Lefse Recipe

I was looking for a recipe for Lefse (Norwegian Potato flat bread)

and I found this one from the book “Christmas in Dairyland” by LeAnn R. Ralph

Wish us luck, we are going to attempt to make it more as Muriel puts it “Serina & Haiden” friendly by substituting:

Milk = coconut milk
Butter = dairy free milk
Flour = Rice/Soy flour

Here is the regular recipe as from the book:
Lefse

- 4 heaping cups of mashed or riced potatoes
- 1 stick of butter (or margarine)
- 1/3 cup of milk
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 cups of flour
- extra flour for rolling out the dough.

Measure out the mashed/riced potatoes into a large mixing bowl. In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter/margarine in the milk; stir in the sugar and salt. Then pour over the cold mashed (riced) potatoes and mix.

Stir two cups of flour into the potato mixture. The dough will be sticky and soft.

Start heating the griddle or electric frying pan. Do not add any oil, margarine or shortening. Lefse is baked on a dry surface.

Take a lump of dough about the size of an egg. Place a heaping teaspoon of flour on the surface where you’re going to roll out your lefse. Work about half of the heaping teaspoon of flour into the lump of dough (enough so you can handle the dough, but not so much that the dough becomes dry).

Starting in the center, roll outward until the lefse is about the size of a dinner plate. Try not to roll the lefse so thin that you cannot pick it up. If the lefse tears when you start to pick it up, gather it into a lump and roll it out again. Don’t do this too many times, though, or your lefse will end up tough and dry. Ideally, you should only roll the lefse once, although that’s probably not a realistic expectation if you’ve never made lefse before. Also try to turn the lefse only once while you are rolling it out. If the lefse starts to stick, add a little more flour.

When you have the lefse rolled out, transfer it to the hot griddle. Carefully pick it up and quickly move it. If you move slowly, the lefse is more likely to tear. Expert lefse makers use flat lefse turners (they look like long flat sticks) to transfer the dough by rolling it onto the turner and then unrolling it onto the griddle. You can also try rolling your lefse onto the rolling pin and transferring it to the griddle or the fry pan.

Once you have the lefse on the griddle, bake it for about a minute, just until brown ‘freckles’ start to appear; then turn the lefse over and let the other side bake just until brown freckles start to appear. While the first piece of lefse is baking, roll out your second one.

After the first piece of lefse is done, use the pancake turner to remove it from the griddle and place it on a clean dishtowel. Cover with another dishtowel.

Bake the second lefse and roll out the third piece.

When the second lefse is finished, place it on top of the first one and cover with the towel again.

Then bake the third piece.

Repeat until you have baked all of the dough. Place each newly baked lefse on top of the previously baked lefse and cover the stack with the towel.

Once the lefse is completely cool, place it in a plastic bag or wrap it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to help keep it moist. You must wait until the lefse is completely cool before wrapping it, otherwise the heat from the lefse will condense inside of the plastic or the aluminum foil, and your lefse will end up soggy. If you leave the lefse overnight without wrapping it in plastic or aluminum foil, it will probably be dried out in the morning. If the lefse dries out, sprinkle a little water on the dishtowel and wrap the dishtowel and the lefse in plastic. The lefse will soften up again.

When you’re ready to eat a piece of lefse, spread it with butter (or margarine), sprinkle sugar on it (some people also like to sprinkle cinnamon on their lefse), and roll into a log.

Also, once the lefse is cool, it can be frozen.

A silent tear

A silent tear falls as the only companion to a silent cry

A struggle kept hidden, waging war inside

What good is it to share? What about the price?

to open your heart and endure the tide.

 

what happens when you have to be honest?

when you have to admit to some of the fault?

when you  lean on others who are just as imperfect as you.

to expect perfect understanding,  is expecting a lot.

 

When the world is a gray haze

all battered and torn

When we need inspiration

to get through the storm

 

Healing a must, or else part of us dies..

