So, I had said I was going to post a recipe, earlier, and forgot (related to cooking for a lady who had a baby)
"Stuffed Shells Casserole"
If you find it annoying to spend the time making manicotti or stuffed shells because of all the stuffing that is involved, this will be right up your alley, as it is mine.
Stir together:
24 oz cottage cheese or ricotta
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb chopped, frozen spinach (thawed, preferably)
2 tblspoons chopped, fresh herbs (choose from basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, marjoram)
6oz grated mozzeralla
salt and pepper to taste
Boil 1lb little pasta shells, and stir (while hot is fine) into above mix.
Pour mixture into a pyrex baking dish (at least a 9X13"). Top with a Marinara Sauce of your choice, and 6 more oz. mozzerella. Bake in a 350F oven until bubbly (and cheese is beginning to golden). Serve with bread and a hearty salad. Macky has loved this dish since she started eating solids...
Bon appetit!
August 29, 2007
Bread and bread
I have another bread recipe to give, and another thought about "daily bread". It is a bit garbled, however, at the moment, we'll see how it comes out (the joy of being an external processor is that you are often suprised by what you find on the page after you've written it, but you are also often foiled if you are interrupted and lose your train of thought, which threatens to happen this morning with Miss Macky and her need for at least half of my brain---and justifiably so).
Well, we have been looking and looking at jobs, and the Lord has been very clearly closing doors, and opening others. We still don't have things concretely laid down yet. Praise the Lord that He has also shown us very clearly that He is the provider of our daily needs, bread and "bread" (food and money). We have not run out our emergency fund yet, and some strong possiblities of jobs (which will start in about 2 weeks time) have come on the horizon: tutoring for me, and caddying (possibly) for Chip.
The tutoring jobs I've found look like they could give us a good income, as long as we don't have any transportation conflict or schedule conflict with Chip and the girls. I am hopeful. Chip, who as most of you know loves golf, has found a connection to one of the best courses in town, and the man who runs the caddying program supposedly loves to hire seminary students. There are other awesome details like them getting paid regardless of if they are able to work a round, and being able to study while waiting. In the meantime, we are keeping simple house. We already ate a ton of vegetarian, so that's no problem.
And we are coming up with some very creative (and definitely still flavorful) recipes. Are you surprised that they are mostly related to bread? I won't offend your intelligence by listing the recipes for french toast, croutons, and other "normal" type things, unless any of you are unfamiliar or need a new way of doing those staples. But this one was fairly new to me, and I gave it our own twist:
Panzanella (Bread Salad):
In a large bowl, combine:
1lb ripe tomatoes (we used grape tomatoes, but you can use anything) diced large, or cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 or more cloves garlic, minced
4 tblspns olive oil
1 cup cannellini (white kidney) beans
Salt and pepper to taste
Add:
1 1/2 cups (or one medium sized loaf ) dry bread (2-3 days old is best) [We used an Italian style cheese loaf which complemented the salad perfectly] that has been prepared by cutting into 1/2" chunks and soaked in water for 15 minutes and squeezed dry.
Toss all ingredients together and serve at room temperature.
Can add mozzerella (cubed) to the mix, but I didn't find it necessary since we used cheese bread---so flavorful!
We ate this recipe after having played outside in the heat for about 2 hours, and we were really glad to not have to cook anything once inside. Try it and see what you think!
Well, we have been looking and looking at jobs, and the Lord has been very clearly closing doors, and opening others. We still don't have things concretely laid down yet. Praise the Lord that He has also shown us very clearly that He is the provider of our daily needs, bread and "bread" (food and money). We have not run out our emergency fund yet, and some strong possiblities of jobs (which will start in about 2 weeks time) have come on the horizon: tutoring for me, and caddying (possibly) for Chip.
The tutoring jobs I've found look like they could give us a good income, as long as we don't have any transportation conflict or schedule conflict with Chip and the girls. I am hopeful. Chip, who as most of you know loves golf, has found a connection to one of the best courses in town, and the man who runs the caddying program supposedly loves to hire seminary students. There are other awesome details like them getting paid regardless of if they are able to work a round, and being able to study while waiting. In the meantime, we are keeping simple house. We already ate a ton of vegetarian, so that's no problem.
