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Food for the Soul: Compassion Bloggers

06.19.13

Last week I told you I would be traveling to Nicaragua. This week, I am here.

Actually, yesterday was my first day. And I’m positive I walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Trash dump in Nicaragua

And I found treasure.

treasue in a Nicaragua dump

I wrote about it over here. It’s food for your soul. The best kind of food.

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Chris GiovagnoniJune 24, 2013 - 5:47 pm
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Welcome! I'm Bri! Accidental home cook. Lover of gathering people around a table over a meal. Author of Come & Eat (September 2017). What I really want is to pull out a chair for you at my table. But until then, I hope you stay awhile and enjoy my stories + recipes!

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I don’t know who needs to hear this but, pull yo

I don’t know who needs to hear this but, pull your frozen pizza dough out of the freezer and put it into the fridge! Tomorrow is Friday night pizza night! 🥳 🍕

Also, I’m considering going Live tomorrow to share how I make my pizza! Leave a question below if you have one👇 (I’ll answer one right now: recently we’ve been using King Arthur’s Pizza Dough recipe. We can’t break away from it. It has my whole heart 💛)

Unfortunately I am unable to confirm if this is se

Unfortunately I am unable to confirm if this is second lunch or first dinner 🤔 😅

Making all the soups this week because it is cold in DC but it is not snowing and I have real big energy around this. (Loaded Baked Potato Soup is on my site. Do serve with bacon! And, as someone said in my DMs, she is also making all the soups this week but she thinks it might be to eat all the bread and I blessed that DM. Amen.)

There were a lot of lessons I learned in 2020 that

There were a lot of lessons I learned in 2020 that I did not particularly sign-up for (will someone please direct me to the master sheets of Lessons to Learn. My name is next to a few items BY ACCIDENT I AM SURE).

Lessons like:
➰Having hard conversations with people I love in a pandemic during a presidential election year 101.
➰How to love people well who do not share my same convictions (accelerated program).
➰How to serve others without being able to have them to my table (this lesson was remote).
➰ Becoming an anti-racist (this one was followed up by How to Apologize When You Get it Wrong and then by How to Speak Up Even When You are Afraid You’ll Get it Wrong).
➰I actually had to re-take God: A Study on How Intimately Involved He is in Your Life. (I hired a private tutor for this one. Highly recommend the Holy Spirit.)

I know you learned a lot too. And, of course we are still learning these lessons and so many more. But what I also know right now is the lessons we learned in 2020 will show up for us in 2021 as wisdom. We have trained for 2021. Maybe harder than we’ve trained for any other year. And we are ready. And I am so happy to be here with you.

3 ingredient quseo! Yesterday my mom casually told

3 ingredient quseo! Yesterday my mom casually told me that she has been making homemade queso for the past few months. With just 3 ingredients. This omission of information about her new snacks left me questioning our whole relationship but that is neither here nor there.

Here’s what you need for your very own low key extra queso:
✔️1 cup cream (or half and half)
✔️5-7 slices white American cheese (I got mine from the deli at our grocery store)
✔️2 TBS salsa verde or a few tablespoons canned green chilies

Add the cream to a saucepan and allow to come to a simmer. Add cheese. Allow cheese to melt and get bubbly (this will take about 2-3 minutes. Do not walk away from your pan or your stove will be wearing a new quseo cape 🙅‍♀️). Add salsa verde. Taste!

I also added 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes for spice. Next time I might mix in finely chopped jalapeños!

You can make this queso your own once you bring the base together! Add tomatoes! More salsa verde! Finely chopped red onion or peppers.

Do eat right away while it is warm! Queso demands to be eaten right away. It is very needy like that.

We’ve had approxiamtely 89 random vegetables tak

We’ve had approxiamtely 89 random vegetables taking up residence in our kitchen since Christmas🥦🫑🥕I don’t know who their landlord is, but this has gotten out of control.

I coated these randoms in olive oil and threw them in the oven (5 broccoli florets, yes!, 2 sad carrots, in they go! 3 butter potatoes, you’re invited!). Roasted them for 40 minutes at 375.

Jeremy got a surprise text when he left work. It read as follows: PLEASE PICK UP A ROTISSERIE CHICKEN. OUR WHOLE EVENING DEPENDS ON THIS. Not to be outdone by the next text message: ADMITTANCE INTO OUR HOMESTEAD = ONE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN.

