The 2010 Road

I hope your year brought about a change in you... A road to self discovery... A hunt to find the treasures that hide within yourself... May you have a bountiful amd meaningful year ahead.

The Road of Life
by Joyce Rupp

Another year has come to an end.
I can feel her tug at my calendar;
I can sense her insistent movement.
I can hear her call to cross over.

Outside my window the trees are empty
and the air has ripeness of snowfall.
I cast an inward glance to the past
and feel a deep desire to catch its glow.

Something in me wants to hold on,
to gather all the good things close to me.
A part of me that yearns for security
keeps encouraging me to grasp it all.

Then a tiny thinble-full of light
moves its way through my insecurity;
it weaves a thread of courage,
sending sparks into the dark.
Up and up ut raises through my spirit
until it meets my controlling grip.

The firefly flickers of God's grace
are enough to embrace the unknown.
A surge of powerful surrender
takes over all my looking back,
and ever so gently and hopefully
I risk the road of another new year.

Potato Crab Salad

500g potatoes, boiled and diced
1 cup fresh asparagus, cut into 1" sticks and blanched
1 cup canned button mushrooms, quartered
1 cup canned young corn, cut into 1/2 pcs.
300g crab sticks, quartered

Honey Mustard Dressing:
1 pk all purpose cream
2 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar
3 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. mustard
salt and pepper

Place vegetables and crab in a bowl. Toss in dressing and chill before servinng.

To make dressing: Mix all purpose cream, juice, honey and mustard in a bowl or blender until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

Tuna Hot Pandesal

I was rummaging through old recipe index cards that I collected over the years from every possible source I got my hands on. I was thinking of an easy breakfast dish to prepare which ended up as a snack today. It was good in my opinion because the olives gave the usual tuna spread a twist on the taste :D. I told my brother to heat the whole thing in the toaster oven. He said, "No need, it will be good as is." I guess it was since he finished his snack.
Pandesal (small buns) was a substitute to the original recipe that required hot dog buns. First I didn't had any in the pantry. Second, I was preparing this as a snack.

Ingredients:

1 can tuna flakes, drained
5-6 pcs. pitted olives, minced
1 onion, minced
2 - 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup quick melt cheese, sliced into cubes
salt to taste
10 hot dog buns or 15-20 pcs. pandesal

In a bowl, mix tuna, olives, onions, cheese and mayonnaise. Add eggs and salt to taste. Place about 1 1/2 tbsps. of the mixture in the hotdog buns or about 1 tbsp. for pandesal. Place on a cookie sheet and wrap with foil. Toaste for about 8 minutes to 10 minutes in 300F or until the bread is heated or cheese has slightly melted. Serve.

Notes: Depending on the preference, onions may be white or red. The white ones give a sweeter taste while the red ones are more stronger. I personally omitted the salt since I used tuna flakes in brine.