So, did anyone listen to the "Compassion by Command" podcast I wrote about earlier? Well, every week my home church (also known as a small group in some circles, and known as "you have to go to church twice a week - are you crazy?" by others) meets to discuss the previous sermon. There was a hearty discussion as to whether or not there are "social systems" that contribute to inequality and that we ought to dismantly such systems, or whether all of the problems in the world can be chalked up to individual responsibility, and that there is no need to change systems, only individuals. It's given me a lot to think about. I personally think we are all responsible as individuals for our actions, regardless of the hand we've been dealt. However, I also think that our sense of right and wrong is strongly influenced by our culture, and what may look like sinful behaviour in one culture might seem more acceptable elsewhere.
I think that living in an individualistic society where singledom, or childlessness, or small nuclear families are the most common living arrangements, impacts you differently and your decision making than if you lived in a society where extended families are common and many children are the norm. I think that living in a capitalist society is going to impact your view on how God wants you to use your finances in a different way than it would if you lived in a communist society. I'm not saying that one particular situation is necessarily better or worse for all people, but it does colour your perception of the world around you and your sense of obligation to your fellow human beings. For example, living in Canada where health care is "free" I really feel no deep obligation to donate money to any cause health related (such as hospital funds or even medical research), I figure, hey I already pay half my taxes to health care - use that! But, on the other hand, when I was in Virginia and heard of fund-raising efforts to help individuals cover catastrophically expensive medical bills my heart broke. I am not excusing my indifference here, I am just saying that I recognize that I am influenced by the social structure in terms of how I view my obligation to help. In fact, maybe I am sinfully ignoring some important health needs in my community and my prejudice is stopping me from helping. Then I wonder, in what other areas does my comfortable existence blind me to the reality of suffering around me? On the other hand, of what situations am I aware, that my friends might not recognize, and do I respond to that "ignorance" with love or with scorn? To whom do I turn a blind eye when they are calling out hungry, lonely, ostracized, opressed? Whom, in turn, do I judge for not helping where I see a need? The answers to these questions are probably as individual as we are!
I am trying to spend some time figuring out what things I feel God has called to do something about, but instead am finding it easier to ignore or run away from. I am trying to identify the excuses I make, those ones that usually begin with the words "everyone does..." or "nobody is expected to..."
One other thing... in that same sermon, Greg Boyd defined affluence and poverty based on whether or not you had to worry about affording your basic needs. I know a lot of people who truly think that they can not afford to meet their basic needs, though in reality they have a very good income and have a lifestyle with many things beyond the basic needs. Whereas there are others who don't worry about money even though they are massively in debt and can't afford to pay it off. Which person is truly affluent? I would say the first. So perhaps, this is not a good definition of affluence or poverty. In fact, perhaps, by convincing ourselves that we are NOT affluent, we likewise convince ourselves that we are not obligated to help others because we just can't afford to. Worrying about money is dare-I-say a hallmark of being a responsible adult in our culture. But what does Jesus say about it? Matthew 6:25-34
I realize in proof-reading this entry that it is a grammatical mess, but my brain is not in the mood for editing. I hope you could follow what I was trying to say.
Jennifer
p.s. more groceries: $7.41 + $13.01 + $60.14 plus $5.06 at BK for hubby; and $15.26 + $21.85 spent eating out ---all in one day!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Delicious oatmeal bread and oatmeal cookies
My kids get very excited whenever oatmeal is in a recipe. They take it as a given that the end result will be delicious.
Oatmeal Bread (More With Less Cookbook p. 60; contributed by Ella Rohrer and Carol Ann Maust)
Makes 2 loaves
Bake at 350 F
30-40 minutes
Combine in a large bowl:
1 c. quick oats
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T salt
2 T butter/margarine
Pour over:
2 c. boiling water (that is, you pour the boiling water over the dry ingredients)
Stir in to combine.
Dissolve:
1 pkg dry yeast (or 2+1/2 tsp) in
1/2 c. warm water
When batter is cooled to lukewarm, add yeast.
Stir in:
5 c. white flour
When dough is stiff enough to handle, turn onto floured board and knead 5-10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again. Shape into 2 loaves and place in greased 9x5x3 pans. Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes. Cool on rack, brushing loaves with margarine for a soft crust.
Oatmeal Cookie Mix (More with Less cookbook, p. 286; contributed by Hilda Janzen)
Put through a coarse sieve:
3 cups white sugar
3 cups brown sugart
6 cups sifted flour
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cut in:
4 cups shortening
Add:
12 cups rolled oats
Mix well. Store in a cool place.
