Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Pesto - Yum!

I have lots of ideas swimming in my head for blog posts, but I haven't set aside regular time to put my thoughts into words.  I wanted to take a few moments today though, as this is one recipe I've been anxious to share!  Several weeks ago, I decided I needed to harvest my basil-turned-giant-beanstalk-plant and figure out a way to turn it into something spectacular for dinner.  I love, love, love the idea of walking outside and picking fresh ingredients to feed my family.  Perhaps we are destined for a 'farm' someday but, for now, I am just excited that I haven't killed anything growing in the clay pots on our deck! 

I searched my collection of cookbooks and a number of Internet sites, and couldn't find a recipe that would work with what I had on hand, so I combined a few ideas, experimented with ingredient portions and turned out a delicious dinner that even my kids gobbled up!

Here is my take on Sun-dried Tomato Basil Pesto:

1 1/2 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
8.5 oz. sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
4 garlic cloves, minced
2TB pine nuts (+more to toast for garnish)
salt & pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients.  Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.  I added most of the olive oil in the beginning and then gradually add more to make it the right consistency and flavor.  Serve over your favorite pasta with toasted pine nuts & parmesan cheese.

 It yielded about 1 3/4 cups, which I was able to divide in half and use for two meals.  The pesto froze in small containers very well.  After filling each, I topped them with a slim layer of olive oil to keep ice from forming right on the pesto (it is easy to take the extra oil out when you defrost it).  I later read several tips on freezing pesto which stated you should not freeze pesto that already has the cheese mixed in, for quality reasons.  Being that I read that after I made it, I froze it anyways, and still had delicious results!  Bon Appetit!

Green Pastures in the Desert

Have you ever felt like everything surrounding you is dry?  Not literally, mind you, but spiritually,  mentally and emotionally?  The spring that seemed quench your weariness for a season of life has slowed to but a trickle, and even while you are thankful for what little you still have, there is a constant fear that it is not enough and it, too, will dry up.  I am in such a desert.  Our family moved to a rural town in Minnesota in the middle of a December blizzard.  I found myself full of conflicting doubts and hopes about the new life in which we were embarking.  We left sunny Colorado Springs and our friends, mentors, homeschool co-op and the military life behind us in order to give our family a chance for a better life and childhood for our precious little ones.  We dreamed of a life without deployments, constant moves, and the infuriating indecision by people who control your life, but don't live it.  I'm not sure if we've found what we're looking for yet. 

Small town Minnesota isn't exactly what we had planned when we dreamed of civilian stability.  I try to remind myself that we had remained in the military in Colorado, the boys and I would be there alone.  My husband would be serving his second tour of duty in Iraq and I'd be a temporarily single mommy again.  And yet I can't help but wish for the 'old days'.  I had connections with other women there; but here I find none.  I had amazing homeschool support & activities there; but here I come up at a loss.  My children felt a belonging there; but here it seems that not even one of us 'fits'. 

Over the last week I've come across Psalm 25 a number of times, and so I've read it several times over the last few days.  It starts "O Lord, I give my life to you.  I trust in you, my God....."  I can't help but think in reading that passage how much am I trusting God if I allow myself to be paralyzed by fear? 

Another verse I came across is Psalm 32:8 "The Lord says, I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you."  I want with all of my being to believe that He has put me on His best road, but then I doubt every step that I take. 

Then I read a devotional in my Bible, which included excerpt by Hannah Whitall Smith (from The God of All Comfort): "You need not be afraid to follow Him whithersoever He leads, for He always leads His sheep into green pastures and beside still waters.  No matter though you may seem to yourself to be in the very midst of a desert, with nothing green about you inwardly or outwardly and you may think you have to make a long journey before you can get into any green pastures, the good Shepherd will turn the very place where you are into green pastures;  for He has power to make the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose; and He has promised that "instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree";  and "in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."

We have been waiting individually and as a family to be led into the 'green pastures and beside still waters.'  I had my own thoughts and ideas that after our (brief) stay here in Minnesota, God would lead us on and then we'd really be in the greenest, most stable part of our lives.  Then I will finally just be able to breathe.  But I read that passage and realize that maybe this is what God has planned for us.  My mind is still trying to grasp the idea that this desert I am in could 'blossom as the rose'.  I'll be honest - I don't see it.  The stubborn dreamer in me won't let go of my own mind's picture of the life I so desire to live.  But another small part of my heart is intrigued and I wonder at the possibilities that the creator of the heavens and earth could work in and through my life.  Yet they are possibilities that can only be created if I give up my life and fear (and that stubborn streak) and trust Him.

Sidelined....and a link to a wonderful giveaway!

