Today, I dedicate our entire supper meal to friends, past and present. Those whom we have supped with, and those who shared recipes with me. I feel so blessed to have shared many meals with you, many recipes swapped and many fond memories. You are part of the fabric of our family's menu, and I dedicate this meal to YOU!
Tonight, we will be eating Michelle C.'s honey-lime-garlic chicken breasts, wrapped in my homemade tortillas. This is one of our favorite chicken meals, and every time we eat it, Michelle gets lots of warm thought and prayers sent across state lines.
Eddie P.'s FABULOUS refried beans will be a side dish. He made these for us virtually every week for over 3 years running. You have no idea how much I miss his laugh!!! Being that he is from Arizona, I feel like his beans are pretty authentic! Yum, yum, Eddie! You will be in our farts, I mean hearts, today and for hours to follow.....
My friend Lisa P. once shared her gramma's Spanish Rice recipe, and it is SO GOOD!!! It is very easy to make and comes out perfect every time. My kids always gobble it up, and if they get sick of it by day three, the chickens love it, also! Ole' to you, Lisa!
And for dessert, Mindy's Chocolate Zucchini cupcakes are HONKIN' good!!! My kids absolutely have to have these any time we have zucchini on hand. They are even made with freshly milled flour and come out just as delicate as any cake would. Mindy, I miss you and think of you often! I see a bean salad on my horizon, and I will think of you again!
Thankfully, I also have many other recipes that I associate with my dear friends. I'm sorry I didn't mention you by name, but surely you must know that I think of you often, even if I am not cooking one of your recipes. I am just in a reflective mood, and wanted my peeps to know I was thinking of them.
It's an abundant life, in more ways than one!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Dog Training 101
It has been 3 weeks now since we adopted Levi. When we first brought him home, he thought he was the alpha dog, and at 96 pounds, it was hard to convince him otherwise. I am no dog expert, but I at least know the basics, and if you want a well trained dog, the first thing that has to happen is establish yourself as the alpha dog. At first, he will be very resistant, and your arms will get very tired of pulling him and pushing him. ALWAYS go first through the doors, always walk first up the stairs, etc. Basic stuff. Fast forward three weeks, and something finally clicked in Levi's little doggie mind - he is no longer the alpha. He now waits at the door for me to walk through first and is now walking well on the leash, with no pulling. Praise God for that one, because it was killing my arms to keep him at my side.
Another problem an alpha dog may exhibit is their desire to run off. Up until yesterday, Levi would try to run down the road and never look back. You could scream his name and whistle and all the typical calls you make to get your dog's attention. He acted as if he was deaf. Yesterday, every time he would try to walk out of the yard, I would call and he actually stopped dead in his tracks and came back. I am elated with this progress!!! Every time he would return to me, I would praise him lots. I think he felt a little deflated, because he really wanted to explore, but in time, he will be much happier and more secure.
We still have a way to go, but I am just thrilled with the progress we have made in 3 weeks. Who ever owned him never took the time to teach him any commands or even simple words. I have my work cut out for me, but at least he is starting to show that he is making the connections. I have no doubt he will know many words over the next few months.
Another problem an alpha dog may exhibit is their desire to run off. Up until yesterday, Levi would try to run down the road and never look back. You could scream his name and whistle and all the typical calls you make to get your dog's attention. He acted as if he was deaf. Yesterday, every time he would try to walk out of the yard, I would call and he actually stopped dead in his tracks and came back. I am elated with this progress!!! Every time he would return to me, I would praise him lots. I think he felt a little deflated, because he really wanted to explore, but in time, he will be much happier and more secure.
We still have a way to go, but I am just thrilled with the progress we have made in 3 weeks. Who ever owned him never took the time to teach him any commands or even simple words. I have my work cut out for me, but at least he is starting to show that he is making the connections. I have no doubt he will know many words over the next few months.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Correction....
