Works For Me: Skimming Grease Off Soup

To skim the grease off soup or gravy, just refrigerate until the fat solidifies on the top, then use a spoon to skim it off.

If you're in a hurry, lay a leaf of lettuce on top of the soup or gravy. The grease will adhere to the lettuce. Remove the leaf from the pot, discard, et le voila! Quick and easy.

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by Rocks in My Dryer.

Unplugged and [Hopefully Not] Seated

Am going offline for a week. No Googling, no recipe-browsing, no blogging, no Facebook, no online backgammon. I'm just too, too busy; my house is too, too messy; the Home Study is making my life too, too frenetic, and my waist is just too, too big. A week off the internet, devoted to other pursuits, will do me good.

I'll auto publish Works For Me Wednesday, so it should show up on schedule. See y'all later!

35

Happy birthday to you, Shannon.

You're the best sister a girl ever had. I love you.

Works For Me Wednesday: After Dinner Cleanup

To minimize after-dinner cleanup, put things away as you use them. For example, if you use the can opener, don't just leave it on the counter -- put it back in the drawer immediately. When you're done with the spices, put them straight back into the cupboard.

As well, if you have some hot, soapy water ready in your sink while you're cooking, it's no trouble to quickly wash things as you use them. When you walk back into the kitchen after dinner, half the cleanup is already done -- no cheese grater sitting there, no dirty measuring spoons or ladles.

And finally.... make sure your dishwasher is unloaded before you start cooking. This way, you can put the dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher without stacking them by the sink.

Works For Me Wednesday is hosted by Rocks In My Dryer.

Yessir...

... I made my mark in the history of this nation.

One, Two, Three -- NOT IT!

Right, so I was legitimately tagged in this meme. Yeah, it feels good. So I ripped this picture off Stace's post, without her knowledge. That felt good, too.

The game works like this:
1) Link to the person who tagged you
2) Mention the rules
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself
4) Tag six other bloggers by linking to them
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I used to have a weird habit of writing out the words to songs I liked. It went something like this:
(a) hear a great song
(b) get no rest until words have been written out on a piece of paper
(c) not know what to do with the paper
(d) store paper in piano bench
(e) repeat

2. When I was a child, whenever big boys rode/walked past our house, I would take my toys and go inside. It didn't matter if they were the nicest boys in the world.... "Hey, where did Gwen go?" In my late teens, I discovered that my [future] husband used to ride his bike up and down our street with his friend. On reflection, I think it's a good thing I went inside. If he had seen me in all my red-headed childhood glory, I doubt I would be married today.

3. Whenever I read the bloggy word "meme," I always mis-read it to be the French word "same." I suppose either one is appropriate.

4. When I think of something particularly clever, I always imagine myself expounding on it in front of a huge crowd. I mentally rehearse exactly the words I'd use.

5. I've been told by a specialist that I have a fleshy neck. It's true, but I never noticed it until she told me I should have my thyroid checked.

5b. There's nothing wrong with my thyroid. I just have a fleshy neck. And now I have lots of turtlenecks and scarves too. I'm going to send her the bill.

6. I never, never go out without mascara. My eyelashes are blonde, and without mascara I resemble a rabbit with allergies.

I tag Jenny, Christy and Char.

Mexican Lasagne

Made this fab Mexican Lasagne on Monday night, and wow! was it ever great!

1 c rice, cooked in 1 1/2 c chicken stock
1 medium onion, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp Paprika
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
1 - 2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 can black beans
about 1 lb shredded Enchilada beef
about 3 c. grated cheese (I use Cheddar and Monterey Jack)
1 can corn, drained
1 c salsa
1/2 recipe Enchilada sauce
small flour or corn tortillas

The stars of the show.
Sadly, the Enchilada Beef didn't get the memo about the photo shoot,
and was in its trailer at the time,
drinking Dos Equis and watching Oprah.

Sorry, all you gentle Veggies.
I do love me some Enchilada Beef.

The Enchilada sauce. So rich, so refined.
An asset to any kitchen.

Saute the onion and garlic in a little oil.
Add the spices and stir, inhaling rapturously.

Add the black beans.

Stir in the tomatoes and the rice.

Now, stop right there.
In the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish, spread the salsa.
Next, layer a few tortillas atop.
Spread half the rice mixture atop the tortillas.

