Moroccan Chicken Vegetable Soup

Moroccan Chicken Vegetable Soup

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

1 1/2 lbs chicken (skin & fat removed)

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. Turmeric

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Cumin

8 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup couscous

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Heat olive oil in Dutch Oven, add onions and cook until tender. Then, add chicken broth, chicken, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from soup and remove bones. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to pot. Add couscous and green onions. Simmer until heated through.

Thoughts on a Thursday Evening

Hi girls,

Just sitting alone on my couch, snuggled under a blanket, and thinking about things. Thought I'd write a few things down...and share them with you. I'd love to hear any thoughts and/or suggestions, should you have them.

Molly, I totally resonate with the underlying angst/questioning/searching that you've been experiencing and describing lately. I know you've shared that your dad's death was your catalyst, which is totally understandable. I'm not sure what mine is (my grandmas' deaths have been impactful, certainly, but nowhere near as impactful as a father's death). I feel restless nearly all the time with this overwhelming drive to create something. This is not necessarily new for me. I've had periods in my life where I've felt similarly, and I am always in the middle of creating something, whether small (dinner) or large (Madelyn's childhood). But this time, I'm questioning my career. It's not that I don't like child welfare or feel that I should've chosen something else. I love working in this field, and it fulfills me in a way that nothing else in my life does. Social work has always felt like a calling for me, and I'm not sure that I ever really thought too hard about whether I did or didn't want to go into it because I just knew it was the "right" thing for me to do. It kind of always felt like an obligation but without the resentment. Social work definitely feels like ministry to me--at least I feel like that's the primary way I serve God. And I can "hack it," so to speak, so I've always felt like I should keep doing it.

I'm passionate about child welfare, but I'm learning that I'm passionate about other things as well (strictly speaking about career--this restless feeling doesn't apply to my family life). I love healthy food. I love growing it, cooking it, eating it, and sharing it. I love learning about how healthy food is good for your body and good for the earth, and I am becoming more and more interested in helping to change the way our culture views the production and consumption of food. I also love making yummy things to fill people's tummies and, hopefully, nurture their souls a bit. And then there's writing. I love to write and have always dreamt of doing something in the creative writing realm.

I read this article in this month's Eating Well magazine about a farm out East somewhere that grows veggies and fruits and donates 100% of the loot to local food banks and shelters. It's a non-profit organization that is funded by private donations as well as federal subsidies. Doesn't that sound so awesome? I was thinking as I was reading it, "Ok, I just need to buy some land and grow some food and get some volunteers and, oh, apply for non-profit status." Something like that would so perfectly blend social work and healthy food...but is that really what I want to do, and my goodness, what on earth would it take to get something like that up and running?

I just feel kind of directionless. I have all of this desire and energy and motivation, but I'm not totally sure where I want to put it or where I should put it, for that matter. I feel like I'm at some kind of fork in the road. I just don't know specifically what the choices are...therefore I don't know which one to choose.

And that's unsettling.

So if anyone has any words of wisdom or anything else to offer, I would so appreciate it!

Glass Castle and Other Thoughts

Hi all! Merri, I'm sorry it has taken me this long to respond to your post. My other grandma died last Tuesday (my first grandma died three weeks ago), and Maddie and I were out of town all weekend attending her funeral with my family in Idaho. It's been a crazy, emotional week, and unfortunately it's not over. My first grandma's memorial service is this coming Saturday, so we're gearing up emotionally to do this all over again in six days. Wild.

Anyway, I loved your comments about The Glass Castle. This book is so powerful, and as Cheryl said last Tuesday, if it was fiction, you would think "This author went way too far; there is no way any family could be this dysfunctional." But it's totally true! Crazy. This was my second time reading it, and I found this time I was a lot more forgiving and sympathetic to the parents. Not sure why, as my child-welfare-lens typically makes me want to club neglectful parents over the head and ship them to a desert island somewhere. Nevertheless, I saw lots of ways that they built those kids' self-esteem and nurtured them emotionally despite the glaring physical neglect. I was, however, really angered by the mom's response to the uncle trying to molest Jeanette. That might have been the only time I thought there was just no excuse for her. Great book. We had a good discussion and marveled at how Jeanette turned out even remotely functioning :)

As far as next month's book goes: I chose Out of Africa by Karen Blixen. I have read it twice, the first time being when I was living in Kenya, and the book is very close to my heart. I identify very powerfully with her experience--a white woman with no connection to Africa arriving (somewhat haphazardly) in Kenya only to discover, rather quickly, that her soul feels at home there. Her writing is not the most consistent writing you'll ever read, but she has moments of poetry that are just beautiful--the way she describes the land and the people. It's primarily a love story between her and the land, but it's also a love story between she and Denys (which the movie focuses on a bit more than the book. I also love the movie. I hope to show a few clips when the girls are here in November). Anyway, please join us in reading it if it sounds good to you! If not, no worries :)

Hope everyone is well. Cheryl, if you could post that recipe for the chicken soup you made us, I would greatly appreciate it! I'm in full "soup mode" over here and am making all the yummy soups I can find.

Glass Castle

So...I am sad to have missed book club yesterday. Did everyone enjoy the Glass Castle? I had forgotten I had read it before...but I enjoyed reading it again. Hard in places though. I have a few thoughts to share:

* The book makes me thankful for all that I have!

* I don't feel quite so bad about my parenting anymore. :-)

* I am sickened by all the neglect, abuse, and daily hardships that this family went through.

* I am amazed at the resiliency of the kids. They took most things in stride - especially the lack of food in the house.

* I am curious about Maureen. What happened to her? Was it really a chemical thing? It's interesting to me that the other 3 kids survived their upbringing and went on to be fairly successful, and yet Maureen struggled. I guess it was in the fight for survival that the older kids bonded together and grew stronger. Maureen missed that somewhat since she was taken in by others and wasn't around as much.

Your thoughts?? I'd love to hear them.

And the next book is.... ??? Let me know and I will go purchase mine.

Love ya.

Does the book get any easier?

Hey friends, I have a question - do the circumstances in the book get more or less difficult after the incident with Erma in Welch after the parents leave?

I had to stop reading there because it was a bit too much for me emotionally ... I'm trying to stay away from stuff that's too sad.

What do you think? Are there more difficult scenes? I may stop reading here.


M