Saga of the Sourdough Starter

I am a chronic suffer-er of insomnia. This hasn't always been true of me. It's only become a real problem in the last two years. It began when I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, Caroline. It's extremely annoying to me but I will say that I have used the time it allows for some serious thinking. So tonight is one of those nights where I cannot get my body to cooperate. I can hear snoring upstairs where my wonderful husband and three beauties are sleeping. Bless them all...but what to do? So I started thinking about my last post. I mentioned a Sourdough Starter that I learned to make when I was in my early twenties. I tried to remember the recipe but it just wasn't coming to me. I got out my trusty-dusty The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook (my absolute favorite wedding present from-I have no idea who!!). Sure enough there in the sticky pages was the recipe for a Sourdough Starter! I swear-this cookbook has everything in it! Don't you just love that! Actually, many of the pages are stuck together where I have spilled food on the page...messy cook! Cut me some slack people...I've been using this cookbook for 10 years! It has been my inspiration for countless recipes. To be honest, it is one of the only cookbooks that I will use because I'm not the best recipe follower-but I love to read cookbooks to get ideas for my own recipes. I think it is because I don't like over complicated recipes...or over complicated anything for that matter. I mean really-why do it to yourself? Get this totally over-priced piece of meat and this ridiculous slab of cheese that you will only use in this one recipe and then cook it for 15 hours over low heat stirring every half hour while balancing on one foot. Ok-maybe I exaggerate slightly...you get what I am saying! Some things in your life don't have to be so darn complicated to really enjoy. But here I have gone off my subject-Sourdough Starter. So now I am looking at this recipe and quite honestly, why was I so afraid of it? You can keep it in the fridge (not a science project on your counter!!) and you only stir it once a day. I can handle that. So tomorrow...I'm gonna make it and see where we go from here! I will post my picture and result in my science fair project Sourdough Starter! Wish me luck! I am planning a meal to bring a family in just a few weeks and they may be my next victims getting some awesome beef vegetable and barley soup with sourdough rolls. Pictures and recipes to follow soon...Maybe.

For the love of soup.

A million years ago when I had just graduated from high school, I made friends with a Pastor and his wife. At the time, they had six kids, no money and therefore needed to make their meals go as far as possibly. So they had soup and rolls...a lot. If there was a roast one night, the next day there was beef soup. Whatever was on sale could be made into some sort of wonderful warm splendor. At the time, I was eighteen years old and knew absoultely nothing about cooking. But my friend (Elizabeth) loved me and was a very patient teacher. So we made soup and bread together, feeding hungry little mouths with this amazing warm stuff. Funny how the time flies and now I am making soup and bread for my (much smaller) family. What I learned is that most soups start with the same basic ingredients that most people already have on hand; fat (butter or oil), onions, celery, carrots and liquid. I learned that chicken stock was your friend and that a sour dough starter on your counter (with a little care and love) could last the rest of your life. Life lessons- I'm tellin' ya! Then about 10 years ago, I wrote a bucket list that included "learn to bake bread" on it. Well, it took some time but I accomplished that goal and make a pretty wicked yeast bread. Yum! I still love the idea of sour dough starters and stuff like that but I'm not big on having things growing on my counter...at least not at this stage in my life. If I am not eating at Panera Bread (ahem)...I love to make soup for my own family. When the weather turns colder and the leaves are falling from the trees I start thinking about all the soups I can make. There is just something so comforting about soup. My favorite soup is vegtable beef with cream of chicken and rice as a close second. This all leads me to wonder- what's your favorite soup? Would you want someone to bring that to you as a meal? And if you had a cookbook called "Can I bring you a meal"...well, would you like a soup and bread section? And honestly, I need someone to bring a meal to-so I can practice. Seriously people!

what defines me.

I am very close with my sister and so it is not uncommon for us to say uncomfortable things to oneanother. The other day she brought it to my attention that I had been focusing on one unfortunate moment I had experienced. Someone had been unkind to one of my children and instead of forgiving that person- well, I was letting this one moment of unkindness define my opinion. I mulled it over in my mind for a while. How often do I do this? This pattern of unforgiveness. It seems all so innocent. I mean- who hasn't heard the expression- "I will forgive you but I won't forget". Oh man, that is wrong thinking...but isn't that just what I did? I follow several blogs of people that have experienced some serious life altering moments. Lately, I started to notice a pattern in their posts- that one moment finding it's way into every blog post, every conversation, every facet of life... Very defining. That one moment. Their lives are now circling around a new necules. That one moment (no matter how brief) is now defining their entire world. The other day, my daughter Maddie was crying. As I sat comforting her, I questioned her as to what made her cry. She said, "Why did God let that happen?". Wow...isn't that what we all want to know. The answer seems so trite, "I don't know, honey. God's plan is different from ours. I just don't know." While those words are so true, they seem empty. I wanted more from my own answer. God, why did You allow this to happen? That question seems to haunt my mind at both weak and strong moments. But what I think is that it all breaks down to forgiveness or perhaps our unforgiveness. We have been wronged and there is no denying it! We all want justice. We want the wrong-righted. The Bible tells us to forgive...and we shout to all that we are forgiving just not forgetting. Because we want justice and it in our opinion justice has not been served yet. But somehow I think it goes beyond just forgiving the person or incident that has wronged us...it's about forgiving God for allowing it to happen to us and trusting that His plan is good. But who is in control here? Truely. Am I trying to be in control and therefore do not trust the God who created me? Funny how my eyes began to see beyond my own hurt and my own anger...when I realized maybe God was trying to do something here. Maybe God was allowing these things in my life- not as a punishment or because He had forgotten about me but as a tool. A tool to shape me into the woman He wants me to be. These life altering moments...the ones that I have allowed to define the person that I am... Well, maybe they were meant to shape my life- not define it. Drawing me closer to the Lord as I realize my own fraility and His great strength.

That Kind Of Day

Yesterday was not my day. You ever had one of those? It started well but ended poorly. In fact, it is 5:30am and it still has not ended...my baby has been up screaming-off and on all night. ugh... While I was dwelling on my misery, I thought of so many things to blog about- so I pulled myself out of bed, tumbled down the stairs to find my computer. As I searched for the light switch- I stepped in dog pee on my freshly cleaned carpet, then as I searched for a towel my other foot stuck to the newly scrubbed kitchen floor where someone has spilled their drink... Oh yes...it is that kind of a day! argh! I wonder why it is that once you start having a bad day it is so hard to recover. I know that it is all about your attitude or rather my attitude. Whatever attitude I am talking about it sure is hard to turn it around for something positive. But I am trying. I don't want to start this day off on this kind of a foot. So I choose to be happy...ok, well, um... not unhappy. I'm going to choose a positive day inspite of the yuck. Inspite of it all...I will choose to have a good day. period. On a happier note~ I discovered something fun in a cookbook I have been reading. I have a love for Julia Child and Jacques Pe'pin that just will not stop- so my husband gifted me "The Way to Cook" by Julia Child for Christmas this past December. I have taken my time getting to know this cookbook. Honestly, I have read it cover to cover and not attempted many dishes. Not that I find them difficult- I've just had a sort of rough spring and summer this year and cooking has not been on my top priority list. Now that I am feeling much better- I am thinking about cooking again. Hence finishing that cookbook. So I got to the last page and was thumbing through the index, I discovered two instructional DVD's! Ah-ha!! How fun is that?!? So I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Julia describe every chicken recipe in the poltry section. Oh how I love that woman! That night I made a culinary attempt of my own...I will call it creamy garlic chicken. I'm pretty sure it was not all that original- but I did it all on my own and it turned out ok. At least my husband and I enjoyed it. I would share the recipe...but I am not sure I remember. Ah well...c'est la vie (look at me being all French!)! I'm in a better mood already.

Can I Bring You a Meal?

In the last couple of years I have experienced some serious generosity from my friends. This really the understatement of the year...they have been more than awesome. In the last 3 years, have had three major surgeries-each hospital stay my friends have taken my children, fed my family and even taken my dog from time to time. This has been such an incredible blessing to me that I feel compelled to do the same for others wherever I can. This made me think about what gifts and talents God has given me. I mean, how can I best serve others and serve God? Well, it came to me. I'm a decent cook and people like to eat. So I started looking for families that could use a meal or two to get through a hard time. The Lord began to provide those families for me. It has been awesome. I started thinking about organizing the meals into a cookbook of sorts- just to organize my thoughts and maybe find ways to make the meals more cost effective. It seemed like a good idea to me. Ha! It has become a daunting task. As I was thinking of restarting my blog it occurred to me that I could test my cookbook ideas on my blog. So that is what I am going to do...I think. Well, I am open to ideas anyway! So...here is the first glimpse of my cookbook called...drumroll please... well shoot ~ I already named my post "Can I Bring You a Meal?" Tell me what you think. My plan was to find ways to use the same basic ingredients to make two different meals. That way, the meal planner can not only feed the family in need- their own family gets the goods too! So the first idea I had was for a rotisserie chicken. We love um around these here parts! Honestly, there is nothing easier than to pick one of these bad boys up on the way home and you are half way to dinner! Well, I was considering what kind of recipes I could come up with that could make two separate meals from one rotisserie chicken. I usually purchase them at Sam's Club for $4.99. That's not too shabby. Split that in two and you have your meat for $2.50. I have found that you can glean about 2 Cups of chicken from a rotisserie chicken (depending on the size of course). Well, my first thought was soup or chili-that would make a chicken go far and feed lots of people. Ahh haaa!! I wish that I could tell you that I was more organized and had all of the cost of this soup figured out...but I don't. I just thought of doing this an hour ago! A while ago, my friend gave me an easy recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup which I then altered slightly. It only calls for 1 Cup of shredded chicken! Even better! Save the other cup for another recipe! Yay! This recipe is certainly not the authentic traditional yummy yummy yummy goodness~ but it is delightfully easy and delicious in its own way! My family really enjoys it, I have received some serious compliments and the recipe makes enough to feed a small army! Because I often am bringing meals to new mommies that may be nursing- I only use mild salsa. If you like it hot- go for the gusto and get'cha some hot salsa and maybe add an extra can of rotel instead of the plain tomatoes. Here we go! Easy Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 Cup Shredded Rotisserie Chicken 1 Can Black Beans (Rinsed) 1 Can Rotel Tomatoes 1 Can Petite Cut Tomatoes 1 Jar Salsa (I used mild) 1 Bag Frozen Corn 1 Pkg Taco Seasoning (I make my own- I will do a link later!) 1 Box Chicken Stock 1 or 2 Bags Tortilla Chips Sour Cream or Cheddar Cheese Dump the first 8 ingredients into a large pot! Cook on medium heat until the soup has thickened. Serve with Tortilla Chips, Sour Cream and Cheddar Cheese. It is yummy and so easy!!

Back to the blog.

I was laying in bed today thinking. Well, that can be good and bad- depending on the day! The thinking was about my poor neglected blog. As of the last two years, I have absoutley ignored my blog. Honestly, so much has changed in my life, I considered starting a new blog all together. But really, why? Why not just pick up where I left off? so that is what I intend to do. I mean it's my blog anyway... right? So here we go! The last two years have been filled with so much change for me that I sort of don't know where to begin. For my health- I am nearing the end of my weight loss journey- my goal is only 28 lbs away. I almost cannot recoginize myself somedays. It is wonderful to have the ability to walk without feeling the need to sit down. My thighs no longer rub together when I walk! I no longer feel like I am suffocating at night. It is wonderful.

Our living room is now two shades of brown! And I love it!! Take a gander!

And...we have a new baby!! :) Introducing Caroline Eloise Joy!

Well, since she will be one on August 12th...she is almost my toddler. What a difference two years can make in your life. I will try to update my pictures and family status in the next couple of days. It's gonna be fun!

More than Joy

Today, as I did some homeschooling lessons with my daughter I stumbled across this prayer from St.Francis of Assisi.

"Lord, make us instruments of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; Where there is injury, let there be pardon; Where there is discord, union; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; For Your mercy and for Your truth's sake."

How very appropriate. When we are under adversity our response is generally the opposite to what God calls us to be. Humility is not easy but it is the easiest way to Joy. Along the same lines...This morning my Bible study was in Philippians 2. I have memorized much of Philippians 2 over the years, but this morning it had a greater impact than I expected. I am still mulling over the fruits of the spirit as I mentioned in a previous post...I think that today's lesson in humility goes along very well with my pursuit of Joy. My prayer is that God continue to do His good work in me and conforming everyday closer to His image. Also notice the word Joy once again in my path. God is consistent~ of that I am sure!

Philippians 2
Imitating Christ’s Humility
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Do Everything Without Grumbling
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. 25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.