Commitment

I hadn’t planned on giving up cooking for Lent.  Writing either.  But for all practical purposes, I did.  I had an insanely busy season.  Recovery is slower than expected.  It seems like just yesterday, I was writing and reworking my Ash Wednesday/Lent piece for print in a million different publications.  The season flew buy, filled with work, personal commitments and the very, very long, self-perpetuating To Do list.  I didn’t make it into the kitchen very often.

Now, I hate to complain about being busy, especially around the Easter season.  First of all, we all are – especially the clergy.  I’m probably no busier than the millions of other ministers who lead their congregations in the remembrance of this holy season.

The real reason, though, that I’m slow to grumble is that I am aware of what a special and holy time this is.  The sacrifice of Jesus Christ that drew us into a new relationship with God is enough reason to celebrate!  To be caught up in the moment.  To be solemn at the thought of painful death, and to be joyful at the reality of resurrection!  I not only want to lead our church through this meaning-filled season, I want to celebrate it myself, with all my heart and soul.

So it feels like a dirty little secret that during those celebrations, I am quietly counting down the minutes until I can lie on the couch, pull on warm socks and watch cop shows.

Since the Day of Resurrection, I have cooked one full meal and assembled (technically, my husband assembled) two dishes for a church pot luck.  Our dinner was  Sausage Egg Casserole, Mexican Road Runner Bread and Pecan Pie Muffins.  One of the first family meals I had made in a while.  It was great to put food in the oven again, and lovely to sit down at the table with my husband and children.  Sadly, a water leak in our house ended any chance of leftovers. 

The potluck was a wonderful experience.  We had our assignments from the church office.  “A-G, please bring a vegetable/side dish, H-N, please bring salad or rolls, O-Z, please bring a dessert.”  Between Todd’s name and mine, we had a pretty good range of possibilities.  Because I was feeling devious  – and because I happily cheat on such occasions – I considered bringing asparagus casserole as “A”ppointed Clergy, or “B”eloved Pastor.  Finally, however, we settled on Vegetable Dip with tortilla chips (salad-ish) and Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball with graham crackers (dessert).  These were unmarked in my cookbook, though it turns out I have written about cheese ball here.  I don’t think anyone was actually keeping tabs on the fare we brought.  The point was to show up with something edible in hand.  In the end we had more than enough and everyone had a good meal and a good time. 

Sometimes the most important thing is to just show up.  In my years of ministry, I have learned that however much I may want it, my heart might not always be 100% present.  I believe that that has to be okay.  I hope God appreciates it when we come forward to offer what we can.  Possibly it means even more when we turn up feeling dragged down or just a little unwilling. 

I don’t mean that it is okay to just go through the motions.  I mean that we give what we’ve got.  We celebrate with as much heart as we have at the moment and ask God to bless and increase it.  “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”  “Lord, I am here.  Please enliven the part of me that isn’t.”

There is probably nothing we do without being just a little divided, a little incomplete.  What is important is that we do.  We make and keep commitments.  We put in our appearance.  We give the heart we have, and pray to God to provide the rest.

Blessed Eating!

Mexican Road Runner Bread

Spray Oil

1cup green lnion, chopped (optional)

1 pkg. Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix

1 6 oz. container of shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cans Grands!  Golden Corn Biscuits (can use any Grands biscuits)

Preheat oven to 350^o.  Spray pizza pan with oil.  Trim onion ends.  Clean onions, then chop to make one cup, using white and green parts.  Mix cheese and taco seasoning mix in a bowl.  Cut corn biscuits into quarters.  Roll in the cheese mixture, pressing cheese mixture into the biscuit.  Place on layer in the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle the onions evenly across the top.  Sprinkle any remaining cheese mixture on top of layers.  Bake in preheated oven at 350^o for about 30 minutes or until center is done.  Serve hot.  Serves 6 to 8. – Diane Taylor

Pecan Pie Muffins

1 c. ch. Pecans                       ½ c. plain flour

1 c. packed brown sugar         2 large eggs

½ c. butter, melted

Combine pecans, sugar and flour.  Make a well in the center of mixture.  Beat eggs until foamy.  Stir together eggs and butter.  Add to dry ingredients.  Place foil baking cups in muffin pans and coat with cooking spray.  Spoon batter into cups 2/3 full. – Marguerite Bass Martin

Vegetable Dip

2 cans shoe-peg corn, drained           2 cans Rotel

1 can diced tomatoes                          2 cans field peas with snaps

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped        5 green onions, chopped

1 16 oz. zesty Italian dressing

Mix and enjoy – Bret and Emily Henderson

The Pink Vegetable

So many families and individuals have been affected by the recent storms.  Please keep them in your prayers.

One of my favorite southern food traditions is the taking of a sugary, fruity, dessert-like food stuff and calling it “Salad.”  Not one bit of resemblance exists between these sweets and the green leafy dishes that are usually awarded the name. You would think that in applying the “S” word, it all became somehow healthy.  While this is definitely not the case, it is still a tradition that I adore.

Life is full of traditions.  Some, we know and can articulate.  Some live in our bones and we act them out in each moment, though we would probably be surprised if someone told us what we were doing.  My mind is on traditions right now, because I am in my hometown of Florence, Alabama.   My dad has recently been diagnosed with a type of skin cancer.  It is in two spots on his head.  Today he removed one of them and they told us happily that they were able to remove all the cancer from that source.  Next week, they will tackle the second spot.

I’m here to help.  To be honest, I’m not sure how much I’m actually doing it.  I gladly drive folks around, though the places we have gone so far have nearly all been restaurants where they have paid or the store where my mother bought my children’s entire summer wardrobe.  Of course, I drove dad to his medical procedure.  He wasn’t anesthetized, though, so he easily could have done it himself.

But this is another tradition – probably not limited to this area of the country – that when people are hurting, sick or in distress, you come.

It might, however, be a Southern tradition that you bring food.  So while I’m here, I tried to make a few meals.  I needled my Dad for a while, trying to learn what he would like; I asked in different ways what his favorite foods were, what he felt like eating, etc.  He stubbornly refused to tell me anything more than “I like just about everything.”  So I settled for Atlanta Pork Chops.  I’ve written about that recipe here.  

I also put together a recipe for tea cakes.  Those results were something akin to both a rock and a sponge.  But the salad . . . Oh, the salad!  It was good.  It came from a recipe my mother submitted to the Bass Family and Friends Cookbook.  She had tried it along with my cousin Karen.  Karen had then read Mom the recipe over the telephone.  (I think this is how the story goes.)  Mom hadn’t actually made it since then, but submitted it to the cookbook.  I am the first to actually put it on our table.

The Cherry Salad is pink and sweet and fluffy.  Not a typical side dish, and probably not terribly healthy.  So I christened it the “Pink Vegetable” and called it a day.  The meal was a good one, not just for the food, but for the people gathered in long-standing tradition of familial support and encouragement.  And it was just good to be together again.

This recipe is one of the easiest I’ve ever made.  I hope you enjoy it in good fellowship.

Blessed eating!

Karen’s Cafeteria’s Cherry Salad

(Found in a Fort Walton newspaper)

1 16 oz. can cherry pie filling

1 14 oz. can condensed milk

1 14 oz can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 16 oz container whipped topping

Fold all ingredients together, chill before serving – Marilyn Johnson

Pressure

I have said before on this blog that I am no foodie.  I enjoy cooking, but I have no real knowledge or experience or even wisdom when it comes to the way of the kitchen.  A friend of mine, for example, recently poked fun at me when she learned that I didn’t have a potato masher.  I admit to my ears, the utensil sounds like an outrageous extravagance.  I can’t imagine why I would need any such implement when there are plenty of other heavy, flat objects in my kitchen that could do the job just as well; a rolling pin, a meat tenderizer, the telephone.

Recently, my status as kitchen novice became obvious once again when a good friend gave me a pressure cooker.  (Thank you, Patricia!)  I was delighted to have this new cooking tool, but completely unfamiliar with it.  I had never used one before in my life.  The weeks it took me to get around to reading the instructions might have had less to do with my busy schedule than braving the learning curve I would have to tackle in order to actually make something.  But I did it.  I boldly took on the new challenge and made Cream of Chicken Soup with Gnocchi Dumplings.

The dish was pretty good, though it is hard to say how close my creation was to the original intended version.  I made some mistakes along the way.  Without knowing it, I left the air vent open while cooking. It took me an embarrassing length of time to realize the error, and it took much longer than it should have to build up the right pressure.  The sound of steam escaping from the cooker might have alerted someone with more experience.  But for way too long as I listened from the next room, I assumed the noise was a part of the natural operation of the appliance.  By dinnertime, however, all of the ingredients were cooked well enough to satisfy safety requirements and we had a nice meal.

I’m still not entirely sure what makes a pressure cooker work.  It has something to do with the pressure that builds when water turns into steam which is trapped inside.  The pressure causes the boiling point of the water to increase, allowing the food to cook faster.  Modern machines have plenty of safety features – air vents, seals, locks to keep the lid on until the pressure is equal inside and out – that make their use less risky.  Still, I find it a little intimidating to cook under pressure.

In fact, it is daunting to do a lot of things under pressure.  Sometimes I wish I had a valve on me that would open up and let off steam; release the level of stress until a point of safety is reached.  But I don’t have one.  None of us do.  What we do have are occasions when we have to operate with hazardous levels of tension.  Those of us who work in the church are certainly no strangers to it.  As the season of Lent approaches, I am looking down the barrel of some extraordinarily busy days.  It seems there is no end to the list of things that have to be accomplished as I work to fill the roles of mother, pastor, wife, daughter, individual.  I wonder what temperature I will reach before it is all over.  I certainly hope I keep my lid on.

As lousy as pressure feels, however, it isn’t all bad.  Like ingredients mixed together in a pressure cooker, we can be transformed by the inhospitable, even perilous, surroundings in which we sometimes find ourselves.  Pressure changes us.  If we are careful, it will be for the better.  It can be hard, even excruciating to bear the process.  It can be painful.  But somehow, in the heat, God can make us into something that we could never become in easier circumstances.  I hang on to that hope, and believe that it is worth it.

Blessed eating!

Cream of Chicken Soup with Gnocchi Dumplings

From Bob Warden’s Slow Fodd Fast, page 33

3 Tbls butter or margarine

1 lb chicken tenders, cubed

3 Tbls flour

2 stalks celery, diced small

4 Tsp chicken based missed with 4 cups water

16 oz dry gnocchi dumplings* (sold in pasta aisle)

1 sprig of fresh thyme or 1 Tsp dried

1 bay leaf

1 Tsp onion powder

1 Tbls parsley flakes

¾ c. heavy cream (may use half and half)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat butter in pressure cooker on high or “brown” until melted.

2. Coat chicken thigh (or breast) cubes with the flour on all sides before adding them and the celery to the cooker, sautéing for 2-3 minutes until chicken is lightly browned.

3. Cover with remaining ingredients, except for heavy cream.

4. Securely lock on the pressure cooker’s lid, set the cooker to high and cook for 6 minutes.

5. Perform a quick release to release the cooker’s pressure.  Safely remove lid and slowly stir in the heavy cream.  Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

 *For firmer, more pasta-like gnocchi, add them with the heavy cream after the pressure cooking process.  Switch the cooker to High or “brown” with lid off and boil for 3-4 minutes until gnocchi begin to float.

One More Blog Post about Tim Tebow

I can’t begin to make this post fit into my food theme, so I won’t even try.  Included at the end, however, is a recipe just for good measure.

I have now become one more of millions of writers and bloggers talking about Tim Tebow.   For the sake of full disclosure: I don’t have much that is really new to say.  I am only registering my own amazement that I have now become a believer where I have long been skeptical.

I carry a considerable cynicism about sports.  It has become the dominant religion of our culture and I rarely see it leading to productive ends; except, of course, for the millions of dollars produces for a lucky few folks.  Where I once found it enjoyable, the over-zealous following it receives is now off-putting.  Athletics certainly has its good points.  I realize that it can promote teamwork, sportsmanship and discipline.  But that doesn’t mean it always does.  It can also perpetuate an empty competitiveness and even an addiction that is all the worse because it is sanctioned and encouraged by broader society.  I happily – no, proudly – follow very little of it.

When faith does intersect with sports, it tends to be very shallow.  Worse, it is all too often victory-related.  You might imagine, in a world reeling with hurt and hunger, that God really cares which people in which color shirts runs an oddly shaped ball past an arbitrary line the highest number of times.  But then, popular culture offers a faith that is similarly superficial.  We celebrate the outward appearance of it – like Tebow’s kneel that so many love to mimic – then set it aside when we’ve gotten enough good feelings to last us for a bit.  No taking on the challenges of a real life of faith, or digging into the harder questions that arise from real engagement with scripture.

