This post is inspired by the Emotional dimension of wellness.
Emotional wellness is about feeling and being in touch with your emotions. It is about managing your emotions so that your life doesn’t fall apart each time something doesn’t go your way. It involves controlling your reactions when disaster strikes and learning that your response is a choice you make but one that takes time to develop.
“I did it all for the gnocchi.” - Unknown
One takeaway from my journey through life is to have no regrets. I’m not sure if I was born with this character trait or if I’ve built up an immunity to it, but either way, I am grateful that to have it!
“Be wise today so you don’t cry tomorrow.” - E.A. Bucchianeri
Now, I’m not saying that I haven’t done things that I wish I could do over. Instead, what I am saying is that I think I’ve reconciled with myself that if I did things differently, my life would have turned out differently, and I like my life as it stands right now! Each stage of my life has taught me such valuable lessons - some of which were really hard - but I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything. You see, what I’ve learned is that growth comes from the difficulties we face. They build character… and boy am I a character... 😊
I believe that it’s the hardships we face in life that teach one to become resilient. If you’ve lived a fairly easy life, you’ve never learned the life skills that teach you to pick yourself up and move forward. You create resilience through facing and overcoming difficult situations.
“Every challenge we face and navigate strengthens our will, confidence, and our ability to conquer future obstacles.” - Unknown
Learning from discomfort has taught me how to navigate through the hills and valleys of this great life. I’ve determined that it doesn’t matter how intelligent or talented you are because we will all face hardships. So my parting message is this, don’t allow yourself to live a life of mediocrity, free from changes due to fear of stumbling, because we learn from our discomfort. Discomfort forces us to rethink what is required to become successful!
Recipe of the Day: Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi
INGREDIENTS
2 large potatoes
½ cup Ricotta cheese
¾ cup plain flour
1 egg, beaten
1 thyme sprig, leaves only
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
INSTRUCTIONS
Bake the potatoes in their skins for 1–1¼ hours until tender the whole way through. Remove the flesh from the skins (ideally while still warm) and mash until smooth. Mix in the ricotta, a pinch of salt and white pepper and the flour. Make a well in the middle, add the beaten egg and begin to combine the mixture with floured hands. Work in the thyme leaves and continue until a smooth dough has formed. (Be careful not to overwork it or the dough will end up too dense and won’t expand when it goes into the water!)
Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a long cigar shape - about 1.5cm thick. Using the back of a floured table knife, cut each half of dough into 2cm pieces to make ‘pillows’ or individual gnocchi. Gently press each one in the center using your floured finger. The dent will hold more sauce allowing the gnocchi to have more flavor.
Boil a quart size pan of water with a pinch of salt. The gnocchi is cooked when you see them rise to the top. Ladle each one as they rise and place in a bowl.
Create your own unique sauces or simply serve with a little butter and fresh parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
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