Thoughts on Arriving

So we've been "home" for about two weeks now (staying in a hotel for the first ten days doesn't count), and we just about have everything situated in the house.  The kitchen was the first room to be settled.  The guest bedroom is all set up! (Book your vacations now!) The office is almost ready.  The bathrooms done. Our closet still needs some organizing, and everything could use a good vacuuming.  Pretty much everything has found its space  Even though it's remarkably foreign - more than one might expect - it's becoming more like home every day.  Now that the house is more or less under control, it's time to get out and start exploring.  Because until I find a job, my world is incredibly tiny!  

We've been to O'ahu several times, but upon arrival, nothing seemed terrifically familiar.  Partly because my husband usually does the driving when we're here, partly because this has never been my favorite island and we usually just connected here before dashing off to a different island, partly because the roads here are pretty confusing (to say nothing of the street names in a foreign language!), and partly because it's all colored by the we-live-here-now filter.  We're not vacationers, we're residents.  And that changes everything.

A couple people told me, before we left, to beware of island fever - when you just have to get off the island and start to go a little stir crazy.  We spent seven years in central FL, roughly the same land mass and population as here, and I feel like I barely scratched the surface of all the things to do and see there.  Never even made it to Sea World or Gator Land (gasp!).  So, to the island-fever folks, if you have run out of things to do on a gorgeous tropical island of a million people, clearly you are not looking hard enough.

When I'm not arranging the house1, I've been doing loads of comparison-shopping.  Trying to figure out what reasonable prices are for things around here (e.g. where milk does not cost $7 a gallon or other confiscatory pricing), and I'm surprised to see that gas pricing is virtually uniform throughout the island, even right at the airport.  I meant to take a photo of "what $100 buys in Hawaii" upon return from shopping yesterday afternoon, but already put the perishables in the fridge before I thought to - and didn't want to pull it back out.  So, some other time.

Our neighborhood is nice - loads of families, which means we probably don't have enough candy for tonight!  We have air-conditioning in some rooms, but the trade winds and our elevation (right at 1000 feet) make for nice circulation through the house if we throw open our windows.  Especially our front door, which has a separate screen door in front for just that thing.  Haven't had a screened front door since my parents' house! Anyhow, since I throw open the windows every morning, I find that there's so much sound!  Cars driving down the street, dogs barking, people's conversations - I have to be careful about singing along to my ipod. :)  Such a difference from Florida, where one goes from a sealed air-conditioned house to a sealed air-conditioned car. It's amazing how much goes on that you hear when your windows are open!  I know that's sort of a captain-obvious observation, but it just shows how insulated our FL existence was.  I suppose it's largely good - I sometimes get easily freaked-out by unidentifiable noises, but leaving the windows open and spending so much time in our house (again, a strange benefit of not having a job) as well as a much smaller house, I feel a lot more secure here than I have in previous homes.  Maybe that's just a function of my own growth in general.  Another topic for another time.

Other topics for other times: the process of finding a church, what it's like to be "on sabbatical" for the first time in my life, and what new things we've learned through each of our moves.

Not sure what I will wind up doing for work, but am patiently waiting on submitted resumes and sending new ones out when I see something interesting.  What I want to do is tackle my projects list and get to reading.  In time.

I love that we have both mountains and ocean again.

And because we're just on the other side of the Ko'olau mountain range and the wet windward side, we get brief little showers virtually every day, as well as rainbows virtually every day.  But the rain is so gentle, and it spares us from running the sprinklers on the yard.

1 I distinctly remember being peeved four years ago when we moved into the home we built and lamenting that all my school load was robbing me of the ability to enjoy the setting-up-the-house time.  That's been redeemed - I don't have anything to do now besides that here!

Adventures in Shave Ice

So I think my newest goal is to make a thorough investigation of the island’s shave ice and determine which one, truly, serves the best. 

Made a visit to Matsumoto’s up in Haleiwa with a friend earlier this week, and while it’s popular and very tasty, it’s also always crowded with tourists, the benches outside smell like garbage, and the staff is hit-or-miss on friendliness.  I ordered a combination of lilikoi (passionfruit – always present on my shave ice), coconut cream, and white cake.  The last two flavors were virtually indistinguishable. 

