Hooray for a Monday off (well, I really don’t work, so not much change here) and the unofficial start of fall. I’ve got some eating healthy to do this week. My mister has some stuff going on with work so the littles and I will be eating our meals by ourselves for a few days at night.
I have some leftovers to send with the mister for lunches: beef stew, triple b mac and cheese, cream of celery soup (recipe coming soon), and vegetarian baked ziti. And this week I’ll be making:
Spaghetti Casserole
Lots of green smoothies
Lots of salads
The boys faves: chicken nuggets, fish nuggets, veggies, fruit, sandwich meat, pbj, etc.
Making these muffins (it is one of our rotations for breakfast along with oats, yogurt and granola and fruit, and cinnamon toast)
I have a thing for cookbooks. And food. Yup, I do. There, I admitted it.
I love cookbooks that tell me a story, that highlight real food, that makes me want to make every recipe. This one is even better because it clearly reminds me of my childhood. I loved going next door to my grandparents house and picking all the tangerines and oranges that I wanted. I never remember buying citrus till I moved out of the state of Florida. My parents had a kumquat tree that died. They now grow pomelos. I would love to grow a lemon and lime tree just because I hate purchasing them.
If you are a lover of citrus, you need to pick up this cookbook. If you can’t get your hands on good produce to photograph – then rip out the pictures and put them on your wall in the kitchen to inspire you. Love the tangy, tartness in these recipes. Adore the many uses of the same fruit. There are so many varieties. Just go with it!
The first recipes I’ll be making is the lime curry chicken this weekend and grapefruit and avocado salad this week. Can’t wait – and yes, there will be photos.
I received this book happily from Blogging for Books in exchange for my thoughts, all of which are my own.
Unfortunately, this world hands us things that we must learn how to interact with, pray about, deal with, handle with truth and the gospel, and prepare our kids to face as they get older. This is the sad reality in which we live.
Fortunately, Justin Holcomb and his wife, Lindsey, have written an incredible resource for children (toddlers through 8 years old) to instruct, inform, and prepare them for how they live in their bodies. And how they respond to physical touch.
Child abuse, both physical and sexual and mental, is so rampant these days. We must know how to prepare our children for what they (prayerfully won’t) might encounter. The more our children are prepared the more we as parents can hopefully prevent harm to our children.
What I love about God Made All of Me is that is tells children that their bodies are good because God made them and it teaches them the importance of communication with trusted adults. Inappropriate sexual touch can be totally embarrassing to children – they may not know how to tell their parents. But, if you keep the communication lines open with your child, and teach them that God did make them in His image and it is wrong for others to touch them in a wrong way – you will be equipping your child!
This book comes out this week – and you (and your church library) need this book. My Mom has been gracious enough to provide one for you to win.
So, all you have to do is tell me what truth you preach to yourself to keep you from worrying about all the evil that might affect your children as they grow. Truth to guard against evil! So important as we train our children up to love Jesus.
Litfuse provided me this book through New Growth Press to review. All opinions are my own.
To be honest, I don’t listen to my ipod and I don’t have music loaded on my computer because it slows down the overall working of the computer – so I’d rather just have quiet in my home and then I definitely listen to it in the car. You can always hear my older son asking for it by pointing to the radio dial and saying “more more” from the back seat.
SO, instead of pushing shuffle, I’ll just tell you what is in my 6 CD changer in our highlander:
Sovereign Grace. This CD is such a blessing to my soul – reassuring my of my position in Christ.
Getty. The songwriting of the Gettys (and Stuart Townend, they often write together) is untouchable in these days. And the fiddle and penny whistle is well-worth the listen. I love their live albums the most because you hear people singing passionately and expressively which encourages me in my walk.
Hillsong United. Whenever I want to rock it out in my car, this one gets played. Mercy Mercy is my favorite song on the disk for sure.
BBQ. Everyone has their opinions of it, especially in the South. Vinegar? Brown sugar? Mustard? Smoked with sauce? Smoked with sauce on the side? Pork? Beef? Never-ending discussion on this subject.
I do like some BBQ better than others but one of the best parts about bbq is the side dishes that accompany it. And this new macaroni and cheese would own up to the best bbq at any picnic table – especially this weekend, as it is the official last weekend of summer and many tailgating parties are happening as well.
Triple B Mac & Cheese
Recipe Type: casserole
Cuisine: southern
Author: kcreatives
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
The perfect side dish to any bbq – or just a main dish waiting to be devoured
Ingredients
8 oz shell pasta
6 T unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp country dijon mustard
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup diced banana peppers
3 strips bacon (already cooked, diced)
3/4 sleeve Ritz crackers
2 T unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Boil water for pasta and cook the pasta according to directions, drain.
Melt down butter in a pan.
Once butter is melted add flour and salt. Whisk until combined.
Add pepper and dijon mustard and mix well
Add cream and stock and whisk for about 3 minutes
Add monterey jack cheese and turn off the heat.
Dump in the cooked pasta.
Pour all into a buttered casserole dish.
Top with grated sharp cheddar.
Mix melted butter, crushed crackers, and diced cooked bacon. Sprinkle on top
Bake for 20 minutes at 400.
EAT!
3.3.3077
Triple B: bacon, banana peppers, and baked. Creamy. You can’t go wrong.
The prompt for today’s Blogtember Challenge is what am I passionate about? Its a funny thing – passion. Goodness, 20 years ago I would have been passionate about college football. Yes, I still love college football and my Gators – but I’m not quite as passionate about it as I once was. I hope the older I get, God will tweak my passions to be about things he is passionate about.
First thing is the Gospel.
The gospel is the fact that I am a sinner, yet Jesus, in his perfection, came and died for me on the cross. I love living that out to people (though I fail miserably at it at times), I love singing passionately and expressively about it, I love reading about it, I love applying it to my marriage and my parenting. The last job before I got married was designing and writing Treasuring Christ Curriculum and that was such a wonderful experience writing every day about the gospel. That endeavor helps me even today.
Second, is food.
Not just food – like I love bacon. But, food – that God created it for us to enjoy, that it is gorgeous and can fuel our bodies in a healthy way, and that we can enjoy it with others, or by ourselves (like taking a spoon and a carton of Talenti’s gelato and watching a few episodes of NCIS). My favorite phrase is “Everything important happens around the table.”
Third is community.
Community is not being friends, – though that is important. It is more about doing life with each other. And in my experience community is hard to come by, but once you have it – it is here to stay no matter how many miles. I live life with some of my friends via text and emails and social media. Community is found deepest with my mister and my little misters. I could travel the world with them and be completely content.
The way these passions work out in my every day is: writing, cooking and feeding my family, photography, and being involved in people’s lives both close by and those far away. The gospel hopefully permeates all of that.
Each month I love to introduce you to creatives so you can get to know them, know their work, and continue to build community in this social media world we now live in. Today, I’m featuring Jenna Diprima who owns her photography business based out of a small, wonderful little town near the Triad in North Carolina, Mebane. We met because of my bestie and turns out that I go to church with some of her family. Small world. I actually had a chance to sit down with her for some coffee as I was passing through back in March, but with two toddlers, even when you venture to a playground, it can be difficult to carry on continuous conversation. Enjoy getting to know Jenna. Jenna – thank you for sharing some of your life and photography with us!
I did get the chance to sit down with you for coffee, but can you tell everyone else what is in your coffee cup?
My favorite thing to drink in the mornings is black coffee from a french press.
Most mornings I end up with coffee from my coffee maker though
because let’s be real, most mornings are rushed. 🙂
Why photography?
I have always loved photography. Ever since I was a little girl,
I’ve usually been the one taking pictures at family events and when I’m with friends.
I’ve also always loved fashion, design, and other visual art forms.
I got my first DSLR about 6 years ago and as friends and family began asking me
to take pictures for them,
I realized how much I loved photography and
that I wanted to make it more than just a hobby.
How does your belief in God play a role in your photography?
My belief in God plays into my role as a photographer in many ways.
First, I believe God created all things and He wants us to delight in the beauty
we find in the world and thank Him as the Giver of all good things.
Second, I believe God has blessed me with the gift of photography
and I should use it to love and serve others.
I want to go above and beyond to serve every client and to love them as Christ has loved me.
