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Certain Uncertainty

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged #certainuncertainty, #inchristalone, #uncertainty, Control, Planning, Redemption, Surprises on August 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I love to know what is next … how the movie or book ends, what is planned for tomorrow, where our next vacation will be, what renovation we will do next on our home. I am into certainty. I plan our meals for a couple of weeks in advance, I countdown to holidays, I scour home stores for ideas to duplicate in our home (I rarely have any time to actually do them), and I sometimes read the last page of the novel before starting it (although I always find it is pointless, because it never seems to tell me anything anyway).

Life, though, is not full of certainty, but uncertainty.

There are hiccups to plans, there are changes in schedules, there are twists in the road, and there are surprises around every corner. The only thing I am truly certain of is that nothing in life is for certain.

I learned this a few years back, on our anniversary. As the days grew closer, our daughters were talking up ‘the gift’ hubby had gotten for me. There is nothing worse for adding pressure, than your kids excitedly telling you that you will love what their dad got for you! I mean, this meant that how I responded could disappoint not only hubby, but our kids too.

I knew that I had to plan my response. And so I went into constant rehearsals … in the van, in my backyard, in the kitchen, in the mirror … everywhere I went for a week I was practicing my response. By our anniversary I was a well-oiled machine (with a rumbly in my tumbly, from the anxiety).

When ‘it’ arrived at the house, I was sequestered to our daughters room, until ‘it’ and our family were all in place. Then I was beckoned to the living room, where they were all excitedly awaiting (and I was hoping I would faint before I got there, and had to act out my response). And there ‘it’ was … I was shocked, I was excited, I was unable to act … I was naturally thrilled! Hubby had taken an old chair that I had paid a dollar for at a junkyard (over twenty years ago), to be refinished and reupholstered. It was beautifully redeemed, and I loved it.

Now that is the kind of uncertainty I can handle!

I was recently in church singing along, and an example of certainty hit me in the face, and caused tears to flow from my eyes.

“No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”

As I read and sang those words … no power of hell, no scheme of man … that means nothing on earth, or beyond the earth … nothing, can ever separate me from Christ. There is nothing that any man or woman can do to me, there is no demonic pressure that can sever the tie that exists between my redeemer and me. There is nothing that even I can do to break that tie.

This is certainty! And this is what I hold on to till He returns, or calls me home.

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Preferred Fruit

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged #fruitofthespirit, #ilovefruit, #knownbyourfruit, #preferredfruit, #producefruit, #thevine, Life on August 18, 2014| 2 Comments »

I love almost all fruits that I have ever tasted.

I love the sweetness

the juice they produce

and the way I feel after eating fruit.

Earlier today I was thinking about fruit too, but a different kind of fruit.

The fruit I was thinking about was the kind that is not edible, but it can be palatable. It is not something you can pick off a branch and hold in your hand, but when it is there it is all that you can see, and smell. It is not something that provides a taste of sweetness, but it’s absence can leave a sour taste in ones mouth. It is the fruit that comes from a living, nourished, well-watered life rooted in the Creator.

By no means am I indicating that I am a living example of that fruit, but it is a goal that I have for my life. I know how sweet my life is when I am connected to the branches of the Creator. I know of the amazing things that can be produced, that can happen, when I am producing the fruit I was intended to produce. I know how wonderful I feel, how purpose-led my days are when I am taking in the aroma, the energy of the God who lives.

When my life is rooted in the soil of the Creator

I am healthy

I am growing

I am sweet (desirable to be with) for those around me.

When I look at trees in an orchard, I cannot tell what trees they are. But, when I look at the fruit, hanging off their branches, it is easy to identify what types of trees they are. It is by their fruit that I know them.

In the same way, for many people, the only way they know who the Creator is, is by His creation. And His most spectacular creation is that of humankind. We are his creation, and how we live our daily lives is the fruit of His creation. It is through the fruit of our lives that others can see where we are rooted, what is feeding us, who makes us grow, and whether or not we are sweet (desirable to be with).

Some days (weeks, months … years) I am pretty sour, or poorly rooted, or malnourished, or withered. And it is never because of the Creator … but is always because I have not responded well to the pruning (struggles), or I spent too long focusing on receiving the watering (selfishness), or the light (the externals), or I am overly concerned about growing farther away from my roots (independence). If only I would focus on where I am planted, and recognize that it is only through the purposes of my Creator that I can thrive where I am, and produce the sweetest of His fruits.

What is produced in my life, is only a reflection of what I am attached to, and of who is granting me life. And this is only possible as I relinquish control, and allow the nature of my Creator God to produce the fruit in my life. And that is good fruit … always in season.

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Crying Rocks

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged #apatheticworship, #blessedbethename, #cryingrocks, #luke19:40, #psalm29:2, apathy, Church, Job, Life, Praise, Worship on August 14, 2014| 2 Comments »

It was a Sunday morning when, although I was fighting a miserable cold, the joy of singing in corporate worship to my Creator was such a joyful experience and privilege.

Until, I started to look around the sanctuary. I was dismayed to see many people not worshiping. There were people standing with their mouths closed. There were people sitting reading their bulletins. There were people sitting … staring straight ahead. There were people standing, looking around the room … oups! That was me too!

I found myself to be very critical of those who I was watching. Until I realized that maybe there were reasons for their non-participation in worship.

Maybe some of them were dealing with sorrows so deep, so dark that they could not open their mouths to sing the words. Or maybe they had been dealing with illness or physical conditions that are so debilitating that they could no longer sing songs of joy. Or maybe there were those who were facing their own private financial crises, with their demise, the demise of their family just around the next corner. Or, maybe they simply cannot sing … now that I can so relate to (well, my family can relate to my lack of vocal abilities).

So, I turned my head towards the lyrics of the song on the screen at the front of the room, and continued my own participation in the corporate worship:

“Blessed be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord”

And I thought, oh how I love this worship song, because it parallels the biblical story of Job … the man who God allowed Satan to take away all that was of earthly value to him. Job was inflicted with painful sores on his skin, his lively hood was destroyed, his children and wife died. And, through all of that, how did Job respond? “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

But wait, that means that Job had suffered sorrows, illness, financial crises and earthly loss of family members … just like the possible reasons (excuses?) I had guessed that people in church might not be singing.

But wait!

There is one difference … Job kept praising the Lord.

May I not forget that despite all that Job lost of what he loved, despite the pain, the sorrow, the loss and the personal crises that Job faced, he never stopped praising the Lord.

“Give to the Lord the glory due to His name;

worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness or in holy array.”

Psalm 29:2

“I tell you, if they (you … His disciples) keep quiet,

even the rocks will cry out.”

Luke 19:40

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Depression

Posted in GOD, life, The Kids, WONDER, tagged Depression, GOD, Ink Stains, Pain, Redemption, Revelations, Sadness, Sorrow on August 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

“Depression is an ink that stains everything it touches
A black hole that swallows all that comes near”
-The Beaver (movie)

I do not personally know the truth or fallacy in the quote above. I do know that as I look back at times when I was sad, when I was feeling downcast those words are so true. Looking back on those periods in my life, I can see the stains that were left on those around me, even today.

It is easy to forget, or not even be aware, that we are part of a bigger world than just ourselves, and that things that happen to us, affect those around us. It is the relational evidence of the scientific fact that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So when we are overwhelmed with pain or sorrow or frustrations, we are not the only ones to feel the effects … all those closest to us feel our reactions, and then they, in turn, also respond.

As a mom (I cannot speak for dads) I am naturally predisposed to guilt. I can look over the well-intended mothering that I have done, and see errors that I made that will surely result in therapy for my kids in years to come. Yes, I have forced them to clean their plates, at times. Yes, I yelled at them more than once (a day). Yes, I sent them to their rooms to await discipline … and forgot them. Yes, I made them clean their rooms. Yes, they are all aware that that their not at all skinny parents have skinny dipped (that one may send them to therapy for longer and sooner than any other, if their faces turning green when they discovered this is any indicator).

There are certain periods in our life together, when I thought I was hiding my own disappointments and sadness with life’s circumstances so well, and as I look back, and look at changes in their lives, I am aware that too were stained by my sadness. It is such a guilt-ridden thing when I see those stains that they wear, because of me. My inability, at times, to manage and deal with events in my life better, have permanently stained my children …

I am coming full circle now, though. And I am looking to see purpose in suffering, I am looking to see good from bad. I am looking to see that something positive, not just negative, can come from those stains. And I am beginning to see it.

