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Currently viewing the category:
"Roman Catholic"
one kid still sick, three recovering, mom too… so keeping it simple the next few days.
this week’s offerings:
Hotdog Fried Rice (hah! using leftover Coleman hotdogs from Memorial Day Weekend)
Filipino sopas with freshly-harvested mini chard and spinach
Prosciutto-wrapped Shrimp, pan-grilled
Black Bean, Red Pepper and Feta Burrito
Craisin Scones
Coming up:
stuff from Africa Unit Study Day 4
salmon curry
Jiaozi
Stir-fried Broccoli
Roasted Potato and Sweet Potato Cubes
Microgreens with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Yogurt Blueberry Muffins with Orange Honey Glaze
Peter Reinhart’s Light Wheat Bread (current favorite around these parts)
Answer the questions on page 278 of All Ye Lands.
Read aloud: 14 Cows for America.
Teacher guide available here. Pick an activity to do (you can do more than one if you like.)
Today’s Menu:
Shrimp Curry, Cape Malay-Style
Waakye
Gomen Wat
Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime Dressing
Pineapples and Mangoes for Dessert
Largest Abortion Clinic in U.S., opening in 10 days — a building that used to house a bank. It’s even “cash-register shaped”. Goosebumps, anyone?
h/t: Red Cardigan/Erin.
Read All Ye Lands, pp. 262-268.
Read about Mercator maps. Draw and take notes.
Learn about Africa’s Climate. Draw and take notes.
Copywork/Vocabulary:
Tropical
Rainforest
Humid
Savanna
Steppe
Highland
Altitude
Latitude
Attitude
Monsoon
Our Lady of Africa:
About Our Lady of Africa
For Blessed Virgin notebook: Prayer
for Mom and older kids: Pope John Paul II’s Act of Entrustment to Mary, Our Lady of Africa
Read-aloud: Malawi and “Makhosi and the Magic Horns” in African Tales.
Make Preserved Lemons.
Hey, I found an easy video:
Today’s Menu, from The Soul of A New Cuisine:
Ginger Beer
Grilled Boerewors Sausage Patties
Cucumber Sambal
Grilled Bread
Mom: Something to consider: Malawi’s Underprivileged Moms.
Pastors:
Positions on the current healthcare legislation taken by groups with “Catholic” in their name have caused a great deal of confusion about the official position of the Catholic Church. On Monday, we sent out a statement from Cardinal George on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explaining the Church’s position in opposition to the legislation because it does not adequately prevent federal funds from being used for abortions. We continue to avidly support a reform of our healthcare system that provides coverage for as many people living in the United States as possible. However, we cannot support such an effort at the cost of taxpayer dollars funding the end of human life. We would like to stress the importance that you share this statement with your parishioners in order to overcome any confusion that your parishioners may have. Thank you.
Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr
Archbishop of Cincinnati
Thank You, Lord, for faithful bishops and priests.
It’s 2:09 am and yes, I’m still awake. Made allergy-free brownies for Aisa’s party with her college friends (+the Walshes) and I forgot that I made it with regular coffee, STRONG-BREWED even… and now everyone’s asleep and I’m still awake. I’m going to be dead in the morning, just when little one will be running around wreaking havoc everywhere. But yum. Haven’t made those in a while and forgot how good they were!
Yena’s Question of the Day:
“Mom, when I’m older, will I go through “the phase” too?”
What phase?
“You know, the one that Paco’s in right now and that Ate Aisa went through….?”
Oh, *that* phase. 
I love eight-year-olds!!
So Michael and Amy Walsh and Josh, Aisa’s friend, were talking and talking and talking tonight. Bibles (Douay, 2 NABs, Navarre AND Google — we couldn’t find our RSV-CE) on the table. I interjected a comment or two here and there. Aisa too, of course. But wow, *love* these conversations. I wonder if that’s the kind of exhilaration Augustine and his friends felt all those centuries ago…. talking about the faith, asking each other questions, challenging each other’s beliefs, reasonings, etc., mulling, turning things over, digging, scrutinizing. I *love* being around people with this kind of passion for Christ and for understanding His teachings. It probably could have gone on forever were it not for the kids who were sleepy and the homework (and real work, as in JOB) that the college studes had hanging over their heads…. but yeah, we have to do that again.
Elvin and Candice, if you happen to see this, we missed you. You would have loved it.
Oh and yeah. The menu. We made/served
spaghetti puttanesca
crisp spiced nuts
mild cheddar
smoked whitefish salad with water crackers (I promised Paco we were going to get this and we did, finally!)
warm lentil salad
olive oil citrus cake with grapefruit glaze (Yena made this), and strawberries
iced chai green tea
allergen-free brownies
Michael and Amy brought salmon fish head curry and quinoa
PJ brought some potato casserole with chex mix something that was all kinds of delicious
Alyssa (?) brought a marbled yellow/chocolate cake with chocolate glaze
Josh brought a mesclun salad topped with blue cheese, pine nuts and cranberries
Aaron brought palmiers and pastry cream
and Joe brought quinoa and his guitar
Navid brought chicken that looked very tempting (it’s Friday!)
So it was actually a feast, on a Lenten Friday, no less…. but there were reasons the party had to be held today….
while they use the world and the things of this life, they use all such purely and honestly, and no further than is needful for their condition—such are the truly devout.
To the devout, EVERY SINGLE THING can and will be and is used solely as a tool to draw oneself closer to the Almighty.
Thinking:
Love is a fire, which when fanned into a flame, becomes devotion.
The love which we begin with early on is a tiny bud, which we water and feed and grow under the light of His Grace… until it becomes DEVOTION. Love brought us together, bound us together… devotion keeps us together. By constantly attaching ACTION onto the EMOTION, love is allowed to flourish and bear fruit. It’s when we try to live on EMOTION alone that we neglect the needful things…. and when there is no evidence of fruit then discouragement and disillusionment sets in, and we mistakenly think that LOVE has ceased to exist.
The same applies to our relationship with God. The action that proves our love for our God is also the food which allows this love to grow and bear fruit. It is a cycle that never ends. If we truly want to be DEVOTED to God, our love needs to be motivated into ACTION.
Reading: Introduction to the Devout Life
So I bought a bunch of pussy willow branches, just because I’ve always wanted some in the house. They are now at the fireplace, in a vase much too big for them… to look nice, it will need at least 5 more of these bunches. I guess I need a pussy willow vase for them to look “proper” but if I tarry too long even the vase will not be necessary. Nino (14 months) has been pulling the little catkins off the branches, at first attempting to eat them… and after being reprimanded he is now simply caressing them with his index finger. Pussy willow all over the carpet, the couch…. I suppose I should be glad I don’t have to get a real kitten for him.
He has also started to draw. We made him muffin crayons the other day from saved Crayola pieces. He seems to prefer the Derwent pencils though.
Unlikely place to find my favorite notebook, but there it is. My beloved Miquelrius, in the stationery aisle at Target. An even lovelier surprise: my beloved Miquelrius, in the CLEARANCE aisle at Target. I jumped and bought 5 of them, one for each of us. What I love about Miquelrius: the color coded pages, perfect for separating subjects without the use of tabs. Made in Spain. Quality paper that takes fountain pen ink really well. Yummy yummy.
The kids have started new notebooks. I was inspired by a conversation at the 4RealTL…. and was reminded that we haven’t done a proper notebooking project in a LONG while. (Did I mention I *strongly dislike* 3-hole-punched lined paper?) But the kids have been using it for years so it’s hard to break the habit — everytime I propose switching to notebooks they balk. But Miquelrius changed their minds this time.
Paco has started one for Technology, Migi for Weapons, and Yena is picking 4 different topics, Birds being the first one. She’s thinking of Engineering, Weapons, and Plants.
Mine is the “master notebook”, where I’m keeping track of all their projects and mine.
I was at Costco today and while passing the magazine rack the cover of The Economist caught my eye. Quickly perused the article on Gendercide: The war on baby girls | Killed, aborted or neglected, at least 100m girls have disappeared—and the number is rising. I’m not a regular reader at all of The Economist, but this one is worth your time.
I’m admittedly curious about the kind of response this article would generate, particularly from pro-choice people. If it’s okay to abort babies, why wouldn’t it be okay to choose which babies should survive? And if it’s not right to decide which gender is allowed to survive, could it be that it’s not right to decide which lives are worth terminating either? If you think it’s okay for people to terminate a pregnancy, then you should also be completely okay with the thinking that females are expendable. And you should agree that when people are given the opportunity and the means to do away with a particular segment of the population, they WILL use that opportunity for whatever reason they deem appropriate.
This is just one consequence of the abortion and anti-family mentality, and its implications reverberate throughout.
1Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, Like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; They ask me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God. 3“Why do we fast, and you do not see it? afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. 4Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! 5Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? 6This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; 7Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.
Today I will seek to only serve.
When are you going to fix the Search feature on Blogger? I knew it. People told me I could trust you again. Not happy.
Homemade Bacon
The recipe:
Go to Local Harvest. Find a farmer near you who offers pasture-raised pigs, such as this one. No, that’s not where I got my pork, but my farmer doesn’t have a website. Ask for a half or a quarter — this will cost a couple hundred $$ but in my neck of the woods that’s actually cheap (esp. considering the long-term benefits of feeding my family well). I love getting the cuts that other people won’t — they’re a bargain and they make for some good eating.
Make sure you get some pork belly. Sliced. Thin or thick, your choice. Specify that you want it uncured. This is key, and sometimes you have to repeat yourself several times before they understand. It’s not that the farmer is dense, but that most customers DON’T ask for this kind of thing (they want their bacon ready to cook) so if you say uncured they may think you don’t know what you’re talking about and give you cured stuff — which, even if it comes from sustainably raised pigs, will likely still contain carcinogenic ingredients like nitrites, etc. which you don’t want in your body. I know because it happened to me once, getting the cured version inadvertently, I mean. So now I make sure the farmer understands exactly what I want.
Take your pork belly, and marinate it in just enough vinegar to moisten it (it shouldn’t be dripping or soaking, plus garlic (minced or mashed to a paste), some salt to taste, and black pepper. If you want bacon a tad sweet, add maple syrup or brown sugar — just the teeniest bit or your bacon will burn — right before cooking. Or, I’d brush it on the last few minutes of cooking. Pineapple juice is good too 
.
Back to the marination. Do that overnight (or two nights). Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven, in one layer, for 15 minutes or so. Drain on paper towels and serve. Yum yum. Your kids will love you, if they don’t already.
ChocBanWalCranOat
ChocWalBanCranOat
CranWalBanChocOat
BanChocWalOatCran
WalChocCranBanOat
WalCran….. fuhgeddaboudit.
Made these cookies today. Pronounced AMAZING by the kids. I saved some nut-less cookie dough for the allergy-sufferers, but otherwise, the walnuts HAVE to be in them.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (ground finely)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cream together
1 cup packed light brown sugar (can take less actually)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
To butter mixture, add
1 mashed very ripe banana
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix in flour mixture until well combined, then add
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts
Using a large ice cream scoop, drop mounds onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11 minutes or until just golden. Let cool a bit on baking sheet, about 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool a bit more.
We like our cookies warm so we eat them right away, but you can store these in airtight containers (to preserve chewiness, though they are also DELICIOUS when the outsides have crisped up.
Variation: Sub 1/2 cup butterscotch chips for half of the chocolate chips. All kinds of awesome.
ETA: I don’t mean the large ice cream scoop used for scooping ice cream into cones (though of course it could also be used for that). I mean a scoop that holds about 1 1/2 tablespoons, kinda like these.
Higher Learning? by Anne Hendershott
As the mom of a college student (and more coming in just a few years), I keep my eye open for articles such as this which I see as a “state of the nation” type of report.
As the mom of a previously-homeschooled college student, you can bet I still keep an eye open for whatever material my child is exposed to at school. Just because our oldest is now 18, a young adult — and very mature for her age, I think — that doesn’t mean our job of parenting and guiding her is over. If anything, we are trying to be ever more vigilant. The dangers are many and oftentimes sneakier. This is, of course, part of the “real world” (whatever that means) that she has to be exposed to, just because we can’t shelter our children forever. For our children to be effective harbingers of peace, justice and love in the world, it is sometimes necessary that they see the unrest, the injustice, the hatred that is around us in their rawest forms. Much as we’d like to continue to shield her from all of that, we realize it is futile, and perhaps harmful in the long term.
