simple recipe – Page 5

Pico de Gallo and some Mid-Week Inspiration

August 6, 2014 by Asharae 5 Comments

Every once in a while I like to share a little mid-week inspiration here on the blog. I find it so helpful to take a step back and look at the things that have been inspiring my days lately. These are a few of the things I’ve been enjoying – I highly recommend checking them all out!

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. This is the first cookbook I’ve ever read cover-to-cover. My dear friend Paige gifted it to me for my birthday back in May, and I spend the last few weeks moseying through each page, devouring each of Deb’s stories and recipes. Most nights I’d sit in bed and read through a few recipes until I got so hungry I either had to get up and grab a snack or make myself go to sleep.

Two of the weddings we’ve photographed this summer even used The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook as their guestbooks – an idea that I’m obsessed with now. “Sprinkle a little love throughout our guest book and we’ll add it to our next meal!” Adorable right?

Although I feel that this cookbook is filled with more wintery comfort-food recipes than summer ones, we’ve enjoyed making several of Deb’s recipes. So far my favorites have included her corn risotto-stuffed poblano peppers, baked ranchero eggs, and big cluster maple granola. So good.

Courtney and Ryan Thomas’s Story. These dear friends of ours have been on quite the whirlwind journey of letting go of their own plans in exchange for the Lord’s. Their story of adoption is truly beautiful – you can read it in their own words over at their blog. They adopted their daughter Nara just over a year ago and recently have felt called to return to her home country of Ethiopia and serve as full-time missionaries there. They’re currently on a three week “trial-run” trip to work with the ministries they’d be serving in and see how Nara does being back in Ethiopia.

I love these sweet words they wrote on their blog several months ago, “We know that God is already working on sweet Nara’s heart and preparing her for what is to come. We have prayed big things over her from the start and Courtney has said from the beginning that she wants Nara to be a little Esther. We even considered Esther as a middle name for Nara. Esther, like Nara, was adopted. I’m sure her life was hard and considering her circumstances she probably felt as if there was no purpose or calling on her life. However, it turns out, as a result of the events that God sovereignly orchestrated in Esther’s life, she had the chance to save her people. We want the same for Nara. Before we even brought Nara home we both decided that we did not want to “Americanize” Nara, but to prepare her to one day go back and help the people of Ethiopia. We just didn’t realize it would be this soon!”

We’ve been filming bits of Courtney, Ryan, and Nara’s story throughout the past couple years, not knowing what the final film would look like. We now have the opportunity to tell their story in an even more professional way through a film contest that The Music Bed is putting on. We would LOVE your votes to help us tell their story more fully through free music licenses, gear rentals, and sound equipment! If Courtney and Ryan discern that full-time ministry is what they’re being called to, we’d love to share their story in a way that would help them raise support in the future.

Female Entrepreneur Association. I’ve been recommending this site to all my friends who are starting up their own businesses. Their mission is to inspire and empower entrepreneurial women around the world. First of all, Carrie has the most fabulous accent, so she’s fun to listen to. She posts inspiration each week – anything from how to set goals and create a successful business manifesto, to overcoming your fears, to creating social media strategies. If you sign up for her newsletter, she’ll send the blog posts right to your inbox – I’ve found that super helpful for my scatterbrained self.

Pinterest. On what days does Pinterest not inspire me? If you don’t enjoy using Pinterest, I’ll either accuse you of not being a “visual” person or try to convince you that you’re not following the right people. They’ve smartened up their site in the last several months so that finding people who pin things you’d find interesting or inspiring is much much simpler!

When you click on a pin, try scrolling down below it. Have you discovered the “Also on these boards” and “Related pins” sections? If not, then you’re missing out! I also like to click on one of the “Pins from..” profiles at the top of my own home page. From there I explore who those people “Pin from” – that’s a great way to find new favorites! Take some time to explore and find new boards or people that inspire you. This board is my personal favorite this week. I just love all the colors and textures – reminds me of summer!

Speaking of summer. How about a perfect summertime recipe? The tomatoes in our garden are producing like crazy right now, so it’s the perfect excuse to make loads of pico de gallo, bruschetta, or caprese salad.

This recipe is really just a guideline (you know how I roll). You can add more or less of any ingredient to suit your preferences, and you’re welcome to leave out the jalapeño entirely if you don’t like spicy salsa.

Pico de Gallo

Asharae Kroll

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Ingredients

3 medium tomatoes
1/4 or a red onion
1 jalapeño diced (seeds removed for mild or with some seeds to add heat)
Handful of cilantro leaves finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/8 tsp kosher salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of garlic powder

Instructions

Toss all ingredients in a bowl.
Let rest in the fridge or at room temperature for at least 15 minutes (more if you can stand to wait) to let the flavors get happy.
Enjoy with chips, on tacos or quesadillas, over eggs, or straight out of the bowl.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

July 21, 2014 by Asharae 1 Comment

Last week when I shared a recipe for tzatziki, I promised it would soon be followed with this cucumber and tomato salad recipe. One of my favorite meals includes naan, tzatziki, one of a few variations of spicy chicken (like this recipe), and this tomato and cucumber salad.

I prefer tearing off a piece of naan and scooping up all the flavors into one big bite. Somehow it’s more satisfying than using a fork. It almost feels like finger painting – you remember the one day in kindergarten when you were allowed to make a mess, it was okay to have your hands completely covered in paint, the colors oozing between your fingers as you balled up your little fist, trying to make that squelchy noise we all took so much joy in.

That’s what this meal is to me. It’s getting familiar with your food, being okay with the tomato and cucumber bits that fall off the naan, back onto your plate. Or sometimes they miss your plate and tumble onto the floor where the dog happily cleans up your mess. You may end up with tomato juice running through your fingers and down your arm, but it won’t matter. What matters is that you’re enjoying good food with the people you love. And the people you love don’t care if you make a mess and have red wine vinegar dribbling down your chin.

Let’s all get out the finger paint and make a mess, shall we?

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

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Ingredients

1 cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced
3-4 medium tomatoes diced (I prefer to remove the seeds as well)
1/4 c red onion finely chopped
1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Feta mint, and kalamata olives for serving (optional)

Instructions

Whisk together red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.
Combine with the rest of the ingredients and place in fridge till ready to serve.
(Optional) Top with feta, mint, and kalamata olives right before serving.

Tzatziki. And the benefit of personality tests.

July 18, 2014 by Asharae 2 Comments

Tim and I are always intrigued by (ahem, obsessed with) our Myers-Briggs test results. We were RAs in college together when we first took the test to understand ourselves better and learn how our individual personalities would best thrive in leading a floor of college students. Since then we’ve seen our results only shift slightly, depending on our circumstances, jobs or lack thereof, and general season of life we happen to be in at the time. Tim and I come back to our results over and over because they help us better understand the way we each think and operate. Our results provide a framework for us to talk about our marriage, our business, our families, and how we interact with and understand each of these things. I’m INFP and Tim is ESFJ, if you really want to know.

Last year a good friend of ours recommended the Strengths Finder test – he even bought two books for us so Tim and I could each take the test! I gave mine away to my brother as he was in the midst of job searching and applying to grad schools at the time, so I didn’t end up taking the test until last week. The results were fascinating to me, and comparing my strengths to Tim’s was even more interesting.

The test is a simple one – 177 questions where you choose from one of two phrases or sentences that resonates with you the most. It only takes about a half-hour, and at the end they provide you with 5 strengths – the things you’re gifted at, the areas you excel in. If you purchase the book which includes descriptions of all the strengths, you get one voucher to take the test online. If you’d rather just see your own 5 strengths, you can take the test online for around ten dollars. I promise Strengths Finder isn’t paying me to tell you this! Hah! We’ve just found it so valuable that I think everyone should take it! I believe it’s valuable for your friendships, your marriage, your workplace, and the ways that these relate to one another and how you relate to each of them.

One of the most valuable take-aways for me after doing the test was seeing that Tim and I both have the strengths that this test labels “Empathy” and “Developer.” Out of 34 different strengths this test names, we share those two. I began to think about how Empathy (the ability to sense the emotions of those around you) and Developer (the ability to see the potential in others and take great joy in seeing others grow) relate to owning our own photography and videography business, the ways that we work with our couples, and how we can maximize our strengths to better serve others and dream bigger. I don’t have a conclusion yet – I feel like we’re just getting started. But as we begin to unpack all of these thoughts and brainstorm what all of it could mean, I’m excited to see where it leads us.

