Becka's blog

Update on Nora: Nora finally got through to the doctor who gave her the epidural last week and was told she could double up on pain medicine and come back on September 15th for another procedure. Her boss, who is an orthopedic surgeon got her an appointment with another doctor for this coming Wednesday to discuss surgery. In the meantime she is staying here with us and is in quite a bit of pain. Her most comfortable position is lying on her stomach on the floor. Her dog, Paisley, has been staying with Nora's boyfriend, but has come here for a visit for a couple of days to help cheer her up. Here is a picture of Paisley:

Here's a picture of today's recipe:

A friend at work gave me this recipe for Tiramisu. I'm sure this is not an authentic Italian version, but it's pretty quick and easy to make and we find it quite tasty. You can start with a bought pound cake or bake your own.

Tiramisu

slices of pound cake (enough to line a 9" x 13" glass dish)
3/4 cup coffee, cooled
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate syrup (Hershey's is good)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 small carton whipped topping
Toffee bits for garnish

Arrange cake slices on bottom of a 9" x 13" glass dish. (Use a fairly deep dish.) Drizzle coffee over cake.
Beat sugar, cream cheese, and chocolate until smooth. blend in whipped topping. Spread on top of cake. Chill several hours before serving. Top with toffee bits to garnish. Note: You can easily substitute low sugar, low fat products for the regular ones in this recipe.

Becka

Update on Nora: She has had a slight improvement since receiving the epidural last week, but is still in a great deal of pain. She is waiting to be contacted by her doctor about what the next step needs to be. Please keep her in your prayers.

Since I was banished from the kitchen for a couple of weeks this summer while the renovations were going on I was able to work on another baby quilt from the book in this post. I highly recommend this author's books. The designs are simple and the directions are very clear.

I was able to make this little quilt for a baby girl who is expected to arrive in the home of some friends from church in just a few weeks.

I'm still not comfortable with free-motion quilting so I ended up stitching in the ditch for the quilting. It was a lot of fun working with the "girly" colors and this design went together quickly.

Have any of you been working on sewing projects recently?

Becka

Surgery was postponed. The first doctor who read the MRI thought Nora needed surgery. The spine doctor wanted to try treating it with a steroid epidural and very strong pain meds first. She had the epidural this morning and is now resting. She may need to go back Monday for another. She was somewhat disappointed because she wanted the pain to be gone right away, but we are taking this step from the Lord and praying that it might be enough without the surgery. Thanks so much for all your prayers and well wishes.

Becka

Would you please pray for my DD, Nora? She has been in quite a bit of pain with her back and leg for the last week. She had an MRI this morning and they have her scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning.

Do you like radishes? I have to admit that I'm generally not overly fond of them. They are bright and colorful and do help to perk up a salad in the winter when you can't find nice tomatoes.

In France we were once served a cream soup made from cooked radish leaves that was actually quite tasty. I had never thought to cook radish leaves, but I learned that French women are quite adept at turning vegetable trimmings and pieces that are a bit wilted into nutritious and filling pureed soups.

I once read a Mrs. Pigglewiggle story in which a little girl would not take a bath. Mrs. Pigglewiggle advised the mother to plant radish seeds (which grow quickly) on her daughter. When they sprouted this encouraged her to bathe.

Anyway, here is a delicious sandwich filling that contains radishes, among other things. It may sound like an unusual combination, but, as my DH would say, it really is. My friend Joyce first served us these sandwiches when DD, Megan had her first interview in the school she taught at in Michigan. This is a good way to perk up your tuna salad.

Tuna Cottage Cheese Sandwiches

1 cup cottage cheese
1 can tuna, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onion
6 sliced radishes
1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds
4 English muffins, split and toasted

Combine the cottage cheese, tuna, mayonnaise, celery, green onion, radishes, and almonds. Spread on English muffins.

Becka