SMALL BITES….Adventures in Downsizing.

Jan Kinzel

Where do I belong? …The other day I had a block of undedicated time while sitting at the computer.  Just for fun I pressed the Google Earth site.  I zoomed all over the world!  I began with India because we were going to dinner that night with the last Indian young man from his group to remain here at the hotel.  The others had returned to India over the last couple of weeks.  We had shared many delightful conversations over the months they were here.

I wanted to look at Iceland to see if there were populated places other than Reykjavik – there were, lots of them.  Next, I ‘toured’ the entire Middle East and looked at the total geographical picture of all of the areas which are in such conflict today, and for many centuries before.  I thought about the wars and ways of life in those places and the hardships endured by so many, including our own soldiers who are trying to defend against the tyrannical lifestyles forced on so many people.  I saw all of the straits, mountains, valleys and waterways so frequently on the news these days.

Then I ‘went’ to Europe and ‘visited’ places we had been and places I would like to go.  I thought how wonderful it would be to take a cooking class in Italy or visit the beautiful Greek Island of San Torino.

With Google Earth, you can zoom out and see Earth as a blue marble hanging in space or zoom in and see your house on your street, with your car in your driveway.

As we are prone to do, I zoomed in on myself and thought, “Where do I belong?”  Looking forward is best, but looking back is also a part of the downsizing experience.  I began to miss my ‘old life’.  Have you ever heard someone say, “I just want my life back?”  Another modern expression that applies is, “Don’t go there.”  Living in the moment is the healthy choice.  Cherish the memories and get on with life and all of the wonderful opportunities that are a part of living.

Risotto is the most satisfying dish I cook.  There is a certain contentment in the preparation and eating of risotto.  It is a staple in Italian cooking and as versatile as pasta.  Except for twirling it around a fork, it can be used like pasta as a delivery system for extra ingredients!

Risotto with Mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 shallots or 1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 cups Arborio rice

½ cup white wine

4 – 5 cups simmering chicken broth in a separate pot

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 – 12 ounces or sliced crimini or button mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil and/or butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and liquid drained from them

1 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat oil and butter in a heavy pan over medium high heat.  Add shallots or onions and cook until soft.  Add the rice and stir, coating each grain with the fat.  Stir in the wine and cook until wine is absorbed by the rice.  Continue to cook, adding 2 ladles of simmering broth.  Stir until the broth is absorbed by the rice.  Continue this process, two ladles at a time, until most or all of the broth is used.  Add salt, pepper  and cooked mushrooms.  Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.  You will have a creamy and delicious rice dish.  There are many wonderful ingredients and combinations of ingredients to mix into the risotto, but they should all be cooked separately, drained and then added to the finished risotto.  Even if you add other cheeses, be sure to always use the parmesan.

It’s best to cook this dish just before serving. When entertaining, it’s a perfect dish for interactive cooking.  People love to stand around the stove and chat, and they can even help stir.  It takes about 25 minutes.

Tip: Bloom where you are planted.  (My sister, Ruth, provided that one for me!)

Philippians 4:11 … in whatever state I am to be content….

SMALL BITES … adventures in downsizing

Jan Kinzel

Days of Bears and Sunflowers … What proved to be the first step in our downsizing exercise happened about a year prior to the sale of our primary residence.  At the time, I didn’t realize that this was just the beginning.

In 1986 we purchased a vacation home in the Lake Tahoe area.  We enjoyed all seasons in the mountains for many years.  Just as with our primary home, guests enjoyed it with us.  Sometimes a week-end or full week stay served as the “big” auction item for various charity events.   Having that place meant a lot to me, our family and our friends.  With the downturn in the economy, it became the first sacrifice we needed to make.  I could hardly face selling it, so I tearfully signed the necessary papers and then someone else owned my mountain home.

As is usual with vacation homes, it was sold with all of the furnishings.  However, there were some personal items and other things that we wanted to keep.  Once it was sold I didn’t return.  I felt too sad and asked my husband to take the items out that we were keeping.  He did so along with the help of our son-in-law.  The two of them went up to the mountains and brought the “stuff” to our home.  It sat in the garage unlooked at by me for the rest of that year, until I got the word that we now we were going to have to sell our home.

Forced to go through the items and the pain again, I started sorting.  Christmas was looming, funds were short and here was all of that “stuff” that I would not be using any longer.   For Christmas gifts that year, we gave my ice skates to our granddaughter, my winter scene dish place settings to our daughter-in-law and several jig-saw puzzles to our other granddaughter (She’s a puzzle addict like I am).  This prompted us to find Christmas gifts for others in that same family from other garage dwelling items.  Our grandson received a cool anatomy book (He’s interested in a medical career.) and our son inherited our two-moving-boxes-full collection of LPs.  Our son and his family were thrilled with the gifts as were we to have a place for some of our cherished possessions.

