Our Anniversary Dinner

We were given a very generous gift from our parents and my Gram and Poppy for our 3rd anniversary this week- a babysitter and a night out! Pete and I were so excited for a chance to have a date!

Pete found a beautiful restaurant only a few minutes away called Barrington Country Bistro. We had a great babysitter come over and off we went (dressed up too...haha). BCB has an amazingly fresh menu with most of the ingredients coming from very local farms.

After deciding what we were ordering, we had a beautiful bottle of Castle Rock Pinot Noir. Our appetizer was a wild boar sausage with black trumpet mushrooms and a date-mustard sauce. It was so flavorful, and I wish I hadn't sent the bread basket back because we both wanted to get the last little bit of sauce :)

Pete picked a "salade lyonnaise" with arugula, endive, a poached egg, lardons, fresh croutons, and a warm shallot-bacon vinaigrette. I had a bean medley with baby field greens, amazing parmesan, and a beurre noisette vinaigrette.

Hungry yet? ;)

For our main dish, I decided on a venison leg filet accompanied by braised leeks, chestnuts, and a blueberry reduction sauce. Pete had beef cheeks with a parnsip puree. If you haven't had beef cheeks before (I had not before last night) you should try it if you get a chance! It was such a tender, and flavorful, piece of meat.

I am who I am....so we got dessert!

A very thin apple tart with fresh vanilla ice cream and caramel was the perfect end to our meal.

Ahhh....I can't wait to go back to BCB!

Love you all!
Emily Ann

Loose Ends. . .

Hello Everyone,

Family Book Club
From what I can tell, your books are here or on their way.  Let's try to read through section one by the end of January.  I know that some of you have already forged ahead (ahem . . . mom) but that's just fine.  We'll post questions/thoughts/comments at the end of January?  Sound Good?

Returning to Haiti
Just wanted you to know that I'll be going on a short-term mission trip to Haiti in February.  I am REALLY excited - a twinge nervous (I'd be worried if I wasn't) - but mostly really excited because I think God made me to play a part in international missions.  I'll be getting my "orders" soon.  I'm happy to be working again with the Salvation Army - what an incredible organization/church.  I read up on what is happening in Haiti on a regularly.  Today I read this post  about a little girl who has been under the care of a mission organization called Real Hope For Haiti - and for real - they are bringing some real hope.  Read it for yourself - you won't be the same after.

Scripture Memorization Challenge
How's it going?  Have you memorized 2 Cor 5:17?  What kind of impact has it had on you?  Has it popped into your mind at any particular point?

2 Cor 5:17  (NASB)  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;  the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.

Chocolate Lecture
I have been wanting to post my chocolate lecture for quite some time now.  It is about why humans love chocolate so much.  The images have been a real bear to prepare - so keep your eyes peeled - if you see the post it will be a victory for me!

Thanks
Thanks to all of the family who filled out the Nadeau Family Basic Facts Survey.  I am waiting for just a few more people to fill it out and then I will e-mail you the file so you have a copy too.

Random thought from my day...

This morning, on my way to work, I was listening to K-love and heard a great message about God and food. As many of you know, I am a BIG fan of food-especially food that is sweet. It tends to get me in trouble and I have been struggling with it more as I try to eat healthier foods and lose some of the left over pregnancy weight.
The guest host today on the Lisa and Eric show was Lysa TerKeurst who has written a book about God and food called Made to Crave. As I was listening to her speak about reading what the Bible has to say about food, she quoted a verse from 1 Corinthians that she has on the outside of her pantry and refrigerator that helps her keep her cravings in check.
1 Corinthians 6:12 " Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."
I thought it was interesting that this verse could really change the way somebody thinks about food. I could eat anything I have in the house, but it wouldn't necessarily be beneficial to help me complete my day and have the energy to be a great wife or mom which is what God calls me to be.
Food for thought :) Maybe next time I'll choose an apple instead of that cookie...

Week In Review

Monday's Mediteranean Feast

Friends came over to celebrate another year with me. We ate and ate and ate. Lemon Peppered Chicken, Spinach Pie, Meze Platter, Syrian Rice, Staffed Dates, Baklava, Pomagrantes, Cake, Greek Salad, and much Fun.

Tuesday's Two-In-A-Row

Tuesday I managed to double book myself, scheduling my alternating bible studies on the same Tuesday.  Nice.  So I met at Deedee's earlier to study Jonah.  It's kickin' my butt.  A quick drive home and I met the ladies of Genesis for our almost final week of our Church Wide Initiative Study "Portrait of a Disciple."   The ladies all brought me beautiful cards and for the second week in a row Michelle brought me FRESH eggs from the farm.  They are deliciously rich eggs.  I am thinking of photographing the eggs and using them for the art in my new kitchen.  The colors are perfect!! 

Wednesday's Whimsy

Wednesday was my birthday.  Carrie stopped into my classroom and announced my birthday to each of my classes - it was very sweet of her. I told my students that I was older than dirt.  They proceeded to guess my age . . . 24, 30, 52.  Fifty-two?!?!?!?  What kind of grade do you want in my class?   It was a pleasant day that ended with spinning class, meeting with my friend Luann, and going to Wednesday Night Bible Study and Fellowship.  I love Wednesday nights because it always ends with good friends and conversation.  I received a lovely book, several heart-felt cards, and many lovely calls and text messages.

