Recipe--Barley Salad

As you probably know already, our family recently returned from a two-week vacation to Michigan. Vacation is usually a time when we depart from our normal diets and splurge a little bit (or a lot if you’re me. J) After two weeks of eating primarily in restaurants and at hotel buffets (with a lot of cherry pie, ice cream, and s’mores thrown in during our time at the lake) my body had just about had its fill of junk food for awhile.

When we got home, it was back to salads, fruit, and a lot less processed carbs! I was digging around in our pantry and found a bag of hulled barley. I decided to cook some up. Since it takes awhile, and I was already hungry, I didn’t eat it that day. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with barley outside of soup.

So I hit the internet for some research! I had zero interest in making soup when it was 99 degrees outside, so I looked into salads instead. We had almost all the ingredients for the salad below. Cool, crunchy, salty, savory, and bright, I immediately loved this salad! I made a bunch and packaged it up in containers so that I could grab them for a quick lunch. This would make a great accompaniment for a dinner, or it can stand on its own for a lunch.

I have posted the original recipe (which I found on the Food Network website) from Alton Brown. I have put my own personal adaptations in parentheses. I haven’t actually tried Brown’s version, and can only vouch for my own. But like any salad, make it the way you like it, and experiment!

Barley Salad

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (I cheated and used bottled)

Kosher salt (I used coarse sea salt)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 1/2 to 4 cups cooked and cooled barley

1 small head fennel, julienned (I substituted 2 stalks of celery for crunch, and about 2 teaspoons of oregano since we had no fennel and I’m not a big anise fan [the online recommended substitute was celery and anise for the fennel head])

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (we never have pine nuts, so I used slivered almonds instead)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon, approximately 4 slices

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (I used 1 tablespoon of dried)

Freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice and a pinch of kosher salt. Add the olive oil and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Combine the barley, fennel, pine nuts, Parmesan, bacon and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Add the dressing and stir to combine. Season, to taste, with the salt and pepper. Serve immediately or allow to sit in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour. Serves 6. (Mine has done well in the fridge for several days.)

Per Serving (based on a 6-serving yield): Calories: 272; Total Fat: 13 grams; Saturated Fat: 3 grams; Protein: 8 grams; Total carbohydrates: 32 grams; Sugar: 1 gram; Fiber: 5 grams; Cholesterol: 7 milligrams; Sodium: 334 milligrams

Graduation Party!

August 17^th, 2013 was a long-awaited day for me. It was the day of my high school graduation party! I have literally been thinking about this day since the 8^th grade. J The last couple of months leading up to the party were filled with many long-distance phone calls as we communicated our party visions to those in Michigan who could actually help with the ground work (since we were 1,200+ miles away from the party location.) One of the promises my parents had made me when we moved to Texas in the middle of my senior year, was that I could still have my graduation party in Michigan. It took a lot of special planning to make that happen!

A few years ago, I helped put on a graduation party for a friend. The family had the party at a park instead of at their home. I swore at the time that I would NEVER do that! It was just too difficult; I was perfectly happy to have my party at home. I ate those words and brought my graduation not simply across town, but literally across the country! We certainly could not have done it without the help of dozens of friends.

The theme I had settled on for the party was an Old-Fashioned Country Western Picnic. My decorations included lots of red gingham, boot bouquets, burlap, mason jar candles, bandanas, clothes pins, twine, and peanuts in the shell.

Most of the pictures in this post were not taken by me, but by two friends who agreed to be my photographers. I can’t tell you how strange it was for me to NOT take pictures! Photography really becomes an instinct after awhile. J

Early that morning, Mom and I left our hotel. I think we got to the church around 8 a.m. My Senior Piano Recital and Graduation Ceremony didn’t start until 11:00 a.m., so we thought we had plenty of time.

We finished setting out the decorations. These were the centerpieces on the tables.

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

My display table with a photo/music slideshow, photo books, western decorations, a photo frame for people to sign, a journal for people to write words of wisdom and encouragement, and a card basket.

Mom, Uncle Paul, and I worked feverishly to get all the ice into coolers, and get all the food from the church out to the pavilion. The rest of the family started to arrive around 10:30 a.m. and pitched in and helped.

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

I was starting to panic a little bit at this point. I was trying to whip up several quarts of cream (it wasn’t cooperating), people were arriving, and I didn’t feel ready! Finally, I handed off my duties to others, took a deep breath, and went into the sanctuary and talked with people. Everyone kept reminding me that it was my party; it started whenever I got there! J

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

With everything finally completed, we started the piano recital.

