Life Tools: How To Stop Playing Small | davidji

HAVE A SAFE, BEAUTIFUL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FILLED WITH THINGS YOU LOVE

"People open a cookbook, find a recipe, and feel like they have to use every exact ingredient the recipe calls for. I encourage people to ignore that." (Austin Holey). Yeh, get creative!

  

This is stinging nettle which can be foraged.   Austin Holey is the quintessential California forager.    He says broccoli rabe can be substituted for stinging nettles.

💕 Have a joyful, loving Valentines Day

Thanksgiving, the day after & a lot to be grateful for

Wishing all people peace and happiness.  This morning I woke up feeling peaceful, happy and content.  I'm grateful for that!  I know there's a whole lot of people who aren't experiencing those thoughts because of the fear and destruction of the pandemic.  I'm grateful for so many things in my life - the life I always dreamed of - the life I have today.  I'm grateful for my husband, Scott, and I'm grateful for my 2-yr old fluffy dog named Cooper.  The 3 of us live in a safe, sunny, beautiful place called Desert Princess.  It's a wonderful resort community -- we have people of all ages who own homes (and second homes) here .  We've made a some very nice friends and we enjoy all our neighbors.  We have wonderful walking paths here with gorgeous views of beautiful mountains, some even snow-capped ( I can see snow at Big Bear from my bedroom window), swaying palm trees, a gym, tennis courts, 3 golf courses, a restaurant,  and a lot of friendly people. I'm just so grateful.    

An Apple a Day....Steve had the right idea!

We will all miss you and your brilliance.  Thank you for giving so much to so many.  Rest in peace.

Food and Fitness

I admit it......I'm a foodie. I use to dislike that word thinking it was trendy and superficial but now I completely embrace it because it really describes me. I love food. I love buying it, organizing it in the kitchen cupboards and refrigerator, displaying it, cooking it, serving it to loved ones & clients, eating it and I even love cleaning up after it. I love good pots and pans, knives, farmers markets, the Food Channel on TV (although I don't watch it much....I'd rather be doing the cooking rather than watching someone else do it), my food processor and blender, all the toys and utensils I have and use to make things easy be it shredding, grinding, blending, straining, whatever. I'm not sure what came first....my love of food, or my love of fitness and exercise. This leads me to share how very passionate I am about staying fit and supporting others to do so as well. Because I love food and eat it often I suppose I could be overweight from all that. However, I admit I have always been a little vain, wanting to look good, to have a nice trim figure. Yes, it's true. To that end.....and trust me, I wasn't about to live my life on a diet, I have always partaken in regular and consistent exercise. The combination of good food and good exercise is clearly what keeps me healthy, happy and enjoying the two things I'm most passionate about -- food and fitness. I encourage you to eat well and stay fit. If you need encouragement or support getting on the path to better eating and regular exercise.....contact me.....I'm here for you. May you be healthy and happy.

A Very Good Year

I took some time today to reflect back through 2008 and I am filled with gratitude for the experiences, people, places and things I encountered. I am grateful for my good health and fitness in body, mind and spirit during this past year, where and how I get to live and the wonderful people I’ve met along the way. The highlights of my year…….

My niece, Pearl, married a good man named Chris and this is a wonderful thing. Their wedding was and their union is, just so special. I had fun catering the food for their wedding. Their baby, my new grand niece, Maya, arrived into the world and has brought much joy to many people. I feel blessed to be a part of their lives.  Isn't she cute!

I had the opportunity to cook for some amazing people, advance my skills, gain experience and have fun with it. And they actually paid me to do it!

I began experimenting with Thai style cooking, pretty much teaching myself. I developed some original Thai dishes, my specialty being “Thai Eggplant Cups” – a mildly flavored coconut vegetarian dish served right in the eggplant shell! And my Lemongrass Chicken isn’t bad either! I absolutely love marrying the Thai flavors of ginger, lemongrass, garlic, Thai basil and hot chili oils. How do you say “delicious” in Thai.?

This blog celebrated its first anniversary. Looking back now I see 29 articles that I’ve posted here. Isn’t it amazing what can happen one step (or one article, or one anything) at a time! I also see that I have built a compendium of food and dining ideas, recipes, and health and nutrition related white paper in such a way that I now have enough material for a book. (Next year’s project perhaps).

I started a weekly walking/fitness group which has turned into a complete blessing because of the wonderful people who have consistently showed up every Saturday morning. Not only have I made new friends, my walking friends have made friends amongst themselves as well, and this gives me great pleasure to know that I might possibly have had a little something to do with bringing like-minded people together in this town which is so busy with we who can sometimes alienate from each other. This Saturday morning walking group is an example of how wonderful the Internet is. Why? Because I was able to put this walking group together through something called “Meetup”. If you’ve never heard of it, check it out at www.meetup.com. Pick a topic that interests you, then join! It could change your life. It has definitely changed and enriched mine.

Click here to check out
The Santa Monica Canyon Stair Climbers!

Most importantly I want to thank the people (and one sweet canine) who have touched me in one way or another this past year: Pearl, Chris, Maya, Dave (may he rest in peace), Mom, DiAnn, Jacqueline, Sal, Danny, Mark, Mabel, Kathryn, Jeni, LeVon, Dr. Peace, Nicolette, Ruth, Catherine, Mitch, Taryn, Audrey, Gene, Todd, Eckhart Tolle, The Hicks, and all the people of the Universe who believe.

And, as Andy Rooney said: Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR FILLED WITH REWARDING MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB

A messsage from Rebecca

Welcome to my Blog which started as a place to share my passion for cooking, eating and the proliferation of a healthy lifestyle and continues to be a work in progress. The Internet has opened up so much for me, and for all of us, perhaps making it one of the best educational tools of the 21st Century and offering unlimited “Freedom of Speech” .…I like that I can write articles from the heart for others to enjoy. Throughout this Blog you’ll find a variety of topics….cooking, art, fitness, gratitude, attitude and of course healthy recipes. I hope you can relate. Enjoy, and please feel free to leave a comment by clicking "comment" at the bottom of any article.

Happy 1st Anniversary Becsfarm

One year ago this blog came to be when a friend quipped "start a food blog." Blogging has been a wonderful writing, learning, thinking, creating and dreaming experience for me. It's been fun and empowering, even challenging at times. I've enjoyed sharing with you. As I look back on the last year I see this blog is really a journal of where I've been and where I am at in the present moment. I am eternally grateful for the new friends I've made along the way, my longtime friends and family, all the wonderful foods available to me, the well equipped kitchens I get to cook in, the beautiful neighborhood I live and play in and most certainly, my good health, energy, passion and enthusiasm. I feel blessed. Thank you friends, family, God, the Universe and Cyberville.