Simple Roasted Veggie Soup

I am really excited to share this recipe! It's not very often that I share a savory recipe of my very own!

Because of my IBS, vegetables don't digest very well, especially when raw, so I made this simple soup in hopes that I could still get some of the nutrition from veggies without having too much pain in my stomach since they are already cooked and blended.

I wasn't 100% sure this would work out, but it actually turned out to be super yummy! There's a nice creamy texture from the pumpkin and complimentary flavors of the other veggies. I was surprised at how perfectly they went together! Mom and dad even said they loved it!

Vegetables ready for roasting!

And...to make matters even better...it's SUPER healthy! You will feel totally good about slurping up a bowl full of vegetables without any of the artificial, commercialized ingredients from a can!

Roasted veggies!

Bowl full of wholeness!

Crispy, herbed noodles add a nice crunchy, flavorful texture to soup.

 ROASTED VEGGIE SOUP
Yields: ~ 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 small pumpkin
1 1/2 zucchini
1 red bell pepper
3/4 onion
3 garlic cloves
Non-dairy milk (I used soy milk)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Cut the vegetables into large chunks and place on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 1 hour.
3. Take out the vegetables and when slightly cooled cut off the rind of the pumpkin.
4. Cut the roasted veggies into smaller chunks. Place in a blender or food processor and blend until well mixed (you can make it completely smooth, or you can leave it a little chunky like I did because of the lack of a powerful blender).
5. Pour blended mixture into medium sized pot and heat on the stove, stirring in about 1/2 cup milk 
6. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds, croutons, or herbed noodles (see below).

*Note: you really could use any vegetable that's in your fridge-this is just what we had.

CRISPY HERBED NOODLES

Ingredients:

Wide rice noodles

garlic salt

coriander

onion powder

salt

pepper

basil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook noodles according to package
3. After draining and rinsing noodles, place them in a mixing bowl.
4. Sprinkle herbs onto noodles to your liking and mix until noodles are well covered.
5. Spread noodles onto cookie sheet and cook until crispy.

Ships Are Sailing

Hi everyone!! 

We've had a pretty loaded week that ended with some good and not so good news. So, to explain the title (I really enjoy thinking of what to put in the subject line!) I've had many ships start sailing this week. Don't worry, I'll explain. First of all, did you all see about the 58 new missions? That's pretty exciting! It's amazing to see the work unfold right in front of our eyes! 

So, a lot of you already know this but the first ship that set sail is college bound-I'M GOIN' TO BYU!!!!!!!! Yep folks, I'll be joining the Moon brigade in Provo next fall! I got my acceptance email yesterday morning. I debated whether or not to put it on Facebook because I wanted it to be a surprise in my email, but i couldn't hold it in. So maybe you could all just act surprised and excited again! :) I'm pretty darn excited. I've watched so many of you go there that now it's almost surreal that it's my turn now. I was looking at pictures of the dorms yesterday and I got this feeling of, "Whoa! Am I really old enough to go to COLLEGE??!!" We would have gone out to dinner to celebrate, but I didn't really want to, so instead we bought one of those little tiny cartons of blueberries that cost $10 or something. It was quite a treat! This doesn't mean I'm in the dance program yet though, so I'm still working on that.

Mom and dad left for Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. I wanted to miss as minimal school as possible since exams are this week so I left on Wednesday night. The next morning I had a consultation with the gastrointestinal doctor there. I'm going to be honest: she scared me! She warmed up a little by the end and started laughing and smiling more. They decided to redo all of the blood tests that I had gotten here because they didn't trust the numbers. It's amazing to feel the difference between getting poked with a needle in Cambodia and Hong Kong. I prefer Hong Kong. :) We still haven't gotten the results of the tests, but based on my symptoms, she diagnosed me with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. So, this is the second ship that set sail, and I can't tell you we're all thrilled about it. It definitely requires all hands on deck. The bad thing about IBS is that it's so general. It has a lot to do with anxiety creating stomach problems. It's a mind-body issue. There's really no cure for it besides figuring out how to stay de-stressed and what foods are triggers for the symptoms. I'm having to kind of shift my thoughts on health because basically all fruits and vegetables are triggers because of their insoluble fiber. But everyone's different right? Anywho, sorry, I'm sure you don't really care about all that. Looking on the positive side though, we're glad we have at least something to work off as far as what to do.