At Matsumoto’s, you can get regular ol’ shave ice (not a snowcone – it’s much finer, like real snow, and are almost always formed into grapefruit-sized portions.  But you can also have them put ice cream under your ice.  Or sweet azuki beans under your ice.  Or both ice cream and beans.  I tried the beans once.  Once was plenty.  No beans in my shave ice any more – no ice cream, either.  Just pure ice.  Almost everyone in line was getting sweetened condensed milk poured on top.  Not only does it look weird, I’m just dubious about the fruity-ice-dairy combo.  I don’t adore sherbet, barely tolerate ice cream sodas, and am pretty sure I don’t want ice cream at the bottom of my shave ice.  But, others have told me it’s delicious, so perhaps I need to give it a try, if nothing else but to say I have (see also: beans).

There are many other shave ice purveyors on O’ahu, however, and it’s time to start discovering them.

Meanwhile, I am rediscovering my home ice-shaver!  This is one of those gifts I wasn’t too sure I really needed or wanted, but turned out to be pleasant surprises (see also: yogurt-maker).  Anyhow, with milk fetching confiscatory prices in Hawai’i, I might not be using my ice cream maker as much as I would like.  Ice, however, is cheap and plentiful.  The syrups, however, can get a little pricey.  I did find a store in Pearl City that sells them for $1.99, but they’re full of high-fructose corn syrup and preservatives (something I’m not too Michael-Pollan about, but if I can avoid them, super).  Surely I can make my own. So I got on the google-box and started looking for snow-cone syrup recipes.  With pennies for the cost of the sugar and Kool-Aid on sale for 10 cents a packet, this beats the supermarket syrups by a long shot!  And it’s crazy-easy.  I cranked out 5 batches in just under 20 minutes, all for less than the price of one commercial syrup bottle.  I’ve been a fan of crushed and shaved ice from the days of my Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine (which produced just a Dixie cup of shaved ice after minutes of hand-cranking), so I’m easily satisfied by a dessert of a bowl of snow flavored with a little sugar syrup.

Shave Ice Syrup

¾ c. water

¾ c. sugar

1 packet Kool-Aid (unsweetened); 1 t. extract; half a dram bottle of flavoring

Boil the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.  Add flavoring and stir.  Cool your syrups in the refrigerator, then pour over shaved ice. Store in the refrigerator. (Chilled syrups don’t melt the ice so quickly, anyhow.)

It’s essentially just flavored simple syrup.  And this stuff is sweet and flavorful – which it needs to be, so the ice doesn’t water it down too much.

For this go-round, I made Grape, Strawberry, and Pink Lemonade with Kool-Aid; Vanilla and Coconut with extracts.  I used my clear vanilla for this, but added a drop of neon blue food coloring to distinguish it from coconut, which I tinted bright yellow-green.

Chemistry? No, sugar syrup!

Next up: Almond, Cherry, Pineapple, and my favorite, Lilikoi (as soon as I can figure out the proportions with my pre-sweetened passionfruit drink mix).  Later: Maple, Banana, Lime, maybe a vanilla-peppermint or an Earl Grey syrup?  Lemon-elderflower would be awesome, if only we had an Ikea here for the elderflower.  Maybe someday I can move behind the candy-like esters of artificial flavoring and try reducing fruit juices into syrups, but – oddly – that has an air of the inauthentic.   Plus, those would surely taste cooked.  All the more reason to keep with the Kool-Aid and the extracts. :)

My most recent combo: vanilla-coconut

Adventures in Barbecue

I only recently began ordering pulled pork (usually at those barbecue places that bring you otherwise plain pork and allow you to sauce it yourself) and I sure don’t like that nasty brown smoky-sweet rubbish that is commercial barbecue sauce.  Ugh.  But, I can tolerate the sauces at those barbecue joints that are more tomato-tangy than anything.  So, having found a recipe for slow-cooked pulled pork that uses only root beer and pork, I decided to give it a go.  But instead of root beer, I thought the honeysuckle-sweet taste of Dr. Pepper would complement pork pretty well.  I was right!  This was SO GOOD!  Stop what you’re doing right now and go make some!  You won’t be sorry.

