Gleanings of Wheat

For those who aren't in the know, a calzone is basically a pizza folded in half with the crusts pressed together so all the yummy goodness of the inside doesn't spill out. They're yummy, they're Italian. Go eat one. This recipe takes that idea and replaces the pizza stuff with CHOCOLATE. Someone is a super genius. 1/2 pound premade pizza dough, purchased at grocer store or local pizzaria 2 (15-ounce) containers whole milk ricotta 2 cups superfine sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, melted in microwave or double boiler, plus 1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate Pinch salt 2 egg whites, beaten until frothy Preheat pizza stone in 450 degree F oven for at least 30 minutes. If not using a pizza stone, use a flat sided or upside-down cookie sheet. Place the ricotta in a bowl. Add 1 handful sugar and the vanilla and whisk well. While whisking, add in the melted chocolate, little by little. On a lightly floured pizza peel or board, roll pizza dough out i

So, I've been planning on painting my room for some time now and it looks like I'll finally get around to it. I'm big on espresso brown and blues with silver (yes, I know it is trendy but I've liked the way they look together for a few years now) and have finally picked out the wall color. I'm doing a fun blue on the walls with tons of brown accents around the room. Furthermore, I'm thinking of creating some custom artwork eventually. The picture to the left is one idea I had. That is the blue that will be going on my walls. I think it is spiffy. I've also got a design for the desk I'm planning on building...I may never actually get to it, but I want to.

I wish I had found this before the holidays! I wonder if I can track down Spiderman cookie cutters for William's birthday next month? Hmm. 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg 2 cups flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 30-40 hard candies (such as Life Savers), preferably in several flavors/colors Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add molasses and vanilla extract, mixing until incorporated. Add egg and mix until light and smooth, about 1 minute on medium speed. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture. Use electric mixer to blend just until flour is incorporated. Divide dough in half and flatten into two disks. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour and up to 2 days. Remove any

As I mentioned in my previous post , there is a great sermon up at my church's website from this past Sunday. In it my pastor talks about the necessity of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. He went on to talk about how Christ's deity is absolutely vital in light of the Cross. Essentially, he went on to say that if Christ was not God incarnate, if he was simply a wise man with profound compassion for the downtrodden, then His sacrifice was useless. Pastor Ryan said that Christ had to be God because God's glory is at stake, that if it was not God who redeemed us (in the form of human flesh) then that would enable us to glory in someone other than God. God had to die in order that He alone would be honored in our redemption. That really stuck with me and I spent the past few days just chewing on it. When you get right down to it, this could be/ probably is the primary problem with various religions such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, and even Roman Catholics. If you

No winter holiday (ahem, CHRISTMAS) would be complete without hot chocolate so here's the recipe I made today. Once you've got it made, why not settle down and reflect upon the glory of God by listening to this wonderful sermon from my church ? I'm particularly intrigued by the final few minutes of it. Finally, I pray each of you would have a beautiful, joyful, and Christ centered holiday this week. I pray your hearts, as well as my own, would be joyfully focused consumed with the very reason Christ came to earth - to bare the wrath of God for, and in place of us. Merry Christmas. 4 squares Baker's chocolate (**I'm assumed they mean 4oz) 2 cups milk, skim 3 drops of vanilla Cinnamon Ground cloves Break up the chocolate and melt in a saucepan with the milk and vanilla. Don't let it boil. Whisk until foamy and pour into mugs. Top with a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. The West   Boston   North Central   The Inland North   The South   Philadelphia   The Northeast   What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD...But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel . And the LORD spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am b

I don't know about you, but I often find myself struggling to come up with combinations of food that will compliment and accentuate each other's flavors. Despair no more! FoodPairing.be is your new best friend. Simply click the thumbnail and the website will display other foods that work well with what you have chosen!

This post describes how various operating systems would work if they were airlines. Great post. Windows NT Air Just like Windows Air, but costs more, uses much bigger planes, and takes out all the other aircraft within a 40-mile radius when it explodes. Windows XP Air You turn up at the airport,which is under contract to only allow XP Air planes. All the aircraft are identical, brightly coloured and three times as big as they need to be. The signs are huge and all point the same way. Whichever way you go, someone pops up dressed in a cloak and pointed hat insisting you follow him. Your luggage and clothes are taken off you and replaced with an XP Air suit and suitcase identical to everyone around you as this is included in the exorbitant ticket cost. The aircraft will not take off until you have signed a contract. The inflight entertainment promised turns out to be the same Mickey Mouse cartoon repeated over and over again. You have to phone your travel agent before you can have a mea

1 1/4 cups flour, sift or stir before measuring 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg approx 4 oz M&Ms (optional) Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls; place on greased baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork; dip fork in flour periodically to keep it from sticking to the peanut butter cookie dough. Bake peanut butter cookies at 375° for about 10 to 12 minutes.

This is neat .

Not that you needed another reason, but this entertained me so I have to share it . Click to enlarge and then giggle with me.

I found out today that, if I were in such a fight, I could take 20 five year olds on. Pretty awesome. More results below: 60% Geek Find a Ultrasound school near you $5925.00 The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. Want to be a x ray technician ?

I took my son today to see Julianne in her very first Christmas program. I'm not super crazy about the whole public school bit (it is a far cry from the homeschooling I had intended to do with them), but I know some people that work at her school so it makes it a little easier knowing they look out for her. Anyway, lots of kids. Lots of singing/ yelling/ mumbling. Very cute. Unfortionately I was way in back so the video quality isn't great, but you can hear Julianne singing/ yelling the lines of "Five Little Christmas Trees" slightly behind the rest of the class.

