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Mushroom Ragu Lasagna + A Smashing Birthday

March 21, 2013 • 3 Comments

The only thing better than a birthday party is a surprise birthday party … with really good food.

When one of my best friends, Devon Aragona, called to ask me if I would create an Italian menu for her mom, Tracy’s 50th birthday celebration, I immediately created three, four-course options for her to choose from.

There are many great lasagna recipes out there, but this Mushroom Ragu variation, adapted from Food Network, is the one we went with for the main course.

On the day of the event, Devon and I were busy in the kitchen all afternoon (she is a wonderful kitchen assistant and photographer — she gets all the credit for this post’s photos!). This Mushroom Ragu Lasagna involves a lot of prep time, but if you’re willing and have the time, I promise it is worth the hard work.

Peach Cobbler Muffins

March 20, 2013 • 2 Comments

I love cookbooks. Maybe someday I will have one of my own, but until then, I really admire those that have already been published. I can only imagine how much work goes into compiling one!

My good friend, Kelsey, gave me the Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook for my 20th birthday. Ever since, I’ve tried to make at least one recipe from the book every month. For March, I let my dad pick while I was home on spring break.

It’s not even close to being summer, but I wasn’t surprised when he picked these Peach Cobbler Muffins. I mean, who doesn’t like peaches?

Unless, of course, you don’t. Which in that case, you can probably substitute another kind of fruit for the peaches.Read More

Maple Flax Granola

February 27, 2013 • 1 Comment

Granola is one of those things that I like to have on hand 24/7.

You can eat it plain, use it in baked desserts (like fruit crisps), or sprinkle it over yogurt, ice cream, pancakes, baked breads or even salads!

I use it for all of the above, which is why I go through so much. It rides shotgun in my grocery cart nearly every week. And yet, as delightful as Bear Naked’s Maple Pecan granola is, I’ve finally grown tired of forking over $4 each time I need another small bag of it. Because c’mon people, it’s basically a simple mixture of baked oats, honey, oils and a bunch of spices. You can buy 15 cups of rolled oats for less than $4 … it just doesn’t add up!

Pressing On: What It Means to Persevere

February 20, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Perseverance. In elementary school, my teachers gave out monthly certificates to honor students who they felt represented certain characteristics. February was always “perseverance month,” because, although we were hardly more than halfway through the school year, summer was already on our minds. This was when learning became a little more strenuous and a lot less interesting.

In fourth grade, I received the perseverance certificate. I thought it was a huge achievement. But only now do I realized how naive I was to to think my nine-year-old self deserved such recognition, when my journey had only just begun.

running the race perserverance — Photo | Charlie Llewellin, Creative Commons

Last Sunday, our church hosted a women’s dessert outreach. While sharing sweet treats in community was nice, it was more than just the pecan pie bars and lemon meringue bites that made Sunday afternoon special. I was humbled to listen to the stories of other women of faith, whom I crossed paths with every week but never knew more than a name.

As we went around the table sharing prayer requests, I was amazed by the scope of suffering and doubt that remained a common thread among us. Though we represented about three generations of believers, it became clear to me that our need for prayer, reassurance and affirmation doesn’t disappear with age. Our need to press on doesn’t get easier with time.Read More

Peanut Butter Brownies

February 18, 2013 • 2 Comments

Last week, I promised the kids I nanny for that we would make brownies for Valentine’s Day.

We made the traditional kind, which of course were delicious. But when it came time for me to make a dessert for the women’s dessert outreach our church is having this Sunday, I wanted to do something different.

I’m not sure if I forget that I have peanut butter when I go to the store, but somehow I ended up with three jars of it in my pantry. Knowing I had plenty to use, I thought about making a peanut butter pie, but the memory of the brownies I’d had earlier in the week slipped back into my mind. So I started thinking about how I could combine the two ingredients.Read More

The Love I Never Knew Could Exist

January 28, 2013 • 2 Comments

I let go of the mic stand and lift my arms up to reach for Him, to breathe Him in.

The stage lights pierce my vision, but I don’t mind. All I’m thinking about is this moment. I want to bottle it up and carry it with me everywhere I go.

Photo | Wikimedia Commons. Source: ICF Berlin

The crowd sings in beautiful harmony, only adding to my joy. This is what it means to be loved, to belong, I think to myself.

I’ve experienced love in many forms during my 20 years of life. There is the love of a friend, sister, family members, mentors, teammates, and the more obvious, boyfriend. These relationships run from shallow to deep, in that no love is felt in the same fashion. The way I love Alex is incomparable to the way I love my sister. That doesn’t make one love better than the other, it’s just a different feeling.

Similarly, an “I love you” valentine from the fifth grade shows little resemblance to the “I love you,” verbal confirmation I get from Alex every day.

But no love I’ve experienced could have ever prepared me for the love I’ve received in Christ.

You may have heard the song “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin. Although I like to avoid cliche, I can’t think of a better word to convey the way God’s love felt as I sang on our church’s stage yesterday. It’s the joy I feel when I wake up every morning. It’s a love I never knew could exist, never thought I could experience.

God’s love surpasses our circumstances. It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t ask us for anything in return. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It just is.