Two fried eggs served alongside buttered toast with their drippy yolks. Just enough salt and pepper atop inviting me for another taste. My first meal after returning home from the hospital with my firstborn. Bean and bacon soup with far too much sodium gingerly biting down. Sitting in my bed watching tv, and being nursedContinue reading “Whole 30 Approved Kale, Apple, & Carrot Salad with Creamy Cashew Dressing”
Tag Archives: hazelnuts
Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies with Orange Zest
Ben & I are entering into our first time counseling gig. I humor myself calling it a gig. We have the privilege of serving as a guiding couple to three non-married & non-engaged couples through our church’s pre-engagement course.
It’s a 10 week class, where the couples answer lots of questions, fill out family history background & work through a lot the hidden dimensions of marriage. They get to see whether this significant other is compatible for them to make the big step of engagement. And I realize a “pre-engagement” class sounds rather odd compared to the widely known, “pre-marital.”
Day 18 :: Pumpkin Pecan Scones & Needing to Be Still
Last night as I stared at my screen to finish up Day 17 on INFPs & ENFPs, all I wanted to do was cry & pour out my heart of what I’m dealing with. I did not want to write about Myers-Briggs (I know shock!). I wanted to talk about how hard it isContinue reading “Day 18 :: Pumpkin Pecan Scones & Needing to Be Still”
Paleo Day 3: Hazelnut Butter & Apple Slices
I made a Greek salad tonight for dinner (without that salty addition known as feta) with leftover pistachio crusted salmon, but the food I enjoyed the most was a small amount of hazelnut butter with a couple of apple slices. No picture, just get some hazelnut butter & cut up some apples, not too difficult–right!
While we’re on the topic of food (yes I have been dreaming about it lately)…I began thinking today, just prior to putting my girls to bed, how I would be watching Top Chef: Just Desserts tonight. Sounds pretty horrible, considering everything they make on the show I cannot eat; however, what was worst for me was the reality that I couldn’t even have a little chocolate while watching. But really, what was worst for me was the reality of how often I associate food with good times. I don’t think that’s always a bad thing, because I mean–didn’t Jesus perform his first miracle at a feast making wine. There is something to be said about a time of feasting, but what I realized is how often I add in “little feasts” everyday in my life.
When the girls go down for a nap I have the option of making an Americano or even a latte. I’m going to a conference this weekend with two friends, which means no partaking in any sweet treats, or a mocha on the drive to Seattle. My life (and most of ours) revolves around communing with food. Then, what got me thinking about this whole Paleo lifestyle is all the cookbooks I own and recipes left untouched. I began wondering, “Wow, what do I live for?” So many moments in my life are about feasting, indulging or treating self, but what about restraint? That’s a harder one. Granted, I’m in the thick of it and I just might feel different in two weeks (remind me of that when I get there, because I will see this to completion). How do we use food to bring people together, to feast, to abstain & nourish? How do you do it?
A Year Ago: Community Meals
Rustic Rhubarb Cake
Although I promise to give you a recipe, allow me to ramble a bit. About the weather, glories, & redeeming the times (and later some rhubarb cake). I’ve been loving this weather we’ve been given in Bellingham of late. It makes being a mama so worth it, along with the dreary months in winter. The sun in full swing, slight breeze, dirt-painted toes in sandals, happy little girls in search of flowers or climbing towers too high for their hands to reach–blissful. The backdoor is open, while the girls run in and out.
It’s days like this that I’m reminded of how glorious creation is & my homebody nature sheds off. I become more aware of the little things, birds singing, breeze wisps my hair, the hues of golden & red in my youngest hair. It’s lovely! It reminds me of how grand the universe is and how little I am. This is a verse from the song, ‘Lovely,’ by the band Waterdeep:
Lord when you sing your song
all of creation will know
Lord when you show your strength
let justice and righteousness flow
when we see your holiness
every tongue confess–You are lovely
God continues to bring me back to him, while he tells me I’m valued, treasured, & I can feel free to cry or laugh in his presence. I hear the birds singing praise. The trees lifting their hands to worship. And feel the breeze dance over me, enrapturing all of me–hushing the fear & empowering the dreams–his Spirit. Today I’m melancholy with joy. Maybe it’s hormones. Although I’m breathing in the beauty of the day, I’m exhaling like an asthma sufferer. My heart is thinking of the marriages dying in this world, the mother who cannot feed her children, the very real fear of war standing outside the door. And then, I glanced and saw this verse popping out:
He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. he feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them. he will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.–Psalm 72:12-14
No matter how much I can get sucked into the pit of despair (for myself or others), I have to remind myself of this verse. It’s when life can’t seem to get any worse–it does, but I remember telling Ben in the midst of one of those moments, “I have to remain hopeful, because Jesus still sits on the throne & he’s capable of redeeming the least hopeful of situations or people.” So maybe you’re having a melancholy day, or a simply wonderful, singing on mountaintops sort of day. You could easily make this cake. It’s one of those “one-bowl” wonders sort of cakes. Plus, you could pass it as breakfast too.
Rustic Rhubarb Cake (printable recipe)
This recipe was given to me many years ago, but I am greatly indebted to the source. I turn on the oven, spray my pan, & throw everything in the bowl to mix & pour into the pan. I’ve changed some things up a bit. I used Rapadura sugar, but you could use granulated sugar. Instead of hazelnuts, change it out with what you have. And instead of using whole wheat pastry flour, use all-purpose.
Ingredients
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Rapadura sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
For Topping:
1/2 – 3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan. In a medium bowl, combine cream, eggs & sugar and mix to combine. Add flour, baking soda, salt & rhubarb to the bowl and stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and then the hazelnuts. Bake for 28-30 minutes. If you’re using Rapadura sugar, then you’ll really start to smell it at which point use a toothpick to check to see if it’s done. If a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean–take it out.
Serve it warm, room temperature, dollop of whipped cream, yogurt, for brunch, ice cream–whatever you fancy.
Backdoor Hospitality 