The Sign of the Times

I’m going to shift gears here a bit.  We all know the story of how God rained down fire and brimstone on the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their rampant sexual perversion.  I have heard people make references comparing America to Sodom and Gomorrah.  Here are a few examples of why: 

House Bill 1592 wants to add sexual orientation as a protected group under a hate crimes act.  People would be protected not only for race or color, but now sexual orientation.  Ultimately this bill is seeking to hinder our freedom of speech.  If a minister wants to read Romans 1:27-32, for example, he would be guilty of hate speech.  It has already happened in Canada and England is trying to institute it as well.  Aren’t all violent crimes motivated by hate and punishable by the laws we already have in place?  Why do we need special laws, now, if the crime is against a certain group of people? 

An estimated 400,000 people, mostly gay men, congregated in San Francisco last month, for the 24^th annual Folsom Street Fair to celebrate “leather” pride, which is a euphemism for sadomasochism, or S & M.  Police turned a blind eye while all kinds of wild activities were conducted in the streets in broad daylight, things that people normally get arrested for.  You may not have heard about this one because the media doesn’t want their agenda ruined that says the gay lifestyle is made up of people that are in committed loving relationships that last years, rather than people involved in perversion with many, many partners.  I’m not going to comment further on this one, if you want to read more, feel free, just be warned that the articles go into more detail. 

16 guys and 16 girls are competing to win Tila Tequila’s heart on MTV’s new reality match-making show.  Yes, you heard me right, guys and girls!  Again, no comment. 

Now you might be expecting some critical commentary, a harsh word of judgment for those involved in these activities.  But stay with me, I want to point something out that you might not be aware of. Let us turn in our Bibles to Ezekial 16:49-50.  When I read this I thought it was just so interesting.

“Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom (speaking to Jerusalem): she and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.  And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.”  NKJV

Note that the abomination is listed here last.  I’m not trying to downplay the abomination, perhaps it’s listed last because it was the worst and it was the last straw, if you will.  But does America compare in the other categories?

Pride – America is full of pride, aren’t you proud to be an American?  Americas think they are better than any other country on earth.  We have a lot to be proud of, we’re a political superpower, are thought of as a wealthy nation, have more liberties than probably any other country (correct me if I’m wrong), but I don’t think that the Pilgrims or the Puritans, nearly 400 years ago, were full of pride, but rather gratitude to God for the freedoms they were enjoying in this land.  Let’s not forget the God that made it possible for us to have all these freedoms, freedom to worship how we choose, freedom to vote for who we choose…I could go on and on.  James 4:6

Fullness of Food – I know there are areas of America that are suffering, but I think as a whole, the majority have an abundance of food.  You can get government assistance to buy food.  There is a lot of food here that goes to waste, people overfill their plates and then can’t eat all of it.  Unfortunately the bulk of the food sold in America is terrible junk, but I think we can agree that America has abundance in the area of food and, for that matter, material goods.

Abundance of Idleness – Isn’t it the American dream to get a good degree at a good college so that we can get a cushy job and make a lot of money not doing a lot of work so we can have more free time to pursue leisure?  We live for our weekends and evenings.  The clock strikes 5 and we are running out of the office.  People bemoan Mondays.  These days people retire younger than in the old days; most people want to do anything else in life but work.  Proverbs 13:4 comes to mind, “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”  Or how about Proverbs 19:15, “Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”  Are we being productive with our time?  Are our activities producing fruit?  There is a time and place for leisure, it can be stress relieving, but we must have a balance of work and leisure.  Whether an activity produces monetary reward is not important, but whether it’s producing good things in our lives or in the lives of those around us.  We really will benefit from a six-day workweek the way God designed, rather than the five-day week we’re are accustomed to.  Take some of your time to invest in your kids, fix up your house (boosting it’s value), volunteer your time, etc.

Do we strengthen the hand of the poor and needy as a nation?  Our welfare system breeds poverty.  There isn’t an incentive to get off of welfare.  We’re not truly helping them. (This is said as a whole again, I know there are many good charities in our country that are helping the poor and spreading the gospel message.)