To make cookies:
Combine in a bowl:
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups oatmeal cookie mix
Mix well. Drop teaspoonsful onto a greased baking sheet, flatten with fork, and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.
*** I made this mix this morning, but I did not add shortening to the master mix, because I was worried about long-term cold storage for such a big batch of mix (it yields 26 cups!). Instead, I mixed the dry ingredients and the oatmeal and quickly divided it into 12 zip-top bags, approximately 1 and a half cups of mix per bag. The reason I say "quickly" is because the oatmeal and other dry ingredients tend to separate from each other, so if you let it settle you'll get some bags of mostly oatmeal and others of mostly flour and sugar.
Then, when it comes time to make the cookies, I add 1/3 cup of shortening, butter, margarine, or lard (any kind of baking fat!!), 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. This makes 2 dozen cookies at a time, which is just perfect in my opinion, because I don't really expect them to last!!
Please try the bread, you'll be delighted at how easy it is to make and how delicious it tastes, then let me know what you think!
Oatmeal Bread (More With Less Cookbook p. 60; contributed by Ella Rohrer and Carol Ann Maust)
Makes 2 loaves
Bake at 350 F
30-40 minutes
Combine in a large bowl:
1 c. quick oats
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T salt
2 T butter/margarine
Pour over:
2 c. boiling water (that is, you pour the boiling water over the dry ingredients)
Stir in to combine.
Dissolve:
1 pkg dry yeast (or 2+1/2 tsp) in
1/2 c. warm water
When batter is cooled to lukewarm, add yeast.
Stir in:
5 c. white flour
When dough is stiff enough to handle, turn onto floured board and knead 5-10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again. Shape into 2 loaves and place in greased 9x5x3 pans. Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes. Cool on rack, brushing loaves with margarine for a soft crust.
Oatmeal Cookie Mix (More with Less cookbook, p. 286; contributed by Hilda Janzen)
Put through a coarse sieve:
3 cups white sugar
3 cups brown sugart
6 cups sifted flour
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cut in:
4 cups shortening
Add:
12 cups rolled oats
Mix well. Store in a cool place.
To make cookies:
Combine in a bowl:
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups oatmeal cookie mix
Mix well. Drop teaspoonsful onto a greased baking sheet, flatten with fork, and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.
*** I made this mix this morning, but I did not add shortening to the master mix, because I was worried about long-term cold storage for such a big batch of mix (it yields 26 cups!). Instead, I mixed the dry ingredients and the oatmeal and quickly divided it into 12 zip-top bags, approximately 1 and a half cups of mix per bag. The reason I say "quickly" is because the oatmeal and other dry ingredients tend to separate from each other, so if you let it settle you'll get some bags of mostly oatmeal and others of mostly flour and sugar.
Then, when it comes time to make the cookies, I add 1/3 cup of shortening, butter, margarine, or lard (any kind of baking fat!!), 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. This makes 2 dozen cookies at a time, which is just perfect in my opinion, because I don't really expect them to last!!
Please try the bread, you'll be delighted at how easy it is to make and how delicious it tastes, then let me know what you think!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
For the record - spending so far
Money spent on foods and beverages by all members of my family since January 1, 2011:
Tea - $2
Juice boxes - $3 (trying to boost fluid intake for three sick kids, but I ended up drinking it all because the raspberry-orange-vegetable blend was not a hit with the under-7 crowd)
Groceries - $72.29
Burger King - $5.06
So, now that I know exactly what food we have in the house, I was ready to go shopping! We went to the grocery store tonight at 5:45pm with a much shorter list than usual considering I was shopping for a whole week. It was so fun to watch G and B carefully deciding which variety of fruit to purchase and to see them carefully pick and count out individual pieces. G would then toss her bag of fruit over her shoulder and saunter over to the shopping cart to give me her treasures. I let S walk with the big kids, rather than have to sit in the cart the whole time. S and B held hands and were so well-behaved, B solemnly trying to be a good example for his little brother and S knowing intuitively that if he started running he was heading back into that cart in a heartbeat. The fact that the list was so short and we were finished so soon made the trip much more pleasant for everyone. It was a great shopping trip. Incidentally, I don't know if it was the time or the snow or the date, but the store was empty. That also made the trip much better!
Tonight I made a yogurt dressing for my salad. To plain yogourt, I added lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, and crushed garlic. It was so yummy that I decided to make up another batch of the dressing and toss it with freshly cooked gnocchi. I ate some of it pretty much right away and it was delicious. Rich got home an hour later and had some and by then it was AMAZING. It reminds me of a delicious turkish dish that my friend makes. mmmm.
Oh, I almost forgot... this morning the kids and I made Oatmeal Bread. It is the best recipe for bread I have ever found. Everyone, and I mean everyone, loves this and asks me for the recipe. It is from MWL of course, and it is worth the purchase price of the cookbook for this alone! S helped measure and pour all of the ingredients whereas B and G had fun punching down the risen dough and shaping the loaves. It is an easy bread to make and it tastes and smells so good. Thanks to the oatmeal it was a sweet nutty taste to it and is very filling, though not in an unpleasantly heavy way. We had the bread with our lunch of tomato soup(!!), and at supper time the kids had more bread with their salad (they don't like gnocchi) and then again for a bedtime snack. It's the kind of bread that would be completely sufficient if that were all you were to eat for one day.
I really just had a simple and sweet day with the kids. We spent so much time together cooking, cleaning, reading, playing, shopping. I feel very blessed today for my sweet little munchkins and for the opportunity I have to spend so much time with them. I'm a lucky mama.
Tea - $2
Juice boxes - $3 (trying to boost fluid intake for three sick kids, but I ended up drinking it all because the raspberry-orange-vegetable blend was not a hit with the under-7 crowd)
Groceries - $72.29
Burger King - $5.06
So, now that I know exactly what food we have in the house, I was ready to go shopping! We went to the grocery store tonight at 5:45pm with a much shorter list than usual considering I was shopping for a whole week. It was so fun to watch G and B carefully deciding which variety of fruit to purchase and to see them carefully pick and count out individual pieces. G would then toss her bag of fruit over her shoulder and saunter over to the shopping cart to give me her treasures. I let S walk with the big kids, rather than have to sit in the cart the whole time. S and B held hands and were so well-behaved, B solemnly trying to be a good example for his little brother and S knowing intuitively that if he started running he was heading back into that cart in a heartbeat. The fact that the list was so short and we were finished so soon made the trip much more pleasant for everyone. It was a great shopping trip. Incidentally, I don't know if it was the time or the snow or the date, but the store was empty. That also made the trip much better!
Tonight I made a yogurt dressing for my salad. To plain yogourt, I added lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, and crushed garlic. It was so yummy that I decided to make up another batch of the dressing and toss it with freshly cooked gnocchi. I ate some of it pretty much right away and it was delicious. Rich got home an hour later and had some and by then it was AMAZING. It reminds me of a delicious turkish dish that my friend makes. mmmm.
Oh, I almost forgot... this morning the kids and I made Oatmeal Bread. It is the best recipe for bread I have ever found. Everyone, and I mean everyone, loves this and asks me for the recipe. It is from MWL of course, and it is worth the purchase price of the cookbook for this alone! S helped measure and pour all of the ingredients whereas B and G had fun punching down the risen dough and shaping the loaves. It is an easy bread to make and it tastes and smells so good. Thanks to the oatmeal it was a sweet nutty taste to it and is very filling, though not in an unpleasantly heavy way. We had the bread with our lunch of tomato soup(!!), and at supper time the kids had more bread with their salad (they don't like gnocchi) and then again for a bedtime snack. It's the kind of bread that would be completely sufficient if that were all you were to eat for one day.
I really just had a simple and sweet day with the kids. We spent so much time together cooking, cleaning, reading, playing, shopping. I feel very blessed today for my sweet little munchkins and for the opportunity I have to spend so much time with them. I'm a lucky mama.
Inventory
I am one of those people who fear post-dated food. I am married to someone who sees post-dated food as an opportunity to take a feast down memory lane. I am slowly coming to accept that most food does not magically spoil when the best before date matches the date on the calendar. But, here's my problem: when I think food is starting to get old I should say "oh this is gonna go, I better eat it up.", but instead I think I better not eat it and wait to see if it will magically disappear or if my husband will decide to eat it. So I'm working on that behaviour.
I took an inventory yesterday of every food item in our entire household. We have a lot of food! Scarily, some of this stuff has been in here a very, very long time. Even more scary to me was that I decided to eat it! Last night I used three pretty old items that have been taking up residence here for quite a while - a frozen chicken breast (that may or may not have been older than my 2 year old son!!), a butternut squash that I bought in the summer, and some rice pasta which must have been there for at least a year. I cubed the chicken and pan-fried it, I boiled up the pasta and served it with the leftover tomato sauce along with a bit of grated cheddar, and roasted the squash. Gotta say it made me feel terribly icky thinking how old the food was, but no one else said anything bad about the taste, and no one died of horrible gut pain so I guess it was okay!
