Rainy Days & Mondays

This rainy day Monday didn't get me down! In fact, it was pretty restful...quite enjoyable actually! Patti had planned to take us to the mountains today, as they're only about 2 hours away by car. But she let me know this morning that we have received too much rain to make the trip today. So I enjoyed some extra time in bed this rainy Monday morning. It was wonderful to have some prayer, Word, & journal time without being pressed for time.
For lunch, Maira and I tried a recipe given to us by a lady from the church here. Remember the student group I was telling you about? I've gone on a prayer walk with them to different campus buildings around the city and I've been attending their meetings every Tuesday evening. Kurtis & Amy Denton are the leaders of the group, called Students for Christ. Amy makes dinner for all of us every Tuesday evening. A couple of weeks ago, she made this "creamy carrot soup" that was absolutely delicious! So Maira and I got the recipe from her and attempted it ourselves today for lunch! Oh, so good! If you like soup, you might like it! I'll post the recipe if you care to try it...

Creamy Carrot Soup

3/4 c. chopped onion

3 T. butter, divided

3 c. chopped carrots

3 c. chicken broth

2 T. uncooked long grain rice

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1-2 T. tomato paste

1/2 t. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

In a large saucepan, saute the onion in 2 T. butter. Add the carrots, broth, and rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until the carrots and rice are tender. Cool slightly. Transfer soup mixture to a blender; cover and process until smooth. Return to the pan. Add the cream, tomato paste, salt, pepper and the remaining butter; heat through.

Instead of whipping cream, they have what's called "panna" here...which is thicker than whipping cream. We also used black pepper instead of white. The tomato paste here that we used was a bit different also and came in a tube. But it was excellent! Hope it turns out well there in the States & you like it if you try it!

This evening Maira & I went to Kurtis & Amy's house for a pizza competition. Everyone was to bring their own homemade pizza...to be tasted, and then voted on. Fun...and delicious! We were celebrating Mimosa, who is a very special Albanian woman at our church who is heading to Greece tomorrow. We will miss you, Mimosa, and you will be in our prayers!

I hope you can click on this picture to see it closer. Do you see the pizza with french fries and hot dogs on it? That's pretty common here in Italy. Yes...PIZZA with french fries and hotdogs on it! Can you imagine?! I tried a piece of it tonight and it was actually pretty tasty. Another common pizza topping here is tuna...and of course, olives. 

Here is sweet Mimosa. She doesn't speak much English and I don't speak much Italian, but the Lord is so good at bonding our hearts despite that! I'm not sure if she will be back from Greece before I leave Italy...I've so enjoyed getting to spend time with her this past month. May God bless you and keep you, Mimosa! 

Getting ready to dig in!

      "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
         Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

Psalm 34:8