now i stand in the hope of new life

I love to read. I can sit down and read anywhere. Park, Nordstrom, coffee shop. Not teasing. My go to is generally a good memoir, or one from the Christian/Inspirational section at Barnes and Nobles. Since I moved to the I.E. and I am still unemployed, I have been filling my days with a lot of reading. Recently sweet Kalie in Arizona sent me The Road of Lost Innocence; The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine.

This book is the memoir of Somaly Mam, who some refer to as the present day Harriet Tubman. I first learned about Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery my freshman year at A.P.U., but nothing was this graphic or real as this book. There are some great movies and documentaries out there that are informative, but do not light the fire in your heart at the injustices these women are going through the way this book does. The beginning of the book opens with “By far the lowest statistic for the number of prostitutes and sex slaves in Cambodia is between 40 and 50 thousand. One in 40 girls born in Cambodia will be sold into sex slavery.” That is enough to fill the Angel’s stadium... and then some. Sex slavery begins with girls as young as five, that is Kindergarten! That is HORRIFIC. Somlay was sold when she was 16. The memoir accounts for as much as she can remember (or chooses to share) and it is very graphic, ending with her three babies and wonderful organization Acting For Women in Distressing Situations (AFESIP). I think one of the best ways to start the end of these awful injustices is educating others. So may I recommend that you read this book, but buy two copies, and please share it with someone else. Be informed, know what is going on in and around the world. But know that it is bigger than Cambodia, trafficking happens in California too. But before I rant for days I’ll share some links with you and hope that you read this book as soon as possible. Be encouraged, because if one woman can make such different in so many lives, imagine what we can do?

• AFESIP Cambodia (http://www.afesip.org/)
• The book (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/road-of-lost-innocence-somaly-mam/)
• Good movies on the subject (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/) or (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399095/)

nothings sweeter than summertime

What in the heck is a caper? Well thank you for asking… I think it is a pickled seed? Or some part of a plant that is pickled and vinegar-y and goodness. And when I went to buy them the other day, I was reminiscing on how much my eating palate has changed since I was little. When I was younger I used to tell people I was allergic to coconut, but let me tell you about Trader Joes new coconut chocolate ice cream, it will change your life. It is that good. I also used to eat capers, solo. I’d just grab a spoon, and the jar, and go to town. Not normal. The only cheese I used to eat was cheddar, but let me tell you about brie with fig butter. Or some feta on top of a salad can just make your salad 100 times better. Real talk. You think coffee is only drinkable blended with sugar water? Think again, black and hand poured is tasty and good hot or iced. I think it is important to try new things, I mean activity things obviously, but food too. I hear it takes the 8 times of trying something to start really enjoying it. So if you cannot eat capers with a spoon just yet, or don’t find brie and feta as fascinating as I do, try tasting them 8 different times. And another recipe for you my friends, original recipe was from www.epicurious.com, but I changed it up. Mhmm summer is too good.

Tasty potato salad

10 gold potatoes

1 bundle of green onions

½ cup finely chopped parsley

2 tbsp. capers (no juice added)

1 package haricot verts (skinny french green bean)

3 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tbsp. caper juice (from the caper jar)

2-3 tsp. coarse-grain Dijon mustard

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender, mine took about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and allow to cool as much as possible before mixing with other vegetables. Steam green beans and set aside to cool. Add chives, parsley, and capers into a large mixing bowl. In a smaller mixing bowl combine: vinegar, caper liquid, mustard, and oil and whisk well. Slice cooled potatoes into small pieces. Mix vegetables in large mixing bowl, add dressing, and toss. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

