Slowing Down Time

Why is it when we were children, it seemed to take forever for school to get out or the holidays to come? We counted down to our birthdays and “Are we there yet?” was the hallmark of a road trip. Everything took longer and time seemed to stand still.

Then we grew up, got jobs and started our own families. Time flew by. One day I woke up and I was 35 years old. And yes, like most of us, it seemed like just yesterday I was graduating. What the hell happened to the last 15 years?!

It’s a blur. One big foggy blur with a few little memories woven in.  Some are pretty special memories, like my two daughters being born. But in 15 years, I can only think of a handful of memories. Why? Because all I did, it seemed, was work. First professionally; then being a mom.

Let me cut to the chase: Children live in the moment; and we adults do not. Our heads are almost always somewhere else. Thinking about what we need to do next or how am I going to handle this? Children on the other hand, take moment by moment. Every moment they are alive and their imaginations are ignited. You remember, don’t you? Being a kid with some water, dirt and a bucket. That was a good moment.

Now I’m sure you’ve read “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle like many of us. If you haven’t, you should. Nothing helps you understand the importance of today like this book. In fact, I don’t think I would have ever broken the cycle of “adulthood” without it. Anyway, we all know the power of now.

We moved to Portland last fall. I noticed something about our move a couple of weeks ago. It had only been eight months since our move and yet it seemed like it had been a long time, years in fact. I realized I had dozens of memories, more than I could count, from the last eight months. Compare that to the last 15 years and it sort of left me curious.

First, I realized whenever you move or do something adventurous, you are forced to live in the moment. Second, whenever you do something different you remember it. I realized somehow memories that are created are somehow attached to time span, or lack thereof.

So long story short, about two weeks ago I started doing something as a test. Each night before I went to bed I asked myself one question:

“What did I do today that I will never forget?”

I kept a short journal of it (I hate writing long journal entries, so it had to be short). The first few days were easy. But then I started to worry that I wouldn’t have something to write in my journal that night. So I started looking around for opportunities to do something that I would remember. My imagination got ignited. I lived in the moment seeing things I was not seeing before.

Here are my journal entries:

• §  Went to Japanese Gardens, fulfilling a dream I’ve had.
• §  Sang “Defying Gravity” with girls in the car. Moved to tears.
• §  Troy and I walked in the rain together.
• §  Coerced Jillian to walk home with me from soccer practice.
• §  Had the best Thai soup ever that Victor made.
• §  Troy’s back tire on bike exploded. Very close call.
• §  Walked to Starbucks with Heather. Did something silly I can’t make public.
• §  Went to first Bikram Yoga class. Hated it.
• §  Approached sick man at mall. Hope he’s ok.
• §  Lied on grass and watched the clouds roll by while listening to “Fast Car.”
• §  Bottle-fed two 4-day old kittens at animal shelter.
• §  Got a spray tan. What was I thinking??
• §  Finally got passports for the girls!

After two weeks, I thought back. Gee, these last two weeks seemed exceptionally long. And it wasn’t like I hiked Mt. Everest or swam with the dolphins. It was just paying attention to my life. It was also acknowledging that every day counts. That I wasn’t about to let even one day slip by and call it part of the daily grind. You’re not going to wait until the big vacation to make memories.

Something interesting could happen at work or in the car or at the mall shopping. Even when it’s 6:00 PM and you think nothing has happened, you just say to yourself: “The day isn’t over yet.” And you start to look harder. You might even do something spontaneous or do something you’ve been putting off. What’s extra fun is realizing that some days there are multiple experiences to choose from when it comes time to write in your journal.

So if you want to slow down the clock (without having to take the batteries out), ask yourself:

“What did I do today that I will never forget?”

Chances are, quite a bit.

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse, 1 cup - 2 servings

1/4 cup pitted medjool dates, soaked for about 30 minutes
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract [optional - I always leave out]
3/4 cup mashed avocados [about 1.5 avocados]
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup water

Make sure to pit the dates. Place dates, maple syrup and optional vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth. Add avocado and cocoa powder and process until creamy. Add water and process briefly. Store in sealed container in refrigerator for up to three days or two weeks in freezer.

