Taste of Persia

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on the blog before or not, but the family that I work for is Persian, also known as Iranian. Before I entered into this family, I knew very little about Persian culture, but for the last 6 months I have been guided into new knowledge about a rich and family oriented culture with a beautiful language (Farsi), fun traditions, and absolutely delicious food.

I can count to 10 in Farsi, say hello, good bye, excuse me, and where are you? Haha. I've also learned to appreciate the dishes they make. At least once a week they have Kebab with Rice and Zereshk Pulow (Chicken with Rice and Burberries). Rice is the staple of just about every Persian meal and it isn't your normal white long grain rice, but Basmanti Rice. Another yummy part of Persian Style Rice is Tadig, which is a crust that forms on the bottom of the pan that is buttery and delicious and can be made in a variety of ways.

So after 6 months of sampling many different dishes, I decided to try to make one on my own. I chose one of the simplest Persian meals...Kebab with Rice. Now you may be thinking, oh ok, shish kebabs...nope! These kebabs are actually ground meat shaped around flat skewers, not the rounded ones we're using to seeing. Persian Kebabs are actually an oblong meat patty that are absolutely delicious. You may be thinking ok...so? It's a skinny hamburger. Wrong again! What makes this different from a burger is the spices that are used. The two magic spices in Persian cooking are Turmeric and Saffron. The recipe I used actually calls for Saffron, but did you know that ground Saffron is hard to find? And Saffron threads are $13 for a small container???! So, I only used Turmeric.

My boss warned me that Persian food requires a lot standing...she wasn't lying! I started cooking the rice at about 4:45 this afternoon and wasn't finished with whole meal until around 6:30. Of course, this was my first time...so I'm sure it will go faster the more I do it. The Kebabs were the easiest part...the rice was a little more difficult. The Tadig is hard to master....But anyway...here are some pics of the process...

The making of the Tadig
While the rice is draining, you add oil, turmeric, potatoes, or eggs to the bottom of the pot. You then pile the rice in a layer over top in a pyramid shape. I used a bit too much oil. It shouldn't be so runny.

This is the steaming of the Tadig and rice.

Once the rice is over the Tadig, 2 paper towels are placed over the top of the pot

and then the lid has to be tightly placed over the towels.

The rice is then cooked for 45 minutes.

The key is that the rice is not sticky, and that each grain is separate. 

While the rice cooks, the Kebabs can be prepared. Pretty easy...like making a meatloaf or a burger but smaller. You can make these on the grill, on the stove top, or broiled in the oven...

Just don't forget the...TURMERIC....!

This is the rice with theTadig on top. As I said before it shouldn't be so runny and should form more of a hard crust over the rice. To put on a platter, hold the plate over the pot and then invert it, the way you would with a cake. 

Dinner is served!

Kebab'e Kubida

The finishing touch...Plain Yogurt! I know it sounds weird, but it really makes the dish come alive! 

Sound like something you may want to try? Let me know and I'll send you the recipe! 

Hope you enjoyed this little taste of Persia!

Khod Haafez!

And Time Goes By....

I'm having a hard time believing that August is almost over. Before you know it will be Christmas time and the eve of a new year. But one thing at a time. I worked late last night and was driving home a little bit after 8. I was surprised to find that the sun was already starting to go down. By the time 9 rolled around, it was almost completely dark.

The days are getting shorter, announcing subtly to the world that one season is about to end and another about to begin. Fall, is as I'm sure I've mentioned before, my favorite time of year. I love the way the leaves look when they're turning colors and falling to the ground. I love how it's cool in the mornings and evenings. I love the smell of bonfires. I love going to pick pumpkins and buying Chrysanthemums for our balcony! Ah, fall!

But, we're not quite there yet. So for the time being I'm still enjoying the summer heat, the fact that the kids have gone back to school, and that my second to last semester of college has begun, as well. As is always the case, my postings may be fewer in number as I dive into the books and expend my creative energies on sucking up as much of the world of Tort Law and Civil Procedure as I can. I will, however, attempt to hammer out at least one post a week and maybe even surprise you with another excerpt from my book, if I can squeeze time in for more writing in that area too.

