Musings – Page 2 – The Pajama Chef

What I’m Into (December 2015)

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 Sarah

What’s Been Happening

Ohh ya know… I can’t fake it anymore. Guess what? We made a little announcement on Facebook a few days before Christmas… Merry Christmas from our family of THREE! EEEEE!

What I'm Into (December 2015) - thepajamachef.com

I’m due in May [and can hardly believe I’ve kept it a secret online all this time, hence all the vague “it’s been a busy month” references this fall] and we just found out that the baby is a BOY!

What I'm Into (December 2015) - thepajamachef.com

In the midst of this excitement, we had a great Christmas with both our families and have had a nice nearly two weeks’ off from before Christmas to January 4th. So relaxing. After Christmas, I did some baby shopping/browsing… so fun! 🙂 I even found an ergobaby carrier for 50% off at Target. You better believe I snatched that up! I also did a lot of reading to meet my yearly reading goal [see below] but I realize that’s not nearly as exciting for most people. Hehehe!

https://www.instagram.com/p/_eyRjisCKd/?taken-by=thepajamachef

We also ran a 5k in downtown Nashville… there was even hot chocolate after the race! 🙂

What I’m Reading

In December, I read/listened to 10 books–just enough to meet my goal of reading 120 books for the year! You can, as always, find my reviews on Goodreads. 🙂

What I'm Into (December 2015) - thepajamachef.com

My favorite book was In The Woods–I think I’m going to like that series! The Distant Hours by Kate Morton was also good, but slow. A great audiobook was The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, about a murder in 1860 England. Kinda creepy at times though, so you may not want to listen late at night. 🙂

Some great articles I’ve read online this month include:

How it Became so Easy to Ignore the Poor – so sad, so true. In high school and college I had several friends who were quite involved with homeless ministries, but it’s hard to do this quite as much in the post-college, full-time job life…
The Myth of Easy Cooking – yes! I’ve been trying to simplify things for myself but it’s challenging for sure.
Remember ebola? So sad to read about how some of the ebola workers in Liberia are being treated now…
On hunger and homelessness for college students:Q. A lot of people might look at the issue of food insecurity among college students and say, “So what? I lived on ramen noodles during college — this isn’t a problem, it’s a rite of passage.” Is that a valid point, or does it misunderstand the issue?A. No! That shouldn’t even be something that someone says — “Well, everyone has to struggle.” No. You should not. That should not be the life.
After college, I worked with the campus ministry Cru at Ohio University. This was a recent article in the student newspaper about a non-Christian visiting the weekly meeting. This is why I worked with Cru, for sure! I still miss it.
What makes a Mexican restaurant good… mmm, now I’m hungry. 🙂
Hallmark Christmas movies… guilty pleasures no more!
I wouldn’t consider myself “insanely healthy” but I already do a lot of these, but some of them would be good to aspire to! 10 things insanely healthy people do before 9 am.
Maternity leave policies in the US hurt working moms… ugh. There are so many articles like this… so depressing. America’s values are depressing! And I have a very flexible work schedule and a relatively family-friendly employer [I just say “relatively” because we don’t get some of the extra bonus maternity/paternity leave, or a daycare on site, etc. but truly, I probably couldn’t ask for a better work situation].

What I’ve Been Cooking

This year, we didn’t make tons of Christmas cookies. I made these awesome No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars, Sugar Cookies, and Cranberry Cookies. Other than that, I don’t think I cooked very much… lots of Christmas events and such. I plan to cook a lot more in January! 🙂

What’s on the Blog

My most new popular recipe in December was Cheesy Southwest Farro. This will be on our menu again soon!

Cheesy Southwest Farro: a healthy, delicious dish good any time of the day! Plus you can make it in less than 30 minutes, so it's perfect for busy schedules. :)

Most popular recipes from the archive included: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Sausage, Apple, and Egg Casserole, and Buffalo Pretzels.

What were you into in December?

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.

