In the Extremes

One of the things Andy and I really enjoyed about ministry is that there were always plenty of people we could have over to our house for a meal. Over the years, as I learned to cook, I surrounded myself with people who were good at it, learning from them, then practicing, practicing and practicing some more. As my girls got older, I even learned things from them. Christy was very good at throwing ingredients together and somehow they turned out tasty. Ask her for the recipe, though, and it was, "oh, a little of this and a little of that..." Very frustrating to a person who follows the recipe to a t. Then I learned how to make perfect cookies from Amy. Before she started experimenting with baking, I always burned cookies. They were rock hard and impossible to chew. But Amy knew when to take them out of the oven, so they were soft and chewy. 

But I digress...

Ever since Andy has been diagnosed, I have not had company. It was too stressful and I didn't want it to be hard on him. Would people stay too long? Would he have the stamina? And frankly, I didn't have the energy to organize and plan the menu, let alone host an evening with friends.

But lately, I've been feeling more like my old self. I use the term "old" loosely, you understand - meaning more like my "former" self. :) When our friends from Colorado were here, I just had to have them over for dinner since it had been so long since we'd seen them. That actually went well, with Andy even manning the grill. I kept the menu simple and we had a wonderful evening.

With that success under my belt, I've kind of gone crazy this past week with 3 dinners with friends. On Monday, we invited Beth, our upstairs apartment friend, to join us. On Tuesday, we invited Andy's mom and dad to dinner. Then this afternoon after church, our friends, Rich and Bev joined us for dinner. Rich had been Andy's biking buddy, doing many long bike trips. Bev and I were friends, too. Over the years, they had been in our small group. Then several years in a row, Rich and Andy had ridden their bikes to the shore on a fall day, while Bev and I drove down to pick them up. So we have a lot of years of friendship together. 

I kept the menu simple each time. For Beth, I fixed a delicious spinach basil pasta salad I found on allrecipes.com. I am not linking it, because when I looked for it yesterday, it was replaced with a different version of the one I use.  Here is the recipe I use and it is very tasty:

Spinach Basil Pasta Salad

Submitted By: _jennifer Photo By: nxtchieframsey Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In:  45 Minutes Servings: 10

"Garlic is quickly fried then tossed with spinach and basil leaves for a great summertime salad."

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta 1 (6 ounce) package spinach leaves 2 cups fresh basil leaves 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced

4 slices bacon, chopped salt and ground black pepper to taste 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions:

1.	Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the bow tie pasta and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
2.	Toss the spinach and basil together in a large bowl.
3.	Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the garlic in the hot oil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add to the bowl with the spinach and basil mixture; add bacon; toss to combine. Pour in the drained pasta and retoss. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and pine nuts to serve.

For mom and dad and again today, for Rich and Bev, I made chicken on the grill, with a tomato zucchini dish and Caesar's salad. I marinated the chicken last night and also made up the tomato zucchini dish yesterday afternoon, then popped it in the oven when we got home from church this morning.

The zucchini and tomatoes were given to me by my gardener neighbor, who not only loves to garden, but also loves to be generous with her veggies.

I posted this recipe on my blog last year, but it is so good, it bears repeating!

It's interesting to me that it always takes me a lot longer to assemble the dish than what the recipe indicates. For instance, this one says prep time is 20 minutes, but it actually takes me 40 minutes.

Tomato Zucchini Casserole

Submitted By: DELTAQUEEN50 Photo By: khershey Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 55 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Servings: 4

"A simple vegetable dish that highlights the summer flavors of fresh tomatoes and zucchini. It goes great with grilled meats or poultry."

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 2 cloves garlic, minced salt and pepper to taste

2 medium zucchinis, thinly sliced 5 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced 1/4 cup butter 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion 3/4 cup fine bread crumbs

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter a 9x9-inch pan.
2.	In a large bowl, combine Cheddar, Parmesan, oregano, basil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
3.	Arrange half of the zucchini slices in the pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese and herb mixture on top. Arrange half of the tomatoes, and top with another 1/4 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers.
4.	Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions, and cook until soft and translucent. Stir in breadcrumbs; cook until they have absorbed the butter. Sprinkle on top of casserole.
5.	Cover loosely with foil, and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until the top is crusty and the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2014 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 7/31/2014

As much as we enjoy hosting friends for dinner, I'm not sure it's something we should do a lot of. It really wears Andy out, he has to nap when they leave. So maybe it's better to use a little moderation and spread out our company, rather than having so many in one week.

Speaking of extremes, this week in staff meeting, I was asked how I was doing. I answered that I was doing pretty well in spite of Andy not really getting any better. I said I was enjoying the peace of God which really does pass all understanding. This was really and truly how I felt. Then later in the meeting, everyone was encouraged to share what energized them as they looked to the fall and the start up of a new year of ministry. I wasn't going to share until Pastor asked me point blank. Then I fell apart and my over active tear ducts starting doing what they do so well! I said I had no energy, I was so lacking in energy, it was all I could do to get up in the morning and go to work 4 days a week. Nothing like putting a wet blanket on heart felt sharing. 

Well, such is the way things are right now. One minute I'm up, then next minute I'm down. But the amazing truth is that God is with me in both places: the ups and the downs.

I've recently taken The Valley of Vision off the shelf. 

 
This is a book of a collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. I love the depth of thought that these men and women of God expressed but frankly, some of the language is archaic and difficult to understand. So I have decided to go through the book and rewrite the prayers in language that is meaningful for me. This is quite an undertaking because the book is 223 pages long. Well, maybe I won't do all of them!

I really like the introduction to the book because it is so descriptive of the way things are.

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, 
You have brought me to the valley of vision, 
where I live in the depths but see you in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold your glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision...

Let me find your light in my darkness,
your life in my death,
your joy in my sorrow,
your grace in my sin,
your riches in my poverty,
your glory in my valley.

Don't we just love to be on the mountain top???

But God has promised to be with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. And I like how the puritans put it..."I live in the depths but see YOU in the heights."