 

Why is it not until then, we think of help to enlist

when everything is a complete  mess

and we are shaking our fists

 

how much would be solved if we would just be true

and would work from the beginning to thoroughly improve

 

not starting with others, but actually with ourselves

through acceptance of the positives and higher ideals

 

Putting our pride and pettiness aside

with thoughtfulness and cooperation, together we can brave the tide

 

What wonderful things could be possible if we’d work to inspire, instead of consume.

and live together sharing, all under the same moon

~ by Serina Clason 11/19/09

Thought for the day..

There is power and energy available to us once we are able to analyze our own perceptions. Without realizing it, we outline our own limitations with our impressions and imagination. Most times, we are the biggest obstacle to our own success.  A closed mind may offer a sense of control, and may neatly outline whats acceptable to us in the way of the world, but will only serve to keep us stuck where we are.  Like any parent, I believe God has bigger plans for us.  God does not want us to own a closed mind, as those with closed minds consider their knowledge complete. This negates the possibility for further growth and maturity..  causing  stagnation, which eventually will drain and dull their spirit.

Drama hinders our progress, as it makes things appear bigger than they need to be, and discourages others as well as ourselves.  At first glance, that which you perceive to be granite, can in some cases actually be groupings of sand once investigated. We spend far too much time getting worked up over problems, and staying in that state.  Problems aren’t the enemy, they are in most cases an opportunity that needs to be worked out.

Calm yourself, and you may find the hidden path you were looking for. God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle, but how you handle it is totally your responsibility, and in truth cannot really be blamed on others…     my thought for the day..

Gluten Free Recipe’s

You may possibly notice, I recently did a little blog-cleaning, and organized my links a little better hopefully.. This was all brought on by the fact that its near my favorite holiday… Thanksgiving.   Family, Love, Humbled attitudes, and sheer appreciation is why I love Thanksgiving so much!  With Thanksgiving comes the sharing of a meal with loved ones.  Food in general, has been a very different creature since finding out about Haiden’s allergies, and my MS.

It hasn’t been the easiest to find yummy recipe’s to take the place of what is normally out there. I know there are a few others who are just starting to venture into the Gluten-Free realm, so I thought I’d offer a little help by just mentioning the couple of links I did have for finding things that may take some of the pressure off this holiday season.  I have made a link category for it on my blog now, and will continue to add to it as I find sites that offer gluten free recipes.  I would love to make some of these and interject them into the regular meal without telling everyone that they are gluten free, and see if people notice that much.. hehe

Here is one in particular I’m excited to further explore..  If you are interested, check out  Katrina’s Kitchen

Misc recipes and actually looks like a gluten free store (I have not myself ordered from here, just so you know) http://www.glutenfree.com/home.aspx

For help in identifying what is considered gluten free:  http://www.csaceliacs.org/gluten_grains.php

Response for Lisa

recently got a message from one of my absolutely favorite bloggers, Lisa Emrich from Brass & Ivory.  She was asking a few people for their reactions to the fact that this coming Thursday and Friday, the FDA will be having a public hearing in regards to how pharmaceutical companies can use the web and other social-media to market directly to the consumer.   In honesty Lisa, you are so much smarter than me, but I do have some thoughts to just put out there..

This strikes me as being a very weighted subject,  and really just brings up a lot of questions for me.

My opinion of pharma companies in practice is pretty low.  Ordinarily the optimist, I have to admit that in general I view the drug companies as being closer to that of a leech than an organization who’s inspiration is to help.  The science and any real research going on in the backend, has its use, and for some things, I think its viable and important, but that is not the part of the drug companies that we deal with, and that is not the part of the drug companies that this event is highlighting or discussing.

In the back room somewhere, I can believe that there may be an absolute possibility that there indeed is a select few people who are there because they are interested in helping.  I don’t in my heart believe that there are that many of them, and definitely not ones in the positions that would be working in “marketing” whose core purpose… well.. is making money is really the end goal.  I may be considered “sick” and I may “need help”, but I’m not positive that they can do anything at all for me, except of course offer pretty words and the idea that if I don’t buy into what they are presenting, that I’m dooming myself to have no other option but to get irrevocably worse,  but if I pay them huge sums, that it “might” not be so bad.

