My new favorite TV Obsession: Once Upon a Time

Has anyone seen the new ABC show Once Upon a Time?  I LOVE it! 

Besides having a great cast including Ginnifer Goodwin of Big Love fame, Jennifer Morrison of House, and Robert Carlyle from one of the best British comedies ever; The Full Monty (among a host of others,) the story is, well, enchanting.

It's about this town in Maine called Storybrooke where all the fairy tale characters are trapped in our world because of a curse.  Oh, and they don't know that they are fairy tale characters... that is most of them don't know.

It's cute, clever, and much deeper and more intriguing than I'm making it sound.  Check out the Wiki description and the Imdb description... or better yet, check out an episode on Hulu.com.

This year must be the year of the Fairy Tale, because NBC also came out with Grimm... which is the darker side of Fairy Tales.  It's like the SUV version of fairy tales.  Its good.  I prefer Once Upon a Time because every episode leaves you wanting more.

Making SCD Yogurt... yum!

For the Specific Carbohydrate Diet that I started recently to heal the Ulcerative Colitis that I've been plagued by, I've started making homemade yogurt and its DELICIOUS!

David and I are both huge fans of its tart yet creamy flavor, and I am an especially huge fan of how easy it is to do.  In fact, it was so easy, I've decided that it's the perfect gift to give to friends for Christmas instead of hoards of cookies or bread that everyone usually gives and gets... delicious and nutritious!

For excellent (easy) directions and the great SCD approved recipe, check it out here and here.

I started out my SCD program by making yogurt in a yogurt maker my mom gave me years ago, which had been sitting in storage untouched.  It was super easy to use and it turns out awesome individual servings of yogurt, but we were going through it so fast I was making yogurt 3 times a week.  Although hooked on the yogurt because it makes my belly feel so good, I needed a way to make it less time consuming.

I tried making it in the oven, but I didn't do it right, and it turned out badly.  Oh well.  Then I read about making yogurt in the food dehydrator, which is another tool my mom gave me years ago and had been sitting in my basement unused... except for a few batches of apple chips I've made, so I gave it a whirl... perfecto!

I'd also been saving some glass Peanut Butter jars for a while and David was getting on me to either do something with them, or throw them out... they ended up being the perfect thing to make the yogurt in.  So, now I do both the yogurt maker for individual servings and the dehydrator for larger batches.  It's great!

Once the plain yogurt is made, I add honey and vanilla to mine, although you can add whatever you like.  David prefers adding cinnamon, and my friend adds fruit to hers.  Either way, it all tastes wonderful!

The yogurt is also great for making things like SCD approved cakes and frostings, which I haven't tried yet, but I'm planning to with my next big batch.  I've been using the Yogourmet yogurt starter, and its really nice and tart.  For the yogurt to be SCD approved it has to be cultured for 24-28 hours to cook off all the lactose.  This makes is more tart and also easy to digest.  I use whole milk, but you can also use any kind of milk including coconut milk, and nut milks as well.  Whatever works best with your system.  I'm planning to try a batch with coconut milk next because my doctor would like me to limit my dairy... I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker

The Excalibur Food Dehydrator

As the great Julia always says, "Bon Appetite!"

Post Turkey Day Report

Hello Everyone!

I trust you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!  David and I think it might have been our best one yet.  We did all the things we love to do, and of course, as cheesy as it sounds, we were together, and for that, we couldn't be more thankful.

We woke up slowly.  I got the turkey ready and into the oven along with the first batch of pumpkin bread. Once that was set, we met up with our new neighbors for a hike in the foothills.  It was the perfect thing to get us going.  The hike was followed by a visit our Boise family the Wilcomb's for an hour or so to watch the end of the Packer game... Go Pack!  By the way, has anyone else noticed how much better looking Aaron Rodgers has gotten in the past year... a stylist must have finally gotten their paws on him, cuz he's looking really good these days.

When we got home the house smelled delicious.  The turkey was cooking perfectly, and I started in on the second batch of pumpkin bread, the mashed cauliflower, and the kale salad.  I decided that I was too tired to make the upside down pear cakes, however, I think I'm going to try them tomorrow.

Everything turned out to be amazing... except for the kale salad.  It would have been perfect, but for the olive oil I used.  Even though it was newly purchased, it had gone rancid, and the flavor destroyed the kale.  David was so sweet and told me it was delicious, but then I tasted it and almost spit it out at the table.  Oh well... not everything can be perfect on the first try... I'll just have to try, try again!   

