When I was in elementary school, my mother cooked three meals a day. By the time I hit middle school, she was down to two. Once I was in college, she pretty much quit cooking altogether. And now that I am the mistress of my own household, she seems to be back to cooking three meals a day. It's funny how the cycles roll around. In those early years, though, she was well-known for her delicious cooking! Everyone looked forward to the food that Jewelle would bring to any gathering. Our home was immaculate, and ours was the place to be because the snacks were awesome!
One particular evening, there was to be a small-group gathering of church folk in our home. My mother had cooked the meal and then mixed a cake and put it in the oven. I don't understand the chemistry of it, but do you remember the days when cakes were finicky and had the occasional tendency to "fall"? Well, this cake fell, and it fell HARD. When she took it out of the oven, she knew that there would be one gentleman in particular who would not let the moment go down easily. He would laugh and carry on about it for years if he saw this cooking disaster - especially since she was so known for perfection! So...she did what any one of us would do....she hid it...in the dryer... She quickly threw together some cookies to throw him off the scent, but that fallen cake went in the dryer.
As expected, dinner went well, and Mr. Mike began to inquire about the dessert he had been smelling all evening. "I know it's a cake, and I know it's going to be good!" "No," she said, "You definitely are smelling these cookies." "No, Jewelle, I know it's a cake. I have an amazing sense of smell." He just wouldn't let it go. Mama made the coffee and served the cookies, but Mr. Mike was determined to find that cake! He snooped all around the house until he came to the laundry corner....and then he did the unthinkable! He opened the dryer! Who but Mr. Mike would ever have opened that dryer?! I can't even begin to tell you the ribbing that ensued. He was merciless! The cake fiasco became the topic of every good "Jewelle" moment! And, of course, it was all in fun. She never seemed to mind too much, but the image of perfection that she had so carefully established was knocked down a notch.
I know exactly how she feels. Have you ever done all that you can to make a good impression only to slip up and be your naturally foolish self? I may be alone in this, but it seems to happen to me all the time. I am wrought with mistakes! My mouth is my own un-doing! I say the most foolish things sometimes and then spend the next few weeks wondering, "What was I thinking?" No matter how hard I try, I don't think I'll ever be perfect. And that's OK. Little by little I am learning to give myself more grace. And by this same token, I try not to judge too strongly those around me who make their own "mistakes." I Samuel 16:7 says that "[We] look on the outside, but God looks at the heart." He knows our true intent and does not hold us accountable for every single foolish blunder. (And in the case of this particular verse, He knows our foolish intent when our actions appear right.)
I am learning to be real. I have found that, in ministry, I am able to speak more poignantly to people when I expose my own short-comings. People can relate to our mistakes, but very few feel comfortable with our "perfection."
So...make that cake, Mama! Let it fall! (I really always loved the fallen ones, anyway...they were good and chewy!)
Favorite Restaurant of the day: Nordstrom Cafe. If you know me, you know that this is my "kitchen away from home." I'm just so sad that we moved away from Nordstrom! My favorite dessert on the menu is the bread pudding with white chocolate and raspberry sauces! I didn't even know I liked bread pudding! But...if your cake has fallen, this is the perfect thing to do with it!
On a very personal note: Mr. Mike, mentioned above, is dying. He has prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. He said that his doctor has given him the "few weeks" speech. I don't put my trust in this verdict, though. He is still in his 60s, and he has such a beautiful family: wife, 2 daughters and their husbands, 5 young granddaughters. Mr. Mike loves the Lord and is believing for the miraculous. Please pray for his complete healing! Thank you.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Pass the salt!
As much as I consider myself Japanese at heart, I have a small confession to make....their food is not actually my favorite. It's shocking, isn't it? For those of you who know me, you know that I would rather be in Japan than anywhere! But I'd really rather be eating food from India, Malaysia, Thailand, Costa Rica. I think it's because the Japanese who are traditional cooks/chefs like to say that they have four true spices in their pantries: sugar, salt, soy sauce, mirin (a rice wine). Yes, they make some mighty fine foods with this - the better cooks even know how to develop beautiful layers of flavor, naturally....but I really do like my food to get up and dance its way across my tongue and down my throat! There is very little dancing in Japan. Having said this, though, one of my all time favorite cooks on the planet is my sweet friend Yumiko Nagatomi. She can make anything taste amazing! Every time we go to Japan, the thing I look forward to the most is the party that we will have at Nagatomi-sensei's house.