It has always frustrated me in that… How can they possibly think they are on the path of finding the cure when there is no identified root.  The cause of MS still a mystery. I have to agree with Diane’s comment in that respect.  Still a newbie to this disease,  nearing my two year anniversary at being diagnosed. In that time the only constant piece of information I’ve found is that MS is fluid and ever-changing.  I’ve actually found some odd sort of peace in knowing that even if I’m miserable today, it in all truth doesn’t mean I’ll be miserable tomorrow, nor that it means I’m necessarily  “getting worse”.   I really hate the negativity I’m spewing, but I am uncertain as to what benefit it is for them to come up with a cure?  A cure would insinuate that that my “issues” would be all fixed, and therefore at some point, if it was a true cure, I would no longer need their services.

All that said, I really believe that the most complete information on these drugs should definitely be readily available in some format for people  (like myself) who doesn’t necessarily see eye to eye with their neurologists. To give us the option to try and make some informed decisions about our own care.  Should it be the Drug companies providing this information? -  I really don’t think so, and of all departments to do so.., definitely not “PR”  or “Marketing”. No, if they really want to have a progressive event, lets talk to the brains in the backroom, and have them offer information on real study’s that weren’t paid for in part by their own companies.

Then there is also the issue of people who do not look into their care, who just want something that will “make them feel better”, they are going to be prime for the picking by these companies campaigns. There are people, who will just “doctor hop” until they find one that prescribes what they’ve been told they “need”.

Thats all I can offer at the time being.

When the party is over, and everyone’s gone home, I think they are still just looking for another way to make even more money off of people.

Identifying our Gift

The title probably leads you to think that this is a post on figuring out what your talents are.   If so, sorry to disappoint, I don’t have a full answer to that one as I’ve hardly figured it out myself.

My topic today is more about our legacy.  Maybe touching a little  on what we want to be remembered for, and more importantly what we want to contribute and promote during our time here.

One thing I had been taught at some point, is that if you want to achieve a goal, its really important to identify it.  How are you supposed to achieve it if you don’t? How would you know where to begin?  I realize that there are those who seem to accidentally fall in line to achieving great things, but I don’t believe that to be the norm.  Most have to put at least a little effort into it. Identifying what we want to accomplish is just the beginning, but when we do so, we actually have a lot of power in having it come to pass.

On a small tangent… I use the word “power” instead of “control” because I think it better describes what we have.  “Power insinuates that we can have influence , while “Control” insinuates that you alone can push, or force things to occur a certain way.   Attribute it to my (quite possibly flawed) perceptions, but I really  think that the perception, or the desire for total “control” is unhealthy and unrealistic.   I think you have to respect that there are things way outside your realm,  that you cannot force to happen.

When it rains on the ocean, there are a whole lot of ripples being made all at once. Each droplet causes many different wakes, yet no single droplet can accurately predict the extent of what shifts and wakes it will cause. There are far too many outside forces it has no control over. All it can do, is do its best to do more good than harm.  Be fluid and allow yourself to be  able to deal with whatever comes ahead. The same can be said for us.   We should also always be open to the idea that maybe our visions may not inspire the best possible option. That may secretly be the reason why the world is seemingly resisting.   ;P  Not because this life is out to get us… but more because as intelligent as we are, there are still things we might not completely understand.  There is wisdom in conceding that there is much left to learn, and that our personal understanding will never be complete.  Also, In general, know that  in relations with others, “control” is rarely healthy, and often inhibits growth and maturity.  (sorry that was a bigger tangent than anticipated.. I don’t care for the word “control” )

Back to the subject.

I have been thinking alot about this lately, and I’m unsure why really, but I know that in my own life,  the impact I want to leave on this world has to do with healing.  It is something I’ve felt drawn to in many facets, but not in the conventional sense.  A weak constitution limits any aspiration to be a physician/nurse or anything of that physical nature, and while interesting, it isn’t the physical aspect of health that I feel the most drawn to.  What I really wish, is that I could do something that inspires more mental/emotional/spiritual health.  Not spiritual in the “Whoo whoo”  shaman, witchdoctor, or crazy extreme religious sense, but more in the way of helping people have healthier coping strategies, and in turn, healthier attitudes.

