Blintzes

This is Nadia, she’s not making blintzes here. This was a photo from the 80’s in Wildomar for our Easter gathering.

Nadia’s  Blintzes

6 eggs
4 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp. oil

Scald the milk. Beat the eggs. Slowly add the milk to the eggs while continuing beating. Add salt, sugar and oil, beat until blended. Slowly beat in the flour until combined.

I use two 10″ heavy Teflon pans to cook the blintzes. You might want to just start with one till you get this process down. Heat the pan. Coat the pan lightly with oil. (I use a piece of cheesecloth to coat the pan with oil and if needed I’ll coat again into the cooking process). Use a 1/3 cup measure to dip into the mixing bowl (you don’t have to fill to the top just use a uniform measure of the liquid for each blintz) Pour into frying pan and swirl the pan to coat the bottom evenly.

 

Cook until the blintz turns a nice golden brown. With a spatula loosen the edges and flip the blintz and brown on the other side. Remove from pan and let cool on a dish cloth.

Repeat the process. Sometimes the only hindrance to these flipping and cooking well is the temperature of the pan. You’ll have to experiment to get it at the magic temp. Start at medium.  After the blintzes are cooled you can stack them. They can be frozen at this time if you would like. This recipe will make approximately 24 blintzes.

 

Cheese filling for the blintzes:
1- cartons of ricotta cheese (8 oz. size)
(You can also use cottage cheese, hoop cheese or farmers cheese)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 tbsp. sugar.
you will also need a small carton of half and half and a stick of butter (1/2 cup)

Beat all the ingredients till smooth except half and half and stick of butter. Spread about 1 Tablespoon of cheese onto one side of blintz. Roll up and place in a 9×13 baking dish. They can be layered. Melt one cube of butter and pour over the blintzes. Bake in 350 degree oven until heated through. Heat up to 8 oz. of Half and Half until is is warm but not boiling. Pour half and half over blintzes to cover and continue baking until half and half boils. Remove from oven and serve with sour cream and preserves or syrup.

For a savory filling:

Saute 1 large onion in oil and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 lb. hamburger (15%) and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dice enough broccoli to make 2 cups. Steam until broccoli just turns bright green. Combine meat, broccoli and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and heat through. Scoop about 2-3 T of mixture onto blintz and fold in the sides to form a square. Place in a baking dish. Melt butter and poor over the filled blintzes. Bake in a 350 to 375 degree oven until heated through. Serve and if you want to make additional sauce you can serve extra sauce with the savory blintzes. Oh I almost forgot, you can serve these with sour cream if you’d like, also. Enjoy Deena!

HT: Bagdanov Family Cookbook

 

 

God’s Power In You ~ The Holy Spirit

 

My weekly Bible Study using the book Seeking Him (Experiencing The Joy Of Personal Revival) by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom is down to the final 2 lessons. This week’s lesson is on the Holy Spirit. I wanted to share some of the material here.

Whether you realize it or not, the Holy Spirit is actively involved in every dimension of your Christian life, from before the point of your conversion until you get to heaven. We were never intended to live our lives apart from Him. In fact we cannot live the Christian life apart from Him!”

“Christian maturity cannot be attained by trying harder or doing more. God has not dangled the prospect of an abundant life before us then set us loose in a maze to try to find our way through. The Holy Spirit acts as our guide and our companion – the One sent from heaven to lead us home. He enables us to obey God, empowers us to become like Jesus, and fills us with supernatural power for work and for witness. We should, therefore, learn how to listen to Him, how to follow Him, how to rely on His power, and how to walk in His fullness.

I especially love the phrase…”the One sent from heaven to lead us home.” What a comforting thought that is for me. I like to have someone that I trust to lead me. I need help to get home. Praise God Almighty he has me covered from the start to the finish. That gives me lots of hope.

Here are a couple quotes from C.H. Spurgeon on the subject of the Holy Spirit:

“Blessed Spirit of the Lord, forgive us that we have done such despite to you, by our forgetfulness of you, by our proud self-sufficiency, by resisting your influences, and quenching your fire!”

“We must have the Holy Spirit’s power and presence, otherwise our religion will become a mockery before God, and a misery to ourselves.”

May we learn to rely on the One sent from heaven to help us here on Earth.

John 14: 15-17 (ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

Here are some great passages on the Holy Spirit. Check them out and be encouraged!

Ezekial 36:27, John 14:26; 16:13, Acts 1:8, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:26-27, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11, Galatians 5:22-23

Testimony Tuesday ~ Beth

The following testimony is from my friend Beth. We met after her son Jamie and my son Dan became close friends in elementary school in Washington. Both Beth and her husband Dave are relational people who care about others and are always willing and ready to help those in need. We have been ministered to by them in so many ways. We truly treasure their friendship. Beth and Dave have three sons who are all our dear friends, too. Here’s Beth’s testimony in her own words.

