How I Got Over Myself

Some days are like this, yes? You wake up determined to feel sorry for yourself and all the hard things you need to do. You see the “to-do list” and even as you are scratching one item off, three more get added. The workload of a stay at home, homeschooling mom is daunting. Add to that the burden of those who work from home as well and you have a potential recipe for a pity party. Here is how I have determined to teach my brain (and my heart and my soul) to reconsider this day and the tasks it holds in a way that will leave me rejoicing, rather than pulling the covers over my head in surrender.

Please read the rest of my latest Heart of the Matter Online Article http://heartofthematteronline.com/2011/06/how-i-got-over-myself/

Foodie Fridays - One Day Late!

The contest is nearing to a close. This is the penultimate week for entering videos, and for this round of entree week I've made a Beef Stroganoff. I heart this stuff. Next week, the final week, is dessert week. I'm a lame dessert maker, so I may opt to not submit a video next week. That means that this may very well be your last chance to hear me say my cheesy closing lines of "I hope you try it. I hope you love it. Happy Cooking."

Oy. I needed a creative assistant to tell me to stop saying that! ;-)

Here we are: Enjoy! (it truly is DELICIOUS!! and dead simple)

Heard at My House

Setting: 3 year old son setting the table for breakfast. Grabs a handful of spoons. Puts them on the table. Comes back for a second handful.

"Momma. We need more spoons. We have LOTS of kids!!"

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Foodie Fridays - Two Days Late

The latest Real Women of Philadelphia contest entry. Please laugh at my lame joke in the opening segment. Please? ;-)

And you really, really, really should make these. So.stinkin'.delicious. There were 24 little pieces which was supposed to be 12 servings. We fought over the last couple!!

YUM!!

I've been holding out on you...

So about this Philadelphia Cream Cheese Contest: I'm still playing along, although much more reluctantly of late. It is a good thing I have a type-A daughter to push me along on these things, because I am way too phlegmatic to keep up with something like this for a full.eight.weeks.

Actually, that sounds much more cranky than I mean it to sound. I love cooking. I love good food. I love hanging out with my daughter (and her siblings who do the lighting for her) in the kitchen. I do not love having my video taken, but I'm growing up about even that.

So here are the latest two videos we've done, with one more coming this week. We have done 6 out of 8 weeks of submitting videos. Each week they pick 2 videos to be the finalists who will go to Toronto in July. I've clearly not been picked yet ;-) I fully do not expect that I ever will be picked. This is the tricky part for the kids. They think I hung the moon and so it is astounding to them that any other woman could be selected over me! (oy. They need a bit more of a realistic opinion of me, I'm afraid! Ha!) I'm trying to explain to the girls that the kind of "Real Woman of Philadelphia" that I am demands that life be easy. Simple prep; simple ingredients; Simply delicious.
Some of these other women are geniuses and they are cooking with lobster and truffles and fiddleheads. Ya. I can not compete with that! Thoroughly inspiring, nevertheless. And clearly well-earning their spots as finalists.

Without my delaying the inevitable any further, here is a dessert and my second appetizer. Enjoy!

Foodie Fridays

Sorry, my friends. No video today. (sigh of relief over here!)

But at long last, here is the muffin recipe that I promised my in real life friends:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins (come on, now. How good does that sound?)

2 eggs
1 cup sugar (brown or white)
1/2 of a 796mL can of pure pumpkin
1 270g bag of milk chocolate chips
1 100g bag of chopped walnuts (optional, if you have allergies)
4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp baking powder


Preheat oven to 375F.

Beat combine eggs, sugar and pumpkin. Add remaining ingredients and stir just until mixed. Some flours absorb more liquid than others, so you may need to add a splash or two of apple juice or milk to keep it moist.

Scoop into greased muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes.

This will make 24 muffins. I have doubled this recipe and it works very well. Good to have some extra muffins on hand in the freezer. (Okay, I know some of you are thinking "24 muffins WOULD give me some extra muffins for the freezer, crazy woman!" True enough. Double it and you'll have extra extras!) ;-)

Enjoy!

