A Lot Like Love

They say if you read the Bible often enough, you’ll continue to learn new things, even if you’re reading the same things over and over. Boy, were they right! I think by now, everyone knows that my hope for this year, and really my hope for my life, is for God’s love to resonate through my life and to show to other people, and that has kind of been the theme of this blog: my struggle with that. A lot of that has been through food, just because that’s how I tend to love on people. Well, my husband and I have started a weekly devotional time in our house and I wanted to focus my study on Love. If I can better understand God’s love, perhaps it can flow through me better and more efficiently to others. So, I’ve been reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Wow, talk about eye-opening. I’m only through the introduction and the first chapter and it has already given me a TON to think about. Too often, modern Christianity has become complacent (myself included). When you look back at the early church of the New Testament, they had such passion and love for Christ that they were actually called Christians by others; it makes you wonder 1) would that still be the case today? 2) If not, what’s missing?

The other thing I really took away from the first part of Crazy Love was a need to just stop and think about the miracles that I’m surrounded by on a daily basis. This world is amazing: how it works, the intricacies of all its puzzle pieces and how things all work perfectly together. How our bodies work and how each system works in harmony with another. Its incredible! I personally need to let myself be in awe of our wonder-working God more often.

Back to my original point, I’ve gone on a bit of a rabbit trail, sorry! Today I decided to read 1 Corinthians 13. Its a chapter that everyone knows. It has a passage that even most non-Christians know, thanks to its popularity among weddings. Many of us have it memorized. But today, I decided to read it in a new light. I read it, after having re-focused my life’s “mission statement” and delving into Francis Chan’s wisdom of Crazy Love. Here were some of my thoughts:

1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

This first passage hit me hard; especially after reading Francis Chan this week. I can be a “Good Christian”; believe in God, go to church, do the offering & communion meditations, teach Sunday school, don’t do drugs, don’t swear, etc. but if I don’t love, it all means NOTHING; I’m the equivalent of a noisemaker, or a street-corner preacher. I can even volunteer on weekends, give my apple to the guy on the freeway off-ramp, but if I don’t do it in LOVE, its absolutely useless!! You can have all the belief and faith in the world, but if you don’t love, its meaningless.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

To me, these all said one thing: Love is about OTHERS. Love has nothing to do with us. Love is not looking out for ourselves, but ONLY looking out for others, with no interest in what we’re going to get in return.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love doesn’t look for payback & protects those who can’t protect themselves. The rest I thought was self-explanatory.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

All those things we talked about before, the “church things”, they go away. You can forget the things you know, speakers will be quieted, churches close, but LOVE NEVER FAILS. Just like my understanding of this chapter; things mature. To be honest, I’m not sure what this last part means, but what I took out of it was the love we can experience now is only a reflection compared to the love we’ll experience when we get to heaven, when we are face-to-face with our God. Until then, there is faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.

Please feel free to share your thoughts!

Fun with Pasta Sauce

After doing extensive searching, it’s extremely difficult to find pasta sauce at the store that is free from the allergens that I now suffer from. At least, that doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg at a health food store. So, I decided yesterday that I was going to make my own. This recipe makes quite a lot of sauce. After my husband and I both stuffing our faces with pasta last night (and by “stuffing our faces”, I mean, we both probably definitely ate far more than we should have) I still have about 3 quarts of sauce left. And we like our pasta saucy, so if you like drier pasta, it’ll go further. Regrettably, I didn’t take as many photos as I should have, but remembered half-way through, “Wait! I write a blog now, I should probably document this!” and snapped a few. Here’s what I did.

Tomato & Sweet Pepper Pasta Sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 carrots, peeled & finely diced
4 stalked celery, peeled (this removes the ribs) & finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2-3 tbs minced garlic (amount depends on how garlicky you like your sauce)
4-5 small sweet peppers (approximately 2-3 inches in size, if using a different sweet pepper, use amount that will yield same volume), finely diced.
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes (not tomatoes with herbs, etc. as those will have the allergens we’re trying to avoid)
Dried Italian seasoning
Salt
Red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan or stock pot of a minimum of 4 quarts, swirl about 2 tablespoons of olive oil (about 2 swirls around the pan). Heat the pan over medium heat or just above until the oil begins to shimmer, but don’t let the oil start to smoke, or it will get bitter and you’ll need to start again. Once the oil is hot, add your chopped veggies up to and including the onion. If your pan is hot enough, you should hear a nice sizzle.

