Tiga Dege Na (West African Peanut Butter Stew)

One of my favorite things about You Time at Elizabeth's House is what my friend Toni calls the "flow."  You just never know who or what will show up so you need to come prepared to "flow."  Last Thursday EH member Amy-Marie showed up and announced she would be testing a soup recipe in the "kitchen."  In no time at all the house filled with amazing aromas and we were treated to a delicious meal.  As requested, here is the recipe.

First, notes from Amy-Marie:
I substituted crunchy for creamy PB, chunky spaghetti sauce for  tomatoes and paste (out of necessity), chicken broth for vegetable, and an eggplant for the acorn squash.  Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly :)  I served it over long grain brown rice with raisins, and Red Hot Blues tortilla chips.And my E-House sisters gave it a thumbs up.

Tiga Dege Na (West African Peanut Butter Stew)

Ingredients
    1 tablespoon oil
    3 small onions, chopped
    6 cloves garlic, minced
    1 large (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
    1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
    1-1/2 cups vegetable broth
    1/3 cup smooth peanut butter (sometimes I add extra peanut butter)
    1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
    1 teaspoon salt (may reduce if broth is very salty)
    1 teaspoon black pepper
    2 bay leaves
    1 acorn squash, peeled and cubed
    1/2 medium cabbage, cut into thin strips (or a 10-14 oz. bag of cole
slaw)

Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat oil.  Add and saute onions and garlic until translucent.
2. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, peanut butter, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and squash.
3. Bring to a boil. Add the cabbage.
4. Cook until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent peanut butter from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Serve over rice.
You can add meat, eggplant or other veggies to your liking for a variation.
Makes: 5-6 servings, Preparation time: 45 min., Cooking time: 45 min.

The Women of Elizabeth's House Cater a Wedding

Beth Collins
October 5, 2011
Why would we do that you ask?  Because we love each other is the answer.  And because one of our members needed to believe she could have what she wanted, even though there were a hundred realistic reasons why she couldn’t.  Because at the end of the day we want to be among people who will do something or help someone because it’s a good idea, period.  And you know what?  When women decide to do that, their men, their children, their friends, and total strangers will help them, just because it’s a good idea.  God that’s beautiful.  But back to the wedding:

When Amy-Marie received a quote of $16,000 to have her wedding reception of 150 people catered, we all agreed it was obscene.  We’re good cooks I thought, why don’t we do it?  And in true Elizabeth’s House fashion, as soon as the idea was shared, a team of eager women began plotting and planning a most delightful event.  We listened politely while the bride-to-be shared all her ideas for a dream wedding and then, we went into action.  The following is the result of approximately six weeks of creative thinking:

Food stations were planned that would represent the passion of the cooks.  A southern soul station featuring fried chicken, salmon cakes, deviled eggs, dilly beans, jalapeno cornbread, and tater tot casserole was washed down with Lynchburg lemonade.  A Toledo S.O.U.L. station (sustainable, organic, unrefined and local) gathered the very best offerings from local farms.  In the end that turned out to be ham and egg frittatas (eggs from Schlatter’s Farm and ham from Liz of Sage Organics) that was topped with homemade tomato jam, and served with grilled peaches (Witt Orchards) and zucchini.  video of making tomato jam for the weddingAn Italian station came together beautifully with the best Italian foods purchased from Sofo’s.  Meatballs and pasta salad were lovingly prepared and served with a variety of cheeses, breads and crackers, with chianti as the beverage of choice.  A middle-eastern station featured meat and veggie grape leaves, pita and hummus, and spinach feta pies.  And finally, a dessert station whose centerpiece was a beautiful carrot cake with maple/cream cheese filling and butter cream frosting (also made from 100% organic and farm-fresh ingredients) was surrounded by a variety of homemade pies (made by the groom’s mother) and the best homemade ice cream (or was it gelato?) ever! 

Sounds fabulous right?  It was.  And upon reflection I have to say as good as the food tasted, gathering with a group of women to plan it, prepare it, and present it was even better.  Shopping the farmer’s markets together, canning beans, preserving jam, teaching what we know, and learning what we don’t.  And on the big day I was blessed to be among women who, when the plans change, do what needs to be done.  The women of Elizabeth’s House (and some spouses and children J are nothing short of amazing.  It is an honor to be among you. 

Are You Having Any Fun?

