Category Archives: Food

I’m An American Hodgepodge

Speaking of cultures not my own, (Question #3) this is my kindergarten class. Top row left end.

Another summertime Hodgepodge is coming our way thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

When I went to link up this morning for the Hodgepodge we had the news from Joyce that her dear Mama passed away earlier this week. Our hearts and prayers are with you, Joyce, and with your whole family.

1. How do you feel about the transition from lazy summer days to a busier fall routine? 

I’ve always loved the transition from summer to fall. Even the years I was in school, I welcomed with excitement going back. These days I enjoy the fact that Ladies Bible studies will start up again and there will be more order in our days. I enjoy Fall weather and Fall events like cider fest and the corn maze.

2. Your favorite cookie? 
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I like homemade Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies with oatmeal, walnuts, almonds, and sometimes coconut!
I use the toll house recipe and load them up with extras.
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3. What’s something you’ve learned from a culture different than your own?
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I grew up in Southern California just outside East Los Angeles and the neighborhoods we lived in were multi cultural with Mexicans, Jews, Russians, Armenians, Japanese, Scots, and Heinz 57 Americans. I included Scots, although I only first heard of anyone who was Scottish in 5th grade when Karen’s parents moved to Montebello and she was introduced as a new student in our class. I was enthralled with her from the start and she taught me a few Scottish dance moves that we shared with the class for show and tell. I think we sang a song, too, The Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomand.
Apart from the great food we enjoyed in the homes of my friends from these cultures, I learned about the Jewish custom of coming of age.
A bar mitzvah and a bat mitzvah are both Jewish coming-of-age milestones. A bar mitzvah (“son of commandment’) marks the religious maturity of a boy at the age 13, while a bat mitzvah (daughter of the commandment) marks the religious maturity of a girl, traditionally at age 12. 
I was invited to one of my Jewish friends Bat Mitzvah and I was blown away by the lavishness of the celebration!
These are my multi-cultural Cheer friends from my high school  at a Russian dinner at my house before a football game. (My Scottish friend from 5th grade, Karen, is the one with the rollers in her hair). We would have a meal at a different Cheer members home before Varsity games. They are eating borsch. That was just one of the food items my mother prepared for them. I think I see piroshky on the table, also. After the meal we would all get our cheer clothes on and head to the game for a night where we would work off every calorie we ate at dinner!
This is one of my best buddies from school days, Nanc. I spent a lot of time in her home where I learned how to make guacamole and we learned every popular Leslie Gore song by heart. Her parents brought me along to Mexican restaurants with them and to the downtown wholesale fashion district for shopping. Growing up, my family did not eat in restaurants so that was an eye opening experience all its own. Her dad drove a Volkswagon Square back and we spent many miles in that little car. One summer when she got back from visiting her uncle who was a jeweler in Mexico City she gifted me the ring below that he made for me.
While we were living in Camarillo for a short time Nanc and I reconnected online and we met up a couple of times for meals and to catch up on life. The photo above is of one of our meet ups. I hadn’t seen her for 40 years! There is a long story about that…
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 4. Food critic, film critic, book critic, art critic…which hat would you most like to wear? Tell us why. 
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Of these choices I’d choose the Food Critic hat because I love to travel and I love to try new restaurants and eat good food. I’d have a hard time writing bad critiques, though. I’ll just choose to be a traveler and enjoy trying new food in different places and being satisfied.
I’m not a film buff, or the reader of a variety of genres, and I’m definitely not artsy.

5. What’s a small, random thing from your childhood that you still remember clearly? 

This will give you a little insight into my character. I remember hiding from my mother and father on Saturday mornings because I did not want to go to Russian School. When they found me, I would stomp my feet and say, “I’m an American!”. Well that didn’t work. In my latter years I was thankful to have learned the Russian alphabet and to learn to read and write in Russian.

