Green Tomato Pie

     A couple days ago I blogged on tomato pie, and included pics of nice ripe, red, just-picked tomatoes from our garden. Well, this morning I made a green tomato pie; it's still baking so I've no idea how it will turn out. Yesterday morning we picked all the tomatoes, both red and green, from all but two of our tomato plants.  The season is nearly over.  The vines are now shredded and have become part of the compost pile.  Such is the pattern of farmlife.  Nothing goes to waste and nothing is unimportant. 
     No wonder Jesus made so many analogies to agriculture in His teachings.  In the big picture, all of life has the same patterns as agriculture.  Life and death. The importance of details. Reaping and sowing.  Preparing good soil to get a good harvest.  Watering with the Word...
     But, I digress.  Autumn is clearly around the corner.  The Summer crops are giving their last hurrah, a few leaves are beginning to turn yellow, red, and orange.  CassPurr is actively shedding his fur, growing in a new, thicker coat for Winter.  And, I am baking a green tomato pie.  (Recipe below)

                                                   Amish Green Tomato Pie

                                                       9 inch Double Crust
                                                       3 Cups Green Tomatoes, sliced thin
                                                       1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
                                                       1/2 Cup Molasses
                                                       1/2 Cup Water
                                                       2 Tbsp Flour
                                                       1 tsp Cinnamon
                                                       1/4 tsp Nutmeg

                                            Prepare for 9-inch double crust pie.
                                            Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

         In a bowl, place 3 cups sliced green tomatoes; cover with boiling water; let set
10 minutes.  Drain; put in pie shell. Add brown sugar, molasses, water, flour, cinnamon,
and nutmeg.  Cover with  top crust.
       Bake at 350 degrees, 45 - 60 minutes.

               *** If you don't like molasses, you won't like this pie!  Opt for fried green tomatoes, or, wrap your green tomatoes in black & white newspaper;  they will ripen.  Check them once a week for ripening... Two years ago, we had tomatoes up to December!!!
                                                                                                                    Shalom, y'all.      Twyla

                                           
                               
                                                            

Gone with the Wind

           Last night we watched the first part of Gone

With  the Wind.  What a wonderful movie, even for

a self-appointed critic such as myself, who involuntarily notices loopholes in the storyline. The grandeur, the costumes, and Rhett's dry humor are great. Scarlettt's self-deception and denial are reminders to keep one's own reality in check. And, it's a reminder, as well, of how precious things are that we tend to take for granted... food and other provisions, freedom, the comfortable easy-going lifestyle of the mountains. Just as Scarlett and the others had to adjust to change, I fear we will also have to.  I pray our American way of life is not gone with the wind...

the Birthday Party

          Yesterday we had our good friends Pat & Teresa over to celebrate their birthdays. Pat's big day is  today, and Teresa's will be Thursday. The photo below is of myself  (with eyes closed and mouth open, of course!), Pat, and Teresa, sitting on the screened-in porch with the birthday cake I made for them. Moshe isn't in the picture, 'cause he was the photograper... The four of us spent the day at the beach, had a picnic lunch there; then, came home and visited some more. I made tomato pie, a  tossed salad, and fresh corn on the cob for supper. We also had Moshe's homemade bread and several little bowls with treasures such as homemade cashew butter , apple butter, and pickles in them. (Do you get the idea that we sorta' like food? Especially homemade food?)

                           Well, anyway, here is the recipe for my tomato pie:             

                                                       TOMATO PIE

                                        2 Pie Crusts, baked per package directions

                                        2 pounds Ripe Tomatoes

                                        1 teaspoon Black Pepper

                                        1/2 teaspoon Salt

                                        2 Cups Sweet Onion, chopped 

                                        6 Tablespoons fresh chopped Basil

                                        1 Cup Mayonnaise

                                        3 Cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

          Peel tomatoes, remove seeds, and slice 1/2 inch thick.  Dry slices on paper towels. Divide ingredients between the 2 pre-baked pie shells. Layer tomatoes, then onions; sprinle with salt and pepper; then, layer with the chopped basil.

         Mix cheese and mayonnaise; then, spread on top, covering completely.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow to "rest" for 15 minutes before slicing.

                                                                 Shalom, Y'all!     Twyla         

mountain life

     Mountain life is different.  Different than anywhere else.  I've often said that it's like a step back in time.  Qualities such as honesty and integrity are the rule, not the exception. Where else but in out little community could the people down the road have a little vegetable stand, selling their excess garden produce - with a jar to put the money in?!? Purely on the honor system.  Where else could we buy hundreds of dollars worth of hay from a complete stranger and be told, " I'm busy today, so, when you get all your hay delivered, just count up how much you owe me and leave a check in that ol' pickup over yonder."?

