by Krista | Jun 15, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
What do you look for when you’re at the beach? Sea glass? Smooth white stones? Perfect seashells?
I love how at first glance a beach can look like pristine sand or a blanket of water-smoothed pebbles, but once you get down on your hands and knees there are SO many treasures and delights to be found.
I look for different things according to the beach I’m exploring.
When I lived in Portugal I found hundreds of teeny-tiny shells about the size of a lentil. I collected them and have them safe in a pretty glass jar.
In Italy and the Balkans I looked for smooth sea glass in shades of green, turquoise and blue. I have those bits in a different jar.
In Washington I always look for the shells that are like a purple watercolor inside, and display them in a pale gray dish on my coffee table.
After a long day of exploring in the wind and sun, I love coming home to something hearty and healthy with bright colors and flavors like this Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing. It’s so simple to make if you don’t mind a bit of chopping.
Just drain and rinse two cans of black beans and add whatever diced fresh veggies you like. My favorites are sweet bell peppers (capsicum to my Aussie readers), sugar snap peas, and celery, with lavish amounts of fresh cilantro. Then I toss everything with a simple dressing of lime juice, olive oil, and a good, grainy mustard. I made it for the family I’m staying with and they cleaned up every morsel. 🙂
What are your favorite treasures from the beach?
Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing
Ingredients:
2-3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 stalks celery, diced fine
1 red or yellow or orange bell pepper, diced fine
1 cup sugar snap peas, sliced fine
2-3 scallions, sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Combine beans, vegetables and cilantro in salad bowl. Toss to mix.
- In small bowl combine remaining ingredients and whisk until emulsified.
- Add dressing to salad and toss to incorporate. Best eaten right away.
by Krista | Jun 15, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
My heart sank this morning when my car heater stopped working (yes, I know it’s summer time, but apparently Washington doesn’t ;-)) and the temperature gauge surged past the H mark. From a recent experience involving billowing steam, burnt rubber, and getting stranded for hours in a freezing Canadian winter, I knew that something was amiss.
I pulled over and called a mechanic who advised me to turn off the car (check), let the engine cool (check), and not drive it anymore. Hmm. That was a problem seeing as I was at the Canadian border miles from home with no access to a tow truck. Apprised of my predicament he then advised me to drive slowly, keeping an eye on the temperature gauge and stopping whenever it got too hot.
So off I went, putt-putting along the shoulder at whopping 15 mph, stopping every 2-3 minutes to let the engine cool down.
2 hours later I was still going. Ayiyi.
The first leg of the trip was the most vexing as I gnashed my teeth and woe-is-me’d and wished to high heaven I didn’t have to use the loo, but finally I sighed and decided it was high time I started embracing this unwanted adventure, seeing if I could find something good in it.
And I did.
If you ever need to go on a 15 mph, 2+ hour road trip with countless stops, I highly recommend you take it in the back country of Whatcom County in Washington State.
It is gorgeous!!
At each stop to let the car cool down, I grabbed my little camera and hopped out for a walk to see what I could see. I was never disappointed.
The ditches were filled with wild lupines, Queen Anne’s Lace and wild roses that smelled perfectly heavenly.
Meadows were carpeted with bright yellow blooms drifting back in great swaths into the woods.
I got “stuck” behind a tractor going 12 mph and unlike any other day wasn’t perturbed in the least. We idled along like two turtles, going so slow we could easily hear birds singing and the wind in the trees.
While this episode was stressful and frustrating, it also ended up being a beautiful part of my day, giving me time to rest, think, and capture photos of stunning things I might never seen had I gone whizzing past at normal speeds.
By the time I got home life looked much better. I got a sudden burst of inspiration and simply had to get into the kitchen to put my thoughts into action. My friends gave me free reign so I bustled and stirred and chopped and mixed and made absolutely scrumptious BBQ Shredded Beef sandwiches with aged cheddar on toasted raisin buns.
One of my friends has a deadly allergy to tomatoes, so I made up a special sauce for her with pureed roasted bell peppers, caramelized onions, and sweet chili sauce. She loved it and insisted that I post the recipe, so here you go. 🙂
Toasted Cheesy BBQ Sandwiches
Ingredients:
4 cups shredded meat (I used beef and chicken)
1 1/2 – 2 cups bbq sauce
1/2 cup Peppercorn A-1 sauce
2 large onions, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2-3 Tbsp brown sugar
6 raisin buns, split and buttered
6 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese
Directions:
- In saucepan combine meat, bbq sauce, and A-1 sauce and bring to simmer over medium heat.
- In separate pan heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, for 20-30 minutes. (Add a little water if they start sticking to pan)
- When onions are nearly melted, add brown sugar and stir to combine. Cook another 5-10 minutes.
- Add onions to meat mixture and stir.
- On cookie sheet place raisin rolls cut side up. On top piece place slice of cheese.
