This is who I am

Who am I?  Such a little question, but the answer can be so many things.  Who I am is more than the things I do, the (sometimes stupid) things I say, how I spend my time, or the people in my life...although all those things make up who I am.

Do you ever wonder who you are?  Or who you are meant to be?  Or do you think you know, but are you afraid to admit it to anyone else?  Because putting it out there, saying "This is who I am," can be a scary thing.  What if you make that announcement and then no one likes it?  Or likes you because of it?  Or what if you don't even like it very much?  Or you wish you were more than who you have become?  What then?

In thinking about this, I can't help but think of the ultimate "I AM."  He wasn't afraid to put Himself out there.  All throughout the Bible, God tells us who He is.  He is holy.  He is righteous.  He can't stand sin, but in His grace He provides a path for the sinner.  When Moses asked Him, "Who should I say you are?" He answered: "I AM WHO I AM."  Unapologetic.  Unafraid.  He simply is who He is.  And yet, He cares for each of the people He created so much that He gave each of us an identity, too.  We are made in His image.  As His Holy Spirit flows through us, we reflect that image to the world around us.  We are not cookie-cutter copies, but something different.  Something richer and so much more creative.  God is so infinite that we can all be made in His image and still be individuals, with a unique set of gifts and personality quirks that can all be used for His glory.

So who am I?  Can I tell you a secret?  I have always known who I am, but it has always scared me.  For years I tried to be something else, anything else, as long as it fit into whatever I thought was "normal."  I took my identity and called it a dream, an ambition, something that I would maybe do someday if I had enough time or money.  I set it aside for awhile because I knew there were other things God wanted me to do, but it never changed.  Now I've grown up a bit, I'm a little braver than I used to be, a little more confident that God has a plan and He can do whatever He wants to in me, and a little more willing to step out of "normal" and into the unknown.  I believe that God is giving back what I gave Him years ago.  I don't know what He'll do with it, but this is what I know: I am a writer.  People can attach any number of labels to that.  I might be a good writer, or a bad writer, or a crazy writer, or a novel writer, or a freelance writer, or maybe even a published writer, but none of that changes who I am.  Of course I am other things, too.  Look on Facebook, Twitter, or my profile on this blog and you can see all those other things.  But the scary secret is out.  The truth is, whatever else I may also be, I am a writer.  Always have been, always will be.  I have always known.  Now you know, too.

What’s not to love about green chile?

I have been loving my NM green chile this year. I know Puebloans love their Pueblo chile, but I’m a New Mexico girl. Give me some hot long greens straight from Hatch, and I’m in chile heaven. So far this year I’ve enjoyed my green chile fried in rellenos, diced on a baked potato, cooked into breakfast burritos, and sauced up and smothered on those breakfast burritos, then topped with cheese. If you’re blessed to have access to some green chile, here are some “recipes” for you. “Recipes” is in quotes because I have a terrible tendency to never measure anything. Perfectly fine in cooking, not so much with baking, which is why I am a good cook but a mediocre baker.

Rellenos

(Only New Mexicans know how to do these right. I never trust a relleno outside of New Mexico)

2 whole green chiles, slit up one side, most of the seeds removed

About ½ cup flour

Seasoned salt

Baking powder

Sliced cheese (preferably Jack, but Cheddar works too)

Egg

Milk

Vegetable oil

Whisk egg with a little milk. Mix flour, seasoned salt to taste, and a dash of baking powder. Stuff chile with cheese. Dip in egg mixture coat and coat with flour mixture, then repeat. Fry in hot oil until lightly browned and crispy. Serves one.

Breakfast Burritos

1 lb. breakfast sausage

8 eggs

Milk

1-2 diced green chiles

Shredded cheese

About 6 flour tortillas

Brown sausage. Whisk eggs with green chile and a little milk. Add to skillet with sausage and cook, mixing with sausage. Heat tortillas one at a time in a clean frying pan. Fill with sausage and egg mixture, sprinkle with cheese, and fold burrito. Serves about 6.

Notes: You can add potatoes (cook them with the sausage) and reduce the number of eggs if you’d like. I have nothing against potatoes, I just usually don’t have them. Also, you can use corn tortillas instead of flour. I call these "breakfast tacos" and I think they're quite tasty, too.

Green Chile Sauce

(This is NM-style green chile sauce with no meat)

About 1/4 cup olive oil

About ½ cup chopped onion

About 1 tsp minced garlic

About 1 Tbsp flour

About 1 cup chopped green chile

About 1 cup water

Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet. Add onions, then garlic, and cook until transparent. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon and cook for a minute or two. Add chile and water and cook until the sauce has a nice sheen. Add water in small amounts if sauce is too thick. Sauce can be used to smother burritos (be sure to top with shredded cheese), or in enchiladas, or really however you want to use it.

Note: All the amounts are approximate because I sort of just toss stuff in the pan until it looks good. Feel free to adjust as necessary. You can also add salt if you'd like.

Feel free to comment with questions, or to let me know if you tried one of these. Enjoy!

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Time for another confession: Mythology fascinates me. I have pretty early memories of reading the sections on Greek gods in my illustrated encyclopedia. (Yes, I spent many happy hours reading that encyclopedia. I doubt this surprises anyone) The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters sparked my interest in Egyptian archaeology and mythology. So naturally when I discovered that the author of the delightful Percy Jackson series, which moves Greek gods and goddesses into modern America, had started a series involving the Egyptian pantheon, I just had to read it. I was not disappointed.

The Red Pyramid is written as a transcription of a recording by Carter and Sadie Kane, a brother/sister duo raised separately following their mother's tragic death when Sadie was six. While Carter followed his globe-trotting American archaeologist father on various research expeditions, Sadie lived in England with their mother's parents. Six years later, during their Christmas visitation time, their worlds are blown apart again - literally. During a visit to the British Museum, their father Julius performs some strange ancient magic and releases five imprisoned gods including the evil and powerful Set, Lord of Chaos. Set imprisons Julius in a magical sarcophagus, and it is up to Carter and Sadie to find and free him. There is quite a bit more to the story, of course, including a long-lost uncle, a mysterious guardian cat, and a host of enemies like ancient magicians and minor gods. Add some great unfolding destiny, off-beat humor, and the possibility of mass annihilation to the mix, and you have a really fun, action-packed thrill ride that spans the globe, stopping at several well-known landmarks across the way.

I really enjoy Riordan's style. He writes with fast-paced, slightly-sarcastic humor that I appreciate. I also like the way he describes places. Whether it's Central Park, the Cairo airport, or White Sands National Monument, you get the feeling that he's actually been there. Without wasting words on flowery language, he paints pictures of people and places in such a way that reading his books is almost like watching a movie. It's fun.

So if you think ancient mythological gods and goddesses make for good entertainment, check out The Kane Chronicles. I'm looking forward to reading The Throne of Fire, the next installment in the series.