thankful thursday #136

Vacations are good.

Vacations are better, when you don't get on a computer all week long, except for a day to give thanks.

Vacations are best, when for seven nights in a row, this scene is real life:

 

Thankful for a week of goodness.

And you? Go on, be grateful!

thankful thursday #135

In my small group, we are practicing prayer.

The guide we are using is challenging us to shift our focus from our laundry list of personal prayer requests, to the Word of God, and his heart and character.

And it's not a little shift; it's palpable.

God does care about the details and circumstances of our lives; I believe that. But when we can't see past those details and circumstances that belong only to us, and we pray only to that end, we miss the gift of an eternal perspective.

One of the weekly exercises is to list ways we saw God at work during the previous week. It's been exciting to watch the shift, and experience the gentle unveiling that reveals the bigger picture.

I'm feeling thankful today for the challenge to let go of the me-focus, and instead to grasp the God-focus. It's so much more fulfilling.

What's God been up to in your world this week? Go on, be grateful!

thankful thursday #134

This is how I greeted my Thursday morning:



There's really not a better way to start a day: just me and the Lord (and the geese), still, quiet and soaking in this view, with my toes painting circles in the water.

Worthy of gratitude, I'd say.

Steal away for a quiet thank-you this weekend. Go on, be grateful!

hello monday (a sporty one)

I had such a great weekend; did you? It was just relaxing enough, just productive enough, and just fulfilling enough to make today seem not-so-welcomed. I could have used another day.

But alas, time never stops, so we might as well say hello, Monday.

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Hello, College World Series.
How about Mississippi State, punching their ticket today?
Happy for my other Bulldogs.

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Hello, Fred Couples.

He played in the Regions Tradition Senior PGA event here in town. It wasn't the Masters, but I enjoyed an afternoon on the course anyway.

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Hello, war wound.

Look familiar? It is.
No one told me running was so hazardous.

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Hello, half marathon.
I'm considering running one this August, but haven't fully committed.
After my little tumble yesterday, I'm questioning the logic.

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Hello, vacation in thirteen days.
I'm not sure I've ever been quite so needy for a week of beach.

Are you ready for the week? Hello, Monday. Let's do this.

eat your greens

I enjoy spinach. But I should eat more.

Especially these days, as I've been running a little bit. The more miles I run, the more I justify carb-loading as acceptable.

It's not. Not the way I eat carbs, anyway. Because there is no moderation with me and carbs.

So for dinner tonight, I was inspired to eat some greens, and to give this spinach dish a try, which I've been eyeing of late. It's a knock-off of creamed spinach, and maybe somewhere closer to a spinach soufflé, but it isn't heavy, because there's more spinach and onion than creamy goodness.

That's enough green to make me feel better about myself.

Spinach Casserole
Serves 4

1 lb. bag frozen leaf spinach, thawed
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp. EVOO
3/4 c. Greek yogurt
1/4 c. mayonnaise
2 eggs, beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


2. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat, and sauté onions about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.


3. While onions cook, drain spinach by twisting dry in a dish towel. It's the only way to really get all that excess water out. Trust me.


4. In a large bowl, mix together yogurt, mayonnaise, eggs, garlic, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Add onions and spinach, and combine well.


5. Grease a small casserole dish -- a 1 1/2 quart dish will suffice -- and pour in the spinach mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese, and bake for about 30 minutes.

thankful thursday #133

It is a bad situation when your air conditioning fails you.

It's a particularly grim situation when your air conditioning fails you on the brink of summer.

And I'm not talking about the air conditioning in your car. I'm talking about the one in your house. Living quarters. Where you want to be comfortable.

And so when that happened to me this week, channeling gratitude was important to keep my perspective in check. I found myself thankful ...

... that I know the glory of air conditioning at all;

... that the brutal summer heat has yet to seep into Birmingham (although it won't be long now);

... that my second story unit is still kicking;

... that my dear home inspector came by and gave me his (free) opinion before I spent a fortune on an unknown repair service;

... that the fortune I did end up spending on a temporary fix was small, compared to the fortune I'll end up spending eventually;

... and that the temporary fix buys me time, while I save money to buy a new air conditioner.

So that doesn't seem so bad now, does it? (Someone remind me of this when I am writing the big check in the near future.)

Staying cool this week? If you are, or even if you're not, go on, be grateful!

french toast? oui.

When I was a kid, French toast was white loaf bread, dunked in a milk and egg combination, and grilled up in a non-stick skillet in a good dose of margarine. Mom didn't make it often, but when she did, it was glorious.

Since margarine was deemed healthier than butter in the 80s, that French toast was perfectly salty. The crusts were the slightest bit crispy, and if the milk to egg ratio was just right, I could taste the tiniest hint of a fried egg hanging off the edge of one of the slices.

I'll always have a special place in my heart for Mom's simplest French toast. I was charmed every time I sat at our kitchen island and watched her make it in front of me.

Because I'm a bread lover, I was delighted at my first order of French toast as an adult, out on my own, that was made using thick slices of homemade French bread. So authentic, I thought. Whipped cream on the side, with strawberries, and warm maple syrup? What could be wrong with that?

It was a little too pristine, though, with its powdered sugar dusting the tops, and a doily peeking out from under the toast. I quite missed Mom's version.

I rarely order French toast if I'm ever out for breakfast or brunch -- which is a rarity, anyway -- because while it's usually lovely to look at, it also usually leaves me feeling filled with bread, but unfulfilled with flavors and textures.

But this. This.

You will be fulfilled beyond your wildest expectations. I made this heavenly dish for brunch this morning while my dear friend Amy was in town. Company is always an excuse to prepare an indulgent breakfast dish, and wowsers, did this one deliver.

It's barely sweet (acceptable so as to not directly compete with Mom's savory French toast), with a cinnamon and sugar topping that will fool you into thinking cinnamon rolls are hiding inside.

And, it's a super-simple make-ahead dish that can be ready to go with just 30 minutes or so in your oven on the day you serve it. This recipe serves only 4-6 people, so double it if you need to.

Baked Croissant French Toast
Serves 4-6

3 large croissants, a few days stale (I used 6 small, fresh ones. Whatever you can get, people. I doubt any croissant will disappoint.)
3 eggs
3/4 c. milk
3 Tbsp. Greek yogurt
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla exract
3 Tbsp. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces
Maple syrup for serving

1. Grease a baking dish with butter. (I used a 1 1/2-quart, deep dish casserole, but a pretty loaf pan would also work.) Tear the croissants into small pieces and place in the bottom of the dish.


2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over croissants. Cover and refrigerate overnight in the fridge.


3. In another small mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut the cold butter in with a fork or pastry blender, until your mixture looks like small crumbs. Store covered in fridge.


4. On serving day, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of croissant and egg mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.


5. Serve warm with maple syrup.