Five Grain Goodness

At home, not only do I roast my own coffee, but we’ve moved to making our own flour for bread, cereals for breakfast, as well as growing more and more of our veggies. This past winter, I went looking for a good breakfast recipe that featured barley. I found one such recipe in a wonderful book in our kitchen, Nourishing Traditions. It was a five grain porridge. Here’s the skinny:

2 cups each of whole grains: lentils, rice, wheat, barley, and millet. There are some substitutions available, such as kamut or spelt for wheat, and oats for barley. There may be others; I can’t recall now. However, you mix the whole grains and then we pass them though a flaker, such as this one for a Bosch Universal. It basically rolls the grain, sort of how oat groats are rolled. The difference here is that you don’t get the nice, flat grains, but a series of smaller flakes that are quite brittle and break down. Once the flaking is done, store the cereal in the fridge.

When you want some five grain porridge, the night before, you use 1 cup of cereal with 1 cup of warm, filtered water and 2 tablespoons of some acid, such as kefir, whey, yogurt, buttermilk, or even vinegar. It sits overnight. In the morning, it’s added to 1 cup of boiling water. You turn it down and let it simmer a while, then remove from heat and let cool. Add in 1 or 2 egg yolks. Server with a natural sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup.

If you don’t have a flaker, do not despair!  Bob’s Red Mill has all but the lentils.  I’ll have to check and see if there was an alternate to the lentils.  Also, there’s a flaker attachment for the ever-popular Kitchen Aid line of mixers.

Enjoy! It’s a high protein cereal that’s tasty and filling. It’s a bit different at first blush, but quite tasty. We seven pretty well took out a 4 cup pot this morning.

Solo Deo Gloria,
jason

 

Reading

Recent reads and in-process reads:

Steel Drivin Man: John Henry, The Untold Story of an American Legend
Christless Christianity
Unpacking Forgiveness
Election and Free Will

Solo Deo Gloria,
jason

 

Snow

It’s our third snow since late February/early March 2009.  It’s shaping to be three significant snows for our more southerly location, significant here meaning depths of about 12″ or more.  Today’s snow is drifting earthward in gentle floating flakes, a lighter snow than our last, the remnants of which still scar the parking lots in town, mocking the heat and sun that try to further their transition to water.

So, today is a quite, if somewhat wild day in our house.  Critters are staying quite, in their houses out of weather.  The children didn’t sleep well last night, so there’s a significant case of the grumps around.  Luckily, I had enough coffee to give me a kick out of a deep, but restless slumber that the frigid temperatures outside couldn’t shake.  I may need a second cup later.

Peach muffins in the oven.  Bread baking.  Pepperoni-cheese rolls yet to be made.  Apple cider chilled in the fridge, just waiting to emerge and be heated, then to heat from the inside out.

The snow will come.  It will pass.  Sunday’s temps promise to be above freezing, so the abatement will start.  Life will continue,  as we march towards spring.  The thaw will commence, leaving us with a muck and mire that the garden will love.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

 

Recycling Bibles

Earlier this week, eldest daughter and I were on a bit of a road trip.  The primary goal was to secure d’s retainer.  Check.  Her next request was to go to a particular store that had a significant book section and excellent prices.  There, she picked up another book in the Bobsey Twins series, and I picked up three: one on John Henry, one on Abraham Kuyper, and an NIV Study Bible.  I’ve never owned an NIV Study Bible, but have wanted one for it’s notes for a while.  The downside was that I wasn’t prepared to pay what most places wanted.  What I found was a leather one for less than $25.  Done.

So this evening, I walked over to the Bible shelf to peruse all the unused volumes.  There are those I’m unwilling to part with: family Bibles, first personal Bibles, Bibles from family members who have died.  I have duplicates: one that I had and one that was Dad’s are the same Bible (New Geneva Study Bible).  There are others that have seen little use in past years, falling to the side in preference to my ESV bibles,  particularly the ESV Study Bible.

