Hola, Elder

It's been a while since I've posted one of Alex's letters. Here's an excerpt from his latest, plus a video clip that was sent to me from a ward member earlier in the week. Don't skip the last paragraph...it's vintage Alex.

Dear Family,

 

The video that that guy sent you (or at least mom) was of me eating balut, a Philipino delicacy. Basically, it's a duck fetus hardboiled for an hour. It tastes better than it sounds (though that might not be saying much). I hear that in the Philipines they have ones that are almost born, though in America (fortunately) you can only really get ones that are 1 to 3 days old.

 

The Mother's Day call will have to be after church for us. We get home from church around 1 o'clock, so that's when the call will happen....

 

...The other person we found was a really nice former investigator, B******. He's receptive, but not to the point of wanting to get baptized. Pressure from his family might have something to do with it. Regardless, that shouldn't be nothing that good fellowship can't fix (And I beheld a triple negative arise from the sea, yea, even one with three crowns and ten thorns, each having names of bad grammar and confusion, yea, even the name of satin and its rouge angles).

 

so yeah...

 

Obtusely-Angled,

Elder West

Taking it to 11.

So.

I got a call yesterday - someone asking me to sub in Primary.

I think I've got the 5 year olds.  The lesson is about the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Made these mini "comforters" from scraps of fabric - then I added a  little pocket to them.

Question: What should I put in the pockets?

Double Glazed Lemon Snaps

Notice the classy hem on the tablecloth? No?  Then you're just not looking hard enough.

The fiasco of the lemon meringues left me with a bit of a hole in the menu.  Lucky for me I live in the golden age of technology. And by that, I mean Pinterest.

I found a lovely recipe for glazed lemon cookies that didn't require me to make a trip to the store.  I followed the recipe pretty closely except that I reduced the salt to 1/4 teaspoon (didn't miss the other 1/4 teaspoon).

When it came to glazing the cookies, I simply dipped them in the glaze and then placed them on a wire rack.  I ended up with twice as much glaze as I needed - so instead of throwing it away, I dropped an extra dollop on top of each cookie.  The extra glaze made these cookies extra amazing.

Extra glaze = extra yum.

Meringue Cookies OR Snatching Success from the Jaws of Defeat

...um...you had me at coconut...

If you like coconut at all.  I mean AT ALL you should make these.

Now.

The second best thing about them is that I had all the ingredients in my cupboards.  All of them.

The best thing is how they taste as they melt in your mouth.  Awesome.  That's how they taste.

I found the recipe via Pinterest (of course)...here's the link to Our Lady of Second Helpings.

I followed the recipe fairly closely - except that I left out the rum flavoring and after baking, I turned the oven off and left the meringues in the oven for another 1/2 hour, then immediately put them in a closed container where they stayed nice and dry...

..unlike the lemon meringues which I foolishly left on the counter for 1/2 an hour or so...

Oh, the humanity...er...humidity!

Adventures in Low Sodium/Low Potassium Cooking. Chicken Alfredo Pizza

It's been almost 2 weeks since one of our kids was diagnosed with stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD).  One of the main guidelines for treatment (not cure - there isn't one), is to follow a strict low sodium/ low potassium diet. His doctor isn't worried about tracking phosphorus yet, but that may come also...adding yet another challenge...

Cooking with low sodium isn't a particular challenge...it's the potassium that is really sneaky.  Nearly all foods have at least some potassium...some quite a bit.  For example, one medium size potato has about 1,000mg of potassium. When you're restricted to 2,000mg a day, well, you can see the problem. Milk products can be high in potassium, tomatoes, chocolate, legumes, whole grains, bananas, cantaloupe, avocados, etc., etc., etc...Add in high sodium food items such as, well, pretty much any processed food (ham, deli meats, packaged foods, etc.), and you can see that eating just anything that sounds good is going to be a challenge.

My first recipe pretty much had to be pizza...since that's one of his favorite foods...and regular pizza has some issues...high sodium in most of the meat choices, and high potassium in tomatoes and milk products.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

We made these "personal size" so as to be able to have better portion control.

This Post Brought to you By HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus...and me.

Steve and I finally broke down and bought a new printer on Saturday...after shilly-shallying about it for a couple of months.

I am beyond thrilled to be able to scan a document and have it sent wirelessly to my computer! As proof I offer this exhibit - a partial plan of our outdoor/yard projects for the coming season:

Absolutely accurate and to scale....er...not.

Which brings me to my next subject.

Spring.

I am cautiously optimistic that it may have arrived.  After a false start (snow on Friday!), I think we can get out and do some actual work in the yard.  And by we, I mean me...because Steve has already gotten a head start by mowing (and bagging) the yard on Friday.

After the snow melted.

March 22nd.  Snow. Yeah. Snow.

Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I've made this recipe twice in the past couple of weeks! I found it on Pinterest (here is the link to the original site).

Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 whole spaghetti squash

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

1 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes

2 cups broccoli florets (I add a bit more)

1 cup frozen peas

2 whole chicken breasts, cooked and diced (rotisserie works fine)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Cut squash in half, remove seeds, then cook in a 375' oven for about 45 minutes. Scrape the inside of the squash with a fork to remove the strands.

In a large deep skillet, saute garlic in olive oil for 1 minute. add 1/4 cup chicken broth, then tomatoes and broccoli.  Saute for about 5 minutes.

Add peas, chicken, and remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth.  Add Parmesan cheese.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for about 3 minutes.

Stir in spaghetti squash.