How are you, really?

The past few months I've been putting in some road time traveling to church
conferences throughout our stake.  Leaving at six in the morning and
returning at three or four in the afternoon makes for a long day.  To be
perfectly honest there have been times when I've grumbled about the
sacrifice.  But when I shift my focus, I realize that even the time spent in the
car can be a great blessing.  Riding through the mountains, watching the sun
come up on a Sunday morning is always a treat.  And having the opportunity
to visit with fellow travelers can yield enlightening conversation.  I had such
an experience a few weeks ago that has been messing with me in all kinds
of ways.  That conversation and a few others have been challenging my
thinking about how I see other people, even people that I think I know quite
well.

On my way over the mountain, I had a lengthy conversation with a friend
who has a hearing impairment.  I know this person well and I thought I had
some idea what his life was like.  Come to find out, I was pretty clueless.
He shared some of the challenges he faces as he tries to interact with others
in social and business settings, at church and even at home.  How he has to
carefully place himself on certain sides of the table, has to choose his seat in
the car strategically and how it is better for him to sit as close to a speaker in
church as possible so he can read facial expressions and lip read when
necessary.   The thing that was most interesting to me was learning how
difficult it is for him to be in groups of people where there is a lot of cross
conversations going on or background noise, like a dinner party, family
gathering or church activity.  Even riding in the car on this morning was
difficult for him because of the road noise, which I hadn't even noticed until
he pointed it out to me.  I was amazed.  I'm sure he would have told me all
this before, had I'd taken the time to ask.  I was grateful for this travel time,
when I was a captive audience,  able to "slow down" and really listen.

Because of that conversation, I see his life through new eyes.  In fact, the
next week we were at another conference and after our meetings the
congregation was all gathered in the cultural hall for a big meal.  We all know
how noisy those potlucks can be with children running around, lots of people
talking around the tables and conversation amongst those serving the food.
I happened to look up from my meal and see this friend sitting across the
room, trying to enjoy his lunch, while talking with those at his table and for
the first time I realized how difficult this situation must be for him.   It would
probably be more comfortable for him to avoid these kinds of settings, but he
doesn't.  He puts himself "out there" and does the best he can, without
bringing attention to his challenges.  I learned some important things from
him that day, and it all started because he took the time to share honestly and
I took the time to listen, really listen.

On Tuesday I joined a group of friends for a discussion of this book.

I have read it twice now, it even made my list of favorite books of 2011.

But I hadn't had a chance to talk about it with anyone and I was really

looking forward to that.  We all loved it and agreed that it gave us a new

lens through which to view a person who struggles with Asperger's 

Syndrome. I think the reason I enjoyed it so much is because it is told in 

first person narrative and I felt like I was inside Caitlyn's head, seeing life

as she saw it.  Once again,  I was being taught some important lessons, 

this time from a fictional ten year old girl.

Today I finished this book ,that my brother in law loaned me after he
and my sister traveled to Indonesia to do mission work with their church.

Full of ideas on how to interact with people of other cultures, I
learned some important lessons on serving with eyes wide open.
Most important maybe, is to question your assumptions.  Slow down
long enough to look at what's going on under the surface.  I really
liked this paragraph.
"More than anything else, Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the
first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it,
Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt. 22:37-39)
When you get up and when you go to sleep -love God, love others.
When you travel on vacation and when you travel as part of a mission
team - love God, love others.  When you encounter an immigrant
and when you overhear a foreign language - love God, love others.
The essence of serving with eyes wide open is gaining cultural
intelligence in order to more effectively reflect God to people
who are culturally different from you."
I hope to put these ideas to good use one day as I'm eager to do humanitarian
work in another country.  But I don't have to wait until then.  Love God,
love others.  I can do that today.  It's really about taking the time to look and
learn from everyone around me.  I mean really look and really listen.  Of
course this will take more time and effort.

