My First Minnesota Breakdown

I have been fighting the urge to buy anything for the apartment we live in because we have our things in storage in Seattle and they will be here “soon.”

However, house hunting hasn’t given us a house yet and it will be 5 months since our things have been in storage.

My cooking life has been hampered since I lack the utensils to do things properly.  Yes, I can whisk instead of blend in a mixer.  But it’s not the same.

So, the other day, I broke down and bought a new blender. I had a recipe I was trying and needed to pulse the ingredients. Can’t pulse very well with a whisk.

I dragged my husband with me to Target and we picked out the blender. It’s an Oster and works beautifully so far.

Oster Blender
Oster Blender

I just hope that I don’t break down and buy all new kitchen utensils.

 

[amazon_link id=”B003ZDNIM6″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Broccoli Sunflower Seed Soup

I came across this recipe for Broccoli Sunflower Seed Soup.  It sounded a little odd but the soup is really good.

Broccoli Sunflower Soup

 

This recipe was originally created to be Vegan but I used Greek Yogurt instead of Soy Yogurt.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb broccoli
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 1/4 cup sunflower kernels
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • Splash of Tabasco
  • 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup Soy Yogurt (I used Greek)

A note regarding the red pepper flakes.  Adding “a pinch” means you like a little “bite” to your soup. I would have added less than a “pinch” or none at all.

Directions

  1. Chop the onion and celery
  2. Cut broccoli in small pieces, leaving a few larger ones for garnish
  3. Heat oil in a large soup pot
  4. Add onion and celery and saute
  5. Add broccoli pieces
  6. Stir to mix flavors well
  7. Add red pepper flakes and bring soup to a boil
  8. Once boiling, lower heat, simmer for 5-8 minutes
  9. Add sunflower seeds and continue cooking
  10. Remove a few broccoli florets from soup for garnish
  11. Remove from heat and let cool a little while
  12. Using a blender, put half of the soup in and puree
  13. Add the remainder of the soup and puree
  14. Add the yogurt and mix all together in blender
  15. Add salt (I didn’t find I needed to), Tabasco and lemon pepper seasoning
  16. Return soup to pot and serve using the broccoli florets as garnish

This makes about 4 servings. Since the soup is thick, I added a little more yogurt for a creamier consistency.

I found this recipe at vegalicious.org.

Enjoy!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Clean or Unclean

The big piles of snow in Minnesota are melting.  They are no longer pure white but show the dirt beneath and inside.

Minnesota Snow in March

This is how I look inside.  Sometimes I do good.  Sometimes I do bad. I tend to measure myself by how much good I do. If there were a scale, would my life be balanced equally between the good and the bad or would one side be weighed down more than the other?

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

All includes me.  And if I stop at this Scripture, I would not see any hope for me. But, as Paul Harvey used to say, here’s the rest of the story.

Romans 4:7  Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

I have a “covering.”  A robe that Christ puts over me.  A robe that is clean –righteous.  It represents the life He lived.  And He covers me with it if I believe in Him.

No longer does God look at my life and see all the dirt.  He only sees goodness because I am covered by the life of Jesus.

Romans 3:22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

And I am happy inside.  Now the challenge – to look at other people the same way.

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Car Dealerships in Minnesota

This past Sunday, my husband and I decided to test drive some cars in preparation to buy a 2nd car, always looking forward to our first house in Minnesota that has a garage.  We had 2 cars in Seattle but sold the 2nd when we moved to Minnesota.

Unfortunately, all the car dealerships were closed on Sunday.  It was really odd. In Seattle, the car dealerships are always open.

Apparently, Minnesota has a “blue law” still on the books that prohibit car dealerships to be open on Sunday.  That’s odd.  Really really odd.

 

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

A Meditation on Sin

On my Google Reader, I have different blogs that I follow.  Some I quickly peruse through, some I pass by as they have little interest that day, and some I keep because they strike a cord inside me.

This past week, I ran into a blog post that hit home with me.  It has to do with how we look at sin and our relationship to it before and after we become Christians.

Click on the link below to read it and feel free to comment.  I think it was right on.

Meditation on Sin

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Empanadas

Seems like every time I go see my Mama now she makes us chicken empanadas.  They are similar to a small calzone or a turnover. The filling can be anything you want (just make it flavorful).

The ingredient amounts are approximate as I added and then tasted as I went along until I had the “right” taste for my palette.

Ingredients

Goya Tapas (covers) for Empanadas

  • Sofrito (see jar below or click here for how to make)
  • Can of Tomato Sauce
  • Green Olives
  • Bakon, Hickory Smoke Style
  • Package of Goya Tapas (cover for Empanadas)
  • Scallions (chopped)
  • Onion (chopped)
  • Green Pepper (chopped)
  • 1 medium sized potato
  • Skinless Chicken (cut in small bite-sized pieces)
  • Oil for frying
Bakon Hickory Smoke Style

You can buy Goya brand Sofrito at the grocery store that is already made or click here for the recipe.

