A fire destroyed the old E.E. Mitchell building in Morilton’s historic district last night. The building, a one-time furniture store, recently housed a flea market. Reports vary, but at least three, and possibly four, buildings were destroyed, with 6-8 others damaged from smoke. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the blaze.
Here’s the official story from Fox16 News: Read more →
Hubby has been busy working this year’s garden, and we’ve been blessed with an abundance of tomatoes. Nothing says “Southern” better than a platter of either sliced, ripened tomatoes sprinkled with salt & pepper or a crispy fried, green tomato. Yum!
In a place where nearly every friend and family also has an abundance of tomatoes, it’s hard to give away your surplus. And you can only eat so many, even with the dozens of ways to serve them — in sandwiches, burgers, etc., so I’ve decided to use my new-found canning skills and give homemade salsa a whirl. I asked my homemaker extraordinaire friend how one makes salsa, and she replied, “Find a recipe you like and make it.” Good advice! (But I was hoping for a bit more guidance here…)
Here’s a recipe I found on the Internet:
Nancy’s Scrumptious Salsa Recipe
(By Nancy Castleman)
- 1/4 c. Olive Oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sweet bell peppers, diced
- 2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded & minced
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Dash of Cayenne pepper
- 2 quarts tomato puree
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 8 Tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup water or tomato juice
Brown the onions in the Olive Oil in a big pot with a thick bottom. Add the garlic, bell peppers, and jalepenos. Stir for about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for a few hours, stirring occasionally. Check the seasoning, but resist the temptation to make the salsa as hot as you would normally eat it because it gets hotter and hotter the longer it sits.
If the salsa is getting so thick that you’re worried it’s going to burn, add a little more water. Bring it slowly to a boil, and keep it boiling for 5-10 minutes.
Ladle the salsa into either pint or half-pint jars. The recipe should make 4 or 5 pints or 8-10 half pints. Can and process using the boing-water-bath method. Boil for 20 minutes.
Note: This recipe can be doubled or even tripled. Makes great holiday gifts!
So, I’m trusting this Nancy lady, whom I’ve never met, to have developed a “scrumptious,” salsa recipe. It sounds scrumptious, anyway. And if nothing else, scrumptious is fun to say.
I’ve never canned anything but blackberry jam, but I’ll let y’all know how it turns out. Wish me luck . . .
Today I am launching into a new lifestyle by beginning the “Body for Life for Women 12-week challenge.” I first learned of this challenge at TEAM-Monavie’s May seminar. Teresa Fry mentioned that she was mid-way through the program. I talked with her about it briefly during the break, and I was so inspired to get started right away, that it only took me two months to begin. Big ships turn slowly . . .
I got an 8-pound head start with one simple life change — I stopped drinking sodas just over two weeks ago. Should I broadcast my current weight over the Internet? Naw. Just suffice it to say that today’s weight is eight pounds below my weight two weeks ago, and that I weigh roughly 100 pounds more than I did the day I started college. Of course I was a stick figure back then, but still . . .
I know the key to weight removal (pssst — we don’t call it “weightloss” on this program, as lost things are usually sought with the hope of recovering them). That key is planning. Sounds simple, but for someone who typically lives a haphazard, moment-to-moment existance, planning meals ahead of time will be as big a life-change for me as exercising.
Anyway, I’m excited about the challenge, and I’ve adpoted some words of a wise old sage as my motto: “Do or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda
So, I’m browsing though the web, searching for the elusive answer for curing my overweight and underorganized-ness, deciding Ponce de Leon made more progress in his quest for the Fountain of Youth, when I run across the miraculous solution: Tai Chi. Apparently, the key to this ancient Chinese secret is that by stretching, breathing deeply, and “massaging your internal organs,” you can obtain better health, increase stamina, improve memory retention, and attain world peace, er — inner peace (sorry about that).
I’m a bit skeptical, though, because I’ve been practicing some similar techniques for years, but the benefits have yet to come. Stretching? Oh, yeah. I’ve got the stretch marks to prove it. Deep breathing? Yep. Every time I walk across the room. And I’ve got the internal organ massage thing down, too, cuz when it comes to belly jiggling, I can give Santa some stiff competition. Or at least some flabby competition.
Seriously, Tai Chi does seem to offer a lot of benefits, and I plan to order a DVD. That is, as soon as I can find one for the hopelessly overweight and underorganized…
It’s hard to get anything done when I spend a half-day engaged in my morning water routine. You know, “Thou shalt drink a minimum of eight 8-oz. glasses of water soest thou canst lose weight.” Problem is, after force-chugging 64 fluid ounces of water, the next three hours are spent rushing to the ladies room. (And It’s dang hard to run with your legs crossed.)
Problem solved. You know those 64-must-drink-or-else-ounces? No one really bothered to explain that they don’t need to be (and really shouldn’t be) downed in one sitting. Although a camel can drink about 250 liters of water in one visit to the drinking fountain, humans cannot. Apparently, the whole purpose of the eight-glasses-a-day rule is to keep our bodies consistently hydrated throughout the day. That means, the water should be consumed throughout the day. This is profound to those of us who have, for most of our adult lives, lugged around a barrel-sized water mug, attempting to empty it into our bellies. (After we finish drinking our morning coffee — duh!)
Because the “average” American spends 16 hours per day awake (I don’t know who comes up with these figures, because I haven’t gotten eight hours of sleep since I was 12), one should drink 4 ounces of water per hour throughout one’s waking hours. (For the mathematically challenged like myself, 4 times 16 equals 64. Viola!) This makes sense on so many levels. For one thing, it’ll drastically reduce desperate treks to the bathroom or the yellow-eyeball-effect that strikes when you’re stuck in a meeting and can’t be excused. Plus, this method ensures your body will be consistently hydrated throughout the day.
You may or may not be aware of how important hydration actually is. Headaches, brain fuzzification, and a number of other ailments, including arthritis, have been linked to chronic dehydration. So, get you a 4-oz. shot glass and fill it up every hour on the hour. (Great excuse to take an hourly break!)
I once saw a cartoon with the caption, “The trouble with being a writer is that when you’re looking out a window, nobody believes you’re working.” Personally, the trouble with being a writer is working so much that I don’t spend enough time looking out windows. What about you? Do you spend time to wonder? [...]
Yes, folks, it’s Freebie Friday at my new blog about blogging — On Blogging Well, which means you’re welcome to download this week’s free gift — a report titled, “Seven Things Your Blog Needs to be Successful.” Thanks for stopping by On Blogging Well! I hope you make this one of your regular blog stops.
I was blessed by being born into a family of readers. One of the first lessons I remember learning is that “books are your friends.” My parents taught my brothers and me to treat books with respect, to cherish the words within them, and, when we had a question, to “look it up.” That love [...]
A fire destroyed the old E.E. Mitchell building in Morilton’s historic district last night. The building, a one-time furniture store, recently housed a flea market. Reports vary, but at least three, and possibly four, buildings were destroyed, with 6-8 others damaged from smoke. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the blaze. Here’s the official [...]
Pause for a moment today and reflect on the memory of those who died during the 9/11 terrorist attack, those who died in defense of our country, and those who are still fighting for our freedom today.
© Scrivenings | Site built by Community Website Solutions | Performancing's Herald Theme for WordPress designed by Brian Gardner