Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004), known as Mattie Stepanek.

Mattie was an American poet and advocate, who had six books of poetry and one book of essays all reach The New York Times bestsellers list. He became a well-respected peace advocate and motivational speaker, and lobbied on Capitol Hill on behalf of peace, people with disabilities, and children with life-threatening conditions.

Magical Snowflakes

Canada's "Child Day" is held on November 20 each year as enacted in the 1993 Parliamentary Bill C-27.7, the Child Day Act.

More to view:

https://www.lib.uwo.ca/blogs/education/2009/11/canadas-national-child-day---u.html

Here is a recipe when pears are needed to be in good use quickly.

Pears (Bartlett or Bosc pears)

Stevia syrup

Potato peeler

Melon baller

Put a skillet on the counter and fill it with water, then squeeze a lemon into it. This liquid is where you'll place the pears after you've peeled and cored them -- it keeps them from browning.

Using the potato peeler, peel off the skin, then use the melon baller to scoop out the inner section with the seeds. Use a small knife to remove the stem, and the section of the stem that extends into the pear. You'll see it when you cut the pear in half.

This amount makes good for approx 4 pears.

 Light syrup -- and it's incredibly easy to make.

4 cups water

1/2 tsp powder stevia(natural Sugar)

Mix the two together in a pot and stir them over a low flame. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase your heat to high and bring this mixture to a boil. 

In a medium bowl cut the pears your desire.  Halves is good. 

Cut one lemon into  3  thinly slices  quarter them with rind.  Add them to your pears.  Add the light syrup.  Let cool. 

Store in refrigerator till use.

Makes 4 servings

Enjoy

More about stevia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

This is my Grandson. My daughter, Laura's first child.  My first grandchild. His name is not offically set.

Baked Onion Soup

Everyone raves about this simple-to-make soup

3 medium onions, sliced in thin rings
2 tsp oil
2 - 4 tbsp lite soy sauce
1 qt Chicken, Turkey Broth or water
4 slices whole wheat bread*
1 tbsp Parmesan or cheese of your choice

In a large nonstick fry pan, cook onion rings in oil for 5 - 7 minutes or until onions are tender. Add soy sauce and broth. Cover and bake in 250 degreees F oven for 1 hour. Or cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Top with a slice of whole wheat bread and a sprinkle of cheese

Makes 4 servings

Finnish Fish Soup or 'Lohikeitto' as it's called in Finland is one of the most basic and traditional winter soups in Scandinavia.

This soup might also be referred to as Cream of Salmon Chowder of Cream of Salmon Soup. Salmon is an important product of Finland and is found in many traditional recipes from casseroles and pies to soups and breads. Lohikeitto is a milk or cream based soup with vegetables and salmon and is served with dark rye bread. Let's make some soup.

4 cups water

4 medium potatoes (peeled and diced)

2 medium onions (chopped)

1 teaspoon salt

6 whole pepper kernels

1 bay leaf

2 lbs skinless salmon fillet cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup whipping cream (optional)

minced dill weed (optional)

Cut salmon into 1-inch pieces, peel and dice the potatoes and chop the onions. Set aside.

In a soup pan or dutch oven, bring water to a boil and add the potatoes, onions, salt pepper and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer.

Cover and simmer until potatoes are almost tender. This will be about 10 minutes. The potatoes shouldn’t be fully cooked yet as you still have some cooking time left and you don’t want to over cook the potatoes.

Add the salmon pieces. Cover again and simmer until the fish flakes easily at the touch of a fork. This will be about 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and pepper.

Stir 1/2 cup of the soup stock into the whipping cream(optional). Gently stir cream mixture into the soup and heat.

Sprinkle with dill weed and add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.


For a lighter dish, substitute milk for cream.Fresh salmon is always better, but you can substitute a 15 oz can of salmon, deboned and skinned, if salmon is unavailable.Be careful not to overcook potatoes or salmon.

You can also use pickeral fillets or using 15 oz canned salmon, deboned and skinned, could be a substitute if fresh salmon is unavailable to you or cost prohibitive.

Enjoy~

Fruitcake:

Fruit cake is the traditional British Christmas Cake that is full of fruit and nuts.

Whether you're looking for a traditional, more labor-intensive fruitcake, or something simpler and with wider appeal, you've come to the right place.


6 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 cups brown sugar

2 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup Egg Beaters or similar egg substitute

1 cup molasses

2 cups apples, peeled & chopped

4 ½ cup unbleached flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cinnamon

½ Tbsp allspice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup walnuts, halved

1 cup dried currants

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1 cup candied cherries

½ cup candied pineapple

½ cup dark raisins

½ cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 2 8-inch springform pans or 4 loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray, sprinkle flour in pans, shake to distribute and tap gently to discard excess. Steam apple chunks in covered saucepan with a small amount of water until tender, drain, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl or electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy, then stir in brown sugar and applesauce gradually, alternating between the two. Add extracts of lemon and vanilla, egg substitute, cooled apples, and molasses, stirring well. Mix flour and spices separately, add half this mixture to the wet ingredients and beat together. Gradually add second half of dry ingredient mixture, mixing until thoroughly combined. Fold in fruit and nuts and stir to evenly distribute throughout batter. Spoon into pans and bake 60 to 75 minutes, until skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before using a knife to loosen sides of cake from pan. Cool on cake rack or clean, dry plate. If storing, wait until completely cool before wrapping.

Rose Hips

There are about fourteen species of native wild roses in varios parts of Canada.

The wild roses are erect, multi-stemmed shrubs, with smooth reddish or greenish back, ususally well armed with numerous slender spines or stout thorns, or both. The blossoms are born singlly or in clusters, and their size varies considerably with the species. Most wild rose flowers are delicately and beautifully scented. Rose fruits known as 'hips' are spherial or elongated, and when ripe are orange to deep red.

When my son Roy wanted Rose hip jelly, we went together to pick some. We picked a bucket and that gave us 3 jars of jelly. The rosehips have pectin to naturally, it jelled by itself.. Great for vitamin C.

The rose hips consist of an edible, rleshly outer rind sourrounding a mass of tightly packed whitish seeds. How I knew this was of my grandmother. She was a nature nut, love using God's goodness to her family. I adopted that to share with others.

Where to find wild roses occur through out Canada except above the tree line in the Far North. They grow in woods and meadows and often form dense thickets along roadsides and fences.

How to use rosehips are best for eating when picked fully mature but before the outer rind has been softened by frost. However, they can be gathered and used any time during fall and winter, even when frozen on the bushed.

It should be noted that the seeds do contain high concentrations of vitamin E, and more the hairs are removed by rubbing or washing the seeds can be ground and used in baking or cooking as a vitamin supplement.

Once the seeds are removed, rosehips can be eaten raw in salads, sandwich fillings or desserts, or can be dried for later use in soups and tea.

Because rose hips are so easy to gather and so wholesome, it is surprising that they are not produced in Canada on a commercial basis. In many European countries rose hips are exported as syrup, jelly, dried soup and tea and most of these products are available in our own helath-food stores and specialty shops, usually at a healthy price.

More for your Interest

Rose hips are also a good source of vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus and iron, Furing the Second World War II, rose hips became very important in Great Britian and the Scandinavian countries when the citrus fruit supplies were cut off. Rose hips were gathered in tremendous quantities and made into syrup or dried and made into powder, and the product was distributed as a vitamin suppliment. Rosehip syrup is still readily avaable throughout the British Isles.

Rose-petal honey , made at least as long ago as the middle of the thirteenth century, is still a favorite, and easy to make. Simple take
2 cups honey being to a boil, and add 1 cup wild rose petals. Let stand for a few hours, reheat, starain to remove the petals, bottle.

By the end of the Christmas season rosehips area already dried and ready for use to make rosrhip tea.

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 heaping teaspoons of chopped rose hips. You can use rose hips with or without their seeds. Steep the herbal tea, covered, for 15 minutes and strain. Sweeten the refreshing, slightly sour tea with honey, if desired. Drink the tea lukewarm at bedtime for maximum effectiveness.

More to view:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5369339_uses-rosehips.html

Borscht

Borscht derives from the Slavic “borshchevik”, which means hogweed. Hogweed was used by the ancestors to add a greenish brown colour to their soup. Even though hogweed is no longer used for preparing Borscht, its name still reminds us of the long history of the soup.

1 lb raw beets

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium-sized onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 sticks celery, chopped

1 small bulb fennel, chopped

5 cups vegetable stock or water

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

juice of 1 lemon

1 - 2 tbsp natural yogurt

whole-wheat croutons if you like

Peel the beets and slice into thin strips.  I shredded them.  Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium low heat and cook the onion, celery for 3 - 4 minutes. 

Shred beets into stock or water and sliced carrots, and fennel.  Add onions and celery and herbs.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are soft--about 30 minutes. 

If you like it purred, strain into another pan, puree the vegetables in a blender or food processor, return them to the soup, add the lemon juice, and season to taste.
Serve with a swirl of natural yogurt in each bowl, and whole wheat croutons if you wish.

Serves 4

~Enjoy~ 

More information:

In Romany medicine, beet juice was used as a blood builder for patients who were pale and run-down and in Russia and Eastern Europe.  It is used both to build up resistance and to treat convalescents after a serious illness.   Beets contain anti-carcinogens build to the red coloring matter, as well as prossesing a striking ability to increase cellular uptake of oxygen.