I also work hard to do the best I possibly can at every shoot and every wedding because,
ultimately, I am working as unto the Lord, and I want to glorify Him with my work!
How’d you get started photographing weddings?
I began second shooting for weddings a few years ago
and I realized how much I love it! I love working with couples
and I love capturing such a significant and happy day in their lives.
I also love the details and the beauty that goes into weddings.
You live in a small town. What’s the best perk to living in a small town?
I live in Mebane, NC.
I love living somewhere where you almost always
run into someone you know! I love the sense of community that small towns have.
I’ve actually always been more drawn to bigger cities.
But I love that Mebane is central to so many big cities (it’s less than 30 minutes from
Greensboro, Chapel Hill, and Durham).
How do you balance being a wife and a photographer?
Great question!
Balance is always something I’m striving for and something
I often feel like I’m struggling to achieve!
Specifically as it relates to marriage,
I try to make sure that my husband and I have at least one day or one evening
where we’re spending quality time together. As a wedding photographer,
I’m often away on nights and weekends and so I try to be careful not to
schedule too many nights or weekends back to back
so that we can have quality time together each week. In addition,
I’m trying to train my husband to become a second shooter for me!
I think shooting together would be so much fun and would be great for our marriage!
If you could photograph a wedding anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I would photograph a wedding in London or Oxford.
I studied abroad in London and that city holds a very special place in my heart.
I love the architecture, the history, and the beauty found in that city.
Cardamom is definitely my favorite go-to spice with anything berries or citrus. It just lends that special “oomph” and “hmmm, wonder what is in there” to any recipe. I have made some cardamom sugar with the pods and always have ground cardamom in my spice “basket” (a wine box I found at Goodwill which I love and am always in search of another one for cheap).
Anyway, I had to share this recipe tonight! Just in case you have tons of lemons and you just have to have cookies with your decaf tonight!
This recipe is a shout out to Cheryl Day who owns Back in the Day Bakery – my fave cafe in my favorite city in Georgia, Savannah. I tweaked her recipe and oh by golly is it good (and her’s is stellar too by the way).
Lemon Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
Recipe Type: Cookies
Cuisine: Dessert
Author: kcreatives
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3 dozen
Perfect chewy shortbread for that cup of coffee!
Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract (I love opening the bottle of this, smells amazing)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cup 10x sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
zest of two lemons
1/8-1/4 cup cardamom sugar (for sprinkling on top before baking)
Instructions
Heat oven to 350.
Spray sheet pans with baking spray.
Cream butter. Add in salt and lemon. Combine sugar and zest. Then add in all purpose flour. Shape into balls with your hands and gently press them down (I’d love to find a pretty cookie press for this one, a simple, antique one would be great).
Let chill in fridge for 2 hours.
Sprinkle cardamom sugar on top of each cookie.
Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.
Cool a little – then devour them warm, or wait until morning.
If you are new to this blog (I’ve been doing it ten years), then this one picture will tell you almost everything that I’m about:
My misters: Eric, and my two littles who are full of energy. I love to write about them and our adventures – but also love to write about marriage, parenting, shepherding children, books and resources that will help these relationships, and how to pray for your spouse and children.
I love to share my photography – which is the picture of my sweet friend Leyna and her little girl M. This was a mother’s day shoot. I love capturing mommies with their littles. And love, food, and other portraits.
Food: I love cooking, baking, and sharing those recipes with you.
The Gospel – the most important relationship is with Jesus and I hope you will find that in most of my blog posts. The gospel infiltrates all of life!
I’m encouraged to be a part of Pursuit Community ATL, a city group of Pursuit Community, which is a group of ladies who love Jesus, community and creative ventures. In August, on a misty rainy day, I drove up to the Alpharetta area and pulled into this breathtaking sweet venue tucked by some water and greenways. Little River Farms is a sublime venue for an indoor or outdoor wedding – the grounds are just as pretty as the light, window-filled place that sits on the land. Sweet Luisa and her husband had just celebrated their one year anniversary. Such a treat to shoot this couple. They make shooting weddings easy!
Since this was a styled shoot, we had the best of the best wedding vendors from around the ATL metro area
