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The Raw and The Cooked

Simple Meals + Honest Book Reviews + Practical Living

Genesis 32:4 – 36:43 | Vayishlach | “And He Sent”

This weeks parsha post is dedicated to our sweet girl, who turned seven earlier this week. We are so proud of the polite, kind, smart, vivacious, funny, and beautiful girl she’s turned into. And wow — those seven years went by f-a-s-t. Suddenly, Jacob’s line makes a little more sense to me, 29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. Motherhood — especially these early years — is a kind of serving too. And somehow, the years feel like days.

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Sourdough Discard Brownies

If you have a sourdough starter, and you’re looking for discard recipes, this one is it. I’ve tried so many brownie recipes over the years, and this one knocks it out of the park, every time. My children, especially my older daughter, request them for special occasions. It’s pretty easy to throw together, and very low fuss, you’re going to dirty your stand-mixer and a small sauce pan, that’s it!

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Genesis 28:10 – 32:3 | Vayetzei | “And He Went Out”

This little hole has been the soundtrack of my mornings for weeks — the steady tap-tap-tapping of a very determined woodpecker working on my deck post like it was his life’s mission. And while I was extremely annoyed to watch him destroy perfectly good lumber, I have to admit…I was also rooting for him.

Because look at it now. It’s perfect. A tiny doorway. A winter shelter. A home. And this week in Vayetzei, the timing feels almost too on-the-nose.

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Episode 199: Children of the Book — A Memoir Full of the Bible, Motherhood & 92 Children’s Book Recommendations

📚 How This Book Landed in My Lap

This book, Children of the Book; a Memoir of Reading Together by Ilana Kurshan, came to me as a gift from my mother-in-law. She described it simply: a memoir of a woman in Jerusalem, raising five children, who loves reading aloud and recommends tons of books throughout her story. That was enough for me.

It arrived in the mail, and I’m actually so glad it was my own copy — because I promptly highlighted, marked up, scribbled in margins, and basically treated it like a personal workbook.

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Genesis 25:19 – 28:9 | Toldot | “Generations”

Chapter 25:19-25:34

Rebecca, like Sarah, is also infertile. Rebecca and Isaac cry out to God for twenty years before God hears them, and divinely intervenes. Rebeccas pregnancy is tumultuous, with twins wrestling inside her, and when she cries out about it 25:22 But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, ‘If so, why am I thus?’ And she went to inquire of the Lord, When Rebecca cries, “why am I even alive?” I feel that line land in my bones. Motherhood is so many of those moments — the long nights, the early mornings, the never ending whining, the bewildering phases (looking at you, 15-month-old, Sophia) — where we, too, cry out and ask the exact same question. At least I do.

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Episode 198: My Simple Laundry System for a Big Family

Laundry might not be the most glamorous topic 🧺— but it is one of those never-ending parts of running a family home. And the bigger the family, the bigger those piles seem to get.

I’m sharing the super simple laundry system that keeps things under control around here. No marathon laundry days, no mountain of clothes staring me down from the couch, and no spending hours each week sorting, folding, or playing catch-up.

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