Advent Day 9: Beans

The entirety of Chapter 4 in 2 Kings is an excellent example of Elisha, and the grace and hospitality he offered and inspired in others.  Verses 8-10 say:

One day Elisha was passing through Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to have a meal. So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal. She said to her husband, “Look, I am sure that this man who regularly passes our way is a holy man of God.  Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”

Take a look at the miracles Elisha performed in the name of the Lord, and see if these aren't a great forerunner to the stories of the King we await during this Advent.  The following recipe is a simple, filling, easy recipe to have on hand for cold, windy days filled with snow. 

MIXED BEAN AND HAM HOCK SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• 20 ounce bag mixed dried beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 carrots, chopped into 1/4″ thick half moons, about 1.5 cups
• 3 celery stalks, chopped into 1/4″ thick half moons, about 1.5 cups
• 1 yellow onion, chopped medium, about 1.5 cups
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 2 smoked ham hocks (with optional extra ham if you wish)
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, soak the dried beans in cold water for at least 12 hours, removing any debris that floats to the top. I usually soak mine for 24 hours, mixing the beans every once in a while.
2. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add in the olive oil and cook the carrots, celery and onion with just a pinch of salt until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, cooking until fragrant for another minute, then add in the chicken stock, mustard powder and ham hocks. Strain the beans from the water and add to the soup. Be careful about the amount of salt you add, as the ham has quite a bit.  Best to allow people to add their own salt if they want it when serving.
3. If you are cooking in a crock pot, add all the ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. If you are cooking on the stove, reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 3 hours.
4. After the soup is done cooking, skim any fat from the top of the soup. Remove the ham hocks, and shred any ham meat. Add the ham meat back to the soup, discard the skin, bone and any fat. Taste and season for salt and pepper.
5. Serve warm immediately. Will keep an an airtight container for 1 week.

Recipe based on the one by Natalie Gruendl of the Tastes Lovely blog!

Advent Day 8: Pralines

Nuts are only mentioned once in the Bible, when Joseph demanded that Benjamin, second son to Rachel and Jacob, be brought with the rest of his brothers to retrieve grain, along with their brother Simeon, who was held hostage.  As a bribe, Jacob tells his sons:  "Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry them down as a present to the man—a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds."  (Genesis 43:11)

Now Joseph was definitely one to show hospitality, even to brothers who had sold him into slavery.  (Gen. 43:33-34) "When they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement.  Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him." 

Joseph had certainly become a stranger to his brothers, for none of them recognized him in his adult form.  Yet he gave his brothers the grace of forgiveness, even while ensuring that his family would not starve during the famine that had hit the land.  He looked at the hardships he had endured as opportunities for him to serve as the hand of God, protecting the people and planning ahead.  We could all certainly learn from Joseph's example.

Southern Pralines

Makes 8 - 10 pralines

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tbsp Karo syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Dash salt
• 1 cup pecans( more if you prefer)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in heavy saucepan.
2. Stir in brown and white sugar, salt, whipping cream, and Karo syrup. 
3. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, making sure the mixture doesn't burn.
4. Add pecans. Stir and cook 5 minutes more at same temperature. (Temperature will reach about 200° on candy thermometer.)
5. Remove pan from heat. Add vanilla and stir vigorously to blend.
6. Drop mixture by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper sprayed with vegetable oil. Allow to cool then store
7. immediately in tins. 

Recipe from Marcie Cherau.

Advent Day 7: Breakfast!

We've all grown up knowing that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day."  But did you know that that concept is as a result of an advertising campaign by Grape Nuts in 1944?  The breakfast cereals of the day - Kellogg, Post, etc. - jumped on the concept, all to sell more cereal.  Now, to be fair, John Henry Kellogg was apparently a deeply religious man, who believed that eating cereal would decrease the desire for masturbation and sex.  Fortunately those concepts didn't make it into the ads.

"At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over." (Ruth 2:14)

The idea of breaking one's fast from the night before, ostensibly approximately 12 to 14 hours earlier, is not new, but it's not ancient either.  The Romans believed that one should only eat one large meal within a day, and should fast often.  They nibbled on small snacks throughout the day when not fasting. 

In medieval times, breaking one's fast was generally done after being up several hours, and was either for the rich, who could afford the food, or the laborers, who would have been working several hours before eating something.  The meals were often similar to any other meal of the day - breakfast "foods" hadn't yet been considered.  It was actually the Industrial Revolution, and the rise in numbers of people who lived in cities, who worked very long hours at their jobs, which began the concept of eating before going to work in order to make it through the day until one could get home to eat dinner.

Colonial Americans considered breakfast a hurried affair, rarely sitting down to consume anything substantial.  But as breakfast became a more popular concept, Americans wanted meats and breads to break their fasts; ale was not an unheard of breakfast drink.  And dyspepsia was not uncommon result.  Trigger here the rise of healthier "cereals" for breakfast.  These had no similarity to the sugary fluff of today's cereal, but were truly grains made to help improve the health of those in sanitariums in the mid to late 1800s.  Dr. Kellogg worked there.

