Crash Course - February 16

Lauren & Janelle presenting
our dinner.

I love being around people who are true to themselves regardless of the environment.  I am thankful to have many people in my life who fit in that category.  Makes things interesting and real. 

Over a couple of pretty tasty soups (White Bean & Butternut Squash, and Spinach Tortellini), worlds collided.  Brock, Becca & 'lil Abigail Martin are friends from my church, Jonathan, Janelle & Lena Glick are friends of Melissa's from her church, and JD & Lauren Bowlby are friends from my old church.  

Becca enjoying her soup!

The group breakdown: 5 Messiah grads, 4 in the medical field, 2 teachers, 4 Lancaster County imports, 2 adorable little ladies, 4 current parents, 2 soon-to-be parents, 3 creative beans, and 1 liker of pipe.  

Yep, a liker of pipe. That's how JD introduced himself to me soon after I started attending DOVE.  "I'm John David, and I like pipe."  Uhhh ok?  To each his own I guess....Having spent years working for an excavating company and working mostly on projects establishing sewer & drainage systems, the man took a liking to his material of choice.  

Of course, JD, being true to himself, minutes after meeting my roommate for the first time asks her,"Do you mind if I check out your basement?  I think it's the most unique part of any house, especially city houses."  Plus, of course, that's where the pipes are.  Confused and intrigued at the same time, Melissa promised a basement tour post-soup consumption. 


Lessons learned:

• The world really is small.   And it shrinks when you move to Lancaster.
• A little bit of red pepper goes a long way.
• Despite how busy we are, people love to slow down and interact new people. 
• Your dinner table is never too small for fellowship.
• Boys like weird stuff.  (Ask JD if you're wondering where everything goes after you flush...)

Crash Course, over and out!

The Martins, The Glicks & The Bowlbys

Name Change - Crash Course Cooking!

So you may be thinking, "Nicole, you JUST started this blog.  Why are you changing the name already?"  Before I answer that question, let me fill you in on the back story...


Long back-story short - I found Melissa's (my roommates) long-forgotten 20 pounds of fresh frozen blueberries in our chest freezer and we decided to invite the world over to share them with us. 


Blueberry Breakfast, full of many many wonderful blueberry confections, was one of the coolest community connecting events I've ever been a part of.  On that wintry Saturday morning, 40+ people were packed in our home, eating our food, making new connections, and strengthening existing ones.  And Melissa and I were in our element.  I couldn't help from giggling and jumping up and down with glee (literally) every time someone walked in the door.  


It was that day that we realized that this is something we want to continue to do...share food, share laughs and share life with people around us.  We decided that we would invite a handful of people over every week for a mid-week dinner.  Since I had found this new love for cooking, I was (and am) totally stoked to have people to try my new creations....Beef Tangine with Butternut Squash & Scallion Couscous, Mediterranean Chicken Soup, Fennel-Crusted Pork Loin, Spicy-Sweet Turnips,  to name a few (all to be posted soon). 


But such a regular event was not complete without a name.  I wanted the name to not only include food and fellowship but to be catchy and not totally nerdy.  We threw out a couple of lame-o ones like Grubbin' and Dinner with Dames :) , but never came up with anything worthy of keeping.  Yesterday, while we were praying before our two-soup meal (Spinach Tortellini Soup & Butternut Squash-White Bean Soup),  it came to me - CRASH COURSE - our worlds are "crashing" together as we serve a "course" (or two).  


As we shared our vision for these Crash Course dinners, one of our guests, without knowing that I had just started this food blog, asked if we would be blogging about these interactions...weird, eh? 


The purpose of this blog is now two-fold - to share yummy creations and to share about life - not just the day-in, day-out things, but the things about life that makes it so interesting and worthy living and definitely worth sharing with others .  


So sit back, and enjoy, and we hope you get a chance to join in the journey.  :)