Add salt & red pepper flakes to taste & Stir frequently. Cook the veggies until the onions and celery are translucent and the carrots start to get tender (take a bite. They will still have a little crisp left to them, but will definitely be tender when done.) add your garlic at this point & cook & stir for another couple minutes; be careful not to burn the garlic. Add both cans of tomatoes, juice & all to the pan. Stir to combine. Add your dried herbs and some more salt if needed. For the herbs, I eye-balled it, but added approximately 2-3 tbs and made sure to crush the dried herbs in my hand to release the flavors. I also had some fresh basil on hand from my windowsill herb-garden, so I threw that in as well. Taste as you go. Bring to a boil & reduce to simmer on low. Simmer the sauce for 30-45 minutes until the tomatoes no longer taste raw. At this point, if you like a chunky, rustic sauce, leave it as is. If you’re like us & like a smooth sauce, blend it up! I broke out my immersion hand blender & blended it right in the pot! (That thing is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools!!)

I served the sauce over gluten-free brown rice pasta & andouille sausage. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! We’re going to have it again later this week! The carrots add a great sweetness to it & the peppers, just a bit of sweet spiciness. I might try it with fire-roasted tomatoes next time! Enjoy!

First Venture

Wednesday, I made my first attempt at an allergen-free meal. I tried to turn one of my husband and I’s favorite meals into gluten/allergen-free, just easing myself into the process, not going crazy. I tried to do a little better job of taking photos along the way for you. So, here’s how I did.

Pasta with Asparagus, Pinenuts & Bacon

Here’s a photo of all the ingredients I used.

I was able to find a gluten-free brown rice pasta. Now, since this is my first foray into gluten-free pastas, I have no idea how it compares to white rice pastas or other kinds of gluten-free pastas, but I thought it worked quite well. I made sure to follow the instructions exactly on the package, starting with the shortest recommended cooking time, testing a noodle, and working my way up minute by minute from there until al dente. Then I rinsed the pasta, as instructed (you foodies out there will know that this is a major NO-NO in the gluten-full pasta world). Here’s a close up of the pasta I used:

Ok, the recipe:

8 oz Pasta of choice. Preferably penne or something similar.
2 slices bacon cut into bits & cooked until crispy
1/8 cup pine nuts roasted at 400 degrees for about 4 minutes until golden (you can also do this in a dry sauté pan, but you have to keep a close eye on them, I’ve burned more Pinenuts this way than I care to admit. I just stick them in the oven & set the timer. Then the timer reminds me before they burn)
1 bundle fresh asparagus
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs crushed garlic
Sea salt (regular table salt is fine, I just happen to have sea salt in my house)
Fresh grated asiago cheese (I have also used Parmesan and Romano and both work wonderfully)
Juice from half a lemon
Crushed red pepper flakes

Cook pasta according to package instructions (see above). I recommend putting your olive oil and garlic in the bottom of your serving bowl. (this will make sense) While pasta is cooking, prep your asparagus. Test several of your spears to see where the “woody” ends are (the ends you don’t want to eat) by just slowly snapping the end off as close to the bottom as possible wherever it’s natural breaking point is.

If you have time to so this to the whole bunch, go for it, but if you’d rather, just do it to a few, like I did, and use them as a guide as to where to cut the ends off the rest, like so:

Discard the ends and cut the rest of the asparagus into 1/2-1 inch pieces. It’ll look like this:

Bring a small pot to boil and blanch asparagus for 3 minutes.

Your rinsed, drained pasta & blanched, drained asparagus should be done at approximately the same time.

You already have your prepared serving dish looking like this:

Put the hot pasta & asparagus directly on top of the oil & garlic. The heat will slightly cook the garlic, stir to coat. Season with salt to taste & stir. Squeeze on the lemon juice, making sure not to get any seeds. Stir. Grate on a tablespoon or two of cheese. Stir until combined & melted. Add chili flakes to taste. Stir. Sprinkle with bacon & pine nuts.

Realistically serves 2 people, but technically is probably supposed to serve 4. 🙂 But it tastes every bit as delicious as the original. Ultimately, the only difference was I used gluten-free pasta instead of regular pasta and used chili flakes instead of black pepper. But the gluten-free pasta tastes like real pasta to me, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, it’s great! I don’t know if I just managed to find a good brand, or what? But I loved it! Hope you do to!

