crocodinner

By presidential decree,

as of last Thursday,

today has been declared a non-working holiday in Davao.

It's in celebration of Araw ng Davao,

the commemoration of the birth of this city on March 16th, 76 years ago.

Here's one unique way to celebrate...

barbequed croc on a stick anyone?

Incidentally, the city shares this birthday with my brother...

Happy Birthday, Steve!  Hope you celebrate with something more appetizing.

you take the cake

This was Mark's afternoon snack at work one day last week.

Bet you're jealous.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, 
eat what is set before you.
Luke 10:8 

chicken and gravy

Is the long arm of the polar vortex stretching across the globe to lay a chilly finger on this archipelago land?  The weather service has called it a tropical depression, but whatever the cause, we've had a bit of winter in Davao.  It's all relative; as New York hits record lows of 4, our chilly temps have hovered at 75.  Please don't cry too hard for us.  But believe me, the reprieve after a scorching December is mighty welcome.

A cool breeze stirs curtains, and memories of comfort food from my mother's kitchen. This cold weather gives me a good excuse to cook up some of our own. One of our favorites is a steamy chicken and gravy, poured over a bed of rice. Can you smell it?

It's not exactly like the chicken and gravy Mum made when I was young; hers had no vegetables, and was usually served over flaky biscuits.  This recipe is a little more savory, and if you think biscuits sound better, we've found that a hearty whole-wheat biscuit is spot-on.

Chicken and Gravy

1/4 cup butter
1 chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped green beans
1/2 cup of flour
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic (or, if you prefer fresh, 2 cloves)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
Shake of black pepper
4 cups of chicken broth, (made with 2 bouillon cubes)
1-2 cups of cooked, cut chicken meat

Melt the butter in a frying pan and toss in all the vegetables. We sometimes add more veggies, or different ones. We've also added  potatoes to make it more hearty for a potluck.  Saute the vegetables in the butter until they're tender.  Add the sugar and seasonings.

Throw in 1/2 cup of flour, and toss to evenly coat the vegetables.  Then stir in the broth, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for a minute or two to thicken it into a smooth gravy.  Reduce the heat and add your cooked chicken.

Ladle it over hot rice or biscuits, and feel the comfort...

Cooking, for me, is the emulation of the deity's most essential habit:

to create.

As such, to cook is to worship.

- Patty Kirk

The leftovers (if you have any!) are the perfect base for a quick chicken noodle soup.  Just boil up some extra veggies and noodles in a pot of chicken broth, add the leftovers and a bit more basil, and soup's on!

Raisa's salsa

 What do you do when your family loves salsa,

but the cheapest jar of salsa you can buy locally is over $4?

Well, we did buy it, and we used it sparingly.

Until Raisa told me that she knows how to make it.  

(Why did I never think of making it?)

Raisa is an enthusiastic young Filipina woman who is a Foodie at heart,

eager to try new recipes, and to learn everything she can.

When we returned to Davao in January, she was looking for some extra work,

and was willing to come as our helper for a few hours each Monday morning.

Raisa starts out her work week by preparing bread or tortillas or muffins for us,

a huge blessing when we bake almost all of our own breads
in a perpetually hot, sweaty kitchen.

Besides, Raisa is just plain fun to have around.

And Raisa knows how to whip up salsa with a kick.

So instead of our paying $4 for a jar of salsa,

Raisa now provides us with a batch of 5 jars for just over $2.

And it's delicious.

Raisa's Salsa 
(recipe adapted from Judy C's.!)

3 yellow onions, diced
1 1/2 c. green or red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 T chopped chili peppers w/seeds (add more for hot, less for mild)
6 cups chopped tomatoes
4 tsp brown sugar
2/3 c apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 c tomato paste
2 tsp cumin

·         Put all of the above into a big pot and cook it all for 20 minutes on low heat

·         When cooked, blend it all together in a blender (or a food processor if you have one!) for a few seconds, depending on how chunky you like your salsa

·        Pour into jars and allow to cool before covering

·        This freezes well, if you can stop eating it while you still have enough left to freeze!
 

Thanks, Raisa, for all you do!

plenty

As I set out for the grocery store today, I found myself more aware of how different all this is from what I used to do.  Somewhere, in my distant past, I’d get up early, like at 5:30 or 6, push my garage door opener, hop in our minivan, and drive five minutes to our local Walmart so that I could get the grocery shopping done before breakfast.