Oh! And here's a random question, which I really need an answer to. When is it ok, if ever, to ask a guy to dinner? Yes, Blog Land, someone new has caught my eye....but I don't know if I've caught his....should I ask? Or just wait for him to? Would love to hear your opinion on this matter!

Only 2 more days until the weekend!

Happy Wednesday!

25 Lessons in 25 Years

I was not looking forward to today as it marks my 25th birthday. I have always thought that it's all downhill after you hit this age. However, my perspective on this was altered by a quote that I found while browsing Pinterest.

"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many"

Puts things into perspective doesn't it? So, I'm thankful that God's mercy and grace has seen me through to another birthday! 

So, to celebrate in Blog Land, I will do what I love...making lists...ha. I'm going to share with you The 25 Things I've Learned in 25 years. 

1. Women are the most resilient creatures that God created.

2. Pooting never ceases to be funny...

3. The most hilarious things happen in the middle of the sermon at church...when you cannot laugh.

4. Being extremely analytical is a blessing and a curse.

5. Over thinking can ruin something in .5 seconds flat.

6. You are never too old to stop learning.

7. You will outgrow some of the friends you've known since Kindergarten...and that's ok.

8. Hell really does have no fury like a woman scorned.

9. Waiting on God is not passive. It is active.

10. Some lessons have to be learned the hard way.

11. Books are precious things.

12. Parents who make everything easy for their kids now are handicapping their future.

13. Having a few close friends is better than being Ms. Popularity.

14. If someone you trust is telling you another person's "secrets", chances are they're telling someone else yours.

15. Sometimes love is fireworks...at other times...it comes softly.

16. Friendship is the most important foundation of a romantic relationship.

17. The world does not revolve around me.

18. It is absolutely, 100% ok to cry.

19. Faith in God also means faith in His timing.

20. It's ok to have high standards when it comes to the men.

21. Coffee is a precious gift from above.

22. I can do ALL things through Christ.

23. It will take a brave man to love me.

24. Music is the language of our deepest feelings.

25. Quoting from the book Captivating...I used to feel this way, " I am not enough and I'm too much at the same time. Not pretty enough, not thin enough, not kind enough, not gracious enough, not disciplined enough. But too emotional, too needy,  too sensitive, too strong, too opinionated, too messy. " However, I have learned that through Jesus Christ...I AM ENOUGH. 

*Quote taken from Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

A Novel Teaser

Hello all...as I promised, I have decided to share with you a bit of what I've been writing in my newest book. Be gentle with my baby! Please remember that what you're reading is the roughest of rough drafts! Stay tuned for more tid bits!

Prologue:

Through the clouds she saw the blood spattering towards her. She closed her eyes, and as she did, the warm wetness made contact with her face. Why were there drums beating around her? Or was that sound of her own heartbeat? She fell to the ground, narrowly missing the knife that was on the floor near her. Instead of hitting the ground as she fell, she landed on something soft…and wet. Her hand reached for the knife and after what seemed like a very long time, her hand closed around the handle.  It tightened in readiness and then, she was floating. 

Chapter 1

Before her eyes opened, she became aware of a constant beeping sound. She slowly opened them and realized at once that she was not in her small apartment. As she struggled to sit up and rub her eyes, the beeping sound sped up as she realized that her hand would not reach any further than her nose. At first, she thought she was paralyzed, but as her eyes continued to adjust to the brightness of the room, they focused on her right arm. Connecting her arm to the bed was a silver handcuff. Horrified, she opened her mouth and let out a blood curdling scream.

Chapter 2

 By the time Michael Kirkland navigated his way through the bumper to bumper traffic of the city, more than an hour had passed. He found a handicapped parking space, jumped out of his car and into the hospital. He ran through the corriders to the floor where he was told his wife would be.

He heard her before he found her room.

****

 The room was chaos.  Shahanna was on her knees, trying to stand, but only getting so far because of her cuffed hand. There were three nurses; one was brandishing a syringe on the right side of the bed, one was at the foot of the bed, and the other was on the left side.

Shahanna was flailing her arms and screaming at the top of her voice, “ I didn’t do it, please tell me I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it!”

At last, the nurse on the left was able to grab a hold of the arm that was unrestrained by the cuff. Shahanna’s legs continued to kick and flail at the air. One of her feet made contact with the nurse’s arm at the foot of the bed and seizing on the opportunity, she grabbed that foot and then the other. “ Do it now!” the nurse yelled. The nurse on the right side jammed the needled into Shahanna’s forearm. She yelped like a wounded animal and fell back onto the bed.

