Gingerbread Waffles with Buttered Rum Syrup

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.        

 

                                                                  -Norman Vincent Peale

Oh Norman, though I love this quote, I chuckled a little thinking, "man, he must have a REALLY good wife". Yes Christmas is beautiful and soft, but unfortunately it doesn't come with a wave of a wand. It comes from the painstaking, list writing, hand wringing, stress inducing insanity of that lovely woman beside you. I don't think a Christmas has passed since I have "grown-up" that I haven't longed to be a kid again and just "show up" to the magic of Christmas.

 

I always intend to simplify things, but back when I was creating our Christmas traditions I didn't really have an idea of what reality would look like with 4 kids, a hubby, a dog, a big-ole house that I still haven't figured out how to keep clean and a part time job that becomes increasingly busy around this time of year. I always plan to cut back on the "unnecessary" things until the kids ask about those things and they suddenly become necessary, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Our traditions create a warm and safe place for our families when the world around them can feel so harsh and uninviting. 

 

So, I suck it up and let other things go during the holidays. I may indulge in an afternoon of candy making with my kids and then bring home take out to help balance the mess in the kitchen. Looking back, I think the thing I let go the most are dinners. I am so grateful that other people are willing to cook for me during the holidays! 

 

This morning I wanted to fill my families bellies with a new memory that will now become a tradition. I also knew that I was short on time, so I took what I had on hand and Gingerbread Waffles were born. 

 

Confession time. I will never be the mom who makes pancakes or waffles from scratch. I may find a recipe that I will try from time to time, but on REAL days that include schedules and deadlines you will see me reaching for my Krusteaz mix every time.

 

So with that in mind, here is a yummy treat to serve your family this Christmas morning that is quick and easy so that you can get back to celebrating with those you love most.

    

 

 Gingerbread Waffles

 

Waffle batter of your choice. Enough to make 6-8 waffles.

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 C molasses

 

Prepare waffle batter and stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into prepared waffle iron, the molasses will make the batter a little more sticky, so use the back of a spoon to spread the batter around to the edges. Cook and enjoy.

 

Buttered Rum Syrup

 

1 stick butter
1 C sugar
1/2 C milk 

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp rum extract

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium sauce pan. (The syrup will more than double in size when you add the baking soda, so a medium sauce pan is necessary.)

Bring just to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients until syrup is light and fluffy.



Why a "cry day" is actually a GOOD idea...

The sorrow which has no vent in tears

may make other organs weep. 

                                                                 -Henry Maudsley 

I remember the day that I started to hate crying. I had been warned by another co-worker that I was being blamed for a "call gone bad". But instead of handling the matter privately, giving me the opportunity to defend myself and let the truth be known, the owner of the company decided that he wanted to make an example out of me because I had been talking to my husband on the other line when things went wrong. He did this by playing the call to my fellow dispatchers and explaining that I was the reason that things had gone terribly, horribly wrong. What he failed to examine was the long standing feud between dispatch and the paramedics which created an environment where neither felt they could properly do their job. Without the feud the paramedics would have repeated the address on their pagers to my partner, something that was expected of the lowly EMT's but not of the paramedics, and they would have gone to the correct Instacare, picked up the RIGHT patient and none of this would have ever happened. Instead my partner simply told them to go to the Instacare, assuming that they had the address on their pagers, and gave them the details of the patient that they were supposed to transport. Long story short they went to the wrong Instacare and because I "took the call" I was being blamed, even though I had entered the correct address and had dispatched the correct paramedic team.

 

As I walked into the meeting I could feel everyones eyes on me. Apparently the word had gotten out that I was the topic of conversation for the day. I had planned what I was going to say, I knew that the truth of the matter needed to be exposed for what it was. I didn't deserve to be the scape goat.

 

But as the call started, all courage, and anger and defiance drained out of my body and all I was left with were tears. I told them to stop the tape, laid down my badge and left the room.

 

The owner followed after me. Again, all I could do was cry. I don't remember our conversation, but I remember feeling how weak and insignificant I was. I couldn't make a single coherent sentence to help in my defense.  I wanted to roar like a lion, but I was running away, scared like a lamb. My tail between my legs, defeated.

 

Crying was now a sign of weakness, it was there to let those around me know that I was an easy target.

 

I have always been sensitive. I cried when a little boy told me that I had chubby legs on my first day of Kindergarten. I cried when my brother was being picked on for being nice to "less popular" kids. I cried when the chimpanzees in the movie "Project-X" were exposed to radiation and died. I cried when I was happy and I cried when I was sad.  

 

I had always just let it all hang out.

 

But now, crying was dirty. Instead of cleaning out built up emotions, I pushed them down and held them in.

 

I still cried, occasionally, but never when I was weak or defeated.

 

Years later I was a NICU nurse. I cried at every delivery I ever attended. My favorite deliveries were those where I could wrap up a healthy baby and hand it over to an excited but scared mom. When the baby needed some more attention from the NICU team the tears were short lived and I quickly got to work doing the things that the baby needed to survive. I could justify these tears, because they were happy tears, but they did become a bit of an inconvenience. Soon I was pushing down the happy tears. 

