Friday Foodie

More than a decade ago I received my favorite cookbook "Rosalie Serving Italian."  I have made many, many recipes from this book.  One of my favorites is also very simple, "Basil Pesto Sauce."  I wrote about it on September 11, 2009, "I have a little conflict with this week's recipe. It's another one from Rosalie Serving Italian, but it's not on her blog! Since she IS trying to sell her cookbook, I don't feel right posting a recipe she hasn't made available online herself."

As I was preparing to make the sauce again this week I decided to check her blog again.  And low and behold, she had posted the recipe!  The original recipe is here and I make it exactly the same way!

Basil Pesto Sauce
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts, or walnuts
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
coarse ground black pepper to taste

1. Wash basil leaves, pat dry and remove from stem. Measure out 2 cups basil leaves.
2. Lightly toast pine nuts or walnuts in dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes.
3. Place basil, toasted nuts, garlic and 1/2 cup olive in a blender. Pulse just until blended. (I've used my blender but this works better in my food processor.)
   
4. Add remaining 1/2 cup olive oil and pulse about 5 seconds longer.
5. Add cheese, salt and pepper; stir until blended.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

That's it!  It is such a simple recipe but it is delicious!!  We had it with sausage ravioli but it is excellent over linguine or in pasta salad.  If you're going to have it that day, you can make it in the amount of time is takes your water to boil for your pasta.

Wednesday Visitor

Les got my attention this morning - a bobcat was walking along our back property fence.  We weren't quick enough to get any pictures.   A few hours later, I had finished cleaning house and was taking some trash out and there it was again.  I quickly ran back in the house for my camera.  Unfortunately, our best camera with a zoom lens had a dead battery.  I was able to get these with our other digital camera. 

I stood in my backyard, talking and making eye contact while I snapped away.  The cat never made a sound, just watched.

Bobcats mate in the Spring and give birth in April or May, so this could be a mama with kittens.  We've had bobcats in our yard in the past, but it's been a while since we've seen any kittens.

I'll be keeping my camera ready!

Twenty Nine Years!

Happy anniversary to us!

Last week I watched in awe as my husband laid the foundation for our planter wall.  He designed the entire thing.  For weeks he's been telling me what he wanted to build, but watching it happen has been incredible.  Les is the smartest guy I know.  Not a single block has been put in place without a great deal of care.  I'm pretty sure there are some messages floating around in that magnificent mind of his!

We're not taking a trip to celebrate.  We can't even go out to dinner.  But I am so thankful for the years we've had and I'm looking forward to many, many more!

Front Planter Wall Project ~ Week 1 Progress

For weeks Les has been designing and re-designing our front planter wall.  Our house was built in 1987 and much of the original landscaping is still in place.  Through many years of drought, we've lost plants and our grass is a disaster.  We've needed to do something for a long time but haven't been home long enough to make it happen.  So thank you, COVID-19, for allowing us to be home.

Now for the progress pictures.  Monday our yard looked like this:

Les has been digging this trench in the mornings before starting his work day.  He finally had the front course leveled and ready for concrete.

 
Our supplies were delivered on Tuesday.  Concrete mix, mortar, and blocks.  Lots of blocks!

We started mixing and pouring concrete Tuesday afternoon.  We took a break for dinner and came out to find one of our neighbor's dogs had walked through the wet concrete.  Grrrr...  Les was able to smooth the concrete and we continued mixing and pouring.

 
The entire front was poured by the end of the day Tuesday.  Wednesday saw us mixing mortar and getting the first blocks laid.

This is our "cornerstone."

By the end of the day, the front course was in place:

The second level:

We are meeting many of our neighbors!  So many are out walking in the evenings.  There is an intentional gap between the wall and the sidewalk (leaving room for stucco and paint) so  I thought we better put some warning signs up.

Thursday and Friday were more of the same.  Mixing mortar and putting blocks in place:

Proof that I'm not just the photographer!  Mixing mortar is a lot like baking, incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet a little at a time.

Les had to cut a few blocks to get them to fit.

 
The columns are coming in nicely.

By the end of yesterday, the entire front with four levels was finished.   And we are exhausted!

Les will be going "back to work" on Tuesday.  For now that means continuing to work from home.  His work day typically starts at 11:00 a.m. (lining up with Hawaii's 8:00 a.m. start time.)  So the plan is to work 3-4 hours each morning.  We were blessed with great weather this week but the temps are suppose to soar into the 90s next week, so I really think that's about all either of us can handle!

Friday Foodie Triple Play

As promised, I have three new recipes today!  They all come from one of my favorite food bloggers - Plain Chicken.  Our front planter wall project is moving along and I'll post progress pictures tomorrow.  It's been a TON of work and I've been helping.  I'm learning how to mix mortar.  No need for a gym, I'm getting quite a workout.  Since I've been working so hard outside, by the time we sit down to eat I have been too tired to take any food pictures.  I'll provide links to the original recipes if you need to see pictures.  I will say all three of these recipes were winners!

Crockpot Port Tenderloin and Gravy (original here)

Ingredients:
2½ to 3 lb pork tenderloins
2 (0.87-oz) packets pork gravy
1 (10.75-oz) can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup water or chicken broth
1 cup sliced mushroom.

Instructions:
Use a knife to carefully trim the silver skin off the pork tenderloins before adding them to the slow cooker. The silver skin is a silvery-white sheen membrane on the pork tenderloins. It is a thick connective tissue and it doesn’t break down when the pork is cooked.
Place pork tenderloins in slow cooker. Mix together gravy mix, cream of chicken soup, and chicken broth. Pour over pork.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
Shred pork and return to slow cooker for another hour to let the meat absorb more of the flavor from the gravy.

This was so good!  I ended up adding a cup of broth instead of 1/2 cup.  I also added minced onions and some garlic salt.  I served this with mashed potatoes and corn.   I took some of the pork and made pull pork sandwiches for lunch one day also.  I added barbecue sauce and a little buffalo sauce to kick the spice up a little for the sandwiches.

Spicy Pineapple Brown Sugar Chicken (original here)

Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple juice
6 Tbsp BBQ sauce
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Instructions:
Whisk together pineapple juice, brown sugar, BBQ sauce, chili powder, and red pepper flakes.
Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade to brush on chicken before taking off the grill if you want spicier chicken. Place chicken in a gallon ziplock bag. Pour remaining marinade over chicken. Seal bag and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.
Remove chicken from marinade. Grill until done, 12 to 15 minutes.
To cook the chicken without a grill, cook the chicken in a skillet for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place chicken on baking sheet and cook at 400ºF for 10 minutes. Cook chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF Les is the grill master in our house, so I used the oven method.  I was a little afraid that the red pepper flakes would make the chicken too hot so I only used 1/2 tablespoon.  It wasn't spicy at all, so I could have used the full tablespoon.  While the chicken was in the oven, I made some rice.  We also had recipe number three with this meal:

Carrot Salad with Pineapple and Coconut (original here)

Ingredients:
4 cups grated carrots (about 1 pound)
1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup raisins (I used Craisins since I had them on hand)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Instructions:
Combine pineapple, mayonnaise and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir until creamy.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

This was SO good!  It's another great summer salad.

All three of these recipes made plenty so we have been enjoying leftovers after a hard day of work!

A Vow That Should Have Never Been Made

My Bible reading yesterday morning included Judges chapter 11.  When I finished reading the chapter, I looked at Les and said, "This might be the stupidest story in the Bible!" Please don't misunderstand me!  I am not saying the Bible is stupid.  I'm talking about the actions of a man and a vow he made.  A vow that should have never been uttered.

