Month: September 2020

Posted in Recipes

Lentil and Kale Soup

Posted on by junebugphx

I don’t know if it’s the smokie gray skies or just my wishful thinking but I am in the mood for all things comfy. Soup is one of my favorite things to cook and eat and in my book you can’t get any more comfy than that.

This soup has kale in it and hopefully even if you are on the fence with this vegetable you will give this a try. I know kale has got to be one of those veggies that are so good for you so you eat it but you only do it because you’re a grown up and know its the right thing to do, but hopefully this recipe will give you hope that you can enjoy kale.

I didn’t take pictures as I cooked with this recipe but it is fast and the ingredients are all easy to find.

Even though lentils can vary in the nutrion content there is no dening that what every type of lentil you choose for this recipe they are packed with good things like…

High in fiber, complex carbohydrates so hello to some quick energy with LOW in fat and lets not forget potassium but I believe it is the red lentil with the highest levels. They also offer clean protein, thiamine, Niacin the health benefits go on but the small little legume is pretty great for you. Mix it with kale which is great for detoxing, your skin, eye health and yes the list goes on for this mighty but difficult to like vegetable.

This recipe is pretty quick under an hour easy but keep in mind that cooking time varies with the type of lentil you choose.

Lentil and Kale Soup:

Prep time 15 minutes, Cook time 45 minutes Total about 1 hour

2 Cups of dried lentils ( rinsed and cleaned)

1-2 Cups of Kale chopped

8 Cups of Veggie stock (or 8 Cups of water and 1 Tablespoon of veggie bouillon per cup)

1 white Onion chopped

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 Carrots diced

2 cloves of Garlic peeled and diced

1 Teaspoon of Cardamom

1-2 Teaspoon of Turmeric

1 Teaspoon of Cumin

1-2 Teaspoon of Curry powder

Pepper per taste

(Side note I don’t measure and like seasoning and spice so I did use more than I have about but I believe these measurements will work for anyone’s taste.)

In large pot add oil, onion, garlic and all seasonings but pepper. Sauté until onion is translucent then add carrots, lentils and sauté for a minute or two then add vegetable stock or if using water add at this time with the veggie bouillon and pepper. Bring to a boil then turn down for a nice simmer for 35-40 minutes. When the lentils are almost done add the kale cooking a little longer until the lentils are done and the kale is cooked but still has some life in it, just a little crunch left.

When soup is done add to bowls and enjoy.

Posted in Uplifting

To Be Seen

Posted on by junebugphx

Have you ever had the pleasure of being around someone who with out saying a word they just got you? Or maybe someone you could go to and they would listen in such a way that you not only felt heard but seen?

Those traits are only found is rare special people that have a quite strength that draws you in like a moth to a flame.

I had the good fortune in calling one of those rare special people my grandpa. He was quite, quick witted, compassionate…..the list of his traits go on but it was his ability to really listen even taking note of what you didn’t say, because of his active listening I always felt like I was seen.

Sure, perhaps I have my rose color glass of a granddaughter who adored her grandpa on but even those that worked with him felt like he just got them. The quite carpenter, volunteer firefighter, writer, family man who saw pain and grew up with abuse gave such compassion people flocked to him.

I was reflecting on this as I dusted the picture of him and I. I came to a stop with cleaning and putting up my fall decorations. It has been years since his passing but his ability to love still stays. I miss just sitting with him and feeling understood without words. I said a pray about how much I miss being with him, when I felt that I have something even better.

I have my father who I am able to really be seen by. I went on cleaning and decorating but that feeling of peace knowing I am really understood and loved stayed. We may think God is just out there waiting to hit us over the head when we screw up but what I find so amazing is that when he gave us His son Jesus, Jesus spent his years on this earth teaching healing and just being with us and if that wasn’t enough I love the fact that the longest recorded conversation Jesus had with anyone was with a women!

In a time when women were less than property He sat down away from crowds and just spoke to a women that doesn’t even have a name recorded in the Bible. Instead she is just “The Women at the Well” (John 4:5-30) with a very colorful history. Jesus shows us that taking the time to sit and really be with someone has a lasting effect, because Jesus showed the women she was seen, her whole village heard about it and came to check it out. Jesus showed love, acceptance and broke rules for someone who was viewed as lesser than property. If he was willing to do that then don’t you think that He sees you and loves you warts and all?

Psalm 139:2-4 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.

Posted in Recipes

Veggie Sausage and Pasta

Posted on by junebugphx

Yes, another pasta recipe but I couldn’t help but share.

Yes, I love pasta

Yes, I like fast easy meals (most of the time)

No, I am not one for making recipes I have to go to a specialty store for ( unless its a holiday then sure I’m in).

Keeping that in mind then you know this recipe will be quick and with things you can pick up at any grocery store or online.

I really love pasta but use ones that are higher in protean because I do not eat meat. I could and probably should do a post just on pasta, there’s just so many different kinds and alternatives to just wheat flour. In this recipe I kept it basic and used Barilla Protein plus multigrain spaghetti pasta but I have used so many other kinds, it is fun trying them out.

I also enjoy a nice Bolognese pasta so todays recipe is a little of that too.

Veggie Sausage Pasta:

2 Veggie Italian Sausage, sliced

2 Roman Tomatoes

Handful of Chives diced

1-2 Tablespoons of diced garlic

1 can of Tomato sauce

1-3 Drops of Basil Essential Oil

1-2 Drops of Marjoram Essential Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Spaghetti Noodles cooked according to the box and drained keeping 1/4 cup of pasta water

In hot sauce pan add olive oil, garlic, then brown sliced sausage to almost done. Now adding the chives and tomatoes cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes add tomato sauce, essential oils, salt and pepper simmer for a few minutes longer.

At this point the pasta should be done. Drain pasta reserving 1/4 cup of its water to add to the tomato sauce mixture. Remove from heat add cooked pasta and serve.

Posted in Uplifting

“It’s Forgiveness” Part 2

Posted on by junebugphx

I really like that quote but it is so much harder for me to do. I tend to forgive others so much quicker than I do myself, I seem to think that I made such a mess of things with my actions, (or lack of action) words that have been said (or not said) that I find it only fair that I carry guilt of what I did. Why should I extend grace to myself?

Along with forgiving my (ex-)husband I needed to forgive myself for the part that I played. To let go of the if only, why didn’t I and how could you. Those are the bitter pills for me to swallow. It is easier for me to accept and carry the guilt and shame than to release it and give it to God. To leave all of that baggage at the foot of the cross where its suppose to stay but I somehow manage to make a hike up to old Calvary to collect what I feel is mine to keep.

The baggage can be a comfort. It can give a false sense of security. That blanket of shame has been with me to long I feel incomplete with out it.

The sad fact is that living that way is what keeps me and any one else behaving in the state of I deserve less so accepting less is fine with us. We end up not living our full lives and really living.

I love hiking but making that trip back to Calvary to collect what I was never meant to have only takes my energy. It is telling Jesus that what he did was great for everyone else but I am the exception to the rule of forgiveness. How it must break His heart when we decrease the value of what He did on the cross. We cheapen the act of His death and resurrection.

To accept that we are worthy of forgiving ourselves, learning and moving on and actually living loved is the best way we can say thank you to God for what he has given us.

When I am starting to make that hike I reach for Psalm 103 then I feel I deserve to just accept, not over think but to give grace to myself because “it’s forgiveness”.

1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. 19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul.