Nutty Bean Soup

The recipe below started as an attempt to make something like a cream of potato soup that featured beans and contained no dairy (or potatoes). It works pretty well, and is really easy. I took it to student feast last Sunday, and while I didn’t get as many complements as with previous dishes I’ve taken, it didn’t appear to get sampled much. Maybe I need to come up with a more enticing name!

Ingredients

(a)
1¾ cups white beans (1 can)
1 cup water
2 tbsp red wine
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp almond butter
2 teasp cilantro (dried)
1 teasp garlic (dried)
1 teasp sage (dried)
1 teasp coriander (dried)
1 teasp sea salt

(b)
1¾ cups black beans (1 can)
1 tbsp walnut oil
½ cup fresh corn
½ cup small onion (finely diced)
1 teasp prepared horseradish
black pepper (fresh ground)

Method

Puree (a) ingredients. Finely dice onion and saute with corn in walnut oil in large skillet. Add puree and black beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in horseradish, and serve. Black pepper to taste.

Happy Days

Happy Prohibition Day. Sure, most other probably call it “Repeal Day”, but I don’t like the sound of it, the subject is rather ambiguous, and the day Prohibition was repealed was certainly the happiest day of Prohibition, so I think my way works too.

Too bad my cold means I don’t want a drink.

key lime experiments, pt 2

In the conclusion to key lime experiments, pt 1 I wrote:

Eventually I’ll try more variations of #4: with half the egg yolk; where the egg yolks are swapped with beaten egg whites; and where the cream cheese is swapped with heavy cream.

I’ve unfairly excluded butter from my list of dairy products, perhaps I should try it as an addition to #5? That would hearken back to “Lemon Pie, Pt 3″.

Today I addressed those.

#8
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar

Notes: Texture was not very creamy or smooth, and the flavor was quite mild.

#9
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk

Notes: Similar to 4#, but with a softer texture. The flavor was rather mild. Overall, probably no better than #2.

#10
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg white

Notes: Similar to #4, but the texture was a bit coarse and the flavor was very mild.

#11
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 egg yolk

Notes: Flavor and texture is good. Similar to #4, but less smooth and rich. This is still a *lot* of egg, but it seems to be too little.

Conclusions:

I’m not sure where to go from here. The mild flavored ones have me perplexed. There’s a lot of lime juice in there, how could the flavor disappear?

I need to develop #4 a bit more, and I’d still like to do *something* with #1. And maybe #4 and #10 with double the lime/sugar? I’m also curious what #10 would be like it I beat the egg whites into peaks and gently folded them in. Fluffy perhaps? Maybe #1 with honey (halved) instead of sugar? I wonder how brown sugar would fare?

#9 with cornstarch should be similar to flan, that’s probably worth a try. And maybe another where half of the cream is milk.

I already know what happens when I mix lime juice and sweetened condensed milk. I wonder what happens when I use evaporated milk?

key lime experiments, pt 1

I’ve started using my silicone cupcake forms to make small pies for sampling. They let me get away with omitting the crust and making very small quantities. I generally just scale everything down until I end up with a single egg, reducing the baking temperature and time to allow for the drastic increase in relative surface area.

This weekend I made a Cardamom Buttermilk Pie and a Key Lime Cheesecake. Neither was noteworthy, but after making those I had some extra ingredients so I figured I might as well thrown some things together and see what happened. (I didn’t expect them to all be edible…) Here are the experiments and notes, in the order of sampling.

#1
1 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp key lime juice

Notes: This was really interesting, I liked the texture even if it was a bit more firm than I was looking for. I got the impression that doubling the lime juice would get the texture spot on. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste good. Cream cheese alone isn’t tasty, and adding lime juice doesn’t help.

#2
1 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar

Notes: This tastes really good. I was surprised to find that the texture was a lot more “loose” than #1, apparently from the sugar?

#3
1 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp corn starch

Notes: flavor and texture is good, though a bit firm; I suspect I could cut back on the corn starch.

#4
1 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk

Notes: Flavor and texture is good. Very similar to #3, but a bit less firm and noticeably smoother and richer (and more intense). Proportionally, this is a *lot* of egg. This realization prompted the next variation just to see exactly what the cream cheese contributes.

#5
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk

Notes: Flavor okay, texture is kind of… loose, similar to #2, but more so. Interesting, but not a path to explore further.

#6
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk

Notes: Okay, texture, diluted lime flavor and an unpleasant tinge of something in the aftertaste. It also had an odd “drying” effect on my mouth.

#7
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 tbsp key lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk

Notes: Similar to #6, but the texture and flavor were each watery.

Conclusion:
I’d like to revisit #1, but I need a way to make it sweeter. My impression was that adding more lime juice would make the texture more fluffy. I need a sweetener that won’t have the dramatic affect on the texture as granulated sugar.

Eventually I’ll try more variations of #4: with half the egg yolk; where the egg yolks are swapped with beaten egg whites; and where the cream cheese is swapped with heavy cream.

I’ve unfairly excluded butter from my list of dairy products, perhaps I should try it as an addition to #5? That would hearken back to “Lemon Pie, Pt 3″.

Maybe after Thanksgiving I’ll have an chance to try more.

pie crusts

Over the last few years, it has gotten more and more difficult to find the Keebler shortbread pie crusts that I like to use for my pies (which are generally in the theme of creme). Friday I saw that there was no longer a space on the shelf for Shortbread crusts rather than the increasing norm of filling the shortbread slot with yet-another graham cracker crust. I went for my second (and increasingly available) choice of granola crust, and it was better than expected. They seem to be grinding the granola so that it has more of the fine texture of the shortbread crust, while still being a sort of granola. Of course, fine granola is still not shortbread. Furthermore, fine granola isn’t really desirable for those times I want a granola crust.

I suppose this is just one more indication that I need to start making my own crusts. Have any quick and easy recipes for shortbread or granola crusts?

lemon pie, pt 4

This time I tried a modification of my key lime recipe, making a few substitutions.

1 pie crust (prebaked, 8′ granola)

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
3/4 cup crystallized honey
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp bourbon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix crystallized honey and evaporated milk and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, and then stir in lemon juice. Beat eggs, then slowly temper with lemon/honey/milk mixture. Mix in cornstarch. Pour into pie shell and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, overnight if possible. Make fluff and spread onto pie as close as possible to serving time.

As with pt 3, the lemon juice was half fresh squeezed from meyer lemons and half bottled by Santa Cruz Organics. I had ~1/2 cup extra filling, so I’d have to tweak things if I wanted to work from this in the future. It was okay, certainly edible, reminiscent of pt 1. Not particularly sweet, not particular tart, and not much to hold my interest. I took two bites and felt like I’d pretty much experienced all it had to offer. It was also a bit softer than I’d like.

If I modified this in the future, I’d probably cut the milk to 1 cup and use 5/8 cup each of lemon juice and honey. This would get the volume down, the sweetness up a bit, and the tartness up a lot, but it would still be soft. I suppose more corn starch would fix that without affecting the volume, but then the recipe would start to look like a creamy lemon meringue. Or I could add more eggs, but then I’m starting to approximate my proposed modifications to pt 2. At this point, I’m more likely to just work from that recipe rather than modifying this one, or maybe try a lemon meringue.

lemon pie, pt 3

Fruittart pointed me to this Lemon Cream Tart. It looked tasty, so I decided to give it a try for my workplace “treat week” that coincided with exam week for our students. It was probably an even bigger experiment than the others. It’s the first time I’ve made a tart and the first time I’ve ever made my own crust. I didn’t actually use the pistachio crust, opting instead to use the crust from the Warm Mocha Tart.

I followed the recipes pretty closely and won’t duplicate them here. The only changes I made were to increase all measures by 50% in order to accommodate my 11-inch tart pan, and to top it with fresh raspberries rather than candied ginger. The lemon was half fresh-squeezed meyer lemons and half bottled lemon juice from Santa Cruz Organics.

I was glad for the lone raspberry on the piece I tried, and if I make it again I’ll put a layer of raspberry puree between the crust and lemon creme. It was pretty tasty, but not quite what I’m looking for (though nicely educational). The experiments will continue. : )

lemon/banana

I’ve discovered that lemon curd and banana complement each other surprisingly well. So well, in fact that I’m thinking of making some sort of pie to highlight the combination. But it seems like I need one more thing, and I’m not sure what. Perhaps some kind of nut? Suggestions are welcome. : )

lemon pie, pt 2

This time I wanted to make sure the lemon was a prominent as the lime in the key lime recipe, and at this I succeeded! Too much for most people, myself included. I used a combination of recipes, mostly the lime tart filling and the lemon curd filling. I had to make a few last-minute changes, but I’ll list the recipe I started with. (I mistakenly thought I needed 3 cups of filling, so the measures below reflect a 50% increase.)

—–
1 prebaked granola crust (9″)

1 1/4 cup lemon juice (from 10 lemons?)
9 whole eggs
3/4 cup honey (substituted for 1/3 cup sugar)
9 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 dash salt

Combine the juice, zest, sugar, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming. Whisk the yolks in a bowl until liquid. Slowly beat the steaming liquid into the yolks and return the mixture to low heat. Continue whisking until it thickens, about 8 minutes. Pour into crust and refrigerate. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with lemon zest before serving.
—–

I ran out of honey, so I added 2 tbsp of blood orange syrup. I ran out of lemon juice, so I added 1/4 cup of key lime juice. I couldn’t taste the orange syrup, but the lime juice made itself known.

It was initially too soft, but it firmed up some by the next day, so it seems like making it at least 24 hours in advance might be a good idea. I had a cup of extra curd, so I put it in a nice quilted mason jar and gifted it to someone who seemed especially fond of the pie. The pie was too tart (and the filling too voluminous), so if I revisit this I’ll try these measures:

.75 cup fresh lemon juice (5 lemons)
.75 cup honey
6 tablespoons butter
6 large eggs

However, I was wishing that it was a bit more creamy. What does the butter do for it? What would happen if I swapped it out for 4 tbsp of cream cheese? My informal experiment this evening shows that a mixture of lime juice and cream cheese thickens nicely (unlike yogurt), so I suspect this would make it a bit firmer as well.

tool

I’ve not looked at it too closely, but this might be interesting.

http://www.youversion.com/

lemon pie, pt 1

As you may have noticed, I took my usual key lime to the CEFC Thanksgiving dinner. I was asked for the recipe, so I’ll point to it here. I’ve decided I’d like to figure out how to make it without using the sweetened condensed milk, partly to enable a reduction or substitution in sweetener, but also just to remove the one “prepared” ingredient for something less processed.

However, my key lime pie has developed a following (I’m expected to bring one to each family holiday), so I decided to experiment with lemon pies, hoping that the knowledge gained would transfer to my key lime recipe. My father in law is on a diet that restricts him to unrefined foods, so I’m also experimenting with using honey as the sweetener.

The first experiment was a lemon custard for my small group. It was completely edible, but not quite what I’d hoped for. My recie was a combination of custard recipes from “How to Cook Everything” and the “Betty Crocker Old-Fashioned Cookbook”.

—–
1 prebaked granola crust (9″)

3 whole eggs + 4 egg yolks
1/4 cup honey (substituted for 1/3 cup sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup milk (scalded)
1/2 cup lemon juice (from 4 lemons?)
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 dash salt

Preheat over to 350.
Mix everything but milk in bowl. Slowly mix in milk. Pour into crust and bake 45 minutes. Top with whipped cream before serving.
—–

I discovered that I has almost a cup of extra filling. Since the flavor was *really* mild, I suspect that using only 3/4 cup of milk would help with that. It also wasn’t as firm as I’d like, and I expect the reduction in milk to help with that too.

I used honey from Alice’s Grandpa’s bees. It’s quite dark, and has a strong flavor that nicely complements the lemon.

odd referrals

Today wordpress reported a referral from the Pennsylvania State Dept of Agriculture’s 2005 Shoo-Fly cake/pie contest page. Oddly, I can’t find a reference to my blog there… My pies page was visited today, so I suppose that’s the one to which the alleged referral pointed.

Irresistable leadership?

My textbook, “Level Three Leadership”, defines leadership like this: “Leadership is the ability and willingness to influence others so that they respond voluntarily.”

I thought that was really interesting. Interesting, but unclear. I immediately thought of a “leader” who is willing to influence others, and had the necessary training to influence others, but is alone one a desert island. Then I realized that they might be using “ability” in not to mean “skill”, but “capability”. Perhaps better would be to simply say “Leadership is influencing others so that they respond voluntarily.” The author goes to some length to explain that his use of “voluntarily” excludes manipulation, and the breaks down manipulation into deception and coercion.

I think the word “respond” is also ambiguous, since a “leader” could easily, by being rude towards someone over whom he holds no authority, influence the other person to respond by taking an action for no other reason than to spite the “leader”. Of course, the word “leader” implies a follower, and the definition would benefit from simply explicitly stating that “Leadership is influencing others so that they follow voluntarily.”

Anyhow, none of this is what struck me as interesting. : )

What struck me as interesting is how well the definition, despite it’s weaknesses, seems to be describing irresistible grace.

Leadership clip

I need to take to class (in six days) a 2-7 minute video clip that demonstrates leadership. The leadership can be good or bad. In class we watched an episode of “The Office”, which was full of great examples of bad leadership. I can use VHS, DVD, or a computer (even youtube) file. Any suggestions?

Principles of Leadership

That’s the class I started yesterday. I think it will be a good class. It’s encouraging so far. Later I’ll post a quote from one of the books. Here are the books for the class:

Clawson, J. G. (2006). Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface, 3rd Ed.

Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2003). Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI): Participant’s Workbook and Observer Instruments

The Worldview Paper

Here’s what I was supposed to write:

Worldview Paper. Write a 4 page essay describing your own worldview.
Take special care to establish what you believe, why you believe it,
and why you believe it is true. Address the major issue that was
raised in this course and how it has contributed to strengthening,
challenging, broadening, or focusing your worldview. Your essay
should integrate all aspects of the course including reading
assignments, discussions, and experiences.

Here’s what I wrote:

—–
My worldview can probably be described as the Reformed tradition. It
is dominated by the five solas of the Protestant Reformation, and
these convince me of the truth of the five points of Calvinism. I
believe this because I experience it to be true, and it is logically
consistent with my meditations on the Word. My major challenge from
OL306 has been the acceptance of others as fellow heirs of God. My
tendency is to judge everything by logic, and declare the illogical to
be invalid. However, I believe that there are at least two valid
reasons why a person’s profession of faith may not seem consistent
with their words or actions: weakness, and sin.

Paul writes that the thoughts of all mankind have been made futile
(Romans 1:21), but that the minds of the called are being renewed
(Romans 12:2). This renewing of the debased mind means that the
utterances of the saints are imperfect. Their understanding should
exhibit an ever-increasing conformity to Christ-likeness, but their
thoughts will contain error until the time that we are fully united
with Christ.

Suppose a person affirms that salvation is by grace alone, through
faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in Scriptures alone, to the
glory of God alone. If they believe that the saved are such because
they “choose” to accept forgiveness and the unsaved are such because
they “do not choose” to accept forgiveness, this, to me, is logically
inconsistent with the affirmation of the five solas.

First, this violates “faith alone”, because as Paul writes in Romans
3:27, faith excludes boasting. If I can say that I am saved because I
made a good choice then I have grounds for boasting. Second, this
violates “glory to God alone” because if I have any part in my
salvation, then I get a piece of the glory. Again in Romans, Paul
states clearly that if Abraham had been justified by making a good
choice (what else is works, but good choices?) he still would have had
no grounds for boasting before God. Therefore, to me, Arminianism is
salvation by works, and those who hold to it cannot truly be saved
(since one cannot be saved by works).

While I do believe that my analysis of the theology is sound, I now
have a better understanding that my analysis of the soul is not.
People are often illogical, often confused, and often deceived. While
some are certain to be offended by my conclusion that they suffer from
a suboptimal articulation of their hearts, I believe it if far more
offensive (and infinitely less gracious) for me to conclude that they
suffer the wrath of God. Some might ask if I need to analyze the
theology at all. I believe I do.

Luke commends the Bereans for examining “the Scriptures every day to
see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Paul warns Timothy “some
will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught
by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars” (1 Timothy
1:1-2), and in his letter to the Galatians, Paul calls for an anathema
on those who would pervert the gospel. Jude enjoins believers to
contend for the faith. I must do so.

Does this mean that I should rebuke everyone whose theology I dispute?
No, of course not. I myself am often in error, and the subject at hand
is how a class discussion and textbook challenged my beliefs. I was
unavoidably subjected to an Arminian explanation of atonement in
class. I normally avoid Aminianism because I find it maddening. But
God broadened my understanding of His love and man’s depravity. I’ve
been aware of certain discrepancies here between my views and the views of
teachers I respect, but I hadn’t adequately pursued reconciliation of
this incongruity.

Every person is imperfect, every person has been blessed with
strengths and weaknesses, and every person is inclined to understand
some things more easily than others. I have a great weakness in the
affections of my heart, and am woefully lacking in compassion. I have
no doubt that this creates areas of profound blindness in my life, and
I am grateful for the body of believers that helps me understand and
appreciate that which I do not see.

While it may be obvious that sin will cause believers to live in ways
that are not in accordance with their status as children of God, it
hadn’t really occurred to me that it would cause believers to think in
ways contrary to the gospel. I’ve not really pondered this much, but
it seems logical that what we do has an effect on how we think, and
that some sins will prevent us from thinking in certain ways.

If an individual makes an idol of politics, he probably will be
disinclined to think in ways that are inconsistent with the functional
theology that describes the salvation that he expects from his idol of
politics. As Paul writes in Romans 7:22-23, “For in my inner being I
delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of
my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a
prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.”

I find myself most excited with the prospects of overcoming the mental
blindness caused by sin. This renewal will happen inevitably, but not
automatically. As I increase in the reflection of, and the delight in,
the glory of Christ, I will be able to better see His glory. And the
better I see His glory, the less I am blinded by sin, which leads to a
better view of His glory. A glorious cycle, indeed!

But I will continue to sin, and continue to be limited by the weakness
of my fallen body. I’ll need to “work out [my] salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in [me] to will and to act
according to his good purpose” (Phillipians 2:12-13). I’ll fail many
times, but as Anne Lamott wrote about God in Plan B, “I don’t think
much surprises him: this is how we make important changes–barely,
poorly, slowly. And still, he raises his fist in triumph.”

The Jesus Paper

My latest homework assignment:

The Jesus Paper. In a 700 to 750 word essay, respond to the questions Jesus asks his disciples in Mark 8:27-29, “Who do people say I am?” and “Who do you say I am?” (Another account of this incident is recorded in Luke 9:18-26.) The questions require you first to discuss who Jesus is from the perspective of others. Then, provide your response to the question of who Jesus is and provide support for your answer… Does your response solicit more than an intellectual response? Explain.

—–
I had planned on saying more, but ran out of space. Personally, I think that what I did come up with, while certainly an incomplete picture of Jesus, is as complete a picture that I could draw from the text I was told to use and the space I was given. I don’t quite meet the exact letter of the assignment, but I think I exceeded the expectations for it. I briefly thought about expanding it to cover everything I’d intended, but alas, I have another paper due in five days. I am, of course, indebted to others for their thoughts, both written and oral. In the completion of this assignment I had in mind various bits from John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Mike Shea. All passages are from the NIV.
—–

Who is Jesus? Matthew, Mark, and Luke each contain an account commonly known as “Peter’s Confession of Christ”. Each writer records Peter’s belief that Jesus was the Messiah and the belief of the crowds that Jesus was John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. The response of Jesus to each tells us a lot about his call to the lost.

After Peter’s confession, Jesus replied, “Blessed are you… for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). Peter knew the secret identity of Jesus because it was revealed to him by God the Father, not through human efforts. The other people did not know because they only possessed the wisdom of man. Lacking God’s revelation, they had no choice but to rely on man.

Their ignorance wasn’t caused solely by their reliance on the wisdom of man, it was also a consequence of the Father’s concealment of Himself (see Romans 1:28). Luke 10:21-24 tells us that “Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure… No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ Wow! Jesus reveled in the fact that the Father would elect to reveal Himself to some, and hide Himself from others. Paul confirms that it is God’s good pleasure to destroy wisdom and frustrate intelligence (1 Corinthians 1:19).

This is good news to me on many levels. It provokes my soul to praise God that I have been made an object of mercy. It promotes humility because despite the esteem given to intellectuals, my best efforts aren’t good enough. It also provides comfort in my frustrations. Even since childhood I have been vexed by people who say things that are, in my understanding, untrue. I find solace in knowing that God hides truth. I find myself dismayed and angered (and undoubtedly in sin) when encountering those who diminish the glory of God. I am saddened when fellow believers profess a puny God. My God is an awesome God, and his words bring the universe into existence. He does not call us to himself with a plaintive “Here kitty, kitty”. He calls out “Lazarus, come out!” with all power and authority to not only reveal the truth, but to raise the dead, because it pleases Him “that you may believe” (John 11:43, 15).