I see a daughter’s sensitivity to a friend who is being stained by sadness and illness in her home. I see a son’s expression of his friends need of God. I see a daughter’s desire to go to those in desperate pain and need, in a place I would not want to go, to show love and mercy. Those times of sorrow for me, that were permanently etched into the beings of my children, have altered their hearts. They have been able to take the stains that I have caused, and are wearing them as certificates of accomplishment and experience. And these stains are being used to reach out to others, more desperate than their mother ever was.

The redemptive way that God can take our pain, and mold it into something beautiful for others is something I do not expect to ever understand this side of heaven. But, I am thankful that the stains I may have caused, have not swallowed the futures of my children.

“God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;

and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;

the first things have passed away.”

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son (daughter).

Revelation 21:4-7

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She Realized She Was Dancing Alone

Posted in life, Love, women, tagged #sherealizedshewasdancingalone, #somedayyourprincewillcome, Dreams, Heartache, Prince, Princess on August 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

“She stopped playing their song

when she realized

she was dancing alone.”

Boris Pasternak

I discovered this quote one day as I was ‘feeling the pain’ of heartbreak of a woman friend. She was feeling so deceived, so hurt, so exposed, so … alone. And the quote seemed to describe perfectly the experience and emotions that she was feeling. And most of us, who have loved and lost, have felt those same emotions.

We women have such definite dreams of happily ever after. Our society, our being female, has so programmed us to dream of, seek and hold on to the hope of that elusive prince on a white horse. For some, we have found him. For some, once he kissed us at the alter, his amphibian-nature became apparent. For some, ‘he’ is still to be found. For some ‘he’ is never found.

Why do we seek the prince so, and what is it that we hope to find within him, that we need so desperately?

Maybe it is his presence, his aura. That statuesque quality of his body or his being.

Maybe it is his attention, his dotting and lavishing of his resources on us.

Maybe it is the security, the protection of one stronger, one physically larger than us (is it okay to say this, in our day of being independent females?)

Maybe it is the availability of a spider-killer, jar-opener, top shelf-reacher, foot-massager.

Maybe it is the desire to recreate and nurture life with another.

Maybe, just maybe it is the desire to be cared for unconditionally by another, who will love and be devoted to us …

even when we get a bad haircut,

or grow stretch marks,

or lose our girlish loveliness,

or lose our cool,

or our body parts migrate south,

or we tweeze more frequently under our chin than under our eyebrows,

or, or, or …

Does the prince really exist?

I do not know if THE prince does exist.

I do not know if every lady, has a knight waiting for her.

But, I do know the King, and he very much wants to provide the security, the love, the caring, the presence and the attention that we all so desperately desire, want and need.

I wish I could wipe the tears, and mend the tears in the hearts of the heartbroken, but my efforts and my words will never fill the brokenness. Only the king can do that.

And when a woman is able to accept his love and mercy, it is then that she has become the princess … no longer in waiting.

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Peeping on Tom

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #dirtyoldman, #menwatchingyounggirls, #naturalresponses, #ooglingmen, #peepingontom, #peepingtom, #strugglewiththeflesh, Struggles, Voyeurism on August 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I am a bit of a people watcher (my lovely family might call me a busy body … they are so precious).

I love nothing more that to watch a young couple totally mesmerized by each others eyes. Or a father playing, fully engaged, with his child on a field. Or a mom entranced by the wee body of the newborn in her arms. Or an elderly couple, frail with age, but young at heart with love and care for each other.

These bits of voyeurism, on my part, help to keep wonder in my heart.

Watching men watch women, but particularly older men watching very young women (girls), erases wonder from my being, and makes me aware that there is definitely darkness in our world.

Now I am not talking about a man who sees a pretty lady (young or older) and his head turns (naturally), and then he turns back to whatever he was doing. I am talking about a man whose head turns, and he keeps looking, and the look on his face, for anyone watching, is not a look of that addresses his admiration of her appearance, but of his thoughts undressing her body.

When I was young, I was totally and completely oblivious to this. It was not until our oldest daughter started entering adolescence, that I started becoming aware of this phenomenon.

My daughter and I, her friend and her mom, were heading to the mall for the girls to have their ears pierced. Both had been give a benchmark age at which they could add more holes to their heads, and they were eager to don their genuine rhinestones on their earlobes. As the four of us walked through the mall, I started to notice that men were looking at us, and by ‘us’ I mean our daughters (who were ten or eleven, at the time). Not ALL men, and not even most, but a good number of, over forty, men. I started to become enraged!

