Kiwi Shrub: Deliciously Sippable Summer

May 15th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

I really enjoy CommonPlace Coffee.  They roast and brew a mighty tasty drink.  I am entertained by their workers.  But lately, a new delight has taken hold of my whimsey….their shrub drink syrups.  No, no, they have no flowering plants (though that might make for a nice atmosphere, hint, hint).  They have been, however, delighting me recently with this drinkable shrub and I am taken.  I am sure you will be too.

The kiwi, pre-scoop.

The kiwi, pre-scoop.

Refreshingly springtime, the shrub tingles the tongue and makes me bubble with happiness.  While I am sure that the true roots of the drink remain elsewhere (thinking the sharbat of Persian origin etc.), this American rendition has its roots in colonial times.  Infusing vinegar with fruit was one other way to preserve abundance of fruit without refrigeration.  You can take a trip down to Colonial Williamsburg and sip on a shrub at an old tavern while whittling the time away OR you can kick it on your porch with this simple & inexpensive treat.

This recipe is quite simple.  All you need is smashed fruit, sugar and vinegar.  The options are yours within these parameters.

Wanting to recreate my coffeeshop experience, I was thrilled to come across a 7 for $1 deal on kiwi at the produce outlet.  In this case, there is not a dire need to find organic since you will be peeling the fruit.  Theoretically, organic is always preferable but practically, this deal could not be beat.

Scooping the fruit.

Scooping the fruit.

What are the proportions, you ask?  It is quite simple, 1:1:1 [Fruit:Sugar:Vinegar], for the most part.  I did lessen the sugar in this case as the fruit was already pretty sweet.  These proportions left me with a strongly flavored, nicely sweetened syrup that still retains the depth of the character of the kiwi.  Quite frankly, it is mighty tasty.

You may also ask, what kind of vinegar or sugar for this particular shrub?  For this drink, do not use the kind of vinegar you would clean your windows with.  Obtain some raw apple cider vinegar.  It tastes more robust & clean and many say has a multitude of health benefits.  I used my standby organic cane sugar for this syrup.

Kiwi mascerating with sugar.

Kiwi mascerating with sugar.

Promises that we will be returning to our fermentation seminar, this time on water kefir very soon.  In the meantime, this is quite a digestivo!

Kiwi Shrub Syrup

makes about a 3/4 a liter of syrup when completed

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of kiwi
  • 2 cups of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups of organic cane sugar

Instructions

1.  Cut each kiwi in half.  Using a spoon, gently scoop the inside out, running the spoon between the fruit between the fruit and the skin.

2.  Scoop fruit into a bowl.  Add the sugar and lightly mix.  Cover and let sit in the fridge for about 3 days.

3.  When you have a bowl of fruit swimming in luscious fruity syrup, you are ready.  Place fruit in a strainer over a bowl.  Gently press fruit and stir it around until all liquid has been extracted.  At this point you may reserve the fruit to use on yogurt or toast.  It will be tasty for a few days.  It is like free jam!

4.  Using a funnel, pour syrup into a jar.  Pour in the apple cider vinegar.  Shake. Shake. Shake. Shake that jar.

5.  When the liquids are combined, place it in the fridge.  Theoretically, you could keep this on the counter.  Since I have refrigeration, I will use it to keep the syrup even longer.  Let the mixture infuse for at least 10 days before using.

6.  Use your taste buds to define how much you will use.  This particular syrup serves me well at a 1:3 ratio of syrup:sparkling water.]

Shrubbin' it, kiwi style

Shrubbin’ it, kiwi style

If you are in the Pittsburgh area you are lucky enough to be able to obtain some of the world’s finest seltzer delivered to your door from Pittsburgh Seltzer Works.  If you pick some up you get to play with vintage seltzer bottles and display them all over your apartment until you drink them up.  Two-in-one I say!

Love,

S

 

Loving Your Weeds: A Healing Plantain Salve

April 26th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

Bet you didn’t know that right in your own backyard you may have one of the most soothing plants known to man…and it probably gets mowed away with the grass.

Plantain oil and salve in a compatible environment.

Plantain oil and salve in a compatible environment.

Lucky for you, it is not to late to save it. Time to let this magical weed grow and grow until you have enough to add to your medicine chest.  What is this amazing gift, you ask? Why, its the plantain!

See the rest of this post over at Healthy Roots, Happy Soul where I am featured as a guest writer in her “Toxic Free DIY Mini Series.