Musings

Invitation: Make Mrs. Enger’s Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee Frosting + Read Peace Like a River with #bookclubcookbookCC

January 3, 2016January 4, 2016 Sarah

Happy January! With the new month and new year, there are new things… but also old habits to pick back up. The latest in my life is picking back up The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.* It’s my turn this month to host #bookclubcookbookCC, and I’m so excited!

New to #bookclubcookbookCC? Basically, here’s how it goes. Our group of eleven bloggers takes turns selecting a recipe from the cookbook–reading the actual book is welcome, but completely optional–and during that month we cook and post our variations and adaptations. At the end of the month, the hostess posts a round-up of the recipes and gives away a copy of the book!

Judy, Vicki, and their publisher, Tarcher-Penguin, have provided the hosting bloggers with copies of the book plus copies to giveaway each month of the project. Woohoo. Incredibly generous. You can follow this project on social media with the hashtag #bookclubcookbookCC. We’ll be posting all of our creations to our Pinterest board. Here’s the group, in alphabetical order, with links to their homepages.

A Day in the Life on the Farm
Adventures in All Things Food
Cheese Curd In Paradise
Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Life on Food
Mostly Food and Crafts
The Pajama Chef
The Spiffy Cookie
Things I Make (for Dinner)
Tortillas and Honey
ZooeySuff

As I said before, I’m excited to host this month! While there are eleven of us on the main team for this series, any blogger can join the fun! This month, I chose for us to read Peace Like a River by Leif Enger and make Mrs. Enger’s Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee Frosting. Mmm!

Peace Like a River #bookclubcookbookCC

How to Participate

Draw inspiration from the chosen recipe(s). You can make the recipe below, something else inspired by the book, or your favorite cinnamon roll recipe [exact or derived].
Blog about it! It doesn’t have to be a lengthy post. Just share your dish.
Include a link back to the hosting blog, The Pajama Chef [that’s me!] somewhere in your post.
Include a link back to this invitation.
Your post must be current, during January 2016. And, of course,we don’t mind if your post is linked to other events. The more, the merrier. Posts must be submitted by 6 pm Central Time on Friday, January 29, 2016.
Email your entries to me at: pajamachef[at]gmail[dot]com and include:

Your name
Your blog’s name and URL
The name of your dish and the permalink to the specific post you’re submitting
Attach a photo of any size
Indicate #bookclubcookbookCC in the subject line

This Month’s Recipe

Mrs. Enger's Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee Frosting

Servings: 4 dozen rolls
Print

Reproduced with permission from the publisher from The Book Club Cookbook

Ingredients:

Rolls:

2 cups water
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil or lard
1 scant tablespoon dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
6 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
8 cups flour
Melted butter

Frosting:

Coffee
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Make the rolls: Bring to a boil 2 cups water, the honey, and oil or lard. Allow to cool.

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, with a dab of honey to hasten proofing. Put cinnamon and granulated sugar in a bowl and mix.

Place cooled water-honey-oil mixture in a large mixing bowl and add the eggs and salt. Add the yeast mixture. Stir in flour; you want a fairly stiff dough, so you may need to adjust the amount.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead well 15-20 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover, and set aside to rise at least 3 hours.

Punch the dough down and knead a few minutes. Roll out dough thin—it will make 2 or 3 large flats. Brush the top surface with melted butter, then lay on a heavy coat of cinnamon and sugar. Roll flats up into tight cylinders and pinch the edges together to seal. Slice cylinders into three or four dozen rolls, place on jelly-roll pans, and allow to rise overnight, covered.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls 18 to 20 minutes.

To make the coffee frosting: While the first batch bakes, set up a pot of strong coffee. Have a cup, then splash 1/2-3/4 cup in a bowl containing confectioners’ sugar and melted butter. Stir until smooth and not too thin. Drizzle over the warm cinnamon rolls, or spread it on with a knife.

