I’m tired
I’m worn My heart is heavy From the work it takes To keep on breathing
My soul feels crushed By the weight of this world
I know I need to lift my eyes up But I'm too weak
And I know that you can give me rest So I cry out with all that I have left
Let me see redemption win Let me know the struggle ends That you can mend a heart That’s frail and torn I wanna know a song can rise From the ashes of a broken life And all that’s dead inside can be reborn Cause I’m worn
My sweet mother-in-law forwarded me an email that went along perfectly with what my Bible study has been studying for two straight weeks: the careful planning and order of creation. I've spent two weeks really reading and discussing the first two chapters of Genesis; focusing on God's order and planning. Amazing and unimaginable...faith in what you don't totally understand is perfectly displayed in those first chapters. Here's what the contents of the email were:
the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
those of the canary in 14 days;
those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
the eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
those of the mallard in 35 days;
The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number
of days in a week!)
God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.
The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!
God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.
-Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
-All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundred fold all even numbers.
God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day. Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed.
Exhibit A: almond butter
Pulse 2 cups of almonds (I like to toast mine), scraping down the sides periodically. It will eventually form a ball and then spread back into a liquid...about 4-5 minutes total. I drizzle in a little honey at the end. Yummy on English muffins or on a banana cut in half.
Exhibit B: hummus
Ingredients:
1 large head of garlic
1 tsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 tsp tahini
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Slice off the top of the garlic head, drizzle with oil, wrap in foil and roast for 45ish minutes in 400 degree oven. Let cool. Squeeze cloves into food processor with remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth...about 3-5 minutes. Eat. I recommend in a pita pocket with avocado and red bell pepper slices.
Exhibit C: grain-free granola
Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup almonds
pinch of salt
1/4 cup raw honey
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut (NOT sweetened)
2 oz dark chocolate
Preheat your oven to 200 F.
Using a food processor, coarsely chop the walnuts and almonds (I'd pulse only a handful of times). Leave the nuts in the processor and set aside for later use.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the honey and whisk occasionally. Once combined, add the cocoa powder, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Whisk together.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the nuts in the food processor. Pulse briefly, just until the chocolate is consistently mixed in. Add the coconut and pulse one more time.
Spread the mixture out over a baking sheet. Bake for 4 hours in the preheated oven.
Once the granola has finished baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Break the granola apart into small chunks. Also break apart or chop up the 2 oz chocolate and mix in with the granola. Try not to eat it all at once.
No, I am not going Paleo...although I'm very intrigued by it. Too bad I ate this with Greek yogurt while drinking a glass of milk, which is very un-Paleo...so was the pita bread and the hummus I ate all last week for lunch. Paleo peeps are missing out!
We've been in our house for a little over a year now, and it's taken that long to use the griddle on our stove top...for real. Shame on us. I've been making up for it during the past couple of weeks, however. I started off by trying out a new savory pancake recipe that was a surprise hit. As in, I already want to make it again. Then I had some buttermilk to use up, so I tried a basic pancake recipe. My most current attempt was the result of a big summer project: cleaning out and organizing all the recipes I've pulled out of magazines over the years.
All I could think about while flipping pancakes was the time Kerry and I made pancakes while living in The Heights apartment complex. Emily and Robyn lived in a nearby building and Emily was coming over for breakfast. I had an old school cell phone and until that morning, didn't realize that everyone's phone didn't text in all caps. While I was flipping cakes, Kerry was texting Emily from my phone to let her know her pancakes were ready and getting cold. I don't remember exactly what Emily's hold up was, but if I had to guess it's be a run or a quick trip to Starbucks. Anywho, when Emily got to our apartment, she thought she'd been being yelled at via text message because Kerry had texted "PANCAKES HOT OFF THE GRIDDLE NOW!!" Fixed that all caps feature on my little phone and we enjoyed our chocolate chip cakes.
Here are my attempts over the past couple of weeks:
Pancake #1: Corn Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Lemon-Chive Cream
Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; chill.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a medium bowl. Combine 1 cup corn kernels, buttermilk, butter, and egg in a blender; process until coarsely pureed. Add pureed corn mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in remaining 1/4 cup corn.
Pour about 2 tablespoons batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet; spread gently with a spatula. Cook 3 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 3 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Arrange 2 pancakes on each of 6 plates; top each pancake with 1 slice salmon and 1 teaspoon lemon-chive cream.
