Why Holiday Feasting Is A Spiritual Act

Credit: Free photos from acobox.com

Are you still feeling guilty about over-indulging at the Thanksgiving table?  And what about the cookies, pie, and chocolates that invade your home, office, and social activities this time of year?

If you’re like me, the holiday feasting has just begun.

Why fight it?  Holiday guilt is for wimps. 

Which is why I’m going to manage the feasting.  Physically, mentally, and spiritually. 

Will you join me in embracing the spiritual aspect of holiday feasting?  Simply put, God loves a good meal.  

I started thinking about this before Thanksgiving.  Pastor Eric set the stage by taking a closer look at Jesus’ infamous miracle – the Feeding of the 5,000.  Did you know that this is the only miracle of Jesus to appear in all four Gospels?

I’ve heard this story dozens of times.  And I’ve always focused on Jesus, the boy with the loaves and fish, the disciples, and the crowd. 

I’ve never really focused on the food.  Nor have I focused on the paramount role of food in the story of salvation.

• The feeding of the 5,000 looks back to the Exodus.  When Jesus directs the crowd to sit down in groups of 50, we flash back to the Israelites in the wilderness.  The similarities – God providing bread and meat to a hungry crowd – is nothing short of divine.  When the Israelites are without food in the wilderness, God provides both manna and quail.  Could it be that Jesus smiles, knowing He will repeat this miracle a few thousand years later?
• The feeding of the 5,000 looks forward to the Eucharist.  Jesus isn’t just filling empty stomachs.  He is giving of himself – the bread of life.  In remembering his death, we celebrate the ultimate feast.  His body.  His blood.  Poured out on us. While Jesus takes comfort in feeding a hungry crowd, He tells his disciples of a greater feast.  “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.”

Something about food gives us spiritual understanding.  Is it the smell?  The texture?  The satisfaction?

Something about God loves to feed us.  Which means your holiday feasting is a spiritual act.  

Let's get over the guilt.  When you raise your glass this Christmas season, will you join me in looking back to the Exodus and forward to the Eucharist?

Starbucks Give-Away For Coffee Snobs Only!

Are you a coffee snob?  Are you high maintenance?  If the answer to either of these questions is yes, you’ve come to the right place.

Today, at Working Mommy Wednesday, we're talking about the "must haves" to get us through the day.


For me, my two "must haves" are coffee and prayer.

I'll talk about prayer another day.  Today, let's talk about coffee.

It’s no secret that I love my coffee.  Not just any coffee.  I like the good stuff.  Some of you know that I gave up coffee for Lent last year.  And it nearly killed me!

When Doug and I go camping with the kids, we bring our own coffee pot and Starbucks.  You guessed it, I’m a high maintenance camper.  I realize Starbucks and camping don’t go together for most people, but I like to break stereotypes. 

So you can imagine how frazzled I was on our last camping trip when we ran out of our coffee!  I went over to the “camp store” to buy a cup, thinking I would just have to suck it up and drink the cheap stuff.  I took a sip and thought I was drinking water.  I nearly choked.  In a complete panic, I headed to town, relieved to find the local Starbucks.

Maybe I sound like a total snob.  I'm sorry.  I can do without a shower and some basic hygiene every now and then, but please don’t ask me to drink yucky coffee.

If you’re a coffee snob or you just love coffee, please let me know.  Everyone who leaves a comment on this post will enter a drawing for a Starbuck’s gift card.  Winners will be announced on Friday. 

(By the way, I don't know about you, but these four-day weeks require extra coffee.  I'm traveling this week, so please forgive me if I don't respond to your comments until tomorrow!)

My Favorite Recipe

My favorite recipe is my mother’s sauce! I’ve seen her make it so many times that I can make it in my sleep. (Sorry, I never measure.)

Supplies:

· a 16-quart saucepan (the bigger the better -- I’ve moved up to the 20-quart pan)
· a wooden spoon
· a kitchen full of children (optional)

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• garlic (the more the better)
• peppers and onions (optional)
• 4-5 28-ounce cans tomato sauce
• 4-5 28-ounce cans tomato puree
• 1-2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
• Italian spices (basil, oregano -- the fresher the better)
• 3-4 lbs ground meat
• Italian-style bread crumbs
• 2-3 eggs
• parsley
• 5-7 links Italian sausage, both hot and mild (I cut them in small pieces after they cook)

10 Steps to perfection:

1. Wash your hands.
2. Make someone else (preferably over the age of 18) open all the cans of sauce.
3. Sautee garlic, onions, and peppers in a liberal amount of olive oil. Don’t burn the garlic!
4. Dump the cans of sauce, puree, and crushed tomatoes into the sauce pan (with the olive oil).
5. Add plenty of water (at least 3-4 empty cans) so the sauce doesn’t burn as it cooks.
6. Make and roll your meatballs (ground meat, parsley, bread crumbs, eggs, and more garlic and Italian spices).
7. Drop the raw meatballs one by one, into the sauce pan.
8. Drop the raw Italian sausage into the sauce pan (if you’re on a diet, boil the fat out first).
9. Add Italian spices.
10. Stir occasionally and cook all day on low (the longer the better -- at least 6 hours).