Photo Credit: Amy Cook

I went a little non-traditional with my recital. I didn’t play a lot of classical pieces, but rather pieces that had some significance in my life. In between selections, I shared the significance behind each chosen song, and the lesson it had taught me over the past year.

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

After this, it was all a surprise to me! I sat down, and a slideshow started playing. It was the same photo/music slideshow that Daddy had made for my Rite of Passage ceremony back when I turned 13. What really surprised me was the extension to it! He had added another song and pictures from the past 5 years. It was so special!

After that, each of my immediate family members read a letter they had written to me. I will truly treasure them forever! They brought back a flood of memories and emotions.

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

After that, I shared the graduation speech I had written. It was really more of a testimony to the ways God has worked in my life up until this point. I also had a lot of thank-you’s to express!

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

And then came the grand moment when Mom and Dad presented my diploma!!! It was an incredible feeling, especially after all the hurdles I had to jump through Senior year.

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

Then it was time for the open house! We had over 100 people come out over the course of the day. It was so good to visit with family and friends. And we were blessed with absolutely perfect weather! I think the temperature was in the upper 70’s with sun and a slight breeze. Thank you, Lord!

Photo Credit: Roma.

The food all turned out wonderful! We had plenty (we only ran out of strawberries!)

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

Our menu was:

Pulled pork sandwiches (made by a friend-of-a-friend)

Chicken salad sandwiches (our family)

Potato salad (our family)

Cole slaw (our family)

Deviled Eggs (Kroger)

Watermelon (our family)

Potato Chips (Sam’s Club J)

Texas sheet cake (our family)

Fresh fruit (frozen peaches, strawberries, and blueberries) with homemade whipped cream (our family, and our friend’s blueberry farm)

Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Bought from Gordons, and baked by a friend)

Lemonade (Sam’s club)

Iced Tea (Sam’s Club)

Water bottles (Sam’s Club)

Cooler of popsicles (Sam’s Club)

Part of the dessert table.

Photo Credit: Amy Cook

With my cake, and some of the lovely decorations in the background (done by friends from church.)

Photo Credit: Amy Cook.

I am so grateful for my family!

Photo Credit: Bridget Hawley.

 As expected, my party went by far too fast. Before we knew it, 6:00 p.m. had rolled around and it was time to start cleaning up.

We had about a dozen friends who stayed late and helped us clean everything up. I don’t think we left until about 8:00 p.m. We were all pretty exhausted!

Photo Credit: Roma.

When we got back to the hotel, we all crashed in my Grandparents’ hotel room where my Abuela fixed us her homemade hot chocolate. I started opening some of my cards and gifts.

Photo Credit: Roma.

Unfortunately, I made the unwise decision of indulging in hot chocolate despite the fact that I was already stuffed from the party. Around 9:30 p.m., I started feeling terrible. I lay down and promptly fell asleep. I woke up around 10:30 p.m., brushed my teeth, and collapsed in bed for the night. I fell asleep with a heart full of gratitude to everyone who helped make my special day happen, all the wonderful memories of the party replaying in my mind. . .

To be continued . . .

Michigan Trip, Part 4

Friday (August 16) was a bit of a crazy day for our family! With my party on Saturday, there were literally dozens of last-minute details to be worked out. We left our hotel in time to arrive at our old church (the party venue) by 8:30 a.m. Ben and I got up really early to run 7 miles beforehand. J Best way to start the day!

Some of the things we did that day included:

*Haul chairs and tables out to the pavilion on the back of the church property

*Put streamers up in the pavilion

*Make boot bouquets for the tables

*Cut up the watermelon and strawberries, and wash the blueberries

*Stock up the church fridge with the rest of the food we had prepared for the party

*Burn DVD’s of the photo slideshow I made

*Put up the volleyball net

*Locate all the power cords and run them from the church out to the pavilion

*Find the church tripod to borrow

*Practice my piano recital pieces

*Calculate how much ice we would need and how we would get it (Uncle Paul to the rescue! J)

*Pick up the deviled eggs, sandwich rolls, and last-minute decorating items

And lots more! There is no way we would have been able to do it all without Uncle Paul, Aunt Noelle, and the boys. We were also *so* blessed by two ladies from the church who did 80% of the decorating for us. Pastor D was also helpful when we needed to find things inside the church.

Putting streamers up. I was extra thankful for Miss P and Miss M, as decorating is NOT my forte. J

Photo Credit: Roma.

We didn’t clean up and leave the church until 5 o’clock that evening. On our way back to the hotel, we picked up pizza that Dad had ordered (he had flown in from Texas that afternoon, taken a shuttle to the hotel, and rested awhile.) My grandparents and one of my cousins from Ohio had also arrived that afternoon!

We had a fun little pizza, popcorn, and antipasto salad party in our room with them! After dinner, the kids begged to swim, so I took them downstairs for awhile.

When we got back, our Aunt, Uncle, and other cousin had arrived as well as my Aunt’s parents. I love a full hotel room!

Photo Credit: Roma.

We stayed up pretty late visiting with everyone before they went back to their hotel rooms for the night. We knew we all had a big day coming up . . .

To be continued . . .

Michigan Trip, Part 3

Day 5 (August 14) of our Michigan Trip brought some more work and more time spent with friends. We had arranged a breakfast date with some very good friends of ours at one of our favorite places in town. We used to eat out at Big Apple Bagel every other Tuesday during the school year. We would have our “usual” breakfasts and then go to the library to study for a few hours. It was a tradition we have missed!

We all ordered our usual bagels, muffins, and hot chocolates and then sat down to visit with Mrs. D and her daughters, M and M.

We had lots of stories and pictures to swap between our missions trip to Guatemala and Miss D’s recent trip to Haiti. It was so good to catch up with them!

Sometimes I laugh in amazement that these two are such close friends! They are opposite in so many ways on the surface, but inside their hearts beat the same.

Photo Credit: Roma.

After we said our goodbyes, we decided to drive through our old neighborhood (which wasn’t far from BAB.) It was a little strange driving past our old house. It’s really just a house now; it didn’t quite feel like we were driving past “home.” Texas is truly “home” now!

We stopped by a neighbor’s house to pay a quick visit, since they wouldn’t be able to come to my party that Saturday. The kids were really excited to see their buddies again!

After this, we went to Sam’s Club to do more shopping. We ended up with several carts filled with food! While we were there, we ran into a friend from church. It was fun to come up behind her and surprise her. J

We returned to our hotel room and unloaded most of the groceries. Then we got down to work and started cutting and chopping things for the potato and chicken salad. Our motivation to finish was getting to go to Wednesday night Dinner and Devotions at our old church.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

Thankfully we were able to get all our work done on time, and went to church. We were so glad that we had the opportunity to go, as we were able to see even more friends that wouldn’t be able to make it to the party over the weekend. It also gave us more time for some one-on-one catching up with people.

Thursday morning, we left the hotel bright and early. Our van was loaded up with coolers of food. We were headed to a friend’s house to have a cooking party. These friends graciously allowed us use of their spacious kitchen and cooking tools, and also were on hand to help with cooking, feed us lunch, and more.

We did an incredible amount of cooking! We made about 6 gallons each of chicken salad, potato salad, and coleslaw. We also baked and frosted 6 Texas sheet cakes. It took us all morning and the better part of the afternoon to do all that and clean up after ourselves. I think we used every dish and cooking utensil in the kitchen!

Photo Credit: Roma.

We loaded all of the food back into the coolers and into the car and headed to the church, to load up their refrigerators. Then we finally returned to the hotel, where we unloaded more things and then headed down to the pool for a swim. Afterward, we took showers and had a light supper while we unwound. We went to bed early, knowing we had another big work day ahead of us on Friday . . .

To be continued . . .

Michigan Trip, Part 2

Day 2 in Michigan (August 12) brought work and fun for our family! Our first priority was getting the A/C fixed in our van. The whole drive up, we had it blasting air to no avail. It would be luxuriously cool for a few minutes, and then start blowing hot air. Let’s just say the 22 hours spent in the van were long and sticky. J

We knew we wanted to see my Uncle Paul, Aunt Noelle, and their family that day as well. But we also needed to start grocery shopping for my party, and also buy some food to eat that week at the hotel. All of those things are difficult to do without a car (which we couldn’t even get to the shop.)

So our Michigan family came to the rescue. J We drove over to their house and dropped the boys off. Then Aunt Noelle brought her van to the auto shop so we could drop our van off. Then all the ladies went over to grocery shop at Meijers. Group shopping is so much fun. J

When we finished, we headed back over to the hotel. Uncle Paul had taken all the boys out to lunch and they were on their way over to the hotel so we could do some swimming.

