always just commonly

A Modern Way to Eat   by Anna Jones consists of 200+ satisfying vegetarian recipes.  First off, do you know who Anna Jones is? She is Jamie Oliver's London-based food stylist and writer.  I'm a fan of Jamie Oliver - casual dining that makes it seem special every time I make one of his meals. As to presentation, A Modern Way to Eat  is beautiful with its simplicity, gorgeous photos of food that just jumps out at you and the easy read.  I especially love the way she goes through her process with us.  The start of each category has a list of variations on how to proceed.  Great for beginners and season cooks.  Not only bunch of variations for you to try, but there are additional suggestions on some of the recipes. For example, under "Gado Gado's" recipe, she ends with a list of "Things to do with satay sauce".  With ease of use, and sharing additional knowledge with readers, this cook book hits the mark. As to food, I loved everything...

Everyday Grace by Jessica Thompson humbly speaks to her readers about the true love of God, and how by grace, our brokenness can be repaired.  I am intrigued with the idea of grace and what grace is.  Am I looking for grace myself or am I searching to extend grace to others?  Ms. Thompson uses this book to let us realize, accept and understand the grace that God gives us everyday and in turn extends and transform this grace in our relationship with others.  Don't get me wrong.  This is NOT a how-to or an advice book.  Ms. Thompson even point out says this is not an advice book and it won't contain a lot of advice.  What it is, is a narrative. It pulls out areas in the Bible and explains to us her ideas and translate it in terms of how we can relate to others with it. It is simply said from the cover of the book, Everyday Grace: Infusing all your relationships with the love of Jesus .  I enjoy reading this book at first.  I like how it...

The 5 Love Languages of Children by Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell, MD is an easy read, but it's also 'hard'.  It's hard because it's good.  It's thought -provoking and opens your eyes on relationships, in-general and more specifically with children.  Have you read Gary Chapman's original The 5 Love Languages ? I've read it many years ago and though I know what the 5 love languages are; physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts and acts of service; it's not something I make an effort in figuring out.  It is not until The 5 Love Languages of Children  that I've put more mental effort in seeking out what it means and how to apply it.  It could've been age or just stage in life that the original The 5 Love Languages  was just a book to read and to know about.  As to application, it didn't fit into my life - at least not yet.  I wasn't married or romantically involved with anyone at the time, and during the time I...

Love on the Mend  by Karen Witemeyer is an e-novella (short novel e-book) that continues the story of Jacob Sadler, whom we've seen in the pages of A Full Steam Ahead   (full book), also by Karen Witemeyer.  He's returned to his hometown as the town doctor and we see him deal with his past and the meaning of forgiveness and grace.   Forgiveness is a tough topic to talk about (and it's a topic I like to read about). It's hard to understand and harder to act upon.  Since this is a short novel, I didn't have too much expectations, even though I am  a fan of Ms. Witemeyer's novels, since her first novel, A Tailor-Made Bride .   Both Mollie and Jacob are haunted by their past in different ways. Mollie has own up to it and believed the Lord's grace is what saved her, but she still goes around thinking she deserves whatever mistreatment others give her.  Jacob on the other hand, can't forget the reason he left his hometown in the first place. ...

Tried the Black Pepper Tofu from Food52's Genius Recipes cookbook .  Flavor is great, but I find the amount of black pepper was too much. I would suggest using 2-3 TBS of crushed coarse black pepper instead of the recipe amount of 5 TBS.  Other than that, everything else was great. I would make this dish again with the change.  Thank you for reading my posts. For full blog information and links to giveaways, head over to the blog: http://justcommonly.blogspot.com.

A beautiful day after a full week of rain and dreary weather, especially if the plan is to go enjoy the annual cherry blossom festival.  How beautiful are they? If it wasn't crowded with locals and tourists, I would love to lay down on the grass by the tidal basin and look up above to the beautiful shades of pink and white. We had some time, so walked around DC, and dropped in on "The place where Lincoln died" - Ford's Theatre, and the visitor area had this on display: What do you think? Can you think of any other person in this world, (besides Jesus/God) that will have this many books written on him? And it's still climbing.... Thank you for reading my posts. For full blog information and links to giveaways, head over to the blog: http://justcommonly.blogspot.com.

