by Krista | Mar 16, 2010 | Spring
We returned from our 5 a.m. walking tour of Venice in time to pack our bags and linger over a hearty breakfast of croissants, muesli and coffee.
Securing one last gelato we left the charming canals of Venice one bright Spring morning, loaded up our 9 passenger van and headed towards Slovenia.
It was a gorgeous drive beside flowering meadows, over mountain passes and through quaint villages. We were enjoying ourselves immensely as Ryan taught us his oh-so-novel dance moves and we sang loudly to The Proclaimers I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). Suddenly we were startled by this sign:
Austria! How the dickens did we end up in Austria?! There was much laughter and the hurried unfurling of the largest road map I’ve ever seen as we attempted to find out where in tarnation we were. 🙂
To this day we don’t know how we got there, but it was a welcome detour as we pulled off the highway and wended our way up, up, up into forested hills.
As we entered Slovenia we were struck dumb by the soaring peaks rising up before us.
We pulled over to the prettiest meadow and just gazed up at them. Tearing ourselves away, we continued on, finding exquisite beauty at every turn. I was struck most by the color of the river we followed, a pale, ice blue, so striking against the lush green terrain. Before we knew it, we were at our destination: Bled Castle.
First mentioned in 1004, Bled Castle is one of the oldest in Slovenia, and overlooks the stunningly turquoise Lake Bled.
I love these shutters. 🙂
This monk chatting with his bird.
This lovely gateway that I simply had to go through.
We had such fun exploring, but the best part was being rowed across the lake to the ancient church on an island in the center. I shall take you there next time. 🙂
by Krista | Mar 15, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
It was one of those weekends where all my plans went topsy-turvy, but ended up being beautiful anyhow. 🙂 I spent two peaceful days at home trying to stave off a bad cold with fresh juices and cup after cup of hot tea.
It turned out to be just what I needed, and all sorts of lovely things happened. 🙂
Every day since I moved here, one of the tenants has motored past my window on his electric wheelchair into the trees overlooking the creek. Various friends would join him there and they’d just hang out by the creek chit-chatting and enjoying the view. A couple of times he knocked on my door to let me know that he’d be using the garden hose outside my door, but I had no idea what he was up to. Until today. 🙂 I was sitting, looking out my window when I noticed that the usual green swath of meadow under the trees was now punctuated with spots of bright color. When I saw that no one was about, I strolled over to see what had transpired. I found this. 🙂
And this. 🙂
How I smiled. 🙂
Saturday I was a homebody and thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful respite. I listened to Jeeves and Wooster while I puttered, grinning at lines such as: “Young ladies, Jeeves? Fiends! Fiends, I say!” 🙂
I had a wonderful nap in the sunshine streaming through the sliding glass door…
…then decided I’d better start cooking my meals for the week.
My fridge was stocked with a bag of fresh green beans, a bundle of new asparagus and a bowl of shredded chicken, so I pulled them out and set to cooking.
With the green beans…
…I made Roasted Green Bean Salad with Shredded Chicken, Lime and Cilantro.
With the asparagus…
…I made Roasted Asparagus with Toasted Parmesan. How I love those crispy, salty ends!
And with the rest of the shredded chicken? Well, I’ll tell you about that in a couple of days. 🙂
Roasted Green Bean Salad with Shredded Chicken, Lime and Cilantro
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh green beans, washed, trimmed and cut in bite-sized pieces
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded chicken
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Toss green beans with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread in single layer on baking sheet. Bake 20-30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes to prevent burning. When done, set aside to cool.
- Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, mustard, salt, pepper and cilantro. Add chicken.
- Mix everything together with green beans and serve.
Roasted Asparagus with Toasted Parmesan
Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 – 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (pre-grated cheese will not melt properly)
Directions:
- Preheat broiler.
- Arrange asparagus on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll gently with hands to coat evenly.
- Broil for 3-5 minutes until asparagus turn bright green, then remove.
- Nestle asparagus close side by side, sprinkle with Parmesan and return to broiler.
