February 2022 A Year in Utah!

             FEBRUARY 2022

1 year in Lindon, UT 2022

Move in Day 2021

It is hard to believe it has been 1 year since we packed up 42 years of belongings on a nice Winter day in Arlington, TX and started our journey to Lindon, Utah.  The iconic Winter storm hit Texas just hours after the truck was loaded - a tender mercy - and the adventure began.  The truck sat in front of our Texas home for a whole week waiting for the weather to lift and the roads to be drivable.  We were blessed to get out of town and on to Wichita, Kansas.  Utah had a mild Winter and we had snow on the front lawn at our new home, but move-in day was a beautiful chilly February day.  One year later and it has been snowing for 24 hours and many inches.  I just finished shoveling the driveway so I could get out.  We don't have a snow blower yet, but if we get more than 2 snowstorms a year we will need to get one - that is hard work!

View from our front door looking out.  We had beautiful 50 degree days last week and we were able to get the fence railing built and installed for our walk-out front door.  What a difference a few days makes.  Winter is here and we really need the snowpack in the mountains.  

February is my Birthday month, Valentine's Day and the Birthday month for many family members and friends - a whole month of celebrating.  For many years a group of very special ladies who all had February birthdays would have lunch together.  I miss that annual event and especially those women who were such special friends.  Three of them are no longer living leaving special memories in my heart.  

Birthday Brunch with Pam

My Sister, Pam turned 75 Years in February.  Her girls planned a special day for her and I am so grateful to be living so close that Emily and I got to be a part of the celebration.  We had Brunch at Market Street Grill in Salt Lake City with her four daughters and her  2 best friends from her college days at the University of Utah.  It was such a fun time together celebrating the life of my wonderful sister.

A week later my two Sisters, Pam and Brooke, came and spent the weekend at our home.  It has been a long time since we have had a girls weekend.  A childhood friend passed away last week and her funeral just happened to be while they were here.  We attended the funeral on Saturday and it was certainly a walk down memory lane.  We saw friends we had not seen in many, many years - some over 40 years ago and it seemed like time had stopped and we were back in our childhood years of memories.  Another blessing of being in this area where many friends have ended up living in their later years.  We just need to get together more than just at funerals.  

We laughed, cried, shopped, ate delicious food and so enjoyed our time together.

I made cherry cheesecakes, chocolate caramel cheesecake and figgy pudding for dessert.  It was good we had a lot of people here this week so they could eat it all and not be around to tempt me to eat too much!

The Figgy Pudding recipe was given to me by my daughter-in-law and it is one of my new favorite desserts.  It reminds me so much of my mother and a date pudding she would make when I was growing up.

FIGGY PUDDING

1 1/2 cups chopped dried pitted dates

1/2 cup chopped dried figs

2 cups water

1 tsp. baking soda

7 Tbl. butter, softened

1 cup superfine sugar

2 eggs

            2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

            75 grams (2 1/2 oz.) dark chocolate, grated

            Butter for coating ramekins

            Ice cream or whipped cream, for garnish

Sauce:

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups heavy cream

7 oz. (14 Tbl.) butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*

1.  Add the dates, figs and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda.  Let cool for about 5 minutes, then add to a blender and puree.

2.  Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Add the eggs and beat well.  Fold in the flour, the pureed date mixture and the chocolate.

3.  Put the mixture into 4 buttered, 1-cup individual ramekins, filling halfway.  (can use mini bundt pan as pictured above). Put in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

4.  Prepare the sauce by stirring the sugar and cream in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Simmer until the sugar dissolves.  Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the butter and stir until incorporated.

5.  Remove the ramekins from the oven and let stand for 10 min.  May be served in the ramekin or unmolded onto a small serving plate.  With a paring knife cut a cross in the top of the puddings for the sauce.  

6.  Pour the sauce into the cross in the center of each pudding, then pour more sauce over the puddings and allow it to soak in slightly.  Top with fresh figs and vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

For my Birthday, Russ and I decided to spend the day in Midway for a little Alpine nostalgia.  We started with lunch at our favorite Texas Roadhouse.  We then headed up the canyon to Midway.  We visited a few vintage shops, drove around the beautiful homes and resorts and ended at the Heber Valley Artisan Cheese Farm.  We tried some unique cheeses, bought and few and thought we would end with some ice cream from their ice cream shop.  It was actually Aggie Ice Cream from Utah State and we decided we would rather have BYU Creamery ice cream with the grandkids so we returned home to pick them up and continue the celebration.  It was a such a fun day in a beautiful place.  It certainly filled the bill for wanting a little Alpine memory.  

Valentine Treats for those I love.  Chocolate Caramel Apples and pretzles.

We made rice krispie treats for the the lunch kids and they loved it.  One little boy got all excited and said, "I can't wait to eat this, I have never had a Rice Krispie Treat!"  Amazing how such a simple thing can bring happiness.  

We don't usually do dessert so it was a treat.  Breakfast continues to be one of the favorite lunches and I am getting really good at making pancakes.  We run an organized kitchen and I think some of the best school lunches around.

February has come and gone so quickly.  No travels this month, but lots of activities close to home.  We are feeling more settled every day and it is truly feeling like home here.  We hope if any of our friends have travel plans to this area you will come and visit us.  Our home is always open.

This month seems to be all about food.  We just finished another 6 week program with R3.  We are so grateful for our good health and being able to do what we enjoy doing.  Russ went to the Neurologist this week and all of his markers are normal and he does not need to return - just needs to keep regular visits with his Primary Care Doctor.  R3 is about eating more whole foods and less carbs and sugars.  I know the desserts above don't quite fit the description - that is real life every once in awhile!  Just wanted to share another new recipe that we enjoyed.

CHICKEN CRUST PIZZA

2 cans (7 oz. each) canned Chicken, drained

1 cup Parmesan Romano Cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 pkg.  Dry Ranch Seasoning

Mix together above ingredients well.  

Line Pizza Pan with Parchment Paper

Spread mixture in pan.

Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes.  

Cool for 5 min. and then flip onto pizza pan upside down.

Spread with pizza sauce, and favorite toppings. (olives, pepperoni, cheese, etc)

Bake additional 20 minutes.  

It is so good and you would never know it is made with chicken.  

We completed the month with a Vienna District Dinner on Sunday afternoon.  Oh how we love this group.  They asked for a German meal so I made schnitzel, spatzle (german noodles with cheese), potatoes, salad, homemade bread and Sacher Torte (Vienna’s special dessert).

Sacher Torte is a chocolate torte filled with apricot and topped with a chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Tort baked in springform pan

The cake is made with lots of eggs and stiff egg whites with good dark chocolate.  The cake is then cut in half to form two layers.  Top the bottom layer with Apricot jam.  I used the apricot jam I made in the Fall from local trees.

Then you top with second layer and coat the top and sides with more apricot jam.  

The top is European Dark Chocolate with butter that makes a wonderful ganache like topping.  

For the first time making this dessert it turned out great.  I have eaten it at several bakeries in Vienna and I liked how this cake was not as dry as those in the bakeries.  

Sacher Torte

We had a fun surprise on Monday this past week.  After the dinner on Sunday - when we thought we were meeting some of the significant others in their lives - Coopers cancelled at the last minute.  

Funny thing, our special friend from Freiburg, Germany - Elli texted me on Friday and said she wanted to come by and visit Friday or Saturday.  She just transferred to BYU from BYU-I in January and we had not seen her.  Unfortunately, this was the weekend I was with my Sisters and just could not find time to have her over.  I did not think I should invite her to come to the dinner with the mission group from Vienna since she did not know any of them.  So, I told her we would love to have her come on Monday.  She said, great and we set up a time.  Surprise!  She showed up on Monday with Cooper.  They met a few weeks ago and started dating.  They did not want to show up to the dinner together with everyone else before they told us.  Crazy.  We are happy for them and amazed at how two peoples paths cross when you least expect it.  Freiburg Germany is the common denominator - fun times!

So we come to the end of February and the end of our first year in Utah.  We have been studying in the Old Testament this week in Genesis about Jacob and his story of falling in love with Rachel and wanting to marry her.  He made the arrangement with her father that he would work for 7 years to be able to marry her.  As the story goes, her father had another daughter Leah who was the oldest daughter and he wanted to follow tradition and have her marry before the younger sister.  He deceived Jacob and Leah was the bride at the wedding.  He was heartbroken and a new arrangement was made.  He would need to stay with Leah and commit to 7 more years of labor and he could marry Rachel in a week.  He fulfilled his commitment.  After the first seven years Jacob said, "and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her."  The past 4 years of our life have been like that for us.  How did so much happen and so much time gone by and it seems like days!  We have enjoyed and loved the journey and we are happy to be right where we are.  

