Blog | reluctantentertainer.com Reluctant Entertainer I Sandy Coughlin - Lifestyle, Entertaining, Food, Recipes, Hospitality and Gardening

May 23

Setting up a Drink Station with Potted Basil Plant in a Beverage Jar

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under drinks, food & recipes, parties & gatherings

Beverage station with fresh basil

I love the saying: Enjoy the satisfaction that comes from doing little things well.

Entertaining can be so overwhelming for many, so I always tell people to start small.

Choose one aspect of entertaining that you want to improve upon the next time you have company over.

Beverage station with fresh basil

For me, I usually think of the drinks last minute. Which means I set out the glasses (sometimes that isn’t even done), water, wine, and whatever drinks we’ll be serving.

Beverage station with fresh basil

But ice and the details are always after-thoughts, and this is one small thing that I’d like to improve upon!

Beverage station with fresh basil

Recently I tried something new.

Instead of filling my beverage jar with a drink, I decided to fill it with a potted plant.

Trader Joe's Basil in Beverage Jar

How fun is that?

It took me about 5 minutes to put this drink station together.

Burlap inside the beverage jar.

MacKenzie-Child's Beverage Jar

Next, Trader Joe’s $2.99 basil plant.

Trader Joe's Basil in Beverage Jar

Very inexpensive!

Beverage station with fresh basil

How to set up a drink station with fresh basil:

1. Establish a small serving table that will hold the drinks, cups, ice, napkins, etc.

2. Rinse the leaves of a small potted herb plant and shake to dry (without compromising the dirt in the pot).

3. Fill a beverage jar with the potted herb plant that can be used for the drinks, such as fresh basil. Wrap the pot with burlap.

4. Set out glasses and napkins.

5. Set out bottled drinks, ice, and pre-sliced lemon or lime.

6. Encourage your guests to make their own drinks, snipping off a fresh leaf and adding to the drink with a slice of citrus.

Beverage station with fresh basil

Back to starting small. Remember entertaining is not about making everything look over-the-top spectacular. It’s about creating a warm environment for your guests with touches of “you.”

Don’t get caught up in what others are doing. Take your personality, the way you were made, and use it to create a party that your guests will love.

What’s your favorite way to set up a drink station?

4 Comments

May 22

WIN a Vintage Table with 12 Unique Chairs from Rosewood Vintage Rentals

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under giveaways & gadgets, parties & gatherings

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

This post is for local friends who live in Southern Oregon. Read on for a fun Rosewood Vintage party giveaway …

The inspiration to host a Fiesta Party came when we realized we hadn’t seen some of our friends in a while, and we were missing them. I think we all miss our friends, we get so busy in life. So it’s fun to bring everyone together for a party!

We love our friends, eating good food, and talking late into the evening with them. To me, that is living. It’s what we’re created to do, to commune with one another.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

Around the same time of my party idea a few weeks ago, my friend, Lacie–who bought a new business called Rosewood Vintage Rentals in our hometown with her business partner, Maria–asked me to host a party that included their rentals. How fun is that?

They came to my home, delivered the 12 foot rustic table and mix-matched chairs, and a few other accessories.

Their service was excellent.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

They do all the work for you. Deliver, set -up, make sure everything is in the right place.

Love the long rustic table. This one seated 12.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

And each chair so unique.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

Rosewood Vintage Chair

Cool side tables and a pop of color.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

Candelabra and extras to choose from.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

Here’s what I love about their cool rental biz. They have unique and vintage pieces for any event, which may be a dinner party (hand in the air!), weddings, showers, or other events. They also have sofas, upholstered chairs, mismatched chairs, church pews, vanities, and the farm tables and chairs all for very affordable prices! (They are located in Medford, Oregon, and available by appointment.)

