One of the greatest gifts I have ever been given in my life is my daughter. This gift is so humbling, mostly because I had nothing to do with making her or choosing her for my family. I simply prayed hard for a little girl, asked the country of China to allow me to raise one of the daughters they were not able to take care of at the time, and then welcomed home the little jewel that was perched on my husband’s arm coming up the international flight escalator at the Atlanta airport. Okay, it was a bit more complicated than that. But the point is she feels like such a gift of grace. In part because she is so much not like me. She is athletic and photogenic and outgoing, where I have never had any of those traits. Sure we have a lot in common. We both love dogs and are kind and like to create things. But even these common interests she approaches with a confidence and ease I never had. And I thank God for that. For this little girl teaches me so, so much. About compassion and generosity and bravery.

And today, Voodles!

That’s right. Voodles. Vegetables that have cleverly been turned into noodles. You see my not so little anymore girl is turning into quite a chef. She cooks better now than I did all through college (a moment of silence to honor the poor roommates that had to deal with me setting fire to baked potatoes in the microwave and enduring the mess and smell of me trying to make homemade veggie burgers. God bless them each and every one.) My middle schooler comes home everyday and watches cooking videos on you tube or Pioneer Woman on Netflix. Cooking has become such as passion for her that I set her up with her own blog to talk about her adventures in the kitchen. This joint blogging effort was a brilliant idea not only because it is teaching her writing skills and computer savvy, but it is also teaching me how to cook! So in honor of my Xiao baobei (little treasure), I share with you our take on Brandy Milloy’s Zuchini Voodles. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3LgmyV4dqs[/embed] First we made the Voodles with our “As seen on TV” Spiralizer. (Yes, I just admitted that to you). Then we sauteed the almond flour with coconut oil to make “Bread Crumbs.” I happened to have these two items since I was Paleo until I got my braces this winter. Next we sauteed some garlic, added the voodles and a little bit of seasoning. In about five minutes we had made zucchini magic. (This is not too hard to do as I adore Zucchini in all forms). The dish was amazing. And I would have never tried it had it not been for my creative cook, Liblou. So, thank heaven for little girls. They steal our hearts, bring us joy, and teach us more than we could have ever imagined. Even how to turn zucchini into a delicious noodle.]]>