THINKING OUT LOUD, DEEPLY…

Emptiness lives in the hollows of our soul.

Everything seems to strut along as if there is no void.

But, all of a sudden a jolt or circumstance generates a cloud, a miff of what was or could be and that’s when everything clashes.

When do we wake up and realize that everything that we desire is right in front of us?

How do we grasp that treasure?  What allows us to define our personal existence and make it meaningful?  Those are the questions that I ask myself daily.

Is it possible to find true happiness when the world around me seems to be spinning out of control?

I would like to think so.

Yet, not everyone is on the same page which makes the journey difficult.

Life seems eternal until you are touched with death.

At that time, age tames your compassion. 

When does it all fade away as if it never existed?

I don’t have that answer, but wish I did.

My best analogy is to state that if we don’t make a mark, a difference as to why we exist, then all is lost.

My children have moments that hurt and heal.  As their parent I assess the role as anchor.  I am the one whom carries the burden, but never gets close enough to the boat to truly make a mark.  Yet, I am always the one whom is asked to be rooted, so that they can waiver.

Where is the beginning, middle and the end?  There truly is no time line to answer this question.  This I have discovered, by way of life, questioning each day as if it is the last.  I’m not trying to be morbid as much as realistic.  As we grow though our lives we think that we are indestructible, then reality hits and it all changes.

Bloggers Block

It’s been over a year since I posted to this blog.  The last post was February 26^th, 2010 which happens to coincide with the first recipe that I posted on my new blog, appropriately called “Cook with Susan”.  So I guess you could say that I have been a bit neglectful to my Food Family and Friends (the name of this bolg).  But, I look forward to bringing life back to this blog, starting right now!

Over the past year I have been cooking my heart out testing new recipes and old.  And to date I have blogged my way through over 200 of them.  Being born and raised in Hawaii influences my cooking methods and style.  Along with having the privilege of traveling to fun and exciting places which has allowed me to branch out.  It has been a wonderful journey seeing, feeling and tasting the flavors of different cultures in their birthplace allowing me to truly experience each dish as it was intended.  This is what I have attempted to bring into my kitchen and share with those who are interested. 

I have learned a lot during this time.  Not only about cooking, but also photography and computer mumbo jumbo that never made any sense to me.  I have a lot more to learn and will continue to post to my food blog.  Only God knows how many recipes I will accumulate when I am done.  But there is one thing that I am sure of, and that is that there always has been and always will be something cooking in my kitchen.

I started this project as a way to organize my recipes and create a live cookbook that my children would have access to anytime, wherever they were.  One recipe at a time is how it all started and that first recipe was quite exciting, the second even more and the rest is history.  

My daughter Cecily who lives so terribly far away from me in NYC would say to me, when she would visit my blog; "It’s as if I’m home sharing a meal with you”.  That little comment motivated me to keep at it.  

I now find myself experiencing bloggers block or maybe just food bloggers block.  The inability to get the same flowing thoughts on to paper or shall I say on to the computer screen as I did when I first started this journey.  So I have returned to my original blog in hopes of waking up the sleeping giant that lives in my imagination.  Allowing me to pull random thoughts out of my head and elaborate.  I can’t wait to get started!

If you have gotten this far down this post you may as well stop by my other blog “Cook with Susan” to pick up a couple of recipes along with some random thoughts.

Roasted Cauliflower

If you are always wondering what to do with a cauliflower besides steaming or stir frying here is a little trick that I used the other night for a side dish.

I think this may be the simplest and tasty-est way I have ever made cauliflower.

I cut a head of cauliflower into bite size floret’s and placed them in a shallow oven proof casserole dish.

Then I melted ¼ cup (1/2 stick) of butter with ¼ cup of olive oil on low heat and placed 2 garlic cloves in it to flavor the oil. Don’t let the garlic brown.

I then mixed about ¼ cup of seasoned bread crumbs with ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese.

Then I sprinkled the breadcrumb and cheese mixture over the cauliflower and drizzled the garlic oil over that. Seasoned with salt and pepper and baked it uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 25 – 30 min.

It was perfectly cooked with a nice balance of flavor and a big hit at my house. I think you could change up the flavors like adding lemon or thyme to make it your own. I kept it simple so I could use the leftovers in another dish. I will surely share that recipe with you if you like the orriginal recipe.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT?

Isn’t it funny, if you are a woman, that your period explains your bad sporadic behavior three weeks out of every month? We are either about to, have it or just finished. That makes for only 5 – 7 positive days in a month. Something to think about…

I have been experiencing crazy mood swings. They pop up out of nowhere and leave as soon as I am done freaking out. There is not specific timing with my monthly cycle yet I reach for that excuse each and every time. Could this be premenopuse?

Cook With Susan

Check out COOK WITH SUSAN @
http://susan-thinkingoutloud.blogspot.com/
for recipe ideas.

My Cookbook?

To my family and friends,
I think that I may finally assemble my cookbook this year.
If you have any request or suggestions.
Pass them on at susan.howzit@gmail.com

Blurry Vision

This one is for my B.F.F.

Its time to get back that 20/20 vision!!!

Life is so short, that there is no time to waste. Live it up and live it REAL.

You are the most genuine person I have ever met in my life.

I wish I was your mirror so you could see what I see. You are so lovely inside and out. You naturally shine with a light that is yours and yours alone.

It always amazes me how true you are to everyone but yourself. I need you to be as true to yourself as you are to me and everyone else in your life.

I want you to see yourself as I feel others see you. Not just me.

Your qualities are unmatched. Your heart is so full of love that there is no room for hate. I have never met anyone who has mastered this quality the way you have. This makes you vulnerable to being taken advantage of and unable at times to speak out loud and say what you really feel.

I encourage you to SHOUT (in your soft and gentle manner) to the world that nice people should be appreciated not taken advantage of.

I love how you have a natural way about you that makes others comfortable. You unconsciously move through a room and assure that each and every person in your presence is acknowledged and accepted so that they won’t feel out of place. I think it’s the GRANDMA syndrome. And I like that you’re my grandma.

You have become my standard of how REAL people should behave.

I needed to jot this down in black and white so you might have the opportunity to see your reflection as I do.

Written with love from your B.F.F.

I'm not you, Please let me be me

This one is for R.F…

The cycle of life is pretty simple. It comes in three stages. Birth…..LIFE…..Death.

The beginning and the end are fairly easy to understand., it’s the middle that gets complicated.

What we choose to do with our life is what determines self satisfaction that morphs into emotions experienced when in a state of well-being. Otherwise known as Happiness. It’s a child like phrase that to often gets the shaft, from very serious and driven people who find it impossible to be satisfied. Money is important and can buy comfort, but it can’t buy happiness.

I have always told my children to choose well when deciding what to do to earn a living. For one simple reason, they will have to wake up everyday either happy about their choice or hating life.

It appears that your dad is a very unhappy man because his life didn’t turn out the way he expected. This is probably true for at least 90% of the population, possibly even more. How we handle this disappointment determines the emptiness or fullness of our lives.

As he attempts to relive his life through you, he fails and you fail alongside him. The confusion lies in a simple misunderstanding. Just because you are from his loin does not make you a carbon copy of him. So it’s literally impossible for you to satisfy him. Unless he can one day see you as an individual with your own path. Only then will he be able to appreciate you for who you are.

One of my favorite sayings is, No one is better at being you than you, so don’t waste your time trying to be someone else.

Start today and be who you are and go get the life that you want and live it as yourself. Make sure that your choices allow you to obtain self satisfaction which will equate into that simple child like phrase “Happiness”. This action will surely result in success. Be confident, and remember you may fail, but you are not a failure. Pick yourself up and keep moving forward.

As you walk through life and LIVE and LEARN. You will become exactly who you should be, a truly independent individual. There will be a cost for independence. As you know all too well, there is a cost for the alternative also. Nothing in life is free. Choose well.

Remember you are you, not your dad. So practice mature ADULT behavior. No more arguing or yelling. He wants you to react to his actions, grow thicker skin and stop being a sponge and gain super powers that will allow your fathers words to bounce off your chest and back at him without a single word out of you as defense. It takes two to argue, unless you are in a mental asylum. Then you can argue with yourself and probably with great success.

I realize that your dad will think that what I have written is just a bunch of crap. But that’s ok, I have super powers.

Your journey through life is about to begin. You only get one chance, so make the best of it.