prone to wander

new blog!

2012-01-15T21:50:00.001-05:00

it's official, folks: I'm moving my gluten-free writing and recipes to a new blog! Check it out at glutenfreeglory.wordpress.com. Feedback on layout, colors, and just about anything else is totally welcome - and appreciated.

I'm going to hang onto this blog for awhile in case I get the inspiration to write about things unrelated to food, so don't delete it from your RSS feed just yet!

pumpkin, carrot, & parsnip soup

2011-12-10T19:01:00.000-05:00

I made this soup from scratch about a week ago and had it for lunch every day this week. It's perfect with some toasted bread and goat cheese. No photos, unfortunately, but it's not much to look at anyway; just really, really tasty!

The recipe is an estimate because I was making it up as I went along, but it should be close. I also made it in stages; the roasted pumpkin happened first, then the turkey stock and soup came a few days later. The stock was inspired by this lovely post from a blog I recently discovered.

turkey stock
2 turkey drumsticks (thanksgiving leftovers!)
thick, green stalks from 2 leeks, cut into 6-inch pieces
3 medium carrots
2 large parsnip roots, halved, cored, and cut into 4-inch pieces
2 small onions, skins removed
1 poblano pepper, seeded and halved
small bunch of fresh tarragon, including stems
6-8 cups water
salt

put the turkey and vegetables in a stock pot (mine holds up to 12 c. of liquid, I think) and cover with water. bring to a boil and then immediately turn down the heat. if foam appears on the surface of the water, skim it off with a spoon. simmer for 1 hour, then remove all of the veggies (set aside the carrots and parsnip for later and discard the rest). remove the turkey long enough to pull all the meat off the bones, then return bones to stock and simmer for another 2-3 hours. add salt to taste.

pumpkin, carrot, and parsnip soup
1-2 lb. roasted pumpkin (I roasted it in the oven at 375 w/butter & maple syrup for about 1.5 hours)
carrots and parsnip from chicken/turkey stock
3-4 c. turkey stock
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream (optional)

combine pumpkin, carrots, parsnip, and 2-3 c. turkey stock in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until veggies are soft enough to mix. using a hand mixer, puree veggies until smooth. add additional turkey stock to reach desired consistency, and cream, if desired (it's good either way!).

gluten free pizza

2011-10-22T13:50:00.002-04:00

More allrecipes.com fun:

I made pizza! It was my first time making a super-tasty crust from scratch. I liked this recipe and will definitely use it again. The dough was chewy, in a good way: not too dried out or too moist, full of flavor from the olive oil and sorghum flour in my flour mix...and the tomato, mozzarella, and basil made for a killer combination!

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pizza-dough-i/detail.aspx. The original recipe is for 15 servings; I cut that to 5 and ate the whole thing, so they must be small servings! :)

Gluten-free pizza
Serves 1

1 c. gluten-free flour (I used this mix)
1/2 tsp xantham gum
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp oil (I used olive; recipe calls for vegetable)
1/3 c. warm water (110 degrees: I just guesstimated)

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix dry ingredients; add oil and water and mix until combined. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread out dough (I did mine pretty thin: probably 1/8-1/4 inch and about 10 inches across). Add desired toppings. I spread mine with olive oil, sprinkled some salt, and layered it with sliced mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and fresh, chopped basil.

Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy!

carrot cake (part 2)

2011-10-04T22:39:00.001-04:00

Yesterday/tonight I made a carrot cake. It's late, so I'll be brief. If you want an idea of what it looked like, check out my earlier post.

Want the recipe? I adapted this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/carrot-cake-iii/Detail.aspx.

How did I adapt it?

The last time I used this recipe, the cake turned out a little too oily for my taste, so I cut the vegetable oil and only used 1 cup.
Also, didn't want it too sweet, so I cut the sugar and only used 3/4 c.
I made it gluten free! I substituted the 2 cups white flour with 1 cup Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (that's a mouthful), 1 cup of my own flour mix (3 parts brown rice flour, 1 part tapioca starch, 1 part quinoa flour), 1 tsp xantham gum, and an extra 1/2 tsp baking powder.
I added 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
Finally, I cut the pecans in the cake and frosting. The guy I made it for likes it straight up. :)

gluten free flour mix

2011-10-01T19:43:00.003-04:00

gluten-free flour mix*
3 parts sorghum flour
3 parts potato starch
2 parts tapioca flour
1 part corn flour**

*Borrowed from http://glutenfree.wordpress.com/carol-fensters-new-flour-blend/.

**Corn flour is similar in consistency to masa harina, but doesn't have the added lime. It's slightly finer than cornmeal, and definitely coarser than corn starch. It can be tough to find outside the Hispanic section of the grocery store, so masa harina might make a viable substitution (I say "might" because I haven't tried it!).

right vs. left brain

2011-08-30T21:03:00.000-04:00

One of my roommates sent me links to two simple, online tests for right- vs. left-brain tendencies. I responded with a snarky, "I feel like I'm not going to be surprised..." and then was, somewhat! I liked the results, so I'm posting them here, but not remotely expecting anyone else to enjoy them half as much as I did. :)

Quizzes here for anyone who wants to try - if you do, please share the results! These kind of things fascinate me. :)

http://mindmedia.com/cgi-bin/site/jump.cgi?ID=6489

http://mindmedia.com/braintest.html

My results

Right brain: 42-25%

Left brain: 55-58%

Lynnae, you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant with a balanced preference for auditory and visual inputs. Because of your "centrist" tendencies, the distinctions between various types of brain usage are somewhat blurred.

Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor, unless it requires total spontaneity and ability to improvise, your weaker traits. However, you are far from rigid or overcontrolled. You possess a degree of individuality, perceptiveness, and trust in your intuition to function at much more sophisticated levels than most.

Having given sufficient attention to detail, you can readily perceive the larger aspects and implications of a situation or of learning. You are functional and practical, but can blend abstraction and theory into your framework readily.

The equivalence of your auditory and visual learning orientation gives you two equally effective sensory input systems, each with distinctive features. You can process both unidimensionally and multidimen- sionally with equal facility. When needed, you sequence material while at other times you "intake it all" and store it for processing later.

Your natural ability to use your senses is also synthesized in your way of learning. You can be reflective in your approach, absorbing material in a non-aggressive manner, and at other times voracious in seeking out stimulation and experience.

Overall you tend to be somewhat more critical of yourself than is necessary and avoid enjoying life too much because of a sense of duty. You feel somewhat constrained and tend to sometimes restrict your expressiveness. In any given situation, you will opt for the rational, and learning of almost any type should be easy for you. You might need certain ideas explained to you in order to fit them into your scheme of things, but you're at least open to that!

carrot cake

2011-08-11T07:46:00.000-04:00

I need to play around with the recipe a bit more before posting, but I had to share the photo:

I made carrot cake tonight...

2011-08-10T22:04:00.000-04:00

...for the first time in six years! I love being able to eat dairy again. :)

The recipe I adapted is linked below, and it turned out pretty well. I'll have the adaptations and photos later; maybe tomorrow? Or maybe not until after Wyoming. :)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/carrot-cake-iii/Detail.aspx

beet salad and cucumber raita

2011-07-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

I love beets. With a little balsalmic, olive oil, flat leaf parsley, and some good old salt and pepper, it's easy to make a delicious salad - especially nice on a hot day! It was in the mid-90s earlier this week, so a beet salad and some cool raita were just what I needed after a long day at work.

beet salad
serves 2

2 cups beets, chopped into 1.5 inch pieces, boiled for 10-15 minutes, and peeled
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup goat or cow's milk feta (optional - I didn't have any this time, but it turned out fine without it!)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Toss. Enjoy!

yogurt-cucumber sauce (raita)*
adapted from Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food. serves 2-4

3/4 c. full-fat yogurt (I used Fage, a really delicious Greek yogurt)
1 small cucumber, diced (see the photo)
2 tsp coriander seed, ground in a spice grinder
2 tsp garlic scapes
salt and pepper to taste

put the diced cucumbers in a small bowl, sprinkle with about half a tsp of salt, and let sit for 10 minutes.

combine the remaining ingredients (below) and stir. add the cucumbers and stir again. add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

*This was more raita than I needed, so the next day I added about 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 2-3 tbsp olive oil and turned it into a dressing for my salad. It was delicious!

scape, arugula, and walnut pesto

2011-07-15T23:15:00.000-04:00

I love having a CSA, and the time to use it and create new recipes! We had some arugula in desperate need of consumption, and *lots* of garlic scapes, so I decided to make a pesto. It packs a punch! The spicy arugula and pungent garlic are a sweet combination - this is definitely something I'll save for next year's batch of scapes. It's great on pasta (with broiled squashes and more parmesan cheese) or with eggs and tortillas (inspired by my good friend Becky Kuk - check out her blog!).

scape, arugula, and walnut pesto
makes 1/2 to 3/4 c. pesto

1 small bunch arugula, roughly chopped (approx. 3/4 c?)
2 tbsp garlic scapes, chopped
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded
pinch salt
1-2 tsp freshly ground pepper

throw ingredients in a food processor; blend until smooth. Or until it looks like this!

pesto pasta with broiled squashes and parmesan cheese

pesto, eggs, and tortilla with feta

*note: this was a little on the salty side because of the pesto and feta. if I make the pesto again, I'll leave out the salt and add to different recipes as needed.

brilliant (oatmeal) banana bread

2011-07-09T13:31:00.004-04:00

Gluten-free cooking is relatively straightforward - there are thousands of excellent recipes that are naturally gluten-free, and good substitutes for things like pasta and bread and couscous. See my other recipes or the blogs listed on the right for examples.

Gluten-free baking can be a different story. Gluten acts like a glue (it's known as a "sticky protein"), making fluffy cakes and thin pastries and delicate crusts possible. Without that sticky protein, it's a bigger challenge to get those pastries, cakes, cookies, and crusts just right, and it's a real adventure in terms of finding the right textures and flavors to make your baked goods turn out right.

Sweet breads are relatively forgiving, but I've still had a hard time finding a good recipe. Until now. I had bananas that needed using up, so I went in search of two things: 1) a really good banana bread recipe that I could adapt and 2) a gluten-free flour mix that I could create without having to make a trip to the grocery store. I found both, tried it out, and fell head over heals in love. The recipe follows and was a big hit with non-gluten-free friends - even a full *week* after I'd made the bread! That's unheard of in the gluten-free baking world - typically, it either sours if it's not refrigerated or dries up if it is after just 2-3 days. So, in many ways, this was a huge success. Hope you enjoy!

brilliant (oatmeal) banana bread
Adapted from allrecipes.com (Oatmeal Banana Nut Bread) and Carol Fenster via Gluten-Free Gobsmacked
Makes 2 loaves.

gluten-free flour mix
3 parts sorghum flour
3 parts potato starch
2 parts tapioca flour
1 part corn flour*

*Corn flour is similar in consistency to masa harina, but doesn't have the added lime. It's slightly finer than cornmeal, and definitely coarser than corn starch. It can be tough to find outside the Hispanic section of the grocery store, so masa harina might make a viable substitution (I say "might" because I haven't tried it!)...

banana bread
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas (fresh and/or frozen)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I just put these in one loaf, so I only used 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans (or line them with parchment paper; a habit I formed sharing loaf pans with non-gluten-free roommates!).
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the banana and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat into creamed mixture. Stir in oats and nuts. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. You may need to cover with foil 40-45 minutes into baking to prevent the top of the loaf from burning/overcooking, so keep an eye on it!

I left both loaves out for about 24 hours, then put them in Ziploc bags and kept them in the fridge. When I wanted bread, I toasted it in my gluten-free toaster at home, or warmed a slice in the microwave for 25-30 seconds. It's good on its own, or with a little bit of butter. :)

High on my gluten-free culinary adventures list...

2011-06-08T21:16:00.000-04:00

...is this delectable avocado, cucumber, apple soup with salmon and other loveliness. Oh. Man. Alive. I love this blogger and her delicious food!

In other news, check out these spectacular photos de un volcán en Chile (from a volcano in Chile)! The lightning photos are my favorite!

And, finally, these are some really cool infographics (e.g. pictures!) conveying some (overly-simplified) facts about the world. I loved them. Here's a version that doesn't require clicking for every other photo.

Avoiding passivity

2011-06-06T17:02:00.000-04:00

Oxfam America (my current employer) just posted it's quarterly publication, OxfamExchange, highlighting our work around the world. I'm certainly biased, but it's a great report (especially the story about Haiti). Here's a taste, from the introductory paragraph:

Development work is hard to write about. At Oxfam, we try to avoid simplistic storytelling on one hand and impenetrable analysis on the other, because both do a disservice to our supporters and the people we serve. The issues that we face, however, are complex, and effective solutions require careful thought, sustained investment, and hard work. We worry that even our best-told stories may produce the same passivity that TV engenders. Like watching a movie unfold—however fascinating, the characters often seem distant, unrelated to your life.

That last thought really resonates with me; since starting to work in development, it's been easy to be passive about the myriad challenges and injustices facing people around the world (and in my own community), and critical when writers oversimplify. I'll leave it up to you whether this report succeeds in sparking action, but I thought it was a great read and wanted to share. Would love to hear your thoughts if you read it!

re-learning old lessons

2011-06-06T07:49:00.000-04:00

It's funny how life comes full circle. I was struck this morning reading two posts I wrote just over two years ago, when I was in the midst of the grad school application process. I'll be late for work if I elaborate fully, but it makes me think of Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes, "there is nothing new under the sun!" That's not entirely true in this case; while I could write many of the same words today that I wrote then, I'd also have new things to say. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write them all down soon. Until then, here's some food for thought:

We are seasoned do-it-yourselfers

good links

2011-06-05T18:17:00.003-04:00

I've been quiet and sporadic lately - it's been a super busy spring! I'm hoping to write a post soon about the new job I've started, but for now, will just share some links I liked today, in no particular order.

Sponsor an African...spreadsheet: I love the tag line - "It's not sexy. It works." Yay Engineers Without Borders :)
Beautiful food: this woman's blog posts never cease to amaze or inspire me. Beautiful food AND beautiful photos; who could ask for anything more?
Speaking with contempt: a good word on guarding against contempt, especially in leadership settings. Tim Keller is always a good read.
And, finally, Manliness and Morality, in the Weekly Standard, and a review of it from the Gospel Coalition Blog, Men, Temptation, and the Gospel: two thought-provoking articles that I thoroughly enjoyed reading, especially the part in the second one about the power of the Gospel to transform my brothers in Christ into "self-sacrificing pillars of strength." good stuff.

Wicked Good Lasagna

2011-03-27T19:41:00.010-04:00

I made lasagna today, possibly for the first time ever, and definitely the first time ever gluten-free. It was delicious. Not perfect, but delicious. The recipe is an adaptation of a few Alice Waters recipes, and it definitely took me about 3.5 hours, 4 if you count the clean-up...but it was worth the time and effort. Totally worth it. Here's the recipe, with notes at the end about what I'll do differently next time.

truffle making

2011-01-13T20:41:00.002-05:00

[I swore there was a photo! But I can't find it...must have deleted it.]

I made truffles this year for the first time, with a friend, and it's something I plan on doing again next year. It's pretty easy, albeit somewhat time-consuming, but also tons of fun. Plus, it geeks out the creative bug in me - it's super easy to create all different kinds of flavor combinations from one basic recipe (compliments of Epicurious.com) - you just add flavor to the cream either by infusion, ground spices, or extracts. Our creations this year included:

Straight-up Chocolate
Mexican Chocolate (ganache plus cinnamon & cayenne pepper: next year I'm infusing the cream with cinnamon sticks and dried chilies)
Jasmine Chocolate (made with a teeny bit of essence of jasmine - I found it at a South/South East Asian grocery in Baltimore)
Peppermint Chocolate
Cardamom Orange Chocolate
Cinnamon Balsamic Chocolate (sounds weird, I know, but they were heavenly. Here's the recipe)

My favorites were the jasmine and balsamic truffles, but the most fun part was seeing how the different additions affected the consistency of the ganache (chocolate + cream). I can't wait for next year...I'm thinking lemon lavender, something with sage or rosemary, and maybe even a garam masala-infused truffle: chocolate with cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and a touch of coriander sounds exciting. :)

December food

2010-12-25T17:46:00.002-05:00

I'm flying from Boston to Detroit, experiencing the phenomenon that is (free) in-flight wi-fi (crazy!) and thought I'd take the time to catch up on some food blogging. Pictures will, unfortunately, have to wait, because hooking up my camera to the computer is almost logistically impossible in this tiny seat. Live blogging is a big enough deal in and of itself. :)

There are several things I've been wanting to post/share for you gluten-free (and gluten-full!) friends out there - so many, in fact, I'm likely not going to remember them all! But here are some food highlights from the last few weeks:

Potato Leek Soup, compliments of David Lebovitz: this was my first ever attempt at making potato leek soup, and it went fairly well. I mistakenly tried to wing it with the measurements and ended up having a pretty watery soup, but once it cooled and settled, I was able to pour off some of the extra liquid and was left with a subtle but tasty soup! I added some hot chili pepper to give it a kick. I highly recommend this one!
(Gluten-free) sugar cookies, compliments of Gluten-Free Girl & the Chef. These are delightful cookies, and easily adaptable if you're looking for dairy-free as well. I made one version with butter (that I actually haven't rolled/baked yet - a project I'm saving for The Michigan Christmas Adventure!), and a smaller batch with coconut oil instead of butter. The latter turned out great; I made them for a friend who can't do gluten, dairy, soy, or corn (or much sugar). They're fantastic with a bit of honey drizzled on top!
Tom Yam Soup (sp?) from a Thai cookbook. I don't have the recipe in front of me, but it's essentially 1 quart of shrimp stock, 1 cup each of thinly-sliced mushrooms and peeled, deveined shrimp, 3 stalks of lemongrass (Google directions on how to cut/slice it), and 2 Tbsps galangal (I had to use ginger and it turned out okay) simmered for about 10-15 minutes and then poured over 2 Tbsps fresh lime juice, 1-2 hot green chili peppers (I used serrano), 1/4 c. chopped cilantro, and two stalks of green onion, thinly sliced. If you can find lime leaves in a South East Asian grocery store, the recipe called for several of those as well, but I just substituted extra lime juice in the broth. It turned out pretty tasty, and was good over steamed jasmine rice. It was also surprisingly quick and easy!
Fennel, leek, and arugula risotto, fennel, pear, and arugula salad and pistachio sandies (same page), compliments of Cannelle et Vanille, one of my new favorite food blogs. These three dishes/desserts were decadent, yet not at all too heavy. I will certainly make all of them again, especially the pistachio sandies, which were a big hit at work!
Finally, some holiday goodies: Nanaimo/Vameeno bars (a Christmas tradition of sorts in my family...and, apparently, British Columbia!) and my first-ever, roommate-inspired foray into truffle making. I'll post photos eventually, but this year's flavors included cinnamon balsamic, jasmine, peppermint, straight-up chocolate, orange cardamom, and Mexican (cinnamon cayenne). They were all incredible, if I do say so myself. :)

There you have it - December in the life of Lynnae E. Ruberg. Photos soon!

