Wednesday 20 January 2010

Broken bones . . .



Judy and Rose had been friends for a very long time, until one day, a small disagreement somehow led to a distancing between them. This went on for quite some time. One day though, Rose tripped and broke her wrist . . . a very unlucky event, but one which gave Judy the opportunity to drop by, bearing flowers and the offer of some help for her friend.

Now, some months later, Rose's wrist is completely healed and so is her friendship with Judy.

Rose confided . . .

"I was told that when a bone breaks, the healing process often makes it end up even stronger than it was before. I am sure friendships can be like that also."

It sounds a lovely idea, but . . . lets not all wait for broken bones to take that first step towards healing and mending bridges!!!

Remember, every journey begins with only one tiny step.



I have had a sore tooth the past couple of days. It's that same old tooth which keeps cropping up and causing me problems, it seems every couple of months or so. It is an old wisdom tooth and has already been broken once, so it is only half there anyways. I think I am going to ask the Dentist when I go this afternoon can he please extract it so that this doesn't keep happening. It is clearly a problem tooth that will continue to bother me loads in the years to come and it's not really a necessary tooth anyways. All of my other wisdom teeth have already been removed. When it flares up it aches across my whole face and feels like a combination earache, toothache, sinus ache. Very painful and distracting. I say enough already! Wish me luck!!

This is one of my favourite chicken salads. I am not a real fan of ordinary chicken salads with all the mayonnaise and celery in it, but I love the fresh clean flavours of this and the tasty spicy dressing. I just love peanut butter and so you can imagine how much I love this salad!



*Bang Bang Chicken Salad*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This is another one of those tasty things you can do with leftover chicken from your Sunday Roast. The quantities given here make quite a lot but it is very easy to cut the amounts in half or even thirds to give you lesser amounts. I love the crunch of all the raw vegetables and the spicy, nutty sweetness of the dressing. In fact, I often roast extra chicken just so that I can make this delicious salad the day after.

for the dressing:
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
4 TBS sesame oil
3 TBS vegetable oil
2 TBS sweet chili sauce
2 TBS lime juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
sea salt to taste

For the salad:
1 TBS toasted sesame seeds
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered, deseeded and cut into thin strips (3 inches long)
4 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed and then cut into thin strips (3 inches long)
(I use my vegetable peeler to get really thin strips)
2 large handfuls of fresh bean sprouts
4 spring onions, trimmed and cut into thin strips, about 3 inches long
a generous squeeze of lime juice
1 pound of cooked chicken, shredded

Begin by making the dressing. Warm the peanut butter for about 40 seconds in the microwave, until it melts, stirring it halfway through the cooking time. Whisk in the oils and then the chili sauce, lime juice and cayenne. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. Set the dressing aside while you make the salad.

Combine all the prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Toss with a squeeze of lime juice and a little salt. Mix in the chicken. Divide amongst six chilled salad plates. Divide equally and drizzle the dressing over top of each and then scatter with the toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.



Over on The English Kitchen today, delicious Spaghetti Puttanesca!

17 comments:

  1. Oh Marie,

    I hope that the dentist can releive you of your misery. I know that modern dentists like to preserve teeth but sometimes it is better to say good-bye to misery. Prayers for your visit.

    I love your story today. You always uplift me somehow. Take care and love to you and every reader.

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  2. Most people I know Marie in my areaover the years have had to go to hospital for wisdom teeth removal.I was always under the impression they are more deep rooted than other teeth,thus the hospital visit.I have just one wisdom and touch wood,(touching my head)lol!! I never have a minutes bother with it.I do hope the dentist can solve your problem quickly.As you say when toothache strikes it feels the whole face ears and throat ache too.Nothing worse than toothache or earache for making anyone miserable.I don't like peanut butter Marie, but I am sure many of your followers will aprove of this recipe.Prayers your pain subsides until you can get some treatment.Have a good day otherwise.Take Care God Bless Kath xx

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  3. I hope things go well at the dentists Marie. I am so sorry that you have been in pain :(

    Wonderful story and so true! I always feel so much happier after I stop by to visit you.