To say “I am American” in Russian, use Я американец (if you are male) or Я американка (if you are female). If you want to say “I am from America” or “from the USA,” you can say Я из Америки or Я из США.

Я американка, Yah Amereekanka, I am American.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

These questions pulled up a lot of memories from my past.

Until next time, hodgepodge friends…

Easy Blueberry Loaf

This is a quick easy bread to make using Bisquik or another pancake and baking mix

Ingredients:

1 egg
3/4 cup of sugar
1- 1/2 cups milk
3 cups Bisquik mix
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup finely chopped almonds
3/4 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan by greasing it.
Beat the egg and add the sugar beating until well combined.
Add the milk and Bisquick mix and beat well.
Stir in almonds and almond extract.
Carefully blend in blueberries.
Pour batter in prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean, ovens vary so check at 45 minutes. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan onto wire rack to continue cooling. Slice and enjoy.

 

Mac and Cheese Salad

This macaroni salad can be served hot or cold and it can also be kicked up by adding cooked and seasoned ground beef to make a more hearty meal.

Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces of small elbow macaroni cooked in well salted water
  • 5 ounces of crumbled feta cheese
  • 4 ounces grated fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup or more of fresh baby spinach julienned
  • 3 green onions chopped
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Bring a big pot of water to boil with a good amount of salt.
  2. Add the elbow macaroni and cook to a nice al dente stage.
  3. Drain water and add a little olive oil to slightly coat the elbow macaroni.
  4. Immediately add the feta and Parmesan cheese while macaroni is still hot.
  5. Add green onions and spinach.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Toss and serve hot or you can refrigerate to serve cold at a later time.

If you want a more hearty meal instead of a nice side dish add some cooked seasoned ground beef to the salad and top with a little more Parmesan cheese. If you want the dish to be cheesier just add more feta and Parmesan cheese. You can also add more green onions or spinach. It’s up to you and your taste buds.

Easy Pasta Meal

In the carefree summertime it’s good to have a few no pressure, no fussing meals to fall back on.
This simple meal takes less then 20 minutes to prepare and can be served up with a simple green salad and some bread. Here’s my carefree pasta meal.

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounce package pasta of your choice
  • 24 ounce jar of Alfredo or other sauce of your choice
  • 1-2 cups ground turkey or chicken, cooked fully
  • 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions/scallions
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Cook 12 ounces of pasta of your choice in salted water to al dente and drain.
  2. Leave in pot.
  3. Add a jar of Spaghetti Sauce or your favorite sauce to the noodles.
  4. Add the cooked ground chicken or turkey.
  5. Add fresh chopped tomatoes and chopped green onion.
  6. Add fresh sliced mushrooms.
  7. Cook all ingredients together until sufficiently heated through.
  8. Season to taste and serve with garlic bread.

Cambridge the 13th of March 2026

Our travel journal is coming to an end with our last full day in Cambridge on Friday the 13th of March. First thing that morning we walked to The Locker Cafe on King St. After we arrived and ordered it became quite busy.

This day would turn out to be a blustery cold day and our coats stayed on.

We ordered the Shakshuka and it was delicious.

After breakfast we walked to the Market area of Cambridge to see if St. Edward King and Martyr church was open before their scheduled mass at 10:30. We wanted to pop in before mass started.

Along this passageway Greg spotted our first dinky door!

Some of Cambridge’s most charming architecture is tucked away at ankle level. Since 2019, an anonymous couple has been working toward their mission of “Saving the World” by installing little portals to whimsical delight throughout Cambridge.

You can see why they are easy to miss. Can you see it?

You can read about dinky doors here.

The church played a unique role in the early days of the Reformation. A group of evangelicals in Cambridge, of whom Thomas Bilney was the first, had been meeting regularly in the early 1520s. They were influenced by a fresh translation of the New Testament by Erasmus and by the ideas of Luther, and they believed passionately in the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ.

