😋 Kari's Breakfast Crepes - GF

I woke up this morning and decided I wanted to make some gluten free crepes to go with our Sunday morning breakfast. They were so delicious. Here's what I did.

 I began by prepping the filling.

4 small gala apples peeled and diced

about a 1/4 cup of dried cranberries

2 Tbs. pure maple syrup

a bit of water (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 cup)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

a dash of cloves

I put that all into a small sauce pan to cook on medium low while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

Next I prepped the topping.

About 1 cup plain yogurt

2 Tbs honey

dash of cinnamon

Mix all and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. This is only to take the chill off the yogurt.

Finally, I mixed the crepe recipe. Now, I was making only enough for two of us, so you may want to double this recipe if you have more people to feed. It made 6 crepes, and we only ate 4 all together. 

Set the oven on warm, and place a cookie sheet with a cooking rack in it.

In a 4 cup glass measuring cup (I chose this because I could pour batter from it.)

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 cup milk (could use almond or coconut milk)

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 baking flour

2 tsp melted coconut oil

1 Tbs honey

dash of salt

dash of cinnamon

I whisked the egg and milk and then added the rest of the ingredients. Whisked it all till it was smooth.

I used a cast iron skillet and butter to cook these. Pour a small amount of batter into a hot skillet, tilt the skillet around to spread the batter. It should just cover the bottom of the skillet. Cook till lightly brown and flip. Cook the other side till lightly brown. Place each cooked crepe into the warming oven.

Finally, and you want to do this when your family is ready to gather around and eat so that it's served warm and fresh, lay out two crepes each, spoon some apple/cranberry filling on, drizzle some topping. Roll the crepes and drizzle some more topping. Enjoy! 

Walking with Purpose

 As I age, I realize the importance of walking with purpose. I realize I must walk with the intention of not falling down. I find myself thinking more precisely of my steps and movements. And when, I don't, I fall. I mean, I really do fall. It's so strange, but true. In the past month I've experienced two separate examples of this. One day while working on breaking down a cardboard box (a simple task), I noticed out of the corner of my eye a forgotten task from earlier in the day. A piece of downspout was removed from the side of the house. I thought to myself, "Oh, it's supposed to rain later. I better put that back on now before I forget." I jumped up, without the normal, purposeful steps I take and promptly and painfully twisted my ankle on one small stone, causing me to fall and cut my opposite knee on a larger stone, and skin the palms of my hands as I caught my fall on the gravel in the driveway. Interestingly enough, my first thought beyond the pain was to wonder if anyone saw that. I was embarrassed at my own carelessness and frailty. 

The more recent event occurred just this week. I had decided to ride my bicycle to a local cafe where I was meeting with a group of ladies. When I went to return home, I rode towards an unfamiliar route. The hill before me was incredibly steep, but I took a chance and went for it. I did this without thought for the possibility that it was too much. As I peddled on the steepest part, I began to slide backward. I jumped down from the bike, straddling it, fell to the right with the bike falling on top of me and all of my things popping out of my bike basket. This time I acquired a good deal of road rash on my elbow and forearm, bruised my inner thigh, and my shoulder. And, once again, I was most concerned with who may have seen me fall. I felt so irresponsible and foolish! I jumped up, gathered the spilled items, quickly placed them back into the basket, and quite literally ran the best I could up the hill pushing my bike. I wanted to prove that I was okay. It wasn't really all that bad. I really wasn't all that ridiculous. 

I say all of this because I think of how I walk through life. I think about how I should walk through life.  I realize anew that I must return to walking with purpose. I must walk with an awareness of my surroundings and the paths that I'm treading. It's not about denial, it's about safety, good health, arriving well and in one piece. It's about being able to continue the walk through life feeling well and being of sound mind and body and soul. 

So, I think about this in terms of God's instructions to us and our walk through life. I think about the importance of walking with purpose, with intent, with the grace and gifts He's given us. ... me....

My life, and your life, our lives have meaning. Our lives impact others. Our lives are connected to a greater scheme than just our own ego or person. And, so I think to myself, "Walk with purpose, Kari. Walk with purpose, dear friend." We may not always walk knowing exactly where or why we're going, but we should always walk in faith, in trust. Trust that God will see us through to the finish. Keeping our focus on the path ahead. Walk with a purposeful world view. 

I also wonder about the whole aspect of feeling embarrassed when I fell. And, I realize, I'm equally, if not more so, embarrassed when I fail to walk with purpose and fail others. Failing to live up to the quality of life others have come to expect of me. I want to hide, get up and pretend I'm not hurt or haven't fallen down at all. Sort of the, "That didn't just happen." mentality. Perhaps, those failures need to be faced with just as much purpose as walking with purpose. After all, do we not learn so much from failure? Are my falling down experiences not lessons in life as well? I wonder, should I have gotten up, looked around, and acknowledged to anyone witnessing the fall that I had made a poor choice? Or that I had failed to think the situation through clearly. Interestingly, enough, I was able to do so later on with those I trust and with whom I feel I have a caring relationship.  Hmm... Who's to say that a random bystander couldn't be a person who cares. Did I just rob myself and maybe another of a new friendship by hastily brushing myself off and literally running away? 

Okay, so I will claim a new approach to this purposeful walking, both literally and figuratively. Not only will I work to approach life with purpose, but I will work to approach those falling down or failing points with purpose as well. Oh, boy! I'm sure the Lord will give me opportunity for this learning. I hope I'm up for the course!