 

When I first started to connect the dots surrounding my depression anything that even remotely resembled sadness was pushed down to the deepest, darkest parts of my soul. I was on survival mode. If anything stirred up that pot of tears I removed myself from the situation and pushed the sadness down further. Tears were now associated with this dark place in me that stole my zest for life, that left me failing as a wife and mother. If they weren't a part of the equation I felt just a little bit better.

 

What I had forgotten is that those tears are there for a reason. It's as if they hold that emotion and release it into the world. An emotion that is pushed down and held in has a way of festering inside of you, making you uneasy and brittle. 

 

Several months ago I heard a conversation on the radio where the host was talking about her "cry days". The co-host thought she was nuts, he was a guy btw, and asked anyone else out there to call in if they too had "cry days". The reaction was AMAZING and something that I was so grateful to be a witness to. There were other sensitive souls out there, like me, who needed that release of emotions and if they weren't getting it from their daily lives, they would induce that release in the privacy of their own homes. 

 

I had never tried a "cry day" before but thought it might not hurt. I was still a little scared that crying would make me spiral even deeper into a pit of despair, but at the moment I was pretty down and was hoping for a little glimmer of hope.

 

So, I pulled out the iPad and started searching for anything that would help me with some happy tears. I found videos of soldiers reuniting with their unsuspecting families, sappy proposals and videos of people walking for the first time following horrible accidents. It was kind of funny in the beginning. I was acting like I was crying, but nothing was coming out. Maybe my pipes were clogged from all of the years of non-use. By about ten minutes in it happened. I was sobbing like a baby. Not a cute baby mind you. I was crying like a booger filled gorilla making horrible gasping sounds following each new wave of tears. It was really ugly folks, but it was also so incredibly beautiful.

 

I was allowing myself to feel again. The whole time I was afraid of the repercussions of these emotions, but I was also so relieved that the tiniest bit of these emotions were now being released out into the world instead of being bottled up inside of me.

 

Guess what happened next?

Nothing.

I didn't feel weak or insignificant or that I had failed. If anything I felt like I was a little bit more whole. That by letting go of my emotions something else could now take it's place. Something that was light and airy instead of dark and heavy.           

I haven't looked to see if there is any "scientific" backing for my findings, but I do know that it helps me feel better. So I will continue to have my "cry days" and will slowly find my way back to happy.

Eggnog Syrup

Gifts of time and love

are surely the basic ingredients

of a truly merry Christmas. 

                                                                  -Peg Bracken
 

When I think of Christmas, I am immediately transported to the flavors that make up the season. Those treats that are special and unique to this time of year. Growing up that meant: pfeffernusse, a German Christmas cookie that was a sweet gingerbread ball rolled in powdered sugar, it was crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle; stollen, a German Christmas bread that hallmarked the candied fruit made famous in fruit cake, something I still haven't acquired the taste for; and everything pepperminty or eggnoggy.

 

Since breakfast is probably my very most favorite meal to prepare, I knew this holiday season wouldn't be complete without mixing up a new syrup recipe that incorporated some of these flavors. I have long been a sucker for eggnog. It is just one of those treats that I can't pass up this time of year.

 

This syrup recipe has been adapted several times to meet the season and my current craving. It started out as a simple buttermilk syrup recipe with a splash of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon. My friend Holly shared it with me almost 10 years ago, and my life hasn't been the same since. I have used the basic recipe to make coconut syrup, rum syrup, lemon syrup (which is delicious over ginger pancakes) and so many others. If I have a breakfast craving, I know how to satisfy it!

 

This is a great way to share a gift of time and love with your family. Serve up this delicious, quick and easy syrup drizzled over hot, crunchy waffles and breathe in all that the season has to offer.

 

 

 

Eggnog Syrup

1 stick butter
1 C sugar
1/2 C eggnog
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla 
Dash of nutmeg and cloves

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium sauce pan. (The syrup will more than double in size when you add the baking soda, so a medium sauce pan is necessary.)

Bring just to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients until syrup is light and fluffy.

 



and so I saw a shrink....

Don't believe everything you think.

                                

In the beginning it made sense to believe my thoughts. My thoughts, I argued, were me and why would I lie to myself. Out of the billions of people in the world, the one person I should be able to trust is me.

 

In the beginning my thoughts were there to cheer me on when I didn't have the confidence to stand in front of my class to give an oral report. My thoughts were there to help me find my loveable parts. They were there to support my intuition as a grew into motherhood.

 

But slowly, those words of support and praise melted into a thick sticky pot of doubt and belittlement. I knew that I shouldn't trust the thoughts that contained words like "always" and "never", I could quickly see through the lies of these statements. I knew that I wasn't "always a failure" or that I "never got anything right", but when those voices started personalizing their insults they were much easier to accept. 

 

When I started to compare my life and my house and my family to those around me, it was easy to think that they all lived in a fairytale, especially with the advent of social media. People would post pictures of their perfect family in their perfect house or on their perfect vacations. I didn't just envy the things they had, I started to think that they knew the recipe for the magic potion that kept everything in order. Instead of trying to learn from what they were doing, not realizing that most people only post pictures or leave status updates when everything is peachy, I quit trying.

 

After I gave up, the voices settled in and really had a hay day. They turned my feelings into facts. They made it easier to blame others for what was happening around me. They filled my mind with "should's, must's and ought's".

