A Really Fun Lunch ~ Chicken Baked in Cream and other simple wonders

Finally, this super easy, delicious and simple chicken recipe is being blogged!

I keep forgetting to do so,

then look for it in my recipe page to no avail!

So here it is, at least for me :) 

***

So my friend who lives in upstate NY (about 1.5 hours from me) came down to see me today!

She has known me since she was a life guard at camp and I was a

young camp counselor, 18 years old, 21 years ago.

It's nice to reconnect with friends who knew me so long ago...

***

I got tea ready first,

with wonderful black with lavender and rose tea,

various cookies (that I forgot to picture!)...

then I got busy making the chicken... 

so easy...

the only variation to the recipe is that I use a whole small onion, 

chopped up.  I add the ingredients as they are listed.

I brown the chicken in butter first in the same pan and then 

add things in order; I opened the new carton of cream not by

the little 'screw cap' but wide open, like an old milk carton

and poured it all in; perfect.

There was enough to make a cream gravy without having to add anything.

Used chicken breast tenders I think they were called, organic by Coleman. 

About 2 pieces of this were just perfect per person.

Enough for perhaps a 4 person meal,

if one is hosting and wants to be sure about amounts. 

***

Rice, baby spinach salad, fruit salad with sour cream dressing.

***

We had a really nice time touring my home,

seeing fun details of our home,

I was surprised at being complemented for my home

organization and something I really appreciate about my friend is

how curious she is about things; we had a nice conversation about the 

differences between Protestant and Orthodox churches;

I always feel that while we have a difference in opinion, that she

still respects me and I really enjoy our friendship,

which always seems to continue right where it was before...

A real delight!

***

I gave my friend soap and handmade knitted wash cloths. 

As per usual for me :)  

She gave me wonderful vanilla scented votive candles 

and the Christmas dish shown above!

Perfect for me,

I am already thinking of Christmas and making plans!

How could I not,

when it's such a beautiful time of year?

:) Not that I am not enjoying summer, I am and plan on

savouring August....

But here's two Christmas pictures that I am dreaming of recreating....

Something to look forward to,

while still seeking to appreciate what is here,

right now, in the present! 

Many beautiful things ~ Christmas, Princeton, Friends, Beauty and a good Dinner

I've been talking about Christmas

for a good month already.

Of the (artificial, allergies and 

practicalities necessitate) 

Christmas Tree

I hope to get and have by our bay window...

Actually I thought of that before we even bought the house,

back in March :)

*

Today I worked on a 2014 Nativity plan...

like I did last year, I've decided that Nov 15,

the beginning of the Advent/Nativity Fast for 

my new calendar friends and family,

is when I will publish this list, which I consider

now to be my annual list...

*

It's exciting to be building family traditions like this,

and I admit that Christmas is one of my most beloved times...

my Grandma's too... she and I were already talking last week

about how she hopes to get her tree up shortly after 

Thanksgiving...

*

Well,

this past weekend Mr. Husband and I were in Princeton.

  

Cleo missed us but was well cared for as usual.

(though I changed her water bowls last night and forgot 

to add water to the new bowl and felt horrible about that :( ).

*

I met a new friend who has a remarkable amount of

similarities to me in interests, reading and crafting.

So that was cool.

I drove only a very little bit but hope to drive more again soon.

I saw another few friends as well 

and visited a lovely knitting store.

*

And then at church I was given a gift of yarn and some 

crochet hooks!

So hope to learn how to crochet at some point...

I've been wanting to (and also learn to quilt/sew) but it will take time...

things are so busy...

*

I am one that has more ideas for things than time.

And, then there's Sunday School lessons that I need to work on yet...

things have been going great with that though;

I come back after being gone for 3 Sundays,

2 of those Sundays being taught with lessons I wrote and posted

before I left and the kids are getting out the 

komboskinis and praying the Jesus Prayer before I even said,

let's pray the Jesus Prayer now!