Today, we're sharing a variation of a breakfast casserole, and you can literally change the ingredients to be almost anything you want!  Have fun with it!

Bundt Cake Breakfast

Ingredients

• 1 cup diced Ham
• 2 c tater tots…still frozen
• 1 dozen whisked eggs
• 1 can (8) Pillsbury Grands biscuits..diced up (raw)
• 2 c. Cheese…your choice…I used Cheddar
• 1/4 c milk

Instructions

Mix it all together. Put in greased Bundt pan. Bake on 400 degrees for 45 mins. When done flip onto platter and cut and serve.  Meats and veggies are interchangeable, so make it to your taste!  The key is not to add too much bread and the tater tots add just the right amount of potatoes…they shred up and you would think they were hash browns without making it dense! 

Advent Day 6: Stir Up!

Stirring things up has a long history throughout the Bible, being mentioned 61 times!  Now, it's about evenly divided as to whether things being stirred up is a good thing or a bad thing - having crowds stirred up against you - bad; having the Holy Spirit stirred up in your heart as you proclaim the Lord - good.

Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints,  for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.  (2 Corinthians 9:1-2)

Here, Paul is exhorting the believers in Corinth to help out the believers in Jerusalem, to take up a collection to help their fellow Christians.  Not a bad idea.  Can you think of something that could use a little help this holiday season?  A good cause that could use a good stir?

So in today's recipe, we're told to combine, add, mix and fold - but really, all of those things mean, let's stir things up.  Get your whole family involved, and each person take a turn at stirring things up, continuing until they have a plan on how to allow the Holy Spirit to be stirred up in their workplace, their home, their school, their club or meeting.  It doesn't have to be big - just big enough to make people think.  Then the next person gets a turn to stir. 

Sugar Plum Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 whole eggs
• 1 cup cooking oil
• 1 tsp. soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup cooked unpitted plums*
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tsp. each ground nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and salt

Directions

1. *Cooked plums: Dried plums or prunes, add water and cook in saucepan until plumped up. Measure AFTER cooking. You can cut them in half.
2. Combine sugar, eggs, oil, and buttermilk. 
3. Add dry ingredients gradually and mix well. 
4. Fold in nuts and plums. 
5. Pour into tube pan. 
6. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 hour and 15 minutes. 
7. Cool in wire rack. 
8. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or add glaze.

Glaze (optional)

• 1/4 cup cold milk
• 1/2 powdered sugar

1. Mix and pour on cooled cake.
2. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Recipe from Jennifer Gregory Miller.

Advent Day 5: Pfefferneusse (German Cookies)

Spices in the Bible are used in many ways:  valuable resources, sacrifices, gifts, cooking and as metaphors.  The focus today is on Collosians 4:6 "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned ..., so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone."  Graciousness and hospitality are two sides of the same coin.

Graciousness is usually referenced with those things that have been gifted to people, or has to do with listening.  In the verse above, the seasoning is added to one's speech after listening, after learning what someone needs, so that the hospitality shines through in a properly seasoned answer or action.

It makes you wonder how much more gracious and hospitable we might be if we listened for the voice of God first.

Petite Peppernuts (Pfeffernuesse)

Ingredients

• ¾ Cup packed brown sugar
• ½ Cup shortening
• 1 egg
• ½ Cup light molasses
• 3 drops anise oil
• 1 Tablespoon hot water
• 3 1/3 Cup flour (can substitute Cup 4 Cup gluten free flower)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Directions

1. Mix brown sugar, shortening, eff, molasses, anise oil and water.  
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.  
3. Knead dough until molding consistency.  
4. Shape dough into rolls, ½ inch in diameter.  
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
6. Heat oven to 350⁰F.  
7. Cut rolls into 1/3 inch slices.  
8. Place slightly apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  
9. Bake until set and golden brown on bottoms, about 9 minutes.  
10. You can use a glaze on them, use powdered sugar to cover them, or some even dip them in melted chocolate.
11. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool. 

Makes approximately 200 bite size cookies.

Advent Day 4: Southern Hospitality

Southern Hospitality is absolutely full of Biblical principles.  We all know their food is both fattening and phenomenal, but hospitality is more than just the food.  It's about our attitude and how we treat others.

“You shall rise up before the gray headed and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.” Lev. 19:32 

 How many times has someone from the South indicated "Yes sir," "Yes, ma'am" or called an elder by the honorific of Mr. or Miss?

1 Timothy 5:1-2 says, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters - with absolute purity."

Exodus 20:12,“Honor your father and your mother…”. 

Treating adults and authority figures with respect is something often sadly lacking in our present-day society, yet it's about as Southern, and as Biblical as you can get.  Taking time to listen, having patience, and showing respect was important back then, and should be now.

Job 12:12, "Is wisdom with the aged, and understanding in length of days?"

Oftentimes that is certainly a question to be answered with "yes."  Showing respect for our elders will often find us learning as that wisdom and understanding can be shared - with those who have a mind and heart to listen.

1 Peter 5:5-7 says, "In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"

Our choices in hospitality will determine God's reaction to us.

So, today's recipe comes from A Family Feast blog:

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK AND 
SAUSAGE GRAVY

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds cube steak, cut into eight 4-ounce pieces
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• Pinch cayenne powder
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided

For the Sausage Gravy

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 19-ounce package Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage Links (remove the sausage from the casings)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• Pinch cayenne powder
• Few grinds fresh nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 quart whole milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut cubed steaks into eight equal portions.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cayenne powder. Dredge steaks on both sides in this flour mixture, shake excess and set aside on your cutting board. Do not discard the flour mixture.
3. Make sausage gravy. In a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, melt butter and break up sausage into the butter. With the back of a wooden spoon, break up even further until they are small pieces. Cook for about five minutes to brown.
4. Lower heat to medium and add flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg and mustard. Cook this mixture for three minutes.
5. Add half the milk stirring with the wooden spoon until thick and pasty. Add the remaining milk and stir again with the wooden spoon to combine into a creamy sauce. (The sauce can be made ahead and reheated)
6. Dredge the 8 steaks a second time in the flour mixture and shake off excess.
7. In a large sauté pan over medium to medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter.
8. Cook four steaks for about 3-4 minutes per side to get a crisp outer skin and medium in the center. Remove the four steaks to a platter lined with paper towels and loosely cover with foil. Clean out the pan and add the remaining oil and butter and cook the last four steaks.
9. Reheat the gravy if needed adding more milk if too thick.
10. Serve the sausage gravy over the chicken fried steaks.

The great part of this is that you can have it for dinner over mashed potatoes, or cook up some biscuits and have it for breakfast - or both with leftovers!

Advent Day 3: Hospitality in the Details (Bacon/Tomato Frittata with Basil)

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)

 During this time of year, we all have certain cues that remind us of Christmas - the colors of red and green, the smells of spices and pine trees, the sounds of bells, the visions of snow and smiles on faces that typically frown.  For some, this reminds them of home, or a beloved grandparent, special times with children long since grown or just the sense of love that pervades our lives at this time of year and makes people a little kinder to one another.

Today's frittata contains ingredients that will provide some of that sense of home, of summer gardens, or trips to grandparents' house.  One of the ingredients is basil, which carries its own unique scent that will bring those things to mind.  Now most of us know basil as simply an herb that we cook in certain foods, often Greek or Italian.  But there's a fascinating legend about basil that raises its stature to one important to Christians.

Empress Helene, the mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the Cross on which Christ was crucified in 326 C.E. At that same place was the flowering basil plant, which she named “Vasiliko”, meaning “of the King.” The story also goes that when the Empress Helene looked under the basil, there were two other crosses as well. Those crosses were used in the crucifixion of the two thieves on either side of Christ. The Empress needed to figure out which cross was the true Cross of Christ. In order to do this, a sick woman was brought to kiss each of the three crosses. When she kissed the True Cross, she was made well immediately.  Now when you see fresh basil, remember this story.  It may give more meaning to the task of planting and nurturing your basil.

Bacon and Heirloom Tomato Frittata with Basil
(From Paleospirit.com)

Ingredients

• 12 large pastured eggs
• 1/2 pound organic bacon (8 slices)
• Heirloom tomatoes in different sizes and colors cut into thick (1/2 inch) slices
• 1 medium red onion, 1/2 sliced thin the other 1/2 diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly cracked black pepper
• several whole fresh basil leaves, purple or green

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs together and add 1 clove of the minced garlic, chopped basil, chopped parsley, sea salt and black pepper.
3. Cut bacon into 1/4 inch strips and cook in a 10 inch, cast iron skillet until almost crispy and much of the fat has rendered. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the bacon into a separate dish and reserve.
4. Drain all but two tablespoons of the fat (reserve for future us)
5. Add the diced red onion and cook in the remaining bacon fat on medium heat until soft (about 3 minutes). Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
6. Add the bacon back to the pan and spread out evenly.
7. Gently pour the egg mixture into the hot pan and allow to cook on medium until the edges begin to cook and the eggs have cooked about halfway.
8. Gently place the tomato and onion slices on top of the eggs. Top with a few of the fresh basil leaves.
9. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes until the middle of the frittata is cooked. Remove from the oven and let the frittata set up and cool off slightly for about 5 minutes.
10. Top with more fresh basil leaves and and serve warm.

Serves 6-8

The Bacon and Heirloom Tomato Frittata with Basil recipe is a gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, Whole30 and paleo breakfast recipe.