In 1951, God chose to give me physical birth, into a non practicing Catholic family. From my earliest years I  believed in God and knew He loved me. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother who took her Catholic religion VERY seriously. With her I spent a lot of time at church, which I didn’t like, but what was comforting was her love for God. My parents divorced when I was 9.  I ended up going to quite a few different schools, one of them being Bellevue Christian. Mr. Fredricks was my 8th grade teacher. He was an ex-drinker and smoker who loved to tell how God reached down and saved him. I was so drawn to his passion, but didn’t understand the message. My sophomore year I went to a Seventh Day Adventist boarding school. They believe Saturday is the Sabbath, so from sundown Friday till sundown Saturday, we could either study the Bible or go to church services. Up to that point, I had heard the story of Jesus many times in many ways by many different people. I wasn’t seeking, and thought I already knew how much Jesus loved me. But one night in 1967, He chose to give me spiritual birth. He pierced my heart, opened my spiritual eyes and completely overwhelmed me with His love.

         ” The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making  wise the simple.”  Psalm 19:7

 Looking back I have seen how even before I was saved God placed people in my life to nurture, protect & direct me to Him. He has shown time and time again how faithful, how merciful, and how lovingly patient He is. His truth is what I continually seek.

             “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”       Psalm 62:7,8

“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”     Psalm 119: 10-16

                                       

These are Dave and Beth’s three sons in Jamie, Aaron, and Matt.      

All We Will Get Is Mercy ~ Piper

 

From Life As a Vapor (Thirty ~ One Meditations for Your Faith) by John Piper

 

Let us make crystal clear at the beginning of each new day, all we will get from God as believers in Jesus is mercy. Whatever pleasures or pains may come our way in this day, they will all be mercy. This is why Christ came into the world – “in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his great mercy” (Romans 15:9). We were born again “according to his great mercy” (I Peter 1:3); we pray daily “that we may receive mercy” (Hebrews 4:16); and we are now “waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 1:21). If any Christian prove trustworthy, it is “by the Lord’s mercy [he] is trustworthy” (I Corinthians 7:25). In the end, when all is said and done, we will confess, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).

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O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus – Samuel Francis (1834 – 1925)

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!

Rolling as a mighty ocean

In its fullness over me.

Underneath me, all around me,

Is the current of His love

Leading onward leading homeward,

To Thy glorious rest above

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Spread His praise from shore to shore.

How he loveth ever loveth

changeth never, nevermore.

How He watcheth o’er His loved ones,

Died to call them all His own;

How for them He intercedeth,

Watcheth o’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Love of ev’ry, love the best!

‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing,

‘Tis a haven sweet of rest.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

‘Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me;

And it lifts me up to glory,

For it lifts me, Lord, to Thee!

 

“““““““`

This is one of my favorite hymns. The words are so rich and the minor key  that it is written in takes me back to my Russian heritage.

 

Walking Tour in Great Britain~Wales~Lakes~Scotland~York

In May of 2006 “Dear” and I traveled to Great Britain with 4 of our best friends. Our travel itinerary arranger was Jody and she did a fantastic job finding lovely non-smoking B & B’s with parking and good food. She also made the arrangements for a 7 passenger van that we used for the trip. It was a tight fit with 6 of us and luggage, but we managed. We all just packed one bag that we carried on the plane. (This was before liquids were not allowed anymore in carry-ons). So here’s a short explanation with pictures of our tour.

I’ll be your tour guide. The picture below is of “Dear” and I taken in Edinburgh at a Turkish restaurant.

We flew into Manchester Airport, picked up our van, and headed West to Wales. Our first B & B was in Conwy. The grounds of our B & B shared the castle walls. This was the view from our bedroom window.

The day after we arrived we tried to climb Mt. Snowden, the highest Peak in England and Wales. The day was very blustery and we were literally blown around on the upper part of the mountain and never made it to the top.

This is a Stile (steps for scaling a wall or fence). We felt like we were in a Jane Austen novel. The trail was very rocky, there was loose and fixed shale. It was uneven and very steep which made it hard on the ankles and knees.

Jan and I were happy to turn back half-way up but “Dear”, Bob and Jody made it further up till the wind got to be too much. Dave had an injury shortly before we left on this trip so he could not join us on the more strenuous hikes.

See the shale on the trail?

After that grueling hike this was our first pain killer of choice.

Then we were rewarded for such a heroic attempt by eating out at Bistro Conwy one of the highlights of our trip.

Dave the primo photographer and Jody at Bistro Conwy.

“Dear” and I shared the Welsh Lamb Shoulder. Oh my gosh, good to the last drop in a tasty reduced sauce.