Now, I can’t complain; I’m like most Americans: we have more Bibles than we need.  I’m thankful for certain.  What I’m trying to figure out is the best way to “recycle” the older ones.  I’m not thinking of shredding them for compost, more like a reuse situation.  A few questions remain: 1) Is it appropriate to pass on a Bible that is inscribed?  2) Simply remove the dedication page?  3) What about Bibles with notes in them?

If anyone has any suggestions or experiences to relate, let me now.  I’m thinking of Good Will, but I don’t like the idea that a used Bible will be sold.  If I get rid of them, I’d rather they go for free.  I guess we’ll see how it turns out.  I’ll drop an update when I figure the best way to handle this.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

 

Encouragement in 2010

I saw this today over at In Principo…Deus and wanted to share.  It’s not original to Todd, but to J. C. Ryle and the Ryle Quotes blog.  May it encourage you in reading this year.

“Begin reading your Bible this very day. The way to do a thing is to do it, and the way to read the Bible is actually to read it. It is not meaning, or wishing, or resolving, or intending, or thinking about it; that will not advance you one step. You must positively read. There is no royal road in this matter, any more than in the matter of prayer. If you cannot read yourself, you must persuade somebody else to read to you. But one way or another, through eyes or ears, the words of Scripture must actually pass before your mind.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Practical Religion, “Bible Reading”, 131.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

http://jcrylequotes.com/

 

Roasting & Christmas

After a failed attempt to nap, I headed down to the workshop to tend to a few Christmas duties. Among those things accomplished was an extra roast, alleviating the need to roast in a few days, plus providing more rest than my beans have found of late. I returned to the buggered Brazil Cerrado that was overly flat last time. I left it roasting for a while, but I don’t think it ever reached the appropriate temp. Looks like the WBP will need a bit of surgery: she doesn’t seem to want to go over 400 now. There a remote chance it was due to temps, but it’s not that cold here today, so I’m thinking my secondary coil may have lost connection. When I find time, I’ll crack her open.

Still snow laying about: it takes a while for about 10″ to dissipate, but the predicted cold rain for Christmas should do the job. I’m not looking forward to more water: this past November saw about 11″ of rain here, and the heavy clay soil is already water logged. But we need to remember that it is the Lord who brings the rain:

He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who e makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

Psalm 135:7 (ESV)

Merry Christmas all!

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

 

Time

Busy. That’s the best way I know how to describe this year. Much to do, to see, and it’s not slowing very much. I suppose that’s the standard in a house of seven. So, what have I been up to? Well, work, family, a bit of coffee and reading. I have too many books open now to really relate anything significant, but it has been an encouraging time reading various books, including God’s word. I’ve come to a clearer and deeper understanding of my own failings in light of the sacrifice of Christ. While I wouldn’t often admit it, Romans 5:6 is so true: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.“.

Coffee: I recently ordered beans for the first time in a while. And for the first time in probably several years, I picked up a Peru. My initial roast was to a City+/FC and the flavors have been nice, mild and chocolately. Very nice.

Critters: In preparation for kidding, we’re parting with two coming yearling does that have been bred. The logistics of five mama does and at least five kids was a bit too daunting. And goat care has only been compounded by a record-setting November and early December. We’ve had more rain in the past six weeks or so that probably ever. That leaves the wonderful clay soil logged with water and a mushy mess, especially where the goats regularly trod. Here’s hoping that the blessing of rain lets up a bit for a while. We need to dry out a bit before spring.

Family: The children continue to grow, like weeds all to often. Life is busy, but wonderfully rewarding. We’ve pretty much eliminated television except for DVDs via NetFlix and our own collection. It’s been a wonderful time to reconnect with my DW in ways we haven’t for quite some time.

A Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Solo Deo Gloria,
jason

 

Fiddling with the Chemex

I’ve been leveraging the Chemex for most of my morning brewing lately.  However, I’d lost the wonder of the brew: that fantastic flavor that comes from the almost magical brew.  But then, I recalled a video I’d watched sometime earlier, on how to brew the perfect cup of coffee in the Chemex by Intelligentsia Coffee.

What happened?  We’ll, yesterday’s cup had all the wonder, the great flavor I’d been missing.  The difference?  Well, previously, I’d been pre-wetting the filter with tap water, disposing of it and then filling with ground coffee and brewing.  But yesterday, I used just off-boil water to bring in a bit of preheating to the vessel.  I was slowly suspecting, as I drank my morning brew, that thermal loss was the culprit.  And that seems to be the case.  I now could use a way to more thoroughly heat the brewer.  And also make sure it doesn’t sit long after brewing.  A prompt decanting into the preheated and waiting Thermos mug makes sure it stays nice and toasty.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

 

Church Changes

My wife and I recently made a difficult decision, but the time had come.  After long ponderings, talks, and waiting, we made the call to change churches.  There’s nothing set in stone yet for our new home.  This past Sunday, we visited Spring Run Presbyterian.  There, we heard a great sermon on Rest and Worship.  You can see links to the sermon here.  Spring Run is not in our hometown, something that is not ideal.  However, our stated goal is to aid in the planting of a PCA church in our hometown.  Wikipedia has a pretty good rundown on what the PCA is.

I still have a sermon to preach for FBF and I’m still helping with their site.  But our fellowship with that body will only be on occasion now.  We love the folks there and treasure their blessings to us, and their continued friendship.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

 

Exercising Wisdom — Ecclesiastes 9:11-18

Below is the reminder of the first sermon from today, August 23, 2009 – a cross post from the church site.

For this section, verses 11 and 12 serve as a bridge – connecting this section to the previous ones, as well as offering a prelude into what the Preacher is to write.l  These two verses offer a slightly different summary of the over-arching observation that the world, from our perspective, seems random, and at its heart, unjust.  The fastest should win the race, just as the strongest should win the fight.  However, life is not as precise as mathematical formulas.

The randomness extends to the more critical as well: life and death.  Just as random as a bird flying into a trap or a fish being caught, we are no different.  The time of unexpected death is described as “evil”, not because of a moral quality that you can attribute to time, but that it’s fundamentally wrong.  The perceived healthy ones are suddenly gone.  In a world with limited medical knowledge, the randomness must have been quite acute.

Even if the world is full of randomness, for the Preacher, there remains the necessity to exercise wisdom.  Verses 13-16 (Ecc 9:13-16) recount a story.  A city was laid siege to by a great king.  Now a siege was an absolute cut off from those inside the city.  Usually, it’s only a matter of time before the barbarians overrun the gates.  But in the face of on of the most effective military tactic of the time, a poor wise man was able to deliver the city.  By his wisdom, he saw a way to save his town.  But was he remembered?  No.  Wisdom is better than military prowess, but no one remembered the savior of the city.

For us, it’s hard to conceive of wisdom being better than our modern military technologies.  Ours provides total annihilation – how is wisdom better?  Can wisdom be exercised on the battlefield?  Surely.  Just as its profitable in the market, in the garden, at work.  But of what use is a sword, spear or M16 in the same places?  Of greatly limited use.  As a wisdom is good in many places, the Preacher notes that it’s better in quiet for wisdom to be heard rather than the shouting of a ruler among fools.  A ruler has the appearance of wisdom, but of what value is it to fools?  Little, for certain.

Finally, what do we do with one sinner that destroys much good?  On one had, it’s the counterpoint to the one wise man in the city providing deliverance for the city.  A singular sinner could just as easily destroy the same city.  More randomness that the Preacher observed.

Remember: as we are going about our day, in our various activities, we carry with us a wisdom far greater than any that the Preacher knew.  1 Corinthians 1:18-31 relates how we have, as believers, the wisdom of Christ.  To the world, it’s folly; but to believers, it’s life.  Even greater good can come from believers bringing the wisdom of Christ to bear on every facet of our lives.

Solo Deo Gloria,
jason