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

with

Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

2-4 lb. pork shoulder (sometimes called shoulder butt roast or Boston butt *)

1 2-L bottle Dr. Pepper

Put the pork in the slow cooker, pour in enough Dr. Pepper to come up about 2/3 the depth of the roast (about half the bottle – save 2 c. for the sauce).  Season with salt and pepper, if you like.  Cover and cook on low for 8h.

[While the pork cooks, make your sauce.]

Remove the pork from the slow cooker and drain. Shred pork roast with forks.  Top with sauce and enjoy!  (You can put it on bread, too, if you want a sandwich)

* Don’t waste your money on pork tenderloin or some other pricey cut – a cheapy-cheap bone-in pork shoulder with a little marbling of fat is perfect.  It’ll be falling off the bone after you get done with it.

Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce

2 c. Dr. Pepper

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

3 T. dry minced onion

1/3 c. vinegar

¼ c. honey

¼ c. brown sugar

½ t. Penzeys Northwoods seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine soda, tomato sauce, and onion in a saucepan; bring to a simmer.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir and simmer on medium heat, uncovered, 1 hour or until sauce has thickened and reduced to about 2 cups.

+

 

=

Thoughts on Leaving

Well, have I been woefully negligent in posting, or what?  I started a bunch of posts over the summer and never finished them.  Until now... so, apologies for the newsreader bomb, subscribers.  

Anyhow, the big news this summer, if you don't already know it, is that we are moving! To Hawaii!  Mr. Jenspin got a promotion, and that promotion is on Oahu.  It hasn't felt real. It gets a little more real as days pass, but I still can't believe it, even though all our household belongings (that which we didn't give away or sell - which was a lot) is in a shipping container somewhere between Florida and Honolulu, our car gets picked up and shipped tomorrow, I quit jobs I loved and don't have anything lined up in Hawaii yet, and we had to say a lot of goodbyes to a community we specifically moved to seven years ago.  

We had to do a lot of figuring-out about what to do with our belongings. We purged a lot in some typical summer-cleaning, but we had to decide what really made the cut, as we had a finite volume of a shipping container to constrain us.  What comes with us? What sells? What stores?  And since it was summer, I spent a lot of time in the lovely home we built and continually improved. I have been sad to leave my gorgeous kitchen, my big screened patio, the luxurious bathtub. And I had to ask myself, Do I love Jesus more than my stuff? And, if I'm honest with myself, sometimes the answer is no.  But then, isn't that a fundamental question? "Stuff" isn't just stuff. Could be "spouse". Or "job". Lots of little gods, all competing for our allegiance. Which we so readily surrender.

So, believing that the opportunity was from God, we pursued it, willing to shed things like belongings, like houses, which I've discovered often cause people hesitation in decisions to follow after God's desires.  Come, follow Me.  Sell your belongings, give the money to the poor. Don't look back.  The invitation is deceptively simple.

As we decided to move over the summer, that meant my last day of school - a lot of lasts, really - had already happened. And I was grateful for that, because I think if I'd known I'd been experiencing my last whatever, along with my seniors, I'd have been miserable. And instead, it was a season of such joy.  Unlike any other.  And that joy, along with a natural sense of completion in graduating off my seniors, made the decision feel fairly natural. I actually went back to campus this fall, to help out with the new teacher's transition the first week of classes. I was glad for the opportunity to see students one more time. But the lasts I thought I'd been spared, I had to confront them. A little. It's a new school every year, but this time it's different.  The increment of change seems much larger. It's familiar, but a lot of the students are new, a lot of the faculty is new. New programs, new classes, new people; it didn't feel quite like mine any more.

I keep saying it's not goodbye, it's really see-you-later - and I really do trust that's more than lip service.  With modern methods of communication and personal broadcasting, I'm in contact with hundreds of people all across the globe that I otherwise never would have seen again.  Plus, our lives have gone in such a crazy path I never would have predicted, I can't discount seeing people again.  It's not like we are moving to a beautiful vacation destination or anything.  It's just so weird, I keep getting fleeting thoughts like "we are moving to Hawaii.  Do you hear yourself??" I don't know when it will really sink in.  Or stop feeling like vacation.