And we are coming up with some very creative (and definitely still flavorful) recipes. Are you surprised that they are mostly related to bread? I won't offend your intelligence by listing the recipes for french toast, croutons, and other "normal" type things, unless any of you are unfamiliar or need a new way of doing those staples. But this one was fairly new to me, and I gave it our own twist:
Panzanella (Bread Salad):
In a large bowl, combine:
1lb ripe tomatoes (we used grape tomatoes, but you can use anything) diced large, or cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 or more cloves garlic, minced
4 tblspns olive oil
1 cup cannellini (white kidney) beans
Salt and pepper to taste
Add:
1 1/2 cups (or one medium sized loaf ) dry bread (2-3 days old is best) [We used an Italian style cheese loaf which complemented the salad perfectly] that has been prepared by cutting into 1/2" chunks and soaked in water for 15 minutes and squeezed dry.
Toss all ingredients together and serve at room temperature.
Can add mozzerella (cubed) to the mix, but I didn't find it necessary since we used cheese bread---so flavorful!
We ate this recipe after having played outside in the heat for about 2 hours, and we were really glad to not have to cook anything once inside. Try it and see what you think!
August 26, 2007
Whoa, what just happened?
Well, we have our computer back...ahem, I should say Chip's computer, sorry....good to be back online again at the old appartment, but my goodness, things seem to be flying fast by us right now as all the other students have arrived and orientation has begun.
We dressed up for the President's Reception on Friday night, which was great because we had found a suit jacket, slacks, and a blazer for Chip to choose from at the Free Store (put that on the list of very cool stuff with Free Bread Mondays and Fridays). He looked dashing, and I figured out something, though it can be rather difficult for a gal to figure out how dressy "semi-formal" is supposed to be. I did fine, was about middle of the pack in terms of formality, so no worries there.
I like the looks of the faculty (who were all introduced)....there were many more students than I realized starting along with us this fall: something like 166. Not bad for Covenant
But it is all extremely overwhelming, and as we are still only 3 1/2 weeks into our stint here, I am not feeling up to speed. We don't have jobs sorted out, and since the routine hasn't begun, we just kinda float through the days and don't know what to do with ourselves. After we've run out of the phone calls we have to make (in order to get one more step into the process with jobs and interviews etc...) we just try to have some semblance of routine with the girls, and wear Macky out enough that she'll sleep at night, dear athletic girl...
Anyway, the other purpose for this little entry (which otherwise seems to have no real purpose, sorry for that) is to announce that my sister leaves for Europe tomorrow (man do I miss her), and will be starting a blog to record what she can while she travels. If you get bored of my recipes and endless blather on transitioning to student life once more, you can visit her through my links....she will be the link called "i miss her".
Tomorrow I cook for a family on campus that just had a new baby....I'll post the recipe then.
We dressed up for the President's Reception on Friday night, which was great because we had found a suit jacket, slacks, and a blazer for Chip to choose from at the Free Store (put that on the list of very cool stuff with Free Bread Mondays and Fridays). He looked dashing, and I figured out something, though it can be rather difficult for a gal to figure out how dressy "semi-formal" is supposed to be. I did fine, was about middle of the pack in terms of formality, so no worries there.
I like the looks of the faculty (who were all introduced)....there were many more students than I realized starting along with us this fall: something like 166. Not bad for Covenant
But it is all extremely overwhelming, and as we are still only 3 1/2 weeks into our stint here, I am not feeling up to speed. We don't have jobs sorted out, and since the routine hasn't begun, we just kinda float through the days and don't know what to do with ourselves. After we've run out of the phone calls we have to make (in order to get one more step into the process with jobs and interviews etc...) we just try to have some semblance of routine with the girls, and wear Macky out enough that she'll sleep at night, dear athletic girl...
Anyway, the other purpose for this little entry (which otherwise seems to have no real purpose, sorry for that) is to announce that my sister leaves for Europe tomorrow (man do I miss her), and will be starting a blog to record what she can while she travels. If you get bored of my recipes and endless blather on transitioning to student life once more, you can visit her through my links....she will be the link called "i miss her".
