Tandoori Chicken and Mango Lassi Recipes

These are quick and easy recipes for tandoori chicken and mango lassi. I buy a lot of whole chickens and like to have something in my pantry that I can use to mix it up.

I find most of my Indian ingredients at Saagar Groceries in Kirkland. The owners are very friendly and helpful. On Saturdays, they sell homemade warm samosas and baklava which are unbelievable. They recently switched Tandoori pastes brands from Deep to Laxmi. The brands have different spices and tastes, but I like them both.

Quick Tandoori Chicken

1 Whole Chicken
1 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek
1/2 cup Tandoori Paste
Sea Salt
Lemon

1. Spatchcock the chicken (Cut the back out of the whole chicken with kitchen scissors so it will lie flat.) I freeze the backbone because its great for making stock.
2. Remove all the skin from chicken.
3. Score breast and thighs so the marinade can get further.
2. Mix tandoori paste with yogurt and cover the chicken in it.
3. Marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours to overnight.
4. Lay the chicken flat on a broiler pan. I sprinkled a little sea salt and pepper on top. Broil for 40 minutes or until internal temp is 165 degrees. Depending on how hot your broiler is you can optionally cook at 400 degrees instead.
5. Squeeze fresh lemon on it if you like.

Mango Lassi

1 cup Mango Pulp
1 cup Plain Yogurt, preferably Greek
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbs. Rose Water (optional)

Blend all ingredients and enjoy!

Amazon Fresh Review and Homemade Cleaners

I have been wanting to try out Amazon Fresh for a while, so when I got a $50 off $100 coupon from Amazon Mom I got the motivation I needed. I have also seen random promotion codes for this same deal for first time customers. If you can get 50% off, I would definitely jump on the deal.

The prices were pretty close to what you would find in a typical grocery store without any sales. First I purchased items I needed to fill out my meals for the week. Shipping is free if you order over $75 and I was able to schedule my order for the next day.

The produce was very fresh and good quality. If you have the mentality its 50% off, then the prices were very good and beat most sales in store. Wyatt loves pork, so I got two 10 oz. french cut bone in center cut pork chops. It is actually hard to find this cut in stores in Seattle. We had these grilled for dinner last night and they were superb.

My 7th Generation stockpile was dwindling from the last Fred Meyer 50% off sale and I have had making my own cleaners on my to do list for about 2 years. I ordered Castile Soap and Borax from Amazon Fresh. The prices were actually cheaper than any I have seen in store. I plan to use the recipes for all purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, mopping liquid, etc from the Wholesome Mommy blog. She even has labels with the ratios you can print out. My Whole Living magazine had a recipe for DIY Sugar Scrub this month. I am a bath person, so I bought raw sugar and lemons to try out this for myself!

Finally if you need to fill out the $100, the wine prices are really good. Several local wineries from Woodinville are featured on the site. I really like going to the Novelty Hill/Januik winery in Woodinville for tastings and they have affordable delicious wine. The Novelty Hill Royal Slope Red is only $11.99, which is the cheapest I have seen it priced. Overall, I think Amazon Fresh is a great option to have on those weeks when you don't want to venture out to the store.

Book Log

Wyatt suggested I start a book log that I can add to in one place, so this will be it. I often don't get through my inter-library loans in the 3 weeks allotted, so I need to keep track of the page I left off as well. My husband has his book list here.

The King County Library lets you elect to keep track of your check out history if you set it up online. It is helpful for keeping track of books as well. I welcome recommendations for reading!




2012

1. Holcomb, Justin and Lindsey, Rid of My Disgrace, 288 pgs

2. Driscoll, Mark and Grace, Real Marriage, 256 pgs

3. Keller, Timothy, The Meaning of Marriage, 288 pgs

2011

1. Rockness, Miriam Huffman, A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter, 232/368 pgs
2. Spurgeon, Charles, Come Ye Children, 160 pgs
3. Ryle, J.C. The Duties of Parents, 34 pgs
4. Oberlander, June R., Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, 338 pgs - In Progress
5. Pitamic, Maja, Teach Me To Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child, 165 pgs
6. Bauer, Susan Wise and Wise, Jessie, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, 864 pgs - In Progress
7. Tripp, Tedd, Instructing a Child's Heart, 43/200 pgs
8. Mandryk, Jason, Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation, 978 pgs - Ongoing
9. Case, Andrew, Prayers of an Excellent Wife, 239 pgs - Ongoing
10. Hardage, Rachel, RealSimple: 865 New Uses for Old Things, an encyclopedpia of innovation ideas for everyday items, 180 pgs
11. Bluedorn, Harvey, Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style, 637 pgs,
12. Dodds, Elisabeth, Marriage to a Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, 264 pgs
13. Eldred, Gary, 106 Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them), 320 pgs
14 . Holden, Edith, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, 1906, 176 pgs
15. Marshall, Collin and Payne, Tony, The Trellis and the Vine, 196 pgs
16. Wilson, Elizabeth, Books Children Love- A Guide to the Best Children's Literature, 300 pgs
17. Lewis, C.S., The Abolition of Man, 128 pgs
18. Machen, John Gresham, Education, Christianity, and the State, 181 pgs
19. Simkin, Penny, 4th Edition Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn, 479 pgs
20. Holden, Edith, The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady, 191 pgs
21. Abbott, John, The Mother at Home, 184 pgs.
22. Gaskin, Ina May, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, 315 pgs