Viva la revolucion

2010-10-08T09:14:00.002-04:00

This is an excellent article. I always enjoy reading what Malcolm Gladwell has to say; he has a way of distilling ideas to their essence that leaves me thinking, “I knew that all along, but couldn’t articulate it!” In this article, he examines activism: what it looked like in the past and what it looks like today. Specifically, he compares a variety of current campaigns to the civil rights movement in the 1960s, arguing that social media has facilitated a network-driven environment as opposed to the hierarchy-driven environment of the ‘60s.

One of the most salient points was his discussion of the Greensboro sit-ins in the 1960s. He writes about the four young men who courageously started them, and the threats and violence they faced. In writing about them, he discusses the difference between strong ties and weak ties; several of those four men attended high school together, and all four of them were rooming in the same college dorm; in other words, they were close friends who knew they stood together. In contrast, social media thrives on weak ties, acquaintances and people you wouldn’t normally be able to keep in touch with from a distance, people you would be much less likely to join in a dangerous, long-haul campaign against deeply-rooted societal evil.

This illustration, along with a dozen others, made me think: in many ways, social media allows us to more efficiently and perhaps effectively choose the path of least resistance. We can sign up for causes we care about, keep tabs on the latest ideas and trends, and get connected to people we otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t know, all in just a few seconds’ time. We don’t have to invest a lot of time, energy, or emotion into any of it, which leaves us “free” to do other things with our time. Ultimately, though, I think this path of least resistance weakens us: whether through shortened attention spans, less emphasis on deep, lasting relationships, or “soundbytes” instead of carefully-considered ideas. Even as I sit here writing this blog post, I find myself jumping from one idea to the next, struggling to focus long enough to fully develop a thought or reaction. It makes me think of a quote I saw yesterday in someone’s email signature:

“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." -Herbert A. Simon, Nobel laureate economist

Gladwell doesn’t make a call for action in his article, but he should. Mine is to be more intentional in two things: investing in face-to-face relationships and taking the time to read and consider more carefully-thought-out pieces such as Gladwell’s. What's yours?

2010-09-29T12:21:00.005-04:00

I've been doing some interesting reading over the last couple of days. Here are some snippets!

“…we are unlikely to banish poverty in the modern world by trials alone, unless those trials are guided by and contribute to theoretical understanding.” -"Instruments, randomization, and learning in development", Angus Deaton

First, a paper by Angus Deaton on the challenges of using instrumental variables and randomized control trials to evaluate development programs; I like it because he calls into question the theory behind the newest movement in development economics, urging its practitioners to use caution and care.

------------------------------

"Markets are a great game, but a dreadful religion." -U.S. Food Policy post, Parke Wilde
"Economics is not a morality play." -editorial by Paul Krugman

Second, two articles that discuss the merits of the market, and its limitations. It's fascinating to read these while reading a book called Bad Samaritans by Han-Jyoon Chung, which questions the merits of "neoliberal economics", or free trade, foreign investment, and private-owned enterprises, especially in developing economies with a long-term perspective.

-------------------------

Finally, a large school here in Massachusetts that defies the newest preference for small schools: it has 4,100 students, used to be failing, and turned itself around, with the help of the self-appointed "school restructuring committee". Reflecting on this and other things in life lately has made me think that, while theory and "best practices" are important, what matters more in making change is personal investment (of time and resources), an understanding of the local context, and working with others to create local, creative solutions. Thoughts?

catching up at work

2010-08-26T20:17:00.001-04:00

Some things I’m reading this week as I catch up at work:

From Aid on the Edge of Chaos: “…trust is not some box to be ticked in order to achieve aid success. Trust takes time, effort, presence, engagement, commitment and humility. Trust means putting a human face on overtly technical endeavours. Trust means starting something without necessarily knowing how it is going to end.”

Because I can’t imagine life without conferences and research and all that fun stuff (and who doesn’t like New York?): Microfinance Impact and Innovation Conference 2010

And check out these beautiful photos. Thanks Aid Watch!

buttermilk scones

2010-08-24T18:13:00.005-04:00

I'm still on my dairy kick - it's fun playing around with a whole "new" food group! Today was my last day of vacation, so I celebrated appropriately by baking scones. These are pretty tasty - a bit dry, so you might only use 2 cups of flour, but otherwise, yum yum yum! Enjoy....

Buttermilk Scones

Adapted from epicurious.com, Dried Cherry Buttermilk Scones

Makes 8 scones

1/2 cup buttermilk plus 1/4 cup for brushing the scones 

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 large eggs 

3 tablespoons light brown sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract 

2 - 2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour mix* 

1 scant tablespoon double-acting baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon zantham gum 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits 

1/2 cup granola or dried fruit

granulated maple, turbinado, or white sugar for sprinkling

In a bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of the buttermilk, the eggs, the vinegar, the brown sugar, and the vanilla until the mixture is combined well. In another bowl stir together the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt and blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the granola and the buttermilk mixture with a fork until the mixture just forms a sticky but manageable dough. Knead the dough gently for 30 seconds on a lightly floured surface, pat it into a 3/4-inch-thick round, and cut it into 8 wedges. On an ungreased baking sheet brush the wedges with the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and sprinkle them with the sugar. Bake the scones in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they are golden.

*I used a blend comprised of three parts brown rice flour, one part tapioca flour, and one part sorghum flour.

oatmeal buttermilk pancakes - success!

2010-08-19T09:09:00.006-04:00

"Wow, Lynnae, these taste just like Dad's!"

My sister's words this morning couldn't have made me happier. Growing up, we had a Saturday morning tradition of making oatmeal buttermilk pancakes. My dad made them - and sometimes let us "help" - and then we'd sit around and eat them with tall glasses of milk and grandma & grandpa's real, Michigan maple syrup. Sometimes we'd vary the recipe a bit - add some vanilla and cinnamon for a sweet version, or chocolate chips for an even sweeter one! - but rarely would we miss a Saturday.

Then, five years ago, I was diagnosed with celiac disease and had to say good-bye to Dad's oatmeal buttermilk pancakes (among what felt like 1,000,000 other things). Oh, the sadness! Since then, I have tried several times to reproduce Dad's pancakes. Given that I've also been unable to have dairy for the last five years, it was always an exercise in frustration - there's just no substitute for buttermilk, oats, and good-old gluten flour.

Today, however, is a different story. For the last few weeks, since I've been introducing a bit of dairy back into my life, I've been working on perfecting a gluten-free version of my dad's oatmeal buttermilk pancakes. I'll spare you the details of each stage; suffice it to say, this recipe rocks! Like Alayna said, you can hardly tell the difference between these and my dad's gluten-FULL version. Success is so sweet! :)

Gluten free oatmeal buttermilk pancakes

Makes 8-10 pancakes (4 servings)

5/6 c. gluten-free flour mix (3 parts brown rice flour, 1 part potato starch, 1 part sorghum flour)

1 c. gluten-free oats

1 tsp. each baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar

½ tsp. zantham gum

pinch of salt

1 ¼ c. buttermilk

¼ c. orange juice

2 eggs

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl, mix, and set aside.

Wisk two eggs; add orange juice and buttermilk and mix until combined.

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Batter should resemble cake batter; not too thick, and not too runny. Add buttermilk if needed.

Heat a skillet (non-stick works best) over medium to medium-high heat. Grease with some butter, then spoon pancake batter onto skillet. Cook until the top sides are bubbly and the bottom sides are browned. Flip and brown on the other side. Serve with butter (or your favorite butter substitute) and maple syrup.

Dairy-free version

-Omit the salt

-Substitute ¾ c. soymilk + juice from ½ a lemon for buttermilk; combine these

what i've been reading lately (new post!)

2010-08-05T11:19:00.003-04:00

My last post was over two months ago. Since then, I started a new internship doing data analysis and helped start a once-a-month weekend meal at my church, so it's been busy!

No food this time. I have been reading a few different development, evaluation, economics, and other exciting-topic blogs this morning and was inspired to share a bit of what I've been reading lately, mostly during & for my internship (and practicum literature review), but also for fun. Yes, I have a nerdy definition of fun. :)

The most interesting thing I've been reading about is called the Acute Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), created by two researchers at the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative. You can download the working paper here, read a review and debate of the paper on Duncan Green's blog here, and peruse an Economist article about it here. The most interesting aspect of the debate was whether or not it makes sense to create Indices in the first place, the primary argument (against) being that you have to deconstruct the Index to understand what it means, so why go to the trouble of creating it in the first place? What's helpful about the MPI is that it provides a standard way of quantifying multidimensional poverty in 100+ countries, something that hasn't been done in a clear or coherent way, until now. But I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

Also on my reading list the last few weeks? Here's a peek:

Out of Poverty by Paul Pollack. Basically an argument for local, contextualized, and low-cost solutions in development, especially in the agricultural field.
Data Visualization by Ben Fry, Once Upon a Stacked Time Series by Matthias Shapiro (Political Math blogger), and the necessary Java tutorials and emails back and forth with my sister to start learning how to make some wicked sweet visualizations.
Speaking Stata: How to face lists with fortitude, On numbers and strings, & How to move step by: step
A few good blogs I found today (and earlier): AidWatch, From Poverty to Power, Chris Blattman's blog, and IPA's blog.
I've also been reading various impact evaluations from J-PAL and IPA, mainly focused on anything having to do with "commitment savings products" or microenterprise projects that promote group-based microsavings before loans.

That's plenty for now - I've probably lost most of you! :)

ginger mint potato salad

2010-05-27T10:21:00.005-04:00

I bought a bag of red-skin potatoes this weekend. I love red-skin potatoes, but they take time to prep and make, so I haven't had many of them lately. After roasting a chicken yesterday, I decided a potato salad was in order. One of my favorite recipes is Potato Salad with Mint and Peas, from epicurious.com, but I didn't have any peas (or shallots). So I started inventing with the ingredients I had on hand and ended up with the following recipe - the ginger, garlic, and chili are still lingering in my mouth, and it's a tasty combo!

Lynnae's Ginger Mint Potato Salad

Serves 4

6-8 medium red skinned potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces, with skin

1/2-1 cup orange bell pepper,

2-4 tsp garlic clove, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 tsp dried mint (or 1-2 Tbsp fresh)

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

1-2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Immerse the potatoes in cold, salted water (I used about 3 tsps salt), bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.

Add remaining ingredients to the potatoes and stir. Let sit for a few minutes (or a few hours) for the flavors to blend together; serve cold.

anniversaries

2010-05-25T23:18:00.004-04:00

Five years ago, in mid-April 2005, I was diagnosed with celiac disease. Three years ago, in mid-May 2007, I started blogging about it. A year ago, I celebrated Starbucks' gluten-free almond cake (which they discontinued shortly thereafter...sad!). This year, I moved to Boston and started a grad program, blogging along the way about quick, cheap ways to cook/eat gluten-free.

When I tell people I can't eat gluten (and what that means), the most common reaction I get is, "Wow, I could never give up bread and pasta and cookies and cake!" It's not a surprising reaction; I had the same about a year before I was diagnosed when I first learned about celiac from a college friend - "I can't imagine living without gluten!" That same friend was an incredible resource and encouragement once I was diagnosed, letting me borrow his CSA gluten-free product listing and my roommates' favorite, Special Diets for Special Kids. :)

Since then, I've collected a library of helpful books, websites, blogs, and delicious recipes that I love passing along to new and old friends facing the scary transition. I've learned that, while losing a major part of one's diet is without a doubt a loss to be mourned, there is life after the diagnosis, and it's healthier and tastier than before! I have acquired a new appreciation for good food, one I didn't have before; because my options are limited, and because not all gluten-free goodies are created equal, I celebrate really good food all the more now than I ever used to. I also really look forward to God's promises of a heavenly feast - one that will most certainly include the richest bread you can imagine, one that won't make me sick!

This week, the last week of Celiac Disease Awareness Month, I am celebrating these anniversaries in a few different ways: 1) tonight I am roasting a whole chicken, per Alice Waters' beautiful instructions in The Art of Simple Food; 2) I am adding an "I blog gluten-free" logo to my blog, courtesy of Karina at the Gluten-Free Goddess; and 3) this summer, I am contemplating cooking up some of these scrumptious-looking goodies at 101 Cookbooks - all gluten-free!

Here's to the next five years of gluten-free living!

asparagus, halibut, tarragon and lime

2010-03-16T21:07:00.003-04:00

One of my latest (last night!) cooking adventures, this recipe was inspired by one I found on Epicurious.com (linked here). I had never cooked with fresh tarragon before, but I'll definitely be doing it again! Tarragon has a subtle, sweet, licorice flavor that really sings when paired with these fresh veggies!

A note about the fish: I asked my brother a few days ago for good resources on finding sustainably-caught fish and he and my dad suggested these websites, from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Services. Based on their recommendations, I went with wild-caught Pacific (Alaskan) halibut, but cod works as well.

Halibut Special

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 15x15-inch squares parchment paper (mine were bigger - I added more veggies!)
4 5-to 6-ounce fish fillets (such as halibut or cod; each about 1 inch thick
3 tablespoons tarragon leaves
olive oil
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound carrots, sliced into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
juice from 1 lime

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place parchment squares on work surface. Drizzle ~2 tsps of olive oil in the center of each parchment square; top each one with 1 fish fillet. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper; divide tarragon, asparagus, carrots and red onion evenly among 4 fillets, then drizzle with another ~1-2 tsps olive oil and lime juice. Fold parchment over fish and asparagus, folding and crimping edges tightly to seal and enclose filling completely. Place on 2 rimmed baking sheets (or a glass baking dish or two), spacing apart.

Here's a photo of the set-up, pre-baked.

Bake fish packets 17-25 minutes. Slide packets onto plates and serve. I ate it with steamed brown rice - delicious! Here's the final product:

cinnamon apricot porridge

2010-03-02T18:40:00.002-05:00

This morning, I made my weekly pot of brown rice porridge - it's like oatmeal, only Lynnae-friendly (see note at the end on oats and gluten free!).

Ever interested in spicing things up, I came up with a new creation. I started by adding cinnamon and coconut to the cereal before boiling, and then added chopped dried apricots near the end. The result was a smooth, creamy, dessert-like porridge that reminded me of my mom's peaches and cream cheese cake (amazing!). I loved it so much, I had to share the recipe. No photo, unfortunately, but trust me, it's pretty! :)

Cinnamon Apricot Porridge
Makes 4 servings

1 c. Bob's Red Mill Organic Brown Rice Farina
4 c. water
1 Tbsp butter or margarine (I use Earth Balance)
1-2 sticks cinnamon
1/4 c. coconut

1/2 c. diced apricot

Combine the brown rice farina, water, butter, cinnamon and coconut in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the consistency is smooth and oatmeal-like, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. About 5-7 minutes into simmering, add the apricots.

Serve on its own, with milk, and/or maple syrup, to taste. Enjoy!

*Note on oatmeal: There's a lot of debate about oats and whether or not they're suitable for a gluten-free diet. Some good resources are listed below. While several companies make specially-processed gluten-free oats, I've had a hard time with them, so I've had to avoid them. Here are some good websites on the topic:

Gluten Free Oats (sells oats - these were the "easiest" for me!)
CSA Celiac's Info on Oats
Sure Foods Living (a great GF blogger from California) on oats

ginger, cayenne, and cupcakes

2010-02-16T19:57:00.006-05:00

The title is a bit misleading; I did not make ginger cayenne cupcakes, as tasty as those might be (note to self...)! No, instead, I used ginger and cayenne in two recent recipes (I'm beginning to love the tantalizing combination!) and one of my wonderful roommates made the (gluten-free/dairy-free) cupcakes - her little Valentine's Day present. Yes, we're a sappy bunch at the Harvard St. house...sometimes. :)

Instead of keeping you in suspense, I'll just cut to the chase.