If there's one thing that I've learned, moving to college, to grad school, to California, to Florida, it's that I always find my people.  And there's always room for more favorites.

Anyhow, we're currently en route, stopping in Indiana to visit family before heading to the middle of the ocean.  I'll continue to post updates as conditions warrant.  It's exciting, having the prospect of a new place to explore, a new culture to navigate, even a language to learn.  It's decidedly foreign, but doesn't require a passport.  Aloha!

Summer Projects: Cooking

This summer, I'm giving myself some Iron-chef-style personal challenges with the things that are in my pantry (seriously, where did all these kidney beans come from??). Recipes I've bookmarked for later:

Orange-Blossom Creme Brulee

Red Beans and Rice (it's been hard finding a recipe that doesn't use canned beans when I want to use up dried)

Curried Courgette Soup

Lilikoi Chiffon Pie

Caramel Corn

Shokata Gelatin

Cookies and Cream Pudding

Date Shakes

It's later.
I did not get around to the orange blossom creme brulee or the lilikoi chiffon pie.  I did, however, host two nights of crepes, very successful!  I highly recommend a mixture of ham and swiss for dinner and nutella with amaretto for dessert!

I've already blogged about the gelatin.  The date shakes were... meh. I don't think the dates got adequately pureed, so the whole blend-up just looked like, well, you can imagine.  Blech.

I also added to the mix an orange-blossom shortbread, sort of modeled on this. Cut into flower shapes, brushed with egg wash, and sprinkled with orange sanding sugar, they were good, but I think I will try a different shortbread recipe next time.  The orange blossom was subtle, but fragrant, which was good, because the floral scent can quickly make things taste soapy.

The real win, though? The caramel corn.  It's exquisitely addictive.  I started doing some riffs on the basic recipe, swapping almonds and almond extract to great effect.  It only takes a couple minutes in a standard microwave - you just have to play with the timing, but the best part of the recipe is that it results in caramel corn that is (and stays) crunchy!  Go on, try it.  You can use any kind of popcorn, but the best is stovetop-popped kernels in butter-flavored oil.

Fun With Gelatin!

More kitchen fun, this time with gelatin.

The basic proportion?  1 Knox envelope, with 2 c. liquid.

Assemble your liquids! Last year, I made americano gelee with unflavored gelatin, espresso, and water. This time, I'm using Shokata (lemon-elderflower soda), leftover Shiraz from last night's dinner (I added a couple teaspoons of sugar to the hot wine to take a bit of the edge off), and a passionfruit cordial I found in the clearance rack at my international market (about 3/4 c. diluted to 2 c.).

I used Knox envelopes, since that's what I had on hand, but you could use gelatin sheets, too, whatever the equivalent is. In 1 c. of cool liquid, I bloomed the gelatin by sprinkling the powder on top.

Meanwhile, I stuck the other 1 c. of liquid in the microwave to boil it. I added the boiling liquid to the bloomed gelatin and stirred more than I probably needed to, to make sure it was completely dissolved.

Then, into the serving dishes! I put the wine in wine glasses, naturally. The Shokata went into martini glasses - never seen gelatin so elegant! And the passionfruit got divided into four Japanese teacups.

And into the fridge! I let these gel overnight. It takes a few hours.










The results?
The best was the gelatinized Shokata.  Passionfruit was a second, but I might have liked it diluted with seltzer water instead of still.  The Shiraz was unconsumable.  Way too strong - should have made much smaller portions and sweetened it further - maybe with some fruit juice and fruit as a jiggly riff on sangria...

Crafty, crafty

Hot glue is just as miraculous as duct tape. What can't be fixed with a glue gun? Well, mine's been hot today. I have a long summer-project list - things I'd love to do, but never have any time during the school year - and I made some progress on it this morning. First, a wreath.

I saw a clever cookbook-page wreath in a fancypants kitchen shop in Marin.
 

When I picked it up, I saw the price tag: $120.  What! Surely I can make my own, I thought. I found this page for assistance, a $3 styrofoam wreath, a $1 thrift-shop reproduction of a 1909 Sears Roebuck catalog (nicely yellowed), a few hot-glue sticks, a scrap of ribbon, and a pin.

