HALLELUJAH

This made my day...very inspiring that there are that many people in the food court willing to rise and sing with such gusto. Merry Christmas!

5 WEEKS IN EUROPE

Mike and I spent 5 weeks in Europe returning home on the 23 of October. We started in Vienna Austria, to Budapest Hungary and a few days in southern Hungary staying in a small village called Kapolcs. We then flew to Paris and traveled by car to Giverny, France (Monet's home) Then on to the Normandy France area, Mont-Saint-Michel, Loire Valley and ending up in a village in southern France by the Dordogne river called, La Roque Gageac. We were there for 5 days taking day trips to many neighboring villages. There was a castle outside the window of our charming guest house. It was a spectacular area, as you will see in the photos.

We returned to Paris and spent a couple of days (see my post "A Sunday in Paris") Then we flew to Malaga in southern Spain where we had rented a villa in the hills where there are many white pueblo villages. Our house was 20 minutes up a windy (seasick) road, but the view was worth it. We had many adventures in our week there traveling to Granada, Malaga, Cordoba and many of the charming pueblo villages. We took the high speed train (the only way to fly) back to Madrid, Spain and then to Toledo for a day. We spent our last four days in Madrid. From there we took a day trip to Segovia and Avila. While in Madrid we went to a session of the Madrid LDS temple, visited the Prado and a modern art museum. We traveled with Ron and Cheryl Miller from Monterey, California. I took a few thousand pictures and have cut them down to about 1,300 pictures. From this I picked out about 250 for this slide show. They are all labled so you will know what you are looking at. Click on the pictures below, which will take you to Picasa and then get a full screen slide show for a better viewing experience.

THANKSGIVING RECIPES YOU MIGHT WANT

This is as good as any fruit salad.

  Awesome Fresh Cranberry Sauce

It has an easy brownie crust.  

Mocha Almond Fudge Pie

Snicker Pie

This is always the request of my youngest son.  He even wants it on his birthday.  I am going to make it this year with a premade graham crust to shorten the preparation time.  It has a few steps but it is worth the effort.  Snicker Pie

Steamed Carrot Pudding With Vinegar Sauce

This is one of my very favorite desserts.  I made it this year for my own birthday.  It has been in my family for over 100 years and has its own story.  The vinegar sauce makes it...unusual but delicious!

Carrot Pudding

COOKIE PIE CRUST FOR A CREAM PIE

I love to make this crust for a cream pie at Thanksgiving.  It is easier than a graham cracker crust and makes a large 10 inch pie or a deep dish 9 inch.  Finely chopped toasted nuts are good in it about 1/4 cup after chopping.  I expecially like toasted almonds.  The browned butter makes a very nice flavor and worth the effort, then you can just finish making the crust in the pan you browned the butter in.

COOKIE PIE CRUST: Melt 1/2 C. real butter in a large saucepan and cook over med heat until it starts to brown a nice carmel color. (this will go fast and you need to watch it carefully or it will brown too quickly and burn)  Remove from the heat and quickly stir in 1/4 C. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 C Flour. (add nuts here)  Crumble together and press into a 10 inch pie plate making the sides as even as possible around the top. Bake in a 350 oven for 10-12 minutes or until it starts to brown.



A SUNDAY IN PARIS

I never dreamed of Paris, not even in the days of Jr. High when I kicked my legs and flipped my petticoats dancing the can can on the stage of the old Wellington school. I had other more practical wishes, like seeing Salt Lake City.

But here I am in Paris with its romance and history. The girl with freckles from Wellington Utah is walking the streets of Paris on a mild October Sunday. The sun and my beloved travel with me on this day of happy surprises.

Arrived yesterday afternoon
Ate Pizza for dinner, not very Parisian but close to our room
Spent the evening floating down the Seine with all the glowing lights
Past the Eiffel Tower, effusive glittering for 10 minutes on the hour.
Strolling the Seine with the other lovers before the evening ends.

