After stumbling across Jen Wilkin's blog some months ago, I have been pleased to find that her writing is always edifying, honest, and not without eloquence. She happens to live here in Dallas, and although I've never met her, I would be glad to learn a writing/blogging tips from her. I found her recent post called "Partially Hydrogenated Bible Study" to be particularly insightful. I love the parallels she makes between our physical diet and our spiritual diet. So check our her wonderful post and ask yourself: are you being nutritionally satisfied in your study in the Word?
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Food on Friday: Dinner on Average
Dinner on a week night is usually planned ahead of time. I know roughly what I'm going to make in a given week, and buy my ingredients accordingly, but it often changes and I give myself the liberty to modify on a whim. Recently, Chance and I have been eating beef tacos (YUM!) once a week, but after both of us had some inconvenient symptoms we both decided that we needed to lay off the red meat for a while and eat more vegetarian dinners. I get a lot of recipe ideas from The Gluten-Free Goddess and other foodie blogs. Now when I propose to my husband the idea of making a new meal, he usually responds with a mixture of open-mindedness and reluctancy. Such was last night.
I had been talking about making this quinoa recipe for dinner and when I mentioned it again to Chance he was a little less than enthusiastic. But nonetheless he was willing to try it, so after I got home from work I threw some quinoa in the rice cooker (best investment ever!) sliced some peppers and onions and put those on a baking sheet. While the peppers were roasting/grilling in the oven, I chopped up some scallions and parsley to throw in the quinoa. When the quinoa was cooked, I mixed in my add-ins along with a lemon's worth of lemon juice and some salt. Voila! Our meal was almost ready to be consumed. [While I was cooking, Chance was reading.. not sure what was going through his mind at this point, probably just hunger]. I dished up the quinoa onto two plates, along with the roasted peppers and onions, then put hummus and pesto on the table to be added if one so desired.
I put Chance's plate out first and as he took his first bite, his reaction was well... not that impressed. He made some funny facial expressions and said, "How much lemon did you put in this?" and I responded with a surprised, "Not that much!" After two or three more bites he calmed down and began to actually enjoy the dinner. I sat down and we both dove in. Hummus on roasted or grilled veggies is a-mazing, just so you know. I asked Chance what he thought of the meal (by the way, I had told him before we ate that if he didn't like dinner I wouldn't make it again). His response was that it was good. Then a few bites later the meal was "really good." Then a whole two helpings later, "That was an excellent meal Kathryn!" I love when he loves my cooking, it brings me such joy. So I would say that dinner on average, especially when I am making new recipes, always goes a little something like that.
Last night I also whipped up a soup for us to have for lunch today. Black bean soup to be exact. I have never made black bean soup using the food processor before, but now that I have I am totally in love with the concept. I used two recipes (here and here too) as my inspiration and then kind of just did my own thing. This was my recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth or water
2 cans of black beans, drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
2 tsp. cumin (more or less to taste)
1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
Some onion powder
(if I had had some cilantro, I'd have added about 1/4 cup chopped, but it was good without it too)
Directions:
-Combine all of the above ingredients in the food processor until blended thoroughly.
-In a medium pot on the stove, cook 6 slices of bacon (hardwood smoked was great!) that has been chopped into small pieces. Cook through. Add your soup mixture from the food processor to the pot and heat on medium-low until it begins to bubble.
Mmmm enjoy! This was so easy.. I am going to start making all kinds of bean soups in the food processor! I hope you enjoy your Friday :)
 |
| Mine wasn't this pretty, but still tasty! |
I put Chance's plate out first and as he took his first bite, his reaction was well... not that impressed. He made some funny facial expressions and said, "How much lemon did you put in this?" and I responded with a surprised, "Not that much!" After two or three more bites he calmed down and began to actually enjoy the dinner. I sat down and we both dove in. Hummus on roasted or grilled veggies is a-mazing, just so you know. I asked Chance what he thought of the meal (by the way, I had told him before we ate that if he didn't like dinner I wouldn't make it again). His response was that it was good. Then a few bites later the meal was "really good." Then a whole two helpings later, "That was an excellent meal Kathryn!" I love when he loves my cooking, it brings me such joy. So I would say that dinner on average, especially when I am making new recipes, always goes a little something like that.
Last night I also whipped up a soup for us to have for lunch today. Black bean soup to be exact. I have never made black bean soup using the food processor before, but now that I have I am totally in love with the concept. I used two recipes (here and here too) as my inspiration and then kind of just did my own thing. This was my recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth or water
2 cans of black beans, drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
2 tsp. cumin (more or less to taste)
1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
Some onion powder
(if I had had some cilantro, I'd have added about 1/4 cup chopped, but it was good without it too)
Directions:
-Combine all of the above ingredients in the food processor until blended thoroughly.
-In a medium pot on the stove, cook 6 slices of bacon (hardwood smoked was great!) that has been chopped into small pieces. Cook through. Add your soup mixture from the food processor to the pot and heat on medium-low until it begins to bubble.
Mmmm enjoy! This was so easy.. I am going to start making all kinds of bean soups in the food processor! I hope you enjoy your Friday :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Jules, Greek Words, and Etc.
Wow, I haven't posted in a while, sorry. But today I am resolved because I have a million thoughts spiraling around in my brain and I need to just write them all down. Thankfully, that's one of the reasons I have a blog. A few major things that I'm thinking about: pregnancy, Hudson (our baby), and fear.
Yesterday, I had my 21-week (going on 22 tomorrow) sonogram with our sonographer whose name is Jules. I got to know her a bit better yesterday and I love her! Chance didn't join me for this sono since it was just a check-up, so her and I had some good time to chat. She is a wonderfully cheerful young lady, and when she mentioned she had just attended a young adults' retreat we got to talking about church and community. It was really neat to found out that she is mentored by a woman from our church who works for the DPRC (Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center) where Jules also volunteers! As we looked up at the screen at shy (he won't ever show us his face!), little Hudson's body, I asked her if one reason we can see babies' organs so well is because their skin is translucent. She commented on how amazing God's creation is, and I agreed. It was a blessing to share a mutual understanding about the life of the one in my belly with a person so gifted in what she does! [Note: she confirmed that Hudson is still DEFINITELY a boy!]
Secondly, Chance and I have been throwing around some pretty awesome Greek words lately, my favorite being κοιλία (pronounced: "koilia"). It means WOMB, or belly! I think it'd be a pretty girl's name. I feel Hudson kicking all the time in my belly, which is such a sweet reminder that he is still in my tummy. His movements are probably my favorite part about the second trimester. I just love being able to actually feel him in there!
Fear. I have had a lot of it lately. Mostly my fears are of the unknown. I have boiled down my fear to a lack of trusting God. I realize that instead of trusting in His purposes, I am trusting in circumstances. I am fearful about labor, delivery, the uncertainty of how things will go, his health, recovery, etc. The list goes on. I have had to make it a practice to stop my trail of thoughts and focus on facts like: "God is good", "God is sovereign", "God is in control". I am thankful that God's Word tells us and resassures us in our moments of fear and doubt, that these things are true.
I love the Psalms and am always drawn back to them when I am having fearful or anxious thoughts. Psalms 56, 62, and 139 are just a few that have been constant reminders of the trustworthiness of God, the greatness of God, and the omniscience of God. I have been able to rest in what I do not know because I am confident that God does know. He has planned all the details from the intricacies of my baby's growth to the days of my baby's life. This morning I prayed that the Lord would "Search me and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!" (Ps. 139:23) He has been answering this prayer by first showing me my fear and then comforting me in it as well. After reading a terribly sad story on The Gospel Coalition of a couple who lost their first baby boy (named Haddon), I was almost in tears this morning. But this women's testimony of her trust in God's good and gracious purposes in her and her husband's life, through the loss of their baby, was awe-inspiring. Our God is not only good and gracious, but worthy to be trusted with every detail of our lives.
So as I contemplate what the next 4 months of pregnancy will hold, I am choosing to surrender it all to the Lord: who searches me, who knows me, who is well acquainted with all of my ways, who knows my thoughts from afar, who hems me in behind and before, who lays his hand upon me, whose presence I cannot flee from, and whose right hand I am constantly being held by. "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." (Psalm 139:14)
Secondly, Chance and I have been throwing around some pretty awesome Greek words lately, my favorite being κοιλία (pronounced: "koilia"). It means WOMB, or belly! I think it'd be a pretty girl's name. I feel Hudson kicking all the time in my belly, which is such a sweet reminder that he is still in my tummy. His movements are probably my favorite part about the second trimester. I just love being able to actually feel him in there!
Fear. I have had a lot of it lately. Mostly my fears are of the unknown. I have boiled down my fear to a lack of trusting God. I realize that instead of trusting in His purposes, I am trusting in circumstances. I am fearful about labor, delivery, the uncertainty of how things will go, his health, recovery, etc. The list goes on. I have had to make it a practice to stop my trail of thoughts and focus on facts like: "God is good", "God is sovereign", "God is in control". I am thankful that God's Word tells us and resassures us in our moments of fear and doubt, that these things are true.
I love the Psalms and am always drawn back to them when I am having fearful or anxious thoughts. Psalms 56, 62, and 139 are just a few that have been constant reminders of the trustworthiness of God, the greatness of God, and the omniscience of God. I have been able to rest in what I do not know because I am confident that God does know. He has planned all the details from the intricacies of my baby's growth to the days of my baby's life. This morning I prayed that the Lord would "Search me and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!" (Ps. 139:23) He has been answering this prayer by first showing me my fear and then comforting me in it as well. After reading a terribly sad story on The Gospel Coalition of a couple who lost their first baby boy (named Haddon), I was almost in tears this morning. But this women's testimony of her trust in God's good and gracious purposes in her and her husband's life, through the loss of their baby, was awe-inspiring. Our God is not only good and gracious, but worthy to be trusted with every detail of our lives.
So as I contemplate what the next 4 months of pregnancy will hold, I am choosing to surrender it all to the Lord: who searches me, who knows me, who is well acquainted with all of my ways, who knows my thoughts from afar, who hems me in behind and before, who lays his hand upon me, whose presence I cannot flee from, and whose right hand I am constantly being held by. "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." (Psalm 139:14)
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