At the Christmas Midnight Mass here in 1525, Robert Barnes preached what is thought to be the first openly evangelical sermon to be preached in any church in the country, proclaiming the Christian Gospel and accusing the Church of its heresies. This event led to St. Edward’s often being called the cradle of the Reformation in England.

Other reformers preached regularly at St. Edward’s, including Hugh Latimer until he left Cambridge in 1531. Some of his sermons preached here have been preserved, and the pulpit from which the reformers preached is still in use today.

Barnes and Latimer were both put to death for their beliefs. As he comforted Nicholas Ridley at the stake in Oxford. Latimer said ‘Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.’

These windows are in honor Thomas Bilney and Hugh Latimer

To the Glory of God and to honour those from this Parish who in the years 1523 to 1525 met near by at the White Horse Inn and there sought out the principles of the English Reformation Thomas Bilney + 1531 – Robert Barnes + 1540 – Hugh Latimer + 1555 who through faith quenched the violence of fire.

Since mass was about to start we didn’t take a lot of photos or hang around for long but we were happy to put more pieces together of the history of the Reformation in England.

Making our way next to ‘Bodies in the Bookshop’ we came across this bookshop that was not open.

The wind and the cold prompted us to pop into any shop along the way that looked interesting. We were thankful that there was no rain! As it turned out the Bodies in the Bookshop would not open till noon so we made the quick decision to pop into Fitzbillies and enjoy some hot tea. Greg started to feel under the weather and a spot of tea sounded good.

We were happy to get a seat far from the front door.

Greg opted for tea and a scone but I went for the classic Afternoon Tea.

When in Rome as the saying goes…

I didn’t want to leave England without enjoying High Tea.

Earlier in the week we did partake of the famous ‘Fitzbillies Chelsea Bun’. I neglected to take a photo of them.

We enjoyed our food leisurely knowing we’d be out in the cold again.

The bookshop opened while we were having our tea so we backtracked to peruse the offerings.

We bought a used book by Elizabeth Goudge and a gift book and then started our trek back to our lodgings.

We managed to find two more dinky doors. We heard there are at least 14 of them sprinkled around town.

Before making it all the way back to our lodgings we stopped at the Round Church which was finally open when we passed by. That post I’ll save for another time.

After the Round Church Greg retired for the afternoon and evening in our aparthotel room. He was not feeling well. I ventured back out and about to see what I could see.

I wandered about taking photos.

I popped into a church, I passed along the way…

St. Ephraim Orthodox Parish

In looking up this church now that I’m home I found out the history of it.

On December 2, 2023, celebrations were held dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the founding of the parish of the Sourozh diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in honour of St. Ephraim the Syrian in Cambridge, UK.

I didn’t realize I had stepped into a Russian Orthodox Church. I learn so much after the fact! I knew it was an Orthodox church and different from other churches we have visited in the U.K.

Via Crucis Via Lucis ~The Way of the Cross, The Way of Light

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum ~ May the Peace of the Lord be always with you.

Before I joined Greg for the evening, I popped into Pizza Express and ordered a pizza to go for us to have in our room.

One more post coming up for the finale of our time in Cambridge, England. Thank you for traveling along with us.

Cambridge Off the Beaten Path

It was still Thursday March 12th as we made our haphazard way to Emmanuel College from the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge. There were a few more stops to include in our travel journal. These were not your normal tourist stops.

It was nice to see some signs of Spring arriving soon.

It was about a half a mile walk to St. Andrews Street from Trumpington.

Don’t forget to look up!

Someone called Emmanuel College the “Seedbed of the English Reformation”.

“I have set an acorn, which when it becomes an oak, God alone knows what will be the fruit thereof.”
– Sir Walter Mildmay replying to Queen Elizabeth I on the founding of Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1584.

We were curious as to whether we could see that quote written somewhere on campus and we got some information from the porter’s office that was a wild goose chase. But while heading to the area where said quote was to be found we made another discovery.

