Lapping Around the Sun

     I melted about a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a freezer ziplock bag.  Then I added some olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper and shook it all together before adding the beef and vegetables.       The beef ribeye was on sale, so I knew it had aged some.  It came in a pack of two, and I had already used one.  After a few days in the fridge, I decided on what to do with it!       I could hardly wait to get home on the next day to put this together!  That $5 wok I bought the other day was coming in handy.  I intend to get a more expensive, scratch resistant one later.  Until then, I'll get all the use out of this one that I can.  That's all purpose flour, salt, pepper, and a stick of unsalted butter in the wok!      I poured the thickened white sauce all over the beef and vegetable mix.  With the oven set on 350 degrees, I bake i...

     I'll bet that "the Word of God" is much much more than all the contents of the Bible!      Besides, saying that "the Bible is the Word of God," doesn't require anyone to believe that God hasn't spoken (doesn't speak) through other means!  I'll bet that it doesn't require anyone to believe that its words are the exact words God spoke.  Even if it could be said that its words are God's very own words, that doesn't require anyone to believe be a literalist, and it doesn't excuse anyone from misinterpretation of any of it.  It is entirely possible for God to use fiction, poetry, science, math, literature, visual art, philosophy, common sense, intuition, etc to say what he wants to say.        

     Saying that the Bible is the Word of God is not the same as saying that the Bible is the ONLY Word of God.  Also, it is not the same as saying that every English (Hebrew, Greek) word is to be taken literally.  It is not the same as saying that Bible contents require no accurate handling!        I'll bet that God has never had any difficulty speaking through other means!        I'll bet that understanding God's word has always required accuracy!      

  So I was wanting a wide mouth deep cooking tool (it helps avoid grease splatters all over the stove).  A wok is soooo versatile.  I found this one for $5.  I don't like the wooden handles (they tend to deteriorate fast), but it might work out just fine over the long haul.       It was so much fun cutting up the chicken wings and coating them with a mixture of corn starch, all purpose flour (I think self-rising flour would have produced an even crispier crust) to which I should have added baking powder but I forgot, salt, and pepper.      I fried the wings twice.  Yes!  Fry for about 6 minutes on each side, remove, then fry the whole batch a second time for about 5 - 10 minutes... to add to the crispiness!            I've been anxious to try this homemade spicy, sweet, and sour sauce.  In a food processor, I chopped nectarines, apricots, ginger, red pepper flakes...

Allow me to share how I made a no-cook, no egg, banana pudding. All you need are a food processor, about 6 ripe bananas, 8 oz of heavy whipping cream, a cup or so of vanilla wafers, a splash of vanilla, a teaspoon of sugar, about 4 dried figs, about 4 pitted dates, 1/2 cup of shelled walnuts. 1. in the food processor, chop the nuts, dates, and fig together. 2. add 2 bananas to the food processor and puree. 3. add about 4 oz of heavy whipping cream to the puree and mix well. 4. line a bowl / dish (about 1 quart size) with vanilla wafers (round side down. 5. dish out about 1/3 of the mixed puree and spread over the wafers. 6. Add a layer of vanilla wafers. 7. add another layer of the mix. 8. layer of wafers. 9. layer of mix. 10. using a whisk or hand held mixer, whip the remainder of the whipping cream (4 oz) and add the sugar. 11. spread the whipped cream across the top of the layers of mix. 12. Tadaaaaah! It...

     I enjoy drinking rice and almond milks, and I enjoy finding an excuse to play with food in the kitchen at home.   As with any other foods, I try to avoid letting them spoil and/or go to waste.  So as I was nearing the bottom of the carton of almond milk, I decided I would try my luck at making a custard with it.      As usual, I took a chance at following no recipe and followed what I felt in my gut would work out well.  Here's what I did with the ingredients I used.      Into a large mixing bowl, I mixed about 3 heaping tablespoons (actually three big soup spoons heaped) of corn starch, three eggs, 3 tablespoons of guava syrup, 3 cups of almond milk (3, 3, 3, 3) and a big splash of vanilla.      I poured all that into a nonstick sauce pan and stirred it over low heat for about 15 minutes.  Then I turned the heat up to medium for about 5 minutes, then up to medium high for about 5 mi...

New Testament writers believed Jesus was returning right away. No time, or need, to write stuff down about Jesus! By the time they realized they were wrong, they had to rush in order to preserve eyewitness accounts. Polishing it up was not the priority. It was not the stuff of literary artists. It was urgency! Writing materials were rough! Writing was labor. Abrupt and incomplete perhaps! Got the point across!