I remember having a "potluck" (def: covered dish dinner - for those of you who are not Southern) at my own house one year for Easter. There was a Japanese family there, and she brought a dish that looked really tasty. All of the American wives in the room tried this sweet lady's food...and it was terribly bland. (Unfortunately, I have used the word terribly on purpose.) I remember walking into the kitchen where one of my girlfriends was standing and saying, "Maybe we should get her some salt, at least." The dish was that lacking. The same dish in my friend Nagatomi-sensei's hands would have been spectacular! I would have gone back for more and more! What is the difference? How can the same ingredients be so different from one cook to another? The difference is in knowing how to interpret the flavors and being able to transfer that knowledge into sustenance for the rest of us.
Matthew 5:13 tells us that "[We] are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men." I have never known salt to loses its "saltiness" so I have to wonder exactly what this means. My mother-in-law has things in the pantry that may have been here for 20 years or more. The spices may have dulled, but they still have their flavor. The salt is still salty. So what is this verse saying? I think that, like Nagatomi-sensei, the difference is in knowing how to interpret the circumstances of the earth through our own understanding of how God is working and then being able to transfer that to the people around us. The wisdom that we gain in the Word of God and through the Spirit of God is not meant to be hoarded in our own hearts. We are meant to share the understanding that we acquire in a way that adds flavor and depth to the people around us. We are the spices in the pantry! It is our job to see the dull, flavorless (aka hopeless) souls that surround us and layer the rich wisdom of God into the flavor of their hearts. We are not meant to sit by and muse: "Should we tell her what the salt box at the store looks like?" No. We are meant to pour out the salt that we have! Otherwise, we ourselves are flat and flavorless!
I can't think of any other circumstances where the more we give, the more we receive except in the principles of God. He has ordained His Kingdom to be unlike any on earth. We are supposed to be the "culture" with the most flavor! Our "food" is supposed to taste the best! The Graham household has resigned to be the spiciest household you will encounter! And if you ever come to dinner and the food isn't up to par, please don't hesitate to say, "Pass the salt!"
On the menu today: Much to my children's dismay...I intend to make pumpkin soup. I've roasted the pumpkin with olive oil, sea salt and ground pepper and will blend it with coconut milk, a little cream and a few pinches of cayenne and curry. Then I'll serve it with toppings like toasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and pecans, as well as toasted coconut, raisins and perhaps a chopped banana. You can decide for yourself what you'd like to put on top!
I remember having a "potluck" (def: covered dish dinner - for those of you who are not Southern) at my own house one year for Easter. There was a Japanese family there, and she brought a dish that looked really tasty. All of the American wives in the room tried this sweet lady's food...and it was terribly bland. (Unfortunately, I have used the word terribly on purpose.) I remember walking into the kitchen where one of my girlfriends was standing and saying, "Maybe we should get her some salt, at least." The dish was that lacking. The same dish in my friend Nagatomi-sensei's hands would have been spectacular! I would have gone back for more and more! What is the difference? How can the same ingredients be so different from one cook to another? The difference is in knowing how to interpret the flavors and being able to transfer that knowledge into sustenance for the rest of us.
Matthew 5:13 tells us that "[We] are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men." I have never known salt to loses its "saltiness" so I have to wonder exactly what this means. My mother-in-law has things in the pantry that may have been here for 20 years or more. The spices may have dulled, but they still have their flavor. The salt is still salty. So what is this verse saying? I think that, like Nagatomi-sensei, the difference is in knowing how to interpret the circumstances of the earth through our own understanding of how God is working and then being able to transfer that to the people around us. The wisdom that we gain in the Word of God and through the Spirit of God is not meant to be hoarded in our own hearts. We are meant to share the understanding that we acquire in a way that adds flavor and depth to the people around us. We are the spices in the pantry! It is our job to see the dull, flavorless (aka hopeless) souls that surround us and layer the rich wisdom of God into the flavor of their hearts. We are not meant to sit by and muse: "Should we tell her what the salt box at the store looks like?" No. We are meant to pour out the salt that we have! Otherwise, we ourselves are flat and flavorless!