Love,

S

Wordless Wednesday

April 10th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

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Panisse Frites w/Sriracha Mayo & a memoir on Paris

April 7th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

Ah….Pareee.  Three brief days as a nomad in Paris and I think I am cool enough to speak with a dramatic French accent.  Despite the fact that those fleeting days were spent in a dense fog of ennui,  I have an insatiable yearning for Paris.  My memories of the city of lights are cold, grey and wet yet cozy, comforting and healing.  This paradox of loneliness yet fondness that permeates many areas of life has always perplexed me.  Perhaps it always shall.

French Breakfast radishes.

French Breakfast radishes.

I sought out little places to hide while in Paris in search of ways to hug my soul and surprisingly, Paris was perfect for hiding.  Let yourself be lead by the bustling streets and be spilled over into farmers markets where vegetable colors burst like gemstones and cavernous medieval churches where candles light your way.

Cavernous medieval Romanesque vaulting in San Germain Church.

Cavernous medieval Romanesque vaulting in San Germain Church.

Lighting candles in S. German des Pres.

Lighting candles in S. German des Pres.

Until I am able to return to Paris on a happier account (which I shall) I live vicariously through David Lebovitz, ex-pat foodie extraordinaire.  He is hilarious, a little goofy and quite the cook.  His book The Sweet Life in Paris is fantastic armchair travel.  While seeking a French revival, I stumbled across this street food, Panisse.  This easy to make treat is a specialty not of Paris, but of south-eastern France and northern Italy.  Crisp, yielding to soft,  savory complementing creamy, it really is a nice change of pace.  Oh, did I mention gluten-free?

Try these out when you are feeling nostalgic as well.

Crispy, golden panisse.

Crispy, golden panisse.

Steamy and sprinkled with sea salt.

Steamy and sprinkled with sea salt.

Panisse Frites

Inspired by David Lebovitz

Makes about 20 or so fries

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • olive oil, for frying
  • sea salt and freshly-cracked pepper and a dipping sauce, for serving

Instructions:

1. Line a 9 inch square cake pan with parchment paper (leaving overhang to lift panisse out) and oil.

2. Heat water, oil and salt in a saucepan.  When simmering, quickly whisk in chickpea flour.

3. Keep whisking about 3 minutes until smooth and mixture begins to thicken.

4. Continue another 5 minutes or so with a wooden/silicon spoon until mixture is thick.  If a spoon stands up in it, you are so ready.

5. Scrape into the cake pan.  Place in fridge for about 30 minutes or until set.

6.  When ready to fry, lift the concoction out of the pan by the parchment paper ends and cut into long rectangles about the length and width of your pointer finger.

7.  Heat up about 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a heavy skillet.  Fry, flipping, until each side is golden brown.  Do not crowd your pan or you will not get a nice crust.

8. Drain on paper towels on a plate.

9.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

10.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.  I recommend “Sriracha Mayo.”

Sriracha Mayo

Ingredients:

  • 5 Tbsp organic mayonaise
  • 1 Tbsp (adjust to your heat preference-I like it hot) Sriracha sauce (This can be found at an Asian market or here.)

Instructions:

1.  Add mayonaise to small bowl.

2.  Add Sriracha to mayonaise

3.  Mix until orangey-pink.

4.  Dip your food in its creamy, firey goodness.

Enjoy this French street treat.  Talk to you soon.

Love,

S

Love in March (Belated)

April 3rd, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

This past Lent I gave up gluten.

Lent is for turning things inside out!

Lent is for turning things inside out!

Yep, gluten.  I know, I know, why??? It was really quite simple.  My girl, R. presented a challenge to me.  It really hit a chord.  It needed to be done.

Why gluten though?  Why not the usual coffee or sugar?  Well, giving up my beloved bread would be the ultimate sacrifice. Lent is primarily about mirroring the 40 days and 40 nights of Jesus of Nazareth while he is alone in the wilderness with the devil (eek). This could be my (small, small) mirroring.

Secondly, we all need to see who/what we judge and work in stomping that out.  I often think that outside from the truly celiac/gluten-intolerant, there are a whole lot of people jumping on this boat because it is trendy.  I judge the trendy set.  So, because I judge, I knew I needed this humbling.

Thirdly, as a food lover and blogger, I have been spending a good amount of time thinking about food.  A very human reason to give up a food for lent is to mortify the body.  Living in a time of excess where many of us can eat what we want, when we want, fasting from food can be an essential component in curbing excessive desire for food.

Lastly, and perhaps most selfishly, it would be a good chance to post some awesome gluten-free recipes.  Too bad there is a LARGE learning curve on gluten-free baking. :-p  Thank you for that, God.

Due to this crazy learning curve, my gluten-free experiments were many and my successes minimal.  I did have a few big wins that will have a permanent place in my food rotation.  Here are those recipes that are to come this month.  I will be honing them and making them worthy of inclusion on this blog for your eating pleasure.

French Panisse or "chickpea fries."

French Panisse or “chickpea fries.”

The second run of a Chocolate Buckwheat Cake (GF).

The second run of a Chocolate Buckwheat Cake (GF).

Happily experimenting and tasting banana bread that does not have that "gluten-free" texture or taste.

Happily experimenting and tasting banana bread that does not have that “gluten-free” texture or taste.

Then there were some simple pleasures in March that stood alone:

My summer basil still blooming inside.

Eye of the basil.

Eye of the basil.

Bob’s Red Mill “Mighty Tasty Gluten-Free Cereal” that only needs water and toppings.

Comforting hot breakfast with fruit, hemp seeds, milk & honey.

Comforting hot breakfast with fruit, hemp seeds, milk & honey.

My lemon tree getting ready to bear its first fruit.

First Fruit.  Meyer Lemon Tree (Year 3).

First Fruit. Meyer Lemon Tree (Year 3).

Meeting fabulous people.

Sandi Suni and Matt Yough at the Pittsburgh Farm to Table Conference.

Sandi Suni and Matt Yough at the Pittsburgh Farm to Table Conference.

These two local residents volunteer with an organization called Building New Hope.  I had the grand opportunity to meet its founder at one of her schools Quinta Los Chavalos in Nicaragua years ago.  Donna Tabor does fabulous work helping to reduce poverty and educate families in Central America.  One of their fundraisers is the sale of Fair Trade Coffee from Nicaragua.  You can purchase some at these Pittsburgh locations.  Matt will be opening a Fair Trade only coffee shop in the North Side soon.  Keep an eye out for him!

I hope that even if your March came in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.  Hope to bring you some delicious gluten-free recipes soon that are worth the trouble even if you love gluten and all its stretchy wonder!

Love,

S

 

Old School Candied Orange Peels

March 14th, 2013 § 4 comments § permalink

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Ah, the coming of the Vernal Equinox!  Longest day of the year, I will eat you alive!  No more will my heart yearn for warmth and a glimpse of a sliver of bright. No more will the long, cold fingers of winter seek to squelch out the sun.  I have found the enemy and he is mine!

In these last bleak moments before spring shall break, I will harness the brightness of citrus as my weapon against the world.

Dramatic enough for you?  Kind of how I roll.  It is my cryptonite and my charm. ;-)

Slicing navel oranges for this bright winter treat.

Slicing navel oranges for this bright winter treat.

Citrus is that kind of fruit that peaks in the warm areas of the U.S.-right when the rest of us are shivering in our britches.  I decided to crank up my Vitamin C intake by ordering a case of navel oranges from this great small farm out west called Chaffin Family Orchards.  Not only is their citrus juicy and at the right price but they are careful stewards of their land, giving me peace of mind knowing my fruit is clean and organic as well as wax and pesticide free.  This is critical if you are going to use the rind for anything baking or cooking related.

Bright and beautiful organic navel orange rinds.

Bright and beautiful organic navel orange rinds.

After eating all those oranges, I was surrounded by glorious peel.  Some of the dried peel went into my personal blend of herbal tea but the rest got the sugar treatment.  Orange peel candy.

Where did this treat originate?  Well, the oldest published recipe I could find dates back to 1873 (page 452) in a book by Marion Harland entitled “Common Sense in the Household:  A Manual of Practical Housewifery.“ In this case it was a treat for the elite as sugar came at quite the price.  Candied orange peels, however, have been anecdotally popular in Southern Italian cooking dating back to the 1500′s.  In Sicily in particular, citrus peels were used to spice up torta di ricotta (ricotta pie), cannoli and other sweet treats.

 

Laid out to dry.

Laid out to dry.

If you are looking for a way to brighten up your winter’s day, I give you the candied orange peel.  Look, less waste! Be sure to save some for the Easter pie.

