My Favorite Summer Salad ;)

  

In the course of one week, we have had this meal twice. It's a perfect summer meal because it's light, yet bursting with flavor.
It's one of Jamie Oliver's recipes. For those of you who don't know who Jamie Oliver is, he's an English chef who's cooking shows used to air on the Food Network Channel. My family and I like his "hobbit" style. He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, uses fresh ingredients from his garden, and most of his recipes are simple, yet delicious. This recipe is one that we've enjoyed many a hot summer evening. Here is our version of his recipe for a "Proper Chicken Caesar Salad". 

 ♠

Proper Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
1. Chicken thighs(we like to use boneless chicken thighs. You can also use chicken legs)
2. 1 loaf of gluten free bread
3. Chopped rosemary
4. Olive oil
5. Two or three heads of romaine lettuce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Tear up gluten free bread into crouton size pieces and mix with olive oil and chopped rosemary. Fit the bread into a glass pan. We use a 9x13 pan. Place the chicken thighs on top of the bread, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the chopped rosemary, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes. The chicken thighs are ready when the meat comes off of the bones easily. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Enjoy! I'm sure you will. :)

What I've Been Up To



Yes, I know, it's been far too long since I last wrote. Let's just say I've been "blessedly busy" God has brought me through new adventures this year and I've learned lessons that I don't think I would have learned had I not gone through them. They've been a blessing. Soooo hence the phrase "blessedly busy." : ) It would take up a lot of space to write all about everything I've done so here's a little summary.

First of all, my sister Emma and I were in a major theater production. It was our very first time being in a major theater production! The play was based on the story of Esther from the Bible. Well...the Lord had it so planned that I would be chosen to play the role of Esther. I was so nervous as to how it would turn out because I didn't want to portray Esther wrongly. So, being Esther made for a lot of study time in the book of Esther which was great! Through the whole experience (practices began in March.  We performed 8 plays starting on June 11 and ending on June 18) I learned a lot about acting, about myself, and about working with other people. I also grew in my relationship with God. He gave me lots of strength and was truly with me walking through everything with me. There were a good mix of hard days and "easier" days but all-in-all It was a wonderful experience that I'll never forget.

Secondly, a friend of mine started teaching me and some young men from our church how to lead worship. We've kinda started a little  worship team now and I'm looking forward to see where God leads us.

Thirdly, I went to a new summer camp with my sister, brother, and a few friends. That was lots of fun. : )

 Last but not least, I was on a volleyball team.

In-between all of those things, I've been spending time with my family and friends, doing school, and babysitting.

So you see, life has been "blessedly busy" for me. : ) I have many fond memories from this year already, and It's not even over yet.

I know, no excuses for neglecting to keep up my blog. I will try my best to keep writing...at least once a week. I'm still trying to figure some things out.

Till next time!

~Madi

Finding Joy in Each Season

I recently started reading a book by L.M. Montgomery called Magic for Marigold. It is a sweet story of a girl by the name of Marigold who lives with her Mother, her Grandmothers, Aunts, and Uncles and servants in the their delightful home (which they call Cloud of Spruce) on Prince Edward Island. Marigold is a sweet little girl who thinks deeply and appreciates everything about life and all the little delights and pleasures it brings. She is especially fascinated with the beauty of the nature that surrounds her, and finds joy in what each season brings.

So far it's a very cute story, and I thought I would share a few paragraphs of the story that explain what Marigold enjoys about each season. L.M. Montgomery is an amazing descriptive writer and I find myself drawn into the story and compelled to take pleasure in those simple things of life that may sometimes be overlooked. Enjoy!

" Oh, spring was a lovely time, when the harbour was a quivering, shimmering reach of blue and the orchard was sprinkled with violets and the nights were like a web of starlight.


But all the seasons were lovely. Summer, when strawberries were red on the hill-field and the rain was so sweet in the wild rose cups, and the faint sweetness of new-mown hay was everywhere, and the full moon made such pretty dapples under the orchard trees, and the great fields of daisies across the harbour were white as snow.


Of all the seasons Marigold loved autumn best. Then the Gaffer Wind of her favourite fairy-tale blew his trumpet over the harbour and the glossy black crows sat in rows on the fences, and the yellow leaves began to fall from the aspens at the green gate, and there was  the silk of frost on the orchard grass in the mornings. In the evenings there was a nice reek of burning leaves from Lazarre's bonfires and the ploughed fields on the hill gleamed redly against the dark spruces.  And some night you went to bed in a drab dull world and wakened up to see a white miraculous one. Winter had touched it in the darkness and transformed it.


Marigold loved winter too with the mysterious silence of its moonlit snow-fields and the spell of its stormy skies. And the big black cats creeping mysteriously through the twilight glades where the shadows of the trees were lovelier than the trees themselves...The pasture-fields which had been green and gold in June were cold and white, with ghost-flowers sticking up above the snow. Marigold always felt so sorry for those dead flowerstalks. She wanted to whisper to them, "Spring will come."


The winter mornings were int'resting because they had breakfast by candlelight. The winter evenings were dear when the wind howled outside, determined to get into Cloud of Spruce. It clawed at the doors--shrieked at the windows--gave Marigold delicious little thrills. But it never got in. It was so nice to sit in the warm bright room with the cats toasting their furry flanks before the fire and the pleasant purr of Salome's spinning-wheel in the kitchen. And then to bed in the little room off Mother's, with sweet, sleepy kisses, to snuggle down in soft, creamy blankets and hear the storm outside. Yes, the world was a lovely place to be alive in..."

What I love about Spring

Yes! Take it in! This is one of the reasons why I love spring. Flowers begin to bloom and it's just sooooo lovely and breathtaking. God made every single flower and all the different kinds show God's creativity, beauty, and intricate care and design. And to think He made it all by speaking a word. Ahhhh...sooo amazing! These are the prettiest flowers I've seen yet!