Persimmon Challenge

Fuyu persimmon glazed tori (chicken) stir fry

with Japanese brown rice

the base glaze

Whole wheat persimmon toast with a cheese after thought

Persimmon dolloped yogurt with a drizzle of honey and splash of cinnamon

DOWN right DARN them there dusty corner BLUES

I see and hear the wind and rain
I teach and drive roads the same
I work and play most the day
I cook and drink the tea away

You see and hear the wind and rain
We teach and drive roads together and the same
I work with you and play most the day
I cook and drink with you the tea away

Putting You into the moments i live
second by second
With all get and all I give

The days can pass weirdly alike
All that happens is someones stole my bike... SIKE!
But you, giving the thanks to you is what I choose
Keeps me from getting the down right darn them there dusty corner blues  

SPagHeTTi FaCES and MOcHi iCEcreaM

You should have seen their faces covered, unbeknownced by each 1st grader
Those who had, some how inherited or mastered the technique of accomplishing a clear face
They dared not make fun or laugh, well at least until it was reciprocated by the others not so fortunate
But we did laugh together and it was so funny

Then there was the mochi icecream.
When it is frozen it is good and firm
But I have to say that this was... well not
By the time the containers were opened
The ice cream ran and the mochi well it kind of ran
In a stringy, glop of goodness that was defiantly not going to be abandoned.
In, and on it went.
Some faces covered and working on more
All enraptured in the now creamy goodness

What a surprise for lunch time fun
Spaghetti faces and mochi ice cream
Yes! Any day.

Sylvia Harrison's Tiramisu

4 eggs
1lb mascarpone 
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. Kahlua (the spikyness)

2 c. whipped cream

3/4 c. coffee
1/4 c. Kahlua

lady fingers
choco for the top. :)

Yum Yum yum.  Sylvia Harrison's Tiramisu.

With a mixer blend first 4 ingredients.
In a separate bowl whip the whip cream till soft peak
Fold the two together.

Add the coffee to the kahlua.
Dip the lady fingers in the kahlua till half soaked.
Layer the bottom of a 9x13 (ish) dish with the lady fingers.
Pour a layer of the batter on top and spread.
Continue process until there is nothing left.
Chop choco till it is shreds and sprinkle on top. 
Refrigerate over night.

Best enjoyed with a great friend and while listening to a spiky song. (;o)

Sometimes it just rains

No matter what you do you can't keep it from coming.  The rain comes... lighter... harder... drilling down.. or just a drizzle.  Sometimes the rain is just what I like... others I feel like it is echoing the clouded heart inside my human heart.  The latter is how i feel now.  Like this song.  Except... if you watch the video... that is so not my ending. The rain is here.  Really.

Being single is sometimes not what I want.  Is that selfish?  I have just had a bad few days of biting that bitter, cold, silver, armor piercing bullet.  I just want out of it though.  I WANT TO BE HER.  I want to be the one standing in the rain being soaked and and drinking in the still satisfaction of what has come.  I want to find joy, holy joy.  May it be found in the giving thanks for the things... the now?

I want to be rid of this silliness that comes over me. The radical emotions of a teenage school girl... but wait! I am not a teenage school girl! AHHH... Do I really want to be rid of these emotions that come over me and make me feel this childish?  Really?  NO! NOT REALLY! WHAT ARE YOU NUTS!!?  I dream of this.  But I want for all of this, first and for most to be God whom governs this dream.
 
Am I making sense?

It's raining now God... thank you for the rain.
I do just thank you for what I am now, and what you are doing.

Yesterday

You know those scenes in every romatic comedy where the girl is holding her perfect cup of coffee with her perfect hair and is walking briskly down the streets of NYC on her way to work? Think Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail on her way to the Shop Around the Corner. This song is playing (the video is creepy...I know...eighties videos are all creepy). Well on some days, especially Mondays, I like to imagine my mile long walk from my car to my cubicle just as magical as Meg's, and I throw my hair back and hold my coffee with poise. Needless to say, nine times out of ten I might be running instead of walking, because I might be running late and there is not time for the Cranberries to serenade me. I digress. My sister says this is my look and it is really growing on me. Who says tennis shoes and suit skirts were not meant to go together? If your job requires bouts of sprinting and numerous meetings, what's not to love about the outfit?

But yesterday I noticed SO much on my mile walk. Instead of noticing the cigarette buds and trash, I saw a bird's nest in a crepe myrtle tree. It showed me hope for spring.

I saw a lady proudly carrying a totally homemade cake (you can tell when it is homemade) with the biggest smile. She showed me to be thankful for friends.