Giveaway

This month I am giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers – US and Canada only! – will win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from January 1st till January 31st at 6 o’clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

Enter here –> a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp as an opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

Musings

What I’m Into (October/November 2015)

December 4, 2015December 7, 2015 Sarah

What’s Been Happening

Oh gosh. It’s been so long for October I kind of forget. I do know it’s been a great fall though! 🙂 In October we went back to Bloomington for the Ohio State/Indiana football game. IU lost so I was sad but OSU won so Ben was happy. We got to eat at all our favorite spots and see a few good friends [but not enough friends] so that was fun! You can’t go wrong with the giant almond sweet rolls at the farmer’s market in Bloomington! At first I thought this shop didn’t sell there anymore, but I was glad to be proved wrong! 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/8YPcT7sCKO/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Other than that trip, we honestly spent a lot of time outside or at home.

My favorites ❤

https://www.instagram.com/p/89DZMrMCAz/?taken-by=thepajamachef

On Halloween [first Halloween in our new house…first trick or treaters on a rainy night… we loved it!] I ran half of a half marathon with a friend [it was a relay]… and we WON! Woohoo, so fun! 🙂 That night Ben and I got Pizza Hut for dinner. I hadn’t had it in forever and it was wayyyy too good. But maybe it was all that running I did.

https://www.instagram.com/p/9gomDnsCHC/?taken-by=thepajamachef

One nice thing we’ve discovered about Nashville is that the fall leaf season lasts much longer down here. This was a couple weeks into November! Lovely leaves!

https://www.instagram.com/p/9q7wsnsCIB/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Since we are now in a new area of Nashville, we’ve been slowly trying all the local restaurants with pretty much weekly Friday night dinner dates. It’s nice to eat out after a long work week, huh? One Saturday afternoon I got to catch up with a friend at a local cafe. This maple latte was awesome!

https://www.instagram.com/p/9zQbUWsCDp/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Ben and I have also started a tradition of Sunday morning breakfasts. Mostly before church, but a few have been more like brunches after church. I’ve made cinnamon rolls [the fabulous recipe to come!], these yummy egg crescent rolls [see below], a breakfast pizza that was actually a flop, pancakes, and more. I think cranberry orange pancakes with cranberry maple syrup are on the agenda for this Sunday!

https://www.instagram.com/p/903zKBsCI1/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Thanksgiving with my family was obviously a highlight of the month too. We were in Midland, Michigan where my grandpa lives. It was so fun seeing my parents, sister, brother-in-law, cousin, and of course, my nephew! I’m trying to turn him into an IU fan. His Purdue parents aren’t thrilled about it, but I don’t care. 🙂 #auntieprivileges This photo alone made our horrible drive back to Nashville [13 1/2 hours instead of 9] worth it. 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/-ofKpoMCGr/?taken-by=thepajamachef

What I’m Reading

Over these two months I read/listened to twenty books. This brings me to 110 books in 2015…only 10 more to go for my reading goal! 🙂 And I’ve already read one in December [spoiler alert] so I’m at 111. I think I’ll get there. For sure! You can, as always, find my reviews on Goodreads. 🙂

What I'm Into (October & November 2015) | thepajamachef.com

My favorite book was The Lake House. If you like layered stories, WWII, historical/contemporary stories, or Kate Morton you will LOVE this one. My fave! A great audiobook was Secrets of a Charmed Life. Equally awesome for pretty much the same reasons. You can find short reviews of all my reads on Goodreads, but I also reviewed Called for Life and The Photograph on my blog!

Some great articles I’ve read online include:

On hospitality and community – good stuff!
On the kingdom of God… and a hampster – also good stuff!
Simplicity and stuff [things] –> didn’t plan that, lol
Did you read about how this bride with a cancelled wedding gave back to the community? I love this.
Have you found the blog Literary Starbucks yet? It’s basically what our favorite characters/authors would order at Starbucks… equal parts charm, hilarity, and smartness. Love! Some faves have been Madeline, Harriet the Spy, and Eloise. Love <3! OH and Babar too!
Teeheehee! This video is SOOO funny, and I’m not even one to watch videos very often.
First born children are more intelligent. Well, duh! Older sister here!
On creativity, budgets, and not having unlimited funds at your disposal.
When fighting fear = waiting it out… good perspective on life/academia
About librarian stereotypes. Liked this… and didn’t like this.
Wow! An inspiring piece on Latino immigrant runners in NYC.
I go back and forth about what I think about Jesus Calling, but this piece pretty much sums up my feelings about the flaws and dangers with Jesus Calling. I know alot of people love it but I can’t endorse it.
Running her last marathon… oh man. So sad, yet so hopeful.
Dog vs. cat diary… LOL!
What Americans thought about Jewish refugees right before WWII. I know that the current refuge crisis is different, but still. Thought provoking!
What will libraries be like in 2100?
Lots of flaws in this running shoe study but still interesting! For me, I’ll keep my Brooks. 🙂
Two more articles on refugees – what they need from us and how we can love our Syrian neighbors according to the Betsy Tacy books.
Introverts unite! 17 graphs…yes 🙂 And in the season of a zillion Christmas parties… so TRUE. I have at least five that I know of now… oh man.

What I’ve Been Cooking

Hmmm, what have I been cooking? I made a killer beef stroganoff to break in our new to us dining room table.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8zDcCqMCJu/?taken-by=thepajamachef

It’s fall, so countless batches of pumpkin chocolate chip mini muffins, pumpkin cranberry bread, and applesauce have been on tap too. I know sometimes bloggers say things like “countless batches” to make people think they make the same recipe over and over and over again, but for me it is totally true! We can’t get enough of these fall favorites. 🙂

What’s on the Blog

My most popular recipe in October was Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies.

For November, it was Simple Teriyaki Chicken. MMM!

Most popular recipes from the archive for October included: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Buffalo Pretzels, and Funfetti Cookies, as usual. 🙂 For November, it was the same except this wonderful Sausage, Apple, and Egg Casserole snuck in there ahead of those cookies. Yum!

What were you into in October/November?

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.

Musings

What I’m Into (September 2015)

October 7, 2015October 6, 2015 Sarah

What’s Been Happening

September was QUITE the month. Fall is now in full force in Nashville, and my farmer’s market findings prove it. 🙂 I love cider and apples and butternut squash… mmm!

https://www.instagram.com/p/68aethsCCm/

I also got to go on an epic trip to North Carolina with a fun group of bloggers to learn about the poultry industry. A wrap up post about #CareToFarm15 is coming soon, so stay tuned!

https://instagram.com/p/7-7qC8sCPV/?taken-by=thepajamachef

https://instagram.com/p/8Buu_fsCLI/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Ben got to experience his first cross country meet too! I ran cross country in high school and college, but we didn’t know each other back then so he’s never been to a meet. A few Fridays ago I was driving home from work when I spotted the Ohio State team bus. I wondered what they were in town for, and a little internet investigating later–discovered they were in town at a meet hosted by Vanderbilt… just about 10 minutes from our house! So we went. Ben was a little skeptical but he had a BLAST, and I think it’ll be an annual tradition. 🙂

https://instagram.com/p/70a2HRMCHD/?taken-by=thepajamachef

September was also a sad month… my grandfather passed away after a short illness. We were close so it’s been hard. Growing up, I spent time with him and my grandma while my dad worked and my mom was in grad school or working. We fed the ducks, read books, did puzzles, and all sorts of fun things. He taught me how to eat grapefruit, pistachios, and pumpkin seeds, that bagels are incredible with butter, to appreciate what I have, that $2 bills are fun to receive in the mail, and so much more. I will miss him, but we are thankful that he knew Jesus and is now in heaven. ❤

What I’m Reading

This month I read/listened to twelve books–and started quite a few more. You can, as always, find my reviews on Goodreads. 🙂

My favorite book was Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life…so intriguing! I also reviewed A Fifty-Year Silence on the blog. A great audiobook was Mrs. Sinclair’s Suitcase by Louise Walters. I REALLY liked the narrator.

Some great articles I’ve read online this month include:

On Millennials and grammar… YES!
The last printing of cards for card catalogs happened… sad day, even though I haven’t used a real card catalog for years and years.
How people in the US spend their time… very interesting!

