Category Archives: Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Reflecting Back On May

British Columbia, Canada May 2018

The Seattle Japanese Garden 2017

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San Antonio River Walk 2016

Chewelah, Washington May 2015

Bellefontaine 142Bellefontaine Cemetery St. Louis, Missouri May 2014

British Columbia, Canada, May 2013

I’m still working through cleaning up my blog because of the Photobucket change of policy which resulted with them replacing 8 years of photos with ugly black and grey boxes asking for money to release my photos. I’ve made it to 2010 and have miles to go before I delete all those boxes. In the meantime I have these highlights from past posts in May. So much to be thankful for over the years.

We are in a warm weather pattern right now with just one wet day predicted this week. Right now a high of 75 degrees expected for Mother’s Day! We had a nice mostly quiet weekend here. The highlights of the weekend: time with Josh and Laura on our deck after the Sounder’s game, church on Sunday morning, and an afternoon meal on Sunday with friends in Kirkland. Hope you all had a good weekend.

Round Trip to Canada

On Thursday Marg hosted eight of “the girls” who live out west at her home in Canada for brunch. This event was planned because of my and Dear’s imminent move farther away from the Frasier Valley MGCC’s. The trip that now takes me a couple hours or so will take upwards of six hours in the future. We all contributed to the meal and we were not lacking for anything. I did not get photos of all the dishes we enjoyed. We missed our two Manitoba girls.

Marg’s little granddaughters helped her set the table. They said “we are the little Mennonite girls”. After we got up from the table we went outside to enjoy our sweets.

The day was beautiful and after a little while we got so warm we had to move into the shade. Besides eating we had some heart to hearts and some good laughs sharing around the circle.

A few of us were able to meet up at the #tulipsofthevalley in Chilliwack to enjoy the last few days of tulips in their glory.

We enjoyed swinging with the tulips, too.

Girls just want to have fun!

I left Canada around three and at the border crossing I was picked randomly for a full car search. Oye. I still managed to make it home by 5:30 for which I was grateful.

Hope May is starting well for you.

Pancakes Today…

…no Hodgepodge tomorrow. I know some of you really enjoy the Wednesday Hodgepodge but Joyce is taking this week off and we’ll have to wait till next week for some new questions. In the meantime you can click over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook for a Yogurt Pancake Recipe I posted today.

Since we don’t have our regular Hodgepodge Questions why don’t you answer these next 4 random questions in comments.

Now here are my 4 random questions:

1. God has decided to send you on a Mission trip, where are you going and why?

2. You have a free afternoon to read uninterrupted. Where would you choose to read?

3. If you were stuck in an elevator for over an hour what music would you want playing while you were stuck?

4. You have to travel from the west coast to the east coast of your country, what 5 cities would you want to spend time in?

I’ll post my answers tomorrow.

We have sunshine today. I’m hoping to get out into it.

Shrove, Fat, Mardi Gras, Ash and Valentine’s

Tuesday of this week is Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday for our friends across the Pond and Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday for some in the U.S.A. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s day lands on this day this year. That’s a cruel calendar joke if you are giving up sweets or sugar for Lent.

My Christmas poinsettia that I bought for ninety seven cents after Christmas is now a Valentine’s day poinsettia with the glittery hearts I added to it. It’s holding up with no help from me.

I brought out the red and pink for Valentine’s day and I am ignoring the purple/green/yellow of Mardi Gras. I’m considering making a good batch of pancakes for Shrove Tuesday joining our friends across the pond for Pancake Tuesday.

Pigs in a blanket for Shrove Tuesday?

Or Potato Pancakes? I’ll probably try some yogurt pancakes because I got a free tub of plain yogurt this week.

No heart shaped box of chocolates this year but I will buy a couple bags of chocolates for our small group who will be gathering here on Valentine’s day evening. We gave them the option to cancel but no one had plans so we are forging ahead with the group gathering.

The vintage Valentine’s are the best…do you agree?

I haven’t decided if I’ll set something aside for Lent this year. I will do some reading and listening to devotionals that prepare my heart and mind for this Lenten season culminating with Easter.

