Monday, February 28, 2011

It's Greek to Me!

Let me tell you about some good food...I mean some lip smackin belly huggin good food. Not long ago I came up with my version of a slider. You know, those little burgers everyone has on their menu these days. Well for some reason, I've been on a Greek food kick. I've fallen in love with tzatziki sauce, olives, honey and almonds. And so, I've created a Greek slider. Of course, you have to have a good dessert after several of my sliders so, I came up with what I call a Greek Almond Sundae. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Here are the recipes:

Greek Slider with Tzatziki Sauce

1 lb whole pork tenderloin
1 to 2 T curry powder
salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper the tenderloin. Rub with curry powder. Roast on 350 until barely done. Set aside to rest under a foil tent.

Jane's Tzatziki Sauce

1 c sour cream
1 c Greek yogurt (drained)
1 T curry powder
1 T fresh dill (minced)
1 small seedless cucumber (finely diced with peelings)
pepper to taste

Mix sour cream and yogurt with curry, dill and cucumber. Add pepper to taste.

To assemble the slider:

Split rolls in half and brush a little olive oil on the inside of each roll. Lightly toast.

Cut tenderloin into medallions. Please one medallion on each roll.

Pour about 1 heaping T of sauce onto pork.

Top with several arugula leaves or spring mix.

Place top of roll onto slider.


And now, for the Greek Cookie Sundae:

Greek Butter Cookies

3/4 c sugar
1 stick salted butter
1 egg
2 1/4 c plain flour
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 t almond extract
1/2 c chopped almonds

Cream sugar, butter, egg and flavorings together. Mix almonds into flour. Pour the flour and almond mixture into the sugar mixture a little at a time until well blended. Shape into 2 to 3 inch round cookies and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 until bottoms are golden brown.

Cool cookies slightly. Assemble sundae as follows.

Place a quarter size squirt of honey on a dessert plate. Place cookie on honey. Top with one scoop of premium vanilla ice cream. Drizzle honey on ice cream. Top with lightly toasted almond slivers.

Uh ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Now, don't y'all tell me I can't cook anything but fried chicken and grits! Moma has gone to the Greek Isles!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Uhhhhhhhhhh What Do You Do when Tuesday Is Monday?

Huh, yeah, you heard me. I feel like today is Monday and it's really Tuesday. AND I HATE MONDAYS! I know it's a shame to hate any day of the week but if I'm honest, I have to admit I dread most Mondays and when TUESDAY turns out to be Monday...well, that really bites. Today I feel tired, over wrought, discouraged and unfulfilled. I really don't like feeling this way. If you know me, you know I'm usually pretty upbeat (maybe even disgustingly so).

It's days like today that drive me to God for help and hope. No, I don't always go to Him...sometimes I just suffer through it. But somedays, I acutally have the sense to run to Him and his word. Today, I found this in the book of Joshua:

After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses' assistant: "Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."

I think today I may have stumbled on the key to success. Sigh...God is amazing.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Isn't God Amazing?

Duh, of course God is amazing. He's God. However, I find myself amazed by Him over and over in ways I never imagined. Let me share the latest...

Tonight after returning home from a the wake of a dear, dear friend; I found myself thinking about eternity, life after death, Heaven. You know, the usual thinks we think about when we lose someone we love. I have to admit, and I'm going to be truthful here and I'm sincerely sorry if it shocks you, I found myself thinking what if this life is all there is and Heaven isn't real. Like, what if, we just go to sleep or just simply cease to exist. As a Christian and someone who has based her whole life on Jesus and His resurrection, these thoughts were very disconcerting so I thought I'd do a little web search. My web search led me to the website of Don Piper who wrote 90 Minutes In Heaven. As I read his sight, I found myself being reasured that Heaven is indeed, a real place and a place to look forward to.

After making my peace with my wonderings, I started looking around his website and came across a link to a fellow I'd never heard of. I thought maybe this guy had had a Heaven experience, too and so, I clicked on his link. What I found amazed me because he's an agent and his blog tells about getting published as a Christian writer. What's so amazing about that? Well, those of you who know me, know I've always wanted to write a Christian devotional book. Lately, I've sort of put the idea on the back burner (no pun intended) and have been cooking up a storm with my show and Entertain With Jane ventures. Ha! What amazes me about God is that He always leads His child back to the most important things in life. He always leads me in one way or another back to that first love, His love for me and gently reminds me to continue writing to help people come to know Him and believe in Him.

I'm amazed! I really am!

Soul Food! It really is more than just collards and peas!