How many times has someone asked, "how are you?", and you respond
with a "fine", when you really aren't fine at all?  I've been guilty of doing
it myself.  And I'm not suggesting that we should spill our guts to the
Ingles cashier when she asks how we are doing, because she really doesn't
want to know, she's just being nice.  But when friends and family ask that
question, maybe we should be honest with them.  Just maybe they are the
one the Lord is sending to help us in our time of need. When we come into
the fold of God and become His people, we covenant to be willing to bear
one another's burdens, that they may be light and be willing to mourn with
those who mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. We have a
responsibility to help each other. When we are struggling, prayers and
encouraging words and actions can be a blessing.  This is a service that's
difficult to render when you aren't privy to the circumstances in a person's
life.  So we need to be real with each other.

On occasion, something will happen that opens your eyes to the fact that
things aren't always as they appear.  When people don't share what's really 
going on in their lives (or maybe they try and we don't listen well enough), we
can be caught completely off guard as events unfold that leave us surprised or
even shocked.  It makes you wonder how you could think you knew someone
so well and then realize that you weren't getting an accurate picture of their
life and maybe you didn't really know them like you thought you did.  I've had
this experience recently and it's made me wonder what I could have done to
see the situation more accurately.  If I had been listening closer, I mean really
listening, would I have heard what wasn't being said?  This kind of listening
happens more with our hearts than our ears.

Sister Julie Beck, the General Relief Society president of our church, said that
when she goes out into the world she asks the Lord to help her by asking for
these things:  "Lord, help me to see what you want me to see.  Help 
me to hear what you want me to hear.  Help me to know what you
want me to know so that I can serve others the way you would
have me serve."
Oh, how I love that.

Well, I've really rambled on here and if you've stuck with me, thanks for
being my sounding board as I've tried to process these experiences that I've
been having.  I feel better just getting all that off my chest.  And here's what I
think the Lord's been trying to teach me:
* I need to really listen to other people.  I need to pay closer attention to the
   challenges they face, so I can be available to help them however I can.
*I need to be honest with other people who care about me.  If I'm not fine,
  then I'll say so. I'll try really hard not to be a complainer or whiner, but when
  I need help, I'll try to humble myself and ask and  I'll try to be the kind of
  person that invites others to do the same.
*I need to love more, serve more and judge less. As I do, I will begin to see
  people as Christ sees them.  I can only do that with His help.

So, how are you?  How are you, really?

Farm to Table

Last year about this time, I was planting asparagus.  You can read about
that here.  I've been excitedly watching my little bed to see when the first
spears would show themselves, or if they even would.   Normally, local
asparagus is available in April, but because of our unusually mild winter
and spring, I was watching for it earlier.  Asparagus and rhubarb are some
of the first garden offerings, and since I killed my rhubarb I planted last year,
I was hoping I would at least have some asparagus to look forward to.

I was super excited when I saw the first few spears.  Oh, my gosh.  I'm
growing asparagus!   I've been wanting to do this for so long.  Asparagus
is expensive to buy in the stores and usually comes long distances from
California or Mexico.  Local, organically grown asparagus is hard to come
by.  These are all reasons why I wanted to add this to my vegetable garden.
The first year  after planting, you're supposed to let it grow and go to seed,
so that you will have healthier plants in the future.  Man is that hard to do.

But you'd be proud of how good I'm being.  Every day I walk out and look
at it and am amazed at how much it grows overnight.  Holy cow, I'm talking
several inches.  I thought I could get by with cutting just a few spears to
taste, so I picked some of the smaller ones to put into a breakfast omelet.

Thank you ladies, don't mind if I do.

Asparagus and eggs are a friendly combination and especially good

with a little gruyere cheese sprinkled on top.

A thick slice of whole wheat bread, 

with some raspberry jam sounds like a winner.  When I do toast, I

don't mess around!

Asparagus picked fifteen minutes ago, eggs fresh from the hen and toast 

and jam from my kitchen.  I have to tell you this was one satisfying meal. 

My attempts at "farm to table" eating have made me very happy this morning.

Yum!!!!   The asparagus is even better than I had hoped.  Now, I just have

to make sure I don't take my knife with me to the garden again.   Next year

this exercise in discipline will pay off, when I can have all I want!

*MYOF Goals #43 - Expand my vegetable garden.

                           #39-  Make healthy bread.

Pancakes and "Real" Maple Syrup

I have so many wonderful cookbooks on my shelves, but there are times when
I want something tried and true and that's when I reach for that old, tattered
Betty Crocker.  It was my first cookbook when I was newly married. I guess
after thirty years every thing begins to show it's age.