I love my Sunday School kids... :)

*

So more Pictures of Princeton,

whose beauty I love and whose pictures of the chapel

were the last pictures I ever showed my Oma who died

just days later.

It was such a sunny beautiful day.

Mr. Husband had work that day so I played 

Princeton tourist and went around by myself,

taking myself first to the chapel...

See the man walking to the right...

gives a sense of how large this chapel is!

I can never resist taking pictures...

It is such a lovely place to be in,

to pray....

I met two new friends, a couple,

in Princeton and had a very lovely 

lunch with them and then

time talking with the wife of the couple for

an enjoyable afternoon of tea, 

talk of books, crafting and the like.

We stopped by Princeton and went to 

the yarn shop,

seeing the window shop lovely antiques on the way.

And this was a dazzling blanket at the yarn shop!

Afterwards we went out for (vegan for me) ice cream

as it was a Friday of ordinary time (which means a fast day).

*

So it was a lovely day.

*

Today Mr. Husband has the severe sniffles/cold

and I made two pots of tea for him tonight...

And I made a really easy chicken dish:

Flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder in a bag for shake and baking the chicken,

pan fry for light browning,

then put in coconut oiled pan and more coconut oil on top and bake

about 20 minutes or less on 425 F (I was using boneless chicken thighs

which were not overly thick).

*

Will try to post recipe on this soon...

But for now it is time to close with hope 

for a fun yarn along day tomorrow!

Christmas Glory, Beauty and the many coloured blanket knit and given at Christmas!

My blanket is finished,

we had a beautiful Christmas Eve and 

Christmas!

I am so excited to tell you all about it for

this week's yarn along with Ginny!

For Christmas time we rented a small one room suite

that with two crock pots, two burners and a lot of 

creativity, we had our Holy Supper!

I have been dreaming about this for so long!

Used the same table cloth as I always used,

one that my Mother gave me.

Mr. Husband and I had our Holy Supper

Christmas Eve {Jan 6} with dear friends.

Borscht, Perogies, Fried Mushrooms,

Candied Ginger, Fresh Dried Apricots, 2 kinds of Nuts, 

Bread, a Green Salad, Hot Fruit Salad, clementines, apples, chocolate 

and organic apple cider made up our many dishes.

Icons lit ~ small candles left over from Mr. Husband and I's 

wedding reception. 

Icons of Holy Nativity, Holy Trinity, Mother of God and St. Nicholas :)

The Beloved Yarn Quilt, which was also called my

September School Blanket

but is now my Christmas Many Coloured Blanket

was given to the beloved 5 year old by for Christmas.

Ravelry here.

 We went to the beautiful Christmas Eve vigil 

after the Holy Supper and gifting of

the many coloured blanket!

The church was so beautiful!

So wonderful to light candles for so many I love

on Christmas Eve!

St. Nicholas...

 Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

Born on Christmas Day!

Today for us on the Julian calendar is the 

second day of Christmas!

I got a belated birthday money that I am going to use

to buy some double pointed needles as I 

want to make Mr. Husband some socks!

It will be a lot of learning!

I was given a wonderful gift on sock knitting

from a dear church & blog friend

that I am already reading 

with great attention!

*

Also for my birthday my Mom via my Aunt Pat

gave me my Oma's knitting book from 1947

and in time I hope to do a sock pattern from there,

though I may start with one from Ann Budd's book.

So lots of knitting reading is to be had!

*

Tonight Mr. Husband and I are going to have a simple

Christmas dinner at home

and present opening! 

I have a feeling I may have more books to read soon! :)

*

I think I am going to do another big blanket project of squares but 

will have to think on it!

*

What are you knitting, creating and reading?

Yarn along with us!

*

*

To all those in the 12 days of Christmas like we are:

Wishing you the joy of the Feast!

*

Merry Christmas!

*

Christ is Born!

Glorify Him!