I must say, this may have been our best turkey ever.  And definitely the best gravy ever.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but what I did made the bird the juiciest I've ever tasted... even the leftovers are juicy!  The pancetta helped keep the flavor in the bird.  Wow!  I highly recommend trying the recipe.

Best Gravy Ever!

My Cauliflower mashers still need some work, but they tasted great.  I should have used the food processor instead of the hand masher.  Oh well.

The pumpkin bread may have been the winner of the holiday though.  The almond flour made it light and the eggs gave it a moistness that was just perfect.  David almost devoured the entire thing... this is definitely a recipe I'll be cooking more often.

After eating we were stuffed, so we held off on cleaning the dishes until later.  Instead we watched an old movie and then worked on some of our creative projects.  Then watched another movie... the laziness was divine!

A SCD Thanksgiving Feast

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

After much consideration, careful research and planning, I've come up with my Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) approved Thanksgiving feast thanks to the bloggers at Sunset Magazine, Elana's Pantry, Comfy Belly, and Roost.  Here's what their Recipes look like:

Turkey covered with Sea Salt, Rosemary, and Pancetta

Cauliflower "mashed-potatoes" with Herb gravy

Kale and Cranberry Salad

Pumpkin Bread

Upside down Pear Cakes with Vanilla Honey and Cardamom Cream

Sounds good right?!  I'll let you know how it all turns out on Turkey Day... wish me luck!

I hope you are all able to be with someone you love this holiday season!



Best Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here, so our minds have turned
To what time has taught us, to what we’ve learned:
We often focus all our thought
On shiny things we’ve shopped and bought;
We take our pleasure in material things
Forgetting the pleasure that friendship brings.
If a lot of our stuff just vanished today,
We’d see the foundation of each happy day
Is special relationships, constant and true,
And that’s when our thoughts go directly to you.
We wish you a Thanksgiving you’ll never forget,
Full of love and joy—your best one yet!

By Joanna Fuchs

Getting Holiday(s) Ready

What are you doing for the holidays?

Well, David and I are going to be enjoying a quiet Thanksgiving by ourselves at home (which will at some point include the film Home for the Holidays because their family disfunction cracks me up and its a great way to start the holiday season).  My oldest nephew, Cody, usually joins us for Turkey Day with a friend or two, but this year he's 21 (and no longer needs us to buy beer for him, (wink!)) so he and his friends are doing their own thing together in Salt Lake City before he heads off to his first year of college in Lake Tahoe, NV at Sierra Nevada College.

I remember those first holidays away from home... they were not as sad as my family thought they would be for me, but exciting and different.  I missed my family and the traditions, but I felt happy to be on my own at the same time.  We'll miss Cody this year, but we hope he has a delightful time with his friends making amazing memories.

We also have a Boise State game to go to against Wyoming.  It feels a little anti-climatic after our big loss last weekend, but hey... we still love our Boise State Broncos.

For Christmas we will be with David's family in Charlotte, NC.  They've also invited my mom to join in the festivities, which is a special treat for both me and my mom this year. David is looking forward to re-connecting with friends from his hometown he hasn't seen in years during our visit, and I'm looking forward to all the Christmas lights and smells.  I've always loved Christmas lights, hot cider, pine needles, oh and Christmas carols- especially the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Christmas Album... Once Upon a Christmas. I'm sure we'll all be found old movies in the Lopez's den like White Christmas, which is my favorite Christmas movie, and It's a Wonderful Life, which is David's favorite.

There is so much to do to prepare for the holidays.   It's not even Thanksgiving, and I'm already feeling the pressure.  From making our house slightly (I'm not doing a tree this year) festive, Christmas shopping (although this year we are doing homemade gifts for the adults so that makes it a little bit easier- at least on the pocket book) to sending the gifts ahead of time, to getting a flu shot, to baking holiday treats for friends, to doing a run through with my house/dog sitters, to packing, and everything in between.

From a food aspect, the holidays are going to be difficult for us this year.  David and I are in the process of beginning a new dietary plan, The Specific Carbohydrate Diet, together to help with my health problems.  Many of our holiday favorites like mashed potatoes and stuffing are off limits, so I'm going to have to come up with some new holiday favorites to replace those with.  Any ideas?  Please send them my way!