The Impossiblity of it All

It is no mistake that you are a mom. And it is no surprise to hear that Motherhood is a hard job. And yes, there will be days where the task seems more daunting than you bargained.

But here’s the thing: the perfect place from which to parent is that place where you are at your lowest, crying out to the Lord, saying, “I can’t do this today. Will you be my strength and do it for me? I don’t know how to do this. Will you be my wisdom?”

His answer will be yes. And his solution will be immeasurably better than your attempt.

Don’t be ashamed to admit weakness in your parenting. There is a huge upside to being weak.


Continue reading my latest post for Heart of the Matter Online here.

Foodie Fridays - One Day Late!

Better late than never! When I fed this one to my family our wee 3 year old man gave me the big thumb's up (literally) and said, "Momma! You make good quiche."

Real men do so eat quiche ;-)



(notice how my camerawoman/editor is getting better and better each time? Particularly since she had to edit out a few noisy kids in the background, and several mistakes by the chef *ahem* It was her idea to have me out on the porch and her idea to watch the timer count down. She is really starting to think creatively about how else she can tell the story through angles and editing and lighting. I love that kid!)

Foodie Fridays - Two Days Late

Better late than never, I always say. To make up for the delay, I'll give you a little two-for-one recipe video extravaganza!

(oh dear.)

Just focus on the recipes, people. This is some good, good cooking!

Decision Time

Dear Shirt,

You were the perfect price on that clearance rack. You were just the right shade of green. You were the right tunic length with the cute three-quarter sleeves, and the tiny buttons up the front that just set you off so nicely.

Then, there was the delicate little draw-string belt. So thin. So discreet. So very current. You know, I had a moment when I bought you when I thought, "Hm. I sure hope that this is at the right spot that accents the fact that I do, actually, have a waist, rather than making me look pregnant."

But, no. How could you, perfect little light-weight spring shirt that would look so cute with my black capris, ever do anything so vile as make me look pregnant when I'm not (really, really not).

However, today, just now, the door bell rang, with me being held in your embrace, and there stood my neighbour with a few questions and a bit of small talk. We laughed, we discussed, and we decided. All the while, there was a look. A downward, glancing look. A suspiciously questioning look. An unspoken wondering look.

You, my dear shirt, are outta here. You need to know that the next time that the charity clothing people have a pickup in our area, and you hear the doorbell ring, I assure you, you will not need to ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Sincerely,
Me.

Foodie Fridays

Well, now. A friend of mine introduced me to this contest that was running. It involved two of my favourite things: the potential to be cooking show host and Philadelphia Cream Cheese as a secret ingredient in your favourite recipe. What's a gal to do? Of course I had to enter the contest. Sadly, the contest also involved one of my most unfavourite things: being on video.

Oy.

However, because I am trying to be a good mom to my daughter, and trying to give her some experience doing a thing she loves, I signed up. You see, my eldest has a knack with a video camera and editing software. And where she still has things to learn, she is diligently studying. And practicing. On me. Like this.

There is no public voting on these videos, so there is no benefit to me in having you watch this (really. NO benefit) except that you get to see my 12 year old's handiwork. Not bad, eh? I just stood there and spoke. She did all the rest of it. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

I do believe that I may have posted this recipe in the past, but now you get the visual to go with it. Oh man. And just so you know, I'm going to refrain from any comments on my role in the video itself except for this one thing. I know, I know, I know that what I meant to say was "We go through a pot of soup pretty quickLY". Quickly. Quickly. Argh. Adverbs. It's not that complicated.




And here is the link to the contest where you can see all the other fabulous contestants do their thing. How fun is that?

Foodie Fridays

It has been too long, again, since I've shared a yummy food idea with you all. My apologies. But you are all clever cookies and I know you've been cooking your family favourites just fine without me. ;-)

Here is a yummy way to change up the hot cereal routine in your house, and mix in some fruit, and nuts, and dairy (or some variation of it).

I'm a big fan of whole grains. You've heard me go on about quinoa (keen-wa) and we only use brown rice, and we only use 100% whole grain whole wheat in our breads. And so on. We also eat our fair share of large flake oatmeal (much to my eldest's chagrin).