- Set under broiler for 1-2 minutes until rolls are toasted and cheese melted.
- Place bottom roll on plate, top with meat mixture then cheese roll and serve.
Tomato-free BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
1 jar roasted bell peppers, drained
1 large onion, chopped and caramelized (see above)
1-2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
- Set aside to cool a bit.
- Pour in blender and puree.
- Mix with shredded meat then follow above recipe.
by Krista | Jun 13, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
by Krista | Jun 13, 2011 | Bootstrap Monday
Where is your favorite place to go wandering when you’re stressed?
Mine is the beach…or the woods…or around a pretty lake tucked up in the mountains…but especially the beach.
This weekend I got to go to a beautiful, rocky stretch of Washington coastline when I agreed to help chaperone a birthday party of giggling little girls armed with lime green plastic buckets, York Mint Patties, and Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips.
They had a marvelous time finding all sorts of treasures along the beach: crabs, clams and “Oreo rocks” (ones with black and white spots).
I went treasure-hunting too, only I used my camera instead of a bucket. I found weathered bits of driftwood, barnacle-encrusted rocks, and vivid green strips of seaweed draped along the shoreline.
And I sat. Just sat. Happy to let the sea breezes and gently lapping waves lull my stressed self into rest.
I’ve been stressing something fierce lately and don’t like it one bit.
I let anxiety about one traumatic event spill over into anxiety about everything. I let that experience cause me to doubt myself and be afraid of the future. I let a few bad things in my life overwhelm all the wonderful good.
I let those bits of darkness blot out the sun.
Being at the beach yesterday reminded me of how far I’ve strayed from peaceful well-being. With each cry of a gull, gust of salty air, and spray of seawater my body relaxed and my anxious thoughts settled. It was so lovely to feel totally, completely at rest again that I wanted to cry.
Driving home I knew that I wanted to hang onto that renewed peace and security. It was good to know that peace did not arrive because of a change in circumstances but simply through resting, being in nature, and thinking on true things. If I could find peace at the seashore, I could find it anywhere.
So this morning I drove to work early and sat in my car for a while writing, thinking, tearing up a bit when necessary.
- I wrote down my fears and they weren’t nearly so scary once I actually got them written down.
- I wrote down truth to combat those fears and felt braver and stronger.
- I wrote down good things I am going to do based on those truths and oh, the peace came flooding in.
So today is a good day. A braver, stronger, happier day. And I am grateful.
What do you do to regain your peace when it’s been rattled?
by Krista | Jun 10, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Hello, luvs! Isn’t it a wonder, after a long phase of fear, grief and pain, to wake up and realize that you feel happy again? That smiles and laughter come without you forcing them? That you’re bravely doing things that only weeks before had you shaking in fright?
That’s what this week has been for me. A good, wonderful, surprising thing. And it makes me smile.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when awful things happen and bad people hurt me, or illness wracks my body and I lose people I love, when the stresses of life seem to pile up higher and higher, I make things even worse by turning a magnifying glass on myself, quickly finding weaknesses and faults. Soon I’m questioning my worth, doubting my ability to make good decisions, and end up a puddle overwhelmed by fear and false guilt.
What. A. Mess.
Thankfully I’m getting better. 🙂 Those “puddle moments” aren’t as frequent and don’t last so long. I’m retraining myself to respond in healthy, positive ways and they’re becoming second nature instead of thoughts so foreign I don’t even know where to begin. That is lovely. 🙂
Thank you to so many of you who’ve written to tell me your stories of survival from assault and abuse. I cried with you, wanted to beat up the bad guys for you, and didn’t feel alone anymore. I hate that we go through wretched things in this world, but I’m so glad we have each other to provide comfort and hope along the way. I sure love you guys and wish I could hug you tight.
I’ve been thinking a lot about courage lately. It’s a word usually associated with great acts, mighty feats of bravery, but I’ve come to match it up with much different things:
- my friend M who is starting her own business even though she’s in constant physical pain and afraid of failure.
- my friend K who roasts marshmallows and makes jewelry even though she’s reeling from the death of her dad and the abandonment of her husband.
- my fellow cult-survivors who are going public with their stories even though they’re scared, just so they can rescue and protect others still trapped in that awful place.
- my friend J who plants gorgeous gardens even though she’s achingly lonely so far away from all her children and extended family.
- my friend E who moved to Greece to build a beautiful life for her two children after escaping an abusive husband.
- my friend B who plays with her little girl even though she’s grieving the loss of her twins.
- my other friend B who takes pictures of beautiful things even though she can barely function after chemotherapy.
- my married friends who are going to counseling even though they’re scared, because they know they’re worth fighting for.
I love this sort of courage, the kind of bravery that chooses to LIVE when even life itself seems be trying to make us give up.
What is your act of courage today? I’d love to hear about it. Your courage gives me strength.
Wishing you a beautiful weekend, dear ones.
Much love,
Krista
xo
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