Julie’s Swiss Muesli
I have no idea if this is true, but I recently heard a well-known financial advisor say on television that she believed America would be facing bread lines in coming years due to the state of our economy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the last time Americans waited in bread lines was in the late 1920s and early 30s. I refuse to worry about this, because there’s nothing I can do except try to live carefully and generously. My life is in God’s hands, and if part of His plan for me is to someday wait in bread lines, I will.
But today is Thankful Thursday on the blog again, and I think it’s appropriate to give thanks for food while we have it in abundance. We have so much variety and so many delicious things to choose from, and we can easily take for granted what many in our world only dream about.
Have you tried a Honeycrisp apple lately? I paid $1.00 each for them at the grocery store yesterday and didn’t care - they’re wonderful eating. What about fresh, raw pecans? I try to eat some every day. I’m thankful for sharp cheese and tomatoes that are deep red, not pale pink and anemic looking inside. I’m grateful for shredded purple cabbage and warm, fresh-baked bread. I like balsamic vinegar and capers and hazelnuts and pineapple! And what about Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream? You’re missing out if you haven’t scouted that out in the frozen aisle - in our city it sells out fast at every store we frequent, and we grin stupidly at each other when we go shopping and actually find a pint of it left on the shelf. See the ribbons of peanut butter winding their way through the chocolate?
But even the tastiest food can sometimes be nothing special to look at, as in today’s recipe. My Swiss Muesli is cold, gray and lumpy, but mmmmm is it good.
Apparently Muesli was invented by a Swiss physician for his patients around 1900. I wonder what medicinal qualities he thought Muesli had? There are dry varieties available in cereal boxes these days, but this recipe I’m sharing here is closer to the original, gloppy mixture - it’s made with milk and yogurt and needs to be stored in the refrigerator. I don’t think I’ll take a picture of the Muesli in our fridge right now, because it looks, well, cold, gray and lumpy. It would never hold a candle to the ice cream photo above. But Swiss Muesli is delicious! And nutritious. And it’s filling (my mom would have said, “this sticks to your ribs!”) And if you use good yogurt, it’s probiotic. (If you don’t know what that is, ask my daughter Sharon.)
So, if you’re willing to sacrifice visual appeal for delectability, here’s something to try:
Swiss Muesli
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1 cup plain yogurt (don’t use flavored or even vanilla yogurt here - with the above honey it will be too sweet - I tried)
* 1 cup milk (I use 1%)
I stir these three wet ingredients together in a large Tupperware container that has a lid - this is what I store it in.
Next, stir in:
* 1 cup regular rolled oats
* 3 T. grated unsweetened coconut (sweetened will work but unsweetened is better)
* 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup chopped pecans (you can use walnuts too)
This is my adaptation of a recipe I found in a magazine a long time ago, and that recipe also called for 1/4 cup raisins or dried apricots, and 1/4 cup chopped Granny Smith apples, which you might throw in if those sound good to you. (Authentic Muesli has fruit in it along with the nuts and oats.)
I make a double recipe of this almost every week, and after it sits in the lidded container in the fridge for a few hours, the oats soak up all the flavors and it looks like a bland, uninteresting porridge. Sounds blechy, I know, but it’s pretty yummy. Michael and I eat this for breakfast at least three times a week, and we both like a little dollop of peanut butter stirred into our bowls with it.
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, and I say Swiss Muesli shouldn’t be judged by its moist, gray lumps, either.
Guten appetit!
Posted by Just Julie @
4:32 am |
December winners
Thank you all for sharing with us about some of your little-known facts! I thought it was fun reading and I had some good laughs. Now I have a jumbled up bunch of pictures in my head - of goats being castrated and kitties locked up in drawers, of flamingo tattoos, of my own very responsible daughters sniffing markers and driving with their knees, of women compulsively unloading their shopping carts in the neatest way possible, of a new product called nasal floss, and of squeaky cotton balls.
I have prizes! Three of them. Someday maybe I will need to go to random.org like my daughter does to determine who, out of hundreds of her blog readers, gets a prize. But for now, I picked three of you in a very unbiased way. Eenie-meenie-miney-moe…no I didn’t really do that, but almost.
