Cheesecake and Christmas

Good morning  everyone!
    I am in an especially good mood this morning despite the sudden drastic drop in temperature-which I wouldn't mind so much if I had been prepared with appropriate clothing-C'est La Vie. Actually I should clarify and say I don't mind the cold so much through the holiday season because who wants to enjoy a pumpkin spice latte or a peppermint mocha when its 75 degrees out like it has been the past few days? Anyway, after new years is over the cold whether is free to leave.
    I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I started my Christmas shopping about a month ago (if it not earlier) because I get so pumped for Christmas incredibly early! I think that probably stems from having a father who always wanted to put up the Christmas tree in early November. Having said that, I am beginning to get random urges to run to the closet and bust out all my Christmas decorations...and its not even Halloween. Though I must add one more point to this ramble of mine and that is that I saw my first Christmas commercial of the season yesterday-so I'm not the only one getting antsy!
    Now on to what I actually wanted to share. In my last post I shared a recipe for truffles made from dates-I never realized what a valuable food dates are. I found a recipe for dairy free/gluten free cheesecake using a date crust and a cashew filling-crazy right? I thought this was to valuable a recipe to not share. You can find the recipe here.

Pumpkin Quotes,Pictures,Recipes and Rambles

    One of my favorite things about fall is pumpkins-I know i'm certainly not the only one with this love because as soon as the leaves start changing and the air gets chilly I can immediately hop on Pinterest or Facebook and find recipes, pictures, quotes, and some rants and rambles all about pumpkins and how wonderful they are. I can say that I have already done my rant,ramble and recipe, but have yet to do my part in sharing pictures and quotes, so here it goes:

Quote:
Linus: He'll come here because I have the most sincere pumpkin patch and he respects sincerity. 
Sally Brown: Do you really think he will come? 
Linus: Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world. 
Sally Brown: That's a good story. 
Linus: You don't believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting. 
Sally Brown: Welcome to the 20th century!

(gotta love charlie brown...)

Pictures:
Yesterday Steven and I took the train out to Highwood for Highwood Pumpkin Festival -the goal of this ginormous fall gathering was to beat their pumpkin carving record of last year in hopes of making it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most carved and lit jack-o-lanterns. This year their goal was 32000 pumpkins! Steven and I proudly contributed a whole ten pumpkins...aren't we helpful? Anyway, enjoy our masterful creations:

     As if this post isn't already long enough, I have another recipe to share as well! This weekend I was reading through a couple different blogs and one blog led to another blog and so on until finally I came across SproutedKitchen and found a recipe for Almond Date Truffles then shortly after I stumbled upon Anja's Food 4 Thought and she had a recipe for Coconut-Kissed Almond Date Truffles. I always get a little over excited when I find recipes that are dairy free/gluten free, are really healthy for you, and taste great. Anyway, with these delicious looking inspirations I set out to make my own version with a pumpkin twist. They turned out magnificently!

Ingredients:

1 cup of Dates

1/4 cup of shredded sweet coconut 2 tbs for coating

1/2 cup of pumpkin

1 tbs maple syrup (the real stuff)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 dash of salt

1/4 tsp ginger

2 tbs cocoa powder

1 tsp chia seeds

In a blender combine pumpkin and dates

add in the 1/4 cup of coconut

then add ginger, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon

while you are blending, on a plate or bowl combine cocoa powder, remaining coconut
and chia seeds. When everything is well combined in the blender (still a little chunky), form into balls
and roll in the cocoa/coconut mixture

It may look a bit like an alien with chia seed eyes and coconut tentacles, but
let me assure you they are very tasty little aliens.

They made a very tasty dessert at the end of our meal of chicken puttanesca, olive oil and rosemary bread
and a glass of key lime seltzer water.

The Ramblings of a Searching Christian

    I have recently been struggling with thoughts of how I ought to handle my time as a Christian. There are so many things that I desire to squeeze into my daily routine, but how many of those things should I actually spend time on? I have been allowed this short life on earth for a reason, and that reason is to glorify and honor God by doing whatever He calls me to do.
    Now I realize that God does not call us to live secluded lives like monks and nuns, but to what extent do I take my interaction with the world?(Romans 8:5  "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh,but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit".)

*Should I ever be watching movies whether they be "Christian" or not?( Eph. 5:15-16: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time,because the days are evil.")

* Should I ever go shopping and enjoy spending money on things that will only pass away and for the time being only serve to gratify my flesh? (Proverbs 3:13-15 : "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.")

* Should I ever listen to non-Christian music even if the lyrics aren't bad? In the Bible music is
primarily used as a form of worship, though it is recorded that David used music to sooth king Saul (perhaps a form of entertainment) it was done simply with instruments (and knowing David, if he was singing it was probably spiritual songs.) You know how after listening to a song, somehow over the next couple hours or days, whether you want to or not, you start singing that song? Well I desire my life to be a living sacrifice-as a Christian that's what it should be-but how am I accomplishing that when I'm singing a song that has nothing to do with praising God and was written by someone who knows or cares nothing for God. (Psalms 19:14 - "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing and acceptable in your sight, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.")

    My life is not my own, I have turned it over to Christ and with that being said shouldn't I spend all my time at His feet or out on his errands? (1 Cor 6:19-20: "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,which are God's.")

    These are all just the ramblings that have been tumbling about in my head and frustrating the living daylights out of me, for I long to please my Lord and Savior,but I'm not sure how. What is too extreme and what is acceptable? I am supposed to live in the world and yet at the same time, not be of the world.
 The link below is one that I found to be fairly insightful as to how we should manage time.
Keys to good time management

A Few of my Favorite Things

Since I find myself with a spare moment this morning and a child laying contentedly against my arm while happily talking to himself, I have decided to quickly share with you a few wonderful things that I have been into recently.

 #1-
Groupon

There are so many fantastic deals on this site! Yes, it certainly helps to live in the city, but if you click on the "goods" tab there are lots of items that you can buy at great prices (and they change everyday).

#2-
Vitacost

This is also a wonderful site that I have started using. They sell all kinds of health food products and vitamins at discounted prices. Also, if you spend $49 shipping is free. I recently bought some protein powders, vitamins and powdered peanut butter all for around $55 - that is great savings!