The Simple Woman's Daybook

Today I reflect on simple thoughts and simple pleasures. My leads are somewhat similar to others in The Simple Woman's Daybook group, yet a bit different as well. 

A picture to share... 
An antique teapot Elizabeth gave me a few years ago with teacups that belonged to my mother. She and a friend had special times of conversation with these particular cups. I've done the same.

Outside my window... 
Robins looking for worms in a freshly mowed lawn. Squirrels playing catch, up and down and around the trees.

Noticing the sound of...
Chirping birds, chattering squirrels. 

Thankful...    
That my daughters' families can spend some together this weekend.

Thinking...      
That I wish my daughters weren't living so far apart. Distance is no friend to families.

Learning...  

That Captain D's cole slaw has as many calories as one of his yummy breadsticks. I had baked tilapia and passed up a breadstick for cole slaw. Found out there's only 10 calories difference as I tallied my calories when I got home. Now, I know there's more nutritional value in cole slaw, but since I'm a bread lover, I'll opt for the breadstick next time!
 

Around the house.... 

My Beloved cleaned and scrubbed the back porch and everything on it this week. Looking forward to "eating out" and fresh-air reading as we watch all nature sing God's praise.

From the kitchen...

Sharing a Saturday big breakfast recipe with you today--baked apple pecan pancake with maple syrup. The recipe is a wonderful combination of wholesome goodness, chockfull of apples and chopped pecans. The cinnamon sugar sprinkled on the top gives it a light crunch. I came across this recipe years ago on the back of a pancake mix box (maybe Aunt Jemima), but have tweaked it for myself. I've included the recipe from the box back if you want the quick version. It's really a simple dish to prepare. You can slice the apples the day before, dip them in saltwater, and store them in a ziplock bag overnight for quicker prep in the morning. You'll serve about four with this recipe.

Baked Apple Pecan Pancake  (from scratch)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon sugar
2 large tart apples, sliced (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar (to make cinnamon sugar)

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Saute sliced apples in margarine.
• For pancake mixture: combine flour, milk and salt (do not overmix).
• Add eggs and 1 tsp. sugar.
• Layer in pie plate: apples, pecans, and pancake mixture.
• Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over pancake mixture.
• Bake at 400 degrees until puffy and browned, about 20 minutes.
• Top with honey or syrup, or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Baked Apple Pecan Pancake  (original recipe with boxed mix)
1/3 cup complete pancake mix
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 teaspoon sugar
2 large tart sliced apples (about 3 cups sliced)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon & 1/3 cup sugar to make cinnamon sugar

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Saute apples in butter.
• Mix first 4 ingredients together.
• Layer in pie plate: apples, pecans, pancake mixture.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Bake at 450 degrees until puffy, about 10-12 minutes.

 

From the sewing room...

Altering a dress. Hemming and adding some fabric to change a slit to a kick pleat. 

From the gardens...

Weeded and planted some flowers in the bed by the mailbox. Added two columbine, some variegated vinca, and a couple of wave petunias. For several years we've put lantana in also because it requires so little attention, but this year we planted a barberry bush instead so the bed won't be so bare in the winter. Lantana isn't hardy in our zone, so no more digging up those deep-rooted dead plants in the spring either.  

A thought from my Quiet Time....

We don't learn what our Heavenly Father is like from looking at earthly fathers. No, it's the other way around. We learn what an earthly father should be like by looking at our Heavenly Father.

...I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name  ~ Eph. 3:14-15

Currently reading...

Family Man, Family Leader, by Philip Lancaster, thinking of adding it to our church Book Nook. Sharing a paragraph with you today:

"The home rules the nation." Our national crisis is a consequence of a crisis of the home, and the crisis of the home is a crisis of male leadership. Men have abandoned their calling to be spiritual leaders of their families, to be the builders of Christian character, the teachers of Christian doctrine, and the models of Christ-like faith and virtue. They have abdicated their responsibility to be the guardians of that wellspring of Christian civilization: the Christian family. Because men have forsaken their families, we are losing a civilization.