So, the last ship to sail is the dance boat, expect I am still on the shore. This boat hasn't quite made it out of the harbor yet though. I've decided to more or less stop ballet. It's partly to help my IBS so I don't have even more stress in my life (ballet is a stressful thing!). I'm thinking that I will take up yoga instead to help me be more relaxed in life. The other part is that I'm just not enjoying it anymore. I'm still going to do contemporary and I think I'm going to keep that as my major, however, earlier this week I was seriously contemplating that. I've decided that I really want to do holistic nutrition, however, BYU doesn't offer that. I thought about maybe doing an online major in that? So, for now it's all kind of up in the air, but that's ok. I know I don't have to be 100% certain yet. 

Well, that's about it for this week. It's kind of a deep email, so sorry, but it's my life right now. I hope your all doing well! I love you so much and miss you!

Love always,

Kenzie

Oat & Banana Soft Crackers

So, I'm pretty darn excited about this recipe! And the best part about it was that I wasn't expecting to make anything even close to this. 

I had the image and idea of a wonderful, crunchy, crispy, oaty, banana-y, granola in mind. One that had mild banana flavor with banana covered oats and walnuts and dried, crunchy bananas. 

OKAY! Woah. I'm going to start salivating! So, I headed to the kitchen with this amazing picture in my mind. Unfortunately I knew I would not be able to make it to my exact liking because 1) Cambodia does not have good raw nuts and if on the rare occasion they do, they are super expensive ($6-8 for 1/2 cup.) 2) There are no dried bananas here and I knew the ones I made would not be perfect and 3) I basically did no planning for this recipe. 

Despite all of those factors, I still came up with something really good. I just had to change my mindset on granola. I had a hard time trying to name these, but finally I decided on Oat & Banana Soft Crackers. They have a soft, chewy cracker/flatbread like texture and a mild banana flavor. 

These would be great as an addition to yogurt, as a snack ( I like mine with peanut butter and jam), or whatever else you feel like! 

 This is the banana puree. I accidentally poured too much into the cup, but then it created a really cool picture!

 Ohh! Look at those vibrant colors! (That's momma's homemade raspberry jam...oh yes please!)

 So, so, so good.

Oat and Banana Soft Crackers/Flatbread

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups rolled oats

1 cup popped amaranth

2 Tbsp. cinnamon      

4-5 shakes salt

3 bananas

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350. In a large bowl mix together the oats, amaranth, cinnamon, and salt. Make a banana puree by blending the bananas in a blender with a little bit of water-should make 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. (more or less). Mix the puree in with the dry ingredients until well combined. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Spread the mixture onto the pan until evenly spread out. For a crispier texture spread thinner. For a more thicker, breadier texture spread a little thicker. Place in the oven. Bake for (20-30??) minutes. (sorry, I forgot to keep track of the time again!!)

*** I'm not sure if you could sub anything for the amaranth or not. I think qiunoa might work, but I'm not sure. Please let me know if you try! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hello! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! This years day of love passed by pretty normal. They did make a big deal of it at school though. They were selling roses and chocolates for $1 the week before and they would be delivered on Valentine's Day. I was not expecting to do anything because normally people just do that for their lover, but that is not the case here. I guess it's normal to give them to your friends as well. I didn't order any in time so instead I took brownies mom made the night before. I wanted to give my friends something since I knew they would give me roses, etc. Mom, dad, and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day today since Thursday was busy as usual. 

There has been a lot of studying on this side of the globe. I have mock exams coming up in a week, so I've been studying in any spare moment I have. I spent 8 hours between Friday and Saturday together making science notes to study with. Let's just say, by the time Saturday night came I was ready to explode!! These mock exams are just practice for the real ones in May, but they do count on our grade so I want to do the best I can. Fortunately for me I only have to study 7 months worth of material whereas everyone else has to do 1 1/2 years worth (IB diploma is a 2 year program). I am pretty nervous for them because basically all of the tests are essays ( I'm sure your all thinking, "yeah, there essays...so what?" But Hey! I haven't been to college yet!). Anyway, you'll hear more about this in a couple of weeks. Mom also kindly reminded me yesterday that these won't matter in the long run. She's exactly right, and it helped me to keep perspective and not stress too much. 

