thankful thursday #84

Wimbledon is simply one of the greatest sporting events to happen all year.  It might be my favorite.



The accents.  The tradition.  The manners.  The royalty.  The competition.

I'm usually on vacation during at least a portion of the fortnight, and I can watch hours and hours at a time, excited for the champions, hopeful for the underdogs, and always frustrated by Pam Shriver.  (Why, why, why is she still employed as a commentator?)

Anyway, we returned today from Cabin Fever 2K12.  After the laundry was started and the bags were unpacked, I went straight to the gym, hoping to work off at least a few of the five bagillion calories I consumed in that cabin.

It wasn't crowded, and I had a cardio room and television to myself.  I was so pleased to finish out that hour watching a classic Wimbledon upset, where Rafael Nadal fell hard to an unranked player whose name I don't even know.

I confess that I was not so thankful this morning, when I reluctantly turned in the keys to our cabin, but I'm happy to report that gratitude didn't stay away too long.

I'm thankful for the rest, for safe travels, and to return to a perfectly timed upset at Wimbledon, that made that working out nonsense so much more bearable.

What're you appreciating this week?  Go on, be grateful!

thankful thursday #83

For a slew of reasons, our family beach week is on hiatus in 2012.

My flesh wants to be bitter about this, but I can't complain about it, because let's face it, I'm so miffed to not have a week-long beach vacation sounds downright brattish and spoiled.

Darn you, you heart of gratitude.

I think so much of the fun of a vacation actually happens in the the season of preparation, the looking forward, the expectation of it all.  Don't you?

Several weeks ago during a particular rough patch, one where in any other year I'd be thinking, If I can just make it to June 23rd, I was grasping hard for something to anticipate.  Straining to see some light at the end of my tunnel.

Alas, BEACH WEEK was not written in bright, cheery purple, and the white blocks on my calendar gave me a palpable blank stare.

So I took matters into my own hands during said rough patch, and filled up that sad, empty space on my calendar.

Now it reads, CABIN FEVER 2K12 and praise Jesus, it is a mere three days away.  It cannot get here fast enough.

I will retreat here ...

... I will cozy up and read my books here ...

... I will cook for my friends here ...

... and I will take in this view every day.

For these things to anticipate, I'm thankful.

What are you looking forward to today?  Go on, be grateful!

thankful thursday #82

I'm back today from our company's annual retreat.  Once a year doesn't seem like enough, but it always seems to come at just the right time.

Just when I'm feeling myself approaching my breaking point.

Just when I'm ready to throw my hands up and be done with it all.

Just in time to remind me why I love these people.

Representing our universities with pride

"Everyone is so nice," said one of our rookies.  It makes me proud to work with a classy (and attractive!) bunch like this.

Showing support for a colleague's family's adoption

Humbled and grateful that my colleagues are friends.

What's got you thankful today?  Go on, be grateful!

grown-up mac and cheese

Mom's homemade mac and cheese is her most requested menu item when we go home.  It's not complicated or fancy, but like the chocolate sheet cake, there's no real recipe that exists.

I've tried to make it a few times, using this poor excuse for a recipe that's wasting space in my recipe box, but it's just the biggest let-down for me.  My attempts have not been mom-honoring.

None will ever replace Mom's, but I love some mac and cheese, and can't in good conscience continue to massacre her un-recipe.

There are a gazillion mac and cheese variations out there.  I've tried simple ones, and I've tried harder ones.  I've tried ones with gourmet cheeses, and I've tried ones with four cheeses.  I've tried stove-top versions, and I've tried oven-baked versions.

This one is not too heavy, very simple, and has the best topping that gives it the perfect crunch.

Grown-Up Mac and Cheese

1 lb. small shell pasta
4 Tbsp. butter
8 oz. heavy whipping cream
8 oz. Fontina cheese, grated*
Salt, to taste
Fresh nutmeg
1/3 c. panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 
2. Cook your pasta, 1-2 minutes shy of al dente.  Drain.
 
3. Dice the butter, and set in the bottom of a large bowl.  Pour the hot, drained pasta into the bowl and toss to coat with the butter.
 
4. Heat the cream in the microwave for about one minute.  Pour over the pasta.
 
5. Add the Fontina cheese and stir until the cheese begins to melt.  Season with salt and a few grates of the fresh nutmeg, until it tastes great to you!
 
6. Pour pasta into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
 
7. In a separate bowl, mix the panko crumbs and the Parmesan Reggiano cheese.  Add EVOO until you get a nice crumbly texture (about 4-5 tablespoons, maybe?), and use the mixture to top your pasta.
 
8. Spray the top with cooking spray, so it will turn pretty and golden in the oven, and bake for about 20 minutes.  You'll see that cream bubbling up on the sides and in the bottom.
 
9. Enjoy immediately!

*This recipe made a big deal about making sure the Fontina cheese was Italian.  Mine was made in Wisconsin.  I'm sure it's great either way!  And, in honor of Mom, I went with the "you can never have too much cheese" philosophy and just grated up a whole wedge's worth.  I have no idea how much was there.

Cheers to comfort food, y'all.  Who says you have to wait for cold weather?

a dang tasty cookie

I am on this mad hunt for the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe.

And when I say "mad hunt," I haven't tried to make nearly as many as you might think. 

