Juicing The Lemons and Learning The Lessons
When life throws you lemons, make lemonade. And be sure it’s pink!
We often can’t control the circumstances that we’re forced to deal with, but we can be in charge of how we react to them and what we make out of the whole situation. I hate to be preachy about it, but it seems we only have two choices, to either crumble under the weight of a burden or try putting one foot in front of the other and drag, crawl, pull and propel yourself no matter how slow and painful the process is.
Not every time you’ll be successful, sometimes you’ll give up and crawl away. God knows I’ve had plenty of those moments, and many life lessons are still a work in progress. Just remember if it’s truly something you need to learn, you’ll always get another opportunity, and even if you may fail that one too, there will be yet another one ahead, as long as you don’t give up on one day finally getting it right.
The most important lesson I learned during the 8 months of cancer treatment is to love myself and to put myself first. And then over the past 5 years, I got to re-learn this lesson over and over again and realize that putting yourself first really means in all and every areas in your life, health, family, relationships, work and everything else. I don’t mean to sound incredibly selfish as it’s not about self-obsession and indulgence, but it is about making sure you’re always on a forefront of getting your needs met and giving yourself enough of attention.
If you’re undergoing cancer treatment right now, facing it in the future or had one in the past, and need somebody to talk to and get some cancer information and resources or help you getting re-integrated back into post-treatment life, Cancer Care is the best resource for all kind of cancer-related information and assistance. They offer face-to-face, over the phone or online individual and group counseling and different workshops to get you through the difficult period in your life. Please contact www.cancercare.org for more information, financial assistance and resources.
What’s Cooking This Week
When you think of life lessons, you always get some bitter-sweet feeling, there is usually a sense of loss and a sense of a triumph, both are intertwined to create an unforgettable experience. This is exactly what this recipe is about, it’s a little bitter, and a little tart and it is definitely sweet. All flavors are perfectly blended to produce a delicate looking dessert that nevertheless has a “foundation and inner strength” to stand on its own.
Pink Series: Recipe # 8
Pink Lemonade Mousse Bars
For the crust:
1 1/4 cups of flour (I used gluten free Classic Blend by Authentic Foods + 1 tspoon of xanthan gum)
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
10 Tbspoons of unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into smaller pieces
1/2 tspoon of lemon zest
a pinch of salt
In a bowl, combine together flour, lemon zest and powdered sugar. In a food processor, combine together sugar mixture and butter until all is incorporated, and a loose dough forms. Butter the cake pan, you can either use a 9 x 9 square inch pan lined with parchment paper or the one with removable bottom, which is what I used, I had the round one. Press the dough into the bottom of the cake pan to create a crust.
Cover and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and then bake the crust for 20-25 minutes.
For the filling:
3 1/2 cups of chopped strawberries
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar (depending on the taste of strawberries and how sweet you want it)
2 eggs
2/3 cups of flour (I used gluten free Classic Blend by Authentic Foods + 1/2 tspoon of xanthan gum)
1/2 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice
lemon zest from 2 large lemons
In a blender or food processor, first blend the strawberries, then add sugar, then eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest until all is well blended. Gradually add the flour and blend again to make sure no lumps are left. Pour the strawberry mixture over baked crust.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let it cool off and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting it. If you used a square pan, you can just cut into smaller squares. I however used a biscuit cutter to make cute round bars. It’s a little taste of summer to keep in your heart while facing winter months up ahead.
Enjoy!