Triple Nut Salad - from Mama's kitchen

This was the way I spent last Friday night, in front of my computer working, which is more the standard for me, rather than the unusual. The highlight of that night was the wonderful salad I prepared for dinner after Caleb was in bed, which supplied much needed energy for my work night.

It is your lucky day, for I will now share this salad with you. I have named this salad the Triple Nut Salad, and I can do that, since this salad is my very own creation (down to the dressing). I would say this is my absolute favorite salad of all time. (No, I am not being dramatic, not at all.)

First, you want to start with the best salad greens God made on earth - the arugula. A few years ago, when I came upon these salad greens, my jaw dropped and I said "Where have you been all my life?" Some people may think that arugula is bitter, but I would challenge that, especially if you follow this recipe to make a salad out of it.

So, you take arugula, add sweet cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, a couple of slices of onions, and whatever other veggie thrills your heart (or is on hand) in a salad. Next, you hard-boil a couple of eggs (I like the yolk to be just a tiny bit soft, not too dry), you cut that up, add to your salad. I like to sprinkle a bit of salt on the eggs. (And if you can, please use organic free-range eggs, they are much higher in nutrients like Omega 3 than the emaciated eggs from cooped up, lifeless chickens.)

Next comes one of the most important ingredients of a good salad: the NUTS. One should never eat a salad without nuts. One should always have several kinds of nuts around the house. They are highly nutritious and just a small amount goes a long way.

In this salad, I have chosen the following three nuts: pine nuts, walnuts, and slivered almonds. I usually sprinkle these generously, since this is the only protein along with the eggs that I will have for this dinner. This way the salad doesn't feel like an appetizer, but becomes a satisfying, complete meal all in itself.

And now, the frosting on the salad - the dressing. Take a mortar and pestle if you have one (otherwise just use a bowl) and smoosh one fresh garlic clove into a pulp. Chunks are not bothersome if you like garlic (and I hope you do, because it's very good for you). The point is to crush the fresh garlic so that it releases its active ingredient, allicin (an antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal miracle healing compound), as well as its flavor. Add a couple of pinches of sugar. This is an important step, this will tone down the balsamic vinegar and add a slight sweetness to the dressing, making it finger-licking good. Add some good quality extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar (I use Mazzetti Balsamic Vinegar of Modena). You can play around with the amounts to suit your taste, but generally you'll want more oil and just a little vinegar. I like a ratio of about 4:1 oil to vinegar. Mix all of this together with the pestle. Voila! Your salad dressing is ready. Pour over salad, making sure the crushed garlic and sugar at the bottom are also transferred to your plate. Enjoy your delicious, healthy meal that tastes as good (or better) than it looks.

You're very welcome.

April in Virginia

... or is it June already?

On Saturday, we got together with our friends to check out a private lake in town and let the kids "dip their feet in." I dressed Caleb in what I thought was appropriate attire, shorts and waterproof sandals, so he can get his little feet wet, if he felt so inclined. Little did I know that it was going to be 90 degree weather that day and the "foot dipping" would turn into our first beach outing of the year. Yes, it's still April.

My friend's kids had their bathing suits on, but I was not so prepared (since I didn't know we were going to a beach, and oh yeah, it is still April). We improvised though, and one by one Caleb's clothes came off and he had a splendid time frolicking in the lake in his boxer briefs. (It was so hot that I eventually had to put his shirt back on, lest he get sunburned.)

I had been saying we need to start the swimming season early this year, what with the baby coming smack in the middle of it in July, but never did I imagine it would start this early!

Eggs to draw on!

Eggs to draw on!

Photo of the Week

2009 Week 15

I surprised Caleb with a new spring activity last week.

We dyed a dozen hard-boiled eggs, then the next day we pulled out the crayons

and decorated them with our drawings.

I remember dying eggs in my childhood with the only difference being

that back then we used to actually eat the eggs afterwards.

However, I figured $3 was not too much to waste -

for not refrigerating and allowing the color to stay on the eggs,

instead of watching it pool in a condensed mess in the fridge.

How long were we able to enjoy these unrefrigerated, beautifully colored eggs?