I saw someone around my mom's age rocking a fashionable gray felt hat with feathers. She showed me to embrace your own style.

I saw two students laughing and talking at the crosswalk. They showed me love for life early in the morning.

Not everything I saw yesterday was happy and carefree. I saw a man that looked homeless, dirty, and angry. My heart hurt, and I did not know what to do. I was driving, and he was walking slowly. I wanted to tell him "Jesus loves you." It is true. I prayed he would know yesterday. And I pray he would know today. He is a child of God.

I saw a man with anguish on his face walking out for some fresh air at a hospital. And I thought of his family that I did not know. I wanted to say, "It will all be okay." Instead a prayed that he would find hope. Is hope better than okay? I don't know, but I know Him who is acquainted with all my ways. That he can turn mourning into dancing.

I am thankful for yesterday's moments. I made pasta for supper. And I am thankful for another day that God has made--one running shoe and suit skirt step at a time.

Pasta with Gorgonzola Sauce (Adapted from Cookie & Kate....her Banana Bread recipe is lovely)
Serves 2

1 cup dried gemelli pasta
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons milk
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups chopped fresh greens (collards or spinach)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil the pasta about 8 minutes in salted water. Drain and reserve a little (2 tablespoons?) of the pasta water in the pot (helps the sauce to cling to the noodles). Gently boil the greens for about 4 minutes in another pot until tender. Drain and rinse in cool water; saute in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add all ingredients to pasta with reserved pasta water and warm until melty. Serve with good conversation about the day.

Lessons learned

Rainy days are great for making realizations that you might not ever make on sunny days. For example, if it rains all day long on Saturday, cleaning the house like a maniac while your fourteen year-old Jack Russell becomes angry with the vacuum is funny. Watching Money Ball with Brad Pitt does not suffice when you really wanted to watch Father of the Bride.



Norman Rockwell - Game Called Because of Rain

 Baking cinnamon sugar biscotti is always a good idea even though you have about 674 biscotti recipes scattered across the house. Drinking excessive amounts of green tea makes you feel healthy and also gives you energy to dust the top of the shelves that have not been dusted since before the Backstreet Boys were cool. Not to say that the Backstreet Boys are not cool now...this is forever cool. Don't disagree on this one. Meanwhile, listening to Joe Purdy sing about "loving the rain the most when it stops" might or might not make you cry depending on how hormonal you are feeling on this aformentioned rainy day. If you are feeling hormonal, take a bubble bath and blare the Backstreet Boys song.



Van Gogh - Wheat Field in Rain

 Continuing on, rainy days give you time to think about things that you are too busy for on sunny days. Like being really grateful for new friendships in your life that God has surprised you with. Some friendships come out of the blue and have you smiling all the time without even knowing you are doing it. Isn't God full of those little surprises? And then rainy days allow time to think about those friendships that he is rekindling or making stronger. Rainy days don't come often enough. If it weren't for rainy days, I would never have any clean clothes much less have them ironed.



Gustave Caillebotte - Rainy Day


Without rainy days, I would never make a dent in my growing reading list. When I was in college, I had a strict one book at a time policy. Unfortunately, this did not include textbooks, but it was for the "fun" books that I would roam the library for. Wouldn't libraries be amazing if no one had to study? Epic realization. I remember reading The Sound and The Fury for the first time. If I had not been wholly devoted to finishing it, I would still be on page 6. That strict policy went out the window about a year ago. Now I am on page 6 of several books and only on the rainy days do I make it to page 8 of them all. Abi, I am almost done with the third book in the Narnia series!

So on this beautiful sunny day that I am exceedingly grateful for, I am also grateful for the rainy day that I just had. Langston Hughes once said, "Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."

Valentine's and black hearts

It's the little things, isn't it!?  On the dark side of this coin is the train ride that I thought was local and was express, thus making the price 3 x's more expensive. :(  BLAAAAA
But then that side of the coin can be put face DOWN! :) The bright side... this is the faces of the 2nd graders when I tell them "Color the little heart .... BLACK!", and it's Valentine's day.  It's like it's sacrilege or something.  But ohh how we laughed and enjoyed the moment together.  Or, the expressions on the guys faces when they found out that in America GUYS give chocolates and gifts too.  Or,  when everyone loves the chocolate cake.  Or, when you see the cutest little girls holding Madeline bags.  I just have to remember to lookout for those little things. Things like reading Sara's blog, or a good recipe idea from her.  ;)  So here's to the little black hearts on Valentines day.

Wanting to make this, Abi

This looks so good and reminds me of the chai that you were making in Ohio!

I picked up this book and want to read it right now!

