My Dad!

         The many faces of my Dad. What a great man he is. My Dad worked at Sears when I was small and every week, really it seemed like every night, he would come home with something for me and my brother from the toy section. My Dad worked hard all his life providing for us. I've never known him not to work. When he wasn't at work, he was  at his workbench making something exquisite or taking and developing pictures. Every time I turned around he was taking pictures of me. He can and could make something out of nothing. He is an incredibly intelligent, gifted and artistic guy. And the stories he would tell my kids at bedtime. The imagination my father has is unbelievable. He would come up with the wildest stories and my kids thrilled to hear him take off on a story adventure. He would have them laughing so hard...you know the belly kind of laugh that only a kid can do well.
                  I personally don't remember much of my childhood, but I got to see how my Dad rose like a champion to the call of grandpa. The toys he would make were of superior craftmanship and the games he would play with them were definitely beyond creative. I think my parents did Christmas exceptionally well for my kids. I know they miss that the most of all about their grandparents. My dad and mom would go all out for Christmas, pulling out all the stops with gifts, decorations, food and fun.
               Below are 2 songs I recorded last week. I can remember as a little girl, listening to my Dad play the guitar and singing you are my sunshine to me. He also liked to play Jamaica Farewell. So here's to you Dad.
           I love you Dad and appreciate everything you have done for me and my kids. Happy Fathers Day.

To my heavenly Father on Fathers Day

To the great King of the Universe, my Heavenly Father, Abba,

How great you truly are. There are no words to explain the depths of my love and gratitude for you. Happy Fathers Day  to the greatest Father of them all. Without you I would not exist. Without your love I would not be able to make it through life. Thank you for bringing me into this world and into the family you placed me in. Thank you for my sweet mom and dad and my dear brother, Paul. I feel the weight of the coming responsibility of being his caretaker. I will guard him until i no longer have breath. 

Getting to know you, Abba, has been exhilarating. There are so many precious moments shared with you and special times in worship that are too numerous to mention. In those quiet times you  have spoken to me, healed and delivered me, chastened me, and poured out your tangible love on me. 

There have been times when you were so large I couldn't miss you and then there were other times where I really had to seek and find you. I think you really like to play hide and seek like a Dad does with his child. Sometimes, it has not been hard to find you at all and other times, oh my, you sure were hidden well. Ah, but when I would find you it was such a relief and joy.  

When I was searching everywhere for love and did not know you yet, you never let me stray too far away. It was you who would not allow me to do certain jobs, and shows, deliberately blocking my path and keeping me from total destruction. Even when bad relationships ended up in breaking my heart, you always sent someone with compassion. You were and are a protective, compassionate, Father.

 When I got tired of the ways of the world and began to seek you, you made yourself to be found.
It was if you were waving your hands and saying I'm over here. You  made sure that I couldn't miss you. When I asked for one falling star as a sign to whether I should give my life to you, you didn't just show one..you showed 17 over the span 10 days. I have only seen 2 more in the 30  years that have passed. How did you do that ? 17 falling stars! It was as if you were throwing them through the sky to me. It had to be timed so precisely to catch when i was looking.  Amazing!

6 months later, on the night that i was filled with the Holy Spirit, you showed up in a new way. I  felt like I had just been plugged into a giant electrical socket when my pastor prayed with me to recieve the Holy Spirit. Going to sleep that night was not going to be easy with all that power going through my body. I remember that feeling of knowing that you were living inside me and when i went to sleep I had the most incredible experience. Waves and waves of your love came pouring over me like  an ex-ray machine (for lack of better words). I cannot tell you how beautiful that was that you did that for me. It was so healing. 

Thank you for my beautiful children and husband. They have been an incredible blessing to me. Thank you for all the times you stepped in and filled in the gaps where i was inadequate.