 

At one of my first counseling sessions my therapist gave me a workbook that probably did more to help turn around my funk than any other thing I have tried since. The things I do now are supportive and help me maintain a happy mood, but without the workbook none of the supportive measures would have done a thing.

 

It starts out with a "Daily Thought Record" in which you monitor your feelings throughout the day. When you feel bad or unpleasant you describe the Event surrounding those feelings. For me, the first time I used the DTR, I came upstairs from working a particularly challenging shift at work (thank you Super Storm Sandy) and discovered that our house was a mess. In the interest of "keeping it real" and because I love you, here are a couple pics I took the morning after that blasted day.

 

 

(seeing them again...I do feel a little justified in my emotions, but I'm also grateful that something as silly as a messy house doesn't have the same power to drag me down as it used to) 

 

The next section asks you to describe the emotions surrounding the event or the Impact of the Event. I felt frustrated and sad because now I had to either clean it up myself or I would have to sit on my kids until they did it. Talking them through every step, refereeing arguments, keeping them motivated, knowing that I could clean it up by myself in about an hour or two, but asking 8 little hands to clean up their own mess meant a whole day ordeal that would most likely end in tears (theirs and mine).

It then asks you to Rate the Intensity of the emotion on a scale of 1-10. I was at a 7. Probably not my worst day, I wasn't ready to wake everyone up at that very moment and insist that they pick up their things before they could go back to bed (something that though I have been tempted to do on several occasions, I have had the wherewithal to resist) but I wasn't ready to let the emotions roll off my back either.

Next you are asked to analyze your thoughts. Within your Initial Responses, describe the automatic thoughts or self-talk. Then rate how believable it is from 1-10. My initial response was,  "I am the only one who ever cleans. If my family really loved me they would clean up after themselves and I wouldn't have to sit on them until they did. I must not be teaching them correctly." Luckily, even at this stage I knew that my thoughts were nowhere close to the truth. 

Here comes the fun part. There are several different ways in which we lie to ourselves on a daily basis that contribute to depression or a feeling of low self-esteem. They are called thought distortions. 

During this experience the thought distortions that I was experiencing were Assuming (I assumed I knew the motivations of the people who created the mess), Fairytale Fantasy (I believed that everyone else lived in perfectly maintained castles that were constantly and immaculately clean), Overgeneralizing (even though I knew better, the "never" and "always" beasties crept up on me), Dwelling on the Negative (instead of coming up from my shift and recognizing that a messy house meant that my family LIVED in my house and were busy making memories instead of being little maids, I decided to focus on the negative), Catastrophizing (it was a messy house, I wasn't a failure and neither were they), Personalizing (instead of allowing others to take the "blame" for the mess, I blamed my parenting) and Blaming (I blamed my family for my bad mood). Phew...that is a whole lot of crazy talk if you take a step back from it. But these were the battles that were raging in my mind EVERY day. 

After you take a step back and categorize you thoughts, it is now time to create a Reasonable Response. "Change the distortions to more reasonable thoughts. Rate how much you believe each from 1-10". A much more reasonable response to a messy house is, "When properly motivated and supervised my children are fabulous cleaners. They show me that they love me not only in the little acts of service that they do for me, but also with their gratitude, smiles and hugs. I do my best to teach them, lovingly, how to care for themselves, their things and others.". This reaction is much more accurate and believable. I rated it a 9. 

Finally you analyze the Results. "Based upon your Thought Analysis, rerate how much you believe your initial responses. Then rerate the intensity of your emotions". My initial response was a distortion of the facts.

After you have analyzed your thoughts and dissected them to this level it is much easier to have a handle on the emotions associated with your thoughts. That doesn't mean that I don't still get upset by a messy room or when things don't go according to plan, it just means that when I do get upset I don't spiral into a pit of despair. I don't believe everything that I think.

I was so grateful to realize that not everything that I think is fact. There are some "facts" running around in there that I would love to be true, but these hurtful distorted thoughts no longer (or at least most of the time) don't have power over me.

And because I'm not really ready to let the whole world in on my imperfections, this is what it looked like after I got a few hours off of work and really kicked it into high gear. (The kiddo's were a great help, and the tears were kept to a minimum) 

 

ps...I will try to find out more about the workbook my therapist gave me. She just gave me copies that she made from her book. I think they are excerpts from a book called, "The Self-Esteem Workbook", but on the info that I have it doesn't indicate an author (and I would love to give credit to those involved in this work of perfection). So I will look into it and get back to you :) 

Strawberry Honey Butter

October’s poplars are flaming torches

lighting the way to winter.
-Nova S. Bair

I don’t know what it is about fall, but it brings me in. It holds me tightly with memories of trick or treating as a kid, the hot smell of the candle flickering inside my beautifully carved pumpkin cooking the flesh just enough to add its aroma to the already perfect evening. It reminds me of crisp autumn nights as I unpacked my belongings into a sturdy, warm dorm room that sat at the mouth of Logan canyon, the wind whipping around its edges creating mini snow or leaf filled tornado's. It reminds me of riding the shuttle over to the student center for a hot slice of bread with apple butter or raspberry honey butter. I had a car, but I would usually trade in the solidarity of a morning ride by myself in Crunchie the Love Cockroach (my pet name for my little Toyota Corolla because it made a lovely crunching sound anytime I cornered to the right) for the warmth and camaraderie of the shuttle.