2010

1. Hunt, Gladys, Honey for a Child's Heart, 256 pgs
2. Bennett, Arthur, Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, 223 pgs
3. Trotter, Lilias, Parables of the Cross, 48 pgs
4. Trotter, Lilias, A Blossom in the Dessert: Reflections of Faith in the Art and Writings of Lilias Trotter, 256 pgs
5. Carmichael, Amy, You are My Hiding Place, 128 pgs
6. Wilson, Nancy, The Fruit of Her Hands: Respect and the Christian Woman, 109 pgs
7. Wilson, Nancy, Praise Her in the Gates: The Call of Christian Motherhood, 105 pgs
8. Wilson, Douglas, Reforming Marriage, 144 pgs
9. Wilson, Douglas, Standing on the Promises: A Handbook of Biblical Childrearing, 168 pgs
10. Elliott, Elizabeth, A Path Through Suffering: Discovering the Relationship between God's Mercy and Our Pain, 201 pgs
11. Tripp, Tedd, Shepherding a Child's Heart, 211 pgs
12. Tolkien, J.R.R., The Silmarillion, 35/365 pgs
13. Murkoff, Heidi, What to Expect the First Year, 806 pgs
14. Murkoff, Heidi, What to Expect the Toddler Years, 928 pgs
15. Ezzo, Gary, On Becoming Babywise- Parenting Your Pre-Toddler Five to Fifteen Months Book Two, 135 pgs
16. Farro, Elvira, Montessori on a Limited Budget, 247 pgs
17. Wilson, Douglas, The Case for Classical Christian Education, 256 pgs
18. Chattin-McNicholas, John, The Montessori Controversy, 240 pgs
19. Keller, Thomas, The French Laundry Cookbook, 336 pgs
20. Korte, Diana, The VBAC Companion, 208 pgs
21. Ruhlman, Michael, Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, 272 pgs

Botanical Blooms for a Winter's Day

This blog is mainly to catalog a project I have been working on, but is rather long since there is a bit of a rabbit trail that led to its inception.

Several months ago, I was reading Elisabeth Elliot's A Path Through Suffering and was really struck most by these botanical quotes from Lilias Trotter she used to drive the book. Who is Lilias Trotter you might wonder as I did? I found out she was an gifted artist and Christian missionary in Algeria.

I checked out several of Lilias Trotter's books through Inter library loan and the library even bought Parables of the Cross for me! Some of the books have her artwork of botanical watercolors with quotes that are exquisite. I often use her books in my daily devotion because they elevate the soul. For me, its like listening to opera while cleaning.

Ms. Trotter's work inspired me to pick back up calligraphy and flower painting that I had learned years ago. I was on the hunt to find some other botanical art for reference. By chance, as I was looking for a new yearly planner, I saw a planner LeMoyne's Botanical Watercolours at Half Price Books.

I was intrigued by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues after reading a sonnet by him included in the calendar. I will print it at the end because it falls in the category of soul elevating material. He was a Huguenot (French Calvinist) that lived during the 16th century. Wyatt has Huguenot ancestors, so that was a nice discovery. In addition to these beautiful botanical watercolours, he also traveled to the New World to catalog life there. I haven't had a lot of luck locating other books documenting his work, so I am quite happy with this serendipitous find.

Since I purchased a laminator from Amazon for a wonderful price- $17, I decided to use it to preserve the prints. Zoraida needed some new visual material for her bedroom wall, so I thought to hang the prints there for the meantime. I mounted the prints on a gold cardboard to make them sturdier. I also wrote the plant's name and Latin name in calligraphy on the back to be used for reference art cards once removed from the wall.

A large number of the water colours are flowers and fruit with a few herbs and vegetables. Zoraida likes the insects included on several of them since she is into buzzing bees lately. She loves to lay and look at them, so I hope they will be some inspiration to her.