1. Potato Pancakes with Pears
A friend of mine from Baltimore sent me a recipe he'd created for potato pancakes with pears. The photo below doesn't do it justice, but I highly recommend the recipe. Three suggestions: don't use red skin potatoes (try russet, like the recipe says!); if you're making it gluten-free and the egg creates too much liquid, add ~3 tbsp+ brown rice flour; and try doing the pears first and keeping them warm in the oven while you do the potato pancakes.

Potato Pancakes:

Shred:
2 pounds peeled russet potatoes
1 md. onion

Squeeze the water out of the potatoes with either a salad spinner or cheese cloth. Save the water that you produce--the potato starch will settle out.

Combine:
Shredded potatoes, onions
Potato starch
1/8-1/4 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg or 4-6 tbs. oat flour

Make into patties and fry on medium heat.

Pears

Saute on md. heat
2 tbs butter
1/8 tsp red pepper
1.5 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbs. ginger, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp cloves
2 pinches dark. brown sugar

After 2-3 minutes,

Add 2 pears, cut into 16th or something like a 16th.

Saute for 4 minutes
Add 1/2 - 1 cup water and cover until the pears are starting to be tender.
Remove the lid and let the liquid reduce until the pears are tender and the sauce is syrupy.

Serve the pears over the potato pancakes and drizzle with maple syrup.

2. Alexis' Valentine's Day Special
Adapted from a Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World recipe - Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting. Absolutely amazing.

3. Apricot Ginger Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Betty Crocker's Living Gluten Freely recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4	cup steamed Japanese yams & ginger (see note below)
1/4	cup Earth Balance soy free shortening, softened (not melted)
1 1/2	teaspoon vanilla teaspoon lemon juice from concentrate (or 2 tsp lemon zest)
1	egg
1	box (19 oz) Betty Crocker® Gluten Free chocolate chip cookie mix
1/4 1/3	cup each, dried apricots and candied ginger, chopped (1/2 cup total) cup pistachios, chopped
dash	cayenne pepper
	Poppy seeds, if desired

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2.	In large bowl, stir yams & ginger, shortening, vanilla, lemon juice and egg until blended. Stir in cookie mix, apricots, ginger, pistachios and cayenne pepper until soft dough forms. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheets and flatten with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle lightly with poppy seeds.
3.	Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when lightly touched in center and edges are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Note: The Betty Crocker recipe calls for pumpkin purée; I had some lovely Japanese yams (similar to white yams) in my fridge that were begging to be used for this recipe; they're subtly sweet and super starchy, so they add some lovely bulk to these cookies without overpowering the other tastes. I diced 2 yams, sliced up about 1 Tbsp ginger, boiled them together until soft, and then threw the whole thing in a food processor until smooth (had to add a bit of water). If you're pressed for time, substitute (canned) puréed butternut squash.

There you have it, folks! Some of the delicious food I've been eating lately. Enjoy!

Recent recipes & photos

2010-01-23T20:17:00.008-05:00

My best friend is doing a project this year that involves taking photos every single day and posting her daily favorite. I thought it was a cool idea and really wanted to participate, but I found this week that I am just too darn busy! I'm also experiencing a bit of digital camera letdown returning to my dinky little point and shoot after getting to use my sister's DSLR (Nikon D40) in Spain.

Regardless, in the spirit of this really cool project, I managed to take a few photos around my house and neighborhood, including some of the food I made myself this evening. I love having time to make good food! When the semester gets busy (wait...it already is!), I have to force myself to take the time, despite how rewarding it is.

Anyway, I could go on for awhile, but I'll spare you the musings. Here are the photos. :)

1. Fire!! Oh, wait...not really. This is near the bus stop, where I sometimes dash on my way to school to get to the train faster. :)

2. I don't know what it is about graffiti, but I love it. I found this one at the train station one morning last week. Look closely; I really like the orange hand prints on either side of "war".

3. Cloves! My roommate came home a few months ago with this ancient bag of spices, which we promptly hung on the wall. I love cloves. :

4. Quiche! This was an adaptation from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, a Christmas present from Joel that I was really excited about. It was fairly quick and easy: an almond-flour crust with parsley and shallots, baked for ~20 minutes, then filled with steamed and sauteed cauliflower, onions, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, eggs and more parsley. And some salt and pepper. It's very mild, but very delicious. I'm looking forward to having it for breakfast the rest of this week! :)

5. Last but most definitely not least, the latest variation of Betty Crocker's Gluten Free "Pumpkin" Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here's the recipe. I substituted squash for the pumpkin, cranberries for the raisins, and added about 1/4 c. of crushed pecans and 2 tsps of Kenyan Tea Masala, which is a mix of spices intended to be taken with black tea...but ginger, cardamom, mace, allspice, cinnamon, and black pepper sounded perfect for this recipe! I wasn't off-base; these are delicious. Another thing I'm looking forward to enjoying this week. :)

Sevilla y Madrid

2009-12-31T14:55:00.005-05:00

The last round of photos is up! I took WAY too many of them, but didn't want to cut them down any more. I have every intention of going through all twelve hundred of the photos I took while in Spain and picking out 100 of the best, but it might be awhile, so I thought I'd share these for now. Enjoy!

Sevilla & Madrid photos

The best part of Madrid doesn't have photos: we spent all of Monday and Tuesday going through the three main art museums, the Prado, the Thyssen, and the Reina Sofia. The Prado is Madrid's main art museum, with a range of classic to contemporary works, but highlighting several famous Spanish painters; we saw Goya, El Greco, and Velazquez, to name a few. The Thyssen is a private collection; I was amazed at the sheer number of artists they featured, despite not having many especially famous paintings. Finally, the Reina Sofia is a contemporary art museum, and home to a large number of Picasso's works, including Guernika, which was spectacular.

I had a few more thoughts on the art museum I wanted to share, but I'll have to save them for later. Maybe once I get those 100 favorites from Spain picked out. :)

Córdoba

2009-12-24T09:17:00.003-05:00

If you ever get the chance to go to Spain, you must go to Córdoba and see La Mezquita, the (Grand) Mosque. According to Wikipedia, La Mezquita was "finished" in late 900A.D., but "updated" with a Catholic nave around the 13th/14th century, after Córdoba was recaptured by the Spanish. The building was absolutely incredible; the pillars and archways of the original mosque were breathtaking, the size was almost unbelievable, and the mixture of the Catholic and Muslim architecture and décor was intriguing. The photos are better than my simple explanation, though, so if you'd like to look at them, click here (P.S. If you end up looking on the Wikipedia site, I swear I didn't get my photos from there. These are all mine! :) ).

Here's one to whet your appetite:

Pretty incredible, no?

The rest of Córdoba was pretty cool. It is a smaller, slightly quieter city than Granada (and definitely quieter than Sevilla), one I would love to return to at some point in time in my life. It helped that the sun was shining (one of the few sunny days so far), but I loved the old architecture, narrow streets and city parks. It was a beautiful place!

Granada!

2009-12-22T13:10:00.005-05:00

Alayna and I went to Granada Sunday morning, and came back today. I've been having all kinds of fun playing around with her camera (Nikon D40), learning a lot about when to delete photos (not until after I've uploaded them to my computer!), how to use the manual setting, and how not to mess with the white balance unless I remember to unmess with it once I get out of the bright daylight and into the dark low light setting of an Indian restaurant. :) A digital SLR is next on my list, once I figure out when I can afford it!

Most of the adventures we've been having are captured on film: some highlights include visiting the Alhambra (1000-year-old Moorish ruins overlooking Granada), playing cards in a cafe or two (or three? :) ), and a really nice dinner (and some tasty cheap wine) last night. We've decided we really like having a "home" to come home to in Sevilla - we're staying in the apartment of one of Alayna's friends - and it's been fun cooking and relaxing when we're not traveling! Tomorrow we're doing a quick day trip to Córdoba to see La Mezquita, an old (famous) mosque that is supposed to be spectacular! I can't wait. :)

Here are some of my favorite photos from the last couple of days. The rest can be found here.

Sisters on the train! Ready for Granada. :)

The Alhambra! From the Albaicín, a beautiful old neighborhood overlooking Granada.

Inside the Alhambra's walls.

Las Primeras Fotos (The First Photos!)

2009-12-18T17:15:00.005-05:00

Want to see some photos from my trip with Alayna? Click here. They're all of Sevilla - the sunny ones were from yesterday and the rainy ones from today. I love all the old buildings! And I love getting to use Alayna's Nikon D40; it's much more fun than my little point-and-shoot. :)

We're having fun. Today, we visited the Museo de Bellas Artes (Art Museum), which, regrettably, didn't allow us to take photos! I was sad because the building was beautiful. One of the salas (rooms) had cathedral ceilings that were painted with different geometric designs and Biblical characters (think Sistine Chapel, although probably not nearly as spectacular) - I loved it! Alayna finished up her exams today, so hopefully we'll be hitting the road and visiting some other Andalucían towns sometime this weekend!

More later, though - we're about to crash and watch a movie. :) Chau!

España!

2009-12-17T04:28:00.003-05:00

*Note: For those of you reading this on Facebook, I won't be checking it for another couple of weeks, so if you have comments and want me to see them, comment on my blog! Thanks :)

Hola, amigos! :) I'm writing this morning from Sevilla, Spain, where it's a bright, sunny, and chilly morning. I am jet-lagging, so my thoughts are all over the place and it's taking a great deal of effort to concentrate! We have a full day today: Alayna is taking an exam while I do a little grocery shopping this morning, and then we are having lunch with her señora, a drink with one of her Spanish intercambios (language learning partner), and dinner with her study abroad crew tonight! Alayna's Spanish is incredible - it makes me self-conscious to even try speaking in front of her! :) It's really cool to be here, though, and to see where she's been living for the past three months.

Sooner or later I'll have a picture or two - Alayna's letting me borrow her camera for the week! - but for now, this is it. Love you all! ~Lynnae

Heavenly crepes

2009-11-29T08:24:00.004-05:00

I made crepes this morning and they were delicious.

My roommate was talking yesterday about crepes, so I woke up hungry for them. After a quick internet search, I found this recipe from Kill The Gluten (great blog name!) and adapted it based on the ingredients I had in my pantry for a single serving. It's best to start with the filling; the apple takes awhile to bake. :) But here's the new recipe:

Heavenly Crepes
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp brown rice flour
3 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/2 tsp raw cane sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp applesauce

Combine dry ingredients. Add egg and stir until completely worked through flour mixture. Add half of the almond milk and stir until the lumps are dissolved in a thin batter (this took me about 5 minutes of constant stirring with a fork). Add applesauce and combine.

Pour half the batter into a lightly-greased skillet on medium heat; flip once bubbles start to form. Fill with fruit (see below for the filling I used today).

Makes 2 crepes.

Apple Cinnamon Filling
1 medium MacIntosh apple
2 Tbsp peanut butter
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Maple sugar (or raw cane sugar)
Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350. Bake apple for ~15 minutes, or until it starts to turn soft. Remove from oven and slice. While the apple is baking, warm peanut butter in the microwave so it's soft (I did it for 30 seconds). Spread warm peanut butter on each crepe, top with apples, and then sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg and maple sugar to taste (I did about 1 tsp, a pinch, and another pinch, respectively :) ). Fold crepes over, throw in the still-warm oven for a few minutes if needed, and then sprinkle with powdered sugar before eating/serving. Enjoy!

A really incredible dahl recipe

2009-11-21T12:51:00.003-05:00

It's been ages since I last posted and my roommate asked me for a dahl recipe I learned from a good friend, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and post! School has been keeping me insanely busy, but I've still been enjoying good food. Some favorites of late: Becky Kuk's Rosemary Kale Soup (which I doctored to include some brown rice - just double the amount of water/veggie stock!), a delicious apple crisp from "Gluten Free Mommy", chana masala, and gluten-free pizza delivery from two different pizza places (Stone Hearth and Zing! Pizza)! Cambridge rocks. :)

Anyway, here's the dahl recipe. If you decide to make it, let me know how it turns out! I wrote out this recipe from memory and didn't have precise measurements; it's a pretty forgiving dish, but I'd still like to know if you have suggestions for improvement. Enjoy!

Dahl recipe:
1 tbsp oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 tsp mustard seed
1.5 tsp cumin seed
1c. onion, diced
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger, minced (about 1-2 Tbsp)

2c. dahl (red lentils or split yellow peas), rinsed
3-4c. water

1c. tomato, diced
1-2 tsp tumeric
1 Tbsp cumin
Salt to taste (at least 1 Tbsp)

Heat oil, mustard seed, and cumin seed over med-high heat in a medium saucepan. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add onion, garlic and ginger and sauté until soft, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add rinsed lentils/split peas and water to saucepan; bring to a boil and then simmer for 20-30 minutes, or as long as it takes for the lentils to soften. As they heat, the lentils will start to foam. For the best flavor, skim and discard the foam.

Once most of the water has been soaked up, add the onion/garlic/ginger mix, tomatoes, and remaining spices. Let simmer for a few more minutes (until it reaches the desired consistency, which depends on how soft you like your dahl! The softer the better, in my humble opinion).

Serve with steamed basmati rice and enjoy!

Serves 6-8.

Because I feel like procrastinating...

2009-09-27T21:19:00.005-04:00

...I'm blogging about more fun, cheap, tasty gluten-free adventures! I've discovered a few tricks to eating inexpensively and quickly: 1) shop at ethnic grocery stores (I LOVE the produce at a few Indian markets in the area) and 2) make ethnic food! I've been having Indian and Indonesian the last few weeks, but rice and beans á la México, la Republica Dominicana, o Cuba are super bien as well!

Tonight I made chana masala (no pictures, unfortunately), an Indian dish of chickpeas with a ginger/garlic/onion/tomato/chili paste and some fun spices. Here's the recipe if you're interested. It was super spicy but delicious! And it only took about 20 minutes to put together (longer to cook because the chickpeas needed softening up - I used dried beans I'd soaked overnight instead of canned). Served with basmati rice. Yum yum yum! :)

Last week, I made an Indonesian dish a friend of mine from Brandeis taught me to make. It uses the same ginger/garlic/onion/tomato/chili paste for a base; then you fry it in veggie oil and add uncooked, unpeeled shrimp (leaving the peel on preserves some of the flavor) and some sugar snap peas (my addition - not in the original recipe!). Again, super fast, relatively cheap, and delicious served over jasmine rice! :) :) :) Here's a photo for you:

Also yummy is a sort of Indian stir fry. I'm not sure how authentic it is, but it sure is tasty! Start with mustard seeds and cumin seeds (about a teaspoon of each) in hot oil, add ginger, garlic and onion (lots of onion!) and cook until soft. Next, add some stir-fry veggies, like carrots, broccoli, green/red/orange/yellow bell pepper, or any other veggie you like. Start with the harder veggies and end with the softer ones. Add some cumin powder (about 1-2 teaspoons), tumeric powder (about a tsp), and some shredded, unsweetened coconut. Serve over warm basmati rice! We ate this with some dahl and chema (other Indian dishes I'll have to blog about later) for protein; for a faster/simpler meal, I'll fry an egg or two.

And, finally, when you really want to eat cheaply, quickly, and well, find a roommate who loves to make delicious food (and knows how to cook gluten-free!) and bum off her once and awhile! :) Mine made a chicken/tomato/vegetable dish with fried polenta a few weeks ago...and it was absolutely delicious! Then, she dragged out a Trader Joe's gluten-free brownie mix, which we doctored with coconut oil, chocolate chips, pecans, shredded coconut, and some cardamom and cinnamon. Talk about heavenly brownies! And a fantastic roommate. :) Here are the photos:

Chicken something or other. Delicious. :)

Absolutely Heavenly Brownies (TM).

Gluten Free in Grad School

2009-09-03T22:35:00.005-04:00

I had an idea earlier this week. Surely it will be a fleeting one, like most of my ideas, but I thought I'd pursue it a bit and see where it goes.

Gluten-free bloggers abound. There are some who are also vegan, some who are artists, some who take incredible photos, some who have other allergies, etc. There are many who post incredible recipes - here's my new favorite this week - and were instrumental in my own "recovery" process, at least in terms of rediscovering a love for good food.

While I'm sure I haven't exhausted the entire gluten-free blogging world, I've noticed a shortage in the I'm-super-busy-(and poor)-because-I'm-in-grad-school,-so-quick!-how-do-I-eat-gluten-free-cheaply-and-quickly variety (say that five times fast!). So, my latest idea was to start blogging about the kind of food I'm eating, strategies I'm creating for staying healthy and gluten-free while 1) being super busy and having less time than I used to to cook wonderfully tasty gluten-free meals, 2) going to school in a gluten-abundant environment, and 3) living on a pretty tight budget.

So, a few things from this week:
1. Beans & rice are the way to go - and don't have to be boring! This week, I had some canned pinto beans in the pantry, so I cooked up some red beans & rice. Sauté onions, garlic, jalapeño & red pepper until soft, add some lime juice, throw in some cumin, chili powder, & cilantro, and then add pinto beans (I included the "juice"). Cook until heated through and serve over rice.

2. Resurrect old favorites: in college, I used to make an incredibly simple-yet delicious honey mustard chicken. It's been awhile since I last made it, so I decided to resurrect it tonight. Sauté red onions, shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft, add chicken breast (I cut them into 1-2 inch pieces) and cook through. Mix one part honey with one part mustard (rough est. - add or subtract to taste!), pour over cooked chicken/onion mixture, add some ground red pepper, and serve over rice-cooker brown rice with a salad and you're good to go! The whole thing took me less than 45 minutes tonight.