Haughty – the Hebrew word used here is gabahh.  The definition is to soar, that is, to be lofty, be proud, lift up, make higher, exalt.  I think humanity, as a whole is guilty of this one.  They think they can do it themselves, fix their problems, heal their sicknesses, find peace within themselves, and more.  Humans as a group don’t feel they need God; they lift themselves up and exalt themselves over God.

We can’t go around telling people how to change, but we can look inward and repent from our own wrongdoings.  II Chronicles 7:14 says, “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  This verse is talking to us, followers of Christ; we shouldn’t be shocked at the world’s sin, they don’t know any better, but we should!

Addendum

I don’t feel I did the Tune In article justice.  I think everyone always looks back and wants to add or change what they have created.  This is why we have an updated version of ET and Star Wars.  Most of the time I just have to turn my back and forget about what I wrote or else I would keep changing and editing into eternity.  But this time I couldn’t, I just had to add a little. 

I wrote before that you should pay attention to how your body reacts to food.  I listed a few examples, but there are so many more.  Foods can cause mood swings, depression, swelling of tissues (inflammation), fatigue, imbalance of hormone levels and so much more.  I like what Dr. Oz said about how we should consider foods drugs and we need to know how to read the prescription (ingredients list and nutrition facts). 

My belief is that so many things are rooted in our diets.  A whole host of mental issues, skin disorders, metabolism and blood sugar issues, digestive issues and more are a product of a poor diet.  We are so deceived into thinking that we can buy the right shampoo to make our hair shiny or the right moisturizer to give us soft skin and keep wrinkles at bay or that we just need a pill if we’re feeling moody.  (The whole marketing issue is a topic for a later date.)  I say look inside first. 

I just watched a video clip of Michael J. Fox on the subject of stem cell research.  He is an advocate of this research as a way to “fix” people with Parkinson’s, diabetes and more.  There are too many people in this world that think the answer comes from outside the body.  I think the opposite is true – be choosy about the foods you put in your body – take a preventative approach. 

As I post more information here know that I am giving you pieces of the puzzle.  You will have to decide which pieces are for you.  Every person’s puzzle is different and will require different pieces to complete.  Some topics might not be applicable to your life at this moment, depending on where you are at with your babysteps.  I know some of you grind your own wheat and some of you are just learning to read labels on packages and many of you are in between.  I am trying to reach a broad spectrum of people and therefore will present a broad spectrum of topics. 

I will readily admit that I won’t be giving you all the pieces of the puzzle.  I don’t think any one person can give you all the pieces; none of us is perfect and knows it all.  Keep this in mind when doing further research.  We all have revelations in different areas so that we can act as a body and build each other up.

Think Outside the Box

…And outside the package for that matter.  But really I’m talking about trying new things.  We will crave what we feed ourselves and we can acquire the taste for practically anything.  What I mean is that the more sweets and junk food you eat, the more you will crave it.  The more health food you eat, the more you will crave it.  I made a batch of naturally fermented pickles and beets (they are full of enzymes, vitamins and probiotics, fabulous living foods).  They were so delicious.  I got to where I was craving my beet kvass (the beet juice) every day.  I have gone through kicks of drinking a raw apple cider vinegar tonic daily (again, full of enzymes) and would look forward to it and crave it.  I even noticed that if I were craving a sweet the craving would go away if I had something sour, like vinegar or pickles.   

When there is a strong motivation you get creative and you make yourself like things.  Typically a big motivator is weight, I know it shouldn’t be, but it is.  I tried lowcarb eating to lose some weight a few years ago and so had to get creative with foods.  As a result I got hooked on some really healthy foods.  I started eating plain yogurt instead of the sweetened varieties, like Yoplait for example.  I used to hate the taste of the plain yogurt; I was very accustomed to the sweet kind.  But I made myself eat it because it was high in protein and fat, but very low in carbs.  The carbs are actually lower than the nutrition facts even tell you.  The nutrition facts are figured based on the milk before the yogurt making process.  But during the process the lactose (milk sugar) is converted into lactic acid.  So I tried it and became very accustomed to it and love it now.  I eat it practically every morning with my eggs and have started making my own, so I can have a product that is organic, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free for a fraction of the cost.  I started my daughter on it at 9 months old and now at 2 she still loves it.  I have discovered that a dollop of plain yogurt is a wonderful addition to my waffle topped with fruit sauce; it is reminiscent of whipped cream.  Yogurt is a great source of beneficial bacteria (probiotics). 

While on the lowcarb diet I also discovered quite a few vegetables that are so delicious that I didn’t even know I liked.   You want to stay away from breads, pasta, and potatoes on lowcarb diets, so I found myself substituting vegetables.  I found that I really like sautéed zucchini and yellow summer squash, steamed spinach, asparagus and roasted winter squash, particularly acorn and butternut squash.  I think when vegetables are prepared properly most people will like them.  All these foods are so good because they are full of fiber, something we don’t get enough of in our standard American diet. 

In our effort to cut out packaged foods, we are now making homemade muffins to eat for breakfasts and snacks instead of granola bars.  (I just make a big batch on the weekends; I’m not making these every day!)  We also make homemade popcorn for snacks instead of chips.  When popcorn is cooked in good fat it is a healthy food, it’s a whole grain and so has plenty of fiber.  I started cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts for my husband to use for lunchmeat instead of deli meat.  Lunchmeats contain fillers and chemicals like nitrites and nitrates.  Plus I’m saving so much money this way. 

So think outside the box, substitute something healthy for unhealthy, acquire the taste for new foods.  Have some oatmeal for breakfast instead of cold cereal; it’s less processed.  Try natural sweeteners (not artificial).  I use Stevia in my tea and it tastes great.  This can apply to other areas as well; try natural remedies instead of always reaching for medicine, try baking soda and vinegar to clean house with instead of toxic chemicals. 

Roasted Winter Squash
With fall here now I am in the mood for squash.  Most of the time I like to eat it roasted and mashed as a side dish instead of mashed potatoes.  I cut it in half and scoop out the seeds.  Then I place it on a pan and roast it at 375° – 400°F for about an hour or until it is fork tender.  Then I scoop the squash out of the skin and mash with butter and salt.  This works for all winter squash varieties, Acorn, Butternut, etc.  I haven’t had success with steaming it, it seems to hold water and you don’t want watery squash on your plate. Here is another yummy way to cook Butternut Squash.  If you have never tried Butternut Squash before, this is a great recipe to try, since there are other flavors here as well.

Pasta with Butternut Squash

This is from Bon Appetit, October 1997 issue.  I have made a few minor adjustments. 

¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried (I didn’t have any on hand the other day so I used 5^th Season brand Italian Herb blend instead)

3 ¼ cups 1/3-inch pieces peeled Butternut Squash (I don’t measure, I just cut one squash into cubes)

8 ounces plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped (I always use a 14oz. Can of diced tomatoes)

½ cup water

2 ½ ounces ¼-inch thick prosciutto slices, finely chopped (I’m sure this would be quite delicious, but here in Tulsa I have yet to find prosciutto at the store)

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I usually omit this, too.  It tastes great without it so why make things difficult.)

12 ounces shell pasta (recipe calls for medium shells, I like small shells, use whatever shape you like as long as it’s similar to shells, for example you wouldn’t want to use angel hair pasta, it just wouldn’t work.)

¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (feel free to use Kraft, I do for this) 

Now a Butternut Squash doesn’t peel easily like a potato or carrot.  You will want a sharp knife.  I slice off the stem at the top and slice a small slice off the bottom so that it will sit flat.  I then stand the squash up on its end and take my knife and slice thin strips of the peel off in a downward motion.  Then when the squash is peeled I cut it in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds.  For this recipe you want small cubes.  I cut my squash halves into slices and then cut cubes from the slices.  I hope this makes sense, it’s really fairly simple.  Next time I make this recipe I will have to take pictures. 

Heat ¼ cup Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, celery and rosemary and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add the squash cubes, tomatoes and ½ cup water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.   

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite.  Drain.  Return pasta to same pot. 

Add 2 tablespoons oil and squash mixture to the pasta and toss.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese.  The original recipe says to toss with the Parmesan in the pan, but every time I do that the cheese ends up sticking to the pan and the spoons.  I hate waste so I just garnish at the table and toss in my own bowl.

Easy Crusty French Bread

The gourmet in me wants to make things from scratch, the frugal in me wants to make things from scratch, and the health nut in me HAS to make things from scratch.  Convenience comes at a price, sometimes to our pocket books, sometimes to our health, sometimes both.  It’s just a matter of fact that if you make it at home, it’s going to be healthier for you (and cheaper).  The drawback is that with homemade items you have to have precision.  Every time you open a package the results will be the same, but every time you cook the item at home the results will vary if the method or ingredients vary.  For example, your homemade caramel sauce will be dry and hard if cooked a minute too long and you will be utterly embarrassed when your guests try to dip their apple slices into it.  L  But I keep trying because the price of convenience foods outweighs the price of homemade foods every time.  Literal price and the price my body pays for ingesting chemicals.  Packaged foods are loaded with high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, and more.  Plus UCLA found that convenience foods didn’t even save people time.  Read the article here.  So to me it’s worth a little extra time to save myself money and unhealthy consequences.  I encourage you to move out of your comfort zone and try making something from scratch.

One of the easiest things I know to make is yeast bread.  It’s fairly hard to ruin.  And yet, I think yeast bread is probably the most feared.  This recipe only calls for flour, salt, yeast and water, how easy is that!  This can be made in the Cuisinart, KitchenAid, or even by hand.  There is prep involved, and patience, but the amount of work involved is really minimal. 

If you’re home you can start this in the morning.  If you work you can start the evening before.  Starting the dough early lets the dough sour a bit and develop a good flavor and chewy texture.  When I have tried to cheat and cut short the time, the bread just turns out like soft bland white bread.  What you’re looking for is a crusty, chewy, French loaf. 

Prep

If you own a food processor, read here, if not scroll down (I have a 7 cup model and it works fine):

Fill a liquid measuring cup with warm water to between 1 1/3 & 1 ½ cups and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Rapid Rise Yeast (also known as bread machine yeast) over it and let dissolve. 

Place 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached) in processor and add 2 teaspoons salt, pulse to mix. 

With the machine running pour the liquid into the liquid spout and run until it forms a ball of dough.  This should only take a minute or two.  There isn’t any kneading involved. 

Then place dough in an oiled bowl (I use Olive Oil).  Turn to coat the dough, cover and place in a warm place to let rise all day.  (If you’re making this the night before, let it rise 90 minutes and then place it in the fridge.) 

If you want to use a stand mixer, read here, if not scroll down:

Fill a liquid measuring cup with warm water to between 1 1/3 & 1 ½ cups.  Pour the water into the bowl of the processor and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Rapid Rise Yeast (also known as bread machine yeast) over it and let dissolve. 

Turn the machine on low (mine says level 2) and add 2 teaspoons of salt.  Add one cup of all-purpose flour (I use unbleached) at a time until you have added 3 ½ cups.  Let it knead for 10 minutes. 

Then place dough in an oiled bowl (I use Olive Oil).  Turn to coat the dough, cover and place in a warm place to let rise all day.  (If you’re making this the night before, let it rise 90 minutes and then place it in the fridge.)  

Now if you don’t have the machines and want to make this by hand, here is how to do it:

Fill a liquid measuring cup with warm water to between 1 1/3 & 1 ½ cups.  Pour the water into a bowl and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Rapid Rise Yeast (also known as bread machine yeast) over it and let dissolve. 

Add 2 teaspoons salt and 1 cup of all-purpose flour (I use unbleached) and stir (I like to use a metal beater from my electric mixer, I know it’s weird, but it does the job really well). 

