"To learn to read is to light a fire" Victor Hugo

I had never actually sobbed while reading a book until the night before last.
My brothers and I love to read children's books aloud together. Admittedly, it has been selfish on my part from the first. I love good juvenile literature. Reading to my brothers is an acceptable way to indulge this. Let me add that I do have two other, more noble and altruistic, reasons for reading aloud to the boys. 1) I want them to develop a love for reading, and not just any books, but the best literature, the truly great books. 2) I want to teach them to analyze everything they read. This, of course, applies to every other area of life; we constantly have to be pushing everything we experience through the grid of Scripture, testing it to see if it is true. I do not want my precious brothers to passively accept all that they see, hear, experience. So, periodically, we'll pause and discuss the positive and negative attributes the various characters are displaying.

Anyhow, back to the other night. It was Edith Nesbit's book, The Railway Children that did it to me. My brothers, Joseph (9), James (8), Micah (5) and Elijah (3) were seated cozily around me and we were devouring the last chapter. ( WARNING: If you have not read this book, I'm going to give away the end a little.) Coming to the scene of reconciliation between the daughter and her father, I lost it. I tried to hold it back, but couldn't. It was the most precious scene. I thought of my own father and how blessed I am by him. I thought of the father in Alabama, who just this past Wednesday night, gave his life for his family's in shielding them with his own body from the terror of a tornado (for the story, see here). I thought of the joy that comes when a daughter ignores the world's lies about domineering patriarchy and the freedom of feminism and when she submits to and serves and loves her daddy with her whole heart, trusting in him completely. And I wept. And Elijah climbed into my lap and wiped my tears away with his hand. Need I say more than God has blessed me tremendously? My heart was full. 

The next book on our ever-increasing book list will not be as emotional. Miss Nesbit is also the author, in a way, of this work. She has taken certain Shakespeare's plays and rewritten them for children. I have always strongly desired to love (and be able to quote) Shakespeare, but somehow, I could not understand his plays. Perhaps this is because his plays are scripts for, well, plays and not meant to be read but seen. These story-forms of his plays I'm sure will help me and I can't wait to see what the boys think of them too. I know they will appreciate the fact that they won't make me cry. :)

Other books on the list include: Twice Freed by Patricia St John; The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff(an old favorite); The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken(another old favorite); a GA Henty book; and one of the Tom Swift, Young Inventor books by Victor Appleton plus many more. What are some of your 'old favorites'?

Kombucha Hongchajun Kocha Kinoko

Hi friends! Are you tired, run down, listless? Do you poop out of parties? Are you unpopular? Well, the answer to all your problems and more is in this little bottle. Kom-boo-cha. Yep, that's right!

Often mistaken for a mushroom, Kombucha is in fact a colony of yeast and bacteria. Adding the colony to green or black tea with some sugar, this allows the mixture to ferment and make the tea. The resulting beverage will then contain B vitamins, vinegar, and other chemical compounds (listed below). In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this type of tea is labeled as the “elixir of life”. In the words of the sweet friend who gave me my SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast), “If you’re ugly, it’ll make you pretty.” 

Kombucha is good for your immune system, protecting your liver, combating eczema, detoxification of the body, increasing your energy level (speeding up metabolism), reducing stress on your pancreas and liver, fighting arthritis, accelerating weight loss, helping combat acid reflux, managing stress, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and bad complexion. You know how Granny always recommends a little vinegar to heal what ails ya? Well, this acidic drink does the same thing. It contains Glucaric acid, Lactic Acid, Acetic Acid, Usnic Acid, Oxalic Acid, Malic Acid, Butyric Acid, glucosamines, B vitamins, Beneficial Yeasts, and, of course, like everything else, antioxidants. It has a delicious, but for most people, acquired, taste similar to a kind of sweet, fizzy vinegar. It is to be enjoyed in small portions, taking little sips.

To Make a Batch:

Bring 6-8 cups water to a boil. Add the corresponding amount of black/green tea bags (3-4). The tea must be caffeinated. Steep off the heat with a lid for 12 minutes, or the amount of time recommended on your tea box/jar. Strain out the tea bags and mix in 1- 1½ cups of white, granulated sugar until it is dissolved. Allow the tea to come to warm room temperature and pour into a glass jar with ½-1 cup of previous batch, setting the SCOBY on top of the liquid. Place a clean, doubled kitchen towel on top (it needs to breathe), securing with a rubber band. In a dark place (like your cabinet) let it ferment for 1 week. Pour into another glass container, leaving a little liquid in the jar to jumpstart your next batch. The made Kombucha goes in the fridge, ready to enjoy and your SCOBY is ready for another batch to ferment! Bring 6-8 cups water to a boil…

If mold develops on the Kombucha ‘pancake’, clean with a little vinegar.

