Spiced Warm Chickpeas and Fresh Vegetable Salad When your student becomes your teacher

EDM - now we are even.

One of the most amazing things about teaching is the mastery that comes from teaching that thing that you know.  Im a better writer now than I was 20 years ago, because Ive been teaching writing for the past 20 years.  I often think back to high school and college and wish I had the depth of knowledge about writing I have now and shake my head at my innocence, my inexpertise, and my lack of writing ability.

If there is one thing Ive learned on this long journey as a teacher, Ive learned that when you can teach something well, it means you know something well.  If you cant teach it well, it often pushes you to learn it better so that you can teach it well.  This is why, for the past three years or so, Ive hired and paid my students to teach my own kids different skills.  Ive had a girls softball whiz, soccer stud, lefty baseball all-star, and my latest hire is a student drummer.  Hes worked with Son on his drumming for a few weeks, and my own arms and heart longed to take a few lessons myself, if only to pick up some of those small skills I think I need to become a decent drummer.  Unfortunately his availability and mine do not work out, so I havent been able to take a lesson.

However, last week, I had a really amazing opportunity and that was the chance to take a lesson.  Suddenly I found myself rubbing my hands with glee, not so much for the drum lesson itself, but for the opportunity to GET EVEN.  My drum playing student isnt exactly the model easy student to teach.  Everything comes with a question, a challenge, a refusal, a denial, and a mini argument before I get what I want out from him.  Dont get me wrong.  Im not angry about it, upset about it or think that its beyond my job.  It is my job and the questions, the challenges, refusals, denials and arguments all make me a better teacher.

But I was going to get to be in the drivers (students) seat for a bit, and it was going to be fun.  I planned in my head the things that I wanted to do, the behaviors I would exhibit, and the frustration I would cause him and I laughed the evil maniacal laughter of a true mastermind. [insert maniacal laughter here.  MUAHHAHAHHAHAHA.]  When the lesson started however, all thoughts of my torture flew out of my head because I was suddenly so keen to impress my student.  I discovered myself doing any number of insane things, all to impress my student with my mad skills.  (I dont have any, but still.)  He would call out and ask me to create certain basic rhythms and I would do my darnedest to perform them properly. Several times during the lesson I became so focused I tuned him out and he had to raise his voice (remember drums) to be heard.  At one point he raised his arms into the air and said, "THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!" when I refused to listen to him and instead insisted on showing him the beat that I could perform.

In the end, I got a little bit even.  And it was so worth it.  It was fun and I learned something.  I think my student also learned how tough it is to teach the know-it-alls and how teaching, at the end of the day, can be back-breaking, spirit-changing, brain-numbing work, but it is worth it.  During the lesson I wasnt able to recreate a certain rhythm on the drums, but after my lesson, I practiced that rhythm over and over more than 30 minutes, and suddenly I mastered it.  I sent him a video, and his mom responded, "I think he was impressed."  I actually think he was impressed that he was able to teach me something.

Now this salad impresses me all the time.  Whenever I make it (and Ive made it multiple times) I find myself saying, "Dang.  Im a great cook."  It really is only salad but somehow the addition of the warm spiced chickpeas takes it to a whole different place.  I love it with a little bit of yogurt and I love it as the side dish to the cardamom chicken dish I posted earlier.  Impress yourself if youd like and make this fantastic salad.

Spiced Warm Chickpeas and Fresh Vegetable Salad
Adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
Serves 4

Ingredients
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼  teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

2 small cucumbers, cut into a ¼ inch dice
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and deveined, cut into ¼ inch dice
½ of a small red onion, peeled, and cut into small dice
¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
¼ cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley

5 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon zested
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 clove of garlic crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a small bowl, toss together chickpeas, cumin, cardamom,cinnamon, salt and olive oil.  Toss and coat chickpeas well.

In a large bowl, place cucumber, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, cilantro and flat leaf parsley.

In a jar or a sealable container, mix together olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, garlic and salt and pepper.  Set aside.

In a fry pan, add spiced chickpeas and fry over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until chickpeas are slightly golden and warm.   Keep warm.

Serve salad by tossing vegetables and herbs with dressing, and adding a bit of warm chickpeas on top.  A dollop of yogurt is also a nice condiment.

Printable recipe

With Cardamom Chicken Rice with a dollop of yogurt

A really wonderfully inspiring cookbook. The pictures make me so hungry

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Happy Thursday! When Failure Becomes Success

Happy Thursday everyone!

Only one more day till the end of this work-out week. I conducted a little photo shoot and update on Mr. Lovely here, who is nine weeks young today. Doesnt he make your heart melt?

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But while babies melt our heart, it is up to us to melt away extra weight.

I thought of this title during homeschooling today.

I have a strong desire to encourage you all in your journey toward healthy living.

Although failure and success are polar opposites of each other, the two concepts are quite often closer to each other than you think.

Lifting up a glass of water to your lips and swallowing... is success. Drinking another glass on top of that is more success because getting in 8 to 10 glasses of water helps us lose weight.