You may think that this is the end of the story, but you’d be wrong.  I still, even after a year, had no closure on the mountain home.  As we began planning for our new condo, I decided to use a sunflower motif for the guest bedroom.  I remembered that we had a painting by my mother-in-law of sunflowers.  How cool that would be to have something of hers in our new place.  She has been gone for almost twenty years.  She was a great person and a great friend to me.

When she was in her mid fifties, she decided to complete high school and receive her GED.  She was foreign born and her first language was German.  Along the way of doing this, she took some art classes and discovered that she had a wonderful talent for painting.  One of her art teachers had her class copy famous works of some of the masters.  We hung her “Monet Sunflowers” painting in our mountain home and it got left behind.

My husband contacted the new owners and asked if we could retrieve the painting.  They said we could if they had kept it and they would look for it and let us know.  They weren’t sure because they had done some remodeling on the mountain home and had stored some things in an extra room.  A couple of weeks later they emailed to say that it was there and we could come to their home down here to pick it up.  Last night we did and we have it hanging on our hotel room wall!

It’s still not the end of the story until I tell you how I finally got closure on the mountain home.

I had no prior contact with the buyers but felt ready to accompany my husband to retrieve the painting.  Turns out, Tanjya, a German girl, is just the sweetest person and was happy to meet us and invited us to stop by when we are up in Tahoe.  She also told us this:  They did an extensive kitchen remodel – new counters, appliances – the whole nine yards!  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas a bear entered the home and destroyed the kitchen.  Two more bears also ransacked the house.  Thank God, nobody was in the house at the time.

On the way home from picking up the painting, we marveled at the preservation of Mom’s picture and that the bears didn’t destroy the home when we owned it or were there.  I was finally thankful that we sold the mountain home.  We’ll rent a condo in Squaw Valley next time we go to the mountains!

Tip:  Don’t count God out.

Romans 8:28 All things work together for good to those who love Godand are called according to His purpose.

SMALL BITES … ADVENTURES IN DOWNSIZING

Remember the good old days … TV sit-dramas were fairly decent in content.  The Love Boat which ran from the late seventies to the mid-eighties and Hotel in the early to mid-eighties were popular.  Both of these series had a venue which allowed the writers to create stories about various guests, more or less from the viewpoint of the staff.  Of course, the writers had an unending supply of material as the people would come and go. Because of downsizing, I’m living that experience!  People come into the hotel and into my life. They stay for a while and leave.  New ones come and we all get to share a portion of life together.

I found myself saddened when two of the young men, who had been living at the hotel since we arrived, were returning to India that evening.  There is a group of six – now minus two – Indian young men residing in my ‘neighborhood’.  Some work together and some have jobs unrelated to each other, but they have bonded, taking all of their meals together, seeing the sights the Bay Area has to offer, and forging friendships based on their common situation and heritage.  Chatting with these delightful young men about India and America is an everyday occurrence which I enjoy.

What seemed to be such a frightening step has pleasantly resulted in an enriched life.  Living temporarily in a hotel has brought many fun experiences my way.  Except for the continual search for quarters for the laundry machines, I’d say it’s just about perfect – for now.

MENU

Grilled ‘Tandoori’ Chicken

Spicy Rice

Cool Cucumbers

Nan

Indian Chai Tea

Mango Custard

RECIPES

Grilled ‘Tandoori’ Chicken

Look on the internet for marinade for the chicken and grilling instructions.

Spicy Rice

1 shallot, finely diced and sautéed in 1 teaspoon each of butter and peanut oil

2 cups Basmati rice

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

1/3 canned coconut milk

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon yellow curry powder

Toasted coconut flakes

Snipped fresh curly leaf parsley

Bring chicken stock, water and coconut milk to a boil.  Add salt and curry powder.  Stir in rice and bring back to boil.  Cover and cook on medium heat until rice is tender – about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in sautéed shallots, golden raisins and parsley.  Place on rice on platter around the grilled chicken pieces and garnish with toasted coconut.

Cool Cucumbers

4 English cucumbers

2 large Fuji apples

Juice of ½ large lemon

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup plain yoghurt

Peel the cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds by scraping a teaspoon

along the seed chamber. Core and peel the apples.  Dice apples and cucumbers into       half-inch pieces.  Toss the apples with lemon juice and place them along with the   cucumbers in a mixing bowl. Chill the mixture. Just            before serving add the salt and             yoghurt to dress the cucumbers and apples.  Serve in individual small bowls.  Garnish     with a dill sprig.

Nan

Nan, Indian bread, is available at most regular markets and comes in different

flavors.  It can be fairly spicy, so look at the ingredients.

Indian Chai Tea

Fill tall glasses with party ice.  Pour Chai spiced black tea (such as Oregon brand) to 2/3             full and top off with vanilla or almond soy milk.  This milk can be found in the       refrigerated case with regular milk.  I like the brand called Silk.  Sweeten with a little    sugar or no calorie sweetener. On a long wooden skewer, thread           a chunk of pineapple, mango and a strawberry and a couple of mint leaves.  Push to one end of the skewer.       Place the empty end down in the drink allowing the fruit to stick up above the glass rim.

