Recipe for Lemon Crumb Muffins

Here is the recipe from The Pine Tree Barn Restaurant. I have these baking in the oven right now, and they are so yummy!

Batter
2 c. Butter (melted)	4 c Sugar
2 c. Sour Cream	6 c. flour (we use Softex Pastry Flour)
8 Eggs	¾ t. Baking Soda
2 T. Lemon Juice	¾ t. Salt
5 Fresh Lemons	Cooking spray

Streusel
1 ¼ c. Sugar
1 ¼ c. Flour
1/3 c. Softened Butter

Sift sugar and flour together. Add butter. Work into dry ingredients until crumbly. Yields 2 ½ Cups.

Lemon Glaze
½ c. Sugar 1/3 c. Lemon Juice
Stir together until all of the sugar is dissolved.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Grate rinds of lemons and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, then add sour cream, butter, and lemon juice. Continue to whisk until smooth. Fold lemon rinds into egg mixture. Fold all dry ingredients into egg mixture. Blend well. Spray muffin tins and fill with batter. Top each muffin with 1 tablespoon streusel and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove muffins from oven and immediately poke each several times with a toothpick. Drizzle top of each muffin with a scant ½ tsp. lemon glaze.

Yield: 24-30 muffins ***Note: Batter can be kept up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Amaryllis for Christmas

Anyone can grow spectacular Amaryllis flowers that bloom at Christmas.  Amaryllis grow from bulbs that can be as large as your fist, and have flowers up to eight inches across, on tall sturdy stems. As the thick stems grow above the pot, they look like strange alien beings, and guests are apt to remark “what is that?”.

Once the blooms open up, the question is answered, as the flowers brighten the room.

Most Amaryllis will bloom after planting in six to eight weeks, so if you have less time before Christmas you can speed up the bloom time and buy an Amaryllis that is already growing in a pot, and that has stems emerging from the bulb. In late November or early December buy an Amaryllis with stems emerging for flowers for the holiday. The bulbs you can buy that are almost ready to bloom are usually for red or red and white flowers, though Amaryllis can be found in salmon, white and even lime green.

For beauty you can put some gardener’s marbles on top of the soil, set the pot in a sunny window, water once a week, and turn the pot a few times a week to keep the stalks growing straight up. 

By Terra Hangen

new review of Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts

Susanne Lakin posted this insightful review of our book on Amazon, and I want to share it with you here. Susanne writes Christian fairy tales / fantasy under the name C.S. Lakin.
Here is the review of "Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts" she wrote and published on Amazon today.


"This delightful, creative gift book is chock full of personal memories, thoughts about Christmas, recipes, anecdotes, traditions, and Scripture. Some of the simple stories and verses brought tears to my eyes and warmed my heart. I read this book in August--as far from the Christmas holiday as could be, yet I found it worked a wonderful magic in my heart, centering me in reminder that the spirit of Christ is something we need to consider and let live in us each day of the year.

This is a terrific book to give as a gift to just about anyone. The scrapbook theme and layout makes it perfect for picking up and reading just a few pages at a time. Every home should have a copy sitting out on their coffee table year-round!"

A Little Perspective

As we teased and argued during a lively game of Apples 2 Apples on Christmas night, my son periodically grabbed his abdomen and complained that his stomach hurt.

"So does everyone else's, Charlie," I told him, slightly irritated that he thought his pain from overeating was any more special than anyone else's.

He woke my husband, Bret, and me at 8 the next morning to tell us he had vomited several times during the night. I grabbed my copy of the Boston Children’s Hospital’s All New Child Health Encyclopedia while my husband pulled up WebMD. In less than a minute, we'd both reached the same conclusion: appendicitis.


The ER agreed with us, and Charlie had surgery a few hours later.


I'm thankful his appendix hadn't ruptured. I'm thankful he wasn't five hours away at college. I'm thankful he has three weeks to recuperate before he returns from school. I'm thankful we live five minutes from a terrific hospital.