On our 3rd day we headed north to the Lake District. We stayed at Hollows Farm, a 17th century National Trust owned farm outside of Keswick in the Borrowdale Valley along Derwent River. We were literally on the path of many wonderful walking trails. It is here that I heard my first Cuckoo Bird. They actually sing “coo coo, coo coo!”

The farm is in the background.

This was lambing season and it was so much fun to see all the little lambs frolicking about. The walks along River Derwent were wonderful. We went through kissing gates and over stone bridges.

Beatrix Potter’s Derwentwater and trails around this area are the inspiration for some of her books.

Jody, Jan and Bob made it to the top of the Catsbells overlooking Derwentwater.

We checked out of Hollows Farm on a Sunday and  found a little church to go to in Keswick and had some food for our Souls before we continued North to Oban, Scotland.

 In Oban we stayed at a waterfront B & B for two nights.

Our B & B is the fourth one from the left

From Oban we took a ferry to the Isle of Mull. We crossed Mull via tour bus to get to a smaller ferry that took us to the Isle of Iona. We were all so happy we followed through on plans to come to this Isle. Mull and Iona are part of the Inner Hebrides Islands. The Isle was full of history about the Book of Kells, Columba, Viking raids and the advancement of Christianity into Scotland and beyond. So much amazing history on such a small isle!

On our final morning in Oban we toured the Oban Distillery and tasted Scotch. Even though it was quality stuff only one of us truly appreciated the taste of it. We all appreciated the history and being shown the process.

We now drove Southeast across Scotland to our next stop Edinburgh.

With the help of knowledgeable staff at the Starbucks in Edinburgh we managed to find the Elephant house. This is where J.K. Rowling is said to have mulled over a cup of coffee while writing her first Harry Potter novel.

This is our B & B in Edinburgh . It is here that we experienced our first taste of Haggis, it really was quite nice. We relied heavily on the bus system here and that worked well for us.

From Edinburgh we drove to York which would be the end of the trail for “Dear and I”. Dave, Jody, Bob, and Jan would continue on from York to Bath and London.

York has wonderful cobblestone streets and narrow passageways to explore. Our B & B was just a few blocks outside the city walls and we enjoyed seeing most of York. The free guided tour was worth it, rich with history and information.

One of the highlights of our trip was our ongoing quest to find the best Sticky Toffee Pudding in Great Britain. If you have never tried this wonderful dessert you have truly missed a gastronomical delight!

From York “Dear”and I walked to the train station and boarded a train that took us straight to Manchester Airport. We exited the train took the escalator and were in the airport, fantastic! Here are the three couples who walked, prayed, ate, conversed, drank, hiked, and discovered so many wonderful sights together.

Bob and Jan in Keswick

Dave and Jody (the master planner) in Oban

Ellen and “Dear” in Conwy

The Three Amigas

The three of us have been walking together on Saturdays in Seattle for a few years now. We walk 6 miles and we talk and keep each other accountable. We try to be real and speak the truth into each other. We confess to each other and love each other, deeply. What a blessing God has given us in this friendship. When I’m in California I miss my girls!

The Ten Commandments ~ Following God Wholeheartedly

Pastor Steve at E.V. Free Conejo Valley is doing a series in Deuteronomy and we are at Deuteronomy 5.

Deuteronomy 5:1, 6-22 (ESV):

1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

6 “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “‘You shall not murder.

18 “‘And you shall not commit adultery.

19 “‘And you shall not steal.

20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

Questions from Pastor Steve to ponder in response to these commandments and to this question: Am I following God wholeheartedly?  2 Chronicles 25:2, “He did what was right in the eyes of God but not wholeheartedly.” 

What is your source of strength and guidance?  ~ What gives you a sense of security? ~ In what do you trust? ~ What has become the source of your joy this week? ~ What sparks your heart to adoration? ~ Who or what do you worship? (John 4:23) ~ What lifts your heart to wonder and praise? ~ What are you looking forward to? ~ What do you think will truly fulfill your life and make it worth living? ~ In whom do you place your hope?

God has given me these commandments for my good. I need to learn them and to remember them and teach them to my children and grandchildren and I am to be careful to do them and follow God wholeheartedly. Yep, I’m feeling convicted.

Disclaimer: I’m assuming the artwork at the top of this post is the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, but since I don’t read Hebrew I can’t be sure. Forgive me if it isn’t.