In my greatest sorrows and disappointments you were there with your sweet Holy Spirit. In losing my Mom and my baby son Jeremy you brought joy back into my life and new beginnings of teaching many kids how to sing and act. You taught me the meaning of your sovereignty and trusting in you. When you chose not to heal Jeremy, you revealed to me you were still greatly pleased with me that I believed you could. It was just not your will..You were sovereign. You were faithful to not let guilt rule my life. 

You carried me  through the horrible season of my husbands betrayal. I found it so hard to continue on every day. And yet you sent new people in my life to watch and care over me. A handful of former friends remained with us through that hard time, while other friends were removed from our lives. In those times when I could not trust my husband, you became my husband. Almost 20 years have passed and our marriage is restored because of your unfailing love.

After my mom, passed away, it was a difficult transition taking care of him. In that difficult time, I had to give up my newly found freedom with my friends. You were right there with me, making sure Paul was not being neglected. You knew all along  I would have to feed my Dad when he came to pick him up at the end of the day. You knew that as I fed my Dad, a long lost relationship with my Dad would be healed and re-established. During this dinner time, I would  sit with him and we would share about our day. I greatly miss those times. It felt like for the first time in my life, my Dad was on my side. I knew it was your hand behind all this, because no one else could  have so masterfully orchestrated that. Thank you.

My hearts desire has always been to sing. Even though it was not in your will for me to do it through the worlds way, you have given me a multitude of opportunities to sing on various platforms. Some of my greatest shared moments with you have been singing in nursing homes, hospitals and on deathbeds. Boy do you ever show up in a big way. Thank you so much for the chance to also do musical theatre. I think my favorite times with you have been in worship, recording at home, when its just me and you, soaking in your presence. It feels like  I am singing to an audience of one. It's as if you descend into my house and just sit awhile and listen. What an honor to sing for the creator of the universe.  Thank you for the all the times you  have healed my voice and brought it back when i thought it was gone. My desire is to always use it to praise and worship you.

Another fond memory is the night i was very ill and i couldn't go to sleep and a thought popped into my head to ask you to tell me a bedtime story and you did. What a beautiful story. It brought healing with it because the next day I was no longer ill. 

You have enabled me to do things I thought i would never be able to do. Some of these things I was dead set against doing and yet not only did I do them, I grew to love doing like teaching, cooking, sewing, playing  golf and tennis, being married and having children. It was only by your grace and prodding that i could do any of these things.


Thank you my Father, for loving and always being there for me, even in the times I was not aware of you. Happy Fathers Day. I love you so much.

Your daughter,
Rita / Segullah

Below are 2 songs that I recorded this week. You deserve the glory is a live recording that my  husband did 2 years ago when we were worshipping at home. It took all this time to record my voice to it. The second song, Lords Prayer, was first recorded  in 1981, but the recording has deteriated over the years, so I rerecorded it that last week with new vocals.

Golf skirt, hat, bag and club covers

About a year ago on Mother's Day my husband got me a set of golf clubs. Now, my husband has been playing ever since we have been married and has wanted me to play with him. I personally could not stand the game. 

My only experience with golfing was when I was in my 20's I worked for a convention agency who would hire girls to model or host certain events. Most of the time we would go to Tampa, Key West, Ft. Lauderdale or Orlando to their hugest hotels and set up casino nights. We would man the blackjack tables and would have to dress up in sexy formal dresses . Sometimes we would work at theme parks, like Bush Gardens or Disney. One time, we had to dress up in Southern bell dresses with the hoops. Now that was an experience trying to sit down or go to the bathroom. That skirt just did not fit in the tiny stall. Oh me oh my. 

One time at Disney we were asked to dress up in shorts and drive a golf cart with beverages to each of the holes where men were playing golf. It was very hot and I really didn't like it. 

After I got my clubs, which of course were pink, I decided to make golf club covers for all of my clubs. I didn't personally like the standard ones that you could buy online. So this is what I liked. My clubs are from the wilson hope collection. I hope to one day get a better set, but this set has worked beautifully for me as a starter set. I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent in the back yard practicing. I not naturally gifted in sports so it takes  me a lot longer than most gals to learn to hit a ball. 

