Kale salad

Who knew that you could use kale to produce such a fantastic salad?!! I am sure you are looking at this entry and saying to yourself, "yeah right, kale is bitter and gross." But... you would be incorrect. If prepared correctly, it is incredible for your health, and can taste just as wonderful. I first found this recipe in Experience Life Magazine, which is one of my favorite publications right now. I made a few slight changes, which I will of course share. From their recipe, I added less olives and more raisins, but it is up to you as to what works and what flavors get you going!

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale, stems removed, cut into small pieces

1/2 lemon- 1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 healthy pinch of sea salt

1/3 cup walnuts

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

Optional:

Fresh shredded basil 

Now, let's look at the culprit before

I tell you what to do with him:

It's a very daunting task to know what to do with kale.

• Toast walnuts (Oven: 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Skillet: med/high heat for 3 min) until slightly browned
• Put chopped kale in a mixing bowl & add the lemon juice by squeezing it from the lemon (the more juice, the tangier it will be), garlic, olive oil, and sea salt. Massage the kale for about a minute in order to soften it.
• Add the walnuts, raisins, olives. You can also add freshly shredded basil here if you so desire. 
• Let the salad rest for about 15 minutes before serving to let the kale soften a bit. 

Don't you LOVE my salad tossers?!

 Some Suggestions:

• Do NOT forget to toast the walnuts. It really isn't the same if you don't.
• Try mixing golden and regular raisins to offer variety.
• I promise sea salt makes a world of difference in this recipe, so don't use kosher salt.
• The smaller you cut the kale, the better. It can certainly be bitter if left too raw, so let the lemon juice and other ingredients take over, and let it cat nap before you divulge. 
• Try using almonds instead of walnuts. 
• Feel free to cut back or go overboard on any of the ingredients according to your mood. Tonight, I added more raisins and cut back on olives. Go for the gold!
• Be sure to read Experience Life Magazine's page on "How to Cook Kale"

 I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I and my dinner guests did. We were quite surprised at how delicious kale can be. I also apologize for the pictures. Something is going on with my camera and it is not quite in focus. But...it will do the trick for tonight!


Happy and healthy eating!

~Linbrooke

Scripture Tea

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.  ~Bernard-Paul Heroux

Being sick is the pits. Having a cough and sore throat and headache can be miserable. Seeing as I have been battling the wonderful blessing of sinus congestion the past few days, I have been drinking a lot of tea. And I suppose it may have something to do with the fact that I cannot have caffeine after 3 PM due to sleeping issues. Thus....a comforting cup of tea.

When I think of tea, I think of the calm and soothing feeling I get when I take a sip. It has always calmed me down. My mom knows my sleeping problems, and she also knows that I love tea, so she brought me home a little gift: Scripture Tea. I fell a little bit in love.

They have a Bible verse on every bag of tea. In their words, "Scripture Tea has combined two timeless treasures – Tea and The Bible." And it is really really good tea. As I write, I am drinking a mug of the raspberry flavor, which I would highly recommend.

I had to share this with you because I love when a company takes something ordinary and gives it a unique twist. So far, my bags of tea have had Scripture from the Book of Psalms and Proverbs, and I get excited to open the next one wondering exactly what words of encouragement will be on there. 

Tea is something that provokes inspiration, relaxation, and a reminder of what is important. It forces me to slow down and just be. If I have a Scripture to mull over while I am doing that, it hopefully makes me think about being a better person. Whether you're having fellowship with some wonderful friends, or just taking a break from life, be sure to look into Scripture Tea, even if only for the quality of the product. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.  

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the 

comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.  

~Author Unknown

 

~Linbrooke

Tis the Season... (Part 2)

Every time I watch a Charlie Brown Christmas, I cannot help but get choked up when Linus talks about the meaning of Christmas. And this is really interesting because I haven’t been to church regularly in about 2 years. My faith is still very much alive inside, though, and at Christmas, it reminds me of Jesus and who He became to the world. For me, I’d say most of my thinking happens when I’m cooking.  

Luke 2:40

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Regardless of how you or I feel about religion, Christmas really has nothing to do with you or me. It has nothing to do with gifts ands lights and decorations (though I still love them)… it’s all about HIM…about Jesus and what his birth and his life meant to the world, and thus, what we can become to the world. Christ was a beacon of hope for helping the needy, feeding the hungry, and loving the world. He was and is an icon of GRACE.

No one can deny the inspiration Christ has brought to so many of us to love with abandon and continue to hope. Who of us can’t celebrate that? It is so hard to think of Christmas as more of an internal rather than external celebration, but if I could do that, Christmas truly becomes amazing. I would feel honored to be a fraction of the person Jesus was.

This Christmas season, as you might have guessed, I have done a lot of cooking. It is a way I can serve others and is very therapeutic for me. With a roller coaster of a year behind me, I truly want to use this season as a way to energize and get excited for the year ahead and the changes I want to make within myself. As much as Christmas is about loving others, I have realized how vital it is to show yourself as much, if not more, love.

Though it is easy to think of our pains and loneliness, Christmas would be transformational if we used it as a time of encouragement, reflection, and introspection. It is my prayer for us all that we could find a way to relax and regroup, whether it be over a cup of tea, or in cooking or baking something delicious for loved ones. 

  I hope you are encouraged this December in knowing that it doesn’t have to be so exhausting, but if we can slow down and recharge, some wonderful things could happen. For me, cooking forces me to slow down and think about the process rather than the end result. I am beginning to understand that the result would be nothing without the process, and that applies to every aspect of our lives.

As it is Christmas Eve, I wish you a day full of love and hope and serenity.

"There is more to life than increasing its speed." Gandhi

 

~Linbrooke

Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy is an all-time favorite...but people get it really wrong all the time, and I don't know how. It is truly a very very simple recipe. Here's my take on it, and I tried to put exact amounts, though to be honest, every time is a bit different. Gravy loves to be fickle, so you have to work with it a bit. My all-time favorite Midwestern breakfast....here we go!

INGREDIENTS

2 cans (8 pack) homestyle biscuits

1 lb. Pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)

4 T flour

1 T black pepper

appr. 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream

salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees or whatever directions instruct
2. Put sausage into 3 qt. saucepan or large fry pan and let it brown
3. Drain off excess grease (I spoon it out)
4. With sausage in pan, coat sausage in flour. It will be absorbed into the grease on the sausage so you won't really see it
5. Add the heavy whipping cream, salt and black pepper and stir
6. Put on low heat, and cook for about 20 minutes (can vary depending on the stove) until thickened, stirring occasionally
7. Cut biscuits in half, spoon gravy over it 
 

  The art of browning beef:

 

 The beef should be browned all the way through before adding the other ingredients. While the beef is browning, be sure the have the biscuits in the oven as it should take 

about 30 minutes from start to finish to prepare the gravy.

 Drain off excess grease (I spoon it out)

Sausage with flour

With sausage in pan, coat sausage in flour. It will be absorbed into the grease

on the sausage so you won't really see it.

Ingredients pre-stir

 Add the heavy whipping cream, black pepper and a bit of salt- and stir!

Ingredients simmering

 Put on low heat, and cook for about 20 minutes (can vary depending on the stove)

until thickened, stirring occasionally

The final product

 Some Suggestions:

• You can adjust the ingredients depending on the number of people eating. It is easy to cut back or add more of different ingredients, BUT when adding more of any ingredient, add small amounts at a time and taste, taste, taste!!
• I like my gravy meaty, but if you don't, add less of the sausage! 
• The MOST IMPORTANT part of this recipe is coating the sausage in flour. If you forget, it will need to cook much longer, and you will need to add flour. It will still taste wonderful though.
• You gravy will thicken as it cooks, and thicken even more once standing. If it is too thick, you can add a bit of milk. If it is too thin, put a bit of flour in the gravy. 
• I use refrigerated biscuits (Pillsbury Homestyle) for this recipe, but if you want to make homemade biscuits, have at it and send me the recipe. :)
• Cutting the biscuits in half really makes for a better combination of biscuits and gravy
• To make a bit spicier, you could add some cayenne pepper to the gravy. 

 

Enjoy!!
~Linbrooke

 

 

Tis' the Season... (Part 1)

Remember

This December,

That love weighs more than gold!

~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

It’s that time of year again. A time of laughter, joy, glitter and gold. Or…rather, that is what the Christmas season is meant to be- but is it really? I have finally admitted…Christmas is a disaster. Now, before you roll your eyes and label me a cynic, hear me out.

After a month of endless parties, gift-exchanges, and family get togethers, frankly, I’d like to crawl in a hole and hibernate the rest of winter. I stumble through the season declaring “good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people!” But…I don’t feel very joyful. How unfortunate that we look forward to this season all year only to meet it with frustration, anxiety and loneliness.

I know I am not alone in this due to the numerous conversations I have had with people who tell me Christmas is the saddest time of the year for them. It just doesn’t seem right. In all honesty, the expectations we have for Christmas are verging on the ridiculous side. I'm not sure we feel up to capacity on most other days of the year, much less an entire MONTH of shopping, parties, over-eating, smiling and more smiling, emotions, and loneliness. Can't we just admit… it is hard? Lonely? It’s more of an expectation than anything else. And I, like so many others, find myself lonely and overextended during a season where comfort and joy should be in abundance.

Our inspiration and encouragement behind Christmas can transform our lives…if only we will choose to see the wonders of God’s love and grace. It’s also been an essential reminder to me that the wonders of Christmas can extend throughout the year if I will let them.

 A director of the Food Pantry stated the other day that people are not just hungry at Christmas, but unfortunately the warehouses are mostly empty outside of the holidays. This applies across the board to our emotional, spiritual, physical and professional lives. We focus small pockets of time in hopes that it will carry us through the rest of the year. 

In the days approaching Christmas, I’d like to tell you a little about my journey through Christmas this year, and why I am thankful it has been so difficult. Though I am sure that sounds odd, I feel I have learned some wonderful lessons this year that will help me to love both myself and others better throughout the following year.And don't worry...there will obviously be some good recipes! My mom, sister and I are hard at work in the kitchen this week, so you know it's going to be good uber yummy.

 Be blessed this week, and remember to show grace and love to those that need it most…you have no idea what burdens we are all carrying. I’d like to end this first part with a verse that provides me incredible encouragement, and perhaps you as well:

Matthew 11:28

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

~Linbrooke