Thought for the Day: Sonnet

Discordant harmony and balance movement,
Winter and Summer, Autumn, reborn Spring,
Renewing her sweet scents and colouring,
Join in the praise of God's unfailing judgment.

This loving God gives every argument
To look for zeal from each created thing,
To bless His Name eternally and sing
All He has made in earth and firmament.

Above all He made man with head held high
To watch each morning as new light arrives
And decorates earth's breast with varied flowers.

There is no fruit, or grain, or grub, or fly
That does not preach one God, the least flower gives
Pledge of a Spring with everlasting colours.

Jacques Le Moyne, 1585

Honey for a Child's Heart: A Recommendation

I just finished reading Honey for a Child's Heart (The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life) by Gladys Hunt. It is a quick read, about 4 hours, and very encouraging. I believe I first heard of the book from Nancy Wilson's blog Femina . She had recommended it for a book on books and also linked to Ms. Hunts current blog by the same name Honey for a Child's Heart. I link to her post on Christmas books since that is timely.

I finished this book after two evenings of reading on the couch with Wyatt. It was nice to dialogue on our own experiences of books from our childhood. We had quite different experiences with books. This book brought back many fond memories of countless hours at the library and reading.

Honey for a Child's Heart advocates books as being a fundamental part of the family. She recounts how reading books aloud was a daily part of her family. I was quite impressed that her family read the Bible every meal (3 times a day) and additionally read other books aloud each evening. This is a traditional that was passed down through generations of her family.

She includes a chapter on "Making Decisions About Books". She emphasizes that there are so many good books at each maturity level that you don't want to rush your child into reading higher level books just to see how advanced she is in reading. She also discusses building a child's library and the influence that owned books have over ones just borrowed from the library. Seattle has exceptional second hand book stores and thrift stores, so we have been fortunate to build up our own library. One of our favorite family activities is going to the bookstore.

Ms. Hunt includes a large reading list at the end of book that is helpful for choosing good books. I had fun going through it and reminiscing on some of my childhood favorites. Wyatt uses a reading list that has been very helpful while hunting at Half Price Books. I recently brought home several books I found at Goodwill by B.B. Warfield including one missing from his reading list. Wyatt called me the Proverbs 31 woman for the rest of the day, I don't think anything else would have made him happier!

Encouragement from the book: The choice will sometimes be between a clean house with television as morning baby-sitter or a partially clean house, no telephone conversations, and a half-hour of sharing a picture book.

Things I am in Love with Right Now

Fried Capers

Wyatt and I had a date a while back at the Barking Frog restaurant. The meal was somewhat memorable, a pork belly appetizer, short rib entree, something chocolate for dessert. The thing I remember most was the bread served with this sun dried tomato jam and fried capers.

I had never thought to fry capers, but have a large Costco jar in my fridge that I only used to sprinkle on fish. I am slightly obsessed with frying capers whenever I want a salty fix now. The jar is nearly empty, yikes! I also have a Costco jar of sun dried tomatoes that I whip into a quick jam. The capers get crispy and hollow when you pan fry them for about 10 minutes in a little olive oil and intensify in saltiness. Slice up a baguette, spread some goat cheese or soft cheese on it and top with jam and capers, delicious!

Poached Eggs

A perfectly poached egg on top of crispy fried seasoned potatoes equals perfection. This has become a regular lunch for me because its ridiculously easy to make and insanely yummy. The key to the poached egg is cook it 3 minutes. This ensures a creamy yoke that will break and flow over the crispy potatoes. The key to getting crispy potatoes is to slice them thinly and make sure the pan and oil are hot before adding the slices. Also do not overcrowd the pan and do them in batches if necessary. This is a fundamental for any type of pan frying to achieve browning and crispiness.

Cookbooks

I get on a kick and check out a ton of certain genre of books from the library. This week is cookbooks. I follow food writer Michael Ruhlman's blog who is great for fundamentals. His book Ratio lays out basic formulas for all cooking like doughs, sauces, charcuterie, etc. I like to experiment, so having the ratios in my head makes sure things don't go way wrong.
I love Tony Bourdain and recently watch a clip of him dining at the French Laundry. This inspired me to check out the cookbook. Frankly, I will try only a few of these recipes because truffles and caviar are not in my budget. Thomas Keller is a genius and I learned a lot about basic cooking from reading through it. He has a very interesting and easy way to make powder out of tons of ingredients I am eager to try. I am excited to check out the El Bulli cookbook I have on hold.

Bulk Spice

A frugal and flavorful tip is to buy your spices from the bulk section found in many stores organic section. Prepacked spices are severely overpriced. Most of the bulk spices are organic to boot! Since you can buy as little as you need, your spices will always be fresh too. You can fill a spice a 3 oz spice jar for almost any spice for pennies to 50 cents. This November Fred Meyer has all bulk spices on sale for 30% off, so stock up! I also buy bulk tea in this section, the quality is amazing and incredibly affordable.


Stevia

When my dear friend Tilly was in town for a visit, we had a lovely tea tasting at an Asian shop near Pike's Market. I tried a lavender and stevia blend that was divine. I couldn't believe the sweet flavor that came from just a few of these leaves. I typically drink my coffee and tea black, but adding a few of these leaves to tea balances the bitterness in the tea leaves. I also have been experimenting by adding lavender, rose, and other dried flowers to make my own tea blends. Stevia is getting more buzz as a natural sweetener; I highly recommend trying it.

Don't Throw out those Broccoli Stems!

I love broccoli. Our family eats it at least once a week. Broccoli is cheap, often on sale for 70 cents a pound. Broccoli is a nutritious "super food". It is high in vitamin C, K, A, and fiber. Broccoli is a member of the Clean 15, a group of fruits and vegetables that contain little to no pesticide residue. I skip the organic broccoli due to this fact.

The dirty dozen on the other hand, I do try to buy organic, especially berries. Luckily Trader Joes sells most of the organic variety of the dirty dozen at very reasonable prices. Trader Joes organic frozen berries are great for mixing into yogurt (preferably full fat plain or honey Greek yogurt!) and pancakes.

I digress, back to the broccoli stems. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, of American Splendid Table on NPR, featured broccoli stems on a segment of a recent podcast. I knew broccoli stems were edible, but usually tossed them. She mentioned a method for quick pickling them and I was sold. I am crazy about pickled things. I would go to Korean restaurants if they only presented the 20 or so tiny pickled dishes and left out the bbq kalbi and bimibap.

Besides quick pickling the stems, you can also use them in stir fry or a simple salad. I have not bought broccoli crowns since I made this discovery and even look forward to the stems more then the crown now! Here is the easy recipe for a quick pickle ready to eat within a day.

2 or 3 broccoli stems

1/2 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher salt

1 medium size garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon apple cider, white wine or whatever vinegar you have

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Peel the broccoli stems and cut crosswise into thin coins.

2. Place in a jar (I use a glass clamp lid jar) with the salt. Shake and store overnight. The salt will draw out excess water from the stalk.

2. Drain the water. Add the garlic, vinegar, and olive oil and toss together. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight and then enjoy!

Thought for the day: I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli. George Bush, U.S. President (1990)

Detox and Kumquats

A few years ago, a handful of people at my church were doing the master cleanse. I really wanted to try it, but Wyatt talked me out of it. The master cleanse is a detox diet where you only drink a concoction of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper for roughly two weeks. I can't remember why it was so compelling, but I have had it in the back of my mind for a while.

Several months ago I started receiving this design magazine Ready Made in the mail out of the blue. I have really enjoyed its innovative design ideas and ways to recycle items in the home. An article a few months back featured a detox tea with lemon, agave, cayenne pepper, and ginger. At Last, I thought, I can give this a try. I would never replace honey with agave as the norm, but it is a perfect natural organic sweetener for tea.

The mag recommended drinking this tea every morning before eating anything else for an hour. I like to drink it as a pick me up in the afternoon, since coffee past noon tends to make me a little crazy. The tea varies every time for me since I like to experiment and don't like to measure. I add Earl Grey or English breakfast tea if I want a caffeine boost.

Typically, this would be the recipe...

4 cups water
1/2 lemon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbs agave
1 thumb size piece of ginger

1. Boil water
2. Grate ginger with a microplane into french press.
3. Add lemon, cayenne, agave to ginger.
4. Pour boiling water over and stir. Let steep for 4 minutes and enjoy!

Continuing the tea theme, I had the most intoxicating tea at Facing East Taiwanese restaurant. Kumquats are one of my favorite fruits. You must try them if you haven't. The beauty of them is that they intensely sour and sweet with a bonus of eating the skin. No waste, you know how I love being green. I have tried to replicate this tea at home, but haven't nailed down a recipe.

So far I crushed the kumquats, mixed in agave, much like the recipe above. It hasn't had the potency of the restaurant thus far. A lovely Taiwanese lady at the park gave me a great tip for making the tea (she was also a Facing East fan). She said I should create a slurry like soup of the kumquat to extract the flavor for the tea. Kumquats aren't in season, so I haven't tested it to perfection. Stay tuned....

