A Full Day

Food Friday – Salmon w/ Orange Marmalade

jcooper — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:08:29 +0000

Hey Friends! It’s been a while since I’ve done a Food Friday. Here’s one but I was in such a rush that I didn’t write down my recipe. I just added a little bit of this and a little bit of that until it tasted like I wanted to. Sorry, I’ll do better next time. My picture is not even the bestest. But hey, it gives you a nice idea. Okay? Okay. :-)

I had 6 (4) ounce salmon fillets. I lightly seasoned them with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. In a small mixing bowl, I whisked together about 3 tablespoons of orange marmalade, I forget how much minced ginger, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, low sodium soy sauce, ground cardamom, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

I pan seared my salmon fillets in my cast iron skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat for about 4 minutes. I spooned out half of the whisked mixture on top of the fish. After 4 minutes in the skillet, I transferred the whole skillet into the oven at 425 degrees. I put almost all of the rest of the mixture on the fish and cooked it in the oven for 5-7 minutes. While all of this is going on I caramelized onion slices in a frying pan with olive oil. Once they began to turn that pretty brown color, I added a little bit of that whisked mixture and about 2 teaspoons of frozen cilantro.

Make some jasmine rice and put everything on a plate. Then pick up your fork, do a special dance, say your grace and chow down.

Instead of using linky tools for you to share your recipes, please leave the title of your recipe and the link to it in the comments section. If you do so, please add the Food Friday button to your post.

Thanks!

Bye Bye For Now!

Linked up at: Blessed with Grace, Women Living Well, All the Small Stuff, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

Blogger Appreciation Award

jcooper — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:27:54 +0000

Hello Ladies!
My friend Alison over at Embrace The Struggle has given me this lovely Blog Appreciation Award.

Ooooh. Ahhhhh. Isn’t it pretty?
Alison is such a blessing. Make sure you check her out!

I’m nominating a few of my favorite blogs.
The Pioneer Woman – Ree and her blog, make me smile. I had the pleasure of meeting her and was not disappointed!
The Time Warp Wife- Darlene is such a blessing. She is a true example of a woman,wife and mother – God’s way.
Comfy In the Kitchen – I love Janelle’s sweet spirit. She uses her love for cooking as a ministry. I love it!
Chocolate Hair Vanilla Care- I am blessed by Rory’s dedication to her child’s culture in general and specifically her hair.
A Bit of Sunshine – Rebekah is a sweet blessing. She just had a new baby. You’ll love her site.
Please check these ladies out. You won’t be sorry.

Here are the rules of the Award:

Thank the person who awarded you by placing their blog link in your post.
Answer the following four questions.
Forward the award to as many bloggers as you wish.
Let them know, via e-mail, tweet, or comment, that they’ve been awarded.

Here are my answers to the questions.

Here are your questions:

How long have you been blogging? My first post hit the Internet on May 22. I can’t believe it’s been almost a whole year.
What are one or two main reasons why you started blogging? My husband encouraged me to start blogging. He’s my # 1 motivator and I am his
What types of blogs do you read? I love Christian lifestyle blogs, food blogs, d.i.y. blogs, sewing/craft blogs etc.
What are two things you would like to improve on as a blogger? I don’t want to be stressed out about how often I post. When I have something to share, I will. If not, I won’t I’d also like to build a stronger network of blogger friends.

Bye for now!

Great Weekend

jcooper — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:51:32 +0000

Hey Everybody. I think I’m back now! It’s been a very long month. So many end of the school year things had to get done. This weekend my Shuga Sweetness participated in commencement.

Source: june08.blogspot.com via Joii on Pinterest

I was so proud of him I didn’t know what to do. It was such a lovely day. I just kept telling him how proud I was of him. I smiled all day. Another treat for the weekend is that my mother-in-law has been here with us. I loooooooooove my mother-in-law. She is such a blessing to me. I have loved having her around. I’m quite sad that she’s leaving. I made a big meal for she and my husband as we celebrated graduation and her visit. I was so busy that I didn’t take pictures of anything I made. I know that is terrible. Please forgive me,

The menu:

Oxtails & Gravy
Rice
Macaroni and Cheese
Fried Cabbage
Sweet Potatoes

We eat very well! Maybe too well. LOL.

