Easter and St. Patrick's Day News

Kent is enjoying his last few months with us as he prepares to begin his residency. Once he gets to San Antonio in July, he will basically be working non-stop for three years. So, he wanted to go on a vacation. We settled on going to Utah for Spring Break. The kids have never been skiing, and it is time for one last visit to friends and family before we go, so we thought we would do both. We were also hoping to go camping, but it has been snowing so much there, even in the southern part of the state, that we are ditching those plans.

Since I have had the pleasure of helping so many people save money over the past four years, I have been busy working on a website which focuses on money management. So far I have about 30 pages up, so I decided to let the cat out of the bag. You can take a look at www.smart-money-management.com. I am very excited about being able to help even more people get where they want to be financially through this new site. These are such turbulent times and so many people are in debt or are not able to live the lives they want.

Also, very soon (hopefully by the time this goes out), I will be adding a new wellness page to my music therapy site, www.musictherapy.cc, after being the guest presenter on two teleclasses offered by my friend Dr. Robert Pendergrast. Robert recently opened the Augusta-Aiken Health and Wellness Center, an integrative medicine clinic, and is educating the public about the many ways they can be in charge of their healthcare decisions.

Speaking of music therapy, my good friend, Barbara Reuer, a skilled and renowned music therapist and Executive Director of Resounding Joy, just sent me an announcement for their annual benefit concert in Solano Beach, CA on April 19. In case you are not familiar with this wonderful organization, Resounding Joy is a California nonprofit corporation that brings together community and faith–based organizations to train, equip, and mentor volunteers to provide supportive music and recreational music-making services at no cost to adults and children in need. Bello Mondo—Italian for beautiful world—is the theme for their fifth annual gala celebration of another remarkable year of growth and your opportunity to help create a more beautiful world for adults and children waiting to receive the healing power of music-making. To purchase tickets or make a donation, please visit http://www.resoundingjoyinc.org/emailings/031508/031508.html

Montana is doing really well on drums. His band director has been on maternity leave and so he has had a substitute for the past six weeks. The substitute called me one day and told me that he has a real gift for it and that she hopes he sticks with it--no pun intended (well, maybe just a little bit). I really should video him and put it up on YouTube or something. Maybe next time I will be ready with a link for you. It is pretty neat.

I apologize for not including a recipe in the last few newsletters. To make up for it, I have three for you this time.

The first one is a really easy treat you can make with the kids (just borrow the neighbor's if you don't have any). My good friend Kendra used to make these for Easter but I am really not sure if she used the same recipe:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
2 eggs, well beaten
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups peanut butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Hershey chocolate bar
1 6 oz. package chocolate chips

Mix the eggs, salt, pb, sugar, and vanilla in order listed. Form dough into egg shapes. Melt the chocolate bar and chips in a double boiler . Dip egg shapes into chocolate mixture. Arrange on waxed paper until set.

The second recipe is supposed to be made with cornish hens, but when I tried it I only had a whole roasting chicken on hand. It was still very yummy. This dish could easily star at a Passover supper:

Honey-Herbed Cornish Hens
4 Rock Cornish game hens (6 lbs total), rinsed and patted dry
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS honey
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (use 1 tsp if all you have is dried)
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped (ditto)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Using kitchen shears, cut out the backbone of each hen and split through each breastbone. Trim any excess skin and fat. Brush the olive oil onto a shallow pan (15x10x1 inch) and place in the oven. Then, heat the oven to 400. In a small bowl, wisk together the next 4 ingredients. Season the game hen halves with salt and pepper.

Once the pan has heated, carefully remove it from the oven and place the hens, skins side down, into the pan. Brush with half of the honey mixture and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, turn the hens over, and brush them with the remaining honey mixture. Return to the oven and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 180 degrees on a meat thermometer. Transfer to platter. If you wish, you may drain the pan drippings, skim off the fat and serve them in a gravy boat alongside the hens.

Last but not least, is a delicious asparagus soup. Hopefully you will be able to get a good price on asparagus right now. Usually I only buy the small stalks, but for the soup the larger ones will do just fine. All of my kids ate this except for Olivia--but she is my pickiest eater, remember?

Asparagus Soup
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 medium-sized onion, diced
3 cups chicken broth
1 medium-sized potato, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/8 teaspoon white or black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cut tips from asparagus and steam separately until tender to be used as a garnish. Chop remaining stalks into 1/2 inch pieces. Melt butter in a 4-qt saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes. Add asparagus stalks and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add broth, potato, salt, dill, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-high and cook 10-12 minutes uncovered until potatoes are very tender. Remove soup from heat and puree until smooth. Stir in heavy cream and serve warm or chilled, garnished with the steamed tips.

My friend Teri sent this to me. It is about a woman who found this lion hurt and about to die. She took him home and took care of him. When the lion was better she called the local zoo. This was the reaction she got when the lion saw her again: http://www.telestereo.com/Archivos/video.html