What worries me sometimes, and brings me to my knees, is the insidious nature of secular thought. I hate to sound paranoid but the fact is that you cannot let your guard down, even for one minute. This is not something to be complacent about. We have spent many years of our lives exposing our child to — hopefully — the true, the good, the beautiful… so that when faced with the lies and ugliness out there, she can distinguish the difference, and make choices in accordance with who she is: a loving child of God. The scary part is that these ugly lies are often cloaked in colorful, shimmering robes that attract and deceive. Sometimes they come full force, with malicious intent, but more often than not the root is something innocent (or ignorant), and can therefore be easily dismissed as nothing of consequence. And that is where we/she might make our/her biggest mistakes.
As we navigate the waters of college life, one thing we hope to maintain is that parent-child dialogue that, due to ever-busier schedules, is often hard to find time for. Beyond the usual “How was your day?” there still needs to be time for mother-child and father-child and father-mother-child talks. And so, in a way, the homeschooling hasn’t really ended. None of us have graduated yet. In just a few short months, we have had our eyes opened to this process of enculturation that goes on in the college world and beyond. It is a frightening thing to behold. But it’s also a challenging thing, and therefore exciting. Our college student is bringing home experiences and thoughts and ideas that we as a family need to put under a microscope and examine, with great care. I am thankful that she allows us this scrutiny and joins in with much enthusiasm and openness.
My concern right now with this particular child is achieving that balance… somewhere between letting go of this young adult who is stretching her wings and flapping them gently, more strongly by the day… and keeping just enough of a hold on her to keep her grounded, attached to the values and beliefs that she has leaned upon and cherished in her young life. I don’t want to hamper or hinder.
I wonder… if the awareness and the vigilance are there, would those be enough? It’s so easy to say, she’ll be fine, she’s a prayerful person, she loves God…. but looking at these politicians and seeing the fruits, I worry. Did their parents see this coming? Or did they see it coming but did not recognize it? Did they say to themselves, he/she’ll be fine — he/she is in a Catholic college/university and that’s *good enough*. Apparently for these people in office, it wasn’t.
The following is a paid review of Would You Like Some Cheesecake?
Not that I’m still baking cheesecake these days. I’ve long stopped, especially after reading Dr. Weil’s guidelines about cream cheese. I make my own cream cheese these days, out of strained homemade yogurt — yum! It even makes good yogurt frosting for carrot cake. When I perfect it, I think I’ll try making cheesecake again, as it’s something we all love.
But getting back to the task at hand… here’s what I think about the Moms Who Thinks’ cheesecake page:
I love that there are so many cheesecake recipes on it. Several that caught my eye: Black Forest Cheesecake, Cappuccino Cheesecake, Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake (gotta find out if it *is* a good copycat recipe!), and the White Chocolate Cherry Pecan. I’d rather not try another Key Lime because last time I made that it was soooo sour…. though still delicious. It did take me about half an hour just to squeeze those key limes by hand (now that I have a juicer it shouldn’t be as difficult!). My friend and I ate a good part of a 10-inch one just because we were the only ones in the house, LOL, but I digress…
Other things I like about this site: I love that there are recipes by the week, that there are crock pot recipes (need to add to my repertoire), healthy recipes, I especially appreciate the fact that prime rib is in their easy category — it IS easy, but many people think you’ve slaved over it when you prepare it for holidays. And yum, many chicken recipes too.
Things I didn’t quite like so much about the site: I always feel like ads make sites impersonal, and makes me less likely to visit often. Not true, of course, of known commercial sites such as Epicurious or Food and Wine. But still. And I really would be more comfortable with the site if it had an “About Us” section, because the one question in my mind that I didn’t get answered perusing the site was “Who in the world is Mama Shirley?”
After all, the site is titled “Moms Who Think”. Well, this mom’s thinking.
