"P" is for People - Part 2 . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

                                      Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

In whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV

OK, most of this was, at one point, a part of my original “P” is for People blog post . . . I pulled this out and have been trying to figure out what to do with it. The thought this afternoon was to make a “P” is for People, Part 2. So, here goes - Part 2 . . .



FCS Display at
FUM Triennial

I attended the Friends United Meeting Triennial as the FUM Representative to Friends Committee on Scouting (FCS) and as the Clerk of FCS. I set-up the FCS display and scheduled two 'Special Interest Group Sessions.' It was disappointing that no one attended either of the Special Interest Group Sessions, but a couple of Friends helped me to see that all the one-on-one conversations that I was having with Friends about Friends Committee on Scouting, the religious awards programs and Quakers & Scouting was having a greater impact than would have been achieved in a group setting and I do have to agree with them on that point. If I were to have counted, and kept track of, all those one-on-one conversations I expect that over the course of the Triennial I spoke with 40-50 Friends . . . not a bad number.

What was shocking for me was that except for a couple of Friends that I spoke to, no one had ever heard about Friends Committee on Scouting. So conversations centered on explaining who we are and what we do.



FCS Committee Patch
with 25th Anniversary Ring

I had the opportunity to speak to several Friends while I was helping out in the Bookstore. One of those conversations that sticks out in my mind was the Friend whose daughter, a Girl Scout, had just completed the 5th grade – he wanted to know if she could still do the ‘That of God’ material (for Young Friends in grades 2-5). I asked him several questions and then said, Yes, she may still do ‘That of God,’ as she has a couple of months this summer without any school work and she should be able to complete it easily at her age. He seemed very happy to be able to tell her this. I’m looking forward to seeing her name come through on one of my monthly reports from P.R.A.Y. (Programs of Religious Activities with Youth).



'Friends Emblem'
Adult Recognition
Worldwide

Friday evening heading to the cafeteria for dinner I caught part of a nametag “Do-----” and called out the name of a Friend I knew was to be there, but had never met in person, yes, that's who it was! I think this Friend was just as excited to meet me in person as I was to meet her and HUGS were exchanged, right there in the doorway!  We talked the rest of the way to the cafeteria, through the line and sat down and talked through dinner. The connection we made began in July 2011 when she nominated a member of her Meeting for the 'Friends Emblem' recognition (for adult Scouters/Guiders). Over a 6 month period, we exchanged a lot of emails and phone calls trying to get all the information for this nomination. Part of our conversation revolved around this member of her Meeting and his nomination but most of it was just a lovely conversation among two Friends meeting in person for the first time. It was great to finally meet this Friend and to sit down and have such a wonderful conversation.



'That of God' award
(Grades 2-5) US

Sunday morning as I headed off to breakfast, I commented to a Friend who was walking a bit ahead of me that I was glad it to find it warmer out than it had been on Saturday morning. We got to chatting and I noticed he was from Baltimore Yearly Meeting. I commented I had just been to Sandy Spring Meeting, a part of BYM, a couple of months earlier and asked what Meeting he belonged to. When he told me I threw out the name of a Young Friend from that Meeting and asked if he knew him. He looked really surprised and said, "Yes, that's one of our Young Friends." And I told him I was Clerk for Friends Committee on Scouting and that on Tuesday I had received the May awards report from P.R.A.Y. with that Young Friend's name on it – so I knew he had just received his ‘That of God’ award (for Scouts in grades 2-5) in May. "Why yes, we just presented that to him during our last Business Meeting. He's so proud of that." We talked all the way to the cafeteria about this Young Friend and his award.

Most other conversations with Friends revolved around just learning more about who we are and what we do – they had seen the display, but had questions.

So, while the FUM Triennial theme was all about ‘A Great People to be Gathered: in Christ, in Community, for Mission,’ it was also about Friends being gathered in great conversations and making great connections with one another and making new Friends and connecting with old Friends during the gathering. 

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Now for more “P” recipes . . . Peanut Butter Crispy Treats – if you like the traditional Rice Krispies Treats then you’ll love this variation with peanut butter mixed in and the option of chocolate & butterscotch melted over the top! YUMMMMM. Next is Pork Cutlets with Apple Stuffing, another family favorite. I’ve also included my quick and easy version of Pork Cutlets with Stove Top Stuffing that you might want to try – I’ve made these and taken them to Friends who needed a hot meal with rice and a vegetable.

Peanut Butter Crispy Treats

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

In saucepan, heat syrup, sugar and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add Rice Krispies. Press into greased 9x13 inch pan. Cool. Cut into 2x2 inch squares.

VARIATION: Make recipe as above and then – melt 6 ounces chocolate chips and 6 ounces butterscotch chips . . . pour over the above. Let set and then cut into squares.

 

Pork Cutlets with Apple Stuffing

1 pound (3 large) pork cutlets
Salt & pepper to taste
All-purpose flour to coat outside of cutlets
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Open cutlets and spread with stuffing. Fasten with toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour. Put in a hot skillet and brown on all sides. Add water and bake at 350-400˚F for 30 minutes.

Remove meat from the oven and remove top grease. Add flour to broth to make gravy. Stir until sauce boils – cook 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve over meat.

Apple Stuffing

3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
3 Tablespoons onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup bread cubes – heaping
½ cup apple, chopped
Few grains pepper

Put butter and onion in pan and cook until onion is tender. Add salt, bread cubes, chopped apple and pepper and moisten with hot water.

 

Pork Cutlets with Stove Top Stuffing

4 cubed pork cutlets
Box of Stove Top Stuffing – pork or cornbread
Apple juice – instead of water for stuffing

Mix stuffing according to box except use apple juice in place of water. Set aside.

Open cutlets and flatten out (don’t want them to be too thick). Spread stuffing on each cutlet – to within 1/8 inch on three sides and ½ inch or so on the forth end. Roll cutlets (the short way) towards the end without stuffing. Fasten with a couple of toothpicks. Spray a bit of non-stick cooking spray in hot skillet. Place rolled cutlets in a hot skillet and brown on all sides. Turn heat down and add more apple juice to skillet. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so to cook evenly. Watch as you may need to add more apple juice from time to time.

You can either scrape what’s in the pan over the top or add more apple juice (or water) and some flour to make a bit of gravy.

Serve with rice, remaining stuffing, pan scrapings or gravy and a vegetable of your choice.