National flower of Ukraine 

Our hearts are heavy as we hear the reports of the people in Ukraine and Russia.  Again, as we are studying about Abraham and his posterity we are very mindful that we are all God's children.  We are all descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They are significant to the Christian, Jewish and Muslim Worlds.  The question is asked, How can we, as Abrahams seed, bless "All the families of the earth?"

The one thing we can all do is PRAY for these people.  Many lives will never be the same and it is so hard seeing the destruction that is happening.  This is one of those "Abrahamic Tests" for these people and I know Heavenly Father is aware and mindful of them.  With our prayers, they will be sustained with courage, strength, willpower, comfort and peace amid the storm.  Our Humanitarian efforts will be helpful as well.  I hope that you will open your hearts and know that we are all beloved Sons and Daughters of a God who loves us and desires to us to follow Him.  We can overcome the evil in the World as we Follow Him.  In the next 30 days find a project or way to serve others.  If you need help finding a project you can check out JustServe.org. 

Much Love,

The Grimmett's

January 2022 Family, Food and Travels

 Welcome 2022!  We rang in the New Year with family.  Jaime, our daughter, and three of her kids came for a visit.  

Saying good-bye bright and 

early on Jan. 4 as they started

their journey back to Farmington, Minnesota

changing wiper blades

It became a long adventure.  Planning for Winter weather, they changed out the wiper blades just before leaving town.  The roads were open when they started through Provo Canyon but by the time they reached Evanston, WY the roads were closed.  They were directed to go back to Ogden Canyon and go to Idaho Falls, ID and then Butte Montana and up and over to Minnesota and they would bypass the storm.  It was a good route it just added many hours to their journey.  The 18 hour drive turned into about 30 but they arrived home safe and we were very grateful.  It was a good trip for everyone and we loved having them visit.  Abby met Nathan and that relationship is blossoming  - we look forward to seeing what happens.  Unfortunately, two of them contracted Covid-19 and got some extra vacation time when they got home. 

 Brooklyn Otto (a former missionary) and Weston Graham were married Jan. 5 and we attended their reception.  A beautiful Winter Wonderland was created and the most amazing cookie bar with hot chocolate.  Happy for this new family!

NEW YEAR means NEW GOALS for WELLNESS AND HEALTH

We have been participating with a Wellness group called R3 for the past year.  Just changing a few foods and being more aware of how we feel eating certain foods, we are making a difference in our health.  

I will share a few ideas and recipes.  I am very basic and not gourmet in my cooking.  So, these are easy ideas.

Vegetables with Seasoned Cream Cheese

Add 1-2 Tablespoons Everything Bagel Seasoning to 8 oz. softened Cream Cheese.  Mix together until smooth.  

Great on celery, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, etc.

Everything Bagel Seasoning is available at Costco, Aldi, Trader Joes and other similar places.  If you have not tried it now is the time to go get some!

We are limiting our bread foods and these chaffle buns are a great change for a hamburger bun or sandwich.  

CHAFFLE

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup grated cheese

1 Tbl. bacon pieces

Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all together.  

Place 1/4 in mini waffle maker.  Cook until nicely browned.

Continue to make 4 total.  (Make sure you spray the waffle iron with oil)

FRIED PICKLES BAKED IN THE OVEN

Grated Cheese

Dill Pickle slices

Place about 1 Tbl. cheese in each muffin tin hole.

Put Dill Pickle slice on top.

Top with additional 1 Tbl. cheese to cover.

Bake 350* for about 15 min. until melted and crisp

Remove from muffin tin.

I like them warm and cold.  They will store in fridge and can be reheated or eaten cold.

Cheese Dill Pickle



While I am showing food, we are getting better every week serving the students lunch at Ignite Academy.  

Chicken Taquitos
Our new student favorite
5 lbs. cooked chicken
1 lb. cream cheese
1 cup Salsa Verde
Cook chicken and shred
Quick tip for shredding:
put meat in mixer bowl with beater attachment.
Mix until shredded.
Add Cream Cheese and Salsa Verde
Put 1-2 oz. on edge of flour tortilla 
Roll tightly
Place on sheet pan.  Brush with oil.  Bake 400* for 9 min 
Serve with favorite dipping sauces.  
I made fresh Pepper Jelly - So Good!