Sprinkle half the grated cheese over the rice mixture.
Add another layer of tortillas on top of the cheese layer.
Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas, and spread it out evenly.
Add the shredded beef over the enchilada sauce.

Sprinkle the corn atop the beef.
Spread the remaining rice mixture over the corn,
then cover with the remaining grated cheese.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes,
until the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown a little.
Tell your children that they will have no dessert
unless they have eaten everything on their plates.
And dig in!

If ye dinna eat your meat,
Ye canna have your puddin.

Works for Me Wednesday: Stinky Dish Cloths

To get the stinky smell out of dishcloths, follow these clever steps:

1. Wet the stinky dishcloth and wring it out. (The cloth must be thoroughly damp.)
2. Spread the cloth in your microwave.
3. Microwave on high for about 25 seconds.
4. Be careful when you're taking it out, or you'll scald the bejeebers out of your fingers.

Now, look, you've still got to wash the cloth. But now it won't sit there in your laundry, reeking to high heaven, until you're finally ready to throw a load on.

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by Rocks in My Dryer.

Q & A: Session 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gwen, why do you want to adopt from Africa? Aren't there enough kids here in Canada that need families? And isn't it cheaper to adopt domestically?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is one question we've heard many, many times since we began the adoption process. Yes, the cost of domestic adoption is a drop in the bucket compared to international adoption.

Here's the thing: There are social safety nets set up for kids here. I'm not saying there aren't horrific things happening here in Canada. There are abused, abandoned and lonely children in my very own province. But we have the infrastructure here to support our orphans. We've got social programs to ensure that, as far as the ministry is able, the children in foster care are fed and clothed.

I've yet to hear about a child-led household in Canada. There aren't a whole lot of houses in Canada where 10, 15, 20 children live -- all under the supervision of one or two 8- or 9-year olds. You don't hear about many children who sit and watch their parents die, and whose kind neighbours leave food at their doors every couple days to enable the child to survive. You don't see too many little kids begging on the streets in Canada, with bloated bellies and bony arms.

My heart is broken for the AIDS orphans throughout Africa and Asia. When I see death, and hunger, and disease, and more pain that I can comprehend, I feel an overwhelming need to help. It's not enough to shake my head about it, shed some tears, and pray for their rescue. At some point, somewhere, somehow, someone has to help.

If not me, who? If I see the AIDS emergency sweeping Africa, but don't step forward, who will? If I am aware that twelve million children are without parents and without homes, but I don't reach out to them and offer my love and the security of my home -- who is going to do it? There aren't enough mothers left in Africa for each child to be loved. Parents for these children must step forward from other nations.

Adoption is not the answer to the AIDS crisis. Adoption rescues one or two, but leaves the millions behind. I know that we will be only scraping the surface by adopting two of the twelve million. But we'll be giving a chance to two.... and the difference for these two is the difference between life and death.

Works For Me Wednesday: Weekly Soup

For the skinflints amongst us who neither waste nor want:

Keep a Tupperware container labeled "soup" in the freezer. During the week as you're preparing other meals, you can easily toss in these sorts of things:

• the extra spoonful of cooked carrots nobody wanted
• that 1/2 cup of diced onion you thought you needed (but didn't)
• the half chicken breast that doesn't seem worth refrigerating
• the little extra scraps of tomato that were too much for your sandwich -- or (my favourite), the little bits of tomato around the stem. Nobody wants that top slice on their sandwich, but there's still lots of good tomato there. It's a pity to throw it away. Why not put it in the soup?
  
• and, if you are a soup connoisseur: slip in the rind from the fresh Parmesan, and the stems from fresh basil or other herbs.

If you're very organized, dice the scraps before you freeze them. At the end of the week, or when you're scrounging around like Old Mother Hubbard, it doesn't take a lot of effort to throw together a pot of soup. It's different every time, and even better: nobody in the family knows that they're eating leftover scrap veggies. My family still believes that I actually dice up fresh carrots to put in their soup. Ha!

Works For Me Wednesday is hosted by Rocks In My Dryer.

Octobrrrrrrrr

Happy Birthday to Michelle! I hope you have a wonderful year!

October gave a party
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
(by George Cooper)