I am happy to report Jeremy has since been allowed to enter our home.

I shredded that chicken. Tossed it on a bed of lettuce. Threw these little vagabond veggies over the mix. Goat cheese because we are low key extra. Toss with my homemade honey mustard dressing and you have the most savory, hearty salad in all the land. (Honey Mustard is in The Sauce eBook and I also have it listed on my website.) Check in on our holiday veggies! How are they?!

✨Cranberry Bourbon Smash!✨ It has come to my

✨Cranberry Bourbon Smash!✨

It has come to my attention that you all have leftover cranberry honey simple syrup from the Holiday Moscow Mules! What a delight. You can put that deliciousness in your tea, over oatmeal, pancakes, make another Moscow Mule...But of course, there’s also the option for another cocktail 🥃

If you like my Whiskey Sour you will love this one!

🎄2 ounces Bourbon
🎄Juice from one clementine (I just cut that cutie in half and put it in my citrus press to extract all its goodness)
🎄1 and 1/2 ounces cranberry honey simple syrup
🎄1 ounce cranberry juice

Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Pour! Cheers! Drink!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Winners have been DM’d! Thank y

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Winners have been DM’d! Thank you for participating!✨✨

To celebrate heading into Christmas week, I am giving away THREE free enrollments to The Everyday Kitchen Masterclass!! 🎄🎄

To enter:
🍴Be sure you are following me @brimckoy
🍴Comment on this post about why you want to take The Everyday Kitchen Masterclass!

Giveaway will close this Wednesday, December 23 at 9:00am ET!

This is the last week to enroll in my Masterclass! I will never be able to express my joy or gratitude for how you all showed up for this course! As a thank you, for anyone who missed the Black Friday special to get the masterclass for just $97, Merry Christmas!! The special price is back until Christmas Day! Remember that you can gift the course too! Check the link in my bio to learn more.

Giveaway is not endorsed or sponsored by Instagram. Cheers!

Let’s play a game!! Yesterday I shared on my IG

Let’s play a game!!

Yesterday I shared on my IG story the new games Jeremy and I have loved playing. This is a new feature for me during these pandemic times. I thought in sharing this you all would think, that’s cute and boring. But hoards of you were like TELL ME ALL THE 2 PLAYER GAMES YOU DISCOVER. NEED GAMES. And the other half of you told me about 2 player games I’m not aware of. Let’s make a list of games🥳

My top two-person games right now:
💥Bananagrams
💥Skip-Bo
💥Catan Dice Game

Most frequently mentioned in my DMs:
⭐️Monopoly Deal
⭐️Five Crowns Card Game

What is your favorite two-person game?! Bonus, favorite part about the game? (It’s strategic, simple, random, colorful, funny...?!) May our Christmas stockings be filled with games to play whilst sipping our favorite cozy drinks! (BONUS: can anyone tell why I lost the above bananagrams?😏)

Good morning to anyone carrying shame in this seas

Good morning to anyone carrying shame in this season.

I realized I’ve been blaming myself for my current life circumstances. The blame is pretty deep.

✨Feeling lonely?! Well that’s because I haven’t tried hard enough to find community in the midst of a global pandemic. Obviously.

✨Exhausted? Well, clearly, I’m not drinking enough water. I’m not getting enough sleep. I’m not moving my body more.

✨Lack of creativity? Sure, I get my energy and inspiration from being out in the world. Traveling. Meeting new people. Seeing new sights. But, just because everything is closed down doesn’t mean I can’t try a little harder.

The message is basically, do better Bri.

As I was praying this morning and unraveling this message I’ve been holding I felt an exchange happen gently but fiercely. Instead of, “Do better, Bri” I heard, “I’m here, Bri.”

The reminder of God’s presence always melts my shame. Always exchanges guilt for grace.

The last time I checked this is our first time living in a global pandemic. We’re all figuring it out as we go. How best to love our neighbors. How best to stay connected. How best to do our part. If you have been carrying shame around not being a better version of yourself, I hope that message is exchanged this morning for the extravagance of God’s presence in your life. His intentionality with your everyday. His grace over you as you navigate this world. He has not left you, not even for a minute. He is not ashamed of you. In fact, haven’t you heard? He is absolutely taken by you.

Homemade cream of mushroom soup to make all your p

Homemade cream of mushroom soup to make all your pot roast dreams come true!

