Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

1 package tofu (any kind)
1 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts with liquid
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained. (Try to get as much water out as you can)
1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Optional soy or dairy Parmesan.First drain and mash or cream the tofu. Then mix in the spinach, artichokes, garlic, and Mayo. Salt to taste. If you like, you can also mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Place in a baking dish. Cover with more Parmesan and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Serve with French bread, crackers or pita chips.

Domestic Diva

So last week before my sweet baby got a cold, I felt like a domestic diva thanks to 2 easy recipes I found at cooks.com. I made two batches of cookies and two batches of bread, and they where healthy too. So to help my fellow domestic divas I thought I would share these yummy, healthy, and easy recipes.

----------------WHOLE WHEAT BREAD OR ROLLS----------

2 tbsp. yeast 2 c. lukewarm water (16 oz.) 1/4 c. honey (2 oz.) 3/4 c. olive oil (6 oz.) 2 fresh eggs 6 c. whole wheat flour 2 tsp. salt Dissolve yeast in water and honey for about 5 minutes. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and knead until it loosens from sides of the bowl. cover and let rise until about double. Be sure it is in a warmplace. Remove and shape into loaves, rolls, or buns. Bake at about 375 degrees until browned.

[This really is a no knead recipe, but it still turns out very soft and tasty. After it has doubled I usually press it lightly or stir it down, recover it and repeat, until I have time to bake it. This recipe will not work in the bread machine.]

-----------CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES------------

1 egg, beaten 1/3 c. oil 1/3 c. honey 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 c. oatmeal 1/2 c. chocolate bits

Mix oil, egg, honey and vanilla. Mix flour, salt and soda.Combine wet and dry mixtures. Add bits and oatmeal. Place dough by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 325 degrees.

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I usually make these recipes concurrently. I make the bread dough first,while it rises I make the cookie dough. The cookies baking the warms the kitchen, and helps the bread rise. Then when I have time I bake up the bread. I also use Egg Replacer in both of these recipes so I can enjoy the dough. I get farm fresh organic eggs from the Clifford Family Farm , and those eggs are too yummy on their own to get lost in a baked good.

The evil that is... Monsanto

Monsanto per their website, describe themselves as:

[...an agricultural company. We apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world be successful, produce healthier foods, better animal feeds and more fiber, while also reducing agriculture's impact on our environment.]

Sounds good right?

Well, the rosy picture they put forward is not based on reality.

Last night I was watching The Future of Food, online, at Netflix.com.

The film talks about the elimination in crop diversity and agricultural biotechnology.

The movie effectively highlights the problems with genetically modifying our food supply.

Now I knew about some the shockingly unethical practices of Monsanto before watching this film, but now my head and my heart hurts. Especially because you and I support Monsanto with a large portion of our purchases, without even knowing it. Monsanto is very anti-labeling. They don't want you to have the choice of not supporting their bottom line.

I don't have the time and ability to list all of their evil doings, but I did Google Monsanto.

Here are some of my findings:

http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/companies/monsanto.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GER/is_1999_Summer/ai_55127524

(This is a surprisingly objective piece)

Here are some perhaps less objective sources, but still aren't just making this up.

Monsanto REALLY is this bad!

http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.cfm

http://www.monsantosucks.com/

http://www.monsantowatch.org/

http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Monsanto-Roundup-Glyphosate.htm

Please dear readers if you don't already know about Monsanto, inform yourselves.

I am sure that I have bought Monsanto products and due to their pervasiveness, will sadly continue to do so. But it still helps when you buy organic where and when you can.

And it never hurts to be informed.

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Easter is a wonderful day to reflect on His great triumph over the grave.

My heart and soul are bursting with love for my Savior, even Christ the Lord.

I encourage all to visit the new website http://jesuschrist.lds.org/

I especially love the multimedia section http://jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/multimedia

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! (D&C 76:22).

"As one of His Apostles, authorized to bear witness of Him, I solemnly testify that I know that the Savior lives, that He is a resurrected, glorified personage of perfect love. I witness that He gave His life that we might live with Him eternally. He is our hope, our Mediator, our Redeemer. I know that He lives. I know that He loves you and that He will help you have joy and happiness as you live worthy of that help." Richard G. Scott

President Spencer W. Kimball
“We place [Jesus Christ] on a pedestal as no other group I know of. To us he is not only the Son of God, he is also a God and we are subject to him. …
“No matter how much we say of him, it is still too little.
“He is not only the Carpenter, the Nazarene, the Galilean, but Jesus Christ, the God of this earth, the Son of God, but most importantly, our Savior, our Redeemer. …
“I add my own testimony. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.
“He is my friend, my Savior, my Lord, my God.”

