Taking Some Time to Be Quiet: April 2021 Recap
Photo by Melissa Askew
Sometimes, it's good to take some time to just be quiet, less available, and still. This last month was like that for me. It wasn't because I was seeking answers from God or because of exhaustion. It was just time to be quiet, to observe with a little more intention, and to be more in tune with my own needs. I am finding that it can be such a healthy practice to just take notice of my own thoughts and emotions without tying a judgment value to them. Approaching myself and life with curiosity rather than demands or condescension is freeing. Even while in the midst of a busy, demanding class, I found God's wisdom and perspective emerging in unexpected places. Spring is a good time to till up old soil, turn over the dirt that's been dormant under snow, and ready the earth for planting. I think that's about where God has me right now.
What I Ate:
March and April are generally our hot, summer months in Honduras, so many of these recipes reflect that. While I know spring is just gearing up in the US, some of these recipes may be worth tucking away for the summer heat.
Photo by Marina Grynykha
1) Ginger Limeade. Nearly four years ago, when Raúl and I went on our honeymoon to Roatan, we had dinner at restaurant not far from the Airbnb where we were staying. This restaurant sold ginger limeade that I loved. I ordered some every chance I got. It had quite a bite, and since then, I love to make ginger limeade on a hot, summer day. There are a lot of recipes you can follow for ratios, but a lot of it depends on individual taste. Grated ginger, sugar, lime juice, water. So simple but so good.
2) Thai Tea. I love Thai tea. A restaurant where I went to college sold the best sushi and Thai tea. I had never had either before the first time I went there, but it soon became my favorite restaurant in that wonderful, small town. It has since shifted names and is under new management with a new menu, but my love for Thai tea lives on--so much so that I bought the above package of Thai tea mix to bring back with me to Honduras. There are lots of different options for what mixes you can use, but I can say that the above tasted like what I enjoy from restaurants. With that said, it has a dye in it that can be cancer-causing, so uh, maybe don't drink it every day? I like mine with sweetened condense milk and regular milk. Here is a recipe for reference that uses evaporated milk.
https://www.eatingthaifood.com/thai-ice-tea-recipe-cha-yen/
3) Pasta Primavera. To my remembrance, I had never had pasta primavera before making this recipe. It is now a new favorite. It's flavorful and comforting, but it has plenty of vegetables which also makes it light. I could eat it over and over without getting tired of it. Since I am on a kick of roasting cherry tomatoes, I roasted them instead of leaving them raw, and I think it adds more flavor. Because I roasted the cherry tomatoes, I didn't bother adding sundried tomatoes, but they would have been a delicious add in. I also grated the carrot rather than bothering with with making matchsticks. Lastly, I used fresh basil and parsley. So delicious.
https://themodernproper.com/pasta-primavera
4) Honduran Osmil. I am not usually a fan of oatmeal because of the texture. However, I love Honduran osmil. "Osmil" is the Honduran pronunciation of "oatmeal" as far as I can tell, and it does use oatmeal, but it is made with more liquid which gives it a creamier texture. They also add both salt and sugar which also adds depth of flavor. Here is a recipe:
https://cookpad.com/hn/recetas/938911-desayuno-tradicional-de-honduras-osmil-avena-oatmeal-estilo-casero-catracho
Here is that recipe translated:
Boil a cup of water with a cinnamon stick (I used two). Add a pinch of salt. When it is boiling, add two cups of oatmeal. Add another cup of water, so it cooks well. Add one tablespoon of brown sugar and two tablespoons of regular sugar. Stir constantly for three minutes. Once it is cooked, add two cups of milk and two tablespoons of vanilla. Continue stirring on medium heat. If desired, you can add raisins and cook a bit longer (I never add raisins). You can add ground cinnamon on top when serving.
5) Picnic Tomatoes. This was a recipe I made for Easter vacation week. It would have been a million times better with fresh tomatoes from my dad's garden. But even so, it was pretty good regardless.
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/picnic-tomatoes
6) White Bean Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad. This is another one of those simple recipes apt for hot summer months (because March and April usually are our hot, summer months in Honduras), but I could eat it over and over again. Combine cooked white beans (can be canned as long as you rinse them off before using them), roasted cherry tomatoes, marinated artichokes, minced garlic, chopped basil leaves, za'atar seasoning, feta cheese crumbles, salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil. Enjoy.