Yesterday I shared my pot roast recipe and was shocked that so many of you actually do make my soup for the pot roast. It’s definitely an extra step but the flavor payoff is insane. This soup also freezes easily for future use! Bonus: this soup is perfect for a cold night. Grab a hunk of bread, slather it with butter. Dish out some creamy mushroom soup. Enjoy! Do you all love sautéed mushrooms as much as I do? (I do not like them raw. Must be cooked.) You?!

We have lived in 6 homes in 9 years and all of the

We have lived in 6 homes in 9 years and all of them came with a very different kitchen! (Photos of 5 of my kitchens from newest to oldest!)

🍴Awkwardly-laid-out kitchen
🍴Unnecessary-and-mysterious-wires-sprouting-underneath-sink kitchen
🍴No-dishwasher kitchen
🍴Cabinet-doors-don’t-close-unless-slammed kitchen
🍴No-counters kitchen
🍴Smoke-detector-placed-right-above-stove-also-no-hood kitchen (So basically boiling water set the alarm off. This is a really fun feature.)

They all had their own charm and their own challenges.

✨Each kitchen was incredibly different, but two things remained the same. Delicious food always came out of them. People always gathered in them.✨

With the right skills, knowledge about food, and tools I have made every kitchen work for me. I have found a kitchen-confidence that has bloomed into kitchen-joy. And I put everything I’ve learned that has brought me this confidence and joy into my Everyday Kitchen Masterclass! There is only 4 more days to join the masterclass for $97. Today I am going LIVE on IG at 4pm EST to answer your questions!

Do you have a charming but challenging kitchen situation? Please share!

Happy Thanksgiving! It was only Jeremy, Stout and

Happy Thanksgiving! It was only Jeremy, Stout and me today so I really dialed it back 😁 I hope your day was just as low-key extra💛

I’m just a girl, standing in front of a Tuesday,

I’m just a girl, standing in front of a Tuesday, asking it to be Friday🙃

Tonight needed a big bowl of comfort: my Greek kabobs with homemade Tzatziki and homemade Greek dressing with Trader Joe’s hummus. I want all the sauces. In the bowl. In my mouth. (I also love this setup with @thelazygenius Change Your Life Shawarma🤩🤩). Cheers to everyone shoveling a sauce into their mouths tonight. You made the right call😁

In the year of our Lord, 2020 I found myself purch

In the year of our Lord, 2020 I found myself purchasing water colors on Amazon to be delivered for a little staycation Jeremy and I had this past weekend. You know, something low-key extra that could also get me out of my head.

In this first photo you see my masterpiece. Happy little yellow dots with just enough abstraction to keep it interesting. As I finished my happy little yellow dots I casually glanced over to see what Jeremy was creating. PLEASE SEE SECOND PHOTO! What is happening 😅😅 This was not a paint by numbers. I’m over here completely enamored with myself because of these dots and Jeremy has drawn a cow. Totally casual. Anyway, the cow’s name is Mirabell😌

Here’s to getting out of our head space for a hot minute, be it with yellow dots or farm animals. Something I discovered this past weekend, I’m not “good” at painting. But I like painting. Turns out, several years ago I wasn’t “good” at cooking. But I liked cooking. And here we are ✨

This is the THIRD table to be delivered to our sma

This is the THIRD table to be delivered to our small home in 3 months😳 It’s fine. I’m fine.

The first table arrived completely busted. The second table arrived and didn’t look anything like its online picture (even customer service agreed). THIS IS THE THIRD TABLE AND 😍😍

I’ve never really envisioned a smaller table for my home. I want all the people around my table all the time (except I do go to bed at 9pm - guest beware). But our current home is quite small. We’ve needed to change it even more to work for us in quarantine times (hello peloton and additional standing desk for Jeremy).

If you need to change something in your home so you can function more like a human, permission granted! I found I was attached to my big dining room table because it was a representation of my hospitality. But, the last time I checked, my table wasn’t inviting people over for dinner... that was all me. The table can change. I have not. Your stuff can become more functional or worn out. Your stuff can downsize. You will not.

3:30pm: These books have been a big chunk of my da

3:30pm: These books have been a big chunk of my day! I’m creating something very, very important to me and something I think you’ll love. BUT...