Swimming is the best workout (in my opinion), and I am in the process of becoming a certified instructor and can't wait to get all the details! My 2012 New Year's Resolution is to be able to swim fly without dying...it is slowly progressing :)

Found a cool website via Heidi's blog today and am in love with the concept.

Bought a friend an awesome coffee tumbler and can't wait to see her smile on Thursday. Oh, and I have been commissioned to bake a carrot cake! If you are a carrot cake hater, we can still be friends.

Looking at my Claddagh ring on my right hand and wanting to go back to Ireland right now. If only Toyota Camry's had wings.

Every moment a blessing

My wonderful friend Anna recommended a book to me called 1000 Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I can't get enough of this book and am already planning on re-reading it once I am done! Please check it out for yourself. It has made me think on my life and many blessings in a whole new way. It has made me think on the hard things in life that "I do not deserve" but that perhaps God is using to refine me; only through this "refining" process will I become more like Christ.
In today's culture, everyone seems to think that we "deserve" these blessings. Day to day I go about life not even noticing tremendous gifts that God has given me, because I am "too busy" or "too tired" and they are really just part of being a human being in 2012, right? But Ann's book is daily prompting me to take a closer look at those "everyday gifts." Maybe I am not short on time but very short on thankfulness. Maybe I am not in need of more but in need of noticing what I have.
Right at this moment as I think about the gifts in my life, I see so many wonderful blessings that God has freely given me. I see a sweet dog in my lap and a warm cup of tea. I see a Bible that I can pick up and read anytime without the fear of persecution or abuse. I have the ability to READ the Bible and healthy eyes to see the daffodils out my window. I have abundant food and clean water. I have family and friends to share it with both old friends and new friends. Thinking and reflecting on all of this makes me ask the same question that David asked in Psalm 24: "Who is this King of glory?" The Psalmist repeats the question twice, and I repeat the verse in my head. Who is this who loves me so much that he created me in His image, died on the cross for my sins, and graciously gives me all things in love?
A good job. A long conversation. A pillow. A bubble bath. A sunrise. A cup of coffee. A smile from a stranger. A phone call. A coat of nail polish. A swim. A long walk. A prayer. A good dream. A similarity with someone. A hope for tomorrow.
I don't deserve any of these things and overlook them all. Who is this King of glory that pours them out on me daily? A new madeleine pan. A sister. A simple guitar. A favorite book. A pile of clean towels. I could go on for days...
And who am I to say that things God allows to happen to me are good or bad? Only He can see the whole picture. Only He can say "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When we say that we pick up our cross and follow Him, we do not say that we will follow Him only down certain paths. We don't get to pick and choose which roads we follow Him down; we just trust that He goes before us just as He went before the people of Israel in Joshua 3. We don't have to know the way. We just need to know Him who does.

Cold Cold Cold

My teeeeethththh arrrreeee chaaattereeeerrreerrrrinnnn annnddd iittss nooottt seeemminnnnn tooooo heeellppp nonnnnne.


Ya here in good ol' Nagano the mountains are covered and the floors are as cold as the freezer Sara wants to stick her head in.  The schools aren't much better either.  I never expected them to not have central heating and especially never expected them to open the windows EVERY DAY for cleaning.  I am getting use to it but warning would have been nice. 

So Im sippin on some hot coco thanks to mom and dads Christmas package and watching the Princess and the Frog.  Which brings me back to my days in MS.

Oh I do miss it.

Well here's to the good ol' days... "Cornbread and butterbeans"

Hot Hot Hot

It is so hot in my office that my bag of Hershey kisses are melting. Yes, I have a bag of Hershey kisses at my desk. Do not judge. All I can think about is sticking my head in the break room freezer. I hope the air is fixed tomorrow. It is January!

To celebrate a 3 day weekend last night I baked biscotti. Biscotti has become my cookie of choice, and this is a great article on why it is technically cantucci. I wanted something richer with butter and chocolate, so I adapted this recipe and replaced the fruit with chocolate. Amazing with coffee. Amazing hot out of the oven while admiring freshly painted nails. Leave it to the Muppets collection to brighten any rainy and HOT day. Miss Piggy is always hot.

A new year!

Abi! It's about time I write something! December of 2011 was super busy. Happy. Kind. Sad. Confusing. Joyous. Heartbreaking. Exciting.

Christmas is always such a busy time and such a blessing. To be able to see friends and family unhurried is lovely. I made and ate way to many of these. Highly recommend you doing the same.


Praise the LORD for unto to us is born a Savior! Happy 2012!

This poem by e.e. cummings is on my heart and will be for a long time...