St. Andrew’s Street Baptist Church.

The church was all locked up so we couldn’t go inside. That was a disappointment.

1855 Josiah Chater records that Charles Spurgeon came twice to preach at St Andrew’s Baptist church, 6th April and 8th August. “Agnes and I heard him and liked him very much indeed: he gave an excellent sermon.”

Charles Spurgeon is a favorite of mine and of many others as well. “The Prince of Preachers.”

On our back roads walk to our lodgings we passed the King’s Street Brewery and decided we’d return there for our dinner.

One more Fish and Chips meal in England.

This back roads walk also helped us choose where we would enjoy breakfast on Friday the 13th, our last full day in Cambridge.

Summertime Hodgepodge

 

Another Wednesday Hodgepodge hot off the press. Thank you, Joyce!

1. “Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” Sam Keen

Do you feel less guilty relaxing in July than you do in January? Elaborate.
No, but I would much rather sweat in January than in July. There is less for me to do in January. July is filled with mowing, weeding, watering which makes me sweat. Even if I weeded everyday there would still be more weeding to do. I generally do not feel guilty for relaxing.
Found this welcoming gate on a beach walk way back in 2009!
2. What’s a telltale sign you’re upset?
I stop smiling…

3. July 16th is National AI Day. What are your general thoughts and/or experiences with AI? Have you purposely used it? Does it excite you, scare you, or worry you? What do you see as a benefit? How about something relating to AI you see as a negative?

I haven’t given AI deep thoughts. I probably use it mostly in my google searches for information. I ignore the prompts that ask if I’d like help writing, etc. False information connected to people or misrepresenting images are worrisome.

4. You’re invited to a summer pot luck and are asked to bring an appetizer, salad/side, or dessert. Which category do you go for and what are you bringing?

Dessert is the easiest thing for me to sign up for. Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies or Peanut Butter Rice Krispie bars with Chocolate/Butterscotch Topping are what I’d probably bring.

5. It wouldn’t be summer without___________________.

It wouldn’t be summer without a trip to the beach…

…and Ice Cream.

We’ve had many enjoyable last minute adventures in the summertime.

Lavender Festival in Sequim, 2012. It always happens the third weekend in July. We enjoyed them very much in past summers. BTW: you pronounce Sequim -squim.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Update from last Wednesday’s Hodgepodge; I did manage to bake some blueberry muffins. I used this recipe. I left off the topping because I stay away from cinnamon these days, our grandson is allergic to it. I enjoyed them even more without the topping because the result was delicious muffin tops with just a bit of crispy edges.

I also liked the fact that this recipe makes 8 muffins, not a dozen.

Update on our A/C: A technician came out on Tuesday afternoon and within 20 minutes our unit was repaired and ready to cool us again. So thankful! Doubly thankful, as we are supposed to hit the 100’s next week!

July at Home

Summer has arrived in our corner of the world. On Friday evening our A/C stopped pumping cold air into our home. Of course it was after hours which means we won’t be able to schedule a service call until Monday after 8am (today). We have had the windows open and are enjoying the summer breezes. Thankfully the air has been fresh without the fertilizer and other natural livestock scents dominating the air!

Our July views prompt gratitude and thanksgiving to our God who created all things for us to enjoy.

lavender

We have a new umbrella this year and we’ve had to put extra weights on the base even though it’s supposedly a 40 lb. base. Before we added the weight the umbrella had tried to fly away.

Bee Balm

Coneflowers

Hosta

Bluebells or a relative?

Day lilies

The baby swallows have exited their nests and learned to fly.

We have several Quail families roaming our acres with babies, toddlers, and teen quail in tow. They always make us smile. There is always a scout quail that chooses a higher position to warn the other quail of any danger.

Deer have been more sporadic.

Hopefully before the morning ends we’ll have a scheduled HVAC appointment for this week!!