This morning I decided to make pancakes, so off the shelf it came.  It's been
used so much that all I have to do is turn it on it's side and let it fall open to
the right place.  Can you see all the food stains on it?

This is another page that I frequently use.  This is where I learned to make
pie crust.  Pancakes and piecrust are two things every cook should learn to
make from scratch.  Don't you think?

So I whipped up some buttermilk, whole wheat pancakes.  Some plain,
for the man who likes his unadulterated.

And some with Cindy's blueberries, that have been stashed in my freezer,
for the girl who likes her pancakes completely adulterated (berries, nuts,
pumpkin, eggnog, lemon poppyseed, chocolate chips - you name it.  I"ll
probably like it).

Now up to this point, things are looking like any old average pancake day,

right?  But Santa had brought this and stuck it in my husband's christmas 

stocking.  Isn't Santa soooo cool?!?

Today we decided to have a little maple syrup tasting.  It is that time of the

year you know, when the sugar houses are boiling up the sap and turning it

into this liquid gold.  This has been a rough season for the syrup, because 

most of the syrup producing states have had such a mild winter and spring.

Syrup that is usually always a little pricey, will probably be extra pricey this

year.  That means that when you have some of the real thing,  you better

really enjoy it.  And we do.

I sat the little bottles in a row and we took turns tasting each one, trying to

decide our favorite.  The Vermont fancy is the lightest and has a mild flavor.

It's usually the most expensive.  The maple flavor is very subtle.  The second

bottle is the Grade A Medium Amber.  It has a characteristic maple flavor and

is good for table use.  The third bottle is the Grade A Dark Amber, which has 

a heartier maple flavor.  The last bottle is the Grade B syrup.  As you can

imagine, it has the strongest maple flavor and is good for use in cooking.

After tasting each one, with murmurings of "mmmm, this is so good", we

were ready to declare our favorites.  I liked the Grade A Medium Amber

the best.  Mark said he liked them all, but probably liked the darker ones, 

because he could taste more of the maple flavoring.  Both of us decided it

made us miss living in Vermont, where we were introduced to the "real 

thing" and have never gone back to the "corn syrup/artificial maple flavored" 

varieties.  Yes, living in Vermont made us syrup snobs. 

All this maple tasting is making me sentimental about our time in the Green

State : when we had our first little baby, were dirt poor, shared a car, walked

a lot and spent our weekends discovering quaint little towns with village

greens and covered bridges.   Maybe that deserves a post all its own.

Morning Walk

I love my mountain.  Okay, so the whole mountain isn't really mine, but

part of it is and the rest belongs to my nice neighbors.  Whenever we start

toying with the idea of moving somewhere else, all it takes is a morning 

walk to remind me that I live in a beautiful place and I don't really want

to move after all.  This picture was taken from my driveway, looking

down onto our pond where trout swim happily and a couple of ducks

dropped by for a recent Sunday visit.

This morning I left home with a light jacket, which I had to shed

before I returned.  It was warm and the birds were rocking their

tunes and the flowers were in bloom.  Oh man, I love spring on my

mountain!   Here's what I saw today...

                               

                               

                              

    

   

Hope you're enjoying spring in your part of the world.

*MYOF Goals #26  Improve photography skills

                           #16  Exercise five days a week for fifty minutes.

Quinoa - The Super Grain

I've been wanting to experiment with some new grains.  I ran
across a recipe for a quinoa breakfast cereal and decided this was
as good of place as any to start.  I love my steel cut oats, but I could
make room for another hot cereal in my breakfast rotation.

First of all, I wanted to learn a little more about this ancient grain,
so I went straight to the grains guru, Chef Brad.  I've attended some
of Chef Brad's cooking classes and have one of his cookbooks with
explanations of the many grains he uses in his dishes.  Here's what
I learned about quinoa.

Quinoa is somewhat new to the American market, but has been a
staple food of the ancient Incas, who called it the "mother grain".
It dates back to 3000 BC and is used in baking as well as other
dishes eaten in this South American cuisine.  It's been called the
supergrain of the future, because it contains more protein than any
other grain.  It's considered a complete protein because it contains
all eight essential amino acids.