Candied Orange Peels

Ingredients:

  • 6 large organic oranges
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 cups filtered water

Instructions:

1.  Peel oranges and slice them.  I like them about 1/4 an inch to a half an inch wide.  I slice them on the orange and shimmy my thumb in between the peel and the orange to take it off in one piece.  Be sure to remove any areas with major pith.  Don’t get too crazy about this.

2.  Blanch three times to remove any bitterness.  This is critical.  Blanching means bringing a pot of water to a rolling boil, dipping your peel in for 2 minutes (in this case). Rinse with ice cold water. Repeat. Repeat.

3.  Place water and sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to about 230.  Do not let it get any hotter or it will reach the soft ball stage.  You want “soft thread” for ideal candying.

4.  Boil in sugar water for around 30 minutes or until the edges begin to look translucent.  Resist the urge to stir as this may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup making for a big gooey mess.  Trust me.

5.  Lay out to dry.  Mine took four days until completely dry.  Most people say it takes them 2 days.

6.  Enjoy!

You may eat them straight as I do, coat them in sugar to make them sparkle or dip them in chocolate.  I will be saving some (I hope) for my ricotta pie for Easter.  And what of that syrup?  Makes a great “soda” or cocktail enhancer.

Coupling these lovelies with a rich chocolate cake.

Coupling these lovelies with a rich chocolate cake.

Love,

S

 

Homemade Yogurt: Decadent Simplicity

February 24th, 2013 § 5 comments § permalink

Nothing makes me feel instantly transported to a far off country home in the middle of softly waving fields than homemade yogurt.  Being I have never lived in a quaint country home in softly waving fields (though I dream), I have lived in Rome.  This is where my homemade yogurt story begins.

Yogurt adorned with pomegranate seeds, sliced almonds, hemp seeds and maple syrup.

Yogurt adorned with pomegranate seeds, sliced almonds, hemp seeds and maple syrup.

I remember my first experience with homemade yogurt.  It was the summer of 2003.  Taking up residence with my cousin Michele in Rome during an academic stint, I was exposed to all things Roman.  In addition to my cousin introducing me to this amazing little stovetop espresso maker and the perfect Roman pizza, this also meant his yogurt. ;)

Italians are not big on breakfast.  Whereas I could not get enough of a morning cornetti, some figs, cheese and a cappuchino (or two), the average Roman typically eats little.  For Michele, it meant an espresso and a plain little cup of yogurt made at home with a European yogurt machine.

Skeptical as I was to take a spoonful of this fermented dairy, the sour bite was even more repelling to my taste buds.  I winced and puckered my lips at first taste.  Eeeww.  At that time I naively and childishly thought, “The food here is so amazing, why waste a meal on this nasty concoction?!!”  At this time, the only yogurt to have entered my mouth was Yoplait and when desperate, fruit on the bottom Dannon.  Sugar was my cryptonite and no plain yogurt would cross my lips for years to follow.  I did not yet understand the digestive benefits of these helpful little bacteria.  This would later change.

Enter the summer of 2009.  Enamored with the thick, creamy and savory yogurt dip Tzatziki that captured my attention at each meal in Greece, I knew I had to give this dip a shot.  To make tzatiki, I needed good, plain yogurt.  I began with store brands but in my quest to find a more “authentic” recipe (read:  Greek rural grandmother style), the yogurt had to be tackled.

Tzatziki, lavishly doused in a spicy, verdant green Greek olive oil.  (Athens, Greece, 2009)

Tzatziki, lavishly doused in a spicy, verdant green Greek olive oil. (Athens, Greece, 2009)

Of course, one can only eat so much tzatziki, it is true.  What did I do with all of that leftover yogurt?  Well, turns out it is the perfect vehicle for little dollops of homemade jam, honey, maple syrup…need I say more?

If you still eat that carageean thickened or acrid tasting, totally toxic artifically sweetened yogurt — just give me one chance to win you over!!! No special machine is needed.  You can flavor it however you wish.  You know what milk went into it. Bingo.

Homemade Yogurt-1

Homemade Yogurt

Ingredients:

  • 2 quarts whole milk (grass-fed and lightly pasteurized if possible)
  • yogurt culture (this is a great foolproof culture for beginners) or 2 Tbsp of plain yogurt with “live and active cultures”
  • 2 quart sized mason jars with lids
  • two insulated oven mitts (this is my fool-proof tip!)
  • saucepan or dutch oven
  • candy thermometer
  • funnel with wide mouth (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Boil your milk in the pan until the temperature of the milk reaches about 180.  Holding it here for a few minutes gives the yogurt a bit more body.

