My son and I took a trip from Washington to Utah for graduations. Very long drive, especially across Idaho. We stopped at a rest stop somewhere in the middle of the state. It was time to stretch and take a break for a few minutes.
At a picnic table near a bunch of bushes, my son spied two cats. They looked healthy and happy. They were curious although skittish and timid if we got too close. They were beautiful animals, one black and white the other a cream color tabby.
I looked around at the dry gravel and sand of the desert area. The stand of bushes were about the only green things in the rest stop. Somehow these two cats were not just surviving and living at the rest stop, but they were flourishing.
I had to laugh at the sight of the two of them, just patiently lounging on the picnic table, waiting for someone to leave them a few crumbs.
Life hands you unexpected surprises. You can find joy in the oddest circumstances. I have no idea where the cats came from or whether anyone actually takes care of them, but I want to believe that they are happy living in the bushes at the rest stop in the middle of Idaho. They certainly looked happy.
If I'd been better prepared I would have had my phone with me to snap a picture, but I don't usually think to grab the camera. If you're driving on I-84 across Idaho traveling west to east and you stop at a rest stop with big bushes near the picnic tables, look for the cats. And maybe leave them a bite of your tuna sandwich.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Thursday Recipe - Layered Bean Dip
From scratch! Yep, you read that right. Refried beans and guacamole and everything except the cheese and sour cream from scratch. It isn't as hard as you might think.
Layered Bean Dip
3 c. refried beans (recipe follows)
1 small can chopped green chilies (or make your own)
1 c. shredded cheese, cheddar or jack preferred
1 c. sour cream
1 c. salsa (how about this recipe)
1/2 c. mini bell peppers, chopped
1/2 c. chopped olives
Layer everything in the order given. Serve with plenty of tortilla chips.
If you want a hot dip, layer the first three ingredients, then bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and add the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately.
Refried Beans (not really fried but smashed until it resembles the canned stuff)
2 c. dried pinto beans
plenty of water
1 T. salt
1 t. garlic powder
Rinse the beans in cold water. Place in a saucepan and add 4 c. very hot water. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the beans soak for an hour.
Drain the beans. Add 4 c. of fresh hot water. Cover and simmer for 3-4 hours until the beans are soft. The water should be mostly gone by this point. If the beans get too dry while cooking, add more water 1/2 c. at a time. You want just enough to cover the beans.
This is the tricky part. You don't want a lot of liquid when you smash the beans up, but you want to save the cooking liquid from the beans in case your beans are too dry when smashing. You want a gloppy consistency but not a runny one. Make sense? Good, I'm confused now, too.
Smash the beans with a potato masher until they're the consistency that you want for refried beans. Some people like them chunkier. That's just fine. If they get too dry while you're smashing add in some of the saved bean cooking liquid.
Once you have the beans as smooth as you want them, stir in the salt and garlic powder. Taste and add more if you want. Some people like cumin in the refried beans, but I usually pass on it.
Store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Makes a nice big pile of beans - about 5 cups.
Layered Bean Dip
3 c. refried beans (recipe follows)
1 small can chopped green chilies (or make your own)
1 c. shredded cheese, cheddar or jack preferred
1 c. sour cream
1 c. salsa (how about this recipe)
1/2 c. mini bell peppers, chopped
1/2 c. chopped olives
Layer everything in the order given. Serve with plenty of tortilla chips.
If you want a hot dip, layer the first three ingredients, then bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and add the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately.
Refried Beans (not really fried but smashed until it resembles the canned stuff)
2 c. dried pinto beans
plenty of water
1 T. salt
1 t. garlic powder
Rinse the beans in cold water. Place in a saucepan and add 4 c. very hot water. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the beans soak for an hour.
Drain the beans. Add 4 c. of fresh hot water. Cover and simmer for 3-4 hours until the beans are soft. The water should be mostly gone by this point. If the beans get too dry while cooking, add more water 1/2 c. at a time. You want just enough to cover the beans.
This is the tricky part. You don't want a lot of liquid when you smash the beans up, but you want to save the cooking liquid from the beans in case your beans are too dry when smashing. You want a gloppy consistency but not a runny one. Make sense? Good, I'm confused now, too.
Smash the beans with a potato masher until they're the consistency that you want for refried beans. Some people like them chunkier. That's just fine. If they get too dry while you're smashing add in some of the saved bean cooking liquid.
Once you have the beans as smooth as you want them, stir in the salt and garlic powder. Taste and add more if you want. Some people like cumin in the refried beans, but I usually pass on it.
Store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Makes a nice big pile of beans - about 5 cups.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Inspirational Song
I was driving down the road one day, feeling a bit sorry for myself. Life was tough. It seemed like I was getting blow after blow after blow. Nothing was working the way I wanted. I was depressed and dealing with way too many things at the same time.
This song started playing on the radio. The message hit me hard. You are loved. No matter how hard life gets, don't forget that you are loved more than you know by your Heavenly Father.
What songs have inspired you or come at a time you needed to hear them?
This song started playing on the radio. The message hit me hard. You are loved. No matter how hard life gets, don't forget that you are loved more than you know by your Heavenly Father.
What songs have inspired you or come at a time you needed to hear them?
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Thursday Recipe - Cheesy Rice Dinner
This was one of those "I have leftovers, what can I make?" meals. It turned out pretty tasty. Feel free to change up the leftovers however you want. It's a great one-pot meal.
Cheesy Rice Dinner
3 c. cooked rice (brown works well in this and is healthier)
2 c. cooked broccoli, chopped small (or use frozen mixed veggies, or leftover green beans or brussels sprouts or asparagus or whatever you've got)
1/4 c. bell pepper, chopped small
2 c. shredded cheese (use whatever you've got, we mixed about six varieties because I was cleaning out all those little chunks left in the fridge)
2 T. dried parsley or 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped small
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 t. salt
2 c. milk
2 eggs
Toss everything together except the milk and eggs. Spread in a 9x13 baking dish. Beat milk and eggs together, then pour over the top of the rice mixture.
Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes, until it is bubbly and browned on top. Sprinkle with more cheese if you want. Serve nice and hot.
Feeds 4-5 normal people, or two teenage males.
Cheesy Rice Dinner
3 c. cooked rice (brown works well in this and is healthier)
2 c. cooked broccoli, chopped small (or use frozen mixed veggies, or leftover green beans or brussels sprouts or asparagus or whatever you've got)
1/4 c. bell pepper, chopped small
2 c. shredded cheese (use whatever you've got, we mixed about six varieties because I was cleaning out all those little chunks left in the fridge)
2 T. dried parsley or 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped small
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 t. salt
2 c. milk
2 eggs
Toss everything together except the milk and eggs. Spread in a 9x13 baking dish. Beat milk and eggs together, then pour over the top of the rice mixture.
Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes, until it is bubbly and browned on top. Sprinkle with more cheese if you want. Serve nice and hot.
Feeds 4-5 normal people, or two teenage males.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Celebration Time!
It was official in December, but BYU makes you wait until April to do the official monkey walk across the stage.
You may now call me Master of Science.
You may now call me Master of Science.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Thursday Recipe - Italian Meatloaf
This is a variation on the basic meatloaf. Make it into meatballs to go with your spaghetti. Or just eat it with noodles on the side.
Italian Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef
2 c. oatmeal
2 eggs
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. sweet bell peppers, finely chopped
1/4 c. mushrooms, chopped up
2/3 c. spaghetti sauce
1 t. Italian seasoning
Mix everything together. Use disposable gloves if you've got them, it will help keep your hands from smelling like garlic.
Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Mound the mixture into the casserole. Sprinkle the top with parmesan and extra herbs if you like. Bake uncovered at 350° for 55-65 minutes, until the mixture is no longer pink in the middle.
Serve with garlic bread, noodles, and green salad. Serves 6-8.
Italian Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef
2 c. oatmeal
2 eggs
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. sweet bell peppers, finely chopped
1/4 c. mushrooms, chopped up
2/3 c. spaghetti sauce
1 t. Italian seasoning
Mix everything together. Use disposable gloves if you've got them, it will help keep your hands from smelling like garlic.
Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Mound the mixture into the casserole. Sprinkle the top with parmesan and extra herbs if you like. Bake uncovered at 350° for 55-65 minutes, until the mixture is no longer pink in the middle.
Serve with garlic bread, noodles, and green salad. Serves 6-8.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Fear of Failure
Failure. Mistake. Negative words that we try to avoid at all costs, right? I'd argue against that statement. Failure is necessary and not a negative at all. Mistakes are opportunities. We learn from mistakes and failures but our educational culture teaches us that we can't fail, that we should avoid failure. And if we do fail, it means we're defective or lazy or stupid. I'd argue that if we never fail, we're defective, lazy, or stupid. Or all three. Because if you never fail, it means you've never tried.