Christy, Sharon and Savannah will be the recipients of December’s gift - they’ll each get the CD that I talked about here, the one that’s getting the most play in our car right now. 
Especially track 10.
So here’s another question: what do you listen to when you drive? What CD is in your car stereo system right now? Is there a certain song you play over and over lately? If you listen to the radio, what station do you prefer? Also, what kind of music do you abhor and refuse to listen to for more than two seconds? (My answer to that is rap music. And I’ve never been too fond of Ravi Shankar, either - sitar music just doesn’t feed my soul).
Here are some posts that are coming up on the blog soon : Pecans in My Pocket, Julie’s Swiss Muesli Recipe, My Man-Part 2, Letters in the Sand, Book Four in My Top Five, Sara’s Wreath, and Guest Blog Posts. That means you! Be ready to be a guest writer on the blog - what’s on your mind? What would you like to say? Your chance is coming up.
Blessings…
Posted by Just Julie @
6:30 am |
Today’s Ten Things
1. We just had a beautiful snowfall in my neck of the woods.
2. I just finished a thoughtful book by Marilynne Robinson called Home.
3. Michael and I enjoyed tea and Scottish shortbread yesterday while having our devotional in our plaid bedroom chairs.
4. We will have a new window and a new baseboard heater installed on the third floor this week.
5. The dogs need their teeth cleaned.
6. I am putting up three Christmas trees this year, even though I’m feeling a tad Scroogely.
7. My daughter told me about online Pandora radio and I really like it.
8. I sometimes long to live in an Alpine country.
9. I am trying to focus on being loving, not on being right.
10. When I don’t know what else to do, counting my blessings out loud helps.
What are your ten things today?
Posted by Just Julie @
5:07 am |
Hallowed
Do you ever listen to a song over and over again because you like it so much? I do that once in a while. When I was a little girl I had a very modern and hip record player in my bedroom. I took the white poodle lamp (with an umbrella as its shade) off of my round, pink-painted metal nightstand and put the record player there, and listened to music as I read Nancy Drew books. I bought long-playing albums sometimes, but I mostly chose the smaller 45s - they cost 99 cents at The May Company, the large department store in the mall near where I lived. Some of the 45s I owned and played repeatedly were: Venus by The Shocking Blue, Angel of the Morning by Merilee Rush, and Love Is Blue by Paul Mauriat. If I hear these songs today, the seasons and views of my Southern California youth come rushing back, sometimes accompanied by warm memories, sometimes not. And the lyrics are still engraved in my mind and I can sing along without missing a beat, although these days I’m more careful about what I put into my head.
I’ve been listening to a song a lot lately, on an older CD called City on a Hill with various artists. I have it in our van, and everyone knows it by heart now because I play it so much. The song is beautifully done, truly a prayer, as you will hear. It is so far removed in scope and portent from the songs of my childhood that there aren’t words to convey the contrast. I love the song so much that I even had my web designer extraordinaire, Jen, install it on the blog recently so that it would automatically play while readers read. But I didn’t like how it started over each time a blog link was clicked. So Jen encouraged me to share it with you like this - in a regular blog post. This way you can come back again to this post if you like, turn up the volume and settle back in your chair, and let the words of Jesus call out to you again over the ages.
Here are the words, which should be very familiar to most, followed by a link so you can listen.
Hallowed
Our Father
Which art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
Hallowed… hallowed…
Done on the earth as it is in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Give us this our daily bread,
Hallowed… hallowed…
And please forgive all of our debts
Hallowed be Thy name
As we forgive our debtors
Hallowed… hallowed…
Lead us not into temptation’s lair
But deliver us from the evil snare
For Thine is the kingdom
Power and glory
Forever and ever, Amen…
Forever and ever, Amen…
Forever and ever, Amen…
Hallowed… hallowed…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Click on the red word, then once it opens, click on the play arrow:
Hallowed - by Jennifer Knapp, accompanied by Phil Keaggy on guitar.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
These are the words of Jesus. This song helps me grasp in a fresh and powerful way what He wants for my life, and what His desire is for the lives of my children and grandbabies. This is what is on His heart for all of us this very day.
