Every Tuesday evening from September till May my little house is filled with women! There are usually 12 to 15 of us, creating a steady hum of laughter and talk. This bible study night is a highlight of the week for me and for many others!

Our house is pretty small so I scoot the bigger chairs over and bring folding chairs into living room. Some of us sit on the floor – and some of us are practically sitting on each others’ laps! We’ve become very close.

I was a little nervous this time because we have a larger group than ever before. Nineteen ladies signed up for the study. When the huge heavy box of Beth Moore workbooks arrived I almost had a panic attack.

Nineteen women in a 250-square-foot room – I’m not that great at math, but it sounded pretty tight.

Of course I shouldn’t have worried! Last night was wonderful. The four new women felt warmly welcomed and the others ladies were obviously delighted to be back together.

The love of God was evident overall.

We meet at 5:30 and have our bible study. This year we’re doing a video study of the book of Daniel with Beth Moore. We’ve done at least 5 of these studies, and most of us feel like Beth is just part of our group!

I do wish she could join us for dinner afterward. (Beth, if you’re reading this, please know you have an open invitation!) After the study we move to the kitchen and have a meal of soup and bread.

It’s such a lively hubbub as we trip over each other; and someone starts cutting the bread and someone else begins to ladle soup into bowls. Most of us crowd around the kitchen table, bringing in the folding chairs and the piano bench and whatever other stools can be found.

Some of the ladies take their food into the living room and sit in smaller groups to visit more quietly.

Last night I made French bread and hamburger soup. Everyone loved it! It’s one of the easiest soups I make, and it’s hard to actually write a recipe for it because I make it with whatever vegetable I happen to have in the fridge. But here’s the general idea!

Hamburger Soup Recipe
1 pound extra lean ground beef
2 large onion, chopped
½ head of cabbage thinly sliced
4 cans chopped tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 stalks celery
½ bag frozen peas
About a dozen carrots, washed and cut into pieces
5 potatoes washed (not peeled) and cut into pieces
Several sprigs of rosemary
Water to taste
About 3 tablespoons of some kind of good beef base (I use “Organic Better than Bouillon” – available at Costco)

(This is the recipe I used last night, but I doubled the amounts to feed a larger group. This recipe will probably feed a hungry family and have a little left over for lunch.)

Directions:

Brown the ground beef in a heavy skillet
Add onions and garlic. Sauté.

Chop vegetables, and set aside

Transfer ground beef mixture to a large soup pot.
Add all the other ingredients.
Add enough water to cover.
Bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer for ½ hour. At this point the flavours will be blended and you should taste it and decide if you need to add more water or more bouillon.
Continue to simmer for ½ hour. Remove sprigs of rosemary.
Ready to serve!

Just before bible study I turn it on to simmer very low so it will be hot by dinnertime.

(In a future blog I’ll share my French bread recipe)