pound cake « cookiecrumbstoliveby

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God,
at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”
Mother Teresa

(the ‘I couldn’t wait’ poundcake / Julie Cook / 2017)

I suppose I could be living in Alaska and I would still feel this
impending sense of dread.

For you see, this is just how deeply I care and feel for this land I call home…
Whenever there is some sort of calamity approaching this great country, I fret.
Much like a mother hen over her chicks.

It doesn’t matter if its raging fires in the west, drought in the southwest,
blizzards in the north and northeast, earthquakes in the heartland, or floods,
tornadoes and hurricanes in the South…
I feel an almost overwhelming sense of foreboding that is hard to shake.

I think it has a lot to do with me being a doer and or a fixer…
as in I need to be in action doing and fixing.
For it is in such cases, cases where I am relegated to simply sitting, watching
and waiting, that I feel most helpless.
How can I help, fix or alleviate that which I can only watch?
I can’t.

And such is the nature of natural disasters and disease…
we most often have to sit, watch and wait.

So with today, as I write, being Saturday,
the sun is brightly shining in a near cloudless blue sky,
as the wind gusts pick up in both frequency and gusto….
I know Irma is drawing ever closer.

I sit and watch the reports of a massive storm inching its way closer and closer
to my sister southern state.
And I know there will be catastrophic damage.
Storms are just that way.

So as I feel a wealth of nervous energy, I’ve done what I always do when there’s
nothing to do but wait and watch.
I cook.

Today it’s what I’m calling a hurricane pound cake.
As we are being told that we will most likely have flooding, high winds and will
lose power along with the millions to our south….
there’s nothing like a fresh pound cake to munch on in the stormy dark.

So as I try to busy my hands, my thoughts and my body…I also must busy my soul.
For all we truly have in such precarious times is prayer.
To have conversation with God.
And in that conversation, we must be prepared to wait as we listen.
Much like we do in a storm…as in we wait and listen…
Yet the difference with God is that we know there is
no one greater in which to turn.

We can certainly prepare for life’s storms all we want as we tick off those items
on a checklist of what to buy, what to have ready, what to do…all just in case.
Knowing that once the dust settles, the time to really get busy will truly be underway.
Such as helping and cleaning and comforting.

Yet with all this talk of waiting and watching and praying,
I was poignantly reminded today of the very notion of depending on prayer.

This afternoon I watched the most recent postings of one of my favorite
Christian apologists.

Nabeel Qureshi.

I’ve mentioned Nabeel here before.

Nabeel is a young roaring Christian lion.
He is an ardent and outspoken Christian convert from Islam who minces no words.
He is a lecturer and author who is rooted deeply in the Word of the One True God
as He has been washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

Nabeel is also a husband and a father who is in the latter stages of aggressive
stomach cancer.

I have watched periodically Nabeel’s youtube videos chronicling his journey
with cancer.
His fight, his treatments, his testimony…
Inspirational is putting it mildly as I have marveled over his unyielding faith
in the face of so much physical suffering and emotional uncertainty.

Somehow seeing Nabeel and hearing the frustration and depression fighting their way
into his being, I continue being blessed by his ardent faith in God’s will.
And as a dear friend noted as we both lamented together over this most recent
turn of events in Nabeel’s battle…
Nabeel WILL be healed, no matter what!!

So as we gather our thoughts and prayers, readying for yet another storm to take a
swipe at this country, it’s time to get busy…
Busy in prayer…
that we may remember not only those standing in the crosshairs of a hurricane,
but that we recall those who are in the midsts of their own personal storms..
such as Nabeel and his battle with cancer.

Remembering that in the end, God’s will wins,
and in turn, guarantees that we win as well.

https://christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com/2017/09/09/let-nabeel-know-on-facebook-and-twitter-that-you-love-him-and-you-are-praying-for-himvlog-42-palliative-care-on-youtube/

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:17-18

It’s dawned on me that we’ve not talked about anything tasty in quite sometime. Not since we tried to decide if I was a vanilla connoisseur or, hummmm, a lush. And by the way, those “vanilla to be” bottles are “fermenting” nicely thank you very much (see post Vanilla Extract or is cookie a lush)—You know you’ll want some when I make that decadent chocolate torte with my rum vanilla. But until the time that the fermentation period is complete, we must fill the void.

