My beach buddy

Hey, kid! Hang up and drive!

A prayer

I pray for my daughter a lot, naturally.  There is quite a breadth to the petitions – protection, guidance, strength, wisdom, discernment, provision, health…  But lately, I’ve been praying for her friends, for those who will enter her life and influence her forever.

I pray that the Lord will fill her life with people that take her heart seriously and model Christ for her.  People that would seek to edify her, pray for her, and deal with her authentically.

I pray that God gives her friends that really get her – that inspire her to be who He created her to be.  Specifically, I pray for that one girlfriend, the one she’ll call her best friend.

I ask that He prepares Baby S’s heart for meeting her best friend, that when they meet she would just know.  Know that she can trust her, know that this person was put in her life to help her learn and grow, to challenge her, to love her.

I pray that my daughter will learn how to be a good friend.  Not by the world’s standards, but by Jesus’ standard – to lay down her life for her friends.

I pray that, as her mother, I model what it means to be a true friend.  I know that I have so much to learn, so far to go in this area.  I can’t hold a candle to Jesus, or even to my best friend.

So, I pray that her “Tia” will pick up my slack.  Where I lack growth, I ask the Lord to use my sweet BFF – we were so dubbed by our students – to teach my daughter about friendship.  I ask that in our relationship, Baby S would see two women who truly love one another, fight for one another, encourage one another, deal authentically with one another.  I pray that she would want what we have, that she would settle for no less in her relationship with her best friend.

What we have is truly from God.  I knew it the moment I met her, though I couldn’t quite believe it at first.  I’d been so let down by friendships with other women in the past, left wanting for truth and acceptance and forgiveness.  Then all of a sudden, here was this person, this amazing woman of God who, like, wanted to be my friend!

She sees me as valid, as credible.  She takes me seriously, even when I have been repeating myself for 30 minutes saying the same thing in different words to her on the phone when she really has to pee before running to teach her next class.

She never tries to fix me or needs to patronize me.  She makes me feel accepted for who I am and loved for who I want to be.

Since that day, I’ve never looked back.  It’s been all the fun that a best girl is with none of the pretense, all the truth and authenticity without the judgment or the fractured relationship.

She is all the confirmation I need to know that the God I serve will craft this same relationship between my daughter and her future BFF.  May Baby S get as “lucky” as I got.

Amen.

Daring Cooks :: Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi

Yum and y-u-m.  I’ll definitely be making this again – a smashing start for the Daring Cooks!  I made my own ricotta for this dish and it was definitely worth it.  I also added lemon zest to the dough, per one of the suggested variations.  Brightened it up quite nicely, if I do say so.

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi

Source: From The Zuni Café Cookbook.

Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.

Equipment required:

- Sieve

-Cheesecloth or paper towels

-Large mixing bowl

-Rubber spatula

-Tablespoon

-Baking dish or baking sheet

-Wax or parchment paper

-Small pot

-Large skillet

-Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)

For the gnocchi:

1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)

2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter

2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)

½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)

about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)

all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:

8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced

2 teaspoons water

STEP 1 – The day before you make the gnocchi, preparing the ricotta. If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

STEP 2 – The day you plan on eating the gnocchi, making the gnocchi dough. To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta. Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture. Add in any flavoring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

STEP 3 – Forming the gnocchi. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp. In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump. Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes. If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success. Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them. Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour. You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

STEP 4 – Cooking the gnocchi. Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside. In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously. Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi). When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking. Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Just the prettiest darn soft tacos

Aren’t they, though?  Gah – the vavoom red tomatoes, the earthy green olives, the cheerful lime and cilantro… and let’s not neglect the pork hidden underneath all that goodness.  Oh my, this was the best pork loin I think I’ve made – as in ever.  Thank you, Kristin.

My mom

My mom is amazing because of the transformation I’ve seen in her – I’ve seen her grow and forgive and adapt and survive and step into her freedom more and more.  She is a true woman of God, one whose journey started as a young girl and has taken her through life.  She knows her Lord, she understands how He works (as much as any human can) and she obeys His principles.

She’s smart. Like, sharp as a tack. She’s discerning and she knows people.  She knows me.  No one fools my mom, not even for a second.

She sacrificed a LOT for us.  I remember she would see something pretty when we were out shopping for our school clothes.  She’d pick the hanger off the rack and turn the item around once or twice, looking longingly at it.  I’d be like, “Get it, Mom!  You like it, it’s so pretty.”  And she’d quickly put it back on the rack and say “No, no.  Not right now.”  Now I know – she was saving that money for our clothes, our college, our meals.  She always went a little over the budget just to get us that one extra shirt, or just a little something extra at Christmas.  It makes me want to buy her everything beautiful thing she could ever want, but even if I could do that, I know she’d just tell me, “No, no.  Pay it forward.  Get something for Stehle.”

She’s not afraid to work hard.  She excels in her home and her job.  Her house is always welcoming and pretty and smelling good.  Her meals bring everyone to the table, with all the laughs and none of the fuss.  She still works full-time.  She knows how to persevere, knows where her reward is.

She’s right there with you.  She’s get’s it.  I don’t have to explain much, she just knows what I mean because she relates well with people.  She doesn’t make a fuss, she doesn’t go over the top, she knows when to listen to me and she knows when to tell me to listen to her.  And she’ll tell me, whether I want to hear it or not.  She’s not worried about tickling my ear.

She’s beautiful.  She’s little and curvy and has such a classy fashion sense. Her skin is gorgeous. I used to adore watching her put on her makeup. She was absolutely larger than life when she stood in front of her mirror, leaned over the counter and dramatized her eyes with colored-shadow and mascara.  To this day, I can imitate the way she quickly slicked color over her lips – I could even sketch the shape her lipstick eventually took on after she used it a few times. One of the coolest things that has happened to me so far in life is looking down at my lipstick one day and realizing that it had taken on that exact shape.

I still want to be like her.  I have to fight the little girl inside me that wants to curl up and sit under her approving gaze.  I love to feel loved by my mom.

Hey, Mom… thank you.

Homemade ricotta

I’m a convert.  I am so glad I did this, it is  so simple!  I needed ricotta for a project I’m working on, so I used this video to make my own.  Try it – you’ll never go back to store-bought ricotta again.

Chipotle-Lime Corn Muffins

This is hardly a recipe, but it’s scrumptious nonetheless.  I needed a quick, spicy, starch to accompany a Mexican-flavored fish dish we had one night, so I whipped out the $0.59 Jiffy corn muffin mix I keep on hand for situations such as this and gave it a little TLC.  I think once corn season is in full swing I’ll make them from scratch and add some fresh corn for a little texture.

Chipotle-Lime Corn Muffins

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix and the egg and water it calls for

2 T lime zest

1 T chipotle chile powder

1 t oregano

1 t cocoa chile powder

1 t cumin

Combine ingredients, distribute into a muffin tin, and bake according to package directions.  Doesn’t quite make a whole dozen… maybe 10.

I would love to know her sweet thoughts

Spring clean with me!

I need someone to hold me accountable to stick to this plan.  I’m downsizin’ and simplifyin’.  C’mon… I can’t be the only one with a life house in-need of organization.  The party starts Monday, so get your supplies, get the e-book, and get cleaning!