3. Make things from scratch, in bulk. Or buy mixes and make them last all week. A few weeks ago, I made a double batch of a Bob's Red Mill Pumpkin Muffin recipe (but my favorite is this one) and threw most of them in the freezer. I've been eating yummy muffins several times/week since - just toss in the microwave for 30-60 seconds and you're good to go! Then, earlier this week, I got a free Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mix, whipped up my batch of cookies on Sunday (or Monday? The week has been a blur), and have made them last all week. They even keep out of the refrigerator fairly well (an accomplishment you'll recognize if you're familiar with gluten-free baking...)! Yum yum.

4. Skip the baking. After honey mustard chicken and a peachy white wine from Spain tonight at dinner, I came up with a no-bake peach cobbler. Simply dice a fresh peach, sprinkle with cinnamon, and top with crushed Lucy's Oatmeal Cookies (gluten-free, of course!). Check out the photo if you need convincing - this was really, really delicious.

That's it for today. I know I don't have many gluten-free readers at this point, but hopefully this was beneficial for some. And - I promise - these recipes are all yummy (and super healthy), whether you're eating gluten-free or not! I dare you to try them. :)

Sugar Daddy

2009-08-31T22:54:00.002-04:00

It's been a stressful couple of weeks, what with school starting and my roommate's and my desperate (and fruitless) attempts to find a third roommate. So, in the middle of a rather long evening class tonight (I thought I'd be able to avoid them...my brain does not like to cooperate past 7:00pm when it comes to serious thinking), I decided it would be fun to think about something completely random, rather silly (or superficial), and pretty much entirely out of the realm of possibility. So, without further ado:

Lynnae's Top Ten Reasons Why I Need to Marry a Rich Guy*:
*not to be confused with an old, could-be-my-dad (or granddad) rich guy. I have some standards, folks.

10. To finance my professional student hobby.
9. To avoid having to worry about finding roommates every time I move.
8. To have a travel companion for fun adventures around the world.
7. So I can have a Kentucky horse farm (a dream of mine since I was 16).
6. To fund my non-profit and development activities.
5. To have beautiful, smart kids who have a statistically significant shot at doing well in life.
4. To participate in the oh-so-wonderful yet oh-so-expensive world of local food systems.
3. To be able to invest in really yummy bottles of wine and start my own cellar.
2. To have someone to take me to really nice restaurants every once in a while.

And, finally...
1. Because some days, I just wouldn't mind having a sugar daddy! ;)

To my Baltimore friends

2009-08-29T09:04:00.003-04:00

I had a visit this past week from a very dear friend from Baltimore - the second B'more friend to visit since I moved to Boston in July! We had a wonderful afternoon of good food, good conversation, and a walk along the Charles, and then we spent the evening cooking more good food: dahl, chema, stir-fried veggies and basmati rice! Yum... Unfortunately, I didn't take any fotos, so I have no real evidence, beyond my friend's testimony and the leftovers in my fridge! :)

Having my friend in town prompted some reflection on my time in Baltimore and the incredible friends I have there (have, not had!). I don't think it was ever a secret that I spent most of my time in Baltimore planning where I was going next and trying to figure out how quickly that could happen! It had nothing to do with the city of Baltimore, the people I met, or the place I worked and everything to do with trying to pursue my dreams in my time and in my way. I never expected to be in Charm City for long - I thought I'd get a job in DC after my internship with World Relief and then move abroad or start grad school after only one or two years. Even after God made it clear to me near the end of my internship that he wanted me in Baltimore, I still didn't expect it to be for three and a half years.

So I dove into a cool job, one that had me interacting with people from all over the country and globe. Eventually I found a great church, a community of people living out in very tangible and sustainable ways Jesus' call to love God and love our neighbors. I made friends in both places, as well as through a fun weekly game of Ultimate Frisbee and my roommates. I went to farmers' markets, tried swing dancing, learned a bit about wine, and did my best to enjoy where I was and what I had been given.

But all along, I was restless. So restless and impatient to move on to the next big adventure that I barely noticed - and even took for granted - the incredible people God had placed in my life to support, encourage, and sustain me through several years of wrestling with him. I was so restless and impatient that I never fully rooted myself in community, choosing to go it alone in many cases.

However, despite my preoccupation, restlessness, and downright stubbornness to go it alone, God provided friends and mentors who cared about me, who sought to challenge and encourage me, and who taught me through their friendship about God's goodness, presence, and love for his people. So, if you're one of those precious B'more friends, I hope you'll be encouraged reading this, knowing that you played an incredible role in my life! I am forever grateful to you, for the testimony you are to me of God's provision and care through his church. Paul said it best:

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ...And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."
Philippians 1.3-6, 9-11

I look forward to the next time I see you, whether here in Boston, there in Baltimore, or elsewhere around the world! With love, Lynnae :)

Walk for Economic Empowerment

2009-08-18T22:38:00.004-04:00

Friends,

On September 26, I'll be participating in a Walk for Economic Empowerment (http://www.w4ee.org/) to support World Relief and their Savings for Life programs (see the links below for more info). World Relief is a fantastic organization with incredible programs, focused on empowering churches and communities to serve the most vulnerable. Their savings programs play a key role in this, particularly in post-conflict situations, and I think they're worth supporting!

I'm not big into setting fundraising goals - I don't want you to feel pressured to give (although it's definitely a worthy cause) and I'd only pick an arbitrary number. That said, I would love it if you would take a few minutes to check out the links below, learn about World Relief and the work they're doing around the world - particularly through the Savings for Life program - and consider supporting me as I support them in this walk!

If you do decide to sponsor me, go to my W4EE page (first link below), and click SPONSOR ME to the left of the note I have there. Sponsorships will go to the Savings for Life projects at World Relief. If you don't feel comfortable making an online donation, checks can be made out to World Relief and sent to their headquarters office at 7 East Baltimore St, Baltimore, MD, 21231.

Thanks a bunch!
Lynnae

Links:
My W4EE page: http://community.wr.org/WEE_Lynnae
World Relief's home page: http://www.wr.org/
Savings for Life: http://community.wr.org/sfl
World Relief's Cause on Facebook: click here

Boston!

2009-07-30T12:11:00.003-04:00

Once again, I've been silent for too long, but I'm hoping the stimulus of school will get me back into the swing of things. I've been in Boston (technically Somerville for those of you who've lived here) a little over two weeks now, and I am totally and completely loving it. Instead of boring you with details, I've put together a little top ten highlights from my time here so far. Enjoy!

10. I am biking everywhere. Boston is a bike-friendlier city than Baltimore seemed to be - there are a plethora of bike racks, main roads with bike lanes, bike- and run-only trails, and a city office dedicated to bikers. I even biked to Brandeis (12 mi) earlier this week!

9. Farmers markets, farmers markets, farmers markets. After finishing In Defense of Food and Omnivore's Dilemma, two great books by Michael Pollan about our food systems and choices in the US, I'm trying to buy as much of my food as possible in season and from local producers, so that means frequenting farmers markets! There are dozens of them in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, and I may check out one in Waltham (near Brandeis) this weekend - they have pasture-fed/finished beef! And eggs. And all kinds of yummy produce. :)

8. Easy public transportation. I ride the subway in and around Boston, a commuter rail to school, and have yet to try out the buses. I'm waiting for winter when I can no longer ride my bike.

7. Going to a **free** outdoor Beach Boys concert and having a picnic there with a friend. Yes, a free concert! :)

6. Free time. Because I'm only taking two classes and haven't found a job yet, I have all kinds of free time for unwinding, cooking, exploring, reading, and grabbing coffee with the new friends. Because I'll have a crazy semester starting four weeks from now, I'm not feeling remotely guilty. :)

5. Friends. Thanks to World Relief and Kerstin, I know people in Boston already! So I've had plenty to do and have not had to sit at home by myself. It's been fun.

4. Going sailing in Rockport. See #5. Kerstin's family rocks! :)

3. Being back in school! I've had almost two weeks of classes now - I'm taking ecology and economics this summer, both geared towards development practitioners. It's fun being back in an academic environment (I'm sick, I know) and I'm learning all kinds of new things.

2. Meeting a ton of new people, from all over the world! There are about 20-25 people from my MA program taking these two classes with me this summer. In the fall there will be over 100 more, so it's nice getting to know a smaller group first. Of the 20-25, about four of us are originally from the US; the rest are from China, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Burma, Indonesia, Japan, Zanzibar, Britain...the list goes on.

1. Did I mention I was back in school? And living in Boston? And meeting a ton of really cool people? :)

still alive

2009-06-27T10:57:00.004-04:00

Apparently I've used that title before, because it came up automatically as I was typing it! So I'm getting no better about being consistent when it comes to blogging, but hey, it's been a busy 6 weeks! I said good-bye to friends in Baltimore, packed up my apartment, moved it to Boston, and then road-tripped to Michigan, where I'm currently putting the finishing touches on some grad party food for my youngest brother. I love family time and wish it could happen more often!

Looking for something thought-provoking? Check out this post by a new favorite blogger of mine, Political Math:

http://politicalmath.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/the-obama-stimulus-predictions-vs-reality/

There's a cool video. Check it out.

Evil, darkness & cold

2009-05-18T13:52:00.002-04:00

This video was posted on another blog I like to read. It has some holes, but I liked it. What do you think?

This made my day:

2009-05-08T16:47:00.003-04:00

I discovered on my way into work this morning that Starbucks is test-marketing a gluten-free pastry!! I was so excited about it, I bought one, immediately wrote a review and posted it on Gluten Free in Baltimore. If you want to read it, click this link:

http://glutenfreebaltimore.blogspot.com/2009/05/few-weeks-ago-i-read-blog-post-on.html

Yay for gluten-free pastries in a mainstream coffee shop!! And only $1.95...that's a treat I can afford once in awhile! :) :) :)

Avocado & Shrimp Salad

2009-05-07T19:39:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe and I so was proud of myself for finding/making a delicious, easy dinner tonight that I decided to post it.

I found this recipe from Epicurious but didn't have all the ingredients (or a grill), so I simplified it. What I came up with was light, yummy, and packed with kick! Delish. Unfortunately, I finished it before thinking of blogging about it, so I'll have to post photos tomorrow, when I make leftovers. :)

Lynnae's Avocado & Shrimp Salad

For the shrimp:
2 TBSP olive oil
Handful of thinly-sliced red onion
1 tsp orange zest
1-2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 doz. thawed, raw deveined shrimp

For the dressing:
1 TBSP orange juice
1/2 TBSP white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1 c. mixed salad greens, rinsed
1/2 hass avocado, diced

Heat oil in a small skillet over med-high heat; add onions, orange zest, paprika, and chili powder and sauté until onion is soft. Add shrimp and sauté 2-3 min, max.

Combine the orange juice and white balsamic vinegar in a small glass container (measuring cup or glass).

Place lettuce in a bowl, top with half the shrimp/onion/oil from the stove, the diced tomato, and the dressing. Add salt/pepper to taste and enjoy!

Interesting article from The Economist

2009-04-21T21:52:00.001-04:00

http://viewswire.eiu.com/site_info.asp?info_name=social_unrest_table&page=noads&rf=0

On a roll...

2009-04-20T20:41:00.002-04:00

And, just because it's been forever since I last posted, here's an interesting article about The Shack that I'm sure will spark some lively discussion! And make everyone think I'm a narrow-minded fundamentalist...but bring it on! :)

http://www.marykassian.com/archives/362

Banker to the Poor

2009-04-20T20:16:00.002-04:00

Tonight I went with some friends to hear Muhammed Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and "builder" of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. He piloted microcredit lending to the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh and Grameen Bank, which grew out of his initial work, has been incredibly successful. He has some very interesting ideas about social business - business whose bottom line is change, rather than profit - and has been influential in the move towards social entrepreneurship - business with the poor/society in mind (focusing on a double bottom line: profit and community change/development). The paradigm shift required to see every problem as an opportunity, to make change your bottom line, to look at people as an opportunity to invest in as instead of a resource to extract...that's no small paradigm shift. Yunus summed it up practically when he talked about young people in Bangladesh, recipients of scholarships and educational loans for academic excellence looking for work post-graduation. There are few jobs available in Bangladesh, but when they asked Yunus for solutions he told them not to be job seekers but job makers. That is quite a paradigm shift.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Yunus speak. He had a very humble, even unassuming manner about him and was very engaging. He's done some incredible work in Bangladesh (and has even started a microcredit program in Queens, NYC, giving an average loan of $2,200 to 600 clients - and they've seen a consistent 99.6% repayment rate!) and is a man to be respected.

However, his motivation for ending poverty seemed less than attainable. He seems to believe wholeheartedly that if we could only change our current system (for it's our system, in his perspective, that makes people impoverished), we could iradicate poverty. If we could only recognize that people are not just selfish but also have the capacity to be selfless, to act on behalf of others, and if we could hold these two desires in a proper tension, then we can create a better world, a world without poverty. It's a compelling vision, but what's the motivation to be selfless? I don't think human beings are capable of ending poverty - we're certainly capable of all kinds of beautiful, incredible, powerful things, but we're also capable of all kinds of terrible, destructive, horrific things, like creating systems where the wealthy feed off the poor. I don't think we'll ever overcome that capacity on our own.

I wonder, though, what makes things like the Grameen Bank succeed. And, will it continue to succeed in the coming decades? Will it be a sustainable institution? Will it be a force of transformation in Bangladesh? Will it truly "change the world"? Only time will tell...

AH!

2009-03-09T18:42:00.002-04:00

Here's a little bit of grad school-related spazzing happening in my head at this moment:

I had a pleasant surprise today when I went to pick up my mail from my landlord - a big, fat envelope from American University! It was an acceptance packet! Not something I expected - American is a highly competitive school, plus they kept saying it would be early April before I'd hear from them. But that wait is over - they've accepted me and want my decision by April 15! It's crunch time...

I feel like I'm in a Catch-22. The other school-related thing I did today was complete and submit my application for a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship. This is another HIGHLY competitive application process, and one I feel much less confident about obtaining because they typically go to students who have had to overcome daunting financial obstacles. I'm currently FACING daunting financial obstacles thinking about grad school and I'll the debt I'll be incurring to go, but I haven't really had to overcome these kinds of obstacles. Anyway - the final decision for this scholarship isn't until June - two months past the due date for my acceptance forms and deposits. So I have to make my decision before I know if I'll get any funding or not, which feels like a HUGE risk! What to do? The obvious, of course: keep searching for grants, scholarships and other funding streams; pray like crazy; and try not to go insane. Y'all know how much I've been looking forward to this - here's hoping I find a way to pay for it! :)

Gluten Free in Baltimore

2009-02-21T10:47:00.003-05:00

Guess what? This week marks the start of an unofficial career in blogging - I've been accepted as a volunteer Associate Contributor for Gluten Free in Baltimore. You can see my self-intro and their welcome here: http://glutenfreebaltimore.blogspot.com/. While I won't stop writing about my gluten-free adventures on this blog, I'm looking forward to the chance to share some of what I've learned these three or four years about living gluten- (and dairy-) free. Check it out, especially if you like gluten-free! :)

Smedly's

2009-02-20T19:23:00.006-05:00

2/21/09 - A little something I wrote last night...

Tonight I'm sitting in Smedly's, a gastro cafe in Fell's Point that I love. They're having an open mic night, which is proving to be the best way to spend a Friday evening, at least this week! It's laid back, fun, entertaining, and cosy. I'm full from a gluten-free cauliflower curry sandwiched between two teas: first an orange rooibos and then a decaffinated lemon white. Yum. After a long, stressful week at work, tonight is perfect.

A little more about the food: there are always a few gluten-free options on the menu (even desserts!), so I'm never wanting. Most of the dishes I've had so far have been vegan curries, which doesn't bother me as they're always satisfying. I'm always impressed with the creativity and wholeness of the meals - each bite is an adventure, full of complex flavors and textures - I'm hooked!

hurry up and wait

2009-02-14T09:17:00.002-05:00

I realized this morning that, while I've been vocal about grad school plans on Facebook, at work, on the phone with my family, at church, etc...I've hardly written a word about it here on the blog. Considering most of my readers have already had their ears pretty much talked off about said plans, I doubt any of this will be earth-shattering or enlightening to anyone, but I thought I'd write about it anyway. Because, if you know me, you know I'm extremely excited.

I've been thinking about grad school since finishing undergrad, but it wasn't until this past fall that I was finally able to think seriously about it. Because of my work at World Relief, I knew I wanted to continue in this relief & development direction, so I started researching schools with master's programs in managing and implementing international development projects. I found about a dozen schools that looked interesting, spent hours looking through their websites at their programs and professors, and narrowed it down to three schools I really liked: American University in DC, Brandeis University in Boston, and University of Denver in, well, Denver.

I spent November, December, and the first week of January pulling together references, writing and re-writing a purpose statement, and wishing it were already May or June - "I'm ready to go NOW!" :) Being the procrastinator that I am, I saved the writing and compiling for the very last minute, and sent my applications in just a few days before they were due.

Then the waiting started. Wait for the tax documents you need so you can file your FAFSA. Wait to hear if Brandeis wants to interview you. Wait to hear about acceptances. Wait for a nomination from your undergrad for a potentially large scholarship. Wait until you know how to make your decision, without really knowing what you're waiting for. Wait for life to change more drastically than it has for three years - more than that! Wait to decide when you'll visit each school, when you'll leave work, when you'll spend time at home. Just wait.

Today is February 14, 2009. As of today, I have applied to all three schools, interviewed at Brandeis, been accepted and offered partial scholarships at Denver & Brandeis, and filed my taxes and the FAFSA. Phew! All that in four short weeks. The next four weeks don't promise to be quite as eventful, but here is some of what I'm looking forward to:

American says it will be April before I hear from them - I'm hoping to hear earlier than that :)
A decision from my undergrad about a scholarship nomination
A visit to Denver, if I can get my act together and schedule it!
A winning lottery ticket - that or the discovery of some other form of free money to help me pay for this expensive undertaking :)

I'll keep you posted! :)

silence

2009-01-29T20:35:00.002-05:00

I was thinking the other night (watch out!) and I realized that I've been silent for some time now. No longer championing every important cause that comes along; present is confusion, frustration, and wondering at how this adventurous, never-content individual ever stayed in the same place for so long. It's been three years since I moved to Baltimore - three years filled with more second-guessing than I ever faced before, even when I was a confused college sophomore wondering what I believe and why. I've wondered about the importance of my job, wondered why when the opportunity to do something different came along, I wasn't able to take it. Why timing seems so off, why certain decisions were made, why I'm still wondering when my time will come to do something new and exciting. Why I'm so dissatisfied with something I thought I wanted so deeply.

I've also wondered why God lets certain things happen, like the death of someone I care deeply about. Why the most faithful, passionate, and alive are sometimes the first to go. Why timing seems so off, why certain decisions were made, why I turned my back on something wonderful and heartbreaking. Would things have turned out differently if I'd never left?

I've been wrestling with these questions and more for what feels like ages (really only a year). I've been cynical, frustrated, annoyed, and even angry at times. I've retreated to TV shows I never thought I'd watch, withdrawn at times from relationships, and stubbornly tried to escape in more ways than one - but none of it is satisfying, none of it refreshes, none of it renews my hope for a better time.

What does renew my hope is a quiet, growing trust that God is faithful, whether things work out the way I want them to or not. What does renew my hope is knowing there are exciting changes ahead that take me another step closer to where I want to be. What does renew my hope is a grateful heart for all I've been given - the experiences, the friends & family, the opportunities, the health - and all I have to give. What does renew my hope is interacting with people who daily keep at it, sacrificing themselves to love and serve their God and neighbors tirelessly, without ceasing.

On a more concrete level, I get to interview at Brandeis on Monday. Grad school gets more and more tangible every day. :)

banana bread with a twist

2009-01-19T19:04:00.002-05:00

I adapted this recipe from another gluten-free blogger. The next time I make it, I probably won't put coconut flour in it; either that or I'll figure out a way to add more liquid, because it was pretty dry. But it's still banana bread, which is always good. :)

Coconut-Almond-Hazelnut Banana Bread
2-3 very ripe bananas
3 eggs
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla

2 c. almond flour
1/2 c. coconut flour
1/2 c. hazelnut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg

Smash bananas with a fork. Add eggs one at a time, mixing between. Add the vinegar and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients separately, then add to the banana mixture. Pour into a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Freedom of Choice Act

2009-01-07T21:24:00.003-05:00

I don't usually venture into the treacherous waters of highly-controversial topics, but I'm going to tonight.

A dear friend of mine sent me an email this evening about the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which President-Elect Obama promised early in his campaign to make one of his first priorities as President (if Congress first passes it). While I support some of what President-Elect Obama is trying to do, I do not support his position on abortion, and the FOCA especially worries me. Here's why, according to http://www.fightfoca.com/ (comment in brackets mine):

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would eliminate every restriction on abortion nationwide.

FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections [such as the requirement to fully disclose all the risks associated with having an abortion].
FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions.
FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions.

Did you catch that? The FOCA would eliminate every restriction on abortion nationwide. The second point, that FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions, is debatable (see this Wikipedia article). The rest, however, really concerns me morally and politically (getting rid of existing state legislation infringes on states' rights to self-govern).

The FightFOCA site has a petition that will be sent to members of Congress. They currently have around 350,000 signatures. If you're also concerned about this, take a look at the site, do some research there and elsewhere, and sign the petition.

christmas eve in michigan

2008-12-24T20:28:00.004-05:00

I orchestrated Christmas Eve dinner tonight. Here's what we ate (courtesy of Epicurious.com):

Braised lamb shanks with coriander, fennel and star anise, served on a bed of wilted spinach alongside butternut squash risotto. We drank a Maison Louis Latour 2006 Pinot Noir that was pretty decent. For dessert we had orange, spiced walnut and dried cranberry salad and almond shortbread (recipe below), and soon I'll be making a spiced hot chocolate with almond milk (hopefully it turns out!). I love good food! :)

Almond shortbread (adapted from a celiac.com discussion feed recipe - see post #5)
1 c. butter or margarine, melted (I used Earth Balance)
2 c. gluten-free flour blend (I used 1 c. brown rice flour, 1/2 c. tapioca flour, 1/4 c. each almond flour and sorghum flour)
1/2 tsp. xantham gum
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Melt the butter and add the dry ingredients, mixing well. Add the vanilla and almond extract, then chill for ~30min in the refrigerator. Roll flat between two sheets of parchment paper, then cut into whatever shapes you like; I cut the dough into squares and sprinkled some almond slivers on top. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees. Cool & enjoy!

cookie recipe

2008-12-18T22:19:00.004-05:00

I'm procrastinating going to bed and wanted to get my cookie recipe up before I go computer-less for a few days, so here it is! I took photos, too, but you'll have to wait for those. Just take my word for it: these cookies are AWESOME. And look for more holiday yumminess in a few days - I have some awesome looking recipes for a few holiday parties this weekend that I can't wait to make, eat, & then post. :)

Colorado Chocolate Chip Cookies (double recipe)
Adapted from Gluten-Free Celebrations, Carol Fenster, Ph.D.

1 c. coconut oil
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 lg eggs
1 tsp. rice vinegar plus enough almond milk to make 1/2 cup
2 c. Lynnae's crazy flour mix (imprecise blend of coconut, sorghum, brown rice, white rice and sweet rice flours with tapioca & potato starch) or your own GF mix plus 1 c. hazelnut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. dried cranberries
1 c. chopped nuts (optional - I forgot to add these but would recommend pecans or walnuts)
3/4 c. gf/df chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, mix butter, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Beat in egg, then almond milk mixture. In separate bowl, combine flours, soda, and salt. Beat into egg mixture on low speed until incorporated.

2. Stir in coconut, cranberries and chocolate chips (and nuts if you're using them). Drop by tablespoons onto nonstick cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake 7-10 minutes or until cookies are lightly puffed and slightly browned. Cool on rack. Store in airtight container. Serves 24.

Notes:
Flour: Most gluten-free bakers recommend a precise blend of specific flours. This recipe calls for 2 c. brown rice flour, 1 c. potato starch and 1/2 c. tapioca flour, but I didn't have all of those, so I went with what I did have and made it up as I went. The cookies are really crumbly (probably from all the hazelnut flour), so I might add a little bit of xantham gum next time, but otherwise the texture and flavor is fantastic. Experiment with your own mix and see what happens!

Almond milk: typically when a recipe calls for buttermilk (i.e. vinegar & non-dairy milk for me), I'll use soy, but I had a quart of almond milk in my pantry and decided to use that. I think it made the difference in these cookies - it's lighter, not as nutty (surprisingly), and more subtle than the soymilk typically is. I think the rice vinegar helped, too; it has a distinct taste that's subtler and sweeter than a cider or regular vinegar would be.

non-traditional thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:44:00.003-05:00

As I'm making a pecan-pumpkin pie for the dessert-ambivalent and roasting a chicken with onion, garlic & cardamom, I'm also reading this article sent by a food-loving friend:

http://www.gourmet.com/restaurants/2008/11/thanksgiving-in-new-york?currentPage=2

I love the spontaneity and diversity of this meal, and get hungry thinking about roasted duck and all the yummy cheeses and good wines. Some day... :)

What's in your ideal Thanksgiving meal?

'free laptop'

2008-11-19T22:30:00.004-05:00

You know those ads on the sidebar of Facebook claiming to offer a 'free MacBook Air' if you sign on to enough deals with their advertising partners (apparently the minimum is six to claim your award)? Has anyone ever tried it? Does it work? Do you actually get a free laptop with minimal hassle and minimal damage to your wallet? I'll admit I'm tempted, but my momma raised me right; them offers sound like a scam.

Addition after original post: I just remembered why I prefer Macs to PCs - adware, spyware, malware, everything-annoying-ware...most of it's written for PCs. Maybe I will try out that offer...

culinary delights (or not)

2008-11-17T18:56:00.002-05:00

I like to cook. I have since before I was diagnosed with celiac, and even more since. I love cooking food that my friends without allergies will genuinely love, instead of sympathetically tolerating it to make me feel better about my restrictions. This weekend I had a blast cooking all kinds food I didn't have to purchase (best thing about being at my parents' house!), like taco salad with fresh guacamole, tomatoes, and cilantro; middle eastern bison meatballs with cilantro-yogurt sauce, fresh hummus, and minted vegetable salad; gluten-free/dairy-free chocolate cake by Pamela's with chocolate chip & coconut milk frosting; and Andean bean soup with quinoa and butternut squash. Yum. Oh, and I also made orange-clove pancakes from a Glutino pancake mix. Also yum.

With the exception of the taco salad ensemble, frosting and the orange-clove part of the pancakes, everything I made this weekend had a recipe that I followed closely, with minimal adaptations. The recipes were just that good that they didn't need modification, and I didn't want to mess any of them up. I usually prefer following recipes, at least the first few times I make something, especially if it's a particularly complex creation, or one that has a tendency to be difficult (any gluten-free baking recipes). Occasionally I'm able to make something up and have it turn out okay or even really good (like the orange-clove pancakes...wow), but usually I prefer to follow a recipe.

This morning, I got ready faster than usual and had some time to kill before needing to leave for work. Knowing I would be getting back late this evening, I decided to throw something in the crock pot. Now, crock pot recipes are usually easy: throw in some meat, vegetables, & a sauce, let simmer on low for 8-10 hours and you're good to go. In fact, some of the best meals I've ever made have been crock pot recipes; I love the way the spices infuse themselves through the meat and veggies, and everything comes out falling-apart soft. Yum. This morning, however, was an exception to my previous successes. I didn't have a computer around, which meant I couldn't look up a recipe to go with my limited ingredients, which also meant I'd have to make something up. So, I grabbed some frozen chicken breast, the last two potatoes and the remaining half an onion, and threw them into a crock pot with some vegetable broth. Not wanting to leave out my green veggies for the day, I also threw in some Swiss chard that had been in my freezer since summertime.

You see where I went wrong. If anyone knows anything about Swiss chard, they know it has a very strong taste and takes some getting used to. Well, I think it ruined my crockpot dinner. The smell when I walked in the door was ambivalent at best, and the taste wasn't much better. Will I throw it away? Absolutely not. Will I enjoy it wholeheartedly? Probably not. This is one tale of an on-the-fly recipe gone completely wrong, but it's still my dinner for the night. You can't win 'em all, I guess.

SE Asia photos!

2008-11-09T18:43:00.003-05:00

Hi all,

Photos are here! I didn't have time to caption them or upload them to Facebook, but they're at least on Picasa, so you can view them there. Here are the links:

Indonesia
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynnae.ruberg/Indonesia#

Cambodia
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynnae.ruberg/2008Cambodia#

Siem Reap
http://picasaweb.google.com/lynnae.ruberg/SiemReap2008#

I'll try to get captions on them soon, but I make no promises. Life is full!

too many things to post!

2008-11-03T19:06:00.002-05:00

About two days into my Cambodia trip (last weekend), my laptop died. Or at least it started to die. I'm not sure if it was the glass of water accidentally spilled over the keyboard, the humidity & dust, the high voltage & power surges, or a combination of several factors, but the bottom line is my computer is no longer reliable. Sometimes it turns on, sometimes the fan just whirrs at a high speed while the screen remains blank.

Aside from my trusty iBook crashing, I also lost the freedom to keep track of my thoughts and blog posts electronically, and haven't been able to keep up. Now I'm left with four weeks' worth of blog posts that I need to write (some are already up, but there's so much more to tell!) and nowhere near the time to do it.

So I'm going to resort to listing a few highlights, in the hopes that I get to post more later on:

1. Cambodian curry. Granted, this curry was from pretty westernized restaurants, but even the curry out in the provinces is yummy. Let's just say I gained any weight I lost in Indonesia and then some. Oh, curry.

2. Sticky rice & mango. Again, heaven. Pure delight. If I can figure out how to make it and find the patience (and good mangos) to go with it, I'll be one happy camper.

3. "The best partnership meetings ever" - Cambodia wins. Our partners are great, are staff are even better, and we're doing some really cool things together. And I get to work on more website stuff as a result. :)

4. Traveling. I've known it since I was 16 and I'll probably say it a million times more: I love traveling, on my own or with other people. I love experiencing new things, finding good food, meeting incredible people, learning new vocabulary - like 'akun charan' (thank you in Khmai) and 'terimah kasi' (thank you in Bahasa Indonesian) - seeing new places...I like it a lot. Thrive on it, actually, and wouldn't have minded staying another 4 weeks in Cambodia, Indonesia, or anywhere else in Asia.

That's all I have time for at the moment; my Seoul-Atlanta flight boards in less than 15 minutes, so I need to run! Less than a day before I'm back in Baltimore...

Indonesia Update #3: live from Cambodia

2008-10-26T06:17:00.002-04:00

Hi :)

I'm sitting in the hotel 'business center', which consists of about 5 computers and a sometimes-slow Internet connection, with 12 minutes remaining on my $3-hour access. I wanted to try and post a few more thoughts/updates on Indonesia (even though I'm in Cambodia), because it will likely be another week before I can even check email, much less post on this blog. My computer flaked out yesterday - I plugged it into an outlet I probably should have - and I won't have internet access from Tuesday until Friday, so updates will be scarce until I return to the States.

My dad really wanted to hear the overnight flight debacle, so I figured I should tell it. On Tuesday, Oct. 14, we left to go to Wamena, a small town in the middle of Papua (Irian Jaya). We were scheduled for an overnight/red-eye flight that I thought only stopped once...unfortunately it actually stopped three times, twice on one flight and once to change planes.

I'm not the type of person who sleeps on planes, much less someone who sleeps on planes constantly taking off & landing, so I knew going into it that I wouldn't get much sleep. Unfortunately, around 5:00pm on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before we were to leave for the airport, something I ate decided to wreak havoc on me (not gluten havoc, more like food poisoning havoc). Without going into all the gory details, let's just say that I formed close relationships with the toilets in the WR office before we left, the airport before taking off, and the airplane galley while in flight.

I expect to get sick when I travel, so I wasn't totally surprised, just a little annoyed at the timing of this nasty little bug. The group I was traveling with was great; when they heard I was sick, they laid hands on me and prayed for me, then refused to let me carry any of my overstuffed and heavy bags while we were traveling. So sweet.

We got to Wamena around 10:00am and I promptly fell into bed. I was going to try to get up for lunch and have some rice, but I was so exhausted I ended up sleeping through the afternoon, and then even slept through the night! My stomach didn't calm down until I forced it to with some tried and true immodium, but I felt 1000 times better after all the sleep - I think it helped me get over my jet lag. :)

There is SO much more to write about my time in Wamena - we visited with some local pastors and church leaders who were just finishing up training in the Choose Life (HIV/AIDS prevention) curriculum - they asked us some REALLY challenging questions that I want to share but don't have time. We also went on a BEAUTIFUL walk outside Wamena town, to see how/where the target population for this HIV/AIDS project lives...but I'll have to tell you more about it later because I'm going to get cut off.

We have meetings with reps from our US church parnters this week - pray my extroverted energy holds out and I'm able to interact with everyone! :) Love you all lots,

Lynnae

Indonesia update #2: Waiting & watching

2008-10-22T03:35:00.000-04:00

This morning I was asked by one of the WR Indonesia staff to lead their weekly devotional time. I haven't led anything remotely similar to a devotional in what feels like forever, so I was slightly intimidated - plus I'm in another country, leading in what is everyone else's second language, so it's not wonder I didn't feel comfortable doing it! But after a quick prayer of 'help me!', I opened randomly to Luke 12.35-48, which begins:

"Be dressed & ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes & knocks they can immediately open the door for him."

Here in Indonesia, as in many other countries, there is a strong culture of service. It is common for people to have hired hlep, whether to come & clean every other day or to live with them, cook meals, do the laundry, clean the house, etc. At the entrance to apartment buildings, government offices, & even mosques I see men waiting to open doors, direct parking & even help carry bags if needed. They are constantly poised, ready & waiting for the moment they are called into service.

Without romanticizing these men (& women), their actions and position point to a tangible expression of Jesus' words about watchfulness and readiness, raising questions in my mind about my own posture. I am not one to wait patiently or eagerly; in fact, I rather dislike waiting. I was thinking earlier in this trip that choosing to wait involves facing my worries and fears about the future: if I wait, will I miss an important or exciting opportunity? Will I look back on my life and regret not taking action? What if waiting means being alone? What if my waiting is just a hesitancy to act, out of fear that I'll make the wrong move? These fears overwhelm and paralyze me at times; this past weekend was no exception!

But here and in other places the Bible instructs me to wait, to rest, to trust. To watch and be ready for action, not to run myself ragged with action. Isaiah 30.15 says, "In repentence and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefor you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift!" Then, Psalm 130 and 131 mention waiting, watching, and resting: "I wait for the Lord, my sould waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. ...I have silled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me."

I came to Indonesia with a lot weighing on my heart, many plans I wanted to make and decisions to think through. But all I've read and heard so far this week has been about waiting, watching, and listening. Preparing myself for action, not acting. It seems so counterintuitive sometimes, especially when I consider how little time we have and how many injustices there are in the world - certainly it's better to act than not act, no? According to this passage of Scripture, though, it seems like waiting is more important, especially considering what the next two verses: "It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress hemiself to serve, will have them recline at his table and will come and wait on them." The award for waiting and watching is service from and fellowship with Jesus! How humbling.

(In all of this, I don't want to convey that waiting = inaction, or sitting around doing nothing. Consider the rest of Luke 12 (verses 42-46): "The Lord answered, 'Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers." Yikes! Clearly, waiting does not involve wasting the time or responsibilities we've been given, or abusing our 'freedom' (from the master's watchful eye).

Finally, I close with the last verse in this passage, verse 48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." How do I know what's been entrusted to me, or what to do with what I've been given? I can fill my life with lots of activity, chasing after the 'right' action, or I can wait and watch for God's leading, trusting that he will lead me where he wants me in his time. That sounds a bit self-righteous as I write it, so I'll end with a few questions: how do you practice waiting and watching? Is it as difficult for you as it is for me? What does it mean to you to be 'dressed and ready for service'? I asked these questions of the staff this morning and had some interesting discussion as a result, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again for reading another long post. To be continued!

Indonesia update #1:

2008-10-20T20:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I number my updates; rarely do I manage to publish more than one or two at a time, but it was the title that came to mind, so I went with it.

I have been in Indonesia 10 days now, since last Saturday (10/11). Since arriving, I have been in Jakarta, Wamena & Jayapura/Sentani. For those of you unfamiliar with Indonesian geography, I've been around. :) The distance between Jakarta & Wamena is about 2500 miles. To get to Wamena, we had to take an overnight flight that stopped three times - more than the number of stops I had between Baltimore and Jakarta! Needless to say, I hardly slept that night (more on this night later...I've quite a story!).

But I'm getting ahead of myself. On my way to Jakarta, I had a layover in Seoul, Korea. It was just long enough to get a good night's rest in the transit hotel, then take a bus into Seoul (the airport is in Incheon) to visit one of the palaces, Gyeongbokgung (sp?). One of my good friends in Baltimore is from Korea and so she asked her sister to meet up with me - it was good she did because I would not have had as much fun on my own! We wandered the palace grounds for about two hours, looking into beautiful old buildings, walking through the gardens and little lakes surrounding the palaces. It was a compound that was originally built in the 12th or 13th century, then reconstructed in the 1850s and likely again since then. The week before was the anniversary of the creation of the Korean alphabet, so there was a special exhibit in the scribes' building on the history of the alphabet. I've forgotten everything I learned while I was there, except that there are a LOT of different vowels in Korean and many different ways to write the same sound - I'd have a hard time learning it! When I get back to the States, I'll post a photo or two of the grounds. My internet connection is too slow to upload them now.

The best part of Seoul was the fabulous lunch my friend's mom made for me - and it was all gluten- and dairy-free! I didn't think until it was all gone to take a picture, but there were these wonderful omelet rolls, bean sprouts, brocolli, sweet potato (the extra starchy, extra sweet kind), and mushrooms, all with delicious Korean sticky rice...it was fantastic. I love home-cooked meals, especially with all the restaurant meals I've had!

I arrived in Jakarta the evening of October 11 and hit the ground running. (For those of you that don't know or need a reminder, my main purpose in Indonesia was to accompany a group from a partner church that was visiting to assess how they can specifically partner with our programs, staff, and other partners in Indonesia for the next couple of years. I served as a facilitator of these relationships and the conversations we had to determine how they would be involved. Fun stuff!) We arrived at the hotel late, so all I did that evening was meet my roommate for the week (one of the team members from the church) and climb into bed.

In the morning (Oct 12), we went to church with two of the WR Indonesia staff (country director and admin coordinator). The church was an English-speaking international church with an American pastor. The best part about the service was that it was 'Guitar Sunday', which meant that, in addition to the band leading worship, there was a chorus of a dozen or two guitarists ranging in age from 12 to 60 - it was a lot of fun! I had never seen so many guitars in one place at one time. :)

Sunday afternoon we did two things: visit the National Museum for a quick intro to Indonesian history, then a trip to the mall for an Indonesian-style food court lunch. I learned two things: Indonesian history is strongly influenced not only by Islam but also Hinduism & Buddhism; and Indonesian food is wicked spicy. I don't think I've ever eaten anything so hot. :) Our country director's youngest son took me around to some of the different food court options and helped me figure out what would be okay to eat (and Bahasa Indonesian is his second language!), but apparently I didn't pay attention when he told me it would be spicy. I settled on a fish and vegetable stew-like dish with steamed rice. Very tasty but, again, very spicy.

Monday & Tuesday (Oct 13 & 14) were our days for meeting with staff and partners in Jakarta. We began both days with some time with the staff: the team led a devotional, we learned an Indonesian praise & worship song (or an English praise & worship song I didn't know that had been translated into Bahasa...I'm not sure which), and we prayed together. On Monday, we sat through a few presentations on the various projects and programs managed by the WR Indonesia office, which include some wrap-up of post-tsunami disaster response work in Aceh, a maternal & child health project in Nias, local partner capacity building in Jakarta, and HIV/AIDS prevention work in Wamena. I could go into greater detail about what each of these projects entail, but this post is already long enough, so I'll have to save it for the next one.

From there we went to visit a group of church leaders, NGO workers, and other individuals who had recently been trained in World Relief's Choose Life curriculum, which teaches participants how to teach others about HIV/AIDS - specifically how it's contracted and how to prevent it. It was really cool to meet with all of these trainees - they came from all walks of life, different organizations, and had different ideas for how they were going to use the curriculum, but all were passionate about teaching others about HIV/AIDS. It was also with this group that I learned some of the standard introductory questions in Indonesia (at least in Java): "How old are you? Are you married? Why not?" I was also offerred two bags of rice (because it's all I can eat apparently) by one of the single young men to stay in Indonesia...fun fun. :)

On Tuesday (Oct 14) we met with the chairman of the Yayasan Whana Rebas Indonesia, or the local foundation that was created when we started our tsunami response work in Indonesia. Over the next few years, the WR Indonesia office plans to help the leadership of the yayasan develop a thriving, sustainable NGO in Jakarta that will help to mobilize Indonesian churches to support community development and HIV/AIDS projects throughout the country. It was neat to meet with the chairman & executive director and hear some of their existing and planned projects, all in community development. One of their projects was a partnership with a seminary in West Timor that wants to train seminary students in community development, so that when they have their own churches they'll be better equipped to respond to some of the needs in their community. Very cool.

Tuesday evening we left for Wamena, but I'll save that for later. It's late and this entry is already REALLY long! If you've read the entire thing, thank you (and congratulations)! I'll have more tomorrow/tonight...or maybe again in a bit if I'm up to it!

Indonesia & Cambodia!

2008-10-08T00:02:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow (because it's now officially Wednesday as I'm posting this) I leave for Indonesia, then Cambodia, for a work trip (tough life, I know). I will be gone until November 4, or Election Day for you non-campaign junkies. Yes, I'm voting absentee...later today!

For those of you interested, here's my itinerary and an explanation of what I'll be doing while on the other side of the world. While there, I'll have email access now and then and may even have time for a Skype chat/conversation - watch for me in the mornings/evenings (Indonesia is currently 12 hours ahead of Eastern time; Cambodia is 11 hours ahead)!

Itinerary - short version
10/9/08-10/11/08: Travel to Jakarta, Indonesia
10/11/08-10/23/08: Jakarta, Jayapura, & Wamena Indonesia with US church partner & WR staff
10/24/08-10/31/08: Cambodia Partnership Planning Meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
11/1/08-11/3/08: Sight-seeing in Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
11/3/08-11/4/08: Return home.

Itinerary - long version :)
10/09/08 - 10/11/08: Travel to Jakarta, Indonesia, via Seoul, Korea. I have a 24 hour layover in Seoul, so I'm hoping to go out and snap some photos of a palace or two. I won't have time for much else, but at least I can say I've been to Korea! :)

10/11/08 - 10/20/08: Jakarta, Jayapura, & Wamena, Indonesia (the last two are cities on the island of Papua, also known as Irian Jaya or the Western side of Papua New Guinea). Here I'll be accompanying a small group from a new partner church on their first 'assessment trip' to Indonesia. We'll be visiting programs, local partners, and local churches to get a better understanding of the work World Relief is doing (primarily in HIV/AIDS prevention education, also in maternal & child health), build relationships with our staff and local partners, and build the foundation for a long-term partnership in the country. My job is to facilitate the relationships and help guide discussions about long-term involvement - fun stuff. :)

10/20/08 - 10/23/08: Remain in Jakarta with staff after church group has returned to US. I'll be staying to talk through the trip, discuss next steps, and talk about capacity for more partners. And catch up on 2+ weeks of email (including all I'm catching up on now after the wedding!).

10/23/08 - 10/24/08: Travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My layover here is only about 12 hours overnight, so there will be no getting my passport stamped in Malaysia. Maybe next time...

10/24/08 - 10/31/08: Last minute prep for and participation in Cambodia Partnership annual planning meetings. Five of our six US partner churches will be sending reps to Cambodia for one week to visit programs, review the last few years' work, and discuss long-term goals/plans for the future. More meetings, conversations, and planning = very happy Lynnae. :)

11/1/08 - 11/3/08: Visit Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat and other ancient temples/ruins in Cambodia. Angkor Wat is a UN World Heritage site and (supposedly) a great tourist spot - not too overrun with people, but easy enough to navigate without knowing Khmer, the native language in Cambodia. Massages, anyone?

11/3/08 - 11/4/08: Wrap up meeting debrief and return to US, just in time to find out who the next U.S. President will be, rest up for a few days, and get ready to go home for a high school theater production. Never boring, my life!

Dan & Katie get hitched

2008-10-05T23:21:00.003-04:00

It finally happened! My brother Dan & his girlfriend, fiancee, and now wife Katie got married this weekend and it was one sweet celebration. I could write about it, but I'll just post photos for now:

The wedding party - so pretty! :)

Joel & I, being funny

Any bets on who's next? :)

I'm leaving, on a jet plane...

2008-09-29T22:56:00.003-04:00

It's my favorite time...traveling time! :) I always love traveling. Despite being incredibly uncomfortable, flying is one of my favorite experiences, always. Whether getting lost in the beautiful scenery below me - soupy clouds, sharp ice caps (when flying to Asia), the brilliant moon or dazzling sunrises and sunsets - dreaming about new adventures, preparing to experience new things, or returning to my family and friends, flying always thrills me. I love that moment when the plane just takes off, and you see the ground drop below you. I love it when I'm flying back into Baltimore and I can see the park near my house and the lake near my old place and the building where I work downtown. I love the possibility of meeting new and interesting people, and the time to reflect and think on where I've been in the past and where I'm headed now.

Tomorrow I get to board a plane for Chicago, Illinois. I'm staying overnight with Mandy, my cousin, maybe getting to see a few other friends, and then heading to Holland, MI, the town of my alma mater, to celebrate my brother's wedding. After a crazy weekend of scurrying around and a flurry of packing, I am finally ready and eager to witness this once-in-a-lifetime moment: Dan and Katie are getting married, and it is good.

Four days of decorating, dressing up, celebrating, dancing, eating, laughing, crying, photo-snapping, cooking, playing, talking, sharing joy with friends and family. When it's all said and done, I head back to Chicago for more chill time with Mandy and friends, and then it's back to Baltimore - but not for long!

Two days after I get back from the wedding, I'm headed to Indonesia and Cambodia for work. Yes, I am getting paid to spend four weeks exploring a new country, meeting new friends, learning about the incredible work of World Relief in places like Papua (as in Papua New Guinea), Jakarta, Phnom Penh, and Kampong Cham. Oh, and I'll do a bit of work while I'm there. :) I'm going to Indonesia to help facilitate a US church assessment trip, then on to Cambodia for an annual planning meeting. Life's rough, but someone has to do it. :) I even 'get' to vote absentee, as I won't be coming back until the evening of the fourth of November. Still lots to do before I leave!

I hope to be posting stories, thoughts, observations, and perhaps a photo or two while I'm gone, but knowing me I make no promises. I'll have intermittent email access, so I may not be good at responding to your emails, but would love to hear from you anyway!

my (messy) apartment

2008-08-28T20:58:00.005-04:00

So, this post is two months overdue (at least) and the photos are now a month old (I swear my apartment isn't this messy any longer), but it's been a busy summer, so I'm behind. I don't have much commentary, just wanted to share photos for all of you who haven't seen my wonderful one-bedroom. I absolutely love it, in case you were wondering. Sometimes it's a little lonely - I am the oldest of four, after all - but it's quiet and a good place to get away when things get crazy. I definitely got a deal on this place, so I'm grateful for it.

Anyway, here are the pics:

Kitchen & entry-way (where the bike lives)

Living room

Bedroom - angle #1
(minus the two windows along the left-hand side)

Bedroom - angle #2 (my closet was the messiest part -
I finally cleaned/organized it a few weeks ago!)

Bright orange bathroom - even the ceiling is orange!
(the shower didn't fit in the picture; it's to the right of the toilet)

me in my living room :)

Blue Like Jazz

2008-08-26T09:33:00.002-04:00

For those of you who have read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this article I read recently. The link and an excerpt are below; the article is long but worth reading. What do you think?

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/08/nathan/green_like_envy.htm

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’" John 8:31–32

False freedom. Miller is an insecure, self-centered man (as he freely admits in his book) who wants to be a literary success, and he is using a certain worldly technique where you let it all hang out. But he exhibits an incredible ignorance of true Christianity and conveys disappointment with a limited experience with the Christian community. He puts down evangelicals in a very ignorant way as though his warped and stereotyped view of them is all there is to the Church. There’s no awareness of the larger Body of Christ or what it means.

I sympathize with his disappointment in the kind of legalistic perfectionism that has been strong in evangelicalism because it tends to produce bondage and hypocrisy instead of true freedom. But what he offers is far from true freedom. He has turned from legalism to antinomianism. (The term means “against law.” It describes the state of rebellion against God’s laws and standards of life.) He is leading his readers from perfectionism to lawlessness—and the greatest tragedy of all is that he’s missed the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel, which brings true freedom from the bondage of sin and Satan.

"Families"

2008-08-21T19:35:00.001-04:00

Does this Matthew25 Network video make anyone else nervous?

Microsoft targets "promiscuous" end-users

2008-08-04T20:35:00.002-04:00

I read this article today in the BBC News - Microsoft sees end of Windows era - and laughed when I read this line:

"...Windows [struggles] with more modern ways of working in which people are very mobile and very promiscuous in the devices they use to get at their data - be that pictures, spreadsheets or e-mail."

It's a great use of a loaded word. Makes me smile, never mind the point of the article. :)

trafficking & prostitution

2008-08-02T12:49:00.005-04:00

For the last four months, I have had two articles sitting in my inbox, marked unread, waiting for me to blog about them. Since today is my 'catching up on life' Saturday, I'm finally getting around to posting. As you might assume from the title, these articles aren't light and fluffy (but how often are my blog posts light and fluffy? have we met? :) ). In fact, I found the one to be absolutely shocking and the other very insightful. Anyway, here are the articles and some of my thoughts:

1. Author Struggles to Stay Removed from Slave Trade (NPR, 11 March 2008): This is the story of a journalist named Benjamin Skinner who spent some time researching the modern day slave trade. The most shocking thing I learned in reading this article was that, in 1850, purchasing a slave cost the equivalent of an upscale car, roughly $30,000-$40,000 today. In the early 21st century, child slaves are bought, sold, and traded for as little as $50. Disgusting.

Some of my thoughts: the article focuses on Haiti, which it says has one of the highest concentration of slaves in the world (I'm assuming per capita, but I'm not sure of their source so I can't verify that); the same is true in many South and Southeast Asian countries. Sometimes it is intentional - families sell their one or two of children so they can afford to purchase more seed and feed the rest of their families - and sometimes they are tricked into it: a man from the city comes and offers education, a job or other opportunity but then takes the children to a brothel or forced labor situation. Often, especially in Haiti, when children are orphaned after their parents die of AIDS, their extended families or neighbors will take them in but only as domestic slaves. Again, disgusting, and the result of a complex system of poverty.

World Relief, International Justice Mission, the American Anti-Slavery Group, Hagar International, and myriad other organizations are working in various capacities to combat human trafficking. Check one (or all) of them out for more information. Another resource is the US Trafficking in Persons Report, updated annually, that rates every country on their government-based efforts to reduce human trafficking. Google it.