So, for the record, here's what I found:
In the Freezers:
-8 lb ham
-two grass fed steaks (purchased when I was pregnant!!)
-3 mystery frozen soups
-cauliflower
-mixed vegetables
-peas and carrots
-fava beans
-peas
-corn (3 bags)
-orange juice
-blueberry bagels
-whole wheat bagels
-puff pastry dough
-rye bread
-flatbread hamburger buns
-miscellaneous packages of 1-2 hotdog or hamburger buns
-homemade tomato juice
-sausages
-hamburgers
-bacon
-3 packs of cold cuts
-1 chicken breast
-gnocchi
-bread cubes
In the Refrigerators:
-large grapefruits
-a very old coconut
-one bottle of strawberry fruit smoothie
-3 bottles of ketchup - but only 1 is open
-2 bottles of water
-nutritional yeast flakes
-hemp seed
-milk
-maple syrup
-green pepper
-red pepper
-carrots
-beets
-celery
-cheez whiz
-miracle whip
-relish (4 jars!!)
-pickles
-olives
-salsa
-worcestershire sauce
-tartar sauce
-lemon juice
-lime juice
-salad dressing
-bbq sauces
-teriyaki sauce
-mustard
-soya sauce
-tabasco sauce
-Frank's red hot
-jar of pesto
In the Pantry:
oatmeal
white sugar
crackers
white flour
whole wheat flour
spelt flour
gluten-free baking mix
bisquick
MWL pancake mix
instant oatmeal
steel-cut oats
wheat bran
soy protein powder
soy butter
honey
pasta: whole wheat, white, and rice
bulgur
lard
vegetable shortening
sweetened condensed milk
dry cereal (6 varieties!)
gummies
raisins
goldfish crackers (those these disappeared as soon as I pulled them out)
one pack of mentos (also rapidly disappearing)
a few packs of chewing gum
potatoes
nutella
easy-mac
quinoa
dried pinto beans
dried soya beans
rice: basmati, brown, and sushi
red lentils
microwave popcorn
tuna fish
pumpkin puree
kidney beans
diced tomatoes
tomato soup
white vinegar
wine vinegar
canola oil
olive oil
coconut oil
In the Spice cupboard:
Over 20 types of sweet and savoury spices
cornmeal
corn syrup
molasses
yeast
icing sugar
prepared icing
brown sugar
vanilla extract
cocoa
cornstarch
baking powder
baking soda
salt
sprinkles and food colouring
In the Tea and Coffee Cupboard:
apple cider mix
instant coffee
decaf instant coffee
tea: orange pekoe, green, rooibos, assorted herbals
ground coffee, regular and decaf
coffee beans - but we no longer have a grinder!!
hot chocolate powder
And taking up residence on the counter:
butter
1 butternut squash
1 apple
1 pear
1 onion
2 bottles of rye
a case of canned iced tea
Well, there you have it. Definitely enough to base a whole bunch of good meals on. We're heading to the grocery now for our first food shopping of 2011! My list is MUCH shorter than usual as I now know exactly what it is we already have on hand.
If you are disorganized like me and end up buying what you often already have, I encourage you to take an inventory of your food stores too! Let me know what surprises you find!!
I took an inventory yesterday of every food item in our entire household. We have a lot of food! Scarily, some of this stuff has been in here a very, very long time. Even more scary to me was that I decided to eat it! Last night I used three pretty old items that have been taking up residence here for quite a while - a frozen chicken breast (that may or may not have been older than my 2 year old son!!), a butternut squash that I bought in the summer, and some rice pasta which must have been there for at least a year. I cubed the chicken and pan-fried it, I boiled up the pasta and served it with the leftover tomato sauce along with a bit of grated cheddar, and roasted the squash. Gotta say it made me feel terribly icky thinking how old the food was, but no one else said anything bad about the taste, and no one died of horrible gut pain so I guess it was okay!
So, for the record, here's what I found:
In the Freezers:
-8 lb ham
-two grass fed steaks (purchased when I was pregnant!!)
-3 mystery frozen soups
-cauliflower
-mixed vegetables
-peas and carrots
-fava beans
-peas
-corn (3 bags)
-orange juice
-blueberry bagels
-whole wheat bagels
-puff pastry dough
-rye bread
-flatbread hamburger buns
-miscellaneous packages of 1-2 hotdog or hamburger buns
-homemade tomato juice
-sausages
-hamburgers
-bacon
-3 packs of cold cuts
-1 chicken breast
-gnocchi
-bread cubes
In the Refrigerators:
-large grapefruits
-a very old coconut
-one bottle of strawberry fruit smoothie
-3 bottles of ketchup - but only 1 is open
-2 bottles of water
-nutritional yeast flakes
-hemp seed
-milk
-maple syrup
-green pepper
-red pepper
-carrots
-beets
-celery
-cheez whiz
-miracle whip
-relish (4 jars!!)
-pickles
-olives
-salsa
-worcestershire sauce
-tartar sauce
-lemon juice
-lime juice
-salad dressing
-bbq sauces
-teriyaki sauce
-mustard
-soya sauce
-tabasco sauce
-Frank's red hot
-jar of pesto
In the Pantry:
oatmeal
white sugar
crackers
white flour
whole wheat flour
spelt flour
gluten-free baking mix
bisquick
MWL pancake mix
instant oatmeal
steel-cut oats
wheat bran
soy protein powder
soy butter
honey
pasta: whole wheat, white, and rice
bulgur
lard
vegetable shortening
sweetened condensed milk
dry cereal (6 varieties!)
gummies
raisins
goldfish crackers (those these disappeared as soon as I pulled them out)
one pack of mentos (also rapidly disappearing)
a few packs of chewing gum
potatoes
nutella
easy-mac
quinoa
dried pinto beans
dried soya beans
rice: basmati, brown, and sushi
red lentils
microwave popcorn
tuna fish
pumpkin puree
kidney beans
diced tomatoes
tomato soup
white vinegar
wine vinegar
canola oil
olive oil
coconut oil
In the Spice cupboard:
Over 20 types of sweet and savoury spices
cornmeal
corn syrup
molasses
yeast
icing sugar
prepared icing
brown sugar
vanilla extract
cocoa
cornstarch
baking powder
baking soda
salt
sprinkles and food colouring
In the Tea and Coffee Cupboard:
apple cider mix
instant coffee
decaf instant coffee
tea: orange pekoe, green, rooibos, assorted herbals
ground coffee, regular and decaf
coffee beans - but we no longer have a grinder!!
hot chocolate powder
And taking up residence on the counter:
butter
1 butternut squash
1 apple
1 pear
1 onion
2 bottles of rye
a case of canned iced tea
Well, there you have it. Definitely enough to base a whole bunch of good meals on. We're heading to the grocery now for our first food shopping of 2011! My list is MUCH shorter than usual as I now know exactly what it is we already have on hand.
If you are disorganized like me and end up buying what you often already have, I encourage you to take an inventory of your food stores too! Let me know what surprises you find!!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
out of the bounty of my pantry AND compassion by command
I organized my pantry last night and took an inventory of the goodies I have on hand! I actually found that I could make an entire pumpkin pie right now! Now if I actually do make one, I'll be sure to have you over to share. I am showing only two of my pantry drawers, but I also have a drawer full of oils and vinegars (salad anyone??) and another drawer of flours, baking mixes, oatmeal etc. Speaking of baking mixes, More with Less Cookbook (MWL) has a wonderful pancake mix on page 73 that I have made many times in the past and have shared with some friends who can vouch for its awesomeness. I also have a box of a factory-made biscuit and pancake mix. Put the two to a taste test - or a price test for that matter - and MWL wins hands down. You can make the dry mix so quickly (it only requires 5 ingredients), and making the pancakes themselves is super simple with just an egg, water, and oil needing to be added. Mind you the commercial mix will probably last in your pantry for years thanks to all of the preservatives. The homemade mix will not last nearly that long... this is because you won't be able to resist eating it all in no time!
