Easy Shrimp and Corn Chowder

 Missy Tippens

Hey, everyone! I know it's still hot in a lot of places like here in Georgia. However, last week, the humidity and temp were lower, and I felt as if I'd gotten an ever so slight hint of fall.

I also made chowder! 

Ingredients:

about 4 red/new potatoes, cubed (skins on)

1 pound of shrimp (peeled and deveined)

3 TBS flour

3 TBS butter

Seafood broth or Veggie broth (about 5 cups)

1 bag frozen corn (10-12 ounces) or fresh corn (cut off the cob)

2 cloves of fresh, chopped garlic (or used the jarred garlic like I usually do!)

Optional: chopped green onions (white part and a little of the green part)

Plain cream cheese (about 3 TBS)

Cook the garlic and green onions in the butter until softened. Add the flour to make a roux. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook a couple of minutes, stirring it (to cook out the raw flour taste). Then whisk in the broth. Once the flour is mixed in, add in the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. (This was something new to me, and it made it really good!)

Now add the potatoes. Cover to bring back to a boil. Then remove cover and reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Then at the end, add the shrimp and corn and simmer until shrimp are pink and opaque.

This turned out really good! My husband liked it better when we had it leftover with sliced links of smoked turkey sausage added. It made it a little heartier. However, I liked the lightness of it, even though it's creamy.

Now, the best part is to show off our new baby! My son and daughter-in-law got a puppy! I'm in love already.

In her toy basket. :)

Welcome to our world, Whitney! 💕

Giving Back is Always Good!

This post isn't about us. 

It's about them. Honor Flight and Golisano Children's Hospital for Children, the two charities that perform a wonderful service to so many.

Each year on the farm we sponsor two non-profits for notice. We try to draw people's attention to them, to give them a shout out during our busy weekends and for that short season, shine the spotlight on them. This year we're doing Golisano Children's Hospital in Rochester and Honor Flight.

Having a Children's Hospital close by is huge for the City of Rochester and Monroe County, but even more, this hospital is a beacon of hope for a huge rural area that spans from the Pennsylvania border (the Southern Tier of Northern Appalachia, where I've set many novels) to Lake Ontario and from Buffalo to Syracuse. That's a huge area... and because it services such a large area, we have two Ronald McDonald houses for families. One is off-site, a few blocks from the hospital and one is in-hospital, where parents can stay while their little ones are undergoing treatment. God bless Tom Golisano for putting his fortunes to good use for the community at large. He's done wonderful things for New York and Florida, for kids, schools, hospitals and so much more. 

On a personal level we are doing this in memory of two babies gone home to heaven too soon. Our little nephew, Alan at six months of age and our newborn cousin Lacey. Despite best efforts, these little souls shine down on us from heaven because sometimes the disease defies the science. 

But it's also in honor of our beautiful MacKenzie who was stricken with Kawasaki Disease several years ago and was successfully treated at Golisano after confusing her doctors for several days and worrying an entire family.... As you can see, IVs and Holt monitors don't deter Grandpas from grandkid snuggles! 

This is Kenzie last year.... with little sister Morgan. Hale, hearty and healthy! 

And for the successful treatment of little Roman, a tiny cousin who was diagnosed with an aggressive leukemia at age two. Roman is now a busy young fellow, going to school and living life, a wonderful outcome!

Sometimes science prevails!

And Honor Flight is a wonderful program that offers veterans a chance to visit the nation's capitol. It is an all expenses paid opportunity and the program is designed to make sure that our aged vets, the men and women who served our country, have the chance to see the memorials in Washington D.C. Each veteran travels with a "guide", a person who accompanies them on the trip to ensure their comfort. Wheelchairs are available for each veteran so that they're not over-taxed by the long walks from place to place. It's an amazing opportunity and shows our veterans the love and respect they so richly deserve. These pics are from the Monroe County Airport when Paul Sr.'s group was deplaning a few years ago...

Waiting to greet the veterans!

Bring on the RED, WHITE and BLUE!

Folks gathering along the path the veterans will walk. 

Paul Sr. and Mandy (his guide) arriving in the parade of veterans!

On weekends our Honor Flight table is set up and our friend Paul Tramonto Sr. is often there, a veteran of the Korean War, talking with people...

And by the donkey pen we have two FANCY coffee cans that explain what the "Donkey Area Fundraiser" is all about. In the past we've done hurricane relief and Haiti relief and the farm matches all money raised at the donkey area. 

The joy of this is that we raise awareness and visibility and we help others while people have fun! 

Jerry Lewis used to do a telethon for muscular dystrophy and he used to say that giving to help others is a selfish thing because it makes the giver feel so good! :) He was right.

The more we do for others, the more we set the example for being the eyes and hands of Christ right here on earth. Shining a light on these two organizations is just one way of putting a hand out in peace and justice and joy. There are no color or creed lines in honor and medicine... there's just love.

Multi-published author Ruth Logan Herne has published over 60 novels and novellas, she loves life, God, her family, her country and she's not afraid to bleed red, white and blue and to stand for life. She is blessed to own a pumpkin farm that welcomes folks in every fall and for eight weeks she laughs, bakes, serves, sells, sorts, displays and does all things pumpkin... before quiet reigns once more. Email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com, visit her website ruthloganherne.com or friend Ruthy on Facebook! 

Some smoke, a sunset, and some comfort food

 This is the first full week of school, and it's not pretty, so dinner, by necessity is quick comfort foods.

Today, I have one of my go-to favorites - lentils with rice and cheese. It's so easy.  I don't have to tell anyone how to cook rice, but I will say that Jasmine is my go-to rice because I love the flavor.

I have sprouted lentils that cook in about 4 minutes.

Put the rice on the plate, add the lentils, and then cover it with cheddar cheese. A couple of minutes int he microwave and dinner is ready.

It doesn't look all that appetizing in the photo, but it's so good and filling.

Now, for a bizarre photo. Last night the weatherman was warning that the smoke from the west coast fires would reach our area today and might make things hazy.

For most of the day it was fine - cool and breezy. But when I looked out my back window a little before sunset, the sun had an apocalyptic look to it. 

I realize this is nothing compared to the terrifying photos coming out of the west coast, but if you consider I'm 3,000 miles away, this is some eerie stuff.

The photos don't quite do it justice - the sun was this glowing red ball surrounded by haze that had a pinkish tinge.

Has the smoke from the fires affected the sky where you live?

This and That Around the Ranch

I've got a deadline in my not-so-distant future, so meals here at the Obi house have been of the quick, throw together variety. Although, we did have a cool front roll through last week that dropped our high temperatures into the 70's. That's unheard of around these parts this time of year. So naturally, I had to do something to celebrate. And some homemade chicken soup sounded like just the ticket. (recipe here)

It was so yummy. As was this quick eggroll stir fry I made last week. 

This is what you do when you're craving Chinese food but don't want any carbs. And I was able to use things I had on hand. Actually, this recipe is one I found on the back of an eggroll wrapper package way back when my youngest daughter (now 31) was just a baby. We were living on Ellsworth Air Force Base outside of Rapid City, SD and had three little ones, so going out to eat was rare for more than one reason. So when I was craving Chinese, I'd make eggrolls at home.

For the filling, all you need is:

• 1 lb. breakfast sausage (regular or spicy)
• 2 cups shredded cabbage (or a bag of cole slaw blend, which was what I used here)
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts (I did not use them this time because who keeps bean sprouts on hand?)
• Shredded carrots (unless they're in the slaw mix)
• Green onions, chopped (to taste)
• 1/2 - 1 tsp ground ginger 
• 1/2 - 1 tsp granulated garlic (you can use fresh garlic, minced, if you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Simply brown the sausage and then drain off the fat. Then add the veggies and stir fry for a couple of minutes. You decide how crunchy you want them. Add seasonings and stir to combine.

That's it! My craving got fulfilled without any carbs. 

So on a recent trip to the grocery store, I found these.

Yep, that strictly the "magical" marshmallows from Lucky Charms. I didn't buy them, but I took a picture and sent it to my daughters. One said, "It's about time!" Another said, "Obviously the idea of a millennial." Yes, these were the two that always picked out the marshmallows and left most of the cereal. Though I'm thinking these might be yummy mixed into some homemade Rice Krispie treats. What do you think? Maybe I'll have to pick up a bag.

I'm just gonna say it. I love Longhorn cattle. Regular cattle are okay, but Longhorns have flare. They have the right accessories to really compliment the outfit, right? This one belongs to one of our neighbors, but I want a Longhorn. I have made my wishes known. Doubt they'll carry any weight but, hey, a gal's gotta try. They don't know unless you tell them, right. 

So that's what's going on in Obi land. What's happening in your part of the world?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, one sassy pup, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

 

Whiplash Weather and Hot Chocolate

 Jan here, with some record-breaking weather news!

Two weeks ago, I shared this post: Winter Vegetable Soup, where I talked about how our weather was turning "fallish."

The next week, the high temperatures were in the high 90's - 100's!

And yes, that says our humidity was 1%. It happens in this semi-arid place!

But then this happened:

We had three inches of snow on Monday night/Tuesday morning. Folks in the higher Hills got around ten inches. Even in town, the official measurement was nearly an inch.

On September 8th. That's jaw-dropping early!

Believe it or not, our Labor Day weekend weather broke some records:

 - Daily low of 31°, breaking the 2014 record of 34°

 - Almost an inch of snow, breaking the 1951 record

 - Earliest freeze, breaking the record from September 11, 1921

 - And the big one - we set the national record for the fastest turnaround from a 100°+ day to measurable snowfall. The old record - three days - was set in September 1929 in Ardmore, SD. The new record? Two days! We went from 102° on Saturday to measurable snowfall on Monday night.

And this coming week, the forecast says we'll be in the upper-80's to low-90's. Does anyone else feel the whiplash?

So, what does this mean for us? Grilled chicken one day, chili the next, then a couple days later we have grilled burgers!

But since our nighttime temperatures are nice and cool, it's time to get back to my hot chocolate habit!

I've shared this before, many years ago, and in that post I called it:

Not Your Children's Hot Chocolate

This concoction is brewed cacao nibs, otherwise known as ground cacao beans.

The Crio Bru brand is available on Amazon, with tons of exotic varieties, but lately I've been buying cacao nibs from my favorite bulk food store in Shipshewana, Indiana.

A couple tablespoons of the cacao nibs and 12 ounces of hot water (and a French press or other brewing machine) is all you need to make a steaming cup full of chocolate goodness!

You want to let it brew for twenty minutes or so. I wrap my French press in a towel to keep it hot.

Then strain out the nibs and pour your cup full of chocolate!

I like mine plain, or if it was coffee we'd say "black." It doesn't NEED sweetener or cream, but you could add it if you want to!

This certainly doesn't taste like Swiss Miss or any other hot chocolate you might be used to, but it's OH! SO GOOD! And when you drink it straight like I do? Twenty calories. No sugar. No fat.

Can it get any better than that? I don't think so!

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Remembering

Today, we'd like to take the time to remember and honor those who were lost on September 11th, 2001. And to remember the friends, families and loved ones left behind. I hope you'll join us in praying for those families and loved ones.

So blessed!

 This is a quick post today... 

Farm work is plentiful and I have writing to get done and this is our 'crunch' time, but I had to stop and just say how very blessed I am to be doing what I love and living where I live.

Sure, life is weird.

Pandemics do that, don't they?

But we've expanded display space so that folks can come to the farm masked-- or unmasked-- in our socially distant and outdoor environment, because we want that warmth of normal to extend to families and friends.

This was us, setting up, figuring out what to display, and where... At this point we had to move that firewood pile off the parking area, and visualize what pumpkins we had, where they would fit, and how to mix/blend/match colors. This year we have a lot of blue pumpkins, my fave! So this was the beginning and Beth runs the show on this part.... For this we query the guys who are in the fields... How many Cinderellas, Fairytales, Galeaux D'Esines, Cotton Candies, Casperitas, Bumpkins, etc. can we expect? If we have a clear idea of what's coming up over the next 5 weeks, we can plan display space accordingly. This year there are new pink pumpkins... the first planting didn't come well, but we continue planting for weeks and repeat plantings because sometimes timing is everything.  And the new pink pumpkins are gorgeous and should be ready in two weeks. We're so excited! 

Yesterday I had a family whose children hadn't been "out" in public since March.

I was so glad they picked us! Yay for them and us!

It's not just the thousands of beautiful pumpkins that draw folks in.

Here we've got Grizzly Bears (caramel-colored and bumpy!) Silver Edge, Flatso (a pie pumpkin with a flattened top that works for stacking!) white pie pumpkins, Field Trip pumpkins and in that back corner, big ivory Specters, white pumpkins with warts!!!!! 

And then there are the sixteen hundred chrysanthemums to attract business... and smiles!

It's kindly volunteers who help them build stacks, pick out pumpkins, set up displays or just buy the ones we already made! 

It's all good! 

Displays get built on wagons... there are two huge wagons now and a repurposed chicken coop, and three photo ops so families can pose for pictures and have a stunning display behind them... One on the front porch, one in the horseshoe and one in the expanded field leading out back... No cost pics is a wonderful thing!

Cookies! Carrot cake! Zucchini bread and jams, oh, the jams, all homemade here... strawberry rhubarb, triple berry, sour cherry and others. 

And fairy houses! The efforts of so many people pull this all together for us, and it offers an option of normal to so many people that haven't had much 'normal' since March.

God has blessed us with space. God has blessed us with strength. God has blessed us with knowledge of pumpkins! :) 

And we learn more every year.

When things got bad in the spring, we hunkered down, but if you're running a business, you can't stay hidden forever. Not if you love and value your business. Not if you believe in what you're doing.

We do it for your kids... and ours. These guys act as Fairy Hunt guides. Kids hunt for fairy houses and have a laminated check-off list (Mandy's idea...) and they get a .50 pumpkin for their efforts! So exciting! And these guys know where All The Houses Are! :) They're part of the fun, part of the family effort... and little kids relate to little kids! Emissaries! 

And I would love to see folks embrace the fresh air and open spaces of living outside big cities.... Come here! Buy a house, live, laugh and love.

We're not perfect, but we've got space and being socially distant in a time like this is no problem... not when your nearest neighbor is 500 feet away.

I would love to see a modern-day exodus from the cities to the wide open spaces of a massive country.

Like our pioneer ancestors braved the trek west, how fun it would be to see folks spread their wings and fly to a new normal? 

For us? For now? The new normal is pumpkins! :)

And people.

This extrovert is loving having people at the farm and we are so blessed to be able to do this wonderful thing.

As always, my faith and belief that God's in charge carries us on, carries us through, and it's worked so far.

Pumpkins, anyone?

Multi-published author Ruth Logan Herne is currently wearing her pumpkin farmer hat and is grateful to live in the land of the free because of the brave... where she can write books and grow pumpkins and live life to the full.... while drinking coffee and eating cookies. 

Visit her website at ruthloganherne.com, friend her on Facebook or email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com She'd love to talk with you!