In spite of all this skepticism, I have to say that Tim Tebow has made a believer out of me.  I’m already a Believer of course.  But now I am a believer not just in Tim Tebow, but in at least some the faith-based hype that can exist around the celebrity of sports.

Not long ago, I heard a reporter speculate that some of Tebow’s success comes from his consistent support of his teammates and colleagues.  He is known to offer encouragement to fellow players even when his team is behind.  When so many of the Christians in the spotlight today are known for less than positive behavior, it is nice to hear of one who is described as a genuinely nice guy. 

What is most impressive, though, is Tebow’s outreach to children and adults who are sick or disabled; bringing them to his games, spending time with them, offering them an experience better than probably anything they have known.  For many, it is a dream come true. 

What I find most appealing about Tim Tebow is that he doesn’t seem to buy into his own hype.  His own words describe the relative importance of both the game he plays and the life he lives:

"Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn't really matter. I mean, I'll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it's to invest in people's lives, to make a difference."

My skeptical heart has been changed by the things I learn about Tebow.  Though he is human like all of us, he seems to be genuine; real enough in his faith to not only put on a show but to put real time and effort into making a positive difference in the lives of others.  You can do the “Tebow” all you want to, kneeling in prayer, fist to forehead.  But visiting the sick and showing kindness to strangers – seems like Jesus mentioned something about it – let’s mimic that one!

Blessed eating!

Our family loved this recipe.  I bet it would be good on game day, too!

Strawberry Pizza
Crust:
1 c. flour                      ¼ c. conf. sugar
1 stick melted margarine
Mix well. Pat out in a 14’ pizza pan.  Bake at 350^o for 10 minutes.
Cream together:
1  8 oz. cream cheese                         1 can condensed milk
1/3 c. lemon juice
Pour over cooled crust.
Cook:
1 large pkg. frozen sliced strawberries          4 T. cornstarch
Stir constantly until thick.
Cool and spread over cream layer.
Top with:
Cool Whip
Enjoy!  -  Diane Taylor

The To Do List

Unless the Lord builds the house,
     those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
     the guard keeps watch in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
     and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
     for he gives sleep to his beloved.

                        Psalm 127:1-2

Whew!  This year has started out in a maddening hurry!  As new years go, this one has been much more demanding than I could possibly have imagined.  It especially comes home to me when I realize with horror that it has been a month since my last post!  I never wanted to go this long without writing. 

There were plenty of ideas in my head about what my first post of 2012 might look like.  I had imagined serenely reflecting on my New Years Eve meal of 7 Can Soup.  (My husband and I, being the parents of young children, have decided to forego the wilder parties for now.)  I had considered writing about the usual January themed topics; goals and resolutions, winter and cold, new beginnings.  All of this fell by the wayside with the insane charge that January has become.

It all began with one very long To Do list.

Now we all know that January is a very busy time on the church calendar.  Just as busy, in fact, as December with our Advent celebrations and our preparing once again for Jesus to be born.  We are now getting ready for Lent which comes quickly on Advent’s heels.  (One might ponder the theological significance of Jesus’ birth and death coming so insanely close together.  What was our Savior thinking!)  We are also busy welcoming those new visitors who come through our doors with their resolutions to get back to church.  We are inaugurating new leaders and working to equip the entire congregation for another year of ministry and mission in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  It doesn’t slow down. 

This year, I was lured into some pretty unhealthy practices; namely overwork.  I labored in the office some very long hours; coming in often before sun up and remaining at the church till well after the dinner hour; tightly scheduling my timeframes for crossing off each item that needed to get done; and, if I was lucky, arranging for time to eat and breathe.  I put all of my energy and my efforts into taming this monster called the To Do List.

It didn’t take long to realize that my over-zealous attempts to get it all done were counter-productive.  Terribly.  My work almost certainly lacked in quality what it made up for in quantity.  I became, to say the least, exhausted.  I was dragging around the office at best, grumpy and paranoid at worst!  I feel certain some of my co-workers were ready to throttle me (though if you were one of them, I’d appreciate your silence).  Most of all, I became blind to the fact that I was allowing no room for actual faith; for the belief that God could and would work through my efforts, even if I only labored for a reasonable, humanly possible number of hours per day.

