All clear!

We had our first fire alarm of the year today at THS. My classroom is in the back of the school, and we are this area's keepers of the walkie talkie and the all-clear flag (a yard stick with a red plastic triangle stapled to the end). I had heard about my duties to wave that flag to alert everyone when it was time to go inside. Today, I felt the power! Over the radio came the words we'd been waiting for, and then it was time to wave my flag. So fun :)

Divine Romance

Have you heard this song by Phil Wickham? Check it out :)

Jump!

Christine shared her favorite camera tradition with the girls Saturday morning on the beach. With the help of a tripod, we took several versions of her famous jump shot. You should have seen the looks we were getting :)

Eryn, Laura, Lindsey, Liz, Angela, Theresa, Kendra, Joyce, Sarah, Christine, Sarah

Thanks, Christine, for the great photo and memories!
-Liz

Girls' Beach Weekend

I have the coolest girlfriends in the world!

Eleven of us went away for the weekend, spending a fun and relaxing couple days at my grandparents' beach house in Oceanside. We did LOTS of eating, including the most amazing cheese potluck, complete with homemade bread, fruit from our community garden and fresh salsa.
I think every plate, bowl, pan and small appliance in my grandparents' kitchen was used at one time or another throughout the weekend! I awoke each morning to the smell of something magnificent baking in the oven. We stayed up past 1 a.m. Saturday playing Scategories and doing puzzles. We read, walked on the beach, napped, sunned, talked, laughed. We watched "Becoming Jane". We saw ourselves on TV! We cleaned up with Alison Krauss blasting on the stereo. We attended the Saturday evening service at the Oceanside Chapel and heard about peace and rest from Jesus.

We hit the Tillamook cheese factory on the way home and enjoyed our treats in the unseasonably warm outdoors. Then we took a little yoga break:
Some of us also hit the Blue Heron cheese factory and met this guy:
We're already planning our next no-men-no-kids weekend! Next time we won't plan as many meals and we will have hymns picked out for the church service! Can't wait :)

-Liz

Ham and Bean Soup

It's fall, and that means soup time! I love a good navy bean soup. I found this one on BHG.com and thought I'd give it a try for our first "The Office" party of the year.

It was cheap and easy... and I thought it was really yummy! I ate the last of it for lunch today. I'd recommend this for sure :)

I used a hunk of deli turkey ham instead of the hocks. Then to compensate for the lack of ham-hock flavor in the broth, I added some bouillon. Using chicken broth instead of water would have done the same thing. I made a big batch Tuesday night, so it sat and meddled until Thursday.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry navy beans
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds meaty smoked pork hocks or one 1- to 1 1/2-pounds meaty ham bone
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1-1/2 cups sliced celery (3 stalks)
• 1-1/2 cups chopped onion (3 medium)
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/2 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Rinse beans. In a 4-quart Dutch oven combine beans and 4 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. (Or, place beans in water in Dutch oven. Cover and let soak in a cool place for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.) Drain and rinse beans; set aside.

2. In the same Dutch oven brown pork hocks on all sides in hot butter over medium heat. Add celery and onion to Dutch oven. Cook and stir until softened. Stir in beans, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and 4 cups fresh water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Remove pork hocks. When cool enough to handle, cut meat off bones; coarsely chop meat. Discard bones and bay leaf. Slightly mash beans in saucepan.

3. Stir in chopped meat; heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Makes 5 servings (8 cups)

Walnut Pear Sour Cream Cake

Searching the "warm-and-cozy fall desserts" section on the Better Homes & Gardens Web site, I found a yummy picture and recipe for walnut pear sour cream cake. It looked simple enough, so I gave it a try for our last Garden Party potluck at our community garden. (They make great new-recipe testers!)

I don't usually make cakes -- cookies are harder to screw up. And I know that my baking-by-the-seat-of-my-pants style doesn't work so well with delicate cakes. So I followed the recipe carefully. (Though I went light on the cinnamon because it's not my favorite flavor) I used pears picked from our garden. I have a springform pan but I've never used it. I was scared, so I stuck with the 9x9x2 option.

The recipe came together without much trouble. But part way through the process I realized I had FIVE different bowls going... topping, nut mixture, pears, dry ingredients, wet stuff. Being more into the one-bowl projects, I thought that was a bit crazy.

Unfortunately, the cake was such a hit that I didn't get a photo before it was just crumbs in the bottom of my pan! I guess I shouldn't complain about such a problem :)

So the recipe wasn't hard... just more involved than I'm used to. And it was very flavorful and moist. If you have the patience to work through it, I would say it's fairly foolproof. I give it a big thumbs up (as do my awesome friends who tasted my experiment!)

-Liz :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup broken walnuts
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 medium pears, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 2 cups)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream
• 1/2 cup broken walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan or 9x9x2-inch baking pan. Combine the 1 cup nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. For topping, cut the 1/4 cup butter into 1/3 cup flour to make coarse crumbs. Stir in 3/4 cup of the nut mixture. Set nut mixture and topping aside.

2. Toss pears with lemon juice; set aside. In a medium bowl combine the 1-3/4 cups flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl beat 1/2 cup butter with electric mixer 30 seconds. Beat in granulated sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to batter. Beat on low speed after each addition until combined.

3. Spread two-thirds batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with reserved nut mixture. Layer pears over top. Gently spread remaining batter over pears. Sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake 10 minutes. For a chunky top, sprinkle with 1/2 cup more nuts. Bake 45 to 50 minutes more or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Remove side of springform pan, if using. Cool at least 1 hour. Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

Sad but proud!

I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn about the racial incident Tuesday morning at George Fox University. But I am also very proud of how my alma mater is handling the situation by being proactive and up front, making sure everyone knows that is not what we stand for.

If you haven't seen it, HERE is the university's response, including a letter of apology from President Robin Baker to Sen. Obama.

"We cannot hate those around us and say that we love God. It is not possible," Baker told students, staff and media gathered at Wednesday's chapel service.

-Liz