Now, when I am in public with my daughters, I am on the lookout! And, like any self-respecting momma bear, I scowl, and have even been known to growl, when someone looks at them like they are prey. I do find though, that even more effective than scowling and growling is staring them down … there is nothing better than to see the look of guilt in their eyes, before they dart them far, far away from MY cubs!

But, I know that there are many other cubs out there in the mall, and many, if not most of them, do not have momma bear with them. Sometimes, after such an incident, I pray over, and over, and over in my head ‘please God, protect other mothers daughters who might be viewed as objects by the darkness lurking around this place.’

Just the other day I was in a restaurant with my daughter. As we enjoyed our time together, I noticed a man (in his sixties) sit down at the table behind my daughter. I watched him as he watched the … eighteen year old waitress (if that), walk from table to table. And he was not hiding his thoughts from his eyes! She took his order of toast, poured his coffee, and he said something I could not hear, with a sickening look in his eyes. As she moved towards the kitchen to place the order I wondered how he was containing himself from jumping from the table and tackling her (it was THAT obvious). Finally, he felt my eyes, directly on him … GOTCHA! Guilt, not from his actions, but from being caught (my interpretation) filled his face. Within less than one minute, he stood, and walked out of the restaurant … before his order arrived.

Did I feel I had ‘won’? No, there are many places where could get his fill of visual entertainment, from other restaurants, to the malls, to the playground, to the church. But, I did make him aware (I hope) that his ‘dirty little secret’ can be seen by others.

Now, please do not get me wrong, I am NOT a man-hater! I am simply not favorable, or understanding, of behaviors that ‘give in’ to natural responses. Sure, we all have natural responses, but not everything that is ‘natural’ is beneficial! That is why we strive to teach self control to our children …

What goes on in the mind of a sixty something year old MAN who is ‘peeping’ at the body of a twelve year old GIRL? I think it is clear.

And the sad thing is, it is not just those ‘creepy’ looking guys either. Sometimes it is a really nice man, who has lingered his glances far too long, and far too often, and the habit has been cemented into their being. I think that what very gradually occurs, is that their moral compass weakens as their anatomy becomes reliant, and even demanding, on the behavior.

I am not writing this post because I enjoy this subject, but I want to pull this dark thing out into the light to raise awareness, and to put people on the look out for these perpetrators. Look for them, and stare them into human accountability!

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No Guilt Allowed!

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged #galations5, #guiltfreezone, #noguiltallowed, Guilt on August 6, 2014| 6 Comments »

It is everywhere. It is given, it is received. It comes in different forms, and from different sources.There are opportunities everywhere to find it, and if you cannot find it … it will find you! But where can one go to escape the inescapable … guilt!

Maybe families? Hum, I don’t think so. As a mom, we know all about guilt … both receiving it and handing it out! We cannot seem to forgive ourselves for every failure of our kids, from them not being toilet trained at six months to their decision to work and not go to university on full scholarship. On the other hand, we also hand it out … from telling our preschoolers that we will cry if they don’t do as we wish, to asking our adult children if they forgot our phone number. So, I guess families are not a guilt-free zone.

Maybe schools? Hum, I don’t think so. Schools, their staff and students, are pretty liberal in the giving and receiving of guilt. Teaches tell students that they are not trying hard enough, and parents tell teachers they need to work harder to make ‘Johnny’ succeed, since they do not even have to work in the summer. So, I guess schools are not a guilt-free zone.

Maybe at your kids recreational activities? Hum, I don’t think so. Everyone with kids involved in activities from sports to music to arts to drama knows that ‘parent participation’ is the motto! And if you are not participating, when you arrive to bring ‘Sally’ to her martial arts class … all eyes will be on you! And, by the time you leave you will feel as though you are worthless! Of course if you are very active in your kids activities, there’s the finger pointing guilt-laden accusations that ‘you are at the top of the food chain, and you better run this club, group, committee well. And if you are the instructor, or coach every weakness of ‘Jimmy’ is your fault, because you are being paid, or simply because you are teaching them. So, I guess recreational activities are not a guilt-free zone.

Maybe when you are shopping? Hum, I don’t think so. I’ve certainly had times where I have heard an irate customer verbally go up one side of an employee, and down the other … all because the store has sold out on an item! I’ve also had the experience of a cashier giving me the wrong change, or ringing in an item incorrectly, and when I mention it to them, they look at me like I have ruined, not only their day, but their entire existence! So, I guess shopping is not guilt free! (and I didn’t even mention the guilt of making a purchase, and how you feel uneasy (guilty) about telling your hubby or wifey. Or the guilt of purchasing the chocolate bar. Or, heck, I know what ‘change room’ guilt is … try squeezing me and all my cellulite into a bathing suit! … but, I digress).

