10 May 2010

Taste of Raleigh: Neomonde's Bakery and Deli

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I left behind TWO great falafel places in Louisville. It was sad. Grape Leaf and Shiraz were delicious and relatively inexpensive, Shiraz being the cheaper of the two. Before 2007, when I lived in RDU – I didn’t really care that much about Persian/Mediterranean food (not like I do now).

Friday I was introduced to a place out by NCSU and Meredith called Neomonde. For those of you in Louisville – a Mediterranean Lotsa Pasta. Market, deli, refillable drinks, samples. Neomonde’s is cheaper than Lotsa Pasta. There are so many wonderful things to choose from.

On Friday when I went we shared the Large Kabaob platter. 1 chicken kabob, 1 beef kabob, 2 salads (veggie salad and hummus). They give you tons of pita when you check out. And we got 4 falafels – good (although green inside) and topped with sesame seeds (could have done without the sesame seeds. I personally like the pitas better in the ville, but these are good.

Saturday when I went I got a 1/2 falafel wrap and hummus/pita – 4 kalamata olives, evoo, hummus, 3 whole wheat pitas) = all for 6.50. I call that a pretty good deal.

So – this will definitely be a favorite. Anyone wanna go with? More pictures will come later.
10 May 2010

Menu Week: May 10

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This week will be slightly normal – I guess. We shall see.

My main meals at home will be: lentil chicken chard soup, salad, pbjs, yogurt, oats. Why – that’s what I have right now.
My magazine recipe of the week: no clue. Have to look through them again. Running out of desserts to cook – so might have to start cooking main meals out of the stack too!
Places I’m eating out this week:
Moes
Champas Sushi Thai
Douglas house
Bux or Bou
Fosters in Chapel Hill
Hot Point Cafe
? for lunch on Friday (haven’t decided yet)
Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Troupe house
Hickman house for birthday celebration

This weekend I’ll be in DC so I can’t wait. It will be busy but good.

6 May 2010

Siggi's Yogurt Giveaway

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I have always heard much about Siggi’s Yogurt on food blogs and I wanted to try it. It is a little ore expensive than regular yogurts, so I emailed the good people at Siggi’s and they listened and graciously sent me 8 coupons!
I used one of them to buy some regular plain yogurt to use in a recipe – as a dressing. It was thick and yogurt-y. The good thing about it is that it doesn’t contain many sugars. Even the vanilla and fruit kinds, don’t have many excess sugars in it.
So…I am passing the wealth on to you, my readers. I have 4 coupons and want to give the chance to try it, too. Two winners will get 2 coupons each!
So, in order to enter – tell me your favorite flavor or yogurt. I’ll pick 2 winners on Sunday night.
6 May 2010

Taste of Raleigh: Hot Point Cafe

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If you want a nice change from Panera – go here. (Picture taken with my phone – sorry for the quality.)
I really wasn’t planning on eating out today for lunch, but I wanted a quiet(er) place for lunch and didn’t want to sit in my apt by myself. So, I had looked at this place online and went hunting in North Hills. Found it.
This is a trendier Panera. Same price (about) for what you get. I actually think you get more on the salads. The soups were smaller and not a wide variety. Sandwiches looked good, but Panera’s are bigger. They also had meals for dinner – but they were definitely higher (to fit the North Hills market) and they also served a wknd brunch.
I enjoyed the quiet – slightly busy and I was there from 1130-145. Not bad at all. I just enjoyed the warmth and breeze as I sat outside.
I had the small Greek salad and a refillable unsweet tea for $7.22. As you can see from the picture, they don’t skimp on the small. There was TONS of feta, black olives, artichokes, greens, roasted red peppers, cuks, and raw mashrooms. It also came with a triangle of their sun dried tomato focaccia bread (good flavor, but a little dry). I asked for the balsamic vinegar on the side – so good. It was sweeter than most.
So – if you are looking for a place that isn’t as busy (maybe a place to meet with a girlfriend and sit for hours) – there you go…
6 May 2010