Well, we took Liberty (Libby) to the vet, and come to find out he is a male. He is just so fat (96 pounds) that his parts were hidden.... So, now he is called Levi, after our favorite dog on our favorite tv show, "Sue Thomas: FB-Eye". It is a really good show, based on a true story. Sue THomas is deaf and reads lips for the FBI. She has a hearing dog, Levi. It airs reruns on the Gospel Music Channel, and possible another channel. It is a very clean show with great characters, you really need to give it a try.
Levi seems to be fine with his new name. We are so relieved he is heartworm negative. That seems to be a real issue for animals around here. I hope you can come by and meet him!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Liberty!
We just got a new dog from the shelter and her name is Liberty! We plan to call her Libby for short. She is HUGE! I am hoping both Libby and I will lose some pounds this spring going on many long walks. She is so smart and already knows her name! We are excited about our new family member!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Food for Thought
WARNING: Put on your steel toed boots, as I may be stepping on some toes. It's not intentional by any means, I just want to enlighten you a bit. Not being judgmental at all, really. And I know how sensitive some of you are, and may take this personally, but please don't.
First of all, I notice a lot of my friends become fans of many things on the internet. I, myself, am also a fan of a few things, but I am very selective about where I cast my endorsement. I don't have a problem with people becoming fans of everything under the sun, whatever makes you happy, go for it. But can't you at least be discretionary about people who have so-called "food" blogs? Like what is so fan worthy of a blogger who uses canned biscuits, canned soups and box mixes in almost all of their recipes? Whoopy-ding-dong, anyone can open a can of biscuits.
Have we really sank so low as cooks that anyone who can toss some canned biscuits with some cinnamon and sugar is now a gourmet? I know, I know, who has time to make biscuits from scratch? And those canned soups (although laden with sodium & MSG) are just so easy and consistent...... Well, I also wrestle with time constraints (run a small business, work part-time, homeschool 4 boys, etc.) and I manage to make everything from scratch, freshly milled flour and all that. I have four sons who are perfectly capable of helping me in the kitchen, but they would rather have dental work done than do that. Thus, I am virtually alone every day, making HEALTHY and wholesome meals with REAL food. It merely involves planning and fortitude.
I suppose, if I had some extra time, I could create a food blog. But really, I give out enough recipes and tricks-of-the-trade secrets to my friends all the time. I choose to make the food for my family and friends, instead of blog about it for admiration from strangers. And one more thing, when doing a recipe blog, do we really need pictures of every single ingredient? It just totally makes it look like you are talking down to your viewers, as if they can't read an ingredient list and know what it looks like... egads. Ok, I feel better now and I hope none of you are offended, but are enlightened, if only a little bit.
First of all, I notice a lot of my friends become fans of many things on the internet. I, myself, am also a fan of a few things, but I am very selective about where I cast my endorsement. I don't have a problem with people becoming fans of everything under the sun, whatever makes you happy, go for it. But can't you at least be discretionary about people who have so-called "food" blogs? Like what is so fan worthy of a blogger who uses canned biscuits, canned soups and box mixes in almost all of their recipes? Whoopy-ding-dong, anyone can open a can of biscuits.
Have we really sank so low as cooks that anyone who can toss some canned biscuits with some cinnamon and sugar is now a gourmet? I know, I know, who has time to make biscuits from scratch? And those canned soups (although laden with sodium & MSG) are just so easy and consistent...... Well, I also wrestle with time constraints (run a small business, work part-time, homeschool 4 boys, etc.) and I manage to make everything from scratch, freshly milled flour and all that. I have four sons who are perfectly capable of helping me in the kitchen, but they would rather have dental work done than do that. Thus, I am virtually alone every day, making HEALTHY and wholesome meals with REAL food. It merely involves planning and fortitude.
I suppose, if I had some extra time, I could create a food blog. But really, I give out enough recipes and tricks-of-the-trade secrets to my friends all the time. I choose to make the food for my family and friends, instead of blog about it for admiration from strangers. And one more thing, when doing a recipe blog, do we really need pictures of every single ingredient? It just totally makes it look like you are talking down to your viewers, as if they can't read an ingredient list and know what it looks like... egads. Ok, I feel better now and I hope none of you are offended, but are enlightened, if only a little bit.
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