Stuff I’ve Read:
- Menter farmstead a historical site
I have a Google Alert feed set up to notify me whenever a new webpage containing the word “Menter” is catalogued by Google. Recently, I discovered that the Menter farmstead, where my grandpa grew up, is now a registered historical place. Who’da known? - What is the Gospel?
“Just like the word love, we use the word gospel at times freely and careless, rarely asking and answering the question, ‘what is the gospel?’
…
It was on that day that I started a journey to absorb everything I could on the subject of the gospel. I approached the question, ‘what is the gospel?’ with fresh eyes and an open heart. I wanted to be awakened again to the radical scandalous grace of God and refreshed by his ferocious love. All of this happened and more.”
This article reminds me of a friend of mine who teaches at a Catholic high school. Beth once gave her students an assignment based on something she’d heard at a morning mass. “What is the gospel?” she asked. She kept asking that question regularly throughout the semester and included it as extra credit on her final exam. Turns out, despite the priest exulting that the advantage of going to a Catholic school was “we get to talk about the gospel daily”, not a single student could describe what the gospel was. This, of course, gave my friend opportunity to share with her students what the gospel really is.
Books added to my TBR list:
- And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (reviewed by Jennifer at 5M4B)
I think I have all three of Hosseini’s books on TBR list now–and I have yet to read any. Shame, shame. Someday… - The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb (reviewed by Nancy at 5M4B)
I always think I’m not a mystery/suspense-type person, but then I read one of these reviews. This story is told partly in the present, partly as a fictionalized manuscript of past events. The format intrigues me–although the “creep you out” aspect may be a bit much for me. We’ll see.
Recipes Tried:
- Springtime Frittata (from Family Table as published on Serious Eats)
This was a very nice Frittata–and it does seem super versatile. Of course, I changed some things. I kept the potato peel on the potato, used Spinach instead of Swiss Chard, skipped the parsley, and used freeze dried chives instead of fresh. I also used 10 whole eggs instead of nine whole eggs plus three yolks and decreased the salt to just the first teaspoon. Despite the decrease in salt, I still thought the finished result was a bit too salty. Maybe the Gruyere adds enough salt that we shouldn’t add any more? My husband thought the whole thing could use some more cheese (but I happen to know that cheese is really his first love, so I tend to pooh-pooh his “more cheese please” requests–you can judge for yourself.) - Homemade Barbecue Sauce (from Ree Drummond via Food Network)
We replaced the Chipotle peppers with 1 tsp of Ground Chipotle Pepper and added about a half can of tomato paste. I thought it was pretty good, but it wasn’t Daniel’s favorite. We’re still searching for a good recipe that he really loves. - Asparagus and Tomatoes (from Miracle Skinny Drops)
I didn’t check this website out thoroughly–so don’t take my using their recipe as a recommendation for the site or the product–but this asparagus dish is easy and yummy as promised. I used olive oil instead of coconut or MCT and diced a whole tomato instead of using grape tomatoes. Still, it was pretty decent. - Enchilada Casserole
When I got to making the enchiladas I’d been planning, I realized that while both the hamburger and the enchilada sauce were thawed, I’d forgotten one important ingredient: tortillas. But we had a game night to get to so I couldn’t take the extra time to go shopping. Instead, I made a casserole. I mixed my hamburger/onion/green pepper/black olive mix with some homemade yogurt cheese (from a batch of yogurt that went a bit sour). I spread that on the bottom of a 9×13, spread my enchilada sauce on top, and covered it all with cheese. Then I whipped up some cornmeal biscuits, added a little extra liquid so they’d be droppable, and dropped the biscuits on top. I baked the whole mix at 375 until the biscuits were done (about 20 minutes) and…wouldn’t you know? We ended up liking it.
Projects Done:
- Sock Monkey (from Craft Passion)
We made a pink and gray Sock Monkey for Daniel’s niece’s first birthday. The cutting out was a cinch, the stuffing rather not. Our final product ended up a bit weird, but okay enough that I’d try again. H seemed to enjoy chewing on it (of course.) - Tanagram Type Puzzle (from There is Beauty all Around)
Daniel and I made this game as a gift for his niece’s fourth birthday. I cut and sewed, Daniel turned and designed–and within a week, we had 42 game pieces and about a dozen sample designs in a glossy booklet for our niece to try. I hope she enjoys it–Daniel and I sure enjoyed playing with it before we gave it to her :-)
