‘When my humility shapes my expectations, I have eyes to be surprised, to see all as grace.’
Isn’t fall so timely for soup eating? Soup paired with a some sort of warm bread…I don’t think I have a more favourite meal this time of year. It’s amazing how something so simple can completely satisfy and nourish.
While working at the Bible College, I spent many mornings creating soups out of leftovers (yes leftovers-sorry to all you students out there 
…our little secret), the abundance of vegetables brought by blessed donators, and even treasures found upon scouring the freezer. I know that soup and fresh bread was not always the favourite meal amongst the students, but I have to say that it was one of my favourites to make. I definitely had some hits and misses when it came to the likeness of my concoctions. One such hit was a soup the students soon deemed ‘kitchen tomato’ (which is simply a homemade cream of tomato soup). I was thinking that I would share this recipe with you. I have made a few changes when I make it at home, for my own personal taste, but I will include those changes in brackets so that you can chose which option you like best. I hope you enjoy!
Cream of Tomato Soup (aka ‘Kitchen Tomato Soup’)
2-19 oz. cans tomatoes (can use crushed, whole or cut up skinned tomatoes-I just use what I have on hand and if I want it a bit more tomatoey I add a can of tomato paste)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped celery (or more if you’d like, I also add a couple carrots if I have them)
2-10 oz cans chicken broth (or tomato juice, or just water if you have no chicken broth)
1 tsp dill
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour (My father-in-law is celiac, so I use about ¼-1/2 cup of corn starch or tapioca starch instead-you can use whatever thickener you have on hand)
4 cups milk
1 cup cheese whiz (I added a cup, or more, of grated cheddar instead)
Salt and pepper to taste
Simmer tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery, broth and dill until veggies are cooked, about 20 minutes. Blend this all together until it is as smooth as you want it. In a medium size pan, melt butter and blend in flour to make a paste. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly, to make a thick sauce. Add cheese whiz or cheese and stir until fully melted. Add to the tomato/veggie mixture. Stir and add enough salt and pepper to your liking.
I have officially been off work for a week now.
I am finding that, though I am not short on things to fill my time, it hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I am done work now. I feel as though I am on a little holiday. I wonder how many days it will take to prove to myself the reality of this!?
Though you may think this is crazy, I have been still trying to get up with Mark every morning. I really enjoy seeing him before he is off for the day and I find great joy in the peaceful quietness that the morning brings-especially when I am not rushing off to work. I hope that this doesn’t sound cheesy, but I am finding that this time is very refreshing for my soul. I will never be able to write eloquently how these mornings go for me. However, I find that amongst the walks, coffee, slowness, soft music and quietness…thankfulness before God, I am being renewed each morning. It truly is amazing what you discover when you simply…slow down.
- morning fall fog, on my walk this morning
Mark and I just got in from a walk in the snow and were talking about how completely blessed we feel. We hope that you feel blessed today as well. There is always so much to be thankful for.
Now in the spirit of ‘giving’ I am deciding to share with you all a pregnant picture of me . Your job now is to ‘give’ me some grace, as I look quite stunned in this photo. hahaha
God Bless you today and always.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I was asked to do a birthday cake last weekend for a wonderful little boy. I sure had fun decorating this one. Here are a few pictures of it…
Mark and I have been working on painting and building our crib…etc., for about a month now. A month! I know, you are probably thinking that at that rate it’s sure a good thing we got started so early (procrastination?!). What can we say?! Maybe a little excited? I have also heard that some form of ‘nesting’ is inevitable. So, there you have it-I have given in to the nesting temptations, and according to my main man; will probably do a little more of it when I am officially done work in 8 days. Am I counting down the days? That obvious isn’t it?!
Thus, with all that said, I thought I would share some pictures of our nursery so far. It’s very hard to know what one needs but I think with the help of friends and family we are getting pretty set. I am really hoping to be able to do a painting to put above the crib, possibly before our little one arrives. In some ways I think that would be quite a stretch, seeing as I am running a blank on the idea side of things. Do any of you have any inspiration for me? I will keep you posted on the painting but for now…here are the pictures….
….hmmm…a baby update eh?
….I will try to tell you what I know …
Right now I am 33 weeks along and I am starting to feel it. During my last doctors appointment, I had voiced my concerns over being too small for how far along I was (because I was getting oodles of comments). I was relieved to have her check and confirm that everything was fine. The baby’s heart was just a beating…and she was encouraged by how active our baby is (definitely has Mark in the little thing! ). She did say, however, that I would notice a lot of growth happening rather fast! Boy was she right. Not that I particularly notice a change in me from day to day. Yet, I feel my belly literally stretching. I am not sure if my cousin Shawni reads this but if so-you may get a picture of my belly button very soon! When I was back in Smithers recently, we were giggling together about the saying: the belly button pops when the turkey is done….err…when the baby is ready. I know that not all women have a popping belly button but Mark makes comments every night how it’s about to happen to me soon!
We are starting to get things ready for the baby’s room. We have been trying to finish painting a crib and change table. Also, just simply getting a handle on what things we actually will need right away. I know my mom must laugh when I phone her asking if ‘we actually need that’. I also am very thankful for the friends and family around that are always willing to listen and share. I have always struggled a bit with who I am as a woman and I have been very blessed with what God has shown me through this pregnancy.
Another thing that has been going through our minds during the past months are….names! Some people find this fairly stressful but besides the fact that Mark and I don’t agree on many names-it hasn’t been so bad. In fact, I have found this process rather funny. You really have to consider a lot of things as you narrow down your options…
…one thing was last name…Mark was immediatly set on Megan not being an option (Megan Hagen), and we were both saddened when we decided that Corbin just wouldn’t work either (say Corbin Hagen aloud a few times and you’ll hear it). Maybe just us but we couldn’t find peace about naming our child something that he may later get teased/or compared to chewing tobacco.
…another thing is just simply in regards to likes and dislikes…I like the name Tessa: Mark said it sounded to much like royalty–Contessa anyone? Mark likes the name Hans: Just something about the way Hans Hagen sounds just doesn’t make me feel all warm inside (all respect to his great grandfather though…oops).
…other peoples opinions can also get in the way…apparently my mom wasn’t too excited about a granddaughter named Lucy June Hagen. Mark still thinks it has a nice ring to it.
…or other people have some ideas that we just aren’t sure would work…I have a friend who is convinced that we should name our child Rockwell Thunder. She seems to think that if anyone could pull it off-we could. Shes got to do some more convincing I think .
…Welcome to the world Rockwell Thunder Hagen!
What do you think?
hmmm
you are not convinced either, are you?
Here are some pictures of a couple of my recent cakes.
I thought that this may be a good way to break out of my non-blogging streak…
A friend of ours just recently became a paramedic-this was to help celebrate him.
For my new nieces baby shower.
Hopefully more posts to follow…
This summer seems to be a summer of weddings for Mark and I.
This past weekend, we travelled down to Fort Steele, BC (near Kimberly, BC) to watch a very dear friend of mine, marry an extremely special man. The wedding was held outside, near a RV resort, beneath a beautiful mountain range. The weather was hot and we were all ‘bare-footing-it’ just like the bride and groom. I absolutely loved being able to be a part of their joy and simply feel the peace of God rest over the entire day. What a fun time!
Just outside our campsite
I was also asked to make their wedding cake. It was a really fun cake for me to make. I have not done anything quite like it yet. The bride and groom were both totally fine with anything and were open to any amount of creativity I chose to use. However, the one thing they did ask for was to have a white cake with a filling of huckleberries! I giggled when they asked for this because if I was still living in Smithers, I would probably have a whole freezer full of these wild berries. I spent many days picking them as a kid. They are a mountainous berry that are only found in certain places-here on the prairies is not one of them. Thus, I tried to track some down through some of my aunts back in Smithers. When this wasn’t successful, and when we found that shipping some from Montana would be too expensive, we opted to buy some pies from a local ‘Huckleberries Restuarant’ that actually sells some huckleberry products-and scoop out the berry filling to use as my cake filling (yes yes…I did ask if I could just buy the pie filling but they said no and that I’d have to buy the whole pie!!). What an ordeal! So, their cake was indeed white wake with huckleberry filling and cream cheese icing. I used some white and milk chocolate to do the wood grain look on the side. Also, the berries, leaves and flowers were made out of fondant and painted with food colouring. Here are some pictures…
The other really fun thing about the weekend was that two of my sisters travelled from Penticton to spend it with us! It was so good to get to just hang out with them and tour around the area. My littlest sister, Jayme, had never been camping before. So, while we didn’t really rough it entirely and we weren’t allowed to have a campfire due to fire bans, I think it was a good time for her as well. We went on a little day trip on Sunday and checked out a waterfall/creek area. This was so perfect because it was unbelievably hot once again.
Us girls in front of the smaller waterfall
We had also heard, to our surprise, that there were huckleberries to be found near Kimberly! These were apparently an early variety (I don’t think I ever picked before the end of August up in smithers) but they tasted exactly the same. Mark had never picked huckleberries before but absolutely loves them and was anxious to go on an adventure to find and pick them. It reminded me of our huckleberry trips back in Smithers, when we found them and picked for a couple hours and then went back to the creek again to cool off.
Huckleberry Bush
Showing off our load...dreaming of pies at a later date:).
It was a wonderful weekend!
This morning around 2:00, my sister-in-law have birth to a BEAUTIFUL baby girl. I think I am quite biased but once you look at the pictures you will see what a doll she is. Amy did amazingly (and already looks amazing!) and Brian is one of the proudest Daddies I have ever seen.
Mark and I just got back from the hospital and it’s crazy how much love we already feel for her! Little Katy has a pile of soft dark hair on her head, long fingers and toes, and the cutest tiny lips ever. What a blessing!
We are so looking forward to more moments with her.
Here are a few pictures for you (please excuse the photos-they were all taken by our phone):
