Cooking · Home making

Making Cooking a Little More Fun

For the most part I have always enjoyed working in the kitchen. It’s the art of creating something new that pulls me in. But as with any kind of creativity, I have found that using the right tools and ones in good condition make the work more like a fun outlet rather than work.

The right size bowls, pretty wooden spoons, a beautiful dish, wooden cutting boards, sharp knives, lovely linen towels, shiny canisters and herbs at my fingertips is what I’m talking about. When I go to cook or bake, it’s so much more enjoyable if I use my favorite bowl made in England that I found at a thrift store, or my cute little wooden spoon that reminds me of the spoon Goldilocks uses in The Three Little Bears.

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Potatoes · Side dish

Roasted English Potatoes

The five main food groups include everything for a healthy life, but in my opinion, potatoes should perhaps be in a group all their own. Consider that they are served baked, French fried, scalloped, twice-baked, mashed, roasted, grated, as a salad, on top of casseroles, as the base of casseroles, and can appropriately served at all three meals. I’m pretty sure that no other vegetable can do all that!

Over the Christmas season, I was introduced to a new potato side dish via a couple of British people I follow on social media. Enter the Roasted English Potato. They require quite a bit of hands-on, but it is worth every minute! They are par-boiled, then roasted in the oven in a bit of oil for close to an hour, turning them every 15 minutes. The result is a crispy outside and a fluffy, tender potato on the inside. Potato Heaven!

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trust

Faith To Be Sick

A simple scroll through my Facebook page brought up three faces of friends dealing with serious health issues. They are each such testimonies of God’s grace as they weather the storms that are howling around them. My mind went immediately back to my Bible reading from this morning in the book of Job. You’re probably familiar with the successive and difficult trials that touched his life in a very short period of time. After his friends charge him wrongfully, Job speaks up and then says,

I can’t even imagine going through all Job experienced, or what my friends are enduring, but I’m so touched at the solid faith they have in their God. Of course they’re asking the Lord for deliverance, but I also see that they are asking God for “faith to be sick.” In other words, they desire the faith to trust God even though they cannot understand what He is doing. They don’t know how long this will last, or even if they’ll ever be cured. They desire to stay close and trusting the Lord, never denying or cursing Him.

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Christmas · Family life · In-laws

Post-Christmas Reflections

The house feels a little quiet now that Christmas is behind us. The living room couch sits alone with no piles of people lounging on its fluffy pillows. The family room is void of family chatter, laughter and noise. Even after numerous sweepings, the kitchen may still have cookie sprinkles hiding under the cabinets or stove, but it’s void of the hustle and energy of the previous week. Yes, the “big holiday” is over, but you know what? Spite the emptiness of the house, my heart is very, very full. It’s full of memories, joy, and happy sighs.

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