2.  Let the milk cool in the pan until the temperature drops to about 110. I have found 100-110 to be ideal.

3.  Stir in your yogurt culture, distributing it well.

4.  Pour milk into mason jars and cap, using a funnel if needed.

5.  Place one mitt over each jar and place in oven with the door shut.

6.  8-12 hours later—yogurt!!!  Refrigerate.  Eat.

Tips:

  • This yogurt has not been tested with raw milk, only lightly pasteurized and pasteurized.
  • This may work best in a gas stove as the pilot light keeps the stove warm.  The mitts do work as an excellent insulator, however.  If you try it in an electric oven, let me know your results. Some say leaving the oven light on helps.
  • Check your yogurt at the 6, 8, 10 and 12 hour marks to check consistency.  Take out and refrigerate when you are happy with it.
  • At about 160, the milk will develop a skin on the top.  If you do not have a candy thermometer, you could give it another minute and try pulling it off.
  • I experimented with many versions of yogurt-making.  If you are beginning, try the direct-set culture recommended above.  You will not be able to re-culture the yogurt into another batch but it gives consistently solid results.  I love this one as the particular strain gives a mild and thick yogurt. If you choose the direct-set, follow temperature specifics on the packet.

Happy yogurt-making!

Love,

Sheila

 

 

 

Cinnamon Raisin Baked Oatmeal: A Simple Recipe for Simple Times

February 12th, 2013 § 2 comments § permalink

L1020138There is nothing easier or more warming than baked oatmeal with warm milk or yogurt.

To usher in the Lenten Season (in which I will be going 40 days Gluten-Free), I offer you this, my favorite baked oatmeal recipe. Baked oatmeal makes an easy breakfast for the whole week as it reheats so very well.  It also makes a fabulous dinner.  Snack on it if you will. But most of all, taste the heartiness in the oats, the sweetness of the fruit, the creaminess of the milk or yogurt and hearken back to simpler times.  Tis’ the Lenten thing to do.

Cinnamon Raisin Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of rolled (certified gluten-free if need be) oats
  • 1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 large pastured eggs
  • 1 cup raw milk or almond milk
  • 4 Tbsp melted butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup shredded + 1/4 cup diced organic apple
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Instructions:

1.  Mix together well the dry ingredients, making sure to disperse the baking powder.

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2.  Beat the two eggs until fluffy then beat in the other wet ingredients.

3.  Grate your apples into a bowl.

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4.  Combine apples with other wet ingredients.  Fold the wet ingredients into the dry.

5.  Grease a pan with butter or coconut oil.

6.  Pour mixture into pan.

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7.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

8.  Serve with whole milk yogurt on the side or drenched in raw or almond milk.

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Enjoy.

Love,

S


 

 

Dark Chocolate Beet Bon Bons

February 1st, 2013 § 3 comments § permalink

For a blog which espouses love, you would think I would be all over Valentine’s Day.

While I certainly do not shun the holiday, it really has degenerated into a reason for singles and couples alike to forget the blessings they have been given and yearn for something they do not have.

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Whereas the day can be a beautiful chance to TELL someone of your affection, it is often warped into a day where people come to EXPECT affection perfection.  As a society, we have the habit of turning the day into an expectation of what kind of love we will RECEIVE, rather than a chance to GIVE voluminously.

May we so love as never to have occasion to repent of our love!

-Henry David Thoreau

H.D. Thoreau is onto something when he hints at loving SO BIG that we should never have to worry about having held back love.  Now knowing we are humans, and imperfect at that, this may be only theoretically possible.  However, why not try……..my challenge to you to recapture the meaning in this season of love!

How can we do this? Well, to practice this self-giving love:  do something covert and anonymous.  This is the best way to practice self-giving (this is sooooo Abnegation faction if you have read Divergent)!  Send a family who you know is struggling some groceries.  Shovel the sidewalk and driveway of a neighbor, or better yet, a random house you drive by.  Pay for the persons’ coffee behind you…and run!  Leave a coffee shop giftcard/note in one of the library cubbies at the local library.  You get the vibe.

If you are not familiar with this kind of thing, you have to check out the site of Pittsburgh’s own Secret Agent L.  She lives her life inspiring other to live this way.  She rocks.

Ok now, are you looking for a sweet treat?  Try this “covertly healthy” pink coconut/chocolate treat.  Give someone (as well as yourself) the gift of luxurious sweetness wrapped around a healthy core.  I PROMISE noone will ever know your secret. Unless you tell. ;-)

Start with some beautiful organic beets.

