What You Can Learn Over Dinner!

L to R: Tom, Marilee, Ginger, Bob, Sheryl

It was one of those spur-of-the-moment invitations, when you take a quick mental assessment and realize that you have enough food on hand to bring people home for dinner with you after church.  We'd bought Copper River salmon to barbecue, as Tom's sister Marilee was up for a visit, so we asked Bob and Sheryl to join us.  Sheryl is a high school friend who has just been back in my life for the past six years or so, but we'd never spent time with them as a couple.

Over salmon, wild rice, sautéed vegetables, green salad and ice tea, we swapped stories and recipes.  Stories, we had stories: we heard about cross country train trips, launching a homemade hot air balloon, lutefisk, salvaging treasures that wash up on the shore, ski patrol, and the Iditarod.  We shared stories of first meetings and romance, childhood friendships and 100-year-old neighbors, vintage radio, spinning yarn and making maple syrup.  

Bob shared his recipe for a marinade he uses with salmon, but we didn't have the ingredients on hand, so instead we prepared the salmon according to Sheryl's mom's favorite method.  They said I could pass their recipes along.  Tom's sautéed veggies were a big hit, so I'm including a recipe for that too.

While we were on a recipe roll, I jotted down a few more simple, good ones to share.  You'll find Bob's dad's salad dressing, Marilee's frozen blueberry ice cream, and Eskimo ice cream.  (As a vet for the Iditarod for a number of years. Bob had some interesting stories, as well as this remarkable recipe.)

It was a grand afternoon!  Sorry you couldn't have been there too.

Bob's Salmon Marinade

Make up a mixture of equal parts brown sugar and Italian dressing; sprinkle in Johnny's Seasoning, salt, pepper, and a small amount of hickory smoke.  Coat the salmon and refrigerate for an hour or so before grilling. 

Sheryl's Mom's Salmon

Place a fillet of salmon skinside-down on a piece of foil. Spread with a thin coat of mayonnaise or Miracle Whip; sprinkle with dill seed.  Place the foil and salmon on a hot barbecue grill, and cover with the lid of the grill.  Cook for approximately 20 minutes.  

(We used mesquite instead of charcoal, which worked beautifully.  The salmon was moist and absolutely delicious.)

Tom's Sautéed Vegetables

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 large mushrooms, sliced

1 large zucchini, cut in 1/2 inch pieces

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp catsup

tarragon

Sautée the garlic cloves in olive oil.  Add onion, mushroom, and zucchini until they are tender.  Add soy sauce, catsup and tarragon.  Stir briefly, then add tomatoes, cooking until they are hot through.  Serve.

Bob's Dad's Salad Dressing

1/2 cup milk

1-2 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

Shake them together and pour over your salad.

Marilee's Blueberry Ice Cream

To get frozen blueberries -- In the summer, pick blueberries.  (She recommends that you get them near the ski lift at Mt Baker if at all possible, as they are especially large and delicious there!)  Lay them out on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer until they are frozen.  Put them in freezer bags and put them back into the freezer to have them ready whenever you want them.  (Or you can buy them if you prefer.)

To make blueberry ice cream -- Put 1 cup frozen blueberries in a glass.  Sprinkle with sugar to taste and cover with milk.  Let it chill for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Yummy!

Eskimo Ice Cream

moose fat (soft back fat of the moose)

sugar to taste

blueberries

Whip until smooth.  Enjoy.

Unlike typical ice cream, this is assured to warm you up.  

Vegetarian alternative -- substitute Crisco for the moose fat!

You never know; it's just possible that one of these recipes is just what you need to round out your Memorial Day dinner.

Battle of the Ads

Here are ads from the 1950s for a couple of popular chocolate drinks.  Which one wins your vote?

Drive-By Photo Shoot

I'd never done this before, but the other evening, the one when it wasn't raining, as we drove into Everett along Pioneer Highway, I rolled down my window (I was not the driver!) and just started snapping photos.  Much of the road between the Stanwood fairgrounds and I-5 at the Arlington/Silvana exit is 50 miles an hour, and all of the road is curvy, so it is impossible to control the outcome of this low precision photography technique.  I felt like a little kid; it was so much fun!  Many of the pictures were so blurry you could hardly make out the images, but some turned out surprising well.  Here are a few of the results:

I was attempting to get a photo of Silvana Meats,
but got the overhead wires instead!

I  

Just a reminder that you are invited to send me your photo(s)
that you shoot at 8:57.  I'm hoping for some by the end of May.
See here for details.

Daughters by Design

Meet an empty nest couple, Paul and Paula Jarot, whose lives took a huge turn when they adopted two orphaned girls from Cambodia.  Paula's book, Daughters by Design, tells their story.

“. . . trace God’s hand . . . celebrate His watchful care over two special orphans and . . . two unsuspecting but willing parents . . . they gave us the courage to move forward with our adoption . . .”
–Matthew and Molly Veldt, adoptive parents of international children (from the publisher's webpage)


If you are considering international adoption, or know someone who is, or if you just like to see God's faithfulness in people's lives, you will want to read Daughters by Design.

