Freedom

swing-freedom

Freedom

Remember when
freedom was
being able to pump your legs
on your own
instead of being pushed
so that you could swing so high
you felt you could kick the sky?

You felt the wind
in your face
and butterflies
in your stomach
and you felt
like you were flying.
It was freedom.

And then you would choose
just the right moment
when you would leap
and let go
and truly fly
if only for a moment.
It was freedom.

My hope…
my prayer…
my wish…
my longing…
my yearning…
to the world
and to the universe

is that everyone…
no matter your
gender,
race,
religion,
sexual orientation,
or ethnicity

is afforded the right
and the privilege
to recall that feeling
and to achieve
the reality
of that freedom
we all deserve.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Foggy

foggy-early-morning-back-yard-012117

Foggy

When life gets foggy,
and my thoughts are foggy,
and my eyes are foggy early in the morning,

I step outside
and look to nature
and listen to how she handles it.

And I hear the owls hoot
and the turkeys gobble
and the birds tweet,

and everything
seems much more
clear.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Look Closely

pink-lily-center-detail-johnny-bereavement-bouquet

Look closely.
Look deeply.

Is it pretty?
Is it beautiful?

Does that matter?
Do you care?

When you look closely,
and when you look deeply,

Do you feel something?
Does it stir your soul?

Feel it,
Embrace it.

Look closely.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg

perfect-hard-boiled-egg

The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg

It’s a age old debate, and there are likely as many methods as there are stars in the sky, but I recently tried this method from a great book I’ve started devouring that was recommended by a friend, Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard.  This book is as much a story as it is a cookbook and as much an inspiration as it is picture book.  I am thoroughly enjoying it.  Vivian also has a PBS Series called A Chef’s Life and a restaurant called Chef & the Farmer.

So I tried Vivian’s method and loved it.  Complete simplicity and success.  A hard boiled egg generously topped with more salt and pepper than seems reasonable and a dab of Cholula hot sauce served on a bed of sprouts drizzled with fresh lemon juice = the perfect quick breakfast!

Here’s how to make them:

The Perfect Hard Boiled Egg

Place two eggs in a 2-quart sauce pan.  Cover with cool water to an inch above theperfect-hard-boiled-egg eggs.  Bring to a boil and cook for one minute.  Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.  Drain the eggs, and run cold water over them until they are cool enough to handle.

If you are cooking more eggs, let sit 12 minutes.  

That’s it!  Simple!  Success!  The perfect food.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie & That Something about Baking

reeses-peanut-butter-cup-cookies-stack

The Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie

The Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie

A few months ago, I recall my youngest son, watching me mix together a batch of cookie dough, asking, “Do you actually enjoy doing that?  Seems like a lot of work!”

I thought about it.

It is a bit tedious.

It makes a mess in the kitchen.

I could be binge-watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix or painting or exercising or reading or so many other things.

But…

There’s something about baking…

reeses-peanut-butter-cookies-close-up

There’s something about using Grandma’s old tin measuring cup and reminiscing about childhood summers.

There’s something about the way the house smells like home when you bake.

There’s something about the smiles you know will emerge when hubby sees stacks of cookies cooling on racks when he comes home or comes in from out of the cold.

There’s something about making goody packages to send home with your kids (even though they are grown and on their own and perfectly capable of making themselves).

There’s something about taking a special treat into the office for a long day of meetings and seeing your co-workers’ faces light up.

There’s something about taking a plate of cookies to the Thursday night gang at John’s Bar and watching your buddy eat one cookie before his dinner and two after.

There’s something about trading a cookie or piece of cake with Cliff the mailman when he delivers a package and handful of mail right to the kitchen door (with a treat always in hand for your furry kid).

There’s something about your kids’ friends saying “You make the BEST cookies Mom M!”

reeses-peanut-butter-cookies-with-coffee-and-book

So you see – baking is more than the chore of mixing butter and sugar and flour.  It’s about creating happiness.

When I read a recent blog post by one of my very favorite blog writers, Pam at Catching My Drift, I knew I HAD to try her cookie recipe.  Pam is not a food blogger, but a storyteller – a GREAT storyteller I might add.  And the story she wove about her persistent and passionate quest to recreate her ultimate cookie painted a picture of the most heavenly bite on earth.  Pam tells the story of  how she loves sitting in the Starbucks snack bar of her local Barnes & Noble noshing on the most amazing Reese’s peanut butter cookie while sipping dark Italian roast and paging through glossy magazines.  You must read about her 35-year quest to recreate this cookie and the surprising place she found the recipe.

reeses-peanut-butter-cookies-1

Well, dear Pam, we were certainly not disappointed in this Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie!  It is indeed the ultimate.  It is a new favorite of hubby’s.  And it will now be a staple in my cookie recipe collection!  They are super crispy on the outside edges and tender and  soft on the inside.  The perfect combination of texture and flavor.

Here is the recipe as shared by Pam (which of course I doubled – because I knew I had to share)!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup margarine (I used butter)
  • 1 cup peanut butter (I used Jiff Creamy)
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • Candy or chocolate of your choice to mix in (I used 4-6 Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped, and 1/2 cup chopped Hershey’s Kisses.)
  • Sugar for dipping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat first six ingredients until fluffy.  Add next four ingredients.  Blend well.  Fold in chopped candy.  Shape into 1 1/2 – 2 inch balls.  Roll in sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with sugared bottom of glass.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until browned on the edges and beginning to crinkle.  Remove from oven, and cool completely on wire cooling rack.  

Enjoy immensely!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

It only takes a spark

comfort-candle-bereavement-gift-only-takes-a-spark

Comfort Candle Bereavement Gift

It only takes a spark
to get a fire going.

Create a spark today.
Be the spark today.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

(PS – thank you JH for the beautiful comfort candle bereavement gift – it touched my heart – you lit a spark)

A little birdie told me…

goldfinch-winter-010617

Goldfinch – Winter – Mars, PA 01-06-17

A little birdie told me…

When you love what you have,
you have everything you need.

 
(Oh to be so pretty AND so smart!!  😉)

(author unknown)

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Little Things

C in B&W 010617

Enjoy the little things in life.

One day you will look back
and realize

they were the big things.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

I Choose to Remember

foggy-snowy-view-cranberry-township-pa-december-2016

I choose to remember
your tender heart,
your innocent smile,
the carefree days of childhood.

I choose to remember
the boy you were
before life stole your goodness…
before difficult circumstances hardened your heart.

I choose to remember
there was a good soul within
the shell the disease stole
and lied to and hid.

I choose to remember
you tried to care,
even though you struggled
to show it.

I’ll try to forget
the things that hurt both our hearts
that you couldn’t recover from
and found other ways.

I’ll try to forget
the things we were told
that broke our spirits
and shattered our souls.

I’ll try to honor
the boy you once were,
the man you tried to be,
the goodness down deep.

I hope your pain is gone,
your soul is free,
your demons slayed,
and that peace is attained.

 

(written the night I learned my brother died this week)

The Day After the Day After

day-after-cold

The Day After the Day After

I had planned on being productive
(well maybe that’s a lie)
the day after the day after Christmas,
but the cough persisted and my nose wouldn’t dry.

So after a cold, but sunny stroll with Charlie
(a long time in coming)
and a steamy, dreamy longer-than-normal shower,
I still didn’t feel very becoming.

A makeshift bowl of chicken soup I made
from leftover noodles and carrot sticks chopped,
a tall ginger ale with a straw,
then I plopped.

A few more episodes
of Gilmore Girls sounded just right
for the day after the day after…
a peaceful delight.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi