More and more people are turning to rice milk as a dairy alternative. Some are vegans or allergic to dairy and looking for an alternative to soy. One lady I know said she uses rice milk because she is worried about getting too much protein (which really not only possible but happens every day to many people in the US). But the rice milks available are quite expensive. A quart of Rice Dream at WinCo (a discount grocery store in my area) runs over $2 a quart (I’m thinking it’s closer to $2.50, but I haven’t checked it lately). Even buying it in bulk at Costco or Sam’s Club is still pricey, especially if you drink a lot of it.

So when my son turned up allergic to both dairy and soy, and refused to drink plain water, I did what many parents in my situation do, and turned to rice milk. After a couple of weeks, though, I decided to make my own. I found a recipe here, and this is what I am demonstrating in the video below (please note that the original recipe makes 4 quarts, not 2, but my son can’t drink it that fast):

You might also want to see how I start the blender when making rice milk. And don’t forget to label the jars so that you know how long ago you made the milk!

I am participating in Smockity Frock’s link-up carnival. Please go there to see what Connie and her friends are demonstrating this week.

Tomorrow I’ll be showing you a neat tip for making your own olive oil sprinkler. You know, so that when you turn it upside down it puts out a teaspoon or less per shake, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally dumping half the jar in your recipe! You won’t want to miss this!

Bring to almost boiling, then reduce to low and cook for 20-30 minutes (stirring occasionally):
2 c amaranth
3 ½ c water
1 tsp salt (or 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp Bragg’s Aminos)

Stir and allow to cool a little before continuing. It should be nice and thick.

Mix together:
1 shredded parsnip
1 shredded carrot
1-2 c nut fiber, soy fiber, or other fiber*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c onion, minced (opt)
1 tsp sage
salt or Braggs Aminos to taste
½ c minced bell pepper
Add cooked amaranth, stir well.
Add gluten-free flour, such as garbanzo or rice flour, as needed to form a thick paste. You should be able to sort of kneed it, but it should be much wetter and stickier than bread dough. Alternately, you could soak garbanzos or split peas (yellow is better) and then blend them smooth with as little water as possible. This will make the mix more moist, but it will firm up as it bakes.

With wet hands, make balls slightly bigger than golf balls, shape into patties, and place on greased cookie sheet. They should be about 3/8” to 1/2″ thick. You will need to wet your hands again every 3-4 patties.

Bake for 30 minutes each side, or until they are how you want them. Great in sandwiches, or even by themselves.

* This is a great way to use up the fiber left over after juicing veggies.

Have you ever pulled something out of the fridge and gone, “I wonder how long this has been in here…”?

Yeah, me too. For some things, it doesn’t matter so much how long it’s been there, especially if you have plans to use it in a day or two. But in my house, sometimes my husband wants to know how long something has been there. So here is the solution I came up with:

It’s so easy. All I do is whip out my trusty dry-erase marker (which is on my fridge anyway, because that’s how I write out my daily to-do lists) and write the contents and the date it went in there. This works for anything from Rice Milk (which is what you see above–tutorial on how to make it is coming next week) to leftovers to, well, anything. It will write on metal or plastic (one of the lids is plastic and the other is metal). They will wash off with a damp cloth later. You can write it on smooth plastic storage container lids too. Textured lids will be harder to clean, but I have done it.

I used to try using masking tape, but then I could never find it. Or it was too old and hard to get off. Or it would stick to the lid and make a mess to clean up. This method works so easily and cleans up so nicely!

So that’s what works for me!

At least, I think it’s week 3. Maybe it’s week 4, but I missed last week due to camp meeting, so that’s where it’s at.

Anyhow, I weighed in this morning at 139. I was hoping for 138, but at least that’s a pound less than I was last week and 2 less than the week before. I figure that slow progress is better than no progress, right?

I’ve also been working hard on my diet. Yesterday at church, I predetermined the amount of dessert I would eat, and ate only that much. I had plenty of opportunities to take a bite so two of something else, but I asked God for strength, and He provided it.

I’m not going to give a day-by-day breakdown of what I’ve done each day. I haven’t been exercising regularly, partly because I’ve been so busy cleaning and carrying boxes and children up and down stairs! But this morning I went a little over a mile, running maybe a third of a mile and walking fast the rest of the way. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try to do some more of those exercises I was doing before we moved…

So that is my goal for this next week: to do at least two of those exercises, and to continue to watch my diet.

Last weekend we went to the Empowered Living Ministries camp meeting in Hood River, a little over an hour from our place. It was a real blessing! If you’ve never heard of them, you should check them out. I’ll be posting more about this later.

But for now, let’s just say that the impressions I received at this camp meeting, combined with the lack of Internet at home, have led to some drastic changes in my priorities. I will not be having a post every day on this blog. It is not practical for me. I realized that before the move, I had been putting my blog before almost everything, including my Lord, my husband, my children, and my home. Now I am going to put those things in their proper place and my blog below them.

I also realized that I had not asked God’s permission to even have a blog. I think I was scared that He would say no. But I finally did. I surrendered it to Him, ready to quit if He said so. But He didn’t say I had to quit–just to put it at the bottom of my priority list.

So what does this mean practically? There will be fewer posts, but they will have more quality in them. And I will have time for the things that really matter.

Soon I will be writing more book reviews, so watch for those! And thank you for visiting.

See if you can spot the problem with this photo:

It’s easy to miss from this angle. Maybe a toddler’s perspective will help:

Pretty obvious now, eh? Let me tell you my story.

It was last fall. My memory says it was the day after Thanksgiving. I had cooked millet overnight in the crock pot for a recipe, and after taking out what I needed, I moved it out of my way. But I didn’t think about the cord.

Manny came into the kitchen, and the cord was the first thing to catch his notice. Something new! So exciting. So he did what any normal toddler would do. He pulled.

A moment later, my heart nearly stopped as I whirled around to see Manny laying on the floor, surrounded by pieces of broken glass and bits of cooked millet. The crock was upside down on his left, the lid shattered. But he was unhurt! He was crying as if he had just had the fright of his life–and indeed he had–but he was okay.

If the crock had landed on his head, I imagine it could have killed him. I am convinced his angel pushed it out of the way. I’ll double check when I get to heaven. Daddy came running and snatched him out of the mess, while I tried to calm my shaking knees with the thought that he was okay, and proceeded to clean up the mess. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my whole life!

So now, when I move the crock pot, I make sure it looks like this:

Just in case you’re wondering, I found a “new” lid a while later at the Goodwill.

“Guiso” (pronounced “geese-oh” with a soft “s”) is a Spanish dish that is typically a dish with meat, sometimes vegetables, cooked in a sauce. In Asia it would be called a curry, I guess. It is usually served over rice. This dish was more or less invented by my husband, who comes from the Dominican Republic. Although I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is a Dominican dish, I think almost anyone from his country would enjoy it–and almost anyone else, for that matter!

2 Chayote Squash (called “tayota” in the DR)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes (roma are best), diced
2 tsp coconut oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or mashed
1/2 bell pepper, diced (may also use poblano and/or anaheim for a bit spicier flavor without much heat)
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
2-4 veggie hot dogs
1 small (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
1/4 can of coconut milk or more
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
Braggs aminos to taste (ie, for salt–don’t overdo it; maybe 2-3 tbsp)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Peel the chayote, chop it up (don’t use the pit in the middle–work around it), and boil it with a little water and salt. Should be soft like a potato when done, but with a smoother texture.

While it’s cooking, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and tomato. Saute with the lid on until the tomato is dissolved and the onion clear. May add garlic before they are done, or in the next step. Add the chayote, pepper, zucchini, hot dogs, tomato sauce, coconut milk, and spices, including Braggs. Allow ingredients to simmer a bit, maybe 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the cilantro, stirring well. Serve hot over rice. Flavors blend more when stored; it will taste even better the second day! Serves about 4.

Some notes about the ingredients:

Chayote makes this dish, I think. You could do it without, but it wouldn’t be the same. I have found it in every supermarket I’ve looked in, usually near other less-common foods.

Coconut oil is the best oil to use when cooking, because it does not alter like other oils do, if not overheated. It is not like other saturated fats, and actually has a lot of health benefits. It’s about the only oil I cook with anymore. You could use another kind of oil if you don’t have it, but I recommend you research it and get some. You can read a recent post on the topic here.

The hot dogs are about the only veggie meat we use anymore. I usually put in 1 per person that I’m serving. Any veggie meat would be fine. Sometimes I use homemade gluten.

I use the regular coconut milk, not the lite version, for the same reason that I use coconut oil. It’s good fat. The meal is mostly veggies, so the fat will help hold the meal a bit longer. You can use the lite version if you want.

I use a mild chili powder. This dish shouldn’t be hot, just flavorful. I suppose it could be left out if you don’t use chili powder, but it wouldn’t be as good.

Check back every Monday for more of my delicious Vegan Recipes, or just subscribe to the blog so you will never miss a post! Next week, Sunflower Seed Sour Cream.

The other night my husband and I were talking just before crawling into bed, and he shared something interesting with me that put into words some things I had been sort of convicted about.

The Internet

My husband heard some guy on the radio talk about multitasking online and the tendency to get distracted on the Internet. You know, you open 3 or 4 tabs (I have 5 open at this moment), start something in one, then go to do something in another one, switching back and forth. Or you get online to check your email (maybe you are expecting an important message or have to write one), and then you decide while you’re at it to tell Facebook what you’re up to; then you see an interesting link your friend posted, so you follow that, and before you know it, you’ve wasted half an hour and done nothing productive! Sound familiar? It does to me.

The sad thing is, many of the things we do online are an absolute waste of time. My site stats, for instance. Checking them once a day at most would be much more productive than checking them every hour. They will not get any better for all that I check them. It takes a minute or two to get to them, and all those minutes add up pretty fast. Of course, by the time this publishes, I won’t have Internet at home so I’ll be checking them only once a week. But that has been a problem for me this past month.

It also seems that this multitasking actually wastes time, instead of saving it. Sure, listening to a sermon while I iron is better than ironing in silence and then sitting down to listen to a sermon. But I have found that I really can’t talk on the phone while ironing. I work twice as slow–or stop altogether. It is better to focus on one task at a time. In fact, studies show that working on 3 tasks sequentially will result in less overall time and a better quality of work, as opposed to working on all 3 simultaneously. (See Wikipedia on Human Mulitasking.) This especially applies to the Internet.

My husband has realized that this is true in his own life. He said that he would be working on documentation, and then he would get the urge to check his email (granted, work email, but still…). That would take 2 or 3 minutes, then he was back to the documentation. But then he’d check something else, and was just being distracted all day long. He said he’s renouncing the Internet. I don’t blame him!

But here’s the interesting thing. All this multitasking actually reroutes the neurons in our brains, creating new paths that hinder deep thinking. Having so much information on hand–an overwhelming amount of information–makes it hard for us to focus on any one thing. We tend to scan. That might be fine if you’re trying to find the best sale, but it’s not good when you pick up your Bible.

I will admit that I have been affected in this way. I sit down to read my Bible or a devotional book, and I get distracted very easily. Trying to do my devotions on a computer with Internet usually ends in disaster. My last attempt was successful (you can read about it here), but I rarely even attempt it–because most of the time I succumb to the temptation to check my email or my blog stats or something else–or all of the above.

Is it any wonder that I have been struggling lately in my spiritual life? If I can’t focus on the deep thinking required to digest God’s Word, how can I grow spiritually? How can I focus on prayer, on “being still” before God, when my mind is used to changing topics every 30 seconds?

So I am glad that  soon I won’t have Internet (I’m writing this the day before our big move, so this is probably the last day I’ll have it!). Since I no longer have a car (did you read about that?), I’m probably going to only have access to the Internet once a week (unless I walk to the library–not sure if I want to walk with two kids on that narrow, country road). This means I’m going to have to make a list of things that need to be done online and stick to it so that I don’t get distracted. This blog is going to probably be 90% of what I do online, and that’s fine. Facebook has its advantages, but mostly it’s a waste of time. Email has advantages too, but it should not consume my life!

Enoch

As I was contemplating all this, something struck me. Remember Enoch? “And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.” Genesis 5:24. The Bible doesn’t have much to say about Enoch, but one of my favorite writers has expanded on those words, giving them depth and meaning [Emphasis mine throughout].

Enoch’s walk with God was not in a trance or vision, but in all the duties of his daily life. He did not become a hermit, shutting himself entirely from the world; for he had a work to do for God in the world. In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father, a friend, a citizen, he was the steadfast, unwavering servant of the Lord.

His heart was in harmony with God’s will; for “can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3. And this holy walk was continued for three hundred years. . . .

Distressed by the increasing wickedness of the ungodly, and fearing that their infidelity might lessen his reverence for God, Enoch avoided constant association with them, and spent much time in solitude, giving himself to meditation and prayer. Thus he waited before the Lord, seeking a clearer knowledge of His will, that he might perform it. To him prayer was as the breath of the soul; he lived in the very atmosphere of heaven.

Patriarchs and Prophets, 85

Isn’t that beautiful? When I read those words, I have a desire to have such an experience. But notice it meant separation from the world. Earlier in the chapter, speaking of the decendents of Seth and of Cain, the author states,

For some time the two classes remained separate. The race of Cain, spreading from the place of their first settlement, dispersed over the plains and valleys where the children of Seth had dwelt; and the latter, in order to escape from their contaminating influence, withdrew to the mountains, and there made their home. So long as this separation continued, they maintained the worship of God in its purity. But in the lapse of time they ventured, little by little, to mingle with the inhabitants of the valleys. This association was productive of the worst results. “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair.” The children of Seth, attracted by the beauty of the daughters of Cain’s descendants, displeased the Lord by intermarrying with them. Many of the worshipers of God were beguiled into sin by the allurements that were now constantly before them, and they lost their peculiar, holy character. Mingling with the depraved, they became like them in spirit and in deeds; the restrictions of the seventh commandment were disregarded, “and they took them wives of all which they chose.” The children of Seth went “in the way of Cain” (Jude 11); they fixed their minds upon worldly prosperity and enjoyment and neglected the commandments of the Lord. Men “did not like to retain God in their knowledge;” they “became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21. Therefore “God gave them over to a mind void of judgment.” Verse 28, margin. Sin spread abroad in the earth like a deadly leprosy.

Ibid, 81-82

So one of the ways Enoch maintained his walk with God was to avoid association with the wicked as much as possible. However, he was a prophet, as Jude points out (see Jude 14-15). And prophets don’t just keep revelations of God to themselves.

Enoch became a preacher of righteousness, making known to the people what God had revealed to him. Those who feared the Lord sought out this holy man, to share his instruction and his prayers. He labored publicly also, bearing God’s messages to all who would hear the words of warning. His labors were not restricted to the Sethites. In the land where Cain had sought to flee from the divine Presence, the prophet of God made known the wonderful scenes that had passed before his vision.

Ibid, 86

But he didn’t stay there, with those for whom he was working. He didn’t stay in the cities of the Cainites.

In the midst of a life of active labor, Enoch steadfastly maintained his communion with God. The greater and more pressing his labors, the more constant and earnest were his prayers. He continued to exclude himself, at certain periods, from all society. After remaining for a time among the people, laboring to benefit them by instruction and example, he would withdraw, to spend a season in solitude, hungering and thirsting for that divine knowledge which God alone can impart.

Ibid, 87

So he worked in the cities, then went for refuge to the country. He never stayed in the cities any longer than he had to. He found refuge in the country, in peace and solitude with God, away from the corrupting influence of the wicked.

Get Out of the Cities

Many people recognize that living in the country is better overall. It’s safer, for one. Have you ever watched The City Movie? You should. It is a documentary about many of the dangers in the cities. But forgetting the dangers from terrorism or natural disasters, think what influences are there. Billboards vie for your attention. Music blares from the car next to you. A gay couple walks hand in hand down the street, right before your children’s innocent gaze. The incessant noise attacks your subconscious mind. It’s all unavoidable. And it’s all designed to draw your attention away from God.

The same author states in other books,

To parents He sends the warning cry, Gather your children into your own houses; gather them away from those who are disregarding the commandments of God, who are teaching and practicing evil. Get out of the large cities as fast as possible. Establish church schools. Give your children the Word of God as the foundation of all their education.

Child Guidance, 310

As God’s commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them.

Country Living, 30

So the goal would be to be like Enoch: Go where those who need Jesus are, reach out to them, then go back to the more wholesome influence of the country.

The Application

So I was thinking about all this, and something struck me. The Internet is kind of like the cities. In this day of Facebook and eBay, email and Google, it is almost impossible to “renounce the Internet,” as my husband says he is going to do. I mean, sure, I could get by without it, but I just started this blog and really want to keep it going. But there are real dangers out there, and I need to keep this in mind.

I know of a family whose thirteen-year-old daughter has never used the Internet alone. She might have helped her mom pick out clothes to buy online or something like that, but she doesn’t even have her own email address (much less Facebook or Myspace). She homeschools, but not online. And she’s very happy. She trusts that her parents know what is best and is thankful to be protected from all the dangers out there.

When I first heard that story, I thought they were a little extreme. I mean, they were talking about how they were thinking that in a couple of years they would teach her how to use Microsoft Word, as an introduction to using the computer, before they even let her go online! But as I thought about it, I realized that she was getting more of the childhood I had, without Internet, and she wouldn’t miss it, really. The world is a very different place than it was 15 years ago!

But to apply this, I kind of see the Internet as a parallel to the city. It has become somewhat of a necessity to have access to it, but it doesn’t have to be daily access. Staying away from it is probably a very good idea. It can be a great outreach tool, but that doesn’t mean we should spend every waking hour on it.

So in a way, I too am renouncing the Internet. I will write my posts offline. I will edit my tutorials offline. I will make everything as ready as I can, and then upload and schedule the posts whenever I do get online. I will stay focused on my goals as well, making lists of things I need to research online during the week, and praying that when the time comes I won’t become distracted. And if I do become distracted, maybe I’ll have to stop researching online. I may not get on Facebook much if at all. Later when we get a laptop that I can take to the library, I can install software on it to limit my time on certain sites (like Facebook). That is my resolution. May God help me to keep it!

Has God been speaking to you while you read this article? If so, please post a comment and share. I would love to hear your reactions.

Last week I posted an article by L. Elizabeth Krueger of Raising Godly Tomatoes called Teaching Children to Be Helpful.This week I want to share the second part of that section of her website. The topics were posted on the same page, but since they are two very different topics, I wanted to share them separately. I am by no means suggesting that the following method is the only right method of teaching financial responsibility, and I do not think the author would either. This is what they do. My kids are still too young to understand money yet, and I don’t know how we will handle it when the time comes. I share this for your consideration, and would appreciate your feedback.

By nikkinoguer on Flickr

None of our children have ever been told they had to work to earn their “own” money. We never gave allowances either. Actually, they really don’t have their “own” money period. I don’t have my “own” money either. All our money belongs to all of us. Yes, my husband and I are in authority ultimately, so we control the money to an extent with the younger children, but as our children get older, that authority (to handle money) is turned over to them more and more. For example, the younger ones may get a few dollars for their birthdays that they are allowed to keep in their drawers, but if I need it to buy a birthday card or whatever, then they gladly donate it to the cause. Later, if they need new pencils or a notebook, I give them money to buy it and don’t make them take it from money they’ve saved. With the older kids, we give them money as needed and sometimes a little extra in case of emergencies. As they get older, we are less and less controlling about this, and don’t really keep track of what they have or don’t have. They are never allowed to just spend money for anything they please. They are always taught to spend wisely. That’s a prerequisite. This method will not work unless you teach your child to be good steward and spend wisely.

I often borrow from the kids to pay the music teachers and may or may not pay it back. If the kids do jobs for the neighbors, they do not accept money. Same if they baby-sit for a relative or something similar. Occasionally if they do a bigger job (like watch the neighbor’s dog for 2 weeks while they are on vacation), then they are allowed to accept payment, and they don’t have to share it with the family, but yet they can’t spend it on just any old thing either. We teach all our children to spend wisely from the time they are small.

So far this method (which I haven’t explained very well) has produced very fiscally responsible teens and young adults. Our 21yo is doing very well at managing his own internet business, our 19yo does all my shopping and does a better job than I do. Our 17yo does all my personal bookkeeping, including paying my bills and balancing my checkbook and even keeping me supplied with cash as needed. All three of our oldest kids have their own credit cards which are on our account, and we can trust them not to abuse them. I never have to even check on their spending because I can see that they are handling money very well. They keep the family cars full of gas and they take on many of the family responsibilities (like car repairs) that most parents do instead.

I should add that our oldest 2 boys now work at my husband’s office and are paid a salary (for bookkeeping reasons) which they just put right in the bank and we continue on as before. We’re not sure what this money will go for, but at this point it doesn’t matter. If they needed it individually it would be there, and if the family needed it for something, it would be there. This is part of the family farm concept.

Proverbs 17:17 – ” A true friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.” (TLB)

If you are a mom (and you probably are, if you’re reading this blog), you probably know what Kegals are. If you don’t, go back and click on that link for more details. Because you should know. And if you’re a guy, I suggest you stop reading. Seriously.

Well, a couple of months ago I decided to get serious about them. Part of the problem was that I had gotten a Diva cup, and it kept sliding out. Very annoying. So I decided to try doing Kegals to see if it would help. I started out doing 25 or 30 reps, 6 times a day. Every week I would add 5 or 10 reps, until I got to 50. But by that time, the initial enthusiasm I had was waning, and I couldn’t seem to remember to do them. And anyhow, with the tone that I have achieved, I don’t need to do them 6 times a day. But I don’t want to quit, either.

My midwife told me that it often helps to associate something else with doing them. She said that one lady would do Kegals every time she stopped at a stoplight. That’s fine if you’re a Soccer mom, but I rarely leave the house, so that wouldn’t work for me.

Here’s what works for me. Every time I put my son down for a nap, I have to stand outside the door for a bit to make sure he doesn’t get up. Doing 2-second reps during that time with a 1-second rep in between gives me nearly 2 minutes of time standing there, and I feel like I’m getting something done while waiting to make sure he’s not going to get up. That gets me at least 2 times a day.

The other thing that helps is putting Kegals at the top of my daily to-do list. That way when I see the list, I remember them. I may not have time to stop and do them every time, but sometimes I can, and that usually gets me at least 1 or 2 more times. Which is probably more than enough to maintain what I’ve got.

That’s what works for me!