I like to top the mousse with fresh cut strawberries. Enjoy!

Note: You can sometimes find the medjool dates at Costco in bulk.

Note: You can use less cocoa powder for a more mild taste.

Yummy Stuffed Peppers

This is such a fun meal to make! The kids love to open the top and eat what's inside.

- 1 1/2 cups dry Jasmine rice (or your favorite rice), cooked
- 4-8 green bell peppers (quantity depending on how many you want to stuff)

Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 5 fresh mushrooms, largely chopped
- 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes
- 6 oz can organic tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp turbinado sugar or organic sugar
- small can sliced olives
- 3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Make rice. In large pan, heat olive oil on low heat. Add onion and mushrooms and saute. Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add salt and sugar and stir. Add olives and fresh basil.

When rice is done, add rice to sauce. Cut top off pepper and wash out inside discarding seeds. Fill each pepper with rice mixture and replace top.

Cook in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until peppers are cooked through. Be careful. Rice will be hot inside. Great to serve with fresh salad and Naan bread.

Healthy Pizza for the Whole Family

My kids love making their own pizzas and so do I! Here are two fun recipes...

For Me! - No Cheese Pizza with BBQ Sauce:
- Naan bread, whole wheat, or healthy pizza crust (Whole Foods sells great pizza crust)
- BBQ sauce (make sure you buy a brand without High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
- Fresh mushrooms, sliced
- Raw asparagus, cut
- Olives, sliced
- Sea salt, sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pizza for 12 minutes. Great to serve with watermelon.

For the Kids:
- Naan bread, white or whole wheat, or healthy pizza crust
- Tomato sauce (make sure you buy a brand without High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
- Cheese, shredded (I like Tillamook Cheese because there is no animal rennet in it)
- Any toppings they like such as olives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pizza for 12 minutes. Great to serve with watermelon and remaining asparagus from your pizza.

Delicioso Rice

This is a flavorful brown rice dish that will leave you satisfied.

- 1 1/2 cups dry brown rice, cooked (I prefer short grain brown rice)
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup salsa

Seasoning:
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp onion flakes

Toppings:
- A spoon of salsa
- Fresh avocado
- Sour cream

Cook rice. In large pan, heat oil on low/medium and add diced vegetables and salsa. Add seasoning. Cook vegetables until tender. Add rice and mix. Serve with your favorite toppings. I love a little extra salsa and fresh avocado.

Capellini Pomodoro

This recipe is from Olive Garden, although I have adjusted it just a bit. Super easy to make and great to serve when you want something fast and refreshing!

- Angel hair pasta
- 6 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 medium tomatoes, cut into small 1/2" pieces
- 12 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Salt to taste

Cook pasta. In large pan, warm olive oil on low heat. Add chopped tomatoes, basil and salt to taste. Do NOT overcook tomatoes. You just want them warm. If you do, it will turn into a watery mess. Serve on top of angel hair pasta.

Super Easy Spring Roles

Holy moly! These are good. I thought they would be hard to make, but a good friend of mine proved me wrong. Here's what you need:

- Spring roll wrappers (buy at grocery store by Chinese sauces; looks like pack of tortillas)
- Bean threads (located in grocery store by the spring roll wrappers; looks like dried noodles)
- Bag of shredded carrots
- Cilantro, chopped
- Sweet and sour sauce or your favorite Chinese dipping sauce

Set up a quick work station. This will make assembly fast. I used two cutting boards (one for cilantro and one for assembly) and a large pan filled with an inch of water.

First, steam the carrots. Second, cook the bean threads like you would pasta (boil for only a few minutes). Drain bean threads. Chop cilantro. Ok, here we go:

Place one spring roll wrapper in pan of water and let soak until soft (not too long or wrapper will break). Take soft wrapper out of pan and place on cutting board. Add carrots, bean threads and a pinch of cilantro. Wrap like a burrito. Place on second cutting board to dry (only takes about one minute to dry). Repeat until you have enough made. I made 12 with one small bunch of bean threads.

Dip in sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy!

Ps. I made these again, but this time added in one steamed asparagus tip per roll. Yum!