Another idea is you can rent their pieces for photo-sessions! Either the client or the photographer can come and rent a piece or two, or a sofa … I love those sofa shots out in the fields.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

For my Fiesta Party table, I had a blast putting it together and using what I already had. I borrowed the blue glasses from my friend, Judy. Used my standard black and white Courtly Check chargers (MacKenzie-Childs), green Dollar Tree plates, and olive green tinted wine glasses again from Dollar Tree. I pulled out red and blue cloth napkins, and ran a vibrant Mexican colored scarf down the center, with burlap on top.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

For the flowers I went to my friend’s house and picked dainty blossoms from her garden, adding them to repurposed cans.

The menu was easy. I prepared a Chicken Mole dish with a rice/quinoa mix, Ground Turkey & Black Rice enchiladas, and my guests brought the rest. Amazing salads and appetizers, chips and dips. Probably my favorite appetizer that goes so well with the season at hand was Shrimp & Avocado Cocktails. We indulged in tasty foods, great conversation, Pandora playing in the background, and we ended with pie and fresh strawberries. I made a Sangria for our specialty drink and we also enjoyed Mexican beers and red wines.

The night was perfect for guests – a slight breeze in the air.

We all said our good byes until next time, and when we went to bed, my husband and I turned to each other with a light kiss on the lips, and said, we are thankful.

Thankful not only for a party, but for more memories made from being with the ones that we love.

Rosewood Vintage Rentals

Now for the FUN GIVEAWAY for all my friends who live in southern Oregon! (The delivery for the giveaway is free for local people who live within 15 miles of 97501. If you live outside of this area, delivery charges will apply. )

YOU have a chance to WIN a delivery for your own party! Anyone can comment today on this post, but you have to live in the Medford, southern Oregon area (listed above) to WIN!

WHAT TO WIN. One night rental of a 12′ rustic farm table and 12 mismatched chairs to be delivered to YOU! (Deadline is September 30, 2013. Available dates only.)

COMMENT TO WIN. EITHER HERE on the blog or you can comment over on RE Facebook page!

If you could host a party for 12, what type of party would it be? Do you already have a list of 12 that you could invite?

DO THE FOLLOWING. And come back and leave a comment letting me know.

Follow Rosewood Vintage on Facebook
Follow RE on Facebook
Share this giveaway to your local friends on your Facebook page.
Follow Rosewood Vintage on Twitter
Follow RE on Twitter
Follow Rosewood Vintage on Instagram
Follow RE on Instagram
Follow RE on Pinterest (Sandy Coughlin)
Take a quick peek at the Rosewood Vintage website

Pin one of these photos today to your Pinterest page.

You have 11 chances that you can WIN!

Good luck!

The delivery for the giveaway is free for local. (Within 15 miles of 97501), if the winner is outside of that area delivery charges will apply. Contest ends Friday at 11:59 pm PT. Winner announced on RE Facebook page Saturday, May 25, 2013. I was not paid for this post today; all opinions are my own.

18 Comments

May 21

California Dreaming with Recipe Girl’s Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under food & recipes, guest posts & blogging

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
In beautiful San Diego, a few weeks ago, a few blogging friends and I met and spent some time with Lori from Recipe Girl (who has a brand new cookbook out – we are so proud of her!) You may remember, I hosted a giveaway and posted her Upside-Down Brown Butter-Banana Cake recipe. My family was crazy about that recipe!

It’s fun to get to know other bloggers, and over the years many of us have traveled on various trips together. It’s really a treat to visit them in their homes and their kitchens! I love Robyn’s “In the Kitchen” series that she writes on her blog, Add a Pinch, with thoughtful interviews with other bloggers. She wrote a beautiful post on Lori, here. Good job, Robyn!

Recipe Girl

When we flew in to San Diego, and got to Lori’s home, we enjoyed some mighty tasty appetizers and drinks. It was a typical sunny California day. Seriously, I could live there. SUNSHINE!

Good times with Heidi, Lori, and Carrie.