Have I convinced you yet? Will you take the Myers Briggs and Strengths Finder tests? I’m certain we could all stand to learn a little more about ourselves and how we interact with and understand the world and the people around us.

The other night we invited my parents over for dinner. We sat around the table eating good food and chatting about many things – our “strengths” included. I especially love looking at the two of them, seeing the areas they excel in and the things they’re gifted at. I’m endlessly fascinated by the traits I inherited from each of them (that sounds horrendously narcissistic, I know, I know.) Really it just fascinates me how the human brain is a little sponge that soaks up and adapts and reacts to its environment.

Somehow in all my years growing up I inherited some of my dad’s love of dreaming about the future, his compassion and love of animals, his desire to carefully craft each and every thing he sets his mind to creating or building, and even some of his fondness for making up silly lyrics to well-known songs. And somewhere along the way I also got my mom’s penchant for crafting all the things, a fraction of her determination and dedication to projects and causes she believes in, and her deep love of those around her and her desire to see each of them grow. I love that I’m finally starting to be able to put words to these traits, understand a little about where they came from, and begin to wonder how they’ll be used in the long run.

I made this recipe the other night when we had my parents over, and it’s one I make often – tzatziki might be one of my favorite foods. And I’m okay with that. If we ever have leftover tzatziki, you can find me hovered over the sink, using tortilla chips to scoop out every last morsel of this garlicy-minty-goodness the next day. And GARLICY it will be. Stay away from friends, family, pets, you name it, if you’re eating this on the second day. The garlic “flowers” overnight and becomes much stronger. But I’m okay with that too. Gotta keep those vampires away somehow right?

Be sure to check out the links below the recipe to see what else I served with tzatziki this past Wednesday night!

Tzatziki

Asharae Kroll

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Ingredients

1 c plain Greek yogurt
1 large cucumber peeled, seeded, and finely chopped (you can grate the cucumber but I'm too lazy for that)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 clove garlic minced
1/8 tsp pepper
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 c mint finely chopped

Instructions

(Optional step) Place finely diced (or grated) cucumber in a sieve over a bowl and sprinkle with 1.5 tsp salt. Stir and let sit for 20 minutes or so. Press the water out of the cucumber with the back of a spoon and shake the sieve to release the water. If you do this step, you'll likely not need to add salt later on.
Combine cucumber with the rest of the ingredients and place in the fridge till ready to serve.
Note: the garlic will "flower" over time and the flavor will be much stronger the next day. I recommend serving to guests the day it's made, and staying away from friends if eating it the next day 😉

Make it a meal! We served tzatziki with the following:

Grilled chicken with tikka masala spices – Recipe from The Perfect Pantry

Cilantro Mint Chutney – Recipe from Spice Roots

Cucumber Tomato Salad – My own recipe! You can find it here!

Naan – Store-bought this time. I’m working on perfecting my naan-making skills 😉 Let me know if you have a good recipe!

The Power of Presence. And a Recipe for Costa Rican Gallo Pinto

June 12, 2014 by Asharae 3 Comments

I would like to introduce you to Flor (I’m actually going to introduce you to her cooking, but first a little about her.) During one of my summers in college I lived in Costa Rica with Flor and her husband while volunteering for a local organization with my friend Leslie. Flor became more than our host mom while we lived with her – she took it upon herself to be our guide to the bus system and the ins and outs of San Jose, she guarded us fiercely with her warnings about Costa Rican men (my friend and I stuck out like sore thumbs with our blonde hair and blue eyes – Flor made certain we knew to avoid the attention of men in the city), she was our personal chef as she prepared Gallo Pinto every morning, packed our lunch each day to take to work, and had dinner waiting each night when we returned home. Flor always spoke with immense faith in the Lord, his provision, and his power to heal.

A couple months before I was set to go to Costa Rica, my dad was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. The doctors quickly started him on chemo and he had a particularly strong round a week or so before I left for my summer trip. He was expected to get sick shortly after, due to the chemo-therapy knocking out his immune system. I remember my dad hugging me tight in the airport before I left, reminding me that Costa Rica is where I was meant to be for the summer and putting my fears and feelings of guilt to rest about being so far away while he was undergoing treatment.

