Devastatingly Beautiful

"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

Mark 16:15

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of going on a medical/dental mission trip to Haiti.  This picture is one of my first glimpses of this country.  It took my breath away!  This was my first overseas mission trip as well as my first medical mission trip.  I went into this trip with no expectations and left with my mind full of wonderful memories and my heart full of love for the people of Haiti.

We were staying in a compound with several missionaries, and right outside the compound was this open air church.  I had never been to a church service where I did not speak the language, but it did not keep me from feeling the emotion that the Haitians were expressing.  During the service, there was an open invitation for people to come up and sing anything that was on their heart.  I will never forget one man that sang.  He was crippled and lying on the concrete floor, but sang in the most clear, strong voice.  It was an amazing feeling to know that you were bound with complete strangers by your love for our Savior.  

This picture brings me so much joy.  Part of the compound was an orphanage and anytime you would see the children, they had huge smiles and would run to love on you.  They were yearning for love.  One thing that is not uncommon in Haiti is for women to have children and for them to give them away because they cannot take care of them.  At one point, when we were walking through the village, one lady picked out one of the guys in our group and asked for him to hold her newborn.  Once the guy was holding the beautiful child, the mother would not take the child back.  It was heartbreaking to watch a mother freely give away something that was so much a part of her.

I have never been in a place where the terrain was this rugged.  The ground was literally dust with white rocks jutting out of the ground.  The Haitian children would run around barefoot and the bottoms of their feet were like the paw of a dog's.

I love this picture so much.  I feel like it is so symbolic of us trying to make it alone in the desert.  Beautiful.

A verse kept running through my head while I was on this trip.  As many of you know, I will be attending a residency program after I graduate from dental school.  It is in pediatric dentistry in which I will receive training working specifically on children as well as patients with special needs.  Children are my heart and Jesus kept whispering Matthew 19:14 in my ear. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

After the earthquake occurred in Haiti, so many people lost everything.  These homes were built by But God ministries, the organization we used to go on this mission trip.  These huts were immensely nicer than many of the huts made from sticks and mud that the Haitians were living in and some are still living in after this tragic event.

This view is from the compound's guard tower looking down upon the orphanage with its playground.  

We came to work!!!  We did more extractions, cleanings, and fillings than I can count.  We did one more than the other two and lets just say the Haitians had a lot fewer teeth after we got through with them.  It was a great feeling to be able to help so many people get out of pain and prevent more serious problems.

I can't do a blog post about Haiti without showing this man who has meant so much to me.  I worked for Dr. Cope for a year before I started dental school.  He is a pediatric dentist and I really didn't know how I was going to like working on kids.  Over that year, I saw him use his practice as his ministry.  He loved the children he was working on, and he never shied away from a challenging patient.  It almost seemed as if he sought out the difficult patients.  His love and mentoring was one of the biggest catalysts for me deciding to follow in his footsteps to do pediatrics.  Thank you for everything, Dr. Cope!

This was a new experience for me.  We worked on our patients while they sat in mas-sues chairs.  They were portable and allowed us to get the job done.  I like to tell people we are trending spa dentistry.  It was a hit in Haiti... 

These are my dear friends, Kristen and Keith.  They are both in my dental school class and I feel as though we have been through so much.  I would trust them with anything, and I am going to miss them terribly next year.

Another friend pic!  Brian Jackson is on the left and Kristen Douglas is on the right.  We all worked for Dr. Cope and his daughter, Dr. Fortenberry.  We have been through so much together over the years and have all been motivated by our time spent working with the doctors.  Brian will begin an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency while Kristen will also be starting a Pediatric dental residency after we graduate in May.  I am blessed to have such talented friends.

You have already met Dr. Cope, but really the person in charge is his brilliant daughter, Susan Cope Fortenberry.  Dr. Fortenberry had just started working at her dad's office when I got hired.  She was straight out of her residency at the time, and she was one of the best teachers I have known.  Her knowledge was so valuable to me, and as I have progressed through school, she has taken on more of a big sister role.  I honestly can't say enough good things about her.  

Another Dr. Cope and Fortenberry previous employee!  Kristen is on the left and Martha is on the right.  Martha is a third year dental student and has an unparalleled passion for children.  She is hoping to join the profession of pediatric dentistry after she finishes school.  She is so kind and loving and will be a fantastic pediatric dentist.

I hope you have enjoyed sharing in my memories of Haiti.  Two words that describe Haiti in my mind are devastating and beautiful.  The terrain is rough.  The people are so impoverished.  The land is unforgiving.  But the people are so full of hope and life.  They take each day as it comes, and it truly put my life into perspective.  There is no need for me to worry about what comes tomorrow or the next day.  God holds us in His hands and tenderly guides us moment by moment. Because of this, we can rest in His presence.