Still working on what I would need to be doing, to make that be what I leave to this world.  I think in the mean time, my best bet is to inspire those attitudes in my children.  Regardless of whether or not I ever become successful in helping the world on a grander scale, my children are, and will always be my most treasured legacy.

Halloween Fun

Ended up having a pretty Halloween. Wish Halloween was always on a weekend because you get to enjoy it a bit more!  Spent the morning at the store picking up some groceries, and a couple last minute items for the day (via The Dollar Tree – Love that place.. lol)

I hadn’t gotten a chance to go to the video store like I had hoped a few days before, but was able to find the complete Disney version of “Legend of Sleepy Hallow” on Youtube.com. Yay! for youtube!

In past years our pumpkins were always pretty sad when it came to Halloween..  Oregon rain seemed to always do them in, so we elected to wait to carve them until Halloween since we had the whole day as a family. We had a great time carving them! Haiden helped separate out the seeds, and we roasted them. They actually turned out really good!

My sister came out with Alysondra, and we loved that! Always love spending time with them!

Poppa & Tutu came over around 4, so Deon did the kid’s make-up and the kids donned their costumes.

Haiden was a “Zombie Warrior”, Kylan was an “Alien”, and Shelsea was a”Renaissance maiden”, Alysondra was a “Unicorn Pegasys”

After Poppa & Tutu left, and my sister picked up her brother-in-law from work, then we got ready to take the kids trick-or-treating.  We dressed up a bit too for fun

Here’s our pumpkins end results! We got lots of compliments!

 

 

 

 

 

Forgive us our trespasses..

“… as we forgive those who trespass against us”.

This part of the Lord’s prayer crossed my mind a few times this week in conversations with a few people that were filled with such hurt feelings over past events. Past grudges that so commonly perpetuate into present dealings and choices.

Family relationships are harder than normal I think.  These in theory should be the easiest of all the ones you have in this life, yet they really aren’t.  The closer the relationship should be – seems to be in direct proportion to how sensitive we choose to be whenever a  loved one’s fault becomes apparent, or when they show what we view as a misjudgment or hurt our ego’s with their choices.

Many times what happens, instead of forgiving and moving on, we take things personally and inadvertently choose to hold grudges. These grudges become ingrained in our perceptions, and our perceptions have the power to mold our present and future actions.  Without realizing we very often choose courses of actions based upon perceptions that are in honesty, grounded less in personal character or virtue, but more realistically shaped by the shadows of these  hidden grudges that we hold.

Above this, with family relations, we commonly choose to justify our actions as those founded in the idea of  protection.    “Protection” is often a cloudy area in our reasoning. I’ll explain what I mean by that.

While we generally innately want to protect our loved ones, and while there are times when it does become necessary,  it can also often lead us to over step some boundaries. The justification of “Protection” can at times be used when we ourselves really just don’t want to trust or relinquish control to someone else.  By telling ourselves our reason for our actions is protection, we often side-skirt the thinking that other underlying and unresolved issues took any  part in our decision making process.

We ask God to forgive us, but what if we aren’t willing to forgive “those who trespass against us”? Do we doom ourselves?  Interesting thought, There are those that say yes.  Personally, I don’t believe so,  I think we are extremely lucky in that  God who made us understands us so intimately and knows all our faults… yet loves us anyway. If we are supposed to strive for “godly” actions ,  and Jesus is known for his forgiveness and unconditional love, then what sense would it make to believe in a God that has been given faulty human attributes like vengeance and segregation? Also, wouldn’t it be like having too many chefs in the kitchen, if we all decided it was our right to judge?  We aren’t here to judge, but we all do it, and often!

Forgiveness… Is it fair?

