a LOVEly month

It is February, a month of love.

I have been wanting to meet all my neighbors (and there are 11 doors in our unit) but kept delaying it. For Christmas, I was going to make cookies to pass around. Never did it. So now I have a second chance- homemade biscotti for Valentine's Day.   I really just want to let them know Jesus loves them more than anyone else ever could and what's a better month than February to do that!

My little girl helped with the process. We had a blast spilling flour and watching eggs drip off the counter! She called butter "cheese" and ate flour, saying "YUCK!" She's not yet two so everything is new in her world! But in the end, They came out fabulous! I forget how easy biscotti is to make and should do it more often.  There are countless recipes online and I encourage you to hit the search engine and find a recipe that best suits you!  Mine called for anise extract but I had done that once and no too many people liked that flavor. This time we used vanilla extract. Not a bad substitute.

We actually leave for a visit back to Taiwan on the 14th, so we passed them out on Sunday afternoon. I had so much fun knocking on doors and surprising them with a colorful bag of biscotti. People were so quick to share about their lives and so grateful for the treat.

An hour later, we got a knock on our door and the neighbor handed us a card, saying that was so nice of us. After he left, we opened the card. It was a thank you card from Hallmark and had a very thoughtful note inside how much it meant to him and a gift card to Applebee's was tucked in! I am overwhelmed with that and can't wait for the next opportunity to spend time with our neighbors.

As far as recipes go, there are a million out there but one I'd check out is here on Lindsay's blog.She uses vanilla paste, Amaretto, and vanilla creamer!

Happy Valentine's Day!

新年快樂- Happy New Year

Today is the official start of the Chinese New Year this year. It’s based on the lunar calendar so it falls on a different date every year, anywhere from late January until mid-February.  We were privileged to be a part of six celebrations in Taiwan. We saw incredible festivals decorated with a different animal every year which repeats itself every twelve years.

In Taipei(台北), the capital city of Taiwan, a city with a population over 2,000,000, people gather at the Chiang Kai-shek memorial during the holiday for fireworks, food and to check out the animal-shaped lantern displays. It is simply breath-taking!  I remember being PACKED in the sea of people and I had to push and squeeze through the sea of people just to move a few feet! Then is started raining with nowhere to run!  It is always a memorable experience.

In Taiwan, everyone would asked what year you were born so they can figure out what your zodiac sign is. They all have different characteristics. Which year were you born?

  

Rat		1924	1936	1948	1960	1972	1984	1996
Ox		1925	1937	1949	1961	1973	1985	1997
Tiger		1926	1938	1950	1962	1974	1986	1998
Rabbit		1927	1939	1951	1963	1975	1987	1999
Dragon		1928	1940	1952	1964	1976	1988	2000
Snake		1929	1941	1953	1965	1977	1989	2001
Horse		1930	1942	1954	1966	1978	1990	2002
Sheep		1931	1943	1955	1967	1979	1991	2003
Monkey		1932	1944	1956	1968	1980	1992	2004
Rooster		1933	1945	1957	1969	1981	1993	2005
Dog		1934	1946	1958	1970	1982	1994	2006
Boar		1935	1947	1959	1971	1983	1995	2007

Check out this website for a detailed account on each animal’s characteristics. It’s fascinating!

 Something still so enchanting to me is the tradition of placing red papers with written blessings on the top and sides of the front door.  They do this to protect themselves from the “dragon” that comes during midnight of New Year’s Eve.  Doesn’t that sound familiar to the story of the death angel in Egypt long, long ago?

God instructed the people of Israel to place the blood of a spotless lamb “and smear it on the sides and top of the door frames of the houses”   and  ”the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.” You can read about it in Exodus 11-12. 

We love the people of Taiwan and are so thrilled to be able to go back for a visit this month for a few weeks!

Chocolate + Orange= Match Made in Heaven

We were having special people over for dinner and I really wanted to make a special dessert. I have never attempted a torte but this recipe for Orange Chocolate Torte popped out at me from Taste of Home which I so badly wanted to try. I loved the orange extract in it and even grated a bit of orange rind around the base as I served it.