What’s Left?!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had digestive issues. Every doctor I had basically told me to suck it up and deal with it; there was nothing they could do. Well, this month, I finally found a doctor willing to run what was evidently the right tests because I have learned that I have an extensive list of food allergies! These food allergies are creating major inflammation in my digestive tract, which is of course causing all of my problems.

Here’s a list of all my found allergies from highest reaction on down:
Wheat
Eggs
Brewer’s yeast
Baker’s yeast
Rye
Barley
Cow’s milk
Peanuts
Cashews
Kidney beans
Pinto beans
Pineapple
Green beans
Lima beans
Yellow wax beans
Coffee
Goat’s milk
Millet
Oat
Peas
Pecans
Pepper (black/white)
Raddish
Soy
Sunflower

Yes. Twenty-five items altogether. “What does that leave!?” You might ask. Lots of veggies, rice, quinoa, some fruit. Surprisingly, even though I can’t have milk, I can have some cheese (in moderation, my doctor says). Needless to say, a MAJOR lifestyle change is in order. Because so many gluten-containing items are on my list, she recommended me cutting gluten from my diet completely, which I am. We’re also cutting every item from this list for a full six weeks and then we’ll see how I feel. From there we’ll talk about adding some of the items from the lower parts of the list and seeing how they affect my body and whether or not I can eat them again. Time to get creative in the kitchen!! There are going to be some slight MAJOR failures, I’m sure, but I’ll get there eventually. My biggest hurdle so far was finding a milk substitute! I couldn’t find an almond or rice milk that didn’t have sunflower in it, so I had to go with coconut milk (I loathe coconut) and am choking that down, but have since found one at Sprouts. It’s spendy, but worth it if I don’t have to endure coconut milk on my gluten-free fruity pebbles any more!! (Don’t worry, I can’t stand the idea of waste even more than coconut milk, so I’ll finish it, not toss it.) next on my list is figure out what type of flour to use. Our local store has both almond and rice flour in bulk. Any advice would be helpful!

It’s been four days since I stopped eating these 25 things and I must say…..I feel great! I think I honestly forgot what feeling healthy and normal felt like! I’d been feeling sick and gross for so long that I forgot what it felt like to just be, and it feels incredible. This feeling makes these sacrifices worth it. We sacrifice the things we love – like coffee, bread, beer, a glass of milk – for things we love more, like the ability to feel good, or simply feel normal for once. I hope I’ll be able to get some of those foods back, but even if I can’t, I’ve learned over these few short days, that to me, this sacrifice is more than worth it.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

-Romans 5:5

Wow. Talk about ultimate sacrifice. I think I can handle giving up gluten.

Let My Life Be the Proof

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I know there are mainly two schools of thought on this holiday. There are those who like to go all out, buy the flowers, the cards, the jewelry, the conversation hearts, even if its just for themselves because they don’t happen to have a Valentine this year (hey, someone even coined the term “Galentine’s Day” for all those single gals out there!). Then there are those who boycott Valentine’s Day because its a so-called “Corporation-created commercial non-holiday” and they refuse to throw their money away to the greeting card and flower companies.

Well, here’s my call to action. Obviously this has been on my mind for a while since its the reason why I started this blog in the first place, but why not challenge ourselves on this Valentine’s Day – a day that is supposed to symbolize love. Let God’s love shine through us today. Today is a day that can be especially difficult for a lot of people. People who want to be loved but feel that they are unlovable for one reason or another. Lets be the proof of God’s love here on Earth for them. Just make that extra effort, especially today when they are seeing so much love around them for others; they need a little for themselves. That love can come through you.

Don’t limit it to just Valentine’s Day, but perhaps it can start today.

This song really struck me the other day and has really started to be my anthem and inspiration, hopefully it’ll speak to something in you as we’ll. So, I’ll leave you with this:

The Proof Of Your Love
By For King and Country

If I sing but don’t have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don’t have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You’re made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

If I give
To a needy soul but don’t have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You’re made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
Oh, let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

When it’s all said and done
When we sing our final song
Only love remains
Only love remains

Let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You’re made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

Beef Stock and Mayonnaise

No, not together! That would just be weird! Ew, gross! I don’t even want to think about that! Ok, moving on…

Ok, so so I’ve been trying to be careful about what I’ve been putting in my body, just trying to be healthier. But after an appointment with my doctor last week and finding out I may have some food allergies (my test results come back in a few weeks, then we’ll know for sure), I’ve been given some specific restrictions. Because of those, I’m starting to be even more careful and more strict. Well, two items that our house tends to go through quite a bit of are stocks (chicken, beef, etc) and mayonnaise. Not necessarily the two biggest, but the two I handled over the weekend. Since they tend to be chock full of preservatives and mystery ingredients when purchased at the store, I decided to make my own. Here’s how I did:

Mayonnaise:
3 egg yolks (make sure the eggs are room temperature before you break them, this is crucial to the emulsification process)
1-2 cups Olive oil or canola oil (whatever you have on hand is fine, I used canola because I wanted a cleaner flavor; keep in mind the flavor of the oil will come out in the mayo)
1 tbs white wine vinegar or lemon juice (I used vinegar because I’m restricted from citrus)
Prepared or dry mustard to taste
Salt to taste

In food processor, blend egg yolks until thick and sticky. Add vinegar/lemon juice and blend until incorporated. Slowly stream in approximately 1/2-3/4 cup of the oil while food processor is on and center of lid is removed (it will start to thicken at this point). Remove lid, with spatula, scrape bottom and make sure all egg yolks, etc. are fully mixed and incorporated. Replace lid, turn processor back on and slowly add more oil a little bit at a time & let blend until desired consistency. Add salt & mustard (start with 1/4-1/2 tsp of each, depending on your taste. I added quite a bit more mustard because we specifically wanted a mustard-heavy mayo) Make sure to taste when you’re done and stir to make sure completely incorporated. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Beef Stock
Beef Bones (you can get these from your butcher or the meat counter at your grocery store, sometimes labeled as “soup bones” & will have some meat/scraps on them. Or, just use leftovers from de-boning a pot roast, steaks, ribs, etc)
2-3 carrots, cleaned & cut into large chunks (no need to peel)
3-4 ribs of celery, washed & cut into large chunks, leaves & all
1 large onion, quartered, including papery outside (there’s lots of flavor in that & since you’ll be straining it, don’t worry about getting rid of it unless its muddy or moldy, etc)
Approx. 4 whole cloves of garlic (more or less depending in how much garlic you like)
2 bay leaves
1 thyme bundle (approximately 5 or six stems, whatever looks good to you)
1 tbs dried parsley
1tbs dried oregano (I used fresh because I had it on hand)
A healthy helping of salt
Enough water to submerge everything

Put on high heat & bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer & simmer for 4 hours. Let cool long enough to strain into freezable containers (it’s ok if it’s still warm). Once you transfer to your containers, put in the fridge overnight. Any fat still in the stock will have separated to the top & solidified & you’ll be able to just spoon it off & throw it away. Then transfer what you won’t use right away into the freezer. Will keep in the freezer for 6 months or more, in he fridge for about 1-2 months as long as its in an air-tight container. Before you use it, you’ll probably want to strain it one more time. Works great for soups, stews, risottos, rice, etc! Enjoy!

FYI, the beef stock process is almost identical for chicken stock or turkey stock, the herbs are just a little different, and you use the cleaned bird carcass instead. As usual, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know!

Steak, Its What’s For Dinner!

Like I mentioned before, one of the main ways I love on people is by making them food. Well, my husband, Chris, has a good buddy at work that we’ve been meaning to have over for dinner for a very long time and we finally did last night! I wanted to make sure to cook him something super tasty not only because it was his first time over and I wanted to make sure he came back, but also because Chris has been talking up my cooking quite a bit and I didn’t want him to over-sell (talk about a disappointment)!

I made skirt steak pinwheels and sautéed green beans with caramelized onions, bacon & pine nuts. If you make the skirt steak, you’ll want to start them in the morning or the night before because they need to sit in the marinade for at least 8 hours. Of course, being new to this whole blogging thing, I totally forgot to take photos of the process and end result last night and just have photos of what I have left this morning. Whoops! Hope you all don’t mind!