This crisis, though relatively small, was enough to give us a little perspective on the holiday. Christmas is about Jesus's birth and giving gifts to commemorate that. But I never mind when a little extra thanksgiving gets thrown in.


I hope you have gained perspective as well--perhaps even without the crisis. What has God shown you this Christmas season?

New Year's Wishes - By Trish Berg

I like fresh starts. Like a second chance all wrapped up in forgiveness and love, New Year’s Day is fast approaching and we are all getting a do-over.

When I was a little girl, my older sister and I would play basketball in the driveway of our childhood home with our dad. We would play games like Around the World and Horse. Being the youngest on the basketball court, I was not the best shot. When it was my turn to shoot the basketball, I would muster up all the courage and strength I could, and let her fly.

A lot of the times, my shot did not even hit the rim of the hoop, and ended in an air ball that hit the garage door. That’s when my dad would say “Do-over,” as he tossed me the basketball and let me shoot again, sometimes from a closer distance, sometimes he would even lift me up so I could make it.

There was nothing like getting a second chance. As an eight-year-old girl, I understood that. I cherished those do-overs, and took every advantage of them. Eventually, I grew stronger and older, and learned to make the baskets on my own. But I never forgot the blessing of my do-overs.

New Year’s Day is sort of like a do-over. We set new goals for the year, forgive ourselves for the mistakes we made in the past year, and take another shot at getting it right. It’s as if God is whispering in our ear, “Go ahead, take another shot. You can do it!”

God has blessed me in 2010 beyond my wildest expectations (as always). I have drawn closer to Christ as I try to walk where He leads me. My husband, Mike, myself, and our four children are all healthy and well. We are surrounded with family and friends, have been blessed with more than we need, and certainly more than we deserve.

I have girlfriends that I trust with my life, women who know me better than I know myself, and they love me in spite of all of my flaws.

I am blessed to be able to write this column and share my life with all of you every week. The fact that you enjoy reading it is like cake icing in my mouth, all sweet and yummy.

I have been able to teach at Malone University this year, and have become friends with so many amazing students, faculty and staff there. I get to go to chapel every week at work and worship the Lord. I love that!

I also have made many mistakes in 2010, too. I let anger rule my heart, lost patience with my children, and did not always reach out to those in need around me.

And so, I like fresh starts. New Year’s Day is a do-over like no other. It’s like a second chance all wrapped up in forgiveness and love.

This New Year’s Day, what would you like to do-over?

God is tossing you the ball, moving you closer to the hoop, lifting you up on His shoulders and whispering in your ear, “Go ahead, take another shot. You can do it!”

So, muster up your courage and strength and let her fly!

Happy New Year to you all!

Pick up your copy of Trish’s book A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts-Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holiday online or at a bookstore near you. www.TrishBerg.com

Christmas Wishes For You

Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas!

JOY TO THE WORLD!

Last minute gift ideas

There can be pressure going on to buy some last minute gifts, and I know I have experienced that moment of panic. I am a big fan of flowers and that is how I sometimes solve the last minute gift problem. Poinsettias glow with color and are available now for only 6 to 8 dollars and up. You probably see displays of them at drug stores and grocery stores and in garden centers. Last year I bought one and gave it the new neighbors at Christmas, when I went over to meet them. Other favorites are red and white plant bouquets and flower arrangements. See how easy that is?

Remember that the book we wrote, "Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts" is available at many stores and on Amazon and Christianbook.com, and when I looked today I see Amazon promises delivery by Monday! Our book has many upbeat stories in it that will be fun to read in the days after Christmas.
Some favorite stories in our book are about celebrating Christmas with two adopted children (this one involves a purple stocking), camping in the Florida Everglades with a pet chihuahua, a child selling cards for needed money, and seeing a prodigal son again.
Merry Christmas One and All, as we celebrate the birth of the Holy Babe tomorrow.