Dig Deeper Into Bread and Wine

October 2, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 10 Comments

My cousin introduced me to Shauna Niequist when we were in college. I devoured Cold Tangerines and then eagerly awaited Bittersweet. It’s difficult not to be enveloped by her voice; it’s like having coffee with a long lost pal. Conversation runs deep, touching at the most vulnerable parts of your soul without feeling invasive. Reading Shauna’s books is both inspiring and convicting, sacred and authentic. All of them are a pleasure to digest.

For the next eight weeks, a friend and I are hosting a small group to digest Shauna’s latest book, Bread and Wine. The book is truly meant to be devoured – physically (the recipes are wonderful) and emotionally/spiritually. There’s a great little discussion guide included in the back, but Bread and Wine is much meatier than space allowed for that guide. As I began to read Bread and Wine for the second time, I couldn’t stop the “ooo, I’d like to discuss this and ask someone that” type thoughts running through my head. I realize not everyone loves to dissect their reading material, trolling for discussion topics. However, I DO!

Since Bread and Wine is such a fantastic book to chat about with a group or reflect on by yourself, I wanted to share my expanded discussion guide thoughts with you all. I hope they inspire you to dig deeper into the themes and topics found in Bread and Wine and that maybe they give you the confidence to grab a group of gals to dig deeper with you! I’ll be posting these (as PDFs) once a week (ish) along with some other resources to complement that particular portion of the book.

Today, we’re starting with the introduction.

Here are the PDF’s to all the discussion guides:

Digging Deeper into Bread and Wine- Introduction

Digging Deeper into Bread & Wine – Part 1 discussion guide

Bread and Wine discussion guide, part 2

Bread and Wine Discussion Guide- Part Three

Bread and Wine discussion guide – part 4

Have you read Bread and Wine? What helped you to dig deeper?

And here’s some fun extras…

The Power of The Living Room – a sermon Shauna gave at Willow Creek Community Church about many of the same themes found in Bread and Wine.

Disclosure : Amazon Affiliate links included in this post. If you click through to Amazon, any purchase you make supports Primitive Roads.

A Few Good Things

September 4, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 3 Comments

Because of our vacation and getting back into the swing of things when Tim and I returned, I didn’t get to do a “What I’m Into” post (what I call Primitive Pleasures on the blog) this month. I did want to pass on a few good things from August, though. So, here they are!

{Tim and I – BG under sweatshirt – in New York)

App

Tim started using Pocket, an application (phone, tablet, and computer) that I would characterize as Pinterest for the written word. I often find things via Twitter and the like that I want to read but don’t have time to at that exact moment. Generally, I favorite, bookmark, or email the link to peruse later. I either forget about it or clog my inbox with emails to myself. With Pocket, you can save virtually anything (not just blog posts) your run across on the internet for later. You don’t even need internet to look them over. Even better – you can collate them into categories with customizable tabs.

Books

Friends from church gave us Waiting In Wonder by Catherine Claire Larson and it is just wonderful. It’s now on my mental list of things to give to all expectant mothers. Every week of your pregnancy, Catherine shares what’s going on biologically as well as emotionally and spiritually. There’s a memory verse each week and four more devotions for that corresponding week. The questions that go along with each devotional are fun and thought provoking – a great way to document your thoughts and feelings throughout a pregnancy.
I’m reviewing Quiet by Susan Cain for Kindred Grace’s A Peek Into Your Personality next month and am totally hooked. I won’t go into detail since I’ll be writing a whole post on the book, but whether your an introvert or extrovert, this one is worth reading.

Recipe

Around where my parent’s live in New York, most people have their own version of Chicken Riggies and Utica Greens – or at least a favorite place to get them. A friend of ours found a delicious recipe for Chicken Riggies via Taste of Home which we ate while in NY and made again last night for dinner. Imagine chicken, peppers, onions, and pasta in a tomato-cream-sherry sauce that’s a bit spicy and a whole lot of good… Fair warning: this recipe makes a TON!

For Fun

Tim and I met Jon Acuff!!! (author of Stuff Christians Like, Quitter, Start etc.)

I thought I saw his doppleganger get on our flight our of Spokane ahead of us and it turned out to be him. Tim did some quick sleuth work to confirm our suspicions and since I was already locked into my seat, I tweeted at him. Here’s what ensued…

Don’t worry, all of this tweeting was done BEFORE the flight took off. I was too embarrassed to get up during the flight to introduce myself so I thought I would just have this conversation to share with others. We wondered if he was heading home or on to another speaking engagement. My husband is an excellent internet detective and after the plane landed, he discovered Jon’s from Nashville area and there was a flight from Vegas (our layover) to Nashville departing 30 minutes after our arrival.

Long story short – we saw that his gate was on the way to ours, tracked him down (in a, non-stalker way), and introduced ourselves. We stood there debating whether to interrupt him since he had just put headphone in, but I’m glad we did! Jon is a SUPER nice guy and chatted with us until he had to board his flight.