Summer Cooking I

So I had a burst of industry today. Surveyed our pantry, looked up some recipes, and went to the grocery store and came home with all kinds of fresh food for the week. I do love summer produce! Bought blueberries, mango, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, potatoes, bananas (both green and ripe - some for eating, some for baking), plums, green onions, peaches, plus some tilapia, ham, and sausage. My goals this week are to use up the following from the pantry:

macadamia nuts

beans (we have a ridiculous number of beans, canned and dried, right now)

white chocolate chips

double cream and apricot jam

popcorn

couscous

Well, the mac nuts and white chocolate chips simply begged for cookies. I also ran across a mac-nut-crusted tilapia recipe I hadn't had in a while - so that was put on the dinner list. When I opened the freezer, however, to pull out the mac nuts, I found I barely had enough to use for the fish, much less the cookies. Fail. But, I have a huge bag of walnuts in the freezer, so I quickly fast-tracked them to the list. I've hardly ever used walnuts for anything, really - this is perhaps the first time I'd ever purchased them, for a Lebanese pastry with orange-flower-water called ma'amoul. So I substituted walnuts for macadamias in my usual cookie recipe, and the results seem favorable!

White-Chocolate Walnut Cookies

(adapted from this)

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. almond extract

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2 c. chopped walnuts (or macadamias, if you're a purist!)

2 c. white chocolate chips

Cream together butter, shortening, and sugars. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Combine flour with baking soda and salt, then stir into butter mixture. Add nuts and chips. Drop by 2 tablespoons [the original recipe calls for making cookies by the teaspoon. Get serious, people! A chocolate chip takes up most of a teaspoon. I used my 2-tablespoon scoop, thankyouverymuch.] onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degF for about 12-14 min until tops are tanned.

I often can justify popcorn as dinner (with some Dr. Pepper to chase it down - mmmm!), but I wanted to use up some for more legitimate reasons. I happened across this recipe in my allrecipes.com box, and decided to give it a go. SO. INCREDIBLY. GOOD. Crunchy, not sticky (even in FL humidity, though I'll be honest, it hasn't lingered too long...), and the possibilities for modification (e.g. add nuts, tweak the extracts, etc etc) abound. Will definitely be making more of this stuff this summer.

Caramel Corn

(adapted from this)

1/3 c. popcorn

2 T. popcorn oil (you can use any vegetable oil, but I like the faux-buttery flavor of the bright-yellow stuff)

Pop popcorn(1), pick out any unpopped kernels, and set aside in a large microwave-safe bowl. I sprinkle mine with a little popcorn salt, to give more of the salty-sweet dichotomy we all know I love.

In a smaller microwave-safe bowl (but not too small), combine 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. butter, 2 T. corn syrup, and 1/4 t. salt. Microwave for 1 min. Stir, and microwave an additional 1.5 min. Add 1/2 t. vanilla and 1/4 t. baking soda.

Pour caramel mixture over corn in larger bowl and stir. Microwave 1 minute, stir. Microwave 1 minute, stir. If you have a large-wattage microwave, it'll probably be done at this point. If you have a smaller-wattage microwave, cook up to a minute more. Pour out onto parchment or a nonstick baking sheet to cool.

Note: be careful with this stuff. That sugar/butter mixture is napalm-hot, no joke. You'll see when you add the vanilla that it's hot enough for the extract to boil. Plus, it's sticky, and even a little drop on your fingers is going to hurt. Use a big spoon to stir the popcorn - you'll be glad you did.

Next up: Maple-pecan popcorn with maple syrup and toasted pecans; almond popcorn with almond extract and toasted almonds.

(1) Look, you can use microwave popcorn, but it's not going to be the same. Ditch the microwave bags and buy kernels. You won't spend that much more time on it, and stovetop-popped corn tastes way better. In a large covered pot, heat 2 T. oil on medium heat and add 3 kernels. Cover, and wait until you hear those test kernels pop. Add the remaining 1/3 c. kernels, and cook, shaking occasionally, until popping slows. Remove from heat, add salt, and never go back to microwave popcorn ever again.

