The picture certainly does not do the presentation justice. I must admit that this particular specimen was not actually mine. Being taken up with the excitement of eating my favorite dessert, I haphazardly dug in before taking a picture! Thanks to the kindness of the neighbor on my right (a Disneyland executive) I was able to snag a shot of it... untarnished!

If there is such a thing as candied beef, this was it!

Don't let the size fool you. Though petite, this salad was a palate pleaser!

The Best Meal of My Life

Ok, perhaps the title of this post is a bit on an exaggeration. Maybe I should say that it was ONE of the best meals of my life. At any rate, the lunch I had on Wednesday afternoon was pretty darn good! Of course, nothing but the best was expected since it was a scholarship luncheon hosted by the culinary arts program of my school! I was blessed to be one of the "partakers" of the meal rather than one of the servers so I was able to make astute observations from a quest's perspective.



The menu really was superb! All of the flavors were expertly balanced and the portions, though at first glance frightfully small, perfect. My excitement hit the ceiling (Do forgive me for bragging here) when I recognized two out of the three menu items were mine from my menu/kitchen layout and design class!



One of the charming things about this lunch was that it was prepared and served entirely by student volunteers (except for Chef Byrd's Basic cooking class whose class day it was). May I say that they did terrific! So without further ado let me present the menu:

Mission fig and California

Goat Cheese Salad

Cabernet Braised Beef Short Ribs

with Glazed Root Vegetables,

Caramelized Onions, Brussels Sprouts

and Roasted Shallot Demi Glace

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

and Ginger Shortbread

Clang, clash, shing! A battle was raging inside. Bodily, I was cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by devotionals, journals, and Bibles, but my spirit was somewhere else, breathing hard. The warrior me was sweating. The sitting me could only let something wet trickle down my face. The armor clad figure was grunting and lunging and twisting. The still shape only whispered… to Jesus.


Perhaps you have had times such as these. Times where you feel like a slow tear is shredding its way down your soul. The moments feel long…dark…hopelessly solitary. This is when your battle tactic is important, either pointing to the victory of faith or the defeat of doubt. What do you do when you are caught in the overflow of your feelings? What happens when those feelings are telling you that the pursuit holiness is too uncomfortable? That the fight is not worth it or that you are not worth it?


Here is the truth: God gave us our feelings but our feelings are not God. Our feelings can be thermometers that things are amiss but the moment our feelings draw us away from God’s truth we must abandon all thought of them with lightning speed. Carolyn Mahaney has a worthwhile principle: “Talk to yourself, don’t listen to yourself.” Truth happens outside of us therefore we must remind (or “talk”) the truth of the Gospel to ourselves every day.

When the thermometer is broken, don’t use it to tell how hot it is.

As I sat on the floor of my room, I meditated, parked, and just camped out on Psalm 94: 19. I “talked” it to myself, calling to mind this and other truths of Scripture. Verse 19 says:

“In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.”

I must admit that when I rose from the floor, stacked my books, and left my room, I did not feel victorious. In fact, my feelings told me I was a loser. Yet ever so slowly, almost undiscernibly, a peace came tricking in. Suddenly, I realized I had a quiet heart that “surpassed all understanding.” It was utterly obvious that it had not been manufactured by me or my own resources. The reassurance came after the truth had been prioritized.

Here are some things I learned:

God's Word tells the temperature better than any human resource. If there is a fever, let Him who is called the Great Physician fix it.

Are you wresting in your heart this day? Does your soul feel feverish? “Be still and know that He is God” and let “His comforts delight your soul!”

Happy Birthday!

You were a little girl with curly tufts of hair when you were born. Our parents gave you a special name. It's a name that means “gracious.”

To me, you were just a playmate, as well as my sister, buddy and um, well, at times “partner in crime.” We did all kinds of crazy stuff. Remember the time we slid down the windshield of the car? I really did not think it was a good idea until you told me that you had seen the cat do it. That made sense… until Mom caught us. I blamed you didn’t I?

Of course, there was the dress up box! We would prance around the greenbelt in old dress-up clothes for hours. Remember how we used to tie the old nightgowns around our heads pretending we had long hair? Or how about the occasions when we would knot those same nightgowns around our waists, kick up our heels and flip the fabric back with calloused feet? What were we? Hello, what else could we have been other than the half horse, half humans from Fantasia?!

Yes, for years you were my playmate, yet I never looked up to you. I didn't see you as knowing anything I didn't. That has changed.

Years have come and gone and so have some challenging times. I truly believe that if it were not for those challenges you would still that little girl, not the woman you have become.

My precious sister, may it be known to you on this special day, what a delight it is to see God working in you and through you. Your life is "grafittied" with His fingerprints!

Gracious. It no longer happens to be the origin of your name… it’s a meaning that is blooming into reality!

Happy Birthday!

Food Network at home

This is a little film clip showing what I did last weekend...cooking classes! A couple guys in my college and career group were interested in acquiring new culinary skills so we got together and I taught them how to make a few, easily main dishes. The theme ingredient? Ground beef. As you will glimpse, we made stuffed bell peppers, meat loaf, and tacos! Bon Appetite!

Nutty Apple Salad

I don't know about you but when it gets hot, a creamy, succulent salad hits the spot. This last week the temperature spiked well over the hundreds where I live. I hope everyone else is staying cool. Enjoy this recipe!

3 sweet apples, unpeeled
3/4 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cups seedless grapes, halved
3/4 cup peanuts (salted or unsalted)
3/8 cup mayonnaise
3/8 cup sour cream


Core and dice apples. Do not peel. Combine apples, celery, grapes and peanuts. Toss with mayonnaise and sour cream.

Yield: 6 servings