As you celebrate this wonderful season about the birth of a King, I hope these ancient words about living in His kingdom bless you in a new way…
Posted by Just Julie @
7:28 am |
December Giveaway!
I’ve been thinking about a topic for our December blog giveaway, and I’ve come up with Little Known Facts. I think we should all share something that most people might not know about us. Nothing heinous or extremely gross, but maybe a fact or two that the average person might not know about you. Pump up your courage and get ready to post a comment on the blog, because there will be a gift in it for some of you!
For example, you might have a hidden talent and be able to knit with your eyes closed, or perhaps you have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. It could be that you have very wretched unique tastes - maybe you like to eat pickles dipped in powdered sugar or spaghetti noodles tossed with vinegar. Maybe you refuse to wear orange, will only buy one kind of toilet paper, or are a member of the ROAR! Club.
So I’ll go first, except that I don’t qualify for the prizes…unless I wrap these nice gifts and no one posts a comment.
1. I have been invited to be on the Oprah Winfrey show. (I declined - a story in itself.)
2. I gave birth to a child at home with a midwife.
3. My husband and I were engaged before we met, and spent time together only once before we tied the knot.
4. I have flown a plane and do not have a pilot’s license (and am afraid of flying).
5. When I’m in an audience and the applause begins at the end of a performance, I have an odd habit of counting how many times I clap my hands.
There you go - I could share more but it’s your turn. And I’ll bet I’m not the only one who could use a chuckle. 
Posted by Just Julie @
5:07 am |
Rabbit!!
Today is the first day of the month, which means in our family, it’s time to say “Rabbit!”
When I was in the second grade in Southern California, my teacher, Mrs. Sarah Lokken, told our class that if you were the first to say “Rabbit!” to another person on the first day of the month, you would have good luck for that coming month. Even at age seven I don’t think I bought the good luck idea, but for forty-four years now, my friend Denel and I have been rabbit-ing each other on the first day of the month.
This strange tradition soon spread into my family, and even after I was married and had children of my own, my mom would call me on the phone on the first day of the month and as soon as I answered “Hello?” she would yell “RABBIT!” and then laugh when I would groan, “You got me!”
For almost twenty-eight years my husband has been trying to beat me to the rabbit punch. Most times he waits until just past the stroke of midnight when I’ve already been fast asleep for hours, and he reaches over to gently shake me just enough to wake me, and then gleefully whispers in my ear, “Rabbit!” The rat.
Any way our family members can be the first to rabbit someone, we’ll try. My daughter Sharon often gets me first in an e-mail. The subject line will say, “RABBIT!” and when I open the e-mail, she has written, “Ha ha ha I got you hee hee ho tee hee!!!” Keep in mind she’s thirty-one and I’m fifty-one, but what can I say?
On November 1st a month ago, I heard my cell phone chime its familiar incoming text tune. I opened the text from my friend Denel, and can you guess what she had texted across the miles to me? “RABBIT!” Ohhh! She got me, that stinker! I said to myself. But I also smiled. And a lifetime of memories came flooding back.
So far, the various in-laws have been a little slow to catch on to the rabbiting phenomenon. When my very practical son-in-law Chris first heard about this family tradition and realized his wife (and my daughter) was going to enthusiastically say “Rabbit!” to him on the first day of each month for the rest of his life, he asked, “And you all do this why?” And who can blame him? We aren’t even sure ourselves why we do it. We don’t really believe we’ll be “luckier” than someone else if we blurt out the word before they do. We just like to say rabbit. It makes us smile. It makes us feel connected. It makes us remember.
I hope that when I’m just a memory to my grandchildren, they’ll be proudly continuing the rabbit tradition. But for today, allow me to be the first to proclaim to you in print, “Rabbit!!”
Now you know about this. You might want to go and pass it on.
Posted by Just Julie @
5:00 am |
The Inviting Ivybank
Michael and I are talking about going to Great Britain again. Time will tell if all the details that need to be covered actually will be, but it’s so fun to dream. And to reminisce.
