5/27/10

Chickpea Salad


My lovely husband took me out to lunch the other day at my favorite restaurant in town, The Plaza Cafe. I love this place because most of their food is organic, non-GMO, and just fresh and delicious. I ordered a new dish, which is not my style (I like to stick with what I know). I am glad I did though, because my chicken guacamole wrap was yummy. I ordered it with a side of chickpea salad and that was the best part of the whole meal. One of my favorite things to do, culinary wise, is to eat out and then recreate the meal at home. I am so glad I tried to recreate this salad. SO GOOD! The recipe is sort of a taste-as-you-go recipe, so nothing is really measured out. Taste and see!



2 cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
half of a English cucumber -chopped
a few handfuls of julienned carrots
half of a large red onion -diced
3 0r 4 small celery sticks -chopped
Drizzle olive oil two or three times around the bowl.
Do the same with either red or white wine vinegar. I used red, but pretty sure the Plaza used white. Either one is good.
Salt conservatively.
Pepper liberally.
A few tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro.
Two cap-fulls of lime juice.
1 tablespoon of pure cane sugar or honey.
Toss together and let sit for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

*variations...

Next time I would leave the cucumber out (which is something I added that was not in the original recipe) because the flavor seems to over power the entire dish the second day. It is good if you aren't planning on having left overs though.

I will definitely add red peppers the next time I make this. More celery and maybe add some fresh sweet corn.

I would use cumin in this if there were no cucumbers. Especially with the addition of corn and peppers.

Instead of wine vinegar you could use balsamic and add a squeeze of Dijon mustard, leave out the cilantro. That would be yummy.

Cooking is all about discovering what you like, what works and what doesn't. Be creative and make mistakes. It's fun.








5/13/10

You Shall Know the Truth

http://www.jcstudies.com/articleDetail.cfm?articleId=10

I just finished reading the article above and found it to be a great introduction to Hebraic discipline. For those that are curious about our Hebraic roots as Messianic believers (believers in Yahshua/Jesus the Messiah) this is a good article to sort of spark an even deeper curiosity.

We in the western world have a Greek mindset. The Hebrew mindset is completely different. Everything focuses around God while in Hellenistic ways, everything sort of centers around self.

The author states "In Jesus’ world, the pursuit of truth was not the highest good so much as the doing of it." I loved this line and it made me think of Revelation 19:7-8

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

and 22:12-14

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

We will be rewarded for our good works and our righteous deeds, but, like everything, God is concerned with the heart. Are you doing those deeds because you want favor in his sight? Because you think it will save you? Are you doing good works because you feel you are legally bound to do them? Or are your righteous deeds and good works done out of the admiration and love you have for a God who would send His only son to die for you?

Belief is nothing. Your faith without works is dead. Our quest for the truth is nothing if when we find that truth we are not motivated to action. As a good friend recently said, and this is my paraphrase: I can say I drive a Chevy, I can really believe it. But if I drive a Ford, no matter how much I believe I drive a Chevy, I still drive a Ford.

Isn't that the truth? I can say I'm a believer, but where are my works that prove what I believe?

My beliefs are reinforced by my actions and my actions are reinforced by my beliefs. If you have either one without the other, you need to do a heart check.

I'm gonna go check mine out right now...feeling humbled by my own words.

5/11/10

Making Applesauce

We were given a few bags of apples that were on the edge. Since they weren't very good for eating whole and I didn't want to see them go to waste, I made applesauce. This is a very simple recipe and the results were pretty good.


I peeled about 18 large apples and cut them into large cubes. Set the crockpot on high and add apples, 2 t. cinnamon, 4 t. vanilla, 4T. brown sugar and about 8 T. of lemon juice. The recipe I had called for 1 c. of water for this many apples, but if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't add any water. There was plenty of liquid from the apples. I did end up adding a bit more brown sugar and cinnamon. Probably about 2 more teaspoons of cinnamon and a tablespoon more of brown sugar. Stir it all up and let it cook for about 4 hours.




This made 4 pints of applesauce. The kids loved it, so I guess this is a winning recipe!


Teshuvah/Repentence

11Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Phil 4: 11-13)

I find myself being hopeful for things to change. Desiring this change so much that all of my effort goes into either making it happen, or dreaming and planning things out for when it does happen. I lose myself in my desires. But it’s not really “losing myself” it’s really feeding my “self” and letting my “self” run wildly into my desires like an undisciplined child in a toy store. I run off course. I lay down the cross. I miss the mark. I stop denying myself. Every thought is not taken captive. Once again I let the “self” part of me, that I am supposed to be denying, take over, run my life, my thoughts, actions and desires, and I then find myself in sin. Which brings me to repentance, Teshuvah…returning.

We are renting this beautiful house in town. We’ve been living here for a year and a half. It’s lovely, it really is. But this is not my home. We had a home; a little 900 sq ft house in the middle of 2.5 acres. I was growing herbs and vegetables in my garden. We had fruit trees and flowers. It was our little homestead. We had plans to build a new house on the property followed by a barn and a smokehouse. We were going to raise goats and chickens. This had been my dream since I was young growing up on my grandmother’s farm. Nothing about the farm life scared me. Not even the chickens running around with their heads chopped off. All of my milking cows had names, like Bert and Ernie, Suzie, Roxann, John and Monica (my name as well as my parents names). I loved the fresh cream in the morning. Grandma would bring in the milk bucket and set it on the table. She’d pour my oatmeal into my bowl and scoop out enough of the fresh warm milk to top the oats. I’ll never forget that taste. Or the tractor rides down the long driveway with the trailer filled with those old metal milk jugs. We would go out to collect sap in the spring and fill those milk jugs to the brim with sap. Grandpa would spend days out in the cold cooking down the sap. He’d drink a little too much whiskey during the day, and it never failed. That last batch of sap would burn. He’d throw it into the snow where it would instantly harden. His mistake became something I looked forward to. Maple syrup candy. It was a little bitter from being overcooked, but sweet nonetheless. I loved that farm. My most vivid memories from my childhood are from that farm. The old wood cook stove in the kitchen, where Prudence the cat would warm herself, and where the family gathered around, was where family history was told and memories were made. This became my dream and to this day my dream has not changed. That little house in the field that my husband I had was going to be our little farm, until the roof collapsed. Having very little money we had to move. Now, here we are, in the city, across from a noisy baseball field. I try to make the best of it. It’s nice. It’s lovely. But, it’s not home.

That’s what brings us to the falling away because of my desires and the eventual “return”. Our six month lease was coming up and we were faced with a few choices, stay or find another place. We chose to find another place, which sent us on a tailspin adventure for the past month of looking at houses to purchase. It was right before this that we were really delving into the Word, searching scripture night and day and learning so much. Then the house buying adventure came, and with it all of my desires shifted from God to “things”. A month later, it seems our search was all in vain, and I find myself feeling rather empty. I left my bible in the car the other day, and it’s still there. My writing has ceased. I can’t even find my notebooks and pens. When was the last time I was in my prayer closet? All of these desires took over, and my content feelings went right out the window.

So, Paul, how did you do it? How did you remain content in every circumstance? How can I put my hopes and dreams and desires aside? Or at least how can I be content in knowing my dreams and not living them? Father did you give me these desires to farm and live off the land? I do believe they are from you. If they are from you, wouldn’t you make a way for them to become reality? Is this a part of it all? Learning to be content in any situation? Learning the secret to allowing Your strength in my own life?

Which brings us to teshuvah…the return, repentance. I’ve left our housing situation be. We are where we are. I don’t understand why, but here we are. My little house on the prairie dreams are put back on the shelf where they will gather dust. I am here, returning from whence I came. Back to the Father and to HIS heart. Ultimately I want His will to be done in my life, even if I get off track and try to find my own will. I will return to Him and He is there waiting for me. That is the most amazing thing. Will He ever tire of my wayward ways? He didn’t give up on the Israelites even though they were a “stiff necked people”. I am stiff necked. I am stubborn and rebellious. But my heart is for the Father, and to the Father I will return.

The word teshuvah gives me hope. Teshuvah means to return, which means that you were there once, you turned away and now you are turning back from whence you came. I didn’t fall away or backslide into my depraved ways. I just stopped praying like I used to, stopped reading my bible like I used to, and stopped looking for God in everything. I stopped seeking His kingdom and started looking for my own. One month later, I am on the return flight. This is my teshuvah.
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