Hummus!

After trying for a while, Brian has finally succeeded in broadening my food likes. At least a little bit. Recently, I've developed a taste for Mediterranean foods, becoming a huge fan of hummus. After buying a food processor a few weeks ago (partly justified by my desire to make hummus at home) I've been browsing for a hummus recipe that seemed authentic and doable. This afternoon I finally decided on a recipe and made some hummus. And I am glad I did!

I found the recipe at this website: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/appetizerssnacks/r/hummusbitahini.htm . The site has lots of recipes for middle eastern foods, including several variations on hummus. I thought I'd start with just a basic recipe for my first attempt, but I've got my eye on several of the variations for future Saturday afternoons.

The only modification I would make to the above recipe is to use just a bit less olive oil. The final product was not as thick as we would prefer, but overall very yummy! Or at least Brian and I thought so. Jonathan wasn't convinced!

One other note about the recipe: it calls for tahini, a paste made of toasted sesame seeds and olive oil. After reducing the tahini recipe (found elsewhere on the same site) to an amount needed for two batches of hummus, the amount of sesame seeds was too little for the food pro to process. So I just dumped the sesame seeds and olive oil into the bowl with the other hummus ingredients, and the seeds got processed just fine. All in all, a very yummy snack that I will definitely be making again.

Saturday Morning at the Franklins'

By My Hands

I've been working on a quilt for Jonathan for probably a year now. Tonight, due to a very kind neighbor who watched Jonathan, I finished his quilt!! I think he likes it...

And then he wanted to take a picture of me. Not too bad all by himself.

I'm very excited to finally be finished. Now I can work on one of the other half-dozen projects I have going. And it feels like his room is a bit more pulled-together.

Put me in the Zoo!

We had the opportunity to go to the Houston Zoo on Friday. It was Jonathan's first trip to a zoo, and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it.

We got to see a giraffe, which may have been cooler for Brian and I than Jonathan, since we understand that his initials sound like giraffe, and he doesn't quite get that yet, but he still enjoyed it.

The last thing we did was ride the train in Herman Park, which may have been the highlight of the whole trip for the Little Guy. Every time we passed a squirrel or bird, he'd wave and yell, "We're riding on a train!"

Brian and Jonathan as prairie dogs:

After Jonathan conquered his fear of the goats in the petting zoo:

The otters were very playful and swam back and forth against the glass showing off for people.

Maybe Jonathan's favorite "aminal" was the lion, which did actually roar a bit, making Jonathan's day. Also cool was the fact that the lion's name was Jonathan.

We finished up the trip with a visit to Sweet Tomatoes, which is the best salad / soup bar we've ever eaten at. Even Jonathan liked the mac and cheese, pizza bread and soup. All in all it was a very good day. And nice to spend a little bit of time as a family just hanging out.

Blog Break

So, in case you haven't noticed, it's been a while since I've blogged. It's not for lack of anything to blog about, but rather we have so much going on, there's no time left for blogging. I'd settle for cleaning and sleeping, but those seem to be getting pushed aside these days as well...

Anyway, that brings me to the purpose of this post. This will be my last post for a while. I don't know how long, but I'm going to take a break from the Blog world, at least the creating side of it - I'll still keep up with other blogs on my lunch break. I may drop in from time to time to post a picture of the Little Guy, so the grandmoms can get a fix, but it won't be anything near regular. So until this season passes, here are a couple pics from Easter that our dear friend Marian took:

His Love Can Never Fail

I was listening to the "Beams of Heaven" cd this afternoon, and this really popped out at me:

I do not ask to see the way My feet will have to tread; But only that my soul may feed Upon the living Bread. 'Tis better far that I should walk By faith close to His side; I may not know the way I go, But oh, I know my Guide. Refrain His love can never fail, His love can never fail, My soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail. My soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail.

(from the hymn "His Love Can Never Fail")

I am always surprised and grateful for the way that God uses music to remind me of his truth and encourage me.

And just because I haven't posted any in a while:

(Un)Sensible Wives

I'm currently reading a Dorothy Sayers novel about Lord Peter Wimsey, "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" and came across a conversation that made me chuckle.

"A man ought to be just as courteous after marriage as he was before," declared Robert Fentiman, virtuously.

"So he ought, but he never is. Possible there's some reason we don't know about," said Wimsey. "I've asked people, you know - my usual inquisitiveness - and they generally just grunt and say that their wives are sensible and take their affection for granted. But I don't believe women ever get sensible, not even through prolonged association with their husbands."

The two bachelors wagged their heads, solemnly.

Maybe this makes me laugh because I so often don't feel sensible myself! Maybe after thirty years, instead of three, some of Brian's sensibleness will have worn off on me. ;)