Metcalf Family Mews

12 small new potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Heat 1 inch water to boiling in 3-quart saucepan. Add potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drain and cool. Cut potatoes in half; place cut sides up on serving tray. (Cut thin slice from bottom of each potato half, if necessary, to help stand upright.) Top each potato half with 1 teaspoon sour cream. Sprinkle with chives. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until chilled.

Serves: 24

It’s very important to me that people who are actual chefs and other professionals in the culinary world, understand that I’m not, and have never held myself out as being, like a CIA trained chef. ~ Ted Allen

1 (8 1/4 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained and juice reserved
1 (1/3 ounce) package sugar-free lemon- or orange-flavored gelatin
2 eggs
1 egg white
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 375º. Line round pan, 9 × 1 1/2 inches, with waxed paper; spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spread pineapple evenly in pan; sprinkle with gelatin (dry).

Beat eggs and egg white in small bowl on high speed until very thick and lemon colored, about 5 minutes; pour into medium bowl. Gradually beat in sugar. Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1/3 cup. Beat in pineapple juice and vanilla on low speed. Gradually add flour, baking powder and salt, beating just until batter is smooth. Pour into pan.

Bake until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Immediately loosen cake from edge of pan; invert pan on heatproof serving plate. Carefully remove waxed paper. Serve warm.

Serves: 8

I think the most wonderful thing in the world is another chef. I’m always excited about learning new things about food. ~ Paul Prudhomme

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup currants
1 tablespoon poppy seed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon margarine
1 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/4 cup fat-free cholesterol-free egg product
OR
2 egg whites

Heat oven to 375º. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Mix all ingredients except margarine, buttermilk and egg product in large bowl. Cut in margarine with fork. Mix buttermilk and egg product; stir into flour mixture.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Makes 12 Scones.

I always had a fantasy of being a chef, because I like kitchen life. ~ Geoffrey Rush

Edith Adkins Whitt, age 71, a resident of West Liberty, KY passed away April 2, 2010 at the Select Specialty Hospital in Lexington, KY.
Edith was born February 22, 1939 in Magoffin County, KY, the daughter of the late Ben Adkins and Ethel Montgomery Adkins.
Survivors include one son, Clyde Whitt JR; two daughters, Kathy Whitt of New York, New York and Loretta Bailey of West Liberty, KY; seven brothers, Russell Adkins, Wheeler Adkins, Lonnie Adkins, Hager Adkins, Robert Adkins, Herbert Adkins, Roy Adkins, all of West Liberty, KY; three sisters, Janet Fannin, Ailene Williams and Alice Scurry all of West Liberty, KY; nine grandchildren, five great grandchildren.
In addition to her parents, her husband, Clyde Whitt; one son, George Whitt; two daughters, Pauline Whitt and Connie Sue Whitt; one brother, Charles Adkins; three sisters, Sue Hawkins, Mae Williams and Faye Manning preceded Edith in death.
Funeral Services were conducted April 5, 2010 from the Magoffin County Funeral Home Chapel with Michael Lindon officiating. Burial followed in the Harper Cemetery at White Oak, KY.
These arrangements were in care of the Magoffin County Funeral Home.

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  1 John 5:11

My family and I usually try to agree to disagree; mostly on Politics and Religion. The two major taboo subjects.  I have made a few mistakes and other than one huge whopper on this blog, I do try to go back and rectify them. Not always succeeding, but I try.

I do see this as a major strength of my family. As you know I can hold a grudge for a lifetime without budging. I see this as a strength as well. Those people that allow people to walk all over them time and time again, like my older sister tend to become everyone’s doormat, just because people feel that to puff themselves up, they have to belittle someone else. I don’t. I love to see people succeed and to do well in all their endeavors.   If I can help them in anyway to achieve this, I will.

My family members tend to be committed to each other, myself included, some maybe shouldn’t be. I’ve threaten many times, to have my youngest brother committed for obvious reasons. He won’t lose the worst thing that ever happened to him. I guess he’s just a gluten for punishment.

I myself, have been married for 31 years and counting. I am totally committed to my husband, as he is to me. His dedication and strength has always kept our family together. I tend to be the slacker in our family. He is a workaholic and will do whatever it takes to keep his family together and well provided for. He is the strongest man I’ve ever known.

To list his, our children’s and our grandchildren’s strengths would take me all day. Somewhere I hope to write it all down just for them.  But if I had to list a few off the top of my head, I’d probably say, “We have fun together, we’re dedicated to one another, we feel a responsibility to and for each other; we have each others back, for the most part anyway and we can love each other unconditionally.

Although, I’ll be the first to admit there are a few people that I don’t like, for various reasons, and if you really know me, you’ll know that I have no problem with verbalizing my dislike. Not sure if that is a strength, but no one can ever say that I’ve talked behind their backs. If I won’t say it to their face, I won’t say it at all. So maybe it does show some kind strength, maybe just a misguided one.  (a small chuckle here).

Our family just has a wonderful loving spirit, simplicity, security and fortitude.  It will live on, long after I’m past.  Lord willing.

Now that is true strength.  God Bless and Welcome to the Family!

We can’t do much about the length our lives, but we can do plenty about its width and depth. ~ Evan Esar

Questions

These questions are not comprehensive — feel free to elaborate on your own, to skip some that don’t seem to apply, and to focus on what’s important for your family. Mostly, these are meant to serve as a springboard to get your thoughts flowing.

1. What are a few strengths of each member of our family?

2. Collectively, we are at our best when we are…

3. Collectively, we are at our worst when we are…

4. If we had a completely free day together as a family, how would we spend it?

5. What are practical ways we can serve each other?

6. What are practical ways we can serve others outside our family?

7. Name three things you think you could do better as a family.

8. What would people say today about our family as a whole?

9. What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?

10. If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?

11. Name three adjectives we would like people to use to describe our home environment.

12. If we could name one principle from which we want our family to operate, what would it be?

13. What are the top four priorities we want our family to value?

14. What is the main purpose of our home?

15. What is the secondary purpose of our home?

16. What is the individual purpose in life of each member of our family?

17. What is one way we are unique as a family?

18. Describe the status of our family in 10 years…

• financially:
• intellectually:
• emotionally:
• relationally with each other:
• communally in our environment:
• physically:
• spiritually:

19. Where are you as a family in 10 years? What does your home look like?

20. What is the purpose of life?

The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.  ~ Helen Keller