Within about a week of arriving in San Jose with Leslie and beginning our volunteer work with the Rahab Foundation, I got word that my dad was very ill and had been rushed to Duke for treatment. Those conversations are all a blur to me as I found out he had fallen into a coma and the doctors were doing what they could to keep him stable. What I do remember from that night is Leslie helping me scour our local shops for phone cards so I could call my mom to hear more news (these were the early days of Skype and all the internet cafes were already closed.) And I remember Flor comforting me as I anxiously dialed my mom’s number only to have to fight with Costa Rica’s automated system (in Spanish of course) until I could reach my mom’s distant voice on the other end of the phone. Instead of telling me everything was going to be okay or patting me on the back, Flor quietly grabbed a bowl of warm water, knelt down on the tile in her living room, took my shoes off one by one, and gently washed my feet.

I’m tearing up just remembering it.

In that moment, there was nothing more powerful, more thoughtful, or more meaningful anyone could have done. There were no words that would have been helpful, and no amount of “I’ll be praying for you”s that would have comforted, but I will forever remember her selfless act of loving on me without hesitation.

I wonder how I could share that selfless kind of love with others. How do you comfort someone when they’re in the midst of the darkness and they’re not sure the light is anywhere close? I’m not entirely sure. But having been on the other side, I can say that perhaps actions and presence are more important than having the perfect words.

My dad had been in a coma for a few weeks when I called my mom on Skype one afternoon. She answered and then said “hang on a second,” I waited a moment and then heard my dad’s weak voice from miles away – “hey baby.”

And there I was, bawling in the internet cafe.

My dad is all healed now. He spent 80-something days in the hospital that year, but just over a year ago he passed the 5-year mark, so they’ve declared him cured. Praise the Lord.

All that to say, this recipe for Flor’s Gallo Pinto is pretty special to me. It’s simple, and maybe you don’t like rice and beans, that’s fine. But to me this dish is comfort food. It reminds me of sitting in Flor’s kitchen in Costa Rica, chatting over the newspaper, learning to like coffee, and her husband laughing at me because it was possible that I liked Gallo Pinto even more than he did. Most of all it reminds me of Flor and her selfless act of washing my feet the night I was so scared and felt so uncertain about the future. I pray I learn to love like that.

It would make my day if you tried this recipe. It’s the closest I’ve been able to get to the dish Flor would serve us each morning. I love it served with bananas – call me crazy but the salty sweet combination of the rice and beans with the banana is delicious. Avocado and scrambled eggs are also great sides. We even became friends with one family in Costa Rica whose tradition was to have Gallo Pinto with leftover birthday cake the day after a family member’s celebration (that was also surprisingly delicious!)

On a side note – if you live in Chicago, you should visit Irazu, one of the only Costa Rican restaurants I know of in the states. Be sure to ask them for Salsa Lizano (pronounced lee-san-o) – they’ll be impressed. If you can’t get to Irazu to try Lizano, you can always order some online! Tim got a bottle for me for my birthday this year – he knows me so well.

Happy cooking! And Pura Vida!

Costa Rican Gallo Pinto

Asharae Kroll

This is the closest recipe I've gotten to the delicious gallo pinto my Costa Rican host mom made every morning.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 4 -6

Ingredients

1 yellow onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbs canola/vegetable oil don't use olive oil or spray
1 15 oz can black beans do not drain
About 3 c cooked rice day-old is best
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
Salsa Lizano only if you're lucky enough to own a bottle
Optional Avocado, banana, scrambled eggs, birthday cake.

Instructions

Cook rice according to package directions (day old rice is actually best, so you can skip this step if you have cooked rice on hand)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion, about 3 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté one more minute.
Add beans, with liquid, and salt and black pepper. Heat through and let simmer for 1-2 min.
Add rice and stir to combine, trying not to smash the beans. Cook until heated through. I like to stir it together and then let it cook, without stirring it for about 3 minutes at a time. This allows the mixture to get little crunchy bits throughout. Stir after 3 minutes and then let it sit an additional 3 minutes. Repeat this, tasting along the way, till the gallo pinto is the consistency you'd like. I cooked mine about 15 minutes total.
Serve with your choice of bananas, avocado, and scrambled eggs.