Night at the Symphony

 

“The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants. I have spoken here of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed, heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Another Cottage

 

All my kids went through periods – some of them pretty intense – of being picky about what they ate. I didn’t do the “don't leave the table until your plate's clean” thing, mostly because I suspected in a battle of wills I might not win. But I did try to discourage wasted food. They all seemed to be pretty good at getting enough grains, dairy, fruits and even protein. But I worried about getting them to eat enough veg. I tried to make it fun; I made landscapes or portraits on their plates with brightly colored cut vegetables and ranch dressing. If that didn’t work, I got sneaky. I slipped spinach or kale into fruit smoothies. I “hid” celery and carrots in chili; mushrooms and red onions in pepperoni pizza; broccoli and peppers in marinara. Did this teach them to be less picky adults? Probably not. But they all made it to adulthood. I’m calling it a win.

Night and Day

 

I miss having a crowd to cook for. Most of my favorite dishes serve a dozen people or more. But these days I’m just cooking for the three of us. So, I’m always happy to discover yummy recipes that won’t leave any leftovers:

 

Blueberry Cake-in-a-Cup

 

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons blueberries, fresh or frozen

1/4 teaspoon chopped crystallized ginger

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

 

In a large microwave-safe mug, microwave butter until melted. Watch it carefully! Over-nuked butter can explode! Stir in flour, sugar, egg yolk, milk, vanilla and baking powder until blended. Gently fold in blueberries and crystallized ginger and microwave 90 seconds or until cake pulls away from sides. Let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl combine powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Big Dipper

 

I’d heard of the unrest in Myanmar, and wished I knew more about that part of the world. Until recently, all I could tell you was Myanmar used to be called Burma; it’s near Thailand, which was once Siam; and it was one of the countries hit by the tsunami December 25, 2004. Since then, I’ve learned the last king of Burma was exiled to India. After his death, his family was allowed to return. One of his daughters stayed against the royal family’s wishes, having fallen in love with a handsome gatekeeper. (The more I know about her family history, I'm less surprised she wanted out.) Somehow, no one noticed their mutual attraction until she gave birth to the gatekeeper’s daughter. They didn’t live happily ever after, though. The gatekeeper took the princess’ allowance, leaving her and eleven (?!) children to fend for themselves. I still don’t know about current affairs in Myanmar. But I do have an interesting story.

Candy Stars

On January 14, 68-year-old Cemal Senturk suffered a brain embolism and was taken by an ambulance to the hospital in Trabzon, Turkey. Shortly after the ambulance arrived, Cemal’s little white dog, Boncuk showed up. She waited patiently outside the hospital doors as patients and healthcare workers came and went. Sometimes she would nap in the sunshine. Occasionally she’d accept a little food from the hospital staff. From time to time, Cemal would call her name from his hospital bed and Boncuk would answer with a bark. When Cemal was discharged a week later, Boncuk was still waiting for him. "Everybody noticed the relationship between the dog and her owner,” said Fuat Ugur, the hospital’s communications director. “It makes everybody happy."

Symphony Sampler - Without Borders

 

No one seems to love the weather in February. Even my friends in California and Florida complain about it. But it is a lovely time of year to use the oven.

 

Chicken Chalupas

 

1 package flour tortillas

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 pound grated cheese

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/2 cup sliced green onions

7 oz. can green chilies diced

1 cup whole kernel corn

Paprika

 

Combine soup, chilies, onion, sour cream, olives, corn and half the cheese. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture. Add chicken to remainder of mixture. Roll chicken mixture into tortillas and place seam-side down in casserole dish. Spoon the reserved soup mixture over tortillas. Top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350F for about half an hour. Remove foil, bake about 5-10 minutes longer. Serve hot, with salsa and a tossed salad.

Another Hummingbird

“Unless the way we live draws us closer to our Heavenly Father and to our fellowmen, there will be an enormous emptiness in our lives. It is frightening for me to see, for instance, how the lifestyle of so many today causes them to disengage from their families and their friends and their peers. So often loyalty to family, to community, and to country is pushed aside in favor of other pursuits which are wrongly thought to be productive of happiness when, in fact, selfishness is so often the pursuit of questionable pleasure which passes so quickly. One of the differences between true joy and mere pleasure is that certain pleasures are realized only at the cost of someone else’s pain. Joy, on the other hand, springs out of selflessness and service, and it benefits rather than hurts others.” – Spencer W. Kimball