Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

This recipe was out of a community cookbook I got from and old friend’s mom.
A favourite of office birthdays.

Chocolate Chip Batter
1 (250 ml) cup shortening
1 (250 ml) cup brown sugar, packed
½ (125 ml) cup granulated sugar
1 (5 ml) teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
2 (500 ml) cups all-purpose flour
1 (5 ml) teaspoon baking soda
1 (5 ml) teaspoon salt
1 ½ (375 ml) cups chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Batter
2 (each 8oz/250g) packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 (50 ml) cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 (250 ml) cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven 50 350F.
Cream shortening.  Add sugars and vanilla..  Add eggs and beat well.
Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread ½ of the batter into the bottom of a greased 9" x 13" pan.
Make cream batter by combining cream cheese, sugar, eggs and pecans.
Pour onto chocolate chip batter base.  Spoon remaining chocolate chip batter
on top of cream cheese layer.  Bake about 45 minutes.  Cool and cut.

I will sprinkle extra chocolate chips and chopped pecans on top before
it goes in the oven.

B.K.S. Iyengar Quote

As a mountaineer needs ladders, ropes and crampons as well as physical fitness and discipline to climb the icy peaks of the Himalayas, so does the Yoga aspirant need the knowledge and discipline of the Hatha Yoga of Swatmarama to reach the heights of Raja Yoga dealt with by Patanjali."
~B.K.S. Iyengar -Light on Yoga, p. 23.

Balloon Ride in Cappadocia

I had the wonderful opportunity to be on a tour through western Turkey, May 2012.  One of the most unique experiences I had was an early morning balloon ride in Cappadocia (Kapadokya).
This area of Turkey has the most amazing eroded volcanic landscape.

The morning started before dawn with a bus ride to a large hall where a buffet breakfast was served to everyone going up that morning.  We were then split into groups of 14 and assigned to a mini-bus that took us out to our assigned balloon, pilot and crew.  Our pilot was Graham, originally from Oxfordshire UK.   Up we went!  It was a beautiful morning, still and slightly hazy.  We guessed there were 100 balloons in the sky that morning.  Graham took us for a one hour ride over the landscape of Cappadocia.  We landed safely and were served cake and sparkling wine.

If you ever have the opportunity for a hot air balloon ride, do it!  Enjoy the pictures below.

Downward-Facing Dog - Adho Muhka Svanasana

A yoga basic.  This pose works everything.  When I first started yoga, I could get into the pose but could not hold it for very long.  It is now easier for me to achieve the pose as I get lighter in weight, stronger in muscle, and more flexible in the joints.

You start on your hands and knees.  Tuck your toes under and push up.  Your body forms a 90 degree angle, more or less.  Ideally, you push on your hands to push your hips back so your heels will go to the floor.  It took me over three years to get my heels down to the floor. You are also working on length from arms through the torso to the waist.  The head is neutral with neck long and relaxed. In other words, a really good stretch for the whole body.

The Power of Healing Through Yoga

Below is a YouTube video about U.S. Gulf War vet, Arthur Boorman.
Arthur's health had deteriorated to the point where he could barely walk and his weigh was nearly 300lbs.  No one could seem to help him until he came across Diamond Dallas Page and his DDP Yoga program.

The YouTube video, which has had more than 5,000,000 clicks, summarizes Arthur's journey.  It is an amazing story of perseverance and transformation.

West African Peanut Soup

Popular dish at Prairie Ink Restaurant at McNally Robinson Bookstore, Winnipeg MB
Courtesy of  “Ciao”  magazine

3/4 cup diced carrot
3/4 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced white onion
3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
11 cups water
2 cups smooth peanut butter
14 oz (398 ml) can whole tomatoes with juice
1 tbsp kosher or sea salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper

In large pot saute carrot, celery and onion in about 2 tbsp of vegetable oil until soft.  Add sweet potatoes and cover with water.  Bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are tender.  Add remaining ingredients.  Puree soup until smooth.  Adjust seasoning to your own taste.  You may also add extra water if you prefer a thinner soup.

Cracked and Flawed

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”

The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!