking in the snowbanks–do drive carefully, and be sure to check out the safety tips below!
Cheers,
Karen
Driving in Snow and Ice
Source: Weather.com
The best advice for driving in bad winter weather is not to drive at all, if you can avoid it.
Don’t go out until the snow plows and sanding trucks have had a chance to do their work, and allow yourself extra time to reach your destination.
If you must drive in snowy conditions, make sure your car is prepared (TIPS), and that you know how to handle road conditions.
It’s helpful to practice winter driving techniques in a snowy, open parking lot, so you’re familiar with how your car handles. Consult your owner’s manual for tips specific to your vehicle.
Driving safely on icy roads
- Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
- Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
- Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
- Keep your lights and windshield clean.
- Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
- Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
- Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
- Don’t pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
- Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.
If your rear wheels skid…
- Take your foot off the accelerator.
- Steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they’re sliding right, steer right.
- If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control.
- If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
- If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.
If your front wheels skid…
- Take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don’t try to steer immediately.
- As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put the transmission in “drive” or release the clutch, and accelerate gently.
If you get stuck…
- Do not spin your wheels. This will only dig you in deeper.
- Turn your wheels from side to side a few times to push snow out of the way.
- Use a light touch on the gas, to ease your car out.
- Use a shovel to clear snow away from the wheels and the underside of the car.
- Pour sand, kitty litter, gravel or salt in the path of the wheels, to help get traction.
- Try rocking the vehicle. (Check your owner’s manual first — it can damage the transmission on some vehicles.) Shift from forward to reverse, and back again. Each time you’re in gear, give a light touch on the gas until the vehicle gets going.
New Puppies at Mountain Valley View Farm!
Ginger, our full bred cockapoo had a litter of five puppies on July 8, 2010. All of them are second generation cockapoos, which means two cockapoos were bred to each other. Normally a cocker spaniel is bred to a toy poodle. A 2nd generation cockapoo litter is smaller in size. Because this breed is more rare, the expense is higher. Ginger, the puppies’ mother, is a silver, beige, and white cockapoo with a very loyal and loving personality who loves to be around; and the father Reggie is a red cockapoo, a loyal companion who enjoys spending time with his owner. The three females and two males all have a complete set of vaccinations, health examinations, dew claws removed, and tails docked. They are ready for pick-up September 2nd, a perfect gift to start off the fall season.
Cockapoos are known for their intelligent, affectionate personalities and playful activity. They also have the low-shedding and low-dander qualities of the poodle, making them the ideal pet for any home.
If you interested in more information about these sweet puppies or would like to bring one home with you, please call 509-922-0456.
This is Cocoa. She is black with a mahogany colored undercoat. Some say she has brindle coloring, but I’m not sure. She has a white marking under her chin. She is shy, but very sweet. She is the smallest puppy in the litter.
This is Sadie. Red colored female with curly hair. She is very playful and likes to explore. She has a very sweet disposition.
This is Molly. Red colored straight- haired female with white stripe. She has the darkest red coat with dark red ears. She was the first born of the litter.
This is Rex. Red colored male with white stripe. He has a very adventurous personality, and is the biggest of the litter.
This is Teddy. Silver cream colored male. He is an easy-going companion. His coat is the most curly of the whole bunch and he reminds us of a cute cuddly teddy bear.
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