My senior year of high school we took a test, that I can no longer remember the name of, but essentially you answered a million different questions and then were given your top three career choices. They were evidently supposed to be fairly accurate, I am not sure how, but do you know what my top career choices were?

A Nun
Addictions Counselor
Psychologist

I can guarantee that these are not the normal answers for most high school seniors. I am not quite sure how my test answers arrived at those results. I am Catholic but I have never felt the calling to join the convent. I do like to think of myself as a good listener and I always weigh both sides/options equally so maybe that is where the counselor or psychologist came in? The thing that all three have in common though is service and that characteristic is something to be proud of and be shared.

I have been brainstorming ways I can give back through my business but have had a hard time coming up with something since calligraphy doesn't really tie into a lot of service organizations. One day it finally clicked to me on something I could do. Many people who use my journals use them for prayer or reflection, so what better way to give back than by giving a portion of the proceeds from each sale to an service organization!

With that being said I am happy to announce that now, a portion of proceeds from all journal sales will be donated to Grandma's House of Central Oregon. Grandma's House is a non-profit home and outreach center, providing safe shelter to homeless or abused pregnant, parenting and adopting girls in Central Oregon. I love what this organization stands for and even more, I love that the girls in these less than ideal, sometimes heartbreaking situations, still decide to choose and believe that everyone's life is precious.

Jenna Kutcher, who is a Wisconsin photographer, blogger, girl boss, lady entrepreneur extraordinaire, recently wrote a great post about giving back, service and why it makes sense. Read on if you have another minute.

Interested in purchasing a journal? They are only $12 and have a variety of uses, they even make great bridal party gifts! Head on over to the Etsy shop to snag yours now! Shopping doesn't count if it is for a good cause right?!

The last Friday of Lent (Good Friday), is almost here which means only one more Friday of fasting/no meat. Honestly, I do not mind it that much, especially when you can have Yumm Bowls. Unless you are from Oregon, you probably have not heard of these. Café Yumm, originated in Eugene, Oregon and since, chains have popped up in different locals across Oregon. Their Yumm Bowls, consist of basically beans, rice, some various toppings and their secret Yumm Sauce. People either love or hate Yumm Sauce but those who do, find it addicting and you can put it on so many other things than just beans and rice. You can buy it in their store but the closest Café Yumm to me is an hour away, so I decided to make my own Yumm sauce. After scouring the internets and Pinterest, mixing several recipes together and adding some different ingredients to my taste, I believe I have come up with a pretty dang close copycat recipe.

Café Yumm Sauce Copycat Recipe:
½ cup water
½ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup neutral flavored oil (light olive or avocado oil are best, I would suggest not using coconut oil for this)
½ cups almonds
1/3 heaping cup nutritional yeast*
1 can rinsed and drained garbanzo or white beans
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic power
1 – 1 ½ tsp. curry powder (depending upon how much you like curry)
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt

*Nutritional yeast IS NOT the kind of yeast you bake with OR brewers yeast and either cannot be substituted in this recipe. Nutritional yeast, are large, yellow flakes. A lady I work with described them as looking like human fish food, which sadly they do. It can be found in bulk food sections, generally at health food stores.

See...fish food. Hopefully that doesn't ruin it for you.

Directions: Place almonds in a bowl of extremely hot water, soak for 15 minutes. While your almonds are soaking place all the ingredients but the oil in a blender or food processor. Once your almonds have softened and are done soaking, drain, and place in the blender as well. Blend for one minute, scrape down the sides and blend for another minute. Next, blend again while slowly drizzling in the oil. Pour into an airtight jar and place into a refrigerator to let sit overnight. You can eat this right away and it still tastes great but it is best if you let it sit overnight to give the flavors time to blend.

Golden Deliciousness

Next you need to assemble your Yumm Bowl. Café Yumm has different combos of bowls, you can look at their menu online, but my favorite is the Jazzy Bowl, which is layered as so:
Jasmine Rice, Red Beans, Yumm Sauce, Tomatoes, Avocado, Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream, Olives and Cilantro.

Recently they also added the option of adding a protein to the top of your bowl, chicken or grilled tofu, I go with chicken but since this is a Lenten meal I’ll be passing this time.

So fresh and healthy!

Yumm bowls are great to make for a crowd because everyone can customize their own to their individual tastes and they are very filling. I like to put everything out on a board when I make them at home because it looks pretty and also there are less dishes. Originally when I made this I did not take super great photos, so sorry for the lack of quality and quantity.

And there you have it! That is how you make a Yumm Bowl! I hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you think of the Yumm Sauce!