- Broil 3-5 minutes longer until cheese is toasted and asparagus ends are crispy. Serve immediately.
by Krista | Mar 12, 2010 | Spring
“When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad”
Rodgers & Hammerstein The Sound of Music
Thank you so much for all your emails and comments yesterday. They really, really meant a lot to me. I was scared to write
yesterdays post, but I knew I needed to, and your words were of immeasurable comfort. You are some of my “favorite things.” 🙂
I felt rather shaky in resolve and courage last night, then the words from “My Favorite Things” popped into my head and how I smiled. 🙂 Julie Andrews is brilliant. Yes, I know it’s actually the writers who are brilliant, but since she is the one who played the roles in The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady (the play) and Mary Poppins, she gets all the credit. At least from me. 🙂 I need a face to go with brilliance. 🙂
As Mary Poppins she very sensibly makes taking nasty medicine a delight by adding a spoonful of sugar. As Maria Von Trapp she steps beyond her painful, lonely or scary circumstances by remembering to focus on the beautiful things in her life. As Eliza Dolittle she is happy with so little, all she wants is “a room somewhere, far away from cold night air, with one enormous chair.” I like her very much. 🙂
So today I’m taking my friend Trish’s wonderful advice and spending this weekend delighting in all that makes my New Life beautiful, safe and loving.
It’s storming something fierce outside, winds howling, raining pouring off the tree branches, so tonight I’m going to stay home, cozy and warm in my “one enormous chair” with dark hot chocolate, popcorn and good stories.
For dinner I’m having my favorite Irish potatoes. A couple of years ago a dear Irish friend taught me how to make them, and oh, how I love them! Potatoes (I like Yukon Gold), green beans and garlic, all boiled up together until the beans are soft, then mashed with olive oil, salt and pepper. Unbelievably good. 🙂
Saturday I’m sleeping in – HOORAY! 🙂 Then puttering about sorting through the boxes and bins I hastily shoved in closets and under tables to make the place look livable. I’m going to listen to music that makes my heart happy, and throw open all blinds to let the outside in. Saturday night I get to go to my cousins house for a big ol’ family shindig. SO fun! 🙂 And Sunday? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see. 🙂
Now I will leave you with a few places that have brought beauty, peace and joy into my life. 🙂
A grassy hillside overlooking the Santa Maria coast in Italy
A sunlit meadow in Slovenia.
An early morning walk through Venice.
I wish you a beautiful weekend. 🙂
Irish PotatoesIngredients:
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned and chopped into chunks
1 handful fresh green beans, chopped (I use a can of green beans when I’m in a rush or starving. So, pretty much always. :-))
6 cloves garlic, cut in quarters
Salt (if using canned beans, you won’t need to salt the water, just pour in everything from the can)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Directions:
- Combine first four ingredients in a pot, add water to cover, and boil 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
- Drain.
- Mash vegetables with olive oil and serve warm.
by Krista | Mar 11, 2010 | Plucky Thursday
I don’t like waking myself up screaming.
I don’t like awakening with a start, shaking, gasping before realizing with relief that my family is not dead, I am not being tortured by Nazi’s, I am not trapped in a tall building with bad guys hunting me down.
I do like that the more my life is filled with real love, real happiness, real peace, those nightmares are fewer and farther between.
As a girl I found myself in a religious cult, far from nurturing family and friends, trapped in a 10-story former hotel in Indianapolis where I would be worked 17-20 hours a day with no pay, no holidays and no breaks save for a few hours early Saturday morning when I was allowed outside in the parking lot to play volleyball in a long skirt with tennis shoes. It was the highlight of my week. 🙂
During the day I would have my “ministry smile” firmly affixed to my face, so afraid to appear anything other than radiantly happy lest I be accused of a rebellious spirit and sent to solitary confinement in a room void of furniture where I would be isolated on bread and water until my “heart changed.”
I smiled when they said I was worth nothing and only good as a servant. I smiled when they would take away our food on Sundays and lock the kitchen so we could “free our minds from distraction and focus on God.” I smiled when they tried to break me by demoting me to scrubbing toilets and folding laundry for ten or more hours a day.
But at night, safe behind the locked door of my room I would cry, wondering what was wrong with me that made me so unlovable to the people who ran that place.Why did they look for opportunities to publicly humiliate me, discipline me harshly, isolate me from all who loved me and saw value in me? It got so bad that even a few in leadership positions would wait for a rare moment when I was alone, whisper how sorry they were, explain with tears that there was nothing they could do, then hustle off before anyone saw them. They’ll never know how much those secret messages meant to me.
Looking back now I should’ve called my parents at the first sign of abuse and asked them to get me out of there. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Two things the leadership drilled into me: 1 – if I truly loved God I would want to encourage my parent’s hearts by only giving them good news. 2 – if I tried to get out of a painful situation, God would only put me in a worse one so I could learn the lessons He had for me. They’re both lies, of course, I see that now, but back then, they were an effective tool to keep me terrified and silent. My situation was bad enough, the thought of something worse awaiting me if I tried to leave was beyond reckoning. So I stayed. Said nothing.