It is easier than breathing to become so wrapped up with our tasks that we forget the reason we showed up in the first place.  “Mission creep” takes on all kinds of forms, and it is probably at its worst when we think we are burning rocket fuel directly toward that mission.  We forget not only the people God has called us to serve, but the very God who is both the reason for the work and the one who makes it a possibility. 

I had hoped to get “on top of” my To Do list, thinking I could manage it from there.  The myth, I’ve learned, is that such a place even exists.  It is like trying to get on top of a river, or a stampede of horses.  There is no such location.  One cannot be over it, only in it; and there is nothing to grab hold of except for the lifelines of grace.  If I want to keep my balance, I can only hang on and ride. 

The 7 Can Soup marked the end of a peaceful week of rest and the beginning of an important life lesson.  So I share it with you here.  It is easy to make and tastes pretty good.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Blessed eating!

7 Can Soup

1 can chili with beans                              1 can chili, no beans

1 can corn                                                   1 can Rotel

1 can mixed veggies                                  1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce or tomato soup     1 onion, ch.

1 lb. ground meat

Brown meat and onion until done.  Rinse in hot water to remove most of the fat.  Mix all ingredients together in a crock pot and simmer 2-3 hours until onions are done. – Winslow Moore

Angel Cookies

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.  Psalm 32:11

I couldn’t have asked for more enthusiastic participants.  After printing the recipe for the angel cookies a couple of weeks ago, I realized it was high time my children got going on it.  It is, after all, nearly Christmas.  I bought the cookie dough and chilled it, bought some decorative sprinkles to go along with the sugar, dyed in bright colors, we already had in the cabinet.  We set to work.

I am always nervous about giving my children new cooking projects to try.  Their interest in such activities, along with their willingness to sit still for them, varies with the day.  I’m never certain if they will like them or not.  Cookies and other sweets, however, do have a leg up, and on this day my children happily took on their new assignment.

I did the cookie slicing, but let them cut most of the shapes (with a table knife).  I coaxed them to put the shapes into the right places to make an angel, which they did with a little help.  Then came the decorating!  The sprinkly stars were nice, and the other decorations were acceptable, but the colored sugar was the best!  They used it.  A LOT of it!  Not just a sprinkling to add a certain hue.  Not even a layer of sugar to change the color entirely.  I’m talking about a pile of sugar!  Empty the bottle on one cookie kind of decorating!

Their enthusiasm was touching.  It somehow seemed profound, whimsical , a bit wasteful yet beautiful all at once.  New bottles of green and red sugar were used up completely.  Possibly – really – on a single cookie.  I’m all for extravagance, but I was out of my league trying to figure out just what was the message of this over indulgence.

Heaven knows, most of us who will be reading this post have more than enough.  We struggle not to be wasteful when we have grown up in a culture that makes disposable everything; when we have been taught that more than we need is just enough.  We have more than enough in our closets, in our pantry, in our bank accounts, in the square footage of our homes.  It may not feel like that on any given day, but we have so much more than we need.  Learning what makes enough is probably a good lesson for all of us.

But there was something greater than mere squandering in my children’s over-sugaring of their cookies.  Their exuberance seemed less wasteful than adulatory.  Now, if you were to ask them, of course, they couldn’t have begun to tell you that their over-enthusiasm with the sugar was their own method of worship.  They couldn’t have said that they were reflecting God’s extravagant grace, poured out in abundance on our humble lives.  Probably not a conscious thought of that went through their heads.  But I believe in some mystical way, through the quiet, sneaky act of the Holy Spirit, it was true.

My children’s cookie decorating was praise; an act of joyful worship and thanksgiving to the God who made such celebrations possible.  Christ is coming, as a small child, more helpless and mute than even my children.   His birth will be heralded by angels, mortals, ox and lamb.  What could be a greater response to that joyous event than to decorate angel wings?

May you worship in this season!  Whether your method of praise is cooking, singing, preaching or praying, may you go over the top in your enthusiasm, and known an abundance of joy.

Blessed eating!

Since I have already shared the “recipe” for angel cookies, here is another family favorite; this time from the other side of the family!  Not the Basses, but the Simmons.

Orange-Ginger Cookies (Spicy Refrigerator Cookies)

Cream:  1 c. butter
                1 ½ c. sugar
Add:      1 egg
                2 tbsp. light corn syrup
Beat well.
Sift together:     3 c. sifted flower
                                2 tsp. soda
                                2 tsp. cinnamon
                                2 tsp. ginger
                                ½ tsp. cloves
Mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture along with 1 tbsp. grated orange peel.  Shape into two 9 in. rolls about 2 in. across.  Wrap in wax paper and chill several hours or overnight.  Slice in 1/8 inch slices and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake @ 400^o.  Makes about 8 dozen.

 

Why I Don’t Mind Being Wished a “Happy Holiday”

So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, ‘Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.’  Nehemiah 8:11

There is a lot of discussion nowadays about this word that is floating around: holiday.  As we receive “happy holiday” wishes and observe the increased presence of “holiday” festivities, there is concern that this word is being used in the place of Christmas and that we as a culture run the risk of forgetting the savior whose birth is the reason we celebrate Christmas.  I have even known some folks who will “correct” store greeters and Salvation Army bell ringers, directing them to say ‘Merry Christmas,’ because they feel so strongly that this other more general word is an affront.

I can sympathize with their concern, but I don’t necessarily share it.  Being told “Happy Holidays” is a wish that I welcome as much as “Merry Christmas.”  Here is why.

                1. Christmas is a holiday.  I don’t mean to state the obvious, but by wishing me a happy holiday, a greeter or receptionist is not failing to wish me a merry Christmas.  They are wishing me joy on whatever day I consider to be sacred, for whatever reason is meaningful to me.  That seems to me to be a rather gracious thing, particularly since there are other sacred days celebrated this time of year.  This general wish is a courteous one, presuming that they care at all what they are saying to me which . . .

                2.  . . .they may very well not.  The big box Christmas greeters will say what their managers tell them to.  This decision will be motivated by the good of the business; what will cause the greatest inflow of cash.  Because I consider my day to be sacred, I’m not vehement that it be named by someone who has little concern for either the actual event or the miraculous story behind it.   It is of little consequence, therefore, if a retail establishments speak the name of my holiday when their religion (that is, their organizing principle and motivation) is profit.  Now, if I could make the store greeter care about The Story, I would greatly prefer to do that.  Because . . .

3.  . . . I am deeply interested in helping others to know the miraculous love offered in Jesus Christ.  I have no interest, however, in pressuring someone – particularly a non-believer – to pay lip service to my holiday.  If they are not a believer, they are not likely to become one by speaking the name of Christmas.  Forcing the issue may even be counterproductive to my purpose of telling convincingly God’s story of grace.

4.  Finally, while this is only a small concern, I am saddened by the cold shoulder we have given the word “holiday.”  Because this is the particular word that has been used in the generic wish for our happiness, it has also received the bulk of our frustration.  “Holiday” has almost become the enemy, the anti-Christmas if you will.  But that is not a fair reflection of the word.  Holiday means “holy day.”  It speaks to the most sacred times in our lives and our most meaningful celebrations.  “Holiday” is a beautiful word with a profound meaning and one that I don’t want to give up. 

For those of us who claim Jesus as savior, the Christmas story is our story.  It is our holy day.  We who believe are the ones who are called to tell it.  If we are to keep the Christ in Christmas, then it needs to be done by those who love Jesus and have been transformed by the story we tell.  This is important because our telling of the story must not be just in our words, but in our hearts and actions.  Do our lives reflect the Christmas story?  When we use the title of this holy day, will people actually see in us all that it is about?  I hope so.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holiday!

Blessed eating!

I hope the recipe below will help you to enjoy this holy season!

Spice Tea

½ cup tea leaves                               2 cups sugar
1 tsp. each: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, allspice
4 cups cold water                             10-12 cups boiling water
1 cup orange juice                           1 cup lemon juice
1 cup pineapple juice
Put sugar and 4 cups cold water in boiler, let simmer 5 minutes.  Tie tea, spices in bag.  Place in boiler of water and sugar, let simmer 10 minutes.  Now add 10-12 cups boiling water, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup pineapple juice.  Let this steep 5 minutes.  Can be reheated as often as needed.