Tuna and Cucumbers

Ingredients:

3 small english cucumbers

one can of tuna (in oil), drained

salt

Thinly slice the cucumbers and lightly salt them. Set aside for 15-30 minutes. Drain liquid from cucumbers while gently squeezing them. Mix with tuna. Serve chilled.

Marmalade Carrots

Ingredients:

3 large carrots

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons orange marmalade

Peel and cut carrots into large chunks. Boil carrots just until cooked (not mushy). Drain water, return to pot. Simmer carrots with butter and marmalade for about 3 minutes, or until well coated with melted mixture. Serve warm.

Apple Salad

Ingredients:

3 Apples

1/4 raisins (approx)

1/4 chopped walnuts

Dressing:

1/4 cup yogurt

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

Chop apples (peeling is optional) and mix with raisins and walnuts. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over apple mixture. Keeps 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

This salad is very flexible. Be creative, or do what I do and just throw in whatever you have around.

Try one of these with the dressing:

Add a little lemon zest

Substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for the lemon juice and sugar

Or try one of these with the salad:

Substitute Craisins or other dried berries for the raisins

Substitute almonds for the walnuts

Breaking Bread

It has been quite a while since the first time that I realized that the act of sharing a meal brings people together. Eating together can strengthen friendships, ease exhaustion, create a feeling of family and even bring healing to hurting hearts.

Since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March, I have been blessed with the opportunity to work as a volunteer and also to serve in a supporting role for other volunteers. One of my main responsibilities has been coordinating meals and preparing food for our volunteer teams. Our meals together are often some of the few moments of rest in the midst of a long day of hard work -- the are times of fellowship, times to process, times to be thankful. And we often get to share those meal times with the people we are helping, so they become times of listening, encouraging and growing closer to our new friends.

I am so thankful for these times, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to use my cooking ability to bless my friends and hopefully bring glory to God. So out of that feeling of thankfulness, I would like to share some of the recipes that I have used to feed the volunteers and other friends. I hope these will be a blessing to your friends and families and a delight to your taste buds. Enjoy!