Who let the dogs out??

My little guys had quite the adventure. They left the house Wednesday and roamed the better parts of Cerritos. Unfortunately on their way home, my little girl got hit by a car. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, breaks your heart more than to see your little one hurt. My waking moments on Friday were spent crying.

But they are both back home now. SAFE and SOUND. Doc gave Oliver a clean bill of health. Lulu has a few broken bones, but she is on the road to recovery. Thank God!

She's a tough little cookie, and I know she'll make it out of this one with flying colors. Of course, I expect nothing less from her.

These are the adventures of Oliver and Lulu~

Avocado Egg Rolls

It's Mother's Day!! And my dish to make during this occasion was Avocado egg rolls. It was so easy to make. You can google the recipe, but I changed mine just a little bit since my fam bam doesn't like things that are too sweet. Plus, I think my way is healthier. haha!

Dipping Sauce
9 tsp white vinegar
3 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cup agave nectar
a good pinch of saffron
1 bunch of cilantro
6 garlic cloves
6 green onions
3 tbsp sugar
3 tsp ground black pepper
3 tsp cumin

Egg Rolls
5 avocados
1 jar of sundried tomatoes packed in oil
1/2 red onion, minced
2 1/2 tsp minced cilantro
egg roll wraps
egg
olive oil for frying

Directions
1. Wash and dry the cilantro. Put it into the food processor and pulse until minced. Save 2 1/2 tsp of it for the egg rolls.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the vinegars, agave nectar, and saffron. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
3. Pour the vinegar mixture into the food processor which the cilantro. Add garlic cloves, green onions, sugar, black pepper, and cumin and process.

4. Cube the avocados. Chop the sundried tomatoes so they are small and bite size.
5. Mix the avocados, sundried tomatoes, minced red onion, and cilantro.
6. Place a tbsp of the avocado mixture onto an egg roll wrapper.
7. Wrap according to the directions on the wrapper.
8. Fry in hot olive oil for about 2-3 minutes.

This dish was a huge hit. And it was so easy to make. The sauce was a lot so don't try to make any more than that. As for the serving size...I used up all the egg roll wrappers, save two. We were feeding a party of 11 people and I had leftovers, BUT there was so much other food...so...yea...

But definitely, it was so good. I know I will make it again. Which is why I wrote this post, so I can refer to it next time. =)

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

My very first "philosophical" book was Demian by Herman Hesse. I love philosophical books because after reading, you feel so different. You want to live better. You grow. I've read many books like Demian, but they all seem like child's play compared to The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.


This book will definitely be read multiple times. I do believe books speak different languages to different people. When I am older, I will be different and the book's message to me will be different as well. For now, these quotes stood out and struck a chord within me.

"For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning."

"Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping..and stand together yet not too near together: for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."

"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth."

"For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable."

"And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream"

"But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother's milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship."

"And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart, 'Your seeds shall live in my body, and the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart, and your fragrance shall be my breath, and together we shall rejoice through all the seasons."

"Together they (joy and sorrow) come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed."

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

"But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you, so the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also."

"And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also."

"You can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?"

"And since you are a breath in God's sphere, and a leaf in God's forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion."

"And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears."

"If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind."

"For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."

"Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timeslessness, and knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream...let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing."

"For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?"

"And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue."

"If it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart."

"[Pleasure] is the blossoming of your desires, but it is not their fruit."

"They should remember their pleasures with gratitude, as they would the harvest of a summer."

"You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link. This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link."

"Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone."

"And I the believer was also the doubter; for often have I put my finger in my own wound that I might have the greater belief in you and the greater knowledge of you."

"That which seems most feeble and bewildered in you is the strongest and most determined."

"And you shall bless the darkness as you would bless light."

I can't wait to read it again and see this post to see how much the message will differ, if at all.

Other books, similar to this book, and are outstanding books themselves include:
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (I love this guy)
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

"Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den." -Plato, The Republic


I've always wanted to read this book and I finally had the chance to when I decided to assign it to my 12-year-old tutor girl. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. I could not put it down! Even ask my sister! My nose was constantly in this book! But wow...such a beautiful book.

My very few encounters with special needs children that I have had in my life were what allowed this book to find resonance in my heart. I have a cousin who is born with Down Syndrome. And, during the time when I was going through grade school, the special needs children were able to attend school with us. I am ashamed to say that my experiences were not very pleasant ones. Growing up, I had always thought my cousin was a little off. I felt bad whenever he came over to our house because I didn't want to play with him and yet I felt bad leaving him by himself. At school, I was always afraid of the special needs children. My mom told me to not stare at them, and at that age, I had thought it was because they were bad, not because my mom was trying to teach me to be polite.

But this book is more than just about the rights of special needs people. It is about what constitutes "life."

Growing up, my parents have always stressed the value of intelligence. Undoubtedly, as an adult, I, too, believe in the importance of intelligence and it's role in carrying out a filled life. However, more important than intelligence, is love. Without love, nothing matters. I think that that is what Charlie learned. When you learn to love yourself, you learn to love each other. He realized this through his love for Alice, his love for his friends at the bakery, his love for Algernon, and even his love for his foes.

As a side note, I wish Keyes had delved deeper into Charlie's relationship with Alice. He had gone on so much about Charlie's sexual development (to the point where it got the book banned in most schools), it seems almost a waste when compared to his relationship with Alice. I leave a favorite quote of mine. (There were a few but I was too busy reading to catch them) I try to live by a "do to others as you would have them do to you" mantra, but sometimes I fall off my rocker and shock myself at my insensitivities...Charlie reminded me again to be more conscious.

"How strange it is that people of honest feelings and sensibility, who would not take advantage of a man born without arms or legs or eyes - how such people think nothing of abusing a man born with low intelligence."

Breakfast Sweets

Too many times, recipes for sweets calls for too much sugar or too much chocolate. There is no such thing as too sweet, you say? There is no such thing as too much chocolate, you say? Take my word for it, there is. So when there is a recipe that doesn't come out too sweet, it is definitely a good find. Here is the recipe. Trust me and put the chocolate chips in there. It is tasteless without them.

Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins.
(Courtesty of Bakerella)

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.

3. In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.

5. Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few chips to sprinkle on the tops.

6. Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Giada De Laurentiis's Spicy Baked Macaroni

Oh my goodness! I thought this was a mac and cheese recipe! When I googled, Giada De Laurentiis' mac and cheese recipe, this one came up. But now as I'm writing this post, I realized the name of this dish is "Spicy Baked Macaroni" =( What a dummy I am...but it was still good. Beware, this dish is NOT spicy as it claims to be. Well, then again, I'm Korean so not many things that claim to be spicy are spicy to me. Eh~ What are you going to do?

Next time, though, I think I will use 2 cans of diced tomatoes. So here's the recipe! Give it a try~

Ingredients

Salt

1 pound elbow macaroni pasta

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound assorted mushrooms, quartered

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cups bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup

1/4 cup Romano, plus 1/3 cup

2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons

12 ounces mozzarella cubed (about 2 cups)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the onion is golden, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup Romano. Spread the softened butter in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle half of the bread crumb mixture inside the dish to coat.

5. In a large bowl combine the vegetable mixture with the cooked macaroni, cubed mozzarella, the remaining Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and the nutmeg. Spoon into the prepared baking dish, top with the remaining bread crumb mixture, and dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

When I first met Tess, I was about 15 or 16. I was young and impressionable. When Alec and Angel broke Tess's heart, they broke mine too. The anger and resentment towards Alec and Angel and the heartache for Tess was all too tangible for me. That was then.

I've come a long way since I was 16. I am no longer that fragile, impressionable girl. I've learned to become a fighter, a survivor, and a protector of my heart. Which is why Tess infuriates me. Why is she such a tragic character? She accepts these sorrows that life throws at her, as if it was her fate. Well, I'm a believer that you write your own destiny, so her actions are not okay with me!

Dear Tess,
Alec may have destroyed your body but Angel destroyed your spirit! And while what Alec did was horrible, Angel's crime is unforgivable. Love? Do you think he loved you? Wake up and smell the flowers sweetcheeks! He didn't love you! He loved the IDEA of you. Stop crying and thinking that your life is worthless. You said yourself, you are "a peasant by name, not by nature." Stop being a slave to your circumstances and become the master of your life. *snap snap snap!*
With love, your life coach