Cool Sunday morning
Could have worn my coat but before long am doing fine in a sweater.
Fun old statue of women in the park by our room
The hop on hop off bus getting an overview of the eye popping sites
The Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysee, the Eiffel Tower in morning mist

The black beret, bought at the Tower overlook
Worn by Mike and later by me to keep my head warm atop the open-air bus
Giant crepes with Nutella or squeezed lemon and sugar...delicieux!

Notre Dame Cathedral,
Mass in progress, lovely organ music with choir, stained glass splendor.
In front of the Cathedral
Dozens of birds in low growing shrubs waiting to eat from the hands of children
The sweetest thing ever.

Paris Marathon
Hundreds of colorful runners pressed together coming up the bridge
Bikers, old young and in-between, some in costume
Feelings of fun and friends enjoying the day, making their own parade.
A wedding on the banks of the Seine

Couscous restaurant under the basement steps
The best gelato yet, scooped out in flower form
The metro to Sacre-Coeur
"Bravo" and clapping from a young Parisian woman because this old woman
Sprinted up a swirl of many steps without stopping or collapsing even though I wanted to do both.

Artists on the hilltop of Sacre-Coeur, some very good, some drawing portraits.
A gallery with wavy clocks by Salvidor Dali
So many people crowded together enjoying the day and street music

Overlooking Paris from the church steps on the hill as the afternoon winds to a close.
Flower shop, glowing with colorful light as the sun diminishes
Photo of a child with an armload of flowers...hope it’s paintable

Saying goodbye to Paris
Champs Elysee, this time in evening glow
One last look at the Eiffel tower up close
Accordion music floating through the train
A young mother standing with a baby asleep in her arms
A coin dropped in a cup
Our musical send off
Not a dream come true but a day to remember with joy
Au revoir Paris.
Goodby
　
　

PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE

THE BEST EVER PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE

I have never been a big fan of Pumpkin Chiffon pie until I tasted this one at a party brought by my friend Sue Chase.  Now it is my favorite pumpkin pie.  One small can of pumpkin makes 2 pies. By all means make 2 pies while you are at it...no bigger effort if you buy the premade Keebler ghram cracker crust, which is very good with this pie.  Get the larger size crust.  

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
2 large egg yolks, beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust (larger size Keebler)
Whipped cream for garnish

In a saucepan, combine the gelatin, sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg. Stir in the milk, egg yolks and pumpkin. Cook over medium heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from the heat and chill until partially set, about one hour.Remove the chilled pumpkin mixture from the refrigerator and give it a stir, set aside.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add the sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Fold into the pumpkin mixture along with the whipped cream. Pour into the pie crust and chill for 1 hour. Decorate the top with more whipped cream and chocolate curles if desired.  To make curles warm up a chocolate bar and pul some curles off the side with a potato peeler or cheese slicer.

Here is a great tip for stabalizing whipped cream for the top of the pie. Buy a box of one of the vanilla type instant pudding mixes and put it in a jar to use for your whipped cream.  Add about 2 tsps. of the mix to a  cup of cream.  When it is almost completely whipped with the sugar and vanilla flavoring add the pudding mix and continue to beat until the cream is stiff.   It will last as long as the filling.  But this pie won't last long.

BOOK REVIEW - HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET

I didn’t know much about the interment of the Japanese Americans during WWII, so this book made aspects of what went on illuminating as it unfolded in the lives of a 12 year old Japanese girl and a Chinese boy friend in Seattle Washington.

I took this book with me to Europe thinking it would be an easy read, especially with the small chapters. I was well into reading "Water for Elephants," and hoped to finish it on the flight, but when the language and sex got too much for me I gave up and threw it away. (warning if you want to read that book.) Hotel was in my checked luggage so I plugged into my MP3 and listened to BYU devotionals instead.

Our traveling pace was fast and exhausting so it took me several weeks to get through this book (besides I’m a slow reader).

This is a sweet coming of age story focusing on the problems of immigrants and their children as it related to the country's atmosphere during WWII. The 12 year old girl Keiko was well integrated into the Seattle culture in that her parents were born in America, but the fear of anyone Japanese in the US during the war would eventually turn her world upside down. Henry was the son of first generation immigrants from China. His family had language barriers and still held nationalist ideas and a strong hate for the Japanese. So, having these two fall in love created family problems for Henry well portrayed by the author. I think the characters were a little young for some of their experiences and the depth of their ardor. It would have worked better for me if Keiko and Henry had been 14.