Michael looked around him. He heard a distinct buzzing noise in his ears. The surrealness of what he had just witnessed was overwhelming. He took a step further into the room, his eyes focused on his wife. She became conscious of his presence for the first time, even though he has been standing in the doorway for nearly five minutes.

Her eyes sparked to life once more and she screeched in a siren like voice, “ Please tell me I didn’t do it!”. With this said, she was overpowered by the sedative savagely given to her by the nurse. 

Rachel Terry (c) 2012.
The above work is the intellectual property of Rachel Terry. 
Please do not reproduce this work without the author's express written permission. 

Musings on a Famous Lady

In continuing my study in the book of Ruth, I came across an interesting statement in the devotional book I'm reading. I think it's safe to say that we are all familiar, if only vaguely, with the concept of the Virtuous Woman so thoroughly described in Proverbs 31. According to my devotional, the only other mention of a virtuous woman, is found in Boaz's description of Ruth in Ruth chapter 3.

I think it is also safe for me to assume that most of us are familiar with Ruth's story as well. Her declaration to her mother-in-law, Naomi, of "where you go I go..." is well known, even in the secular world.

I've read Proverbs 31: 10-31 many times, but have always thought of it as good advice to save for later when I'm actually a wife. However, my study today encouraged me to break down the activities in which this Virtuous Woman was engaged, based on the following categories: Relational Duties, Household Duties, Business Duties, and Devotional Duties. As I read through the passage again, with the above categories in mind, I was surprised as to how many ways I see that I can apply these virtues to my every day life NOW. Not just in the future when I'm someones wife. These are a few of my favorite verses from the chapter:

V. 25- Strength and honour [are] her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

V. 26- She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue [is] the law of kindness.

V. 27- She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

V. 30- Favour [is] deceitful, and beauty [is] vain: [but] a woman [that] feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

This woman is a busy lady. As women today juggle the demands of raising kids and working, and as those of us who are not even yet married walk through our sometimes too busy lives, we share a common goal in our busy-ness, and that is to be the Bride of Jesus Christ Himself. 

In the most mundane of days and in the busiest of days, the Proverbs 31 Woman is clothed with strength and honor. The Bible teaches us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Verse 26 says clearly that when she opens her mouth, wisdom flows from it and her tongue practices kindness. So that tells me that in spite of the busy-ness of life itself, she is still making time to maintain closeness with God. The Bible also teaches us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked...no one can know it. If kindness and wisdom are coming from her mouth, it is because the LORD's wisdom and love are filling her heart. The love of Jesus cannot overflow from your heart and out of your mouth unless you're spending time with in prayer and in the study of His Word.

Verse 16 says, " She considers a field and buys it." This tells me that her decisions are carefully considered and prayerfully made. 

Verse 20 says, " she stretches her hands to the poor, she reaches her hands to the needy." She is not so wrapped up in her own life, the she is unaware and  complacent towards the needs of others. 

I know that for me, these are areas that I can work on. I want my decisions to be more carefully considered and God led, no matter how trivial they may seem. I want to fulfill the promises that I make to pray for others and their needs. I want to reach out and be of service, even if doing so takes me out of my comfort zone. Lastly, I want be so filled with the love of Jesus that His light shines through me and that his love is ever present in the thoughts that I think towards others and the the words that I speak to them, as well. 

Well, ladies of Blog Land...those are my humble musings on the Virtuous Woman. I encourage each of you to read Proverbs 31: 10-31 again for yourselves. Grab a piece of paper and write down the 4 categories I mentioned earlier, and then break down the Virtuous Woman's actions accordingly. Consider what areas in your life you can be more like her. I know I have a lot of work to do!

I would love to hear which verses from this chapter are your favorites and why.

To my male readers...remember...all scripture is applicable to all of us...it won't hurt you to read this chapter either. Ha.

I look forward to hearing from you all in the comments section of the post.

Happy Reading! 

* All scriptures are taken from the King James Version.
** Study and category references are taken from Living Beautifully: A study in the Books of Ruth and Esther. By Lenya Hetzig and Penny Rose. 