A couple of hints (aka lessons I learned the hard way):

• Don’t burn the sauce -- put it on the simmer burner, and if it sticks to the bottom of the pan, add water.
• If the meatballs are too mushy, add more bread crumbs. If the meatballs are too hard, add an egg (or some water).
• The best “job” for kids is making meatballs. Just make sure they wash their hands and try to keep them away from the stove.
• Making sauce is an art, not a science. If you don’t have a specific ingredient, feel free to improvise. Experimentation is always encouraged.
• Don’t plan on leftovers. If you’re smart, you’ll freeze over half the pan for individual dinners, before your friends and neighbors smell what you’re up to.

I love this recipe so much that I included it in the Appendix of Chasing Superwoman!

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Bonus for Working Mom Wednesday:

Check out Amy Neiberger-Miller’s new blog and leave her a comment!  I was thrilled to read her review of Chasing Superwoman yesterday.  From one working mom to another, she gets it!

Tuesday Tip – Green Shakes Give Energy!

Working moms need energy.  Which is why I recently added green shakes to my diet.

I learned a few things when I was laid up at the spa in Utah.  What did I learn?  To start, I learned how to make yummy green shakes.  And you can’t even taste the spinach.

My sisters, Mona and Janie, dragged me to a cooking class the morning after my tooth extraction.  I really wasn’t that excited – given that I was unable to chew or digest food, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a cooking class – but I was getting a little tired of the four walls of my hotel room.  When we arrived at the class, I was pleasantly surprised to see green shakes on the menu.  This is how I know God has a sense of humor.  He dragged me all the way to Utah, just to teach me how to make the perfect drink right when I needed it the most.

Needless to say, it hit the spot.  Never mind that I hadn’t eaten anything in 24 hours.  This was pure heaven (not to mention the secondary but equally fabulous health benefits).

Here’s the recipe, as best as I can remember (and, yes, I’ve been making them on a regular basis – even Abby thinks they are delicious).

• 1/3 spinach (as you get brave, you can more spinach as well as parsley, mint, or anything green and leafy)
• 2/3 frozen fruit (I’ve found that bananas, pineapple, and mango work best with spinach)
• apple cider (or apple juice)
• a dash of real vanilla extract (this is the secret ingredient)

Put the spinach in first and add the other ingredients in order.  Enjoy!

Are you brave enough to try a green shake?

Cake, Anyone? (Part 2) – Win A Starbucks Gift Card!

How did Nick’s birthday cake turn out?  Did the cake get the best of me, or did I get the best of the cake? 
Be the first to answer the question below correctly, and you’ll win that Starbucks card!

QUESTION:  What happened with Nick’s birthday cake?

a.  I had to throw it away.  The cake was all over the back of my car.  Even I couldn’t save it.  The restaurant offered to give us all free dessert, and everyone was happy.

b.  I gave it to a guy in the parking lot.  After Doug went in the restaurant, some guy in the parking lot came over to help me.  I told him I couldn’t bear to throw the cake away, so he offered to take it off my hands.  Then, I ran to the grocery story and bought a new cake.

c.  I ate it.  Even though I couldn’t feed the cake to Nick and his friends, I decided to just leave it in the back of my car.  And when we got home, I ate it (along with some help from the kids)!  It was delicious, even though Doug wouldn’t take a bite.  At the party, the restaurant provided a new cake – at a steep price!

d.  I served it at the party.  Once Doug went inside the restaurant, I put the top of the cake back on with my bare hands.  It really didn’t look that bad after all.  I took it in the restaurant (messy hands and all) and got a few stares and laughs.  But I didn’t care.  The kids all loved it, and even the parents wanted to try it – it was the best cake we’d had in a long time (even Doug liked it)!

THE RULES:

• You must post the correct answer on the blog (Facebook and email responses don’t count).
• You must post on or before Saturday, April 17 at 11:59 p.m.
• You cannot change your answer.
• I can amend the rules at all times.
• The winner will likely be announced on Monday, April 19.

Any questions?

Cake, Anyone? (Part 1)

Things didn’t go as planned with Nick’s birthday cake.  Let’s just say it’s a cake I’ll never forget.

