5/14

I just got back from the Asian market.  I was buying some ingredients for dinner tonight that I couldn't find anywhere else in town.

It made me think about something else I'm thankful for. . .

Culture!  Not my culture, not the American culture, and not Texan culture (in fact, these are my least favorite cultures), just culture in general.

I really appreciate how different people from varying geographical areas look, physically, how they each have their own unique style of dress, sometimes their own language, their own cuisine, their own traditions, their own humor, their own style of art, their own smells. . . I could go on and on, but I just love culture!

I also love how it varies in different regions of a country too.  It's phenomenal.  There's so much variety in the world... no two people groups are alike, just as no two people are alike.  Even with in the different regions, each family sometimes has slightly different traditions.  Wow wow wow.

Sometimes too, when you get a look at someone else's culture, it causes you to be more thankful (and less complaining) for your own culture and gifts.  On the other hand, being exposed to these things can also cause you to apply new traditions, beliefs, etc., to your own life/culture in order to grow and change in unique ways and be a better and more loving person.

So in that sense, the more globalized the world becomes, the more the cultures might change, which means you've got more to keep up with!

Someday I'd like to experience some of these cultures first hand.  It's one of my goals in life.

So yes.  I thankful for cultures and their awesome variety.

4/14

I'm thankful for language and books.

Language is so cool, how we get to communicate through different pitches from our throats and control how they come out with our mouths/lips/tongues.  And how somebody transferred those sounds into somewhat organized, logical characters/marks on paper.

I think it's stupendous.

I love being able to communicate with people and trying to grasp what they're feeling and experiencing.

I love that God can communicate to us through language and gave us a book to learn through.

I love that people can document their work/research/creativity on paper now and make it easily accessible to the public... so we all don't have to travel around to listen to orators.

Books provide such a wealth of information for understand and loving people and also understanding and loving God better.

I'm so thankful for this!

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I made a delicious soup I found on cooksister.com.  It was scrumptious.  Oh, and did I mention it was easy?

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

2 large potatoes, diced (I used 5 smallish red potatoes)
2 large leeks, thinly sliced (make sure you rinse them well in a colander, as they're pretty dirty)
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 4 cloves)
2-3 cups chicken stock (I used about 3 1/2, you just want enough to cover the potatoes, plus a little to make up for evaporation loss)
100 ml cream or milk (I used about 2/3 a cup half and half)
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Method:
1) Heat about 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the garlic and the sliced leeks, reserving about 4 Tbsp of leek slices for the garnish.  Add the potato cubes and sautee until the leeks begin to colour.

2) Add 2-3 cups of chicken stock (depending on how thick you like your soup) and bring to a simmer.  Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes until the potato cubes are soft enough to mash.
Remove from the heat, mash with a potato masher to break up the largest chunks, then add the milk or cream and blend with a wand blender until smooth enough for your liking.  (I just used a regular blender and poured it back into the pot when I was finished).

3) Add the dried thyme, check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  If the soup is too thick, add a little more water.  Return to low heat.

4)  Devour.

- - - - - - - -

We started a rating system, -5 thru 5, 0 being neutral.

Jesse's rating: 3.

3/14

I'm thankful for my family, my spiritual family.

I just think it's totally cool that I can go anywhere in the world and be welcomed in, loved, and greeted by brothers and sisters.  We don't always share opinions, have the same lifestyle, look the same, or speak the same language, but we all share an awesome testimony of God's love.

I love it.

I'm never far from home.

2/14

I'm thankful for food.  I love food.  Not just "food"... but all the creative different ways you can use it, all the things you can make with it, and the satisfying feeling you get after you eat it (most of the time).  And that you can make so many different things with the same basic ingredients.  And that every country has its own unique and personal taste/style of cooking that express the people.

Yeah.

Food is so cool.