B90x Update

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Some of you may recall that back in January I started B90x – a reading plan from Elevate Church in Charlotte for reading through the entire Bible in 90 days. Started off well, like most New Year’s Resolutions and Bible reading plans.
March is where I really slacked off – as I was preparing to move, pack, late nights, working much – it was tough – I was sinful and lazy in forgetting this daily need.
Well – here is my update. I finished the OT the end of April. I start the NT. Hopefully the NT won’t take me as long as the OT took. I doubt it.
Here are good things about the B90x reading plan:
1. It makes you prioritize the Word. It takes about 50 minutes each day to read the allotted segment. I’m not a fast reader.
2. It helps to give a bigger picture to the Word. One thing I dislike about most reading plans is that you get 2 chapters here and there in 4 different places. I like seeing complete pictures. It helps me follow story lines better. One day I think I read the whole story of Abraham from Ur to death. Joseph followed a day later. It helps when all of Genesis is done in 4 days. You see the connectedness of Scripture.
3. Themes. It also helps because you can draw out themes or words that help in preparing Bible studies or seeing the Big Picture of the Word of God. This was probably my fave part.

I will keep going. His Word is important.

Colossians 3.16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
6 May 2010

Community, Trinity, Love and DeYoung

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Ever read one of those paragraphs…that you want to read aloud to whoever is in the room and it expresses a new way of thinking or a new way of understanding a complex thought? Sorta an “aha” moment.
Here is one:
I am reading Kevin DeYoung’s book The Good News We Almost Forgot – Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism. Basically, Kevin takes the Heidelberg Catechism and applies the gospel found in it to modern day. Putting this hard to read or understand or even say in a fluid pattern – something in paragraph form and explaining it. Quite good. More of that later though.

“The Trinity matters for relationships. We worship a God who is in a constant and eternal relationship with Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Community is a buzz word in American culture, but it is only in a Christian framework that communion and interpersonal community are seen as expressions of the eternal nature of God. Likewise, it is only with a Trinitarian God that love can be an eternal attribute of God. Without a plurality of persons in the Godhead, we would be forced to think taht God created humands so that He might show love and know love, thereby making love a created thing (and God a needy deity). But with a biblical understanding of the Trinity, we can say that God did not create in order to be loved, but rather, created out of the overflow of the perfect love that had always existed among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who ever live in perfect and mutual relationship and delight.” (p 52)

Love this. God didn’t create us because He needed us. My friend, Sean Cordell, preached on this topic as well a few weeks ago at Treasuring Christ here in Raleigh: Pursuing Community. You can not know true community without the knowledge of the true Creator of Community.
We must know love and community only through an intimate relationship with the one who desires to be in community and sent Jesus to die to make that possible.

Colossians 3.16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
5 May 2010

Book Review: Collaborate

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In light of the title of the book, Collaborate is a collaborative effort by many ministers in the field of children, family, and student ministry to bring the best of the best of their ideas to the table. Chanley, at Southeast in Louisville, KY, put together these short chapters filled with excellent events you can do at your church to help bridge the gap that is evident in ministries and families across America.
Good things about this book:
1. Rob Rienow’s chapter. I had read a bulk of the material for since I am familiar with Rob’s writings, but it was a good reminder of WHY we do family ministry and WHY THERE IS A NEED for family ministry. The reason this chapter, for me, was the best out of this book is because it is the only one whose main focus was the theological reason behind family ministry. Others definitely drove Deut 6.4-9 into the ground and used that as an imperative for ministry – but Rob opened up the biblical mandate for Family Ministry and parenting and the church and the gospel. Theology, I know, wasn’t the main point of this book. And Chanley and others definitely succeded in the aim of this book. (That’s why there are multiple books out there, each with its specific niche.)
2. Rob Bradbury encouraged me by his list. Not only will this chapter be helpful as people sit down to plan out events – but he started with the most important, yet most often overlooked element. PRAYER. He listed prayer before advertising. How often to do plan, advertise, talk up, poster-up, get volunteers – even before we pray. At the church I serve, we have even noticed that this is not as big of a focus as we need it to be. So, we are taking many efforts to strengthen our prayer times in staff meetings or in our lives personally. Today, even, stopping in the middle of staff meeting to pray for a lady who walked through our doors during Joy Prom and said she had never (in 62 years, in the South) walked into a church. These are the things that need praying for.
3. Short chapters. I like books with short chapters because I feel like I can plow through a book without having to sit down and read for 2 hours straight. I like being able to end at a chapter, not in the middle of one.
4. Very practical. If you need ideas, or are stuck and uncreative (like I often am), this book will help bring some fresh new ideas from literally around the world to you.