I've also been getting a lot of blood tests done throughout the week. I'm going to Hong Kong with mom and dad later this week to talk to a gastrointestinal doctor to hopefully figure out what the problem is with my stomach pain. It's safer to do it there plus the testing/knowledge available there is a little better. The doctor there wanted us to get some blood tests out of the way before we came though, so I've been pricked and prodded not to my liking! It was okay the first time, but then the guy who did it the second time on Saturday hurt SO bad!!! I think he nicked a nerve because it still hurts to twist or bend my arm. The end of this tale is good and bad. We found out that all of the tests were normal, which is good, but at the same time, I'd almost rather there be a specific problem that we can fix. Nevertheless, I still have hope and am praying that the doctor in HK will figure something out. 

This has been a fun week at dance. A guest teacher from the Royal Danish Ballet came and taught all of our ballet classes. She was really fun and I really enjoyed her classes. I like her classes more than my normal teacher because she goes quickly and doesn't spend a lot of time talking or demonstrating. My regular teacher will show a combination like 5 times slowly before we even do it. I usually know the steps after the first time, so then there's a lot of time for my thoughts to wander. After the guest teachers classes though I realized that I had not thought of anything except ballet for the last 11/2 hours. It was nice!! We had a workshop with her on Saturday as well. It was okay, kind of boring though. 

I gave a talk in church today as well. I spoke  about how the scriptures can bless our life. It was kind of a hard topic for me at first, but it ended up being fine, and I felt pretty good about it after. 

Well, that's all for this week! I love you so much! Have a very merry day!

Love,

Kenzie

Sweaty!

Hi everyone!! 

It was so fun to see/hear almost everyone on Saturday! Chantelle, I'm so excited for you! Although, I am a little sad because that means I won't see you for another 2 years (starting now). 

This week has been an alright week. There was hardly a time of day when I didn't feel sweaty, sticky, and wet. I now understand what dad meant when he said he felt sticky 24/7 on his mission. The reason for all this suffering :) is because my school's electricity BROKE!!!! First the power was gone, and then the generator broke, so for most of the days we were in the dark with no air conditioning. It literally felt like a sauna in the classrooms!! That was not particularly fun. I'm starting to think Utah's weather looks pretty good...WAIT! did I just say that!? No, I actually do quite enjoy the weather here. Just not when your in a room with no circulation which has previously been occupied by sweaty, smelly 9th grade boys. ah, good times!

It's also been a pretty lousy week as far as my stomach goes. I didn't feel good for most of the days. We're going to go get some blood tests done this Tuesday, and then I'll go to Hong Kong with mom and dad in a couple of weeks. We're hoping/praying that we'll be able to figure something out! It's no fun feeling like I need to pop the top button of my pants everyday after I eat because I'm so bloated! 

Anyway, sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. I've recently started a new project. There's a member doctor here who will be doing a service project from Feb. 14-23 where he will be giving free surgeries for people with cleft lips/palates, and other facial deformities. I've taken on the responsibility to get translators who can translate English to Khmer for all of those days. I'm organizing working shifts for volunteers and such. I sent out a lot of emails to members who we know can speak good English. Some of the Senior Couples are talking to people they know. I've had pretty good success so far. It's nothing huge, but I'm glad I can help in a useful cause! 

On Saturday I earned money for the first time in a long time! I substituted a 3-4 year old ballet class at the elementary in the morning. There were only 3 girls so it wasn't too difficult. I had a fun time teaching little kids again! I haven't done it for so long. After that I had a private dance class with my teacher to work on my audition video for BYU. Things are looking good so that's exciting! 

Other than that it's been a pretty quiet week. Really, I didn't have hardly any homework this entire week. It was nice to have a somewhat relaxing week before things start to get really crazy with mock exams in a couple of weeks. I've got some major studying to do! 

I love you all and hope you have an excellent week!

Love truly,

Kenzie

Apple Crumble Bake!