The other day I was privileged having a dear dear friend over for lunch. I am blessed with a wonderful close circle of good and dear friends. This particular friend means a great deal to me. She is probably the best example I know of what it means to truly “live one’s Faith.” Her’s is an honest Faith—a “suck it up and go on ’til you can go no more Faith.” She has exemplified what unconditional Love is all about and she has believed in me when I had lost all belief in myself—never allowing me to slip out of not only her grasp, but that of our Heavenly Father’s grasp. Loving me when I was loathing me.

We have known one another for many many years. And even as our paths have diverged over the years, weaving us in and out of constant contact, she is still there…always. I count it a blessing for moments, when our schedules and lives are such, that we can actually spend some real time together as I am constantly learning from her. Her Christian Faith is raw and I am fortunate to have her as a source of strength and knowledge in my life.

So on such an occasion, I always want to have something wonderful as the meal. I believe that taste and appearance are equally most important when it comes to food. I also believe strongly in the “feast and fellowship” school of thought. Communing together over good food and drink can be so cathartic to one’s very being.

This day should be no different. The weather has certainly warmed up so something light yet fulfilling–tasty and satisfying, without being overtly filling as my friend had to return to work following our little lunch. It dawned on me—one of my all time favorite meals—a salad niçoise. That most delightful amalgamation of Mediterranean taste sensations—from Provence to the Isle of Capri—everyone seems to have their own special take on this salad.

Anchovies or no anchovies, egg or no egg, tuna or shrimp, to or not to add crumbled cheese….it is a canvas just waiting for an artist to throw what he or she will at it with the end results always the same—a bite of sun and sea in one’s mouth…..

Here is how I made mine this particular day—it is up to you to mix it up for your own tastes—or for what happens to be available in the ol cupboard at the time:

One fresh Tuna steak–grilled or pan sautéed med rare (sorry but that is how fresh tuna should be prepared) When there was not tuna I opted for shrimp.

a bunch of mixed lettuce—I used a baby spring mix from my yard and some baby romaine

beets—I actually roasted my own golden beets and marinated them with white balsamic vinegar or you can choose jarred pickled beets.

sliced tomatoes or whole baby grape tomatoes

corn, cut fresh from the cob

blanched french green beans (chill after blanching)

boiled and sliced baby new potatoes tossed lightly, while still warm, with part of the vinaigrette

Kalamata olives pitted

crumbled hard boiled egg is you wish (I did not)

crumbled fresh feta or goat cheese

you may add marinated hearts of palm or artichokes if you have any on hand.

First make the vinaigrette dressing:

Mince one clove of garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle heavily with salt; using a knife, scrape garlic and salt together to form a smooth paste. Transfer paste to a bowl and whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil, a teaspoon of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar, 1 teaspoon of coarse grind dijon mustard, a minced shallot if you have one, and salt and pepper; set aside. I also chop up fresh herbs and add these to the dressing—whatever you have…basil, thyme, savory, parsley, chives……

On a pretty platter place your torn up lettuce then decoratively, or not, add the potatoes, sliced beets, chilled green beans, sliced tomatoes, olives, sprinkle with corn kernels (adds a nice sweet crunch), add slice tuna or shrimp, sprinkle with crumbled cheese, pour dressing over the entire salad and voila—–

Here’s a previous salad made for another special lunch gathering–same salad, just different additions and presentation:

Here are my beets ready for roasting (wash, cut off the tops, place in heavy aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, lemon zest, cracked pepper and salt. Roast at 400 for an hour–cool and peel–slice, dice or leave whole–toss with balsamic vinegar and refrigerate):