Add another cup of flour and keep stirring.  When it gets too hard to stir you will want to dump it onto a floured counter and knead it while adding more flour, until you have added a total of 3 ½ cups flour.  Knead it for 10 minutes. 

Then place dough in an oiled bowl (I use Olive Oil).  Turn to coat the dough, cover and place in a warm place to let rise all day.  (If you’re making this the night before, let it rise 90 minutes and then place it in the fridge.)  

Tip

A perfect dough is one that cleans the sides of the mixer as it is mixed.  You want a dough that is sticky, but not gooey.  If you touch it, it should feel moist, but not stick to your finger.  If it’s too gooey you can add a bit of flour.  If you add too much flour, however, you will get a tough, dry loaf.  If you’re going to err, it’s better to err on the sticky side. 

Shape

I like simplicity, so I shape my loaf into a boule (boo LAY), which is just a round loaf.  There is no special pan needed, no rolling or folding into thirds like a French baguette.  A boule is like a large dinner roll.  I just take the dough in my hands and turn it into itself a few times and pinch the dough to close.  Place it on a pan and cover; let it rise for a while.  You’ll want to choose a pan that won’t warp in the high oven heat (I use my pizza stone).  I usually let it rise at least 45 minutes.  If the dough has been in the fridge it will need a bit longer. 

Bake

It’s important to bake this loaf at 450° so preheat the oven 30 minutes ahead of time.  Don’t trust your electronic signal on your oven.  Mine has never been accurate.  If I set my oven for 450°, it will beep at 350°, telling me it’s done preheating.  If I didn’t have a thermometer I would trust the oven signal, but my thermometer tells be otherwise.  Ovens can heat up to about 200° in the conventional 10 minutes, but need more time to rise to 450°. 

Right before placing the loaf in the oven I like to take a sharp knife and cut a few slashes across the top horizontally and vertically to make a nice crosshatch pattern. 

Place in the oven on the center rack.  Steam is what gives a wonderful crust.  I take a cup of water (maybe ¼ cup) and throw onto the oven floor and shut the door quickly.  Some people use a spray bottle and spray inside the oven.  Either way you will want to do this a few times in the next 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes you lower the oven temperature to 350°.  Bake another 25 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and thumping on the bottom gives a hollow sound. 

I serve immediately.  You will want a good bread knife for slicing because this crust is really crisp.  You can let it cool if you like, but the crust is best right away.  If you want to refresh leftovers, place in the oven for 10 minutes at 350°. 

This is wonderful dipped in Extra Virgin Olive Oil with herbs added like in Italian restaurants.  I add garlic powder, basil, gourmet salt, fresh cracked pepper, Italian herb blend or whatever I have on hand.  Also wonderful spread with spreads, like my Pesto Cream Cheese Spread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes (recipe will follow someday). 

This recipe is also great as a pizza crust or smaller rolls.  If you want to make small round rolls (recipe will make about 6), you can bake them at 450° for 20 minutes.   

It’s certainly not a whole food, but it sure does beat packaged food.  Pizza dough in the tube at the store has trans fats.  I checked out Wal-Mart’s French loaf (I used to buy this all the time) and read the label.  It included high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, dough conditioners and depending on the flavor, trans fats as well.  How could I ever have bought that!!!  I used to buy those brown and serve bread sticks until I read that they, too, have trans fats.  I did find a sourdough loaf that included only the ingredients that my loaf includes and is even shaped in a boule like mine.  It was Goldminer California Sourdough for $2.78.  I also checked out Panera online and their plain French loaf is the same.  Unfortunately I can’t say the same for their other products, I found numerous ingredients that I won’t ingest.  So if you can’t bring yourself to try making your own bread, then at least buy one with minimal ingredients.  You can put the loaf in the oven for 10 minutes at 350° to crisp up the crust.  But if your babysteps include getting away from packaged foods, this is a great recipe to start with.  If you are past that point and ready for whole wheat I will post my recipe for whole wheat bread soon.