I must also mention PORK BELLY "burgers". I beg you, if you are in the Seattle area, and haven't tried these, you must. Its sheer genius. Facing East was my first time to experience distinctively Taiwanese food and wow! They were a fraction of the cost of my pork belly appetizer at the Barking Frog and ten times more delicious. Go, now...well, wait till they reopen after the renovation because they needed more space due to their ridiculous popularity.

Thought for the Day: I got nasty habits; I take tea at three. ~Mick Jagger

Dutch Babies

I first had a dutch baby at the Original Pancake House a few blocks north of my apartment in the gold coast of Chicago nearly 6 years ago. It was reminiscent of poffertjes (tiny dutch pancakes) I had growing up at the Tulip Festivals in Pella, but in a super-sized form.

The baby looked very impressive with the sides puffed up two inches and crusty yet the inside was light and airy. I imagined it was very challenging recipe like a souffle, but have now learned its actually easier than making pancakes! I have started a tradition of making these babies for birthdays, but actually make them more often...like lunch today : ) (See recipe below)

Speaking of dutch babies, Zoraida is actually semi authentic. Wyatt's side of the family has some roots in the land of giant windmills. Oh wait, that's the Zoraida's name origin. We got dressed up in authentic Dutch costumes sans wooden shoes and tip toed through the tulips sans ukulele.

Zoraida absolutely loved poffertjes. She had one in her mouth and one in each hand at all times. I think she would like to wear the dutch baby as a hat and eat pieces off of it as she roams.



I have tried 3 different dutch baby recipes that vary the number of eggs and a few of the ingredient amounts. This one is my favorite that I modified from the magazine Everyday Food.


Dutch Baby

3 tablespoons butter
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
1/2 lemon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425° and heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over moderate heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet.
   
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, flour and milk until smooth and foamy. Pour batter into skillet and then bake in oven for 20 minutes until pancake is puffed.
3. Dress baby immediately with butter, lemon, and powder sugar.
   

Treasuring God in Our Traditions: A Recommendation

I'm starting to feel a little like Granger from Fahrenheit 451 piling up books in our house while everyone else lines their walls with 60 inch plasmas. We don't own a TV and its quite peaceful not having one. Wyatt has been reading voraciously and I have been picking up speed as of late.

Wyatt found me a nice hard backed copy of Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper at Half Price Books. If you haven't been to a Half Price Books, you should go now if there is one in your area. We are lucky to have 7 stores nearby. Its become a line item in our monthly budget ringing in on average around $100.

I love a deal as you may know, so I usually browse the Clearance section and Wyatt heads straight to the Religion section. Some great finds so far: Synopsis of the Four Gospels, Church Dogmatics by Barth, Michaelangelo the Painter and other large print art books for $1, 3 Presbyterian Hymnals for $1, and several classic kids books $1 and last but not least...Your Best Life Now (Joel Olsteen). I am working on acquiring all the Canonical books for our home school. I'll post a list on that in the near future.

Now onto Treasuring God in Our Traditions (Read it free here). The best thing about this book is Noel's examples from her own life and practical ideas for developing your own traditions. She walks through the everyday traditions and also the especially traditions like Easter, Christmas, and Birthdays.

One anecdote that stuck out to me was John Piper singing to one of his sons the same short hymn every night since his son was just a baby. His son later remembered the red light from their German apartment he used to see while John sang and walked the halls with him when he was under 2. Its a good reminder that the everyday traditions we do with our children are being absorbed even now and are important to establish early on.

I am excited to take from her example's of creating traditions for Advent and Lent during the Christmas and Easter seasons. I did not grow up with these, but appreciate their meaning now and importance of developing these in my own families life. She also laces the book with family recipes, which I plan to try! Look for blogs on our family traditions in the near future.

Thought for the day: You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. Ray Bradbury

Suffering and the Resurrection

It's Friday, but Sunday is coming. I went into labor on Good Friday unexpectedly as I guess most people go into labor unexpectedly. My hour had come and with it much, much pain. The number of verses in the Bible that compare sufferings to the pains of childbirth is astounding. They jump out at me now as I read the Bible daily because I can feel them.

Labor was incredibly painful for me possibly intensified by PIT and no medication and an end I did not want. I don't think I thought of the birth that was coming from the labor, the joy that was coming from the sorrow, the Resurrection that was coming after the Cross. John 16:21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

I am very thankful that a week after Easter, I heard an incredibly powerful message by Gary Habermas. It was one of those times when you hear something at the exact moment you need it. I was still questioning why things happened the way they did and wallowing in the pain of my labor experience intensified by hormones.

Dr. Habermas gave an address on the resurrection unlike any I had ever heard. It was incredibly applicable to our lives and deeply moving because of his own story of unexpectedly losing his wife to cancer at a young age. ***UPDATE: This is the message I heard*** It builds as it goes, so I highly recommend that you listen to his message in entirety on Suffering and Doubt (HERE...click play Jutebox)

Where would you be if it weren't for the resurrection of Jesus? Gary was asked by one of his former grad students during his worst kind of suffering he could imagine (his wife suffering and dying of cancer), "Did God raise His Son from the dead?" God watched while his Son died the most agonizing death you can think of. Do you expect better than Jesus received, God's only son? Should we suffer less than Jesus?

Another key take away from his message that he says is what you will spend thousands of dollars for modern psychologists to tell you---The most painful thing that will happen to you is not what occurs to you, its what you tell yourself about what occurs to you. After that message, I did not feel anguish over my c-section again. I stopped telling myself negative things about what happened. Instead I counted my blessings one by one. I acknowledged that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh, blessed be the name of the Lord. I took hope in the resurrection.

Quote for the Day: "This is a world where we suffer and a world where we dont always know why things happen. But this a world where there is a resurrection and a world where there is a heaven." Gary Habermas

I Cancelled Our Netflix Subscription Today

A Land Rover nearly side swiped me today after doing a ridiculous U-turn on a busy road. Wyatt told me to honk at people so they realize that they are doing something wrong. So I honked and the teenage boy driving the vehicle flicked me off and threw a piece of gum out of his sun roof onto my car.

The more fruit I see from wealth the less I desire it. I don't want to make decisions now that will have my daughter cruising carelessly in a BMW and treating people disrespectfully. I don't want to take a step down the road that gives us a mortgage payment indenturing us to a company. I don't want to selfishly pile up money in a 401k to have it drop 50% in one year.

I thank God for a renewal of my Spirit. For reminding me His Word should be directing my living from how I spend my time to how I educate my children to how I spend my money. I was listening to a talk on Sarah Edwards given by Noel Piper today that you can find here. She was the wife of Jonathan Edwards, a great Puritan preacher and theologian to say the least. I am humbled by her example of raising children and managing a household.

As a result of these things, I decided to cancel our Netflix subscription. Ten dollars a month certainly isnt breaking the bank and I do enjoy foreign film and documentaries...but I don't have the time for it. Looking forward to more transformation by the Word.

34 Weeks and Still Kicking

Wyatt's Nikon D70 conveniently broke last week, so we upgraded to the Nikon D80 just in time for maternity and baby pictures. Hopefully I will have some more shots up soon after he plays around with it a bit more. Tae Kwon Do is a good stress reliever in the final weeks of pregnancy. Actually I am just recreating scenes from inside my belly for Wyatt.

Two Sweet Desserts from your Pantry

I have been posting delinquent for quite some time. Blogging hasn't been a high priority with moving, working full time, and getting ready to have a baby in 8 weeks. I have had a few recipe successes that I wanted to share and record for myself for future use.

I am always looking for incredibly easy recipes that can be made entirely from your pantry and are delicious...so if you have any send them my way. The Pioneer Woman has an out of control blog that posts step by step photos of each recipe she does. She posted Baked Fudge a week or so ago that takes about 5 mins to assemble and uses just eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, flour, butter, and vanilla. The result reminded me of Roy's Chocolate Souffle I posted on several several months back except with much less leg work. I highly recommend this for an instant chocolate fix. I would also like to give a shout out to the PW's homeschooling blog if your interested in that kind of thing.

A friend posted a link to a recipe on Williams-Sonoma on Facebook, so I decided to check out the site. It has an awesome database of recipes that I wasn't aware of! Shortbread is one of my favorite cookies because it is a perfect accompaniment to my favorite beverage tea. This recipe takes 5 minutes and is great for a last minutes dessert using only butter (of course), confectioners sugar, sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt. Check it out here: Scotch Shortbread. I am looking forward to trying some of their seafood recipes in the near future.

I'm not big on kitchen gadgets, but I saw the Misto listed as one of the must have items for the kitchen in some magazine. It essentially pumps to spray any oil you like. Mine is stocked with olive oil, since I now spray it on veggies, meat, bread instead of the drizzle I used to do. You can get one on Amazon or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. If you do get one, the trick to keeping it in top notch shape, is to release the pressure on can after each use. My baked fudge timer went off, so I have to stop blogging. Bon Appetit.