Girls at Recipe Girl's for appetizers

And then she treated us to one of her recipes from her new book for dinner – Spinach and Cheese-Stuffed Manicotti. You can also find this recipe, here. (Yum!) I love Lori’s recipes because she tells you how to lighten them up (calories), change them up, as in what to substitute, if they are gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegetarian. Brilliant!

This particular recipe is vegetarian with spinach and other cheeses. Manicotti is fun because you can really make it your own and have fun with the ingredients!

Lori is quite the entertaining gal. We sat in her formal dining room and her family ate with us. I love family-style meals. We got to know her husband and charming son, Recipe Boy!

spinach & cheese stuffed manicotti from recipegirl

The next day, before we left for the Big Traveling Potluck, we hiked down at Torrey Pines State Park.

Torrey Pines State Park

Beautiful – perfect weather.

We had a little excitement along the way, when a rattlesnake decided to scare the bejevies out of us.

Torrey Pines State Park

California dreaming. Love that song, even though it is about the winter months!

Lori for sure has hospitality down. You can tell she’s a pro – and she practices exactly what she writes about on her blog, and her book.

Thank you for your hospitality in sunny California, Lori!

What’s your favorite “spin” on making manicotti?

18 Comments

May 20

Girlfriend-Friendly Dinner Party with Rhododendron Tabletop

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under decor & creativity, parties & gatherings

Rhododendron Tabletop

This girlfriend dinner party with a beautiful Rhododendron Tabletop is a prime example how coming together over good food and drink, with excellent company, can benefit the soul. Here’s how it happened …

My girlfriends were coming for dinner, so I wanted to set a pretty table. Inspired by our bursting rhododendron bush in the front yard, I took my scissors and went snip-snip.

Rhododendron Tabletop

Grabbing a few canning jars, I stuffed the flowers in the jars and pulled out an already ironed tablecloth and cloth napkins. Totally girlfriend-friendly.

Rhododendrons in canning jars

More importantly, I made 3 delicious salads, bought Costco’s new Fresh Beet & Jicama salad (because I wanted to try it), and served crunchy bread. Everyone brought drinks! And I made a delicious gluten-free chocolate dessert (recipe to come) which I served with Trader Joe’s Coffee Bean Blast ice cream. Yum!

Rhododendron Tabletop

Girlfriend dinners are so fun. You can get the pretty, girlie stuff out, make an all-salad dinner … it’s just easy!

Spinach and shrimp salad: Avocados, spicy pecans, baby heirloom tomatoes, sweet onion, and cucumbers. I dressed the salad with a light balsamic glaze and Trader Joe’s White Balsamic Vinegar.

Fresh garden salad, with lettuce just harvested from our garden: Heirloom tomatoes, chopped chicken, goat cheese, sweet candied pecans, dried cherries, avocado, and grapes. I dressed the salad with Trader Joe’s Pear Vinaigrette dressing.

Farmer’s Red Potato Salad: I’ll just say that by the end of the evening, everyone wanted the recipe! Delish!

I love the saying: Judge your success by the degree that you’re enjoying peace, health, and love.

Well, it was true after spending 5 hours with this group of ladies. Not only did we eat healthy foods, but there was a lot of love flowing around the table, and the entire night just had “peace” written all over it. Everyone was relaxed and enjoying true fellowship.

Rhododendron Tabletop

I always get texts or emails the next day. I had taken a risk and invited someone new that most of us didn’t know, and she sent me this note. It’s important to keep meeting new people and introducing our friends to one another. It just makes our lives richer.

Thanks for all the yummy flavors you created and put together last night. It was a great evening with beautiful women and delicious and nutritious food! Thank you for inviting me!

Which I love.

A peaceful night with good food and old and new friends.

Have you thought about hosting a girlfriend dinner party, or if not, what’s holding you back?

12 Comments

May 17

Home-Cooked Moments and Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under appetizer, food & recipes, parties & gatherings

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

Happy Friday, Friends!