(A Brief Synopsis) What I have been given in the Church*:

The Protection and Shelter of the Saints. I was at a friend’s birthday party a while back and asked to see this friend’s icons. His icon of the Theotokos looked out so tenderly. The Mother of God is a deep Mother and I felt reassured of the protection for this friend.


The Mother of God, Virgin of Vladimir Icon












While at St. Herman’s in Langley, when I looked at the iconostasis, St. Herman always looked worried for me, like a Father worried for over his child. I know St. Herman loves me and many others and is a Father and Grandfather figure to them.

St. Herman - I got this Icon last year at the Monastery.

St. Nicholas prays for me. When I desperately needed money in school I received news of a bursary on St. Nicholas day. I was chrismated in his church; I have been moved to tears praying for beloved ones in my life who are in distress and cried out to St. Nicholas to save them.

Spiritual Fathers and Mothers. My spiritual father is the spiritual father to the child within me. I am reminded of Kathleen Norris’s book title, little girls in church when I think of how I have experienced church, especially at the evening services when there are fewer people. Monasteries are very important and have kept the spiritual life of the Church alive for centuries.

Beauty. Most of the Protestant churches I went to were so barren of any beauty. The Orthodox church has beauty in the liturgy, in the Icons, in the prayers. Poetry, song, ritual – spanning centuries and many cultures.

Truth. The Orthodox Church has not deviated from the worship of the Holy Trinity. We worship the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and offer the liturgy to God in the Holy Trinity.

The Holy Trinity, Rublev Icon

Today pluralism, pantheism, “tolerance”, inclusively, Eastern Meditation, are what is cool, hip and very trendy. Not all trends are bad, and there are reasons for what is culturally important. There are things that people feel they are lacking and need. However, if the true needs of a person’s heart are not met by Christ in the Holy Trinity, then they are not fully met.

Love. I do not find the promotion of “tolerance” loving. Saying, we will tolerate you is not loving. I believe that God is love. Love has boundaries; love is a Father not letting a child be burned by fire, love is a Mother not allowing a preteen daughter to harm herself by inappropriate behaviour or relationships. Love does not tolerate all things; it bears all things and hopes all things. Bearing and tolerating are different.

I have been blessed with a spiritual Father who gives me clear boundaries and does not give his blessing for me to destroy myself by sin. He loves me, is patient with me, understands me very well, but he loves me too much to let me “get away with things”. That said, my experience of the Church is not controlling but always given the freedom and option of obedience and repentance. What I do with the need for repentance is up to me.

The sacraments. Including baptism and chrismation, the Eucharist, confession – they save, heal and give hope. Not full or immediate healing necessarily but they can transform and save.

In the church I am able to grieve and pray for the dead. I can ask Saints in the Holy Spirit to give my love to those I miss who have died. When I was a protestant I felt the connection was severed instead of the living and the departed both worshiping in church; in the liturgy we join heaven’s worship.

In the Church I found the merging of one’s body and one’s soul. The dualism that exists in many protestant churches is not in the Orthodox Church. We kiss icons, priest’s hands, drink Holy Water, kneel, prostrate, stand; the body is part of worship here.

Christ has become visible, has become man. Christ is the first icon. Orthodoxy has a holistic understanding of the person that predates our current medical preference towards holistic treatment. Our soul is in our body; a human is not a body and soul as completely separate entities, as if they are oil and water held in by our skin. The final resurrection includes our bodies. Christ is shown in the Gospel in His glorified human body; nail prints and wounds visible.

Reverence towards the body is shown also at death – the body of our loved ones can stay in church – when we have the Panihida (requiem) we reverence the one we love who has died. We give a final kiss to them. We kiss the Cross and Gospel book near by to them.

The understanding and reverence of the body is based Orthodoxy’s understanding of Christ incarnate. My spiritual father has taught us that Christ is what a human was created to be. To excuse someone’s failures by saying “she or he is only human” is a misunderstanding of what a human is to be.

