Christian Photographers Community

Now Pat you know that Irish Stew or Irish homemade soup is the best in the world and anyway....I don't like cheese, brocoli, peas, tomatoes.... puny being that I am!  I made Jeannine a feed of champ/chump and boy did she enjoy it!
Nice reminder about the rules of this site Pat and ones I agree with so much. Hope you and Paul are keeping well.

Hi JudyB and Kathleen...now you know what not to feed me when I visit..ahem!

So sorry about your daughter Larry.

Hi everyone else! 

Champ is tops, Colin!  Love it!  Just has to have a nice dollop of butter and not marg melting in the centre!  Oh, wow!

BUT, you must branch out, Colin!  This is 2008 now!  It's not Ahoghill or Murlough Bay or Kells Water either!  It's a big world out there and we just must try new things like cheese and cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, etc.  They are great veggies and with cheese they are even better!   

Pat It is good that you remind us that this is a family website.  I am sure in many homes the attitude is "anything goes".  On this site I have always been thankful for the Christian content and the witness it provides.  Thank you Pat and Keep up the good work.

Pat you are too funny.  As a child I balked at eating unpeeled carrots, and because my big sister didn't eat parsnips except under duress, I would never eat them.  Carrots are a famioy favorite now but I have never served parsnips!!!  I have taken the attitude with my children that they must have at least a teaspoon of everything served, even the foods they don't care for.  I have never been embarrassed by their likes or dislikes in a restaurant or someone elses home.

Oh and I wondered for an instant who Patricia Halbach was!   lol I will get used to that.         

I had a very nice meeting with Jane and Nita, How ironic Pat the we discussed the very thing you posted in your  Just a Reminder post.

I grew to like parsnips, Judy as they were one of Jack's favourite veggies and did you know that you can use cooked parsnips mashed up in place of mashed bananas in things like muffins or banana bread?  I tried it once and I was surprised.

Glad you had a nice meeting with Nita and Jane, Marilyn.  I wish I were close enough to have coffee with them and you!  Oh well, maybe someday we'll visit Paul's brother out in Oregon and make a visit to Coos Bay.

Quote from: Pat on June 20, 2008, 04:28:27 PM

Glad you had a nice meeting with Nita and Jane, Marilyn.  I wish I were close enough to have coffee with them!  Oh well, maybe someday we'll visit Paul's brother out in Oregon and make a visit to Coos Bay.

A big time YEA, Pat!  I look forward to that "someday" being not so far off ....  Would be so great to have coffee with you and Paul!   

hello everyone,
just a quick breeze thru as i head off to work then its back home to pack up more of the house.... we are moving TOMORROW!!!! not ready for that but we have a good group comming in to help us get it done in one day well at least getting our house from point a to point b and all of our stuff (we are taking our house with us) anyways off to work i go have a great day(WE HAVE RAIN!!!)
sarah

Pat I never did develop a taste.

I am taking in sewing for other people.  I am going to have to invest in a serger.  Thankfully I am able to use the sergers here at the store, and try out which one to buy.

Thank you all so much for the lovely Birthday wishes!  I really appreciate them--and YOU.    And now I know what is wrong with me---I'm as old as Pat!! 

Pat--Darrel and I both had broccoli-cheese soup for lunch today at Applebees in Garden, and it was SOOO good!  Come on, Colin, give it a try! 

We both felt a lot better this morning, so we did go to Garden, but then we started feeling "punk" again, and came home.  Went to purchase two items, didn't get either of them.  I have to work for the next three days, so certainly hope I feel stronger by morning.

Prince Caspian (next in the Narnia series) is showing locally and I really want to see it so must decide which evening to go.

I know this isn't the "prayer" section, but there is a situation right now in WNC that I just have to share about.

Tuesday, a state trooper stopped a man on I-40, near where I live.  The man was compliant, until the trooper started to arrest him.  He then shot and killed the trooper.

If that was all there was to the story, it would be heartbreaking, but, there is more.

He and his wife had just had their first child 17 or 18 days before he was killed.  The baby was born 7 week premature and is still in the hospital in critical condition.  IF the baby makes it, it will have to have surgery at 4 mos. 

Please pray for this young women.  I do not know her from Adam's housecat, and our only "connection" is that I saw her husband a few hours before he was killed in my mom's neighborhood, talking to a friend and they are local.

You can read about it here http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080619/NEWS01/80618106

Oh Karma That is so sad.

I will be praying for the family and community.

God Bless

What a sad loss for everyone in that community.  I read the stories and looked at the photos--beautiful young couple.  My prayers are with his family.