No, its actually not, and since we are only human, that is why its so important. In truth forgiveness is not about judgment or  fairness, and shouldn’t  even tied to reconciliation (a common misconception).   If you are waiting for the other party to change or apologize, then you have set the stage for a sort of “conditional forgiveness”, which isn’t forgiveness at all.  Real forgiveness is actually a one-sided, personal choice that doesn’t depend on any agreement. It should be a humbling experience that frees your soul from past issues.  Be weary if it makes you feel righteous and somehow better than someone else, because those are sure signs that you aren’t actually exhibiting pure forgiveness.  Taking a a few passages from my favorite book (The Shack)  that sums up the idea nicely…

“When he finally quieted down Papa said, “Mack, for you to forgive this man is for you to release him to me, and allow me to redeem him.”

“Forgiveness is not about forgetting, Mack. It is about letting go of another’s throat.”

“Forgiveness is first for you, the forgiver, to release you from something that will eat you alive; that will destroy your joy and your ability to love fully and openly”

If forgiveness was fair, then none of us would ever be forgiven. We’d all be trapped and never allowed to move on or grow, and most importantly… to heal.  Regardless of wither or not you believe in a God, I believe this basic principle of forgiveness is still sound. We all need to move on. The truth is that even if the offender genuinely wanted to rectify something, they will never have the ability to go back in time and undo what has already been done.

I’ve come to the conclusion that true forgiveness is not common, and not possible without some definite inward introspection. Look into yourself, analyze the possibility that you are affected by something more than you would like to admit.  Then, make the decision to release the tie that binds you to it,  be willing to offer a true forgiveness unassuming of any other’s  actions, and put the issue to rest, never to be brought up again. Find your peace, so that you are the one in control of your actions, not a seated shadow of some past event.

Be ok with the fact that you aren’t perfect, and that neither is anyone else.  Know that there is always possibility for you to change if you are open to the idea, and honest with yourself. Remember that the same is true for those around you, they can change when they choose.  Growth happens when inspired, and nothing is more inspiring than being around someone who is willing to issue changes in themselves first.  Remember that a little respect goes a long way, even if someone isn’t respectful back, doesn’t mean you haven’t had an impact. Quiet inspiration still inspires.  Analyze your own actions .. don’t justify your actions,  but really dig deep and analyze. Identify the real reason you do what you do.. Avoid the urge to bring up the past, make decisions in the present.

Seize the Day!

Decency in TV Reporting?

10/19/09  Edit: Was told today that the “Boy in the Balloon” story was a hoax that the parents thought up to better put themselves in a position to have a reality TV show. Seriously something wrong with people. Sad when society encourages so much attention to negative, that people actually contemplate using negative actions to garner attention, and the media is more than happy to oblige!

10/16/09 –Original Post –

Its interesting to me, how far we’ve come in “Reporting the News”, and unfortunately not in a good way either.  I don’t watch it at home because we don’t have cable or satellite but every once in awhile when I am looking at a “News” reports on the internet, I will come across interviews or reports on show like “Today”.  Even with my minimal exposure, I find myself commonly repulsed by the actions and demeanor even of the talking heads that populate the “TV News” Industry.

The most recent interview that I watched online, was about the “Boy and the Balloon”.  Yesterday, a 6 year old boy who everyone feared may have climbed in a huge helium balloon and floated away when the tether was released from his back yard.  Military, and many resources were pulled in when the boy couldn’t be found. As it turned out, the boy had been hiding in the attic as he had gotten in trouble earlier.

I went to msnbc.com to check it out as so many people at work had been talking about it, and I found this article.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33340547/ns/us_news-life/page/2/

(its not there now, been replaced with another video, this time about the balloon, but earlier there was a video interview with the family on the “Today” Show’.

The family all looked tired and beat. The kids were half asleep because “Today” is a morning show I believe, and on the east coast, while the family is in Colorado.  At one point the 6 year old, who previously looked as though he were sleeping, sat  forward and threw up. Instead of pausing the interview,  Meredith Vieira didn’t miss a beat and continued on to ask the next question,  about wither or not it was all a hoax. The family obviously frazzled, as Mom gives the child a container to throw up in. The cameraperson not only films it, but they even pan down to see the container at one point! The Dad tries a couple times, but then finally is able to get out his answer to what Meredith just asked, all the while, you can still hear the child throwing up more in the background.