If you’ve followed me on Instagram or Facebook, you probably saw we recently hosted a Cinco de Mayo Party. We were joking with our guests because we actually hosted it on May 4th, so wouldn’t it be Quatro de Mayo? Whatever the name, we had a great time with the people that we love!

I love to call these times with friends “home-cooked moments.”

We bring together like-minded guests from different parts of our lives, and the recipes that my friends bring are always so good! So yummy and just fabulous all the way around. Like Judy’s appetizer.

Here’s a funny spin to the night. As the guests were coming through the front door and the women were gathering in the kitchen, everyone was dressed in such bright colors. Except for me. I had a bland black summer dress on.

It was very hot outside, for May in Oregon, and I was roasting. I had gone to my closet and pulled the closest and coolest piece of clothing I could find. My friends were teasing me, that I needed something more cheerful!

I can be spontaneous, I told my girlfriends.

Off to my closet I went, quickly yanking a new summer Target dress off the hanger. Nice and cheerful, I was back in the kitchen in about 2 minutes.

For a picture with my beautiful friends–all fabulous cook!

Fiesta Party | Reluctant Entertainer

To start off the night, we enjoyed tasty appetizers from my friend Judy. She brought Mexican Shrimp Cocktails in martini glasses, all prepared and ready to enjoy! We had other amazing appetizers, salads, and Chicken Mole for dinner. Recipes to come!

When’s the last time you hosted friends for a home-cooked moment in your home?

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

Recipe: Mexican Shrimp Cocktail {ReluctantEntertainer.com} Recipe from Eva Longoria’s “Eva’s Kitchen” cookbook.

Ingredients

1 cup ketchup
2 small lemons, juiced
1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 lb. extra small shrimp (precooked)
4 avocados, peeled and cubed
1 lemon (wedged for serving)

Instructions

In a small bowl, place the ketchup, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir until blended.
In a medium bowl place the shrimp and avocado.
Pour the sauce over the top and gently toss until well coated.
Cover and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Divide into 4-6 glasses and serve with a lemon wedge.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

7 Comments

May 16

Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Better Bruschetta Chicken Salad

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under food & recipes, salad, sponsored post

Better Bruschetta Chicken Salad_Web

I was compensated by Tyson Foods to produce this post.

Hey friends, I just wanted to give you a little reminder that The Countdown to a Better You program is still underway. May 3rd marked 50 days to summer, can you believe that? So jump on board as we inch closer to summer, with guilt-free recipes, like the one I’m sharing today!

Remember that 80% of Americans would like to spend less than 30 minutes cooking dinner. My hand is in the air! But we all know that convenience foods are not the healthiest nor for your waistline, and definitely not the best way to make a “better you”. So, I’m glad when I need something quick and easy, that I can reach for Tyson® Grilled & Ready® products, usually whipping up a salad, meeting some of my summer goals in a pinch!

The Tyson® Grilled & Ready® chicken is all white meat, fully cooked, 98% fat free, and has no preservatives. And, the Grilled & Ready® beef products are also fully cooked, carved from real steak, with no preservatives! It’s convenience you can feel good about!

We have lots planned this summer, and one goal for me is to fit into my fly fishing waders. It’s been a few years since I’ve worn them and my husband and I are heading up to fly fish for 3 days for my 50th birthday. Who wants to buy a new pair of waders? Everyone is motivated differently when it comes to staying in shape for summer. I’m always motivated by whether my clothes fit comfortably or are a little snug.

I hope you enjoy this summer salad recipe today!