Last week, as that autumn chill brought back those memories, I just couldn’t shake the craving that I was having for a little slice of my past. I considered driving 3 hours round trip, not including time to revel in my wanderlust, but as I scanned our calendar I knew that a quick trip would be a selfish indulgence that I just couldn’t justify for the day. So I set out to create a happy little pause button that would keep the cravings at bay until I had time for the trip.

This recipe could easily be adapted to any fruit you have on hand. After I finished up the pictures my mind started racing with ideas of different “butters” that I could try. The possibilities are endless. Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner my mind leaped to ideas that incorporated my favorite fall flavors. What about a pumpkin honey butter or an orange cranberry honey butter. I think both of those will have to be a part of our Thanksgiving feast, spread generously across a warm home made roll.

If the flavors you want to try aren’t in season, frozen fruits can easily be substituted. I made strawberry honey butter and a tropical honey butter with mangoes, pineapple and strawberries. They have both been gobbled up by my family. My kiddo’s have loved spreading them over their toast, crepes and waffles. I feel good that they are getting a little extra fruit into their days. The best part, it stores well in the refrigerator for up to a week in a sealed container or up to 6 months in the freezer. So you can take a few minutes today and enjoy it for several months to come!

 

 

Strawberry Honey Butter

 

1 c strawberries hulled and sliced

2 Tbsp honey

1 c butter softened, at room temperature

 

In small saucepan, over medium heat combine strawberries and honey. Heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to speed up the process. In blender or food processor blend strawberry mixture until smooth and then fold in butter until it is well blended.





just a little bit broken....and that's okay!

I have come to realize

that caring for myself

is not self indulgent.

Caring for myself

is an act of survival.

                                  -Audre Lorde

 

 

Hello friends! I have missed you so much and am so glad to be back. Our computer died a couple of weeks ago and it has taken a while to get the new one up and running. I am grateful for those few weeks, as they gave me some time to be a little more introspective. I learned so much about myself that I am so excited to share. So let's jump right in.

 

While I was away I read a great article posted in the Elephant Journal that really hit home. It is about a Hindu goddess named Akhilandeshvari. Her name roughly translated means "the never, not broken goddess". Upon first inspection the idea of being constantly broken is scary, but Akhilandeshvari derives her power from this constant flux of falling apart and picking the pieces back up again. Never getting stuck in toxic routines because she is never together long enough to stay there.

 

The author points out that one of the scariest parts of our lives are in those moments where we are lying broken, on our bedroom floors after a major shift in our lives. Whither it is a breakup, the loss of a job or the loss of a loved one. The hardest part to overcome is rewriting our future plans for ourselves. At the beginning of any relationship or job or circumstance we all create a manuscript of how we think things will play out. When things don't go according to plan that manuscript is shredded before our eyes and we are left to pick up the pieces and try to make sense of the new path all the while using what bits and pieces we can gather from the old manuscript to construct a new one. Losing that vision of our future is terrifying.

 

"But look, Akhilanda says, now you get to make a choice. In pieces, in a pile on your floor, with no idea how to go forward, your expectations of the future are meaningless. Your stories about the past do not apply. You are in flux, you are changing, you are flowing in a new way, and this is an incredibly powerful opportunity to become new again: to choose how you want to pull yourself back together. Confusion can be an incredible teacher - how could you ever learn if you already had it all figured out?" -Julie Peters

 

For the longest time my ultimate goal was to heal myself of my depression. I thought that if it crept up again, and I found myself in a pile on my floor that I had ultimately failed...again. So when those feelings do make their appearance, in any form whither it is a sad thought or actually breaking down and crying, I feel like a failure. Not only am I sad that I am experiencing these down in the dump feelings, I am sad that once again I wasn't strong enough to keep the feelings at bay.

 

But, if I know that depression is a part of me and that I will never be "not broken" the insult added to my injury will cease to have power over me. I can allow the sadness in, discover what it is trying to teach me and move on instead of sinking deeper because I have failed.

 

If you have a piece of china that has a crack in it, let's say it is a mug that's handle is being held to the body with a fine line of glue. You treat that mug differently. You don't pick it up with the gusto you would a mug that didn't have an "imperfection". You treat it gently and gingerly. You focus on the "imperfection" so as to prevent further damage.

 

Knowing my "imperfections" and knowing that there will always be the threat of some pretty dark days looming, I know that I have to treat myself gently. I need to be prepared to pick myself up off the floor over and over and over again. Which is exhausting and wildly exciting all in the same breath. I also need to focus on that part of me that is broken and create a plan to keep it from breaking even more. So here is my list.

 

In the coming weeks I will explain each one of these a little more, giving some of the "science" behind my decisions and I will link back to this post for easy referencing.

 

1) Eat healthy delicious food that nourishes my body and gives it what it needs.

 

2) Practice Yoga and meditation daily.

 

3) Use my "Happy Light" to help ward off seasonal affective disorder.

 

4) Get additional nutrients through supplements, the sun and soaking my feet.

