Happy Happy Halloween! Hope everyone survived the weekend in IV and was able to rest and find joy. God be glorified, Jesus Burger's was great, lots of great testimonies were shared today at the service. 24-7 Prayer was a on this week and God showed up. The church is reaping now what's been sown for years, thank you to all who have been committed to this city. Redemption is coming to Isla Vista. Keep praying!
As I said, more soup recipes coming. Bianca has been waiting for a chance to perfect her soup making abilities since she made that minestrone from her Nonna's typical recipe. Her goal: a soup, not a stew. As Bianca began acquiring things for the soup, I liked the idea of Bianca taking control and changing up the usuals. She bought pinto beans this time and together we chose amaranth for the grain. The chard was a last minute surprise from a friend's garden. I told Bianca she needed to make this recipe her own which she had really already done, but one thing was still needed: a secret ingredient! Now this was last night, she wasn't too fond about the idea but she had all day to think about it and what does she come up with.... garlic! When I didn't react too excitedly since garlic is one of the most common ingredients, she responded, "hey, I didn't put garlic in it last time!" This is true, so everyone, the new and secret ingredient is garlic!
Step 2) In a large soup pot, pour all the vegetable broth and add the leek and red onion. Slice the zuchinni, carrots and celery into 1'' slices. Remove stems and chop parsley, you'll want to use about two cups. Add all of the spices and don't forget the secret ingredient! Of course you'll want to crush it before you add it in there. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cook for 2 hours.
Step 3) Wash the chard and de-stem. Slice and add to the soup with the beans and amaranth. Cook for another hour still on low temperature.
After 3 hours the soup is ready and can be enjoyed! You can always add more broth or water to make the soup the consistency that you would like. Bianca and I have decided that the soup comes out with a thicker broth because of adding the grains and that in soups with no grains you get a thinner broth. However, she really liked it and I enjoyed it as well. Amaranth is fun because it's so tiny, I'm sure most of you have never even heard of it so please try this one out! This soup paired nicely with thin slices of crispy polenta.
I saw this recipe on Tastespotting* months ago but that was in the summer and you really got to wait for the right weather to be able to enjoy a good warm soup. And the perfect soup weather is officially here! Get ready, I love soup so there will be lots of soup posts to come!
The soup would pair well with any grain or loaf of bread and a light salad. We had millet, which I insisted we make because Bianca has only had it once and didn't like it at all. I was convinced it was because she didn't make it right. Somehow it came out exactly how it was when she first made it, and it's never been like that ever when I made it. So it's official, Bianca does not like millet. But she loved this soup, so please try it!
Kinda like changing out your room, only for the Fall! Which I know began quite a bit ago, but still we have a ways to go before Christmas. Fall is my favorite season, maybe because I'm a September baby, but I have always loved the wonderful, warm colors and though it's getting colder, it's not too chilly yet. The fashion for Fall gets me too, boots and scarves, oh I just love it!
Then for my desk I needed a change also. Ryan has been bringing over apples for us from some trees at his house. I thought, perfect! Apples are totally Fall fruits and in this white barrel I found they'll look great! Overall, I was exctied by my new additions and I think the best part was I only spent $3 on the pumpkins and got creative with stuff that I already had.
Bianca got a little inspiration and after walking out to bluffs today she picked up some acorns and wallah, perfect Fall decor! She is so wonderfully creative like that, always picking flowers while on walk. It's easy and fun to get creative so Fall-out your own room!
Have fun,
Recipe
Recipe
After a nice weekend in Pismo staying in my Nan's camper Bianca returned to the reality of school. Reading, studying and papers; our night consisted of all of the above. But I finished early and had time to make this dressing that I had been wanting to try. It only took a couple of minutes to throw together and should last a single person a good week or so! It's called Absolutely Fabulous Greek Dressing* and it really is absolutely fabulous.
it with whole-wheat, rare for gnocchi. And I LOVE gnocchi. So I had a plan to make it with pesto thinking that paired well with sweet potato. Then after making cauliflower sauce for pasta out of blending steamed cauliflower with seasonings I came up with the idea of blending broccoli with the regular ingredients of pesto like basil, oil, and lemon. It was delightful! So easy too since gnocchi boils in like 2 minutes. Try this! Krissy had a taste and said it was awesome!
Ingredients1. Heat grill to medium (350° to 450°).
2. Mix soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil in a bowl. Add tofu and marinate 10 minutes.
3. Heat a large pot of water to boiling. In a bowl, toss mushrooms in oil to coat.
4. Drain tofu, reserving marinade. Slip cubes onto 4 metal or soaked wooden skewers, alternating with green onions and mushrooms. Thinly slice any leftover onion.
5. Boil noodles in water until al dente, 4 minutes. Drain; rinse well with cold water. Divide noodles among dinner bowls and garnish with radishes and sliced onion.
6. Oil cooking grate, using tongs and a wad of oiled paper towels. Grill tofu skewers, covered, turning once, until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Set skewers on noodles.
7. Mix marinade with broth, wasabi, lemon zest, and juice and serve on the side.
So before this I had never had BBQ'd tofu and now I love it! It was so wonderful that way, I've made tofu a lot of different ways too and it's one of those things that has to be done right in order to be good. If you normally don't even like tofu I would try this way of eating it because it's so great! The marinade really soaks into the tofu which is important because tofu is so bland by itself. Oh and no matter what you can not skip the soba noodles.
Enjoy, Bianca
p.s. Check out the photography skills that went into this photo! We're trying so hard to get better at pictures but it's not quite one of our strengths here.
I got this adorable "pincushion" plant at Trader Joe's last week and as I was looking at it today, it reminded me of how amazing God is. "For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). I connect to the Lord a lot through nature and I am continually amazed at how intricate God made everything. From this little plant to our amazing bodies and everything else. It trips me out.
The first dish from the top is Vosbvo Kofta, then the Aboor, then Mujadara and then a dish of fava beans. My favorite was the Vosbov Kofta, I absolutely loved it, Nanor suggested to pair it with a little balsamic vinegar. Bianca loved the Aboor the most which Nanor says is usually everyone's favorite.
Coconut Water: The water inside the inside of a coconut is super healthy, I literally believe it's God form of rehydration for athletes! It contains tons of the four types of electrolytes, all that are lost during vigorous exercise. Bianca and I drink them on our long runs.