Instead of oatmeal, though, some mornings we have millet. Have you ever eaten millet? You should. It is delicious! But not only that, here's the rest of the deal with millet:

It is delicious! (oh, wait. I already said that!) ;-)
By the numbers, 100g of millet has 7.3g of protein, 3.6g of fibre, 72g of whole grain carbohydrates, and 328 calories, and only 1g of fat! Woot! So far so good right?

Plus, from a global happiness perspective, millet is easy to grow, and easy to store, and full of amino acids that people without access to a healthy and varied diet need in order to live well. What I mean is, in parts of India and Africa, the hundreds of millions of poor who live on inadequate diets, can find great nutritional benefits in millet, and it is consumed in many forms during the day for the various meals (as a grain, as a fermented beverage, as a 'sweet') and the ease of growing and storing means that even where farming practices are a little lack-luster, this crop can be a means of sustenance for the people, and financial strength for the community. (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

Are you sold yet? It cooks up light and fluffy, almost like couscous. We use it in stuffed peppers; I toss it in soups; It makes a good substitute for bulgur in tabbouleh; you can eat it as a pilaf.

Or you can eat it for breakfast. Millet cooks in a liquid to grain ratio of 2:1. For savory meals I'll use chicken broth, but for breakfast I use half apple juice and half water.

Today I brought 2.5 cups apple juice and 2.5 cups water to a boil, and then added 2.5 cups of millet. I turned down the heat to a low simmer and kept the lid on the pot. After 10-15 minutes I check the pot to see if the water has been absorbed and if the grain is fluffy. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes.

Then we serve it with a heap of sliced strawberries, raw almonds, and a splash of soy milk (or the real deal if you are so inclined). If my kids are feeling particularly sweet-toothish we add a pinch or two of brown sugar, but the apple juice is usually sufficient.

That amount feeds my 7 kids, and if I'm quick I can get a bowl-full too.

It is delicious, and it easily satisfies until lunch time. Give it a try, and tell me what you think!

Wow-ful Women Wednesday - Domestic Diva Edition

This is pretty much how chore day goes around here.

Foodie Fridays- Iron Man Edition

Over the years I have been proven to not be an Iron Man. I don't mean those athletes of superhuman strength and endurance that can swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then still run a full 26.2 miles marathon in less than the maximum allowed 17 hours. No, no. Clearly, I am not one of those.

I simply mean that over the years, my blood has spoken against me and stated my weakness that I am low in iron. It isn't a big deal. It is not "an issue". It has not been the thing that has prohibited my being a high performance anything. No. I just go through phases when I am a little more fatigued than normal, and a little more lightheaded than normal. That's all.

So what's a girl to do? Well one easy thing is to take a good iron supplement. For quick results, I've always liked Floradix or Floravital. Tastes good: works quickly. But for a more long-lasting, store-building-up kind of supplement, I go for the little green pills: Ferrous Gluconate. But don't listen to me about these thigs. Go talk to you doctor.

What I can tell you that I do as a general rule of thumb is to up the iron content in my menu. I know, I know, the richest dietary source of iron is Beef Liver. This will not be a post on how to cook Beef Liver. Just sayin'.

But here is the deal: While meat is clearly an excellent source of Iron (the Heme kind), don't forget to count the high iron foods in the vegetable world (the Non-Heme kind). For ideal absorption of the irons (Heme and Non-Heme) you should eat them together. So don't think you are getting the best iron by eating a steak if you aren't eating some leafy green vegetables with it. And don't think that only eating kidney beans is best. Throw some ground beef into your chili for maximum benefit.

Also, a trick with any iron intake is to make sure there is Vitamin C to go along with it to help your body absorb it. And also, to make sure there isn't a lot of caffeine to go along with it, because that will hinder the absorbtion. So if you drink a coffee with your Beef Liver, the iron ain't gonna help you as much as you hope.

So say you are wanting to eat less meat, but are worried about iron. Let's look at a completely "Non-Heme" iron day and see if we can get enough iron. Well, here might be a typical day's worth of food in my house and the approximate iron counts. "They" say that as a primarily vegetarian woman in my 30's I should be getting 33mg of iron a day. Let's see if we get there.