Mango Custard

Make your favorite tapioca pudding and stir in a puree of fresh mango before it is set.     Transfer to individual clear glass bowls and chill. Garnish with a mint leaf and a cube of        fresh mango.

Tip: Recognize opportunities to show God’s love to others.  Sometimes the world comes to you.

Matthew 28:19 & 20 ….go into all the world and share the Gospel……

SMALL BITES … adventures in downsizing

Jan Kinzel

Two roads diverged … begins a famous poem by Robert Frost.  In it, he speaks of choices.  When downsizing must occur, there are many choices to be made.  One of the most urgent is where to live next.  Two choices may be involved – a temporary place for the interim and a permanent one for the future.  But the most important thing to decide is how you want to live from where you are forward.

As we age, the choices become clearer.  How much space do I want?  What activities would I like to pursue?  Would I sacrifice daily living space for shared amenities?  Ask yourself many of these kinds of questions.  There are no right or wrong answers.  The important thing is to be pro-active in this important decision and take the path that suits you.

It’s difficult to ‘let go’ of the ‘stuff’ of our lives, but there does come a time when it’s the best choice.

Once the decision is made, pursue it with gusto!  Moving forward with happy plans is the best antidote for lamenting the change that must happen.  Remember, denial is just a big river in Egypt!

I love resorts!  So, that’s where I started.  I went to the web and looked under luxury condos in my area.  The first listing is what we ended up choosing.  I like new construction and that meant not moving to immediate permanency.  We chose to live in a hotel in our interim.  The hotel has a “resort style living’ feel.  I’m in training for condo living!  This is the choice that is most comfortable for us.  What about you?  Hotel, apartment, condo, senior living complex, house, leaving the area, living with kids…There are numerous excellent choices for your next move.  What will you choose?  Will it be the road less traveled?

BUFFETS GALORE!

Breakfast Buffet

Juices: orange, tomato, cranberry, grape, sparkling water

Breads: scones, toast, muffins, pastries, pancakes, waffles

Eggs: Benedict, scrambled, soft-boiled, strata casserole

Meats: sausage, bacon (cut calories & fat and use turkey), ham

Fresh fruit platter: melon, mango, black– blue- rasp- and straw-berries, additional seasonal treats

Freshly brewed coffee

Fresh Fruit & Smoothie Bar

Fresh fruits & berries

Plain and flavored low fat yoghurts, sorbets, ice cream

Juices and nectars

Honey

Round up 3 or 4 blenders and blend away!  Serve in tall glasses with tall straws.

Seafood Buffet

Roasted Shrimp

Pickled Shrimp

Sushi from Costco with yummy dipping sauces

Crab Cakes

Steamed Alaskan King Crab Legs with garlic and butter

Crispy Fish Tacos with coleslaw

Clam Chowder

Clam Linguini with olive oil, lemon and garlic sauce and snipped fresh herbs

Pasta Buffet

Cooked varieties of whole wheat pastas tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and garlic held warm in crock pots or steamer.  Offer a selection of red or white sauces and additions such as turkey meatballs, sautéed mushrooms,

roasted garlic, caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese brick and a grater and chopped fresh parsley.  Accompany with Caesar style green salad with home-baked parmesan/ garlic/ fresh herb croutons.

Kabob Buffet

Instead of plates, use Chinese take-out boxes.  Begin the buffet line with steamed brown rice placed in the bottom of the take-out box.  Have a variety of meat, veggie and fresh fruit kabobs.  As the guests move down the line, kabobs are added to their box.  This is a very fun and casual eating style.  Include a brightly colored plastic fork at the end of the line.  The food does not need to be Asian inspired to be enjoyed this way.

Memories Buffet

Prepare favorite family recipes for a family get-together.  Assign specialties accordingly.  Decorate with family photos.  Give each family a mini-photo album of shared memories.

Potato Bar

A baked potato with all the trimmings is delicious and comforting. Even more so is a martini glass filled with mashed potatoes and trimmings such as caramelized onions, garlic sauce, sautéed mushrooms, etc.!

Build Your Own Pizza Bar

Purchase stretched pizza dough circles from a pizza restaurant. Present a variety of toppings: red sauce, white sauce, fresh veggies, sautéed veggies, fresh spinach and arugula, sliced mushrooms, onions, pineapple chunks, ham, cooked sausage, cooked chicken.  You can even theme the ingredients ethnically.  Allow the guests to construct their own pizzas.  They can share ‘dough surface’.  Have a 400⁰ oven ready and cook as they bring them to you.

Salad Bar

Set a large metal bowl in another bowl of ice.  Fill with basic fresh greens. Offer spinach, arugula, field greens and the like.  Have a variety of crunchy fresh veggies, some cheeses and 3 or 4 choices of dressings. For more flavor and interest add fresh or dried fruit and candied or spiced nuts. Have everything, including serve-ware, thoroughly chilled.

