Hummus

I have tried numerous hummus recipes and recently found one that I think beats them all! In case any of you are interested in making your own hummus, here's a great recipe for you"

1 can (15 oz) chickpea, drained (reserve 2 Tbsp of the water)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 Tbsp water (bean water if you've reserved it...otherwise just water)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp (or less) salt
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp hot sauce (optional

Throw it all in a food processor and process until smooth!
*Some friends of mine taught me a few other tricks: 1) throw in a chunk of peeled cucumber and process in for a different flavor (this is particularly good on sandwiches) 2) Add some fresh dill or 3) Add both cucumber and fresh dill! :)

A Great Invention!

I eat a part of a banana nearly every day. It's usually sliced and put on toast with peanut butter and honey, but sometimes it's just plain. Since I generally don't eat the whole banana, I was always having to figure out how to preserve the uneaten half. Ususally I'd put it in a snack bag, put it in a tupperware, wrap it in saran wrap, etc. However, since I've become much more concerned about the environment, I found myself getting frustrating when I was constantly throwing away plastic wrap. Then, I stumbled across the greatest invention ever! THE NANA SAVER!!!! Who knew such a thing existed? This thing is awesome! I found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and it has revolutionized my partial banana environmental dillema. If there are any other partial banana eaters out there, you have got to get one of these.

A quick trip

As part of a scholarship Noel's receiving from Calvin College, he's required to attend the Calvin Worship Symposium at the end of January. I decided to tag along for the quick trip so I could work with my coworkers in the office and spend time catching up with friends I haven't seen in years. We were able to have dinner with Huw Lewis one evening, make a brief visit to Emily and Jason's (and also see Mom and Dad Snyder and Heidi and Brian), catch up with both high school and college friends, all in addition to attending the conference and working. It was such a joy to see high school friends I (Heidi) haven't seen in about 9 years and college friends whom I haven't seen since we move to Pasadena.

Getting a little niece time in during our quick visit to Emily and Jason's.
It was so fun to see how much more alert Madelyn is compared to just a month ago!
I had SO much fun eating at the Good Earth in Holland (one of my old favorite college places) and seeing friends I haven't seen in years. Sara and Mandy drove all the way from Chicago! Jessica shared her engagement story and Brooke announced that she's pregnant again. Congrats, Brooke! We all spent time catching up over good food. I am SO thankful that I had the chance to see these wonderful women after being away for so long. We missed you Corrie, Meredith, and Colleen! :(

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Noel and I were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate Mom's birthday this year in person! We were a couple weeks late, but it was still fun. She made her own cake (tisk, tisk), but we were very thankful since we LOVE coffee mocha torte! It was fun to spend the evening with the whole family (Kevin, Hillary, Josh, Heather, and Jett), eating lots of yummy takeout from a local Italian restaurant and just spending time together.

Puzzle

Noel and I love working on puzzles and decided to buy a new one with some of our Christmas money. We worked on it for a little over a week. It was extremely difficult and hard to pull ourselves away from each night, but we finally finished it yesterday and can now get on with our lives.

Christmas in Michigan

Here are some photos from our trip to Michigan. We enjoyed seeing lots of family and snow, and getting to know our niece and nephew. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone (a little late since we couldn't figure out how to get the Flickr slideshow to work).

Madelyn Grace

Introducing our first niece, and Noel's parents' first grandchild, Madelyn Grace Powell! She was born December 23rd, which gave us the opportunity to see her in the hospital the day after she was born. We had a special Christmas celebration with the Snyder family in the hospital room on Christmas Eve. Isn't our new niece adorable?