I would really love to be able to eat anything but if it is going to make me boke I will not touch it! I was demonstrating to Jeannine how to make the well in the mashed potatoes and to have the sides nice and smooth so the warm milk would not escape through the sides of the champ. I threw in a big dollop of butter, added the milk and it went everywhere! So much for me being the expert Champ...ion Irishman.  Jeannine did laugh so hard because hers was perfect!
That is terrible about the Trooper Karmat. Will pray.

Goodnight everyone!

Okay, you two, what IS "champ"?  Sounds like maybe something similar to mashed potatoes with gravy, but you certainly have me guessing! 

Marilyn, I'm so glad you, Nita, and Jane were able to meet this morning. I sure wish I could have brought my teacup and met y'all. Oh, well, retirement's coming and maybe someone will help me with travel miles to be able to get out there cheaper than it would cost otherwise...at least I can HOPE, can't I!!

I guess this is kinda like life itself, either you have the time or you have the money, but not often does it seem that you have 'em both at the same time.

Y'all have a good rest of the day. I know I haven't "spoken" to everyone, but know that I really enjoy your posts, read every one and rejoice with those who are praising our Lord, cry with those who are suffering emotional, physical, or financial difficulties; and pray with and for those who request prayer.

May God's richest blessings be with you and those you love today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANET!  Several more and you will be as old as me...

Wonderful weather today.  I went for a walk, went out in the garden and read a mystery book, talked to the nice next door neighbor, then did some work...We have had so much rain, I had almost given up on spending time in the garden. 

We have all kinds of squirrels playing in the garden.  The neighbor likes to feed them, so they are very tame.  Even take peanuts out of my daughter's hand.  Also lots of birds.  One thing not so great is a raccoon that has  made a home at said neighbors place, under their garden shed.  It came right up to my door and was looking inside the other night.  Gave me a shock!!!  It is a worry.  This is happening because of all the development forcing them out of their homes and into ours....I will try to get some pictures if the weather stays nice.  Boy, that is a big IF???

Today my daughter told me that they are taking me to see Sarah Brightman when she comes in Dec.  It is to be my delayed Birthday present.  Something nice to look forward to.  I love her music.

Sad about the shooting and will pray for the family.  I went to your site, Karmat.  Notice that you have been reading about the mystery of the 'feet' turning up on our beaches.  Now that is a puzzlement!

Here is a sort of little smile:

Funny Proverb - Savings

A Year 5 teacher was giving her Primary pupils a lesson in developing logical thinking.

'This is the scene', said the teacher.

'A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help.

His wife hears the commotion, knows he can't swim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank?'

A little girl raised her hand and asked, 'To draw out all his savings?

                  Yes Jane, I know...

Pleasant Day/Evening and God Bless.

Liz

Good morning everyone.  At least it is morning for me.  I had a good nights sleep but woke up about 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep so just got up and got ready for the day, had my breakfast and am now doing my daily readings and postings. 

Yesterday turned out to be a busy day.  The good news is our daughter is our of the hospital as of 5 pm last evening and looks a lot better.  She does not have a pancres (hope that is spelled right) problem.  Her trigliceredes are way too high and that combined with her diabetes are affecting her vision. 

After my appointment to check my pacemaker (which went fine) we headed down Peachtree Street, which is right through the downtown area and after some difficulty finally got to the parking garage at the hospital.  We spoke with her on the phone and decided to wait for her release at McDonald's, which is adjacent to the hospital parking garage. 

About an hour later she came out and we took her back to her apartment.  I was greatly relieved, not only that she is out of the hospital, but also that we don't have to make a third trip to Atlanta, especially since the Interstate through downtown is down to one lane for road work this weekend.  It was almost 9 pm when we got home last night.

I am looking forward to a much quieter day today as we only have one thing on the agenda for later this morning.

Pat, it would probably be good to post your policy statement about the CP site once a month or so because we do have new folks visit us and join with us. 

Karmat, so saddened to hear of the tragic death of the patrolman.  We are having that happen around the Atlanta area all too often as well.  It seems there is no reverenance for life and police work, which is so important to protect us all, is so dangerous.  Every instance with an unknown individual is a potentially life-ending one in that line of work. 

Liz, I have no love for squirrels.  While they are cute and can be fun to watch, they can also be very destructive.  We had squirrels make nests in our attic, eat through out singles and do a lot of damage.  It was a very expensive proposition to get the repairs done to prevent that happening again.  I like to hear Sarah Brightman sing also as she has a rather unique and well trained voice.

Ruth Ann, glad you asked Colin the question about "champ".  Colin, do I understand you correctly that you pour more milk into the little pocket you make in your potatoes?  My wife sometimes adds a little milk to mashed potatoes as she prepares them.

Janet, as we get a little older my experience has been that I no longer can do what I used to do.  I sure hope you feel better today and don't put yourself back into a bad state by the three days in a row of work. 