Let's say for breakfast I have a bowl (1 cup) of oatmeal (10 mg) with a banana cut up on it (.31mg) and a cup of blueberries thrown in (.41mg). I drink a little OJ with it for the vitamin C.

For lunch I have one of my favourite soups. In my bowl there is a cup of lentils (6.6mg) and 1/2 cup spinach (3.2mg) and a whole lot of tomatoes (at least .33mg) but they are there more for the vitamin C then the iron. I will probably have 2 slices of whole wheat bread as well (1.8mg)

Then for supper, I might have a vegetable stir-fry. 1 cup of Brown rice (1.0mg) 1 cup broccoli (1.2mg), 1 cup of bok choy (1.77 mg), a handful of snowpeas (2.46mg) and 1/2 cup tofu (3.4mg) with a handful of sliced almonds on top for crunch (1.05mg)

Grand total? 33.53mg. We did it! We met the vegetarian's daily recommended amount. If you are a woman who does eat meat frequently you only need 18mg of iron a day. Not too shabby.

Plus, think about all the other fabulous benefits to those foods! Low fat, high fibre, phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals...and DELICIOUS!!!

Now don't get me wrong. I would not turn away a piece of grilled chicken from my stirfry or a meat ball from my soup, but if you are looking to eat less meat more often but worry about the nutritional consequences, worry no more. I won't even bother to calculate out how much protein this day had. Or how few calories :-)

So enjoy your Beef Liver. I'll have an extra serving of Vegetarian Chili. (and then I'll have roast beef tomorrow just because it tastes good!) ;-)





(Awkward Disclaimer: Of course, just like I am not a doctor, I am also not a nutritionist. So if you are unduly fatigued or lightheaded or anemic, please go see your doctor. I can give you recipes for yummy, iron rich food: that's all!) :-)

Foodie Fridays

I'm not a cheapskate. Okay, well, maybe a little. I like to think I'm frugal, not stingy. So when I find a good deal on food that stretches the budget, but also tastes delicious and isn't radically unhealthy, I get pretty excited.

I would love to be one of those coupon ladies. You know, you lucky American readers of mine, you seem to have a 4 for 1 coupon plus a double coupon day at any store you like! (insert jealous sigh here) Unfortunately though, it does seem that most of those coupons are for Pop Tarts and marshmellow cream which don't count as food in my books and aren't really on my weekly menu. Alas, perhaps Coupon menu planning wouldn't work for me anyhow.

But I digress. Thanks to Martha Stewart's magazine cover this month, I've been drooling over the thought of roast chicken. There are myriad ways to roast a chicken and every one looks better than the last. My bright idea was to buy two roasters this week and cook them simultaneously, thus ensuring a meal plus leftovers.

Twas not to be, fair reader. It was not to be. You see, I got looking at recipes and realized that a 3 pound chicken is expected to feed only 4 people. That would never do. Now we aren't really 'big meat eaters' so I figured the two chickens I meant to cook would do us a meal with maybe enough leftovers to add to a pot of soup. Not bad. Off to the local supermarket I went in search of the plumpest, cheapest chickens I could find.

Well, the cheapest two ended up being the ONLY two left in the store and they were going to cost me nearly $20! This did not sound like a deal, but I had it in my mind that it would be worth it.

But then....OH BUT THEN I rounded the corner and found the turkey section. Dear lovely overlooked-at-Christmas Turkeys, I am so glad to have found you! I put back my chickens and selected a $22 turkey that was nearly 2 pounds more than the two chickens combined and brought it home to my happy kitchen.

Last night I roasted the turkey. I rubbed pesto butter under and on top of the skin, and placed a juiced lemon in the cavity (if you don't juice it first it makes for an overly lemony gravy. Not interested in that. So juice that baby and save the juice for something else.) For supper last night we had a typical roast turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. Yum.