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

 

 

this is me missing you

Dear Sara,

I miss you like a flower misses the sun on a rainy day, like a snowman misses a fresh snow on a sunny day, like an umbrella misses rain on any ol day.

fall love food

 I love apples!  I love fall! Apple are a great fall food!

One think that I have really enjoyed about living where I do is the fresh fruit.  It is so good!  As you can see from this picture I did not hold back when I went to buy fruit from a fruit stand just down the way.  OHh soo good.  I had aspirations to make something with the apples... but that didn't happen... I ate them all.  :)  lol I did enjoy one with my favorite EXTRA Crunch Jiff Peanut butter sent to me via my mother. :)   Thanks mom. :) 

I have also had the great fortune of enjoying amazing food with amazing friends.  One of my favorite things is to cook, with or for someone.  For this Mexican meal we did both.  (And yes it was as good/better then it looks)

Right now I am faced with the problem of having many left overs.  I have rice, noodles, veggies galore, and other odds and ins. What do I do?  I found this recipe from 101 cookbooks and I may tweek it to make a rice and veggie soup.  We shall see how it turns out. :)  

Ohh! Happy Thanksgiving week to everyone!  Enjoy all you can with your families, and friends.  I hope you can truly treasure the moments and the small things you can spend time doing. 

Sayonaraさよなら

Hello October

Slieve Croob in Ireland - August

I had decided that I wanted to write more, and I wanted to write creatively like I used to before the days of college research papers and work deadlines. At the very moment that I decided this, writer's block came over me like the rain storm that soaked me to the bone. So I didn't worry about what I wrote for a while, and I didn't write here either.

I have been taking notes about life and people I see like the wild haired girl in the red rain boots driving the golf cart like she is in Nascar. And the lady talking about her aunt that was afraid of getting lost and to meet up at McDonald's. My grandmother told me a story about her mother getting married at 18 and taking a home economics class to learn how to cook per her mother's suggestion. But instead of learning how to make things like cornbread and buttermilk biscuits, she learned how to make hollandaise sauce. I love taking notes. It makes me more observant and more perceptive. It makes bad experiences funny ones, and sweet stories even sweeter. I jot notes down before I get out of the car to walk into work, right after lunch, or at the gym. There are stories everywhere bursting to be told. They just need a messenger.

I made this bread with roasted butternut squash the other day and it was amazing. Please bake it and share!

Abi (who I am seeing in just DAYS!!) sent me these books all compiled into one, and I can't believe I have not read them sooner.


I think this is the best cheap red wine.

I have pumpkins coming up in my backyard. Please get bigger. Makes me want to watch this for old times sake.

We sang Amazing Grace in church this morning, and I am reminded how amazing God's grace is more and more every day. And His grace is free.

Gray Room-Wallace Stevens

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"Although you sit in a room that is gray, Except for the silver Of the straw-paper, And pick At your pale white gown; Or lift one of the green beads Of your necklace, To let it fall; Or gaze at your green fan Printed with the red branches of a red willow; Or, with one finger, Move the leaf in the bowl-- The leaf that has fallen from the branches of the forsythia Beside you... What is all this? I know how furiously your heart is beating."

enchanted

right now the wind is rushing
the leaves are begining to realize it`s almost time
the air even seems to be devided between a sweet chill and the heat of summer
i am not devided
i love this

as I stepped down from the stairs and was hit with a gust of wind I was enchanted again
it reminds me of times not so long ago
it reminded me that winter is not to far away

the wind... it chills me to the bone
i have goose bumps
but I love it
i am outside basking and enjoying everything and I never want to move

the sky is looming
shades of gray and white provided shade from the sometimes down right exhausting sun
they tell that the rain will probably soon come

but today I wan to be outside
i love to hear the leaves rush around and roar as though they were traffic in a rush to reach their destination
i love to see the branches sway
moving... just as the wind blows
but their trunk always stays unmoved
firm and steady

the grass... it`s dancing
the deep green hue brought by the summer rain changes slightly as the wind reveals a light, gleaming change to the side we don`t  often see from the little sun that sill shines

it`s a joy
a completion some how
a hope
and now I feel a few drops of rain
i am excited
i know others who will be happy too
it brings peace I think and pray
But right now I have to go get my clothes off the line before they are soaked or blown away. 

There are some things that are just universal...Boogers, and Poskettie.

Nose picker->eater
Spaghetti 

For those who do not know I am teaching English in Japan.  I teach all ages, but right now lets just focus on the little ones.

I suppose that there are some things I thought would be different when I came to Japan.  When you think of Japan what comes to your mind? ...  Mine?  I thought of mountains, really nice people, and cleanliness.  Recycling is required, squaty potty's, and hand sanitizer are everywhere.  My mind just rolled with it I guess.  Oh... how surprised I was!

I was teaching my youngest student on a Saturday morning.  He doesn't seem to be in favor of this but he bears with it.   I have had the great pleasure of watching him discover that his finger does actually fit perfectly into his nostril.  Yes! I did say nose picker->eater.   He went BIG!  [Should I leave you with that?  Tempting... but I will go on]
His mom fights, in vain, to get him to put the booger in a hanky.  I do all I can to keep from dying of laughter as he sneaks another one into his mouth.  LOL This kid... I know it is a bad habit but... confession... I did it too!! AHHH the secret is out.  If you decide to judge me, fine. I understand.  Its is down right nasty!  I did live though.  And thus, so will he.  I do not think however, that it is a habit that should be continued. Did you know that this process has a scientific name.  You want to know it? Why not right?  It's mucophagy.  Check it out. Or don't.

Teaching kid has been so much fun!  Lot of interesting experiences that are making me reminisce on the good ol' yester years. :)

Kid's here really like spaghetti.  They get really excited about it when it comes up in the text books because they know what it is.  But that does not make the word any easier to say then it was for me when I was their age.  I don't know what you called it but for me it was something along the lines of poskettie.
So there I was... reading, "Do you like spaghetti?".  To which they are to read/respond, "Yes, I do.  I like spaghetti."  Out it came "...paskettie?!", "...poskettie?!"  The look of "I know this isn't the way it is said but my mouth/brain can not get it!" was on his face. Yep.  I did laugh.  It was funny!  They laughed too!  It was just a funny situation in my mind.  I knew how they felt.  I helped them through it but didn't worry too much.  They will grow out of it soon.  :)  

So now I know.  It doesn't matter where you are.  Nose picking/eating, and the some variation of the word poskettie (spaghetti) can be expected. There are some things that are just universal.

Frozen Mudd Pie Icecream; I searched. I found! I combined. I believe I conquered!

I have been in a writing loll.  It's just not been coming ya know.  But I am BUSTING out of it!  Ready or not here I go.  :)   

So a few weeks back I was talking with some friends about birthday cakes.  The shared feeling was that cake was not where it was at... for us... ICREAM CAKE is TOTALLY WHERE ITS AT!  The DQ ice cream cakes to be persise... the ones with the fudgey cookie stuff in the middle... you know... the stuff you pull the "its my birthday" card for.  Well I know I did.  :P 

My mind got going.  Sara had already directed me to this No-Bake Peanut Butter Tart from Joy The Bakers blog.  I was determined to try it because it does not require an oven.  But then I got to thinking..."That would be great with a CHOCOLATE crust", I thought.  A chocolate crust!  I searched.  I found! I combined, and I believe I conquered! I found this Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice cream recipe and stopped.   I had the info I needed and set to work.  TAda!

Frozen Mud Pie 

12 Oreos, or Oreo like cookie

3 cups heavy cream

3 milk chocolate bars or 1 bag milk chocolate chips

3/4-1 cup crunchy peanutbutter

Chocolate Cream, and Oreo crust:

1)heat 1 1/2 cup heavy cream till just before it starts to bubble.  (Hot enough to melt chocolate)  Take off the heat and dump in 1 1/2 chocolate pars or 1/3 bag of cho chips.  Let sit. 

2) Food process the Oreos to tiny crumbs.  Pour 2/3rds or 1/2  on the bottom of a tart dish.  

3) Beat the chocolate and cream so it blends.  Pour 1/3rd cho. cream over the Oreo crubs.  Just enough to cover them.  Then cool the remaining cream in the freezer for 10-20 minutes.  Put the Oreo crumbs with the choc. cream in the freezer to set.

Peanut butter cream:

1) Whisk the 1 1/2 cup (remaining cream) to a stiff peak.  Take out 1/2 cup of the whipped cream and refrigerate for later topping.  Fold peanut butter into whipped cream then refrigerate. 

Mixing:

1) Once cho. cream is cool beat till it begins to stiffen and gain body.  

2) Crumble the rest of the chocolate bar/chips into cho cream. 

3) Fold chocolate cream into peanut butter cream.  

4)Take tart out of freezer and dump/spread mixture over top.  

5)Sprinkle remaining Oreos on top and spread 1/2 cup whip that was set aside on top.  

6) Freeze or EAT! 

 *Note:  You can top this however you want.  I just chose to put the Oreos on then the cream.  It doesn't effect the taste.  REALLY... look at the ingredients... I am pretty sure what ever happens it will be eaten. :) 

I knew this was a success when those I served licked their plates!

I hope you enjoy as much as we did!  :) ~Abi