Author Archives: Ellen

Tomato Rice Soup

My husband has been making this soup longer than I’ve known him. That’s a lot of years! It’s our go to soup for a comforting meal for travelers.

Tomato Rice Soup

1 medium onion chopped
5 cloves garlic minced
olive oil
1- 28 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
1- 6 oz. can of tomato paste
4-5 small bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
small pinch of saffron
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed in mortar with pestle
1/2 cup uncooked rice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in heavy bottomed pot or cast iron Dutch oven and add chopped onion. Cook until almost translucent and add garlic. Cook the onion and garlic for a minute or two longer and then add the diced tomatoes. Cook till bubbly. Add broth and tomato paste. Add all the bay leaves and spices. When the soup comes to a boil add the rice and return to boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer partially covered until rice is cooked. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Serve with a good loaf of bread.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig!

Our outbound flight from Seattle to Dublin on Aer Lingus on September 14th at 6:50 PM arriving in Dublin on Friday September 15th at 11:45 AM. We are sandwiched in our seats by our youngest and our oldest with their wonderful spouses!

Our homebound flight from Dublin to Seattle on Tuesday September 26th at 3:10 PM arriving in Seattle on the same day at 5:05 PM.

We went through customs in Dublin which made things so easy when we arrived in Seattle. We picked up our luggage and shuttled to our cars and got on our familiar roads driving on the comfortable side of road for us. Our vehicle made it’s way to a familiar Mexican restaurant for a comfort meal before arriving at our son’s home for the night. Our daughter and hubby headed straight home to be reunited with their cats!

We basked in the memories of a most wonderfully blessed trip with so many ‘wow’ moments to remember and share. We thank our God for His special care over all of us every day and for now especially the days we enjoyed in Ireland and England.

On Wednesday morning still working on Dublin time Dear and I packed up our vehicle and started on our 5+ hour journey over the mountains and home again home again jiggety jig. When we arrived in Spokane (an hour and a half south from our home) we did our usual ‘petrol’ stop at Costco ($4.55 per gallon not liters). A quick stop in the warehouse store for a few items and on the road again reaching home at 1 pm. Our Colville kids prepared a welcome home meal for us that waited for us upon our arrival. They made Greg’s famous Tomato Rice Soup and Jamie baked an amazing fresh loaf of bread to accompany the soup. Perfect for us to enjoy after our long journey. Thank you to all our kids who made this trip special from beginning to end.

Funny note: I sent the photo of me sitting and enjoying my soup and bread to our kids and our granddaughter asked why we were eating on the couch! Oops, I’ve got a lot of explaining to do. Our Grands are being raised proper.

Now that we are home I’m looking forward to those special hugs from our Grands…soon!!

I’ll need a few days to catch up with Pacific Coast time before I can make my rounds to visit. Happy Autumn to all of you!

Postcards Day Eight

On our 8th day, Friday September 22nd we left Grassington after breakfast and made a stop in Skipton to see a castle and enjoy some lunch before heading to our stop for the night in Knaresborough at the Knaresborough Inn.

Skipton Castle in the Market Town of Skipton in North Yorkshire.

We are back in the U.S.A. and driving across our state to get home today. It will be nice to be reunited with our own pillows tonight. Thank you for following along with my postcards. Hope to visit fellow bloggers soon and see what you’ve been up to. I have enough photos from our trip to bore you all to tears in the near future! It definitely was a ‘WOW’ trip.

Postcards Day Six

Our sixth day was Wednesday September 20th and on this day we checked out of our hotel in York, rented a vehicle and drove to Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales via Ripon where we stopped and enjoyed a rain shower that soaked us through before we visited The Ripon Cathedral.

We dried up quickly and enjoyed wonderful skies the rest of the day. All in all we have been blessed with beautiful dry spells whenever we needed them!

By Grace Are Ye Saved ~ Hymn

 

By Grace Are Ye Saved

’Tis not by works that we have done,
Our souls redeemed will be;
But by the blood of God’s dear Son,
Who died on Calvary.

Refrain

By grace are ye saved,
By grace are ye saved thro’ faith,
And that not of yourselves,
It is the gift of God.
By grace are ye saved,
By grace are ye saved thro’ faith,
And that not of yourselves,
It is the gift of God.

’Tis not by works that we can do,
Our righteousness is vain;
But by what Christ Himself hath done,
Eternal life we gain.

Refrain

’Tis not by works of ours that we
Can know our sins forgiv’n;
But by the living word of Him
Who pleads for us in Heav’n.

Refrain

’Tis not our works, but Christ’s alone,
Then rest thy anxious soul;
For safe thou art on Him, thy rock,
While endless ages roll.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1899.

Postcards Day Four

Day four was Monday September 18th and it was a Uber, Plane and Train day to get from Dublin to York.

We’ve had a couple days with very sketchy internet so my postcards are behind. We have been blessed with sunbreaks and rain breaks at just the right time. Thank you, Lord!

Postcards Day 3

 

Our third day in Ireland was Sunday September 17th. We enjoyed breakfast at the Lemon Jelly before we attended church at Grosvenor Rd. Baptist Church, Sunday Roast at The Old Spot, St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Evensong and Guinness Storehouse Experience for the finale. Sunday it rained off and on, mostly on, so it was good we had so many indoor activities planned. Slainte!