Then, as I was cutting up the rest of the meat for our leftover meals I decided that I would make a turkey pot pie casserole with the leftover gravy and a few cups of cut up turkey and some frozen vegetables. I assembled it and put it directly in to the freezer for some night I don't have time to prepare a meal.

Then, I made a stunning broth out of the bones etc. and used another few cups of meat and the broth in the best turkey noodle soup of my life! (Recipe to follow!) It was enough for lunch today (with a few of the kids eating more than one bowl) with more left over for tomorrow.

Then, there are still another 3-4 cups of meat that I intend to make a pasta dish later this month.

I don't know about you, but feeding 9 people at least 5 meals out of one $22 turkey sounds like a pretty good deal! Imagine if the turkey had been on sale?! (My eyes will be watching the flyers a little more closely for them now).

Anyhow, I just needed to share with you that happiness of my grocery shopping. I know some of you will relate to my glee over the whole matter :-)

Now for the soup recipe! (Brace yourself for a whole lot of non-specifics!)

For the Broth:
Turkey bones, skin etc.
Enough water to cover
1-2 tbsp peppercorns
2-3 tsp dried dill
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 carrots scrubbed (not peeled) and cut into thirds

Bring to boil. Then simmer for 2 hours or more. (Less time works too, but the flavour won't be as concentrated. More time works better if you have the time to spare)

Strain, discarding solids. Use immediately, or freeze for another day.

For the Soup:
3-4 cups cut up cooked turkey
1 red onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
a good sized shake of Epicure pesto seasoning (or a couple spoonfuls of prepared pesto)
a good shake of celery seed (I would have used fresh celery, but I didn't have it)
2-3 cups cooked penne (or other noodle as you like)
Broth to cover ingredients in pot (add water from the cooked pasta if necesary)

Saute the carrot and onion in a splash of oil. Add turkey, seasonings and broth. Bring to a boil. Then simmer until carrots and onion are cooked. Add noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste. Try to restrain yourself from eating 3 bowls at one sitting. :-) (Will freeze well).

Yum! What do you do with leftover turkey?

Heart of the Matter Online

It is Heart of the Matter time again. Please follow this link to read my latest article, which is actually part one of a series of four.

Building Family Traditions

Sometime near or on December first, our family gets the house ready for Christmas. It has become known as “Tree Day” and it is one of the highlights of our year.

It isn’t anything fancy, really. We go out and buy a fresh tree. Sometimes, we don’t even all go and pick it out together. Most times, my husband goes out, by himself, and with very little pomp and circumstance, brings home a tree. Nothing remarkable about that.

Then we pull out our ornaments and put them on the tree. Now, some families have an ornament for every year that each child has lived, and special ones from special relatives, and memory ornaments of people who have passed on, and some have the crafty ones the kids made when they were little.

We don’t have those.

We have fairly normal, basic, gold and cream ornaments and some ribbon that we wind around the branches. Nothing remarkable about that.

While we are doing the tree, we are listening to Christmas music and eating ‘Christmas foods’. The foods are typically snacky appetizer types that we graze on while we decorate. Chips. Salsa. Cheese. Crackers. Nothing particularly remarkable about that either.

But you know what? This year, my 9 year old said, “I think I like this day almost better than Christmas morning.”

Now that’s remarkable. Why do you think that is?


Please read the rest of my latest Heart of the Matter article here.

Foodie Fridays

In case you weren't aware, Christmas is coming. Rapidly. Like, very, very soon. And as we all know, Christmas has 2 challenges: First, to buy the perfect gift for the people on your lists; Second, to not gain 30 pounds. Can I get an "amen"?

So, in the middle of all your eating and baking and feasting, you may want something a little lighter to eat. Yet, it has to be simple, because who has time to fuss over breakfast?

A long time ago, I shared my family's favourite breakfast muffin recipe. Well, today, I am going to share my second favourite breakfast muffin recipe. You can't feel bad about eating a muffin that has no oil and no sugar added. Especially when it is still sweet and cakey and sticky and yummy. Okay, so here goes:

Totally Apple-icious Muffins (okay, that's a lame name, but it works!)