Thursday's - That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

It was work, work, work on Thursday.  My kids were fairly well-behaved and cooperative - even my not-so-easy-to-manage kids had a pretty good day working with nuclear reactions (alpha, beta, and gamma decay).  I showed them a video about the Radioactive Boyscout.  (A local man who got himself into a little bit o' trouble)  We thoroughly discussed the potential harm/effects of radiation in order to discourage them from getting any "wise" ideas!  They loved the clips.  Your'll love them too.

My Biology class finished their webquest and started making old fashioned "Flip Book" animations of cell division.  They then watched these two videos clips. 

That evening we had an open house for middle schoolers and their parents to see the school.  There are always a ton of parents and questions and kids and question and parents and kids and well . . . that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Friday's Fun

I rehearsed with James for Sunday's service after work.  I love to sing - to worship our Great God - and that is FUN for me :)

Weekend Plans

Clean up a bit, do some photo editing, lunch with Kim, take a long run, watch the derby girls at Cobo Center, grade papers, Sunday service & Community Summit at Genesis, and get things ready for Thanksgiving!  I can't wait!

Quintessential Quinoa

Try something new ~ Quinoa (Keen 'wah)
A seed that acts like a grain.
A complete protein.
High in Magnesium, Manganese, and Copper.
Plenty of fiber.
Won't make you hungry after you eat it.
Gluten Free (Yeah!)
Delicious and easy to make.
Read about the benefits here!

For my new recipe I prepared 1 cup of dried Quinoa (makes almost 2 cups prepared), 1 cup of beets, 8 oz of firm feta, 1/2 cup of yellow pepper, 1 cup of chopped broccoli (stems included), 1/4 cup of chopped kalamata olives, 2 T of olive oil, and salt & pepper.  Try it and let me know what you think!

This is what the Quinoa looks like when prepared: 
translucent in the center with a white ring around it.

Oh - by the way - I used Trader Joe's Organic Quinoa.  Here are some other resources for this marvelous "grain"!

Harvest Feast

Double Click to Enlarge

This past Monday my friend, Amanda, and I made a harvest feast.  It started out as just making soup but it turned into a whole lot more.  We had a grand time.  The Gazpacho Soup was a take on Alli's Spicy Gazpacho Soup recipe.  The red portion is spicy hot and made of tomatoes, onions, Mrs. T's Spicy Bloody Mary Mix, cayenne pepper, and red hot sauce.  The green portion was simply freshly minced garlic, cucumbers, onions, and zucchini.  We placed a dollop of fresh plain greek yogurt on the top.  We then thought that we should have something to sop up the soup with and so we oiled and salted some hearty bread we bought off of the clearance rack at Holiday Market.  We placed the bread on the grill and when it became crispy we rubbed it down with garlic.  This is my version of Fett'unta.  Protein was in order so we grilled some natural Amish bone-in chicken thighs with a mix of herbs and spices.  Lastly, the eggplant was ready so we cut it in 3/4 inch slices on the bias and grilled them up too!  Lastly, to top off the meal we had Amanda's homemade pickles.  It was a perfect combination of tastes!  Needless-to-say we no one needed dinner that night. 

What's On My Plate?

A few folks have been asking me what I have been eating.  Here are a few of my favorites.  I recently recalculated my "Real Age" test and I've seen some improvement. 
Here's where I was at in January 2008.  My current results are:
Calendar age:  36.7
Difference: +0.7
Real Age:  37.4

Black Beans
Avocados
Organic Chicken Thighs - Bone In
Penzy's Seasoning
Mango
Grapefruit
Wasa Crackers
Hummus
Almonds
Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
Dark Chocolate (every day)
Pretzel Loaf
Cliff Bars
Balance Bars
Larabars (Vegan, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Lactose Free AND FLAVORFUL)
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Red Wine Vinegar

These are the foods that make up most of my diet but I do try to incorporate a variety of other foods like fish, vegetables, and an occasional piece of cake!  Oh and my favorite beverages are decaf green tea, rooibos tea from South Africa, Melaluca tea, and any kind of flavored carbonated water such as san pelligrino, la croix, or trader joe's brand.

Good Eats

Grilled Chicken, Avocado, Cucumber, and Lettuce from the garden(ftg).

Spicy Tacos with tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, lettuce(ftg), cilantro(ftg), homemade guacamole, cucumber, and salsa.

Corn tortillas prepared on the griddle pan of the new stove!

I think you should petition . . .

I was going to write a post today about my favorite microwavable meal.  It's what I had for lunch today:  Trader Joe's Chicken Tikka Masala.  Oh was it good.  It's not just me who thinks so, there are tons of reviews out there on the deliciousness of this fine frozen feast.  I thought that after reading the post you might make your way to your local Trader Joe's and pick up this delicacy that can be whipped up in less than 5 minutes and perhaps even grab a bag of frozen naan.  Mmmmm!  After I indulged and before I wrote the post I did a little research to find out where your nearest store is and well . . . you might have to come visit Pete & Emily in Chicago or myself here in Detroit.  Oh the tragedy - no Trader Joe's for you.  Oh my heart is breaking.  Mom and Dad in Atlanta drive nearly an hour in order to stock up on their favorites.  So I'm not sure if I should mention that Trader Joe's is so fabulous.  That they have a good $3.00 bottle of wine (three buck chuck), chocolate covered everything (sunflower seeds are my favorite), tomato bisque soup, frozen salmon roulette's, pretzel loafs, nuts of every kind, organic vegetables and fruit, should I go on?

So, I have concluded that I think you should petition . . .

Love, T

ps.  new pictures from the garden (antique irises) and the kitchen (new lighting, new fan, and hopefully by tonight some of the new appliances) are on their way!