by Shauna Niequist
This is everything I look for in a book. It's uplifting. It's encouraging. It's real. There were moments of tears. I
needed to read this book, at this time and in this place. There's so much I could talk about here, beginning with the fact that I read it in two days and then I was in the kitchen, hard at work.
Bread and Wine is a memoir of life-lessons and advice, based around recipes. In my opinion, all recipes are based around life-lessons. In fact, the best recipe sharing comes from not daily anecdotes, but from the story behind the recipe. Especially those from our childhoods. I need to share more like
that. Shauna's recipes are simple, classic, and straight-forward. She's had me craving macaroni and cheese for a week…
I'm so glad I bought
Bread and Wine and I plan on gifting it to others.
How I knew this book was for me:
Tell me you eat toast. Tell me you love cheap candy or fake cheese. ...I know there are people who see food primarily as calories, nutrients, complex bundles of energy for the whirring machines of our bodies. I know them, but they're not my people. They're in the same category of people who wear sensible shoes and read manuals. Good people, but entirely foreign to me. (page 16)
I firmly believe that food is a love language. My response to helping people is to bake them cookies. I would rather cook you dinner than buy you dinner because that's how I show that I care. It's not a chore to me, and I do wake up each day thinking about what's for dinner.
A quote in Bread and Wine from Winnie the Pooh:
"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same thing, " he said.
(page 19)
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The best thing that has happened to us in the last 4 years is that I've learned how to cook. Seriously. Before we got married, I wasn't good at it. I've always loved to bake. Much to my mother's dismay, I held no interest in cutting up raw meat or eating vegetables regularly. Things have changed for the better. Since I really started compiling recipes a few years ago, dinner at home is the standard around here. As long as we're not traveling, we rarely go out. When we do, it's usually for sushi, which is something I don't want to bother with at home.
These are some of the recipes that are regulars in my meal-planning. I must say that they are all relatively healthy; no casseroles, no heavy sauces, just basic kitchen ingredients.
(I would go on and on about how I believe the key to a better, more balanced diet is cooking dinner at home, not eating out. But you've probably already heard that and I'm not certified to tell you such information anyway.)
I've shared my personal favorite dinner recipes a while back, but here's a collection of my favorites from my Pinterest boards.
They all come highly recommended by us!
Crockpot Meatballs. Perfect for a weekend and they freeze really well.
Thai Chicken Broccoli Slaw. So easy and delicious.
Lettuce Wraps. I have no words for how good these were. We ate the whole pan in 20 minutes.
Crockpot Balsamic Chicken. Super tasty and smells amazing.
Cilantro Quinoa. The best way to make quinoa.
Pesto Salad. I love the barley.
Gnocchi with Corn and Zucchini. Very rich-tasting. Incredibly easy because it's made with packaged gnocchi.
The Best Spanish Rice. An easy side dish we make for company.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken. Make a batch over the weekend. Use it throughout the week.
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos. We eat these at least once a week. Don't skip the cilantro and lime!
I spend more time than I'm willing to admit looking for new recipes on Pinterest. This is just a sampling of what I've made more than once.
Someday I'll start posting more of my own recipes again…someday…I'm just looking to be inspired, I suppose.