We played several wild games of Marco Polo together. J

Late that afternoon, they had to leave to take G to his football practice. On the way, Uncle Paul dropped us off at the repair shop to pick up our van. Now that we had a car, the rest of us decided to have some spur-of-the-moment fun. We wanted to see “Despicable Me 2” and it was playing at the theater later that night.

We went down the road to Arby’s for some dinner, and then headed over to the theater.

Turns out that one of the local banks was giving away free tickets to all their card holders. So the theater was jam-packed! Several movies sold out, but thankfully we got in to see ours. It was pretty funny!

The next morning found us up early. We were going up to mid-Michigan for a Park Day with homeschooling friends (in the town where we used to live!) The hour-long drive seemed so short after spending all weekend in the car. J

It was so good to see lots of old friends and have the opportunity to catch up. I knew that at my graduation party later that week, I wouldn’t have a lot of one-on-one time to talk with people, so a smaller setting was nice. And a lot of the friends that came to park day weren’t able to be at the party, so it worked out great!

A game of volleyball going on.

After visiting for several hours and enjoying lunch in the park, we headed out. We stopped by a friend’s house to pick up some blueberries for my graduation party. We visited with them for awhile, and then headed back towards town. We stopped by our favorite coffee shop, and then headed to a friend’s house for dinner.

Our friends live on a lake, and we had planned to swim. But as you can tell from the pictures above, it was a little too cold for that. J I think the temperature was about 68 degrees. That’s like March for a Texan. J We enjoyed visiting instead.

We had dinner out on their deck. We ate a delicious meal of baked potatoes with chili and cheese, a tomato-pesto-and-cheese salad, fruit salad, and tossed salad. It was all so delicious!

For dessert, they had a special surprise for me! A chocolate torte with “Congratulations” candles on it! I felt quite special. J

Photo Credit: Roma.

Sadly, our evening had to come to an end, and we headed back to the hotel. But the next morning was going to bring more times with friends for us. . .

To be continued . . .

Michigan Trip, Part 1

Our family returned late Saturday night after spending 2 weeks on vacation in Michigan! This trip has been planned for close to a year, so we were filled with anticipation!

We left on August 10^th. The strange part about the trip was we were traveling without Dad! Yes, the rest of us trekked 1,200+ miles by ourselves. It was a little too difficult for him to take two full weeks off work, so he flew up later in the week to join us. Mom and I shared the driving load, and boy did we have no idea how long of a drive it is!

We left early that morning, and it took us about 11.5 hours to make it to St. Louis. Thankfully, our hotel was right next to a Cracker Barrel, so we didn’t have to go far for dinner that night.

I don’t think that where we parked our car and where our hotel room was, could possibly have been farther apart. We had to park in the back lot, tote all of our stuff over to the ground entrance, take it up the ramp to the lobby, catch the elevator up to the 14^th floor, and then walk to the opposite side of that floor. Yes, it was tiring!

Photo Credit: Roma.

Once we had finally unloaded what we needed for that night, we went next door to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Hot food always tastes *wonderful* after a long day of driving!

The next morning, we got up early, had our breakfast, went on a wild goose-chase looking for somebody’s lost sunglasses, and loaded up the car to go. As you can see, we packed our little minivan to the gills. Everyone had about 2 inches of wiggle room each. J

Part of our motivation for getting out early, was so that we could get in town in time to see our dear adopted Michigan family (Uncle Paul and Aunt Noelle.) But a couple hours into our trip, we received a text that they had another commitment that evening. Quite disappointed, we pressed on.

We arrived even later that night, to discover that yet again, our hotel room was in the farthest place possible from our car. *Sigh.* We unloaded everything this time, and made it over to Bob Evans in time for dinner just after 8 p.m. We felt a bit bad, as they were officially open until 9, but had already started cleaning things up. We kind of wrecked that. J

We were eating and chatting about our plans for the week. The boys got up to go to the restroom. Josiah came running back and said, “the B’s are here!” I thought for sure he was kidding, and was almost mad at him for playing such a mean joke. But I got up with the twins and went over to the front door anyway.

Turns out, they WERE there!! We were ecstatic!! It’s been a long 8 months since we last saw them.

We gathered around and finished our dinner while we talked a mile-a-minute, catching up with everyone. We all had huge smiles plastered on our faces that evening. J

Once we finished, we carpooled back over to our hotel so we could visit some more. It was a pretty late night for us, but so very sweet because it was spent with friends!

To be continued . . .

