food | Revolution of Love

I’ve been running around all day and now that I am home I have no energy to even get out of my chair. So I thought I’d give the quick take Friday thing a try.

*** 1 ***

I just received my order of Pampered Chef items. I am looking forward to trying them out. I especially want to make the mini-quiches we had at the cooking party. I have to laugh at the recipe since it lists all their products within it, but regardless, they were delicious.

*** 2 ***

My mom is flying up from Southern California on Sunday and she will spend a week with us to help me with some pre-baby things – finishing the nursery (which is a corner of our bedroom), wash the baby clothes, do some bigger chore housework etc. Most of all I just love having her around and hearing her laughter. I can’t wait! (And as I think more about the upcoming labor, it is also comforting to know that if she could handle nine labors, I can surely handle my third.)

*** 3 ***

I was looking at a friend’s photos of their trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it made me miss not going there more often. So I finally bought an annual pass for the whole family. Bella has been excited to see the new Sea Horse exhibit and I know Andrew will love the hands on kid’s zone. Hopefully I can take my mom while she is here.

*** 4 ***

What I Am Reading: I took a break from my Agatha Christy novels when I borrowed a copy of Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. I had started it but never got to finish. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it!

*** 5 ***

What I Am Watching: I love old B&W movies and am leery to watch remakes of the old classics. Case in point – I rented the new version of The Women and it was so bad I couldn’t finish it. Don’t even bother. Rent the 1939 version with Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. It’s an interesting (and at times heartbreaking and at times humorous) view of female cattiness, marital infidelity, forgiveness and the “bad guy” getting his (hers) in the end.

*** 6 ***

What I Am Listening To: Matt Kearney’s City of Black and White. Loving this disc right now.

*** 7 ***

Brian will be home in a few minute so I have to keep this last one short. He works so hard for us and even when he is tired he’ll help me out with the kids or cleaning the shower or scrubbing toilets because it is hard for me to bend over with my growing belly and he doesn’t want me smelling cleaner fumes. Sometimes I forget that it’s all the little things he does that says he loves me. So tonight I have one of his favorite meals and the kids are going to bed early so we can have a little one-on-one time after a long and busy week.
Have a blessed night and weekend yourself!

Since I was gone last weekend, I had two episodes to watch of The Next Food Network Star. (And I had to avoid all news of the show since I hate knowing the outcome before I watch the show! I like to savor the as-it-happens drama. LOL!) But it was no surprise when Teddy went home. The guy was so annoying on camera, you felt bad for him. This week’s dismissal of Katie was sad but I think it was obvious she was next in line. (Bella is still upset since she was her favorite.)
As for the rest of the bunch, my favorite is still Melissa even though she can be so hyper and spastic at times. If she could calm down and take a deep breath, she is enjoyable and I’d be most likely to cook her food and relate to her. I also really love Jeffery and don’t think he is “too zen,” but then again, I am used to the California vibe. However, it seems that lately there is something missing with him and I hope he can pull it together and at least get to the top two.
Debbie is funny and friendly and seems to be a fave of the judges but I don’t think I’d ever cook her food. Jamika seems so sweet and has a nice personality but she is definitely next if she doesn’t snap out of the funk she is in. Again, I’m not sure if I’d cook her food but she is enjoyable to watch, or at least she used to be. Lastly, Michael is a character and he cracks me up with his weirdness. I don’t think I’d watch a cooking show with him but he’d be fun to watch (at last for a while) on one of those “educational” cooking shows that interacts with different people and places, sort of like Adam Gertler does.
Speaking of Adam, do you watch his Armchair Judge videos. He is hilarious. Love it! Well, we’ll see what happens next week! 😉

I remember when Brian and I were engaged and we were doing our wedding registry, I added a crockpot to the list. I envisioned all the meals I’d prep before going to work and the ease I’d have serving dinner later in the evening. Well, years later I found my crockpot hidden in the back of the cupboard with the price tag still attached. I decided to dust it off and give it a try and I’ve been having fun doing it!
I came across this link on a friend’s facebook page (thanks, Christina) and have already found a few recipes I want to try. Check it out at http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ .

Speaking of the holidays, if you are looking for an edible Christmas gift, we heartily recommend two gifts that we have received and truly enjoyed.

Mystic Monk Coffee

Mystic Monk Coffee is roasted by the Carmelite Monks, a Roman Catholic monastery in the silence and solitude of the Rocky Mountains of northern Wyoming. The monks live a hidden life of prayer and contemplation in the pursuit of God. The monastery is inundated with young men who seek to leave everything to pray for the world, in a tradition at least a thousand years old. It is the monks’ great joy and privilege to share the fruit of their life with you in every cup of Mystic Monk Coffee.

My sis bought Brian the Mystic Monk Coffee for his birthday and he LOVED it! Personally, I am not a coffee drinker but the smell of their hazelnut coffee makes you seriously consider converting! They also sell k-cups and fair trade organic coffee.

Gethsemani Farms

Since 1848, when 44 Trappist monks from the Abbey of Melleray in western France made themselves a new home in the hills of central Kentucky, Gethsemani has been a hardworking community. Supporting themselves at first by farming, the monks now depend on their mail-order sales of homemade fruitcake, cheese and bourbon fudge.

To a Trappist, work is a form of prayer. In fact, the cycle of public prayers the monks chant seven times daily is known as the Work of God, or Opus Dei in Latin. Trappists also pray privately at intervals throughout the day, encountering God through the ancient monastic discipline known as lectio divina, or sacred reading.

We have only tasted their cheese so far, but it was superb. Make sure to try the “smoked” one. Yum!

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This morning I saw Alex make a recipe for an Apple Brown Betty on Food Network’s Cooking Loft and it looked so tasty! Guess what we’re having for dessert tonight?!

Apple Brown Betty
Ingredients
6 apples, Granny Smith or Braeburn, peeled and cored
3 lemons, zested and juiced
1 1/2 cups unseasoned bread crumbs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 additional tablespoon for greasing the baking dish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Equipment: 5 creme brulee dishes, shallow and oval
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with a rack in the center of the oven.
Place the apples on a flat surface, cut them in half, and then into thin slices. Put them in a medium bowl and coat them with a light layer of zest from 1 of the lemons and all of the lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, mix together the butter and bread crumbs. Season with salt. Set aside.
In a third bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Mix to blend and add the apple slices.
Grease each baking dish with the remaining butter. Layer the bottom with the apples and cover with the bread crumb mixture.
Cover the dishes tightly with aluminum foil and place in the center of the oven. Bake until the apples are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the foil, raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and bake until the top browns. Serve immediately.

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Category Archives: food

7 Quick Takes Friday – 7/11/09

NFNS 2010: Update

Getting Friendly with the Crockpot

Holiday Food Gifts from Catholic Monasteries

Recipe from The Cooking Loft: Apple Brown Betty