I can't think of any other circumstances where the more we give, the more we receive except in the principles of God. He has ordained His Kingdom to be unlike any on earth. We are supposed to be the "culture" with the most flavor! Our "food" is supposed to taste the best! The Graham household has resigned to be the spiciest household you will encounter! And if you ever come to dinner and the food isn't up to par, please don't hesitate to say, "Pass the salt!"
On the menu today: Much to my children's dismay...I intend to make pumpkin soup. I've roasted the pumpkin with olive oil, sea salt and ground pepper and will blend it with coconut milk, a little cream and a few pinches of cayenne and curry. Then I'll serve it with toppings like toasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and pecans, as well as toasted coconut, raisins and perhaps a chopped banana. You can decide for yourself what you'd like to put on top!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Whole Frog, and Nothin' but!
Some years back, our family was in Guangzhou, China, visiting friends of ours there. We went to a restaurant that was well-known for its jaouzi (which can be found as "gyoza" in Japan or "mandu" in Korea or "potstickers" here in the US). The jaouzi were truly amazing. The "skin" was perfectly thin and wonderfully crispy, and the filling was tender, juicy and garlicky - just the way it should be! There was even a delicious rabbit dish that I kept reaching for. But my story doesn't follow either of those dishes....it's the soup that was given at the end of the meal that was most interesting by far.
At our large round table, there were five children, about six to eight men and two ladies. Towards the end of the meal, the soup pot was rolled over to the table, and steaming, fragrant bowls were passed around to each of us. It did smell good, and judging by what we had just eaten, I was looking forward to the delicious broth. The waiter put my bowl on my plate and smiled like I had been given a prize.... ... ...there...on top of my soup... sat a perfect and whole frog. It was a little larger than a golf ball, just smaller than a tennis ball. I looked around the table to see if everyone had been given this treasure and discovered that only myself and the other lady present had been given the succulent beasts. What should I do? Everything I had learned about missions began to scroll through my head as I weighed my options: Eat the thing and please the natives; Despise the thing and offend everyone in the country. The other lady, being Chinese, would know what to do so I determined in my heart that I would follow her lead. I said a little prayer and cast my glance sideways.... To my amazement, she put the frog - in its entirety - in her mouth. She didn't drop a single word in her conversation but continued telling us something or another while she gracefully used her chopsticks to remove tiny bone by tiny bone. There was a perfectly clean little skull...a sparkling tiny femur (do frogs have those?)...and on and on until a little altar of bones was piled on the side of her plate. I said a prayer and reached for the critter. Unlike the pro, I was unable to clean my bones so thoroughly (and did I really want to?). The thing was disgustingly slimy and rather difficult to manage. The bones I extracted from my mouth were laden with stringy flesh. In short, it was revolting. And, if the truth be known, I doubt a soul in the restaurant even noticed my dilemma. But I did it. It was, perhaps, my proudest moment in missions.
I guess for me the whole episode really started when I was about 15 or so and was on a trip with a group of teenagers to Thailand. We walked through a huge market in Bangkok and saw all the colors and heard all the sounds and experienced all the odors. I say experienced because it was much more than smells. The pungent aromas burned our eyes and our very bodies revolted at the gagging nature of the things we were inhaling. All of the other teenagers on the trip began to act disgusted, contorting their faces and loudly exclaming how horrible it was. They carried on like (sorry guys) idiots. It was at that moment that I purposed in my heart not to offend but to honor the cultures that I would visit. I realized that so many people in the market were watching us, and I refused to act for one second like the things that they valued were an abomination to me.
We are ambassadors, you know. We can never expect to be heard and respected if we do not treat others with respect. You may not ever visit Thai markets and their odors...you may not walk the streets of Taiwan late in the evenings and smell "stinky tofu" (their name, not mine)... but you will most likely be around family members, co-workers, spouses of friends who are different from you - people who value things that you don't. I encourage you to consider yourself an ambassador. I am amazed that the people whose life practices I may secretly revile or whose personalities may strongly clash with my own have very often sought me out in difficult moments. Why? Because I do try to value people. I know I'm not perfect, and the Lord is working this out in me daily, but I do see the fruit of a life trying to honor God by being respectful to the people whom He has placed around me.
Go ahead. Eat the frog. It won't kill you. But it will make you stand a little taller inside!
My favorite kitchen gadget today: My Le Creuset dutch oven. It's ancient (60 years or more) and thoroughly seasoned. I got it from my sister's husband's aunt. It makes the best soups ever!!!
At our large round table, there were five children, about six to eight men and two ladies. Towards the end of the meal, the soup pot was rolled over to the table, and steaming, fragrant bowls were passed around to each of us. It did smell good, and judging by what we had just eaten, I was looking forward to the delicious broth. The waiter put my bowl on my plate and smiled like I had been given a prize.... ... ...there...on top of my soup... sat a perfect and whole frog. It was a little larger than a golf ball, just smaller than a tennis ball. I looked around the table to see if everyone had been given this treasure and discovered that only myself and the other lady present had been given the succulent beasts. What should I do? Everything I had learned about missions began to scroll through my head as I weighed my options: Eat the thing and please the natives; Despise the thing and offend everyone in the country. The other lady, being Chinese, would know what to do so I determined in my heart that I would follow her lead. I said a little prayer and cast my glance sideways.... To my amazement, she put the frog - in its entirety - in her mouth. She didn't drop a single word in her conversation but continued telling us something or another while she gracefully used her chopsticks to remove tiny bone by tiny bone. There was a perfectly clean little skull...a sparkling tiny femur (do frogs have those?)...and on and on until a little altar of bones was piled on the side of her plate. I said a prayer and reached for the critter. Unlike the pro, I was unable to clean my bones so thoroughly (and did I really want to?). The thing was disgustingly slimy and rather difficult to manage. The bones I extracted from my mouth were laden with stringy flesh. In short, it was revolting. And, if the truth be known, I doubt a soul in the restaurant even noticed my dilemma. But I did it. It was, perhaps, my proudest moment in missions.
I guess for me the whole episode really started when I was about 15 or so and was on a trip with a group of teenagers to Thailand. We walked through a huge market in Bangkok and saw all the colors and heard all the sounds and experienced all the odors. I say experienced because it was much more than smells. The pungent aromas burned our eyes and our very bodies revolted at the gagging nature of the things we were inhaling. All of the other teenagers on the trip began to act disgusted, contorting their faces and loudly exclaming how horrible it was. They carried on like (sorry guys) idiots. It was at that moment that I purposed in my heart not to offend but to honor the cultures that I would visit. I realized that so many people in the market were watching us, and I refused to act for one second like the things that they valued were an abomination to me.
We are ambassadors, you know. We can never expect to be heard and respected if we do not treat others with respect. You may not ever visit Thai markets and their odors...you may not walk the streets of Taiwan late in the evenings and smell "stinky tofu" (their name, not mine)... but you will most likely be around family members, co-workers, spouses of friends who are different from you - people who value things that you don't. I encourage you to consider yourself an ambassador. I am amazed that the people whose life practices I may secretly revile or whose personalities may strongly clash with my own have very often sought me out in difficult moments. Why? Because I do try to value people. I know I'm not perfect, and the Lord is working this out in me daily, but I do see the fruit of a life trying to honor God by being respectful to the people whom He has placed around me.
Go ahead. Eat the frog. It won't kill you. But it will make you stand a little taller inside!
My favorite kitchen gadget today: My Le Creuset dutch oven. It's ancient (60 years or more) and thoroughly seasoned. I got it from my sister's husband's aunt. It makes the best soups ever!!!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Dull blade, dull life
Several years back, I was in the city of Gifu in the Nagoya prefecture of Japan. We were visiting some Japanese friends of ours there, and they took us out to a well-known sushi restaurant in the area. The sushi was as sushi is... but the thing that we remember most was that our son, who was 3 or 4 at the time, was given a tiny bowl of tempura-fried shrimp eyeballs. Yep. Shrimp eyeballs. To this day, he will tell you that they were delicious and he wants more (and he's 13 now). (This only goes to prove the old carnival rule of thumb...if you fry it, they will eat it!)
Toward the end of that trip, the father of the house took me to a very famous knife maker. The old gentleman there had been making knives in the style of his forefathers - who had made famous samurai swords. These forged blades were highly sought after and precious. I am accustomed to normal Japanese conversation, but this line of vocabulary was, well, foreign to me. I didn't understand much, but I knew this...I was supposed to pick out a "sword" for my daily use. It scared me half to death. I could see the prices on these fabulous blades and didn't want to make a foolish and expensive faux pas (many were costing in the thousands), so....I chose the least expensive chef's blade I could find - a mere US$120. This knife has been a prized possession of mine ever since. But...I was not trained in how to sharpen it, so I never have. It is still a very sharp blade, but I know that good chefs sharpen their blades frequently. I'm just so afraid that I'll mess it up. In the end, though, without a good sharpening, the knife will become dull.
I have, in my life, gone through many "dull" seasons....times where I am not spiritually sharp. I tend to be a loner. I am very happy to sit in my kitchen with my family, avoiding contact with the outside world, but that can be very problematic! The older (and MUCH wiser) that I become, I am more keenly aware that good friends are of the utmost importance in rounding out the flavor of my own existence. Like the many spices of my cupboard, I have some friends who are warm and comforting - like vanilla. I have others who provide a good kick in the mundane - like cayenne. There are still others who would almost go unnoticed in flavor if not for their vibrant color - like parsley. BUT.. I have one friend in particular who is less like a spice and more like a tool in my life.
Provers 27:17 says "like iron sharpens iron, so one [woman] sharpens another." This friend is unique to me in that we push each other to be more Christlike. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's so very easy. Always, though, there is a sharpening of the intellect through the wisdom of God. We have supported each other in so many rough spots in our lives, and each moment has been a time of learning. If I start a thought, she can take it to another level and vice versa. We pray together, share the Word of God...and I find that when we talk, my spiritual senses are sharper than before we had each conversation. What a gift!
This is the kind of friendship that I hope you have in 2011. I hope that you will be in relationship with others that is Holy Spirit-filled and life-giving. This is what God has intended for you, and I encourage you to spend more time praying with your friends. I don't recommend deep-fried shrimp eyeballs...but I DO recommend that you keep your tools sharp!
Today's favorite kitchen gadget: My mother-in-law, seeing that my many knives were dull, gave me a block set of forged steel J.A. Henckels knives for Christmas...I'm LOVING them so far! (But I resolve to have my special knife sharpened!)
Toward the end of that trip, the father of the house took me to a very famous knife maker. The old gentleman there had been making knives in the style of his forefathers - who had made famous samurai swords. These forged blades were highly sought after and precious. I am accustomed to normal Japanese conversation, but this line of vocabulary was, well, foreign to me. I didn't understand much, but I knew this...I was supposed to pick out a "sword" for my daily use. It scared me half to death. I could see the prices on these fabulous blades and didn't want to make a foolish and expensive faux pas (many were costing in the thousands), so....I chose the least expensive chef's blade I could find - a mere US$120. This knife has been a prized possession of mine ever since. But...I was not trained in how to sharpen it, so I never have. It is still a very sharp blade, but I know that good chefs sharpen their blades frequently. I'm just so afraid that I'll mess it up. In the end, though, without a good sharpening, the knife will become dull.
I have, in my life, gone through many "dull" seasons....times where I am not spiritually sharp. I tend to be a loner. I am very happy to sit in my kitchen with my family, avoiding contact with the outside world, but that can be very problematic! The older (and MUCH wiser) that I become, I am more keenly aware that good friends are of the utmost importance in rounding out the flavor of my own existence. Like the many spices of my cupboard, I have some friends who are warm and comforting - like vanilla. I have others who provide a good kick in the mundane - like cayenne. There are still others who would almost go unnoticed in flavor if not for their vibrant color - like parsley. BUT.. I have one friend in particular who is less like a spice and more like a tool in my life.
Provers 27:17 says "like iron sharpens iron, so one [woman] sharpens another." This friend is unique to me in that we push each other to be more Christlike. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's so very easy. Always, though, there is a sharpening of the intellect through the wisdom of God. We have supported each other in so many rough spots in our lives, and each moment has been a time of learning. If I start a thought, she can take it to another level and vice versa. We pray together, share the Word of God...and I find that when we talk, my spiritual senses are sharper than before we had each conversation. What a gift!
This is the kind of friendship that I hope you have in 2011. I hope that you will be in relationship with others that is Holy Spirit-filled and life-giving. This is what God has intended for you, and I encourage you to spend more time praying with your friends. I don't recommend deep-fried shrimp eyeballs...but I DO recommend that you keep your tools sharp!
Today's favorite kitchen gadget: My mother-in-law, seeing that my many knives were dull, gave me a block set of forged steel J.A. Henckels knives for Christmas...I'm LOVING them so far! (But I resolve to have my special knife sharpened!)
