by Kimberly | Apr 11, 2010 | Uncategorized
Just off of the beaten path… (I’m singing an Alabama song as I write that) – in Morrisville is a little trailer type restaurant on the side of the ride, picnic table outside, gravel parking lots, red front door.
Smokey’s BBQ Shack just started opening on the weekends and by the time we left it was definitely pretty full by the locals. It was NC bbq – smoked meat (I tried the pork and chicken, taking most of the chicken as leftovers) with a vinegar based sauce. The pork was good – wasn’t dry and tasted good with the sauce. The sides I ordered: green beans and french fries – neither were as good as Sonny’s. But…the pork and the little hushpuppies made up for it.
What was the two best things about this restaurant: the atmosphere (roll of paper towels on each table, laid back, unpretentious in every way) and the company. This is a place my friend would always go to when she lived there. Janel moved to the Windy City but got her sweet tea fix just minutes after the airport yesterday.
by Kimberly | Apr 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
The ladies at Providence took me out to lunch – had fun getting to know them better. Right across the street was this little Italian place, cafe, good place for lunch. By the time we left it was pretty full.
I got the special which was under $6 and included a refillable drink, a HUGE slice of pizza with one topping, and a salad. Since we also had a large group, they brought us baskets of garlic knots.
The unsweet tea and garlic knots rocked. Little pieces of garlic were in the bottom of the basket – yummy. I had half of one – very good.
The salad was generic but good – refreshing before I put pizza in my mouth.
The pizza was good: not very cheesy, liked the thickness, liked the mushrooms, was almost cold by the time I got it (I blame it on the large group).
The company was wonderful. Refills and price were great. And the service was good and friendly.
The pizza and salad – not much to write home about. Maybe I’ll go back for another meal and try something else.
by Kimberly | Apr 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
So, a few months ago on my google reader came a list of cookbooks that were great to have. One on the list was the
Moosewood Cookbook from a restaurant in Ithica, NY. This cookbook was published in 1977 (the year I was born) and I do believe is currently out of print. They do have
many other cookbooks if you want to get one.
Some of the reasons this cookbook is worth so much is because of its hand-written recipes and pencil drawings. There are plenty of great vegetarian, whole food recipes. I am looking forward to trying many of them.
I was out shopping at my local Goodwill here in Raleigh the other night and came across this. It was AMAZING. I couldn’t believe it. I picked it up and horded it so no one else would come steal it from me.
Now the question: what will I cook from it?
Sweet Potato Pancakes, Brazilian Black Bean Soup, Polenta Pizza, Minestrone, Salads, and some of their sauces
Second question, will I keep it or try to sell it?
Depends on if the recipes are any good…
What are your thoughts on valuable cookbooks – keep or sell?
by Kimberly | Apr 4, 2010 | Uncategorized
This is not a blog post particularly on Easter, I am just writing it on Easter Sunday afternoon – so some of it has come from thinking on this day.
A lot has taken place in the last week.
True Woman Conference 10 in Chattanooga
Moving out of Louisville, KY and leaving a job I’ve loved for 2.7 years
Moving back HOME to Raleigh, NC. I love the Triangle.
Driving 9 hours with a great friend following my Dad.
Being welcomed by so many to Providence Baptist Church.
Worshipping this morning for Easter at my new church home and not feeling like a guest.
These are some of my thoughts on that:
1. The unconditional love of God the Father. I learned that this week more. I guess it was on Friday morning, I was getting ready to head to get my hair cut, fixing breakfast for Dad and I. He said “I know it may not always seem it, but I love you.” I replied, “I don’t know why, I don’t always show it back to you.” Right as soon as those words came out of my mouth, I knew that I had in a sense declared the gospel to my Dad. God the Father loves me unconditionally – all the time, even when I don’t see it, don’t feel it, or definitely don’t deserve it. He loves me during the times I disrespect him, ignore him, don’t want to spend time with Him, etc.
2. The Body of Christ. This wins out over Facebook. I had a amazing help by 6 guy friends in the ville for moving me out so quickly – 45 minutes. And Rachael pretty much hands down cleaned my whole apt as I was directing the guys and saying my goodbyes. But, earlier in the week I had no clue how I was going to get all my stuff in my apt. I had very little help. By the time I got to the apt on Tuesday, I had about 10 people helping – and we finished it in about 25 minutes. Some were friends, some only stayed 5 minutes because there wasn’t anything else to be done, but the peeps who did most of the work were people I didn’t even know. They just wanted to help. This, my friends, is what the Body does for other members of the Body – and to people not in the Body.
3. “Death is dead.” I love this line from a Getty song. I mean think about it. If the wages of sin is dead – then it is dead. Dead. Not half alive, not in a coma. The empty tomb conquered death for us for eternity. Does that mean we still won’t sin? No. But, it means that sin has no more dominion over us. When I struggle with the sin of impatience, overeating, laziness, comparison, judgmentalism, coveting, pride, putting Christ last – He has won all those and I need no longer struggle with them. My Mom was talking about this on the phone while I was traveling home. All we have is Christ – as the New Attitude band song says.
4. We have victory every day. Pastor David preached on this this morning. We have victory over sin on Easter. But, we also have victory over sin on Monday, on January 3, on Dec 25, on July 16 – 365 days a year. There is not a day where we should live in the defeated dejection of sin. Christ’s love is better than that life.
5. We are all sinners. As I was loving on babies this morning at the 930 hour – I had some cute ones. It was very interesting to see them during snack time. We laid out a sheet and sat them all down, poured cheerios in front of them. They immediately looked at what the other kids received and went for their’s. I guarantee their parents haven’t trained them to be stealers, coveting, envious, prideful, selfish toddlers. No. But, sin is by nature. This is why we have to teach the gospel so early! We are by nature all sinners, deserving of death, being loved and shown mercy by a gracious God. PTL. And just for the record, I enjoyed holding Rachel and Judah in my lap for most of time. Judah – that kid – gotta love him. We snuggled!
6. I have loved most parts of my life the past 2.7 years. Louisville – the friends, the job, and the restaurants – will definitely be missed. I have great friends there. But, there are other parts that won’t be missed so much – that were extremely hard.
7. God has graciously blessed. The last 6 months in this transition have been hard at time, but most of the time I have seen and known the peace of God and known His blessing and hand of direction on this! I will see a dream fulfilled tomorrow – a prayer request I’ve had for 7 years (since graduating seminary). Even as I look out my porch right now – knowing there is pollen covering my car, knowing there will be tough times, knowing that there will be many times I will feel lonely and over my head, overwhelmed by the task at hand. I do know that God’s hand and glory all over this. I can’t wait.
I look forward to seeing what my life looks like – as it is lived out for his glory. Thankful for the cross!
by Kimberly | Apr 4, 2010 | Uncategorized
Wow – here we go! 🙂
I already love living in Raleigh – have eaten at Chipotle, Tripps, Whole Foods, and the Cheesecake Factory – good stuff! This week will be some leftovers, eating out, and over at a friend’s home.
So, since I haven’t sat down to plan out my daily menu – I’ll just give you a run down of what I will be eating this week. Usually I will take Fridays to plan for the next week – sitting at Caribou – planning my work, home, exercise, and cooking schedule for the following week
Breakfasts will probably be fruit and banana pancakes.
Lunch: leftovers of cheesecake factory’s chopped vegetable salad with chicken – at least 2 days; majudra leftovers – maybe topped on a salad.
Dinners: salad with egg whites – grits and egg white – and then whatever else I didn’t eat for lunch.
Thursday I’m hanging out with Bonnie for dinner. Saturday for lunch will be BBQ in Morrisville with Janel. The recipe of the week will be Tuscan Bean Soup from BH&G 2/2008. I know it is getting warm, but I still find something so comforting in soups. I love things you can eat with a spoon! And it is really easy and full of vegetables! I’ll probably go ahead and make this completely vegetarian by using veggie broth instead of chicken broth.
by Kimberly | Apr 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
My Dad is from the South and he loves grits. So, when I knew he was staying for a few days to help me get settled here in Raleigh, I knew I wanted to make this recipe. I halved the recipe and glad I did because their serving sizes are huge! This was rich, creamy, nutty (due to Parm cheese). So good. Cooking Light has a winner here.
2 cups milk (I used skim, in a glass, from a local farm: delish)
2 cups water
pinch of salt
3/4 cup quick cooking grits (scant, I just like them thicker)
2 oz grated parm cheese (about 2/3 cup)
2 1/2 egg whites
pinch of black pepper
2 T chopped fresh chives
pinch of salt
Bring milk, water, and salt to boil. Stir in grits, turn down to simmer, cover and let cook, stirring occassionally, for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, grate cheese, seperate egg whites, chop chives.
Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks (don’t over beat) with pinch of salt. Add chives, pepper, and salt to grits when they are done. Fold in the egg whites (don’t deflate them). Pour in greased 8×8 pan and bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. Lightly browned, little wobbly in middle.
Enjoy. I cooked some eggs and decorate the plate with remaining chives.
About 200 calories – and worth it!