For the last two weeks my church has been running a series from another church called "Compassion by Command". The speaker was Greg Boyd. He has been working through what God requires of those who profess to believe in him (to act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God - Micah 6:8) and what that looks like. He has been especially focussing on the humility part, on "knowing what you know you don't know" (Or as K'naan says in his song "Take a minute" "any man who knows a thing knows he knows not a damn, damned thing at all" - you can check out the music video here. Great lyrics on the beauty of giving). He (Greg Boyd, not K'naan) talked a lot about stereotypes that affluent people have about the poor and stereotypes that the poor (and those who sympathize with the poor) have about the affluent, and the resulting stalemate that happens when it comes to actually fighting poverty and decreasing the gap between the richest and poorest in our societies. In today's sermon he brought in the biblical perspective as to what's behind all our problems:
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| Top view of uncooked taco bake. Leftovers: tomato sauce, taco shells, and cooked corn. I added ground beef with some taco spices and some cheddar cheese. Yummy. |
 |
| Side view of uncooked taco bake. There is no view of it after it was cooked because we ate it too quickly! |
 |
Here is S's plan for all that tomato soup! The cans stack quite nicely. |
 |
| I found six open bags of cereal PLUS the box of marshmallows that pretends to be cereal PLUS several packets of instant oatmeal. |
 |
| I shouldn't be too harsh on the marshmallows that pretend to be cereal: G found they were the perfect breakfast time art medium. |
 |
| 5 or 6 rice bags in various states of fullness, 5 containers of pasta, a ton of lentils, some bulgur and quinoa, and a bag of awesome coffee that I had completely forgotten about. Plus lard and vegetable shortening. |
I organized my pantry last night and took an inventory of the goodies I have on hand! I actually found that I could make an entire pumpkin pie right now! Now if I actually do make one, I'll be sure to have you over to share. I am showing only two of my pantry drawers, but I also have a drawer full of oils and vinegars (salad anyone??) and another drawer of flours, baking mixes, oatmeal etc. Speaking of baking mixes, More with Less Cookbook (MWL) has a wonderful pancake mix on page 73 that I have made many times in the past and have shared with some friends who can vouch for its awesomeness. I also have a box of a factory-made biscuit and pancake mix. Put the two to a taste test - or a price test for that matter - and MWL wins hands down. You can make the dry mix so quickly (it only requires 5 ingredients), and making the pancakes themselves is super simple with just an egg, water, and oil needing to be added. Mind you the commercial mix will probably last in your pantry for years thanks to all of the preservatives. The homemade mix will not last nearly that long... this is because you won't be able to resist eating it all in no time!
For the last two weeks my church has been running a series from another church called "Compassion by Command". The speaker was Greg Boyd. He has been working through what God requires of those who profess to believe in him (to act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God - Micah 6:8) and what that looks like. He has been especially focussing on the humility part, on "knowing what you know you don't know" (Or as K'naan says in his song "Take a minute" "any man who knows a thing knows he knows not a damn, damned thing at all" - you can check out the music video here. Great lyrics on the beauty of giving). He (Greg Boyd, not K'naan) talked a lot about stereotypes that affluent people have about the poor and stereotypes that the poor (and those who sympathize with the poor) have about the affluent, and the resulting stalemate that happens when it comes to actually fighting poverty and decreasing the gap between the richest and poorest in our societies. In today's sermon he brought in the biblical perspective as to what's behind all our problems:
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. - Ephesians 6:12 (New International Version, ©2010).
I don't have any more time to work on this post, but I'd encourage you to listen to the sermon, it's about 1 hour long, but well worth the time. You might want to hear the first part too. (They can also be put on your iPod, so you can take it with you!) Let me just say that Greg Boyd is a well-known, controversial (among other things he refused to tell his congregation to vote for a certain American political party), very intelligent speaker, professor of theology, pastor, and former atheist , but perhaps my favourite parts of both sermons are the introductory and closing comments made by Christa Hesselink. She exudes grace and I love to hear her speak. It's really worth listening to, I know, two hours is a lot, but hey, you'll be happy you did! Enjoy!!
I don't have any more time to work on this post, but I'd encourage you to listen to the sermon, it's about 1 hour long, but well worth the time. You might want to hear the first part too. (They can also be put on your iPod, so you can take it with you!) Let me just say that Greg Boyd is a well-known, controversial (among other things he refused to tell his congregation to vote for a certain American political party), very intelligent speaker, professor of theology, pastor, and former atheist , but perhaps my favourite parts of both sermons are the introductory and closing comments made by Christa Hesselink. She exudes grace and I love to hear her speak. It's really worth listening to, I know, two hours is a lot, but hey, you'll be happy you did! Enjoy!!
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| He looks pretty pleased with his handiwork. |
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
I think one of my biggest food waste issues is the amount of stuff sitting in my freezer and cupboards that I get tired of, or forget about and decide not to eat. Finally, after it's been there forever I decide to throw it out because it has become either freezerburnt or stale. So, my first goal is to work my way through the stockpile and get eating!
No need for any more pasta, rice, or cereal to be purchased until the half dozen almost-empty bags of each get finished! I will keep buying fruit and milk but we are going to finish those frozen veggies before I buy anymore fresh ones that will inevitably not get finished. Oh, and the bread... you want to know how much bread I have in my freezer? And the spices, and the condiments....
The last major pantry culprit are all of those cans of tomato soup and tuna fish that are going to need to get eaten. I really can't stand tuna fish. Honestly, my husband keeps buying it and I keep funneling it off to food drives. I suppose I should at least make up a gigantic batch of tuna fish salad, which will supply him lunch for several weeks. That will serve two purposes, it will use up the fish, and it might turn him off it so much that he never buys it again (insert evil laugh here!!) As for the tomato soup: other than eating it straight up I don't know what to do with it. Any suggestions?
My entire family has been sick this week and we haven't had the energy to go grocery shopping or go out to eat so we really have been making a dent at the pile of food we already have and I've been pretty impressed with the meals I've been able to throw together. It has actually been quite satisfying to clear out the bulge! Here are two recipes from more with less that I've made this week: Fried potatoes with egg - much like hashbrowns but not so greasy (p.151) and Cheese Pizza (p.142) though I added salami as a topping. The dough didn't turn out too great, though I don't know how good my yeast is as I've had the jar for quite a while (no surprise there!) but the sauce was AMAZING (though I lacked garlic). I made more of the sauce for pasta later in the week. It was incredible. Here's what I did: I pureed an onion and a large can of tomatoes. Threw them in the cast iron skillet, added italian seasoning, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper, boiled, simmered, (you know the drill) mmmm.
I alluded to my dislike of tuna fish (ok, to say I dislike it is an understatement. I can't stand eating fish! blech!) Two of my dear children are following in my picky footsteps and have many things they don't like to eat either. I think that it's only fair that if I want my kids to start eating beans and eggs (other than smuggling them into hashbrowns, though that apparently worked quite well) I should suck it up and start eating the foods from my icky list too. But, I'm not promising anything, we'll see how that goes...(why am I even mentioning this?!)
Ok, reflection time: as I stood in front of my pantry this week and pulled out a multitude of ingredients that would become our meals I realized how many times I've stared at this same pile and complained that we had nothing to eat. Much like all the times I've stared into my bursting clothes drawers and could find nothing to wear... only to complain a few hours later that I had no room for the clean laundry to be put away! I think I have become so accustomed to the convenience of getting exactly what I'm craving (whether it was the perfect food or the perfect outfit) that I've become ungrateful to God for the abundance that I actually do have right before my eyes! So, LORD, I'm sorry for my ungratitude and my wastefulness. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, but I've been turning up my nose at the daily feast I've been given. Help me to be grateful and to rejoice in all of your blessings.
One who is full tramples on virgin honey, but to the man who is hungry, any bitter thing is sweet. - Proverbs 27:7 (New American Bible)
No need for any more pasta, rice, or cereal to be purchased until the half dozen almost-empty bags of each get finished! I will keep buying fruit and milk but we are going to finish those frozen veggies before I buy anymore fresh ones that will inevitably not get finished. Oh, and the bread... you want to know how much bread I have in my freezer? And the spices, and the condiments....
The last major pantry culprit are all of those cans of tomato soup and tuna fish that are going to need to get eaten. I really can't stand tuna fish. Honestly, my husband keeps buying it and I keep funneling it off to food drives. I suppose I should at least make up a gigantic batch of tuna fish salad, which will supply him lunch for several weeks. That will serve two purposes, it will use up the fish, and it might turn him off it so much that he never buys it again (insert evil laugh here!!) As for the tomato soup: other than eating it straight up I don't know what to do with it. Any suggestions?
My entire family has been sick this week and we haven't had the energy to go grocery shopping or go out to eat so we really have been making a dent at the pile of food we already have and I've been pretty impressed with the meals I've been able to throw together. It has actually been quite satisfying to clear out the bulge! Here are two recipes from more with less that I've made this week: Fried potatoes with egg - much like hashbrowns but not so greasy (p.151) and Cheese Pizza (p.142) though I added salami as a topping. The dough didn't turn out too great, though I don't know how good my yeast is as I've had the jar for quite a while (no surprise there!) but the sauce was AMAZING (though I lacked garlic). I made more of the sauce for pasta later in the week. It was incredible. Here's what I did: I pureed an onion and a large can of tomatoes. Threw them in the cast iron skillet, added italian seasoning, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper, boiled, simmered, (you know the drill) mmmm.