 

5) Have a "cry day".
http://nomastoday.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-cry-day-is-actually-good-idea.html

 

6) Build my net.

 

7) Limit social media.

8) Weed through distorted thoughts and discover the truth. http://nomastoday.blogspot.com/2013/11/and-so-i-saw-shrink.html

 

These are the things that I know I have to do to keep the glue in place, and when the day comes again (which it ultimately will) that the glue just can't keep me together any longer I will get the opportunity to pull my pieces together in a new way, creating new routines and new experiences.



Roasted Tomato Soup

"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet

without violins."

-Laurie Colwin, "Home Cooking"

 

Growing up I hated two things that were good for me, fish and tomatoes. When I took a health class in high school I realized the importance and benefits of incorporating these two beauties into my diet. It took years to change my opinion and palate, but I am slowly coming around. I started by ordering hamburgers and leaving the tomatoes in place instead of discarding them the instant they arrived on my plate. I'm still working on fish. I have trained myself to like lobster, crab and shrimp, but learning to like fish will take a little more time. Whenever I am near an ocean however I feel like it would be an insult if I didn't give it another try. I ate Mahi Mahi for the first time in Hawaii when I was 11 and really enjoyed it. This past March I had some of the most amazing salmon I have ever tasted while at an awards dinner, for work, in Orlando. It takes baby steps. If I had this tomato soup as a kid, I have a feeling my thoughts about tomatoes would have changed ages ago. It is a far cry from the preservative packed can variety and is almost as easy to prepare.

15-20 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 leek, chopped and rinsed thoroughly, white end only
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
2 c chicken broth
1 pint heavy cream
 
Preheat oven to 400.
Place tomatoes, leek and garlic on cookie sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning every 10-15 minutes to prevent burning.
Remove from oven and puree in blender or food processor.
For a smoother texture, strain through a sieve into a sauce pan.
Over medium high heat, combine tomato mixture with salt, pepper, chicken broth, thyme and heavy cream, stirring constantly.
Continue cooking until soup has thickened to desired consistency.

Pasta Carbonara

Life is a combination of magic and pasta.

-Federico Fellini

 

When I cook for my family, I do my best to set the mood. I always feel like I am more able to listen to the little things that the food is trying to tell me when I surround myself with good music. No music connects me more readily and directly to the food that I am preparing than Italian music paired with Italian cuisine. The music and the food speak to me in a way that excites every inch of my body, down to the tiniest atom in my little toe. I can't help but dance through the kitchen as I mince the garlic or drop the pasta. It becomes a celebration instead of a simple meal, made on a weeknight, to fill the bellies of my hungry savages.

This is one of our favorite "go to" recipes. It can be played up with prosciutto or pancetta substituting Asiago for the parmesan, or you can go with what you have on hand and create a delectable feast for your hungry brood. You could add chicken breasts dredged through a combination of panko bread crumbs, oregano, basil, thyme and parmesan. Whatever you choose try spicing things up tonight and really get into preparing the meal from your heart. Turn up a Pandora play list that highlights some of your favorite tunes. Might I suggest creating a new station including "Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney or for a more authentic feel "Italian Traditional Radio". Whichever you choose, center yourself for a moment, take a deep breath and feel the love that is expressed while creating this simple, beautiful tribute of love for you and yours.

This past weekend I learned a fun tip that I thought I would share. It isn't as "life changing" as when I learned to peel garlic by first smashing it with the flat edge of a large knife, but I think this is a tip that I will employ anytime I have fresh asparagus to prepare. It is a time saver that will help you get this dish on the table in a flash.

Leave the rubber bands in place on your bunch of asparagus. Pull three or four stalks out of the bottom rubber band and snap the ends off individually, allowing them to break where the woody ends meet the tender flesh.

After you have an idea of the average length of where the woody parts end, chop the entire bunch to this length.

Leave the rubber bands in place and continue chopping into 1 inch sections for this recipe. Once chopped place in a salad spinner full of ice-cold water. Allow the asparagus to soak while you continue chopping the other vegetables. Drain the water and spin dry.

Quick and Easy Pasta Carbonara


6 strips bacon, crispy cooked
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed to one inch sections, discarding the woody ends
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tomatoes diced
1 pint heavy cream
1/3 c Parmesan cheese, with additional for topping
8 oz angel hair pasta, cooked to desired doneness as per package instructions

In large fry pan, cook bacon until it is crispy.
Remove bacon and clean out drippings, reserving 1 tsp of drippings to saute the onion and garlic.
Warm 1 tsp of drippings, over medium heat, and saute onion and garlic until onion starts to become tender, about 1 minute.
Add asparagus and stir fry for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook until the asparagus is bright green.
Pour in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese and simmer until sauce has thickened.
Toss with pasta, serve and top with additional Parmesan.  

The slow road was fun....but....(my new health challenge)

Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.

                                                                                  

                                                                               -Gene Tunney

 

 

So, I started a new health challenge today. I know that I said that I was going to take "the slow road", but since that proclamation I've just been sitting on that road waiting for something, ANYTHING, to happen. Guess what? Nothing happened. The good news is that while I have just been watching the time pass by I didn't gain weight, but I don't think I've ever been further from losing it either.

