paravanes:meditations

"Good food is a good gift from a good God."  A friend asked for my recipe for this homemade, whole wheat pizza.  Originally, I planned to post it on Facebook. I then decided to simply post it here, and in that way, anyone who wants it can read and use it. I created this recipe when I realized I did not have some of the ingredients I’d planned to use for a pizza. I wanted something savory, and remembered the frozen kale (a huge bag from Costco ) in my freezer. I have had success with  sauteing  fresh or frozen kale in fresh garlic, butter, and oil and adding the kale to omelets, brown rice, or eating the kale as a side dish to sweet potatoes and sausage, or squash and sausage. Here’s the recipe: Make or purchase your choice of whole wheat pizza dough. I always make my pizza dough at home, and find very useful ways to spend my time while waiting for the dough to rise. My dough recipe comes from The Encyclopedia of Cooking (Parragon Books, 2010), but...

Matthew 5:41-46 – “Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of Me’… Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Watch what it means here . I blogged from this scripture recently , and it's a text that makes many people uncomfortable. Years ago, I blogged about what it might feel like to be truly starving, very hungry, and not knowing how or where to get food. That post is here . How many Christians feel more comfortable---and "righteous" condemning those who are "wi...

 This is not a recipe, nor is it a cooking formula. Let's call it a cooking story with a "cooking frame" included. I have been a pretty regular fan and purchaser of the 16 bean mixture (sold dried) that I find at Kroger and other large grocery chains. I never use the "flavor packet" included--- what is a flavor packet other than a chemicalized concoction created by flavor chemists who are anonymous and unknowable? --but I think the beans are a good deal. I have had success soaking the beans overnight in my large stockpot. I have had success putting them in to soak early in the morning and cooking them for dinner that evening. I have had success storing the beans for a week in the refrigerator and using them in the following ways: 1) Tossed on top of brown rice, served with a spicy salsa, 2)  Folded into a dinner omelet, 3)  Eaten plain (in this case plain means cooked for an hour and a half in water, minced fresh garlic, minced fresh o...

Last week, I met a friend for an early dinner at Tim Hortons. I remembered how much I have enjoyed their Cafe Mocha, and ordered a cup along with dinner. Things are not as they once were. Or, perhaps I'm getting a little pickier about how beverages are served. Or, perhaps I should have remembered I was in a fast food restaurant. My cup was over-filled, with too much foam on top. When I attempted to flip back the small opening in the cup's lid, coffee spilled onto the top of my tray and flooded most of my napkins. Ugh! After cleaning my tray and getting cold water from a server to spot clean a stain on my skirt, I decided I needed to work on creating a cup of Cafe Mocha that would free me from my dependence upon Tim Hortons. Here goes: Deb's Foamless Cafe Mocha Concoction (Makes a mix that will serve two people using latte sized cups. This recipe should double easily to serve more people) Prep time: 5 minutes, plus time to heat water 5 heaping tablespoons ...

Good food is a gift from a good God . This time of year, I am seeking spinach each time I shop. Considering price, safety, and versatility, fresh bunches of spinach are a great value. I normally shop twice per week, because I prefer fresh ingredients that aren't canned or bagged. Canned spinach scares me a bit, because I know the sodium content inside of the can offsets all of the nutritional value of the leaves inside. After the bacterial outbreaks involving bagged leaf vegetables, I am willing to sacrifice convenience for safety. (Try googling the phrase"spinach bacterial contamination" if you are truly curious about this). Because I enjoy raw spinach in salads and on sandwiches --try an open-faced tuna sandwich with spinach, tuna ,homemade mayonnaise, and pickles!-- I avoid frozen spinach. That leaves lovely bunches--pardon the pun!! How to select the best fresh spinach in a "regular grocery store"?  (It's winter where I love, so no farmer's m...

Good food is a gift from a good God . Now that the growing season and the farmer’s market season have ended in the Great Lakes region of North America, I have had to resort to reading food magazines, cookbooks, and roving on food sites to see fresh food growing. Two of my favorites are yougrowgirl.com and  noteatingoutinny.com . In Michigan, the mornings are getting colder and snowier. I am burying myself in the summer issues of Saveur and Bon Appetit , trying to recover the sense of warmth that comes from preparing, eating, and sharing summer food. In the August 2011 issue of Bon Appetit, I found an easy, yummy-sounding recipe for pickled baby squash. At this time of the year, there are no local summer squash or zucchini to pickle. I’m willing to wait until spring to buy something grown locally; something that helps support a farmer who is probably employing someone who (like the rest of us) wants and needs their job. Lacking the fresh baby squash, I am thinking about rev...

A Prayer About Food Lord: Help me to remember my sisters and brothers all over my country and all over the world Who cannot buy what they want to eat, Who cannot buy what they need to eat, Who are never full "after a meal", Who eat partially-rotten food because that is all there is. Who eat what's left after their children eat, Who don't give their children enough to eat because they can't, Who count the days until they can buy more food, Who divide every food item two or three times before cooking, Who miss the favorite food they can no longer buy, or can no longer find. Who settle for a smell instead of a taste, Who are thinner than they should be, Who are malnourished---badly nourished,  not enough nourished,  sadly nourished,  angrily nourished,  poorly nourished. There are twenty thousand items in my local "supermarket." Help me to remember those who struggle to get two items to eat today. Keep me from the sin of glutton...