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Golubtzi with Smetana (Stuffed Cabbage with Sour Cream Sauce)

Nadejda’s Golubtzi with Smetana (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Sour Cream Sauce)

 

This is a recipe from my mom that my sister Vera has tweaked and published. My mom is always updating her recipes and just when we think we have them down she adds a little twist, always trying to improve the taste. If you are a Russian who has strayed away from home and good home cooking try this and be ready to be taken back in time! Any Russian Molokans or Russian Baptists out there who are looking for long lost recipes I’ll be posting some over the next several weeks. As always there are several varieties to this recipe and others depending on where in Russia your family is from, etc. I have to include a disclaimer here, my mother (the Russian Baptist) would never serve these with vodka. I added that to the picture to make it authentically Russian! It’s actually a souvenir brought straight from Russia. The great thing about this post and picture is that I planned to post this recipe for Golubtzi tonight and when I was at my mom and dads today my mom sent her Golubtzi home with me for “Dear” and I for dinner. I’m sitting here at my computer ready to hit the publish button with a bowl full of Golubtzi. So yum, yum the post has come full circle!

2 lbs. Hamburger
1 – 1/2 cup cooked rice (1/2 cup uncooked)
1/2 onion grated
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
1 can tomato soup
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 onion chopped
1-1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups water
1 head cabbage

Core cabbage. You can carefully separate leaves or cook the cabbage whole. Boil in water until soft and pliable. Combine first 6 ingredients. Place about 1/3 Cup of the hamburger mixture onto a cabbage leaf and fold over the edges and roll up. Place in a baking dish. We use standard glass pyrex or other rectangular baking dishes to bake them in.

 

Fry the onion in oil until it is translucent. Add soup, sauce, ketchup and water. Stir until well mixed. Bring to a boil. Add a little of sauce to the sour cream to temper it, then add the sour cream mixture to the sauce. Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 1-1/2 hours.

You can eat these as a complete meal or add whatever side dish you might enjoy in combination with the Golubtzi. Yum my mouth is watering. Some extra tips included below to make the rolling process easier.

Shave the larger veins on the smaller leaves of cabbage so they’ll roll easier.

 

Yes, you can stuff peppers, too. We usually use green peppers.

 

Don’t forget to put a dish of Sour Cream (Smetana) on the table so you can add another dollop to your serving. Russians aren’t afraid of sour cream. That red pepper up there would look tastier with a dollop of smetana on it!

NEWSFLASH: Now if you want some easy dinner recipes go to Rebecca’s site where she’s hosting a recipe round-up.

 

 

 

Lord of all the Pots and Pans

 Lord of All the Pots and Pans

A poem written in by a 19 year old girl in domestic service in England:

 

Lord of all pots and pans and things
Since I’ve no time to be
A saint by doing lovely things
Or watching late with Thee
Or dreaming in the sweet dawn light
Or storming Heaven’s gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals
And washing up the plates.

Although I must have Martha’s hands,
I have a Mary mind,
And when I black the boots and shoes,
Thy sandals, Lord, I find.
I think of how they trod the earth,
What time I scrub the floor:
Accept this meditation, Lord.
I haven’t time for more.

Warm all the kitchen with Thy love
And light it with Thy peace;
Forgive me all my worrying,
And make all grumbling cease.
Thou who didst love to give men food,
In room or by the sea,
Accept this service that I do–
I do it unto Thee

Colossians 3:17 (ESV): “And whatever you do , in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him.”

Thanks to my girlfriend Jody who sent me this poem a while back.

 

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Testimony Tuesday ~ Kathy (a.k.a. Jack’s Nana)

This is my sister Kathy’s testimony. She is the oldest of 8 siblings. She was born in Tehran and immigrated to the U.S. with my folks shortly after World War II. Kathy is married to Len and she has two daughters Michelle and Melissa. Michelle is married to Ryan and has one son, Jackson.

 

Lana, Kathy, Ellen and Vera (sisters)

Growing up in our family, where our Mom was a Christian and Pop was a very religious man, was a real privilege.  Babushka Vera [our maternal grandmother] was a real prayer warrior and prayed for all of us especially Pop.  Vera [my younger sister] and I would go to Bethany Sunday School occasionally because of our friendships with Tamara and Milla Katkov.  We also went to a midweek meeting at Tamara Kushnerov’s [one of the teachers at Bethany].  I remember hearing my need of a Saviour at this midweek meeting, and then I went home and got on my knees and asked Jesus to come into my heart.  It is all a little fuzzy but I think I was about eight or nine.  Summer camps were a very important part of my growth and maturing in the Lord.  I started teaching Sunday School when I was probably about thirteen, and preparing for that helped me to grow as well.  We used to go to a Tuesday night youth group at YRCA (Young Russian Christian Association) which also added to my growth.  So many events and so many people were used by God to help me grow.

I am now challenged and refreshed by my family as they grow and walk with the Lord.

Thank you, God, for your faithfulness!

Kathy has a peacemaker’s heart and is very kind. She has a degree in teaching but more than that she has the gift of teaching.  Right now besides spending as much time as she can with Jack and substitute teaching,  she is caring for her 93  year old mother-in-law. May God bless her richly for all the good she does in obedience to Him. Kathy truly is an example of a Proverbs 31 woman who fears the Lord and does good for her household and others!