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek

I like tomato soup, as long as I can remember it has been my favorite. But as much as I enjoy it, I don't often make it from scratch so I eat a lot of canned soup and that can get rather boring. I had tomato soup (Campbell's) yesterday for lunch and decided it needed something special so I crushed and peeled one clove of garlic and threw it in the pot. Just a nice subtle hint of garlic to create extra interest. Go me.

I got 10 points higher on the final project than I was shooting for. YAY.

The semester is officially over, grades (supposedly) were due to be reported yesterday, so I'm currently involved in a waiting game. I submitted my final project for a XHTML authoring class on Thursday morning and I'm rather anxious to get the grade as this is the only class I don't have a grade for. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Note to self: Make Carla's fully customizable, super easy, Christmas fudge this year. 3 c. chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet, milk, white, your choice) 1 300ml can condensed milk 1 t. flavoring (vanilla, almond, peppermint, maple, rum, orange, etc.) (optional: 1/2 c. chopped nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, crushed candy cane pieces) Melt chips & milk together, then quickly stir in the flavoring and any optional ingredient (it begins to thicken quickly) and press into a 8x8 wax paper lined pan. Let set, then cut into 1 inch squares. Keep stored in an airtight container. Carla's customized blends: dark chocolate & almond flavoring - no nuts white chocolate, maple or rum flavoring & raisins milk chocolate, orange flavoring & dried cranberries

I know it has been a while since I posted a recipe, but I just (read 30 minutes ago) finished my last final for the semester so I'll be cooking and posting more food related stuff now. Since I haven't had a chance to do a whole lot of experimenting/ collecting of yumminess I'll just point you to Rebecca b/c she's got TONS of desserts all in one post!

Carla !

We had a pirate themed party this evening...if me, my mom, William, and Julianne can be considered a party then that's what we had. That's right my little girl turned three today, it certainly doesn't seem like it has been three years but according to the calendar it has. It seems like just yesterday she was this big: This is here about 8 hours after being born via c-section. Pretty adorable if I do say so myself! But now she's this big: Still adorable. Have I mentioned that she detests wearing clothes? Or that she LOVES permanent marker mustaches.

I hate forwarded emails, everyone who knows me knows I detest them. Most people don't bother sending them to me because they know I won't even open them, however there are a couple people who regularly send me goofy forwards. Well, I got one last night with the title "FW: FW: FW: FW: Christmas Cards" and momentarily lost my mind...I opened it. This is what I found: Yes, Christmas cards. This is coming early so that you can get ready to include an important address to your list. Want to have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this year. As they are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice CHRISTIAN card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world. Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it. Here's the address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's not the Christian Way , you know.) ACLU 125 Broad Street 18th Floor New York , NY 10004 Two tons of Christmas cards w

That human life begins at conception is an implicit, but foundational doctrine of Christianity, according to this LifeQuotefrom Lutherans for Life: “To deny full humanity to a conceptus [embryo] is to deny full humanity to the Savior, ‘qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria virgine’ (Latin). We worship the coming Savior, we worship the ascended Lord, we worship the resurrected Son of Man, we worship the crucified Lamb, we worship the Boy in the temple, we worship the Babe in the manger, we worship the Conceptus in the womb of the Mother of God. Amen.” Posted on Cyberbrethren a Lutheran Blog. This is brilliant, decisive, and theologically unanswerable. The Son of God was incarnate when, in the words of the Apostle’s Creed, He was “conceived by the Holy Ghost” and later “born of the Virgin Mary.” If the fetus becomes a human being at some later point–when the soul enters the body, or when the fetus shows brain waves, or some other point–how does that apply to the Incarn

One North Texas-based televangelist missed a Thursday deadline to answer a Senate inquiry about his ministry's finances, while another responded and insisted it did nothing wrong. Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, in Wise County, delivered a packet of information Thursday to the office of U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, who last month launched an investigation into whether six nationally known ministries had abused their tax-exempt status. Grapevine-based Benny Hinn Ministries did not meet the deadline for answering questions put to it by Mr. Grassley, but released a statement saying it planned to respond by Jan. 30. ... Of the four other ministries targeted by Mr. Grassley, only Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo., had delivered information by Thursday afternoon. ... John Copeland, Kenneth Copeland's son, said by phone Thursday that Kenneth Copeland Ministries and its affiliated Eagle Mountain International Church have followed the law. “The Bible says if you do good, y

My daughter is turning three on Tuesday (I can't believe it) and I still haven't decided how to decorate her cake. Originally I was thinking of slicing some fresh fruit and putting that on top of the icing, but she's really big on pirates and Dora right now so I may end up putting some lego pirates on top. I've got to decide soon though!

A while ago the girls over at GirlTalk posted some great soup recipes . In case you missed it, here is their Tomato Basil recipe: 4 cups canned whole tomatoes- crushed 12 fresh basil leaves- washed 1 cup heavy cream ¼ pound sweet unsalted butter Salt to taste ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper Simmer tomatoes in saucepan for 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches in blender or food processor. Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

I heard about this before they sentenced her to 15 days and were still pushing the lashing. OVER A TEDDY BEAR. Sudan: Teddy Bear Hate Criminal Convicted Thu, Nov 29, 2007 at 11:49:18 am PST Gillian Gibbons, who perpetrated the heinou s teddy bear of blasphemy on an unsuspecting Sudan, has been convicted of blasphemy, but will not face the lash for her crime. KHARTOUM, Sudan - British teacher Gillian Gibbons has been convicted of inciting religious hatred for letting her pupils name a teddy bear Muhammad and sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation from Sudan, one of her defense lawyers said Thursday. “The judge found Gillian Gibbons guilty and sentenced her to 15 days jail and deportation,” said Ali Mohammed Hajab, a member of her defense team. The director of the school employing Gibbons, however, noted that since she had already spent five days in prison, she would serve only 10 days. “It’s a very fair verdict, she could have had six months and lashes and a fi