Aprons From Africa

I wanted to send a gift to Esperance, the widow we sponsor through Sister Connection, so I called the co-director of the program, Denise Patch, to check it out.  During our conversation, the idea of the Burundian widows making aprons as a micro-enterprise came up.  As Denise was planning a trip to Burundi in January, I told her I'd collect a few sample aprons that the women might be able to use for patterns.

Oh, did I have fun rummaging through every ValueVillage I could find!  I gathered up a big pile of aprons, including some child-sized ones, and sent them off to Denise.

Later I learned that the women had taken to the idea, and were making aprons to sell!  Denise's assistant, Michelle, who traveled with Denise to Burundi, e-mailed me with this information:  "We took your samples to the widows and within no time they had loads of aprons made!  All different types with all different fabric used, they were beautiful!...Thank you so much for sending these samples.  It truly is a gift the Lord used greatly!  Most were brought back to the states by team members and are now being sold with all proceeds going to Sister Connection and back to the widows."

Just the other day I received an apron of my own in the mail, a gift from Susan, one of the Sister Connection team members!  She said that the widows are very excited about learning to sew.  I'm totally delighted that the Lord used a simple thing like my collecting aprons to send to Africa to impact the lives of some of my sisters and their families!

As soon as I get details about how you can order an apron for yourself and for others, I'll let you know.

Breath of Aire

Sixty singers filled the risers of the church on Sunday evening, men and women spanning six decades, dressed in formal attire, all waiting for the director to take his place.  When Dr. Bayard DuBois stepped onto the platform and raised his arms, the Breath of Aire concert choir leaned in.  On the downbeat, the room exploded with music to rival any choir I have ever heard.  Animated faces, bodies moving freely as they sang, all eyes riveted on the director and all voices blending as one.  It was not just a concert -- it was a musical experience that carried us along.

Breath of Aire is a regional choir, with members coming from all around Washington State.  Indeed, the pianist, who used to accompany the group when she was living in Oregon, had flown in that day from her new home in Houston to be there for the final concert of the choir's 11th season.  Their mission is to inspire, educate and encourage.  I certainly felt inspired, encouraged, even educated, as I sat alert, listening with my ears and heart to songs of hope and joy and heard of the organizations that have benefitted from the offerings taken during the concerts.

Most of the choir's selections at Sunday night's concert were spiritual -- hymns, gospel, and classical pieces -- but their growing repertoire, to which is added 15 or 20 new pieces each year, also includes patriotic, Americana, country, show tunes, and contemporary inspirational songs.  Singers were featured through solos, duets, and quartets, and several members of the local church choir joined the Breath of Aire singers for two lovely numbers.  After the intermission, the musicians circled the sanctuary to sing Shenandoah, sung as a round, echoing through the room with a rich stereo effect, and a beautiful rendition of The Love of God.

It was during these two songs that I got my closest view of the director.  He stood in the center aisle near our seats and poured his heart into drawing music from his choir.  He used his entire body, arms in motion, body swaying, face reflecting the soul of the music.  A general practice dentist, Bayard DuBois has learned the secret of choir directing: relationship.  "When a conductor has a good relationship with his choir they feel safe with him and are willing to take risks.  The whole thing explodes from there," he says.*

It is evident that his choir loves him.  As he stood in the aisle he held up a piece of sheet music and moved it around the room so that the singers could see it.  But some couldn't tell what it was -- they didn't know what they were about to sing!  He laughed, told them the piece's title, and away they went, all eyes fastened on their director, even if some of them could only see his back!

My sister, Peach, is a member of the choir, and has spoken with such enthusiasm of the concerts -- and even the rehearsals -- that we didn't want to miss the evening's event.  As with most of the concerts, this was a fundraiser for a local need.  The offering, earmarked entirely for the Puget Sound Christian Clinic, raised $2577.  Earlier this year one of their concerts brought in $12,000 for a young boy who needed a double lung/heart transplant.

As we moved toward the car at the end of the evening, Tom was greeted by a young woman who was a part of the local church's choir.  Her excitement was tangible.  She had just joined Breath of Aire!

If you'd like to know how you can hear the choir or sing in it yourself, check out their website, BreathofAire.org.

*from The sound of grace: Breath of Aire chorus performs in Bastyr Chapel this month, by Elizabeth Griffin (11/09) in the Journal Newspaper Group

Audience Participation

Photo by Samuel Kauffman

What's happening in your world at three minutes to nine?  Are you just getting home from delivering your kids to school and sitting down for a cup of coffee?  Are you in the garden or out on errands or at work?  Are you walking the dog?  Maybe you're just getting the homeschooling underway.

What do you see around you?  Give us a chance to get to know you and your life a little by sharing your photo(s) on this blog.  Here's how:

Some time before the end of the month, you are invited to pick up your camera at 8:57 and start clicking -- but just for one minute.  Choose as many photos as you'd like to send to the blog that I can post in June.   Include your name and where you're from, and any other info you'd like to add.  Please send them as .JPGs to threeminutestonine@gmail.com.

I can't wait to see what you're up to!