 

I think I needed this time though to accept my body, as it is. To stop loathing the unlovable parts and let them know that they are o.k. which was weird, but probably a necessary part of my healing process. I did my best not to scowl when I looked in the mirror, or groan as my pants got just a little tighter. It wasn't an easy process, but at the end of it all I know that I love myself and that even those "unlovable" parts are loved. Having said that, those unlovable parts have out stayed their welcome and it is time to get down to business.

 

I was so excited when a friend mentioned the possibility of a health challenge that I jumped in with both feet. We have a little facebook group and collectively we have "donated" $25 a piece to the "winners pot". At the end of the challenge there will be two winners (although all of us will be winners of better health) one who loses the most weight, by percentage, and one who racks up the most points. I am hoping to lose the most weight, but just in case that falls through I am planning on getting the maximum number of points every day.

 

Here is the break down for points:

 

* Drink at least 64 oz. of water = 3 points
* No eating after 9:00 pm = 2 points
* Eat 3 servings of vegetables = 3 points (one serving equals ½ cup; leafy greens require 1 cup per serving)
* Eat 2 servings of fruit = 2 points (one serving equals ½ cup)
* No sweets/sugary treats = 5 points (I’m a firm believer that everyone needs a free day now and then, so you will be limited to six days max each week wherein you can claim these points)
* If you do indulge in a treat, but limit yourself to one serving, you can still claim 2 points each day.
* 30 minutes of exercise = 5 points (To encourage a weekly rest day, and to not penalize those who choose not to exercise on Sunday, you can only claim exercise points a maximum of six days per week).
* Each additional 15 minutes of exercise = 1 point (Up to 90 minutes total, for a maximum of 9 exercise points: 5 points for the first 30 minutes and 4 points for 60 additional minutes. Feel free to exercise for longer, but you can only claim 90.)
* Track all food consumed = 4 points (Use whatever means you prefer to track your eating. You don’t have to count calories if you don’t want to; just keep some kind of food journal. Again, points for this will be limited to six days per week so as to not penalize those who choose to take a free day.)
* Bonus points will (hopefully) be offered each week. Watch the facebook page to see what those will be. Please be aware that all of this may be subject to change based on input from the group.
* Absolutely no HGC or other weight loss pills or supplements. This is an all-natural challenge.

I have done similar health challenges before, but I LOVE the simplicity of this one.  I LOVE that you don't subtract points for "bad behavior". You may not earn the maximum number of points if you eat sweets or sugary treats but if you limit it to one serving you still reward yourself. I also love that there are "rest" and "cheat" days. In the past I have been an all or nothing kind of gal, but that just isn't conducive with real life. Even my super skinny, athletic friends will have a treat now and then. Unlike me, they just know what the limit is and what they need to do to make sure it doesn't derail their overall goal.

This new plan feels like it will fit into my original more "mindfulness" goal. For today's exercise I took our puppy on a challenging walk for 60 minutes, did 30 minutes of yoga and also completed my meditation for the day. While on the "slow road" I was only doing yoga for about 20-30 minutes 2-3 times per week. I know that if I continue incorporating yoga into my 90 minutes of exercise everyday I will still come away with the benefits that I am hoping for, but now that I have more accountability I will be more consistent.

So here is to a healthier lifestyle and to the abundant beautiful future me that is just bursting to make her entrance!



Birthday Magic

Your birthday is a special time to celebrate

the gift of "you" to the world.

 

 

As each of my childrens' birthday's approach every year I feel a little pang of sadness that the years have gone by so quickly. I wish that I could have a few more moments with each one of my snugly delicious babies. To watch as they discover their chubby baby hands or coo as they wake up from a good nights sleep. I wish that I could experience those sweet moments and really savor them instead of merely survive in a drunken sleep deprived state. Not that I didn't enjoy a good deal of it, I just know that I would be able to appreciate those moments even more now than I did then because I realize the time is so fleeting. 

 

Having said that, I love to take the time leading up to my babies birthday's to remember the events surrounding their birth. I know that they enjoy hearing year after year how their siblings or other relatives eagerly anticipated their arrival. The preparations, the celebrations and the air of excitement as we packed up the car and headed to the hospital, knowing that we would FINALLY get to meet the sweet little person that we had already grown to love.

 

This past weekend was my third child's 10th birthday and I thought it might be fun to share some of our birthday traditions. As the above quote says, a birthday really is a fun time to celebrate the gift of "you", or the gift of your children.

 

Our oldest tradition is of course retelling of their birth story. Now I'm not talking about the "nitty gritty" details, just the basics. A couple of days before Bastian's 10th birthday I began the countdown, saying things like, "Ten years ago right now, we were eating dinner at Nanny and Papo's house. That night we took pictures of Tan and Brin kissing my belly." or "Ten years ago right now, I was THIS big" grossly over exaggerating for theatrical value. 

 

When my kiddo's were born I bought them each a journal and quickly filled in some of those details so that I could always remember what I was thinking and feeling as we were waiting to meet the newest member of our family. I wrote in their journals a lot when they were little, jotting down little anecdotes that I wanted to remember. Nowadays I have made it a goal to, at the very least, write in their journals on their birthdays. I think this will give them a little insight into the different struggles I went through as a parent, and also an idea of who they were in their early years.

