Our girl made dinner for the family tonight! She needed to complete a project and we needed to eat. Those two things lined up beautifully on this sunny-then-very-stormy Thursday evening, so we spent some time in the kitchen together—Livia with pots and pans and ingredients and me with my camera and some verbal guidance. The end result was that Livia learned how to make a roux, a cheese sauce, and she honed some stovetop skills she’s been developing over time. The mac and cheese was good, though next time we agreed to add sharp cheddar for more of a kick. Recipe posted below.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
16 ounces elbow macaroni
1⁄4 cup butter
1⁄4 cup flour
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or 8 ounces cheddar cheese

Directions:
– Cook macaroni according to package directions.
– In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour, and cook for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly to form a roux; add salt and pepper; slowly add milk, stirring well after each addition.
– Cook and stir until bubbly.
– Stir in cheese a small amount at a time until fully melted.
– Drain macaroni; add to cheese sauce; stir to coat.

I walked into the Morehead household and found Clara in the kitchen slicing up a strawberry snack for a younger friend. This girl has a big heart, a helper’s heart, and it was truly endearing—say nothing of empowering, knife skillz, hello!—to watch her work. She was prepared for my camera and gave me a beautiful smile before taking the bowl of berries out to the living room.

I don’t know why God gave me the eyes that he did. I see loveliness in the most ordinary of places and get caught up in the way the light flickers over a t-shirt, the way a tulip curves beyond it’s vase, the way glassware drying next to the sink gleams. I have an eye for the beauty in ordinary life, and that’s oftentimes what you’ll see represented on my blog.

While I want to be great and accomplish something incredible and make a book someone wants to read, I wonder if my life will instead look a bit like the gleaming glasses next to my sink. Very ordinary most every day, but, hopefully, extraordinary for the people I’m closest to. Perhaps my legacy will be the little bits of myself ordinary self that I’ve given to Jeremy and to Livia, to my family and to my church family. Whatever happens long after I’m gone, I know there will be a large number of files on this computer that show off the sweetness found in the ordinary. Because I think, many times, that the ordinary is actually extraordinary.

Case in point: salad in a jar. I made them yesterday with wonderful people from church, and this week I shall eat them. I think they’re lovely.

Hooray hooray hooray! I finished my seminary semester yesterday morning with an exam (my cohorts were a-mazing and encouraging and we did a great job collectively!) and after having a celebratory lunch and a celebratory nap, I braved Super Target at dinnertime to both replenish our pantry and buy ingredients for dinner. We needed to eat something besides fast food, and my body felt sure it required a vegetable. And since I, the resident chef, loves soups, this recipe was a winner. I picked out Kale, Sausage & White Bean Stew from Jenny Rosenstrach’s Dinner: A Love Story and that was that. Livia did not exactly love it, but she ate it. She said the french bread tasted bitter—which honestly made me question my own taste buds and, man, am I losing my tasting abilities now that I’m 40??–so I dolloped some strawberry jam on her already-buttered slices and called it good. Feeding children is a game, right? I wanted to “win” by not having her ask for a snack before bed. It’s bean soup and bread or NOTHING, my friend. It worked, all was well, I had a mom win, amen.

One last thing… if you’re curious about the word “koselig” read my first blog entry in this series. Really, this series began as a justification for my Le Creuset purchase. It’s all worked out well, I’ll admit.

Kale, Sausage & White Bean Stew

1 onion, chopped
3 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
S&P, to taste
1/2 t red pepper flakes
4-6 links (about 1.25lb) Italian chicken or pork sausage, casings removed
1-32oz chicken broth
1-14oz can diced tomatoes
2-14oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed, chopped into small pieces
Drizzle of red wine vinegar (about 2 T)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Saute onion in a Dutch oven over med-high heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, s&p, pepper flakes and cook, stirring 1 minute.

Add in sausage and brown until cooked through, 4-5 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil. Add kale, simmer until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in a drizzle of red wine vinegar and serve stew with parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

**I substituted 1lb milk pork sausage for the links, and—gasp!—didn’t have any garlic in my pantry but made do with garlic powder.

There’s something so satisfying in the quiet after a party is over. Everything echoes of the warmth and love that existed a few hours before. Counters now clean were filled with platters of comforting foods. The empty sink and wet dishcloths cleaned glass upon glass. The dinner table still bears a centerpiece but now only a few crumbs remain to remind me of the feast enjoyed by all who sat here. Memories of family and laughter and moments are all tucked away in my mind after a good Thanksgiving was held. I’m grateful for this space because it can hold these people. And these people are worth remembering.

There’s nothing better in this life than a perfectly ripe nectarine.

Oh, who am I kidding… I’m exuberant and have lots of feelings and lots of love so the statement above could be filled in with a number of adequate nouns. But I really do love nectarines. Their hairier cousin–the peach–is a close second.

My thoughts swing wildly from school (finals, books, topics, people) to church work (mercy meals, deaconessing, worship tonight) to home life (mothering, wifing, laundry). I plug in my new speaker and play music from my phone, each song compelling me forward in the tasks I’ve been called to do. I’m not sure that my life will ever find a clearcut path, but the neurons are happiest when multitasking, each job connecting to another with creativity and passion, joy and energy. There is time to be tired later, but for now, I’m taking delight in the beautiful mess I’m creating with prayer, a heart of service, a few dance moves, bananas, and a stick of butter.

A recipe worth your time can be found here.

Leftovers from baking cookies.

Funny how a bowl of pears can delight me so much. There’s something about the glass, the fruit, the light that captures my attention over and over.

First opportunity for Christmas treats and I pick caramel popcorn. Yum.