I made 350 pancakes in 1 hour.  This is becoming a student favorite as well.

Comfort Food!
Toasted Cheese Sandwich with Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

We traveled to Wichita, Kansas to visit Brian and his family.  He had a Home Project he needed some help with - repairing the ceiling after water damage.  

The pictures are in reverse order from finish to start

Finding that it was a crows foot pattern was the first hurdle.  Then off to the paint store to find the correct tools to get the job done.  Amazing what a $10 tool can do to get the job done right.  

Brian was a Pro at texturing the ceiling.  Russ and I put the mud on and he did the texture.  We started with new dry wall in a 4 x 8 ft. section of his ceiling.  We taped and sanded and then textured and painted.  The top picture is completed but still wet paint.  We made a great team - mission accomplished!

It is always a fun time with William and Nora.  We played board games, card games and they taught me how to play two family games on the Nintendo.  I am not very good with the racing cars games, but eventually learned how to use the controller to play another one.  

Off to School on a cold Winter day.  

We then flew home via DFW and then Salt Lake City.  It is still hard to get used to flying through DFW and not getting off the plane and being "home".  

Wichita, Kansas Airport

We ended the month with a trip to Portland, OR to visit Joshua and his family in their new home.  

We had only been to Portland one time and it was just an overnight trip that we saw Portland at night and our Hotel and Airport.  We have had a full schedule every day of seeing so many sights in the Pacific Northwest.  One of our favorite experiences of the visit was to spend time with family and get a feel for their surroundings and new home.  Josh and Julie are so talented in interior design and have already made it into a home.

We started our trip with driving to Twin Falls, ID and stopping for lunch with my brother Tad and his wife Kris at the legendary Buffalo Cafe.  The Best Breakfast menu and food with Idaho Charm.  Such good memories of my Mom and Dad.  So grateful to be in a place to be able to stop and see family and share stories and memories.

We continued our trip to Ontario, Oregon and stayed with my Sister Brooke and her husband, Kirt.  She greeted us with the most delicious Roast Beef Chili and cornbread and then a night of games.  We have so much fun when we are together and I laugh more when I am with them - it is good for my soul.   We got in a few good movies, more good food, games and long gospel centered discussions on topics we have all been studying.  Truly a time of spiritual and physical renewal.  We got to visit the Withers Dairy and get fresh raw milk and farm eggs.  We were so excited to find out she was from Germany and she invited to come back and visit.  We spent a few hours with them and they shared their story and we shared our memories of Germany as well.  It was a delightful time and we look forward to future visits.  

My Sister is the halfway point to Portland and it makes the trip so much easier for us and the bonus of spending time with them as well.

We were then off to Portland and the beauty of the Northwest.  Picture Bomb:

The new Josh and Julie Grimmett home.  They live in a revitalized neighborhood of Portland and it is so quaint and within walking distance to shopping, transportation, and schools.  

Mountain Skyline

Logging Yard

Jamie, Shannon, Josh on the ferry to Seattle

Puget Sound Ferry Crossing

first view of Seattle

Shannon at Gum Alley

Fish Market 

Amazon Building

Water Houses 

Seattle Temple 

Even on a cloudy day as we arrived at the Seattle Temple grounds the sun was shining on the steeple and it was so beautiful.  Within 10 minutes the sun was gone and evening set in.  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day in Seattle.  

We spent Tuesday in and around Portland.  It brought back a lot of memories of living in Germany/Austria and walking and riding Public Transportation.  We walked about a mile and caught the train to downtown and then walked all through the City Center.  We visited the famous Powell's Bookstore and oh what an experience.  It is 3 stories and whole city block - almost like a library - but the books are for sale.  We all found something of interest to buy.  I have been studying Genesis in the Bible and I was drawn to A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME by Stephen Hawking.  I will let you know what I learn another time.

One of the highlights was finding the Food Trucks and each trying a different food.  I had a falafel gyro and Russ opted for Street Tacos.  Let's just say it was amazing food.  We visited with some of the locals who were also eating and got a little feel for the City.  Josh has researched and explored the City for the past year and has given us great tour of the area.  

Fun Building in downtown Portland

We have driven from one end to the other winding through the streets from the mountains to the rivers and it has been so fun.  We also ended this day with a drive by The Portland Temple.

Portland Temple

We started Wednesday morning with a hike to Multnomah Falls.  It was a chilly overcast morning and perfect for the little hike up to the Falls.  I love how plush it is even in Winter and the green moss on the trees.  There is something about Waterfalls that are fascinating to see - maybe because I grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho it is in my blood.  It is peaceful and spectacular all in one.

view of the River Valley 

There are a few people who come into your life that become like family to you and David and Heidi 

Blanchard are some of those people to us.  We met and served with them during our time in Freiburg, Germany.  They continue to be an example and influence for good in our lives.  We were able to spend most of Wednesday with them at their home in Carlton, Oregon.  Oh, what a day it was.  The best toasted cheese sandwich I have ever had (not just because of the Tillamook Cheese) but the love that went into the whole meal.  We played games,  shared memories, laughed and cried - grateful for being together again - even for just a few hours.  

FOOD!  FOOD! and more FOOD!  

This trip has had some amazing food.  

Josh made a homemade Chicken Pot Pie - a mile high and so delicious.  He watches a cooking show of 19th Century cooking.  He has perfected this chicken pie down to the crust. Layers of goodness!

We have had so much amazing food.  Traveling has been a great adventure.  Our time is coming to a close in Oregon.  We spent our final day with a trip to the Coast to see the ocean beaches and a little hiking through the forest.  The trees were so fascinating with their intertwined roots with two or three trees growing together.  Many of the trees are over 200 years old.  A few of the pictures will show this as well as habitats for many animals.  We watched surfing, birds, beautiful sunset, a lighthouse, majestic cliffs and delicious food from our visit to the Tillamook Cheese factory.  We got our 10,000 steps in today - just in time to enjoy our tour of the cheese factory and a late lunch at their on-sight restaurant of all things cheese.  We bypassed the ice cream counter and went straight to the freezer and shared a pint of dark chocolate raspberry.  What were we thinking????  It was so good!

Trees in the forest

Log on the beach that has been there a long time that fills with water in high tide.  Nice place for people to be creative.

Birds watching us eat 

cliffs with fishing boat

The Meares Lighthouse.  It is one of only two eight-sided lights in the United States.  The other is in Hawaii.  Shaped like. giant beehive, the outer surface of the lens is made o prisms, that end the light into a narrow beam.  The beam then passes through a magnifying glass, or bull's eye, a the center of each side that intensifies it, producing a brilliant sheet of light visible for 21 miles.  The original light was a heavy bronze five-wick kerosene lantern.

Nine lighthouses were built along the Oregon coast in the late 1800's.  Each light had its own "signature" to help mariners navigate.  Lighting along the coast was designed to keep a ship within sight of a light at all times.

Sunset on the Ocean

The Tillamook Cheese Factory:

Photo Op

Tillamook is part of a local Dairy Co-op from farms in the area that benefit from the lush conditions of rain and moderate weather that provides ideal growing conditions for dairy farming.  It was so interesting watching the process from start to finish of the cheese being made.  We watched them process 40 pound block of cheese that are then stored in cold storage for 9 months to 6 years depending on medium to extra-sharp cheese.  When ready they are then cut into smaller blocks, 1, 2, 5, 10 pound blocks for distribution to stores.  

Assembly line shrink wrapping 40 lb. blocks

Smaller blocks of cheese being cut

I close this month with a few final thoughts.  As I mentioned earlier, I have been studying Genesis in the Bible and Moses and Abraham from The Pearl of Great Price since January.  It has been an enlightening experience and I have learned so much from my studies.  I love the quote that is pictured here.  As I have traveled and have seen the majesty of God's Creations in so many forms, I continue to "stand all amazed" with all that I see.  I am so grateful to know I am a daughter of Heavenly Father.  I am one of His creations and as it says in Genesis - the creation of man and woman was good, very good.  I have seen the stormy seas and have seen them calmed both literally and spiritually by Jesus Christ.  He is at the helm and as we follow Him we will find peace.  January is just the beginning of bright days ahead.

Much Love,

The Grimmett's