I alluded to my dislike of tuna fish (ok, to say I dislike it is an understatement. I can't stand eating fish! blech!) Two of my dear children are following in my picky footsteps and have many things they don't like to eat either. I think that it's only fair that if I want my kids to start eating beans and eggs (other than smuggling them into hashbrowns, though that apparently worked quite well) I should suck it up and start eating the foods from my icky list too. But, I'm not promising anything, we'll see how that goes...(why am I even mentioning this?!)
Ok, reflection time: as I stood in front of my pantry this week and pulled out a multitude of ingredients that would become our meals I realized how many times I've stared at this same pile and complained that we had nothing to eat. Much like all the times I've stared into my bursting clothes drawers and could find nothing to wear... only to complain a few hours later that I had no room for the clean laundry to be put away! I think I have become so accustomed to the convenience of getting exactly what I'm craving (whether it was the perfect food or the perfect outfit) that I've become ungrateful to God for the abundance that I actually do have right before my eyes! So, LORD, I'm sorry for my ungratitude and my wastefulness. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, but I've been turning up my nose at the daily feast I've been given. Help me to be grateful and to rejoice in all of your blessings.
One who is full tramples on virgin honey, but to the man who is hungry, any bitter thing is sweet. - Proverbs 27:7 (New American Bible)
Friday, December 31, 2010
More With Less
In the mid-1970's the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) called for a "major focus on the world-food crisis by Mennonites"(MWL p.4). In addition to providing leadership towards long-term solutions to hunger, the MCC also challenged its North American member households to consider their own lifestyles, most notably in regards to food, and to eat and spend 10 percent less. The idea of compiling a cookbook of recipes that would help to meet the challenge soon arose. Members of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches submitted thousands of recipes that met the criteria of being nutritious, inexpensive, simple, and delicious. The recipes were tested, and the book compiled, under the leadership of Doris Janzen Longacre. The final product, The More-with-Less Cookbook is approximately two-thirds recipe and one-third quiet theology. It asks the question: "Does your belief in God affect your way of living?" (MWL p. vi) Prayers, proverbs, words of encouragement and reflections on hunger, simplicity, faith, and abundance infuse the book in response.
I picked up the book in 2007 at Ten Thousand Villages and I immediately fell in love with it. I have used it extensively, mostly to the exclusion of my other cookbooks. Now, 3 and a half years later, on the cusp of the New Year, I've decided to put my warm-fuzzy feelings into action and I will take up the More-with-Less 10 percent food reduction challenge. I hope that as a result my family will be able to give more generously, that the chains of over-abundance will loosen, that we'll come to appreciate simple, homemade foods (and therefore dramatically improve our current diet), but mostly that God will use this journey to help me grow as a Christ-follower while serving others.
At this point I am still figuring out what my new food budget will look like: I'll dig up old food bills and post the nitty-gritty details in the days and weeks ahead. I also have a lot of questions and thoughts about what compassion and service look like, and how individual actions fit into the bigger picture. (I am encouraged by the miracle of the feeding of 5000. The little boy only had to give his lunch, God took care of the rest.) I will share which recipes from MWL we most enjoyed and I will also point you towards other books, videos, and audiocasts on this topic that you might enjoy. I appreciate your support by reading this blog you'll encourage me to stay on track! Finally, maybe some of you might decide to take up the More-with-Less challenge too. I'd love to journey with you!
"He hath shown thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8
I picked up the book in 2007 at Ten Thousand Villages and I immediately fell in love with it. I have used it extensively, mostly to the exclusion of my other cookbooks. Now, 3 and a half years later, on the cusp of the New Year, I've decided to put my warm-fuzzy feelings into action and I will take up the More-with-Less 10 percent food reduction challenge. I hope that as a result my family will be able to give more generously, that the chains of over-abundance will loosen, that we'll come to appreciate simple, homemade foods (and therefore dramatically improve our current diet), but mostly that God will use this journey to help me grow as a Christ-follower while serving others.
At this point I am still figuring out what my new food budget will look like: I'll dig up old food bills and post the nitty-gritty details in the days and weeks ahead. I also have a lot of questions and thoughts about what compassion and service look like, and how individual actions fit into the bigger picture. (I am encouraged by the miracle of the feeding of 5000. The little boy only had to give his lunch, God took care of the rest.) I will share which recipes from MWL we most enjoyed and I will also point you towards other books, videos, and audiocasts on this topic that you might enjoy. I appreciate your support by reading this blog you'll encourage me to stay on track! Finally, maybe some of you might decide to take up the More-with-Less challenge too. I'd love to journey with you!
"He hath shown thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8
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