Let's just say we kept them as long as we possibly could.

28 weeks

Yesterday was my 28th week appointment, during which they do a finger prick to test the blood for iron and glucose levels, both of which came back fine. Wohoo, I'm neither anemic nor diabetic! I knew that, of course, but now my practitioner can rest easy in that knowledge, as well.

Life has continued to be very busy lately, but I managed to get a couple of pictures of me in my pregnant state (this time, with my head intact). I cannot believe that I'm already in the third trimester! That means, appointments every 2 weeks, rather than every 4. That's a lot of appointments. With work being so crazy and Caleb at home...it has become much more difficult to take time out for these than the first time around. I'm glad that my babysitter is currently not out of the country! There's not much else to report on the pregnancy front, except that I am getting more and more excited as the end of this pregnancy nears and it becomes more and more real that we will have another newborn in the house soon. I feel very blessed that God has allowed me to become a mother of two and as a family, we are all looking forward to our little arrival. See?

Sunday Praise

Our little student of praise on Easter Sunday

Instrumental praise

Jesus is Alive song

One thing you don't get to see is when he blew his whistle so hard

that everyone in the building turned their head to see what that loud noise was.

Also, I didn't manage to capture his beautiful,

right on key singing towards the end of the service. Maybe next time.

A Step Back in Time

A couple of weeks ago, we spent the weekend at the North Carolina Renaissance Faire. I think it's time I posted some pictures of our trip.

We always enjoy historical events, and this time we got to step back 400 years in time to the days of Queen Elizabeth I. We were entertained by Celtic musicians, jugglers, dog shows, fairy camps, duals on horses, knights engaged in sword fighting, children's dragon tales, and bagpipe concerts, among other things. Of course, Caleb engaged in much singing, dancing, dragon flying, pony riding, and sand trap running (the event was held on an old golf course). He emerged from the weekend with a new sword and a flying dragon, and the newfound ability to challenge us anytime by calling for a "sword fight!"

Here are a few of the photos I took at the Faire. And even though I am personally not in any of them, I promise you, I really was there.

Likes to Pose

Likes to Pose

Photo of the Week

2009 Week 14

Regular readers of ours will know that our son is a complete ham. Especially of late.

Our 27-month old has now discovered the joys of the camera and many times a day will request to be photographed doing this or that. He LOVES to pose.

Do you think I ruined him by taking many thousands of pictures of him since his birth?

Because now my son likes to pose in the bathtub...

He likes to pose, even with a bug...

(do you see the bug?)

He will pose during dinner with a green bean...

And he will pose with Elmo...

(which, since tossing it in the toilet, he has not seen)

Speaking of which, he won't miss a chance to pose on the potty...

and bringing the camera in there wasn't my idea, believe me!

Luckily, he also has the sense to know that this pose here on the green grass

is the perfect photo opportunity!

"I am the Resurrection and the Life.

He who believes in me will live,

even though he dies;

and whoever lives and believes in me

will never die."

John 11:21

A Life Well Lived

My grandmother passed away last week, at the age of 89.

It is a difficult task to try to express in words what she meant to me. She was the only grandmother I ever knew - my paternal grandmother passed away before I was born, before my parents were even married, though I knew her through stories, as my two grandmothers were best friends and that is, in fact, how my parents met as children, but that’s another story altogether...

I have so many fond memories of summer vacations at Grandma’s house as a child, as a teenager. She worked tirelessly to please us children, baking all kinds of goodies, making sure we enjoyed leisurely, long summer days of play. As I grew, she also grew in my eyes and became much more to me than a grandmother. She became a woman I admired and looked up to, and held up as a high standard for my own life, an example I wanted to emulate. She placed before me a model difficult to follow, this woman with the humble-grateful heart, kind countenance, soft-spoken voice, contagious laughter, and ever-wise words. I now know that I was truly privileged to call her my Grandmother.

