Stone Soup

Stone soup. 

I've been contemplating lately whether or not to buy an Instant Pot. I've heard many good things about them including their ease of use. 

To be honest though, the two main reasons I haven't gotten one is lack of space, and wondering if I'd really use it or not? When you have a small kitchen, space is a priority, and you find yourself only hanging on to the things you really use. Although, the Instant Pot allows for quick cooking,  now that I'm retired I have nothing but time. The need for quick cooking really isn't that critical for me.  

I have found that my crockpot seems to work pretty well,
and I do already have a place to store it. The other day I found an Instant Pot recipe for 15 Bean Soup that could easily be made the slow cooker way. When I saw the package of 15 beans at the grocery store I was immediately intrigued. Besides looking like a kindergarten art project dream, it fit perfectly with my plant-based eating plan. 

I thought I could easily throw the beans in the crockpot, and be along my merry way in no time. The beans could cook all day, and when I returned later that day dinner would be ready.  

Now apparently when they say slow cooker they really mean it. Along with the amount of time needed to cook the beans, the recipe required quite a bit of prep time. As I found myself chopping, onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers and jalapeños I couldn't help, but be reminded of one of my favorite stories that I used to read to the kids when I taught kindergarten.

Back in the day when kindergarten was really fun, and we were allowed to cook and serve food without a health permit we used to make Stone Soup. Each child would bring an ingredient from home, and I would provide a stone. As you may remember the main character of the story was hungry and no one would feed him. He cleverly convinced the villagers to help him prepare soup made from a stone. Of course they are all tricked into adding vegetables and even a bit of beef to the pot.  Who would have thought you could make soup from a stone?

Now although my soup is missing a stone, I'm pretty sure it's going to be good. As far as the Instant Pot goes, I think I'll continue using what I already have, and not add another appliance (cough, cough breadmaker) to my already somewhat limited storage space. 

Act, Not React

Act, not react. 

I had a situation happen to me recently that I did not handle well. In fact, my initial reaction only added to it accelerating way beyond it ever should. 

One thing that I know about myself is that I am quick to react. My thoughts race in my head, and before I have a chance to say don't you do it, I've already blurted something out that may or may not be appropriate. 

I seem to have an opinion about everything, and am not shy about sharing it whether you care to hear it or not. My altercation the other day was actually with a complete stranger, and now that I've had time to reassess the situation I wish I had reacted differently. 

Perhaps, the fact that I reacted is probably the real issue here. As I often do when faced with a problem, I turn to the wisdom of others for guidance. One thing I came across was the idea of action vs reaction. In thinking about it I realized that sometimes the best action of all is choosing not to react. 

In retrospect I wish I had done the latter. My level of embarrassment and blood pressure would definitely have thanked me. Another nugget of advice was to, "attack the problem and not the person." I realized that in attacking the person, I had done nothing to alleviate the problem. 

As much as I like to think I've got everything under control, I'm humbly reminded time and time again of my shortcomings. However, now that it has been painfully brought to my attention, and I have two good strategies to help me, I pray that I'll handle the next unpleasant situation in a more productive and appropriate manner. 

"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
Charles R. Swindoll

Freezer Meals

Freezer meals. 

This past Saturday my daughter and I spent the day making around twenty freezer meals. She is expecting our second grandchild in January, and we realized that we were running out of available weekends if we were going to do so. 

This is the second time that we have done this, and we found it much easier this time. I did some of the prep work ahead of time by chopping up the onions, celery, bell peppers, and carrots. We also took advantage of grocery store pick-up this time, and Chuck and I headed down with the groceries in tow. 

We decided that Chuck would be on grandson duty while Brittany and I were busy cooking, so we wouldn't have too many interruptions. We actually had two cook areas as she used the stovetop, and I used the electric skillet. It didn't take long for us to knock out spaghetti casserole, chili, marinara sauce, sausage and rice casserole, taco meat and enchiladas. 

I had picked up round aluminum pans for each meal before we left, and they stacked nicely in the freezer. Brittany headed up to the local grocery store for some rotisserie chickens, and we finished off with a chicken spaghetti and chicken and dumplings. All in all we were only in the kitchen for a few hours, but ended up with several weeks of meals. 

As we anticipate the birth of our new grandson or granddaughter, since our daughter and son-in-law chose not to find out the gender this time, it was a good feeling knowing they will be well fed. 

Doppelgänger

Doppelgänger.

They say we all have a twin somewhere in the world. 

I think I might have met my youngest sister's the other night. Chuck and I were trying out a new restaurant just around the corner from our apartment. He pointed out a woman who he said looked remarkably like my sister. I turned to check her out, and was taken aback at how much she resembled her. 

In fact, pretty much everything about her was a carbon copy, even down to her long curly locks. I kiddingly sent my sister a text questioning whether she was secretly back in Texas? I explained to her that her twin was sitting just a few tables over, and included the ever popular tears streaming down laughing emoji. 

It was then that Chuck and I got the idea that we should see if we could get a picture of the woman to send to my sister. Telling someone was one thing, but showing this remarkable phenomenon was even better. 

Now the wonderful thing about being in the sixth decade of your life is that things you would have never consider doing before come quite easily now.  I scrolled through my pictures, and found a fairly recent photo that pointed out the similarities between the two. As bold as brass I went up to the table where she was sitting with a large group of friends, and apologized for interrupting. I then shared with her, and her friends the picture of my sister.