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2-3 apples, not peeled, diced
2 tbsp baking powder
pinch of cinnamon (optional)
pinch of nutmeg (optional)
pinch of cloves (optional)
pinch of salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
2 cups apple juice

Mix the dry ingredients (and apples) in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In the well, mix the wet ingredients. Combine all together to moisten, without over-stirring.

Scoop into muffin tins (greased, if need be) and bake at 375F for 17 minutes.

That's it! It makes about 20 muffins (sometimes more, sometimes less depending on how much your flour absorbs the liquid).

If you want to get fancy, add a cup of chopped nuts, or sprinkle the tops with brown sugar before baking. These make very moist, cakey muffins. I really like them. Hope you do too!

Foodie Fridays

Dear Amy,

My apologies for making you wait so long for this post! 4 weeks ago you asked me if I had a good recipe with any secret ingredients for Minestrone Soup, and I have left you high and dry until now. How have you survived?

I do, indeed, have a favourite Minestrone recipe. It began with a recipe from my already stated favourite cook book "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison. (Have you all bought this yet? You must!) Her Lentil Minestrone was my beginning platform, and I've tweaked it to make it one of my favourite soups.

Now before I give you the recipe, let me tell you a story about minestrone soup. (Bet you didn't know I had a story about minestrone soup. I have a story for almost anything!)

Way back in 1997 when Chris and I lived in Northern California for 6 months, we met a friend who took us to Il Fornaio restaurant in Sacremento. If that wasn't good enough, he actually took us there TWICE! Oh, Bliss! This was an Italian heaven, let me tell you. Now on to the soup part of the story. The first time we went it was November. We went out for my birthday. So nice. I ordered "Seasonal, Vegan Minestrone Soup" as my starter. It was light and tomatoey and full of perfectly diced veggies. Oh.dear.me. with a shaving of parmasean cheese on top....yes.

Then we went again in December just as we were on our way back home. I thought "I must have that perfect soup again before I die" and so I ordered it again. There was not a tomato in sight! It was thicker, heartier, and definitely with potatoes in it. Oh dear me, even better! Who knew? I asked the waiter and he graciously pointed me back to the menu where it said the soup is made with "seasonal vegetables". Of course!

And so my love of minestrone, in all its variations, began with fervor.

Now I have one basic recipe that I do mostly year round, but I do alter the contents slightly during different seasons. And as always, my quantities vary with how many folks I'm serving, and what happens to be in my fridge at the time. Enough preamble: on to the recipe!

Lentil Minestrone

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley (Not that I measure it that closely)
1/4 cup chopped thyme (Or a good shake of the dried stuff)
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 carrots, peeled and diced
3 parsnips, peeled and diced
4 ribs celery, diced
1 cup green lentils (or just a big handful, really)
1 cup red lentils (ditto on the handful)
2 bay leaves (optional)
9 cups water, veggie broth, or beef broth
2 cans diced tomatoes (or crushed, for a thicker, more tomato-based soup, or one of each--that's what I usually do)
Good sized Splash of soy sauce (optional, but it gives a depth of flavour, especially if you used water or veggie broth)
Something Green, chopped (you can use fresh or frozen spinach, kale, chard, collards...)
Cabbage, shredded fine (as much as you like: I like lots. My kids? Not so much. Too bad for them! Bwahahaha!)
2-3 cups of small, cooked pasta (macaroni, mini shells, orzo, alphabet noodles...)
(Parmasean shavings to garnish, if desired)

(I know, it looks like a lot of ingredients, but they are just veggies, and you can chop them up and throw them in the pot as you go)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Saute the onions until lightly browning. Add the garlic, parsley, and cook another 2 minutes, or so. Add the lentils, bay leaves, thyme, and liquid. Bring to a boil. (while I'm waiting for the pot to boil, I start peeling and chopping, and tossing veggies in the pot as they are chopped.) Once it is boiling, turn it down to a simmer and add all the veggies (including cabbage and greens, especially if they are fresh, not frozen.) At this point you may say "wow Barbara, that was not enough liquid. My soup is way too thick!" You can add more broth, you can add another can of tomatoes, or you can add the water you cook the noodles in (see below). Sometimes the lentils seem to soak up more liquid than other times.

Let simmer until the lentils and veggies are cooked (say 30 minutes). Taste and add salt and pepper and soy sauce to taste. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the pasta, with some or all of the cooking water if the soup is too thick still.

That's all! Now, it can keep simmering indefinitely. And I have made this in the crock pot, omitting the olive oil step at the beginning. Just toss it all in the crock pot overnight on low. Then add the pasta just before serving.

If you want to make it a Winter Minestrone, cut back on the canned tomatoes and increase the broth, and add 3 cups peeled, diced potatoes with the other veggies.

And secret tip: Soup always tastes better on day two, so if you want to make it ahead and reheat the next day that's a good plan. Or just really enjoy the leftovers! Also secret tip number 2: If the soup tastes a little bland right away or the next day, but you don't think salt will help, try squeezing the juice of a lemon into the pot. It won't taste really lemony in the soup, but it will make the flavours POP!Enjoy!

What's in a Name?

If you are anything like me, which I'm sure you are, there are times when you just haven't got a foggy clue what you are doing, and you are pretty sure that no one has ever felt as lost as you, and that no one could ever possibly get the disaster your brain is in. Can I get an "amen"? Anyone? Thank you.

I remember one such time. It was way back in the days of "the Townhouse" which is code for "the days when, yes we were living in the townhouse, but more than that it was in the time of life when we had 4 kids under the age of 4, and I was embroiled in my biggest life battle to date".

Someone had directed me to a blog and forum for moms where I went to find someone who understood me. Someone who'd been there. I tried to submit two questions about my state of confusion and exhaustion on the forum. The first they refused to post as it "encouraged something the moderators didn't endorse". So the second question, I made sure to be broad and unoffensive and something that would stir some helpful conversation.

What I said was something like this: "I'm a very young mom. I stay at home with my kids all the time. I love it and wouldn't have it any other way, but I'm really tired. And sometimes pretty sad. Can anyone relate?" What I received back was a bunch of platitudes and "right answers".

"No, I love it! I'm so blessed to be at home and I never feel tired or grumpy at all!"

"No, the joy of the Lord is *my* strength. I sure never feel sad at home at all!"

"Who could ever feel lonely when Jesus is your present help and comfort?"

And you know what? I knew all that. I knew that was supposed to be my reality, but the reality was that I was still tired: physically, emotionally, spiritually tired. My spiritual life was not stagnant. I was not being disobedient, or ungrateful, or rebellious. I had a wonderful husband with a fabulous marriage, and a supportive church. My little children were good sleepers and fairly obedient, all things considered. Life wasn't bad. I wasn't complaining. I was just a busy, tired woman. And no one understood. Or so I thought. They weren't hearing me. They weren't getting me. They couldn't help me.

One day in my quiet time I sat down hoping to hear a word of encouragement in my daily reading. I felt a strange prompting to read 1 Chronicles 3:8. Really? Really.

I kind of ignored it, but it wouldn't go away, so I finally turned to that spot thinking I was probably imagining things. Sure enough, the verse says this: "Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet". Nope. Not a word from the Lord. Just a list of names.

I tried to move on, back to my scheduled reading for the day, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was to read that passage again. So I did, and the whole chapter looking for something in the context. Nothing. It is just a list of the descendants of David. I was hoping that those 3 names were not the ordained names for my next 3 children!

Still, I felt like I was supposed to "get" something out of that verse. Finally, I thought to look up in a bible dictionary what those names meant.

Here's what those names mean, and what the Lord wanted me to know that day: "The Lord hears, The Lord knows, and The Lord will deliver."

He understood me. He heard my prayers. He knew my heart. And, as my present help in times of trouble, he would deliver me in his time and in his way.

How grateful I was that day for 3 funny sounding names. And how grateful I am still that we have a Lord who sympathizes with our weakness, and who understands our frailty, and who can speak to any specific circumstance in our day through the Word.

What does the Lord mean to speak to you today? What burden do you need Him to carry for you? He is more than able. And more than willing. And that is a very, very good thing.