Category: The Spice of Life

Welcome to Michele’s “The Spice of Life” articles on cooking and baking adventures, childhood memories as well as living life through its turns and twists.  Come join her as she brightens your day through her great sense of humor, and openness in her journeys through life.

Christmas with a Sword- Part One

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Image by Bruce from Pixabay

Welcome to the Christmas season! Who could not be excited about this time of year?

This Christmas season is very different from those in previous years. So, today we embark on a Christmas Devotional called “Christmas with a Sword”.

Today we begin in Isaiah 9:1-7. We will start to pick through the verses each day.

Christmas with a Sword

Isaiah 9:1-7

The current time is some of the most exciting in history. To be watching and living during this time is amazing. God is preparing us all for His great reset in how America and the world will live. We all need to be ready for this change- hence our sword.

God speaks to us through scripture. Scripture is living and breathing. Think of Moses and the Israelites leaving Egypt and heading into the wilderness. Then God turns them back around to walk through the Red Sea! Friends are at that moment. God is turning us back around and to perform Super Natural feats that will astound us all!

God is asking us all to BE IN HIS WORD. To do anything else is to be disobedient. He needs us to be so sure of Him! Our faith must be strong as we and the rest of the world are about to witness his Univeral Might and Authority.

Let’s take a look at verse one. ” Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress…”

  • How does that first part of verse one speak to you?

I love large words that run together like “nevertheless”.

nevertheless

nĕv″ər-ᴛʜə-lĕs′

ADVERB

  1. In spite of that; nonetheless; however.
  2. Not the less; notwithstanding; in spite of that; yet.
  3. In spite of what preceded; yet.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

📷More at Wordnik

Loosely translated- In spite of what has happened over the last 2 years- Xovxd, election mischief, Great Reset gang… in spite of that, there is going to be no more gloom over the earth’s people, especially Christians. God is bringing something special to the earth, and WE WON’T BE THE SAME AFTER IT HAPPENS.

What do you think? Where can you see God working?

If you don’t have your sword out, why not?

-Strapping freshly sharpened swords to our sides- Big stuff coming! Reading His word to know Him! Our faith MUST be rock solid. God is about to test us through a Super Natural move, and we will not be the same! Amen

The Joy Of Including Jesus In Christmas

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Christmas is fast approaching and if we blink our eyes we will find ourselves enjoying Christmas Day. But all our plans to include Jesus in Christmas will have been thrown out with the wrappings.

The way to have success is to plan ahead. My family always razzed me because I was planning the next holiday before the present one was barely over. But the fact of the matter is that, if we don’t plan ahead, it ain’t gonna happen. So let’s talk about the joy of including Jesus in Christmas. After all, it IS HIS BIRTHDAY.

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Why I Believe: Part Three

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This week we continue our journey with Chip Ingram’s book “Why I Believe”. If you haven’t invested in the book and the study book, YOU SHOULD. Maybe you can start a book club or Bible study using this book.

Give your Pastor a jingle, or contact your small group coordinator and bend their ear! You can get those here, https://livingontheedge.org/broadcast-series/why-i-believe/?media=daily. Be sure to listen to his sermons on “Why I Believe”, print off the sermon notes, and download the free MP3!

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Cookie Favorites!

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Image by Petra from Pixabay

Well, friends, I am down to my last two articles. I’m not going to lie; I will miss writing to you. It has been fun researching topics, writing kitchen gadget reviews, looking through old recipe books and church cookbooks, and sharing some of my favorite recipes with you. Before I sign off, I wanted to share some cookie favorites.

Grab yourself a cookie and a cup of coffee or tea as I thank you for allowing me the privilege to write. It was a pleasure to share my stories from life in Friesland. From running the train tracks to smoking cigarettes behind graves and scaring the daylights out of my brother- it was fun! Not to mention the cousins that played Dutch Bingo, trying to figure out who I was. Hello California and Iowa!

I hope someday to return to the paper to write, but if not, that’s how God meant it to be! Maybe you enjoy cooking and baking? You might want to think about writing for the paper. This is not a hard job. It is fun, and the opportunities and food subjects to write about are endless. So, kick it around and give Jill a call!

And now… Cookie Favorites!

Cookies for all season

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

This week and next, I will bring you some fun cookie recipes. Today we have recipes from the New WASECA County Cook Book, “Favorite Recipes of 350 Homemakers”, Circa 1964. This cookbook was previously owned by the precious soul of Winifred Anderson. Winifred took the Waseca Short Course- not sure what that was. Does anybody have an idea? Anyway, I got this at a local rummage sale in a stack of 5 cookbooks for seventy-five cents! WOO! Enjoy!

Jumbo Raisin Cookies- Mrs. Harold Smith

Ingredients

  • 1 c. water
  • 2 c. raisins
  • 1 c. shortening- butter is better!-M
  • 2 c. sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 c. chopped nuts
  • 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. soda
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 11/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1.4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 c. cocoanut*

*- Easy grammarians! They spelled coconut as cocoanut throughout the ENTIRE cookbook. You can give the Mother Cabrini Circle of Scared Heart Church, Waseca, MN a call for this grievous error. Those girls were old school. You can’t blame them! 🙂

Image by pixel1 from Pixabay

Directions

Add water to raisins and boil for 5 minutes. Cool. Cream shortening, add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well. Add raisin mixture, add nuts, then sifted dry ingredients. Drop on greased cookie sheet. Bake 375° for 12-15 minutes. Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Orange Cookie- Mrs. O. Kenneth Deike

Image by Nicky ❤️🌿🐞🌿❤️ from Pixabay

Ingredients

  • 1 c. shortening
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 c. flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 c. mashed carrots
  • 3/4 c. cocoanut- WHOOP, there it is!

Frosting

  • 2 tbsp. melted butter
  • grated rind of 1 orange
  • 5 tbsp. orange juice
  • confectioners’ sugar

Directions

Cream shortening, add sugar, then egg. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder, and add carrots, and cocoanut. Chill. Bake 350 ° for 15 minutes. FOR FROSTING, mix butter, orange rind, and juice, adding sufficient confectioners sugar for spreading consistency.

Strawberry Cookies-Mrs. Roger Wilkowske, Mrs. Jon Greeney

Image by sanan israyilli from Pixabay

Ingredients

  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 lb. cocoanut
  • 1/4 blanched almonds
  • 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 2 pkg. strawberry Jell-O®
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • 1 tsp. red food coloring

Directions

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT 1/2 pkg. Jell-O® Chill for at least two hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Form balls of dough into strawberry shapes with hands* and roll in the 1/2 pkg. Jell-O®. Decorate with green frosting leaf made with powdered sugar frosting and a cake decorator*, or insert strawberry leaves and stems. Makes 100 small berries. (Eye catchers on cookie plates- nice for wedding receptions).

  • I got to laughing so hard… strawberry shapes with hands- I sure hope you use your hands, but… and then they wanted you to use a cake decorator… hahaha, this is becoming an expensive cookie! I am sure they meant “use a cake decorator tip”… too cute.

We will have to stop here, but I have more recipes next week. Till then! Here is to good food, great friends, and delicious cookies!

Oh, Honey!

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Image by Hans Benn from Pixabay

Welcome back! Before we start the series Oh, Honey, I wanted to let you know September will be my last month hosting The Spice of Life. I enjoyed entertaining you and learned so much about writing.

Seasons come and go into our life, and right now, I am in a season where my attention is required elsewhere. Lord willing, I will be allowed to come back at some point, but if not, that is how it is to be.

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The Power of Pectin: Jam n’ Such

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Image by Silvia from Pixabay

Welcome back! This week, we continue discovering the importance of pectin-Jam n’ Such. The Power of Pectin gave us some interesting insights into this gelling powerhouse!

If you missed last week’s riveting pectin article, fear not! You can catch that article right here, https://www.mandyandmichele.com/the-power-of-pectin/.

Don’t forget you can sign up for a subscription to receive both a print and/or digital copy of The Edgerton Enterprise- each with separate pricing! The knowledge imparted at your fingertips! WOO!

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The Power of Pectin

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Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the last few articles with recipes from the Southern Cooking cookbook from Macon, Georgia Church of the Nazarene, “Seasoned with Love”. I had a blast reading the cookbook and sharing some of the recipes! This week we discover what’s so important about pectin. The Power of Pectin will give you some interesting insights into this little gelling powerhouse!

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