Taste of Honduras

Susie keeps me cultured. She loves to travel and experience new things. I asked her to cook a Honduran meal with me so I could put it on the blog. We stopped by a Latin grocery store near my place to grab green plantains, Horchata mix, and a few other items. Hy-Vee had the other produce we needed for a good price.  Our menu included baleadas, plantains, chismol, and horchata to drink. 

I'm reading in John now and I'm remembering all the references there were to the first chapter in my doctrine classes at FBBC. It includes proof texts for Jesus' part in creation and His deity. 

My favorite verse from this chapter though is verse 5 "That light shines in the darkness,

yet the darkness did not overcome it." It's a verse I remember when I hear about sad or frustrating news in the world. If only the media would send me notifications about good news in the area. I get alerts on my phone about big headlines in the news and they are never good. I want to hear something nice once in a while! 

So, that's when I remember that dark news does not mean that the light isn't shining. Jesus has already won and darkness will always be broken by light. 

green plantains

Susie made a cut down the side of the plantain and then peeled the skin. She said these weren't too hard to peel but some are. 

If you are like me, you are wondering what the difference is between a plantain and a banana. Well, now that the google has educated me I can tell you that a plantain has more starch and less sugar than a banana! So, don't plan on eating a raw plantain. You will be disappointed.

The peeled plantain is sliced in one inch pieces and cooked in oil for a few minutes. Once they are browned they are taken out of the pan and flattened.

Look at that color coordination;) 

Once flattened, fry again to finish cooking through.

This you will want to make!

Chismol! aka fresh salsa. 

Somehow, I've begun to really like cilantro. I know, I know, you can't believe I used to hate it. Or you are with my old self and currently hate it. Cilantro seems to work this way, people love it or hate it. The more I have it the better I like it. It's key in many Latin dishes so I'm happy I'm beginning to like it. 

For those of you who can't handle heat, you are in luck. Honduran food is not usually spicy. This salsa has no heat, but you are welcome to add some if you like.

Yeah, we cheated...shameful I know. We were going to make our own but I forgot to soak the rice earlier in the day so we had to go with this. 

Like the label says, this is a rice and cinnamon drink that is made with some milk and water. It does not have a thick consistency as it might sound like it would.

And here is my baleada. The thick flour tortilla and re-fried beans are the base for a baleada and then you add what you please!

Honduran food is filling so better have an empty stomach before diving in!

Baleada ingredients:

re-fried beans

thick flour tortillas

queso fresco

(optional fillings - scrambled eggs, avocado, chismol, bell pepper)

Chismol recipe:

Serving group of 4-6

5-6 roma tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper - color of choice

1/3 cup chopped white or yellow onion

juice of one lime

1 teaspoon of salt

lots of chopped cilantro

Chop all veggies and combine. Juice the lime into the veggies. Add chopped cilantro to taste as well as the salt. Enjoy with tortilla chips or on the plantains.

Plum Galette

"What is a galette?" Was that your first thought? It was mine when I saw them on cooking shows and Pinterest. It is a French term for a free-form tart. Or a pie without a top or a pan. I've wanted to make once ever since I saw one. They are beautiful and easier to make than pie! See?

If you want to be fancy, you can lay all the slices the same direction or in a nice circle. 

 I've made some progress with my Colossians memorizing. I'm working on chapter 3 and I was able to get through 1-12 today! This is not really impressive as I've been at this for over a month. I read it almost everyday but only really focus on memory a few times a week.

What I love about verse memory is how the words come to mind throughout the day. The more I read it, the more I think about it which is true of anything we put in our minds. 

I've memorized other verses that express this idea. 

"Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life" Prov. 4:23

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". Matt 6:21

If I want good to come out of my life and thoughts, then that's what I have to put in. 

Now that I've made a galette and discovered how easy they are to make, I can make more and add whatever filling I chose! These are great year-round because you can just fill it with what's in season. 

I used this recipe from Mara at http://www.bloglovin.com/viewer?post=1576756389&group=0&frame_type=a&blog=1050273&frame=1&click=0&user=0. 

I did everything she did except for the orange zest because I didn't have one on hand.

 Recipe:

                  1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

                  1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

                            (coconut sugar is another option)

                  1/4 teaspoon salt

                  1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

                  1/4 cup ice water

                  1 tablespoon cornstarch

                  1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

                  1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

                  1 pound firm-but-ripe plums, pitted and cut into eighths

                    (I used 4 plums)

                  1 large egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon of water

In a food processor (I used my Ninja), add the 1 1/4 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and the salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle on the ice water and pulse until the dough just barely comes together. Gather the dough and pat it into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 and position a rack in the lower third. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out the disk of dough to a 12-inch round; transfer to the baking sheet. Chill the dough until firm, 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cornstarch, cinnamon and orange zest. Add the plums and toss well. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 15 minutes.

Arrange the fruit in the center of the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border all around. Fold the edge of the dough up and over the plums. Brush the rim with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender and bubbling. Let the galette cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The pastry disk can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

German Dinner #becausefutbol

I seem to have a number of friends who grew up outside of the US. I know them from college and from my home church as we have had a few missionary families stay in Creston during their furlough. Susie (Susanna) is one of those. She's a great friend and we've had loads of fun times together! She grew up in Germany and came back to the US in high school. We were college suitemates my freshman year at FBBC and fellow music majors so we spent a lot of time together. Now she teaches in Honduras and comes back in the summer to visit friends and family. 

I've been paying attention to the World Cup this summer and it's been fun to follow. Because the USA was out of the World Cup, I had to choose a different team to cheer on for the win. So, to support the home country of my German friend(s), I went with Deutschland and I'm glad I did! 

Germany won and we celebrated!

I finished up reading Ezra today and I was impressed with his character. "The gracious hand of his God was on him, because Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel." Ezra 7:9b-10 

God showed his faithfulness to Ezra by protecting him as he and many Israelites traveled. Ezra also pleaded for Israel before God because of their sin of intermarriage with unbelievers. He was so ashamed of their sin. God convicted hearts and the people made a covenant to marry only those who followed God and dismiss the foreign wives. 
It's a reminder to me of how terrible it is of us to sin against God after all He has done for us. Erza was right to take sin seriously. But we can be so grateful for the endless grace of God to forgive and guide us away from sin.

To celebrate the German win, we decided to make a German meal for supper. We stopped at Aldi to grab a few things. Susie suggested the following for the menu.

spätzle (noodles and cheese)

rotkohl (red cabbage w/apples)

bratwurst

The spatula just couldn't handle the dough for the noodles.

Tonya began the noodle creating.

Spätzle is a cheese and noodle dish but not exactly not mac and cheese. I don't have the full recipe here because we didn't actually measure anything other than the noodle dough. 

This was quite the process. Definitely not a one-man job. We placed the dough in a ziploc bag and poked holes in it. Then we squeezed the dough out into boiling water. Trouble was that the dough was pretty thick and the holes grew too big. We had some noodles of diverse sizes. 

Once the noodles float to the surface, you scoop them out and layer a casserole dish (9x9) with noodles and swiss cheese. You can also include onion if desired.

Brats are nothing new but we did not eat them with a bun. These were simply smoked and all we had to do was saute them with some onion. I don't usually like brats but these were really good! Not the nasty tough skin and low on the grease!

Ok, so here is where we cheated. Aldi only had green cabbage and we didn't want to make another stop just for red cabbage. This was rotkohl in a jar. 

Rotkohl would be pretty easy to make though. It includes red cabbage, apples, vinegar, cloves, and salt. Not something I had ever had before but I really liked it. 

We were able to whip this up in under an hour and we had a great time making everything! German food is quite filling and tasty, you should give it a try. 

Here is a good recipe for the Spätzle. She has a handy little tool for the noodles that would be way better than a ziploc but requires that stuff called money. From there, grab some shredded Swiss cheese (2 cups) and layer or mix it with the noodles and bake for 20-25 minutes at 375° F. You can top it with sauteed onions for some extra flavor!

http://mysoulfulhome.com/spatzle-love-dough/

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad can be made so many different ways. As long as it has chicken and a greek yogurt or mayo dressing, you can call it chicken salad. Mine doesn't have all the standard ingredients but it's still recognizable as chicken salad. 

Chicken salad is a common, standard dish. One we know well. There are Bible stories that are well known and heard multiple times. Zacchaeus is one of those stories. I learned the song ages ago and know the actions. But today I realized that I have a incorrect view of the story. Let me explain. (read in a sarcastic/humorous tone)

In the song, Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus because he is short. Jesus comes over to him and tells him that he is going to Zacchaeus' house. Maybe it's only me, but when we did the actions at this part we shake a finger at Zacchaeus as if Jesus is scolding him. "Zacchaeus, you come down!" And then He invites himself over. (Not usually socially acceptable but its Jesus so social norms go out the window;)

Who wrote this song!? Did they even read the story? Where is the lesson in the song? Zacchaeus is transformed and his whole household is saved! Why is this not included!? And Jesus was not scolding him. He recognized Zacchaeus' desire to see him and takes the time to come to his house.