Drink Bar

Sparkling water, diet ginger ale, fruit flavored drink syrups, fresh fruit juices, canned fruit nectars, fresh fruit and mint leaves, container of party ice, variety of glasses, glass charms for stemware, swizzle sticks, stirrers, fancy straws, blender to make frozen drinks

Dessert Buffet

Offer desserts in categories of chocolate, fruit, creams such as cheesecake, pots d’ crème, puddings

Accompany with freshly brewed coffee.

Coffee/Espresso Bar

Latte cups, clear glass coffee mugs and tiny espresso cups & saucers should be on the bar.  Brew espresso or extra-strong coffee for the tiny cups.  Place a twist of lemon rind and a sugar cube or rock candy swizzle stick alongside the cup.  Have whipped cream and regular cream, sweeteners and flavored syrups for coffees available.

I think by now you get my drift. The ideas are endless.  Make some of the dishes and purchase others – you choose.  Enter any dish you can think of on the internet and press search.  You will be rewarded with ‘tons’ of tasty recipes.  Mix and match.  Above are some of my ideas, but you are the designer of your buffet.  You choose!

Tip:  Be proactive. Make positive and Godly choices.

Joshua 24:15 …choose this day whom you will serve….

SMALL BITES … ADVENTURES IN DOWNSIZING

Jan Kinzel

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

For I know the thoughts I have towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope…this from Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet”!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said words to the effect that it’s not what lies in the past or what lies ahead but what lies within that count.  The spotlight of downsizing certainly reveals the character within – good and bad.  This light shines on faith, hope, trust, optimism and the like; dispels the shadows where some of the weaknesses can hide and fool you; and exposes issues thought to have been long ago developed and taken for granted – trusted tools relied upon for living the Christian life. The ambush is surprising!  A reassessment of faith and values must be made – returning to the basics of faith in God and the simplicity of the Gospel truths and the refreshing of your own personal relationship with God.

Who gave me some hope to cling to when I first learned of the need to change most of my life?  Not whom you might think. It took me a while to understand the Jeremiah 29 verse and accept that my future had not been wiped-out and even longer to examine my values and what a mess I was.   In the meantime, the sales staff at the condominium complexes helped me to look forward.  Because of the many months of experience they had in helping people, like me, to leave behind a well-worn lifestyle and exchange it all for a new way to live, they had excellent words of hope and advice.  While I was looking back and dwelling on all I was about to lose, they told me that once I “put my key into my place and began living there I would love it.”  I really clung onto that.  And they were right.

While we still have that experience to come, there is a lot to be accomplished beforehand.  It’s exciting to plan our “new life”.  I know it will be different from the life in which I had become so comfortable.  There will be some limitations because of space but there will also be freedoms for the same reason.  I have named our new place “A Shining Little Jewel” and am setting out to make it just that.

MENU

It’s What Lies Within Cabbage Rolls

Jewel Tone Applesauce

Sparkling Cider

Snickerdoodles

RECIPES

Cabbage Rolls

2 heads of green cabbage

2 cans Italian flavored or plain diced tomatoes

1 egg

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

1 ½  teaspoon salt

½  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 ½  lb. ground chuck beef

1 ½ lb. ground turkey

½  lb. Jimmy Dean sage sausage

1 cup Minute rice

1 medium finely diced yellow onion

10 bay leaves

10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1 cup milk, heated

1 can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste mixed with 1 quart warm water

Core 2 heads of cabbage, place in a large pot of salted boiling water and blanche for 4 minutes.

Remove from water and drain, cored side down on paper towels to soften the leaves.  Cool.

Prepare a Dutch oven, roasting pan or casserole dish by spraying it with Pam and covering the bottom with Italian flavored or plain diced canned tomatoes.

Lightly beat the egg with a fork in a large bowl.  Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  To this, add meats, rice, onion and warmed milk.  Combine all of this with your hands.  (I like to wear disposable gloves or baggies.)  Don’t overmix as the meat will lose texture and become ‘mushy’.

Carefully separate the cabbage leaves.  Fill each one with the meat mixture and form rolls.  They will vary in size.  Place each roll in the diced tomato base, adding more of the diced tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves and a couple of bay leaves in between layers.  Top with remaining tomatoes;  pour tomato sauce  and the tomato paste /water mixture over all of the cabbage rolls.

Cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake in a 375⁰ oven until meat is cooked and rice is tender.  (These can also be cooked on the range or in a crockpot.)  Serve in pasta bowls with bread for dipping.  Freeze the leftovers in plastic containers.

Jewel Tone Applesauce

10 Granny Smith apples

10 Rome Beauty apples

Red apple peels

2 cinnamon sticks

1 cup granulated sugar

Juice of small lemon

1 cup water

Peel, core and rough chop the apples.  Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottomed pot – such

as a Dutch oven.   Cook over medium-high heat until apples are cooked down to the consistency

you prefer.  The red peels will give a lovely pink cast to the sauce.  Remove the peels and

cinnamon sticks before serving.  Serve hot, warm or chilled.

Sparkling cider over ice and some Snickerdoodle cookies are great accompaniments to this dinner.