Judy, my wife has had two sergers.  The first was one put out under the Bernina name but was extremely hard to thread and she didn't use it very often.  I don't remember the brand of the second one that she currently uses, but think perhaps it is an Elna machine.  She seldom uses it and has it put away in a cupboard.  She is anxiously awaiting her new Horne sewing table and the new chair to go with it.  She thought it might be here this week but she didn't hear from them.  This is something she has wanted for a long while as she currently has her machine set on top of her old sewing cabinet and it really isn't at the right height for sewing. 

Sarah, good luck on your move this week.  I know that is a lot of work. 

Jane, Nita and Marilyn, glad you all were able to meet and have some coffee and conversation.  It sounds like you all had a nice time.

Kathleen, hope your VBS goes very well.  It is nice to have young people from other churches come to help out and I am sure they will get a lot out of their service.

Etta Sue, sounds like you all are finally having some nice weather.  I heard it raining this morning when I got up.  I think it is suppose to rain more today and I sure hope so.

I appreciate all the concern expressed and prayers offered on behalf of our daughter and for us. 

Larry the diversity in The Horn cbinets is amazing, something for every need.  Sergers can be hard to thred, we deal in White, Singer and Husqvarna.  The Huskylock is the easiest to understand and work.  I am questioning whether I want the 910 or the 936.  The main difference is that the 926 has a stitch that hems as well.  Both are good machines.

Haven't you noticed with the highways and roads that there are only 2 seasons, winter and construction?  It seems anywhere you go in the summer there are roads torn up.  Chicago has to be the worst though.

I pray your daughter's health continues to improve and that they get the triglicerides back under control.

I stayed in North Bay last night.  John needed the van so I an dependent on a friend to drive me to work.  Unfortunately I didn't sleep well, so today will be a bit of a struggle.

It is interesting how life goes.  The older new mothers, the ladies who have waited and planned their families, are using cloth diapers.  These diapers are not like the ones we used, with pins and rubber pants, rather they are velcroed into position and have a waterproof outer that is breatheable.  These diapers cost $50 for 5 diapers.  The cost is unbelievable and only select places sell them.  Still the mom's say that using these diapers is cheeper than buying disposables.  We sell the fabric used to create diapers, and more and more young moms are going this route.  Another concern is the alergic response babies are having to the materials in the disposable diapers.  It is interesting how everything that was old is new again, with some improvements.

I have to leave in about half an hour so I am off here for this morning.

Have a great God filled day everyone.

Good morning.  Another bright sunny day in Indiana.  Again I read my devotions outside on my deck with a cup of coffee.  Nothing but the me, the birds singing, crickets singing, tractors, cars, trucks and airplanes whirring.  Very enjoyable! 

So sad about the trooper in WNC.  A senseless crime that has so many people at a loss.

I have my State Fair photography entries on a CD.  I found out this morning that Staples will print them while you wait!!  So I am headed to Noblesville once I get caught up on line. 

Karma, what a horrible act!  I'm so sorry.  We'll all have to pray for this dear wife and mother with this little baby who needs medical treatment.  Thank you so much for telling us.

I was hoping Pat would tell you all about Champ.....I was just wondering why it is called champ. Maybe it is because we use the word champ to mean mash or bruise something. Anyway, its just mashed potatoes with a little bit of added warm milk to it then scallions or spring onions are added as well. I dont like them so I leave them out! The champ is served on a plate. I dont think this neccessary to do but we make a "hole" in the middle of the plate of champ and try to make the walls water....er..milk tight. We pour warm milk into this hole...add a big dollop of butter as well then lift the mashed potatoes from the outside of the walls and dip it in the butter liquid and eat. It is yum!

Hi everyone...take care all.

Ohhhh, Colin!  I'm sorry.  I was waiting for you to talk about "champ".  I first learned of "champ" in 1960 when Jack came over from N. Ireland.  The more spring or green onions in the potatoes the better!!!  And I never put much milk in the "hole" as I use lots of milk in the potatoes themselves but that hole is certainly necessary to hold the rather large dollop of butter that will melt all through those gorgeous "flowery" mashed potatoes!  It's a meal in itself!

We sometimes put crumbled bacon bits in it and it even tasted better!  Champ without the green onions just isn't champ, Colin! 

When I was young, we nearly always did our mashed potatoes this way but never had it as a meal in itself as they do in N.Ireland.

I love champ!!!

Just found this:


Easy Champ

For those of you who don't know what champ...<da dummmm da dummmm>  it's a traditional Irish recipe, made with our staple... the humble spud! Follow the BBC recipe below for a tasty, traditional meal.....won't it be interesting in years to come when our kids are passing out McDonald's recipes as a traditional family favourite!? Hmm .. ok...maybe not!

Champ, the easy way!