Food52 , itself is a great resource for recipes, ingredients, and whatever food related. I love to check out the recipes from famous (and genius) chefs and gourmet houses on their website.  When I heard about their new cookbook , Genius Recipes   put together by Kristen Miglore , I was thrilled and can't wait to test it out. Back to the book. It compiled many of FOOD52's basic (but great) recipes such as Roberto Santibanez' Classic Guacamole (which by the way, is perfection) and Herve This' Chocolate Mousse.  Both I've tried in the past and are favorites among family and friends. I'm glad they put together many classic "genius" recipes and others I've yet to try, but easily are classics in themselves. Just look at the Romaine Hearts with Caesar Salad Dressings, Spicy Tomato Soup, Meatballs...etc. And how could we say no Michael Ruhlman's Rosemary-Brind Buttermilk Fried Chicken or Barbara Kafka's Simplest Roast Chicken or C-Skinned ...

Tried this recipe from 101 Cooking for Two  for a quick dinner. Instead of grilling the tilapia, I pan fried it on a non-stick skillet and it worked great. The flavors are great and with the pan juices, I added some (1/2 teaspoon) Champagne Vinegar, extra (1 teaspoon) olive oil  and threw in some sliced mushrooms. Cooked it about a minute or two, and served it on a bed of spinach, with the pan juices as "dressing". YUMMY! Thank you for reading my posts. For full blog information and links to giveaways, head over to the blog: http://justcommonly.blogspot.com.

Our country had a brutal winter season, especially the East Coast with the snow.  Well, Spring is here, when our annual Cherry Blossoms Festival is here. (Technically it started on March 26th, but it's not a festival without the full bloom of the cherry blossoms, right?)  Washington DC, our nation's capital will be flowered with pink and beauty.  I'm hoping the later winter didn't spoil the bloom prediction of April 4th.  Since it's April 6th already and the festival is still (or had been) going on, I think it's a safe bet we'll be catching some beautiful cherry blossoms this weekend.  It's a once in a lifetime thing to check out, and this is the last weekend for the festival, but you might still catch some prettiness afterwards when the tourist crowds gone.  Besides the actual 'Cherry Blossoms' walk, don't forget the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival that happens simultaneously with the cherry blossoms festival every year.  It ...

Happy Easter! NOTE: Photos are taken by me and are copyrighted. Please do not share. If shared, please provide link to this blog and give credit. Thank you. Thank you for reading my posts. For full blog information and links to giveaways, head over to the blog: http://justcommonly.blogspot.com.

Wind gusts up to 20mph with highs in the 40s. Does that sound like a beautiful sunny Spring day? Not really. Well, on a day like this, hot bowl of chili is what our tummys ordered. Since I have yet to go grocery shopping for the week, must do with what's available.  At least we have everything required for a good pot of vegetarian chili.   Traditional chili requires a good beef chuck or ground beef, but since I don't have some handy, I'll have to think of something else.  For a "meat" protein substitute,  I think I'll add 1 cup of hydrated TVP (textured vegetable protein). So off goes the check list: - 1 medium onion chopped - 3 jalapenos minced - 10 cloves of garlic chopped - 1 cup of hydrated TVP - dash of red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp of salt -  1/4 tsp of chili pepper (more if desired) - 1 TBSP red wine vinegar - 1/2 tsp of paprika - 1/2 of parsley flakes - 2 cans (28 oz total) diced tomatoes (no salt added) with juice - 2 cans of red kidney ...

"Don't judge a book by its cover." It is the case with my recent read, Together with You   by Victoria Bylin. I don't know much about Ms. Bylin's books since this is the first time I read one of her books. First off,  I wasn't too thrilled about the cover.  I wouldn't expect this type of cover for an inspirational fiction.  And after reading the book, the cover still doesn't resonate well with me to illustrate the story line. True, it is characterize as an inspirational romance fiction, but I see this cover more for a secular theme.  Plus, I don't think the romance part was the main focus or rather, it is a focus, but I think family is the main theme throughout the book.  This is where I must say, Ms. Bylin did an excellent job.  The plot was intriguing throughout, and it was the plot synopsis that I've decided to overlook the cover, and give the book a try. One phrase that caught my attention was, " Known for her realistic and e...