Creation

We're called to evolve.
We are co- creators. A
task not God's alone.


Note: Based on Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation for Sunday, February 25, 2018.

Insecurities

Not known to those who
realize there's only one
person to please, God.

My Philippines

Palm trees, water waves.
The sun, blue skies, white sand. Etched
in my memory.

The First Step

Everything starts with
the first step. The big YES. The
rest is in God's hands.

Slow Cooker Green Beans and Tofu

This is an easy side dish or even main dish with rice. Just dump all the ingredients in a crock pot and let it do the cooking for you

Slow Cooker Green Beans and Tofu

• 3 cups green beans
• 1 onion, sliced
• 8 oz tofu, cut in large cubes
• 1/ 4 cup soy sauce
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder or more to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• Black pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook for 3 hours at high setting. I used the Crock Pot brand casserole slow cooker. 

Invitation from Nature

Come feast your eyes with
the color I wear, the grace
leaves, flowers drape me.

Union with All

Do we have to build
fences? When we're all one from
start and till the end.

The Sacredness of Helplessness

In the lowest depths

we climb out stronger. We find

in, with Him our strength.

Note: Photo taken by my friend, Lulu Yambao of the sunrise in a beach in Bohol, Philippines.

Life is What You Make It

Water was shallow.

Didn’t matter. Swam like a fish.
What joy. Had a ball.

Just Be, You Are Loved Unconditionally

Stand tall and proud like
the mahogany tree. You
are always God's child.


 Note: The photo features the manmade Mahogany Forest located between the borders of the Loboc and Bilar towns in Bohol, Philippines.   It is about 2 kilometers long. 

Peace and Happiness

To give and receive
without strings attached is the
key to be happy.

Note: Photo features part of the nature driven garden of Aloha Hotel in Bohol, Philippines.

Easy Buko Pandan Salad

This is my favorite salad so far during my current visit to the Philippines. My talented and beautiful sister in law Pinky, my brother’s Benjie’s  wife, prepared it from fresh buko or young coconut. She was drinking the coconut water of the buko for health purposes and usually was left with the white delicious soft flesh of the buko. She decided to prepare this salad to make use of it.

It is easy to prepare this salad due to the availability of the pandan flavored gelatin mix. Pandan leaves are commonly used as flavoring in both savory and dessert dishes in the Philippines. Pinky also used a condensed milk product already mixed with cream. The latter is usually added  separately from a can of Nestle cream. The combination of the two milk products are used in fruit salads in the Philippines. Now they have both in one can. A bottle of kaong, or palm sugar, a nutty textured unriped fruit from a palm tree that was cooked in sugar, was also added. It contributes to the overall mixed texture of the salad, soft and crunchy and creamy and sweet.

Buko Pandan Salad

• Meat from 4 buko, shredded Note 1
• 1 bottle kaong, drained
• 1 box pandan gelatin mix
• 1 can Angel Brand Kremdensada (condensed milk with creme) Note 2

Prepare the pandan gelatin according to the package directions. Cut the prepared gelatin into cubes. 

Combine the cubed pandan gelatin with the rest of the ingredients. 

Enjoy. 

Notes

1. One can use two buko. The result will be a sweeter salad. 

2. One can use plain condensed milk and mix it with a can of Nestle Creme or softened cream cheese. 

Divine Providence

God wishes the best
for us. Let us be grateful
when it is fulfilled.

Note: Photo of the beautiful sunrise in Bohol was taken by my prolific high school classmate, Lulu Yambao.

The Beauty of the Flow

What joy to learn to
go with the flow. To let go.
Not react. Proact.


Note: Photo of the Luboc River, Bohol Philippines 

Perfect Ending

The sun glistens on
the water, the sky starts to
mellow out and droops.


Note: Photo taken by Lulu Yambao of the sunset on our way home to our hotel in Bohol. 

Slow Cooker Mustard and Maple Chicken

This is the slow cooker approach to making the dish that appeared in the Rachael Ray Show . She roasted the chicken and used butter in her recipe. This the easier and healthier version. She used potatoes which I ran out of so I substituted sweet potatoes, my favorite superfood.

The dish tasted delicious with both the mustard and maple syrup playing a lovely duet in your taste buds. The tinge of lemon and the tartness of the apple enhance the flavor of the sauce. It is also a good looking dish to serve.

Slow Cooker Mustard and Maple Chicken

Adapted from the Rachael Ray Show website

• 6 -8 pieces chicken legs or thighs
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 6 tbsp spicy grainy brown mustard
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2 apples cored and cut in thick wedges
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in one inch pieces
• 1/4 tsp each sage and thyme
• 1 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook for 4 hours at high or 8 hours at low. I cooked it in my Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.

The Inevitable

Embrace the cycle
of life with courage and peace.
With faith, hope in Him.