I also needed to use some double cream that's been waiting patiently in my refrigerator. A lovely breakfast is some yogurt, some fresh fruit, and a scone topped with cream and apricot jam. So I needed some scones. I made some from a mix, but they came out flatter than roofing tiles. Back to my usual recipe:

Scones

(adapted from this)

1 c. sour cream

1 t. baking soda

4 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. cream of tartar

1 t. salt

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

Mix sour cream and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Mix flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt in another bowl and set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add sour cream mixture and egg and blend thoroughly. Fold into flour mixture, taking care not to overmix. Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Roll into a rectangle and cut 12 triangle wedges from it, or else make 12 rounds. Bake at 350 degF for 12-15 minutes on parchment, or until edges begin to tan.

Not my favorite scones, but they're serviceable.

Quite the output for an afternoon. And it's not even time to start dinner yet!

Hymn

If to distant lands I scatter
If I sail to farthest seas
Would you find and firm and gather

'til I only dwell in Thee?

If I flee from greenest pastures
Would you leave to look for me?
Forfeit glory to come after
'Til I only dwell in Thee

(Brooke Fraser)

Summer Projects

It's summer, which means I finally have time to tackle all the projects that come up during the school year. I've also been inspired by last year's cleaning and purging of a friend's apartment and classroom, prior to her cross-country move. And it just feels good to live light. Here's my summer-project list. I'm really good at starting projects, but less good about finishing them, so maybe some public-post accountability is what I need. ha ha

Clear out old semester exams (I have 7 years of exams in a file cabinet in my classroom)

Clear out old college notes and books (I moved these across the country twice. Twice too many.)

Shred pay stubs (how many do I need to keep, anyhow?)

Clean out old cosmetics (my morning routine is significantly shorter than it once was, and there's a bunch of stuff in my train case that I never use)

Jewelry repair (need to fix a bunch of things that broke this year)

Make some fun headbands with feathers and ribbons

Give new life to a marker-stained skirt (I think maybe with buttons to camouflage the stain)

Finish knitting some scarves for friends

Teach myself to crochet

Make some felted cup cozies - maybe my coffee shop can sell some?

Make postcards from my travel pictures

Make a vintage-cookbook-page wreath

Whoa, May.

So this month, no, this year just screamed by. I can't believe it's getting to be my birthday already - our last day of class is tomorrow! Some have asked for my annual list, so here it is. :)

As always, nothing means more to me than handwritten notes and letters from friends. There are few joys quite like receiving mail!

Moleskine Recipe Journal

Trish McEvoy #9 perfume

2G SD memory cards

Pilot Varsity pen set

Levenger Stub-nib True Writer

Ten weeks of open studio time here.

Crochet hooks and yarn - plus this book. Like I need more summer projects! ;)

Green coffee beans, and an air-popper roaster. Yeah, what I just said about projects.... :)

The newest Paul Simon album

The Civil Wars album

Great Lakes Myth Society albums

Teachers and Teaching

I've been involved, or privy to, at least four separate conversations today about learning and teaching and just what it is we've each learned from one another. And another conversation about how shamefully neglectful I've been of my blog. So, here you go, dear reader. Some (largely unedited) thoughts.

As a teacher, I like to think I teach my students plenty. Well, some days more than others, of course... But I also know I don't teach my subject matter in a vacuum - and I've been aware of that for a while. No, I mostly teach what it looks like to be a grown-up. What it looks like to know God and follow Him. How it's okay to be a nerd. That one's worth is not determined by a figure on a paycheck. Et cetera.

But the influence totally goes both ways. My students affect me - profoundly. Sometimes it's been delightfully unexpected; sometimes I ask God for it. I doubt they could know just how much I learn through them. Not necessarily from them - they usually don't explicitly teach me things. But, rather, I am taught things through them. As much as I believe myself to be a conduit (rather than a source) for understanding, I suppose they are the same, though completely unaware. I learn so much of God's love, patience, and mercy through my interactions with them. The nature of grace, existing only in its extension. The deeper meanings of service. Of selflessness. Of sovereignty. The commonality of the human experience and the singularity of it all.

I'm just really grateful for this venue for an education that surpasses my wildest imaginings. I can only marvel at it, for I cannot wrap any part of me around it.