I'm sure the holidays will go by like a breeze, but that doesn't make me any less stressed about getting ready for them.  In my humble opinion, the best way to have a great time in almost any activity is to be fully prepared in advance so everything during said activity is easy and fun.  And I am all about making this holiday trip easy and fun... so watch out as I cross things off one of my many super organized lists!

Traveling across the country during any holiday time from a smallish airport like Boise is never easy, especially in the winter, so say a little prayer that our flights are all on time and we don't catch colds from the re-filtered air in the planes and airports!  Last year after a little weekend trip to San Francisco, I caught the swine flu and was out of commission for two weeks or more, and even fell and cracked my skull open in my delirium- don't worry, I won't post that picture!  It was not good, and I'm not looking to do a repeat!  Maybe I should move to Australia where Christmas occurs in the summer?!

Anyway, best of luck with your holiday preparations this year!

World Religions Series: The Christian Science Faith

Hello Everyone!  We got our next submission... yeah!  


The next person to respond to my questions about their religion was my older brother, Chet.  When I thought about having Christian Science as one of the religions in my search to understand World Faiths, Chet was naturally the first person who came to mind for me to ask for answers to these questions.


Chet is an incredible artist, lecturer, and spiritual practitioner.  He travels the world doing what he is most passionate about: discussing God and spiritually.  


I've always felt that Chet and I are the most similar in our interests of all of my siblings (there are 5 of us including me) - we both love creating art.  Chet's artistic eye, his desire to travel, and his vision for what is possible (everything!) is something I have tried to pattern myself after for as long as I can remember.  In fact, when I was little Chet was living in Africa, and I remember I would frequently go sit in front of this huge world map in our house and stare at Kenya where he was living at the time, and think, "I'm going to travel and make art just like my big brother Chet one day."  I really couldn't wait to start on my world adventures just like my big brother.


Chet and I have the same father, but different mothers, which is why Chet was raised in Christian Science and I was raised in the Methodist church.  However, because all three of my older siblings were raised by their mother in Christian Science, it has always been an influential part of my life.  I've always found it to be very loving and peaceful, and its always had a valuable place in my life.

The Manchester siblings... Morgan, John, Me - Anabel, Chet, and Katie

Check out Chet's lecture series here and here and here.

Chet Manchester

Thank you Chetter for taking the time to help me along in my journey and for your very honest and heartfelt answers to my questions... 


Without further ado... Chet Manchester and The Christian Science Faith:

What religion do you practice, and how did you come to practice it?

I grew up in a Christian Science Sunday School but didn't take a serious interest in its teachings until I was in my teens.  One of my dad's good friends was a doctor and one of my mom's close friends was a Christian Science practitioner.  So, when health issues came up, I got to "test" these difference approaches to healing in both ways.  After taking antibiotics for a serious case of strep throat, I decided to call a Christian Science practitioner for help when the same issuesr ecurred.  This time, instead of taking a few weeks to heal, I was completely well overnight.  I'll never forget the profound sense of God's love that I experienced through Christian Science treatment.  It wasn't just that I was better physically - I felt deeply comforted, healed of fear and anxiety, secure in the care of a good and loving Creator.  Love is the essence of Christian Science and it's why I still practice it. 

Tell me about your religion.  Describe what the tenants of your religion are in your words.

Christian Science is essentially the science, the daily study and practice, of what Jesus lived and taught.  Rather than seeing him as a miracle worker or a myth, we see him as a man who was deeply scientific.  He healed naturally because he understood the spiritual nature of life better than anyone ever has.  He began from the premise of everyone's innate wholeness and perfection.  He saw God as infinite Love and pure Spirit.  He taught that good overcomes evil and love disarms hatred - he even called evil a "lie" - a mistake or misconception.  Jesus healed people's fears and their mistaken sense of being "sinners" by recognizing everyone as the perfect, flawless expression of a perfect, flawless God. 

What does your religion mean to you?

It helps me put spiritual ideas into practice every day.  Christian Science is both a religious teaching and a system of healing.  It’s about seeing the wholeness and interrelatedness of our thought, body, experience – it’s all ONE.  So, it doesn’t even feel so much like a “religion” but as a way of BEING that is spiritually natural and naturally spiritual. 