My reasoning behind this statement comes from verses 30 through 40.  Verses 30-31 say, "And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible says, "The words of this verse prove conclusively that Jephthah intended his vow to apply to human beings, not animals: for only one of his household could be expected to come forth from the door of his house to meet him. They also preclude any other meaning than that Jephthah contemplated a human sacrifice. This need not, however, surprise us, when we recollect his Syrian birth and long residence in a Syrian city, where such fierce rites were probably common. The Syrians and Phoenicians were conspicuous among the ancient pagan nations for human sacrifices, and the transfer, under such circumstances, to Yahweh of the rites with which the false gods were honored, is just what one might expect. The circumstance of the Spirit of the Lord coming on Jephthah is no difficulty; as it by no means follows that because the Spirit of God endued him with supernatural valor and energy for vanquishing the Ammonites, He therefore also endued him with spiritual knowledge and wisdom."

Verses 34 and 35 tells us what happened after he returned victoriously, "And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back."

After reading those verses, I just shook my head.  Jephthah had ONE child.  Who was he thinking of when he made that vow?  The only others would have been his wife or a servant, but why would a servant come out to meet him?  So his burnt offering was going to be his wife or his daughter. There was nothing about this vow that could agree with God's laws.

His daughter replies in verse 36, "And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon." The Pulpit Commentary said, "The touching submission of Jephthah’s daughter to her unnatural and terrible fate, while it reveals a most lovable character, seems also to show that the idea of a human sacrifice was not so strange to her mind as it is to ours."

While many have said that she was not actually burned, The Pulpit Commentary said, "Who did with her according to his vow. Nothing can be more express than this statement. In fact, except the natural horror we feel at a human sacrifice, there is nothing to cast the least shade of doubt upon the fact that Jephthah’s daughter was offered up as a burnt offering, in accordance with heathen notions, but, as Josephus says, neither "conformably to the law, nor acceptably to God." Most of the early Jewish commentators and all the Christian Fathers for ten or eleven centuries held this view. Luther’s comment is, "Some affirm that he did not sacrifice her, but the text is clear enough." She knew. Rather, she had known."

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible said, "Most condemn Jephthah; he did ill to make so rash a vow, and worse to perform it. He could not be bound by his vow to that which God had forbidden by the letter of the sixth commandment: Thou shalt not kill. God had forbidden human sacrifices, so that it was in effect a sacrifice to Moloch."

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible , "Jephthah was right in not being deterred from keeping his vow by the loss and sorrow to himself (compare the marginal references), just as Abraham was right in not withholding his son, his only son, from God, when commanded to offer him up as a burnt-offering. But Jephthah was wholly wrong in that conception of the character of God which led to his making the rash vow. And he would have done right not to slay his child, though the guilt of making and of breaking such a vow would have remained. Josephus well characterizes the sacrifice as neither sanctioned by the Mosaic law, nor acceptable to God.”

The Biblical Illustrator sums it up nicely, "Two men are very foolish or stubborn who fulfill an agreement which they both see to be disadvantageous, and wish to fall away from. No duty whatever compels them to fulfill it, and if they do so they are justly the laughing-stock of their acquaintances. Now, this is precisely the case in which a man finds himself who has vowed to God what turns out to be sinful, for God can never wish him to fulfill a contract which, he now sees, involves sin. A man swears to do a certain thing because he thinks it will be pleasing to God, but if he discovers that, instead of being pleasing, it will be hateful to God, to perform his vow, and do that vowed but hateful thing, is to insult God. By the very discovery of the sinfulness of a vow, the maker of it is absolved from performing it. God shrinks much more than he can do from the perpetration of sin. Both parties fall from the agreement."

God doesn't work the way Jephthah thought He did.  You don't make deals with God.  God was ready to deliver without a vow that went against His Word.  We can't say, "God, I'll do this, if You'll do that."  We need to be like the Hebrew boys before they were tossed in the fiery furnace in Daniel 3:16-18, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

Serve God.  Without conditions.  Whatever sacrifices we make, should be made out of love, not with an expectation of reward.  There should be no "If, Then" statements in our prayers. Follow Him wholly and everything else will go according to His plan.

Wordless Wednesday Napping Edition

I hope everyone is taking time to catch up on your naps while you stay home!