So I started with trying to make club covers for my irons.. After several attempts I got the right fit for these clubs. I machine embroidered the correct number for each club. About 6 months later I wanted to make a bag to carry all my stuff with me. I also made the light pink golf outfit...the logo on the skirt and top says pink is the new green. Then just yesterday I wanted to make a new golf skirt since I have put on a little more weight this year and that is the purple check shown above. I also decided to make a matching visor and golf shoe bag. Anyone that knows me knows that I like to match and also  love any shade of pink or purple.

All this may not make me play better, but I sure feel better with it. There's something about pink that makes me feel good.

Our cuban dinner: A takeoff from the Columbia House

Everytime we go to St. Augustine  and St. Armands we love to eat at the Columbia house. The very best authentic Cuban food. We will take you there Ree and Francois when you come to America and then you will see what real Cuban food tastes like. Everything at the Columbia house is fantastic. We love to start off with their homemade Sangria, and then their 1905 salad with Cuban bread. We use to get a pork dinner before we started eating kosher. Now we get chicken. So with that meat comes black beans and rice and plantains. We are so stuffed by the time we finish.

1905 Salad

Salad Ingredients

4 cups iceberg lettuce, broken into 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" pieces
1 ripe tomato, cut into eighths
1/2 cup baked ham, julienned 2" × ⅛" (may substitute turkey or shrimp)
1/2 cup Swiss cheese, julienne 2" × ⅛"
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green Spanish olives
2 cups “1905” Dressing (see recipe below)
1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce®
1 lemon

Preparation

Combine lettuce, tomato, ham, Swiss cheese, and olives in a large salad bowl. Before serving, add “1905” Dressing, Romano cheese, Worcestershire, and the juice of 1 lemon. Toss well and serve immediately. Makes 2 full salads or 4 side salads.

“1905” Dressing
Ingredients

1/2 cup extra-virgin Spanish olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
⅛ cup white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Salad Dressing Preparation

Mix olive oil, garlic, and oregano in a bowl with a wire whisk. Stir in vinegar, gradually beating to form an emulsion, and then season with salt and pepper. For best results, prepare 1 to 2 days in advance and refrigerate.

Cuban Chicken

Marinade:

• 1 small onion
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp fresh black pepper

1.        Combine all the marinade ingredients in your food processor or blender. If you don’t have either, I hope you have a sharp knife and patience.

2.       Butterfly the chicken by removing the spine with kitchen shears and cracking the sternum with your hands. For more information, get Jacques Pepin’s book. I know you won’t.

3.       Marinate the chicken from 0-8 hours (really, you can just brush this stuff on) making sure both sides of the bird are nicely coated.

4.       Preheat the oven to 425 and set the rack to the middle-top position. Get your skillet nice and hot and give it a minute to retain the heat.

5.        Place the bird, breast side down, in the skillet and cook about 3 minutes. Transfer the whole skillet to the oven and cook until the thickest part of the meat reads 145 on your thermometer (about 20 minutes).

6.       Flip the bird over and crank your oven up to broil. Broil 5-7 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes before carving.

Fried Plantains:

• 4 plantains, cut into 1/2 in sections (you can substitute bananas if you want)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1.        Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

2.       Add the sliced plantains, brown sugar and cinnamon. Saute, flipping to coat with butter, about 15 minutes.

Black beans and Rice

Cracker Barrel Campfire Chicken copycat recipe

Recently we went to St. Pete with my brother Paul. We ate a cracker barrel and had campfire beef for the first time. I absolutely loved it. I wanted to try it for dinner, but didn't have any beef so I substituted chicken. I loved the simplicity of this dinner. It's easy to prepare...wrap it, put it in the oven and let it cook. I like the fact that each person has his own portion in tin foil. The recipe below is enough for 2 people 

2 Chicken breasts
3 Potatoes peeled and chopped up roughly
1 Onion sliced 

4 Garlic cloves

1 tsp each Basil and Oregano

4 carrots peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 Zucchini sliced in 1/4 inch medallions
Salt and Pepper
Spices of your choice

heavy duty tin foil


I tried to follow a recipe online I found but had to substitute some items and add others.