7) Chrissy Teigen's Pad Grapow. This recipe comes from her cookbook, Cravings, and it was a major hit with my husband. We used jalapeño peppers instead of serrano peppers. We served it with white, jasmine rice.
https://www.fabulesley.com/2018/11/10/pad-grapow-chicken-chicken-with-basil-by-chrissy-teigen/
8) Chrissy Teigen's Drunken Noodles. This was really satisfying and tasty even without using the tablespoons of whiskey.
https://www.today.com/recipes/chrissy-teigen-s-actual-drunken-noodles-recipe-t105636
9) Potato Sausage Sauerkraut Soup. I made this soup right before coming down with a cold, and I was grateful to have it on hand. The sauerkraut and spicy sausage helped to open up my sinuses. I didn't have caraway seeds and also added some celery but otherwise, I mostly followed the below recipe. This is a hearty meal and good for a rainy day.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/sausage-sauerkraut-soup/
What I Read:
1) The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. This book is the prequel to the Hunger Games series. It follows the adolescence of Coriolanus Snow--the President and villain from the aforementioned series. This book is dark, but the reader generally should be aware of that because of its subject. The reader already know how the protagonist's story ends if they have read the series. It explores how war affects economy and the development of identity. It examines how self-preservation affects relationships. It was a sad but interesting read especially because it connects well with previously-established places and people from the original series. In that way, it's pretty brilliant because it adds new depth and meaning to the original series.
2) Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis. I loved The Chronicles of Narnia growing up, but I have admittedly not read much else by C. S. Lewis despite his being such a popular, formidable writer. So, I gave the first book in the Space Trilogy series a try since it was on Prime Reading. I'll be honest--it's not as charming as The Chronicles of Narnia as the characters were less endearing. However, it was very interesting to ponder how Earth could be perceived from the perspective of outsiders. The story follows a traveler named Ransom as he is abducted and taken to space. He lands on another planet and encounters many different beings who teach him a new language, various new cultures, and new perspectives of what it means to be human.
3) The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi. I have become such a fan of Kendra Adachi in recent months. I have been listening to her podcast, so I was looking forward to reading her book. This book is an easy read meant to make life simultaneously more meaningful and more efficient. Kendra is so competent in the practical life tips that she offers, but she's also incredibly non-judgmental. It is obvious that she is someone who does her own internal work in accepting life's imperfections. She offers a framework to "be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't." Her entire message and brand are about finding ways to free up time and energy in order to live a fuller life, and she does so with a delightful balance of practical tips and a graceful, compassionate mindset.
4) The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny. This book is the third book in the Inspector Gamache series. Someone else who recommended the series gave the disclaimer that the second and third mysteries in the respective books are a little odd, and they were correct. The crime in this book was a little bizarre. However, this book revives the lovely characters and small-town atmosphere of Three Pines, and it also provides answers to how Inspector Gamache's past affects his present. In this book, a woman dies seemingly from being scared to death, and a whole cast of characters connected to her from her past and present seem to present equal suspicion of contributing to her death.
What I Watched:
1) Vantage Point. This movie came out back in 2008. Long before I knew I was an Enneagram 6 who likes to look at situations from all of the angles, the premise of this movie appealed to me. I can remember being fascinated by the trailer for it. I had never seen it before last month. It was a unique format for telling a story. It follows an assassination but shows the story through the eyes of various people present in the moment that it happens. Yes, that does mean that there is some repetition, but I really appreciated the subtleties of how what was depicted changed depending on the person who would be interpreting what they were witnessing. This format also means that there was little exposition, so there was much more showing rather than telling.
Favorites:
1) ER Reunion. My mom is a nurse, so I grew up watching the show, ER. Can you believe the show started when I was 5? I don't think I was allowed to stay up to watch it then, but I was 20 by the time it went off the air. I can still remember one time when the show had left a major cliffhanger during the season finale. During the summer, my parents had put up our television, so we'd play outside and spend time gardening and taking walks. However, when the season premiere of ER was set to come on and resolve the cliffhanger, my dad dug a black and white television with rabbit ear antenna out of the shed for my mom to watch her show. It was a family affair. We all gathered in the kitchen--the place with the best signal--with pillows and blankets on the floor to see what had happened to the beloved characters. It's a show I still love and want to watch all the way through at some point. Thus, I was thrilled when I saw that a virtual reunion would be streamed. It was organized as a benefit for a non-profit. Here is the link to watch:
https://deadline.com/2021/04/er-reunion-stars-in-the-house-george-clooney-noah-wyle-julianna-margulies-anthony-edwards-benefit-1234733305/
The people who were on were mostly the original cast as there were so many people who ended up being on such a long-running show. It was so much fun to hear behind the scenes stories and see the camaraderie of the former cast. I am a firm believer that the best shows tend to have casts who are friends with good rapport, respect, and chemistry off-camera. I think that can be said of this cast as well. Plus, it was fun to text back and forth with my mom as we both geeked out over the reunion.
As we enter spring, may we simply take time to listen and reflect, letting the Lord till up our hard grounds and soften our hearts to His embrace.
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