What are five things you love about your religion?

1.  I love that it encourages a thoughtful, reasoned approach to understanding God, myself and others.

2.  I love how practical it is: both as a religious teaching and a system of healing.

3.  I love how universal it is and how it helps me see everyone as a brother or sister.

4.  I love how revolutionary it is: it challenges centuries-old assumptions about sin, death, evil, matter.

5.  I love that it puts no pressure on me to be anything but what I am. 

What are five things you don’t particularly agree with about your religion?

The disagreements I feel have more to do with the religious culture that sometimes surrounds Christian Science - or any church:

1.  That Christian Scientists sometimes think and act as if they "own" the truth

2.  That our culture can be too judgmental of one another

3.  That we are too focused on the "letter" and lack the spirit of love that is the heart of all true religion

4.  That we are stuck on traditions in how we hold church services and are afraid of trying new ideas

5.  That we are not humble and honest enough about our shortcomings

What are the most common misconceptions about your religion and how do you address them?

• People often confuse Christian Science with Scientology because of the name but there is no relationship between the two.  Christian Science is a Christian religion founded by Mary Baker Eddy in the 19th century.  Scientology was founded by science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s.
• People confuse Christian Science with faith healing or think that we are "against doctors."  There's no teaching in our religion that forbids us to use medical care.  The spiritual method of healing we practice is so consistent that we generally don't need medical help.  In fact, a lot of people turn to Christian Science for healing when they aren't finding permanent answers in conventional medicine.
• Conservative Christian theology sometimes views us as "non-Christian" because our religious teachings are not mainstream.  Most Christian theology was crafted by an elite council of religious leaders hundreds of years after Jesus lived.  We study the same Bible, the same Gospels, as other Christians; we feel the same profound love for Jesus and for what he taught.  We just look at some of his teachings very differently.

How does your religion affect your family life?  Your work life?

It helped me through a tough divorce and through some failed business ventures in my twenties.  Christian Science lifted me out of depression and led to my meeting the woman I've been married to for 21 years.  It provides daily inspiration, stability and joy to our marriage and parenting.  Christian Science helps us solve little and big problems through prayer.  My work life now involves practicing spiritual healing as a Christian Science practitioner, so it's an hourly, daily focus on growing spiritually and sharing what I'm learning with others. 

If you could leave people with one idea that most closely describes the way you see and understand your religion, what would that be?

Christian Science is about seeing beneath the material surface of life to the reality of what an all-loving God has created. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I'm so glad you're doing this project!  I just think we're living in a very exciting time spiritually.  That the more deeply we look into our own and others' faiths, the more commonality we will discover.  A century ago, there was such confidence in science and medicine that many people believed that all our problems would be solved in the 20th century - there would be no more disease, poverty, disfunction in society and no need for the "myth" of God.  Well, clearly, there's much more for us to learn!  I believe it's time for the artificial wall between religion and science to come down - for the world to discover that there is a true science underlying all religion and a religious dimension to all true science.  We're just barely scratching the surface in our understanding of the spiritual dimension of life.  If we can all speak from our hearts and from our experiences instead of from our theologies and our dogmas, the earth is going to be a much happier, healthier place!

Chet, Me - Anabel, David, Chet's daughter Moriah, and wife Anne at our wedding. 

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the rest of the World Religions Series... 

The Greek Orthodox Faith 

The Champagne Holiday

David and I love Champagne/Sparkling Wine so much that we created our own holiday in its honor.  It's called the Champagne Holiday and it begins the weekend before Thanksgiving and ends on January 1st.  We honor Champagne by drinking it whenever possible at all social occasions and whenever it won't effect our work, driving, or health.  We also make a lot of toasts while we are drinking to add to the humor and festivities.

I usually go to Costco and purchase a few of the $6 magnum size bottles of Cook's Brut.  Some people don't like cheap stuff, but David and I do.  It's like having a soda.  Plus its a great mixer for mimosas and such.  Although, I'll admit, if I have an opportunity to get the good stuff, I'm the first in line for a glass.  There's really nothing like good Champagne!

How funny is this old advertisement I found?

Anyway, please join us in celebrating this year's most fabulous holiday beginning on Friday, November 18th at 6pm by buying a bottle of bubbly and raising a glass in a toast or two... It sure is a fun thing to do!