*My thoughts: make this now. And make more of the cream/sauce...you'll want it. We were pleasantly surprised by the combination of unexpected flavors. This is a great, great, easy recipe!
(Cooking Light)
Pancake #2:
Whole-wheat pancakes
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). In another medium bowl, beat together the eggs, nonfat milk, buttermilk, honey and vanilla.
Preheat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over a medium-low flame. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. The batter will be somewhat lumpy. Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup pour the batter onto the griddle or skillet. Flip the pancake when the top is bubbling and it is golden brown on the bottom. Then cook until the other side is golden brown.
*My thoughts: I'm all for healthy food, but these tasted healthy...know what I mean? I think I'd play with the all-purpose flour vs. whole-wheat flour ratios next time. Were light and fluffy though, even with that much whole-wheat flour.
(Elie Krieger cookbook but can be found on foodnetwork.com)
Pancake #3: Carrot cake pancakes
5 3/5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of ground ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound)
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in 2 cups carrot.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter. Combine butter and honey in a small bowl; serve with pancakes.
*My thoughts: this was very sticky batter, which made it difficult to spread out on the griddle. The flavor was good, but they were pretty thick which made it hard to cook them all the way through. I used 1/8 teaspoon of allspice instead of a dash of cloves and a dash of ginger...that's what I had on hand. I chunked this recipe but was glad to try it out.
Disclaimer: I know, know, know I am high risk of becoming a cat lady one day.
I volunteer once a week with some kitties who are up for adoption at a nearby Petsmart, which is how sweet, sweet Frank came to become a Loudermilk. I seriously think he's the sweetest cat on the planet who also never stops eating. But alas, the real reason for this post: munchkin cats!!! For. Real. The second strangest cat I've ever seen was at Petsmart on Sunday. His legs were about 2 inches long and because of this, he sort of looked like a ferret or a dachshund in a cat's body. I texted the lady in charge to find out what in the world he was and she introduced me to my newest obsession. Meet munchkin cats:
These hilarious things are SUPER rare; there are 2 available for adoption Texas (the one in FW was already swooped up) and only about 5 breeders with online websites. Told you: obsessed. I'd never buy from a breeder, but it just shows how rare these guys are. If you see one on the streets, call me! But not really...there's no more room in this house for any more 4-legged family members. Call my mom, she thinks they are awesome. ;) One day...
While my plate wasn't quite that pretty, it did taste as good as it looks. I'm back on an egg kick in a big way...breakfast, dinner, both meals. I figured this was a good recipe to try while my guy was out of town, and it didn't disappoint. It caught my eye because it's super healthy and has four (count 'em, four!) of my most favorite ingredients of all time: thyme, eggs, Gruyere cheese and shallots. I did my own thing with acorn squash, but I'm sure the accompanying recipe is great.
Poached Eggs with Spinach & Walnuts (serves 4...or less if you know eating only one egg for dinner will make your stomach rumble right before you go to bed)
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 (10-ounce) bag baby spinach, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced 3 sliced shallots 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage 3/4 teaspoon chopped thyme, divided (I put it all in at once) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, quartered (I bought already sliced) 3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped and divided (I put it all in at once) 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese 8 cups water (I cut this in half for 2 eggs) 2 tablespoons white vinegar (did you know this keeps the eggs from separating?) 4 large eggs (I did 2 eggs since it was just me...1 egg wouldn't have been enough for dinner)
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1
teaspoon oil. Add spinach; sauté 2 minutes. Remove spinach from pan; drain,
cool slightly, and squeeze out excess moisture. Add remaining oil to pan. Add
garlic and shallots; sauté 3 minutes. Add sage, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/4
teaspoon pepper, salt, and mushrooms; sauté 7 minutes. Stir in spinach, 1/2 cup
walnuts, red wine vinegar, and cheese; cook 30 seconds.
Combine water and white vinegar in a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Break each
egg gently into pan. Cook 3 minutes. Remove eggs using a slotted spoon. Spoon
mushroom mixture onto
plate(s). Top each serving with 1 egg.
(Sprinkle evenly with remaining thyme, pepper, and walnuts. Unless you didn't follow the directions and put everything in the pot at once to save time/steps).
I’m tired