This woman was always quick to praise her husband, and always full of gratitude to her God. Not once did I hear her complain. She had lived through so many hardships in her life, and persevered through each and every one of them. It must not have been easy with your husband working as a barber by day and in the mines by night, coming down with pneumonia as a result and being sent away for a year-long sanatorium treatment, while you stayed home with 4-5 kids to care for on your own. It must not have been easy to watch German soldiers stand your husband by the wall of your house, threatening to shoot him if he didn’t tell them some information he did not know... It must not have been easy treading through deep snow in the dead of winter with a baby in your arms, having to help bury a soldier killed by the enemy camp in your kitchen (!) – so when the fellow soldiers return, the death isn’t blamed on you. This woman, whose spirit was not changed for the worse by the hardships she lived through, but for the better, becoming an example of humility, peace, perseverance and love, was greatly admired by her family, including me. Knowing that I come from this lineage of greatness awoke a desire in me to aspire to greatness, a greatness of heart; seeing Christ in my grandmother stirred a love for Christ in me – even before I myself made a commitment to Christ.

She was my grandmother, this woman we playfully called “The Humorous” (while we called Grandpa “The Mischievous”), for she had a quick wit and could turn a phrase like no other. The caliber of her person was nothing less than awe-inspiring. Even in her old age, as her body succumbed to weakness, her spirit never gave way; she had a deep abiding joy, a peace about her only known to those who commune with the One Living God, and wisdom on her lips, always.

To say that she was a good woman is an understatement; she was one of the best people this world has ever seen – along with Grandpa. They truly deserved and complemented each other, and if possible, made each other even better. They lived together in marriage for 68 happy years, and by their own humble admission and their children’s memory – not once did a fight/harsh word pass between them. They raised 7 children together, who then expanded to 13 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren. As the family grew over the years, each addition brought her and Grandpa great joy. Each family member was blessed to be lifted daily in their prayers.

She went into the hospital 2 weeks prior to her death and she felt it. She knew it. She expressed it in these words to her loved ones: “From this place, I am going home.”

She didn’t mean home to her devoted 94-year-old husband, but she meant the Everlasting Home she had longed for all her life, the place where the King of Kings awaits her. She left this world while three of her daughters sang Gospel songs to her at her hospital bedside. As they sang, she breathed her last breath and met her King face to face that very night.

There is an emptiness for those of us who are left behind, for we are lacking in her sweet laughter and wise words, the ability to wrap our arms, just one more time, around this beautiful woman, who through her earthly walk with Christ matured into – exactly as promised by Him – a very real image of Christ.

But the Christian faith is not a mere hope of a better tomorrow, a wish for an everlasting home. The Christian faith by which we live is reality, true heart knowledge – the reality of things we do not see, the sure knowledge that God’s promise stands concerning the future of those who love Him. We, who have trusted Him, are certain of what awaits us; more certain are we of this fact than of the fact that we’re alive here today. We know where and with whom our sweet grandmother is and with true joy we can say: "until we meet again."

The last time we saw Grandma was this past fall. Caleb met her twice in his two years of life. We will always treasure the pictures and videos that were taken on these occasions.

Here are a few of these, so we can again remember.

2007 Summer

2008 Fall

Night Singing

Night Singing

Photo of the Week

2009 Week 13

This photo was taken at around 11:30 at night. Staying up this late is an almost non-existent event in the life of this child, who usually has a strictly enforced bedtime of 8:00 p.m.

But he had a nap that day and we needed to pick up Daddy from work at 10 p.m.,

so it happened that the family had a late dinner. Which was followed by singing.

Singing in front of the computer to You Tube videos such as "Hakuna Matada,"

"Circle of Life," and "A Whole New World," his most favorite.

He could listen to that song all night long.

I could listen to his sweet little sleepy voice singing it all night long.

Backyard pursuits

After a day of endless appointments, we finally headed out to the backyard to take in the last hour of the April sun. It was a good hour. Here's what we did.

Inspected the newly forming leaf buds

Sang to ourselves as we circled a tree many, many times

Gave some trees a hug - spontaneously

Ran

Found some treasures

Pretended to eat them

Played peek-a-boo in the branches

Ran down hills with deep depressions

Built a pretend forest with sticks in the moss

Enjoyed the arrival of spring