Thought for the Day: We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.
~Alfred E. Newman

Around the Belly

Amazingly, I am half way through my pregnancy. I think I stopped counting for a while and suddenly we were at the midway ultrasound. Technology is pretty amazing, we got a video to take home that has our baby girl doing high kicks and swimming around.

I don't have a lot of tips for the first few months, since I hardly noticed I was pregnant. Aside from being slightly fatigued occasionally, nothing else was out of the ordinary.

Now that I am putting on a few pounds, I am enjoying maternity wear. Really the stretchy waist bands are great, I think I will wear them from now on even when I'm not pregnant. My biggest tip about buying clothes for maternity is to shop in the Junior's department clearance racks (my favorites are Ross and Marshalls). The styles lately are leggings with balloon or bubble tops...perfect for a growing belly! I've found most items for around $5, which is about 10 times less than maternity sections at department stores. Ross also has a great discount maternity section with pants typically for under $10.

Pregnancy podcasts are a great way to get quick information on topical issues. Pea in the Podcast (Peas in a Podcast was already taken by us on Itunes) has a podcast for every week of pregnancy with the most important information that week. I usually upload a few episodes to my ipod to ponder during my daily run.

The blogosphere is overflowing with wonderful deals for pregnancy and parents. I have found amazing deals by subscribing in RSS to Baby Cheapskate and Freebies 4 Moms. They clued me into a $300 car seat for $40. Unfortunately, Target had a slight pricing error and I did not get the deal, but they gave me a $25 gift card for the inconvenience. Add them to your RSS and you won't be disappointed.

Thought for the Day: You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment. ~Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"

Pregtastic

I haven't posted a freebie for a while, so its probably overdue. The world of pregnancy has opened up a whole new world of free things. This freebie came from a wonderfully informative podcast Pregtastic which has tons of pregnancy know how from several pregnant women.

The Essential Pregnancy Organizer, which normally runs $20, can be found for free here. You do pay shipping, but it has enough good content that its worth the fee. I must say the market for maternity and babies far surpasses the wedding machine.

I about passed out the first time I walked into a Babies R Us. You wonder how women living in huts in Africa are able to raise multiple children without a super baby bobby bouncer or sassy tummy time mat. More rants to come I'm sure.


Thought for the Day: Neighbors' children are always the worst in the world.

My Very Own Werner Herzog Movie

Mt. Rainier looms over the Seattle skyline. A sister volcano to Mt. St Helens, but nearly twice as tall. It is a reminder that man has not conquered nature and there is little we can do to prevent this mountain from blowing.

Our foray into the mountain was certainly not as extreme as Timothy Treadwell cavorting with grizzlies in Katmai. I did imagine Herzog's lovely German voice narrating our ascent half way up the mountain surviving snow and bears.
It might have been the decrease in oxygen that brought on an adventurous spirit, but our intended short hike turned into a five hour climb into the fog and later snow.

We have been talking about seeing bears for a while. It was shock when I saw a rather large black bear jogging up the path behind me. We also saw a large sow with two cubs from a distance, which was more my comfort zone. Most people we talked to on the path seemed like seeing a bear was the same as seeing a rabbit. Apparently a black bear has never attacked anyone on Mt Rainier and are usually shy tending to the berries.

I highly recommend camping at Cougar Rock in Mt. Rainier National Park. The campsite has a Japanese bio-toilet with the wonderfully warm heated seat found on most Japanese toilets. We managed the below freezing temperatures and snow with our 20 degree mummy bags.

Thought for the Day: We are told, that the black bear is innocent; but I should not like to trust myself with him. ~Samuel Johnson

Frugal Living is Fun!

Blackberry season is in full swing in the Northwest. Our property has blocks and blocks of thorny bushes. We have picked enough to last us well into the winter.

It took us a while to get used to eating food directly off a bush in nature after living in Chicago for so long. Now I scout out fruit trees at friend's houses and in the wild. I saw one man standing in bed of a truck stopped on the side of the road with gloves and pliers snagging the top branches of blackberry bushes...that's dedication.

My great aunt would always have homemade blackberry sauce with angel food cake and ice cream when I visited. To carry on this tradition for visitors to my home, I sauced up several batches of blackberries and stored them in the freezer using ice cube trays. Ice cube trays are one of the greatest tools in the kitchen. I have learned the value of freezing left over sauces and even herbs for later use.

My new monthly ritual is making chicken stock. Homemade stock is typically more flavorful, healthier, and cheaper than store bought stock or broth. I buy whole chickens when they are on sale for .69/lb and freeze them for later use. To make stock, I put the whole chicken in the stock pot with a few carrots, celery, onion, peppercorns covered with water. This should be brought to a boil and then simmer for 3-4 hours.