They all were quite shocked at the resemblance. I asked if she minded letting me take a picture of her to send to my sister. She good naturedly agreed, and a few minutes later I was sending her photo to my other siblings playfully texting that I had seen our New England transplant sister at a local establishment. 

The other really interesting thing about the whole experience was not only how much she looked like my sister, but how even her mannerisms were the same. Each time I caught a glance of her I couldn't help but smile thinking I was hanging out with my baby sis. 

I must say that the whole experience was one of those delightful little kismet moments that sure makes life fun. That, the good company of my husband, and some tasty food made for a really good night. 

Reframing

Reframing.

I was reading something the other day about the benefit of reframing, and realized that this was a habit of mine. 

My husband commented on this recently when I automatically pointed out the good in a bad situation. This ability to look for silver linings really can help contribute to a happier life. 

I never kid myself that we can't be faced with inconveniences, unfortunate situations or even tragedies, but I have found that even in the worst of circumstances you can find the good if you look for it. 

This was clearly revealed to me over the last few years as I journeyed through my father's dementia. As heartbreaking as it was to see a once brilliant, independent man struggle to complete a sentence, the people I met along the way helped make an unbearable circumstance into a bearable one. 

In fact, not only bearable, but pleasant. Now I'm not saying every second was pure joy, but there was joy, and I learned to look for it in the most unsuspecting places. So many of the people who touched our family during that time were the silver linings that saw us through a difficult time. 

I think maybe my Dad himself was a silver lining as well. The day we took him to sell his car, knowing full well that he would never drive again, and was returning to his new home in assisted living, he pointed out how beautiful the clouds were as we stopped at a red light. 

A few months later as he sat in the dentist's chair to have a cap repaired, his face bruised and scraped from a recent fall, he stared out through the large picture window at the clouds. Once again he remarked on the beauty of what I was beginning to learn must have been a favorite of his. It seemed remarkable to me that Dad was still taking pleasure in the simple things, although his circumstances really gave him no reason to. 

Whenever, you asked Dad how he was he always replied with a resounding, "Fine." He could be heard whistling as he went through his daily chores as my stepmother's caretaker. He cared for her for thirteen years after her untimely stroke, and never once did I hear him complain. He seemed to meet each day with a smile, and did what needed to be done whether he wanted to or not. He also confided in me that he said his rosary daily as he ran his errands in town. My father's faith was strong and true. 

We can learn a lot from our parent's example, even into our adulthood. My natural ability to reframe things, might not be so natural after all. Maybe my knack of looking for silver linings was learned through following his example. Either way I sure feel blessed to be able to do so. 

Not Relying On What You Already Know

Not relying on what you already know. 

When I made the decision this summer to change my eating habits to primarily plant-based foods I began a new culinary journey. 

You see up until this time I had a repertoire of meals that I basically rotated through each month. Occasionally I would try something new, and it may or may not have made the cut into the rotation. 

However, when I completely changed my way of eating all those old recipes no longer were applicable. I began a search on Pinterest, and liked several new sites on Facebook in an attempt to find new meal choices. 

What I found, was not only  a variety of new meals, but some of the tastiest meals I had ever eaten. I don't know if it was just that my palette was awakening to something new, or perhaps what I had suspected before that the vegetable when properly prepared really stole the show. 

Each week as I sit down to plan my meals I really am enjoying looking for new and different recipes to try. As I grocery shop I'm finding that what fills my cart today is so much different than even just a year ago. My new food groups now include beans and legumes, grains, fruits and vegetables. 

They say variety is the spice of life, and I'm finding this culinary food journey to be just that. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of plant-based eating you might want to check out Forks Over Knives on Facebook. It's a great starting place even if you are only interested in adding Meatless Monday to your food rotation. 

Sometimes being forced out of your comfort zone really does open new doors. 

Shopping Extravaganza

Shopping Extravaganza.

About a week ago someone made mention to me that we only had three weeks until Christmas. Panic immediately set in as I had not done any Christmas shopping yet. 

You see, for years Black Friday was my go-to shopping day. I actually found the early morning adventure quite enjoyable, especially when my daughter was able to join me. You see if you could get out there early enough, and plan your route ahead of time then it was possible to get most of your shopping done within a few hours time. 

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to Black Friday this year so I was starting from ground zero. I went ahead, and actually wrote down a shopping date on my calendar, and when the day arrived I set out to my old familiar stomping grounds. It just made sense to return to Frisco where I knew the lay of the land. 

I began my shopping spree at my old reliable Walmart, where I knew the sheer volume of merchandise would help mark several items off my list. I was actually quite proud of myself as I piled my goods high and deep on the conveyer belt. Check, check, check, Santa duty almost complete. 

My next stop was the mall where I noticed the number of shoppers had increased exponentially as by this time it was afternoon. However, I was still able to make my purchases pretty quickly, and headed home before rush hour. After surveying my haul I felt really good about all that I had accomplished that day. 

 I finished up with a little online shopping the next day, which although expedient was not as much fun to me as the real deal. But, either way, between the two I was able to get about 98% of my shopping done in a short period of time. Now all that's left is the wrapping, and because I bought gift bags this year that ought to be pretty easy. 

Now that the shopping is done I better set my sights on the Christmas cards. You know what they say, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" And I'd have to agree.