Tip:  Encourage others as you would have them encourage you

A word fitly spoken …….apples of gold………Proverbs 25:11

SMALL BITES … adventures in downsizing

Jan Kinzel

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

My friend who was helping us sort through our vast quantity of stuff was working with me in the garage on a Tuesday, when my croquet set emerged. These sets have not changed much, if at all, over the years.  The rolling rack, the wickets, the different colored balls and mallets – all were there. At our new place the expanse of lawn will allow for croquet, but storage of the set would present a problem.

I told my friend, “Mary might want it.” Now, Mary loves all things patriotic and owns a huge collection of Americana everything.  Mary also ‘lettered in croquet’ in college and we have played this game at many summer gatherings over the years. Croquet, American flags, Norman Rockwell, picnics – yeah, like that.

Calling Mary and expecting to hear her voice, I was surprised when her husband answered.  Dennis’ response to, “Say, could you and Mary use a croquet set?” was a big burst of laughter. “Why are you laughing?” I asked him. (I should mention that Mary and Dennis are watching their dollars in this strained economy, as are most of us.) This is what he told me.

On Friday, Mary and her friend Linda, who loves antiquing and thrift store shopping, spotted a croquet set in a thrift shop. Mary looked at the price and decided it was too expensive for now. Hard as it was, she left empty handed. When she told her husband what had happened, he told her to go back and purchase it. Returning to the store on Saturday, she found it had been sold.

On Tuesday, I called. Dennis answered the phone and burst out laughing when I said, “Say, could you and Mary use a croquet set?”

Croquet will be played on the expanse of lawn and at Mary’s insistence we all will dress properly for the occasion – in white attire.  Mary and Dennis will supply the croquet set!

A Norman Rockwell Picnic

Big container of fried chicken, homemade or purchased

Favorite Potato Salad

Large Dill Pickles

Cole Slaw

Watermelon Wedges

Juicy Strawberries

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lemonade

Place all on a picnic table covered with red and white checked tablecloths and some small American flags strategically placed here and there.  Include some red, white and blue straws for the lemonade.                 

RECIPES

Make or purchase your favorite fried chicken.  Bring plenty of pieces.

Purchase a jar of large dill pickles. (Costco has these very inexpensively.)  Remove each pickle and wrap individually in waxed paper, twisting each end of the paper.   Stack the wrapped pickles on a plate so people can take one to carry around.

Make or purchase your favorite cole slaw.  It’s easy to make these days with the availability of pre-cut and pre-washed angel hair cabbage.  An easy dressing to make includes light mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar, salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste.

Wash and cut a thoroughly chilled watermelon in half, lengthwise.  Cut again, lengthwise in half.  Make ½ inch slices of each melon quarter and arrange in a spiral pattern on a round tray.  Place a salt shaker nearby.  Yes, I love salt on watermelon!

Find the largest and reddest strawberries you can.  Wash the berries and leave the hulls intact.  Put the berries in a basket lined with white napkins or a piece of white plastic such as a square cut from and inexpensive plastic tablecloth.

Make or purchase chocolate chip cookies.  If the chocolate chips melt a little sitting out on the picnic table,  so much the better!

Have a large container filled with icy lemonade.  Float a few mint leaves for color.

My Favorite Potato Salad, My Mother’s

Hard boiled eggs, cut into discs and chilled

White Rose or other firm cooking potatoes

Vidalia or other sweet yellow onion, diced

Mayonnaise, light or regular (your choice)

Diced pimientos in jars

Celery seed

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Curly leaf parsley

Papkrika

Clean potatoes with a soft brush under running water.  Bring to boiling in a large pot starting with cold water.  Cook until a sharp knife goes through the center of a potato with a slight amount of resistance.

Remove from heat, drain water, but leave the potatoes in the pot to cool.  When cool enough to handle, remove skins and refrigerate until cold, then dice into desired size pieces.

Drain liquid from pimientos.

With all ingredients ready to go, place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of a deep bowl.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and celery seeds and add 1/3 of the mayonnaise.  Mix then add 1/3 of the onions, and pimentos and mix again.  Repeat, using up those ingredients.

Smooth salad and place egg rounds on top.  Sprinkle with paprika for color and garnish with sprigs of parsley.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill.  Be sure to set bowl in ice on the picnic table.

TIP:  Expect the unexpected!

Psalms 37:4  …and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

SMALL BITES…………adventures in downsizing

By Jan Kinzel

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

The upside of downsizing . . . Are you a shopaholic?  Do you have hoarding tendencies?  Is your home disorganized?  (Remember Lucille Ball as the Vita-meata-vega-min Girl?)  Do you have too much ‘stuff’?  Well, guess what!  Downsizing solves all of these problems.  By the way, did you know that some of the aforementioned conditions are classified as psychological disorders? . . . mmmmm . . . I have to think on that for a while!

The thing is, there isn’t space for all of the things.  It’s essential to organize and pretty much make every inch of space count.  Organizing a large space is fairly easy because everything can be put somewhere; however, that is not the case in a small space.  Purging your ‘stash of stuff’ is a good start and it forces a prioritizing of items that are needed or that have other value: sentimental, medical, bank and legal records, etc.  What to do with the extraneous items?  They can be donated, given away, sold, or delegated to the trash bin.

Lack of extra food storage space, both cold and dry, causes a major change and that affects many aspects of daily life and of hospitality.  Two refrigerators, a big freezer and a wine refrigerator in the garage provided a vast amount of cold storage and came in mighty handy for entertaining.  Combined with a kitchen side-by-side refrigerator and freezer, whole troops of people could be served!  A large five-shelf pantry housed every ingredient imaginable!

Well then, in regard to cooking and entertaining, just what is the upside of downsizing? Two advantages I believe are paramount: (1) the utilization of fresher ingredients and (2) the end of wastefulness.  With pretty much unlimited storage, it was easy to “stock up”.  Items in the pantry and freezer went unnoticed and slid past their ‘sell by’ and ‘use by’ dates.  About every six months or so, these items got tossed.  It was literally throwing money away.

Solving the problem of the lack of food storage space is easy.  Shop more frequently for the meal you will be serving.  Purchase the required items for the menu and cook fresh.  Let the market store the groceries!

MENU

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Arugula Salad with Summer Fruits and Herbs

Crusty Sourdough Bread with Herb Butter

Arnold Palmers made with Raspberry Lemonade

RECIPE

Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 medium yellow onion, chopped into a small dice

2 eight ounce boxes of sliced white mushrooms

1 eight ounce box of sliced brown mushrooms

½ stick unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 large can or box of good quality chicken broth*

¼ cup crème sherry

½ cup non-fat half and half cream

1 tablespoon salt

4 twists of freshly ground black pepper

In a 4 or 5 quart heavy sauce pan over medium high heat, melt the butter and add the olive

oil. Sauté the onions and mushrooms until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are

soft.  Season with the salt and pepper as the vegetables are cooking.  Stir in the flour and cook

for a couple of minutes, not letting the flour brown.

Add the chicken broth and mix until smooth.  Cook a few minutes until the soup thickens.  Add the sherry and cook for a few more minutes to cook out the alcohol but leaving the flavor.   Stir the cream in and simmer for 5 minutes.  (Add more seasoning if needed.)

Bring to the table in the pot, and ladle into individual bowls.  Garnish with a sprig of parsley. 

*For a heartier soup, use beef broth. Chicken broth is best for the summer; beef broth is best for the fall and winter. Take advantage of seasonal produce.  In the fall and winter, serve with a salad containing sliced pears and dried cranberries.

Arugula Salad with Summer Fruits and Herbs

12 ounces of arugula

3 stems of fresh basil, leaves removed off and torn into halves

4 mint leaves, cut into small strips

2 peaches, ripe but still firm, cut into ¼ inch thick slices

1 carton of large strawberries, cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick circles

3 cantaloupes, fragrantly ripe, cut in half and seeded

Scoop flesh from cantaloupes ½ inch from the skin to for bowls.

Combine remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl.

DRESSING

1/3 cup of orange juice

¼ cup of raspberry vinegar

Juice of½ lemon

½ cup canola oil

1 tablespoon of honey

Generous pinch of salt

2 twists of freshly ground black pepper

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small glass bowl and pour over salad.  Toss lightly making sure all of the greens are coated.  Place servings of salad in cantaloupe ‘bowls’.

Crisp up the bread by dampening the loaf with water.  Place in a 375⁰ oven until water has evaporated and the crust is crispy.

Offer some butter that has been softened , mixed with finely chopped parsley and a teaspoon of truffle oil, rolled into a log in clear plastic wrap and re-hardened.   Unwrap butter log and place on a small oblong dish, or cut into discs and place on individual bread plates.

Make the Arnold Palmers by mixing equal parts of strongly brewed tea and raspberry flavored lemonade.  Pour over ice in tall glasses and garnish with mint leaves and fresh raspberries.  For a festive look, stick a long fancy straw in the drink.

Tip:  Less is more.

Matthew 6:19 . . . do not lay up treasures where moth or rust destroys . . .

Vitae Interruptus

Jan Kinzel

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

Vitae Interruptus never comes at a convenient time, does it?  Little interruptions happen throughout the days and evenings, months and years.  Usually, our lives march along at a fairly predictable cadence.  But every once in a while in our journey the reigns get pulled, the horse rears and we get tossed to the ground wondering, “What Happened?”!

Perhaps it is necessary to reside somewhere temporarily. That in itself calls for some decisions.  After the stress and anxiety of making the move, a hotel can become a welcoming refuge.  It’s simple, convenient, affordable and interesting.  Most places will negotiate a very reasonable daily rate for long term stays.  There are no utilities, taxes or upkeep to pay – even two meals a day are complementary!  I say it’s interesting because people from all over the country and even around the world cross paths.  It serves as a community because everyone is here temporarily for a variety of reasons.