Moral of the story: Tim and I really aren’t creepers, I promise.

A New Holiday Tradition {of the culinary sort}

November 26, 2012 ~ Emily ~ 7 Comments

I am a stickler for traditions – especially around the holidays and especially in regards to food.

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without brown sugar, pecan crusted, butter laden sweet potato casserole or stuffing made with Mrs. Cubbison’s (who I always imagined was good friends with Aunt Jemima…) classic dressing mix.

Every once in a while, however, a new culinary tradition is born, a recipe so good it breaks right in to the standards with fresh flavors and an addictive quality that demands repeating.

This happened last year with Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip.

A friend brought it to a Thanksgiving celebration and I couldn’t walk away from the plate. We ate the dip with tortilla chips and Wheat Thins. Basically, anything crispy or salty was an excellent foil for the smooth tang of cream cheese piled high with a sweet-tart cranberry relish.

My fiance, now husband, and I proceeded to take this dip to every function left in the holiday season. It went from the desert to the chilly Ozarks and back home again.

My mom flew to Idaho for Thanksgiving this year. When we planned the menu, you better bet the Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip made the list for pre-meal munching.

If you’re like me and forget to pick up a lemon while you’re at the grocery store, sit your little hiney back in the car and go get one. (Or have your ever so kind husband grab one on the way home from youth group even though he is dead tired – thanks, babe! When he heard what I needed it for, he agreed that the extra stop was worth it).

The lemon juice, combined with the sugar, helps break down the cranberries and totally brightens up the relish. Our go to vehicle for this insanely addictive dip is Wheat Thins, but any beloved crackerish item will work.

I do hope this dip finds its way into your holiday recipe repertoire! Your family and friends will love this new tradition.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Original recipe by Jamie Cooks It Up!

Time: 15 minutes prep + 4 hours refrigeration

1 12 oz package fresh cranberries

1/4 C green onion, chopped

1/4 C cilantro, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper

1 1/4 C sugar

1/4 t cumin

2 T lemon juice

dash salt

2 8 oz packages cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

The night before (or at least 4 hours in advance):

Rinse cranberries under cool water and pick out any shriveled or bad cranberries. Place berries in the bowl of a food processor. I’ve chopped by hand and the results are much quicker and more cohesive when done in a food processor.

I’m not one for extreme heat so I use half of the jalapeño. Take the rib and seeds out. Chop green onion, cilantro, and jalapeño into smaller pieces. Add to processor with sugar, cumin, lemon juice, and salt.

Pulse mixture until the cranberries look like gravel and the other ingredients are well incorporated. Put in a bowl and chill (I vote overnight!).

Let the cream cheese come to room temperature a couple hours before you’d like to serve the dip. Place the foil wrapped bricks in room temperature water for awhile to speed up the process.

Use a knife or spatula (an off-set spatula, like you would use to frost a cake, works wonders here) to spread both blocks of cream cheese over a plate. Pour cranberry mixture over the cream cheese.

Serve with crackers or chips of choice.

Three of us devoured half of it in one sitting and the remaining half the next day. Just put saran wrap over the plate and all is well for eating leftovers.

Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

September 10, 2012August 22, 2017 ~ Emily ~ 3 Comments

At the risk of sounding a tad bit crazy, I have to admit that I’ve always found raw carrots difficult to eat. All those orange fibers don’t seem to go down without a fight. No matter how much I chew or how small the carrot is to begin with, swallowing is quite the challenge.

After some trial and error, I discovered that a little lubrication helps the consumption process. My favorite carrot combination is ranch dressing, but sometimes I feel bad about eating those healthy veggies slathered in preservative-heavy bottled dressing (especially since I go with the processed light version).

Yesterday, a perfect storm of circumstances led me to create a better version of my go-to snack. Our belongings are still in transit which means no kitchen supplies except two knives, two forks, and paper plates. We subsist on food out or food we can whip up with minimal gear required. On a recent grocery store trip, a two-pound bag of baby carrots found its way into our Fred Meyer cart, along with Greek yogurt (on sale!) and a packet of ranch dressing mix.

A quick stir (with a knife, of course) and short stay in the fridge later, there was a thick, creamy, ranch dressing substitute waiting to guide those carrots down my gullet.

Plus, greek yogurt has more protein compared to salad dressing or sour cream*

Ranch Greek Yogurt Dip

1 (16 oz) container 0% plain greek yogurt (Chobani is my favorite)
1 – 2 (1 oz) packets of ranch dressing mix

Mix contents of dressing packets into greek yogurt until evenly dispersed. Dip away! Flavors will be more pronounced over time. I used two packets of dressing mix because greek yogurt is a strong base flavor, but one is totally sufficient.

This dip would be a great substitute for mayonnaise on a sandwich. It would also make a killer alternative to the mayo/sour cream in this Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe floating around Pinterest.

* Per 2 tablespoons: light ranch dressing – 0g protein, light sour cream – 2 g protein, greek yogurt – 3g protein