Life's Many But's...

I had my quiet time today and it talked about the “but” of life and it just brought back the sad news of what I heard last night- Chadwick Boseman passed away at 43 from Colon Cancer.

In the quiet time I had, it was from 2 Kings 5:1-14 about Naaman who had leprosy and still served as a captain of the hosts of Syria. They captured a girl from Isreal and despite her servitude talked about the prophet in Isreal and how he can heal her master Naaman.

Read the chapter and see what it says…

Few things:

1. Naaman was a leper but also a captain of the hosts of a strong army

2. The servant girl was captured and away from family and country but she still shared hope and for the rest of history, she is the one who introduces hope and faith to Naaman and his household.

These two people had situations of life or if you want to call life’s many ‘buts” however, they did not let it stop them from fulfilling a purpose and I might add, God helped them- Naaman did not have to listen to the words of the servant girl nor did he have to stay active in the army.

Today:

It was heartbreaking to hear and read that Chadwick Boseman passed away and was only 43. I had never met him but had been really excited about some of his work that I had seen. I watched 42, a biographic sports film about Jackie Robinson and I went away with hate is not born but learned… After that movie, I watched the last 4 movies of the Marvel Universe where Chadwick was a part of.

In his role as T’Challa; I think it brought him international fame and I might add it made me proud to be African American and wish that Wakanda was my village…

The news said he died from colon cancer - and he had been fighting for 4 years. Despite his diagnosis, he did not stop, he acted and he appeared in shows and worked on projects. He did not let his diagnosis or this “but cancer” destroy his purpose, his vision, and his dream”. He still worked…

That should inspire us, no matter what situation we are, we should keep pushing, and another; treat people kindly, you do not know what people are going through!

In his pain, he showed strength and I respect that he kept his private battle, private! Now, I almost wish we knew so that we prayed for him…

To me, he is the real-life superhero and I read a quote and it hit home about his life:

“It does not matter how long you live, but how well you do it”- Martin Luther King

I respect him! He will not be forgotten! Praying for his fans and his family at this time.

Rest in Peace and Power Chadwick!

#wakandaforever

Summer Vibes , Summer food.

“Summer Breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind”- Seals and Croft

How are you?

Doing good this way and I will add that it has been a wet couple of days but that makes for the summer breeze to be more pleasant and I have no complaints.

In the last episode, I told you that I will be sharing some recipes that I have been making in my kitchen.

This one I love because I was able to use some of the chilies and basil from my porch “garden”. Hubby and I decided to plant a few things and we decided on chives, parsley, basil, chilies, green pepper, and some tomatoes that have not produced any tomatoes- a story for another day!

Most times, people avoid using the oven because it makes it hot in the house, but not me. If the food I crave calls for the oven, I turn it on! Do you use the oven in the summer?

If I want to experiment, I usually go with or start with a base that I am comfortable with- this time I chose Rice and tomato stew. You can use this sauce for many dishes, you can just use a little bit in the dish you are about to make and freeze any leftovers for another day😉

Here is my baked Tomato Rice.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups of Rice

• 1 can of tomato paste

• Diced whole onion

• diced chilies (2 or more if you like heat)

• 1 Bell pepper- chopped

• 1 cup deveined shrimp

• Bay leaf

• Chopped fresh basil

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp ground garlic

• Salt to taste

• Vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup water/ beef stock/ chicken stock

Method

• First, open the tomato paste and set aside.

• Grab a pot that can go in the oven- a cast iron pot is preferred or use the pot you have and then transfer the sauce to an oven-safe dish later

• Heat the oil and then add ground garlic and ginger until golden. Add half of the diced onions

• Let it cook for five minutes

• Add tomato paste and cook with the lid on the pot. Stir intermittently until the paste crumbles in the oil

• Add water or the stock of choice. Let it cook.

• Add your seasoning to taste.

• Remove from heat.

Get the rice. I have seen some people cook their rice without washing it. I am of the opinion that you wash it first. In my mind, I think it is healthier to do so. After washing your rice put in the oven-safe pot.

• Add the sauce you have cooked- remember it will be thick because you did not add a lot of water

• Add the remainder of the onions, add the shrimp, chopped bell pepper, basil and chilies

• Stir

• Add the instructed amount of water given to cook the rice. I used Basmati rice and it recommends 3 cups of water for the 2 cups of rice I am cooking.

• Season to taste.

  If using a pot, put a sheet of foil on the pot before you place the lid of the pot; it keeps the steam in the pot

• Bake in a 450-degree oven for 35 mins. After 35 mins, check the rice by sticking a spoon into the pot. If there is water left in the pot- the spoon will be wet when you pull out of the rice- and the rice is tender, turn down the temperature to 350 degrees and leave in the oven for 10 minutes. If the rice is not tender, leave the temperature of the oven the same and shut the oven door.

• Check and when the spoon stuck in the pot comes out clean, and rice is tender. Remove from the oven, and serve!

If you try this recipe and or make this dish, let me know.

Here are some pics from when I made this dish!

Enjoy!

Have a great week!

Ezanya

They ripened on the vine. I am excited to use them!

Do not let these deceive you, these are 🔥 Make sure you wash your hands after chopping these

Straight outta the oven! Y’all look at the burnt edges around the pot- so yummy

Served dish! The deep red color shows that I used a lot of sauce in this dish 😘

Picky Eaters Unlimited and Covid-19 eating!

It has been a while. And I have been busy. busy, busy and so tired, tired, and tired…

Just yesterday, I got inspired to post what I have been doing at this Covid-19 times!

Most of you know what is going on currently due to Covid-19 and I will say you have been doing your best to stay safe and healthy. I have decided to make time to spend less money and eat at home- well not every place I loved to eat was opened. In the next couple of posts, I will do my best to share some of the dishes from my kitchen.

Today, however, I do not have a dish but in the words of Fela Kuti:

“I want to tell you a story, no be story o”

I will like to tell you a story of how I was able to have my toddler eat everything that I place in front of him and I was able to get him to not make faces at the foods that I place on his plate. Oh and more so he does not say disgusting to it- something he picked up from a show. (I am still looking for that show and when I find it, is banned from our TV).

Nah…

The truth of the matter is that I have a picky eater and his momma (Ahem, me) is about as picky as he is.

So here is the story I will tell you’

I recall as a kid, my mom would give us castor oil to help us go to the bathroom aka #2 and I will say that although it was effective in aiding the “going” it was very NASTY to taste and much less swallow.

My mom has told me of my hating to eat, wait HATING to eat black-eyed peas as a kid. Growing up- maybe even now- it is considered one of the cheaper proteins to buy and very filling. Whenever my mom made the dish, she would tell me if I wanted to have my hair grow very long, I had to eat it. Mom said I would eat the black-eyed peas dish like there was no tomorrow lol. I love black-eyed peas now and you do not need to bribe me to eat it 😘

Now that I have a toddler, I have told him how nasty castor oil is when taken on a teaspoon and he knows I am not joking about it. With him not eating the food on his plate; I might have let it drop that I will have him taste some of the castor oil…

Look, I want my kid to eat what he has in front of him on his plate, at school, and at home but I am getting to where I am a bit tired of trying to convince him how beneficial and nutritious the meals in front of him are.

We cannot keep eating the same thing over and over right?

One thing I CANNOT enjoy unless it is made from scratch is mac & cheese and he loves this. How can I make this more nutritious? If you have an answer, let me know, please?

Do you have a picky eater? What are your tricks to getting them to eat what you have set before them? And pls- I need other dishes that I do not have to blend the veggies in so that I can also eat- yes, this momma likes very few veggies too.

Until next post.

And from one picky eater to you;

Have a blessed day and week!

The Quietest July 4th Yet..

Once in a while, we have a year where July 4th falls on a weekend and we get to have Friday if the 4th is on Saturday off. If it is on a Sunday, we get Monday off.

Today is the 4th and there are no wooshes, bangs, or loud sounds coming from fireworks going off. The place we live in actually had notice out saying fireworks were not allowed 😢

Last year at this time, we lived in Florida and my family was visiting another family in Florida. In the neighborhood they lived in, the celebration began at 9 pm. I will say that if I have a long weekend again on the 4th of July, that is the neighborhood I want to go to.

The fireworks were plentiful, loud, and did not stop even after we left the home of our friends. My toddler and theirs had fun and all the kids that came had fun. I went to bed with a smile on my face.

This year is different, due to Coronavirus, there are no gatherings- and even if there were any, we chose to stay home to be safe. Some states like Arizona, New Jersey- that had reopened or lifted the ban are noticing there are seeing a spike of cases and the authorities are trying to contain it.

With all these in mind, there is a sour taste in the mouth to go outside and see fireworks if there are any. I am planning on turning on the TV later tonight to see if there would be any fireworks shows broadcast as they are happening.

Maybe next year will be different!

Maybe soon, Corona Virus will be done and gone away and we can return to some form of normalcy.

Maybe.

Even without fireworks, and outside barbecues; I hope you do something special so that for next year, you would say: “2020 was the year we….

This is the year, the year, we stayed home on July 4th and watched fireworks on TV…

Happy 4th of July and to all our military and servicemen and women; thank you!

Stay safe and have a Happy 4th of July my friends🎆🎉🎇

Always,

Ezanya

Thoughts

It has been quite a few days.

Listen here: