Lyme's Disease and Miscellany

Weekly Notes

It has been a week around here—a week that feels like a month. On Monday, Toby was having some odd symptoms, which on top of some other odd symptoms we had been noticing for a week or so, took us to the Emergency Room at Children’s Hospital on Pittsburgh. Toby and I sat in the waiting room from 11 pm to 3 am, before finally getting moved to a room where they could begin assessing him. After a battery of tests, the results came back as Lyme’s Disease.

This is not a big surprise. Western PA/Eastern OH is ground zero for Lyme Disease, with more infections here than just about anywhere else in the country. Almost every family we know has been affected by it (including our own), and getting it is practically an inevitability. Fortunately, we caught Toby’s very early, so with immediate treatment we should be able to avoid the worst effects of Long Lyme. At least that’s the hope. Right now, Toby is on some pretty serious anti-Lyme meds, and they are not agreeing with him, so we may have to change courses. In the meantime, prayers for his healing would be greatly appreciated. Lyme has been devastating for my husband’s health, and we don’t want to see Toby suffer through even a fraction of what Chris has endured.

All this is to say that between sleepless nights, dealing with a sick child, and hounding doctors, this week has been a tough one. I’ve barely had time to shower, let alone sit down and write anything coherent. So, I hope you can forgive me for not sending a proper newsletter this week, and instead just sharing this, plus a few links. I do have an essay for full subscribers in the works, and that should drop Tuesday (Wednesday at the latest). If you don’t want to miss out on that, just click on the button below and become a full subscriber. In the meantime, here are a few other things worth reading and hearing and cooking.

Seven Fast Things

1. In less than four weeks, I’ll be spending the day with hundreds of lovely women in Pittsburgh, chatting, signing books, and talking about how we truly magnify the Lord—not by conforming to other’s scripts for our lives, but rather by encountering Christ and allowing Him to transform us into the women He made us to be. If you are within driving distance of Pittsburgh, I would just love it if you could join us. I rarely travel and speak, which means I don’t get to meet many of you in person. I’m hoping this day will give us the chance to become real life friends and not just online ones. To learn more or to register, go here.

2. Freya India says the quiet part out loud about the effects of divorce on children. Absolutely worth a read: The Age of Abandonment.

3. I’ve started listening to The Free Press’s new podcast on parenting with Emily Oster, Raising Parents, and have no opinion yet on the series as a whole. I do find it fascinating, though, that much of what she is recommending about pregnancy and parenting is what I have been seeing families in Steubenville do for years. Oster is an economist, who is very data-driven. And families in Steubenville tend to have more children than your average family … or be around families who have more children than your average family. Which I think explains the overlap. The more people you know and see pregnant and parenting, the more data you have for making parenting decisions (and the less concerned you are with what alarmist parenting influencers and experts have to say about it all).

4. Also worth reading from the Free Press: “Alabama is a Pro-life State. So Why is It So Hard to Give Birth There?” As JD Vance noted in the recent Vice-Presidential debate, the pro-life community has to find a better way of gaining people’s trust on the abortion question. Finding solutions to the dilemmas about care like those expectant mothers in rural Alabama (and elsewhere) face, would be a great place to start.

5. My beautiful friend Sarah Clarkson has a new book coming soon called Reclaiming Quiet: Cultivating a Life of Holy Attention. I had the honor of reading it many months back, so that I could provide an endorsement. Here is what I said then:

   "Sarah has written a stunningly beautiful book which offers no easy answers to finding quiet in our loud, chaotic world (because there are no easy answers), but instead does something far more important by illuminating the power of holy quiet, intensifying desire for it, and helping us see quiet as a habit we can nurture and a grace we can receive in even the busiest seasons of life."

   This is one you are going to want to pre-order.

6. Speaking of pre-orders, Lord Have Mercy, my newest children’s book with Scott Hahn, will be released in less than a month, on November 7. If you want your copy right away (along with several other goodies), you can pre-order it here.

7. The revised and expanded hardback edition of my cookbook, Around the Catholic Table, is heading off to my editors next week, and I am crazy excited to get it into your hands. This new edition will feature over 100 recipes (including 30 new ones), several new essays, new photographs, and tips on finding healthier versions of favorite foods. As a little sneak peak, here is one of the new recipes.

   

Pan-Fried Gnocchi, with Bacon, Brussels,                                                                    GF*
Butternut Squash, and Balsamic Glaze
Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

• Gnocchi, 2 pounds (gluten-free works well if you need it, if not, regular is great)

• Butternut squash, 4 cups

• Brussels Sprouts, 1 pound,

• Bacon, 1 pound, thick-sliced if possible

• Fresh Sage, 10-12 leaves

• Pepita seeds, .25 cup

• Kosher Salt

• Olive Oil, .25 cup, divided

• Butter, 4 Tablespoons

Balsamic Glaze

·      Balsamic Vinegar
       Sugar, .25 cup

1. Pre-heat oven to 450° F;

2. While the oven warms, combine vinegar and sugar in a small pot; stir; bring to a boil; allow it to continue boiling, stirring occasionally; until it is reduced by about half; remove from heat and set aside

3. While the glaze reduces, prep your vegetables: peel, seed, and cube squash; trim ends off Brussels Sprouts and cut in half lengthwise;  

4. When the oven is hot, arrange the squash on one parchment-lined baking sheet and the Brussels sprouts, flat side down on another; drizzle both with olive oil and salt; roast for 20 minutes or until spouts are browned and the bottoms have begun to caramelize;

5. While the vegetable cook, fry the bacon, drain, roughly chop, and set aside;

6. In a large frying pan, combine 2 Tablespoons of butter and 2 Tablespoons of oil; heat until the butter melts and begins to brown; arrange one package of the gnocchi in a single layer in the frying pan. Continue cooking (flipping and tossing the gnocchi occasionally) until the gnocchi is golden all over and has a slight crunch to the bite (about 5-6 minutes); remove to a paper towel and cover with foil to keep warm; repeat with the second package of gnocchi, adding more butter and oil first;

7. In the last minute or so of cooking the second batch of gnocchi, toss in whole sage leaves and allow them to fry with the gnocchi;

8. The vegetables should finish roasting right as the gnocchi finishes frying; remove the gnocchi from the heat, remove the squash from the oven, and combine the squash, brussels, bacon, gnocchi, and pepita seeds together in a large serving bowl; toss together with the remaining Olive Oil

9. Divide the gnocchi evenly on plates and serve with a drizzle of the balsamic glaze.

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