Tomorrow I cook for a family on campus that just had a new baby....I'll post the recipe then.
August 17, 2007
Enter Anxiety
Don't ask me why, as there has been no new thing to cause me to react with worry, but I am suddenly taken with a major onset of anxiety.
We have been computer-less for the past couple of days, making it extremely difficult to do any of the now normal online aspects of our daily schedule. And perhaps I haven't been able to process as well because of no blog--perhaps that is part of it, but I think there is something deeper going on here, and I feel like I've been attacked.
So, I am asking for prayer, for my heart to be in that place of trust that I have known in the past 2 weeks, and to which I would like to return.
And as I write, I am getting a sense of the other things that are troubling me. Yesterday was the first in a series of days in which people and trucks with their things began to arrive. (Gosh, that was a clumsy sentence--please forgive me, I'm just vomiting words right now in an attempt to get this junk off my heart). I realize that I feel the urge (in some ways good, others out of a wrongful sense of duty) to help everyone and I'm feeling anxious that I can't do more right now.
At least Murmur wasn't up last night (the score is 10 and 5--and we're all losing), but Macky was (which means of the 15 nights we've been here, I think we've had 2 full night's sleep, uninterrupted by the one or the other). Macky got sick for no apparent reason at 2am, and dear Chip got up with her and let me sleep. However, that meant he needed a nap first thing this morning with Murmur. And still we look at one another with bleary eyes that communicate that neither of us are caught up yet.
Back to the ever-growing community: we have several new babies, about a dozen new families/singles coming in this weekend, and lots of tired people with lots of needs. Please, if you consider it, pray for us all to have the strength of the Holy Spirit as we seek to love one another well and help in the adjusting to a new life and the challenges that will face us over the next few years.
I say all that, but I also want to say: it is good! Yesterday, for example, I went produce hunting with our admissions assisstant, in which we had the most hysterical gallavanting around Creve Coeur/Chesterfield experience, and wound up at the "farm" of an old hippie who had the most bizarre stories to share, and the most beautiful tomatoes. I bought about 3lbs, and returned to cook for my brand-new neighbors and their 2 kids (once again, in the age slot of most of the children around: >1 and 2-ish). Here is what we ate:
Pasta alla Puttanesca (if you know what that means, you will laugh...let me know if you don't, and I'll let you in on the "joke")
Ingredients:
1Lb pasta (spaghetti or penne work well)
2 cans tuna (chunk light packed in oil works best)
3 fresh tomatoes, cored and chopped small
1 handful olives (or olives and capers), chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 handful basil, chopped
8 anchovies (i didn't have any, so i used 2 dashes worcestershire sauce, which has anchovy in it)
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
empty the cans of tuna (drained) into a bowl and pour lemon juice over. add salt and pepper to taste and chopped basil--allow to marinate while you do next step. start your pasta (salt the water). now throw a couple of glugs of olive oil into a pan, and once it has warmed up, throw the anchovies or worcesterchire into the pan to "melt" (we loved the way it tasted with the w.s., so if you don't like the extra fishyness of anchovies, try it that way). Now, usually you would throw the capers, garlic, and olives in next, but I threw it all in together by mistake, but we loved the result. We cooked it all only as long as the pasta was cooking (about 5 minutes) and everything remained silky and nice. Taste the tuna/tomato/olive mixture after it has cooked for a minute, correct the seasoning, and then toss it over your pasta with a little olive oil or any reserved pasta water, if you like it looser (it is all according to your preferences, so mess around with it till it pleases you).
We made another dish too, in case the little ones didn't like fish, but I'll have to save that for another day.
The day ended with great, deep conversation, and the return of my downstairs neighbor, Jen. She came to collect me around 8:30, and we did what I've been longing to do (on a routine basis) which was: we worked and talked together. Last night's chore was to core and peel her lot of fresh tomatoes for canning. Lovely.
Wow, upon reflection, what is there to worry about? God is good, has given us an amazing community to live in, and He will provide all our needs....but I still need your prayers....
We have been computer-less for the past couple of days, making it extremely difficult to do any of the now normal online aspects of our daily schedule. And perhaps I haven't been able to process as well because of no blog--perhaps that is part of it, but I think there is something deeper going on here, and I feel like I've been attacked.
So, I am asking for prayer, for my heart to be in that place of trust that I have known in the past 2 weeks, and to which I would like to return.
And as I write, I am getting a sense of the other things that are troubling me. Yesterday was the first in a series of days in which people and trucks with their things began to arrive. (Gosh, that was a clumsy sentence--please forgive me, I'm just vomiting words right now in an attempt to get this junk off my heart). I realize that I feel the urge (in some ways good, others out of a wrongful sense of duty) to help everyone and I'm feeling anxious that I can't do more right now.
At least Murmur wasn't up last night (the score is 10 and 5--and we're all losing), but Macky was (which means of the 15 nights we've been here, I think we've had 2 full night's sleep, uninterrupted by the one or the other). Macky got sick for no apparent reason at 2am, and dear Chip got up with her and let me sleep. However, that meant he needed a nap first thing this morning with Murmur. And still we look at one another with bleary eyes that communicate that neither of us are caught up yet.
Back to the ever-growing community: we have several new babies, about a dozen new families/singles coming in this weekend, and lots of tired people with lots of needs. Please, if you consider it, pray for us all to have the strength of the Holy Spirit as we seek to love one another well and help in the adjusting to a new life and the challenges that will face us over the next few years.
I say all that, but I also want to say: it is good! Yesterday, for example, I went produce hunting with our admissions assisstant, in which we had the most hysterical gallavanting around Creve Coeur/Chesterfield experience, and wound up at the "farm" of an old hippie who had the most bizarre stories to share, and the most beautiful tomatoes. I bought about 3lbs, and returned to cook for my brand-new neighbors and their 2 kids (once again, in the age slot of most of the children around: >1 and 2-ish). Here is what we ate:
Pasta alla Puttanesca (if you know what that means, you will laugh...let me know if you don't, and I'll let you in on the "joke")
Ingredients:
1Lb pasta (spaghetti or penne work well)
2 cans tuna (chunk light packed in oil works best)
3 fresh tomatoes, cored and chopped small
1 handful olives (or olives and capers), chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 handful basil, chopped
8 anchovies (i didn't have any, so i used 2 dashes worcestershire sauce, which has anchovy in it)
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
empty the cans of tuna (drained) into a bowl and pour lemon juice over. add salt and pepper to taste and chopped basil--allow to marinate while you do next step. start your pasta (salt the water). now throw a couple of glugs of olive oil into a pan, and once it has warmed up, throw the anchovies or worcesterchire into the pan to "melt" (we loved the way it tasted with the w.s., so if you don't like the extra fishyness of anchovies, try it that way). Now, usually you would throw the capers, garlic, and olives in next, but I threw it all in together by mistake, but we loved the result. We cooked it all only as long as the pasta was cooking (about 5 minutes) and everything remained silky and nice. Taste the tuna/tomato/olive mixture after it has cooked for a minute, correct the seasoning, and then toss it over your pasta with a little olive oil or any reserved pasta water, if you like it looser (it is all according to your preferences, so mess around with it till it pleases you).
We made another dish too, in case the little ones didn't like fish, but I'll have to save that for another day.
The day ended with great, deep conversation, and the return of my downstairs neighbor, Jen. She came to collect me around 8:30, and we did what I've been longing to do (on a routine basis) which was: we worked and talked together. Last night's chore was to core and peel her lot of fresh tomatoes for canning. Lovely.
Wow, upon reflection, what is there to worry about? God is good, has given us an amazing community to live in, and He will provide all our needs....but I still need your prayers....
August 14, 2007
Meditating on the Psalms
I am finally working out the old muscle related to daily devotions. It has been hard to be in the habit since the era of child-rearing has begun--but what with all the unknown of what this time will hold and the threating thunder of the worry-storm in the distance, I realize I need to start running again...running back to Christ consistently. So I'm in training.
You can pray for me, if you think about it, 'cause I'm not a runner, generally speaking (both metaphorically and literally). I hate to run, and spiritually speaking, that looks like me doing it all in my own strength. However, I need to understand the reality of Christ and His gospel on a day to day basis.
I had already thought about a month ago that if I were to do a book study, I would do Psalms because David really knew how to pray--and really understood his need for the Holy Spirit at every hour of his life. I started at random, and have been encouraged each time I've read, but on Sunday Pastor Vander Haas' sermon really challenged me to go at it with more thought....literally, meditation. He spoke on Psalm 63, and discussed the themes of finding, feeding, and following. One thing he mentioned in particular had to do with our disconnection as a culture with what restful meditation (on God's word) looks like. I figured adding a tiny bit of structure to my readings (i.e. pick up on one thing that jumps out at me from each passage and reflect on it) might be good. So, I also thought I ought to start from the beginning.
Well, I am sharing with you my reflection from today because I hope it will be encouraging to you, but it is also another plea for prayer that I will continue to believe it. Here is a quote from my journal:
"Today is Psalm 3. This is what strikes me about it today:
'I lay down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me."
I realize that the only reason I continue to breathe and have life is because the Lord wills it to be so. This is the very basic unit of His provision for me: the fact that I have any life at all is only because of His hand upholding me. Why would we not trust Him to take care of our daily needs for life--our food and shelter? It is only by His volition and grace that we live, and He will provide for us as long as He wants us to remain. And if He wills that we die, as Paul says, it is gain. What He wants for us is not our anxious efforts to make things happen and to figure out how we are going to make ends meet and cling to the things of earth. He wants our hearts, He wants us to fill ourselves up with Him, He wants us to follow Him (on a crazy adventure). Lead on, oh Lord."
If you were hungry for a recipe tonight, sorry--but I hope you found something more satisfying here.
You can pray for me, if you think about it, 'cause I'm not a runner, generally speaking (both metaphorically and literally). I hate to run, and spiritually speaking, that looks like me doing it all in my own strength. However, I need to understand the reality of Christ and His gospel on a day to day basis.
I had already thought about a month ago that if I were to do a book study, I would do Psalms because David really knew how to pray--and really understood his need for the Holy Spirit at every hour of his life. I started at random, and have been encouraged each time I've read, but on Sunday Pastor Vander Haas' sermon really challenged me to go at it with more thought....literally, meditation. He spoke on Psalm 63, and discussed the themes of finding, feeding, and following. One thing he mentioned in particular had to do with our disconnection as a culture with what restful meditation (on God's word) looks like. I figured adding a tiny bit of structure to my readings (i.e. pick up on one thing that jumps out at me from each passage and reflect on it) might be good. So, I also thought I ought to start from the beginning.
Well, I am sharing with you my reflection from today because I hope it will be encouraging to you, but it is also another plea for prayer that I will continue to believe it. Here is a quote from my journal:
"Today is Psalm 3. This is what strikes me about it today:
'I lay down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me."
I realize that the only reason I continue to breathe and have life is because the Lord wills it to be so. This is the very basic unit of His provision for me: the fact that I have any life at all is only because of His hand upholding me. Why would we not trust Him to take care of our daily needs for life--our food and shelter? It is only by His volition and grace that we live, and He will provide for us as long as He wants us to remain. And if He wills that we die, as Paul says, it is gain. What He wants for us is not our anxious efforts to make things happen and to figure out how we are going to make ends meet and cling to the things of earth. He wants our hearts, He wants us to fill ourselves up with Him, He wants us to follow Him (on a crazy adventure). Lead on, oh Lord."
If you were hungry for a recipe tonight, sorry--but I hope you found something more satisfying here.
August 13, 2007
our first guests
Tonight we are hosting the first guests to our new appartment: Amy and Anna. They are headed out west, and what better way to go than through the city of the Arch, gateway to the west!