*tricks*

• add lots of vegetables. fresh ones
• put crazy protein in the salad, on the salad, or on the side. i saw a recipe for one salad that used chorizo
• put garlic in the dressing! i didn't but it would probably be way better with 1-2 cloves minced in the dressing, let's be honest

the more things change, the more they stay the same

living in los angeles can be really frustrating sometimes. the busy-ness of everyone can be overwhelming. the traffic (always) can make you go bananas. there are junebugs here that you can literally feel fly by you because they are so big. sick nasty. but there are definitely some amazing things that get to be experienced while living in southern California. i still get to hang out with friends from college, friends who are still going to APU, or friends who are coming to APU. just the other night i got to have dinner with two of the coolest Berve men i know, and if i had not been living in LA i would have missed out on some sweet company. i get to walk with my sister to a farmers market on sunday mornings and sample fresh fruit and smell fresh flowers and do crossword puzzles from the LA times. i get to go on hikes to the ocean with my uncle. i get to enjoy time with friends and last minute sleep overs and random karaoke-margarita nights. live music in the park on sunday with other YL leaders? don't mind if i do. i get to really enjoy my church and community that comes with it. i get to be a young life leader and hang with some awesome high school students, and enjoy that community as well.
so sometimes LA can bite (no offense). but sometimes i forget the bad while enjoying the little joys that bless me daily.

and speaking of farmers markets and fresh produce... enjoy this summer salad from my sister's findings.

Quinoa salad

1 serving of quinoa (i made a little over a cup)
Salt
2 corn on the cob (or around 2 cups if corn is not in season)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 serrano chile
3/4 cup chopped green onion
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups cilantro

cook quinoa as directed. set aside to cool.
corn should be cooked. ours was on the cob so we threw it on the grill.
cut cherry tomatoes in half, and cut corn off cob. serrano should be minced, and green onion chopped. all vegetables should be mixed together and set aside.
in a blender combine garlic, cumin, lime juice, evoo, and a dash of salt. blend until dressing is completely mixed.
combine quinoa and vegetables in a bowl and mix together. add as much dressing as desired. fold in cilantro. if you need more seasoning add more salt, lime juice, garlic, or cilantro.
stick in the refrigerator and serve chilled.

*tricks*

• a serrano chili pepper has more spice than a jalapeno. so take the seeds out, and wash your hands immediately after handling. the oils can be aggressive.


• i added more garlic and cilantro (because i love them especially when they're fresh)


• we served the salad with chicken and corn tortillas, the salad is good but a little boring served alone

another treat

another day another treat! i love foods that go with seasons. fresh vegetables in their season. peaches during summer. or a dang good pumpkin spice late in the fall. mhmm! this is a pasta salad served cold, which i would associate with summer. so have at it :-)

summer pasta salad

What you need:

8-12 oz of pasta (i used a good brown rice rigatoni noodle)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

2 whole zucchini

5 oz mushrooms

10 oz grape tomatoes

1-2 cloves of garlic

1/4 small red onion

1/3 cup fresh parsley

feta cheese (optional)

protein (we used salmon, and then grilled chicken)

chop zucchini and mushrooms and toss in a pan with some olive oil and garlic cloves. cook 5 ish minutes, depending on how cooked you like your vegetables. strain excess oils and set aside.

cook pasta until done. drain and rinse well with cold water until completely cooled.

juice lemon and whisk in EVOO.

cut tomatoes in half. finely chop red onion & parsley and set aside.

stir in red onion/tomatoes and cooked vegetables into pasta. toss on the dressing and give it another good stir. then fold in the parsley. place in the refrigerator for minimum one hour and serve chilled. stir in some crumbled feta cheese (if your stomach will allow it), top with some meat, and enjoy your tasty summer treat!

*tricks*

• don't forget to throw citrus in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to get as much juice out as possible
• add more vegetables if you want, or take some out if you do not like them
• i believe that cheese is similar to garlic... you can never really have too much

summer young

i love to bake. it's fun to try new things, and it has this therapeutic thing to it. but during summer, it is easier to make other treats, because turning the oven on would be a terrible idea. after reading a number of food blogs yesterday, i decided i would start putting up some recipes that i try.

Salsa Buena (Good Salsa)

4 tomatoes. i used roma tomatoes. cut each tomato into four pieces.

1/4 small white onion

1 jalapeno pepper

1 tbsp whole cilantro leaves

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 lime juice

1.5 garlic clove

place all ingredients in blender and chop until it looks like salsa! enjoy :-)

*tricks*

• if you stick the 1/2 lime in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds the juice comes right out
• also the recipe really only calls for 1 clove of garlic, but i believe there is no such thing as too much garlic....
• A lot of the jalapeno spice comes from the insides, so take out however much you want depending on how spicy you want your salsa

thanks Dillon for the salsa recipe!