Happy New Year!

This is what greeted me in my email this morning.

Happy Losar!

A joyous year of the female water snake to you and yours.

In this, the 2140th year on the Tibetan calendar, may all the world, and every one of us in it, come to know peace and walk with kindness so that those born will be welcome, those passing will be at ease, and harmony reins in all our inner and outer realms.

*

A time to reflect, to start again.

There is no better place to celebrate the Lunar New Year than at the Japanese Garden 

in the early morning.

Thank you to the hosts of Sunlit Sunday and Mosaic Monday.

Wishing you well and much joy in the Female Water Snake Year of 2140!

Wednesday Wisdom

Do You Remember Impossible Pie?

If you said "yes" to this question,

then you remember or still use Bisquick.

I've been going through my cookbooks -- clearing out.

I have way too many -- so many that haven't been opened in ages.

Amongst the cookbooks, I found several smaller soft covered publications like:

Betty Crocker's Creative Recipes with Bisquick.

I'm sure this belonged to my Mother.

I remember her saving green stamps to buy things on her wish list.

I also remember her cutting out the stickers on Betty Crocker items.

With so many stickers and 50 cents she could buy the latest book on Bisquick!

One of the fun things about this little book - it was published in 1980 to celebrate
the 50th anniversary of Bisquick!
The creation of Bisquick in 1930 marked the beginning of a new era in home baking.
It was America's first biscuit mix.

Back to the Impossible Pie --

I made a lot of them when I was younger -- easy to make for dinner after a long day at work.

One of my favorites was the Impossible Vegetable Pie.

From Betty Crocker's Creative Recipes with Bisquick

From Betty Crocker's Creative Recipes with Bisquick

I don't think I have ever made a recipe the same way twice.

I might start out as it was written, but the second time -- watch out!

For the veggie pie, I would have left out the green pepper and added a little Hatch green chili.

The two cups of veggies would have included what ever I had on hand.

We had a very successful veggie garden in New Mexico -- lots of squash -- so two cups

of veggies would have included different kinds of squash.

I do the same now -- squash, mushrooms, some garlic, perhaps some tomato.

You get the idea.

This little trip into the past got me thinking about Bisquick and I visited 

the Betty Crocker site and found a recipe I know I will try.

From the Betty Crocker website.

IMPOSSIBLE SPINACH AND FETA PIE

Dinner made in impossibly easy way. Enjoy this cheesy pie made using Bisquick Original baking mix and spinach - a wonderful meal.

Makes 6-8 servings

1 package (10 ounces) frozen choped spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain.

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

1/2 cup Bisquick Original or Reduced Fat baking mix

2/3 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

1. Heat oven to 400. Grease pie plate, 9x1 1/4 inches. Mix spinach, cheese and onions in pie plate.

2. Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

I think these recipes are good for a busy On The Menu Monday

and Meatless Monday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Yungang Grottoes

I have a very special Postcard Friendship Friday to share with you.

My dear friend, Vivian, is a Fulbright Scholar studying in China this year completing her PhD.

I first met Vivian at the Museum of Fine Arts where we both worked on updating and

reinstalling the Asian Galleries.

We also spent a good deal of time temple hopping in Houston.

With a large Asian population, the city has many beautiful Buddhist and Hindu temples.

When Vivian left for China she asked what I wanted (besides tea) and I said

POSTCARDS!

Vivan was able to vist the amazing Yungang Grottoes in Datong city in the Shanxi Province.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage site with 252 caves and 51,000 statues that

represent the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th centuries.

For a student of Art History, Buddhism and Archaeology -- what a wondrous place!

Vivian sent these to me in early December and they are just arriving.

Talk about the slow boat FROM China!

The Buddhist tradition of religious cave art achieved its first major impact at Yungang, 

where it developed its own distinct character and artistic power. The Yungang cave art represents the successful fusion of Buddhist religious symbolic art from south and central Asia with Chinese cultural traditions, starting in the 5th century AD under imperial auspices. At the same time it vividly illustrates the power and endurance of Buddhist belief in China. As Buddhism spread over Asia, it was able

to successfully assimilate with the local traditions and Yungang is a good example.

You can read more about the Yungang Grottoes here.

You can find many photographs of the grottoes by "googling".

Thank you to the lovely Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

I'm also joining Mosaic Monday.

Wishing you well and much joy!

Good Morning!