2. Do as He Said (NY Times, 13 March 2008): This Kristof editorial focuses on the debate surrounding legalized prostitution, written within days of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. The title is a bit tongue in cheek - Spitzer was vocal about cracking down on prostitution, but his stance on it apparently didn't translate into reality. Anyway, I wanted to post this article because of the way Kristof handled the issue. He admits to having been in favor of legalized prostitution for a long time (making the argument that 'it's going to happen anyway, so we might as well legalize it and enforce better standards'), until looking at how it has worked in other countries. In the Netherlands, legalization has allowed child trafficking, violence and drug activity to 'flourish'; in Sweden, however, where it is a crime to hire a prostitute, such activity has diminished.

Bottom line, I like his point about focusing on pimps and customers, rather than on the prostitutes themselves, because it has a greater potential to cut the demand. What do you think?

Obama fans, beware

2008-06-23T20:40:00.003-04:00

If you've been reading this blog for long, you know I have a certain passion for justice and have a particular interest in agricultural policy; not enough to be an expert, but enough to write about it from time to time. For example, this post, written in response to an Economist article about "The End of Cheap Food" that linked rising food costs to American ethanol and Western agricultural subsidies. It's the second in a series of 5 or 6 (at least) food-related posts I wrote in December, January and February.

Anyway, this morning I was disheartened reading an article in the NY Times entitled, 'Obama Camp Closely Linked With Ethanol'. I also read a few weeks ago that he supported this year's farm bill, which, in addition to sustaining enormous grain subsidies for agribusinesses, also proposed to significantly decrease welfare/food stamp funding 5-10 years from now.

This concerns me for several reasons. 1) In today's NY Times article, it mentions his stance against foreign ethanol (the article mentions Brazilian sugar cane ethanol), because it doesn't 'reduce foreign dependence', despite the significantly lower amount of energy required to produce sugar cane ethanol. In a world where energy is in increasing demand, it seems off to reject a fuel that is more energy efficient in favor of a fuel that gets you elected by supporting subsidies for it. And that doesn't even touch on the foreign policy side of things - what's wrong with buying fuel from Brazil? (I'm sure there are many issues here, especially considering I know very little about the working conditions of sugar cane plantation employees or how sugar cane ethanol revenue would be used in Brazil...but I digress).

2) I am also concerned because it seems to me that Mr. Obama is backtracking. Or flip-flopping, however you'd like to look at it. When he first started campaigning, and even as recently as a month or two ago, his speeches were peppered with language about a new kind of politics, a kind of politics that isn't based on the interests of powerful lobbying groups or controlled by "corrupt", old-guard politicians. Between this stance on ethanol (i.e. support for agribusiness) and his recent rejection of public financing for his campaign, I'm less than impressed with Obama's "new way of politics". It doesn't look much different than the old way from where I sit.

and it's been awhile...

2008-06-20T23:53:00.002-04:00

...since I could hold my head up high... (anyone know that song?)

I'm not really feeling the emotions portrayed in that particular song, it just popped in my head as I typed the title. It's been a long time, just four days shy of two months, since I last posted. For the random few possibly reading this that haven't talked to me since then, it's been a busy/crazy/stressful couple of months. I'm not going to get into all of it now because most of it is angst-ridden and typical for 20-somethings, plus it's WAY past my bedtime :), but I wanted to let the few that do read this blog know that I haven't given up on it, I've just be struggling to find time and haven't felt like I've had anything worthwhile, edifying, or remotely intelligent to say in the last couple of months. Hence, silence.

More later. Now it's time to catch up on some zzzzz's....

"Silent Tsunami"

2008-04-24T08:12:00.002-04:00

I haven't blogged in awhile - life has been pretty busy - but I have received two emails this week from the ONE campaign regarding the global hunger crisis. For many different reasons, which you can read about here, food prices are rising drastically all over the world and it's causing riots in places like Haiti and various Sub-Saharan Africa countries. More alarmingly, rising food prices mean those with little to no income to begin with are falling more and more deeply into chronic hunger, starvation, and malnutrition. Read more about it here.

The ONE campaign is gathering electronic signatures to lobby President Bush and the other members of the G8 to address what is being called the "Silent Tsunami" at their upcoming meetings in July. To add your signature to the list, click on the link below.

http://www.one.org/hungercrisis?rc=hctaf

This is a huge issue. Our staff in Haiti had to evacuate their office for several days and an intern was evacuated because of safety concerns in the face of intense rioting. It's also a complicated issue, the result not only of rising fuel costs, but also natural disasters (increased famine & drought), greater demand for biofuels, and rising standards of living that lead to increased demand for grain and grain-fed meat. Take some time to learn about it here, and then take action. The ONE campaign has several other related issues they're lobbying Congress and the President to address; those can be found here.

http://www.one.org/hungercrisis?rc=hctaf

favorite recent photos

2008-04-01T21:43:00.004-04:00

I have been meaning to upload photos from my camera to my computer for some time. I finally did tonight and wanted to share some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Coffee (Annapolis)

Garage (Baltimore)

Obama Rally (Baltimore)

Daffodils (Baltimore)

New York (New York)

cell phone calls on a plane?

2008-03-20T22:22:00.002-04:00

Apparently it's coming faster than we thought - the airline Emirates is allowing mobile calls at cruising altitudes on its AirBus. Here's the BBC article.

chesapeake wine co.

2008-03-20T17:03:00.004-04:00

Tuesday evening I went with two friends, an old and a new, to Chesapeake Wine Company for their weeknight wine tasting. If you haven't been I highly recommend it.

First of all, the wine was incredible. I guess I'm not much of a judge because I'm pretty new to the world of wine tasting, but I went with a good friend whose husband is a wine fanatic and raves about the place. They serve 8 different kinds of wine - we had two sparkling wines, two whites, and four different reds - along with bread, cheese, olives and sausages.

Second of all, when I told the owner I couldn't eat the bread and was looking to buy some chips instead, he took me to his shelf of gourmet snacks and - voilá! - produced a box of gluten-free crackers that he had his staff serve my friends and I gratis, in place of the bread we otherwise would have eaten. I was impressed. Very impressed. We decided that they tasted like unsweetened corn puffs, but they did the trick and went wonderfully with the tapenade. He also served me a cheese-free plate, in addition to the regular plate my friends had. Again, very impressed.

My favorite wine of the night was a Greek wine called Malagouisia, produced in 2006 by Gerovassiliou. It was light but very interesting (like I said, I'm new at this whole wine tasting, so I'm not going to pretend I tasted the notes of elderflower, pine cone and lemon meringue referenced here). If you're looking for a good wine with ham or lamb this weekend, try it out.

Long story short, I'll be returning in the near future. Such excellent service, wine, and hospitality deserves another visit.

Fage & white wine

2008-03-07T20:39:00.004-05:00

p.s. The wonderfully marvelous Greek strained yogurt I'm mentioned in my earlier post is called "Fage" - pronounced "Fah-yeh", according to the container. It's delicious. I highly recommend it.

AND: I picked up a really good bottle of wine tonight at my favorite Baltimore wine boutique (Bin 604!): it's a white wine from Rueda, Spain and it's incredible - very smooth, rich, and "unique", as the cashier at Bin 604 suggested. It's a 2005 by Naiades - a $25-35 bottle of wine, depending on the seller - and has a "younger brother" (i.e. cheaper) version called "Naia". I haven't tried the latter, but the Naiades is wonderful. The label mentions the grapefruit, melon, pear, and kiwi flavors - I just taste smooth, sweet, slightly-acidic wonderfulness. :) How's that for a description, post two glasses? I really like this wine.

good news!!

2008-03-07T20:24:00.003-05:00

it's official: I'm starting to eat dairy.

yes!! I'm serious! For the past 3-4 weeks, I've been eating the most wonderful yogurt. Real, whole, Greek yogurt. I love the ingredients list: "skim (or whole) milk, cream, live yogurt cultures". That's it. Mmmm. I eat it with gluten-free granola, frozen (or fresh!) strawberries, honey, other fruit, and whatever I can get my hands on. I used it in a pesto sauce, to give the sauce a creaminess it wouldn't otherwise have. And I ate it with cereal one day. All of this and NO bad side effects - I'm not really lactose intolerant!!

So, the on-going experiment begins. I just pulled my second loaf of bread, made from a mix by the Gluten-Free Pantry containing skim milk, out of the oven. The first loaf was so incredibly delicious, I thought I was eating real bread again - even after 5 days in the freezer/refrigerator!

Next step: cheese. I've had problems with goat and sheep's milk cheese in recent past, but I'm hoping that doesn't extend to cow's milk cheese. We'll see - I had two tiny slices with an asparagus & tomato omelet tonight (yum!) - hopefully I'll have good things to report. And who knows? Maybe there's actually a bowl of Breyer's vanilla ice cream waiting for me a few weeks from now? And, eventually, butter- and cream-based pasta sauces, like alfredo and rosemary butter and *sigh*... I shouldn't get ahead of myself.

(By the way, for those of you who, while reading this are completely befuzzelled as to why I'm so excited, I've been unable to have it for the last THREE YEARS, as a complication of getting and healing from celiac disease. Get why I'm excited now? :) :) :) )

follow up to "wallowing"

2008-03-02T17:35:00.002-05:00

While emailing a friend today, who emailed me in response to the "wallowing" post, I had some thoughts on faith that I wanted to share:

Along the same lines at Oswald Chambers' wisdom, a friend today in church mentioned this African proverb: "When you pray, move your feet." I liked it because it speaks to the importance of both prayer and action - being and doing, if you will - and how you can't have one without the other. There is nothing wrong with asking God for answers, guidance, or even just a little nudge in the right direction, but if we're not standing up and walking out the door in faith, trusting that he'll show us as we walk, maybe we're not being obedient. Or at least not living by faith.

My pastor today then talked about how "the righteous will live by faith" and it prompted the question, "Where is your faith (or in what/whom)?" I realized typing the paragraph above that my "faith" (or trust, rather) is most often in having answers to questions. I, too, am slow to act without knowing how things will turn out. That's not living by faith that God is who He says He is (faithful to His promises, full of mercy and grace!); it's trusting my own sense of direction.

local food editorial

2008-03-02T15:22:00.005-05:00

Hey all: This is an interesting editorial, published in the NY Times today, about the challenges small farmers face when trying to grow non-commodity crops (commodity crops being wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, etc) to keep up with the growing demand for locally-grown food. From this editorialist's perspective (he's a farmer from Minnesota), U.S. government policies and subsidies make it next to impossible for small, regional markets to develop, in favor of the near-monopoly fruit & veggie growers in Florida and California have over national markets.

It's an interesting read. Here's the link in case the one above didn't work:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/opinion/01hedin.html?em&ex=1204606800&en=dd5832c47ea07bc0&ei=5087%0A

more about women

2008-02-25T22:36:00.002-05:00

This article, by N.T. Wright, biblical theologian and Bishop of Durham, speaks to some of the questions I've been asking lately about the role of women in the church, namely the importance and significance Jesus bestowed upon women in his ministry. Okay, so that's only a piece of the entire article, but I appreciated Wright's interpretation of Jewish / early Christian cultures and wanted to share. It's long, but definitely worth the read.

Enjoy!

P.S. Tonight I listened to N.T. Wright speak at a local seminary about "The Bible and Tomorrow's World" - I'll have more thoughts from that later this week!

wallowing

2008-02-20T22:29:00.004-05:00

I wrote this journal entry yesterday morning and thought I'd share...
_____________________

Today I am angry, for what feels like no good reason. Last night I succumbed to the “wallowing 20s” – feeling sorry for myself and everyone around me for the holding pattern our lives often seem to be in. I drove into work today because a) I was late for the #61 bus, b) I didn’t want to wait for the #3 or take the Hopkins shuttle and c) I wanted to feel some level of control over something in my life.

In many ways, I'm tired of waiting - on figuring out what I "really" want to do with my life/what I want to be when I grow up, on relationships, on feeling like I have a place in the world and knowing why it's important. I am waiting to stop feeling sorry for myself.

I never thought I’d end up here, never thought I’d be standing where I am.
I guess I kinda thought that it would be easier than this, I guess I was wrong.

I tried to climb your steps, I tried to chase you down, I tried to see how low I could get down to the ground.
I tried to earn my way, I tried to take this mind, you better believe that I am trying to leave this…
(lyrics from “Sick Cycle Carousel” by Lifehouse).

Then comes the kicker, from today’s My Utmost for His Highest (courtesy of http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php):

When it comes to taking the initiative against drudgery, we have to take the first step as though there were no God. There is no point in waiting for God to help us— He will not. But once we arise, immediately we find He is there. Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue— a matter of obedience. Then we must act to be obedient and not continue to lie down doing nothing.

I am convicted of willingly wallowing in the uncertainty. Of forgetting what I know to be true: “If I [Jesus], your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet [acted as your servant], you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” (John 13.14-17).

Often I am afraid my life won’t work out the way I want it to, or I’ll be stuck in the uncertainty indefinitely. I forget how clearly God has led me in the past, right when I've needed it. When I forget like this and start to wallow, I resent God, my circumstances, and the people around me for not making my life clearer. I get so bogged down in the unknown I don't want to move forward until I know what the outcome will be.

But then I remember: I do know something and I don't have to know everything. I don't have to wait for God - or anyone else for that matter - to tell me what to do with my life, I just have to live it. I’m tired, feeling burned out and sorry for myself, but I refuse to be wallow any longer, no matter how unglorified or uncomfortable my life feels at the moment. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8.34-36).

Kristof Article

2008-02-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

"When Women Rule" - in today's NYTimes. A very timely editorial by Nicholas Kristof (one of my favorite editorialists - I'm so glad NYTimes got rid of Times Select!) about the effectiveness of women in leadership and the challenges they face in getting elected in modern democracies. Very thought-provoking, except at 10:00pm when I've been exhausted all day long. :) Enjoy!

"I am no man"

2008-02-04T19:29:00.000-05:00

My favorite Lord of the Rings quote, spoken by Eowyn to the Wraith King before she slays him. Bring it. :)

This quote and several discussions I've been having lately prompt a very important question: "What is the role of women in the church?" Should women be in leadership? When Peter and Paul write about women and their role, do we take their writings literally or within the context of their culture? More specifically, if I want to be more involved in my own church, am I "limited" to singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school and helping to make meals, or is there a greater role I can play? Another question: is it "wrong" or out of line to think that women should and ought to be in positions of leadership, as their skills and abilities allow, whether in academia (writing about and teaching theology) or the church (acting as an elder or being ordained as a minister)?

I know many others are having this conversation, I'm just processing through it on my own for the first time and would love to hear your thoughts! What do you think?

Meat-Guzzling

2008-01-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

"...if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius [in terms of energy consumption]."

A friend of mine sent me a link to a NY Times article today, entitled "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler". It is along the same lines as many of the articles I've been posting lately, addressing the high cost and energy required for the amount of food we eat. It even mentions agricultural subsidies and how getting rid of them could help cut back on our consumption - less supply equals higher demand initially but overall less consumption. It also mentions grass-fed beef and how they're better for the environment but more difficult to produce in mass quantities.

Long story short? Our rate of consumption is too high and we don't need nearly as much meat (or food perhaps?) as we're eating. But maybe that's being overly simplistic...

More good food...

2008-01-25T17:43:00.001-05:00

Friends, it's been a good month for food. Earlier I blogged about hazelnut chocolate chip pancakes, tonight I blog about chicken soup (perfect for colds!), a swordfish dinner, and bibim bap (Korean dish)...I'm getting hungry already. The photos aren't as excellent as I'd like them to be, but there's only so much one can do with a point-and-shoot digital camera. Anyway, on to the food!

Bibim Bap
My first foray into Korean: a friend of mine, Sookkyung, came over a few weeks ago to teach me how to make bibim bap, a lovely Korean dish with beef, vegetables, egg and rice. I'd had it a few weeks earlier in Lexington, KY (see the first photo below), with family and loved it; it was delicious, so I had to try making it at home.

Bibim bap in Lexington

If you want the recipe, it's best to find it online (or email me); I didn't take down an exact recipe, so I'd hate to mislead anyone with bad instructions. But I highly recommend checking it out; the combination of sweet, soft, crunchy, salty, spicy and sesame makes for an incredible, makes-mouths-happy kind of bliss I forgot existed (okay, maybe that's exaggerating, but it was really good!). For the GF/DF among you, I used a gluten-free tamari soy sauce to marinate the meat, and Sookkyung brought over some dried chili flakes, which I mixed with a smidgen of white rice, some water, sesame oil, and brown sugar to make my chili paste. Yum. Here's a photo:
Grilled Swordfish
Oh, heaven. If you've already heard the story, feel free to skip down to the photo and the next story; if you haven't, stick around. I went with a friend to Dino, a Tuscan-Italian restaurant in Washington, D.C., for D.C.'s Restaurant Week. Friends, especially those of you with allergies, this place is incredible. Granted, outside of restaurant week it would be easy to spend $50-60 on the same amount of food, but it would have been worth that much because it was more than worth $30.08.

We're talking grilled veggies that melt in your mouth - perfectly seasoned summer squash, zucchini, eggplant and asparagus - and that was just the appetizer. For the éntree, I had grilled swordfish that tasted like it had been soaked in a brine, giving it a silky texture I'd never tasted before. The swordfish was served on a bed of baby root vegetables - parsnip, carrot, and new potatoes - wrapped with steamed spinach. It was surrounded with a sweet, light tomato sauce. Pure heaven, and that's no exaggeration. I have never tasted such an incredible dish in my life.
That wasn't all - after the celestial swordfish, they served a sorbetto trio: grapefruit, melon, & papaya. Who could ask for anything more in life when you have such wonderfully satisfying food? Sigh.