Little Children

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” Matthew 19:14

Recipe--Cream Cheese Mints

I was hunting for a recipe to post, and was surprised when I looked through the archives and realized that I never posted this recipe! These little mints are creamy, refreshing, and simple to make. They are a great addition to after-dinner cookies and coffee when company comes over!

Feel free to experiment with the coloring and the amount of mint extract to suit your taste!

Cream Cheese Mints

1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

½ teaspoon peppermint extract

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Green food coloring (optional)

Granulated sugar (optional)

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, peppermint extract, and food coloring (if desired.) Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until smooth, kneading the last of the powdered sugar in with hands. Form mixture into balls the size of a cherry and roll in granulated sugar (if desired.) Place on waxed paper and flatten with a fork (I just use my fingers. You can also leave them round if you prefer, or make them smaller in size.) Let stand overnight. Makes 3 dozen, 1-inch mints.

Too Comfortable

“We are too safe and too comfortable in America. This is why we need to abandon. For the heroes of our faith, it wasn’t suffering they were worried might derail them from their destiny, it was safety. Suffering was expected; something they embraced. Our safety keeps us from moving to a place of intimacy. It impoverishes us.”

--Seth Barnes in “Kingdom Journeys”

My Guatemala Experience

~ Posted by Ben

I still remember the January Wednesday night when our Youth Pastor announced the upcoming Senior High mission’s trip to Guatemala City in July. I must admit, I didn’t listen very closely. Bianca and I had both planned to go back to Haiti this summer. So I figured that whatever he said about Guatemala had nothing to do with me.

As the months forged on, between losing two Grandparents, doing schoolwork, and continuous unpacking from moving, I literally forgot our youth group was even going on a missions trip. It was of little consequence to me. But as we got closer to our projected June trip to Haiti, it became crystal clear that this was not God’s will for us this year. The harder we tried to make it possible, the more doors kept closing for us to go. The message was clear.

I remember talking with Bianca about the situation in the office of our house. She told me that our Pastor D had mentioned that one of the Guatemala team members dropped out of the trip. Pastor D said he would try to create another spot so that we could both go. Before long, we got word back that he was successful. We were going to Guatemala! We attended the remainder of the prep meetings faithfully, did the assigned reading, and did all the studying we could do on Spanish and Guatemalan history and culture.

We spent the whole last week before leaving packing and shopping. The night before we left, Bianca and I kneeled in our living room as our family gathered around us and prayed for our departure the next day. Morning came quickly (4:00 am) and we met the rest of the team at the church and then departed for the airport. We made it through our flights safely and arrived in Guatemala that afternoon.

I will not go into much detail about the actual trip itself, since Bianca has dedicated several posts to that. But I would like to briefly share from my perspective what affected me the most during the trip. One of the most meaningful moments for me was on Wednesday, when we toured an orphanage and played with the children. This orphanage exists for children who have been forcefully removed from a bad home situation. They live here while the courts do an investigation into whether or not the children can be returned to their abusive/dysfunctional homes. The children introduced themselves to us one by one, sang a song for us, we played a game, and our group did a skit in Spanish of “the boy who cried wolf.”

The children singing a song for us.

Yes, he really is biting my leg! J

Being attacked by the “wolf” (our youth pastor, D) in the skit. Yes…I know I’m supposed to be wailing in terror and agony, but I couldn’t help but laugh. J

Perhaps the most emotionally touching part of the trip was when our time with the children was over. The founder of the Orphanage spoke to the team, sharing her testimony and how she came to start the orphanage. I was amazed at the immense  faith she had. especially when it came to the finances for the orphanage. She talked about how the end of the month was coming, and they didn’t have the money needed to pay July’s expenses. But she stated confidently that she was not worried. She knows that God will provide. He always has, and the way she sees it, He always will. She states with a smile on her face that the orphanage has no debt and doesn’t intend to. They have full reliance on God and His mercy and grace. I can honestly say that I have never seen that kind of audacious faith in the United States.

Another aspect of Guatemalan culture that I was inspired by was their sense of family community. I watched the people from Iglesia Biblica interact with one another at the missionary’s house and I can say that they seemed like they were truly family. They know that they have all been saved by Christ’s grace. That is their common denominator, nothing else matters, they are family. I pray that more churches in the US would have that kind of fellowship!

I returned from the Guatemala trip changed in many ways. I went to teach and serve, yet I felt like I had done more learning than teaching. I hope that I can someday go back and serve and learn again!

Bianca and me with Pastor A and his wife.