Recommendations

One of my unlisted resolutions was to update the blog more so that friends and family could keep up with us better.

So, here is update #2 of 2010, already!

One of Duncan's Christmas presents was a cookbook I picked up at Ten Thousand Villages: Global Vegetarian Cooking:



We tried our first meal last night, and it was delicious! Mushrooms with yogurt (okay, when I first read that, I thought, ew! But it did sound like something Duncan would like). This is a Kenyan dish in which "tomato and yogurt flavors complement each other, and mushrooms go well with the sour taste."

I picked up all of the fresh produce on our grocery list this week at the Dekalb Farmers Market. YUM! Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Heat the oil in a heavy pan and sauté the 1 onion, finely chopped, before adding the 1 lb of finely chopped mushrooms. Increase the heat and fry them for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the four (we only used two large) tomatoes and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and let the mixture stand to cool for 2 minutes.

When ready, stir in the 1 cup of yogurt or buttermilk and add salt. Return the pan to the heat and cook gently without boiling (or the yogurt will curdle) for 5 minutes or until the ingredients are well combined.

We ate ours with bread and tortilla chips, though we think next time we'll serve it over rice or pasta. The final product is stew-like in consistency. Though the recipe calls for finely chopped, we think we could do bigger pieces as well. This is a simple, inexpensive meal that will serve 2-4. Enjoy!

My second recommendation is a book that anyone remotely interested in poverty alleviation needs to read: When Helping Hurts. Available on Amazon.

This book outlines some essentials in poverty alleviation, the way we interact with the poor, and how to help the poor "reconcile the four foundational relationships so that people can fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work." This an interesting and eye-opening read for anyone, but especially recommend this book for anyone involved in short-term missions.

This book was recommended to me by friend and colleague Phil Cobb who is the Urban Ministries Coordinator at North Avenue. You can read his blog here to see what's happening in Urban Ministry at North Ave.

We'll be trying some other new recipes this week and will pass along anything else that is yummy!