2 Time Emmy Award Nominee

jcooper — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:20:48 +0000

Source: eonline.com via Joii on Pinterest

I am so proud of my husband. He is so talented. The Lord has truly blessed him. Most importantly he walks in humilty and it’s beautiful to see.

My husband has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. The nominations are for his significant roles in Musical Threads: Expressions of a People and Open Door: China in Indiana, two television programs produced by PBS affiliate, WFYI, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Musical Threads presents my sweetie and another artist, performing pre-existing and original songs representing African American music styles spanning from the 18^th century to the present. American Public Television (a national distributor of public programming) has also picked up Musical Threads for airing in over 50% of the country on PBS, so it may soon be available in your viewing area. They were both nominated for Musical Threads in the category of Art/Entertainment as Talent/Composer.

Hubby composed the theme music for Open Door, which earned him a second nod in the category of Musical Composition/Arrangements as composer/arranger. If you check out the Open Door link above and click to the right to watch the program, you will hear the theme music that he composed.

Whether he wins or not, a nomination is nothing to sneeze at. Lol.

My Favorite Dress

jcooper — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:15:24 +0000

As I’ve told you all, I’ve been super busy this month. We had our last group of events this weekend. I am soooooo happy everything is over. It has literally been a non-stop month of work. We had a banquet on Friday. My husband picked out my dress for the evening. This is my most favorite item of clothing right now. My husband has a special super power. He can pick out clothes for me that are perfect. He usually does it very quickly. He’ll look around the store, spot something and say, “Try this on”. It’s hysterical since he really does hate to shop. But when he does it, it’s a hit every time. Here is his latest pick.

Leading My Family To The Fullest – Guest Post

jcooper — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:34:13 +0000

Hello Ladies,

I’ve asked my husband to join us today as our guest. He has written this post for us and I think it’s quite wonderful. I hope you are blessed by it. I was.

As the leader of my family I am often called upon to make decisions that determine the paths of our lives. It can indeed be daunting when thinking about the impact of my responsibility in this leadership role. At least, that’s how it often feels on the surface. However, I am grateful to know that I am really NOT the leader of my family. Rather, I am actually following God’s plan as I make decisions for our lives. The Lord has already determined my family’s future but I have to hear from Him to know our path, and subsequently pass that direction to my beautiful wife.
So following God is key to my leadership role. It is also central to the ability of my wife to follow me with an open mind. I thank The Lord for my wife because we often think alike in most cases. But when we don’t see things eye to eye she is very quick to defer to my thoughts as the leader of the family. Now some might say, “well that’s what wives should do according to the word of God.” However, there are some men who don’t make that easy to do because their decisions and actions are not in line with God’s word. I have chosen to ask my wife to follow me as I follow Christ (This was a lesson I learned from Paul-1Corinthians 11:1). It just makes for good sense, trust and security in our marriage. In other words, I want my wife to respect my leadership, so I respect the ultimate authority of God in my own life.
So, when I’m feeling stressed about leading my family, I often think, “No worries, because I’m NOT in charge anyway. God is.” Then I just seek The Lord for the future of my family by studying His word, praying, fasting and DOING WHAT HE SAYS TO DO (John 2:5). Doing these things enlighten and encourage me about my responsibilities as the man of the house according to God’s plan. In addition, it allows my wife to gain confidence in my leadership as she recognizes that I am following the plan of God, and not making decisions based upon my own thoughts as a mortal man. Therefore, it is truly important for me to hear from God and obey Him so that I can lead my family to the fullest!!