This is about a tax collector who comes to believe in Jesus and wants to give to those in need. It's an exciting story with a lame song. 

Now that I've complained extensively about the song, I guess I need to rewrite it. If only I was good with lyrics...

So that's as far as I've made it today. Ten verses and I got worked up about a children's song. I should keep reading.

Of all the foods, specifically veggies, I have grow-up to enjoy, celery is not one of them. I can tolerate it, but I'm pretty sure it's never been in my fridge. So for a green crunch, I added kale! It's a super-food and works well in this salad.

For a fruit, some people do apples, craisins, grapes and whatever else sounds good. Green grapes were on sale so I went with them. They add a nice sweetness!

It was a beautiful avocado!

For the dressing, I used plain greek yogurt, half an avocado, little fresh lemon juice, salt to taste and dijon mustard. I went a little heavy on the lemon juice but it was still edible, no worries.

No pics of the chicken, he was in the oven. I also added about a 1/2 cup of sliced almonds. 

You were expecting bread right? Well, I was in super healthy mode so I went with a cabbage bowl/wrap. I love bread but I wanted to try it like this. It was really good, and held together nicely!

Chicken Salad

1 chicken breast

chili powder

ground oregano 

paprika

approx. 2 cups torn kale

1 cup halved grapes

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 6oz container plain greek yogurt

1-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons dijon mustard

1/2 avocado mashed

salt to taste

Season chicken on both sides with desired amount of spices. Sear both sides in a skillet and then finish baking in oven at 375° F for about 20 minutes. 

While the chicken is in the oven, chop or tear your kale and place in a bowl. Add halved grapes and almonds. You can add the dressing ingredients right into the salad bowl and mix together. 

Once the chicken is done and has set for a minute or two, shred and mix into other ingredients. 

Enjoy in a lettuce wrap, tortilla, bread or just as it is!

Carrot Cake Muffins (with homemade butter)!

I'm pretty stinking excited about this one! Two new recipes and they are both great! That's meant to be props to the food, not me. I didn't create the recipes sadly. These muffins are pretty healthy and the butter is super simple. This should provide you breakfast for a few days if you can limit yourself to one a day. 

Luke 18 tells the account of a blind man whom Jesus heals. It was fun to read and picture the man's personality. He is blind but hears that Jesus is in the crowd near him so he calls out to Jesus. He is shushed by those around him but he keeps calling out. Jesus responds to him by asking what he can do for the man. They man wants to see, of course, and Jesus grants him sight because of his faith. 

The man was persistent and then shows gratitude by following Jesus and worshiping him. His testimony was striking enough to cause others to praise God as well. 

His testimony was the most challenging to me. I would love to see improvement on my part when it comes to talking about what God has done for me.

These are true muffins, not "healthy cupcakes". Most muffins I see are loaded with sugar and should be eaten for dessert. These are sweetened with honey and applesauce.

Mine made 11 muffins. Some were pretty tall so I could have done a better job of distributing the batter...

Do I seem more intellectual with books in the background?! That'd be great, but they are my roommate's. She is an English teacher so of the 378 books in our apartment, about 27 are mine. 

The butter maker

Don't worry, these muffins can stand alone (the muffin stands alone, the muffin stands alone, hi ho the derry oh, the muffin...yeah you get it).

But what better opportunity to use my new butter maker! A fellow teacher got this for me as a birthday present back in May and I haven't used it until today. It's so easy, I'm excited to try different flavors now.

Cinnamon Nutmeg Butter

There is no churning here! Just add 1 cup of room temperature heavy whipping cream to the jar, add extras for your flavor, and shake for about 3-4 minutes. You will see the butter separate from the buttermilk and that's when you can strain off the liquid. Rinse the butter with water and you're done!

Carrot Cake Muffins with Cinnamon Nutmeg Butter

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup white whole wheat

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup finely shredded carrots (about 2-3 medium carrots)

Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a muffin tin.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.

Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, honey, egg, vanilla, and applesauce. Stir ingredients together until just combined and there are still some spots of flour remaining.