What I’ve Been Cooking

Multiple batches of pumpkin chocolate chip mini muffins. HELLO, fall. And copious scrambled egg tacos. Yes, they are as simple as they sound. A flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, a lil cheese, and sometimes some chopped avocado. Mmmm, I can’t get enough for breakfast OR dinner. This is my new go-to dinner after a tiring day at work. We also are getting back into our fancy Sunday meals… one week it was roasted chicken, another week was homemade chicken noodle soup. I love fall food!

What’s on the Blog

My most popular recipe in September was Cantucci [Almond Biscotti]. Don’t you just want to dunk one right now?!

Most popular recipes from the archive included: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Buffalo Pretzels, and Funfetti Cookies, as usual. 🙂

What were you into in September?

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.

Musings

What I’m Into (July and August 2015)

August 31, 2015August 31, 2015 Sarah

I didn’t get to writing this post for the month of July… and now August is over. CRAZY!

What’s Been Happening

I started off July with a week long staycation. Ben and I enjoyed a lot of good food in Nashville, including breakfast at the Loveless Cafe [which is less than 10 minutes from our house btw] and getting these free reusable travel cups from Dunkin’ Donuts. These cups come with 99 cent refills through the end of August… so we’ve been going a lil Dunkin’ crazy. Ha! We also picked blueberries and blackberries. So good!

https://www.instagram.com/p/4hL83RMCL2/

Ben started his second year teaching. I helped him decorate his classroom… bulletin boards aren’t my strength. 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/5kX1h6sCB6/

August brought tons of traveling and visitors. Here’s how it happened! The first weekend of the month brought my parents to town on their way to vacation. The follow weekend, I went to a one-day library conference at Indiana University Kokomo and saw a bunch of friends from grad school and my hometown, as well as my cute nephew. Then, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew stayed with us on their way home from vacation. FINALLY, I headed back to Indiana for my grandpa’s 94th birthday party! This past weekend was spent at home, no traveling or visitors.

https://www.instagram.com/p/60sk1HsCNt/

School’s starting up at my university so things have been crazy there but I’m excited to see the students again! Fall is coming soon…and I can’t wait!

What I’m Reading

As of the time I wrote this post, I finished 21 books in July and August, with a few more on tap. You can check out my reviews of the books above on Goodreads. On the blog, I reviewed The Wiregrass; it’s a great read if you’re looking for a good book! I also finally read [listened to] Anne of Green Gables! I started that book as a kid but never finished it… it’s so fun to listen to and I want to read the whole series now! 🙂

I’ve also made a point to save some of the great articles I read online to share here… so in no real order you should check out these articles:

When America’s libraries went to war – an interesting piece of library/WWI history
Domestic workers in South Africa – I don’t talk about this much on the blog, but I was an Africana Studies major in college and earned a master’s in grad school in the same area, studying abroad in Cameroon and Lesotho (a tiny country landlocked inside South Africa). Much of my academic career has examined southern Africa, and as such, racial issues. So much progress has been made but articles like this make me so, so sad.
Mixed up twins in Colombia – did you read this?! Soooo crazy.
Changes with American Girl dolls – mostly old news, but I had Kirsten and agree with the sentiments in both of these articles SO much. I’m sad that current American Girl dolls worry about homework instead of survival on the Minnesota countryside in the 1800s
Have you ever seen the blankets made in Lesotho? They are gorgeous AND practical. Here is an interesting piece about cultural appropriation and the distribution of culture.
Books to read when it’s hard to read the Bible – great suggestions!
How we became too busy for friends – a hard but good read
On reading books on your phone and the future of reading
A bit of a political piece… but a fantastic perspective on what you should do if you’re outraged at Planned Parenthood. Spoiler alert: foster kids.

What I’ve Been Cooking

Lots of peanut noodles with this sauce. Kale salad with sauteed potatoes and fried eggs. Sounds weird, but it’s so good. I made it a mish mash of these two recipes. I’m sure I’ve made other things, but I can’t really recall now… ha!

What’s on the Blog

My most popular July recipe was Turkey Sloppy Joes. Mmm!