These tiny, bead shape grains look like birdseed.  It cooks quickly, taking

half the time of regular rice and expands to four times it's original volume.

It has a delicate flavor much like couscous.  It can be purchased in white,

red or black.  I picked this bag up at the local food co-op, from the

bulk bin.  They probably had the other colors, boxed on the shelf, but

I didn't think to look.

For this breakfast cereal, the recipe said to rinse the quinoa,

and then mix it in a saucepan with skim milk.  Cover and simmer for

about 14 minutes until most of the milk was absorbed.

My bright idea to start the cereal, then run down and feed the chickens while
it was cooking, turned out to be not so bright after all.

Unless cleaning your stove is on your morning "to do" list, I wouldn't
recommend too much multitasking.   Keep an eye on that pot.

I like my cereals creamy, so I didn't cook it dry.  I added peaches
and agave for sweetener, but you could use sugar, honey or maple
syrup.  I topped it with cinnamon and chopped walnuts.

And the verdict is...not bad.  I don't like it as much as my oats, but
I'm going to try it a few more times and see if it grows on me.  I
feel like I need to be eating this super grain and there are lots of other
ways I can cook it, so I'm not going to write it off just yet.  Chef Brad's
cookbook is full of recipes using quinoa, from salads to soups and
even in bread.  I think I would enjoy it more in a savory dish.

Have you cooked quinoa?  How do you like it?  I'd love to hear
your ideas.

*MYOF Goal #23 - Try 50 new recipes.

"Spring Has Sprung" Daybook

Outside my window... 57 degrees and cloudy.  I can see daffodils 
on the hill.  Lots of daffodils.  Now, I'm really glad I planted those 
bulbs in November.
I am thinking...I'm so grateful for a Monday to recover from this
past weekend.
I am thankful...for my husband.  I love the way he takes the time
to observe the beauty of nature.  It's something I try to do.  He
does it without trying. I'm learning from watching him.  He is just
right for me.  Yes, I'm thankful for him and have been holding him
a little tighter lately. 

Around the house...I'm trying to organize and prioritize.  I'm feeling
overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done and know it's
getting ready to intensify in a big way with gardening season.
I am wearing...white cords, purple shirt.
I am loving...this amazing spring weather.  I've been walking every
day trying to soak in all the changes.  I'm watching the flowers open,
and the trees are budding.  It's exciting!  Oh, and the birds. They are
so rowdy!

I am hoping...for reconciliation for two people who are very dear to
me.
I am reading...my scriptures, A Place at the Table, Serving with Eyes
Wide Open, Small and Simple Things, Mockingjay
On my iPod...Mormon Identities on the Mormon channel.  This is one
of my best discoveries of the year.  Thank you Anne for telling me
about this App.  - So many wonderful and inspiring interviews by
some of my favorite LDS authors and teachers.  I listen to something
new almost daily.  Truly wonderful!
Music I'm listening to...Jack Johnson.  His music just makes me smile.
Can't help myself. 
Thinking on this... "We would love to live on a constant spiritual
high, but God does not part the sea every day.  It is a once-in-a-
lifetime event that we have to cling to as a reminder of God's love
and grace.  There will be ups and downs. The trouble is, if you can't 
remember the ups, the downs feel really low."      Chris Seay
I'm beginning to understand how important it is to find ways to 
help me remember all the good things that I've been blessed with
and the Lord's tender mercies to me.  It helps me to have a constant 
reminder of all that he has already done for me and gives me faith
that he will continue to meet all my needs.
On my to do list... not sure I even want to start with this.  Work on
primary blog, conference reports, plant spring seeds and plants,
new container gardens for the porches with lots of pansies...
From the kitchen...making fresh bread each week, made homemade
chocolate pudding with whipped cream.  Plan to make hummus and
granola this week (not to be eaten together :)
This weeks menus:
*Chicken with Mushroom Sauce, brown rice, sugar snap peas
*Bean and Rice, coleslaw and cornbread
*Penne with Artichokes and Feta, broccoli
*Cubed Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans
*Salmon with Cherry Sauce, baked potato, green peas
*Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
*Pork Tenderloin in Crockpot, spaghetti squash, baked sweet potato
I am creating...learning all kinds of new things while knitting that
scarf.  I went and spent some time with a neighbor who is a very
talented knitter and she motivated me to get moving again.  
I am going...to get my hair cut and colored tomorrow!  I get to
cover up the gray and spend hours catching up with Tara.
I am learning...about Uganda and the terrible struggles the people
face there.  I'm drawn to this African country and want to learn
all I can about it.  I have no idea why.
Living my faith...I am learning so many things during this period of
Lent.  I'm pondering how to share some of them on this blog.  I
will be visiting Murphy branch primary this weekend.  Looking 
forward to seeing Sister Brown and her presidency, and of course
the children.  Celebrating Relief Society birthday this week with
the sisters in my ward.
One of my favorite things...pots overflowing with pansies, especially
purple and white, and yellow...well, I guess I just love them all.
One of my least favorite things...cleaning out the litter pan.
Praying for...Sherri, Ellen, Mom, George and Carol, a job for a friend
who desperately needs it, a young man who is wavering in his faith and
my children.  Always my children.

