A new apron, a new year and lemons!

A new Apron!

Have you ever felt like life is just whizzing you by? That is exactly how 2012 felt to me! The year was full of celebrations, losses, cooking and traveling. Each experience was rich in learning and as with all experiences, at times difficult to get to the other side.

The Spring brought the loss of my dear Sister-in-law, Jo Adams. We were high school friends and I was blessed that she married my older brother, Dave. Her loss was unexpected and left a hole in our families life in so many ways. Summer brought the loss of my Uncle Doni; again unexpected but brought the end of a long battle with cancer. Fall brought the loss of my dear friend Joyce Anne. She was larger than life itself and a true mentor for most of my adult life.

I love being part of celebrations! Cooking was over the top for me this year! Bridal showers, baby showers, graduations, celebrations of life and weddings all topped the list of my "catering" projects. When I set out on my path to make life changes I had no idea that doing what I love - cooking - could bring so much joy to others.

And of course I loved traveling this year. I visited Oklahoma City, Washington, D.C. and a voluntary medical trip to Nicaragua.

Guess what? Lemons are in season again....time to share a recipe....I combined about four recipes I had from various cookbooks and this has become my favorite. Those of you who have had my lemonade you know I always add nutmeg - so my lemon bars have nutmeg too!

Lemon Bars

For the crust:

1 c. flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. butter, melted but not hot

freshly grated nutmeg

For the filling:

2 large eggs

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 T. flour

6 T. lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

2 tsps. finely grated lemon zest

Additional powdered sugar for sprinkling on top after baking

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 pan with foil (you will be able to take the bars out easily from the pan this way). Spray foil lightly with cooking spray.

For the crust mix the flour, salt, powdered sugar and a few grates of nutmeg into a medium bowl; stir in butter to form dough. Press dough into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until pale golden, about 20 - 25 minutes.

While the crust bakes, whisk eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and zest in a medium bowl.

Remove pan from oven. Add lemon mixture and return to bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan for a few minutes and then using foil pull the bars from pan and set on a cooling rack. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. Cool until room temperature. Cut into squares and serve. Yum!

Welcome 2012 and two NEW recipes to warm your toes.....

First I can't believe that it IS 2012 and second that we are well into the third week of the month! Time does fly when you are having fun! So this is the time of year we all think about our resolutions - goals - intentions. Our local newspaper recently filled a whole page of the paper with some good ones, so I thought I would share. It INSPI(RED) me and I've already done a few things on this list ~

Get 10 things out of your closet and take them to Goodwill~Frame a piece of art~Adopt a dog or cat from a rescue organization~Go 24 hours without the Internet~Find a new recipe, no a NEW one~ Throw out all the old ketchup packets from your desk drawer~When a friend or co-worker loses a loved one, mark it on your calendar and ask how they are doing in six months~See a late movie~Do one thing you keep putting off~Laugh out loud~Download music in another language~Take your child out of school one day and go play~Leave a wildly inappropriate tip~Change the radio station in your car~Get a physical~Eat somewhere across town~Notice someone and pay them a compliment, it will make their day~Pay anonymously for the person behind you in the drive-through or at the coffee shop~Pick up a rock that catches your eye and carry it around in your pocket all day~Spend one day by yourself~Make an appointment with yourself at 3 pm each day to walk around the block, YES, while you are at work~Stop for a donut, just one~Are you a birthday slacker; try not to miss one all year~Buy something in a new color~If you're in a rut, get out~Take a different way to work~Put an old leash and dog treats in your car in case you see a lost dog~Make a list of your 10 favorite books and re-read them~Watch cartoons on Saturday Morning.

This list inspired me...how about you? 
I can help YOU with one thing on this list, "Find a new recipe" ~ how about two! When it's colder outside I love STEW so I will share my new favorite stew recipe. I also love Banana Bread, but I love this recipe with a twist; blueberries! I would love to give credit for where I found these recipes but I tear recipes out of magazines all the time and I always seem to change the recipe just a bit.

White Bean and Mushroom Stew
Serves 4-6
2 TBSP. olive oil, more for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. white wine (optional - I used pear wine)
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 c. cooked white beans, rinsed (cannelli, great northern,etc.)
1 sprig fresh rosemary (love the flavor this adds)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to garnish each bowl

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, celery and carrots until tender, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add mushrooms cooking until tender 5-7 minutes. Deglaze pan by adding wine and scraping up any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add veggie/wine mixture to a large crock pot. Add the tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper. Stir together and place the rosemary sprig on top. Cook covered for 3-4 hours on low. Remove the rosemary sprig (it's fine if it falls apart, just remove the stem and whatever is left). When ready to serve drizzle with a little olive oil and grate some fresh Parmesan cheese into each serving bowl. You can also make this stew on your stove top, but I love using my crock pot. Great vegetarian or meatless Monday recipe.

Blueberry Banana Bread
Makes 2 loaves or 1 loaf and 12 muffins

1 pt fresh or frozen blueberries (about 2 cups) - I prefer fresh
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided (see note below)
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
5 med ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp. vanilla
1 TBSP. ground allspice (could substitute cinnamon)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Use two bread pans or one bread pan and a muffin pan (my preference). Spray pans with cooking spray; line muffin pan with muffin liners. Toss blueberries with 2 TBSP. of flour and set aside.

In large mixing bowl, using electric mixer at medium speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, bananas and vanilla; beat at low speed until blended. Add remaining flour, allspice and next three ingredients; beat at low speed just until well blended. Using a spoon, fold in the blueberries. If making muffins, fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Pour remaining batter in bread pan. If making two loaves of bread, divide batter evenly. Place both pans in the oven. Muffins will take about 22-25 minutes, bread will take about 45-50 minutes. Test using a wooden toothpick; if when inserted in the center it comes out clean they are done cooking. Cool in pans for about 10-20 minutes. Serve warm (yummy with butter) or let cool to serve later. Enjoy!

Until next time...wishes to all for an amazing year! Oh, and watch your mail - I never seem to be able to send out Christmas cards like everyone else, last year I sent a Valentine's card,  who knows when you'll get a card this year!

Sometimes you take a trip and sometimes the trip takes you....

Isn't that so true! A wise woman I know gave a bit of advice at a seminar I once attended...where ever YOU are, BE there. We can sometimes get so involved in the planning and organizing of our travels that we forget to enjoy not just the big moments but also the little moments that happen along the way. Personally, I live for the little moments. Traveling to Nepal and then to Bhutan was full of little moments and I've decided that I would share some little moments of my adventure.

First, traveling to Asia was not on my "wish" list of places to visit. But a doctor in Nepal shared a "wish"  with a doctor in Tempe, AZ and after years of planning their combined wish came true;  to bring a team of professionals and equipment to Kathmandu, Nepal to teach minimally invasive surgery to OB/GYN surgeons. As the team was created and the equipment collected a secondary team evolved comprised of doctors, teachers, nurses and others like me, who just wanted to make a difference.


One of our first adventures was to travel outside of Kathmandu where we stayed at Pullhari Monastery. Our accommodations were simple and the evenings were quite cold. Our rooms had no heat and some of us shared a bathroom a short walk from our rooms. All part of the adventure! 












Our hosts were gracious and on our first day we took about a 30 minute walk to one of the local villages. We set up shop, my role being to provide dental education. The needs were great and by the end of the first morning I had given away 225 toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. Both toothpaste and floss were new introductions. 



We hiked back to the Monastery; took longer since we were now hiking uphill! We spent the rest of that day and into the next day seeing all 250 monks, some as young as seven years old. They were all so disciplined and mindful but I could sense the absence of nurturing.

On Wednesday we left the Monastery and joined our hospital group back in Kathmandu. As you can see from the photo, the teaching went well ~ at times there were over 15 people in the operating theatre. By the end of the week, the Nepalese physicians were performing the procedures unassisted by the American team.

Our next stop - a visit to the American Embassy. It was wonderful to meet with the team from USAID and learn about all the sustainable projects in Nepal. No photos as security is very strict. After leaving the Embassy we spent the rest of the day at Alpine Valley School. We happily delivered over 400 books that Chase, a young man collected as part of his eagle scout project. We treated the 118 children to a simple box lunch and then divided into teams where we went class to class visiting and teaching a broad range of topics. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or our team. We granted a "wish" and provided a new computer for their students. 


Our next day was spent at a Clinic outside Kathmandu providing health exams. Our gracious host, Dinesh assisted us with setting up a clinic and facilitated my visit to two different schools to teach dental education.

Toothbrushes and toothpaste were welcomed by both young and old.

I took so many photos it was hard to decide which to share! I'll end with just a few more. My blog wouldn't be complete if I didn't add a photo of food - and with rice being a staple meal at least twice a day, I'll share a photo of one of our typical meals and photos of the rice drying on the large mats.

 

Can you guess which of these mountains is Mt. Everest? Seeing Mt. Everest was breathtaking and truly one of the big moments of the trip. Hope you've enjoyed my little moments....a child's smile...an elders gratitude...a new smell...a new sight...a new sound...new tastes. This trip really did take me!

 

I love taking photos of doors...I have them from all over the world. This one caught my attention because it had four doors in a row and it made me think of this blog; four aprons and the significance the number four has become in my life. The door farthest to the left represents me; it's the door that is half open. I still have many possibilities and adventures yet to come. The other three doors represent my Mom and my Grandma's. While their doors are closed and they are gone, they still stand right next to me guiding me on my travels and in my kitchen. During this time of year when we surround ourselves with family, friends and reflection take the time enjoy small moments. They can take your breath away and bring a tear to your eye when you least expect it!