I like to salt water brine my chicken before baking or grilling. I find it makes it much more tender and helps it not to dry out. 

Salt water brine

2 cups of boiling water
2 T salt ( can use more but makes the chicken very salty tasting)
2 bowls
2 cups of ice

Place salt in melt proof bowl and add boiling water. Stir the salt until dissolved. Now place the ice in it to cool the water down. Place the chicken in the cooled water and cover and refrigerate 30 minutes up to 24 hours.  when ready to cook remove chicken from water and pat dry with paper towels. 

Preheat oven to 325. If you have long tin foil, one long piece will do. You want enough to encase everything with no leaking. My tin foil was on the small side, so I ripped off 2 long pieces and layered them on the counter in a cross fashion...one on top of another. I placed the chicken down, then the veggies on top and around it. Then I added the seasonings and herbs. I closed up the interior foil and then wrapped the outer foil around it tightly making sure there were no leaks or holes. I placed it in a roaster pan just in case it leaked. I didn't. Bake or grill until tender. In my oven after 2 hours the veggies were still not as soft as i wanted, so next time I will cook it longer. 

this was the link that I found the recipe. 

http://www.cookingcache.com/poultry/campfirechickendinner.shtml?rdid=rc1

     4 days later I tried it with beef instead of chicken. i bought a chuck roast on sale at Winn Dixie. I  chopped it up into 2 inch pieces. I marinated all day with Dales seasoning and then added it to the tin foil with small red potatoes, carrots, corn on the cob, onion and same spices as above. I cooked it for 3 hours at 350 and it was so tender.

My week with Paul

This last week my Dad went to Colorado for a week. While he was gone my brother came to stay with us. Sometimes, it is a challenge to add a special needs man to a family. We had a great time with lots of laughter amidst the times of trying to explain things to my brother. You see he does not speak very clearly and i don't hear very well. So, sometimes that didn't make for a very good combination of communicating. While he was with us he went golfing with Ernest and my son Josh who came down with Anne for Joy's baby shower and Fathers Day.
We went to Daytona beach the next day and even though it rained while we were there, we still managed to have a good time. Joy and Time, Anne and Josh, Anne's mom, Enid and Rebecca and Brad Randall were also there. We ended up going out to eat. On Monday we took off for St. Pete. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and it was an adventure with the 3 of us in one room. We spent time in the pool and I was amazed how much my brother swam. I wish he would swim like that in my lake every day. It is hard to get him to exercise.

We tried to go golfing that evening but didn't want to risk the  chance with pending storms and lightning. So, we went to the movies instead and saw how to train your dragon 2. Now, this is not a movie that I really liked, but I did appreciate the advanced cinematograpy that they used in making the movie. When we came out of the movies I took a picture of him in front of the malificent poster. We ended up going golfing the next day after a big complimentary breakfast at the hotel. We ate twice at the cracker barrel and Paul really loved his huge plate of meatloaf, potatoes, 3 veggies etc.. He especially liked playing checkers on the porch with Ernest at Cracker Barrel. He ate like a horse the entire time he was with me and I was back to my routine of short order cook with him.

On the way back last night  from St. Pete the alternator belt blew on us. But God was watching over us...we heard a strange sound when we were an hour away from the house, but the car gave no indication that something was wrong. When we got within 3  miles of our house we stopped for gas. When we got back on the road it was sputtering..we made it home and when my husband opened the hood the belt was hangingby a thread. God is so good.

Paul is now back at home with our Dad. I am still trying to unwind from the caregiver vigilant mode.

