Sometimes when life hands you lemons, you have to make lemon meringue pie. Or maybe you go all in for lemon primavera pasta or a French lavender-infused lemon tart or Mediterranean garlic-lemon chicken kebabs! Well, you get the idea. Make lemonade if you have to, but don’t sit around feeling sour. This past December, we were supposed to be [...] Keep Reading
Culture
Flourishing together: When racism affects us all
When my late husband Ericlee and I were newlyweds, we invited my Grandpa Frank to come live with us. Several years earlier my Grandma Cora had soared to heaven, and our family knew it wasn’t good for Grandpa to be living alone anymore — far from most of our family. My generous husband offered up our guest room. He knew this was important to me. [...] Keep Reading
Traveling the World from the Comfort of Home: Aloha, Hawaii!
Sometimes when life hands you lemons, you have to make lemon meringue pie. Or maybe you go all in for lemon primavera pasta or a French lavender-infused lemon tart or Mediterranean garlic-lemon chicken kebabs! Well, you get the idea. Make lemonade if you have to, but don’t sit in the sour. We were supposed to be heading to the airport to catch [...] Keep Reading
The Art of Hospitality
The second you walked into my Grandma Cora’s house you smelled the fragrance of onions, ginger, and garlic sautéing. She was always swirling pancit noodles in her big pot and you could hear the music of the carrots and celery dancing as she added a splash of soy sauce. No matter what time of day – morning, noon, or night – Grandma always had [...] Keep Reading
Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken: Leaning into vulnerability
When you sit down face-to-face with someone at the table for a meal, it invites familiarity and intimacy. In our busy world where connection often happens in quick texts or over social media, time connecting at the table is rare. It takes vulnerability to invite someone into your space, to prepare food and go deeper in conversation. Author Brene [...] Keep Reading
Behold the Savior: Remembering Heaven as part of Christmas
The other night we piled in the car with our jammies on and took the kids on a drive down Christmas Tree Lane. This iconic Christmas light show has been operating for 95 years in our city of Fresno. As we were inching down the two-mile-long lane, my 6-year-old Zayla squealed with delight. “Mama, mama, look!” I heard her say. “It’s the Activity [...] Keep Reading