Thankful Thursday

It's the end of October, can you believe it? Our trees are beginning to change color and the weather has been lovely. Today I want to stop and take a moment to reflect on some of the things I have to be thankful for the last several weeks.

• Husband is back to work, although he was able to get quite a lot accomplished during the time he was home, he was very glad to get back to work.
• Young son has found employment at a small bike shop where he lives. Biking is something he enjoys doing, so this job is a great fit and he will be able to continue to "gig" on the side.
• Release from GI doctor, things have been stable, no longer need MRI's every six months...happy dance
• Still getting peppers and tomatoes from the garden...we are just about done, will probably pick the last of the peppers this week.
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• Weekly phones calls from my sister
• I say this all the time, but I can't over emphasis how thankful I am for my church and pastors and how the Word of God is faithfully preached every Sunday. We are just finishing up the book of Ephesians, don't you love how God can show you something different every time you read his Word, even though it may be a familiar book or passage. His Word is always fresh, always relevant.
• Thankful that the car we thought  might need a fuel pump, only needed an inspection
• Thankful for "Grandma Days" I had to miss a couple last month, makes me all the more thankful for them
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• Thankful that we are included in the other activities the children have, I have gotten to go to soccer games and a pep rally
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   Pansies and chrysanthemums
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• Today marks the end of Breast Cancer Awareness month, and it is the month that I celebrate three years of being cancer free...thankful!
  
  
  

Delighting In The Everyday

Last week was a pretty productive for me. I was able to clean closets, sort through clothes, do laundry, try some new recipes and purchase some pansies to plant for fall color. I know this doesn't sound all that exciting, but for me, it represented "normal"  I had been feeling like I was "treading water" the last several weeks, not really bad, but not good either, and I wasn't given any promise of things getting better...not something I wanted to hear.

So last week was a "normal" week and I delighted in each and every day. I enjoyed cleaning closets, sorting through clutter and yes, doing laundry. I was acutely aware of how thankful I was to be able to take care of my family and home.

Don't we all have something to be thankful for no matter what our lives look like, I know I do, and I also know I fall short in thanking the Lord for the many blessings he provides in my life. Praying that the Lord will help me develop a more grateful spirit.

Apple Picking

Conditions were not ideal, but husband and I decided to take a drive towards the Blue Ridge Mountains this past weekend to go apple picking. I was a bit apprehensive about going, it had been raining for days and I wasn't sure about making the trip, but husband was, so off we went.

We arrived in the early afternoon and drove up the hill to the orchard, we were going to pick apples that day but it was still drizzling, and worse, the mud was terrible, so we decided to wait until morning. (it had been raining the last several days nonstop)

View from top of the mountain

The next morning was better, still drizzly but there was some promise of sunshine. The apples were plentiful so it took hardly anytime to pick what we needed. The hardest part was navigating the muddy fields, I saw more than one person with a muddy backside. We had decided to buy a couple pair of 

"Wellies" the night before and was very glad we did, the red clay would have ruined any shoes we would have worn, and now I have something to wear in my own muddy backyard.

We came home with five bags of apples, some to share, some to eat and some to cook with. I have learned that apples can be stored for several months if kept cool. (30-35 degrees) Small apples store better and they must be perfect, no blemishes or bruises. Certain apples store better than others, we picked Stayman's, Granny Smith's and Fuji's, those apples can be stored for up to 4-5 months, although I doubt they will be around that long. I was concerned about all the downed apples, seemed like such a waste but was told those apples are used to make cider.

After we picked our apples we splurged on some hot apple cider and hot cider donuts...who needs breakfast?

They also made provision for folks to donate apples that they picked and purchased

This area is also known for it's vineyards. 

It was a quick trip for us, up one day back the next but I think it will be worth another trip soon. Maybe next time we will see Monticello.

Assurance

                            Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Closing comments for today.

Kale and Chorizo Soup

I had heard about it, seen the sign for it but,  had never visited the little Farmers Market that set up every Saturday at a local park. The Market is open from the middle of June till right before Thanksgiving, which means I'm a little late to the party but at least I'll have a few weeks to enjoy shopping there. Don't these veggies look wonderful? I know you can't see everything in the basket, but there are a couple of types of onion, yellow and butternut squash, tomatoes, sweet potato, apples and kale. We think we did okay with the price, around eight bucks for what's in the basket, but what was most important to us is that it was farm fresh.

The inspiration for this soup was the kale. I know lots of folks who make smoothies using kale but that didn't really appeal to me , so since I have never cooked with kale before, it was off to the Internet to see if I could find a recipe that looked good. I found lots of recipes but they either used ingredients I didn't have or ingredients I didn't like, so I came up with a version of my own.

Kale and Chorizo Soup

1/2 large onion chopped (about a cup)
3 cloves garlic minced
1tablespoon olive oil
6-8 cups kale, washed, stems trimmed off, then roughly cut
8 ounces fresh chorizo sausage, casings removed (most for the recipes I saw called for diced smoked chorizo but I didn't have any in the house)
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 cans chicken broth
2 cans cannellini beans
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper flake blend

Saute the sausage, onions and garlic in the olive oil until sausage cooked, then add kale until wilted just a bit, about 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, chicken broth and spices, then simmer about 30 minutes or until kale is texture that you like. (I didn't mention salt because I didn't add it but you may want to salt to your taste) Pair it with some nice bread and you have a meal.

The spices I used

This soup is pretty adaptable, I think you can use any kind of white bean or even kidney beans and the next time I make this I may try the smoked chorizo. The best part of this soup for us, is that there is going to be a lot of leftovers, which is good cause I hear it's going to be raining for the next couple of days....enjoy!

This recipe adapted from Cooking Light recipe November 2010