Okay, think of popular failure-into-success stories. J. K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter to hundreds of publishers before one of them accepted it. Thomas Edison tried a hundred times to invent the light bulb. Both of these famous people failed at least a hundred times. Failure teaches us persistence, right?
Failure teaches us all sorts of things—about ourselves and about whatever we've failed at.
Are you stubborn or do you give up easily? Would you keep submitting the same manuscript over and over until someone finally accepts it? If I had written Harry Potter, I would have stopped after the first dozen or so rejections. I would have looked at the story again, made some changes, then sent it off to other publishers. I would have written different stuff, more stories. How do I know? Because I have stories that have been rejected multiple times. I've failed in my writing over and over. But each time, I learn. I take the time to figure out why that story might have been passed over. Was it not right for that publication? Did it need revisions? Was there something I could have done better? It's hard when you get a form rejection letter with no suggestions or feedback, but that's when you put on your editor hat and read the story with a very critical eye.
Now how about Thomas Edison? He failed over and over trying to find something that would glow when he ran electricity through it. Each time he failed at that end, he learned something new about that material, though. What if he'd kept experimenting after he found carbonized cotton thread? Would he have found something even better? How many times do we stop experimenting because we found something that works well enough? Sometimes, that is all we need. But each time we try and fail, we learn something new. Think of what we found out because of Edison's experiments with light bulbs. We found lots of materials that don't produce light as a by-product of resistance.
Failures can sometimes produce successes. How many of you use Post-it notes? Those were totally invented by accident. Just Google "things invented by accident" and you'll get a whole long list of items. People set out to make something and failed. Repeatedly. Instead of getting dejected and throwing out their mistakes, they found success. Sometimes it took years and fiddling, like with post-it notes; sometimes it was an instant success.
School teaches us that failure and mistakes are bad but life teaches us failure is an opportunity to learn, to switch directions, to create something new and different from your original plan. Mistakes can sometimes lead to new things even better than what we had envisioned.
Don't fear failure. Learn to embrace it. This is a lesson I need to remind myself of regularly. It's okay to fail. It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to get messy and try something new. Because that's what feeds my creative side.
Okay, think of popular failure-into-success stories. J. K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter to hundreds of publishers before one of them accepted it. Thomas Edison tried a hundred times to invent the light bulb. Both of these famous people failed at least a hundred times. Failure teaches us persistence, right?
Failure teaches us all sorts of things—about ourselves and about whatever we've failed at.
Are you stubborn or do you give up easily? Would you keep submitting the same manuscript over and over until someone finally accepts it? If I had written Harry Potter, I would have stopped after the first dozen or so rejections. I would have looked at the story again, made some changes, then sent it off to other publishers. I would have written different stuff, more stories. How do I know? Because I have stories that have been rejected multiple times. I've failed in my writing over and over. But each time, I learn. I take the time to figure out why that story might have been passed over. Was it not right for that publication? Did it need revisions? Was there something I could have done better? It's hard when you get a form rejection letter with no suggestions or feedback, but that's when you put on your editor hat and read the story with a very critical eye.
Now how about Thomas Edison? He failed over and over trying to find something that would glow when he ran electricity through it. Each time he failed at that end, he learned something new about that material, though. What if he'd kept experimenting after he found carbonized cotton thread? Would he have found something even better? How many times do we stop experimenting because we found something that works well enough? Sometimes, that is all we need. But each time we try and fail, we learn something new. Think of what we found out because of Edison's experiments with light bulbs. We found lots of materials that don't produce light as a by-product of resistance.
Failures can sometimes produce successes. How many of you use Post-it notes? Those were totally invented by accident. Just Google "things invented by accident" and you'll get a whole long list of items. People set out to make something and failed. Repeatedly. Instead of getting dejected and throwing out their mistakes, they found success. Sometimes it took years and fiddling, like with post-it notes; sometimes it was an instant success.
School teaches us that failure and mistakes are bad but life teaches us failure is an opportunity to learn, to switch directions, to create something new and different from your original plan. Mistakes can sometimes lead to new things even better than what we had envisioned.
Don't fear failure. Learn to embrace it. This is a lesson I need to remind myself of regularly. It's okay to fail. It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to get messy and try something new. Because that's what feeds my creative side.
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