More tangibly, however, their influence is most easily seen in the music on my ipod. Lately, a peculiar mix of indie-hipster and glowsticky house.

Wish List

Since friends and family will be asking soon enough...

Handwritten letters from friends!

I really mean it - that's why this is at the top of my list.

Dansko clogs in Petrol Patent, size 40

I had a pair of black Danskos that were my everyday shoe for about 8 years - the sole has finally crumbled.

Chaco ZX/2 sandals, size 9

These are my everyday summer shoe; I lost one shoe somewhere between Hawaii and Florida and I miss it terribly. My problem is that I have NO idea what color I want. My absolute favorite - Sundae, a pink/white/khaki combo - is long retired... Probably Zebra Aqua? Except the Multi Red is pretty sweet. I don't know.

Prayer of St. Francis Bracelet

I had a cheaper pewter one that cracked, so I'd like a sterling one to replace it.

Virtually everything on this list is replacing something I've over-loved...

Moleskines - Large ruled notebooks

Making swift progress through my most recent book. Can never have enough blank books.

Nars Trans Siberian lipstick

Best red lipstick, ever.

Trish #9 perfume

Any size. A longtime favorite.

9-inch straight-side cake pans

Two, please!

Ramekins - 4-oz, 6-oz, and 10-oz

Breakage has left me a random assortment - none of which could be called a "set"

Tokina 12-24mm super-wide-angle lens

Hey, it's a wishlist, right?

Digital photo frame

A 2007 Kind of Week

Wow, it's been too long.

As has this week. Normally they fly by, but this one sure took its sweet time. I remember thinking on Wednesday morning that it had to be Friday. Thursday, at the very least. But no. The week's journey was an interesting one. Went swimming into others' spiritual storms and found myself in a pretty dark place by midweek. Where the work seemed far too big. And it is, for me. But not for God. Prayer and meditation, plus a restorative phone call with a friend helped turn the week around, and I was back to being a real person again by Friday. So, all's well that ends well.

Meanwhile, the frippery machine is in full swing - soccer and basketball games, senior speeches and shirts, plans for prom. I adore it all! As a teacher, I get to enjoy all the trappings of high school, but with an older, wiser perspective above all the teenageriness. And with the precious opportunity to speak into the lives of students whom - despite what I thought four years ago - I love dearly and celebrate with a special pride I haven't felt in several years. And if there's one thing I do, it's celebrate! I just wish it wasn't already November. There is still so much to be taught and learned.

I also made the executive decision that it's time to put Christmas music in the playlist.

He sends His word and melts them; He stirs up His breezes, and the waters flow. 1

I don't know how long I'm gonna have you for, but I'll be watching when you change the world. 2

August Prayer

All I Have

Lyrics by Mat Kearney

Well here we go at it three years later

Would you help me to dream it all up again?

Tired of the same song everyone's singing

I'd rather be lost with you instead

Don't you come around here

Come around here any more

Dragging my fears

Dragging my fears out the door

All I have all I have all I have, well, you know it's yours

Every breath every step every moment I'm looking for

All I have all I have all I have is yours

And you watch my heart break a little bit more

My heart break a little bit more

My heart break a little bit more

Is it cold yet in New York City?

Round here the trees been blowing up red

And everyone's talking about change on the airwaves

But I still got you on my breath

Lord, I'm still trying at this my hardest

Would you pick us all up from a fall?

Rip a little corner off the darkness

Just a crack of light in the middle of it all

Stuff Jen Likes IV

The smell of tomato vines

Baking on parchment paper

The cello

Kaleidoscopes

Front seats on roller coasters

The contrast of bright white planes or birds against dark clouds

Parsley. I'll eat your garnish right off your plate.

Cherries from canned fruit cocktail

Dichroic glass jewelry

Cake. Ice cream. But not cake-and-ice-cream together on the same plate. I don't like when the cake soaks up melted ice-cream.

Skirts. Much preferred to pants.