While Luke 10:21-24 does an amazing job of speaking to Peter’s answer to the question, Matthew contains a parallel passage that speaks to the answer of the crowds. After Jesus delighted in the Father’s revelation to “little children”, He invited the crowds to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

The response of Jesus highlights the need to deliver the invitation. As Paul writes in Romans 10:14, “how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Paul didn’t preach using words that his audience didn’t understand. He became “all things to all men so that by all possible means [he] might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Like Paul, I need to understand my audience. I need to contextualize it to the culture. If I’m in a culture that contains no concept of an afterlife, I need to be sufficiently literate to relate the Gospel in the concepts that they have. If I’m in a culture that denies absolute truth, I need to communicate how the Gospel is relevant even while seeking to show them that their denial of absolute truth is an absolute lie.

It is interesting to note that Jesus didn’t comment on the beliefs of the unbelieving. He praised the Father’s sovereign will and then presented an invitation that was meaningful to His hearers. This affirms my conviction that it is not profitable to dwell on untruths. I need to do little more than to proclaim the gospel in a sensible way and trust Jesus to reveal the Father to those He has called to understanding.

Synergy

At work we’ve talked about needing a word that means the opposite of synergy. So I did some searching and came up with a few options. :)

Technically, synergy doesn’t exclusively describe positive effects of working together, and can also be used to describe negative effects. But common use makes this unclear, so many have used “negative synergy” to be more specific.

Some say the opposite of synergism is antagonism, but the connotations of antagonism don’t work with situations where parties are trying to achieve mutually positive results.

I’ve seen dysynergy offered as an easily understood option. Personally, I think it sounds like a hack, and would rather find a more elegant solution.

Antergy is another logically constructed word that would fit the bill. I’ve read that it’s used as the opposite of synergy. It’s defined in “Coalition formation: a game-theoretic analysis” http://tinyurl.com/2jjg8a . However, the word could be reasonably understood to indicate a complete cancellation of the parts, which isn’t quite right. And in a different use, I’ve seen this in economic circles describing something which is more valuable as parts than as a whole, as when a conglomerate is purchased and split into several smaller companies which are then sold at great profit. Not exactly what we’re looking for.

This leaves dysergy. It’s almost as clear as dysynergy and is seems more elegant. It also is validated by being used exactly as desired in the field of mereology (the study of part/whole relations). http://tinyurl.com/2nsjmc

I vote for dysergy.

Peanut Brittle Cheesecake

Yesterday I tried the peanut putter cheesecake at Pekara bakery in downtown Champaign. I like a lot of the things they make (and I like that they make and sell things based on my requests), and the PB cheesecake was okay, but not outstanding. I was a bachelor for the day, so I decided to try making a better one. I’ve never made cheesecake before, so I didn’t know what I’d end up with, but that didn’t stop me. I did cheat, though, and baked it in a store-bought granola pie crust, so it’s not a proper cheesecake. But I had too much filling, so I also baked a small crustless cheesecake in a 4″ springform.

I threw together:

2 packs of cream cheese
2 eggs
~1 cup crunchy, unsalted, unsweetened peanut butter
~2 Tb roasted chicory espresso
1 cup sugar
8 oz butter
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 Tb water

I intended to add two tablespoons of flour, but I forgot.

I was computerless yesterday and none of our cookbooks had a PB cheesecake recipe. So I wasn’t really following a recipe (though I read several basic recipes before I started) and I was a little lax in measuring the PB and chicory. This was also part of an ongoing effort to come up with uses for roasted chicory. The Pekara cheesecake was a little lacking in body, and I theorized that a little chicory might help with that (I think it did). I started out mixing a bit of chicory and PB to see how far I could take it and then added that to the cream cheese. Coffee might work better than chicory (not that they taste at all alike), though I probably didn’t add enough chicory to test it well. I used what I had made and didn’t feel like brewing more.

Just adding the sugar seemed a little blah, so I decided to turn it into butterscotch. But my butterscotch recipe was on the aforementioned unavailable computer and none of our cookbooks have a recipe for it, so I tried to do that from memory too. : ) It turned out well enough to add to the cheesecake and while I haven’t tried the crusted one, the small one was pretty tasty. We’ll see what Alice thinks when she discovers it.

Blue Lime

As a variation on my key lime pie (following the lime/mango and the lime/cranberry) I made two lime/blueberry pies for small group Sunday. One was a granola crust with pureed berries and the other shortbread with whole blueberries. The granola crust smelled nice out of the oven, but I think my preference was for what I didn’t serve, shortbread crust with pureed berries. The blueberry flavor was a little stronger in the puree and I’m not a big fan of whole fruit. But the flavor was too subtle for my liking, I think that lime/cranberry has been the only variation worth repeating. I still want to try an orange/citrus version but I’m out of ideas after that, so I may have to find some other line of experimentation to which I can subject others. The whole recipe is posted elsewhere, but here are the measurements:

one 8″ pie crust

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1/2 cup key lime juice
1/2 cup pureed blueberries
1 tbsp cornstarch

Happiness

I don’t really think about happiness much, and it doesn’t feel like happiness is a big motivator in my life. But I’m sitting in Panera writing a class paper and look out the window at the falling snow. I smile, and realize that this is one of the few external things I can think of that really does this. Usually I’m happy when I solve a problem or have some revelation about something that’s been puzzling me. But this is different. Falling snow makes me happy.

