Good Eats

Hello! Jenn here, back from a two-month absence. Seeing so many people who actually read this thing on our recent trip to Dallas encouraged me to get back on the writing wagon! (Not sure why you do it, folks, but thanks.) Last week was a bit of a whirlwind--after being in Dallas for Eric and Alyson's wedding, seeing every friend we could in Texas, and then getting stuck in Atlanta for two days due to a colossal ice storm (with my parents--YEAH!), it took us a little bit of time to get back to our Pittsburgh "normal."

Just for the fun of it, here's some pictures from Eric and Alyson's wedding. So happy for them (and me--now I have a sister-in-law!)

But on to the main point of this post. We got a lot of joy out of telling all our Texas family about our adventures up here. Pretty consistently, any time we would begin telling someone about our lives in Pgh, these were the first words out of our mouths: "We eat goooooooooood" (even though it's really 'we eat *well*'--oh grammar nazi who lives inside me, I just can't leave you). It's hard, nay, impossible, to talk about our community without talking about the FOOD! We are surrounded by wonderful cooks who bring years of experience to our table every night. One of our community members, Amber (whose blog you can and should read here), who has way more gumption than I will ever have, has taken it upon herself to compile our favorite recipes into a cookbook. I thought I would share some of them with you. If you ever make these and enjoy them yourselves, you have her to thank, because I am literally just copying and pasting these from the online cookbook she's made.

**I've made this one a couple times; makes a very rich, green pesto.

Spinach Linguine with Spinach Arugula and Walnut Pesto
adapted from The Ten Things You Should Eat

• 3 ounces baby arugula
• 5 ounces fresh spinach, blanched
• ½ cup olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup walnut halves
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound spinach linguine

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients except for the pasta in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a little water to the mixture if blending is troublesome.
Add a little salt to the boiling water and cook the linguine al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto. To serve, divide the pasta among 6 bowls, top each with a small handful of arugula, and some Parmesan cheese. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Serves 6

**This next one Amber made once and I fell in deep, deep love.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
adapted from: Simply in Season

• 2-3 large acorn squash or other winter squash

Cut squash in half and remove the seeds and strings. Place cut side down on a lightly greased baking sheet with sides. Bake at 350 degrees until almost soft but not mushy, 40-50 minutes. You may do this step in advance. Remove from the oven, fill with the following stuffing:

• 1 pound sausage
• 1 diced onion
• 1 diced apple
• 2 cups toasted bread cubes
• 3/4 cup nuts
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 Tbs sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1/4 tsp each of: dried thyme, basil and oregano

Brown sausage in a large skillet. Add onion and apple and saute just until tender. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and stuff into cooked squash, cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Serves: 4-6

**Ryan makes this granola every single week.

Granola
adapted from: More with Less Cookbook

• 2 cups whole wheat/quinoa/spelt flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup coconut (optional)
• 1 cup flax seed
• Optional: nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, are also good spices to add. About 4 Tbs total will do.

Blend together in a large bowl and set aside.

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup honey or molasses (using some honey will create clusters in your granola)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbs salt

Combine wet ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to blended dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread out on 2 greased cookie sheets and bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour or until dry and golden. Add dried fruit if desired. Store in containers.
Makes 2 1/3 - 3 quarts

There you have it: a small sampling of the outrageously delicious meals that pass through our kitchen each week. Bon appetit!

Formation House article

     Our Formation House friends and us were featured in recent article about christian communities.  I am excited to share it with everyone.  The title of the article is "Presbyterian Monastics."  It was featured in Presbyterian Today and I encourage you to read it with an open heart regarding the way God moves in and among his people (even if you are not a Presbyterian!).
    All that said, the article provides some good information on the discussions that are going on about how Christians are seeking closer relationships to their neighbors and to God.  And it shows pictures of Dave, Karen, Jay, Amber, and Jenn and I.  There is a great picture of Jenn!  Enjoy!

JF11_presbyMonastics-1.pdf