Iconography in medieval and renaissance art

Bougainvillea

String bracelets

Robert Talbott ties

Earl Grey tea

Tomato paste in a tube

What I Have to Show for My Summer

A broken foot

A lovely vacation, up until (and quite frankly, even including) the aforementioned foot

Catching up with a long-neglected friend in California

A lot of grading:

- 2413 question-1s on the 2010 AP Chemistry exam

A lot of cleaning:

- A better cleaning of a friend's refrigerator than I have ever done to my own.

- An organized pantry, two bedrooms, and an office (in progress), inspired by the aforementioned friend's pre-move cleanout.

A lot of reading:

- Francis Chan, Crazy Love

- Donald Miller, To Own a Dragon

- CS Lewis, The Four Loves

- Brent Curtis and John Eldredge, The Sacred Romance

- Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Direction

- Ravi Zakarias, Light in the Shadow of Jihad

- Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis, Tea with Hezbollah (in progress)

- Jim Wallis, The Soul of Politics (in progress)

- Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love (in progress)

- A year's worth (or so) of backlogged Saveur magazines

A lot of book-buying:

- Several by Jim Wallis

- Several by CS Lewis

- Several by Kahlil Gibran

Lots and lots of cooking and baking.

I'm never as productive as I intend, but I'd say this was a summer well-spent.

Kitchen (Mis)Adventures

Who has two thumbs and fails at pocket-pie making? That's right, this girl.

Like most misadventures, it all started out fine. I got some empenada discs at the grocery store, intending to fill them with jam for a sort of riff on pop-tarts. You know, a quick on-the-road breakfast, what with school starting soon and all. So I plopped a tablespoon (okay, more like two) of my homemade blackberry jam in the center, folded, crimped, buttered, and sugared. Cute, right?

Halfway through, I caught a glimpse of my honey bottle out of the corner of my eye and thought, "brilliant!" so I made a couple blackberry-honey pies, and once the blackberry jam jar was exhausted, made a couple honey-only ones. (Thought about maple syrup - maybe another time)

But then, in a flash of blinding stupidity, I forgot to prick any vent holes in the tops. So, I had filling containment breaches all over the place.

Including the honey. Which you can see, in this picture, is now permanently baked onto my pan, I suspect. I was getting ready to wax all poetic about parchment and how I bake nearly everything on parchment and how wonderful it is. Alas, it was no match for 400-degree honey hell-bent on oozing right out of my pies.

Made some fresh banana ice cream, too, but it didn't freeze quite as firm as it usually does.

Maybe this string of fail is just a sign it's time to get out of the kitchen and into the office to start preparations for the school year, which - for teachers - begins on Wednesday...

UPDATE:

The kitchen has been redeemed by lunch. Made myself a lunch of vegetables and fruit only, after binging yesterday in the Publix produce section (I love summer produce!). Romaine salad, roasted broccoli, raw carrots, thomcord grapes (that grape-jelly flavor (1) but seedless), and two kinds of zucchini soup - and I am happily stuffed.

I had been looking for a creamy zucchini soup recipe to re-create a saffron-courgette soup I had last summer in the UK. Found this recipe on allrecipes.com, but the curry sounded good, too, so I split the recipe into two: half curry, half saffron. The hand-blender gave it the creamy texture without the need for cream (and I marvel at the ability of curry - well, turmeric, really - to render everything in a 10-meter radius yellow, including the lower 4cm of my hand blender...). When I do it again, I'll add more saffron, but that sure makes for a pricey soup. The curry is equally good, actually, probably better. Garnish with a drizzle of cream, toasted croutons, and maybe a grating of fresh zucchini. Got a garden full of zucchini (and can't stomach any more zucchini bread, plus the neighbors are onto you and the bags of zucchini left on their doorsteps under the cover of darkness)? Give this a go.

Creamy Curry Zucchini Soup

2 T. olive oil

1 large (or two small) onions, halved and thinly sliced

1 T. curry powder (go on, kick it up a notch - you won't be sorry)

4 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

4 c. chicken stock (2)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and curry powder. Stir until softened. Add zucchini slices and cook until zucchini is tender. Add stock, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15-20 min. Use a hand blender, or transfer in batches to blender (make sure you vent the lid!), to puree soup until smooth.

1 The wine-snob term for this is "foxy" :)

2 I don't see why vegetarians couldn't substitute vegetable stock here