{Book Club} Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist

I've always been a big Martha Stewart fan. I LOVE her and her amazing culinary and crafting skills. Her home is always impeccable and her parties were stylized perfectly. Well move over Martha, because I recently finished reading Bread & Wine: A love letter to life around the table, by Shauna Niequist, and I think I've met my new culinary soul mate.

"It takes some time to learn, to try and fail and make a mess and try again. It takes even longer to get truly comfortable, to feel at home with a knife in your hand, to read through recipes as a guideline or set of ideas, to read through and add your preferences of tastes, your history and perspective. But it's a lovely process, with not a minute wasted. If you put in the time, the learning, the trying, the mess, and the failure, at the end you will have learned to feed yourself and the people you love, and that's a skill for life - like tennis or piano but yummier and far less expensive."

It's not just the beautiful way she describes dinner parties with friends and family or the mouth watering recipes she shares, it's her heart and her desire behind them. She is authentic and beautiful. Her soul is right there for you to read on every page of her book. She is someone you can talk to, laugh with and cry together. It's one thing to put on a fancy party and it's another to feed a grieving friend who's mother just died or celebrate a homecoming of a loved one. It's not just about preparing a delicious meal, it's about connecting with people you love, forming new relationships, and remembering the reason why we care for others.

"And I believe Jesus asked us to remember Him during the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine every time, every meal, every day - no matter where we are, who we are what we've done. If we only practice remembrance every time we take Communion at church, we miss three opportunities a day to remember. What a travesty! Eugene Peterson says that 'to eyes that see, every bush is a burning bush.' Yes, that, exactly. To those of us who believe that all of life is sacred, every crumb of bread and sip of wine is a Eucharist, a remembrance, a call to awareness of holiness right where we are."

Don't get me wrong, I love to plan parties and entertain friends and family at our house but I often times have to check myself to make sure I am not doing it as a performance but doing it out of love. I'm reminded of the story of Mary and Martha. Mary sits at Jesus' feet and there is Martha, busy at work in the kitchen again. :) This Martha, not unlike Ms. Stewart, thought that the most important thing was getting everything done and perfect for her guest, but Jesus reminded her that the most important thing was to just be with and listen to Him. Likewise, when we have friends and family over, we should be with them and bless them with encouragment and fellowship. So the chicken was a little overcooked and the house not 100% clean, the point of having your loved ones there is to love them, not put on a show.

"What people are craving isn't perfection. People aren't longing to be impressed; they're longing to feel at home."

Sauna is such a lovely person. I couldn't help but want her as my own friend to gab with for hours while we cook in the kitchen. I guess until that day I will settle with enjoying her book and amazing recipes!

{Baked Apples with Caramel Sauce}

{Baked Apples}

Ingredients:

* 2 large apples, cut in half
* 2 tbsp butter, melted
* 2 tbsp flour
* 4 tbsp quick oats
* pinch of cinnamon
* dash of stevia

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Cut apples in half and remove core and seeds with a small pairing knife or spoon.

In a small bowl combine butter, flour, oats, cinnamon and stevia. Spoon on top of the apple halves. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm with caramel sauce.

{Agave nectar caramel sauce}

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cup agave nectar
* 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
* 2 tablespoons butter
* pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken. Be sure to stir the caramel sauce occasionally. If your sauce is too thin continue cooking several more minutes. If sauce become too thick, add a spot more cream, and bring back to a boil until cream is incorporated. Enjoy!

Grill Master

My husband is known around our house as 'king of the grill'. Before we were married he had a whole slew of different roommates, one of them was from Shreveport, Louisiana. It was that roommate, who taught him how to spice and cook lip smacking steak, pork, chicken, you name it!

The key to really good BBQ food is the seasoning. Jeremy likes to spice the heck out of the meat, but trust me, you will love it! We made some of the seasoning for my Father-in-Law for Father's day.

Jeremy's Amazing BBQ Seasoning - goes well on chicken, beef, pork, and burgers

Dry Ingredients:
*Tony Chachere's creole seasoning
*Onion flakes
*Garlic powder
*Crushed red pepper
*Coarse black pepper
*Dried basil
*Dried parsley

Wet ingredients:
*Hot sauce
*Olive Oil
*Avage Nectar or honey
*Minced fresh garlic

Combine the dry ingredients. You can eyeball the amount depending on the amount of meat you are cooking and to your particular taste. We LOVE garlic so we add more of the garlic powder than others might use. Rub the dry seasonings on the meat. Then add your hot sauce, olive oil, avage nectar and fresh minced garlic to coat. Next, fire up the grill and start bbqing. The result is amazingly spicy and sweet BBQ goodness. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. YUM!

Test Kitchen

A baby shower is in the works for my sister-in-law who is expecting her first child this fall. The detail I am working on now is the menu. What would be delish to serve to a large group of people, including men, who I happen to know eat a LOT!? I did some searching on the web and found some great looking dishes. So I went to work to make sure these were every bit as yummy as they looked online.

My test subjects were my in-laws who visited last weekend. I told them to be completely impartial and let me know what they thought of the recipes. This salad was yummy AND beautiful. The strawberry vinaigrette was tasty but one of my 'guinea pigs' said that maybe adding a bit of honey or agave nectar would make it even better. I have a mean sweet tooth so how could I say no to that?

I also made a dessert that I think would be so adorable on a pretty little table at the shower. Totally cute and boy are they a cinch to make. Combine strawberry yogurt with whipped cream and fresh cut strawberries. Fill mini graham cracker pie crusts and chill in the fridge or freezer. Top with strawberry garnish and enjoy. SO yummy!



The work was hard and the testing was quite a challenge :) but the results are in and the food was fabulous. Looking forward to my next round of testing and trying out this recipe!

No Hurry Veggie Curry

The slow cooker is an invaluable item in our house. It helps so much with our busy schedules, because it virtually does all the work for us, we just come home to a delicious meal ready to go!

On any week day when I would prepare this recipe it would be no problem to wait because I am busy at work and come home to the curry deliciousness. However, when I prepared it this past Saturday, I was home and it was so hard not to keep checking it so see if it was done. I got a craving for curry and just had to get my fill. When the time passed and the food was finally ready, this stuff sure hit the spot! I guess the saying is true, 'good things come to those who wait'!!

Good Eats

When Jeremy and I first started dating, I was attending a cooking class at a local grocery store with my Mom each week. Because of this I was able to impress him with my fancy shmancy cooking skills. That store has since stopped offering the class and my work and other responsibilities have made it hard to plan the same meals that I used to. My sweet and oh so caring husband has been making most of the food in our household as of late. In this period of our lives this set up just works for us. I do enjoy cooking, don't get me wrong, but after a long day of work AND the long commute home, a hot meal sitting on the table already prepared is such a blessing!

So when I do cook, I like a recipe that is fast and/or something I can prepare ahead of time and just pop in the oven when I get home. I'd have to say that most of the recipes I make these days have been found online, and more specifically from other bloggers. I have accumulated some favorites from these amazing gals and they are husband approved. :)

Baked Egg Casserole

Make Ahead Brunch Bake

Santa Fe Soup

Grilled Avocado with Tomato & Corn Salsa

And a new recipes for my bible study next week. YUM!

Cucumber Dill Spread

It's all in the details

What a whirlwind of a weekend! 2 showers: one bridal and one baby. Thank goodness for the baby shower because I just had to show up and enjoy, after working hard at my BFF's shower the day before.

Everything turned out beautiful and the ladies enjoyed themselves. One important thing to remember when planning a shower or party are the details. It's all in the details. Focus on the theme or a certain element or style to bring it all together.


For Devon's kitchen & recipe shower we had a cookie decorating contest (judged by the bride-to-be of course), cooking themed quiz & all the guests offered their words of wisdom on the 'recipe for a happy marriage'. All the games/activities were a load of fun, but the real fun was when Devon opened up her gifts with this special moment when her Mom held one of her 'gifts' and made the bride blush!

The food was also a very important element of the shower because it was after all, a kitchen & recipe shower. The menu included delicious Krispie Kreme donuts, fresh fruit, greek yogurt, muffin tin egg bakes, mimosa's and coffee. A very good spread if I do say so myself. The egg bakes were a big hit and the best part is that they were SO simple to make.

All in all, it was a very happy and beautiful affair. I am happy for this girl! Now she is ready to cook for her future husband with tried and true recipes from each party guest and lots of neat kitchen gadgets and equipment.

Deceptively Delicious Mistake

My best girlfriend just got engaged last week and asked me to be her maid of honor. She was the MOH at my wedding last year. Our friendship goes way back, back to the days when I got my first professional job at a mortgage company (pre- mortgage crises mind you), back when I was thinner and had no problems with my arms or legs (oh the glory days) and when we didn't know any better. We were both 19 years old and we commiserated over awful dating experiences and that set in motion a friendship that has lasted 6+ years and going strong. She eventually left the company to go off to college and I stayed there for the next few years. Fast forward a few more years later and we both found ourselves out of jobs due to the economic downturn. Last spring she got a job at the current company she is at and then a got me on board. That's what friends are for, right!?

Anyways, back to the topic at hand; her engagement! Devon is so special to me not only because we share some awesome memories of hanging out in her college town every weekend one summer, or the memories of her helping me get through a very difficult relationship, but she is a friend who I share a common love with: Christ. When we first met we were not christians in any sense of the word but God used our circumstances to work together and become friends and then eventually we both found Him. And it is through Him that our friendship is strengthened. We have each seen the other in totally different places than we are now and it is through His love and strength that we are here today. Devon has been an encouragement, an inspiration and confidant in moving forward as a woman of God. I've seen where she was when I first met her to where she is now and I thank God that He took her to this place. I am so happy for her and her fiance Miles (who I absolutely adore- what a great couple!).

But I digress again; I am planning the bridal shower and bachelorette parties and thinking of cute little things to include and gifts to buy. While out shopping with my Mom this weekend I found this very cute cook book at Big Lots for only $3. I'm no one to pass up on a great deal like that AND I'm planning on throwing Devon a kitchen/recipe bridal shower so I thought this would be a cute thing to give to the bride. But once I took a closer look at the book after I purchased it, I realized it is a cook book for enticing your children to eat their fruits and veggies without them even knowing about it by adding purees to the recipes. Well that won't come in handy for at least a few years for them when they start having kids. I guess I will have to find another, more appropriate cook book for my friend. Doh!

After thinking about it a little more, this cook book will be perfect for my household seeing as my husband and I already have a slightly altered diet anyways. My hubby can't have white rice, white bread, any sugar, etc.. so adding more fruit and veggie type recipes to my repertoire will help liven up our usuals and of course get me ready for when we have little ones! Thanks Devon for the new cook book ;) and congratulations!!