In the meantime

32 WEEKS TODAY!  That means that our little girl (also affectionately known as Hazelelelponi) should be here 8 weeks, give or take a few days!  That means that in more or less 8 weeks, our lives are basically going to be turned upside down, never again to be the same! That means we will officially be a family of three.  That means we’ll immediately be charged with the incredible responsibility to raise her up “in the way she should go.”  That means we’re going to have to figure out this whole “being a parent” thing.  That means lots of hugs and kisses and just lots of watching this little Bundle of Joy. Cannot. Wait. Meanwhile… I have lots of time on my hands right now.  The last few months have been super busy: The beginning of March, my part-time job volunteering in the kitchen at Cornerstone Bible Institute basically became a full-time job for 2 months.  That meant that I was in charge of ...

I like coffee.  But I’m not a connoisseur, so here’s my disclaimer for this post about a coffee drink I like to make:  I don’t think I’ve ever bought coffee beans, I don’t own a coffee bean grinder or any kind of french press or drip thingys, and rarely do I even buy fancy-flavored coffee grounds (so I’m really not too picky about my coffee.)   If you are a connoisseur,  you’ll probably puke if you read too much further in this post, so you should quit reading right now before you start thinking “How in the world can she even call that ‘coffee’?!?” (If you aren’t already thinking that!)  I do realize I’m probably greatly outnumbered and in an incredibly small minority of the earth’s population.  But I really don’t care. Anyway, for those of you who aren’t picky about your coffee, here’s a recipe from Taste of Home’s June/July 2014 issue.  I’ve enjoyed making this drink during hot summer days when I want some coffee but also want somet...

Because we knew we wouldn’t be travelling a lot this summer, we decided to do a little gardening.  Most of our plants are still pretty small (our garden kind of got a late start) but it has been such fun to go out each day and see how much everything has grown!  If everything grows and produces well, we’re going to have a lot of fresh veggies and fruit to use up, as we planted  lettuce, cilantro, cucumbers, squash, sugar peas, tomatoes, green peppers, watermelon, canteloupe, zucchini, and arugula. I know the squash and zucchini will grow like they’re on steroids. Duh. (And Isaac broke the #1 zucchini rule: never plant more than 1 seed.  Yep, he planted a whole row of zucchini.  Help!!)  If you have some killer ways to fix zucchini & summer squash, please send them this way!  What I’m really hoping for is a good crop of tomatoes and green peppers.  Mmmm…  Because they’re so pricey in the...

Ok, I know summer is just starting, but if you’re starting to look for ways to use up cucumbers, I have a recipe you gotta try.  It looks like an incredibly healthy dish and a prime candidate for a “ladies’ get-together,” but just wait and see.  You may be surprised! The Ingredients: 3/4 to 1 whole cucumber 4 oz. cream cheese 2-3 Tablespoons minced onion Seasoned salt to taste The Process: Peel the cucumber.  Grate the cucumber into a medium-sized bowl (or a food-processor if you have one.) Drain off as much liquid as you can.  Mince the onion (if you cry, just remind yourself that it’s worth it!) Cut about 4 ounces of softened cream cheese into 1/2-inch chunks. Combine and mix onions, cream cheese, and seasoned salt with grated cucumbers.  Use whatever utensil you need to use in order to get the cream cheese blended together with the other ingredients – just a spoon won’t do the trick.  (I just use a fork, but a pastry blender might also work. A food...