Fold in the shredded carrots just until combined (don't overmix or the muffins will be dense).

Pour the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes.

The Butter:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Pour whipping cream into the jar (you can use a mason jar) and let sit until it is room temperature. Once the cream is at room temperature, add your spices and shake the jar for 3-4 minutes. You will see the butter begin to form and separate from the milk. Now strain out the milk from the butter and rinse with water. Once the liquid is strained out place the butter in the fridge or just spread it on your tasty muffins!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Ok, this July weather is strange yet wonderful! I would normally expect to be swimming the humidity and heat during the 4th but tomorrow is going to be beautiful! Fair warning though, forecast says the humidity will be on its way back come Saturday and Sunday. In light of that news, here is a simple and delicious smoothie recipe for you to cool off with!

Luke 16:15 "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God's sight."

Jesus' words to the Pharisees were strong. The Pharisees were lovers of money and thought they could serve both God and money. Jesus called them out on their mixed priorities. But this love of money isn't just their struggle, it can be a struggle for anyone.

Moving costs money even when you are just renting. I was again reminded of that as I moved last week. I was challenged a bit to keep my focus on eternal things and not material. I would love to buy the nicest things for the new apartment but that can't happen. By God's grace I can be content with my cute place!

I froze some avocados a while ago because I knew I wouldn't use them before they were overripe. Freezing them is simple, just slice them and peel off the skin, put them in a Ziploc and you're set.

They are great in a smoothie because they thicken it up and add a healthy fat!

Produce is on sale a lot in the summer so this is a great way to use berries, bananas, peaches, whatever you please. I had strawberries that needed to be eaten so I threw 5 large ones in here, a ripe banana, some strawberry greek yogurt, and almond milk. It was great and I have more of the same ingredients to make another one tomorrow!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

4-5 ice cubes

1 ripe banana

5-6  whole strawberries

1/4 cup strawberry greek yogurt

1/2 frozen avocado (frozen part is optional)

splash of almond milk (might have been 1/4 cup)

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth and pour! Mine was a bit chunky still but I like them that way.

Banana Oat Muffins

I actually had a request for this! I had a little ego boost when a friend asked for a recipe! So this is for you Laura and I hope you like them. I have a few other healthy oat muffin varieties I want to try as well. These will be gone soon, as I have no guilt eating them!

Made exactly 12 perfect muffins.

Hopefully you don't pay enough attention to notice my tortoise-like pace through my Bible reading. There are times I can plow through a few chapters and days I'm so distracted I can hardly finish one. I'm almost done with 2 Chronicles! I've enjoyed it as it recaps the kings of Judah, the good and the terrible ones.
Hezekiah was an honorable King. I love reading about him and wondering what it would be like to have a leader over the nation who was as devoted to God as Hezekiah. He did get fall into a prideful attitude but was sincerely humbled and repentant as God caused him to become sick. Humility is key for all believers, not just leaders. Pride gets in my way often but God is not shy about putting us in our place!

This Ninja is a life saver!

I'm a huge fan of how stinking easy these were to make! Not a long list of strange ingredients and no pile of dirty dishes. 

Just toss it all in there.

I made these during a nasty little storm yesterday. My only fear was that we'd have a tornado warning and I'd have to go downstairs while these burned up in the oven. Fortunately, that did not happen! We just had flash flooding and high winds.

Coconut oil also works as a thermometer.

I wanted to show you this because it makes me laugh. You know what season it is by the state of your coconut oil. In winter, it's white and solid but come summer humidity, it's clear and melted. 

No, there is not coconut oil in this recipe but I use it to grease my muffin tin! In this state, I used a basting brush but in winter I just use my fingers.

Fuzzy...but so good! (the pic is fuzzy, not the muffin)

Banana Oat Muffins

source: http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2014/06/24/banana-oat-greek-yogurt-muffins/

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
2 cups rolled oats (old fashioned or quick)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

1. Preheat oven to 400° F and grease muffin tin with coconut oil or other oil spray of choice.

2. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor except the chocolate chips. Blend to desired texture. I think she (original blogger) blended her to a smoother consistency but I like the texture of the oats so mine are more...I don't know, oaty...

3. Stir in chocolate chips or sprinkle on top of each muffin once you have poured the mix into the tins.

4. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and place in the oven for 14-16 minutes. (I know that's a weird time. She says 15-20 but mine were done at 14, so it just depends on your oven.)