Baby steps with friends!

Twow
Yesterday I got together with my cousin for a little Hungarian cooking extravaganza. Her dad and my mom were first cousins and they were great friends. But those two have passed away and it is our opportunity to be cousins and friends! Since I moved to New York in 2013, we have been intentional about getting together as often as schedules have allowed. A few months ago we decided to get together at my home in Tuckahoe so we could do a little cooking.

Our main goal was to make szilvás gombóc (plum dumplings) but it isn’t the season for those little Italian plums so we had to come up with an alternate plan. We decided to make almás rétes (apple strudel) and gesztenyepüré (chestnut purée) —neither of which we have made before! But please don’t be concerned. We didn’t just eat desserts all day! We also made rakott krumpli, túrós csusza, and paprikás csirke (with homemade nokedli). Wow! We sure ate a lot!

Retes5w My confession is that we did not make everything from scratch. I have made spaghetti sauce before but there is also some great spaghetti sauce in a jar. I definitely do not make my spaghetti noodles from scratch although I have done it. Once. I haven’t ever made the tortillas and taco shells when we have a Mexican meal so I am not above using some prepared things for convenience or speed. Sometimes, the main goal is to put food in the mouth! Someday, though, I will get brave enough to roll out my own strudel dough, but yesterday was not that day.

Baby Steps!

I have cooked a lot of different foods and I have had some great success over the years. But staring down at the phyllo dough (mind you, already prepared) and the filling ready-to-go (we used apples, raisins, and walnuts with a few other things) but I was just so nervous to put it all together.

I have no idea why.

Retes3w All I can say is having friend along on the adventure is a great thing! My sweet cousin read several recipes in my cookbooks but also online and was quick to say “let’s Google that” if we were still unsure about a part of the process for all the things we cooked together. (Remember, we don’t have access to the family experts any longer so we just needed to get brave and not take ourselves too seriously.) She would patiently read, then read aloud, encourage me, and we finally decided that no matter how it looked in the end, all of the elements going into it were things we liked so it was going to taste great. We took turns buttering the dough and rolling it up and decided it was crazy easy. Why hadn’t we tried this before? But, there is no time like now! There are some things you just need to step out and try!

It is so nice to have a like-minded buddy in life!

Retesw The rétes was so ridiculously easy to make and so wonderfully fresh when it came out of the oven that it will be a long time before I buy some at a pastry shop. Now that I have done it with assistance I think I might be able to do it on my own, but it sure won’t be as fun! My cousin and I thought of all the different kinds of fillings we could use! Her dad used to love káposzta (cabbage) in his rétes so it would seem fitting we would give that a shot next time. And she adores mák (poppy seed) in general and it’s wonderful in rétes so that will be on our list too. It was delicious with coffee for our afternoon break! And then we went on to tackle the rest of our list. Not everything looked pretty but it all tasted fantastic! And we had a great time working and playing and visiting about all kinds of things!

Do you have a special project that you would like to tackle? Find a friend! Do you have a friend who needs someone by their side as they work through something? Be a friend! We all have things to do that are much more fun with a friend. And the hard stuff? It is much better with a friend too. And if they are family members, even better! We had so much fun together we are planning another Hungarian food day in early May. We are hoping those Italian plums will be available so we can tackle the szilvás gombóc!

And, someday, I will tackle the dough for the rétes. I just need a little more time to get the courage.

Thanks, Cuz, for being by my side!

On the Road,

Liz

Ironw

Tealeaves

I had some tea at my friend’s house the other day. I like tea but I had no idea how real tea really worked. I mostly just figured tea was tea. I never wondered about it, actually.

When my friend asked if I would like tea, she listed all the typical options. But then asked if I wanted real Chinese tea. She had been a missionary in Taiwan for over three years so she knew quite a bit more about how real tea worked. I was intrigued so that is what I chose.

tea1ew — These little guys are just a little bigger than a whole clove.

First she tossed a few of these little things in a special teacup with a filter. I like strong tea so it didn’t really look like enough but she assured me it was. Then we added some hot water. We dumped out the water after a couple of minutes and then added more boiling water. This was all new to me! But it was a necessary part of the process.

We were waiting for the tealeaves to open. It takes several minutes.

It turns out she had dumped in a few too many because as the tealeaves kept relaxing from their dried state they nearly filled the filter. But the tea was delicious. I kept adding more water to the leaves and they continued to provide me with tea.

I am surprised how dried and compact tealeaves are. They look so small and unassuming but then open up to be five times their size. It takes time for them to move from the dried state to being able to steep and provide flavor but once they are ready, they can provide multiple pots of tea. I know there is much more to learn about tea but I am glad to have added to my knowledge. I am sure my friend thought I was crazy because it was so interesting to me. I am glad she took the time to teach me some of what she knew about tea.

Dried tealeaves don’t look like much. The process of getting tea from them seems a bit like some events in life. Sometimes what you have to work with doesn’t seem like much but God transforms that “little bit” to be sufficient or even abundant!

Do you recall a time in your life where God’s provision was more than you imagined?

On the Road,
Liz

Why Don’t You GOOGLE It?