Joys Baby shower

Last Friday we had a baby shower for my daughter, Joy. She is having a boy and is due in August. This will be our first grandchild. I wanted to make a dedication gown for the baby, but didn't really want to make a gown for a boy. When I saw this pattern for a boy jumper, I thought this would be perfect. Hey Jessica, I used some of the remnants of your wedding dress for this little outfit. So, even though you were not here, a part of you will be. I did not use the silk duponi. I used the other material we got at Walmart.  The pattern I used was one by Mccalls: 6221. It was not hard to put together, just takes a little more time, because the pattern pieces are so small. Trying to set the sleeves in that tiny armhole took great patience.

Now, for the cake, this is what Joy asked for. I am not used to making a cake that is not frosted. She wanted it to look rustic. The recipe called for edible flowers,but I was a little leary about putting real flowers to eat on the cake.

The cake is an orange almond cake with an orange blossom buttercream frosting.. Below is the recipe I used. I made one error in judgement. Having taken the Wilton cake decorating class, I was taught to use baking strips around the cake to keep the sides from browning too fast. Well, when I looked at the picture the outside was browned and when I pulled the baking strips off and flipped the cake out of the cake pans, the sides were not brown, but blond color. So, next time if I make this cake again, I will not use the baking strips on the outside of the pans. 
Also, I had great difficulty finding orange blossom water..so  my daughter in law, Anne, ordered it for me. Thank you  Anne.
We had a great time at the party. It was very laid back and relaxing. Joy got a lot of great gifts for the baby. Thank you everybody involved. 

For the cake

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 and ¼ teaspoons salt
¾ cup butter, softened
2 and ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
2 egg whites 3 eggs
½ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 and ½ cups full fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon powdered sugar, optional garnish
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, optional garnish
edible flowers, optional garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then lightly grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans. To begin preparing the cake, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and oil at medium low speed until the mixture is smooth, about 2-3 minutes of mixing. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, orange zest, egg whites, and the eggs and mix until incorporated. Add the orange juice and mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture in three separate additions, alternating with the plain yogurt, until both have been added and the batter just becomes smooth.

Evenly distribute the cake batter between the three pans. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans and setting them on a wire rack to cool completely. 

For the Frosting: Orange Blossom Buttercream


1 cup butter
4 and ¼ cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange blossom water

To prepare the buttercream, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth, then add the milk, vanilla extract, and orange blossom water and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Once the cake has cooled completely, spread the icing between the cake layers and then sprinkle the top of the cake with the sliced almonds and powdered sugar. Garnish with edible flowers and serve.

Here is the link for the recipe I used with beautiful pictures.

http://www.adventures-in-cooking.com/2014/05/orange-almond-cake-with-orange-blossom.html

Crockpot Corned Beef and cabbage

Happy Birthday Joy!

the many faces of Joy Nicole

     Tonight is Shabbat and we are also celebrating Joy's 29th birthday. Joy requested corned beef and cabbage for her birthday dinner...are you jealous Jessica? Wish you were here. Joy also requested no cake.. but we did have coffee/chocolate ice cream with macadamia cookies...

Ingredients

• 5-6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 small onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cups of water
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 2 TBSP vinegar
• 8 oz beer
• 4 lbs corned beef brisket
• 1 (1 lb) bag of baby carrots
• 1 lb small red potatoes, quartered
• 1 head of green cabbage, cut into wedges
• —-seasoning packet ingredients—–
• {leave this out if you are using the packet that comes with the meat.}
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 2 bay leaves, crushed
• 8 Allspice berries
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Instructions

1. First place onion wedges and garlic at the bottom of your crockpot. This is going to act as a stand for your meat, so it doesn’t touch the bottom and dry out. Place beef on top of onions and garlic.
2. Next, mix together water, beer, sugar and vinegar.
3. Pour over beef and they sprinkle seasoning packet over meat. If you are using my homemade corned beef seasoning packet, simply mix together the mustard seeds, bay leaves, allspice berries, salt and pepper and sprinkle on top of beef.
4. Set crockpot, cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
5. After 4 hours of cooking, add in potatoes and carrots.Cover and continue cooking
6. When 1 hour remains, add cabbage to the crockpot. Cover and continue cooking for the remainder of the time.