Picks of the Week 1.28.11


The Secret of Invincible Joy - Desiring God (Jonathan's pick)
Developing a Simple Schedule and Routine - Passionate Homemaking (doesn't apply to me at the moment, but I'm saving this for later)


Have a good weekend!

Okay, this was way too easy and delicious, I have to share. We're running low on peanut butter so I decided to try making my own. I put 3 parts peanuts, 2 parts almonds, and 1 part walnuts (because I'm not very fond of their flavor, but they're so dang good for you) in the food processor. I let it spin for 45 seconds until it looked like coarse sand. Then I added a sprinkle of cinnamon, two sprinkles of sea salt, and a small squeeze of honey and let it spin for 90 seconds until it was smooth and creamy. Voila! So cheap and delicious and nutritious!

Picks of the Week 1.21.11


True Beauty - Voice of the Martyrs blog
Red Quinoa and Black Bean Vegetable Salad - Oh She Glows (might try making a batch of this for work lunches)
Today - 8,517 Miles from Home (Our friend's adoption blog, hopefully she doesn't mind me sharing...)


We have two dinner parties this weekend; one with the Littaus and the other for Pete's birthday. I'm going to bring a sourdough chocolate cake to the Littaus house. It's supposed to be amazing when it turns out right, so we'll see how it goes. 

I just realized I never shared how my chicken turned out. It made for some great dinners during the week and a lot of broth. I froze some for later and used the large jar to make soup. Definitely going to make a habit of this.

This weekend I made some sourdough pancakes and crackers. They turned out great. I was pretty surprised. Jonathan and I both agreed that the pancakes didn't even really need syrup or butter on them because they were so flavorful. I sliced one with a pizza cutter and have been munching on pieces of it for snacks ever since, mmm. And the crackers taste a lot like wheat thins. If any of you are pondering sourdough, I encourage you to go for it! If I can keep it alive this long, anyone can!

Picks of the Week 1.14.11


Eating Seasonally in Winter - Simple Organic
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Chews - Oh She Glows (but I'd probably use raw honey instead of brown rice syrup)
Guarding Against Technology Time-Wasters - Passionate Homemaking


We had a pleasant week and are looking forward to the three day weekend. Much love to all!

I would like to introduce you to the newest lifeform in our household. He is 24 hours old and is already strong and energetic, I can tell he will be a big help to me in the kitchen. He is a nice little 8 ounce blob of flour, water, wild yeast, and lactobacilli. We call him S.D. (pronounced "Sid"). Here's his first baby picture:

Okay, enough with the nerdiness. I started a sourdough starter last night and so far it is working great. I have learned so many interesting facts and I've only just begun. I am astonished by God's provision for us in creating happy little wild yeast and lactobicilli that float through the air available for anyone to catch them in a jar and feed them and later use them to make delicious bread items. It's such a thrill to see the little bubbles form! 

My first roast chicken just came out of the oven and it looks delish. I'm going to try my hand at chicken stock tomorrow. My 2011 To Do List is off to a good start!

Picks of the Week

One of the blogs that I like has a post each weekend called "Weekend Links" that shares a list of posts she read during the week that she liked. I think it's a great idea. One of the fabulous elements of the blog world is sharing knowledge simply for the benefit of others. So, I want to start my own list that I will call "Picks of the Week". I will use it to share a handful of articles that I found clever, inspiring, handy, or just worth sharing! Maybe it will allow me to give back to the bloggers out there that I glean so much from by getting them some more attention. And I hope you will find what I share enjoyable if you have a moment of downtime. 

Here it goes:

A Heart for the Poor - Sit a Spell

In One Word, 2011 Will Be About... - Compassion International
Learning the Value of Stuff - Simple Mom (via CNN)

Five Ingredients of Smart Online Commerce - Seth Godin

2010 was a year for creating. As I look through my posts over the past year, I realize that a lot of them include recipes or projects. I've heard many times that one way we can understand the heart of God is through creating. We gain deeper knowledge of our Creator when we create. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

We've learned a lot this year about real food and natural living. Some might even think we're a bit "earth muffin", but, oh well. I have had a lot of fun in my little kitchen laboratory and even whipped up batches of granola and chapstick for Christmas gifts. I'm excited to learn about sourdough in 2011 and plan to start roasting whole chickens and make my own stock.

We're also excited about being done with school. This means 2011 will be a year for reading and learning about things other than advertising and accounting.

We had a lot of fun in Oregon for Christmas. We are so thankful for the people who let us stay in their homes and for all the people we had a chance to see. It was the usual action-packed trip, but we enjoyed all of it. We were in Oregon from the 23rd to the 1st and saw the Cunninghams, Gowinses, Changs, Verings, Carters, Millers, Wrights, Densmores, Albers, Bartletts, Chuinards, Kammerzelts, and also Yoonie, Matt, Grandpa Raivio, and Jeff and Julia. We love our friends and family so much! The Lord has been so gracious to us for yet another year!