Cambridge Dinner and Evensong

Another journal entry for our time in Cambridge in March of 2026. This one will be for the evenings of March 11th and a back track to the evening of March 10th.

After our train ride back from Ely we hailed a taxi to drive us back to our lodgings. We freshened up and relaxed for a while but soon determined we were hungry and set out to find the likely spot for dinner.

The Cambridge Chop House looked good and we managed to get seated without a reservation.

The views of King’s College were a nice added treat.

A lamb chop for me and short ribs for Greg.

We shared sticky toffee pudding for dessert. This was a top notch and very satisfying meal.

It slipped my journal posting radar about our Tuesday evening March 10th Evensong at St. John’s College. St. John’s College was closed to visitors the whole time we were in Cambridge but they did have Evensong that the public could enjoy. We were so happy to be able to attend it in the college chapel and get a little view into some of the architecture and history.

Evensong is a musical form of evening prayer, most familiar in the Anglican and Episcopal traditions. It’s typically held in cathedrals, collegiate chapels, and parish churches, often at the close of the day. Unlike many other church services, much of Evensong is sung by a choir, accompanied by an organ, with the congregation usually participating through silent reflection or by joining in a few responses and hymns. The primary purpose of Evensong is to offer thanks for the day that is past, to seek spiritual peace for the evening ahead, and to provide attendees with a space for contemplation through beautiful music and scripture. 

It has been a wonderful way for us to end a day of sightseeing in our travels to attend Evensong.

Where we were seated to enjoy Evensong I was able to see some of the floor tiles in the transept/crossing section of the chapel.

Moses and the burning bush.

Abel and his offering to God.

While waiting in the narthex of the chapel, I was thrilled to see the following tribute.

Greg and I have read about William Wilberforce and seen tributes to him in different parts of England. His book, Real Christianity, is a book I can recommend. I have the revised and updated version by Bob Beltz.

Wilborforce and Thomas Clarkson both members of St. John’s College were honored for their prominent role in passing of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade 1807.

1776 & 1779 William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson begin their studies at St John’s. Joining forces in 1787, they will spend the rest of their lives leading the campaign to abolish the slave trade and slavery.

“Britain’s abolition of its slave trade and then colonial slavery is the most dramatic example in human history of moral convictions overcoming national self-interest.” David Brian Davis

While we were in Oxford at Christ Church College in 2022 we saw a tribute to one of Wilberforce’s sons.

The plaque on the left reads Culham College, Founded by Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, to prepare school teachers to serve children within the Diocese of Oxford and well beyond its borders. 1852-1979

Samuel Wilberforce, FRS was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as “Soapy Sam”, Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day. He is now best remembered for his opposition to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at a debate in 1860.

We also read an extensive plaque in his honor in the north transept of Westminster Abbey when we visited in 2003.

William Wilberforce is buried in the north transept of Westminster Abbey in London, England.
He was laid to rest on August 3, 1833, following a major state funeral. He is buried next to his close friend and former British Prime Minister, William Pitt.

Wilberforce was a member of parliament from Yorkshire. When we were visiting the Yorkminster in 2023 I spotted a plaque dedicated to him at the entrance to the gift shop.

You can read more about Wilberforce at the following link;

William Wilberforce

I’ll leave this post with a couple quotes from Real Christianity.

The Bible is one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity. It tells us of the greatest gift that men and women have longed for through-out the ages and of which the prophets spoke about for centuries. When Jesus finally came, His arrival was hailed by the angelic host with the exclamation, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). How can you measure the value of the good news of Christ? It is spoken of in the Bible as light in the darkness, freedom from slavery and life from death. Look at how much the Early Church valued the message. They received it with great joy and overflowing gratitude.

Surely all these things should help us come to terms with the inexpressible value of true faith. The greatest gift of God is often either rejected outright or treated as if it is of little worth. But if we really began to study the Bible, we would be impressed with the proper value of the gift.”

Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center

Our trip to the Oregon Coast was a spontaneous last minute decision. I knew about CBCC and it’s location. At the beginning of June I decided to check out their summer conference schedule (better late than never). There were two 5 night conferences with speakers that stood out to us but they were both full when we enquired and we got put on waiting lists. One of those conferences was from June 22nd until June 27th. A week before the conference was to start we got a call that there was an opening. We decided to go for it. Yikes. This part of the Oregon Coast is about a 9 hour drive from our home. We made another last minute call and asked our kids on the ‘Coast’ if we could spend a couple nights with them to cut our trip in half. They said yes!

It was nice to spend a couple days with our ‘Coast’ kids.

On Monday morning the 22nd of June we left Bothell for our 4 hour drive to Cannon Beach. We stopped on the way in Astoria for lunch and that post is here.

CBCC was founded in 1945. Some of the history can be found here.

John Goodman photo of original grounds i

More Than
75 Years in Ministry

Founded in 1945, Cannon Beach Conference Center has grown from humble beginnings to its place as one of the premier Christian retreat and conference centers on the West Coast.

The building above is the large dining room.

Across from the dining room was another lodge with the main conference check in lobby, a book nook, a store and a nice fireside area.

The above view is on campus lodging along with other buildings. I didn’t get photos of the gym and the chapel where all of our worship sessions were held.

This was our approach to the main campus from our lodgings each day for breakfast, our morning session, dinner, and our evening session. Our lodgings were about a half a block to the main campus.

The Pacific view lodge on the right is one of several lodges that house conference attendees.

We chose the older, more humble Beach Front Lodge that is located right on the beach.

Humble room and shower room with million dollar views and sounds.

The rooms do not have TV’s (on purpose), no coffee maker (coffee is provided at the conference center from 6:30am) no toiletries like shampoo and conditioner. They do have bar soap, towels, linens, tp, tissue, hair dryer, paper towels, microwave, refrigerator and internet. We brought our travel coffee pot, beans, grinder, and coffee cups which was a great decision for us since we like to have our cuppa when we wake up.

Looking back at the lodge from the sand.

Pelicans gathered during the day entertaining us.

What we learned as first timers is that these conferences are popular with large and small family groups who come year after year and have a kind of family reunion enjoying food and activities provided for all age groups.

We met some dear folk who we had many good conversations with. One couple who were missionaries in Japan for 27 years were especially good to get to know.

The worship/teaching time in the morning and evening was encouraging.  Here are some notes I wrote down during the talks, The Invisible Hand of God was the overall theme from the book of Esther.

“Our unseen God is providentially working in our lives even when it feels like He is conspicuously absent or silent.”

“The unmistakable hand of God orders events to accomplish His will.”

“Don’t discount the possibilities of your ordinary days.”

A quote shared from the speaker’s father-in-law;

“Sin will…

take you further than you ever intended to stray
keep you longer than you ever intended to stay
cost you more than you ever intended to pay.”

We had free time everyday from about 11am until dinner at 5:30. We had lunch at different restaurants in town. We stopped and shopped along S. Hemlock street, the main drag which was always hopping with tourists. I didn’t get any photos of the street filled with tourists. We walked the shore and I’ll share those photos in another post.

We kept in touch with World Cup Soccer in the different eateries we chose in town.

It was delightful to fall asleep serenaded by the wind and the waves.

For those of you who might visit Cannon Beach someday these are places we ate and enjoyed the food and service, Driftwood, Bill’s Tavern and Brewhouse, Pelican Brewing, Screw and Brew (a hardware store and brewery), Public Coast Brewery.

We ate a lot of fish!

A shout out to Public Coast manager who kept the TV/bar area open after closing for us soccer fans to watch the USA v Turkey game on Thursday night! Thank you!

We also purchased candy and Salt Water Taffy from Bruce’s Candy Kitchen, making sweet memories since 1963.

Photos from our beach walks are coming soon.