I do not think you have to know how to cook everything🙅‍♀️ I don’t think you need to know the science 🧪 behind an over easy egg 🍳 in order to feed your family an enjoyable breakfast.

Case study: I don’t bake cakes or desserts. I don’t typically crave sweets and I don’t care to learn how to hone this skill. I’ve decided that if I want something sweet I WILL PAY FOR IT!! I don’t want to learn it.

There are lots of things you do not have to know when it comes to the kitchen to still make it work for you. Sometimes, choosing what not to know is as powerful as what you choose to know. Is there something you don’t care to know about as is comes to cooking?! #onedayhh

Is there anything more low-key extra than taking s

Is there anything more low-key extra than taking sheet pan nachos straight out of the oven, placing homemade margaritas in your wagon’s cup holders, and taking your dog on a joy ride for dinner time? Probably not 😅 I hope your weekend had some low-key extra joy in it! 💛

217 days. Give or take a few days here and there a

217 days. Give or take a few days here and there and that’s how many days we’ve been cooking from home since the lockdown.

I have found I can no longer carry on😂 You all, I feel like I’m in a video game and I’ve played all my make-dinner chips and there is no way to get more chips. NEED MORE MAKE-DINNER CHIPS! Now I also want chips 😋

I know we’re all a little weary and a lot over all the cooking. And I put together The Sauce eBook because sauces are the only thing bringing life to my meals right now. She’s available until tomorrow! See my stories for more details.

Either way, I see you. Prepping all the things. Cooking. Washing dishes. If you’re in a rut right now, welcome it. Take the rest. Order the takeout. Phone a friend. We’re playing a long game. It’s ok to take a break. AND WILL SOMEONE PLEASE SEND US MORE MAKE-DINNER CHIPS FOR THIS GAME?!

I have found that if you do something completely u

I have found that if you do something completely unexpected and out of the ordinary, something to interrupt your own life’s status quo, a part of your soul will make itself known.

This past weekend I was feeling a little out of sorts. Part of it was a vulnerability hang over. A lot of it was a restlessness from being extremely limited with how we do life in this 2020 season.

A few days ago, dear friends of ours picked apples and gifted us with some of their bounty. Normally I would make dried apples. Or eat them fresh with cheese. But yesterday I made @joythebaker’s Apple Bourbon Galette🤤It was new for me to bake. Out of the ordinary.

I have not really traveled in 2020 or had the gatherings I would have hoped for in this year. But I made a galette for the first time and that is its own kind of wild and wonderful. What have you done completely out of the ordinary (small or big) to interrupt the routine of your life? Let’s share ideas!

Motion to remove the following phrase from our voc

Motion to remove the following phrase from our vocabulary, “How can you be a Christian and...?”

I’ve seen this phrase used in a lot of contexts especially in political discourse. Here in this space we are a welcoming people💛We welcome people to our table and we welcome them into conversation. To welcome someone means to “gladly receive them.”

When we start a question with a judgement statement, we are doing just that ... judging first. Which generally invites the person to go into a defensive stance. They have to defend their position, not enter into a conversation filled with grace and compassion.

Let’s replace that phrase with, “You are someone I really care about and I’ve loved hearing your thoughts on other opinions. Can you please share with me your thoughts on xx?”

💥Nonnegotiable rule of thumb - you have to actually mean it. No gaslighting. No gaslighting. No gaslighting. Going into a conversation with the manipulative intent to change someone’s mind thru redirection, name calling, and inciting chaos is incredibly harmful both psychologically and relationally. (This does not mean someone’s mind will not change after dialoging with you or others over time. But this cannot be the end goal. The end goal is the care of the relationship.)

We need to be better at dialoging and asking questions. Too many people are running around with their “well intended” questions disguised as open doors when they are in fact sharp arrows aimed and ready.

Raising my homemade iced Doubleshot to you today, dears! Let’s be for each other more fiercely than we are for our opinions. We are door openers, not door monitors.

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I don’t know who needs to hear this but, pull yo

I don’t know who needs to hear this but, pull your frozen pizza dough out of the freezer and put it into the fridge! Tomorrow is Friday night pizza night! 🥳 🍕

Also, I’m considering going Live tomorrow to share how I make my pizza! Leave a question below if you have one👇 (I’ll answer one right now: recently we’ve been using King Arthur’s Pizza Dough recipe. We can’t break away from it. It has my whole heart 💛)

Unfortunately I am unable to confirm if this is se

Unfortunately I am unable to confirm if this is second lunch or first dinner 🤔 😅

Making all the soups this week because it is cold in DC but it is not snowing and I have real big energy around this. (Loaded Baked Potato Soup is on my site. Do serve with bacon! And, as someone said in my DMs, she is also making all the soups this week but she thinks it might be to eat all the bread and I blessed that DM. Amen.)

