I'm just trying to walk myself home.
Ina Garten’s Cheddar Dill Scones I made Ina Garten’s cheddar dill scones this week, and I have grounded myself from making them again because I ate them all. They are so flaky, cheesy yummy that I just couldn’t resist. Even the next day after a minute or two in the toaster oven I was burning …
This week I’ve been getting ready for our boxed lunch book club that we do once a month at church. This month’s book is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. For several days I’ve been rereading my favorite parts of this book and am amazed anew at the way Maya Angelou …
My aunt gave my children the Jesus Storybook BIble for Christmas and it is my new favorite Bible for children. The illustrations by Jago are the best I’ve ever seen in a children’s Bible, but beyond that, the whole book is tied together by this idea on the front cover, that every story whispers his name. …
I finished this book by Nancy Ortberg yesterday. Another Christmas gift from another sweet friend. I was trying to savor it, because each vignette was worthy of contemplation, but I ended up gulping down the remaining chapters yesterday morning. I have said before that I love to read stories of people finding faith, and this …
Ida B…and her plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World. by Katharine Hannigan Last night we finished this little gem of a book, and though I’ve mentioned it several times, I thought it deserved its very own post. The power of a treasure like Ida B is that reading a couple …
I’ve been fighting the crazy Christmas machine this week. Not the one that jumps out of advertisements. The one that lives inside my head. It tells me that I’ll never ever get away from being in bondage to the Christmas frenzy, no matter what I do. There are two current lines of thought in my …
I made these muffins for Taido to take to work this week and I have had several requests for the recipe, so here it is! You probably have everything you need to make these for breakfast tomorrow! Enjoy! Cinnamon Muffins 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon …
Gingered Carrot Cookies I made these gingered carrot cookies a few weeks ago, and I think they just look like autumn. Plus they remind me of carrot cake, which I like a lot. They are from Dorie Greenspan’s monstrous cookbook on baking, which has proved to be a very delectable purchase. My love for ginger …
I am so thankful for the house on Eagle Creek Road and for the couple that lives there. This year Taido and I have had many discussions about buying a bigger house. We have even tried raising our house payment on our current house to see if we can afford a bigger house. We can’t. …
We are having a pretty low key Thanksgiving this year as opposed to the super crazy years we go to Chicago and pile like 40 of us in my sister’s house, cooking and eating until we all explode. I will miss the greater gathering, but the relative calm of this year allows me the time …
Sometimes I go to church and I am just there. Some Sundays I soak up little bits and pieces, trying to grasp with my hands the fleeting, holy moments as they pass me by. And then some precious Sunday mornings are so full that I feel like if Jesus gave me the Holy Spirit to …
Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread Here’s some skillet cornbread to go with the soup your serving tonight! This hearty, made from stone ground cornmeal, not jiffy cornbread, is browned to the perfect state of crispy-edge-ness in a cast iron skillet. There is a secret to making this cornbread even tastier than it usually is. It’s not the …
I made this wonderfully hearty soup last week for two different events at our house and though I have no pictures, I am giving you the recipe because I’ve had several requests for it. I was introduced to this soup by my dear friend Karen Smith who I haven’t seen in oh, so long, but …
I am rereading Lying Awake by Mark Salzman for our Boxed Lunch Book Club* at church this week, and I forgot how wonderful it is. I am equally baffled this time as in my last reading at the intimacy with which this author portrays a cloistered group of nuns. First of all he is a …
Roasted Vegetable Soup This roasted vegetable soup is a variation on Late Harvest Soup, a wonderful fall soup full of those delicious orange vegetables that match the leaves this time of year. The small but distinct difference between last fall’s harvest pot and this year’s is the roasting of the vegetables. Roasting brings out …
So, when I got home from Canada this summer, I had all these little scraps of paper in my backpack on which I had written the names of books I had seen in various bookstores and wanted to one day read. This is something I do often, write down a book on a ridiculously small …
Three Cake Recipes for Three Birthday Cakes My husband is feeling mighty loved right about now. Mighty loved and maybe a weensy bit sick. As he eats his sixteenth piece of birthday cake. That’s because I made him not just one but THREE BIRTHDAY CAKES this year. The spread for Taido’s birthday, greatly enhanced by …
Asian Salad Trio + Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches I feel like I am finally back in my cooking groove and I have sooo been wanting to share with you the delicioso bites coming from the Chino House kitchen. I have special people at my house every night, but on Wednesdays, we have extra special people …
At church this fall, Whitney and I are hosting what we are calling a Boxed Lunch Book Club. I am super excited about it, but I am a little nervous. Because lots of other people are super excited about it too, so I have sold like 20 books. …
Tread Lightly When It Comes To Middle School In general I have not been that mom who couldn’t stand it when her kid moved on from a stage in life. Not that there is anything wrong with that mom. In fact at times I have thought that there must be something wrong with me because …