Salvation’s Song

Apr 30, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    3 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Videos

Paella with family…Life is good

Apr 30, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    4 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll

John’s brother Joe and sister-in-law, Vanita came to visit us in Spain this past week. As I mentioned in our last prayer letter, this marks the 1st time EVER that one of John’s siblings has come to visit us while overseas (23 years!) What fun we had with them! Here we are in the village garage, making a paella. This one was called a paella mixta because it had both chicken & seafood. You can get a bigger view of the photos by running  your cursor over the photo and clicking. Paella is the #1 recipe I use for that wonderful herb: saffron, which is the most expensive spice in the world. Needless to say, it is much cheaper to buy here in paellalandia. I have an entire recipe book for just paellas, and they are yummy!

My New Favorite CD

Apr 20, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    3 Comments    Posted under: Bobbie's Store, Videos

When we went to Chicago  in January to see our family, our daughter Jesseka was playing this really wonderful CD. I asked her about it and she shared this CD with me. I hope you enjoy this. I have added this CD to my store. The entire album is a blessing. You can find it on page 5 of the music and video catagory. http://pearsonsprogress.com/bobbies-store

For more information about is couple:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Getty

If I only had $10, for groceries what would I buy?

Apr 11, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    7 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge, saving money

Suppose harder times hit us. Would we be prepared? Could we eat nutritionally if we only had $10 a week (or 10€)?  Just to make this easy, lets pretend that the USD and the EURO are at parity. I’ll be using $ in this exercise.  I’d love to hear how YOU would do it & hear your ideas. Please click on the little number at the top of this posting and tell me what you would buy if you only had $10. I’d really like to learn from you.

John & I are NOT picky eaters, so here are some of my ideas:

Here is what I would buy (approximate costs):

oatmeal- $1 a box

eggs-$1 a dozen

1 pk of the bread mix I buy for bread-$1.39 this can last John and me for 1 full week, as it makes 2 loaves.

1 kilo of beans- $1

1 kilo of rice- $1.40

1 liter of milk- $0.60

1 bag of apples- $1.80

canned tuna- $1.50

1 head of lettuce- $0.40

Total: $10.09

Sample Menus:

Breakfasts:

oatmeal & milk

egg & toast

cooked rice & milk w/ an apple diced in it.

baked custard

baked apples

Lunches or suppers:

beans & rice + salad

rice w/tuna casserole

bean & rice burgers (use on raw egg as a binder) + bread & lettuce

tuna sandwiches w/ lettuce

fried egg salad sandwiches w/ lettuce

creamed eggs over toast

* it would be helpful if there were a wee bit of mayo and oil in the house… but you could live without it and even loose a few lbs.

What would you buy??

The Banking Dilemma continues

Apr 7, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, recipes, saving money, Spain, Videos, What we're Reading

Finally after one full month of waiting, we are able to access our funds. Imagine that you got paid today, April 7th but you were not able to cash your check until May 7th! Well, that is what we are now subject too in Spain… a one month holding of funds. Praise the Lord we now have our money available to us that we have been waiting for, for 1 month! We are seeing a real need for cash here. Dave Ramsey, the radio talk host and financial adviser says that ‘cash is king’. I believe it!

Fava beans and the greenhouse

Apr 2, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    3 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll

My fava beans are growing nicely. They’re called haba beans in Spain and are often used in the making of paella.

Here are some photos: You can see a larger photo by clicking on the photo.

These beans have survived a very cold winter, including being buried under snow.  Did you know that the leaves are edible? They taste a bit like peas and I like to add a few to my salads.

The pot in front of the plants are scallions and I rarely pick them, but rather, keep cutting them to use in cooking and they just keep growing back! It’s fabulous to have a never ending scallion supply.

My greenhouse is just wonderful! I can grow the leaf lettuce that I need and all my herbs and vegetables that I’m raising from seed are coming up and thriving. Many thanks to  Angie, Joye and Amy for the recent vegetable seeds. I am so blessed! I see the Lord providing as I pray and ask Him for help, blessings and resources.