Saturday, August 1, 2009

Week 31, Project 365 - Part 2

Yes, a TWO PART post for Project 365 this week. If you haven't already seen Part 1, go on over and check it out. I've included some fun (and short) videos from the Festival de Destreza Gaucha as well as a bunch of photos. Then come on back here and see our "regular" photos for the week :-) Go on, I'll wait for you.

Sunday evening we had a couple of men join us who were in town for the weekend. Sergio, from Buenos Aires, is affiliated with Word of Life. He has a powerful testimony, and we're so happy to report that when he shared it at a special youth activity on Saturday, it helped two young ladies decide to commit their lives to Christ! Our co-workers, and their daughter in particular, have been sharing the Gospel with these young ladies for a while. So the seed had been planted and Saturday it bore fruit! Hallelujah Last week I mentioned the asado we had over the weekend. On Monday Ivan cleaned the asador so it's ready to use next time. You'd be hard pressed to find a house here without an asador . It's a way of life and you won't find any fancy gas grills or high-tech smokers, just a good, solid brick structure that's big enough to cook a LOT of meat. I was in a baking mood and made both banana bread and brownies. I can always find friends who enjoy sharing with us :-) I have no idea what kind of bird this is -- anybody out there know? We've started harvesting lettuce from our winter garden and look at how nicely the peas are coming along! My Spanish tutor cleared out dead brush from her yard last week and Ivan noticed some bamboo in the pile of debris, so he salvaged them to use in the garden. Don't they make nice poles for the peas? In a moment of honesty I may regret later, I snapped this photo of my "work area". I try to clean it up before people come over, but generally this is what it looks like...books and papers piled on the table and in my basket and computer cords and the headset dangling off the side of the chair. Being self-proclaimed foodies, Ivan and I enjoy trying new things so I'm always on the lookout for good recipes. Mari shared this one for Chili Cornbread Salad recently and I finally had all the ingredients to make it. Oh my, but it is SO GOOD! Wasn't able to find black beans which would have added more color, but still very tasty. I also added chopped cucumber to mine since we had some that needed to be used -- liked the extra crunch it added.
You'll notice there are a lot of food photos again. Blame it on Wally! He posted a link on facebook to the top 15 social media resources for foodies. Too much fun reading not only the article but also all of the comments :-) Now I have a page of foodie sites I want to check out.

So far I've only had time to look at one, but it's a keeper! www.tastebook.com allows you to compile recipes and even create your own cookbook if you want -- how cool is that? I've started my Tastebook Collection with a couple of favorites, including chocolate scones...which I was then inspired to make this morning. All these food-related sites just made me want to cook, cook, cook! Which Ivan is enjoying, because he knows it won't last and I'll soon be sidetracked by my sewing or reading or...

My cooking goes in spurts, like just about everything else in my life. If I were a runner, I'd be a sprinter. LOL But no running of any kind this weekend...Ivan's not feeling the greatest (plus we loaned the car to our co-worker for the day) so we won't be going anywhere or doing much. If we do anything at all, it will be a relaxed walk around the costanera.

8 comments:

Mari said...

Now you are making me hungry! The chocolate scones sound so good and the on line cook book sounds like a wonderful idea.
I'm so glad you liked the salad. I had it again at a potluck at work yesterday. Yummy!

Skoots1moM said...

great week...you have been busy!
i haven't decided what i'm going to post yet for 365...not feeling well...missed my 'veteran facilitator training' today due to my being up all night with my tummy...finally fell asleep around 5:30ish and slept until 2pm...yucky. i hate it when my body does this...now today i'm having migraines. this too shall pass...more advil.
i did make a good zatarain rice dish ... had some leftover chicken breasts/chopped up, added a can/black beans, 1can of tomato soup, 1 1/2 c chicken broth, 3 chopped pickled okra, cooked down as instructed on rice box...once rice was done, i covered it in 3-cheese mexican mix and served it with side salads...not bad and quick.

riTa Koch said...

Asado....Mmmmmmmmm
Envy your garden, winter even!
Our hanging garden has the mechanical bugs worked out, but now the summer does not let in enough light, imagine that! No great harvests to report yet :(
Thanks for showing your work area! Good to visualize you and comforting to see a bit of work clutter.
Hope Ivan doesn't have the dreaded gripe.
¡Gloria a Dios por las decisiones para Cristo!

sara said...

you're going to laugh at what stuck out to me on this post......you cut your banana bread longways...I have never seen anyone cut it that way!

you know me with cooking and reading..I wish I could sew more, or was better at it!

SusanD said...

WOW! What an exciting and fun week you've had. PTL for two new sisters being added to the family. Thanks for sharing all the photos and videos. Blessings, SusanD

Amy said...

yum! the food looks delicious.
not sure about the bird-it looks familiar, like i've seen one at the san antonio zoo or something. very pretty though. i'm sure its a yellow-bellied something-er-rather. :)

Dena said...

Banana bread is my favorite of all the breads, so yummy!

Trust me when I say your work station is neat and tidy compared to the way mine looks most of the time!

Liz said...

Yummmm. I wish I was cooking like you were this past week! Looks great.