So as we’re inching closer to summer, if you’re making changes to being healthier, what’s motivating you the most?

a. Your family

b. Upcoming social event

c. Health benefits

d. To fit better into your clothes

Recipe: Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Better Bruschetta Chicken Salad {ReluctantEntertainer.com}

Summary: Recipe courtesy of Hungry Girl

Ingredients

1 cup plum tomato, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons roasted red peppers, packed in water, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons black olives, finely chopped
1 teaspoon basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic, chopped
3 ounces Grilled & Ready® Fully Cooked Frozen Grilled Chicken Breast Strips
4 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 teaspoon reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
1 stick light string cheese, cut into coins
2 tablespoons fat free balsamic vinaigrette

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine plum tomatoes with next five ingredients (through garlic) for bruschetta topping. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate.
Prepare Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips according to package directions. Set aside.
Place lettuce on a large plate or bowl. Add bruschetta topping and chicken.
Sprinkle with Parmesan topping and top with string cheese coins.
Top or serve salad with dressing.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 1

2 Comments

May 14

Homegrown Strawberries with Matez’ Tortas de Aceite

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under appetizer, food & recipes, garden & canning & freezing

Strawberries with Matez' Tortas de Aceite | Reluctant Entertainer

All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.

I’d like the change the words to this Beatles song to … all you need is cheese, crackers. Fruit is all you need.

Some people are so good and creative at making killer appetizers, but I find the easiest appetizer to put in front of your guests when you’re in a pinch is cheese, crackers, and fresh fruit! And a little fig jam, if you have it.

First strawberry of year | Reluctant Entertainer

In our backyard, our strawberries are finally coming on strong right now! It’s going to be hard to keep up with what our beds produce, so the next few weeks we’ll be enjoying pies, tarts, eating them for breakfast with Greek yogurt, smoothies, … you name it, there’s nothing like enjoying a good homegrown strawberry for any course of the meal!

The color, flavors, and passion for berries started for me as a little girl in Oregon, when my mom would bring flats home and we’d make fresh strawberry jam! I’ve posted about Mom’s easy method, here – How to Flip and Seal the Jars, but another way to enjoy them, especially with your guests, is to serve them in an easy appetizer.

Strawberries and Matez' Tortas de Aceite | Reluctant Entertainer

Appetizers are sometimes the last thing I think about when we are entertaining, I guess because if no one is bringing them, I know they are easy to put together. Last minute.

Cheese, crackers, and fresh fruit!

Easy appetizers | Reluctant Entertainer

Goat cheese, fresh strawberries from the garden, fig jam, and Matez’ Tortas de Aceite (which are a traditional Spanish crisp bread made with 24% Spanish olive oil. They are produced entirely by hand – each torta with its own distinctive hand-patted shape.)

Matez' Tortas de Aceite | Reluctant Entertainer

I have to say, not a drop was left on the platter as we transitioned over to our outdoor dining area.

I’ll leave you with few thoughts about appetizers. I love appetizers because it’s what your guests first partake in–often coming in from the weary world of work, family, problems … life– usually served with a glass of wine. It’s the course when your guest sit back with a sigh of relief, knowing that it’s now time to relax, unwind, let our hair down, and get to know each other.

Appetizers are the start of listening, staying, and connecting.

And they don’t always have to be fancy.

What are your favorite 3-4 ingredients to serve for a last-minute appetizer?

If you’re looking for more platter appetizer ideas, I wrote this post at Answers.com How to Make a Knockout Appetizer Platter, excellent for large-group parties!

11 Comments

May 13

Circle of Grace with Fried Eggs in Pepper Rings

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under breakfast, family life & faith & friends, food & recipes

Family at Cape Blanco State Park

This past weekend was so wonderful, in so many ways. We were able to spend Friday night with dear friends, and when we got back to our house – the boys were home from college.

Can anything be more joyful? Happy sons who love coming home. We are blessed! Hugs, kisses, finding the pets, jumping in the pool, checking out what’s cooking on the stove …

Boys and Mama Coughlin

Today, as I think back to this past weekend, I’m thankful for the women in my life who’ve mothered me these past 16 years.

Each has given me such a variety of experiences and knowledge that has worked together to help me parent my 3 children. We do learn from one another. I continue to learn. This act of mothering is sacred work, a job I cannot take lightly.

