A lovely Tuesday with an amazing dinner

I think I just made one of my top meals just now. Seared salmon with blackberry sauce (remember that sauce I made back in the unlikely yummy dinner? That sauce.) Golden mashed potato's and ginger/garlic carrots. Oohhh... TBG and I were rather quiet during dinner, slowly savoring the flavors and textures. A good end to the day.

Today was a lovely morning at the ladies Titus 2 Bible study. We start classes in two weeks time, and I'm super excited to meet more ladies there and get to make even more new friends. Our teacher was out of country for this week, so one of the other leader ladies spoke. Such a wonderful encouraging and convicting topic! The Armor of God and the methods of attack that Satan uses. It was very interesting, hearing her break down methods that Satan uses to break our spirits and turn us away from our Father. It was so true too! Think about it, how often does something of either of these get in the way of focusing on our Savior?
1.>Doubt
2.>Deception
3.>Discouragement
4.>Division
5.>Delay
6.>Distract
It was interesting, because I could immediately identify the attacks I am susceptable to. Discouragement. Delay. Distract. Especially in the last month or so, I'm so easily discouraged by things I can't eat. And I turn from thanking the Lord for the things I CAN still eat and for the tastebuds I have, to crying over the few things I can't have. And I can have so much in reality! Delay and distract go hand in hand for me. I'll put off Bible reading to quickly change the washer/dryer, and then I'll reply to a text, and then remember to empty the dishwasher, and then I need to get ready for work, and then and then and then... Again, it was encouraging and convicting.

After she went over the methods of Satan's attack, she went into the Armor of God, and starting each day with putting that on. She also broke down the Armor, and reminded us of what each is and how important every piece is. I plan to get the CD once it's available next week. Yay! I think they have podcasts now too..I should look into that...

Anyways, Titus 2 was great. After that, I invited my Mom over for lunch, and we enjoyed a lovely pasta dish with turkey meat sauce, steamed broccoli, and fresh garlic bread. Such a wonderful time of fellowship and catching up! It is truly amazing to me, how much we've both changed. From a strictly mother-daughter relationship, to a mother-daughter-friends relationship. Amazing what marriage and moving out and maturity can do! I am very blessed to have the Mom that I have, and I am even more blessed that she'll still talk to me after all the stress and annoyances I put her through after all these years! *laughs* I'm glad she was available to come over and hang out.

And to add a cherry to the icing of today-TBG got off work slightly early today! Granted, it's because his leg is randomly really sore, and he didn't want to injure it any further, but still, what counts is that he came home by 4. ^_^ We were actually able to have dinner at 6 sharp, and still have time for some video games before that. He got the video game Final Fantasy 13 for an anniversary present, so he's enjoying playing through it, and I'm enjoying watching the story unfold! It works well, our nerdy amusements..

I'm afraid to say that I don't have any pictures of dinner. The camera is somewhere downstairs in his truck, and neither of us felt any inclination to go downstairs and find it. So sorry. But I will make it again sometime soon, seeing how amazing it was, and when I do, I will take pictures then! The salmon I've talked about before. Pan searing a salmon fillet that's only been seasoned with salt and pepper, and then pouring that blackberry glaze over it after. Delicious. But then I made something that I've made countless times before, but this time with different ingredients and different methods.

 Mashed potato's. Oh, so, so good!

For my birthday, I received the new gluten-free girl and the chef's cookbook. I highly recommend this book.To anyone and everyone. You do NOT need to be a celiac to enjoy this book. The recipes are superb. The story is sweet. And there are so many yummies in there to make! Huzzah! I will admit that for the mashed potato's , I had to sub out some ingredients for us, as now neither of us can have dairy, but they turned out fantabulous anyways! I'll post the recipe as I made it, but I'll also include the page number of their cookbook that I found it in. You have GOT to try these sometime! Totally worth the effort!

4 Yukon gold potato's, peeled
1/2 cup salt
1/4-1/2 cup hazelnut milk
4 TBSP softened butter
1 TBSP EVOO
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the potato's in half lengthwise, about an inch thick for each slice. If there's tiny slivers of potato left over, save them for some other cooking project later. We want these the same size so they cook through in the same time.
2. Add enough COLD water to the pot to fill it. Use a big enough pot that the potato's will have room to float and bounce around, no small pots that they barely fit in. Add the 1/2 cup salt. We want the water to taste like the salty ocean. Add more water if needed. Then add the potato's. Bring the water to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until you can slide a knife through the potato's easily.
3. Pour the potato's into a large colander and shake to get all the water off. Let them sit a minute or two to steam dry.
4. If you have a potato ricer or food mill, then you're in luck. Do it the easy way. If you're like me and you don't, then grab your strainer or fine mesh sieve and start pushing them potato's through! I used my strainer and a wooden spoon to push them through.
5. Add the butter, and fold in the hazelnut milk and EVOO. Add some fresh ground pepper. Taste, and salt/pepper to your preference. You can add fine chopped fresh chives if you so desire to.

I took pictures on Thursday, when I made it again, so here's a few shots:

Potato's!

See how they're all cut the same thickness? You want them like that

So tender, and so soft and amazing and flavorful! And when some of that blackberry glaze soaks into the potato?... *drools* You don't want to know the calorie count. Honest. But if you're like me and counting calories and carbs, then the recipe above makes 4 servings, 333 calories and 32 carbs each. *winces* I know, but the taste is worth it! Just plan ahead so your breakfast, snack and lunch are low cal and low carb to help balance the day..

Then the carrots. Steam the carrots like you always would, then just add a quick dash of ginger, a quick dash of garlic, some butter, stir and serve!

Carrots like this are a weakness to me now. Cook em and inhale em!

I'm thrilled we have some leftovers, because oh my am I going to enjoy dinner on Friday! (Friday, because tomorrow is a date night to Red Robin-yay!!-and Thursday I told TBG to have a friend over for guy time. Which works, because then I can use that friend for taste testing. ^_^ I like when we have friends over) Dunno what I'm going to make for when he's over, trying to decide. I'm thinkin a new recipe, just don't know WHICH new recipe yet. We'll see...

What a great Tuesday! Now to figure out what to do for my lunch tomorrow.. Whenever I make the salmon and potato's and carrots again, I'll make sure to take pictures to post. Promise.

Best fish ever!