We went over to Smithville Park on Friday afternoon and took a mile and a half hike through the woods and along the bridge over the lake. Oh, how I love this time of year.
I've been motivated to do some concocting in the kitchen. I had made a Girl Scout Cookie Pie a couple of weeks ago and had some left over sweetened condensed milk. The recipe called for only 3/4 cup of it so that didn't use the whole can. Since I had some left over, I had to make the pie again. Plus, now I had some experience. The first time the pie spilled over into the oven and made a royal mess. But self cleaning ovens are a modern miracle and in no time the mess was burned away. It was like magic with practically no effort on my part except for pushing the button for CLEAN.
I am almost ashamed to admit that Andy and I ate the whole pie ourselves - small pieces every evening after dinner. Thank goodness, it's finally gone! It was very rich and sweet. Well, my excuse for being so indulgent is that it isn't a habit of ours to gratify our sweet teeth. Every once in a while is ok, right?
I made another new recipe that I found last week. Tuscan Chicken Pasta.
It not only was colorful, adding to visual delight, it also tasted awesome!
Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
12 oz. spaghetti or angel hair
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic
2 c. diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
3 c. baby spinach
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. grated Parmesan
Basil, for garnish
Directions
1.
In a large pot of
salted boiling water, cook spaghetti or angel hair according to package
directions until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup pasta water.
2.
Meanwhile, in a
large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Season chicken with salt and
pepper and cook until cooked through, 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting
board and slice into strips.
3.
In a second
skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and
drain, then chop.
4.
Pour off half the
bacon fat and to skillet add garlic, tomatoes, and spinach and season with salt
and pepper. Add heavy cream, Parmesan, and 1/2 cup pasta water and let simmer,
then add spaghetti or angel hair and toss until fully coated.
5.
Add chicken and
bacon and toss, then garnish with basil and serve.
Yesterday, I worked nearly all afternoon making a Carrot Cheesecake to take along today. After church we drove over to PA to celebrate Aiden's birthday. He actually turned 13 last Sunday, but the family had other plans last week so we celebrated with them today.
This cake is so good, combining 2 of our favorite cakes: carrot cake and cheese cake. It's somewhat labor intensive and dirties a lot of dishes and utensils, but it's so worth it in the end.
I didn't take this picture, but this is exactly what it looked like.
I will be happy to share the recipe with anyone who is interested, but it's too long to include here.
We had a lovely afternoon with Christy and her family.
All 13 candles blown out in one huff/puff.
The weather was perfect for sitting outside in the sun after lunch, just chatting and enjoying each other.
I'm continuing my reading in The Rest of the Gospel by Dan Stone and David Gregory. There has been a lot for me to chew on, that's helped me to understand some of what God might be doing in my life. In chapter 10, he talks about God's precious assets, meaning us. He says that "this life won't work until [we] get [ourselves] out of the way. You get yourself out of the way simply by believing this: You are not a liability to God. You are His precious asset."
He goes on to explain that "having been raised with Christ, you can no longer be anything to God but an asset. He has accepted you. He is pleased with you. He uses you, lives through you, speaks through you, loves through you."
This made me remember a verse from 2 Corinthians that I had memorized a number of years ago: "We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us."
The authors used this verse to show that we are vessels (jars of clay) - containers of the life of God. "We are not the contents of the vessel - God is! We cannot produce his life - only express it."
I admit that when the Lord first introduced this concept to me, I was resistant to it. I didn't want to suffer to be an example to others. Actually, I didn't want to suffer for any reason! But he has changed my heart since then. There have been people who have told me how grateful they are to see God's grace at work in my life. What an example I am of God's all sufficiency. Wow! That is so humbling and at the same time, encouraging. Perhaps this is all not in vain. If people are seeing God at work, that his grace is sufficient, that he does give strength, peace and even joy in the midst of deep darkness, then it is worth it. That's what our life's goal should be, isn't it? - That whatever we go through would be for our good and God's glory.
Andy seems almost normal at times, but very confused at other times. One evening this week, he started walking through the house, then asked me to draw him a floor plan so he could figure out where he was supposed to go. I'm not good at drawing (that was always his specialty), so I walked with him from room to room, explaining which room it was and where he should go. He seemed fine with that.
We had a very good day on Tuesday, meeting Dawn and her kids at the park, playing on the swings and slides with them. He seemed like PopPop playing with his grandkids. And today, at Christy's house, he also seemed like the old Andy. But he's different when he's with just me and we're home. I haven't figured out what makes the difference. Why would he seem fine when he's out? He knows who people are, calling them by their names, even recalling certain details about them. But at our house, he feels so discombobulated and confused. He doesn't know who I am, doesn't know where he's supposed to go to sleep, etc. This evening after we got home, he asked me if I was going to stay for a while. I told him I was.
Well, as Dorothy Sayers says in The Nine Tailors, "What can't be cured must be endured." Some writers are so clever with their words. It makes reading their works such a delight. One of the traditions Andy and I have developed over the years is my reading to him before we go to sleep. We have gone through many, many books from fiction, biography, fantasy, and now this one, which is a mystery detective novel. I had read it to myself some years ago, but he was looking through our books on the bookshelves and picked it out for me to read to him. It's a pretty complicated story line, but he likes to hear me read to him. I don't think it much matters to him what I read, as long as I read. He always did like the sound of my voice! And I get such pleasure in reading to him. It makes him happy, and it makes me happy to make him happy!
We have some things to look forward to this coming week but I need to leave that for next week's blog.
Meanwhile, I'm loving spring and the color green.
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