Archive for April, 2010

• Rachael Ray’s “Grilled Steak Sandwich…I Mean, Salad — No! Sandwich!”

  Date: 2010.04.25 | Category: Recipe | Response: 0

  taken from the cookbook 365: NO Repeats, page 261.  I looked for this recipe on line and did not find it.

  8 oz day old chewy farm-style bread, cubed

  5 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (eyeball it)

  1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp EVOO (olive oil)

  2Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves, from 2 sprigs

  Coarse black pepper

  1.5-2 lb skirt steaks

  4 small vine ripe tomatoes, chopped

  1 small red onion, chopped

  8 oz fresh or smoked monzarella, cubed

  1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn or shredded

  Coarse Salt

  Directions:

  Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high.

  *Place bread in medium mixing bowl and cover with water. Soak the bread for 3-5 minutes.

  In a shallow dish, combine about 3 tbsp of the balsalmic vinegar with about 2 tbsp of the EVOO, the rosemary and a liberal amount of black pepper.  Add the steaks to the dish and coat thoroughly, then marinate for 5-10 minutes.

  After the bread has soaked, working in small batches, remove it in handfuls from the water and wring it out without mashing or tearing it. You do not want wet bread, so wring it out carefully and place in salad bowl.   Add tomatoes, onions, monzarella, and basil.  Toss a few times, then dress with remaining 2 TBSp balsamic vinegar, 1/4c EVOO (3-4 times around the bowl) and salt & pepper.  Adjust the seasonings and let the salad sit for the flavors to come together.

  Season with steak with salt and grill the meat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove and let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.

  Slice the meat very thin on a sharp angle against the grain. Divide the bread salad among 4 serving plates and top with a few slices of the Balsamic Steak.

  Makes 4 Generous Servings

  *Those of you who like to do recipes exactly as printed in the book will say I didn’t make this recipe at all when you see what I did to it. I decided to make this recipe at the last minute so I had to make modifications / Substitutions.  I did not wet and dry the bread. I used 8 slices of Brownberry brand Country White bread from my freezer, cubed.  I didn’t have red onion — I used the green and yellow that I had on hand.  I didn’t have fresh basil — I used alot of dried basil (3 times around the bowl) and 1 cup shredded iceberg. I used shredded monzarella. I already had in my deep freezer some Round steak thinly bias cut against the grain.  I defrosted and marinated this meat.

  We all absolutely loved this recipe, even in its modified form. I look forward to making this recipe according to directions.

• Having Children

  Date: 2010.04.19 | Category: Bible Study, MFM | Response: 0

  Deciding to have a child or children is a sacred decision.  (at first, I had a typo which said “scared” decision. And the decision should somewhat scare you.)   Our society provides many options on the continuum of having children. I’ll briefly discuss a few of the ways we try to control the process of having children.

  Natural method:  without going into alot of details, the natural method would be what the Israelites used.  The man and woman come together only at certain points in the woman’s cycle thereby naturally increasing or decreasing fertility. This method works if you want to have several children and if you are predictable in your cycle.

  Medication:  Modern medicine has provided pills for everything from headaches to…  well you know… Women can choose to take birth control pills, morning-after pills, and even fertility enhancing drugs.  Once pregnant, a woman now may take  medication that can start or stop labor, control nausea, etc.

  Surgery: IVF, D&C, and tubal ligation are just a few of the ways we try to control reproduction.

  Some of these reproductive technologies are great. Some of them are not. Some of them are in line with the Bible, and clearly some of them fly in the face of everything that is right.  I don’t have time to regurgitate what others have written and researched.  If you’re looking for a thought-provoking discussion on bioethics and other women’s health issues, I’ll refer you to Sarah Flashing. I wish I could take the time today to compose a compelling piece on this very complicated topic.  I’m sure I’ll return to this topic eventually.

  In the mean time, Here are some self-evaluation questions:

  1. Do you see children as a blessing from the Lord? or are they inconvenient?

  2. Do you trust God with the timing of having children? Or do you want to schedule your family growth?

  3.What are your biggest fears concerning children?

  Questions not to ask:

  1. Am I ready for children?  I’ll answer that one: NO you are not. Parenting is a sacred adventure for which we are never completely ready.  We may believe we have arrived on a higher plane of spirituality and thus are ready for children, but find out once they are born there is an entire “closet of skeletons” to deal with– your own sinful depravity runs deeper than you know. We are sinful people giving birth to sinners and God uses the process of parenting to refine our character like a silversmith refines precious metal.  Read Sacred Parenting for more on this line of thought.

  2. What if I have twins? I’ll answer that one: You’ll be extremely busy.  If you’re already busy, then you’ll re-align your priorities and learn to delegate.  While the incidence of twins is on the rise, several factors contribute to having twins. Maternal age (extremes on both ends). Number of pregnancies (completed or not). Family history. Medical intervention.  All of these play into the gamble of having or not having twins.  But the real reason people have twins is that God is the author of life, and sometimes he gives a double blessing.   God wants us to fully rely on him no matter how many children we have at one time. Don’t avoid having a baby just because you’re afraid of having twins.  Go back to the questions above, and think about your fears. Then commit the whole matter to God through prayer.

  3. Can I afford children?  Don’t ask this.  You can’t afford it.  You’ll have to make sacrifices. Whether it’s staying home, not going to the theater, cancelling cable, refusing to get a manicure/pedicure at the spa, choosing to eat at home, going to the library instead of buying or renting, emailing long lost friends for a free vacation at their house, growing your own food, or biking instead of driving, you will have to make sacrifices–Lots of them–Daily,Weekly, for the rest of your life.  God will challenge us to sacrifice everything near and dear to us in order to deepen our relationship with Him.

• It’s been how long?

  Date: 2010.04.17 | Category: personal | Response: 0

  It’s been 2 weeks, and I need to blog. At this minute I have nothing to say. Except 2 things.

  1. If you “were” registered on this blog, unless you are Isaac or Dawn, You are NOT registered now. Rob deleted everyone, somewhat accidentally. It was a failed communique on my part. So , sorry, please re-register.

  2. We are possibly transferring servers / webhosters. This is why I am reluctant to blog. We need to transfer the blog to the new host and for whatever reason, we’re having some technical difficulties. Maybe I will just blog in spite of this and hope that none of my recent posts get lost in the transfer.