Chicken Soup
Tuesday I came down with a really bad cold - either that or a mild case of the flu. Either way, I knew I was getting sick and would be out for a couple of days, so I had to throw together some chicken soup. I was surprised and proud of what resulted from the following recipe:

Lynnae's Chicken Soup
3 chicken thighs (or breasts), whole
2 parsnips, sliced in rounds
2 carrots, sliced in rounds
1 sweet potato (not a yam), sliced in half- to one-inch pieces
1-2 bunches kale, cut into small pieces
1 bouillon cube (I used Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillon with Sea Salt & Herbs)
3-4 c. water
salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, boil chicken & bouillon cube in 2-3c. water for 20-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (15-20 minutes into boiling, I removed the thighs, cut the meat off the bones, and returned the meat and the bones to the boiling water for another 10-15 minutes).

While the chicken boils, cut carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, & kale. Steam carrots, parsnips & sweet potato in a medium saucepan with 1-2 inches of water and a pinch or two of salt for 5-10 minutes, until just soft enough to pierce with a fork.

Add vegetables and kale to the boiling chicken and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add salt & pepper as needed; serve hot.

Bon appétit!

Hope

2008-01-17T21:35:00.000-05:00

I am reading a book a friend recommended called To End All Wars*. I wasn't crazy about it at first because it's a first-hand account of British POWs of the Japanese near the end of World War II - not the lightest or most pleasant reading - but I've gotten about half-way through and I love it, so I had to share a few passages.

Just to set the stage, over the course of 4 years, from 1941 to 1945, the Japanese captured 60,000 Allied prisoners and 270,000 Asian (Malay, Singaporean, Chinese, and a few other nationalities) prisoners and forced them to build what is known as the Railway of Death, so named because of the 80,000 prisoners who died during it's construction. Conditions in the prison camps were, unsurprisingly, horrific and the Japanese were known for their "callous brutality" towards their prisoners.

At one point in the book, the author, Ernest Gordon, makes a striking comment about the Japanese and the Allied powers:

"Both sides undoubtedly justified their cruelties as serving to shorten the war and improve their chances of winning it, as well as saving the lives of their own kind. The result in each case was the same. In the case of the Japanese, the effect on the perpetrators was to render them callous to man's individual humanity to man. In the case of the West, the effect on the perpetrators was also that of initiating an ignoble callousness to human suffering" (43).

Later on, Gordon describes this callousness and how it affected the prisoners themselves:

p. 73: "As conditions [in the jungle prison camp] steadily worsened, as starvation, exhaustion and disease took an ever-increasing toll, the atmosphere in which we lived became poisoned by selfishness, hate and fear. We were slipping rapidly down the slope of degradation.
...Existence had become so miserable, the odds so heavy against survival, that, to most of the prisoners, nothing mattered except to survive. We lived by the law of the jungle, 'red in tooth and claw' - the law of survival of the fittest. It was a case of 'I look out for myself and to hell with everyone else'."

Shortly after this point, a change begins to take place in the camp. Instead of an 'every man for himself' attitude, one man here and another man there started watching out for and taking care of his "brothers". Here's the best part:

"Death was still with us - no doubt about that. But we were slowly being freed from its destructive grip. We were seeing for ourselves the sharp contrast between the forces that made for life and those that made for death. Selfishness, hatred, envy, jealousy, greed, self-indulgence, laziness and pride were all anti-life. Love, heroism, self-sacrifice, sympathy, mercy, integrity and creative faith, on the other hand, were the essence of life, turning mere existence into living in its truest sense. These were the gifts of God to men" (105-106).

I'm not finished with this book, but I highly recommend it, if only for this powerful transformation that took place. Happy reading!

*Gordon, Ernest, To End All Wars, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 2002. Originally published in Great Britain, 1963, under the title, Through the Valley of the Kwai.

Pancakes!

2008-01-13T10:22:00.001-05:00

This morning I made pancakes that were so good I had to share the recipe. Best of all? They were gluten and dairy free! More proof that celiac (and other allergies) is not a death sentence.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1/2 c. GF flour mix*
1 t. soda
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar (I used brown)
1 1/2 t. baking power
1 t. zantham gum
1/2 - 1 c. ground hazelnut meal (Bob's Red Mill's is delicious)

Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

1 egg
1/2 - 1 c. milk (I used soy)

Whisk egg in glass measuring cup and add 1/2 c. milk. Pour into dry ingredients; mix with fork until lumps disappear. Add 1/4 - 1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used gf/df Enjoy Life brand).

Heat small skillet over medium heat. Grease pan (I used coconut oil for extra flavor) and pour enough batter to make an 8-inch pancake into pan. Let the batter cook until the top side is almost set and the bottom is golden brown. Flip; cook until bottom is brown. Transfer to covered plate and place in warm oven while you cook the remaining batter. Makes 4 8-inch pancakes. Serve with butter (or peanut butter!) and warm maple syrup.

*The flour mix I used was an accidental combination; my usual mix went bad, so I had to work with some leftover flours. The result was a sweet but very crumbly flour, so definitely use zantham gum in any baking if you're going to use it.

Lynnae's GF Flour Mix (approximate)
2 c. brown rice flour
1 1/2 c. white rice flour
1/2 c. coconut flour
1/2 c. tapioca or corn starch

Mix flours together with fork or whisk. Store in airtight container.

Check this out!

2008-01-02T19:04:00.001-05:00

From the New York Times today: What's Your Consumption Factor ? An article by Jared Diamond (really good!) about rising consumption levels and the unsustainability of current (and growing) appetites. Two things that struck me: 1) Europeans have a lower consumption level but higher quality of living and 2) the world cannot sustain many more people consuming at the rate of the highest/richest billion.

I was also struck by the fact that, just after writing all these blog posts on food policy and subsidies and overproduction, I go into work and get two emails over the course of the day regarding overconsumption (with a link to the above article and the following series of photos). Thoughts?

And from a coworker (source forthcoming):

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.0

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week $341.98

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

Food, part 3

2008-01-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

Community-Supported Agriculture

As a result of all this research on food injustice, I've learned about Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA), which is, according to www.localharvest.org, "a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce." Consumers become 'shareholders' of sorts with local farmers, receiving a basket of vegetables, fruit, eggs, and other farm goods on a weekly basis, usually for a set fee. Seasons typically run from late spring (April or May) through late fall (October or November), providing consumers with a good 5-6 months of fresh, local food.

It's not a new idea, but I think it's a great one. CSA farms in Maryland charge around $400-500 for the season, which runs anywhere from 16-25 weeks, depending on the farm. It works out to be around $17-22/week, which is a bit on the expensive side, at least for a single person like me (despite my ravenous appetite for cooking!), but it supports local farmers and much of it is organic. I like it.

The website linked above lets you search by zip code to find the nearest farm. All the farms I've seen in Maryland seem to have a limited number of spots available (makes sense), so check it out soon!

Food, part 2

2008-01-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Today I went to a friend's house for Breakfast All Day (aka BAD) and brought a glorious breakfast risotto along to share. I used Whole Food's chicken sausage instead of pork Italian sausage, and a South African Chenin Blanc. It was delicious!

I've done a good deal of cooking the past two days - broiled t-bone steak, kasha (roasted buckwheat), eggs & skillet potatoes, black bean & salsa soup... - I love vacation days! However, between the looming work week and the time since I started this series on food, I decided I wouldn't cook again until I posted part 2. I've been looking forward to sharing this article for some time - I'll appreciate your comments!

"The end of cheap food" - leader, The Economist, 6 Dec 2007.

This introductory article highlights the causes and consequences of rising food prices, especially among the poor. Food prices around the world are rising for many reasons; this article points to several reasons: 1)the rising demand for meat in Asian nations (mainly China) due to higher incomes; 2) American ethanol subsidies; and 3) rich-world (mainly Western) agricultural subsidies.

Some things that surprised me:

30% of American-grown corn will be used for ethanol production
One tank of ethanol-based fuel in an SUV equals enough corn to feed one person for an entire year
Brazil produces a sugar-based liquor that is cleaner than corn-based ethanol
Many poor countries that used to export food now import it, putting their farmers out of business

The article is a bit fairer than I'm about to be, but it seems to me that agricultural subsidies are completely unjust. By enabling agribusinesses to sell grains - maize, wheat, oats, barley, etc - at below-market prices, the U.S. government (and other Western nations that subsidize agriculture) is effectively aggravating the already-poor lifestyles of billions of people around the world. Even in America these subsidies encourage poverty, as they have made it impossible for smaller farms to compete. (For more on this, see this article from an online newspaper)

This is not a new problem; while searching for articles I ran across this one from the New York Times, published in 1910. It talks about the rising cost of meat (beef, pork & fish) as well as the rising cost of dairy products. It doesn't really address why, aside from mentioning the panic of 1907, but I found it interesting that we haven't really changed our ways.

So, what is to be done? There's always the standard lobbying of politicians to pass fairer food bills. I'd love it if we could organize a boycott of big food companies that benefit from these subsidies, until they agree to operate without them. We could all buy from local farmers only, until the big farms get the idea: we don't agree with food subsidies, so change your ways! But these ideas are probably too idealistic - is there anything new under the sun?

Food, glorious food (part 1)

2007-12-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

Anyone who's met me knows (or ought to know) that I love food. I love talking about it, cooking it, thinking about it, buying it, heck, I even dream about it on occasion. And I'm something of a "foodie", meaning I have an appetite for really good food, the kind you typically find in nice restaurants, Whole Foods, and Gourmet magazine. Or the local farmers' market.

Given this passion for food and a number of articles I've read recently, I've decided to write a series of posts on several food-related issues, including the rising cost of food (globally and locally), the higher cost of healthy food versus junk food, the recent farm bill passed by the Senate, the food aid debate, and maybe a little bit on fair trade to mix things up a bit.

If all of this sounds too political, intellectual, or old hat for you, don't check out yet, keep reading! Call me Captain Obvious, but our lives revolve around food, and not just physically. Wars are fought over food (read Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond if you don't believe me), economies depend on it, and relationships thrive or disintegrate because of it.

For those of you who already know a good deal about food-related policy (agricultural subsidies, food aid, ethanol production, etc.), the fair vs. free trade debate, or the nutrition issues facing low-income people in the States (and elsewhere?), I openly and readily admit that each of these issues is far more complex than I could ever justly address in the context of a blog. I love talking about each one of them, though, and hope to further educate myself through your insights (and more internet searches on these topics).

Enough explanation, here's the first article (a blog entry from The New York Times): "A High Price for Healthy Food"

This is a short article - the real meat is in the comments section, which I highly recommend browsing - but one that points to a sobering reality: junk food is cheaper per calorie than healthy food. Based on a study done by the University of Washington, the conclusions are a bit extreme: a 2,000 calorie diet of junk food costs approx. $3.50/day, while a 2,000 calorie diet of healthy food can cost as much as $36.32/day. Granted, very few people actually spend $36/day on food, but the point is, fresh meat, veggies, fruit, and whole grain products tend to be more expensive than their prepackaged, refined sugar/starch counterparts. This contributes to obesity among low-income families, as well as higher health costs for treating diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

Left out in the article but addressed in the comments section, junk food is more accessible in inner city grocery stores and more convenient to "prepare". This also contributes to the problems mentioned above (obesity & rising health costs). Also in the comments section, some suggest diets of rice, beans, lentils, and root vegetables; often these are cheaper than junk food and certainly provide better nutrition.

How about you? If you want to save money on food, what kind of food do you purchase/prepare? Junk food for me is more expensive (but that's because it has to be gluten- and dairy-free) and I usually prefer things like rice, beans, & lentils, but I'm also known to spend a pretty penny on out-of-season produce, organic and/or free range meats, and other "healthy" food items.

The next post will cover the "why" behind this article - why is healthy food more expensive (hint: think grain subsidies)? But I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Maybe You're Just a Perfectionist

2007-12-08T22:42:00.000-05:00

"Perfectionists need to realize they are actually trying to compete with God."

Ouch. A found this quote on the sidebar of a New York Times article, entitled "Unhappy? Self-critical? Maybe you're just a perfectionist". It came from the reader comment section, presumably after its author read the article linked here. It's a good article, but definitely convicting. It talks about the perfectionist tendency to take various aphorisms, such as "Be all that you can be" or "Never settle for less than your best", to an extreme, and discusses the different manifestations of perfectionism.

As the article states, many perfectionists are proud of their "perfection". Ouch again - how did they know that? I am, admittedly, a perfectionist through and through, the kind that strives to live up to my own standards and has a tendency to feel depressed when I don't. I'm less a perfectionist than some people I know, but isn't it always easy to find someone who's "worse" than you are?

Here's another quote, then a brief story: "If you can’t tolerate your worst, at least once in a while, how true to yourself can you be?"

My "worst" came out at work this week; we've been working to get a proposal approved in a new system at work and finally got a positive decision on it Friday. I was thrilled, for two minutes. I was looking at the dollar amounts approved and thought to myself, "That's not right..." To make a long story short, when I dove into the details and rechecked the proposal with the approval form, I realized I had made a mistake on the approval form, giving the impression we were seeking approval for a much smaller grant. And this after a battle that has lasted 5-6 weeks.

I wanted to crawl under my desk and hide, or bang my head against the wall. Okay, maybe not anything that extreme, but I was so frustrated with myself! It turned out fine in the end and I think it's actually best we had a smaller amount approved - fund raising will be easier in phases and we likely wouldn't have gotten approval for the larger amount in the first place - but it was still so frustrating. How could I miss such an important detail? Will I ever get this job "right"? Of course these are the very self-critical and depression-inducing thoughts the NY Times article discusses, but I have a hard time turning them off because most of the time I believe I'm better than that.

Thank God for NY Times articles that remind me of the truth - I'm not all I think I am!

Cavities!

2007-12-04T19:40:00.000-05:00

I went to the dentist today, expecting a regular cleaning, some sealants and a possible cavity (my first). When it got to the sealant and cavity-filling time, the dentist said I had three! Cavities!

I plan on flossing, brushing, and not eating as much sugar from here on out; getting a cavity filled is now one of my least favorite things to do in life. I couldn't feel my face for six hours!

Thoughts on Cambodia

2007-12-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

I apologize I haven't updated you yet on my Cambodia & Dubai trip; it's been slow getting over jetlag and my mind hasn't been cooperating. I was finally uploading and "captioning" photos on my facebook account (click here to view them) and decided it was time to blog, despite not knowing where to begin.

I spent five days in Phnom Penh, meeting with some of our staff at the World Relief Cambodia country office and helping to prepare for the staff leaders retreat. I also met up with a team from one of our partner churches who came to Cambodia to facilitate the retreat. The day they arrived, we visited Toul Sleng, a genocide memorial in Phnom Penh, and then the market.

From Phnom Penh we took the team to Kampong Cham, a province located just north of Phnom Penh, where we visited staff and program sites for CREDIT (World Relief Cambodia's microfinance institution), SPY (an acronym that stands for "Our Healthy Villages" in Khmai), a community-based health education project, and Hope, a program that includes HIV/AIDS prevention for teens, puppet ministry for children, and a growing cell-church movement. These visits were exciting; CREDIT has just started a Vulnerable Services Unit, designed to make very small loans available to the poorest of the poor, often rural farmers. We visited a group of individuals who were just receiving their first loan from CREDIT, after attending a few weeks of training on money management, small business strategy, budgeting, repayment policies, etc... The loans would go to pay for seed, for harvesting equipment, or for hiring help to plant and/or harvest.

The SPY project is USAID-funded, targeting women of child-bearing age and children under five. The group we visited was just beginning a section on birth-spacing methods (which, I might add, was definitely a learning experience!), with the intention of teaching women not only how to care for themselves but also to limit the number of children they had, so that they could afford to take care of their families. It was fascinating; each of the women in the group would then go and share what they learned with 10-15 other women, thereby covering a much broader area than the single staff worker could cover on her own.

I didn't visit the Hope program this time around, but the group that did found it fascinating. Hope staff spend time in the villages doing puppet shows for children to teach them simple health lessons, like the importance of hand washing before meals or how to spot a tiger mosquito, notorious for carrying the dreaded dengue fever virus. They also use the puppet shows to tell children and their families about Jesus, which has resulted in the growth of hundreds of cell churches.

After visiting the programs, we drove back through Phnom Penh and south to Kampong Speu province, where the Kirirom Resort is located, for the annual WR Cambodia Staff Leaders Retreat. It was an interesting four days; I met some incredible staff and their families, played games, took photos, ate good food, and had some great conversations about cross-cultural ministry. I was struck by how much work it is, bringing teams from the US to Cambodia (or any other country for that matter). Not only can it be a logistical nightmare, but it's also an incredible communications challenge. For a group that's spending no more than one week in the country, how do you best communicate the myriad cultural faux-paus, the sometimes-tenuous environments in which we work, and the importance of relationship and 'saving face' over accomplishing tasks? The latter is something I struggle with personally; I thrive on accomplishing, so this trip was tough because my main objective was to observe, not necessarily to do anything. I loved getting to know the staff, but I wanted to be working alongside them as well.

Overall it was a good trip, and one that gave me fresh perspective for my job and lots of new things to focus on. After being home for four days, I'm starting to recover from the jet lag, and I'll hopefully have more thoughts to share soon. I didn't even touch on Dubai - so stay tuned!