A Season for Everything...

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes (Ecc. 3:1-9), King Solomon writes how there is season for everything~ during this time of my life, I would heartily agree with him. Our family has gone through so many changes just over this last year that we have experienced the times to weep & laugh, mourn & dance, and especially cast away stones & gather stones together. For me, the casting away and gathering means no more than where we are with the kids. Having Cari in her own apartment, Joshua away at college & David attending college full-time (even though he's living at home) plus Mary going to be starting her senior year all shows me that it's time for me to be grateful whenever we are together since we seem to be more and more apart.

This was made clear to me this last week as a we had Joshua home for a week from his summer job at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts where he will be starting his sophomore year at the end of next month. The time we had together seemed to fly by, but we had many moments of laughter and joy whether we were attending Mass at Mt. Angel Abbey or thrift store shopping at St. Vincent De Paul's. Mary commented one day during the week that she enjoyed having Josh home because it meant we had good meals~ I will admit I did try to make some special dinners while he was here! Our last meal together were potato taquitos that I made as it was something gluten-free for Cari as well as meatless, it being Friday. They were quite delicious & something the kids have said they would like to have again!

Having said goodbye to the girls, the rest of us headed up to the airport to get Josh on his JetBlue flight back to Boston (via NY this time). I don't think goodbyes get necessarily easier, but this time there weren't tears from anyone~ at least that I could see. I think we had our time to be together and now it was time to be able to send away... at least until the Christmas break!

Summer Season Potato Taquitos

• 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes (we had leftovers from the potatoes Mary made to go with the delicious meatloaf dinner a couple days before)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 24 corn tortillas
• vegetable oil
• salsa, sour cream & guacamole- for serving

1. Mix together first 5 ingredients.
2. Lay a corn tortilla on the counter or on a plate.
3. Spread some of the potato filling in the middle of the tortilla. Be careful, or it will spill out when you roll it up.
4. Roll the the tortilla over the filling towards the top.
5. Repeat until the filling is gone.
6. Heat up about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet.
7. Fry however many taquitos will fit on the bottom of the pan without overlapping. (I was able to do 5 at time).
8. When the bottoms are golden brown, flip them over and cook the second side the same way.
9. Drain on paper towels & serve with salsa, sour cream & guacamole.

P.S. I was also thinking there is a seasoning for everything...I may explore that in my next entry!

The "Rite" Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

A buffet lunch plate including a one of the delicious brownies~ he only took one because he didn't know how good they are!!

1 pound butter (2 sticks)

1 pound + 1 package (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips, divided

6 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate

7 large eggs

2 tbsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup oat flour

1 cup rice flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. Kosher salt

3 cups chopped nuts (I used pecans)

12 Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped roughly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray.

Melt together butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate in microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring after each one. After melted, set aside to cool.

Stir together eggs, vanilla and sugar. Stir in warm chocolate mixture.

Stir together flours, baking powder and salt; Add to chocolate mixture and mix well. Add nuts and remaining chocolate chips to batter; fold in gently.

Bake for 20 minutes; take out and rap pan against oven shelf to allow air to escape from between pan and dough; rotate pan for even baking. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes more. Take pan out of oven and sprinkle with peanut butter cups. Return to oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Do not over bake. Cool thoroughly and cut into squares. These are very thick and very rich~ cut into small squares & people will think they don't need as much!!

The "Rite" Stuff

The Saint Joseph's Crowd with Archbishop Vlazny at the Cathedral

In my last blog entry, I mentioned how my relationship with Christ is getting deeper and deeper in so many aspects and how the family is also going through the same sort of thing. This past Sunday was no exception! Brian, Carissima, David and Mary were "sent off" along with the other catechumens and candidates from Saint Joseph's to visit Saint Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the rite of election.

We started the morning with Mass as everyone's sponsor/godparent attended to answer Father Todd's questions pertaining to everyone being ready to continue on in their journey in becoming Catholic. Following Mass, in what we are finding is a joyful Catholic tradition, we had a feast to celebrate the "sending off"! A buffet of lunchmeat, cheeses, bread, salads, chips, fruit and desserts were enjoyed by all. I decided to add to the celebration by bringing a new recipe of a gluten-free brownie~ especially for Cari, but also foreveryone who wanted to try them (recipe on blog above)! Now, you need to remember that it is Lent, so why in the world would there be a celebration meal during this time? I have found out that the Catholic church (as well as some other denominations) do not count Sundays as part of the Lenten season, but rather as a day of "resurrection celebration", therefore, the brownies and other goodies were totally appropriate for the celebration luncheon!

After a time of resting at home as well as a time to skype with Joshua for a bit, we all got ready to head up to Portland for the evening. With a very capable Rolando behind the wheel of the church van, we made it up to Saint Mary's without a hitch. What a wonderful time it was with Archbishop John Vlazny celebrating the Rite and the Cathedral being packed to the gills with catechumens, candidates, sponsors, godparents and family members!

The Archbishop was quite a good sport to stand for quite a while

with a big smile on his face as so many people wanted photos with him~ including all of us!

Mary with Archbishop Vlazny

David's turn with the Archbishop

The kids were really excited, and both Cari

& David have theirs as the photo on their Facebook status. The journey just keeps getting deeper and deeper for all of us as Brian and all of the kids prepare to join the church on Easter. As we find time this Lent to pray, fast, give alms, reflect, ponder, read, go to Mass, talk, spend time in the Adoration Chapel, go to the Abbey, listen to inspirational music...the list is almost endless~ I pray one of these things will draw you closer and deeper in the next 33 days.

Cari with

Archbishop

Vlazny

(who is STILL

smiling~ he is

such a nice man)

RIgatoni with Chickpeas and Roasted Tomato Sauce

16 oz. Rigatoni pasta

10 oz. hummus (I used Sabra brand)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1- 28 oz. can diced roasted tomatoes

5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 teaspoon za'atar (Middle Eastern Spice Mix- I buy mine at Penzey's spices)

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 8-9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup liquid; keep pasta warm in reserved liquid.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; sprinkle with paprika, za'atar, salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in hummus & olives. Turn heat to low and cook until heated through, about 4-5 minutes.

Serve sauce over pasta.

This is really good over other kinds of pasta~ Cari had it over gluten-free spaghetti & she enjoyed it a lot!