On My Mind Today

A wonderful and unique blend of flavors are offered in this recipe. It is amazing how well the fruits, vegetables, meat and spices come together to bring your taste buds alive. The use of sweet potatoes, in place of traditional white potatoes, adds great depth and texture to the recipe. I hope you enjoy this great Moroccan dish! Pork Tagine   1 large sweet onion, sliced 2 lb. boneless pork roast, visible fat trimmed 1 cup each dried apricots and prunes 1 Tablespoon each minced garlic and pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 bat leaf 1 can (14.5 ounce) reduced sodium chicken stock 1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste 3 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed and cut into chunks 1 box (10 ounce) couscous 1/4 cup slivered almonds   1. Mix onion, pork, apricots, prunes, garlic, pumpkin pie spice, salt, pepper, bay leaf and sweet potato chunks in a slow cooker (crock pot). In a bowl whisk broth and tomato paste until combined; p

Waking up this morning to a new batch of snow could be discouraging. In fact I am as tired of all the snow storms and shoveling as anyone else. However, letting it bring me down would only make for a bad day. So I try to look at the "bright" side of things. 1. Shoveling is good for the waistline. Nothing strengthens the abs like shoveling for an hour (or more). 2. Nobody will bother you so all that solitude gives you time to reflect on life. 3. With the warmer temperature and the sun shining it brightens the mood and makes you feel good. 4. The beauty of the snow and sunshine awakens my creative side. 5. We are close to the end of February so better days are coming. The days are getting longer, and in spite of some more cold weather in the next couple of days, temperatures are going to rise slowly. With all of this the snow will begin to melt and nourish the earth to prepare for early spring growth. Each small change that appears, as the late days of winter are

We all go through our daily lives and everything is pretty much routine. In our time off we catch up on things at home, and if we have some time to spare we to try to have a little fun. Most days we are up, and others we may be a bit down, but overall life is pretty good. We assume things will always be this way. Naïve to believe this but it is the nature of the beast as they say. And then as we are sailing along our path something happens to remind us that we should not take life for granted. It may be something major, or just a small minor thing, but it shakes up your world and makes you think about how precious life is. We are not immortal, and we are not immune from unwelcome things entering our life. With luck we maneuver through these difficult times as if they are a minor inconvenience, and emerge to fall back into life as it was before.  Sometimes the event leaves its mark permanently and life is changed forever, never to be the same again. When we hit our own difficult tim

There are so many traditional recipes you can use for brunch, but I am always on the search for something new to share with family and friends. This is from Taste of Home, and is a nice addition to a Sunday brunch. Can be served as they are, or you can put out a few dipping sauces such as fruit syrups or a confectioners sugar glaze. Banana Beignet Bites   Sugar Mixture: 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon   Beignets: 2 cups cake flour 3/4 cup sugar 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium) 1/2 cup whole milk 2 tablespoons canola oil Oil for deep-fat frying   1. In a small bowl, mix sugars and cinnamon until well blended - set aside. In a large bowl, whisk first five beignet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk eggs, bananas, milk and 2 tablespoons oil until blended. Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened.   2. In an ele

If you take a look around today it is apparent that many people have no coping skills. The smallest thing that doesn't go the way they expect it to and they lose it. Pitch a fit, lose their temper, cry or just totally fall apart. No ability to think things through, to evaluate the situation, and come up with a solution. Always looking for someone else to "fix" things for them, or worse, blaming others for what has gone wrong. Coping skills are taught, and I'm not sure when parents stopped teaching them. In the effort to make all children believe they are winners every time, we have failed them in so many ways. Not everyone wins, not everyone gets to play, and not everyone can be on the team. Those are very basic truths and children need to learn this and be taught how to cope. If they don't make the team it is not the end of the world. It just means that there is something else that is a better fit for them. It isn't easy for children to learn these lesson

It's always great when you try something new and it turns out to be an amazing addition to your recipe collection. I found this in one of my magazines, and made a small adjustment to add some pizazz. This is as good as any dessert from a great bakery, and easy to make. Once you try it I hope it becomes a part of your collection. Apple-Raspberry Galette   9 inch refrigerated pie dough 2 firm apples, sliced thin 1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh raspberries 1 egg 1/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest 4 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla   1. Set refrigerated pie dough on parchment lined baking sheet. Arrange apple slices leaving a 1-12/ inch border. Top apples with fresh raspberries. Fold in the edge of the dough.   2. Whisk egg, sugar, flour and lemon zest until smooth and set aside.   3. Melt the butter and vanilla in skillet until golden (5 minutes). Slowly whisk the butter into the egg mixture, then pour over the apples and raspberries.

With all the wrong messages bombarding young women today, it's no wonder that they tend to have a poor self image, and strive to attain what is unattainable. As their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, teachers, etc. we owe it to them to present ways to see their value and become their own hero. Everywhere they look there are images of teens and women openly, and subliminally, telling them that in order to be valued they need to look sexy and alluring. Very young girls are learning provocative moves from music videos - moves they should not even be aware of at that age. Girls are led to believe that they need a "boy" in their life, and if they don't have that boyfriend then something must be wrong with them. Although there are many positive role models for young girls, the wrong ones are in their face on a daily basis. Until enough people voice their opinion they will continue to produce the commercials and videos that give the wrong mes