 

Growing up I had a friend whose family would always decorate their mantel with birthday wishes and gifts for the birthday boy or girl. Having a family of eight, I can only imagine the preparation involved in each celebration. I loved the idea of continuing this tradition in my own family, but shopping for supplies in addition to the other birthday necessities almost ended this idea for me before I had even given it a chance to grow. That was until a friend of mine showed me some beautiful banners that her sister Amy made for different holidays including birthdays. I knew that I needed to have one. So I purchased the banner and a big stash of balloon's and now, with very little effort, my kids get a fun birthday surprise.

 

Here is a link to Amy's blog. She is such a talented seamstress with fun ideas and tutorials. http://amerooniedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/10/birthday-box.html   

 



Food is a big part of our birthday festivities. The birthday boy or girl gets to decide what is on the menu for breakfast, which is served in bed, and dinner. I also take them out to lunch to the restaurant of their choice. I like to give them fun breakfast options since this is my favorite meal to prepare. I have done funfetti pancakes, coconut encrusted french toast, pannakoeken, and loads of other things. Bastian opted for egg salad with kielbassa on toast. He is such an easy going kid!

 

This year I started something new. I thought it would be fun to let perfect strangers in on the excitement of the birthday that we were celebrating. This is also an idea where you can invest a little time and money and tuck it away for the next birthday. I bought a car window marker and wished my birthday boy a "Happy Birthday". On the back window I encouraged drivers to "Honk to wish Bastian a Happy Birthday". We have had such a fun time driving around in our "Celebration Mobile" that I'm having a hard time thinking about washing it off, luckily we have another birthday to celebrate in just over a month, so I think I will survive.

 

 

 

So, what are some of your birthday traditions. I would love to add to our list and continue celebrating in new ways each year!



Slow Cooker Mango Chicken over Coconut Rice & Baked Pineapple...Aloha!

Tell me what you eat,

and I shall tell you what you are.

                                           -Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

 

After tonight's dinner, with the above quote in mind, Jean would peg me as a lover of all things tropical and he would be right. I have long fantasized of changing my heritage to more suit my palate and climate preferences. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't get excited at the prospect of scaring the life out of people when I tell them I love them (I'm mostly German BTW), but island cuisine and way of life melds so much better with my current state of mind than my own German roots ever have. (With the exception of Christmas of course. I would be lost without my German Christmas traditions and pfeffernusse.) 

 

Every time I eat a perfectly ripe pineapple or sprinkle some toasted coconut on my latest creation I am reminded of how grateful I am that other cultures and countries share their food with us. My diet would be pretty unexciting if I were only able to eat the foods that naturally grew near my geographical location. It would, however, give me even more incentive to move to a tropical locale.

 

Nonetheless, this quick and easy recipe helped to muffle my desire to escape to a tropical paradise.

 

With the kids now back in school and back to a myriad of activities, it has been increasingly difficult to get a good meal on the table. This is the perfect season for slow cookers. With a little prep work earlier in the day, your family can be sitting down to a warm delicious meal moments after mom's taxi service closes for the day.

 

 

Slow Cooker Mango Chicken

 

4-5 chicken breasts

1 large ripe mango peeled and diced

3 ripe peaches peeled and diced

1/2-1 full hatch chili pepper (or pepper of your choice) seeds and ribs removed and diced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp lime juice

1-2 Tbsp toasted coconut for garnish

 

Prepare slow cooker by spraying sides and bottom with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or medium for 4-5 hours. Shred chicken and serve over coconut rice with toasted coconut on top.

 

 

Coconut Rice

 

2 c rice

1 16.5 oz can of coconut milk

1/2 c toasted coconut

water 

 

Cook rice as per package directions but sub coconut milk for as much water as you can. For example I cooked cal rose rice in a microwave rice cooker that called for 3 c of water to 2 c of rice. The 16.5 oz can was almost 2 c so I finished filling the measuring cup with water to equal 3 c. When the rice is done, immediately toss with toasted coconut. 

 

 



 Baked Pineapple

 

1 pineapple cut in half, core removed. 

1/2 c ginger snaps crushed

1/2 c macadamia nuts (I subbed hazelnuts)

1/2 c shredded coconut

1/2 c sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp coconut or rum extract

 

Preheat oven to 350. Slice pineapple in half and remove the core by cutting diagonal slices into the length of the core. Combine ginger snaps, nuts and coconut. Combine sweetened condensed milk and extract. Pour half of the sweetened condensed milk mixture into the area where the core was. Top with gingersnap mixture and top again with the remainder of the sweetened condensed mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pineapple is a little soft and the topping is warm and bubbly.

 

To serve, cut off top and bottom of pineapple and run a long knife around the edge of the pineapple, separating the the skin from the fruit. Leaving the fruit in the skin, cut into bite sized pieces and serve.  

Wrapped Canvas Prints

Memory is the cabinet of imagination,

the treasury of reason,

the registry of conscience and

the council-chamber of thought.

