Mother Moments

I recently had one of those proud mother moments while observing my son Andrew interacting with a little child. She was crying broken-heartedly after being called out by her mother and told to sit down.

My son leaned over and patted little Grace on the shoulder, talking softly to her.  She looked up and smiled at him with teardrops still glistening on her lashes. 

 I was told later by my son that Grace had been trying to round up a rowdy little brother and help her mom who was in charge of the children’s church that evening, but SHE was the one who seemingly got in trouble while trying to be helpful.

Andrew noticed her actions and gave her confirmation that HE knew what she was trying to do even though her busy distracted mommy hadn’t seen the situation fully.  I immediately thought of the verse, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”  How beautiful that must be, and how beautiful it was to see this fine young man I had the privilege of raising respond so tenderly to a little child.

Today’s recipe is one of Andrew’s favorites.  It is a Pantry Salsa easily assembled mostly from canned pantry staples.

PANTRY SALSA
2 (16-oz.) cans stewed tomatoes 
1/2 med. onion, roughly chopped
4-5 slices jalapeno's(the jarred kind found in the ethnic section of grocery store) 
2-3 T. lime juice
2-3 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder,to taste
1-1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
1-1/2 tsp. sugar


Pulse tomatoes, jalapeno's,and onion in food processor to get the consistency you like.
Pour into a bowl and add sugar, salt, and garlic powder to taste. Add lime juice and
vinegar. The flavors will become more developed if made in advance to serving.
Yield: 1 quart
Note: I got this recipe from a caterer friend who found commercial salsas were
expensive to use for large crowds. My kid's eyes light up when this salsa is on the
menu & I always have the ingredients on hand. I keep whole limes in freezer bags and
defrost one in microwave for 30 seconds for the juice