Hope is a Feather~Lentil balls and Buttermilk dressing

 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

                                ~By Emily Dickinson~

Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

   I know it may seem that I have dropped off the face of the earth by my lack of blogging of late but that WOULD NOT  be the case. I am very much alive and well, living fully, experiencing life to the max with no time to even stop to connect with my friends and family.

   At times on my path, life is so intense that I don't even have time to stop and recognize the signs along the way. The signs that guide me on my path and give me the courage to keep going. I have written before about finding feathers and how I believe they are my sign posts that I am on the right path. Lately, I have been seeing them everywhere. They are on the wood floor when I wake in the morning and are in front of me as I move through the day. They keep me going and keeping hope alive in my heart.

    Since I last wrote so much has transpired. We hosted our garage sale which was really successful. We even sold our 6 foot fake pre-lit Christmas tree, which my boys bet wouldn't sell in April...but it did. What we didn't sell, we donated to a few charity groups the following week and now there are only a few loose ends to tie up after our mass spring de-cluttering project. Here are a few pictures from our garage sale.

Grace selling popcorn, cookies and lemonade

Harrison giving me thumbs up on our Earth day garage sale

Just a sampling of things we no longer need....sad to see our little Tykes car go but the little boy that got it was thrilled

David strung up a clothes line onto Harrison's basketball pole/net

Here is monkey and my baby bear in a suitcase I have had since I was small. This is a good sample of something I have been carrying with me through life but it wasn't serving me any longer. A man came along and said the bear was exactly like his baby bear he had had as a child and was so happy to take suitcase and all. Seeing his smile as he picked these old lovies up made me happy.

All in all our Earth Day garage sale was a big hit. Right after the garage sale, David went to pick up our son Mitchell from the University of Victoria, where he has been going to school this year. It was a long weekend for David to help me with the garage sale on Saturday morning and then to drive out and back to the coast over the weekend. It was so good to hug my son and welcome him home after his first year away at University.  Seven of our Eight chicks are back in the nest for summer.

I started working at the Garden Center on Earth day and I have been juggling work, home and family since then. It's tough. I'm trying to make healthy meals for our family while keeping all the balls in the air. We are trying to make so many big changes in our life right now and it stretches me to my limits but the feathers keep me going. They remind me that it's all worth it. We all needs these kind of signs on our path. What are you finding to keep you going?

Before I close this post though, I thought I would include another recipe that we have added to our repertoire of fav, quick vegetarian meals. Since I kind of feel like a juggler with all the activities as balls in the air, how appropriate to share a lentil ball recipe. I threw it together so fast that I didn't even have time to take any photos, although I took a quick photo as I pulled the lentil balls out of the oven.

And another one before I ate leftovers the following day.

 The photo above, is a picture of the left over lentil balls on my pasta for lunch the next day. I also served it with a great salad which I also didn't take a picture of. Everything gets consumed too fast here and well, taking pictures for my blog is not at the top of my list....feeding my family is the priority.

I wanted to give you the dressing recipe I used for our salad though as it was delicious. My mother in law Doreen, used to make the most amazing ranch dressing and I always used to ask her how she made it. She never gave me the exact measurements, probably because she had made it for her family for so long and didn't need to measure it any longer. Anyway, I always was trying to make it and I think I finally have it down. (does this sound right Doreen?)

 So here is my recipe for lentil balls...perfect on top of the pasta of your choice....and Buttermilk/dill dressing for a yummy green salad to accompany your lentil balls.

Hope's Lentil Balls

Ingredients

1 cup of dry lentils (I used green but you could use brown or green and brown)
21/2 cups of water or vegetable broth
3 tbsp of ground flaxseed
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
3  minced garlic cloves
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper diced really fine...although this is opt
1 carrot finely grated
1 celery stalk, finely diced
3/4 cup of oats
1/2 cup of finely ground oats
1 tsp of dried thyme
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 ground chipotle pepper
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Rinse lentils. In large pot add 2 1/2 cups water with lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In small bowl combine flax seed with 1/3 cup water, set aside for at least 10 minutes, preferably in the refrigerator. This will act as a binder and will thicken nicely upon sitting.

Prepare vegetables. In saute pan heat oil or water over medium heat. Saute garlic, onion, bell pepper, carrots and celery for about 5 minutes. Add spices mixing well to incorporate. Set aside to cool.

 Blend the lentils in a food processor until they form a paste.

Combine sauteed vegetables with the lentils, oats, oat flour and flax, mix well. Taste, adding salt and pepper as needed, or any other herb or spice you might like. Form small balls and place in a baking dish, spray or line with tin foil (sprayed). Cook for 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Eat them on top of pasta or on their own. This mixture can also be formed into lentil burgers....or even as a loaf. Make a pot of rice, toss a salad and you have a really quick and healthy meal.

Here's the recipe for Buttermilk/dill dressing that we made for our salad....I love it and may never go back to my Hidden Valley dressing again. I love making food from scratch and cutting down on packaged foods.

As close to Doreen's

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk (I just use 1/2 cup of milk and add 2 tbsp lemon juice)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 minced garlic cloves

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 pepper

1 1/2 tsp of dried dill

1/4 cup freshly chopped chives....starting to bloom in my garden now

2 tsp of lemon juice

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl. This dressing will keep well in the fridge up to 3 or 4 days. Great for dips. My kids were dipping their crazy bread before dinner. 

I don't know what's going on in your life but if you are having a tough time, or life is throwing a lot of challenges your way, I hope you remember that you don't have to hold your head up higher than your heart. I pray that the feathers are abundant for you and when you see them you know you are on the right path. You ARE LOVED!

If you need any musical inspiration before we say goodbye, I've included a really cool song by Jack Johnson called, "Hope"....of course hey

If you can't see the link below since you are using an apple product...click on the hyper link above.

 I love the following quote....the BEST part is actually what comes next......


Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope