Month: April 2011

Web wanderings 11-4-11

Christian links
Legalism ~ at Monergism: Legalism could be defined as any attempt to rely on self-effort to either attain or maintain our just standing before God.

The book that changed the world– KJV exhibition coming to a city near you.

Will studying theology kill my faith?

Passover articles at Heart of Wisdom ~ 12 Passover Articles, history, meaning, prophecy, crafts, recipes, hagaddah, unleavened bread, & more.

Kingdom Series- the movie. We really enjoyed these books... can’t wait for the movie!

Womanhood
“Dora the Doormat” and other Scary Straw Women of Complementarity ~ thoroughly enjoyed this summary of how some people try to stereotype the complementarian woman, by Mary Kassian

Life Skills
Fifty ways to say ‘No‘.

Health
Nutrient Chart: nutrition chart with pictures provides an easy cross-reference for vitamin and mineral content in fruits and vegetables.

Dr. Mercola’s Total Health Cookbook Having trouble losing weight? Health not as good as it should be? Dr. Mercola says it’s grains that are the culprits! Not just another low-carb book, this gives some real information and help.

Parenting
Free Gospel-Centered Parenting eBook for Download

Four Opportunity Phases of Family Discipleship ~ Depending upon the ages of our children, we have four times when we can impact their lives in the manner that Jesus made disciples. Think about the first twenty years of your child’s life and some broad things we can say about certain age-related categories or phases and what you can generally expect in terms of discipleship opportunities.

Education
50 Common Latin Phrases Every College Student Should Know

A modern day look at The Passover
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KLKG6LNX

Shopping… the Key to Longevity?

Shopping keeps us young! So go out: buy! Spend! Be a good citizen! Do it for your health!

Well! The The Herald Sun reports : “SHOP so you don’t drop. That’s the message from a curious new international study, which shows shopping could help you live longer.”

Older men who indulged in daily shopping trips were 28 per cent more likely to live longer, compared with 23 per cent for women.
Australian experts say shopping can lift spirits for all ages.

“Modern stores are bright, energetic places that I would think can be pleasantly stimulating occasionally if your alternative is largely being stuck at home with limited forms of communication or contact,” he said.

Sure the article does mention that it is the social interaction with others, the companionship that is beneficial and with this point I thoroughly agree. But HOW in the world do they arrive at the conclusion then, that it is shopping (spending money, being a consumer) that leads to longevity of life. How about other forms of social interaction like volunteer work in the local community, being an active member of the local community and being active within the church community? Making encouraging phone calls or sending cards, writing letters or the occasional visit is certainly more satisfying than spending money. Investing in relationships… putting time and effort into eternal matters has to be fulfilling and beneficial for everyone involved.

What a totally worldly way of looking at this issue. Not only should we aim to be interactive in our elderly years but as younger women, it is very important that we learn to respect the older women in our church community. If we treat them with disrespect or treat them as the world treats the elderly then they will most likely react accordingly.

The Scriptures tell us what to expect from old age… and how to spend our time:

Wisdom is with aged men, With long life is understanding.
Job 12:12

If any believing woman has widows, she should help them, and the church should not be burdened, so that it can help those who are genuinely widows.
1 Timothy 5:16

They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing.
Psalms 92:12-14

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Titus 2:3-5

As a family we watched this as a news article on TV the other night. We used it as a way to teach the children how the media (and anyone pushing a bias) can attempt to manipulate the hearer by using faulty reasoning and jumping to unreasonable conclusions. Grrr, it makes me mad!

Rant over… back to your irregularly-never-scheduled blog. 🙂

Carob treats

Carob Treats

3 Weet-Bix or Vita-Brits
1 TB carob powder
1 TB Coconut oil
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup almond milk
Pinch or two of Stevia or natural sweetener
1/2 cup sultanas, raisins, prunes or figs.

Place all ingredients except fruit into blender and process.
Stir in the dried fruit and pulse lightly.
Using a teaspoon, measure out amount and roll into balls. The mixture should be firm and not too wet.
Once formed, roll in coconut.
Chill in fridge.
Enjoy!

Almond Milk and Granola

♪ ♫ ♩ ♬ I am so clever. I am so clever. ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬

Yes, I jumped around the house yesterday afternoon singing this to any and all. Why am I so clever? Because after trying something 5 years ago and failing I recently had another go. And the result was delicious! I felt clever for actually doing something successful.

Almond Milk and Nutty Granola

A few years ago I tried to make Almond Milk and a dehydrated granola from the recipe in Serene Allison’s book, “Rejuvenate Your Life – Recipes for Energy“. I failed miserably. 🙁 In fact, salads and nut sprinkles are pretty much the only things from that book that I do well.

But in my travels around the world (with the help of the Internet) I stumbled across a video of Jennifer Cornbleet, at LearnRawFood. She was making Zucchini Pasta with Marinara Sauce. We tried it ourselves and loved it! Then I searched for ‘raw foods’ at my local library and Jennifer’s DVD was available so I sped er, mosied along over to the library, borrowed it and watched it. She makes it look all so easy and achievable! I was so inspired that I tried the Almond Milk and Granola myself… and […drum roll please…] IT WORKED!!! It is delicious! Rich, nutty and creamy and it keeps for 5 days in the fridge.

Jennifer Cornbleet’s Almond Milk

Yield: 2 1/2 cups, 2 servings

2.5 cups water
1.5 cups soaked almonds (see note)
3 pitted medjool dates ( I didn’t have medjool dates so just used normal ones)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Equipment

measuring cups
measuring spoons
blender
fine-mesh strainer or mesh bag
medium bowl
rubber spatula

Method

Place 1.5 cups of the water and the almonds, dates, and optional vanilla in a blender. Blend on high speed until very smooth. Add the remaining 1 cup of water and blend until smooth.

Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl and pour the almond mixture through it. Using a rubber spatula, stir and press the pulp that is caught in the strainer to extract as much milk as possible. Alternatively, use a mesh bag to strain the milk.

Discard the pulp left in the strainer. Transfer the milk to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator. Almond Milk will keep for five days. It will separate, so shake well before using.

Note: To soak the almonds, place 1 cup of them in a mason jar (or bowl). Fill with cool water, screw on the lid, and soak for 8 hours or overnight at room temperature. Drain and rinse. 1 cup raw almonds yields 1 1/2 cups soaked.

** I didn’t use vanilla but added a teaspoon of honey instead.

If you try it, let me know how it went. If you have any other tips, please let me know.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlOg7LGrDEE

No Knead Bread

Making bread is nothing new. I’ve been making home made bread since the early ’90’s. The recipe was given to me by a friend of my mum’s. It is a quick and easy bread recipe which delivers a lovely, soft, fluffy bread.

Soft, White Aussie Bread

5 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 TB lecimax or other bread improver
1 TB instant yeast
2 cups warm water
1 TB oil

Combine and knead until desired consistency. Shape into rolls or loaves. Leave to rise for about 20 minutes. Bake for 15-20 minutes (for rolls) or 30 minutes for a loaf in a 200degree oven.

Problem – My Italian husband doesn’t like soft, white, fluffy bread. He loves going to his mum’s place where she always has strong, crusty, continental loaf.
Solution – No Knead Artisan Bread! It is just how my husband likes his bread… strong with a deep crusty crust.
New problem – The cooked loaf doesn’t last longer than an hour or so in our house.

No Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed. (I don’t bother with this)
Approximately 375 – 400 ml lukewarm water

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

See original sources

See the recipe in the New York Times here.
Learn how this method works here.
Watch a video of it all here.

I use our pizza stone for baking the loaf. I pre-heat it, which is an important step. I also use a little baking paper as it allows for quick clean up. Another tip that I use is to put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven when pre-heating and baking. Helps to get a lovely crust.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU

Wherefore art thou?

Susan O Susan! Wherefore art thou, Susan?

One day I’m blogging daily like a mad woman and the next I seem to have dropped off the planet. So much for my new found commitment to blogging regularly again.

A few weeks ago, my Father-In-Law passed away. Naturally, that took precedence and we gathered together with family to mourn his passing.

Then my health went downhill. Regular readers will know that my health is an uphill battle. A few visits to the doctor left me more frustrated than ever. I was appalled by the doctor’s treatment, or lack thereof. On my first visit, the female doctor (I chose a female doctor for a reason!) only made eye contact with me once. And that was while she was giving me instructions on using the strong medication she was prescribing. She tapped away on her computer keyboard the entire time! This left me feeling like she didn’t care a jot about my condition, how I felt or me as a person. Anyway like I good little girl, I took the medication. But now I’m wishing that I didn’t.

I had been on the medication for 3 days when I awoke one night at 2am with the most burning, raw, stifling pain in my throat. I have never experienced anything like it before. Probably didn’t help that I didn’t know what it was- fear of the unknown does tend to scare the wits out of me. 😉 My throat started to swell up and I couldn’t talk and was having difficulty breathing. John thought it was reflux… and he would know having suffered with gastric and digestive problems a lot due to medication over the last few years. The next day was Sunday and after church we went back to the doctor to receive the test results. While I was there I asked her if the medication could have caused such a reaction. She looked back at the medication she had prescribed and said, “Oh yes, it probably would have – antibiotics with antivirals certainly would!”. Well gee, thanks for telling me beforehand! As it turns out, I had absolutely no need for either medication. Argh!

I rarely go to the doctor’s… only when absolutely necessary. This whole episode confirmed to me my reasons. I don’t believe that the general practitioner is overly concerned with health and how to get better. I often get the distinct impression that many of the are in it for the money- from seeing patients and prescribing unnecessary drugs. Now I know that there are many good doctors out there and I’m really happy for those that have found them. Sadly, it is not my reality.

I understand that doctors are not perfect beings and I don’t expect them to have all the answers. I wonder if a lot of CFS and other auto-immune syndrome’s are simply what a doctor diagnoses when they have no answers. I am sick and tired of how GP’s frown upon natural health practices and just try to shove toxic substances down my throat… when they can’t even give me a straight answer! They don’t look outside the box. They don’t look at the person as a whole person. They don’t connect the dots. They simply look at the test results on paper and match it up with the information in their books. Doesn’t matter if a thyroid level has been on the low cusp for years- it can’t be hypothyroidism until it goes into the red zone. Doesn’t matter that that red zone is 0.01 below my low reading! Argh!

SuperMoon in March 2011

Anyway on to other things… aside from all that things are pottering along. John’s fatty liver hasn’t completely gotten better yet so we’re still doing green smoothies, a little juicing, and incorporating more fresh foods into our diet. Stress plays a large factor in fatty liver and aside from his father’s death, work isn’t stress-less at the moment. The boys are continuing with their lessons and Cadets and astronomy. Miss A had her 20th birthday last week… we went to the Coffee Barun for a scrumptious breakfast.

That’s about it! Now it’s time for me to pop around to some blogs and catch up.

God has taken my salvation out of my hands into His, making it depend on His choice and not mine, and has promised to save me, not by my own work or exertion but by His grace and mercy.
~ Martin Luther