Okay, I've tried one, and it was a disaster.  I just haven't gotten my nerve up to try another one.  I'll tell you, it's a colossal waste of time when a cookie recipe goes awry.

One day this past week -- in an airport killing time, I'm certain -- I was perusing my Food Gawker app (if you don't have this and you love to cook, get it pronto!), and stumbled upon this cookie recipe.

It's not oatmeal chocolate chip, but it looked DT (code for dang tasty, which goes way back to my college days when I abbreviated all sorts of sayings with my friend Brad).

So I whipped them up tonight, in my traditional wind-down-from-travel-recipe-experiment, and they did not disappoint.  They're chewy and chock-full of delicious surprises.

And speaking of surprises, the name of the cookie is a little curious, because there is no dark chocolate in it, but here it is, verbatim.  My experiential notes are at the bottom.

Walnut Coconut Dark Chocolate Cookies

1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
*1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chunks (I used chips, because it's what I had)
*1 1/2 c. coconut flakes
*1 1/2 c. walnut pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
 
2. Using a beater, mix the butter, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs until creamy.
 
3. In a different bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together thoroughly.
 
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until well blended.
 
5. Add the chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts and combine.
 
6. Scoop spoonfuls of batter onto a cookie sheet.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies, until the tops are slightly golden.**

* I found these amounts to be a lot, but maybe that was because I'm a wuss on stirring thick cookie batter?  I don't know.  I used about a cup of each, probably.

** I love a chewy cookie, so I was good with them being a little bit underdone.  When they cooled, they were perfect-o.  If you like a crispy, dry, burned cookie though, bake away.

I was a cooking fool today, and also hit the jackpot on some grown-up macaroni and cheese that was easy and scrumptious.  I'll post that recipe later this week.

Have a happy Monday, friends!

thankful thursday #81

My friend Deana has a little adaptation of Thankful Thursdays.  I'm happy she caught the gratitude bug, because sometimes when I'm struggling to feel thankful, her weekly updates inspire me.

Today's one of those days.  I have a couple of things up my sleeve to look forward to, but frankly the present time isn't doin' it for me.

Deana is an adventurous soul.  She loves to try new things, see new places, meet new people.  The more she experiences, the better, as far as she's concerned.

This week she's tried Hot Yoga.  The only thing worse than yoga that I can imagine is yoga performed in 100-degree temperatures (not exaggerating, folks).  But bless her, Deana tried it, just because it's something new and different.

Sometimes I find myself in a rut, stuck in routine.  I'm so thankful to have friends like Deana who keep me on my toes and challenge me to step out and do something fresh!

I'm not doing Hot Yoga, though.

What's the last thing you did that yanked you right out of your comfort zone?  I hope you appreciate those chances.  Go on, be grateful!

to the graduates

I did not graduate at the top of my class, attend classes at an Ivy League institution, or receive a full scholarship to anywhere.

I’ve also never been asked to be a keynote speaker at a graduation.  I’m not holding my breath, either.

Disclaimers aside, it's the season to celebrate graduates, and an opportunity to lovingly impart to them unsolicited wisdom.

Some of this came from people who’ve been trusted mentors to me.  Some I’ve learned the hard way.  Some are just nuggets I wish I’d known fifteen years ago.

All of it has rolled around in my head for weeks, and was initially inspired by my sweet cousin who walks across her high school stage for the last time in three short days.

I'm excited to celebrate the milestone with her, and to wish her well with these thoughts, as she navigates the wild world that awaits her.

Things just get better with time.  I’ve known many a soul who live like their best life was in high school, and it’s a sad sight.  Seek out role models who keep on learning, keep on loving, keep on stretching and keep on evolving, and you will too.  You will know better, love better, and do better as time goes on.  And when you think your life is good, be excited that it just gets better.

Better doesn’t mean easier.  When you feel like life is hard and unfair, it probably is.  It’s the way life happens.  The good news is that hard-and-unfair is a season, and you have the opportunity to come out on the other side of it having received a healthy dose of grace.  Accept grace humbly when it’s offered.

It’s not about you.  Can you imagine if we lived on this earth only to bring glory to ourselves?  What a bad joke that would be.  Consider others as greater than yourself; you will be far less offended all the time, when you own the fact that it’s not all about you.

Pursue real community.  There was a time when people really valued community, and focused only on those in their presence.  They did not hide their authenticity behind high definition screens, and they were not interrupted by texts, phone calls, emails, or social media alerts.  These days, our generation is struggling to maintain fulfilling relationships with parents, spouses, friends and children.  Turn your phone off or leave it out of reach whenever you can.  Your relationships will be deeper and truer when you do.

Beauty isn’t relative.  Did you know that in the 40s and 50s, there were advertisements selling products and services that helped women gain weight?  Society will always tell you that if [fill in the blank], then you’ll be more beautiful, and it will always, always be a lie.  Do your darndest to combat that lie.  In truth, beauty has become you, simply because you were created in the image of God.  That is absolute; don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

Practice gratitude.  You don’t have to go to a third-world country to know that just by being born in America, we are a rich people group.  No matter your specific circumstances -- goodness knows not everyone is dealt a great hand -- look hard for the reasons in your life to be grateful, and actively express your thanks to the appropriate people.  And if one day you find yourself stuck in one of those seasons of hard-and-unfair, remember these things and let gratitude rule your heart.

Congratulations, graduates.  Go and make the world a better place.