Balance

I believe in balance, in all things. To say I've tried every diet out there is in understatement.
From the SAD to vegetarian, to raw, vegan, eat right for your blood type, Atkins, 80-10-10, Southbeach you name it, I've either read it or tried it. At the end of the day, I believe what I read in the blood type diet saying that only 30% of the population will respond to a give-in program.

I lean towards the Paleo philosophy with a lot of raw food. In my opinion wheat, corn, and dairy are so over processed that we've all developed an allergy to them on some level. But, I admit cheese is my arch-nemesis. My bottom line is how does what you eat make you feel? There are certain things (ie cucumber, bell peppers, iceberg lettuce) that when I eat them I don't feel well, so I don't choose to eat them. Some people call this intuitive eating...I call it common sense. And for me, life is too short to not enjoy the occasional sweet treat (especially since I LOVE to bake) drink or bread...

So, in the end it matters what you do 80% of the time, the other 20%, enjoy! A Votre Sante!

The Blind Sign

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his
feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help."
There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and
dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it
around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that
everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving
money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how
things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked,
"Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?

What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but
in a different way."

"I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first
sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people
that they were so blessed that they were not blind. Should we be
surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:
Be thankful to GOD for what you have.
Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you
have 1,000 reasons to smile.

Author Unknown

Legend of the Dogwood Tree

This legend fascinates me. Although there is no historical verification, it's a widely held view, that the tree chosen for Jesus’ crucifixion was a Dogwood tree. The petals of its flowers grow in the shape of the cross, each bearing the reddish mark of a rusty nail.

The legend told of why the Dogwood does not grown tall or even straight is best described in a poem by an unknown author.



The Legend of the Dogwood

(author unknown)

In Jesus’ time,
the dogwood grew
to a stately size
and a lovely hue.

‘Twas strong and firm
it’s branches interwoven,
for the cross of Christ
its timbers were chosen.

Seeing the distress
at this use of their wood
Christ made a promise
which still holds good:

“Never again shall the dogwood grow
Large enough to be used so.

Slender and twisted it shall be
with blossoms like the cross for all to see.

As blood stains the petals marked in brown,
the blossom’s center wears a thorny crown.

All who see it will remember Me
crucified on a cross
from the dogwood tree.

Cherished and protected,
this tree shall be.
A reminder to all of my agony.”

Quick Chicken Tikka Masala

I really enjoy some Indian flavors and this was delicious, fast and easy to make. The original recipe didn't have the sugar snap peas in it, but I thought it was add some color and some crunch. I used chicken from a rotisserie chicken that I bought at Costco, but you could easily use boneless, skinless chicken breast, you would just add them with the onion. I had mine by itself but you could serve it with rice, flat bread or naan. Let me know what you think. A Vorte Sante!


Ingredients:

4 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2-3 cups diced cooked chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet onion, diced
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger or 2 tsp ground ginger
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish optional

Preparation:
Stir together garam masala, salt and turmeric in a small dish (and ginger if you're using dried). Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger (if you're using fresh) and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add snap peas. Add the spice mix and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a simmer, stir in half and half. Add the chicken. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice, flat bread or naan.

The longest 10 days of my life...

First off, thank you for those who have prayed for us. It's been a V E R Y long 10 days.

As many of you know, my daughter Jade had a bit of a breakdown and was in the hospital. It's unclear at this point if she will return to school at LMU. Today was the beginning of the process...

I'm not sure I believe the quote by Mother Teresa "I know God won’t give me more than I can handle, I just wish He didn’t trust me so much!” It's one thing to go through things like this yourself but an entirely different thing to watch one of your kids go through it.

I know I need lots of prayer, grace and beauty to get through this, I just haven't found time yet for any of that. I'll keep you posted as to how we're doing.

Ciao.

Recipe of the week: Banana Cupcakes

I love banana cake! My high school graduation cake was banana and probably the best I've ever had. Lately I've been searching high and low for a good banana cupcake and haven't found one that I love. There's certain things that I think a banana cupcake cake should have and I couldn't find one or a recipe, so I had to create my own. I don't eat shortening so I wanted one with butter, and I wanted at least part of the flour to be whole wheat and I knew I wanted buttermilk in it because it makes it light, so here's what I came up with. Let me know what you think. A Vorte Sante!

Cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup unbleached flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting:

4 oz softened butter
4 oz light cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add mashed banana and walnuts until just combined, you don't want to over mix it. Divide batter evenly into muffin tin (I use an ice cream scoop) Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

For the frosting:
In a mixing bowl or stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter, cream cheese and vanilla until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add powdered sugar, mix for another minute. If you want chocolate cream cheese frosting this is where you'd add about 2 oz melted dark chocolate. Spread over cooled cupcakes and top with a walnut for decoration. Enjoy!

Book Review: 'It's Your Call' by Gary Barkolow

I got this book last November and finally finished a couple of weeks ago. I would have written this sooner, but I loaned to book to my daughter. There are so many things to ponder, so many things to look deeply at. I love the way Gary writes (and speaks for that matter), he is very authentic and to me that is incredibly valuable.

The first two chapters, 'The Weightiness of Your Life and The Mystery of Your Life' really speak to your heart in regard to how God created you and that He has put a weightiness and glory that is uniquely yours. That you have something to offer the world that will be missed if you don't step into your calling.

I think the thing I got clearest about after reading 'It's Your Call' is that my roles in my life (ie wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend) are not my calling in my life.

I particularly liked Chapter 7, Awakening Your Desires. I was reminded that my desires are the same reason I started this blog...more on that later. One of my favorite parts is near the end when Gary talks about living like an artist. Picasso said "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." I'm not sure what that means for me but I'm definitely pondering it.

Here's a link to Gary's website: www.thenobleheart.com


I highly recommend you get a copy of 'It's Your Call', it's full of truth and beauty.

Ciao.