Searching For The Perfect Title

Hi friends!  I am still searching for a title for my blog that sits just right in my heart so here is take three!  Let me know what you think!

Love,
Candace

Good Eating: Eggplant Kiku & Sprout Salad

"Kiku is a Persian or Arabic dish that has many variations.  It came to Spain during the Moorish invasions where it took the form of the Spanish tortilla or Spanish omelet, with potatoes as a filling." (p.440 Nourishing Traditions)

The ingredients for Eggplant Kiku are:

• 2 eggplants
• sea salt
• 2 onions
• extra virgin olive oil
• 6 eggs
• 3 cloves of garlic
• juice of one lemon
• pepper 
• paprika

Without copying the recipe verbatim from my Nourishing Traditions cook book, I'll give you a brief layout of the recipe.

The first and most time consuming step is to salt the peeled and cubed eggplant.  Let it sit, draining in a colander for an hour or so.

Next, after the hour is up, rinse and drain the eggplant well and...

saute it in olive oil until soft.  When it's soft, mash it with a potato masher or something like that in another bowl.  (I forgot to take this pic... pardon that)

In the same pan you sauteed the eggplant, saute the onions until they look yummy (transparent and browning) then add the mashed eggplants and the garlic.

(Also forgot this picture...eek!) - Beat the eggs with some salt, the pepper, lemon juice and the paprika, add it all to the eggplant/onion/garlic mixture.

Next, pour the mixture into an oiled baking dish (I used a 9x13 baking dish) and bake for 30 minutes or so in a 375*F oven until its just browning on top.  Take it out of the oven, serve it up however you would like!

I served mine with a sprout salad using freshly sprouted sprout, and a homemade sesame ginger dressing (interested in the recipe? Leave a comment to let me know!), garnished with garden fresh tomatoes and freshly ground pepper.  In the picture above, I sprinkled my husbands with Parmesan cheese!  Every bite was delicious!  Try it and let me know what you think about it!

Happy cooking!

From, "The Candace Way" to "University of Ambition"

 Just a little FYI regarding the changes to "The Candace Way."  I was personally not sure if the readers of TCW really knew what the title actually meant so I decided to change it.  "University of Ambition" is ambiguous enough to embrace anything a blogger could think of.  A creative yet positive title is what I was looking for; Hopefully we have reached that goal.  We are still going to have an intriguing time here at the UofA so stay tuned and keep watching as I share my life and creativity with you.  Please feel free to share your thought with us any time by posting a comment.  We care about your thoughts too!

Sincerely,
Candace

Ahhhh... There's something so soothing about fall...

 The first things to make my heart leap for fall are the colors!  Oranges, olive greens, burnt yellows, multitudes of reds and so forth as the color spectrum is limitless.  I am absolutely eager to start my holiday decorating at the coming of the full, moisture rich clouds, and the changing colors.  The day light gets a littler shorter allowing for the lighting of warmly scented candles, sooner, with each passing day.  The chilly nights grant the usage of toasty blankets and piping hot herbal teas which seem to sooth the tensions of the day.  

There is nothing like walking into a warm home with the pleasant fragrance of fresh baked goods and flickering candles in the background.  

Beautiful center Pieces from www.KallistoEvents.com

Top view of the two right centerpieces at left.

The center pieces were brought home from a business meeting we attended for Gillespie Insurance Services.  You can see more floral decorating by Kallisto Events by clicking on their highlighted name.



To the left you see a decorative tree about a foot and a half tall.  I try to decorate it for every season in attempt to bring the seasons and holidays alive in our home rather than having them fly by with no memories of them.

The center the the three diagonal pictures is an old fruit stand that I didn't need to use so I stocked it up with some festive items to brighten up our room, bringing the warm fall colors into our home.

And Mr. Turkey here is just an awesome find from Joann's.  He was on sale so I had to give him a home!

Oh the joy of pumpikins!

Then the bows come out and the festive decorations that transform the environment get splashed around the house, as well as out doors!

 This year is my second fall season being married too!  Last fall we were only married for four months and with our tedious arguments, it was obvious.  This year, we are a little more comfortable with sharing our environment with each other as well as growing closer to one another.  Fall could be particularly awesome because this is the season in which my husband and I met in 2009!  We would go for walks in the cool autumn nights, holding hands for as long as we were together, walking closely to keep warm.  So many charming memories from the fall!!!

I especially love that feeling of being freezing and then walking into a warm home!  Oh Lord, thank You for fall!  Actually, I like all of the seasons but I think I like fall a little bit more than the rest : ).

Do you have a favorite season?  What makes it your favorite, I'd love to hear about it!  

While I Was On The Farm With My Mom...

Yes!  Those are chicken feet!  Excellent for making rich chicken broth!  Chicken feet broth is full of nutrients like collagen, glucosamine chondroitin, gelatin, minerals and much more!  All things that our bodies absolutely need!  I prepared these two pairs of feet myself, which is far from where I came from ( as you may know, I spent lots of years eating a vegan and/or vegetarian diet ).  That all changed when I started feeling like I wasn't getting ALL the nutrients my body needed in order to do what it needs to do to reproduce, and pretty much... function well.

As a quick side note, an awesome blog called Nourished Kitchen has a wonderful recipe for making stock from chicken feet.  Check it out!

