It’s been almost a month since I started at Wesley and I have to say it’s been a learning experience. Every church has it’s strengths and weaknesses. There are many things I’m very excited about working here. There are also things I miss from my previous position. We’ve received an amazing welcome from the congregation here and the focus on …
Menu Planning
For the past several months Sarah and I have been subscribing to the Stolen Moments Menu plan. It’s been a good experience to have a month of menus provided for seven days a week. We got the September plan and decided that it would be our last month. We really don’t have any problem with the menu plans, we’ve actually …
Smoked Salmon Spread
Smoked Salmon Spread is my favorite smoker appetizer. It's both incredibly easy to make and amazingly delicious. It's something I try to make just about any time I fire up the smoker with guests coming over, and dinner with Yvi and Scott last week was no exception. I'd make it every time I fire up the smoker, but it's not …
Coolest Birthday Gift Ever – Cheese Making Kit
My birthday was this weekend and Sarah got me what is probably the coolest birthday gift I’ve ever gotten. The gift being a cheese making kit makes me a pretty big dork. We’ve been on a kick of producing our own food whenever possible (going on three months of no bread buying). We joined a farm-share coop. Our milk comes …
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Sarh and I have been on a quest for quite some time to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from our diet. We've also tried to reduce the amount of processed food that we eat – which means we limit the amount of processed food we buy. As many people have noticed it's almost impossible to buy any food without HFCS …
Sushi at Kubota – Japantown, San Jose, Ca
A group of us went out last night to Japantown in San Jose. It is one of only three such communities left in the US (there were more than 40 before the internment of Japanese during WWII). At a tip from Rob Brooks-Bilson we went to Kubota for dinner. Several of us ordered the chef special sushi, which is essentially …
Mardi Gras in Columbia
I had to come to Columbia for the pitch related to our college ministry grant proposal. I think the presentation went pretty well – it was very brief though. I've got to say I think it's a bit ridiculous to drive six hours round trip for a 10 minute presentation followed by five minutes of questions. Thankfully I was able …
Indian Feast From the Pantry
Chicken Tikka & Aloo Gobi Originally uploaded by kerner. This morning when we talked about dinner we decided that we'd do something Indian to get rid of two chicken breasts we had in the fridge. The original plan was to use a prepackaged sauce, cook some rice, and make naan. Should have been simple. I missed a text from Sarah …
Sausage, Red Onion, and Sun Dried Tomato Lasagna
I'm a huge fan of lasagna, but every time I make it I like to mix things up a bit. Earlier this week I had the chance to make a quick lasagna for dinner. A quick lasagna is one that doesn't require an exceptional amount of prep work – it still takes an hour in the oven, but prior to …
Thanksgiving Smoked Turkey
We had Thanksgiving for my family at our house this year. The dinner consisted of smoked turkey, zucchini casserole, cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and both pumpkin and apple pies for dessert. The turkey got smoked and was delicious. Prior to smoking the bird soaked overnight in a brine made of salt, unfiltered cider, sugar, pepper, …
New Mexico Pulled Pork
Last night the men’s group I’m in at church came over for dinner and to discuss the second half of Integrity. I made a chile rubbed pork shoulder served with beans, tortillas, guacamole, and chile sauce (both green and red). The event used up the last of our frozen stash so I had to order more (which will be here …
Junior League Cookbooks
I’m a huge fan of Junior League cookbooks. I think they contain some of the best recipes available. They also contain great examples of regional food. I try to pick one up anytime I’m travelling someplace new. When we were in Savannah, GA a few years ago we got Southern Style which is the Savannah Junior League cookbook. It kicks …