Bakon Hickory Smoke Style was recommended to me by a stranger I met at the local Adventist Book Center when I was shopping for some vegetarian items.  It is vegetarian and very tasty.

Directions

  1. In a medium sized pot, add 2-3 tablespoons of Sofrito and warm through.
  2. Add 1/2 can of tomato sauce
  3. Add Bakon seasoning (to taste)
  4. Heat through (does not have to boil)
  5. Chop the vegetables and olives into small pieces and add to the sauce
  6. Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces and add it to the sauce
  7. Heat on low until the chicken is cooked (about 45 minutes)
  8. While the filling is cooking, open the Goya tapas (covers) .  They have a plastic film between them to keep them from sticking.
  9. After the ingredients have cooked through, add a couple of tablespoons to the middle of the tapas. Try not to use too much of the liquid or the tapa may fall apart.
  10. Fold the tapa over and with the edge of a fork, press down and seal the two ends.
  11. In a frying pan, heat the oil for frying. When hot, add one empanada at a time.
  12. Fry one side of the empanada, then turn over and fry the other side.  Try not to over-fry them.  You don’t want them to be extra crispy.
  13. Put the cooked empanadas on paper towels to soak the extra oil off of them.
  14. Serve with your choice of vegetable and rice.

My Mama usually makes this as a quick snack food for us. Use ingredients that you like.  Then – enjoy!

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Lino Lakes House Update

This afternoon we learned that the sellers of the Lino Lakes house we made an offer on do not want to make the repairs that we requested.

In addition, they are not willing to send us the design nor estimates for the new septic that will have to go in AFTER we have purchased and moved into the house.  We aren’t clear as to why they won’t cooperate except we have to believe that there is something in the design that they feel may be a problem for us.

Since the septic will be going in after we purchase the house, we feel we need to know the location/design along with what kind of impact it will have to us.

We have rescinded our offer since they are not willing to cooperate.

Bummer … our 6th offer on a 6th house that didn’t go through.  What a strange Minnesota housing market.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Lino Lakes House Inspection

This past Monday we were expecting to receive the estimate for how much the cost of a new septic will cost along with the location of the septic, etc.

The listing agent informed us on Friday that they were not aware that they were to provide that although we have requested it a few times. She said there was a misunderstanding but I am having a hard time believing that as we have asked for it over and over again. Wouldn’t you think she would say “What is it you want?” or something to that effect if she was unclear?  I don’t like playing games.

Apparently, a design had to be created first before they could get estimates for installing a new septic which can’t happen until after the ground thaws — normally around the beginning of May according to the designer.

We have requested a copy of the design and will have to have additional days added to the inspection contingency so that we can review everything before we finally sign off on the purchasing of the house.

Much frustration would have been prevented had the listing agent given us this information ahead of time.

In addition, during the inspection of the house this past Wednesday, we found several things that need to be remedied by the sellers.  A leaky sanitary pipe, rusted gauges, fireplaces that need to be cleaned and a venting flue that needs to be moved due to it being too close to combustibles.

We did not request they repair the deck which does not have the proper bracing and lacks other things.  We’ll take a closer look at that when the snow thaws and make adjusts later if need be.

We’re in a holding pattern now waiting for the sellers to agree to the things we’ve requested.

Although this is a nice house and we really like the neighborhood, we may have to walk if things don’t come together soon.  We don’t have time to waste as we want to be out of our apartment by May 1st.  So, if this isn’t going to work, we need to make an offer on another house rather quickly.

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Temptation

On a recent blog (my memory fails me to which one) someone was talking about Eve and her temptation to eat the “apple” in the garden of Eden.

Image Courtesy of Arztsamui

The author suggested that our temptations aren’t really that much different than Eve’s.

The Biblical account in Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 1-3 goes like this:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

Anyone who knows me, knows that I could have stood in the Garden of Eden with fruit all around me and not have fallen.  (I eat fruit but it’s not a “temptation.”)

But, put me in a garden filled with chocolate and we have a totally different story. Our temptations vary as individuals but we all have something that can break us down to the core and shake up our resolve.

We are quick to fault others who fail by saying “How could they do such and such a thing?” but we choose (as Joyce Meyer would say) to look at ourselves with rose tinted glasses.

But, we’re not fine.  All of us are prone to angry, envy, deceit, lust, pride …

So, instead of continuing to kick another human being down into the mud, let’s extend our hand to lift him out, assuming we’re not in the same mud hole.

___________________________________

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1998

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email