          These aren't isolated events; they are commonplace.  There is a spirit here; a spirit of love and peace and kindness. This is the evidence of the existence of the One True God. I don't know why His Spirit is so strong here, but I'm glad to be here and to be a part of it.
          The simple life is the better life.  I love my kitchen gadgets and my air conditioning.  But, if the day comes when I have to give them up, I'll be glad to be "roughing it" in the mountains - the land of the free and the home of the brave.
                                                 Shalom,   Twyla
      

Friday - The Eve of Shabbat

as paraphrased from the Website, OU.org


          Friday is Yom HaShishi - The Sixth "Day"   Saturday is Shabbat, or Sabbath.  Human beings need a transition  between holy and worldly. When one speaks of the Holy Shabbat, that transition is provided by Erev Shabbat, Shabbat  Eve. What occurred on the first Erev Shabbat? Let us look at the Bible, where that event is described.
     "…And Hashem said, 'Let us make Man in our image and in our form, and let them rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky, and over the cattle and over all creatures that are above the earth, and over all things that creep upon the earth.' And the L-rd created Man in His image; He created him in the image of G-d; male and female did He create them…"
     "…And G-d saw all that He had done, and behold it was very good; and it was evening and it was morning; the Sixth "Day."
     Paraphrasing Rabbi Kaplan : "…Shabbat must also be a do-it-yourself project. In order to really feel the Sabbath, you cannot wait for it to come to you. You must get into it. Every person must make his own Shabbat. You must prepare yourself and get into the mood. Only then will you be able to feel its true significance. True understanding only comes from doing and feeling. In a way, Shabbat is like (being in) love. You can talk about love for the rest of your life, but if you have never experienced it, you will never understand it. Once you have been in love though, no further discussion is necessary."
     Sabbath is a bond of love between people and Adonai.
    And so I am setting up the Shabbat table, and looking forward to  lighting the candles, reading scriptures, saying blessings, partaking of the grape juice and the challah bread - all in preparation for tomorrow - the Sabbath, a day of rest and pleasure.

                                                    My watercolor, " Aaronic Blessing"

                                                      Shabbat Shalom!          Twyla

Shades of Autumn on an August Morning

     Yesterday evening it was cooler than it's been all Summer, so we turned off the air and opened the windows...  Results:  This morning the house is 60 degrees. It feels refreshing.  And, makes me think of the seasons to come.  Autumn is my favorite time of year.  Sweater weather.  The trees recalling  & reliving God's glorious color schemes.  Roasting marshmallows around the firepit. Planning for Fall... and Winter..
     Feast of Tabernacles is less than a month away.  We will decorate our "Sukkah", and celebrate the arrival of the Only True King - Yeshua Ha' Meshiach - Jesus, the Messiah.  Known as Sukkot, Feast of Tabernacles, and Feast of Booths, this is one of the 7 Feast Days pronounced by Adonai - the LORD God.  There are both Jewish and Christian scholars who believe that the Feast of Tabernacles is when Jesus  was born; i.e., "He was 'tabernacled' among us."  There is persuasive evidence in both the New and Old Testaments that the birth of Christ was during the Feast of Tabernacles.  Historical records,  weather patterns, even the records of astronomers support this idea.
           What a beautiful story the Holy Scriptures tell if one is willing to "study to show thyself approved..."  Many clues are given in the Scriptures, but one must first have the knowledge of Jewish customs to understand the depth of the New Testament message.
            More about the Feast Days on another day.             Shalom, y'all,     Twyla            

CassPurr

          Wow.  A year ago today I signed the papers on the mountain property.  Immediately after, I went to the Humane Society, formally adopted CassPurr, and we headed to our new home.  It has been an adventure ever since.
          I met CassPurr about three months before the adoption.  The day I first saw him, I was still reeling from the death of my dear Annie, who had been my companion for 12 years.  My daughter, Melody, and I entered the thrift store, not thinking about the fact that there would be animals there.  At first I didn't want to look at them, thinking it would pain my heart too much.  But, Melody coaxed me to meet "this big, beautiful white cat."  CassPurr was so charming!  He had me at "Hello"...

       Like so many animals adopted from the Humane Society, CassPurr had a sad past.  He had been owned by a young couple who, when she became pregnant, gave him to the Humane Society.  In ignorance, they thought he would harm the baby.  CassPurr stayed at the Humane Society    for several   months, living in a cage, getting out only at night to exercise in the back room of the thrift store.  The ladies at the Humane Society kept him longer than the usual time, hoping he would find a home and not be euthanised.

     I visited "Cassie" several times over the months while I waited for the closing date on the property. On my last visit before the closing, my Mom came with me.  We visited CassPurr, of course.  I told the employees I'd be back in a week or so to get him.  As we started to drive out of the parking lot, Mom said, "I have a feeling you should go ahead and pay for his adoption now."  I listened to my Mom's instinct, turned around, went back in the store, and adopted him with the understanding that I would pick him up on the date of the house closing.

     After I had CassPurr securely at our new home, the ladies at the Humane Society told me that CassPurr was scheduled to be euthanised the day I paid for his adoption and filled out the adoption papers. Had I waited until the house closing, he would have been gone. There are no coincidences in life. None.

                                                                                              Shalom,     Twyla