In January of 2007 we spent twelve days in Ireland, Scotland and England, and the trip was so amazing we keep reliving the memories together. We’ll be laying in bed at night and Michael might say, “Remember when we saw the Edinburgh Castle and then sat and waited so long in the cold for the wrong bus to come?” And we laugh. Or, “Remember all the mashed peas we ate in England?” and I say, ”Blech!” Or “How about the night we walked leisurely through the village of Thirsk in Yorkshire, thinking of James Herriot, and then savored that simple dinner of bread, cheese and fruit in bed back in our suite at the Nag’s Head Inn?” Then we sigh together. But the place we visited that we speak of the most is Inverness, in the Highlands of northern Scotland. And most specifically, the place we stayed, The Ivybank.
Several important things happened to us in Inverness, listed here in no particular order. We relaxed. We slept. We were almost arrested. We made new, lifelong friends. We ate Whiskey Fudge. I learned to drive on the left side of the road, while sitting on the right side of a car, while shifting with my left hand. We became very dedicated to brisk tea and buttery shortbread. We strolled, arm-in-arm. We warmed our feet at quaint hearths. We experienced Loch Ness. And in some way I can’t explain, we came home.
Michael and I both have Scottish roots, so I keep telling myself that this is why I cry when I hear bagpipes, this is why I felt almost haunted as we drove north from Prestwick near Glasgow to those beautiful heathered hills of the Highlands. The closer we drove to the northern part of Scotland, the more anxious to arrive I became. Something awaits us here, I kept thinking. I have no idea why visiting Scotland was almost like sounding a deep and resonant bell in my soul, but something still pulls me to that ancient, rugged land. Is it just my McIntyre ancestry? Could it be my lifelong love of plaid? Is it my imagination? If it is, it’s terribly insistent and powerful. At this point only God knows, and if He ever reveals all this to me, you can be sure I’ll put up a post about it.
At the inviting Ivybank Guesthouse we met our hosts Tom and Catherine; gracious, hospitable and lovely people who have become dear friends. Catherine and I write to each other regularly, and have shared our love for Christ and for books. We pray for each other and recognize the bond between us that we believe is there because of Jesus. The phrase “kindred spirits” comes to mind when I think of Tom and Catherine. Michael and I hope to see them again someday.
So now that Thanksgiving is over and the hordes are rushing around at the malls, we are quiet at home. We actually have a tea-time planned for this evening. I will brew a pot of tea and put out some Scottish shortbread on a fancy plate, and Michael and I will recall the highlights of our trip to the UK again.
“Remember when you didn’t know you could stop at roundabouts and you almost crashed into that Scottish police car?” he might ask for the umpteenth time. “And how when they learned we were Americans and this was my first day of driving there,” I reply, ”they kindly gave us a police escort right to the driveway of The Ivybank and then smiled and waved goodbye?” Yes, we learned quickly about that famous Highland Hospitality.
Today I was painting some wood trim around a new window we had installed recently in our master bedroom. Michael was sitting in one of the comfy (plaid!) chairs, keeping me company. I asked him, “If you had to live in a country other than our own, which one would be your first choice?” After a few moments of silence as he pondered and I brushed on creamy white paint, Michael said softly, “Scotland.”
Posted by Just Julie @
2:39 pm |
From our house to yours…
Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for you, our family and friends…
p.s. - these are some visitors we had in our back yard this snowy morning:
Posted by Just Julie @
4:01 am |
A Thanksgiving benediction
Our Thanksgiving will be different this year. We will be celebrating in a different house. We will have the smallest number at our table (five) that we’ve ever had. We will have two new people at our Thanksgiving table, and will sorely miss six who are usually with us. We will have nothing to eat that’s green (unless we count the celery in the stuffing). It will be quiet. But we will heartily give thanks, for all that we have, for all we’ve been spared, and for the marvelous blessing of having Someone to thank.
I hope your Thanksgiving is blessed in every way - that at the end of the day you can thank God for the love of family, the comfort of friends, the abundance of provision, and the wonder of faith.
Today as I bake pies, ready the turkey, pick up the house and run a couple of last minute errands, the sentiments of this prayer will be constantly on my mind:
O merciful God, grant that we may
desire ardently,
search prudently,
recognize truly,
and share in your work
for the praise and glory of your name.
