Weekend Recipe ~ Rocky cookies

*I realize that today is Wednesday, but I thought of the post over the weekend, so it counts for the title!


We recenly introduced the big boys to a few of the Rocky movies, and they are quite taken with the story of the iconic American underdog who succeeds on pure grit.  And the positive portrayal of our Catholic Faith.  And the cute wife.  Enamoured now with All Things Stallone, Ken came home one day last week with Sly Moves: My Proven Program to Lose Weight, Build Strength, Gain Will Power, and Live your Dream, a book by Sylvester himself (mostly), wherein was discovered . . . a cookie recipe!  For healthy little keep-up-your-energy-for-hours confections that he says he relied upon during the physically demanding filming of the Rocky movies.

I made these things three times over the weekend because the batches disappeared quickly.  I'm not sure Mr. Stallone would approve of inhaling a dozen at one sitting, however.  Rees' excuse, of course, was that awesome CF diet ; my excuse was how perfectly they complemented coffee with cream and sugar.  Ahem.



ROCKY COOKIES

1 C       whole wheat flour
3/4 C    brown rice flour*
1 1/2 C oats
1/2 t     baking soda
1 t       cinnamon
1/4 t    salt
3/4 C   brown sugar

1         egg
1/2 C   olive oil
1/4 C   water
1 T      molasses**

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Add the wet ingredients.  Mix well.  Roll into tablespoon-sized balls and place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 7-8 minutes in a 350 degree oven.


*Brown rice flour can be purchased in health food stores / sections or made in the Vitamix just like wheat flour.  I run it through a sifter when completed  (Or maybe I need to do that because my machine is seven years old!).

**I use blackstrap molasses for all those minerals, especially iron.  Every little bit helps bodies, CF or not.


Yo,
Allison

Apples of Gold

The grocery store clerk leaned forward, voice lowered, eyes narrowed. "Is it . . . religious?"she asked when I answered her query of how many children I had (six).

 This was my Big Chance to evangelize, to speak of the beauty of the Catholic Church's teachings on marriage and family. I had to be short, sweet, smart. If I said Yes, she'd think we had a large family because we had to. No wasn't exactly right, either. How to answer? And quickly. . .

"Yes, and we LOVE it!" I sang out with a smile, hoping it was Good Enough.

She jerked back, eyes widened now. "Oh. Well THAT'S good." 

I pushed my luck while punching PIN numbers as slowly as I dared and continued: "We converted to the Catholic Church a few years ago. Best decision we ever made."

Her eyes widened even further as she gasped,"People become Catholic on purpose?"

I grinned again, nodding, pushed my luck yet again and suggested she check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church instead of things written about the Church. Her face back to normal, she looked thoughtful and smiled pleasantly. "No kidding," she murmured.

I stuffed my receipt into my purse and proceeded to navigate the full cart whose edges were covered with hanging monkey children out of line. "See you around!" I tossed over my shoulder. Ours is a small town; I hope I will.

My word-perfect, KJV past came to me while driving home:

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a picture of silver."  Proverbs 25:11

Yes, Lord, may my words be apples of gold. Amen.

Warmly,
Allison

Slainte*

Pills are an inescapable fact of life with CF : handfuls of capsules, tablets, and geltabs of multi colors and shapes precede every meal or snack.  One of Rees' claims to fame was his ability to swallow  enzymes just before his second birthday ~ no more sprinkling the capsule contents onto applesauce.  No more teary tantrums over eating that grainy applesauce before any other bite.  Halleluia!

He interrupted my typing here a minute ago, smugly adding that his record is now swallowing fourteen at once.  Showoff.

However, pills are more thorny now, in these teenage years, than in those troublesome toddler months.  He hates them.  He has attempted to cease Prevacid, but the 2400 mg of Motrin daily aggravate the stomach.  Dropping both is unacceptable because the high dosage of Motrin keeps lung inflammation down.  Culturelle helps with good gut bacteria, even with oral  (another pill) and inhaled antibiotics.  Extra fat soluable vitamins are necessary, because a person simply cannot get enough A, D, E, and K from food sources.

Every few days or so, I hear him banging and bashing around in the kitchen cabinets and I know that he's resenting the gathering and ingesting of fourteen pills before eating.  I don't know how he did pills at ACYC ~ with an audience?  Secretly?  Occasionally I wonder how he'll care for himself when he leaves home.  Then I shudder and pour myself a nice glass of red wine. . .

But care for himself he must.  And pills will always be present.  While my heart breaks at his angst, I am grateful for the technology that enables him to lead a good life.  Pills and all.


*Slainte!  (Which means, according to my Uncle Tom who lives in Ireland half the year, "Bright Health") ,
Allison

Evening Snack

For a bit of shocking reality, here is the evening snack Rees just carted into the den after completing his lung chores*  :

A quart of mocha shake
A bowl of Ramen noodles
Two Snickers bars
A bowl of potato chips


*Lung chores consist of Pulmozyme and TOBI inhaled with a compressor, albuterol and Flovent inhaled with a spacer, and a couple of rounds with his Flutter valve.