For me, it’s about grace. A daily lesson learned as a mother that when I fail, because things will never be perfect, I try again. I start the day by finding this grace in my quiet time. My friends help me see this, too, because those of us with kids are all in this motherhood journey together – no matter our ages.

Saturday was a new day. I love the freshness of a new day.

Our family went on an adventure to the Oregon coast with another family, but first, inspired by a beautiful picture I saw in Rachael Ray’s recent magazine, I whipped up a yummy breakfast for the family.

It’s one of the prettiest way to cook eggs or to serve to your guests! I think this will be a new summer favorite of mine.

Fried Eggs in Pepper Rings | Reluctant Entertainer

Eggs in Pepper Rings
2 large peppers
10-12 eggs
Salt and pepper

Take a couple of large bell peppers, cutting horizontally and removing any seeds, and place the rings on a hot grill.

I used pasteurized organic butter and lightly sautéed one side first, then flipped each ring over, cracking an egg in each center.

Fried Eggs in Pepper Rings | reluctantentertainer.com

Fry the egg ring (over medium-low heat). Lightly salt and pepper.

You can cook on one side for about 5-8 minutes, or like I did, flip it over for a couple of minutes.

We served it with some homemade potatoes and tofu sausage.

Fried Eggs in Pepper Rings | Reluctant Entertainer

Nice and healthy! A great way to start off the day.

Our journey on Saturday took us to Cape Blanco State Park. It was a stunning day.

Cape Blanco State Park

A great way to spend time with the family.

Oregon really is one of the prettiest states, and here you can see why!

Cape Blanco State Park

I spent the day with a mom who is one of the best moms I know. The love she has for her kids, grandkids, and people in her life gushes from her. It’s so inspiring and real, it’s almost tangible.

I say almost, because it’s then my job to take what I’ve learned from her, and to apply it to my life.

It’s a circle of grace.

Beautiful and free.

What touched you the most about Mother’s Day weekend?

7 Comments

May 10

A Giant Head of Lettuce for Mother’s Day & Learning to be Flexible

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under family life & faith & friends, hospitality & inspiration

Mother's Day | Reluctant Entertainer

We were all set for company last night. The table was set. Lights were on. Music was playing. We had a little fire going in the fire pit off to the side. Appetizers were out and the food was prepped and ready to go inside.

My friend Jeannie was coming for a casual Mother’s Day dinner. Nothing fancy, I told her, just healthy and light. A good weeknight meal.

Jeannie is the one who’s helped us a lot with our yard, sharing plants and dividing bulbs from her yard, and all she wanted for Mother’s Day (when I asked her) was quality time. She’s not big on “stuff.”

Outdoor entertaining | Reluctant Entertainer

And then, of course, we threw in something “earthy” for her gift; something she’d really appreciate.

Jeannie’s Mother’s Day gift was she would be able to cut any head of lettuce from the garden before she left our place.

Seriously, there is nothing like homegrown lettuce, and ’tis the season – in Oregon – for the most buttery, tender lettuce you’ll ever find.

Garden lettuce | Reluctant Entertainer

I’ve known Jeannie for 30 years. She’s been more than a mom to me, and I’ll leave it at that. She’s one of the most wonderful women in my life. Here we are sporting our (unplanned) pink pants!

Mother's Day | Reluctant Entertainer

Dinner was prepared inside: Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew and a fresh garden salad with shrimp, cilantro, feta cheese, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, and avocado. And fresh crunchy warm bread. And dessert that Jeannie brought.

We were just getting ready to sit down in the great outdoors …

Shrimp and avocado salad | Reluctant Entertainer
Red Lentil Sweet Potato Stew

And then it happened.

Thunder and lightening. Darkness and pouring down rain.

Rain storm

So we quickly moved the entire table setting and party to the inside.

