Sunday Reads

• Choosing a guardian for your child
• I don’t think I would love my priest or pastor to swear
• Love me some Tiny Desk concerts
• Highly recommend this podcast episode: How To Help a Loved One With Dementia
• Potty training is a milestone that for me as a parent marks the end of little and dependent childhood.
• An annual general meeting for your marriage? Say less, I am in!!
• Are Trad Wives Happier Than Women In Equal Relationships?
• IVF from the male point of view

Recipes

• Tomato soup
• Lentil recipes. The following are my faves: 1,2.3 and 4
• Tortelli with Brown Butter
• Whiskey cocktails
• Dinner rolls
• Pancake recipes
• Creamy Tuscan Chicken
• Fried tilapia

Sunday Reads

• The Absurd Logistics of Concert Tours
• What a douchebag
• Climate change and its’ effect on people
• Is your kid a picky eater? Here are some tips to help.
• I am really trying to introduce house plants. Like I really want it.
• Book recommendations from a fave podcast
• What happens to all those unaired pilots?
• Emotional labour and marriage …
• … and how one partner helps out his wife when she solo parents

Recipes

• 22 One-Pot Meals Without Pasta To Feed Your Whole Tired-Of-Spaghetti Family
• Cooking lasagna this week.
• Sticky Pork Ribs with Mango BBQ sauce
• Lemon Herb Pearl Couscous Salad with Chickpeas
• Creamy Pasta Recipes
• 5-Ingredient Meals

Sunday Reads

• 5 Bible Resources for Struggling Readers
• What do you and your friends do together when you hang out?
• How do babies learn?
• I really miss doing Pilates in a group setting
• Travelling as a family on a budget
• I love the idea of a basic set of things you have to teach your children to make them fully functioning adults, will post more on that later.
• The productivity of working moms
• Free workouts you can stream on YouTube

Recipes

• Yummy pasta recipes
• Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
• Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
• Chickpea recipes

Sunday Reads

• Ever wondered how they make lace?
• Are you looking for TV Show recommendations? BTW, I thought White Lotus was OVERRATED.
• Some romantic gestures for you and your plus one
• Hard Launch Caption Ideas For Instagram
• When Motherhood Doesn’t Go as Planned
• Kid-friendly podcasts
• Cleaning your dutch oven
• Financial literacy and little people
• Why do men take so long to poop?
• Pitfalls of the soft life
• Is Therapy-Speak Making Us Selfish? DEFINITELY YES
• 8 Things Girls Need To Hear Their Father Say At Home

Recipes

• Yummy salads
• Salisbury steak meatballs with mushroom gravy
• Lentil soup recipes
• Jamaican rice and peas (beans)
• Pasta alla Norma
• A quick and yummy tuna pasta recipe

Sunday Reads

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

• 17 mess-free summer craft ideas for kiddos (because we know that schools are closing for the year)
• … and more ways to keep them entertained at home.

• Tips for those of us who will be flying with kids over the break.
• Packing light when travelling with kids.
• Dental tips for little people from Instagram Dentists.
• At-home date night ideas.
• Sharing the mental load with your partner. #2 and #3 are my personal faves and something that I am trying to include in our set up.
• The importance of praying when you don’t feel like it.
• Now I want to move to a new city and start over.

Recipes

• Warming whiskey cocktails
• Cooking black beans and black bean enchilladas.
• Other bean recipes
• Chicken enchilladas.
• Poached eggs, Yummy
• Lunch wraps
• I’m always here for pretty salads like this one with beets and goats cheese.
• Roasted vegetable pasta

Sunday (Cooks)

Photo by Caio on Pexels.com

• Crispy Chickpea Rice Pilaf
• Home-made ice cream recipes
• Simple jeera (cumin) rice
• Sugar bean curry
• More chicken recipes
• Mediterranean White Bean Salad
• Harissa-Braised Eggplant
• Pesto Shrimp Pasta
• Roasted Vegetable Baked Penne
• I love a good mac and cheese
• Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
• chickpea and kale shakshuka

Some meal prep help is alway helpful

Sunday Reads

• We are all experiencing anticipatory grief.
• and finally acceptance in quarantine
• Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?
• Here’s how to Clean Your Yoga Mat.
• I am more than just a mama
• Why You Have to Poop in the Morning, According to Science
• Can the Roman Catholic Church Survive Two Popes?
• How to keep quarantine from ruining your marriage
• More involved dads are good for kids (and themselves)

Recipes

• Roasted Cauliflower Pasta
• Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
• Chimichurri Chickpea Salad
• Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
• Harissa-Braised Eggplant

Sunday Reads

• The lies parents tell to keep peace and sanity around the house.
• May the Church of God continue to stand strong always.
• Just read a bit of the Word, regardless.
• This little baby made my day.
• These lessons can easily apply to any new job.
• Oh New York how much I love thee

Recipes

• Cilantro Lime Dressing
• More pasta recipes
• Must try this: Blueberry Ginger Sorbet
• Chicken breast recipes
• Chickpeas stew

Sunday Reads

• RTWT – Read The Whole Thread
• I suppose middle class parents mean well but the cost of intensive parenting is rather steep.
• Loved the reasons that kids threw tantrums, so hilarious but i suppose not for the parents.
• I want to check out this Art bar in Braamfontein.
• Being a good friend at all times is quite tough but beneficial.
• An ode to female friendships

Recipes

• 10 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
• Banana Bread Muffins
• We all need some quick weekday or actually, in general recipes
• Some more pasta recipes.

Sunday Reads

Chronic Flex

A condition in which someone feels compelled to constantly bring things that make them look good in casual conversation. It can be the same thing every time or a variety of things; as long as the subtle or obvious aim is to make themselves sound or look cool, it’s a flex, and if it happens all the time, it’s chronic. It’s most obvious when a detail is tossed in that is really unnecessary for any other purpose than flexing.

haunting

A variation of ghosting, in which the ghoster continues indirect contact with the ghosted by liking and faveing his or her social media content.

• How do you talk to kids about attacks on their faith?
• FOMO and the Christian.
• Isn’t this so cute of Prince Charles?
• Representation is everything.
• How do chefs work around their own food allergies while at work?
• Women and emotional labour
• Food unites immigrants
• Racism and poverty are systematic.
• Male friendships are not always easy to understand or appreciate.
• Not sure what must be done so the Gun problem in America is fixed.
• We all have stories of the first night you met your in-laws.

Recipes

• I made this lentil recipe this past week, YUM!!
• Some more pasta recipes.
• I love cooking with pumpkin

Sunday Reads

• I struggle with a proper Christian view of comfort.
• Planning a trip to Greater Nairobi?
• How not to parent.
• For those that have people in their lives that don’t read but want to get started.
• What happens to your body when you stop drinking alcohol?
• When you are serving looks.
• Visit Joburg’s Little Addis.
• Facing the future with God.
• The more I read about it, the more I think America is like any other African country 😦

Recipes

• One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

• Roasted Yam & Collard Green Enchiladas

Some Recipes to Try

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

• Nine great lentil soups
• Garlic Rosemary Masala Fries
• Curried Red Lentil Hummus
• Delicious Vegan Pasta Recipes for Weeknights
• Cooking with butternut
• … and more butternut recipes here

Sunday Reads

• Would you keep a journal of all your failures?
• Why is Cape Town so cliquey?
• Please read this post on church planting and then listen to This America’s Life podcast on the same.
• I’d also love to know my family history but what if it yields such a negative story?
• How did you know your person is the one?
• Each of us has elements of being a people pleaser.
• …. because I love talking about #2’s
• This list talks of the world but glaringly omits Africa.
• I love these book club recommendations and the fact that I have read so many of them already. Nice!!

Recipes

• Quick weeknight dinners coz we all need those at some point or another.
• I love potato salad but I hate the creaminess of mayo and that’s absent in this recipe.
• Another yummy pasta recipe.
• .. and another set of recipes.
• Blueberry ice cream for the soul.

caucacity 

Something done with the audacity of white privilege.

An act showing little compassion towards people of color.

 

Happy Fathers Day

• When God Withholds Something Good
• The case for going to Church while on vacation.
• Very important to critically review the lyrics of popular Worship songs.
• Anyone looking for book recommendations from TED Speakers.
• A book on xenophobia in South Africa.
• How hard are we pushing ourselves and how do we regulate that?
• Staying the distance when you have a lot to get through.
• Great to see Uganda topping a positive list.
• A Dad’s survival guide to his wife’s pregnancy.
• Some songs to play for your dad today 🙂

Recipes

• Another vegetarian pasta recipe
•  …. ssshhhh! and more pasta recipes here.

Sunday Reads

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A post shared by Nicholle Kobi (@nichollekobi)

• This advise for young college graduates still resonates.
• … this too.
• Some questions to ask as you interview.
• God calls us to be faithful not successful.
• I have thought of starting a podcast with a pal *sigh*
• Things to do around my new hood.