Well, are you?  And if not, why not?  Too busy?  Too overwhelmed?  Does having fun sound like a waste of time?  Maybe having fun sounds silly or unproductive?  Here’s another question:  How do you have fun?  Creative projects, cooking, sports, dancing, travel?  Something I’ve learned for sure is that when I realize I’m not having fun I probably need to make a change.  At work, at home, in my relationships – it doesn’t matter.  Fun is passion.  Fun is my connection to my Self, it’s a nice reminder of who I am.  When I’m not connected to that part of myself, it shows.  So leaving fun out of my day, my week, or my life to be “productive” means I’m not showing up at my best, in fact I’m probably leaving out the best part of me. 

So where did we get the idea we had to be so serious?  Where did we get the idea that everything has to be so hard?  What if it isn’t true?  What if my path to feeling happy and fulfilled requires me to have fun?  Now that’s a conversation I want to be a part of.  Of course, I already know it is the truth, which is why I ask the question “are you having fun?”  If the answer is no, then I have an invitation.  During the whole month of July Elizabeth’s House is asking women to surrender to the fun of summer and to help you do that, we are hosting Summer Camp each Tuesday and Thursday.  We’re going to dance, sing, act, scrapbook, have tea parties, make jewelry, and more.  In other words, we’re going to play.  And while we’re “playing,” perhaps we’ll be reminded of what it feels like to be authentically us.  Smiling, joyful, laughing, sparkly us. 

This month I invite you to surrender to fun.  Make a point of it and observe the difference it makes in your life.  Take pictures and create an album of yourself having fun.  Start a fun journal and make a list of things you intend to do that are fun, and check them off when you do them.  By the end of the month I promise you one thing, your perspective is going to change, and that’s all we need to create more.

Peace,

Beth Collins, Founder and Director

Elizabeth's House, 419-356-5544 / elizabethshouse@bex.net

Letting Go by Jan Menzie

The older I get, the more I want to play with toys. I will be 61 late June, and no, I have not lost my mind…at least that I am aware of. And these toys have led me on a spiritual journey, one that I share indirectly with my students. I teach middle school which speaks to my sanity or lack thereof. I let my students know how much fun I have, how I love to play and how this is all part of life. I love to “go outside and play.”

Adult toys are a recent development in my life. I met my first exciting toy –a mountain bike- in my 40’s. When I was 46, my husband sent me to camp.  I had never been to camp. This was a women’s fitness camp held in Winter Park Colorado, a location that we love. He suggested that I might need to play. How right he was. There, my inner child came out that had been hidden for years. At camp, I learned to run mountain trails, and become part of a team of women.

There, I also met God on a personal level. Not where you might expect to have a spiritual awakening. All week, we had been learning to do something that I had not done since I was a kid. We learned to ride a bike. This was not your mother’s heavier than the lawn tractor bike. This was a lightweight mountain bike with multiple gears, and a front suspension and fancy brakes. And each team was expected to stay with the leaders on single-track mountain bike trails starting at 9200 ft. altitude and climbing to 12,000+ and then back down again. Twists and turns, up and down, and lungs heaving. Scary, and steep, rocky, and loose, mountain biking testing every sense. This I know does not sound like fun, and at first it was nothing but struggle. It was so much like my everyday life, pushing against a mountain. One of my teammates said something that changed my life and how I felt about the sport. She said, “ I have done this many times, and I have never seen a stronger biker than you. The problem is you ride that bike as though you are trying to control the mountain. You cannot control the mountain.  You look down and worry about every bump and root and think that you can control them. You are miserable on the ride. You are tense and tired in the end. You cannot control the mountain. What you need to do is look about ten to twenty feet ahead and trust the bike and your eyes. Let the bike take you.” She was right. I learned to surrender. I surrendered to the trail, the mountain, the bike, and to God. I let go. And as I let go, I loved it more and more, and got better at everything including biking. My entire life began to settle into the rhythms of ups and downs of everyday life, looking ahead and trusting God to help me pedal the bumps and holes and come out with a smile on my face wanting more. If I become distracted, I will crash. It is truly a religious experience.