School, Glitter, & 10,000 Reasons

Is it time for school to start yet? !

Here in Clark County, school started on Wednesday.....however, for the private schools in Oldham County, school doesn't start until the 21st. Blah !

On the one hand the summer has gone by crazy fast. On the other side, I'm more than ready to hand off at least 6 hours of care to the teachers of the school system. This coming week will be the last week I will have Little Sis and Big Brother all day. I have to admit that it has been fun for the most part. We've done crafts, baked cookies and brownies, and gone on weekly adventures to the zoo and the pool. While the fun moments have been numerous...the meltdowns have been just as numerous.

Apparently, when Little Sis turned 5 in June, she lost her mind, and has been giving me trouble ever since. She's a strong-willed child who is determined to have her own way...even if it means falling out in the floor screaming or biting, hitting, scratching, or pinching whoever was the unfortunate soul to set her off in the first place.

She's definitely kept me on my toes. I've had to employ many different disciplinary methods, the latest of which has been the "thinking chair" followed by writing something to the effect of, "I will not hit or scratch people"at least 5 times. It may sound a little harsh, but the kid already knows how to read and she knows how to write as well as any 1st grader. For her, this seems to be the best method.

I know that with the school year, comes an increase in the number of meltdowns that Big Brother has. His Asperger's qualities make him a bit awkward in social situations and he already has one boy who has been known to bully him. He is also prone to worry and has a serious problem with anxiety when it comes to new situations. This can make his behavior after school very difficult to deal with. I found a wonderful idea on Pinterest called the The Mind Jar. It basically consists of mixing glitter glue, glitter, and water into a jar. When a child is overly stressed or acting out, you have them sit down, shake up the jar, and watch the glitter until it all settles to the bottom. It's a calming mechanism that I can't wait to try. If this sounds like something you want to try on your little ones, you can check out the recipe on my Pinterest board Good to Know www.pinterest.com/rachelinaleo87

Anywho...So school starts for them on the 21st, which also happens to be my birthday, and honestly I can't think of a better birthday present. Ha. I won't have to go get the kiddos from school until 3 everyday and this will give me plenty of time to do school work, house work, or no work. Teehee. Did I mention that I graduate next semester? Yep! It's finally here!

I shall say adieu until next time!

Here's a song for the road! New favorite worship song!

Risky Business

Good Morning Blog Land! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

I can't believe that it's only 6:30 and I'm already up. I did go to bed ridiculously early last night though, so when 5:30 rolled around this morning my body was ready to get the day started. LoL.

I've been doing a study on Ruth for the past month, using a wonderful daily bible study book called Living Beautifully. I absolutely love the layout of the book because you're not just reading, but interacting, journaling, looking up scriptures, formulating responses to some very thought provoking questions.

The name of today's study was Risk Taker. It was talking about how Ruth, in obeying her mother in law, Naomi, in going to Boaz at the threshing floor risked her reputation, as well as her emotional and physical well-being. Going in to a man and lying at his feet was something that really only prostitutes did. If she had been discovered by anyone besides Boaz, her reputation would have been forever tarnished and perhaps irredeemable. She risked her emotional well being by opening herself up to rejection from Boaz. She risked her physical well being because if he had rejected her, he may have barred her from continuing to glean in his fields, which would have had a profound effect on both Ruth and Naomi's physical well-being.

What can we give a God who already has everything? Our obedience. And sometimes, to obey God immediately, completely, and cheerfully is to take great risk. The word risk is defined as a possibility of loss or injury; peril; a dangerous element or factor. 


Sometimes it is easier to stay in the position we are currently in than to jump out of our comfort zone and risk losing something or someone. It has been my own personal experience that the times that I have taken a risk, and obeyed God, unbelievable blessings have followed that choice. Sometimes God asks us to risk what we have, so that he can give us something better.

Take a moment and answer these questions...
- I wish I had .......
- I will never regret .......
- I'm going to risk ........

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental

To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self

To love is to risk not being loved in return

To live is to risk dying

To hope is to risk despair

To try at all is risk failure

But risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The man, the woman, who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. 

- Anonymous

** Quotes and questions taken from:

 Living Beautifully: A Study in the Books of Ruth and Esther. By Lenya Hetzig & Penny Rose.