It is recommended to drink 4 ounces or less a day.

A regular batch of the tea contains .5% alcohol, keeping it a non-alcoholic beverage. Higher amounts of sugar/extra brewing time might increase the alcoholic level to 1% or 1.5%.

www.kombuchahome.com

www.wikipedia.com

Nourishing Traditions, Fallon, Sally Newtrends Publishing, Inc.

My Favorite Last-Minute Recipe

I love to cook. Especially not traditional American spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese and pizza. The best recipes are those that are uncomplicated, with bright flavors and fresh ingredients... but that sounds a little cliche. Here, from one of my favorite cookbooks, Tyler's Ultimate by Tyler Florence, I present Spaghetti Carbonara, a dish that is so easy and so palatable my entire family will cross swords for the last noodle.

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 lb noodles (we've experimented and I like Strozzapreti best, a short-cut noodle that is rolled across it's width, if you can find it)

8 slices bacon (pepper-crusted is amazing), chopped very roughly

1 onion, diced

4 eggs

Large splash of cream (the heavier the more heavenly)

1/4 cup Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano if you can afford it)

2 T. Parsley 

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. While waiting for that, cook the bacon in a saucepan. Remember, when cooking bacon on the stovetop, if the bacon and pan are both cold, the bacon will not shrink up so much as when it's dropped into a sizzling pan. Mr Florence adds 3 T. of butter or so to the pan, but I think that's too much grease. You'll see what I mean in a minute. Once the bacon is half way cooked to crisp, add the onion and continue on medium - medium/high heat until the bacon is crisp and the onions soft and sweet.

While waiting for that, crack your eggs in the serving dish. Whisk to creaminess then pour in your cream and cheese and whisk some more. This is your succulent egg sauce which is delicious wrapped around whatever kind of noodles you have.

By now your water is ready. Cook the pasta to al dente. Pour the hot, crispy-cooked bacon, onion, grease and all into the egg mixture and whisk thoroughly. Add 1/4 cup of hot, starchy water that the noodles cooked in, with the the drained noodles to the dish as well. Mix in the parsley and pepper. (Personally, I sprinkle them on the top and don't bother about mixing in the seasonings) Toss; turn off the oven and 'bake' in there while waiting for your family to come to the table, about 7.3 minutes (less if they know that Carbonara is on the menu).  Tyler does not include this baking step, but instead places a plate on top of the serving pan for 5 minutes; the heat of the noodles and bacon mixture cooks the eggs. My sister and Mom like their creamy egg sauce a little more well done, however, and so I accommodate.

Oh, to blog

Debates with myself about blogging took a long time to resolve. Too much time, too much energy, there are thousands of blogs all ready, etc. But my daily Bible reading this last week finally pushed me over the edge.

At the beginning of the year, I challenged myself with the task of reading through the Bible in a year*. Our family typically does this but we've grown to love taking our time through books of the Bible, reading a text over and over and really digging deep instead of flying through at breakneck speed. But, I wanted the best of both worlds and so... here I am in the book of Exodus, chapter 31. And as I read about Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah, my eyes fixed on this:

"The LORD said to Moses, 'See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver and bronze, cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.' " Exodus 31:1-5

I thought, Certainly I don't have the talent for writing that Bezalel had for craftsmanship, but I absolutely need to be about the business of cultivating my gifts for the Glory of God, so I can have them ready when called upon.

So here am I, blogging.

* I use the Bible Reading plan at the back of my beloved ESV Study Bible - it's wonderful in that it has you read a passage from each of the four main genres every day.

Dedication

Lord Jesus,

Grant me the favour of being led by Thee, under the directions of Thy providence and Thy Word. Grant me Thy blessings with bitter things, to brighten and quicken me, not to depress and make me lifeless. Accept my unceasing thanks (oh, that it were!) that I am not cast off from Thy hand as a darkened star or a rudderless vessel. Suffer not my  life to extend beyond my usefulness. Let Thy mercy follow me while I live, and give me aid to resign myself to Thy will. Take my heart and hold it in thy hand; write upon it reverence to Thyself with an inscription that time and eternity cannot erase.

 The Valley of Vision