Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Gratitude and Potato Gnocchi
I have always been one of those people who has celebrated and embraced life with all I have. However, 2 1/2 weeks ago my celebration went to a completely different level.
I was in a car accident, extricated out of the vehicle and taken to a trauma unit to be treated for a broken neck. I have multiple cervical fractures and for that I am thankful. I am just beyond grateful to be alive, to get an opportunity to continue to live this amazing and incredible life, to love my family and friends, to relish every moment. I have a long road to recovery, but I will heal and I will bounce back even better than before.
However, I wanted to take a moment and share with you all that a broken neck has taught me:
- Laughter truly is the best medicine. Even before I got pain medicine I was laughing and joking with the ER staff and it made me feel better, made them work harder for me and we all truly made the best of a horrific situation. By the way, I was at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan. Don't worry I didn't dink the water. Special shout out to Nikki who was the best ER nurse on the planet!!
- If you need help ask for it. From the moment my accident occurred I called and asked people for help and I received the most incredible blessings from the person who held my hand all night in the ER to the person who picked me up at the airport to the person who washed my hair to the countless people who have given me love and support. Thank you!!
- The best medicine is love and if it doesn't work, increase the dose. It is the one type of medicine you can never get enough of.
- Trust and surrender. I have been a control freak the majority of my life whether it was professionally as a 911 Dispatcher or personally when I was married to a cop, however when you have a broken neck you have to stop, trust and surrender because it is all outside of your control. Go with it! By the way I went to church on Sunday to express my thanks to the big man above and the sermon was about surrender, there are no coincidences.
- Be thankful-every night when I go to bed I make a list of what I am grateful for. It can be small things like a good cup of coffee, big things like a day with no pain or things that touched only you or made you laugh or gave you joy, but say thank you and go to sleep with gratitude in your heart. It is so easy to be frustrated, negative or irritated, but truly life is too short to waste a single moment on those unproductive emotions. At the end of the day you have been given another day to live and there is no greater gift.
- Expect everyday miracles-I have found that miracles occur every single day it is just a matter of whether or not you are paying attention and noticing them. Sure it might not be everyday that water is turned to wine, but it is every single day that you meet someone who touches your heart, you walk into a doctors office that can change your life, that you get a phone call that makes you smile or you walk away from a car accident that you probably shouldn't have.
- There is strength in silence. I have had plenty of time to be still, to pray, to listen to myself, to journal and to truly hear my own voice. The blessings, the knowledge, the peace and the calm that comes with listening is a gift in and of itself.
- Angels come in all shapes and sizes. I have had so many "angels" cross my path in the last few weeks that they are too numerous to count. There was the man who climbed into the passenger seat of the car and talked to me while they were trying to extricate me from the car. He covered my face to protect me from the shattered glass, kept me calm, gave me a blanket to keep me warm and just kept me focused on his voice. I asked about him later when I was at the hospital as I assumed he was an officer or a medic, they believe he was an Army volunteer who had just come back from his tour of duty and was volunteering his time. This man that I didn't know, don't know how to thank and can't put a face to a voice because I was in a neck brace was my angel.
- Love with all of your heart. I have always read the motivational saying and reminders about telling those you love that you care because if you don't it may be too late and let me just say they are right. Express love through your actions, words and expressions, in all that you do.
- Keep your attitude positive and keep smiling. I was in the doctors office yesterday and I was joking around with the receptionist. Another patient walked in and noticed my neck brace because well, it is hard to miss. She asked me what happened and I told her I had been in a car accident and I had a broken neck. She looked at me with astonishment and she said,"but you are laughing." I smiled at her and I told her I had a lot to laugh about, I am alive.
Ok lets talk food....so before my accident I was at a co-workers house and she was teaching me how to make Potato Gnocchi. This is a family recipe so I don't have exact measurements, however I googled "potato gnocchi" and the majority of recipes resemble this one and can provide you with the exact science. The ingredients are simple-potatoes, flour, salt and egg. Yup that is it.
To begin with put the potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil, cooking until soft. You can cook them with the skins on because once they are soft the skins practically just jump off the potatoes and peeling them takes no effort at all.
Once the potatoes have been peeled, put them in a potato ricer, and make them into a rice like consistency or potato pulp.
 |
| This is a potato ricer |
 |
| Action shot of me using a potato ricer |
Next add the flour, salt and egg. The egg should be placed in a well in the middle of the flour.
All of the ingredients should be mixed using a mixer, to combine. The dough should be sticky, but not actively stick to your fingers. On a side note, as I was sitting in the emergency room I noticed large amounts of dough still stuck to my fingers, so it is stickier than it appears.
Put the dough on a well floured surface and roll into snakes, ya know "dough snakes."
Next cut the dough into bite sized rectangles.
Using your thumb and middle finger, run the dough across the tines of a fork, creating ridges in the dough. Believe it or not, the ridges do have a purpose as they help the sauce adhere to the gnocchi and coat it more evenly.
 |
| Some of my gnocchi got a little bit large!! |
Freeze the gnocchi until you are ready to cook and eat. To cook, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook until the gnocchi float to the top. They will inflate somewhat in the cooking process. Toss with sauce. I do apologize as I do not have a picture of the finished product as we were scheduled to eat them the next day...and well the above car accident occurred so I got a little distracted. Cheers!!
 |
| We made 5lbs of gnocchi |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Visit My Website!
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
Danah you are the best. I can just see you laughing and joking with the people extricating you and treating you for a broken neck. I am so glad you are going to be okay. I don't want to live in a world without Danah! I love you! Hope to see you soon.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea, and I am so sorry that I didn't know about your serious accident. I'm so glad you are okay. It could have been so much worse.praise God. PS....I love potato gnocchi, we havent made it, but might give it a try.Take it easy mama.
ReplyDelete