Prep time: 30mins

Cooking time: 10-30mins

Ingredients
125g/4oz spring onions, chopped, or 40g/1½oz chives, chopped
300ml/10fl oz milk
6-8 potatoes
salt and pepper
75g/3oz butter

Method
1. If using onions, simmer these in the milk until soft.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water until just cooked, then mash.
3. Add the onions and their milk and the chives, if used, together with the milk which you have heated separately.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the butter melt over the finished dish

As with all things Irish....enjoy in moderation....your waistband will thank you!

Pat - I tend to suspect that your waistband will thank you even more profusely if you simply don't eat it at all!  Pure starch!  Whew!  Lots of pounds (sterling of course) added on to your averdupois.

Irish Champ

SUBMITTED BY: Maeve           

"Looks similar to colcannon, but champ is native to the North of Ireland. It's made by blending scallions or green onions with creamy mashed potatoes. Great on it's own, served steaming hot with extra butter which will melt through it. But it's also the perfect side dish for good quality sausages."
PREP TIME     15 Min
COOK TIME     25 Min
READY IN     40 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 4 servings


INGREDIENTS

    * 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and halved
    * 1 cup milk
    * 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
    * 1/4 cup butter
    * 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper to taste



DIRECTIONS

   1. Place potatoes into large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
   2. Drain well. Return to very low heat and allow the potatoes to dry out for a few minutes. (It helps if you place a clean dish towel over the potatoes to absorb any remaining moisture.)
   3. Meanwhile, heat the milk and green onions gently in a saucepan, until warm.
   4. Mash the potatoes, salt and butter together until smooth. Stir in the milk and green onion until evenly mixed. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve piping hot in bowls. Set out some extra butter for individuals to add to their servings.

Wow there are time when Kass is not feeling well that she craves potatoes.  I will give her this instead!  Actually it will serve as a dinner dish, with a chicken breast or leg instead of pork. 

See pictures of Bentley the Second here!

Hmm....wonder how champ would go over at Park View?  (The place where I cook.)  Sounds yummy.  I do love potatoes, once in a while, not too often.  Thanks for the recipes!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, do any of you have any natural remedies for helping a person sleep?  I was awake all night again, fell asleep about 30 minutes before having to get up and go to work.  I don't really know how I manage to keep going, with so little rest.  The choices between sleepwalking through the days, having brain fog, and having blurry vision are not good choices.

My sister brought me a beautiful Gerbera daisy with baby's breath, and a cute "sister" mug filled with Hershey's Kisses, plus a funny card today.  Happy birthday to me! 

Liz, I always enjoy your jokes.  Kids say the cutest things, don't they?

My daughter Diane has a BabyLock serger which she really likes, when she has the time to use it.  I'ts probably considered an antique by now!

Hello, Colin!  I just now noticed you sent me a shout last night.  Very observant of me, huh? 

Naw Pat....I can have champ without scallions and I say the best way to eat it is with the well of warm milk and butter. It was alot of fun as a youngster trying to eat around the wall without making a hole to let the milk escape.
Hi all and goodnight from N. Ireland.

Hi everyone.  Thanks for the discussion and explanation of "champ".  It sounds very similar to what we often have as mashed potatoes, although the I have never seen it served with the milk in the center or everyone dipping in the center for the milk and butter.  That almost sounds like the idea of fondue but you eat the container as you go along.  One more question, what happens when someone takes the serving that breaks the wall and the milk/butter escape? 

Judy, Pat had hoped to get the cabinet last week but as it worked out with us dealing with our daughter in the hospital it was good that they were not ready to deliver.  She is paying someone to bring it and set it up for her.  This is the man who does the machine repairs and he isn't in that store everyday.  So the delivery is dependent on his availability.

Janet, do you worry during the night about oversleeping and not getting to work on time?  I used to have this problem and still do when I know I need to get up earlier than usual.  Then I will set my alarm and not worry about it and usually sleep better, at least until close to the time I want to arise.  I don't see how you can continue to push yourself and not get enough sleep and rest and not have it break down your health.  It almost sounds like things are "falling off the edge of your very full plate" and your health could be one of them.  I know this is none of my business but I do care about you, as I do for all the folks here on CP.

Etta Sue, it is nice to sit on the porch and just enjoy being outside, reading or relaxing, and not being in a rush.  Pat was doing this yesterday when I came home from coffee and I joined her on the porch for a little bit. 

I am ready for church and expect we will go out to eat although I know a couple of the couples are not in town today that we usually go with.  If nothing else Pat and I will go out.  Hope you all have a worshipful and joyous Sunday. 

Quote from: JudyB on June 21, 2008, 08:06:14 AM
Haven't you noticed with the highways and roads that there are only 2 seasons, winter and construction? 

In Michigan, the state flower is the orange barrel.