And because it's gorgeous and amazing, here's his backpack at the top of Lazy Mountain this morning, which he and John have hiked once a week for the past month.  They are proud to announce that their time up was 1 hour 10 minutes ; and their time down was 31 minutes!

Top of Lazy Mountain

Hungry and tired just writing about it,
Allison

Dreams and Puking

"I had a dream last night," an acquaintance said to Ken over the telephone, "and God told me that He was going to heal Rees." Oh puke. Ken tells me that he remained silent while the man continued,  "I sense that you're the kind of person who'd receive it."  Double puke.  He then began "encouraging" Ken on matters of faith and healing and dreams and God, to which my former Marine, veerrry polite husband replied, "Thank you for sharing that; I'm glad you were comfortable enough with me to do so. 'Bye, now."

Ken relayed this entire exchange to me hours later, when the children were all abed and we were half asleep ourselves. Got my blood pressure speeding and kept us up much too late . . . discussing. I cried. Also punched the pillow a few times.

What arrogance. To assume that healing depends on our "receiving" it. To assume that Ken needed or wanted teaching on anything. To assume that we'd be overjoyed. TO NOT REALIZE THAT THIS IS HURTFUL (Although since we have navigated through this bogus theology, there wasn't much hurt, merely bafflement that people embrace such beliefs without  t h i n k i n g  logically. Or historically.  Or theologically. Or Biblically. And these words fit together like a flowering Venn diagram.).

Do I want Rees to be miraculously healed?  Of course.  A million times, of course. I know that God still heals today. I also know that many more faithful followers live, suffer, and die, asking and loving their Lord  (Check out Hebrews 11). But how about a breakthrough cure of the basic defect to repair the mutated protein, enabling all people now and forever born with CF to have a properly functioning chloride channel? How about all those talented, hard working, blessed research scientists? Isn't that a miracle? Wouldn't we fall on our knees and thank God?

Since the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth (1Timothy 3:15), I trust Her teaching on life, suffering, and miracles; I entrust my son (and all my children) to Her to be taught, to be strengthened, to be loved, to be led ever closer to Our Lord. And Heaven, where all will be miraculous and perfect.  Thanks be to God.


Just dreaming  (Just kidding),
Allison

At the Farm, a poem written by Clare who was supposed to be walking her dog.

At the farm I hear :

Chickens eating breakfast,
A car driving far, far away,
Birds chirping in the many trees of spruce and birch,
A goose, honking its delight to the skies.

At the farm I see :

A goat, walking silently across the pen,
A rabbit, lying ever contented in its hutch,
A chicken, pecking at small grass seedlings and savoring the taste of spring,
An insect, buzzing across the lawn.

At the farm I feel :

A small bug, climbing along my arm,
The cool spring breezes, playfully tugging at my hair.

At the farm.


By Clare A. Howell  (Who is not really in trouble for not walking her dog!)

Weekend Recipe : Backpacker Bars

We hike and camp more in the summer than in the winter, but only slightly more, because Ken is big on winter survival skills and takes out all but the smallest two to test their mettle.  I remain home to welcome them back with cinnamon rolls  (My outdoor survival skills are somewhat lacking.  Where was I?  Oh.  Summer camping food...).

These bars are very, very healthy.  And very, very high in calories.  Perfect for hours on a trail or in a tent with hungry kids.  And husbands.  I also made a pan for a dear friend who just gave birth to her fourth child and spends hours on the couch with a nursing newborn.  Keeps health and energy up without having to leave the couch.  Keeps the other kids full for a long time. Again, without ever having to leave the couch.


1 C   butter
1 1/2 C brown sugar, divided
1C  quick cooking oats  (or whir regular oats in the blender for a few seconds)
1 C  whole wheat flour
1 C  white flour
1/2 C wheat germ
1 T flavoring  (zest, vanilla, almond ...)
4     eggs, lightly beaten
2 C sliced or chopped nuts
1  C chips  (chocolate, white, peanut butter, butterscotch ...)
1 C  dried fruit
1/2 C  shredded coconut

Oven to 350

Cream butter and 1 C brown sugar.  Stir in oats, flours, germ, and flavorings.  Press mixture into bottom of an ungreased 13x9 pan  (I often use a 10x15 and they're just not as fat.).

Combine eggs,  next four ingredients, and remaining 1/2 C brown sugar.  Mix gently, but very well.  Spread evenly over crust.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Cool before cutting

Our favorite combinations :
* walnuts, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, orange zest
* almonds, dried cherries, dark chocolate chips, vanilla
* pecans, broken pieces of banana chips, butterscotch chips, orange zest


As an aside, Ken and I have now been married for 21 years and to celebrate, we locked the children at home with a list of jobs, lunches, and movies, and headed out to a favorite trail system.  Spent six hours hiking together.  Glorious.  Believe me, no restaurant dinner could possibly taste as good as backpacker bars in the middle of the mountains! 

And as another aside, of course these bars are perfect for CFers, what with all those nutrition-packed calories ; but so is hiking.  Hours of muscles in motion combined with sustained deep breathing helps to keep lung tissues supple and healthy!

Here's hoping you leave the chores for a few hours and get outside, too ~
Warmly,
Allison