The Best Lemon Cake Ever!

That's a pretty bold claim, I know.  But take my word for it, this cake ranks
right up there with the best lemon cake ever.  I've made it for birthdays,
reunions, church dinners and special meals at home.  People love it!  When
the cake is devoured, even the crumbs are swiped off the plate.  It's really that
good.  I made it Saturday for our Sunday meal and I couldn't hide it well
enough to keep my family out of it.  It was ok.  We had plenty for Sunday
even after all the taste testings on Saturday.

Because the batter includes cornmeal (yep, you heard me right), it turns out
a little denser than a normal cake.  It's kind of like a pound cake.  No frosting,
but an excellent sweet/tart glaze covers the whole thing and lends a nice
crunch when you bite into it.  I think the glaze is what really makes the cake.

So here's how you make it.
Start off mixing your dry ingredients which include cornmeal, all purpose
flour,

salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Whisk all those ingredients together.

Zest fresh lemons

and then juice them.

Set that aside while you beat the butter and sugar together

until it's nice and fluffy.

Add the juice and zest.  See how that tablespoon is overflowing with zest.

That's going to make it especially good.  Don't even think of using bottled

lemon juice or dried zest.  It will lead to a disappointing cake.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

Now we add the flour mixture

alternately with the buttermilk

beginning and ending with flour.  Scrape the bowl as needed to make 

sure everything is well blended.  Pour it into a well greased and floured

bundt pan.  That probably bears repeating.  Pour into a well greased and 

floured bundt pan.  It's truly disheartening to have half your cake stay in

the pan when you turn it out to cool.  

It doesn't look like I have floured this pan, but I used the baking spray with 

flour and it doesn't show as much.  I also finally invested in a good bundt

pan with a nonstick finish and that seems to have solved my sticking

problems.  Bake for about an hour.  Before taking cake out of the oven, 

in a small bowl, mix up sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze.

And the moment of truth...

I hold my breath just a little, until I hear the thump of the cake releasing 

from the pan.  And...

ta-dah!!  Now, isn't that just the prettiest thing?  I love a bundt cake,

when it works!

Brush the glaze all over the warm cake.  The sugar won't be completely

dissolved.  That's okay.  You want to see visible sugar crystals on the 

cake after it's dried.  It makes the cake look as though it has shiny glitter

on it and it gives it that great crunch.  You might think this is too much

glaze for the cake.  It's not.  Just keep brushing it on there until you use

every last drop of that lemony goodness.

So, there you have it.  The recipe for the best lemon cake ever.  Give it a try

and let me know what you think.  It's perfect for spring.

Lemon Cornmeal Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. each baking soda and salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 T. grated lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

Sugar Glaze:

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  You'll need a 10 cup decorative tube

pan or bundt pan coated with baking spray.  In medium bowl, whisk

together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda and salt.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice with mixer

on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one a time until

blended.  With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk

until batter is smooth.  Scrape into prepared pan.  Level top with spatula.

Bake 55 to 65 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out 

clean.  Cool cake in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sugar glaze.  Whisk glaze in a small bowl just until

combined.  Hold your breath while you invert cake from pan onto rack;

Breathe.  Then brush glaze all over the hot cake.  Cool completely and 

transfer to a serving plate.  Enjoy!