    XOXO
    Jen

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  4. Love, love, love the looks of this chicken salad, Marie! I'm not a fan of the mayo/celery chicken, either--that's all people serve at luncheons! (They're very kind to provide it, however!) Think I'll be shaking things up a bit next time with this yummy one! Love all those ingredients--what a treat!

    Hope things go well with your tooth--I hate dental problems...I've had my share! Much love to you on this rainy, blustery California night!

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  5. Lovely story and reminder to heal things today and not tomorrow. Including toothaches. Hope he can take care of that bothersome tooth once and for all. Blessings to you!

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  6. Hey there! Me again! This salad sounds delicious...I'm tempted to make it this weekend for my mother's 60th...will bookmark it!

    I like your story...I like the idea of small steps...each day you take those towards hopefully a better place... xxx

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  7. PS Good luck with that tooth - I hope you can get it removed swiftly and painlessly! xxx

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  8. I'm surprised that your dentist hasn't suggested having it removed. It seems that is what they do most of the time as those wisdom teeth have little value. Hope your tooth problems get straightened around for you soon. They are troublesome for sure. Take care and have a good Wednesday!

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  9. Hi Marie! Great little story about friendship! It is always good to take care of misunderstandings as soon as possible. The more they fester the worse the situation is perceived by each friend.

    I hope you get that wisdom tooth out asap. The only reason I can think of that would lead a dentist to leave it in is he/she may not feel comfortable removing it due to root placement, proximity to the mandibular nerve (if it is a lower tooth),etc. If you may be referred out to an oral surgeon in that case, it would be good. I worked for oral surgeons for 25 years and have seen how skilled they are first hand thousands of times.

    Best of luck with it all.

    XOXO.....Bon

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  10. THATS TRUE ABOUT FRIENDSHIP I THINK...SORRY ABOUT THE TOOTH, I HATE THAT SO MUCH! THE SALAD LOOKS SO GOOD, CUTE NAME FOR IT TOO! HAVE A GREAT DAY! :D

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  11. Hi, dear Marie! Do hope all went well with your visit to the dentist today--that you were able to have that wonky tooth removed once and for all. Do hope you won't be hurting with this anymore. LOVE your salad recipe today--that dressing, oh YUM! I'm not a big fan of salads heavy on the mayo either. So this is fresh and wonderful--I can't wait to try! I fear I may have missed you for a chat again yesterday... Oh, dear, not our week, is it?! LOL! Hope we get to catch up soon... Miss you! LOVE YOU HEAPS ((BIG HUGS))

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  12. Hope all went well with the dentist.....you have my sympathy. I am getting a wisdom tooth out on Monday at my dentist. They were all meant to be taken out years ago at hospital.(but I chickened out for numerous reasons)don't mind dentist normally but not looking forward to this visit much! :-{

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  13. If mending friendships depended on bones healing Mimuther would have no friends at all - she's never broken a bone in her life!

    Hope your narky wisdom tooth is now an EX wisdom tooth (would that be a WASdom tooth, doyou think?)

    love, Angie, xx

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  14. ow, ow, ow! Hope everything at the dentist went well - relatively speaking. I had all my wisdom teeth out at 16. Huh - maybe that is what happened . . . .LOL Much love - Raquel XO

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  15. i totally needed that quote today. i've had an issue with a friend that started last year. jealousy made her start treating me like dirt basically. it was a hard year, she had been one of my very best friends and she was just pretty cruel. it really hurt me. i've had a hard time letting it go 100%. i have forgiven her and made things pretty much right between us. but there is still hurt inside of me from it that needs to disappear! i've decided to just try and serve her the best i can. since serving others helps you to love them(as the Savior did). she had a baby 2 weeks ago that ended in an emergency c-section. my heart broke for her and i realized how much she still means to me. i went to visit and brought her a meal and it felt really good. i hope our relationship can get back to where it was before. thanks again for that quote-it gives me hope.

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  16. My best friend broke her wrist a week ago. We were out country dancing....luckily it didn't affect our friendship lol!

    You are so right...just a little something can make a huge difference and turn everything around!

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  17. That salad looks good! I have been wanting to try a bang bang chicken salad for a while.

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