Maybe at your place of worship? Hum, I don’t think so. There are expectations (written and not … but mostly unwritten) that when you join a church, you will be involved. And some seem to think that means involved in everything, from cleaning the building, to teaching a class, to feeding the poor, to singing in the choir, to hosting a group … and what your gifts are (or there lack of) don’t even matter! On the other hand, if you are a leader or clergy in a place of worship every decision you make, every word you speak can be responded to with ‘you are out of touch with the congregation’. So, I guess places of worship are not a guilt-free zone.

Maybe when you are eating? Ha! Ha! Ha! Do I really have to expand here? I d o n ‘ t t h i n k s o !

But, there is one completely guilt-free zone … it is relationship with God. He never demands, never expects, never gives you ‘that look’. And when you or I fail, or forget, or just don’t do what we maybe should have done, or said … He doesn’t turn away from us. He is always waiting … for us. It is for our freedom, that God sent His Son. And thank goodness … He is a guilt-free zone!

“Christ has set us free to live a free life.

So take your stand!

Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you”

Galations 5:1

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The Theme of The Best Stories is Always ….

Posted in GOD, life, tagged #isaiah43:1, #summerreading, #thethemeofthebeststoriesisalsways, Books, Reading, Redemption on August 5, 2014| 2 Comments »

Summer is a time to think about sun, surf and reading a good book (and chocolate … like that is different from any other season).

I have a chosen reading list 🙂 Yes, I chose them all … last year, when I only read one book! It was obviously a very dry summer! So, the pile of books has been awaiting my attention for over a year now, just inside my closet doors. And I am determined that this summer, no matter how busy, I will take the time to read.

Reading is not something that I have loved since childhood. As a matter of fact, I can only remember reading one or two books, from cover to cover, as a child. It wasn’t until I was about thirty (when I was still young) that I picked up my first fictional novel to read … and when I had finished it, in less than twenty-four hours, I was hooked! So I read everything that author wrote, and then started on another author, and another, and another.

Then I started to read books that my kids were reading, because I had never read them as a child. Books like the Narnia stories, by C.S. Lewis, and Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables, and Tom Sawyer, and Captain Underpants (obviously, I love my son … but it is brilliant, in a boy-sorta way).

I was transported to places all over the world. I was able to live in the past, the present and the future. I was to laugh, to cry and to sigh. I felt emotions while reading that made me feel that I was living in the story. I could pick up a book, and escape the mundane of a regular day for the magical of the story within it’s covers.

The books I have read and loved, from various eras, various age ranges, various genres, all have one thing in common. This one part of each of my best loved reads is the glue that makes the story stick, it makes the story timeless, it makes the story sell.

This glue is the theme of the story, and it is one which will sell a book, or a movie. It is one that makes people recommend it, and re-read it. It is one that makes a simple grouping of words on a page (paper or electronic) a best seller. This glue is the theme of redemption.

Redemption is the act of deliverance, or rescue or salvation.

Maybe this theme sells because, in our busy, guilt-ridden, demanded upon lives, what we innately desire most is rescue. Maybe it provides that thing which we all need to survive … hope.

But maybe, it is also a great sell because, we are born with a need to be rescued, delivered, saved … redeemed. Maybe, just maybe, every fiber of our human being needs to be redeemed. Maybe we seek it in our literature, in our movies, in our jobs, in our families, because we cannot truly live without it. And, if we innately seek it out in our lives, it must be there for us to us to receive … just as our whole body struggles for air to breath, to live, and it is there.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

Isaiah 43:1b

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Unrushed Moments

Posted in life, Marriage, WONDER, tagged #connectionsinthemundane, #lysaterkeurst, #proberbs31ministries, #survivalseason, #unrushedmoments on August 3, 2014| 1 Comment »

title2

It’s that time of year again … the mundane time of year!

The daylight is fleeting, the leaves are falling, the schedules are underway, and the next holiday or ‘down time’ is still counted in weeks … or months.

We live with our crammed full calendars. We struggle to find refreshment, stress is our most common state, sabbath is a day of the week with almost as many commitments as the other six days, and romance … maybe we should start scheduling that too.

We have entered the survival season.