Fatherhood and Motherhood. Christ has given His Mother to us. St. George is a beloved hero and protector. I am a woman. I am more than happy to be protected. This does not devalue me or imply weakness; it does mean I can breathe easier. Men can learn to be men by praying (i.e. asking for prayers) of saints like St. George. And I do not mean they can learn to be rude or overbearing but true men. And I am free to be a woman and be strong in this. St. Mary Magdalene is called Equal-to-the-Apostles for centuries! The Theotokos more honoured than the cherubim, for She bore the Saviour of the World. The understanding of what it means to be human, and what it is to be a woman or a man can be restored by the Church and was never lost in the church. Here I do not mean to gloss over problems, questions current or historically based. I studied feminism and literary criticism for some years. What I have been given in the Church answers these questions centuries before postmodernism and still applies. The Desert Father’s understanding of human struggle and weakness is often more astute in their observations of the human soul.

St. George - I got this icon from my church last year. All during Lent my spiritual father patiently let me have St. George be in the Altar area in a window. I was so comforted to know St. George was in the Altar praying and fighting for me and everyone else from my Church.

Repentance, Humility and Communion with God. This is the hardest to write on, as I am young in the faith! The sacrament of Confession and the life of an Orthodox Christian is based in repentance in order to purify one’s self of the passions (sinful desires, thoughts, and so on). The spiritual life is a life of humility and repentance; not being inwardly hostile towards anyone, not judging. A life of constant prayer and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit are the goals of every Orthodox Christian.

Spiritual growth is evidenced by our increasing understanding of our need for the ever-present mercy of God and the awareness of our own unworthiness and sinfulness. Somehow the concept of sinfulness, in the West, has been linked to the body, as if the body contains the sin. This is a misunderstanding that can be corrected by time and prayer within the Church. I am not wise enough to explain the difference**, only that I sense it. Something to ask my spiritual father about!

Asking one’s spiritual father is part of learning humility. We have the Church and the tradition of the Church to teach us. We do not base our understanding of God or how to live a Christian life based only on our own thoughts, understanding or interpretation of the Scriptures, the world and our personal life. We do not trust ourselves, this side of the grave. This does not mean living in a state of anxiety or intense insecurity. It does have to do with humility before God, knowing how easily we are distracted and lead astray. Fr. Thomas Hopko writes, in his 55 maxims, that we are to expect to be tempted until our last breath.

As I said at the beginning of this section, I am spiritually young. I have not even begun to learn these things! All I have to do is read the section in Galatians about the fruits of the Spirit to realize not only the depth of a Christian who is acquiring the Holy Spirit but how much I need to grow. I am at most a small sapling in need of further water and food from our Holy Church, with a lot of tilling of the stony ground of my heart! As I this to be the truth, I will not write on communion with God other than to say it is the goal of an Orthodox Christian and the Saints show how it can bring life and spiritual consolation beyond anything outside of Christ and His Church.


HOLY WEEK. Living through Christ’s death and resurrection. Being challenged to live everyday in the light of Pasca, of Christ’s resurrection. This is where all ends and begins. As Father Thomas Hopko has talked about – it is all about Mary’s Womb and Christ’s Tomb.

An Icon of the Resurrection of Christ.

The Church gives depth, prayer, beauty, hope; in other words, the Church has brought Christ to me. Christ: the source of all depth, of all beauty, the hope of all prayers, who wept for the death of Lazarus and, soon after, trampled down death by death.

*I have edited and added to this post. A lot of the additions are what I have been taught; here my experience is more in what I have been taught as opposed to what spiritual heights I have attained! I am still young and young in the faith. It is entirely possible that I have misunderstood something, though I have done my best to keep to the teaching as I have received it. Understand this to be a “disclaimer” to this post. The best way to understand what can be given/found in the Orthodox Church is to be in Church (and or monastery) and to search for a good spiritual father or mother.

** This part I am less sure about - or at least how to best explain it - will have to do more research and asking and report back!