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Shred them into a bowl.

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Add some shredded coconut and some gorgeous local honey.

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Roll into beautiful chartreuse balls.  Pause and admire them.

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Cover them in dark, decadent chocolate.
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Marvel at their uncanny ability to look like chocolate rocks. 

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hidden heart of mine/enrobed in a crackling shell/yielding to soft

-s

Dark Chocolate Beet Bon Bons

Adapted from the brillance over at Fig and Fauna.

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 raw beets, grated into about 1/2 a cup
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp raw, local honey
  • 1 Tbsp unrefined coconut oil + 1 Tbsp to melt w/chocolate
  • 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli squares)

Instructions:

1.  Grate the beets until you have 1/2 cup.  Depending on size, this may take 1 or 2 medium beets or 1 large.

2.  In bowl, mix together the beets, coconut, honey and melted coconut oil.

3.  Form balls and place on some parchment paper.  Place in refrigerator until ready to cover in chocolate.

4.  In a double boiler or small pan over boiling water, slowly melt chocolate and coconut oil.

5.  Slowly pour chocolate over the balls, swirling them around until covered.

6.  Let sit until hardened, placing in fridge to quicken (15-20 min)

7.  Share with someone you love.  Eat some as well.

Will keep a few days in the refrigerator.

 

Love,

Sheila

This post can also be found over at “Fight Back Friday,” “Creative Juice Thursday” and “Sunday School Blog Carnival.

 

Love in January

January 28th, 2013 § 2 comments § permalink

Sometimes the greatest love is the absence of love as sometimes the most beautiful light is the absence of light.  (St Peter's Cathedral.  Rome, Italy.  2001)

Sometimes the greatest love is the absence of love as sometimes the most beautiful light is the absence of light. (St Peter’s Cathedral. Rome, Italy. 2001)

January in Pennsylvania is that month that feels as though someone has sucked the love out of everything we see, touch, taste and breathe.

After wallowing in the lack of brightness and my body’s lack of Vitamin D, I could no longer pretend.  Even the usually lovely starkness of the season and itty bitty snowflakes falling on my nose just didn’t feel like love.

It is true. I am only human.

What a downer, right? Well……not necessarily.

Sometimes love is actually the absence of love.

Whaaaat? Stay with me.  The brilliant theologian, writer and philosopher John of the Cross discusses this in his poem “Dark Night of the Soul.” Instead of pretending all is cheery, he encourages us to find MEANING in suffering, meaning in the absence of God.

Dear John’s description of the “spiritual night” is a temporary absence of love whose primary purpose is to instill a deeper faith in God.  No better time to grow in faith than when you cannot feel God.

I think this is a lesson that our culture has much to learn from.  It is easy to love when all is warm, fuzzy and euphoric, but can one love when the sensations are missing?  Think about it.  There is a lot to love about that.

Oh criminey!!!! Love. :)

Comforting Apple-Raisin Baked Oatmeal on a lazy weekend morning.

Comforting Apple-Raisin Baked Oatmeal on a lazy weekend morning.

Having said that, I am no saint.  Some days, this was consoling, or at least able to bear, but other days, a distraction was necessary.  What did I do this month to try to distract myself from this apparent lack of love?

  • I read a TON of young adult literature of the dystopia genre.  You seriously need to check out Divergent, and InsurgentThe Maze Runner series and The Giver series including Lois Lowry’s new installment, Son. Woah.
  • I salivated over spicy food that reminded me of warmer climates like fermented jalapeños.  A lot of Mexican food graced my plate.
  • I coveted warm soups like this potato and leek soup and experimented with some of my own.
  • I got down and dirty with some bone broth which took me through virus number two.  Broth+more broth=healthy.
  • I sprayed lots of my homemade air freshener/natural disinfectant all around my classroom and home.  Mine is similar to this natural air freshener,  sans the baking soda.  Twenty drops of rosemary +10 drops of tea tree oil+ 4 Tbsp. of alcohol+distilled water to fill spray bottle=Magic.
  • I debated the semantics of “natural” with a guy at the grocery store.
  • And I moisturized with copious amounts of coconut oil, which is this frugal girl’s solution to a hair/face/body moisturizer in the winter.  This post can inspire you to use it in a variety of alternative ways.

So when you just can’t distract away the somber month anymore, remember:  no love is sometimes the greatest kind of love.

Peace,

Sheila