dressed up brussel sprouts

My new year resolutions post will have to wait until tomorrow. I broke ground today and must share the news — brussel sprouts aren't that bad. 

By the age of four I had a distaste for the small green rounds known as brussel sprouts. And if ever offered them, I politely have said no since...until tonight. I couldn't resist when I went grocery shopping this evening. They were all sitting there piled high and looking cute in their perfect circular green jackets. And on top of that Deb from Smitten Kitchen has posted numerous recipes for brussel sprouts in the past few months which seemed to de-mask them as awful. 

So I did what any good cook would do and bought 2. Yes, only 2. I didn't want a lot of them lying around if I really didn't like them. I adapted a recipe from Smitten Kitchen and they actually made a wonderful addition to my dinner. 

In case you too have had a fear of the little greens, this recipe is quite easy and delicious. (I only made two so you will need to significantly increase the recipe if you make more.) 

Dressed Up Brussel Sprouts

1 tb bread crumbs 

1/2 tsp thyme leaves

butter

extra virgin olive oil

1 tb minced shallot

garlic powder

salt, pepper

Mix bread crumbs, thyme and 1 tb of evoo in a small bowl. Spread mixture out on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 min. at 350 degrees. Melt 1 tb butter with a tb of evoo in a small pan. When melted, toss in the brussel sprouts, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute for approximately 10 minutes. Add in shallots and a tad bit of garlic powder. Saute for another three to five minutes. Remove from heat. Place in bowl and sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs. 

Bon Appetit!

happy new year

Happy January 1, 2010. Two thousand ten seemed to sneak up on me. Not that I didn't realize last night was New Year's Eve or that it obviously comes a few days after the more prominent Christmas, but I was a little shocked when I woke this morning and realized it's 2010. Perhaps it is because I made it through 2009 easier than expected or truly, I may have just been too preoccupied with life to contemplate a new year. 

However, there is one thing I've been thinking about in terms of the new year the past few weeks and that is the concept of New Year resolutions. I spent today thinking about resolutions whilst early "spring cleaning" my life and home. Tomorrow, I'll update you with an exciting (hopefully) new theory on New Year Resolutions. Until then...

You may be asking what on earth is this a photograph of? However, what it is lacks importance...the importance of the photos lies in the hopeful, white slate image edged with warmth and hope. At least, that's what I see it as...and light is pretty. 

baked

It started with boysenberry pie. Then brioche rolls. And especially the cinnamon bread. Her hands...how they so easily moved with grace, precision and the perfect amount of recklessness. My grandfather was an artist. He painted. My grandmother was an artist. She baked. In the kitchen, she moved effortlessly and without a recipe in hand, she knew exactly what to do. Once her baked goods made their debut from the oven browned, sugared and risen to perfection, our mouths watered until they were cool enough to savor their goodness.

One summer before she passed, I made the drive to Fresno to learn how to make her pies. Her boysenberry pie was my favorite. We would always take a few frozen home with us to bake throughout the year. And oh how I licked each plate clean. Truly the best pie ever. She showed me how to make the perfect crust and I watched in awe how she could measure exactly one cup of flour in the palm of her hand. I forced her to pour the flour in a measuring cup because I didn't believer her at first. Sure enough, exactly one cup. (I'm still trying to master this, I figure it must take a life time.)

It was watching her and most likely tasting her dishes growing up that instilled in me a love to bake. I simply can't go a week without making some sort of dessert, dinner or breakfast in the oven. And I love it. I love the feeling that I inherited a desire to bake the way she did. I love being covered in flour and sugar and of course, licking the mixing bowl clean. I love sharing my love through baking too. Just like her. I still feel a sense of home, warmth and love whenever I make her dishes. And I hope one day people will feel that way too when I share one of my dishes with them.

This Christmas I made her brioche rolls for the first time. They turned out almost as delicious as hers. Brioche are fairly easy to make as long as you have patience. They take 11 hours to make, but are well worth the wait.




Thanks Grandma!

merry christmas

The presents were wrapped all under the tree, the table was set with genuine care and the ham in the oven filled the air sweetly while sugar cookies were frosted and sampled greedily. Christmas day was filled with family, love and good food. 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas time as well filled with sugarplums and friendly gatherings! 

Merry Christmas!

This is Sabrina. She says Merry Christmas too.

flat land, illinois

I wish I was here today. Peaceful. Calm. Gray.

Lovely. Even with my cold sniffles. 

breathe

I stepped outside the classroom door and slowly took another step forward breathing in. A breath that felt like my first in four months. A breath that felt like relief. It was a relief. It reminded me of stepping off a plane at the Long Beach airport into open air. Fresh, movable air. I felt movable. 

The past four months were a flurry of nervous questions, late night cups of coffee and stress. Now, it wasn't all that bad. In fact, it was fun. It was exciting to be back in a classroom and I now have 30 or so more people to love. And people who love me. And have loved me, well. 

Monday afternoon, I handed in my final exam, walked outside and chatted with now friends and approximately five minutes into the conversation exclaimed, "we can drink again!" I completed my first semester of graduate school at the Institute for Spiritual Formation, something I wasn't sure I could do four months ago. And after looking into my heart for four months, digging around and surfacing unknown thoughts and feelings, I could use a drink...or two (maybe not three) while off contract. 

Working full time and going to school is hard. Something seemingly obvious and known before I entered the semester, but I think I was a bit surprised. And I was more open. It wasn't like senior year when I was well over my head, but could be a 'survivor' (to an extent). Being in ISF is almost a calling to not be a 'survivor.' I was required to sit with God and think about my heart and life, something I desperately wanted and yet was sometimes so difficult. 

I am extremely thankful for this last semester. I never thought of myself as 'protected' in life. But I now more than ever realize how much God, not anyone else, but how God protected me growing up. And even how He was gentle with me this semester. I am the woman I am today solely because of Him and couldn't be more thankful.

I will breathe a little lighter through Christmas without the burden of prayer projects and books and working extra hours to make up for class time, but with a heavy knowledge of how much I owe, a good knowledge, one that I want to continue to learn to breathe with and for.  

cabbage

I feel like this today. A little fuzzy. Perhaps a little blurry even. Hoping my cold will magically disappear over night...

 

But Happy Rain! You, please stay.