One Ticket for Crazy Train

"It's very easy to think that 'someone else' is driving the crazy train...
NO! I am driving the crazy train." - Shauna Niequist



Can I just be very honest and say I got a tad creepy fan weird when I met
Shauna Niequist last month? I mean she lives one suburb over, so every day now
I'm on "Shauna WATCH"... at the grocery store, library, intersections.
I don't even know what I'd say to her. Probably just, "Hi, remember me?"
*Shauna reaches into pocket, pulls out cell, calls 911*

One day I'll get up enough guts to e-mail her and ask her to be my Yoda,
my mentor. Show me all the ways, oh wise and wonderful woman. Until then...

For those of you who don't know, *GASP* she's an author and speaker.
Bread and Wine, Cold Tangerines, Bittersweet... ring a bell?

After I heard her speak last month, I went up and got all emotional as I gave her
a big 'ole hug and told her that she changed my life. The drama level is embarrassing.

Besides all the obvious things that she is known for encouraging,
(community, bringing people around the table, doing YOUR thing well,
finding deep pleasure in being YOURSELF, etc.)
she also was shouting: "GET OFF THE CRAZY TRAIN."

She challenged: "What can I GIVE UP in order to bring the most fruit?"
Too much, too loud changes the quality of life and may actually inhibit one
from achieving their deepest, most cherished dreams.

You guys, I am the conductor of the crazy train.
I keep busy so that I HAVE AN EXCUSE not to do what I REALLY feel called to do.
I fill my days with lots of GOOD, FUN, and sometimes even HOLY activities
so that when God comes knocking, I have a pretty, little itinerary to
wave in His face. "Nope, got plans. Big plans. Not YOUR plans. MY plans."

I'm letting this be my burning bush. My sign.
The crazy train called and they hired a new conductor.
I'm saying "no" to more good things so that I can say "yes" to the
great things that God has put on my heart.

Thanks for ruining my life, Shauna.
I hope that through this recap she has ruined your life too.
Let's all eat ice cream and cry together now...
so that we can step off the crazy train and go change the world.

Mango Chicken Curry On

I've been savoring every page of Shauna Niequist's Bread and Wine.
She has effortlessly accomplished reaching down into my soul and stirring
up a concoction that has been brewing for awhile; one that I've been keeping
slightly suppressed because it just seems so absurd.

I love to cook.
I love to eat.
There, I said it. Carry on. I am an active daydreamer of food that LIVES (drama added)
for planning the weekly menu and grocery list. Don't believe me? I wake up thinking
about dinner, and fall asleep at night wondering if I should have coffee or tea
with my cinnamon pancakes or warm, blueberry quinoa in the morning.

"I love to talk about food, think about food, play with good. The grocery store
is my happy place, and the farmers market is my shrine. I'm never happier than when
I'm planning a menu or passing bowls around my table, fragrant and full." - Niequist

Preach it.

Chapter after chapter of stories, testimony, and recipes that bring
the idea of LIFE around the table into a place of honor - holy reverence.
My love language. If you are a lover of food and life around the table...

READ THIS BOOK.
|| Shauna Niequist's Mango Chicken Curry ||
I made this gluten-free by using Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour.
I also subbed out mango due to allergies and used peaches instead. I think the nice
part about curry is that you can OWN IT. Play with the flavors and make it your own.



INGREDIENTS // get ready to chop

1/4 C. flour
2 tbls. curry powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2-3 pds. boneless, skinless chicken breasts // cut into pieces
2-4 tbls. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 tbls. fresh ginger, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 C. chicken broth
1/4 C. raisins or currants
2 roman tomatoes, diced
1 mango, pitted and diced
1 tbls. fresh lime juice
3 tbls. fresh cilantro, chopped
3 tbls. fresh basil, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS //
Mix together flour, curry powder, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Toss chicken pieces into the flour mixture.
Add 1 to 2 tlbs. olive oil to a pan, and cook chicken on med-high heat until browned,
about 5 minutes on each side. Set aside.

Add additional 1 to 2 tbls. olive oil and cook garlic, red onion, ginger, and red pepper
until onion is golden, about 4 minutes. Add chicken back to the pan, lower heat.

Add 4 to 4.5 C. chicken broth. Cook at a simmer until chicken is tender and broth
is reduced by one-fourth. Add currants, tomatoes, and mango, simmer until heated through.

Off heat, add lime juice, cilantro, basil.

(recipe C/O: Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist)

We ate this over rice with fluffy, gluten-free naan to scoop it all up!!!