I pray as I ride, or have imaginary conversations with God and with my students as I pedal, pedal, pedal around the trails. As time passes, I find more and more trails and have more and more fun. So are the paths of my faith.  It is one of the most fun things I do. And the older I get, the more of a kid I become. I remember that Jesus once said that our faith should be like that of a little child. Play a little.  Surrender and trust. Smile a lot. Laugh out loud.  Hoot and holler when you conquer the next hill. Anyone wanna come out and play? Let me know.

Hey Toledo, are Your Dreams Too Small?

I just saw a local television commercial that began like this - “Hey Toledo, city of dreams!” and I listened as the announcer wanted to congratulate Toledo for being the “chosen” city to test a new menu item from Taco Bell.  And while I want to believe that Toledo is dreaming bigger than how to make taco shells out of Doritos, this commercial supports what I have found to be true most of the time - our dreams are too small.  Our dreams are too small because we don’t trust ourselves to dream big.  Regardless of whether you are dreaming for yourself, a business, a city or beyond, if you are settling for less than your heart’s desires I would like to offer the following for your consideration:

Small Dreams

Here are examples of how we dream small:  We get downsized or lose our jobs otherwise, and rather than take the opportunity to reevaluate what we really want moving forward, the dream is to simply replace income and we start scrambling to get any job we can.  If we trusted in something bigger we might recognize the job loss as a gift of time to reevaluate and gain clarity about what we really want.  What if “I need a job” became “I want to make great money doing something I love?”

Another example of dreaming small was evidenced at Elizabeth’s House last week.  A woman with vague ideas about her “dream wedding” is planning a small “family affair” in a dress she doesn’t love on a date that doesn’t suit her.  Why?  She’s making the mistake we’re all prone to make.  She’s trying to figure out how to have what she really wants and because she thinks she has to do it all herself, including paying for it, the celebration (the dream) gets smaller and smaller. 

Trusting in More

I could write a book with countless stories of people I’ve met who changed their lives profoundly by deciding to trust in something more.  But the truth is it’s not really that simple and reading one more inspirational/self-help book isn’t going to create the experience you need in your life.  Over and over when presented with ideas for trusting in more from life people have said to me “I don’t know how to think it.”  Now that is the simple truth.  And here is the message I want to share – If you can’t think it, you can’t have it, and if you have decided it’s all up to you then I know you are probably isolating yourself and limiting your possibilities even more.  In other words, your dreams are probably too small.  So how do we expand our perspective?  Where do we find people who will help us trust in more? 

Create a Vision Incubator

If you’re reading this you are already aware of Elizabeth’s House in Toledo, OH, a long-held dream of mine that would support women in rethinking and reinventing their lives.  Elizabeth’s House is itself an incubator for women’s dreams as they gather to discover or uncover what those dreams are.  The time women give themselves to do that, as well as the support of others on the same path have been critical components in the reinvention process.  Obviously not everyone has access to an Elizabeth’s House, whether they live in a “city of dreams” or not.  So consider creating a “vision incubator” of your own.  Ask a small group of people you trust to meet on a regular basis for the purpose of expanding possibilities.  You might be surprised how easily the ideas come for other people.  If you’re in Toledo I will be facilitating a vision incubator this summer at Elizabeth’s House, as well as the Scarlett Secor Mansion Business Incubator.  But don’t wait for a formal opportunity to dream bigger.  Start now.  What is it your heart truly desires?  I’m willing to bet it’s bigger than a taco shell.  Don’t settle for small dreams, dream it big, and do it.

Ukrainian Egg Decorating

Get Connected

Last Saturday a group of women completed my four-week Get Connected Program.   The participants shared their genuine appreciation for a simple approach that connected them to a clear awareness of who they are in the world and the gifts they bring.  As they pondered all the possibilities this newfound awareness brings to their lives and expressed excitement for living purposefully, I had to giggle when one of the women asked “can it really be this easy?”  Well, yes is the simple answer but I understand asking the question.  When we’re surrounded with negativity it can be a challenge to be the “happy” one in the group.  When we recognize that life is supposed to be fun and all we have to do is remember what that means to us life takes on new meaning.   Okay it may not change the whole world but I promise you it will change yours.  Sound too easy?  So what if it is?  Aren’t you about ready for something to be?  The next Get Connected Program starts Tuesday April 26 (9:00 am – 10:30 am) and it would be my privilege to share something simple and profound with you.  Register for the four weeks by calling or emailing Beth Collins, 419-356-5544 or elizabethshouse@bex.net.