Cherishing Christmas

It was a beautiful Christmas this year. It came at the end of a whirl-wind time in my life, although it has rarely been so lovely. My grandfather passed away in early November, followed by the death of a college friend. Even though the grief was softened by the assurance of heaven, it still knocks a girl down for a while. When all that was over, I felt pressure (from the Spirit and from circumstance)  to make some painful church decisions before I felt ready, and so I was  approaching Christmas in much the same way that I found myself approaching the throne of God: with a broken-heart and a weary spirit.

And God...in His usual way, met me right there with love. It never ceases to amaze me that all the little things in life that bring smiles and joy are like little drops of peace from Him that spread into my chest and fill me with that feeling that no matter what, He's in  control, and He gives me courage to breathe, and move, and love more.

Christmas is...loving family. These are my adorable cousins Brayden & Caleb.

I needed that reminder that I didn't have to hold it all together. Grief is hard for me because I am a slow processor. I don't cry in what seem like the "normal" times. I grieve inwardly, and mourn silently, and because of that I often feel like I need to take care of everyone else because I'm seemingly "fine". I imagine Jesus laughs at these assumptions that He needs me to take care, needs me to hold it all together. More and more, I see that these are just ideas I have gotten from life and it's journey, and that doesn't necessarily make them all true.

Beautiful Christmas Moments = Watching my nephews enjoy their first Christmas ever! In the background is my Mom, Dad, and big brother (their Dad).  *love*

Things I've learned these past few months:

1. If all we have to give is just a little bit, give it away anyway. There's enough mercy and grace from Jesus to cover the rest that we simply don't have to give, but it does us no good to hoard what we have got all to ourselves.  Mother Theresa once said, I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no more hurt, only more love. There may be something to that after all.

2.  Faith takes courage. Sometimes that's the courage to do the thing that will hurt us, or to do the thing that might make someone else mad. But in the end, there's more faith in taking a step than there will ever be in remaining in the same place because it seems like it might be easier. God never says that step will be full of ease and void of pain...but faith like that brings growth. And no matter what we think...we all want to grow.

3. God is enough.
 
                                                                                 Amen.

Christmas is...enjoying simple treats & sharing them too!

                                                  Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

2/3 cup Smart Balance 50/50 (half margarine, half butter)
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups Gluten-free Rolled Oats ( I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
1 1/2 cups Gluten-free flour ( I used Domata Living Flour)
1 tea. baking soda
1 6 ou. package of Craisins (where I found this recipe!)
1 bar Ghirardelli White Chocolate baking bar broken into chunks

Preheat oven to 375. Using an electric mixer, beat butter/margarine and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs,mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate. The recipe said to drop by rounded teaspoons and bake, but I don't know if it's because mine are GF, but I needed to roll a ball and then flatten it a bit with my fingers or a spoon for them to look like proper cookies. Bake 12 minutes until golden brown and then move to a wire rack.

Enjoy, and remember to share the Love!

November Foods: A Photo Collage

Chipotle Deviled Eggs (I added the chipotle as my own addition)

Parmesan Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms

The mushrooms and eggs were my contribution to a Murder-Mystery dinner, An Affair to Dismember, in which I got to be the killer....dun, dun, dun. The pork and cupcakes are the dinner items I made for the Mount Holyoke girls in my church dinner group. Please click on the links under each picture for info on the recipes. They were all super easy! I added some sprinkled cinnamon to the cupcakes that you may not find on the link. The last cake I made by hand from a picture of a monarch I found on-line for my favorite girl's 5th birthday party.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork with Sweet Potatoes and Pears

Pumpkin Cupcakes  (with my own home-made dairy-free vanilla frosting with cinnamon)

October 29, 2011

October 29's blogpost had been planned a long time...it was going to showcase my beautiful new (gently used) table. I was going to title the post, "Coming to the (new) Table." Well, two whole months have come and gone...that same night happened to also be a SNOWSTORM (yes, in October!) which made my dinner party a party of three instead of the intended party of 6. My guests stayed not only for the night, but also a few nights thereafter since I retained my power. But this is the photo recap of that dinner:

Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

Fig Balsamic-Glazed Duck with Pearl Onion and Pear Hash

 

 

 

 

 

Gluten-free Swedish Apple Pie with Pumpkin Ice Cream

I prepared the 1st and 3rd course and the hash portion of course #2. I left the duck buying and preparing to my trusty sidekick. 

Funny thing we learned about duck...you have to de-frost it. And hypothetical You-Tube videos on things like "How to debone a duck" make you feel slightly mocked when your meat does not just slide off the bone...

And...duck spits. And...smokes up your kitchen...


And...I'm not always a nice girl because sometimes all I want to do in such situations is laugh and laugh.

Fun Night + Fun Friends= Fond Memories

The chef's duck wounds

Will blog soon!

No, I haven't been hiding under a rock...well maybe a metaphorical one. Life has just been filled with...thoughts and things...and I promise to blog soon! I have ideas and pictures ready!

Abbie

Rockin' the Risotto

I enjoy risotto. I've eaten it in restaurants, made it in the microwave from a box, but never before had I made it at home from scratch. Once again I was digging through the The Gluten-Free Bible and came across a recipe for Asparagus Parmesan Risotto and I knew I needed to try it out.

As I cooked, I had Tom Colicchio's final advice to Tre Wilcox in Top Chef: All-Stars ringing in my ears. "When you put a risotto on the plate, it needs to spread."

Well, my risotto may not have spread enough for Tom, but it did  spread and it was quite tasty. I've included the risotto recipes at the end of this post if you decide you'd like to try them out. Risotto isn't a quick dish to make, but if you have the time and the desire it's definitely worth it!


While this dish was very good, and became my lunch for the next week at school, it wasn't until I used the risotto recipe in conjunction with a Bon Appetit recipe for Farro with Acorn Squash and Kale that I fell into complete Risotto Love. Never have I eaten a dish day after day and actually thought it was even better than the day before. Tomorrow will be my last of the six servings and I am mourning it's loss already.

Acorn Squash and Kale Risotto

I couldn't make the farro dish as it's a grain in the wheat family, and so I wasn't quite sure how to adapt the recipe as it had a lot of steps and oven roasting and so forth. I ended up putting both recipes side by side and combining forces to make the dish from arborio rice instead. Kurt called it my "faux-farro" dish :).

What is especially delicious about using kale is that it always remains slightly more tough than spinach would, and gives a crunchy texture to a dish that is otherwise creamy. The acorn squash is roasted in the oven so it has it's own crunchy/creamy combination that's a fabulous compliment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                                         Kale & Acorn Squash Risotto
                           
                Pre-heat the oven to 375.
Squash:

                Halve, peel and seed an acorn squash into small cubes. ( I found it very hard to peel with a peeler, so I used my sharpest knife to cut close to the skin and clean it that way.)
 
                Melt a tbs. of unsalted butter in a saucepan (I used my wok) and add the squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper to coat.  Then, roast the squash in the oven for 35 minutes, turning (or at least mixing up) the squash every ten minutes or so.

Kale:

           
             1/2 bunch of kale, removed from stem and cut into smaller strips.
 
            Cook the kale in a large pot of boiling water (the recipe said salted water...mine wasn't) for about 2 minutes or until wilted. Remove kale to a bowl of ice water to cool, and then drain and dry.

Risotto:  (I'll try to include either recipe mix here. one was with the squash and kale. the other--peas and asparagus)

1.) Melt 3 tbs. unsalted butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add a small chopped onion and stir until tender about 2-3 minutes. (I used the white parts of a leek instead in the asparagus one, and a red onion for the squash one)

Stir in 2 cups of uncooked arborio rice, and cook for another 2 minutes until rice is covered completely.

Add 2/3 cup of wine, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed.  ( I used tomato wine from Pioneer Valley Vineyard)

2.) Heat 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth to a simmer over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low. ( I used 3 vegetable bouillon cubes)

3.) Add 1 1/2 cups hot broth to rice mixture, cook and stir 7 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. (simmer, don't boil)

Add 2 more cups broth and vegetable (kale or chopped asparagus depending which version you're making) Simmer and stir another 7 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add remaining 2 cups broth and cook 5-6 minutes stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed. (In one recipe, here is also where you would add 2/3 cup frozen peas)

4.) Remove from heat; stir in another Tbsp. of unsalted butter and 1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese until melted. (Here is also where I mixed in the roasted acorn squash)

5.) Garnish with Parmesan, serve (hope it spreads!) and ENJOY :)

Mine made 6 servings. Each serving of  the Asparagus Risotto was 14 points plus* and each serving of the Kale Risotto was 12 pp.

** side note on that** Weight loss to date is 37 lbs!


          

Thought of the day...

We have faith because He is faithful.

(derived from Hebrews 11:11)


It was Saturday. It was finally beautiful out. I awakened in my Mom's house because we had gone to see Rent at the Exit 7 Players Theater on Friday evening. (It was amazing!). After a week of rain, the weather was cool and felt like fall again. I had pulled out my back the night before so I felt a little grumpy, and I didn't have my sunglasses which didn't help the migraine starting to brew in my brain.

So, we set out for a fall adventure day and made some pit stops to remedy the grumpiness. A pumpkin spice cappuccino (thank you Cumberland Farms) and some Dollar Tree sunglasses paired with Aleve made my body feel comfortable once again. We drove through Hadley and stopped at Swarovski Farm in Sunderland where I purchased brussel sprouts, kale, onions, and acorn squash for $5 total. Oh, how I love farm stands!

We then circled around into Hatfield to take our 2nd annual fall visit to the Pioneer Valley Vineyard for their free wine tastings. They bottled their Blackberry wine in big bottles this year and had a new Golden Raspberry wine and a smooth Frontenac. It was there, when I went to pay that I realized my wallet was missing.

I wish this were the part of the story where I calmly had faith that God is in control. Where I retraced my steps and knew somewhere deep in my heart that it would all be OK. I wish...except wishing doesn't make it so. This is actually where, after weeks of clinging to God, sharing wisdom, talking to my girls about His faithfulness, that I lost my ever-loving mind. I cried. I even yelled. I explained to my mother over and over the process of identity theft that was going to ruin life as I knew it.

This is the part of the story where my Mom let me do these things, and then calmly repeated that everything would be OK. I, of course, in all my faithfulness, told her this was not the case. That the world was a mess, and people stole things, and who knows what else. She calmly repeated the fact that there were honest people in the world, didn't I know.

As we retraced our steps and went back to each store, walking along parking lots, the real truth came out. This must be it, I thought. After weeks of things being OK with Jesus, here was the spiritual attack I had been waiting for. The shoe was dropping.I know I had already been fighting physical pain, but this was the proverbial straw that was going to break this camel's back.

We had no luck. We headed back to Belchertown and I began looking up my credit card companies information on my phone. The phone wouldn't show me the number so with a loud noise of exasperation I went up to use her computer. Now, this isn't even my own home, but there was a message light blinking on the answering machine so I hit play for a distraction. And there it is....a message for me, at a place I don't even live, from AAA telling me someone called and had found my wallet in a parking lot and it was at Peter's Nails in Hadley. My dad always buys me my AAA membership each year because I forget to so my contact info is at their house!

I began laughing and crying at the same time. For a long time.

My mother just looked at me and said, "You see, o ye of little faith."

Yep. Just when we think we've got it down...we up and fail the test.

I am so glad God is faithful. Even when I'm not.

God,
Please bless the sweet person who found my wallet and went through all the trouble of figuring out how to get it back to me. May they have days filled with unspeakable joy. Thank you for a mom who loves you and exemplifies grace under pressure. Who loves me even in my crazy. Thank you for you. May I have more faith today than yesterday.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

Fall Frenzy

A few weeks back, I was itching to dig into fall's harvest. I was dogsitting for my parents and so I had access to my mother's amazing kitchen. Gas stove, kitchen island, and wide open counter spaces. My parents also happen to live two minutes from the UMass Cold Springs Orchard so I drove down there to stock up on fresh apples, cider, and local honey before heading back up to the grocery store to aquire the rest of menu items.

I started with acorn squash, washing and scooping out the seeds to roast for school snacks. I cooked them upside down for about 40 minutes in just a tiny layer of water, but flipped them over for the last 20 and added just a little bit of maple syrup for flavor.

Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds with Cinnamon & Salt

Meanwhile, I started in on the Sausage and Apple Stuffing. I got the recipe from my favorite new cookbook as of late The Gluten-Free Bible. I made a few adaptations for ease and preference such as not pairing it with turkey as I don't even really like turkey on Thanksgiving, and I used Jimmy Dean reduced-fat breakfast sausage for ease of cooking. Also, I had bought leeks for the soup I also made so I used that instead of onion. I aslo traded walnuts for hazelnuts.

All you do is cook up the leeks (or onion) and cut up celery in a pan with the breakfast sausage. Then you add a cubed up Granny Smith apple, and the nuts. You then transfer the mixture to a baking pan and bake at 325 for 40 minutes.

I then dished out the sausage into the four acorn squashes for delicious lunches for the week!

The Final Result! (7points plus)

After I was done with that course, I started in on the Honey-Spice Cake, a recipe I had seen while logging my points on the Weight Watchers website. To get the recipe for yourself, click on this link. I obviously traded the regular flour for gluten free flour. My mother has Domata Living Flour which is really great because it already has the xanthum gum mixed in with it. Randall's in Ludlow used to be the place where we could buy it, but after this last batch we just bought, they are discontinuing it there. :(

Honey Spice Cake. It's more bread-like than cakey and only slightly sweet. A prefect accompaniment to soup!

While the oven was still hot, I made another fun recipe from the Gluten-Free Bible of Cocoa Bottom Banana Nut Bars. They were similar to banana bread with a slightly chocolate taste. I made them because I had bananas that were past their prime on the counter and I wanted to try something new! Leave me a message if you'd like the recipe. I'd be happy to share. :)

Cocoa-bottom Banana Nut Bars (3 points plus)

Then, to finish off the cooking frenzy. ( I seriously cooked/baked for 6 hours straight!) I made butternut squash and apple soup. It was your basic recipe of softened and hand-blended butternut squash, chicken stock, carrots, and a Shamrock apple (from Cold Springs) but what made it really fun was the cider cream I added to it, paired with toasted bacon bits. It added just enough tang to offset the salt which went nicely with the sweet of the soup. I would add a picture but I forgot to take one!

Cider Cream: Boil 1/4 cup of apple cider until it is reduced by half. Take it off the heat, let it cool, and then mix it with 1/2 cup of sour cream.

Toasted Bacon Bits: I just bought Hormel's already cooked bacon bits and toasted them again in a pan until they were nice and crispy. All it takes is a little pinch of them to add flavor to the soup.

I also baked gluten-filled chocolate chip cookies for my parents return, and some apple chips! Fabulous fall food in a frenzy!

Apple Chips sprinkled with Cinnamon & Sugar