                                                       -Giambattista Basile

 

I have wanted to make a gallery wall for my office for a long time. I work for an airline and sometimes I need a little reminder as to why I do what I do, especially as we roll into the hurricane and winter seasons, which can be trying for everyone involved. I knew that I wanted to capture some of my favorite vacation memories in a fun new way that would play up a more "modern" feel for my office. I didn't want mismatched frames scattered willy nilly around my office walls. I wanted something that was down to earth and grounded.

 

I discovered wrapped canvas prints, but quickly learned that they were quite pricey. A 12X12 was running around $24.95 and a 16X20 would be closer to $50.00. With my decorating budget being closer to $50.00 total I knew that I had to come up with a better way.

 

So I schlepped through pinterest looking for the perfect tutorial and came up with a fusion of several different ideas.

 

For this project you will need:

 

Photoshop or comparable photo editing software (I use photoshop elements 7)

Digital copies of your photographs

Access to a printshop that can make "Engineering Prints" (I used Staples)

Canvases (I found a 7 pack of 12X12 canvases for $19.95 at Michael's, after a 50% off coupon they were just over $1.50 each)

Spray adhesive

Scissors

Glue to help secure corners

Matte finish spray

 

 

Open photo editing software and drag and drop your photo's into the opened program. Edit as desired including converting to black and white for the cheapest way to complete this project. Staples does create color engineering prints but they are more expensive. In photoshop 7, click on "enhance" at the top of the screen and then select "convert to black and white"

 

Click on the "crop tool" and select your desired size adding at least 2 extra inches to the size of your finished print to allow for wrapping around the edges. If you are using a 12X12 canvas, for example, you will want to create 14X14 prints. If your canvas is thicker than the one pictured above (half inch) then adjust accordingly. You will want at least a half inch of overhang after you cover the sides.

 

Also adjust the pixels/inch setting while you are cropping your picture. In photoshop 7 you can adjust the pixels/inch at the top of the screen just to the right of where you type in the desired dimensions. For 12X12 prints select no less than 300 pixels/inch. My 16X20 print probably could have been adjusted up to 400-500 for better quality, but it is finished now and I love it just the way it is.  

 

Choose the size of engineering print that you wish to purchase. Staples offers 18X24 for $1.79, 24X36 for $3.59 and 36X48 for $7.29. I opted for the 24X36 to accommodate the number of prints I wanted in the sizes I needed. 

 

Click on "file" at the top of the screen and select "new" and then "blank file". Type in the sizes you want for your final print (i.e. 24X36). If it has auto populated pixels instead of inches switch it over to inches and again adjust the pixels/inch to fit your project size. Leave all of the other settings as they are and click OK.

 

This will open up a "blank canvas" with the dimensions that you need for your print. At the bottom of the screen double click on the picture that you wish to add to the canvas until it appears in your work screen. Then press CTRL A, CTRL C. Double click on your blank canvas until it appears in your work screen. Click on it with the mouse and then press CTRL V. Your picture should appear on your canvas with the predefined dimensions. Don't expand the print to cover a greater area as this will change the dimensions of the finished project.

 

Use the "move tool" to position it on your blank canvas until you have as many photo's as you can fit on the canvas. Save your project with the highest quality possible for your program. 

 

Send your order to your print shop. When sending to Staples just make sure that you select the correct size for your job. You can also change the orientation of the project via their online tool. Here is the link to the Staples black and white engineering prints.

 

http://www.staples.com/sbd/content/copyandprint/engineering-prints.html

 

If you aren't certain that you submitted the project correctly you can always call to make sure that what you were hoping for is what they are going to print. Also, you can rush your project or select a date that doesn't show any additional charges. In my experience, even when I selected a date that didn't include an additional cost the prints were ready within a couple of hours. I'm sure this varies depending on their workload for the day so if you want to guarantee same day pick up it might be worth the extra money to put a rush on your order. 

 

After your prints are home, prepare your work station by covering it with some sort of disposable tarp. (Unless you are secretly hoping to get a new table in the very near future and just a little more damage might help seal the deal in your hubbies mind, in which case don't cover it up and spray on sister!) I used plastic kitchen bags cut open to create double the work space.

 

Trim your prints then spray your canvas generously with spray adhesive. If you have sprayed it a little too much (ie there are puddles of adhesive) allow it to dry a little before applying it to the picture. A little adhesive goes a long way. If the canvas is too wet it will create wrinkles on your picture. 

 



Apply canvas to the back of the picture and make diagonal cuts up to 1/2 cm from the corner of the canvas.

 

Spray edge and back of canvas with spray adhesive and roll paper around the edge and back.

 



At the corners fold excess paper so that it completely covers the corner with a crisp edge. Apply extra glue to secure corners.  

 

Continue steps until all edges have been sprayed and folded.

 

After your canvases are dry apply a light coating of matte finish in a well ventilated area. The matte finish will help protect your project and will give it more of a photo feel. Be careful not to over saturate with the matte finish. When applying keep sprayer at least 4 inches from your project. Reapply every 2 minutes until you have the desired texture keeping in mind that too many coats will leave your photo's with a hazy feel. I applied 4 coats.

 

For this whole collage of prints I spent less than $40.00 and still have supplies leftover to create some fun new projects. Best of all I now have physical reminders of the wonderful memories I created with my family to help me through the coming weeks of delays and cancellations. Deep breath. Namaste.