Recipes

• This is so odd of me but I really want to have a party with a cheese plate 🙂
• Artichoke & Quinoa Vegetarian Enchiladas
• Quick Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato Sauce
• A fail proof way to make sorbet.
• Love this chocolate cake recipe.
• A pasta salad with roasted carrots and sunflower seed dressing
• This coffee recipe sounds yum 🙂
• Vegan Panna Cotta recipes

(Belated) Sunday Reads

• Learning to pray – we all need some tips at time.
• Such a weird YouTube phenomenon: watching people eat food.
• I really enjoyed this read about sexual purity being less about waiting than actually being pure because of who God is in our lives.
• Questions we ask new moms but not new dads.
• I love this lady’s style – it is so me.
• Eeeuw, commuting in Tokyo is gross.
• Great short story recommendations.
• What the different clothes at the Premier of Black Panther mean.
• Deface: losing a friend on Facebook.
• Contact Shame: When you watch or see something so embarrassing that you feel embarrassed; feels like you had something to do with it.

Recipes

• Lemon, Blackberry, and Poppy Seed Ice Cream
• A spicy pasta dish 
• Yummy chocolate cake

Sunday Reads

This definition of her: to go from her father to her husband, to be pretty, docile – a man made tragedy. Her soul was made of larger, more powerful things, things that create or desecrate armies and galaxies. This is why when she loves she changes kingdoms, and when she hates she destroys legacies.  Nikita Gill, Jasmine, A Princess That Belonged To Herself First

• If you are looking for New Years Resolutions.
• An alternative to making resolutions: one, two  and three.
• Getting the most out of meetings.
• Some opportunities and threats for the local Church.
• Gender roles and the Church.
• Some great reads from 2017.
• On bringing up your kids counter to culture.
• Some great comments on friendship.

Recipes

• Another chicken recipe, yum!
• I wanna try and make this sweet potato sage lasagna.
• This fish recipe is to die for.

Recipe-related Sunday Reads

• 10 ways with sweet potatoes. YUM!
• Because I love Earl Grey
• Yep, I am curious about the Michelin Review process.
• Egg recipes to start your day.
• Some more Indian recipes for your repertoire.
• Ashamed, but here I go suggesting other pasta recipes.
• …. oh well, in fact two pasta recipes.
• Which will obviously require some accompanying sauces.
• A one-pan chicken dish.

A Cooking Challenge for Self

I love to cook, however,I find that there are certain things that I just never cook or make from scratch. Or if I do, then I just never stray past the initial recipe.

So what are some things that I would love to cook that I don’t currently?

• Baking:
  • A tart/ pie (or these ones) from homemade pastry.
  • Bake and ice a cake beyond the typical pound loaf something like
  • Bread like this  or this or this.
• Roast a whole chicken.
• Make eggs Benedict including the sauce – I can poach an egg but a hollandaise and any other sauce? Nah. So this would be a cool start.
• Diversify the types of salad dressing I currently make for salads like this
• Oxtail stew.
• Make home made pasta and then cook it.

Are there things in the kitchen that you often shy away from attempting?

 

Dinner is Served

While I was on the plant based diet, I totally could not justify eating pasta so this week I have such a craving for pasta and want to cook some later in the week.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WALNUT & SAGE PASTA

Serves  2

Ingredients

• 2 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter (or vegan butter or more olive oil)
• 1 small shallot, sliced
• ¼ cup chopped sage leaves
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup cooked chickpeas
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• big squeeze of lemon
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• 4-6 oz. spaghetti or linguine (& save some pasta water)
• a few handfuls of chopped spinach (or kale or chard)
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• grated pecorino cheese, optional, to taste
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast butternut squash cubes with a little olive oil, salt and pepper for about 20 minutes or until they’re soft and mostly cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Cook pasta in salty water until al dente and reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
3. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter, then add the shallot and cook until translucent. Add the chopped sage and cook for another 30 seconds, then add the walnuts, chickpeas, butternut squash cubes, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the chickpeas and squash brown a bit (but before the garlic burns).
4. Add a big squeeze of lemon and a good splash of balsamic and stir.
5. Add the cooked pasta and spinach. Use tongs to gently toss the pasta with everything in the pan allowing the greens to wilt. Add pasta water to help loosen it (I used about ¼ cup).
6. Add some grated pecorino at this step if you wish.
7. Remove from heat, then stir in the chopped parsley.
8. Taste and adjust seasonings and serve with extra grated cheese.

Notes

Make this vegan by skipping the butter (or use vegan butter) and omit cheese. Make this gluten free by using gluten free pasta.