Simple words and actions mean a lot

I have been a family law paralegal for years. I cannot count the times I have been told by clients who were divorcing that they knew their marriage was over when their partner said something very simple and innocent. Just a few words said and at that point they just knew the marriage was not going to work. I have yet to hear from a person how their marriage was "saved" by their partner saying something simple and innocent. If the marriage was going downhill it has always taken work on both parties to save it. There was no easy fix (it makes you think how easy it is to break something but so hard to put it back together).
At times I believe John feels he is in a protected category and that I would never leave him because he knows divorce is not an option in our relationship. So little effort takes place at times by both of us when it comes to our marriage one has has to wonder why we have lasted for so long. Complacency is not always a good thing. Of course what John is forgetting is I have friends that will bring shovels and ask no questions. :)
The other day I knew our marriage was not in jeopardy when John said to me in all sincerity, "I would like to look into getting a Mac". I know you are asking yourself what does buying a Mac have to do with having a healthy relationship? Well let me tell you. John is anti Mac. John is so anti Mac, I believe Mr. Bill Gates himself is paying John off to tow the Microsoft line. I have been lobbying for years to get a Mac. All the reasons I have given have fallen on deaf ears when it comes to John. I swear there is a solid rock in the brain lobe where reasoning skills should be when it comes to John. Yes, my husband is hardheaded! It would be easier to convince Mr. Gates himself to purchase a Mac then to get John too consider it.
Then WHAM out of the blue John has seen the light and now is finally willing to consider a upgrade in life. One will have to ponder at this point, what will we do with all of our free time once we get the Mac and no longer have to repair the PC. Will we be living in utopia then? Will people visible see the sense of calm that will surround us? I digress, if John is willing to budge on the Mac issue after 20 years, just think of all the other issues that have caused roadblocks in our relationship that have now been open. Who would know that just a few simple words said would have such a profound effect on our marriage.

P.S. I have been pondering this for days now. I was at the grocery store and the man ahead of me was purchasing, flowers, a bottle of wine, and really good chocolate. This man was clean and neat but you could tell just from the way he was dressed and by his calloused hands that he was a hardworking blue collar worker that nothing in life had come easy for him. My first thought was he must have a date. Woo Hoo older guy! Then I noticed his wedding ring. Maybe it is a foreign concept to me that a spouse would bring home flowers, wine and good chocolate on a Wednesday. Was it their anniversary? Was he in the dog house and this was his way of saying he was sorry? Or was it just the mere fact that he loved his wife and wanted to show he cared? I will never know that man's intentions but I do know there is a wife out their that is very lucky.

GLUTEN FREE NAAN BREAD

We love Naan Bread especially in the summer. I like to make it on the grill. It is a quick and easy. I have not made it since I have been gluten free though. So tonight I decided to give gluten free a try.

I just have to say I love sorghum flour. I use it for almost everything. We get it directly from the mill.

NAAN BREAD

1 Cup Sorghum Flour
1 teaspoon yeast ****
1 teaspoon honey or sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1/4 olive oil

Add ins: We like garlic the best but any herb or spice would be good like rosemary.

in a small bowl add yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. It will get all foamy. Combine flour, salt, xantham gum. Add olive oil and yeast mixture. Stir. It will be pretty sticky. Let rest for 15 minutes. Divide into 6 big pieces or 12 small pieces. Roll out on a flour surface. I need a little of the flour in so it is not sticky to handle. Place on grill for 2 or 3 minutes per side.

**** 1 teaspoon of yeast are you freaking out? A package has 2 1/4 teaspoons in it but why oh why are you buy individual packages. It is much cheaper to buy a jar of yeast or better yet a bag. You should store it in the fridge.

My Second AH Ha Momment

Boy I have just been on a roll. I was looking over what we spend on groceries and decided we could cut back on the chocolate sauce, carmel etc. I do not buy it that often maybe a bottle every other month but it was something that could go. I started exploring how to make Carmel sauce at home. All I wanted to say now DUH. Took me less then 5 minutes to whip up a cup. I did substitute half and half for the heavy cream as I always have that in my fridge. It does make it a little thinner but once you cool it down you it thickens right up.

Caramel Sauce Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup of sugar
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream ( I use half and half)

Yep that is it for ingredients

Oh ya I use the water method as you all know I would burn up the sugar.

1 First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first - make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

2 Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

3 As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4 Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big. (Check here for an explanation of why adding the cream makes the mixture bubble up so much.)

5 Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Makes a little over one cup of sauce.

My AH HA Momment

Sometimes I think I make life to hard. My kids like smoothies. I like making them out of yogurt. We like them thick but not diluted. It is a hard consistency to get because if you add to many ice cubes the smoothie is not flavorful enough. I always use frozen fruit but that does always help either. A couple of weeks ago I got organic plain yogurt on sale. It was a great price but I was left with the dilemma what to do with a gallon of plain yogurt before it spoiled. That is where my ah ha moment came. Why not freeze the yogurt in an ice cube trays thus eliminating the need to add ice cubes but still being able to obtain a nice smooth thick cold smoothie. I froze the yogurt in the ice cube trays. Once frozen I transferred to a zip lock bag. We use the Hamilton Beach single serving blender that we leave on the counter top for easy access.

Levi's Favorite Smoothie

1 cup cold milk (always add liquids first as it will blend better)
6 ice cubes of yogurt or 1/2 cup of yogurt. We prefer plain for this one
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon chocolate sauce(trader joes has a yummy organic one)
1/2 frozen banana (I throw over ripen bananas in the freezer and use as needed. No need to wrap them up or peel. Microwave for 30 seconds and the peel will come right off).
1 tablespoon of peanut butter.

Add all the ingredients and blend. Levi likes a dollop of whip cream on the top.

19 years is really not that long at all

This month John and I celebrate 19 years of being together, being married. Half of our lives we have spent as a couple. It seems very strange because it only seems like yesterday John was proposing. If I had a crystal ball 19 years ago and seen what my future would hold with Mr. Johnny Barrett III, I would have still said yes.

My favorite gift I ever got from John besides our children is a framed picture of our wedding day with the following lyrics attached:

Love of mine some day you will die But I'll be close behind I'll follow you into the dark No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white Just our hands clasped so tight Waiting for the hint of a spark If heaven and hell decide That they both are satisfied Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs If there's no one beside you When your soul embarks Then I'll follow you into the dark

Gluten Free Dinner Rolls

This recipe is awesome. I made it tonight. I cannot beleive how yeasty the rolls tasted. It was surprising how they tasted since they looked like baking powder biscuits but had this yeasty dinner roll taste. Everyone in my family loved them.

28 min 10 min prep 7 -9 Rolls
4 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons honey
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients. Mix well to remove all lumps. The dough will be quite wet. Wet hands to handle dough. (Re-wet hands as needed.) Take about 1/4 cup of dough and shape into a ball. Drop into greased baking tin. (Repeat until all dough is used). Let rest for 10 minutes. Bake 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in middle tests clean.

I doubled the recipe and baked in muffin tins. It made two dozen. Cook time 15 minutes.

Good Bye Home Depot!

I hate Home Depot. Hate is a strong word but really that is how I feel. Every time I go into that store I am left with huge regret and leave asking myself, why do I bother coming here?. The store is so huge I can never find anything I need. When you ask for help the staff acts like you are interrupting their social time with other staff members. Unfortunately where we live at the big box store type hardware store is the only hardware type store we have. Three times I had been to the big box store trying to get a clamp for our window. Three times I got the run around and left without the clamp. It is very frustrating when you have to beg for help. I guess Home Depot does not need the little person's business. That is fine by me because we finally got a real hardware store where we live at. How do I know it is a real hardware store? Well 1 they have the obligatory older man. You know, he is retired but comes in a couple of days to work because he loves his job so much! So opening day, I marched right over to our brand new hardware store and could not find the clamp for the window. I even got help without having to hunt someone down. The staff saw me looking and asked may I help you. WOW! is that a novelty or what who would have thought customer service in a store. Unfortunately, the clamps had not come in yet, so the manager was called over and he said he would order them ASAP. He let me know what day to come back for them and also let me know he would order 4 different styles to choose from. When I went back they thanked me for coming back and they never once acted like I was inconveniencing them. So finally after several trips we have our window clamps. I just got to remember to bring them into the house and actually use them now.

P.S. I also like the fact I can take my hardware receipt to my favorite coffee stand and they give me a discount.