Today’s PrayerPoint ~ Connecting

I’ll admit it: when I get curious about something, I often have lots of questions and I have a tendency to ask real people for their insight or about their experience. Since we moved to New York I don’t see a lot of different people in a day and I don’t get an opportunity for a variety of face-to-face conversations. I am very thankful for technology as it has made it easier for me to keep connected with my friends and family.

Have you ever wondered what book to read next and wondered who to ask and in a moment of impulse asked your friends on Facebook-land? If you have a variety of friends, you will likely get some wonderful and diverse answers to that question.

Go ahead, try it. You might discover some great books to tackle this year!

I am a part of a few different groups on Facebook and they are, for the most part, interesting and helpful. And there are times when I see the same question show up time and time again in my newsfeed and I think, “Why don’t you Google it?” But I don’t. Why? Because I think that is an “I am too busy to talk with you” answer. Sometimes, a question is a way to connect with another human being. Maybe you have a friend in a far away place and, yes, they can Google all they want with their Internet connection. But, really now, they can’t Google a friend.

Sometimes, group members will ask if someone is willing to share a tried and true family recipe for Stuffed Peppers. Invariably, someone will answer: “Just Google it.” or “Check the files.” Really? There are a ton of recipes out there. And, yes, just because one family likes it doesn’t mean another one will, but do you know how easy it is to get distracted by the depth and breadth of searching online for a recipe? Oi! The distractions are incredible!

Maybe I am wondering about essential oils or Trim Healthy Mama or I need to engage in conversation about something. I really don’t want to just see what Google has to say. Sometimes it is important to engage in dialogue. Tell me what you think about the subject matter.

Let’s have a conversation.

Let’s exchange ideas.

It isn’t always about simply accessing information. Sometimes it is about connection.

And, for the record, I think Google is a great tool. It just isn’t a substitute for conversations between people.

I Feel Your Pain

Today’s PrayerPoint ~ I Feel Your Pain

No, really, I do. And often literally.

Have you ever had your heart ache over a situation?

If you have shared with me a painful event in your life at some point over the last 30+ years, I have felt your pain. Did I know exactly what you felt or experienced? No, absolutely not. But I know me and I know my heart actually aches and is sometimes overwhelmed when someone I care about walks through a difficult trial.

Empathy is a good thing in relationships. Walking along someone who is struggling is a hard but an important element in friendship. But it is equally important for me not to be consumed by the pain of another.

When I have family and friends experiencing deep pain and loss it is hard for me to watch. It would be wonderful to be able to take the pain away but that is not my place. My role is to pray for and encourage them. There is only One who can truly take that pain and the yuck and rework it for His good.

Do you know a friend in a hard, hard place? Love them. Pray for them. Encourage them. And if you are in a position to offer your ear, listen to them. If you are led, do a little legwork for them to find some useful resources for their situation. You won’t likely be able to fix their problems and that is ok. Know your limitations and recognize that your ability to care for them may be limited by time, space, and healthy boundaries.

There are many difficult things that happen as we live our lives but walking through life with a friend makes it easier to get through some of those challenges.

This week, pray for your friends and the challenges they are experiencing!

Roadside Cleanup

Have you ever participated in a roadside clean up only to drive by a week later and see it as trashy as it was before you labored to pick up the trash? It is so frustrating!

Sometimes, that’s just like my life. I make an honest and determined effort to ‘clean up’ an area in my life but those old habits creep right back in and soon things are messy again. A funny thing…when it’s my mess, I have a hard time asking for or receiving help in order to get the mess clean. Somehow I think I should be old enough and experienced enough or “godly” enough to not ever have to ask for assistance. Ever find that true for you?

Thankfully, God has placed wonderful people in my life who “lovingly assist” when needed. Sometimes it is simply a word of encouragement or a listening ear. Other times they roll up their sleeves and take on a task on my behalf. I am so thankful that God has patience for me. As I recall the many instances of His grace and mercy for me it is actually becomes a joy to extend it to others. May you be blessed as you work together with other believers to share God’s grace, forgiveness, and peace!

Heavenly Father, Help me to graciously accept assistance in areas of my need and a have a willingness to extend myself in Your name for others. Give me Your eyes to see the needs of others and Your guidance as to the level of my involvement. In Your Son’s Name, Amen.

Friendships

God has blessed me with so many friendships! I am always amazed at this. At each place and station in my life, He has placed such fun and Spirit-led and thoughtful and loving people in my path! I thank God for my friends!

There are so many offshoots with a topic as broad as friendship. As you ponder this idea, possibly you know someone who is surrounding themselves with dangerous friends and/or heading down a compromising road. Maybe you are concerned about a family that is moving away and that God would provide them with wonderful friendships in their new town or the loss you will experience when they move. If you have children you may want to pray for them to be good and Godly friends and to be able to lovingly address conflicts with their friends. Maybe you have been praying for a friendship that needs to be restored. Is there someone in your life God has been nudging you to befriend?

Dig into God’s Word and let God use the Scripture to tune your perspective and your heart to His perspective and heart and let Him lead you in prayer. And remember, He wants to be your best friend.