Posts

Seasons Promised

Image
Here I am, beginning  in the land of the teenagers and loving it. These people are the ones I wanted and prayed for when I was in high school. I love littles, so this comes a a huge surprise to me. These are truly some of the sweetest and yet unnerving years in parenting yet. And I’ve only approached the edge.  Each parenting season is harder than others in their own unique ways and each season is easier than another. I would give ANYTHING for the slower pace we had when the kids were tiny. Watching them learn things for the first time - it’s so much more concrete than watching your teen figure out their hormones. At the same time, my kids all know how to tie their own shoes and can prepare themselves accordingly to leave the house at a specific time- varied obviously by emotions, but they can do it. The sleeping schedule from the season of littles is least desired and yet - I could use a nap and a cuddle midday myself. The rocking to sleep and the little games that k...

Chicken Pineapple Bowls

These are so easy to make, especially if you have small amounts of time to gather steps throughout the day. Also - this is great for a range of palates because it’s easy to keep items separate instead of it all cooking together.  This makes enough for leftovers for the week.  Ingredients: 3 lbs chicken breasts 1/2cup olive oil 4 limes 5 cloves of garlic, minced 4 tsp. Honey 1 1/2 Tbsp. Ground Cumin 2 tsp. Coriander  Salt & Pepper 1 pineapple, trimmed and diced into bite size  1/2 cup cilantro, tightly packed then chopped 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño  1/2 red onion 1 lime 1/4 tsp ground cumin  Sliced avocado 2 cups vegetable broth - or a bit more 2 cups rice Dash olive oil & salt Cilantro lime salad dressing Recipe: Cut chicken breasts in half to make smaller pieces. Place in large plastic bag for marinade. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, zest of 2 limes, 1/2 cup lime juice, minced garlic, honey, cumin, coriander, and 1 tsp each ...

Wisdom Among the Living

Image
“God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens…Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly. And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.” ‭‭Job‬ ‭28‬:‭23‬-‭24‬, ‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We seem to be searching for truths. In some cases we find it and in others we find a masquerade of truths.  In the verses above it’s says “He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.” Why do you think God examined it thoroughly? I would venture to guess, because he knew it would be something very valuable, a marker of true fear of the lord and sought after. Everyone would want it and yet everyone would not have access to it . God would need to make sure it was untouchable, unmoved, and pure. It would need to be something we can’t finagle and change as we see fit.  What is w...

Baked Tofu

Image
This recipe feeds the five of us and gives enough for maybe two servings of leftovers. Before you begin, PRESS THE TOFU for at least a few hours. To press tofu: Take tofu out of packing and drain the liquid.  Place paper towels around the tofu (I usually two-ply it).  Then place wrapped tofu on a plate or in a bowl and place a cutting board and something else heavy on top to apply pressure. You are trying to extract all the water. The more extracted the crispier. You might repeat that process one more time. Sometime I press it in the fridge overnight and change it again in the morning. Then it’s ready for baking in the afternoon. Ingredients : 2 - 14oz blocks of extra-firm tofu Olive oil 2 Tbspns Cornstarch 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. Garlic powder 1/2 tsp black pepper Recipe :  Heat oven to 400 Slice pressed tofu in two or three even slabs. Pat dry. Slice tofu into desire rectangles or cubes for eating. The smaller the cube the crispier but it takes more time to turn them. So I u...

Key Lime Pie Bars

Image
  These are easy enough to double for a large crowd. Keep it refrigerated and if making ahead, I would make the crust and custard and make the whipped cream fresh the day of so it doesn’t separate. Ingredients: 2.5 sleeves of graham crackers crushed 1 stick of melted butter (1/2 cup) 3 cans of sweetened  condensed  milk 1 cup of Key lime juice 1 cup of vanilla Greek Yogurt Zest from limes (will need 2, but used at different parts of the recipe) 2 egg yolks 2 cups of heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup powdered sugar RECIPE: Crust Preheat oven to 350 Crush graham crackers in a blender or food processor. Pour into a bowl and add 1 stick of melted butter. Combine until in sticks together and fully incorporates.  Press crust into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake crust for 8-10 minutes. Filling : Pour into large bowl cans of condensed milk, and key lime juice. Using a whisk combine until fully combined and no longer liquidy.  Add the Greek yogurt and zest of 1 lime to the bowl and ...

Looking for Breath

Image
No one feels safe alone in their mind. There is not an ounce of quiet. The hiding seems like the default coping mechanism and in that the false narratives are drawn. Relationships seem farther away, and you’re not even sure if the reach of your fingertips is worth the strength to muster, because what if rejection is the echo back. Plenty of darkness surrounds like the fog of smoke, effortlessly trying to slowly envelop each part of your mind, body, and spirit into a world of worry. What has happened? You’ve known peace, you’ve known contentment, and you’ve been made new. However, the threat of sinking still surrounds.  Until… You look up. And with a slight breath of Yaaahhh-weeeeh, you are filled with peace. You can’t stop with one breath because it’s like you are bobbing at sea just waiting to be taken under. It needs to be a series of perpetual intentional breaths. In those moments is where we have a choice. We have a choice to succumb to the consequences of drowning. Or...

Coconut Cream Pie

Image
Every once in awhile I want to focus on nothing else and make something a little more fancy. This coconut cream pie is worth the extra care and time. My mother and I share the same love for this pie and it's her birthday! I made this for Thanksgiving and there was NONE left. You can make this crust OR go a little easier and buy a frozen crust from the grocery, just make sure you bake the shell before you use it! Makes one pie, but you'll wish you had made two!    Ingredients For the crust: 2 3/4c. all purpose flour 2 tsp. granulated sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 1/2c. unsalted butter (3 sticks) 6-9 tbsp. ice cold water. For the Filling: 1c. heavy cream 1c. whole milk 1 (14.5oz) can full fat unsweetened coconut milk 3/4c. granulated sugar 1c. unsweetened toasted coconut flakes 1/4 tsp. salt 1 egg + 4 egg yolks 1/3c. cornstarch 1 tsp. vanilla extract 4 tbsp. butter, unsalted, room temp.  For the Topping: 1 1/2 cup. heavy whipping cream. 1/4c. powdered sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1...