Experiment in Terror

(I had the Moon-Rays in my head, and this *is* an experiment…)

Written elsewhere:

> So . . . um, how did the sandwich filling work out?
> Any recipes coming out of that?
> *hint, hint, nudge, nudge* ;-)

Thanks for the prod.

It was okay, but neither the filling or the sauce worked out as well as I’d hoped. So I’ll have to try it again before I post something. You were right though, after 5 hours in the crock, it became watery and muted in flavor. But I left the lid ajar and turned up the heat and it cooked down nicely. Tossing in an extra tablespoon of chipotle (I ran out of cayenne) at the last minute got the heat back up helped unmute the flavor, but it still tasted more like a thin BBQ sauce than a rich Buffalo sauce like I’d intended. I think I’ll just plan on adding the sauce after the chicken is cooked.

One good thing was that I learned that throwing chicken in the crock for five hours causes it to separate into fibrous pieces, as though I’d shredded it. Did the overnight marinade do this, or would it have happened anyway? And will the same thing happen with other meat? And is there a more expedient way than crock cooking?

The sauce also was pretty muted in flavor. I put together Gorgonzola, cream, and toasted sesame oil. It had a good texture, but the cream seemed to mask the other flavors.

I’m sure it was fine for everyone else, even Alice liked it. That’s right, my vegetarian ate one and a half chicken sandwiches. :)

In the meantime, here’s a simple Buffalo Blue sauce:

4 tbsp blue cheese (Gorgonzola)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp garlic powder

Gently heat cheese until soft. Combine with garlic, cayenne, and vinegar, mix, and serve. I want to try two variations: one with lime juice for instead of vinegar, and one with a little bourbon. :)

Frazz

I’ve had similar thoughts myself…

walktober

It seems as though my pedometer counts may be a bit high. Friday I topped 40k! : ) That said, I’m not sure what to do about it. Here’s my counts for Fr-Su:

Fr: 40368
Sa: 11421
Su: 13904

Friday I walked to/from work (six miles) and to the park and back (1 mile), plus miscellaneous walking.

Saturday I drove to Peoria, the Bradley park, and walked around the Bradley U campus.

Sunday I went to Church, studied, and went to small group.

Fellow teammates, what do you think I should do with my numbers? Report them as is? Discount them some percentage? Try to construct reasonable and accurate numbers?

nuance

I’m looking for topics on which the Bible requires a nuanced application. Here are two examples:

1) lying: Christians have a tendency to believe they should follow the absolute rule “Don’t lie”. After all, Exodus 20:16 says “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” But Hebrews 11:31 says “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” This isn’t quite a link to lying yet, but in Joshua 2 we see that she hid the spies and lied to the King of Jericho. In Joshua 6 Joshua states “Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.” Sometimes lying is sin, but at other times it’s acting in faith.

2) killing: Many modern Christians (especially those with a liberal inclination), believe that taking the life of another person is always wrong. That’s also one of the ten commandments, right, Exodus 20:13? But in Hebrews 11:17 Abraham is commended for intending to kill his son. Not only was he taking a life, it was an innocent life! I think most people today would rationalize this as being confused, deranged, or something else. How often have we thought that about a serial killer who claimed God had told him to kill people?

Those examples aren’t really fleshed out yet, but you get the idea. A quick glance at the rest of Hebrews 11 suggests other possibilities that I’ll explore. Where else should I look?

mole chili

Yesterday I took my veggie chili and tweaked it slightly. I halved the vinegar, substituted cocoa for cinnamon, and doubled the cocoa.

It wasn’t bad, had a definite mole flavor (not intentional, but also not surprising), but I think I prefer the normal recipe. Maybe next time I’ll try substituting tamarind paste for the tomatoes and vinegar. But if I get my peppers smoked first, I’ll probably try it with fresh smoked peppers!

quotes

Brought to my attention by markfrench at 5pointers, here’s are two quotes from two emails John Piper Sent to Mark Driscoll. I already highlighted them there, but I like them so much I’ll give them a bit more prominence here.

“We both want to speak in a way that is NOT boring about the greatest things in the world and is not worn out and tired and hackneyed. It is a sin to bore people with God. So pray for us. The line is fine between choosing words to strike the soul with glory and strike a clever pose.”

“Good grief. I am glad I don’t read the web very much. I would sin with anger too much. “Roaring debate” !– these people have too much time on their hands.”

madness

You may have heard of Change a Light, Change the World. We found out today that the mayor of Champaign wants to change a light bulb in our house for the event. And it will be televised! Joy. While I suspect we were selected due to our participation in the city’s Full Home Rehab program, I don’t think the two things are directly linked. We’re trying to gracefully decline, I’ll let you know how it goes.

pies

I made pies for small group last night. I worked from the Key Lime recipe I’ve use for a while, but mixed up the flavors a bit. I don’t normally bake, but cream/custard pies are an exception because the timing isn’t critical. As you’ll quickly notice, I don’t make “healthy” desserts. :)

Here’s the original:

INGREDIENTS:

1 pie crust (prebaked, 8′ shortbread)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp key lime peel (freshly zested)

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Pour into pie shell and bake for 20 min.

Make fluff and spread onto pie, finishing by sprinkling lime zest on top.

Last night I forgot the cornstarch and made the following variations.

> Substitute key lime/mango juice for lime juice
> and garnish with thin mango slivers.

Everyone seemed to like it.

> Substitute cranberry nectar for 1/4 cup of lime juice,
> add two dashes of Angostura Bitters,
> and garnish with ??

Also popular, though I left it ungarnished. I’d try it with only a single dash of bitters (maybe none). I’d appreciate garnish suggestions, but I’d rather avoid actual cranberries.

> Substitute mild molasses for lime juice,
> add 2tbsp unsweetened cocoa and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract,
> and garnish with dusting of cinnamon.

This was my attempt to shoehorn my chocolate pie recipe into the key lime pie form. I didn’t find the flavor result to be nearly as good as my original (which tastes like an Oreo), though the flavor was surprisingly complex for a cream pie. I thought it was too sweet and too molassesy, but several people seemed to enjoy it quite a bit!

I had a feeling the molasses would be too much when I was adding it, but I wasn’t sure what else to do. Also, I’ve only used blackstrap molasses in the past and wasn’t sure just how mild the “mild” would be. Considering that the sweetened condensed milk contains almost twice as much sugar as the cup of powdered sugar I would normally use in my Chocolate pie, using a mild molasses (it’s sweeter, right?) probably wasn’t the best choice! So maybe I should have tried substituting 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa for the lime juice in the original recipe? Maybe next time.

Here’s the my original Chocolate pie recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 pie crust (prebaked, 8′, shortbread)

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa
1 1/2 tbsp molasses (blackstrap)
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp granulated sugar

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine sugar and cocoa in a bowl, mixing well. Add heavy cream, molasses, and vanilla, mixing on high speed until firm. Transfer to saucepan and heat until steaming. Beat eggs in a bowl and temper with steaming liquid, mixing well. Add back into saucepan and gently heat to a soft boil, stirring constantly. Pour into pie shell and bake for 45 minutes.

Make fluff, spread onto pie, and finish with a light dusting of cinnamon.

(As you can see, with the exception of the eggs, it’s really just baked chocolate fluff.)

Spicy Lasagna

This is an experimental lasagna that I made for this semester’s first Student Feast. I put a little thought into what I wanted in it and Alice went looking for groceries. Alas, several ingredients were not to be found, necessitating further improvisation with ingredients at hand. I’d never made lasagna before and Alice really did most of the work of putting it together. This isn’t really a recipe yet; we just threw it together (based on her more traditional lasagnas) without really thinking about future duplication or tweaking. Believe it or not, I tried really hard to keep it simple and not throw too much into it.

It had four layers consisting of noodles, sauce, and cheese. The noodles were not precooked, and alternated between whole wheat and semolina. The sauce was 3/4 of a bottle of Cabernet Marinara (Muir Glen) long-simmered with finely chopped pepperoni, garlic powder, half-sliced garlic cloves, and a generous portion (1/4 cup?) of Jamaican Jerk seasoning (Frontier Organics). The sauce really thickened and I had to add water so that it wasn’t pasty. The top layer used an Alfredo sauce. In the middle was a layer of chicken-jalapeno sausages sliced and quartered. The cheese layers were cottage cheese (because I dislike ricotta), mozzarella, and fresh basil.

I wanted to use pulled pork or shredded chicken, but couldn’t find any in time. I also wanted to use Tabasco pepperoni, but it was also hiding. I’d probably try making each cheese layer different: mozzarella, Swiss, smoked Gouda, and a homemade Alfredo sauce heavy in Parmesan and maybe fontinella. I’m open to suggestions!

I had hoped to make spicy brownies as an accompaniment, but it didn’t work out. Maybe next time.

Po

Syntactically right, semantically wrong.

Concert

Anyone want to join me Saturday to see Charlie Hunter play at the Canopy Club? It’s an early show (7:00) and costs $15.

two months

It’s been two months since the SBC posted the resolution against Biblical, God honoring, and heart gladdening use of alcohol. So today I point you to an article on the Sociology of Prohibition. If you want to skip the history (which is interesting, but voluminous) skip to the paragraph that starts with “What interests me”. I’m not certain that I agree with the assertion that “Prohibitions are always enacted by US, to govern the conduct of THEM…” because it seems blind to the fact that people will eagerly volunteer prohibitions on themselves because many people prefer legalism to humbly working out the gift of their salvation. Then again, perhaps they’re related. What do you think?

verse

Job 26: 14 (ESV)

Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?

tortellini

I started out making this Gorgonzola Tortellini but Alice isn’t a big fan of blue cheese, pork, or it’s heavy richness, so it’s followed by a lighter version that’s vegetarian. Each is really quick and easy to make, and relatively inexpensive to boot! Someday maybe I’ll try it with better-than-frozen tortellini. : )

—–

Gorgonzola Tortellini

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb frozen tortellini (pork)
1 cup diced tomatoes (1 can)
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola (2 oz)
1/4 cup cream sherry (Harvey’s Bristol)
1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin)
3 teasp walnuts (finely chopped)
1/4 teasp cayenne pepper (coarse)
3 green onions

METHOD:

Combine everything but blue cheese and tortellini and let sit for 1 hour. Cook tortellini until tender. Add blue cheese to sauce and then toss tortellini with sauce. Serve warm, not hot.

(A heavier, richer, non-vegetarian version of the Walnut/Oloroso Tortellini.)

(Next time I make it I’ll try adding 1/8 cup basil.)

—–

RECIPE: Walnut/Oloroso Tortellini

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb frozen tortellini
1 cup diced tomatoes (1 can)
1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin)
1/8 cup oloroso sherry
3 teasp walnuts (finely chopped)
1/4 teasp black pepper (coarse)
3 green onions (chopped)

METHOD:

Combine everything but tortellini and let sit for 1 hour. Cook tortellini until tender and toss with sauce. Serve warm, not hot.