There were a lot of lessons I learned in 2020 that

There were a lot of lessons I learned in 2020 that I did not particularly sign-up for (will someone please direct me to the master sheets of Lessons to Learn. My name is next to a few items BY ACCIDENT I AM SURE).

Lessons like:
➰Having hard conversations with people I love in a pandemic during a presidential election year 101.
➰How to love people well who do not share my same convictions (accelerated program).
➰How to serve others without being able to have them to my table (this lesson was remote).
➰ Becoming an anti-racist (this one was followed up by How to Apologize When You Get it Wrong and then by How to Speak Up Even When You are Afraid You’ll Get it Wrong).
➰I actually had to re-take God: A Study on How Intimately Involved He is in Your Life. (I hired a private tutor for this one. Highly recommend the Holy Spirit.)

I know you learned a lot too. And, of course we are still learning these lessons and so many more. But what I also know right now is the lessons we learned in 2020 will show up for us in 2021 as wisdom. We have trained for 2021. Maybe harder than we’ve trained for any other year. And we are ready. And I am so happy to be here with you.

3 ingredient quseo! Yesterday my mom casually told

3 ingredient quseo! Yesterday my mom casually told me that she has been making homemade queso for the past few months. With just 3 ingredients. This omission of information about her new snacks left me questioning our whole relationship but that is neither here nor there.

Here’s what you need for your very own low key extra queso:
✔️1 cup cream (or half and half)
✔️5-7 slices white American cheese (I got mine from the deli at our grocery store)
✔️2 TBS salsa verde or a few tablespoons canned green chilies

Add the cream to a saucepan and allow to come to a simmer. Add cheese. Allow cheese to melt and get bubbly (this will take about 2-3 minutes. Do not walk away from your pan or your stove will be wearing a new quseo cape 🙅‍♀️). Add salsa verde. Taste!

I also added 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes for spice. Next time I might mix in finely chopped jalapeños!

You can make this queso your own once you bring the base together! Add tomatoes! More salsa verde! Finely chopped red onion or peppers.

Do eat right away while it is warm! Queso demands to be eaten right away. It is very needy like that.

We’ve had approxiamtely 89 random vegetables tak

We’ve had approxiamtely 89 random vegetables taking up residence in our kitchen since Christmas🥦🫑🥕I don’t know who their landlord is, but this has gotten out of control.

I coated these randoms in olive oil and threw them in the oven (5 broccoli florets, yes!, 2 sad carrots, in they go! 3 butter potatoes, you’re invited!). Roasted them for 40 minutes at 375.

Jeremy got a surprise text when he left work. It read as follows: PLEASE PICK UP A ROTISSERIE CHICKEN. OUR WHOLE EVENING DEPENDS ON THIS. Not to be outdone by the next text message: ADMITTANCE INTO OUR HOMESTEAD = ONE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN.

I am happy to report Jeremy has since been allowed to enter our home.

I shredded that chicken. Tossed it on a bed of lettuce. Threw these little vagabond veggies over the mix. Goat cheese because we are low key extra. Toss with my homemade honey mustard dressing and you have the most savory, hearty salad in all the land. (Honey Mustard is in The Sauce eBook and I also have it listed on my website.) Check in on our holiday veggies! How are they?!

✨Cranberry Bourbon Smash!✨ It has come to my

✨Cranberry Bourbon Smash!✨

It has come to my attention that you all have leftover cranberry honey simple syrup from the Holiday Moscow Mules! What a delight. You can put that deliciousness in your tea, over oatmeal, pancakes, make another Moscow Mule...But of course, there’s also the option for another cocktail 🥃

If you like my Whiskey Sour you will love this one!

🎄2 ounces Bourbon
🎄Juice from one clementine (I just cut that cutie in half and put it in my citrus press to extract all its goodness)
🎄1 and 1/2 ounces cranberry honey simple syrup
🎄1 ounce cranberry juice

Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Pour! Cheers! Drink!

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