One word of caution with this book: Picking up this book would lead some to believe that is all about activity – or events. Family Ministry is not event driven. It must NOT be. It has to be theology and gospel driven. God can and does use events to draw people to themselves (take Joy Prom for example, or youth camp, or VBS, or Family Fall night, but if it is event driven, we will just fill up a calendar and spend money. If it is gospel-driven – then hopefully God will use the church to make an impact in the lives of families. You can’t get your people on board with events unless they know the why behind what you do.

That is my daily challenge. May it be your’s as well.

Colossians 3.16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
2 May 2010

Menu Week: May 3

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I did a pre-lim menu last Thursday – but then I started a new whole month challenge (no processed foods). So, it will look a little different.

I think oats will be on the menu every day for breakfast – with milk and all-natural peanut butter

Lunches: lentil/chicken soup (all natural), chickpeas and salad with veggies, yogurt and mango, orange, celery, carrots and mustard.

Dinner: oats, salad, brown rice and tomatoes,

Wed night heading out with one of my girls. Thursday hitting up tea with some friends in Durham. Friday lunch is lunch with a friend. Saturday is traveling to Charlotte and will probably eat at IKEA (because a friend wants to eat there). May be Sonnys as well which will definitely be easier to do whole foods…

1 May 2010

Taste of Durham: Watts Grocery

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I love LOCAL. I wish Raleigh had more eat local restaurants – but alas, will have to keep making the drive to Durham and Chapel Hill.
Watts Grocery is on Broad Street – near the 9th Street district and one of Duke’s campuses. This wasn’t here when I lived in Durham and worked near the spot of the restaurant. My friend Kristin recommended this place and it was a winner.
They are only open for brunch for a few hours on Saturday. We got there about 25 minutes after they opened and we had a 20 minute wait. But, the line kept building, so this place has earned quite a reputation.
All local farms provide the food for this restaurant.
I had Little Red Wagon Farms granola (from Chapel Hill) – but Louisville people – you can buy it too! Yogurt was delicious – a vanilla kind maybe from Chapel Hill Creamery, or another local farm. Topped with blueberries, raisins, and strawberries and pecans. Very good. House made english muffin with fresh butter and blueberry preserves. Good local eats.
Kristin had the huevos rancheros – made with red beans for a slight change. She said hers was great too!
Will be making another trip: the blood orange mimosa sounds good and the toasted pimiento cheese sandwich or the strawberry caramel filled french toast. How can you go wrong?
30 Apr 2010

31 Whole Days Challenge

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Praise God April is (almost) over. Its been a great month, but not for the eating/exercising/weight part of it. May will be different!
I love starting new things, having goals, etc.
Happy Herbivore is doing this and when I saw it – I thought I could do this. It is not RAW, but unprocessed – I think there is a difference.
My friend Sarah is doing it and she has made her own tweaks to make this be balanced and work for her.
So, this month:
1. Going to keep a food journal and really assess how easy or hard it is to eat whole, unprocessed foods (with receipts).
2. Going to apply this wholly while I am at home, but slack some while at restaurants. Try to eat as whole as possible out, but knowing I can’t control everything on a menu.
3. Will keep up with my recipes from magazines and will try to just bake then I can give them away and not eat them. I don’t have any whole, unprocessed magazine recipes.
4. Will post the highlights and lowlights each wknd for the month of May.

Looking forward to the challenge. Are you up for it?