Gallbladders & the Gift of My Girls

Having a 23 year old daughter living in the same town with a great job- this one at Greenbaums Quilted Forest (the coolest quilt/fabric shop EVER)- is such a blessing to me. We usually get to see her at least once a week when we celebrate Sunday Mass together then hang out for family dinner and facetime with brother Josh in college. Sometimes, however, those young adult children need a little bit of "momming" (even in this case with that being done by sister & grammie as well). this all had to do with Cari's surgery to remove her gallbladder last Friday. As David and I were needing to be in Bellvue, WA for a fencing tournament, youngest daughter Mary~ who now has her own blog at under the apple tree~ was happy, or at least okay with, being Cari's "momming" helper at the hospital  and at my parents house where my mom- Grammie to the girls- helped take on the "momming" too. Both my mom and Mary were such gifts to me as they did a bang-up job of taking care of Cari, who had a bit more complicated surgery than expected as the doctor had to go in to do some stuff that was originally supposed to be laparoscopic.

Lentil soup

Gluten Free Crackers

Cari and Mary then came to our house on Monday via the Grammie van as our suburban was too high for Cari to climb into easily. It's been such a gift for me to be able to take care of her this week. When  I've had to go to work, Mary's been here to do the "momming" for me with much tenderness as a future nurse will need. David, of course, has been here for mostly comic relief although we've been trying hard to to keep Cari from laughing as it hurts her stitches area. Brian's been glad to do bits of running around picking up necessities. It's been fun to make gluten free/low fat recipes for Cari to try too. Mary made some oven fries to go with leftover chicken. I did a garlicky lentil soup for dinner last night from the fisheaters blog along with some homemade rice crackers. I also made her gluten free waffles and breakfast quinoa. Tonight is roasted chicken and rice with veggies.

Two chickens ready to be roasted!

It's been anything but boring at our house this week, that's for sure! Having Cari here along with Mary being so great at helping to "mom" her has shown me what a gift I have I these girls and that  gallbladder surgery isn't always as bad as it seems!

First Tuesday Morning Recipe Tries

Since I have Tuesdays off from the salle, I've decided to use them to do some domestic things. I figured I can usually have ingredients to try new recipes (mostly found on Pinterest, but some from magazines and cookbooks as well), and I've also been wanting to try making more things that we would normally buy prepackaged- along with some healthier ideas too.

Here are photos from today's recipe tries along with the websites they originally came from and the links, so you can try some then...mangia, mangia!

Salsa from Two Peas & Their Pod
Brian had some of this with chips, and gave it his stamp of approval!

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing from Simple Food Healthy Life
I had this on a turkey/cheese/tomato/carrot wrap for lunch- wow!

Strawberry Jam Bars from An Edible Mosaic
I know at least two family members who are planning on these for breakfast tomorrow...

AMAZING vanilla coffee creamer from  Bacon in My Pocket

Healthy Bars from Roxana's Home Baking
I wrapped these up individually for David to take to school or the fencing salle

Three Recipes and a Doughnut

Okay...this was originally started a few weeks ago, but I got too busy to finish it (sorry)! So here it is for you anyway...
Yesterday was my day off, so after attending 7:00a.m. Mass with the kids, it was time to experiment with some new recipes. These were all on my iPad (Christmas gift from hubby) from the very popular (and sometime time consuming) Pinterest. After going on Mary's Pinterest account for a few weeks, I decided it would be better to just get my own account. Mary had admonished me to be sure to actually use the stuff I pin instead of just pinning on my board. (For those of you who haven't gotten sucked into the Pinterest vortex- it's a fun way to find ideas and then keep them on "boards" you share with others). This long explanation is the reason behind my trying these new recipes!

The first thing to share is Cheesy Kale Pesto Bites ~ I actually made these Sunday for a baby shower, but it's too good not to share!

Kale Pesto

4 cups packed kale leaves (I used a package from Trader Joe's- it's cut, washed & ready to use!)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves 
juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup olive or grapeseed oil

Mix all ingredients in food processor until fairly smooth paste. Serve with pasta or in Cheesy Kale Pesto Bites.

Cheesy Kale Pesto Bites
1 batch kale pesto
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Shape into walnut-sized pieces. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly on rack before serving.

Homemade Harissa- it's so yummy!

