Picks of the Week 2.25.11


*I skipped last week so this covers two weeks*


If Your Toes are Touching the Edge of that Cliff - Sit A Spell
Loosen the Grip of "More Stuff" - Small Notebook
Five Simple Recipes for Homemade Pancake Syrup - Simple Bites
Nine Essential Steps for a Home Business that Works - Simple Mom

I guess I'll do a Tahoe post later, but I wanted to write about our trip to Hume Lake. We went this past weekend from Friday to Monday with our church's youth group (and 1,000 other kids from around California). Eight kids from our church made a decision to follow Christ/recommitted to follow Christ which is awesome. I forgot how renewing it is to be around people for whom the gospel is resonating for the first time. 


There was a ton of fresh, beautiful snow. Activities included broom hockey tournaments, boxsled races, snowball fights, and other wild behavior. It was really a great time for the kids to get away for some fun and some depth.


Here we are at a broom hockey game, followed by a photo of the gorgeous view:

Also, Jonathan turned the big 3-0 yesterday! I can't believe it! We got some tasty dinner from the Ginger Cafe and I made a chocolate sourdough cake with coffee frosting to bring to home group. I'm throwing him a party on Sunday night at a popular restaurant in Palo Alto with a bunch of our friends. The place is known for their burgers and even more so for their milkshakes :). He's such a fantastic husband and friend to all!

Picks of the Week 2.11.11


An Alarming Trend: The Illiteracy of Boys - Randy Alcorn
At Least Be as Smart as a Bush - Desiring God
Rustic Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Cake - Oh She Glows


Oops, this is a bit late. We went to Lake Tahoe this past weekend. Pictures soon to follow!

The weather was gorgeous and temperatures were in the 70's this weekend. Not your typical February day in most parts of the country. But Jonathan has been sick with a cold since Friday, so I made chicken noodle soup on Saturday.

I bought a pound and a half of happy, cage free chicken legs. I put them in my nice big strainer that fits in my nice big pot and covered them with cold water and a tablespoon-ish of white vinegar so all the great nutrients would come out of the bones. I let that sit for 30 minutes while I cut up four carrots, three celery, four cloves of garlic, and two onions. I put the ends and other bits, a whole onion quartered, and a bay leaf into the pot and added more water until they were just covered. I brought it to a boil and then reduced it to a simmer and partially covered it, letting it simmer for about three hours. I continued dicing the veggies and stored them in a container in the fridge for later. After two hours passed, I removed the chicken legs and placed them on a cutting board. I used a fork to pull all the meat off the bone (it pretty much fell off) and returned the bones to the pot. I diced the chicken and put it in a container in the fridge for later. After three hours had passed, I turned off the heat and let the pot sit for a few minutes. Then I took the pot over to the sink, removed the strainer and placed it in the sink to cool and later discard. My delicious broth was ready, I returned the pot to the stove and turned the heat on to medium. In a pan, I sauteed the veggies I had diced in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil until they were tender, then I put them in the pot. I added about 8 ounces of wide egg noodles to the pot, stirring occasionally until they were soft. Then I added the chicken, and sea salt, pepper, cumin, and parsley to taste. 

Yum yum! I think it healed him up! We had it again for lunch today too. And I have managed to not get sick, though that could be in part due to making more elderberry syrup and taking cod liver oil every other day.

Even though he was sick, we still went to a salsa dancing class, went for a hike, took the dog to the park, and went to a Super Bowl party. A pretty good weekend all in all.

I also forgot to report that Sid the sourdough is doing well. A week ago I decided to switch him to the "dormant lifestyle" where he lives in the fridge instead of being fed twice a day. Once a week I just take him out 24 hours before I want to cook with him, feed him twice (once every twelve hours) and then make something delicious. Totally do-able!

Hope everyone is safe and warm this weekend!

Picks of the Week 2.4.11


Staying Motivated to Exercise - Keeper of the Home
Powerful Testimony of a North Korean Christian - Voice of the Martyrs
Roasted Chicken and Root Vegetables - Simple Bites
Finding Safer Products - Simple Organic


It's goooorgeous weather here these days and the cherry blossoms have started to bloom. My favorite time of year in the Bay Area! Have a deep breath, fresh air weekend!