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I also testify of Him

He did atone for our sins

He did feel every human pain

He did willing give his life for you and me

And most of all...

He lives today, our glorious risen Lord

Redeemer

Friend

Brother

Master

I know that my Redeemer lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, He lives, who once was dead.

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:“I know that my Redeemer lives.”

Gratitude

I have been pondering on gratitude lately. In particular the many people who have shown me kindness over the years of my life. I may never get to thank them personally; this seems as good a place as any to publicly thank some of them.

When I worked at a museum in my mid-to-late teens, my coworkers were warm, funny and smart. I was still living with my parents, and my coworkers will never fully know what they meant to me. There were so many times they were kind, supportive and attentive in a way I had never experienced before in my life; I will always love them for that. Thank you for all you taught me and each and every kindness you showed me.

I would also love to thank the dressing-room angel. I was trying on clothes and was a very awkward-feeling teenager. I was bad-mouthing my figure when a lovely curvaceous woman stopped me and begged me to love myself. To accept and love my body. Not to waste the years she had in not in appreciating my body. The memory still brings tears to my eyes. I don't even know her name, but I will always love her.

Then there is one of the most amazing acts of charity I have ever experienced. I was waiting at a bus stop in the freezing cold and wet, and I didn't have my coat with me. A homeless man was also at the bus stop . He offered me the use of his coat while I waited there. Even though I was shivering, I refused. But he wouldn't take no for an answer. The coat was dirty and wet and wonderful. The little he had, he shared with me. I am still amazed by him to this very day.

All of these experiences took place before I was married. My husband is the the most Christlike person I have ever known personally. He has shown my too many kindness to list, especially while typing one handed (NAK). But I would like to publicly thank him too. He is an amazing man, whom I love with all my heart. Thank you, sweetheart, for all you've given me, taught me, and done for me.

And really, thank you anyone and everyone, for everything and anything you have ever done for me . I am grateful. You can never fully know how much even small kindnesses can mean to the receiver.

Wax Figures, Tableaus, and Dioramas

And now for something completely different...

I love wax figures, realistic statues and mannequins, life-size dioramas and tableaus. No matter how cheesy, I am always fascinated by them. A museum seems just ok without them, almost all tourist attractions are better with them. I love immerse environments and exhibitions.

I mean it can be so laughably bad, i.e. Ripley's Believe It Or Not and The Waxworks of Newport, Or, and I still can't wait to go back. I love exhibitions with elaborate sets. I even worked as an actor in one once. The more elaborate and immersive, the better it is for the imagination. I guess that what it come down to, there is a part of my heart that still likes to play pretend. Madame Tussaud's likes to play pretend too. Hence the picture. Apparently they are Obama supporters. It is a nice image, no? I found this picture on my new favorite blog House of Wax

Tell me about your favorite place you've been that comes under this category.

If you are going to have a baby... READ!

And not just that tripe of a book What To Expect blah-blah-blah. I mean Henci Goer's A Thinking Woman's guide To A Better Birth or her even more through work Obstetrical Myths Versus Research Realities. first off woman should expect and demand evidenced based care and second woman should be informed enough to know whether or not they are getting it. Now I'll admit I skimmed these books when I was pregnant, but I should have read them thoroughly. My home birth would have been much better if I had. I ended up with active management and non-evidenced based care. The worst part is I didn't even realize it. I could slap my midwives silly for the things they did. But it is also my fault for not being fully informed and not acting like the consumer. Instead I was a grateful and willing victim, being acted upon instead of taking the lead. You cannot put all of your trust in those whom you surround yourself with at your births. If you are going to trust anyone completely make it yourself.

The Birth Book Blog

Last Fall I found the book Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born by Tina Cassidy at my local library. It is an unflinchingly through take on this subject. Our history is pretty grisly and some of it is quite shameful. Of course she didn't get everything perfect in her book, but she was right on most which is rather rare. I personally learned a lot from it and am grateful for her work. I just found her blog and it is wonderful! At the end of her book she sounded like she respected home birth, but it wasn't for her... She just had a successful HBAC!!! (home birth after cesarean) I guess I always feel proud of a woman who leaves the pack and makes such a choice. It takes a fair bit of courage. Not because vbacs are dangerous, they are actually less dangerous than a repeat cesarean, but because society wants woman in hospitals it make them feel better. It can feel like you are a quarterback trying to doge your way to the birth-of-your-choice end zone. So I say, go Tina.
Anyway I highly recommend her book and her lovely blog.