My mom lives in a small town called Calimesa where if you buy a house, it will probably be an older one with some property.  Her property is just under a half an acre and she has ducks, a goat, lots of chickens, a goose, dogs, cats, fish, a bird, and her gardening.  I know this is relatively small compared to the country, but for the city, it's great!  We eat the eggs and now, for the health benefits of eating organic, pastured meats, the chickens, and soon the ducks!  So that is what we did today!  We butchered two chickens, well, one rooster and one hen.  It was very humane and quite interesting!  Here is a video snip of the "crime scene" where the killing and feathering was already done and my mom is TCBing ( Taking Care of Business ).  If you have a weak stomach or are an animal rights activist, do not watch as you will have lots to complain about...  Following the video, I will put up a picture of the forming eggs that were taken out of the hen... super, super interesting if the video is too much for you.

That is my mom.  She is such a wonderful lady.  She is a cancer survivor from age 13 when she had to have her right leg amputated.  She finds lots of strength in things like what we "city" folk call farming.  I, on the other hand, try to find all of my strength in Jesus, when I get myself out of the way.
Here is a photo of the egg development progression inside of a hen.  All of these came from one hen and there were more attached on the inside that didn't come out.  Fascinating if you ask me!

Sorry, I had to make the picture huge!

So that was an interesting event huh?!  Butchering chickens ( Humanely! And for our food!) has now been qualified as quality time with my momma!  Thank You Lord for the life You gave us and for the food You provide!

Sincerely,
Candace

Time Really Flies When You're Having Fun!

On top of the hill in my Parents-In-Laws where their garden is.

There is nothing like spending what can be deemed "deep limbic" (this is the part of the brain that is mostly responsible for bonding, moods, emotions, etc.) time with the ones you love!  I have been blessed with five nieces and three nephews and I am in love with each one of them!  Some I get the privilege of spending "deep limbic" time with more than others because they are either (so unfortunately ) the "byproduct" of broken relationships or because some live in other states. 

I get to spend lots of time with Cana, her brother Jackson, and their baby sister, Malina and each one are absolutely riots.  While I was hanging out with them one day, I shot this video of  Cana running down the stairs from the garden... She's so cute and is such a trooper! 

She is such a fun girl!  She loves swimming and I love doing arts and craft things with her ; )  Her ankle was not injured during this film... she though it was for a second though...Yikes!

                                                        
This is Jackson.
I know.... such a cutie!  He's full of social energy, always sure to get his words in during any conversation.  Oh, and he's competitive with his sister : )  That blonde/white helmet hair is, in my eyes, one of Jackson's signatures.

The baby in my beautiful Mom-in-laws arms is Malina!  This picture was taken on my wedding day over a year ago so it does not give her the cute justice she deserves.  She is one adamant little person.  She would walk over to the shoe basket to grab her big brothers shoes for you to put on her, then grab your hand so you can take her for a walk... Adorable!  And she loves/needs her nap times.

So, that vaguely summarizes my fun-times with my nieces and nephew that I get to see most.    Another thing I have been up to is Mocha!

Eli and I have been talking about getting a cat because it would be a good step into parenthood.  Mocha is her name!  We named her Mocha because Eli and I were both indulging in a rare Starbucks Mocha (our personal modifications of course) when we decided to go to the house with the "free kittens" sign we saw the other week.  She was eight weeks old when we got her.  She is now about 11 weeks and is becoming quite a handful - which I am embracing because I think it is a nice introduction into the life of being parents when our time comes.

She is absolutely adorable.

 Yes, she is scaring that cat in the reflection...rrrr... meow!!!  LOL! (Maybe it's so dang cute to me because I'm her new momma... I don't know... ; )













And then there is my love for cooking... well, this could be considered canning or preserving.   I made Cortido, fermented HOT chili sauce, and pickled ginger...yummmm.

Oh, I cannot forget to mention our Casting Crowns concert!  A couple of friends of ours, Lance, Natalie, and Miss Princess Gina Riley, gave us two tickets and it was so cool!  Here is a snippet of one of the songs they did with all acoustic instruments!

They did this acoustic set after the intermission... It was impressive, their witness was admirable, and their life missions are for the youth and to see people encounter Jesus in a true way.

Lindsay McCaul was their first opener, followed by The Afters, and then Sanctus Real.  Together they made up the Come To The Well Tour.  The stories they shared, the songs they chose to sing, and their passion for Jesus, were heart touching, often bringing me to tears.  I had the honor of going with my husband, Eli, who is the best friend I could ever have!  It was a memorable evening!

So, I haven't really been blogging because I am new at prioritizing my blogging time and I just didn't get to it with all the excitement I have been involved in!  I am so glad to have this opportunity to share my life with you though!  Until next post!

Love,
Candace

My Latest Read: Ocean Star

In Ocean Star, author and life-long surfer, Christina De Mari tells in this memoir, her life's story.  From an once loving, turned extremely abusive father, to her checked out mother, the death of her best friend, drugs, her faith walk, and more.  Christina recaps her dark child hood, her out of control teenage years and her life's journey unto wholeness.

This book captivated my heart and I read it in two days.  Maybe it's because I could connect with her struggles in so many ways, and maybe it's the way it was written, but the chilling beginning, the thrilling middle, and the incredible ending was a great read!   

A great big thanks to my sister-in-law, Amy for letting me borrow it : D
I definitely recommend this one.