we love soup

The cold rain and wind of winter have finally arrived in SF.  That means rain boots, umbrellas, lots of blankets and lots of soup.  It's certainly not the so-cold-my-teeth-hurt like D.C. (I barely wear a coat heavier than a trench coat), but it still makes me want to hibernate until March and drink tea and eat lots of soup! 
We don't follow recipes very well around here which is another reason why we love soup so much.  So versatile and forgiving when lacking all the "necessary" ingredients or wanting to change it up. 
Here are a few of our recent favorites: 


Chicken Tortilla Soup  Works well on the stove or in the slow cooker.  We have substituted the enchilada sauce for tomato paste and spicy spices, and the frozen corn for black beans.


Tuscan Bean Soup with Shrimp Added fish too.  Spinach also works well in place of Kale.


Lentil Stew with Chorizo and Kale  Works great with turkey sausage, ground turkey and/or hot italian sausage instead of chorizo.  We've also left the potatoes out and haven't missed them.


Herb, Chard, and Feta Soup  Used fresh dill instead of cilantro.  


Chili We opt for the leaner ground turkey instead of beef.  


Sinigang.  Okay, don't have a recipe for this one.  I learned by watching Gene.  You basically boil the heck out of some meat (we use country pork spare ribs), let it cool (we put it in the frig), skim the fat off the top, add tamarind soup seasoning (or lemon juice and salt works great too),  add something green such as bok choy, green beans, spinach or long beans, and serve it over rice.  Heavenly!  Especially when you have a stuffy nose.  

ephesians 2

Been camping out in this chapter the last few days.  Amazing.    


WE WE'RE. . . 

• dead in our trespasses and sins
• following the course of the world
• following the prince of the power of the air
• living in the passions of our flesh
• carrying out the desires of the body and the mind
• by nature children of wrath
• separated from Christ
• alienated
• strangers to the covenant
• having no hope without God in the world
• far off

BUT GOD. . . 

• being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us
• made us alive together with Christ
• raised us up with him
• seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus
• showed us the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus

WE ARE . . . 

• saved by grace through faith
• his workmanship
• created in Christ Jesus for good works
• brought near by the blood of Christ
• made one
• reconciled to God
• given peace
• given access in one Spirit to the Father
• no longer strangers
• fellow citizens with the saints
• members of the household of God
• built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit

summer goals revisited in the dead of winter

Remember all those summer goals I planned to accomplish.  The fact that I never posted about them shortly after summer ended should tell you something about how I did. 

A re-cap:

1. Work out 5x a week.  Yes!!  Maybe a week or two with 3x but made up for it with a few weeks of working out everyday. I only wish I could say the same about the Fall.

2. Sort through recipes and make some kind of binder/organizational system. Nope. Threw out the unwanted and stashed the rest in a recipe box, unorganized.  

3. Make vegetables the main dish of the meal 2x a week.  Gotta maximize on all the fresh summer veggies. Sort of. Yes, when I was cooking for the two of us.

4. Read in a different spot other than my couch or bed once a week.  I've got some cafe spots already slated: Velo Rouge, Blue Danube,Tartine, Bazaar.  I need some outside spots.  Not even close, but I did read a lot on various couches on both sides of the continent.

5.  Study 3 books of the Bible.  Starting with Hebrews.  Yes! 

6. Plant herbs on our balcony.  Ha! Bought herbs already planted.  Turned out to be cheaper than buying all the stuff separately.  The thyme and rosemary still live on!!  Basil and lavender not so much, but maybe they'll come back for a visit in the summer.     

7.  Make some homemade ice cream (sans ice cream maker).  Gotta find a recipe.  Browsed for recipes and that was it.    

8. Say YES to summer dresses week.  Wear a dress/skirt everyday for a week.  I LOVE summer dresses and have too many sitting in my closet feeling unloved because of our cool weather.  Gonna try and scope out the weather forecast for a warm week or succumb to wearing lots of sweaters and leggings along with them. Yes!!  I have a bunch of bad iphone pics to prove it, but not worth posting.  

9. Take a picture every hour of a normal or fun day.  Yes!!  This was fun.  Enjoyed looking back in my phone at them, so here they are.  This day had a mix of normal and fun!!  

Prepping for dentist appointment

Dentist

Still there

Found out I needed a root canal

Sorting through mail

Lunch with Gene and our Maryland friend, Connie, in town for a visit

Burritos!!

Blue Bottle and Miette at the Ferry Building

Bay Bridge Viewing 

Took Connie to Twin Peaks

Shopping for glasses with Gene

Dinner with friends at Nopa.  Forgot to take a shot before we started eating, I guess.

Over half of these people don't live in SF anymore.  BOO!! We miss you.  

Pie!!

Meal Planning

Bible Reading

10. Make my own wedding photo book.  Nope.  Started in the summer but finished on Nov 30th.  Just in time for the Christmas presents!!!!!   =)

So I certainly didn't accomplish everything, but it would have been way worse if I hadn't set any summer goals at all.  Looking forward to Summer 2012 goals, but it's way too early to be thinking about that now.    

The end.