And, what better time to try out a new recipe (I know that one is not supposed to try out new recipes on guests, but without fail, I do it over and over again--sometimes to disastrous conclusions, but not tonight! Tonight's recipe was very comforting, and went like this:
Savory Bread Pudding
1/2 an onion, chopped
5-8 mushrooms (depending on size--ours were rather large) sliced
1 head broccoli, slightly steamed ahead of time to barely soften and diced
1 loaf "stale" (dry) bread (we used sundried tomato bread from, you guessed it, Free Bread Friday
3 cups 1/2 and 1/2 (or some mix of milk, heavy cream, and 1/2 and 1/2 to add to 3 cups)
5 eggs, beaten
butter
salt and pepper
Pre-heat oven to 350. Soften the onion and mushroom pieces in butter or olive oil over medium heat, and remove to a bowl. Add broccoli pieces to bowl, and set aside. Chop bread into slightly larger than bite-sized pieces and swipe through softened butter (enough to coat one side of the bread). Place a layer of buttered bread pieces into the bottom of a souffle-style pan (I used a 3 quart stainless steel pot) that you have prepped by buttering on all sides to prevent sticking. After one layer of bread, add a layer of veggies. Alternate layers to just shy of the top of the pan (the last layer should be bread). Then, mix cream, eggs, salt and pepper (to taste) and pour over layers. Push the concoction down with the flat of your hand to ensure that all the bread is soaking in the custard.
Place in the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the custard has set. Allow to rest for 15 minutes, and serve.
This would be excellent with either parmesan grated overtop or a bechamel sauce (or cheesy, white sauce) which would make it perfectly rich for a complete meal. Try other ingredients in place of my suggestions, though I must say, the broccoli was excellent! Some ideas include cheese, ham, or other veggies (think of this like an easy quiche). Enjoy!
Oh, and by the way, got a TON of stuff done today, and a walk around campus with the girls, AND a picnic lunch all due to the grace of a slightly cooler day today! Thank you Lord for storms and the refreshing breeze the one last night brought us, for a time!
And, what better time to try out a new recipe (I know that one is not supposed to try out new recipes on guests, but without fail, I do it over and over again--sometimes to disastrous conclusions, but not tonight! Tonight's recipe was very comforting, and went like this:
Savory Bread Pudding
1/2 an onion, chopped
5-8 mushrooms (depending on size--ours were rather large) sliced
1 head broccoli, slightly steamed ahead of time to barely soften and diced
1 loaf "stale" (dry) bread (we used sundried tomato bread from, you guessed it, Free Bread Friday
3 cups 1/2 and 1/2 (or some mix of milk, heavy cream, and 1/2 and 1/2 to add to 3 cups)
5 eggs, beaten
butter
salt and pepper
Pre-heat oven to 350. Soften the onion and mushroom pieces in butter or olive oil over medium heat, and remove to a bowl. Add broccoli pieces to bowl, and set aside. Chop bread into slightly larger than bite-sized pieces and swipe through softened butter (enough to coat one side of the bread). Place a layer of buttered bread pieces into the bottom of a souffle-style pan (I used a 3 quart stainless steel pot) that you have prepped by buttering on all sides to prevent sticking. After one layer of bread, add a layer of veggies. Alternate layers to just shy of the top of the pan (the last layer should be bread). Then, mix cream, eggs, salt and pepper (to taste) and pour over layers. Push the concoction down with the flat of your hand to ensure that all the bread is soaking in the custard.
Place in the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the custard has set. Allow to rest for 15 minutes, and serve.
This would be excellent with either parmesan grated overtop or a bechamel sauce (or cheesy, white sauce) which would make it perfectly rich for a complete meal. Try other ingredients in place of my suggestions, though I must say, the broccoli was excellent! Some ideas include cheese, ham, or other veggies (think of this like an easy quiche). Enjoy!
Oh, and by the way, got a TON of stuff done today, and a walk around campus with the girls, AND a picnic lunch all due to the grace of a slightly cooler day today! Thank you Lord for storms and the refreshing breeze the one last night brought us, for a time!
August 11, 2007
Saturday night and everything is alright
Free bread Fridays means pizza Saturdays.
The seminary gets bread from a local backery (St. Louis Bread Co.--also known as Panera) on Mondays and Fridays at about 9pm after they have closed down. There has been a ton to choose from, and our family is about to gain 10lbs each with all the bagels, cookies, foccaccia, sour dough etc....