The top of the pot should be skimmed every so often to remove any impurities. Pour the stock through a sieve and refrigerate. The fat should be removed from the top after chilling. Freeze the stock in ice cube trays for use over the next month. The individual cubes are great for portioning for sauces, soups and really any dish to add extra flavor. The left over stewed chicken should be used for other dishes like curries or chicken salad.

The Frugal Living blog has many other tips on living on the cheap. I enjoy their top 10 ways to to start living frugal: 1. Befriend the Library 2. Clip Coupon 3.Eat out less often 4.Switch to online bill pay 5.Group errands 6.Make your own cleaners 7.Seek Freebies 8.Wash in Cold 9.Flip a switch 10.Change your own oil. Check the site out for many more advanced frugal living techniques.

Thought for the day: Washing and hanging the Ziploc bags on the clothesline to dry might be taking this frugality thing a bit too far. ~Me

In the Beginning

Piss Christ, Dung on the Virgin Mary, Yo Mama's Last Supper were highlighted in my university contemporary art class. Of the numerous visits over the past few years to modern and contemporary art museums, I cannot recall a single piece of art uplifting religion. Thus I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Tacoma Art Museum would be displaying 100 pages from the Bible.

Several calligraphers undertook hand copying the Bible in the tradition of scribes prior to the printing press. The project plan of this work made the Microsoft Vista project plan look like they were building a sandbox. Goose and swan feathers formed into quills and 1oo year old ink sticks were the primary tools for writing. Calf skin stretched into vellum forms each page. The project is known as Illuminating the St. John's Bible.

The precision and elegance of each word in this nearly billion word project blew me away. The Word is illuminated with pictures reflecting upon the text. Genesis begins with seven strips highlighting the seven days of creation as one example.

The power of this exhibits goes far beyond the artistic mastery. In the appendix of The God Who is There, Francis Schaeffer describes the Bible as "...not 'just a religious book'; the Bible is rooted in space-time history and speaks of the totality of reality" The Bible has given truth to people in 1500 B.C. and truth to people today in the 21st century.

Calligraphy has been an interest and hobby of mine for several years. Wyatt was inspired by someone doing calligraphy of the book of John and Deuteronomy 17:18 to produce a copy of some scripture by hand. We are hoping to create an illuminated work of a few of the New Testament books. We will forgo the quill and calfskin for cartridge filled pens and parchment most likely.

The exhibit of the St. John's bible will be in Tacoma through the end of September and a few other cities. I highly recommend checking it out.




Thought for the Day: When you read God's Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, "It is talking to me, and about me." ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Olympic National Park Tour

Road tripping around the Puget Sound is our new hobby. Its a wonderful thing to throw a tent in your car, grab an amazing latte from a drive through espresso hut, and hit the road. With little planning, we rambled through the ocean, rain forest, and mountains in a matter of days.

The Washington coast feels like the edge of the world. Apocalyptic beaches stretch for miles and sea stacks dot the shore. You might notice that there are virtually no towns on prime beach front property. 100 inches of rain per year and tsunami warning signs every several miles may have something to do with this. Although it is not the ideal place to live, I highly recommend a visit to see the tide pools and hike along the rugged coastline.

Camping in the Olympic National Park is first come, first serve. Everything is on the honor system and you place your money in an envelop to claim a site. We camped next to giant 10 ft diameter trees and overlooking a crystal clear blue lake.

The Hoh Rain Forest is a temperate rain forest that receives 12 feet of rain a year. Hiking around the mossy covered spruce, giant maples, and firs feels like stepping into an ancient place. Elk wonder through the woods, woodpeckers echo above, and banana slugs elegantly move along the floor. Trees frequently fall over and become nurse logs for several other hopeful seedlings. Wyatt calls it tree cannibalism.

Somehow glaciers are the answer to all things formed in nature. I will let you know once I see a real glacier in Alaska this fall, as of now I am a skeptic. Lake Crescent was carved out by glaciers and now sits 600 feet deep in places. We kayaked on its glass-like surface where you could see 60 feet deep. We waded in the water at dusk and watched the fog roll in over the surrounding mountains...serenity now.

On our way home, we drove up 5000 miles to Hurricane Ridge. The views of the Olympic mountains and Mt. Olympus are stunning. We did a few hikes among snow (in July!) and caught glimples of the Straight of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island, Canada.

On the road back to Seattle, we stopped off in Sequim, the lavender capitol of the world and had crab on the water in Dungeness Bay, WA. An end to the perfect weekend always ends with a ferry ride home.

Thought for the day: You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12