Then after Meredith askes her “harder hitting” questions, and after the boy has stopped throwing up on national TV.. only then does she offer to give them some time…

Insane..  I really have very little respect for our  “News commentators”.

The majority just seem so plastic and fake. Its obvious that its all about making the story as dramatic and big as possible.  I had actually seen this same Meredith woman in an interview a few years back questioning a woman on how she could possibly be attracted to her husband, who was slightly different looking, but not gruesome or anything…. with him sitting right next to his wife!  Tell me that wasn’t all for a reaction.  It was so disrespectful I thought, because she didn’t even phrase it nicely. It was seriously “How could you possibly be attracted to him” with a repulsed look on Meredith’s face as she said it.

I think this brand of  TV “News” (using the term loosely) that we now have is just about completely worthless. Its especially sad when you consider how many people out there are gullible enough to just agree with what the talking heads say..  or how many who just enjoy getting caught up in stupid drama, childishly whining about small points, instead of working on actually resolving anything. Its all about the drama!

No wonder we are in the mess we are in! We are inundated with idiocy all in the name of “24 hour coverage”.  Its not news anymore, its their sick form of “entertainment”.

Ridiculous!

The Pathfinder finally found a new path!

End of story first…    We found actual buyer for the Pathfinder, and sold it .. for real this time! .. ( I’ll explain this more later in the post). I’m so glad! It was a good vehicle, but we weren’t using it.  Plus it gives us a something to catch up on a few things with, and it’ll be roughly $70.00 less a month in insurance costs. Yay! might give us a little more breathing room than we’ve had lately.

Now to explain the “for real this time” statement. It has been an interesting week. Long story short, We had put the Pathfinder up on craigslist, and had a girl call us to buy it from us. She came out,  paid us for part of it, and gave us a check to cash the next day for the rest. She signed the back of the the registration and filled out part of the title, and my husband ended up driving her home because she didn’t actually know how to drive a stick, but was going to learn. (should maybe have been a red flag there I suppose)

An hour later I get a call. She wants her money back, and wants to give us the vehicle back, as she is now in huge trouble with her parents.  Shortly after that conversation, I got a call from her Mom. As it turns out, she was #1 underage (bad on my part, I should have required her to show me some ID, although she said she was in college, and looked around 22-23 to me.. ><) #2 She had taken the money from her Mother without asking for it. It was money they were setting aside for a car, with the sidestepped premise that a parental unit needed to be involved in vehicle selection. In speaking with the Mother, she said if we could take it back, she would be agreeable to us keeping $100 to cover whatever costs would be involved in getting the title replaced, and that she hoped it didn’t cost us anything, and that we just got $100 out of the deal for our trouble. Plus she thought it would be a good reminder to her daughter, to be out something, for not abiding to the agreement. (The Mother was pretty cool about it.. It could have been so much worse!)

So.. we  ended up “buying” it back from her two hours later, we gave her the check, and all but $100 of what she had given us, and alas.. the Pathfinder.. found its path back home to our driveway.

Ended up having to call DMV a couple times to figure out what we needed to do since she had already filled out 1/2 of the information on the back of the title. The first DMV employee told us we’d  have to get signed Bills of Sale showing us selling to her, and one her selling it back to us, and that we’d still have to pay $77.00 to get a new copy of the title because we can’t just cross her name off of it. The Second DMV associate  said that we just needed to have the two Bills of Sale’s (that the first person said), but that would be all we needed.  So like many things, I think its going to be just the luck of the draw as to if we have to pay anything to get it fixed the way DMV needs it to be, it will just depend on who we talk to down there, and what their perception is on the subject.  Should be interesting.. we’ll see how it goes.

Last night, we had two other  people check it out, and the last one really liked it and offered to buy it on the spot. We told him about the “adventure” we had just had, and explained it all, which he was fine with. We gave him his own copies of the initial two “Bills of Sale” as well as the third “Bill of Sale” to him, to hopefully make his paperwork issues easier in case it comes up when he is trying to get it put in his name.