They use the foccaccia (which doesn't look like it is spelled right) for paninis, but I use them to make pizzas. I slice the loaves in half so that there is a nice open-face upon which to spread sauce (which soaks in to the crust this way--particularly nice with an olive oil base which becomes all crunchy and bruscetta-like). Then I put grated mozzerella, and to top them off we pull all the odds and ends out of the fridge and make about 4 different types of pizza out of them. Nice way to use left-overs.
Tonight's selection:
4 cheese/garlic/olive oil base with mushrooms, onions, bacon and a good grind of black pepper (chip's fave)
Mushroom and onion on tomato sauce base
olive oil base with roasted eggplant puree, feta, and kalamata olives
and another tomato-based pizza with onions, olives, and orange bell-peppers
If you think of it, please pray for our sleep--the girls have not been transitioning smoothly. We've had some good days, but we've had many rough nights. My throat is starting to feel as though I've got a little something coming on, and Macky is stir-crazy with all this heat. Murmur can't decide whether to nurse or not (again, the heat I expect). That just throws me for all sorts of loops, and what with still trying to find jobs, health insurance, and finish unpacking and organizing the last little bit, we are just exhausted. I must say that He is definitely showing us that He's got us in His hands. Pray that we would know that clearly and run to Him often...always.
good night.
The seminary gets bread from a local backery (St. Louis Bread Co.--also known as Panera) on Mondays and Fridays at about 9pm after they have closed down. There has been a ton to choose from, and our family is about to gain 10lbs each with all the bagels, cookies, foccaccia, sour dough etc....
They use the foccaccia (which doesn't look like it is spelled right) for paninis, but I use them to make pizzas. I slice the loaves in half so that there is a nice open-face upon which to spread sauce (which soaks in to the crust this way--particularly nice with an olive oil base which becomes all crunchy and bruscetta-like). Then I put grated mozzerella, and to top them off we pull all the odds and ends out of the fridge and make about 4 different types of pizza out of them. Nice way to use left-overs.
Tonight's selection:
4 cheese/garlic/olive oil base with mushrooms, onions, bacon and a good grind of black pepper (chip's fave)
Mushroom and onion on tomato sauce base
olive oil base with roasted eggplant puree, feta, and kalamata olives
and another tomato-based pizza with onions, olives, and orange bell-peppers
If you think of it, please pray for our sleep--the girls have not been transitioning smoothly. We've had some good days, but we've had many rough nights. My throat is starting to feel as though I've got a little something coming on, and Macky is stir-crazy with all this heat. Murmur can't decide whether to nurse or not (again, the heat I expect). That just throws me for all sorts of loops, and what with still trying to find jobs, health insurance, and finish unpacking and organizing the last little bit, we are just exhausted. I must say that He is definitely showing us that He's got us in His hands. Pray that we would know that clearly and run to Him often...always.
good night.
setting up house
Well, I am trying to get this thing together so I can keep in touch with people, but of course things are not going as smoothly as I had in mind....For some reason, email does not want to cooperate, and while I beat my head against that, I get further and further away from just sitting down and writing, which is what I've really wanted to do all day.
So, now that I am in knots and of no mind to write, I must do it anyway; at least to relieve a bit of this pressure building in my brain.
We have been in St. Louis now for just a bit over a week. The kitchen is unpacked and mostly organized. Our rooms are basically done, which is good since the girls really need their little nest to be free of chaos. It has been difficult for them both. Murmur was up at 3am 6 nights of 9, and of course woke up her sister, who climbed in bed with us. Macky, well, she has just been impossible. Of course my mom WOULD say a day before we were leaving town that she thought 2 was the worst age for a move. Great. Dear girl has been fighting with those who would be her new friends. You see, everyone (or at least 70% of the families) on campus have children our kiddos' ages. Probably half of them have exactly 2 kids exactly our kids' ages.
The family just downstairs from us, for example, has two girls, one will be 3 in November, the other just turned 1 this month. The mom and I plan on taking advantage of this proximity and do babysitting swap--which sounds great, as long as we can keep our two almost-3-year-olds from provoking one another the entire time....Hilarity, let me tell you.