I sit here sipping my morning cup of coffee on my sofa with my feet up while my sweet children play on the floor beside me.  Sound idyllic?  Maybe....the boys are being unusually cooperative this morning.  But the real reason I am able to sit with my feet up is that I have a broken toe.  Such a silly thing to bang a toe on a coffee table and then spend two hours of your life in an emergency room and several days with a foot elevated on an icepack in all its purple bruised glory.  "Try to stay off of it, don't flex your foot when you walk and don't do a lot of walking," the doctor had said.  Hmmm....define 'a lot.' 

I don't often sit down during the course of a normal day.  Like most moms with young children, my 'to-do' list is always growing.  As a matter of fact, despite my intense love of making lists, I rarely bother to take a moment to write one down.  Dishes, laundry, meals, dishes, nose wiping, snacks, dishes, grocery shopping, appointments, (did I mention the dishes?)....all clutter my day and my mind.  Feet up on the couch while I blog and drink coffee?  Yeah, right.  But as it turns out, here I am.  Pigs are flying somewhere. 

I'm choosing to be thankful for being sidelined this week.  I have actually been thinking that I should sideline myself more often (minus the broken bone of course!).  This morning I cuddled with my boys and read a pile of (very overdue) library books instead of putting the laundry away.  This afternoon perhaps we'll sit and play a game on the floor that desperately needs the dog fur vacuumed off of it.  A broken toe is certainly an inconvenience; but sometimes maybe convenience is overrated.  I would rather have precious, simple moments with my boys than constant, mindless, busyness any day!

And now for the give-away!  I am a big fan of authors Clay & Sally Clarkson who founded Whole Heart Ministries.  When we lived in Colorado, I had the great pleasure of listening to Sally speak during a homeschool co-op support group, at her home for a study of one of her books, and at one of her conferences in Denver.  I have been very blessed by the words of encouragement they have for moms and families. 

One of their books, "Educating the WholeHearted Child," was recently updated.  I got a hold of an earlier edition awhile back and it is the one homeschool book that I turn to repeatedly for encouragement and ideas.  Now, Sally is doing a giveaway on her blog for a copy of the new addition.  I plan to enter - and even if I don't win, I know that the new book will soon find a way into my home library!  Here is a link to the giveaway:
http://www.itakejoy.com/educating-the-wholehearted-child-a-giveaway-for-the-best-book-ever/#more-3603
You'll need to act quickly to enter as it ends tomorrow, July 6.  Good luck and have a very blessed day!

Happy 4th of July!

Just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge all of the men and women who have ever served to make and keep our nation free and united - whether recently or hundreds of years ago.  I have the utmost respect for our military and their family members who give up so much for all of us.  I have several friends whose husbands are preparing for deployments, and my heart and prayers go out to them.  They are as courageous and honorable as their soldiers.  The husbands, wives, children and extended families of our military are amazing people who need our love and prayers as much as those in uniform.  So if you see a soldier or veteran today I hope you'll take time to thank them.  And then don't forget to thank their family who has served courageously beside them.  Have a very happy and very safe Independence Day!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles...

While I haven't really travelled a thousand miles just to begin this blog - sometimes it sure seems like that great of a distance and more! This blog has been a long time coming. I have started and stopped and started again only to abandon it once more. I have always loved to write - growing up there was seldom a time when I didn't have a notebook and pen nearby and some story or poem swirling in my head. As life got 'noisier'- college, marriage, babies, moving and expanding 'to do' lists - I found less and less time in which I could, or would, take time to read, write or create. I seldom read anything outside of the self-help marriage or parenting books which promise to help life be so much better. But I rarely finished any of those books and found the love I once had for beautiful writing slowly slipping away. Just over a year ago, I attended a weekend conference, where I was reminded of that creative part of myself that I had almost forgotten existed. Something stirred in my heart as I realized how much joy I had missed. I started reading again; not dry, guilt-inducing books, but real, enjoyable, get-lost-in-a-book-until-well-past-midnight works of literature. I have discovered classics that I wish I had read long ago, and rediscovered old favorites.

What does any of that have to do with writing this blog? Everything, it turns out! As I have sought after ways to simplify my life and quiet the 'noise' around me, I have found more space in my life that I am eager to fill with things that are worthy, creative, and joyful (Philippians 4:8).  I'm inspired to put pen to paper and write again.  It is a journey that has taken some time to start - and one that I hope will take me a thousand miles and beyond. And while it will never look perfect, I'm taking a step anyways. I'll share with you my love for God & my family, homeschooling, hopeful adoption, and books as well as my love/hate relationship with housework and gluten free food. So grab some coffee and pull up a cozy chair. Thanks for sharing a few moments with me.