Somewhere in those years I found comfort in reading about the Holocaust. I devoured every story I could get my hands on (biographies were allowed in that place, novels were verboten), finding solace in the stories of people who had been through so much worse than me. It made me brave, strong, able to face my persecutors each day. I’ve carried those books with me ever since, just seeing them on shelves was a reminder that I could do it, I could make it, I could overcome anything those wretched people did to me and my friends.
But when I was packing up to move last month, I had the strangest feeling wash over me as I looked at those books. I smiled as I realized, I don’t need them any more.
I am free from that place.
I am at peace.
I am dearly loved.
I am stronger every day both in spirit and in the body they broke down.
I am happy, so happy, with the dearest friends and family a girl could ever hope for.
So I packed them up to give away. Perhaps they’ll provide strange comfort for someone else.
I still have a nightmare now and then. Usually when I’m working through some particularly painful memory from those years. But now I have people I can call, who remind me that I’m no longer trapped, no longer abused, no longer stuck in a place void of love, hope and peace.
I am free.
by Krista | Mar 10, 2010 | Spring
I’m cozied up at home enjoying a free evening to read, get caught up on “24” episodes, sip tea and recover from a killer flu that hit last night. Yeesh. I’m getting knocked flat with stuff this winter! Thankfully it was of the 24-hour variety and I’m feeling heaps better. 🙂 I celebrated with dark hot chocolate and some great new podcasts from Itunes. In my quest to save money and pay off bills, I’m always interested in finding free things to do that are entertaining and informative. It’s amazing the free podcasts that are available: old time radio, Writer’s Almanac, This American Life, all sorts of ones on travel, history, music and literature. I’ve having a grand time! 🙂
This weekend I had a sudden and irresistible urge for that lovely Greek spinach pie: spanakopita. So, after a deliciously relaxing Sunday afternoon, I headed to the kitchen. I popped in a dramatized audio version of “The Horse and His Boy” and set to sauteing spinach with savory onions, mixing them in with tart feta cheese, nutmeg and lemon juice, and enclosing it all with buttered phyllo dough into tidy little packets of goodness.
I love the sunlight filtering through the crispy layers of phyllo. 🙂
I only par-baked them, freezing most of them for a rainy day. When I’m ready, all I have to do is thaw, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or so, and they’re good to go! I do so love easy, yummy food. 🙂
As I recover, I’m looking for good ways to detox and restore my system. Do you have any ideas? Please share them if you do! 🙂 Thanks so much. 🙂
Spanakopita
(From David Lebovitz)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
12 ounces (325g) fresh spinach, well-washed and towel dried
salt and freshly-ground pepper
8-10 ounces (230-250g) feta cheese
2 tablespoons finely-chopped flat leaf parsley
pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
1 large egg, at room temperature
lemon juice
16 sheets filo dough (about 12 ounces, 350g), thawed, if frozen
Melted butter (2-3 ounces, 60-90g)
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until transluscent.
- Add the spinach and a bit of salt and pepper, cover, and cook until the spinach is completely wilted, stirring once or twice to hasten the process.
- Scrape the spinach into a colander and let cool completely. Once cool, firmly squeeze out the excess liquid then chop the spinach with a chef’s knife into smallish pieces.
- Mix the spinach in a small bowl with the feta and parsley until chunky. Taste, and add nutmeg and a squirt of lemon juice, plus more salt and pepper if desired. Stir in the egg.
- Unwrap and unroll the filo and keep it covered at all times with a damp tea towel.
- Working quickly lay one sheet of filo on the counter and brush it lightly, but thoroughly, with butter. Lay another sheet on top of it and brush it with butter as well.
- Set a scant 1/4 cup (50g) of the filling in the center, about 1-inch (3cm) from the edge of the sheets of filo, then roll the two edges of the dough over, lengthwise, to encase the filling. You should have a long rectangle with filling underneath the top far end.
- Brush the exposed surface of the filo with butter and fold one corner diagonally over the filling, then continue folding keeping the triangle shape (as you’d fold a flag) and brushing the exposed surfaces of the filo with butter, until you have a neat triangle. Brush the top with butter and set on a baking sheet in the freezer.
- Continue making more spanakopitas with the remaining filling. Once all the spanakopitas are frozen, store them in a freezer bag until ready to bake. If well-wrapped, they’ll keep for a couple of months.
- To bake the frozen spanakopita, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and put the frozen triangles on a baking sheet, then brush each with butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until deeply-golden brown. If you’re baking them without freezing them first, they’ll take less time to bake, so check them before the recommended baking time.
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