In other news, I have discovered Trader Joe's, which may prove to be my new favorite grocer. Reminds me of Amazing Savings, only with a little more consistency, therefore a bit more expensive. But rather more like a discount GreenLife than anything else. Good stuff. I have also had a chance to so some odd work, which I'm about to go do when hubby returns. Nice to have a project to take me outside of the appartment, where things like emptying book boxes and writing meal plans and organizing clothes stare me in the face waiting to be completed. Ah, I must learn to stop sometimes....Still learning that one.
Well, one of the other things I'm going to try and do on this blog just for the fun is to include any recipes we may have made up or particularly enjoyed while being here. Today's is from last night's Indian meal, and is vegetarian:
Curried Spinach and Potato with Curd Cheese (this would be called something like "Aloo Sag Panir")
chop and saute 1 white or yellow onion over med heat in 6 tblspns vegetable oil until softened
add 1 tsp of a curry option (garam masala, or yellow curry for ideas. we used yellow curry which is turmeric based,
and i would highly recommend that choice) and cook for 2-5 minutes until very fragrant.
add 1lb potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2" pieces, salt to taste; stir well and cover, cook for 10 minutes
add 1lb chopped spinach (if frozen, try to completely thaw before adding, but not necessary) and cook until potatoes
are tender
now add about a cup of well-drained cottage cheese (easier than trying to find panir)--use a cheese cloth if you have
one, but not necessary and stir well.
My girls loved this. It is almost like an Indian version of creamed spinach, but the potatoes add a nice texture. Also, potatoes prepared like this are similar in size and texture to the Indian cheese called panir, while the flavor comes from the cottage cheese. Enjoy!
So, now that I am in knots and of no mind to write, I must do it anyway; at least to relieve a bit of this pressure building in my brain.
We have been in St. Louis now for just a bit over a week. The kitchen is unpacked and mostly organized. Our rooms are basically done, which is good since the girls really need their little nest to be free of chaos. It has been difficult for them both. Murmur was up at 3am 6 nights of 9, and of course woke up her sister, who climbed in bed with us. Macky, well, she has just been impossible. Of course my mom WOULD say a day before we were leaving town that she thought 2 was the worst age for a move. Great. Dear girl has been fighting with those who would be her new friends. You see, everyone (or at least 70% of the families) on campus have children our kiddos' ages. Probably half of them have exactly 2 kids exactly our kids' ages.
The family just downstairs from us, for example, has two girls, one will be 3 in November, the other just turned 1 this month. The mom and I plan on taking advantage of this proximity and do babysitting swap--which sounds great, as long as we can keep our two almost-3-year-olds from provoking one another the entire time....Hilarity, let me tell you.
In other news, I have discovered Trader Joe's, which may prove to be my new favorite grocer. Reminds me of Amazing Savings, only with a little more consistency, therefore a bit more expensive. But rather more like a discount GreenLife than anything else. Good stuff. I have also had a chance to so some odd work, which I'm about to go do when hubby returns. Nice to have a project to take me outside of the appartment, where things like emptying book boxes and writing meal plans and organizing clothes stare me in the face waiting to be completed. Ah, I must learn to stop sometimes....Still learning that one.
Well, one of the other things I'm going to try and do on this blog just for the fun is to include any recipes we may have made up or particularly enjoyed while being here. Today's is from last night's Indian meal, and is vegetarian:
Curried Spinach and Potato with Curd Cheese (this would be called something like "Aloo Sag Panir")
chop and saute 1 white or yellow onion over med heat in 6 tblspns vegetable oil until softened
add 1 tsp of a curry option (garam masala, or yellow curry for ideas. we used yellow curry which is turmeric based,
and i would highly recommend that choice) and cook for 2-5 minutes until very fragrant.
add 1lb potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2" pieces, salt to taste; stir well and cover, cook for 10 minutes
add 1lb chopped spinach (if frozen, try to completely thaw before adding, but not necessary) and cook until potatoes
are tender
now add about a cup of well-drained cottage cheese (easier than trying to find panir)--use a cheese cloth if you have
one, but not necessary and stir well.
My girls loved this. It is almost like an Indian version of creamed spinach, but the potatoes add a nice texture. Also, potatoes prepared like this are similar in size and texture to the Indian cheese called panir, while the flavor comes from the cottage cheese. Enjoy!
August 10, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)