So, this is a recipe from quite a while back, but I wanted to post about it so I could add it to my recipe page.

I made this yummy dessert kind of on the spur of the moment one night and it actually turned out really good!

The apples maintained a soft crunchiness while the crumble on the top added a soft, cookie/pie-like texture and taste.

It looks burnt, but it's not!

Mmm...yummy crumby apple pie-ish goodness!

This literally takes five minutes to throw together and is a healthy, sweet-tooth quencher.

Apple Crumble Bake

Ingredients:

5 apples

1 ½  cups uncooked oats

½  cup coconut sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 dashes salt

butter

Directions:

            Preheat oven to 350. Slice the apples. Place in a baking dish. In a small bowl mix oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour on top of apples. Drizzle about ½ cup of water over everything. Dot with butter. Bake for about 10 min. If top is too mushy broil for a couple of minutes. Do not overcook apples. Best when apples are still crunchy and crumble is slightly mushy. Enjoy!!!

4 Day Weekend!

Hi all!

I hope your doing well. Kelcy and Ben, I'm glad you received an answer to you prayers. That's got to be such a big relief! Also, I know I said this last week, but Chantelle! I can't believe your call comes on Saturday! I thought I would tell you all my guesses: 1) Argentina or 2) Holland or 3) California Spanish speaking. I have a lot more in mind, but I thought I would stick to 3 to be fair! 

This week was a little busy because of school. I had two tests, a presentation, and a big research paper due. I got down to work though and everything ended up being fine. I didn't get great scores on my tests, but I'm still relatively pleased with them. It's about what I was expecting. 

I've had (am having) a  four day weekend which is really nice. It was an unexpected break due to the King's funeral. I have to say, there are some advantages to having a royal family! We had Friday off because of a big procession/parade they were doing for the King and then I'll have Monday off for when they actually cremate him. On Friday I woke up and made breakfast although it was a slight failure, but it still tasted decent so that was good. We then went and watched the procession at about 11am. It was super hot and tiring standing out in the sun. We only stood out there for about and hour, but all of the Khmer's were sitting/standing out there ALL morning. I don't know how they did it. The procession itself was kind of cool. They mostly just had about every government worker and military personnel walking down the street. They also had some hill tribe people, monks, and floats with Buddha's, etc. Then at the very end they had a huge float carrying the King's casket. There must have been hundreds of thousands of people walking in the procession. I tried not to think of the fact that the money that went into it probably could have fed the entire country! No, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. All of the major big streets were closed and everyone had work off. We mostly stayed inside. The rest of the day I just did homework and yoga. All 3 of us watched a movie that night which was kind of nice. 

Saturday was a really fun day! Dad really wanted to take a preparation day, so we spent the ENTIRE day together!!!! Yeah!! I tried to soak up every minute of it since it's going to be a while until that happens again. This month will be a busy one with traveling for them. After getting all ready, we drove to Sine Sok to try to find a fun little craft store. We didn't end up finding the place though, so we just drove back. We then went out to lunch at a really yummy natural foods cafe. It hit the spot so well!! We played some games in the afternoon. I made some yummy treats (when has a weekend ever gone by without me making something?!) :). After dinner we went to a movie. Yes, we actually went OUT to a movie THEATRE!!! It's been so long since I've been to a movie. The movie was called The Impossible. It's a true story about a family on vacation when the horrific tsunami hit Thailand. It started out good, but then when the tsunami hit it became too graphic for me. I was not expecting it to show so much people being hurt during the actual hit of the storm. I honestly felt like I was going to pass out. At one point I had to put my head between my knees. Eventually we ended up leaving because I just couldn't handle it. I just started balling as we walked to the car. I have never been so affected by a movie in my entire life. I've never had a movie traumatize me so bad. We sat in the car for a little bit and talked and I was able to calm down.  It wasn't the great ending to the night that we were expecting, but oh well. 

Other exciting news: mom drove me to church today!! I think it's incredible that she can drive in such nutso traffic! 

I hope you all have a great week! I really love this quote by Pres. David O. McKay, "Some of us look forward to a time in the future-salvation and exaltation in the world to come-but today is part of eternity." So true!! 

I love you!

Kenzie