Let’s Catch Up

jcooper — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:24:11 +0000

Thanks for being so patient with me. I told you guys I’d be in and out, because I’m in the busiest time of year at my job. This is our spring concert season. We have three concerts in one month. It’s a head-spinning time! I’m thankful to say, we’re down two and have one to go.

Let’s see…what else can I share? Oh yes, my husband and I have gone to a couple of places that have been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Oh my goodness. It has been quite a treat thus far. I found this site. You can search places the show has been by state. It’s so wonderful.

We have visited two places so far. The first was called 3 Sisters Cafe. I think I had the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had in my life…no seriously, I think it was the best. Reva’s TCB Grilled Chicken was covered with BBQ sauce, and topped with ham, bacon, pickled onion and pepper jack cheese on a whole wheat bun. My sweetie had the D’Nai sandwich that was featured on the show. It’s slow-roasted, fresh ham with low-country braised kale and pepper jack cheese on a French roll. Oh my goodness. Yes!!!!!! I really shouldn’t be this excited about food…but I am. Check out 3 Sisters Cafe on the show.

The next place we visited was called Zest! Exciting Food Creations Restaurant. With a name like that you know the food’s got to be good! Shuga Sweetness had the 5-Hour Braised Short Rib with rosemary-gorgonzola polenta and brussel sprouts. The short rib was like butter, melting in your mouth. It was a real treat. I had the Asiago ‘Fried’ Chicken topped with wild mushroom ragoût with rosemary-gorgonzola polenta and brussel sprouts. It was a perfect mix of flavors. Next time we go, I’ll have to get some pics.

I think that’s all for now! I’ll be back. I hope you all have been well and enjoying Spring. Leave me a comment and let me know what you’ve been up to. Be blessed.

Later!

I Love My Hair!!!

jcooper — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:17:35 +0000

In June 2008, I began my journey to loc my hair. This style of hair is ever evolving and growing. I love that this is the longest my hair has ever been in my life. I am happy that my hair is natural and healthy. Here are some pictures. The first is from my wedding day, August 22, 2009. The last two pictures were taken by Shuga Sweetness this evening. It’s grown quite a bit. Love it! Love it! Love it!

My mommy putting my earrings in on the big day.

Almost 2 years and 8 months from my wedding day

Lovely Locs

So Busy

jcooper — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:58:44 +0000

Sorry for not posting this week. This month is the busiest of the year for me at my job. We have three spring concerts every April. I’ll be in and out as I can:-).

I’ve been wanting to share this picture with you. As my family has been going through all of my mom’s bazillion pictures , this is one that was found. I think it’s absolutely amazing. I never realized how gorgeous my mom was. My mom was always so stylish. I’m loving her look.

I'm thinking this was taken in the 70's.

Fish and Slaw – Food Friday

jcooper — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:11:50 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, Shuga Sweetness and I enjoyed this lovely simple meal of fish and slaw. I got the slaw and chipotle mayo recipe from Gina and Pat Neely. It’s actually a recipe called, Southern-Style Fish Tacos with Crunchy Slaw and Chipotle Mayo. It’s from their cookbook, The Neelys’ Celebration Cookbook. It’s got recipes for every month of the year. It’s pretty cool. Check it out.

I simply seasoned some catfish with salt and pepper and pan-fried it.

Crunchy Slaw

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon canola oil (I used olive oil)
1 tablespoon honey
Kosher salt to taste
1 cup finely shredded green cabbage (I substituted the green and red cabbage with 2 cups of coleslaw mix)
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1/2 small red onion (I didn’t add onions)
1 small jalapeno, seeds and veins removed and minced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Whisk lime juice, oil, honey and salt together in a bowl. Add the slaw, red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro and toss to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for an hour, so the flavors merge.

Chipotle Mayo

1 cup mayonnaise
1 chipotle pepper packed in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons adobo sauce
2 teaspoons honey

Blend the mayonnaise, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and honey in a food processor until smooth. Remove from processor, and set aside until ready to serve.

What’s cookin’ in your kitchen?

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Tags: The Neelys, Fish and Slaw, Food Friday