Praying For...Gayle, whose 11th birthday is this week. It's so hard to believe she is in her last year of childhood...I pray that she will choose to grow her faith in Jesus Christ, stay close to her family, find friends that support her values, and turn from sinful, rebellious wolves in sheep's clothing, which is my prayer for all my grands and children all over the world...that the enemies of truth and right and more specifically the enemies of Christianity will be stifled in their efforts but blessed as they soften their hearts...that the servants of God will be blessed and preserved in their efforts to expand the kingdom and save souls.
Ponderizations..."And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" Mark 4:40. I fear for this and worry about that. Does it every help? No...This statement of Jesus gives me pause. Where is my faith that He can bind up wounds and heal hurts?
Doctor Ginger, Medicine Woman...I feel so great, a state of being that has eluded me for a couple months. My pain is under control except for the frozen shoulder. I forgot all about taking turmeric and black pepper capsules for inflammation, which I began again. Also, my order of chickpea miso arrived a week or so ago. Miso and rice veggie soup each morning does something wonderful to my allergy problem. Gut swelling is totally gone, when I eat this each day. The large amount of vegetables satiates my need to eat and eat and eat without excess consumption. It takes a long time to chew up a large bowl of veggies. Some sort of mental need is filled that doesn't go away with a full stomach. Like a puppy, I must chew. Weird! We added cayenne to hubby's ginger/honey shots with even greater success.
Cucina Fresca...Around here we really love Mexican food. Because we lived away from the Southwest and its great Mexican restaurants for most of our 34 year marriage, I learned to make most of my favorites at home. After I got ill, I further tweaked my recipes to exclude oils and animal products. Now we are hard pressed to find Mexican restaurants we like. Hubby asked for quinoa tacos, which I haven't made for ages. I wanted change up the recipe to add my shamburger, but found I was out of nearly all the ingredients. That's when the best new recipes are born.
Shamburger Tacos (soft or crunchy)
serves 3 or 4
6 medium mushrooms, minced
3-4 cauliflower flowerets, minced
1/4 t each garlic and onion powders
1 T water
1/2 c quinoa
3/4 c cooked black beans
8 oz can El Pato Jalapeno Salsa
4 oz water
lettuce
tomato
orange bell peppers
avocado (if you are at your best weight and have no heart disease)
cilantro
salsa
2 limes
unfried refritos (mashed seasoned pintos)
12 corn tortillas
2-4 mangos
Cook quinoa, el pato, black beans, and water in a rice cooker. Meanwhile, mince mushrooms and cauliflower. (I've found this quite easy with a regular chef's knife and enjoy it over the food processor of blender method of mincing mushrooms.) Put the mince in a small dry frying pan over high heat with a pinch of salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. When they start to sizzle, turn it down to low. Add a Tablespoon of water if they are sticking. When all liquid has evaporated and it is browned, remove from heat and set aside. Shred lettuce, dice avocado, tomatoes and peppers, and mince cilantro; toss this together like a salad. Cut up mangos and quarter limes. When quinoa is finished, stir in the mushroom/cauliflower mixture. Heat tortillas to soften or crisp them in oven. Serve as fajitas with small dishes of shamburger, unfried refritos, salsa, mango, lime, and salad on each plate with the tortillas on a common covered platter. This is a fun meal to eat as each person assembles their tacos as they go.