Head over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog for my Ground Chicken Chili recipe.

A Birthday and a Treat…

Happy Birthday to our dear daughter Katie. So thankful that God surprised us with a little girl.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Click over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog to get the easy recipe for this tasty appetizer. A good addition to your New Year’s Eve festivities or game day.

Merry and Bright

We met at Herb and Anneliese’s home this year for our annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas dinner party. We were greeted to their beautiful home and enjoyed many well thought out details of the season.

We all contributed some dishes for our gathering from appetizers to main course and dessert. Julies gluten free roll-ups were a big hit.

It had been a while since this many of us were together and it was good to catch up with one another.

Anneliese went the extra mile with veggies, fried potatoes, cucumber salad and home made rolls along with her Rouladen.

It was Dear and my first time enjoying Anneliese’s Rouladen and Bev’s Spaetzle and both dishes were delicious. Judy’s salad was a great starter to our meal.

For our exchange we decided to each bring one gift from our kitchen or something gathered for our kitchens to share with one another. We brought one gift and left with one gift.

We roused the guys to help take our annual Christmas shot and Lovella’s beloved captured both sides of the photo shoot.

Lovella’s Black Forest Torte and Marg’s Hazelnut Roll topped off the evening.

Dear and I headed for the border at 9:30 and were safely home by 11:10. We had two great border crossings and safe roads. We are in recuperating mode here at this old house. No decorations here yet so it was really nice to enjoy Anneliese’s home all decorated and ready to go.

First Christmas Party of 2017

Dear and I traveled to Abbotsford, Canada yesterday to start off the Christmas season with these “girls” and their husbands. Herb and Anneliese opened their festive and warm home to the 16 of us for the evening. We missed our two Manitoba girls and their husbands. I’ll share photos from our evening together soon. Today I’m recuperating from all that good food and the drive to Canada and home again.

What About You Hodgpodge

1.  What’s something blogging has taught you about yourself?

I’m social and I like to meet new people and see and experience new things. Blogging has opened up a whole new world to me with a walking buddy while I was living in Southern California (Willow’s Cottage), tour guides on trips to Canada (Pondside), outings with blogging friends to museums in California (Willows Cottage and Sara), a meet up and shopping trips with a blogging friend from Orange County who is no longer blogging, a meal with another blogging friend in the Sacramento area (Scrabblequeen) Lunch in Kansas with another blogging friend who is no longer blogging. The most amazing impact on my life that came to me through blogging is my association with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook. These nine women have enriched my life in more ways then I can count. I’m so thankful to God for them and the lives they lead in service to others and all the dear friends I’ve met in person or enjoyed by visiting their blogs. I’m ready and willing to meet any more of you who travel to my part of the world.

2.  Leftovers…are you in the ‘reheat and eat’ camp or the ‘put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them’ camp? What’s your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?

Both. I like small amounts of leftovers but I get tired of some things that linger in the fridge. I really enjoy Stroganoff and tuna noodle as leftovers. Soggy salads aren’t my cup of tea.

3. ‘Me time’…your thoughts?

At this stage of life I have plenty of “Me Time”. When my children were living under our roof “me time” was a rare commodity. I don’t think it’s too healthy to think too much about ME. There are seasons of life where we have more time for self and seasons with less time for self.

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

Emotional support.

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.

 Cabbage as in Borsch. Marinated lamb cooking on the barbecue. Lots of rice.  Sour cream as a side dish. Blintzes swimming in butter and half and half. Good fresh bread. In other words heritage food was the smell of my childhood. My mother’s and father’s love language was providing good eats for their family and others. We would probably be considered poor growing up but one thing we never lacked was tasty food.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Yippee, Yahoo, our countertops are being installed this morning, one week late! Better late then never! In the meantime I’ve accomplished some organizing and thinning out of stuff at this old house with the anticipation of moving next June! No Christmas decorating at this old house yet till we clean up the mess from the new countertops going in. Next week sounds like a good week to get a tree and start decorating.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions!