To start, I had completely forgotten to plan a cake for his 9th birthday party.  So when a friend insisted on making it the day before, I gladly agreed.

Problem #1?  The cake was leaning to one side when she brought it over my house.  It wasn’t in a box, and I still had to transport it to the restaurant.  I could see the disappointment in Nick’s face, but I had to play it cool.  My, this cake looks absolutely wonderful.  And I’m sure it will taste even better.

Inside, I was thinking, This cake is a disaster. How am I ever going to move it – let alone take it on a bumpy car ride?

Of course, we were running late to the party.  I put the cake in the hatchback and told Nick to watch it carefully.  (Looking back, I don’t know why I told him to watch it.  It’s not like he could do anything to stop the inevitable.)  So, as I drove, Nick gave me the painful play by play.  The cake was leaning.  The cake was drooping.  The cake was falling apart.  “Pull over Mom!  You’ve got to do something.  We’re going to have to get a new cake!”  I tried to ignore him and kept driving.

When we got to the restaurant, I opened the hatch.  It was worse than I thought.  The top layer of the cake had slid off completely, and the middle had cracked.  I wanted to cry.  But I couldn’t.  I put on my happy face.  The cake is wonderful.  Things are fine.

Fortunately, Doug met me in the parking lot.  When he saw the cake, he was speechless (and, he was smart enough not to make any jokes).  He handed me a box of Kleenexes from inside his car – like that was supposed to solve things – and I told him to please go inside.  “We’re already late.  Go inside now.  Greet the other parents.  Make sure Nick is happy.  I’ll deal with the cake.”

Did the cake get the best of me, or did I get the best of the cake?  You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. 

Besides, before I finish the cake story, I have to stop and ask.  Do you ever feel like, no matter how hard you try to hold it together, things are falling apart?  And isn’t it painful when you have to act like everything is fine – when you have to stay strong and put on a happy face?

The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. – 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

My Mother’s Sauce

I never set out to write a cookbook.  In fact, I never set out to cook.  But guess what’s going to appear as an appendix in Chasing Superwoman?


That’s right, I’m publishing a recipe – none other than my mother’s sauce!

Some secrets are just too good to keep.  I’ll have to admit, I’m pretty excited to share such a deep and personal part of my life (and my stomach) with anyone who chooses to read the book!

For those of you who are interested in the writing process, this wasn’t in the original plans.  But when you’re writing a book, plans tend to change.  A couple of days before the book went to print, one of the editors asked me for the recipe given that I talk at length about my favorite foods (and in particular making sauce) in the book.  If you know me well, you know that food is an integral part of my family and spiritual life.  I had never written (or seen) the recipe on paper.  So after writing it down, we just decided to add it to the book.


What’s the recipe?  Of course, I can’t tell you.  Not yet.  If you’re hungry you’ll just have to wait!

Life is full of irony.  I’m publishing the recipe for my mother’s sauce (which is her mother’s sauce) in a book about a working mom, where I explain that I wasn’t Grandma’s favorite -- I simply wasn’t domestic enough.  And she never lived long enough to see me cook!  So, Grandma is probably looking down from heaven smiling (and even laughing).

See Grandma, I finally learned how to find my way around in the kitchen.  You taught me something after all!  

Sometimes, when we set out on an adventure (like writing a book) we finish with a surprise ending.  Have you ever set out to do one thing, and it ends up with an unexpected twist?

Being A Chocolate Snob And Loving It

There are certain things in life I don’t apologize for.  One of them is being a chocolate snob.   There, I said it.  I love chocolate, but not just any chocolate.  It has to be real, and it has to be dark.

I have been accused of being high maintenance.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I have few vices.  I don’t indulge in expensive hobbies, I don’t demand pricey jewelry, and I require minimal hygiene and little sleep.   It doesn’t take much to make me happy.  Just give me my skim latte, dry red wine, and last but not least, real dark chocolate. 

This is where my brownie recipe comes in.   No, I don’t use a box.  If you ate my brownies, you wouldn’t either.  I use real cocoa, real chocolate, and real butter.   They’re so rich that even I need a glass of milk or, better yet, some vanilla ice cream.

My other favorite treat?  Mocha lattes.  The coffee shop in my office building just started putting real dark chocolate (not that powdery junk) in their espresso drinks.  Yep, when I need that pick-me-up after lunch, it hits the spot.

So, this Valentine’s Day, I’m going to treat myself to a mocha latte, and I might even make a pan of brownies.  It’s a vice, but not one I’m going to apologize for.

Any other chocolate snobs out there?  (The first step is always admission!  Don't worry, you’re in good company.)