I was serving a delicious stew recipe anyway, so it felt nice and cozy eating inside rather than outside.

What I love about hospitality is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. You make changes as you go, pick things up and move them. People will cancel on you, and unordinary things sometimes take place, but you learn to go with the flow.

And it all works out in the end. And that’s one thing I’ve learned from Jeannie over the years, to bend and be flexible.

I’ve shared this before, and I think it’s time to share it again:

Many of us are crippled from birth. The backbone of our standard for living comes fused into unyielding rules and regulations. We are rigid in our determination to control life’s course and outcome.

We’re sure, for example, how people ought to look, behave, and respond. Things have to be done a certain way – our way. Then real life sneaks up and whacks us from behind, seeking to break our unbending back and our stiff neck, threatening to paralyze us.

There is a cure. We are offered opportunity to exercise the suppleness of godly grace and perspective. Each time life throws us a punch, we can do a deep-knee bend, forcing our muscles of faith, hope and understanding to stretch.

Eventually that brittle backbone will grow strong and supple, bending with the rhythms of grace, yet standing tall and firm in the face of compromise.

All of this requires considerable daily “give.” Such give is not a one-time choice but a lifestyle of generosity, spontaneity, and openness to truth.

How often I have thought that if I could give just one gift to my children, it would be the golden gift of flexibility. –(Susan L. Lenzkes)

As the night came to a close, Jeannie went to the garden, in the rain, and cut herself a nice big head of lettuce to take home with her. (Top photo)

Thank you, Jeannie, for the gifts you’ve taught and given to me in life!

How do you handle situations where you have to make a quick change? Have you learned the gift of being flexible?

15 Comments

May 9

Fun Times with Sisters Making Chocolate Covered Strawberries

written by Sandy Coughlin posted under dessert, family life & faith & friends, food & recipes

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

When Mom left us girls 16 years ago, after a long bout of cancer, it has given us a reason to celebrate and to prioritize time together as sisters, exactly the way Mom would have wanted it to be.

We invest in each other’s lives, and learn to love more every day.

A few weeks ago we went to lunch, then worked on a project in my eldest sister’s home. We can’t help but laugh and have fun together — every single time.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries & Sisters

We’ve decide to call it beautiful–that Mom is free from pain and the horrible disease of cancer and is up with God–instead of calling it wrong.

Yes, cancer sucks. Big time sucks. It’s never good, but now years later, we take the heartbreak and we admit it. Life is beautiful and worth celebrating, even when our loved ones leave us.

And … we make chocolate covered strawberries together.

My sister Di showed us how, and we had our share of giggles when the chocolate clumped together, we experimented with trying to get it smooth, and of course we ate more than we were putting on the strawberries.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries & Sisters

Here’s our recipe. One I can totally recommend for you to make for your Mother’s Day celebration.

Nice and easy – and fresh and beautiful.

And our 2 tips to share if your chocolate clumps together:

1. Microwave chocolate 30 seconds at a time and stir, stir, stir for glossiness.

2. Strawberries should not be stored in refrigerator longer than 1 hour, as condensation drops may collect on the chocolate.

We dream of Mom to this day, but we have to have the boldness and courage–the belief that it’s okay that she is gone, and the hope of seeing her again–to call it beautiful.

We have to celebrate the fact that we can still dream. And we still have each other.

Do you have any tips with making chocolate covered strawberries?

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Recipe: Chocolate Covered Strawberries {ReluctantEntertainer.com}

Summary: If chocolate starts to clump and get thick, microwave the chocolate 30 seconds at a time and stir, stirring for glossiness.

Ingredients

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 pound large strawberries (about 20), washed and dried well

Instructions

Place chocolate in a bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Stir occasionally, until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Line a baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. One at a time, dip each strawberry in chocolate. Twirl to coat half-way up (or to the stems).
Chill the chocolate-dipped strawberries for 15 minutes to set the chocolate.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6