Getting to Know You…

I enjoyed reading Eileen’s Getting to Know Me and Mildred’s, too, so I’m answering the 25 questions.
1. What is your middle name?: 
I do not have a middle name on my birth certificate. In my Russian culture I would be introduced as Ellen, Moisi’s (daughter) Bagdanov. Everyone would then know that I was Moisi’s daughter not Ivan’s daughter.
That’s my maiden last name in Russian on my paternal grandparents’ gravestone.
2. What was your favorite subject at school?:
Any class where the teacher made me feel like they appreciated having me as a student especially my English teachers in high school. I enjoyed Home Economics and ended up majoring in Home Economics.
Mrs. Nicolaus was my favorite primary teacher.
3. What is your favorite drink?:
Morning: coffee  Cocktail: Gin and Tonic
4. What is your favorite song at the moment?:
Great is Thy Faithfulness
5. What is your favorite food?:
It’s hard to beat a good Ribeye steak or Osso Bucco or Prime Rib. I can’t narrow it down to one. My easy go to comfort food is probably Mexican food but I love finding good Persian restaurants that take me back to my food roots. I’m going to say my favorite food is food!
6. What is the last thing you bought?:
A large angel at Homegoods today.
7. Favorite book of all time?:
Yikes! Another hard one to narrow down. Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter Series.
8. Favorite Color?:
Blue
9. Do you have any pets?:
No
10. Favorite perfume?:
I don’t wear perfume and if you do please spray lightly. Thank you. 🙂
11. Favorite holiday?:
Easter is my favorite.
12. Are you married?:
Yes, this month we’ll celebrate 44 years!
13. Have you ever been out of the country?:
Yes. Great Britain seven times, Italy (Milan) once, Mexico once, Canada too many times to count.
14. Do you speak any other language?:
I can speak Russian poorly. I understand it better than I can speak it.
15. How many siblings do you have?:
Eight, 4 brothers and 3 sisters.
This photo is from my sister Kathy’s wedding. The groom and best man that are flanking Kathy aren’t part of the my 7 siblings and Dear is standing next to me. All the rest are my brothers and sisters who are now 44 years older! Kathy, Vera, Fred, Ellen, Tim, Steve, Lana and Leonard. The last two are twins.
16. What is your favorite shop?:
Homegoods
17. Favorite restaurant?:
For a nice hunk of meat, Metropolitan Grill. My all time favorite places to eat are Pubs in Great Britain.
18. When was the last time you cried?:
Last week. I cry easily during worship services.
19. Favorite Blog?:
I like a variety of blogs and especially enjoy visiting blogs that don’t bombard me with ads. I’m sad that a few of my favorites aren’t up and running at present.
20. Favorite Movie?:
The older Pride and Prejudice series with Colin Firth. Does that qualify as a movie?
21. Favorite TV shows?:
Great British Baking Show, Alone, Top Chef, Project Runway, Live PD, Survivor, NCIS, just to name a few.
22. PC or Mac?:
PC
23. What phone do you have?:
Samsung 4 or 5 , probably time to upgrade.
24. How tall are you?:
5′ 4-1/2″
25. Can you cook?:
Yes I can and I’m part of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook. My mother was a great Russian cook. Her love language was to cook for others and to feed them. She loved to listen to cooking shows on the radio and try to write down the recipes. Since she didn’t know how to write in English this was a challenge for her. She enjoyed trying new things and inspired all of her kids to cook. The photo above is from our humble home in Montebello at a dinner prepared for the cheer squad by my mom, Borsch, Meat and Potato filled Perishky and Blintzes. My parents modeled hospitality even though they always struggled financially while we were growing up.
Thanks for visiting today. We are hoping our counters will be able to be cut and installed on Monday!

Black Friday

Click on over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog to see the easy recipe for these French Toast Rollups that are a fun way to serve breakfast or brunch.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the home of dear friends with so much good food and good cheer. There were 44 of us!

When we came home last evening we noticed several homes in our neighborhood had put up their Christmas lights. It’s time for the “Season of Light”. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 (ESV)

Today is Black Friday. Are you shopping today?