For me this was more about the immigrant family relationships than the facts of the interment. I would have liked a little more of what went on with Kieko during her time in Idaho and what happened after their release. But the story was told by Henry in two time periods alternating 1944 when he was 12 and when he was 56 in 1986. I don’t usually like this format but this gave me a glimpse into how a generation can change everything when Henry’s son was a full-fledged cultural American by the time he was a college student.

I thought Henry’s interactions with his father were sad and poignant. I had an understanding of how difficult the family culture gap can be for immigrant children. There was a strong sense of Henry’s aloneness and how nice for him to bond with this little Japanese girl at school.

I would give this 3 stars. It was a pleasant story and gave me things to think about. 

 

PUMPKIN RECIPES FROM THE PAST

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Curried Squash or Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Bars

  

Pumpkin Butter

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

This is a recipe I have made for many years.  They are moist, quick and yummy.  (They have less oil than some and I like that)  Someone left a message on my phone recently after making them from my Ward recipe book and said they "loved" them.   It makes 2 dozen, medium muffins.  Don't hesitate to make a full batch.  They keep well for a few days or freeze for later reheating.

Mix together:
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Milk
½ C. Oil
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Salt
2 C. Pumpkin (a small can)
1 ½ tsp. Cinnamon
 ½ tsp. Nutmeg
¼ tsp. Cloves

Add: 3 C. flour
3 tsp. BP
½ tsp. soda
Add chocolate chips, nuts or raisins
If desired.

Mix just until moistened and spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake 375 for 15 min. Add chocolate chips, nuts or raisins If desired.  Makes 2 dozen



THE BRIDGE AT ANDAU - BOOK REVIEW

The Bridge at Andau by James A. Mitchner

In 1956 I was 10 years old when the Hungarians revolted against the Russian communist occupation of their country. I actually have vague recollections of discussions that went on concerning this horrific event. The world was stunned as this tiny country launched a courageous attempt to depose the Russians and the AVO thugs who had a stranglehold of fear and poverty on their society.

In the beginning the Russians came in and kicked out the Hungarian aristocracy and wealthy land owners with slick promises of a better life for the working man. The propaganda was organized and intense. They promised: more consumer goods, increased wages, many social benefits, shorter work hours and education for everyone. Ten years later life was worse in every aspect. The consumer goods, food, machinery and minerals produced with a heavy burden on the people were being shipped to Russia leaving the Hungarians working harder for less. Instead of freedom, society was choked with poverty and tyranny.

In order to gain control of the people the communists had infiltrated every aspect of their lives with the AVO police. Some were Russians but many were locals, promised special advantages if they would agree to inform on their fellow workers and neighbors. Violent torture camps were set up to punish any opposition. Some were deported to work camps in Siberia never to be heard of again. Fear increased as no one knew who they could trust or if someone would fabricate evil against you for their own gain or revenge.

This is the backdrop of the Hungarian revolt of 1956. James Mitchner was there, after the event, interviewing the refugees as they streamed out of Hungary , seeking asylum in Austria. Mitchner’s story is told from the eyes of real characters who participated in the revolt. The stories are a stunning indictment of the evils of communism.  (Published in 1957)

I was spellbound with the details of courage and love of country. "Give me liberty or give me death" could have been the battle cry of men women and children as they did the impossible in incident after incident. The revolt failed but according to Mitchner, it exposed communism for what it is to other countries who were toying with the possibilities for their own governments. Lest we forget how people can get sucked into such lies I believe it should be required reading for everyone.

Thousands were killed in the crushing defeat, after which, 200,000 mostly young and educated Hungarians fled the country over a rickety bridge, in the swamps near Andau, across the border to Austria, who welcomed and helped the refugees.

Next week I will be traveling to Hungary with my friend Cheryl Miller who recommended I read this book. I am grateful I did and will have a different feeling for these people knowing the struggles they have endured in my lifetime.  (This is only 280 fast pages)