Monday, January 3, 2011
New year, new us!
I, once again, find myself confined to the kitchen all day long! My flock (of two) have started 2011 not with a bang...but a whimper. My daughter spent a whopping 6 hours doing only 2 of her prescribed subjects in the homeschool course. We just couldn't seem to get the day going well. Was it the copious amounts of eggnog we've consumed over the last 2 plus weeks? Could it have been the decadent chocolates that went un-ignored on every countertop? Whatever the cause, we have lacked momentum as a family today, and I aim to get things moving at a quicker pace...tomorrow!
I have been more than opposed to starting a blog since this whole internet thing became an overnight success...but...I have finally given in to the inevitable in the whole chain of social networking. I only joined facebook after the events of last January left me needing to connect with hundreds with a single stroke of the computer keys. (...as it turned out, I found myself landing in Port-au-Prince mere minutes before the earthquake occurred. The internet was a stunning vehicle when my husband was requesting prayer in the hours of the unknown.) Therefore, after all my hemming and hawing, here I am.
My occupation? Housewife, teacher of two, occasional speaker in churches and women's functions...but my most favorite position of all is that of the "Kitchenary." What's that, you say? I'm glad you asked. A kitchenary is one who can combine all of the things she loves into one noble profession: cooking, eating, girlfriends, sharing....Jesus. I have been a kitchenary pretty much all my life! In fact, my mother has made the observation that the people in our family tend to be obsessed with food (often not a good thing).
I have been around the world, and I have eaten my fair share of - how shall I put this - interesting foods. Very often, I've been an ambassador of sorts and felt the need to eat up! Oh, the stories I will share!
I spend more than half my day in the kitchen. This is where I homeschool our children and where I express my love to my family. We are a family in international ministry, so our home has many flavors. As I begin this new year - and this new blog - I hope that you will be encouraged to pull up a chair, fill up your plate and devour all that God has in store for you! The buffet line is open! "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8
On today's menu: Miso soup! The possibilities are endless! If you want to try it, I have a few good tips. Buy a miso paste that has been seasoned with "katsuo dashi". In fact, I often add more of this smoky fishy broth to the water before I add the paste. I boil whatever veggies I choose in the broth, add some bits of meat and then, at the very end, mix the miso paste into the soup (pressing it through a strainer so that it breaks up properly). Never allow the soup to boil once you add the paste! (It kills the "good stuff" in the miso!) Look up a good recipe online and get healthy!
I have been more than opposed to starting a blog since this whole internet thing became an overnight success...but...I have finally given in to the inevitable in the whole chain of social networking. I only joined facebook after the events of last January left me needing to connect with hundreds with a single stroke of the computer keys. (...as it turned out, I found myself landing in Port-au-Prince mere minutes before the earthquake occurred. The internet was a stunning vehicle when my husband was requesting prayer in the hours of the unknown.) Therefore, after all my hemming and hawing, here I am.
My occupation? Housewife, teacher of two, occasional speaker in churches and women's functions...but my most favorite position of all is that of the "Kitchenary." What's that, you say? I'm glad you asked. A kitchenary is one who can combine all of the things she loves into one noble profession: cooking, eating, girlfriends, sharing....Jesus. I have been a kitchenary pretty much all my life! In fact, my mother has made the observation that the people in our family tend to be obsessed with food (often not a good thing).
I have been around the world, and I have eaten my fair share of - how shall I put this - interesting foods. Very often, I've been an ambassador of sorts and felt the need to eat up! Oh, the stories I will share!
I spend more than half my day in the kitchen. This is where I homeschool our children and where I express my love to my family. We are a family in international ministry, so our home has many flavors. As I begin this new year - and this new blog - I hope that you will be encouraged to pull up a chair, fill up your plate and devour all that God has in store for you! The buffet line is open! "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8
On today's menu: Miso soup! The possibilities are endless! If you want to try it, I have a few good tips. Buy a miso paste that has been seasoned with "katsuo dashi". In fact, I often add more of this smoky fishy broth to the water before I add the paste. I boil whatever veggies I choose in the broth, add some bits of meat and then, at the very end, mix the miso paste into the soup (pressing it through a strainer so that it breaks up properly). Never allow the soup to boil once you add the paste! (It kills the "good stuff" in the miso!) Look up a good recipe online and get healthy!
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