(A lighter, Gorgonzola-free, and vegetarian version of the Gorgonzola Tortellini.)

(Next time I make it I’ll try adding 1/8 cup basil.)

perspective

It has occurred to my that my perspective on possible actions may be backwards. For instance, I might think “should I do such and such” or “is there any justification for taking this action”. I’m beginning to wonder if my thinking should place our freedom in Christ as the default, and rather be thinking “is there a reason I should *not* do such and such” and “would taking this action sin against God or neighbor”.

Perhaps this is an overly subtle or even insignificant distinction. Or perhaps it will free me to do “whatever” while expending more energy seeking the filling of the spirit. What do you think?

clive

Has the complete works of CS Lewis ever been assembled? If not, what might be the best way of assembling my own set of volumes?

records

Earlier in the summer I bought a cyclometer to help measure the calories I was burning on my rides to and from work (and elsewhere). I’ve also been using it to provide some objective numbers with which I can pace myself.

It’s not unusual for me to hit a top speed of 20-something with an average of 12-something, but my avg all week has been >14. Yesterday I set a new record for the 3 mile trip home: top speed 31.5, avg speed 15.5.

white chili

I have quite a few “chili” recipes that I created while working third shift. I’d cook up a batch and it would make two complete meals. They’re all variations on the meat/bean/heat theme I think of as chili, because chili is relatively well-rounded, relatively low in carbs (which I tend to overdo), and really low in calories.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb chicken (ground, lean)
1 1/2 cups navy beans (1 can)
1 cup water
1/2 cup bell pepper (orange, fine diced)
1/2 cup onion (vidalia, coarse diced)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp Mexican Oregeno
1 teasp white pepper (fine ground)
1 teasp sea salt
1/2 teasp coriander
1/2 teasp sage (rubbed)
1/2 teasp thyme
1/4 teasp star anise
1 temple orange (~1/2 C juice?)
24 drops mesquite smoke solution

METHOD:

Combine beans, water, salt, thyme, and white pepper in sauce pan and simmer on low heat. Brown chicken, onion, pepper, and oregeno in skillet, then add to sauce pan and simmer for an additional five minutes. Remove from heat and stir in juice from orange and remaining spices (coriander, sage, and anise). Add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl.

( I want to eventually try substituting mesquite pod powder (I need to remember to order some!) for the smoke solution and/or with pumpkin. And maybe tomatillos.)

a sauce

Although I like Pickapeppa sauce, it’s lacking oomph. But add some Chipotle Tabasco, and it’s mighty tasty. Unfortunately, I don’t know the proportions; I combined what was left of the two bottles. Someday I’ll probably deconstruct it, but there are other sauces I’ll make first, and other recipes I’m more interested in finishing.

veggie chili

This is what has become of the surprise chili posted earlier, and is the recipe that was requested by Fruit Tart.

It’s good fresh, but better the second day.

—–

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups kidney beans (2 cans)
1 1/2 cups black beans (1 can)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup wild rice (4 oz)
1/2 cup corn (fresh/frozen)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp molasses (dark)
2 teasp sea salt
2 teasp chipotle
1 teasp garlic powder
1 teasp cinnamon
1 yellow pepper (finely diced)
1 red pepper (finely diced)
1 red onion (finely diced)
2 heads garlic (whole cloves)

METHOD:

Cook wild rice with 1 1/2 cups water. Dice peppers and onions and saute. Add remaining ingredients to stew pot, cover and simmer, about 15 minutes. Add vegetables and wild rice, and simmer everything additional 30 minutes.

(I’d like to experiment with using whole (dried? fresh?) peppers, cinnamon sticks, and cocoa instead of cinnamon (not simultaneously : ). I’d really like to try it with tamarinds replacing the vinegar and tomatoes, but I’m not sure how to use them. From what I’ve read, I *think* it could work, but who knows?)

activity

I have several posts planned, but most of them will take a while to write, and even longer to discuss. So for now I’m sticking with simple stuff like food. I’ll probably transition into posting links to offsite content for discussion, and then post my own.

But who knows, I’m generally busy enough commenting on others’ blogs. : )

I also have a rarely-updated blog on LiveJournal. For the time being, I plan on keeping both. The LJ has primarily been a tool for communicating with college buddies (the duckosphere), but it’s possible I’ll merge the two someday.

roux

Anyone know how to make a good roux? I’ve done it before, but my recent attempts have been dismal. I need a refresher course!

surprise chili

When I was a freshman I lived largely off of rice that was cooked with chicken boullion, cinnamon, and allspice. And pizza. The next year I lived in a house with a six other guys in IlliniLife. The following recipe is pretty characteristic of the chili I made there. I’ve since become a culinary deconstructivist.

—–

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb sausage (chorizo, or Italian)
2 cups kidney beans (1 can)
1 cup marinara sauce
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tabasco sauce (to taste)

METHOD:

Stir everything but sausage into sauce pan, cover, and simmer. Brown sausage, and add to sauce pan. Add water until chili has achieved desired consistancy (some like it thick, some like it thin) and serve.

(This chili is should be easy to make using ingredients a student might have on hand. It’s quick, simple, and cheap, and you’re surprised that it tastes as much like chili as it does.)