Saturday, May 29, 2010

Quinoa Tabouli

Ok, here's the requested recipe. Granted, it's one I make every Friday at work, and I NEVER thought I would these kinds of foods...vegetarian junk, I mean stuff. I like the flavor, but the quinoa is a little too weird in my mouth. I'm all about texture when it comes to food. Normally, Tabouli is made with bulghur wheat. I'm sure you can just sub out the quinoa for bulghur.

Quinoa Tabouli

1 c. Quinoa
2c. water
3 med. tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 1/2 c. parsley, coarsely chopped
2 T. fresh mint, chopped
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/3 c. olive oil
1/2 t. salt

Rinse quinoa in cold water, rubbing between fingers to remove bitter, outer layer. Bring 2 c. water to a boil. Add quinoa. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 min. or until water is absorbed.
Chop veggies and herbs. Place in bowl and add lemon juice, oil, and salt. Stir gently. Add quinoa and gently toss. Allow to refrigerate for a while to blend flavors.

Variations: Substitute Bulghur Wheat for quinoa: Bring 2 c. water to a boil. Remove from heat. Add bulghur; cover, and let stand until water is absorbed (15-20 min.).
Could it be more simple than that? Hope you enjoy it.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Ya'll Get to See the Real Me



Hello, Peeps. This morning I thought, "It's time to let the world in on my life, if only briefly. I keep putting it off because it's been so long that I get all tied up in knots wondering what to post. Fear of blogging- Blogophobia? I dunno. Ok, this is my "Personal Thots" paragraph...

Why am I so hesitant to be me right now? Here I've been counting the days until we get to go HOME to NM, yet I feel like I can't be me because I don't want to offend anyone, or I fear peoples' reactions or thoughts...I really battle with fear of man. Sometimes, I honestly think, " I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks about me!"sorry, family if my choice of words causes you to gasp. Sometimes there ARE no other words. Yet, other times I think, "What do they think of me? Am I a failure? I wonder who's reading this and rolling their eyes (only payback for the thousands of "eye rolls" I gave my parents) thinking, "She sure has made a mess of her life. When is she gonna decide what she wants and settle down?"
Well, I'll tell you...NEVER. Why? Because God didn't make me that way. I am realizing that I was created with an "adventure mode". Some peeps are created with a "nesting mode", and I am completely jealous of that at times. To be in one place, one job, one church, one group of peeps that you've known for a lifetime...that sometimes sounds so inviting. But God didn't make us all the same (duh).
Another secret of mine: I've purposely not blogged or posted pics of where we've been living for the past year because I've been embarrassed and ashamed of where God has allowed us to be-an old, two bedroom mobile home that doesn't look very pretty on the outside. Isn't that horrible? There. I said it. When I take a step back and look at His hand in our lives since last summer my heart is so full of thankfulness, but I've not wanted to share it because of pride (even now there is a lump in my throat). Dang, this is freeing!!! (But I still won't post any pics).
Last night Jarrod and I were looking through a blog of someone we know here in town. I finally told him, "Ok, I need to stop looking at all this because I am feeling so jealous of it all." Beautiful home, beautiful fabrics, beautiful EVERYTHING!!! And here I sat, longing to be able to release all of that creativity that I have, but not knowing if/when it will ever happen again.
All of that to say...

We are getting to move back HOME to New Mexico in June!! When we made the decision to move here to Kansas, it was in a terrible time of crisis, financially, with the economy, etc. I don't know; maybe it was a mistake, maybe not. Either way, we moved here, hoping/dreaming that God would allow us to "prosper" in a quieter community, simpler lifestyle, all the things you think of when you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. But ya know what? It isn't HOME. For any of us. We've been here 1 1/2 yrs. and honestly had some good times..and crappy times, too. That's just all part of living in this world. Yes, we have dear, dear friends that we wish could go with us and keep getting together every weekend. Our kiddos have good friends that I know they don't want to leave. However, it's time. It's time to be where we love to be; to be with family as our kids grow up; time to invest in their lives as much as we can before this ol' world is over. I don't know how many years we have left here; when Jesus is coming back. It sure seems like it can't be that long now. But however long or short it is, I want to live it out to the FULLEST! BTW, this is still a major dream of ours...
Wow. I just realized that this "paragraph" is now a full-blown article. Well, you don't have to read it if you don't want to...too late, huh? We have about 3 wks. left here in Newton. I want to live those 3 wks. to the fullest. I honestly don't always know how to do that. I think it really involves God, though. In fact, I'm SURE it does!