Then, today, I came across wise words, from a woman whose passion it is to encourage women to be Proverbs 31 women. That daunting scripture that seems to describe the ‘perfect’ woman, Proverbs 31, Lysa realized wasn’t about “her activity but rather the (Proverbs 31) woman’s identity that mattered the most.”

So, today, in this survival season, I want to share her words, and encourage us all to look for unrushed moments in each of our mundane days.

“My marriage isn’t perfect. No marriage is.

I’ve been known to throw orange juice across the kitchen, pitch a complete fit over something totally irrational, and go silent for days.

Yeah me.

But twenty two years has taught me love, real love, is two people deciding to stay. Work it out. Fall in love again. And fight for, not against, one another.

Each morning I have a routine with my husband. It’s simple. Nothing profound. Nothing for which we’d ever stop and snap a picture.

It’s just a moment.

He asks me to help him pick a tie. He then needs gentle hands to fold the collar over.

Actually, he doesn’t need. He wants gentle hands to fold the collar over. And I do. It’s just a moment. But it’s a moment where we stop. We see what a gift imperfect love is.

And in this unrushed silence, we connect.

It’s just a moment together. Or is it? …”

To continue reading, please click below:

Lysa Terkeurst

(do it! It really is so worth it!)

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Itsawonderfilled Summer Recipe Tortellini Pesto Salad

Posted in life, Recipe, WONDER, tagged #itsawonderfilledsummerrecipe, #tortellinisalad, Recipe, Summer on August 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

This recipe is the one that, to me, says ‘it’s summer’!

It is the combination of colors, the freshness, the cornucopia of summer vegetable and herb flavors with that deliciously filled pasta, also known as the ‘belly button’ pasta (obviously an outie, or maybe an innie from the inside view). Also, you can ‘change up’ the vegetables that you use, depending on what is fresh and what you have on hand. Who doesn’t love versatility?

I also love it because you can make it the day ahead, or even the day you want to eat it (although it is better if made ahead, even a few hours, to let the flavors blend).

This recipe came from the same summer cooking contest as my summer recipe a couple of weeks ago (on July 30), in our local newspaper. I cut both out of the paper, and have been making both of them, regularly ever since.

So, here is the recipe of the week …

Tortellini Pesto Salad

Chop up 1/4C fresh parsley, and 3/4C fresh basil (okay, confession time … years ago, I bought a butt load of herbs for my garden, and planted them all together. Well, the next year only one came back … what I thought was basil … not! It was Thyme, but I thought it was basil … so, for about four years I made this recipe with fresh thyme … and it tasted pretty good too! So, if you, like me, have blond roots, and no sense of taste, you can use either one … but, I digress ;).

Whip together 1C mayonnaise, and 2Tbsp milk (or, if you want to live on the edge, half and half … but I do prefer my blue-hued non-fat milk) until smooth. Then stir in the parsley, the BASIL, 1/4C fresh parmesan cheese (if it comes out of a can, that you bought from a shelf, and not from a cooler, it is NOT fresh … fresh parmesan melts, stuff in cans does not … I am a parmesan snob), and 2 cloves minced garlic.

Set your delicious saucy mixture into the refrigerator, while you get ready to chop, chop, chop.

Now, this next step is only for the adventurous cooks out there … it is the vegetable chopping time! And, if you take your vegetable chopping as seriously as I do, when it comes to knives, size matters! The bigger the better to make cutting vegetables more … funner (?).

Get ready to slice / julienne your 1C carrots, and 1C zucchini. Then cut 1C of cherry tomatoes in half. Other vegetables that could be good are small snow peas, corn kernels, broccoli (small florets), diced sweet peppers and any other vegetables that sound appealing. Once you are finished slicing better than a Slice-O-Matic, get out your P & P’s … pots and pans …

Really you just need the pot … Fill it about three quarters full of water, cover and place on stove top on high. Once it boils, add salt and 1 package (24oz / 518g) cheese tortellini (I like the ones that are multi-colored … orange and green … it kind of makes you think you are getting healthy vegetables in your carbohydrate-laden pasta), and cook until al dente (tender, but firm). Drain in colander, and run cold water over the pasta, until cooled down.

Toss pasta, vegetables and saucy stuff in a big bowl (and if you are nuts about nuts, throw in 3/4C walnuts … my family is nutty enough without them). Then chill until ready to eat!

It is great served with grilled meats, or on it’s own as the main event. It will be hard to eat only a little bit.

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