Recipe #2- Harissa

(adapted from Saveur)

8 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded- about 2 oz.

8 dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed and seeded- about 1 1/2 oz.

1/2 tsp. caraway seeds

1/4 cumin seeds

1 tsp. dried peppermint leaves

3 tbsp. grapeseed oil, plus more if needed

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

5 cloves garlic

2 tsp. lemon juice

Place chiles in medium bowl, cover with boiling water and let sit until softened. Grind caraway, cumin and peppermint leaves in coffee or spice grinder (I use my Proctor Silex coffee grinder- bought just for spices) Drain chiles and place in food processor along with everything else. Turn on processor until everything is combined into a paste. Pour into jar and cover with 1/2" or so oil to help keep it longer.

Homemade American Cheese (aka Velveeta)!!!!!!

Recipe #3- American Cheese 

I copied this one straight off the blog From Away which is definitely one of my favorite food blogs. I am pretty sure the great photos have something to do with it although the fact that the food always sounds delicious AND they are in New England which helps me feel a bit closer to Josh might help a little. I knew the minute I saw this recipe I needed to make it. It was as good as I thought it would be! Now, you know you want to try it too, so gather up the stuff and get cooking!!!

Wiedersehen Papa Benedict

On the eve of Pope Benedict's last day as pope, the whole thing has hit me much harder than I thought it would. It had been 34 years since I had really cared a whole lot who even held the office of Pope before coming back home to the Catholic Church. For the past 3 years now, I have heard his name from so many sources everyday- when we pray for him at Mass, on EWTN radio, in the National Catholic Register, the mainstream media, and of course, in our home where our photo of the Pope hangs in the dining room. Many of his books- both as Joseph Ratzinger and as Pope Benedict- line our shelves. We've had numerous conversations about his amazing grasp of theology and life. In other words, he has become part of our family.

Fr. Wall

I've been attending our Lenten Mission at Saint Joseph's this week with Fr. Antoninus Wall, O.P. (that means he is a Dominican). His talks have had to with God's love and human suffering. So much of what he has said resonates with what is going on in my life- both personally and in the world at large. Of course, being a mom whose son is discerning becoming a Dominican, I have really enjoyed all of Fr. Wall's references to the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, and how we need to be praying for vocations. I am also looking forward to getting a copy of his book, The Journey to God.
The main reason for writing about the mission is because I've been hearing things that have made what's going on make sense. As Fr. Wall has said, we've been called to holiness. Sunday he told a story about asking a group of schoolchildren who wanted to be a saint. Hardly any of the children raised their hands. He then asked who wanted to be holy. All of the kids raised their hands. While telling this story at our 10 a.m. Mass, two people actually raised their hands as if he was asking them. One was a little boy of about 9 years old. The other was Stanley, an older adult who has some special needs. How that humbled not only me, but others as we all looked with joy at both this young boy and older man who both are obviously working on being those saints about whom Fr. Wall was talking.
I felt so blessed as I got to talk with Joshua Monday which normally doesn't happen during the week because he's so busy with his studies. We talked about what I learned Monday at the mission. The thing  Fr. Wall said that hit me was, "It is by prostrating our inner dreams in the embrace of outer reality as God invites us to live it, that we attain union with God." Easier said than done, but something I want to continue to try to do. Last night he talked about Mary at the foot of the cross, and how she was totally sure of God's love during this time of ultimate suffering. This morning's talk was on how the example of Jesus in Gethsemene can bring us closer to adoring God when we accept the cup of reality that He has given us.
The reality is that things are going to happen- both good and bad. We will have to deal with illness, family issues, unemployment, misunderstandings, bad memories, hard relationships, and so much more. Even in all of this, we can choose to believe God is in control or not. When news of the Pope's resignation first came up, so many people started freaking out about what would happen. Others shared how they believed the Holy Spirit would be taking care of things. I tended to be in the second group along with the many people all over the world who were confident in our Holy Father's decision while being sad about his departure. This week's mission has helped me understand all of this better. I know Pope Benedict (being glad I can call him that for another day) will be praying for us as he spends the rest of his days at Mater Ecclesiae. Whether we say "Gratias", "Gracias","Danke","Merci" or "Thank you" for all he has done, we will always remember him and be grateful for his years as pope!