Put our lives in good order, Lord God,
so that we may know what you want us to do
to bring to completion the work you have begun among us.
Grant, O Lord, that we may not falter
in times of prosperity or adversity:
may we not be proud and greedy in the former,
nor dejected and discouraged in the latter.
May we not rejoice in anything unless it leads to you,
nor be saddened by anything unless it turns us from you.
Help us, Lord, to show our gratitude to you
by imitating your generosity, the Giver of all that is good.
Amen. St. Thomas Aquinas
Posted by Just Julie @
5:26 am |
The Notable Nudibranch
If I hadn’t seen you for a while and we ran into each other in the sleeping aids aisle at Target, we might take time to chat and catch up a bit. I might even ask you, or you might ask me, ”So, what’s on your mind these days?”
Possible topics and typical answers might be: The recent elections? Yes. The economy? Check. Family concerns? Without a doubt. Nudibranchs? **Sigh** Yes, it’s true. Nudibranchs have been on my mind lately. How about you? You mean you can honestly tell me that a nudibranch (pronounced NOO-di-brangk — it doesn’t rhyme with ranch, it rhymes with tank) has not crossed your mind in recent weeks? Hmmm. Well I guess this is yet another area where I’m all by myself, because I have been thinking about nudibranchs lately. And I’m completely serious.
The summer of 2008 was memorable in my life for many different reasons, not the least of which is that I first learned about nudibranchs. I had never even heard the word, and now I want to talk to you about them.
Nudibranchs are sea slugs, basically, and there are more than 3000 described species of them. Can you imagine! I’m sharing just six photos with you here, and as you look at these amazing creatures, keep in mind there are thousands of others just as colorful and interesting.
If you want to know more scientific data about nudibranchs, there are many places on the web for you to peruse, so I won’t make this a science lesson about a creature I’ve only just been introduced to. But if you know anything about me, you probably know where I’m going with all of this.
Nudibranchs make me think about God.
When I first saw the brilliant colors and the whimsical design of these sea animals I thought, “What was God thinking? Why did He make so many beautiful variations of little sea slugs? What were His purposes in giving them such amazing detail and color and individuality?” (I guess we could ask the same questions about His human creation too).
Look at this lovely fellow. Think about how he and thousands of his colorful cousins went unseen by human eyes for thousands of years. For centuries no one was able to go to the depths of the seas to oooh and aaah over the brilliance and uniqueness of these seemingly inconsequential mollusks. And even now there are probably more undiscovered kinds of nudibranchs on the vast ocean floor, slowly doing their thing and living their simple quiet lives for an audience of One.
Will you check out the ruffles on this nudibranch? They remind me of my 1975 prom date and the shirt he wore with his tuxedo.
I don’t know if it occurs to you, but I want to know why God thought the world needed so many variations of these slugs. Did the Creator know that a dressmaker would see this photo one day and smile? Did He do this so we would marvel and stop what we’re doing and give more than a passing thought to Him and His inscrutable ways?
These two look like they’ve donned their flamenco outfits and are ready to circle around each other and stare one another down, as soon as the music starts and the castanets start clicking. Most likely they have their carnivorous little hearts set on dinner, though, and are slowly and determinedly undulating their way toward other delectable nudibranchs, or perhaps they’ve gotten a whiff of an unsuspecting and waving sea anemone in the distance.
And what can possibly be said about this purple and orange specimen? Does she have any idea how stunning she is? Or does she have self-esteem issues because she worries that her noses are too long, her hair is too straight and hard to manage, her legs too short and stocky?
I’m not even sure why I keep thinking about nudibranchs - I think I’m pondering the attributes of a God that would deposit so much beauty and quirkiness into small creatures that most will never see. Why would He do that? Do you have any ideas? I’m totally serious.
If there are no wrong answers, why do you think He didn’t stop at ten kinds of nudibranchs, or a hundred different varieties? Why did He make thousands? And why was it important to Him to color and design them in the ways He did? I wonder what can be learned about God through this simple little creature.
Posted by Just Julie @
5:29 am |
