November 12, 2012: Broccoli soup recipe

It's pretty much winter now (in my book). Soups are great for winter but the wrong soups are bad for your body, nutrition-wise. I prefer to make vegetarian soup and vegan soups at best. I found a great recipe for broccoli soup. I love cream-based soups just like the next guy, but heavy dairy doesn't sit well with me. I prefer to use vegetable broth-based soups instead.  I found this recipe off of the America's Test Kitchen webiste, so all the props to them. My husband LOVES this soup and this is my second time making it. It's great for my 17 month old too. I started introducing her to soups at about a year old. Soups are great for babies. Easy to eat and especially nutritious!

The recipe (tweaked by me)

2 T butter (I haven't tried it with oil. I usually sub oil for butter but I had some on hand)
1/4 t baking soda
about 2 lbs broccoli ( I used the frozen organic Cascadian Farms)
a pinch of cayenne
2 cloves garlic
2 handfuls of organic spinach
1 onion
2 cup organic vegetable broth
about two cups of water
about a cup of fresh Parmesan
about a cup of extra sharp cheddar cheese

Total cost of soup: about $8 (if organic)
Servings: at least six large portions



Sautee butter in dutch oven. Allow butter to melt. Add the diced onion, garlic, and cayenne. Stir and let simmer for about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup of water, baking soda and broccoli and let broccoli cook until fragrant. Add 2 cups of broth plus one more cup of water with the spinach. Allow spinach to wilt.  Cook for a few minutes.

Take everything and put into a blender and blend. I had to halve mine into the Ninja. I added some cheese to each half. Put everything back into dutch oven and simmer for a few minutes. Add extra cheese if desired. Enjoy!

November 6, 2012: Matar Tofu recipe

My family, including my baby, love Indian food.
Going out to an Indian restaurant can be expensive, even at the cheapest restaurants when you're on one income. I've created an indian dish at home that rivals Matar Paneer, but is made with tofu instead of the paneer (cheese). I did however use organic whipping cream. You could probably substitute that and use coconut milk instead.

Here is my recipe:
Before you get anything started, you will want to cook up about 2 cups of brown basmati rice. I have a rice cooker, so this takes a little over 1/2 hour.

1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic
about 1 T real ginger
1 package of tofu diced into small squares

Put the above ingredients into a food processor except the tofu. Add about 1/4 cup water until the mixture is 'slush-like'. Sautee the onion slush in a pan with about a T of grapeseed or olive oil along with the tofu. When one side of the tofu is browned....

1 1/2 T coriander
1 t turmeric

Add these ingredients into your slush. Let simmer for about 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add one can of crushed tomatoes into the mixture. Stir and let simmer for a few minutes.

1 1/2 T garam masala

Add the above ingredients to the tomato mixture.

Stir and let simmer for awhile.

1 bag of organic peas

about 1 cup of organic heavy whipping cream

Add the above ingredients to your pan.

Add the rice and enjoy.  Below is a photo of the finished product, without the rice.

November 1, 2012: Being thankful and traditions: Challah recipe

We as Christians have a lot to be thankful for. Our salvation alone is enough to make us weak at the thought that we deserve anything else.

I think during this season all of us can lose sight of what our daily living should be-not just during the holidays.  One of the reasons I am writing this post is to entertain the thought of the most simple things that we may take for granted.

I often times in my prayers, under my 'thankful' category, write to God how I am thankful for my eyesight, the ability to walk and to hear. I am thankful that I am healthy, I have a head of hair and that I can use my arms.

Take some time today to think of the most obvious and basic abilities you have. Remind yourself each day that you are truly thankful for these gifts and that there are many people who do not possess them.

Sometimes, as we do this, the problems and struggles we encounter seem trivial and do not hold much value. Being content and joyful is an art that we must practice. We are depraved sinners after all, and our only strength comes from Him alone.

Traditions

Meanwhile, during the holiday seasons, it may be fun to focus on the silly stuff too, to lighten your mood and help with any bouts of depression during the sunless days. My family started a tradition for the holiday season starting in December. Next month, every Saturday we will make challah. Challah is a Jewish bread that is made before Sabbath (I hope I'm getting this right).  The bread is braided while reciting Hebrew prayers as a reminder for the priests that would atone for the sins of the people.  Instead of reciting Hebrew prayers, we say a prayer thanking Jesus for saving us and paying for ours sins once and for all.

Below is my challah recipe. I find the bread to be rather tasteless and boring...so I make French toast with it.

3/4 c water
2 t yeast
1 1/2 T honey
2 eggs
1/4 c olive or grapeseed oil
3 c  bread flour
1 1/4 t salt

I add the yeast and the honey together.  In a separate bowl, I mix the egg and oil together. In another bowl, I add the flour and salt. I combine everything together. I let the dough rise for 1 hour covered in the sun or a warm place.  I then braid the bread using three strands on a pizza stone covered with parchment paper.  I let the the braided bread rise for another 45 minutes. I bake the bread at 350 for about a 1/2 hour. I do brush the bread with an egg yolk for that glossy finish.

Enjoy!

October 31, 2012: Identity in Christ and garbanzo peanut butter cookies

During this season, Christians may have a difficult time deciding what to do with Halloween. Do we celebrate it? What do we think it means to us? Would God want our children to go trick-or-treat-ing?  I think that there are different convictions for different families and that we should all respect each others' decisions. For us, our daughter is still under two and either way, we believe she's still too young to go toting around in the cold for candy we don't want her eating.

We must remember that regardless of how we choose to engage in the festivities, we are children of God. We've been adopted into His family as sons or daughters. We have been chosen before the foundation of the world. We are co-heirs with Christ. We have been declared justified in His eyes and that when He sees us, He sees the imputed righteousness of Christ. There is no more condemnation; we have been promised eternal life because of His Son Jesus. We can relax, fully knowing that because He saved us, because He loved us, we will complete the work in us until the end. There is perseverance for His saints. He does not save us and leave us to do all of the work ourselves. That would be contrary to what His Word teaches.

So, whatever you decide to do with your children, remind yourself of His wonderful deeds, rejoice in His everlasting covenants and hope in His expectant return.


On the other hand, you can make your little monsters a delicious and healthy treat to enjoy. This recipe is a combination of many recipes I have found. Big thanks to my sister-in-law for giving me recipes for tasty treats that involve beans! Below is a recipe I made today that is gluten-free, can be vegan depending on the chocolate you use, and made with garbanzo (chickpeas) beans.

TT's Peanut Butter Balls (chocolate chips are optional, but oh so good!)

1 1/4 c garbanzo beans ( I use the reduced sodium or no salt added.  Whole Foods has these options)
1/4 c honey
1/2 peanut butter (I used Smuckers natural creamy. It does have added salt so I didn't add salt to the recipe)
1 t baking powder
2 t natural vanilla extract.

I added all the ingredients into my food processor and let 'er rip. I did not add any chocolate chips while this was 'processing'.

I refrigerated my dough overnight, as I had yet to get my chocolate chips.
If you're vegan you can use non-dairy chocolate or leave them out altogether and use agave instead of honey. *Vegans debate on whether honey is considered vegan.

I made twelve 'balls' of cookies on a cookie sheet. I used parchment paper. I baked them at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Keep checking on them. They will get a little brown on top and will remain really mushy until they cool. You could try making smaller balls than I did, and then bake them for less time. If you do that, let me know how they turn out. I plan on making these in the future, so I will keep you up to date.

October 29, 2012: Easy fried potatoes

The other week I had made a bunch of pierogis. I had bought a bunch of potatoes and had two of them left. I decided to make some fried potatoes and they turned out delicious.

Potatoes have got a bad rad with the whole 'low-carb' fad diets and no 'white foods'. The problem with these diets is that they eliminate plant based foods. A plant-based diet done with careful research is extremely beneficial. One can get almost entirely all the nutrients they need from a plant-based diet.

Fried potatoes...EASY!!!

Two potatoes diced into cubes

About a t of rosemary

A few sprinkles of nutritional yeast (a good source of B12)

Enjoy!

October 27, 2012: Artichoke garbanzo salad with sun-dried tomatoes

Tomorrow is our church fellowship meal.

A few of the members are sensitive to gluten. I felt that there was more to gluten-free food than wheat substitutes and quinoa.

Today I made artichoke garbanzo salad with sun-dried tomatoes.

Recipe:
1 can of artichokes
about a can of chickpeas
1/2 t of rosemary or oregano
about 7 chopped sun dried tomatoes ( I did not use the ones with oil)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon

I sauteed the artichokes until they were brown with a little oil. I added the lemon while they were cooking. Take the artichokes and add to the beans. Set aside.

Sautee the onion and garlic in a little oil until brown. Add to the bean and artichokes. Add everything else and enjoy!

Yummy and good for you too!

October 26, 2012: Memorizing verses

Have you ever thought about memorizing scripture?

Memorizing scripture is very beneficial for you as a Christian. It can remind you of God's promises, who He is, and can encourage you in times of sadness, trouble, despair, etc.

Memorizing scripture can sound daunting, but it's actually an easy task.

If you have ever had to memorizing anything in your life, you may know that memorizing a large chunk of material can best be done by breaking it down into smaller parts.

For example, if you plan on memorizing an entire book of the bible, commit yourself to one verse a week depending on how well you can memorize. I started memorizing Ephesians and started out memorizing just one verse a week. Every day, I would write the verse on a new post-it note and memorize the first few words on Monday and Tuesday, the middle chunk of the verse on Wednesday and Thursday, and the rest of the verse Friday through Sunday.  However, I also recited the entire verses before that verse as well.

Sometimes, the language is awkward, making it more difficult to retain. Try finding a way to remember certain words. I do this by memorizing the sequence of letters in the sentence if there is a list of things, such as in Ephesians 1:21.

I encourage you to start with a book of the new testament, like Phillipians, or Ephesians. Maybe you want to memorize a psalm as well.

If things start getting difficult, don't be too hard on yourself. Take it day by day. If it takes you two weeks to memorize one verse, that's ok too! Remember that God's Word is powerful and that knowing even one verse by heart will make a difference in your spiritual life!

God bless!