Quinoa Cakes!!!

See? I told you I would have a unique recipe! 🙂 I originally got this idea a while back from Herbivoracious – LOVE that blog! However, I did change this recipe after having an abundance of spinach that I needed to use up. Plus, I’m all for combining 3 of my absolute favorite foods! You can read about the health benefits of quinoa here. Here you have it:

Quinoa Cakes w/ Spinach and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked quinoa
4 ounces goat cheese
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying

Procedures:
1. Wash and chop the spinach, pat dry. Mince the garlic. Heat 1 tablespoon
of olive oil in a small skillet. Cook the garlic until lightly browned, about a minute, then add the spinach. Cover, and cook until wilted. Set aside and let cool.

2. In a small saucepan, mix the quinoa and the goat cheese over low heat (to help melt the cheese). Remove from heat when well combined.

3. Chop the cooked spinach finely, mix with the quinoa and goat cheese. Beat the egg and mix in until everything is combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Form the quinoa into 2″ patties about 1/2 inch thick. Cook until well browned on one side, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, then set on paper towels to drain.

I like to eat mine with some hot sauce…..or maybe I like some quinoa cakes with my hot sauce? 😀

My day was much better today. I must say I have a pretty awesome husband and great friends that lift me up when I need encouragement. Thank you so much! I’m now making a list and submitting session proposals to present my thesis research at various conferences around the county. And if I don’t get employment as a teacher, I plan to continue research in music education on my own, because I truly believe in music education. Like I have said to many people – I didn’t go into education for the money (obviously). I wanted to make a difference, and there is no doubt I will no matter if I have my own classroom right away or not. AND, there are still 4 positions that I am waiting to hear from and 1 other bigger position one that is a big secret (it’s nice to wish – right?)!!!!!

One more thought: In 20 days, we will have been married for 3 years! Each year is a milestone, in my opinion. Micah and I have our own anniversary traditions (which you can see here).

I can still remember our wedding like it was yesterday. Yes, even the moment when my phone rang (it was a wrong number). In my defense, I gave my phone to someone else for the day and they left it on the front pew during pictures…and then forgot about it. 🙂 We still laugh about that! And for your viewing pleasure, one of my favorite wedding photos:

Do you have any birthday or anniversary traditions in your family? I’d love to know!

A Story I Must Share (Non-food post)

Here is a story I read in preparation for one of my classes last night. Wow! Our topic last night was learners with exceptionalities.

Billy’s Story

Billy Rueckert is 13 years old. And he likes to prove people wrong…Billy has cerebral palsy, and he was barely 10 when he peeked into the band room…and informed Miss Roggen he’d like to learn to play an instrument. Anything. He wasn’t picky. “

I remember him coming through that door with his walker,” says Tammy Roggen, the school’s band director since it opened 12 years ago. “And I’m thinking, ‘What instrument am I going to put him on?’ It was a challenge because he couldn’t hold anything.” And that’s how Billy came to play the tuba. He learned sitting down, elevated by pillows, the tuba held up with a special brace, using his three fingers that worked best. “His feet wouldn’t even touch the floor when he first started,” says Roggen.

“I was like, ‘How is he going to survive?’ But he just kept trying.”

Billy started in the sixth-grade band and moved up to concert band. By eighth grade, he’d moved on to symphonic band—the choicest band at the school. But this wasn’t enough for Billy. He told Miss Roggen he wanted to join (marching band)…Not one to discourage, she found a chair with special clamps and suited him up with a sousaphone…”We would carry it on the field and carry Bill out, and we had to put cushions on the chair…Then we put the sousaphone on, then we had to carry out the music stand.”

“You should have seen it,” says Billy’s mother. “It was like the Berverly Hillbillies. We all had something to carry.”

“He didn’t care,” says Roggen. “He was out there playing with the other kids.”

But Billy Rueckert was not done. This fall he tried out for All-State Band. “

It’s a bid deal, says Roggen. “I never made all-state.”

Billy got his tryout number, did his tape, submitted his music anonymously to the judges like everyone else. Nowhere on the audition paperwork did it mention that he can’t write or walk alone or kick a ball…Turns out billy Rueckert, age 13, is one of the best middle-school tuba players in Florida. In fact, he’s No. 8. “

It just blows my mind,” Roggen says. “It’s such an inspiration.”

…Think about him on the field, playing away, happy as can be, the other kids marching around him. Think of him wowing the crowd at All-State Band… Think of the effort it takes for him to dress for school, get to class, scratch an itch. Think of Billy Rueckert, and how he never gives up. (Minor, p.1)

Grammy Awards – Thoughts?

Did anyone watch the Grammy Awards on Sunday? I didn’t, but we did have a discussion in our choral methods class. It would be something cool for the students to incorporate the Grammy’s into your own curriculum. Maybe have your own Grammy’ Awards or have your own vote on the Friday before and then see how you come out. Anyway, we also discussed the outfit that Mia wore. I’m not familiar with this artist, but I did search online for the photos after the professor mentioned it in our class. There are many points to be brought up. First of all, the Grammy’s are on a Sunday night. Monday is usually a tough day for kids for many reasons: moving from one parent’s house to another, change in sleep schedule, change in eating schedule, etc. Add to that the drama of this year’s Grammy Awards. In regards to Mia’s outfit, here are some thought-provoking questions to think about:

1. What kind of picture does it paint for our students when they think of pregnancy?

2. What does this tell our students about how to be professional?

3. What does this show our students about being modest?

I could go on and on about this, but in today’s age, students look up to these celebrities (unfortunately). I don’t think many of these celebrities even think about the impact they will have on young people. We also had a discussion last week on Michael Phelps. I don’t want to drag this out, but as an educator how can we get the right message out to our students? It has become a very difficult job.