Summer!!!

First, I must apologize for my prolonged silence on this given blog for the past few months. There is really no excuse beyond these: I was at home so mama was cooking, I've been blogging here, and I'm currently living in the most relaxing place ever which has created a bit of laziness....

Anyways, I'm back for the time being :)

Summer is in full swing up here- lots of sunshine, bike riding, kayaking, iced tea and my favorite- BBQing! Last night Mom and I thought it would be fun to BBQ quesadillas. It was a fun experiment and soo good!

First we chopped up lots of veggies, basil, chicken, and cheese...

Then we put together our own quesadillas- mine was cheese, basil, tomatoes and spinach- so good!

Then we threw them on the grill

Time to dig in! Mom made a huge salad with spinach, almonds, strawberries, feta and cucumbers which was amazing :)

And there ya have it- BBQed Quesadillas!! Such a good summery meal :)

Happy Friday to you all! The rents and I are headed down to GLenwood to see tarah and Kyle then back up to the lake with the WHOLE family including gram and courtney! So excited for the next few weeks.

Week 13- Panko bread crumbs

Well I've been slacking quite a bit on this whole project because one, I'm home and have an amazing personal chef called mom and two, I'm feeling the affects of treatment and have been pretty laid up.

This is a little bit of a cheat because my mom pretty much made this whole meal, but she used panko bread crumbs which are new to me. They look like shredded coconut, but make everything more crispy than normal bread crumbs. This salad is slices of watermelon, arugula, pine nuts, and balsamic. Then she coated goat cheese in bread crumbs, fried it a little bit and waaa-laaah. It was pretty bomb, if I do say so myself.

No good thing does He withhold

Well after a solid 12 hours of traveling and ten days of wandering through Colorado, I’m home. As the airplane neared Burbank, the fasten seat belt sign came on and the cloudy (or smoggy) horizon appeared I started experiencing an array of emotions.

Coming home has been decided for a while, but up until the wheels hit the ground it seemed far off, a distant lofty idea. I’m caught between mild sadness and extreme peace. Sadness for the fact that “spring break” is over, making this feel a little more permanent. For the fact that I’m not in Seattle living with my best friends. For the reality that I’m not all the way better. And yet, while I sat on the plane with tears in my eyes I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I don’t know how or why, but the Lord has provided peace in this situation and I am so grateful for it.

I’ve been reading the Psalms a lot lately- they seem to know exactly what my heart needs to hear. Here are some of the favs of the week:

“I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears; O taste and see that the Lord is good: how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” 34:4, 8

“Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him and He will do it; Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” 37:4,5,7

“The Lord gives grace and glory. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” 84:11

“Return to your rest O my soul. For the Lord has dealt bountiful with you” 116:7

“Revive me Lord, according to your lovingkindness” 119:159

So friends, here we go- a new season of life, a new treatment, and a renewed belief in the God who delivers from fear, provides refuge and rest, gives grace and does not withhold any good thing from those who love Him.

Week 12- white beans, spring break, yarn and rest

This week has been a little crazy, but wonderful. Last Thursday I flew into Denver, spent a few march madness-st.patrick's filled days there then headed up to Glenwood Springs with Tarah and Kyle for a few days. From there my parents picked me up and we came up to the lake for the week.

We made some white chili which has ground turkey, white beans (my first encounter with them), garbanzo beans, cilantro, cumin, and lots of other goodness

There's been a little of this....(yes, we bought them)

More of this....

And A LOT of this....

While it's weird and sad to miss out on things at home, it's been a good time of relaxing, reading, cooking and catching up. Looking forward to spending the weekend here and then heading home for some more rest, new treatment and sunshine :)

love love love from the cucina

Week 11- Finals and Chayote Squash

This week's ingredient was the definition of "trying something new." Meg and I were walking through Fred Meyer the other day, say this little guys, had no idea what it was, grabbed it and kept walking....
I had to do a bit of googling, but turns out there is not a whole lot to tell about this squash. While the outside is an awesome lime green and begs to be eaten, the inside is slightly slimy and had absolutely zero taste. It falls into that catergory of "tastes like nothing" along with cucumbers, jicama, and water chestnuts.

So that's the chayote squash- not a lot to tell...

In other news, finals are over and things are about to change. I keep repeating "it's all gonna be ok" over and over and am trying to believe it. There are a lot of bittersweet feelings floating around. And while this huge suitcase is filling up, the reality still seems far off that I am not in school for 6 months, am moving home and have absolutely no idea what's going to happen.

Im scared, nervous, sad, and unsure. BUT the Lord is faithful. He's got a good, perfect plan for my life and I'm just gonna go ahead an trust that for now. So here we go, ready or not...

Gluten Free Pcakes

This morning we made some awesome gluten free pancakes that we just wonderful!

I love scooping some batter into a measuring cup, adding toppings into it, then adding more batter. When you pour it into the pan, all the goodies get mixed in and you get custom pancakes :) It's especially wonderful when one roommate wants chocolate chip blueberry, one wants blueberry walnut, one wants blueberry cherry walnut and I just want blueberry! Here's roughly what I did, it was kinda a combo of a few recipes- typical

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl:
1 cup rice four; ½ cup tapioca flour; ¼ cup corn starch; 1 tablespoons sweetener (honey, agave, or sugar); 1 tablespoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon xanthan gum

Add 2 large eggs and stir until egg is mostly absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 cup plain yogurt, stir again. Add a little less than 1 cup water, and only add the rest if needed. It should still have some lumps. Consistency should be a little thick, but liquid enough to pour.

Spray the pan and Scoop batter onto pan. When the top side starts to have bubbles or holes around the edges, flip pancakes

We added a combo of chocolate chips, dried cherries, blueberries, and walnuts then topped them off with butter, jam, PB, syrup or more nuts! It got a little outta control....

Well, I'm one final, one paper, one presentation and FOUR days away from spring break (and technically summer break). It's kinda starting to feel real that I won't be coming back for a little while, but I am feeling ok about it. It's been cool to see how the Lord answered my prayers very clearly, and even though it's not my ideal situation I'm excited to follow faithfully.

The next few weeks are looking like a wonderful time of family, rest, reading, snow, sun and change. Headed to Denver for St. Patrick's Day and March Madness, Glenwood Springs with the Wolfs, up to the lake with the Rents, then home to see the Broggies, family, friends and start treatment!

love love love from the cucina

Week Ten- Parsnip!

Week ten on the blog equals week ten in the quarter...Almost there! My beautiful roommate Bri has been frequenting the farmers market lately and coming home with all kinds of goodness... This week she walked in, threw down her backpack and pulled out a huge bag of unidentifiable vegetables. I was instantly excited.

She roasted a bunch of beets, purple potatoes and other wintery vegetables, then I stole a parsnip to make some soup :) I don't think I'd ever seen a parsnip, let alone eaten one, but they are pretty good! Kinda like a carrot with a hint of minty goodness.

All in all- pleasantly surprised by the parsnip. I'm three classes, two finals, one case study and a presentation away from spring break, also known as summer. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the changes that are in my midst. Still feeling peaceful about it all, but dreading the next week of explaining, processing, packing and leaving. I guess I'm just trying to submit to the idea that this is where the Lord has me and the only place I ever want to be is with Him.

love love love from the cucina.