Of course, as hard as I tried, I could not imitate the picture and mine ended up being lopsided AND my truffles flattened in the frig, never to be round again AND it was harder than it looks to get those chocolate sprinkles around the side of the torte! But nonetheless, it was splendidly rich! The recipe says it should take 30 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to bake and cool. Uh, good luck with THAT! This took my all afternoon! The best part was having fingers and spoons to lick! :)

I remember ordering a Mocha Valencia at Starbucks which is a rich, creamy blend of  coffee, dark chocolate, and zesty orange. It was my favorite drink. It's no longer on the menu board, but I bet they'll make it if I ask. It's just that every time I go in, I stare at the board and end up ordering something I've had a million times.

 We have about 10 inches of snow on the ground- maybe this weekend is a good time to order one!

Picture Play

 We went to the OBX last summer but one thing I really wanted to do was get up with my husband and go watch the sunrise.


I took this photo and always loved it.  I decided to try framing it with a scripture verse on it. I wanted it big but I wasn't about to spend a full photo developing price so I took it to Staples and did two color copies. One on a regular 11x14 piece of paper ($0.20) and the other on glossy ($2.00).  I actually didn't like the glossy- it darkened the print. So I went with the first copy.


I framed it in an off-white frame I found at a shop for $12 and now it hangs over our piano.  I am real proud of it but someone walked in the door and said the font was boring... LOL


I really do love my husbands honesty. He commented on how "bony" his feet look and how boring the font is. He cracks me up.


I may play around with another picture and scripture verse sometime and change it up.

Peanut Butter+ Hot Chocolate= Perfect Marriage

I was sitting in a mechanic's shop during an oil change and picked up a LIVING magazine. A recipe for hot chocolate popped out at me!

 The best combination in the world of food is CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER!My dear friend, Lindsay, made rockin' cupcakes- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Check it out!

I came home and got busy with the recipe. I used organic peanut butter which is a bit oily and left a small about on oil on top. Other than that, it is incredibly rich and I put the leftovers in the refrigerator which I reheated the next day and it was just as yummy!

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate - serves 4
3 cups milk
1 cup light cream
8 oz. chocolate bar, chopped
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
pinch of salt
In a medium pot over medium heat, warm the milk and cream. Add chocolate car, stirring until dissolved. Add peanut butter and salt. Stir until hot and serve immediately.  *As the hot chocolate cools, it separates.

Baked Oatmeal is for Winter

What could be better than a bowl of baked oatmeal on a cold morning?

I went to a friend's house and she served us some of her yummy baked oatmeal for brunch. She added blueberries that she had picked and froze last summer.  Just simply delicious!  I came home and realized it's so easy and it lasted us all week! Savannah and I have been putting leftovers in bowls, adding milk and microwaving them until warm.   I had a bag of frozen mixed berries I added and loved it!  I think you can throw anything you'd like in the mix- even shredded carrots to give it a "carrot cake" look and taste.

Here's the recipe I used- but there are tons out there and feel free to swap out or switch up as much as you'd like with a simple recipe like this.

Winter Baked Oatmeal

5 cups of oats
2 cups milk
4 large eggs
 1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
Options: 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 shredded carrots, chocolate chips, frozen berries, fresh seasonal fruit ( I have enjoyed strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, apples etc).
 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix up everything in a bowl and pour into a greased 9x13 pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Any leftovers store nicely in the refrigerator!

Keeping the Fresh in Herbs

I am always buying a bunch of cilantro or parsley and use part of it for a recipe, but then it goes into the produce drawer of my refrigerator and there it withers and dies within the week.

I saw a herb saver invention on TV but I cannot spend the money on something like that right now. I experimented with just setting the herbs in a glass with a bit of water on the door of the frig but they still died. Once I covered them with a seal-out-the-air bag, they seem to be lasting forever! It's been 3 weeks and I am still cutting off yummy fresh goodness for recipes! A quick change of water when you use it will help with the length of the herb's life as well.

So there you have it- a little glass from your cupboard and a 5 cent zipper bag does the same trick as a Pepara Herb Saver for $50.

Why does it take me so long to figure these little tricks out?!!?!?!