Some are here on vacation; they are the short-termers.  Some are here because of a house-fire or a house remodel  and they need to be out for a while.  Some live out of the area and are here because of illness of a loved one and tell me, tearfully, they will return for the funeral in the next few months.  There are some who have come to scope out housing for their families because of taking a new job in the area. Many of them are here for long-term business contracts and are away from their home and families for months.  And then there are some waiting for the next step -like we are.  Yes, it certainly is interesting!

Because the space is small and not easily ventilated and there is a dining hall with breakfast every morning and ‘happy hour’ food in the evenings at no extra cost, I have no reason to cook in our suite.  It’s great to take a break, but I love to cook.  To me, it is relaxing and creative.  The hotel has two Weber grills out by the pool.  I am willing to make salads, dressings and marinades in my kitchen and use the grills to cook the meats and veggies.  This keeps the lingering cooking odors out of our rooms.  There is a lovely deck with nice tables and chairs.  We grill and dine al fresco!

MENU

Grilled Salmon

Corn and Avocado Salad

Garlic Bread

Peach Flavored Iced Tea

Raspberry Sherbet and Wafer Cookies

RECIPES

Corn and Avocado Salad

Frozen corn kernels, two 16 oz. packages

Mini sweet peppers, one package of red, orange and yellow

Red onion, one medium-small, cut into a small dice

Avocado, two that are just beginning to soften

Cilantro or parsley leaves

DRESSING

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup light, extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

4 twists of black pepper

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small canning jar, secure lid with the ring and

shake to mix.

Thaw the corn and pat away any excess moisture with a paper towel.  Place the corn in a

non-reactive bowl.

Add the diced onion.

Wash the peppers.  Starting from the pointed end, slice into rings.  Discard the pointed ends and the stems.  Add the pepper rings to the bowl.

Cut the avocados into halves, remove the pits and scoop out the flesh with a soup spoon.  Dice the avocados into half inch pieces and add to bowl.

Add several chopped leaves of cilantro or parsley.

Toss with the dressing and set in refrigerator for at least an hour.  This is still good the next day!

Grilled Salmon

1 large whole salmon fillet

Extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels.

Rub both sides of the salmon with olive oil.

Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper.

Prepare a hot grill by spraying with Pam grill spray and heating to very hot.  Grill is ready

when the fish will immediately sear.

Lay the fillet, skin side up, on the grill and sear until a caramelized crust forms.

Turn the fish to the skin side and sear for 2 minutes.  Turn the grill to 300⁰ and continue cooking until just cooked through.  Remove from grill and let stand for a couple of minutes before serving.

Heat the garlic bread on the grill.

Make peach flavored tea by adding Torani peach syrup to tea and ice in a tall pitcher.  Garnish with fresh peach slices if they are in season.

A light fruity sorbet or sherbet with a small cookie makes a nice ending to this summery meal.

I call the hotel, my ‘hood’.  And it truly is that.

It’s certainly something worth considering.

Tip:  Expect a little turbulence and when it happens, pick yourself, dust yourself off and start all over again.

All things work together for good … Romans 8:28

SMALL BITES … adventures in downsizing

with Jan Kinzel

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

Under the Tuscan sun – or at least a reasonable facsimile – there are several ways to go about downsizing. One is to find a place a bit smaller and less expensive that fits most of your stuff.

But wait a minute. Is that truly downsizing? And how do you want to live? My choice was to sacrifice daily living space for resort style amenities with beautiful and creative venues available for the larger parties. The condominium complex is built in a Tuscan Italian style with statuary, beautiful landscaping of olive trees, miniature orange trees in urns and pointed cypress – all uplit at night.

My furniture suited a big house and wasn’t going to fit the scale of this much smaller space. Furniture landed everywhere! So we recently visited our grand piano and formal dining room set in Kansas City – oh, yes, and our kids, too. Granddaughter Katrina turned twelve and decided she wanted a “grown-up” room so she received our French antique beds. It was a great feeling to keep these pieces in our family. Some went to our other children. Some pieces were sold or given away and the living room furniture was placed in a consignment shop, where, by the way, large quantities of cavernously huge furniture reside! Lots of downsizing is going on.

It wasn’t too difficult to let go of the furniture. But on the inside entry of our former home are six beautiful columns – my favorite architectural feature of the whole house. Saying goodbye to these columns, softly lit each evening broke my heart. When we found our new living space, (Wouldn’t you just know it?) columns. Yes, eight of them! They’re located on the patios just outside our windows and are quite visible from the inside – thank you, very much. I really mean it, thank YOU, very much.

MENU

Lemon Tuscan Butterflied Chicken

Panzanella Salad

RECIPES

Lemon Tuscan Butterflied Chicken

Preheat oven to 500⁰

1 whole chicken, as fresh as possible

Branches of rosemary

Lemons, sliced about ½ inch thick

Garlic cloves, peeled and gently crushed

Olive oil

Coarse sea salt

Coarse freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a baking sheet by lining with Reynolds Release Aluminum foil. Cover the foil with a layer of rosemary branches, then the lemon slices topped with the garlic cloves.

