Bean & Barley Salad (A Low Glycemic recipe)

Very similar to a cold spaghetti salad! I made this a few times and have adjusted the type of beans and amounts to my taste. I've used garbanzos & black beans and strong onion. I would add a medium sweet onion if I had it on hand. It's a refreshing mix and makes enough to last the week (easy for pack lunches). Adjust amounts to your liking: can of kidney beans, Northern beans (rinse & drain), diced tomatoes. Add cooked barley - rinse & drain, diced celery, diced bell peppers. For seasoning: add splash of Balsamic vinegar, Wishbone Balsamic Vinaigrette (enough to moisten salad), and 1/2 bottle of McCormick's "salad supreme." Optional: minced onion

Cracklin Rice Chx Soup (minus rice)

We got Chinese take out after church on Sunday. I decided to try the cracklin rice soup. It was the sort of thing I remember having in oriental restaurants at home in Hawaii. Clear simple broth with fresh vegetables just cooked until hot, but not soft. Turned out pretty good. Not something that sticks to your ribs or has tons of starch in it. But something that tastes clean and fresh and would be great especially when you are under the weather. Here's how I did it.

Heat to boiling about 2 cups of chicken broth per person. (I used Swanson's.) Ahead of time, I prepped the veggies and small piece of chicken breast:
Soaked dried Shiitake mushrooms until soft, then cut in slices (you can use regular mushrooms)
slice carrots thinly, a few pieces per person
add a few Chinese pea pods per person (snap ends, pull "string" from spine & slice if too large)
thinly slice celery on the diagonal, few pieces
slice bok choi or choi sum (Oriental cabbage varieties) to bite sized pieces (as much as you like)
thinly slice a small partially-frozen chicken breast

Once the broth is boiling, add carrots and shiitake mushrooms, and salt to taste.
Once the carrots are par-boiled, add the chicken.
Once the broth boils again, add all other veggies.
Stir veggies into broth, turn fire off immediately and serve. It's best when the veggies are par-boiled.
The next time I make this, I'd add a sprinkling of fresh Chinese parsley (cilantro) on top.

2011 Playing Catch Up & Practicing Other Habits

Okay, so I've gone lazy on my blog and haven't posted anything. So here's my catch up with 2011. I'm working part-part-time. And catching up on "exciting" home projects like mending clothes and other things, ripping apart my home-made version of a Vera Bradley tote bag and re-designing it, catching up on Bible reading (yeah, I am caught up FOR NOW), fixing home baked goods for Curt, trying to better plan meals and coordinate it with the shopping list (who knew it could be done?), and other tasks like that.

I've organized the spare-room closet and labeled containers so that if I suddenly die or my husband has to find something on his own, it's a task now made easy.

I've been trying to pare down some of my clothes and get rid of superfluous stuff to make room. I've caught up with the scrubbing, vacuuming up spider webs, baseboards, and walls, organized my food pantry, . . . on and on.

Of course, I have been going on the web looking for jobs and submitting resumes. But I've tried to make use of the time (more or less) that I've had while at home. It feels good to make myself useful, . . . or at least make my time useful.

My prayer partners & I have also changed our venue for weekly prayer. We are praying now at the district office of our church denomination. This has been very fulfilling and much more exciting. We see God confirming the things for which we are asking him, and that's always exciting.

But more importantly, a habit that I've been practicing is to take captive every thought, and make it subject to the knowledge of Jesus my Messiah. I could look around and see the situations and circumstances in my life that are discouraging. But then that would put me in a place where I choose not to dwell - meaning in a place of discouragement, sadness and dissatisfaction.

Instead, I have chosen to dwell in the goodness of the Lord, and his faithfulness to me thus far. He has proven himself to me and I have seen many miracles in my lifetime. Why would God quit displaying his love and faithfulness to me, just because my situation seems challenging? I know that he would NOT. I know I can count on his promises for me. I know he will remain ever faithful.

So more important to me in making my time useful, is keeping my thoughts disciplined with what I know for sure. And that is that God loves me. I am his adopted daughter. He hears my prayers and answers. He has good intentions for me, to prosper me and not to harm me. He would use me in kingdom work, if he counts me worthy. He is faithful to his word. He has been faithful to me all my life. And he intends to astound me with things beyond my imaginations and dreams. It's not just positive thinking. It is the facts. And so I continue along my path. And one day, I look forward to sharing the real details of my life once the Lord does his miracles!