Treasures On The Back Shelf

Oh my Gosh Hello! So Here I am, My first Blog.....!

Today I am about to share about one of my greatest random secrets. Radom way to start a blog but OK in all honesty THE Greatest secrect of mine (soon to NOT be a secrect that is....) and my excitement about grocery shopping.......

The Back Shelf.

Way over at the back of the grocery store in the produce department right next to the two swinging exit doors you find....The Back shelf. Where yes you may find some of the "Day Olds", Bruised or perhaps a roughed up apple in a bag of a few.... (Ya ya you all who keep on walking by week after week.. ... well....I call you shallow and cheap... just keep sticking to that pre-washed and bagged lettuce snuff snuff! ) But to me this is a shelf full of surprises. Surprises and splurges on a great budget if you can improvise and think quick with how much you can do with a Bag of apples!

Now to me what makes a good cook.. wanna be chef- is one who can do a WHOLE lot.. with a whole little. Having an ingredient thrown at ya- mystery box... improvise right here right now? You can do a whole lot with a zucchini summer squash don't ya know!

As you will see in this picture here. Yesterdays back shelf- was a good day. Not only do we have apples. We have some peaches! , green mangoes, oyster mushrooms, poblano and jalapeno peppers, a very large bag of cherries and ok ok like.... ALLOT of colliflower..... ya ya... On a safe day worse comes to worse- you always know you can find a full bag of soft but ever so fragrant bananas ( And I dont think anyone could get tired of my banana bread) Oh there is just so much we can do with yesterdays treasure chest. I kept it simple and i brought home a few ripe Vine tomatoes- They were not just bloody crying out to me they were throwing themselves at me... "cydney pick me pick me, you cant just touch me caress my flesh and then not choo choo choose me!" :) I was lucky enough to find an assortment of colours orange and red. Oh these divine vine babies were perfectly fresh to make my hearty bruschetta. - to me these tomatoes were so much more then just just a paste.. a sauce... a salad.... lets just say it was an Easy Love. Yes easy lover. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1kDmnHyOBg sorry Phil Collins, easy lover- like them tomatoes. I just had to ad this song in. push back after....

So Vine tomatoes are nice because they are picked still attached to the vine- and purchased still with stem on as seen. This keeps them so full in sweet flavor and ripeness- you will know them for the true true passionate vibrant red colour of the skin. The flavor is much sweeter then say a roma- and the flesh is a bit more delicate but a true tomato flavor- Great for fresh salads and Perfect for Bruschetta! The only downfall is sloppy seeds- but scrape em out and your fine- you don't want too many tomato vines growing out of your belly.. and ears!:)

i had fun grillin up on the barbie some flat breads to be my base. Let me share some "inspiration" of yesterdays Find.

Inspiration (because I do not believe in Recipes!)

Assortment of juicy ripe vine tomatoes- ( cleaned and shaped into size to fit in your drooling mouth)

Vidalia onion- sweet onion- shaped as to complement tomato blend

Hand Bunch Fresh Basil- I had some fresh oregano also yesterday-

Few cloves of garlic-

Drizzle of olive oil
couple or three dashes of coarse sea salt - ( coarse so they don't loose juices too fast)

Grind and a twist of fresh black pepper

Fresh bread/flat bread with texture Strong enough to grill on barbie ( i like to use Ciabatta or Pita)

Massage garlic butter/oil on bread (this will work as a "sealant " so the tomatoes acidity will not sog your toast )

Dust her with fresh Parm

Maybe a Fresh Herb atop sprinkling decor

OK?! "Commercialize" and Now sell this beauty like you mean it!

Voila!

So ok now.... In reflection.......... you know maybe you will now actually take a browse on that back shelf- your treasure is not going to be someone Else's treasure- . You know. i am blessed and lucky. My two grocery stores pretty much know me by name... OK Wait a second.... maybe kinda embarrassing But you know now- them produce boys in the back know to have me my baby arugula on Mondays without fail!:)

Maybe in relation to Humans with hearts of Real flesh....- Maybe you feel like your one of those vegetables- Cante lope, a potato head or a mere string bean- Forgotten, rejected?- packaged up- sitting next to the trash-- waiting and waiting for someone to notice you and take a delight in you- give you a chance.. maybe your tired of people under estimating your potential or feel you have to prove to someone you are worth more? Maybe you feel dry as a bone, sour as a key lime, or as sloppy as a beef stake tomato? Truth is You know god says, " Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God!" (LUKE 12:6)

god does not forget us- his chosen. For god already sees us as his FINISHED product.. even when we can feel as if we are on the back shelf.... waiting.... in preservation.... Sometimes how we feel is not how we look! God has called us to a life of transformation- in his time as we wait and ANTICIPATE eagerly to trust his faithfulness in transforming US into his Master piece,, a "Masters piece". No matter how we might see it or even feel ( sometimes it might get sweaty and sticky underneath that packaging.....) We are ALL citizens of high heaven, a ROYAL priesthood- a crown of his splendor and ETERNAL beauty- in its time- in gods time- continually being transformed WE are never forgotten and god never has to take a double take on our lives he has planed for his purpose. We have been called out of darkness and into his everlasting Light! God promises we ARE worth more then A million much much more then a million yellow canaries ..... more then just a few peas in a pod... or lets just say way more then just a few dudes in a hot rod

God promises a whole lot with a whole little- - no matter where you come from or what you really smell like .....( good or bad.. :) God specializes in the spontaneous impossible! Just as easy as it was for me to grab a few tomatoes and transform them into something extravagant for us to enjoy and Ouuu and Ahhh at... this is the same with what God has in store for us! So much more then we could ask or imagine.. or taste you know....

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being TRANSFORMED into His likeness with EVER- INCREASING glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Thanks be to God for I am not where I was-- And BY THE GRACE of God I AM WHO I AM.... and praise be to god for I do not yet appear as to How Great I will be! !!

Or perhaps in a different perspective ok.... You could be the one who just keeps on walking by- doubting- thinking your too good to go check out the back shelf. WELL we must never ever under estimate the surprises and treasures god has in store for US! Some of the sweetest juiciest cherries are found on that Back shelf!:)

Treasures On the Back Shelf.

Till next time.. keep your heart pantin and your lips lovin lovin

smack!

Cyd :)