Coffee with Katie

Meet Katie.  She is a very good friend of mine.  Last Monday she took me to breakfast at The Bad Waitress in Uptown.  It was a refreshing time catching up on life, pondering the future, and encouraging one another in the gospel.  I am thankful for Katie and the hope she speaks to me when I see her;

especially on a Monday morning.

Yummy Yellow Curry

Josh and I cooked this curry Saturday night and had plenty left over to freeze for another meal.  Here's what you'll need to make "Yummy Yellow Curry":

-4 chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch thick slices)
-3 teaspoons turmeric
-3 whole star anise, crushed
-3 garlic cloves
-one pinch of ginger
-grated zest of 1 lime
-1/2 a lime of lime juice

-2 Tablespoons fish sauce

-2 Tablespoons chili oil
-1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
-1 Tablespoon peanut oil
-10 Chinese long beans (cut into 2 inch lengths)
-1 onion chopped
-2 cups coconut milk
-sliced red, green, and orange chilies to serve

You may be asking "Where do I find Chinese long beans?" or some of the other ingredients...our favorite Asian Market is United Noodles.

Here's how to cook it:
   Place the cut chicken in a large freezer bag.  Rub in the turmeric, star anise, garlic, ginger, and lime zest.  Sprinkle on the soy sauce, fish sauce, half the chili oil, and the lime juice.  Coat the chicken well  and leave in the refrigerator to marinate 1 hour or overnight. 
   Heat the wok, add the peanut oil and remaining chili oil and heat until hot, then add the chicken pieces.  Cook at a high heat for 1-2 minutes; turn down the heat and continue cooking until cooked through.  Add the beans, the onion, the extra marinade, and the coconut milk.  Stir well.  Bring to a boil stirring slowly.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes until chicken is tender.  Sprinkle with sliced chilies and serve with hot Jasmine rice.  Enjoy!

The original recipe was taken from "Wok" by Elsa Petersen-Scheperlern and tweaked by the Jacobs' :)

(Belated) Birthday

My sister Justine just turned 23 in September.  We celebrated last Sunday by doing some of our shared "favorite things".  We browsed thrift stores and drank spyhouse caramellas.  It was a delightful afternoon spent with a delightful person.  Justine loves vintage finds and good coffee but above all she loves Jesus and make me love Him more too.  

Family, Farmer's Market, Fresh

My mom and dad spent the day with us this past Saturday.  We have a tradition of celebrating my sister's birthday and my birthday together (both of our birthdays are in September).  Mom always makes incredible meals to commemorate the day.  This year we had a delicious brunch complete with spinach quiche, pumpkin bread chunks (I meant it to be slices but took it out of the pan too early...), and of course strong coffee.  I mixed pumpkin butter with cream cheese and it made a delicious spread for the pumpkin bread!

After brunch we headed to the farmer's market.  Nothing beats the farmer's market on a crisp fall day.

On our way back to the car I ran into a dear friend of mine (Megan Mathis), her mom, and her adorable twin boys (Coleman and Carson). 

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Lake Calhoun.

It was a beautiful day blessed by family!

(photo credit to my sister Justine for some of these pictures)

Favorite Things of Fall

These are my favorite purses of the season.  The navy  purse I found an estate sale for $1.00; the gold closure is very fun.  The polka-dotted purse was a gift from one of my kindergartners for my birthday (so sweet!). 

The cashier at Trader Joe's highly recommended "pumpkin butter" for the muffins I was planning on making.  I haven't tried it yet, but I will let you know what I think.  Sounds pretty good, right?

A few other favorites of mine are dried hydrangeas and gourds; most likely they are some of your favorites too :)

Check back soon for more "favorites" :)

Slow Sunday Pizza

Summer is offically over.  Weekends at our house can be pretty busy; but once in a while we can enjoy a relaxing fall afternoon at home.  It can be joyful to spend the day slowly cooking a dinner.  If you have an afternoon open, I'd recommend giving rhe Prairie Bay Margherita Pizza recipe a try from the The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook.  This is a great recipe for using up basil if you have an abundance from your summer garden :).

Sunrise at the Cabin

"Oh God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you; as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you."

~Psalm 63:1-3