Failure might be grabbing one too many treats, but success is close on its heels when you manage to stop yourself. Success is when you first think about stopping yourself and then actually doing it.

Why is just thinking about it success? Because when you have thought about it, you are closer to your goals than not ever having considered it at all.

Failure can be turned into success so quickly more often than not, that it is actually astounding when you consider how much power you really do have within your own control.

Consider that in only three days on this diet, I have lost four pounds. (I lost another pound this morning).

Thats a short period of time to make such a big change when just four days before that, I had stepped on the scale and gained two pounds in one day from eating too many cookies, and other high calorie food.

But why then, if we have so much power does not everyone do this?

Ill tell you why.

Its for lack of knowledge that we allow failure to take away our success.

You see, I know exactly what I need to do to lose 20 pounds in ten weeks. In fact, since the last time I lost this weight, I have discovered more secrets to dropping the fat even faster. So, yes, I have a certain measure of confidence because of past success. But much of that success was aided by my obtaining knowledge.

And, of course, knowledge isnt everything...you need other things to be successful...like determination, practice, patience, goals, flexibility, resolve and an undying belief in yourself that you can do it even when you cant see your goal in front of you.

In a word, faith.

Faith means believing in something yet unseen, which I suppose might be an idea for another post.

Anyway, what I really want to say here is to exhort you all in the knowledge that success in your journeys are just a choice away.What you might consider to be little successful choices, are very important in leading the way to building your bigger successes.

Again, little things do mean a lot.

Its lacing up your shoes and pulling on a jacket for a walk outside before you can talk yourself out of it.

Its getting a good nights sleep so you can think clearly the next day.

Its buying more vegetables even if you dont eat them all the first time.

Its picking up a chocolate chip cookie ....and then putting it back down. (ok, so that one is a little tougher. ha!)

Well, I photographed my lunch. Its a pretty stacked salad with broccoli, green peppers, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, spinach topped with two teaspoons of Newmans Own oil and vinegar and two teaspoons of ground flax seed.

Complementing that salad and on a matching plate is 1/2 cup of Basmati brown rice topped with one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and a five ounce chicken breast.


For a total of 390 calories;
I was stuffed.
----------------------------------------------------
I made it to the gym for a 45 minute leg work-out, a 2 1/2 mile run, four sets of 15 push-ups. The first three were girl style and the fourth set was "boy" style.
I consumed 1,665 calories.
And I cant wait to weigh myself tomorrow.

Someone asked me to post my daily menu, which I have already thought about doing.
I dont have time tonight, but I may do it as a postscript soon.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

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Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars When the now becomes more important than the future

When I normally look at Children, I spend time thinking and planning all the different things Im going to do, say, teach, train them to do so that they can become some sort of figment-of-my-imagination-super human being in some distant future.  I evaluate, plan, and consider old activities, new activities, and still newer challenges and opportunities Id like them to have.  The task and goal is to see their future, and move them onto the path that  they are supposed to be on.

This means that I dont spend a lot of time appreciating where they are, right now, in the moment.  I take a moment to evaluate where they are and then think about where they need to be, but I never see how far theyve come.  I never look back and think about their progress, their growth, or their amazingness right now.

However, over the past 10 days, due to some choices Husband and I have to make about the future, Ive been forced to study, evaluate, and appreciate where Children are right now.  And Im blown away.  This is not about praising Husband and my parenting skills, or what phenomenal programs weve managed to find for Children to make them great.  This is simply about them.  Their character.  Their personality.  Their motivation.  Their resolve.  Their resilience.  Their joy. Their curiosity.  Their intelligence.  Their spark.  Their childhood. 

Its been a bit of a heart wrenching and soul searching time for me trying to make some choices, but its at the same time been a huge blessing to me to think about Children and to thank God for making them who they are.  Special.  Perfect.  Wonderful.  Mine. 

I had all three Children home today, and although there were crazy moments of crankiness, and a moment of extreme frustration as I discovered the stove top was broken, I tried to spend more time appreciating them in the "right now" instead of thinking only of the "what do they have to do."  Together we made some of these yummy simple treats, and Daughters passed them out to their piano teachers.

Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars
(adapted from Ina Garten’s Foolproof)
Makes 9x13 pan, about 16 to 20 bars, depending on how you cut them

Ingredients
2 sticks (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ? cups flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
12 to 15 ounces good apricot jam
1 cup sliced almonds

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment or in a bowl where you will use your hand mixer.  Mix on medium speed until just combined.  With mixer on low, add vanilla.

Sift flour and salt together and, with the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter mixture, mixing until it almost comes together in a ball.

Lightly pat 2/3 of the dough evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan (Ina Garten uses a 9 inch square pan)  Spread the jam on top of dough, leaving ¼ inch border.

Mix almonds into remaining dough with your hands.  Crumble and mix together into small bits and distribute on top of jam, covering most of surface.  Bake bars for 45 minutes, or lightly browned.

Cool completely and cut into 16 to 20 bars.

Printable recipe

Another something to savor and appreciate - just the way it is at this moment.

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