Butterfly the chicken by setting it upright on the tail end. With a sharp boning knife or kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone, freeing it from the ribs. Do the same on the other side of the backbone. (Freeze the backbone and giblets to make chicken stock another time.) Spread the chicken flat on the meat side and press on the top of it until the breastbone snaps.  Snap each leg at the thigh joint and clip the webbed skin. This will allow the chicken to lay flat.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Rub front and back with olive oil and season with the salt and pepper.

Lay the chicken, skin side up, on the baking tray with the aromatics.

(Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw chicken.)

Bake in a 500⁰ oven for fifteen minutes or until the skin begins to brown.

Lower oven heat to 350⁰ and continue baking until the juices run clear – about 40 more minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 175⁰ when inserted in the thickest part of the thigh. Remove from the oven. Loosely draw the foil up around the chicken and let stand for 10 or 15 minutes. Carve and place on a platter.  Garnish with some lemon slices and rosemary twigs.

Panzanella Salad

Artisanal bread, such as ciabatta, pughlisi, or sourdough

Olive oil

Lemons

Salt and pepper

English Cucumber

Tomatoes

Kalamata  olives

Red onion

Feta cheese (if desired)

2 or 3  minced cloves of garlic

Thyme

SALAD Cut the bread into one-inch cubes. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil, the zest of a lemon and a few thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Bake on a baking sheet lined with foil in a 350⁰ oven until golden and toasted.  Remove from oven and cool.

With a peeler, make vertical stripes on the cucumber. Cut the cucumber in half, lengthwise. Run a spoon down the inside to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds and cut cucumber into one-inch pieces. Cut the tomatoes into one-inch pieces. Coarsely chop the Kalamata olives. Dice the red onion into half-inch pieces.

Combine these ingredients in a large salad bowl. Up to an hour before serving, toss with the dressing and add the feta cheese and lightly toss again. The salad needs to stand at room temperature to allow the bread to absorb the dressing.

DRESSING In a small canning jar, put equal parts of freshly squeezed lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil.  Add ½ teaspoon salt, three grinds of black pepper, minced garlic cloves and a few of the thyme leaves.  Put the tin lid and ring securely on the jar and shake to emulsify the dressing.

Serve on the patio on a summer evening with some Italian orange sparkling soda over ice in tall glasses. Offer some creamy cheesecake and decaffeinated coffee for desert.

Tip: Start anew. Be stylish in the new space, whatever that becomes. Make it fresh and lovely for yourself and your family.

… whatever things are … lovely … meditate on these. Philippians 4:8

SMALL BITES

. . . adventures in downsizing

with Jan Kinzel

Provided by CN Building Adult Ministries Resource Center

A true friend is good to find – and tough times define true friends. It’s been said that there are friends for a reason, friends for a season and friends for a lifetime. It’s good to put this in perspective in order to understand the various reactions people have to your changed circumstances. The best friends don’t tell you how to fix it (that can come later) or say that “it will all turn out okay” (even though that is the likely case), rather they offer words of kindness and affirmation without recrimination. They call frequently just to make sure you are okay and to see if they can help with anything. They treat you to dinner – in or out.

Downsizing is very demanding emotionally and physically. Friends who came with helpers and large vehicles to take away furniture and items that had been purchased or given were more than a blessing. They saved us from being overwhelmed and made the moving days with the professional packers and movers so much less confusing. When this first came up, these few wonderful friends said they would be there to help and they were – amazingly. That was ‘where the rubber meets the road’ friendship and it beautifully displayed the practical side of loving friendship.

One couple in our circle of friends invited a few other couples for an Italian dinner to celebrate our move to the Tuscan style condominium. We were the guests of honor. What a great show of friendship and love – so appreciated!  The host prepared an Italian trivia test for us – it was a delight!  The food was terrific and the evening was light and fun – a true break from our tortuous tasks!

All of these generous and loving acts are humbling and instill in me a desire to be a better person. Being more sensitive to my friends’ needs and acting on those promptings make me glad. I guess the old adage of ‘walking a mile in someone else’s shoes’ fits and as the shoe fits I will gladly wear it! (I also like to buy them in every color – if it fits!)

MENU

Sit with a good friend and share a cup of tea or coffee, some biscotti and a good heart to heart chat.

RECIPE

A pantry stocked with the following items will yield opportunities for instant hospitality.

Variety of tea blends – Earl Grey, Decaffeinated Constant Comment Orange Spice, herbal blends, Caffé D’ Vita Mocha Cappuccino (Find this in canisters at Costco).

A large container of almond biscotti plain or dipped in chocolate (Also at Costco). Offer the tea selections in a basket with ‘friendly’ tea cups along with a teapot of steaming water and a cheerful plate of biscotti; add some lovely placemats and napkins and relax with your friend.

As you permit your very good friend to minister help and support, a deeper bond and trust will grow between the two of you. Enjoy the special time together.

Tip: Don’t judge your friends based on their reactions. You never know what’s going on in their lives.

. . . there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).