Engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.
I am very quiet when I am pensive and I like to be by myself. People assume I am sad or mad, but I guess that’s logical when I am usually loud and boisterous. Being pensive is not a new thing for me, but it is very infrequent.
Is it because I rarely take the time to slow down and think? Is it because of the latest tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary? Perhaps it’s because of the Christmas season I always seem to need a time to make sure my priorities are in order. . . I think this time around it’s a little of it all.
Regardless, it’s a time I rather enjoy. I’m much more of a do-er rather than a thinker, and in these rare moments where I do actually think it is always very enlightening. Whether it’s the Lord calling to me, or if it’s a time of re-evaluation, something good always comes from it.
So there it is world, Joel is pensive.
On another topic, I plan to get back into more of the blogging sphere. I am going to broaden the landscape of this blog to include new interests and other such awesome things like being in my first year of marriage!
So naturally I put those two things together and cooked.
🙂
A classic rainy day/comfort food meal in my book is tomato soup and grilled cheese. So to go along with that theme I decided to instead whip up some Tomato Basil Soup myself, ala La Madeline (of the DFW area).
Started with the ingredients:
Note: I tastefully put my basil in a little glass bowl for the picture. #Bigtime
The new thing I learned with this recipe was how to dice carrots, and let’s just say it was a big test of my patience/fine motor skills. But I think I pulled it off.
Reduce. . .
Simmer. . .
Blend. . .
And serve up a freaking good bowl of tomato basil soup with a lightly toasted grilled cheese.
From this experience I learned how to dice carrots, and hopefully figure out what size saucepans to use. . . three times I had to switch the soup from difference saucepans because of my poor judgement in size. It’s a great way to add more dishes to the sink, I guess that just adds to my proficient dish washing 😉
Now the biggest step was the music selection, I tried listening to some “rainy day” music and found that “rainy day” music + an actual rainy day + making the ultimate “rainy day comfort food” just made everything to. . . rainy dayish! So I instead cranked up the sound system with some Fun. And I will admit that I did put the first two songs on the album on repeat and listened to them 8 times, I like them.
Folks the summer has come to an end, it has certainly been a summer of ups and downs; there were times where I didn’t know what on the earth was going on, to times where, believe it or not, I was ready to start school (in June!). But alas the time is finally here, band camp has come and gone, first day of teacher meetings are upon us, and before we know it it’ll be Christmas break!
The music: blues artist, Robert Cray, may I suggest you click on the link and listen as you read, a bit of a mood setter.
Some of you know my Mother stayed with me this summer, but alas on Saturday she is off to Indiana. So last night my sister, her boyfriend, and Emily came over and we had a night of family and BBQ before she heads out. Now as much as I love grilling I just haven’t done much of it this summer, but last night I got to break out my skills again.
The meal consisted of dishes made by all of us, Jessi made the Sangria, Emily made a potato salad, my Mom made a fruit salad and bread, and I did the grilling of some BBQ chicken; it doesn’t get much better than having the family all chip in for a great meal and family time!
Em making her wonderful potato salad.
Jess mixing up a wonderful summer concoction, Sangria.
Magic in the making! (my backyard looks pretty decent here, huh)
The chicken came out amazing, I think I’ve gotten to the point where I have mastered the art of grilling chicken. Gone are the days were I have to check the chicken (cutting open the chicken to check really kills the juices :/), and because of this the juices in the chicken were just overwhelming sensational!
The spread!
Happy people 🙂
This was one of those times where the smiles, laughter, and time spent with family way overshadowed the food; although in this case the food certainly enhanced the family get-together.
Back to the music, and a little about the blues.
Robert Cray is a blues artist who I have recently been listening a lot of because of my Mom being here. Blues music in my opinion is a genre that gets overlooked a lot. The genre I think has lent itself heavily to the R&B world and I think people have a tendency to mix the two into one grouping, but I think this is a great injustice. Blues music has a soulfulness that I don’t think is matched by another type of music; the grit and dirt of the instruments, the raw emotion of the lyrics, and the pace of the music isn’t to fast, nor to slow, but just sits in a spot where the slow, emphatic bob of the head or tap of the foot comes so naturally. That’s the blues.
Get out there people, get that last BBQ going, have that last summer get-together, and find a little blues to enhance that end of the summer feel.
eats w beats 