New Years Resolution Veggie Lasagna

Do you still have a few of those holiday pounds lingering around your hips?  Are your jeans just slightly tighter than you remember before the holidays?  Please say 'yes' because I want to know that I am not alone.  Throughout my journey of weight loss and healthy living, I have found that although exercising is very important, changing your diet is the key to slimming down.  Knowing your portion sizes and sticking to them is huge!  In this super sized world we live it, the portion size we are supposed to be eating versus what is on our plate is completely different.  One of the things that I have learned about myself is that I like to see a full plate of food.  If I choose a smaller plate over a larger plate, I am less likely to overeat because I have fooled my mind into thinking it ate more than it did.  Another thing I do to trick my brain is to trade out vegetables for meat.  That is exactly what I did in my recipe today.  Instead of using ground beef with 15% fat to 85% meat ratio, I used mushrooms, zucchini, and summer squash.  I used my homemade ricotta to satisfy my comfort food cravings, and I used less than half of the recommended lasagna noodles.  It is all about smart choices and eating things you love.  This is my:

Vegetable Lasagna

Mmmmm...  Look at all that melty cheese and gorgeous colors!  It looks like lasagna.  It smells like lasagna.  It is lasagna!!

These are all my ingredients, minus the ricotta cheese.  Look at all of those veggies!!  I used 2 cans of peeled, crushed tomatoes, 1 summer squash, 2 zucchini, 1 medium eggplant, 2 portobello mushroom caps, 1 garlic clove, lasagna noodles, and various dried italian spices.

My sweet  hubby likes the taste of eggplant, but does not like the way it looks when it is cooked.  Whenever I make it, I have to hide it.  My favorite way of using it is pureed in a homemade tomato sauce.  First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cut your eggplant in half, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast it for about 30 minutes until tender.

While your eggplant is roasting, you can prep and grill your vegetables for your lasagna.  One thing I did not take pictures of is cooking the pasta.  Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook 4 lasagna noodles according the package's directions.  Take your portobello caps and scrape out the gills with a spoon.

Cut your zucchini in strips lengthwise

Do the same with your summer squash.  Drizzle all of your veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill your vegetables over medium heat until tender but still has some bite to it.  It will continue to cook in the oven while you bake the lasagna.

I think our eggplant is done.  Lets make our homemade tomato sauce.  I find the eggplant skin to be bitter, so I scoop out the insides and discard the skin.

Cut your garlic clove to make it easier for you blender to cut up.

Add the two cans of crushed tomatoes, garlic clove, pinch of salt and pepper, and 1-2 TBSP of dried italian seasoning to your blender.

Add the eggplant and blend it until thick and creamy

Your sauce will take on some body with the addition of the eggplant and will look something like this

Remember our ricotta??  Now's the time to whip that bad boy out!  For a refresher check out http://forthereyourheartwillbe.blogspot.com/2014/01/homemade-ricotta-cheese.html

Grate about one cup of parmesan cheese.  Parmesan cheese has one of the lowest amount of fat contents of any cheese and it is packed with calcium!

Add the parmesan to your ricotta and mix it up

Whew!! That has been a lot of prep without a lot of lasagna!  Lets pull the dish together.  Take a 9x13 baking dish.  Add 1/3 of your sauce to the bottom of the dish.

Layer your squash and zucchini

Place two lasagna noodles over your veggies

Add half of your ricotta parmesan mixture and spread it evenly

Put your portobello caps over the ricotta

Add another third of the tomato sauce and layer with the rest of your grilled squash followed by the last two lasagna noodles.

Top your noodles off with the rest of your ricotta

Pour the last third of your tomato sauce over the casserole dish and spread it out.

Top off your lasagna with 1/2-1 cup of grated parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil

I placed my lasagna on a baking sheet to avoid any spills.  Cover and bake your lasagna for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Uncover and broil until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Remember what I said about portion sizes.  With all of these veggies, this lasagna makes six large portions.  A full plate is a pretty thing, but an empty plate with a satisfied stomach instead of a guilty one is a beautiful thing.

Ingredients:
4 Lasagna noodles
2 zucchini squash
1 summer squash
2 portobello caps
1 medium eggplant
2 cups of ricotta cheese
1 garlic clove (quartered)
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
1-2 TBSP of dried italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups of parmesan cheese (divided)
salt and pepper
olive oil

Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cut your eggplant in half longways, drizzle it with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast on a baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Heat a grill pan to medium high heat.  Remove the gills from the underside of your portobello caps with a spoon.  Slice your zucchini and yellow squash longways.  Drizzle your vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  Grill your veggies until tender, about 5 minutes on each side.  Set vegetables aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook 4 lasagna noodles according to the package directions.  Drain and set aside.

Remove the eggplant from the oven and knock the temperature down to 375 degrees.  Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant and discard the skin.  In your blender or food processor, add the two cans of tomatoes, dried herbs, garlic clove, and flesh of the roasted eggplant.  Puree until smooth.

Add 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese to your ricotta.  Stir until mixed thoroughly.

In a 9x13 baking dish, add in this order: 1/3 tomato sauce, 1/2 of your grilled squash, 2 lasagna noodles, 1/2 of your ricotta, 2 portobello caps, 1/3 tomato sauce, 1/2 grilled squash, 2 lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta, and last 1/3 of tomato sauce. Sprinkle the top of your lasagna with the rest of your parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake your lasagna in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes and broil at until the top is golden brown and bubbly.  Serves 6.

There you have it, friends, My New Years Vegetable Lasagna!  I wish for you to have many full plates and happy tummies.  Enjoy!