Skirt Steak Pinwheels
1-2 lbs skirt steak (flank steak will also work ok)
12 oz thick cut bacon slices, cooked until just barely crisp, anymore & it’ll crumble when rolled
1/4 c soy sauce (I used light)
1/4 c Kitchen Bouquet
1-2 tbs sesame oil (depending on your taste)
2-3 tbs rice vinegar (can substitute white wine vinegar)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicier)
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
Toothpicks

Mix soy sauce through ginger in large dish (I used a 9×13 pan). Lay out skirt steak flat and trim off any large pieces of fat or membrane. If you have to, lay smaller pieces together to make one large piece, just make sure the grain of the meat all goes the same direction. Season meat lightly with salt & pepper.

Layer with bacon slices. Roll into a jelly-roll or roulade form & secure as needed with toothpicks. If using 2 lbs of beef, and multiple pieces, you’ll probably have at least 2 rolls.

Slice roll into approximately 1-inch pinwheels with a sharp knife and lay in marinade. Cover with Plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.

When ready to cook, heat grill to medium-high (450-500 degrees). Grill approximately 3 minutes each side & cover grill during these 3 minutes. Set aside on a plate to rest for approximately 10 minutes, cover with foil.

Sautéed Green Beans with Bacon, Caramelized Onions & Pine Nuts

Fresh Green Beans, washed & trimmed
Garlic powder
1 yellow onion
1-2 tbs butter
1/4 c pine nuts
4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked until crisp & crumbled

Before I cooked my steak pinwheels, I toasted my pine nuts in a dry sauté pan over medium heat for just a few minutes, stirring occasionally so they didn’t burn, just until they smelled extra nutty & were golden brown. I then set them aside. I also Caramelized a thinly sliced onion in 1-2 tbs of butter over medium low heat for about 20 minutes until they were nice and sweet and golden in color & stirred frequently. I set that aside as we’ll, until I was ready for it.

While the steaks were resting, I cooked my beans. Now, I actually did something horrible and sautéed them in about a tablespoon of the reserved bacon grease from my bacon crumbles to infuse some extra bacon flavor, but feel free to lighten it up a bit & use olive oil, etc. just make sure the pan is hot before you add your beans. I heated the pan to just above medium, added my beans, a good helping of sea salt (that’s all I have on hand), pepper and a light sprinkling of garlic powder. I stirred frequently until the beans were brilliant green and just starting to get tender, but still crisp; I actually grabbed one out of the pan to take a bite & test it (this is also a great time to test for seasoning). Right before they were done, I added the onions, bacon & pine nuts to heat through & incorporate & then served.

Thankfully everything turned out wonderfully and got rave reviews! The beans were wonderfully crispy and the steaks juicy and tender and both full of flavor. The company was even better! I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do and please let me know if you have any questions! I’ll try to do better in the future of taking progress photos not to mention actual final product photos. 🙂

The Musings Have to Start Somewhere…

Well, it finally happened. I started a blog. Some of you may be worried, others excited. Who really wants to get a look at the inner workings of Janelle’s mind anyway? Who knows? Maybe there’s some random person out in cyberspace who can benefit from my random musings.

I don’t have a clear inspiration for what the purpose of this blog will be. What I do know, is that I have a clear inspiration for the purpose of my life. “How could you possibly?!” you ask. Easily. I am a child of God. Am I perfect? No, far from it! But I have been shown a love far beyond what I can imagine and my job, nay, my purpose, is to extend that love through myself and show it to others the best I know how. And that means EVERYONE. I am not here to judge. I am here merely to love as God loves me. Do I fail at this? Absolutely; I fall short of this calling every single day. But I’m hoping that by starting this blog I can keep myself a bit more accountable. And maybe inspire a few in the process.

Perhaps a few of you are wondering about the title of the blog. “His Wandering Sparrow.” One of my biggest pitfalls, which I’d like to hope I’m improving on, is worrying too much. My favorite passage to help with this is Matthew 6:25-27, which says,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

My favorite gospel hymn based on this passage is His Eye is On the Sparrow and to this day brings great emotional response when I hear it. I even have a sparrow tattoo as a constant reminder of this message and my daily struggle. Every day I strive to give my worries to God because I know He watches me. He has proven this over and over and over again. He is faithful.

As for the topics I’ll cover, here’s where the “wandering” comes in. The most frequent way I show my love to people is through food, so that’s probably what you’ll see here quite often in the form of recipes, etc. I’ll also post about struggles I’m having to show that I’m not perfect because I’m certainly far from it. I’ll also post about my literal wanderings like vacations and things that happen in my life and how I witness God’s love and faithfulness in my world.

I hope you enjoy and don’t get too lost along the way.