Not here.  Instead I wait until afternoon.  The shops don’t open until 10 a.m., and by then we’re deep into our homeschool day.  So I wait until I’m not needed around home as a teacher.  Then I walk through the hot midday sun a couple of blocks up the dusty street where I wait for an available taxi.  The taxi I took today was a nice minivan-ish sort of vehicle. 

 It’s a ten-minute ride to the store, and eight minutes into the ride, the driver mumbled something I didn’t fully understand and pulled to the side of the road.  He then said another phrase, and I finally understood.  It was time for a pit-stop.  “Okay-lang!” I said.  There’s no way that I’m going to put up a fuss about the call of nature.  He hopped out, and walked somewhere behind the taxi, off to the side of the road, I presume, to do his business.  Not that I was watching.  That’s just the normal taxi-driver routine ‘round these parts.  I restrained a chuckle when he climbed back in the taxi and pulled a filthy rag out of the glove compartment with which he meticulously wiped his hands.

Back in the US, I’d pull into the quiet Walmart parking lot, hop out of my van, dart through the doors and grab a huge cart.  Not here.  Instead I hop out of the taxi at a busy mall.  Yes, a mall.  That’s where all the grocery stores are.  I run up the stairs while I zip open my purse for the guard at the door to peek inside, and I pause for her to pat my backside, presumably checking to see that I’m not armed.    Then I wend my way through the mall, down a narrow stair case and through vendor’s stalls where the mixed pungency of lots of people, durian, and fried squid greets me, until I reach the grocery area.  

A guard stands at this entrance too, making sure I don’t bring any other packages into the store, like the computer paper I stopped to buy at the mall’s bookstore on the way in.  He sends me to take that package of paper back outside to a package holding area before going through another guard check to get back in the mall to go to the grocery store.  That done, I grab a small-ish cart and begin my shopping.

In the US, I’d sail down the wide aisles of Walmart, finding every item on my list, shopping all the sales.  Not here.  Sales are virtually unknown.  Except for the one rack of imported goods that have reached their expiration date.  But who cares about expiration dates?  I can find some great deals there…like a rare box of crackers for 80 cents, and diet lemonade mix for 50 cents, and here’s a box of granola for two dollars!  Yay!  Availability is always hit or miss.  Today there’s no packaged meat that I recognize.  There’s also no vanilla flavoring, no cream cheese, and no dried legumes besides lentils.  I haven’t seen cheese for weeks.  Oh!  But look!  They have IBC ROOTBEER!!!  Amazing!  One precious bottle goes in the cart as a surprise gift for Mark on Father’s Day.  (Don’t tell!)

Sigh.  No carrots in the produce section today, and no red tomatoes.  I’m so spoiled to even expect those things.  But the red papaya looks great!  I check the pasta bag for bugs, side step the cockroach in the aisle, and pretend not to see the mouse that just darted under the produce shelf.

It’s time to check out.  At Walmart I’d load the groceries onto the automatic belt, swipe my debit card and walk away in a few minutes with bagged groceries, extra cash, and all with the help of just one employee.  Not here.  

I load the groceries onto the belt, but it may or may not work.  So I push food up toward the checker as she tallies my items.  I hand her my Visa card, and she carries it off to the next register, where there’s a card machine.  After a few minutes she comes back to hand me a receipt in duplicate to sign.  Then she writes down my Visa number on a recycled piece of paper that is at the checkout presumably for that purpose. That feels just a little sinister, but we haven’t had any Visa problems as a result…yet.    

Meanwhile at least one, sometimes up to four other employees help to bag my groceries.  One saunters off to get a cart for my bags (the cart I used for shopping doesn’t fit through the narrow checkout lane to the other side) while another leaves to check a price for the cashier.  Two more are loading my purchases into sturdy bags, talking and laughing together about the strange items I’ve bought.  I’m glad I can bring some smiles to their day.

It’s finally time to go.  Back at Walmart I might have stopped at McDonald’s for a coffee on my way out the door, then smoothly pushed my cart straight to my van, where I’d load the bags in the roomy trunk, ditch the cart in its corral, and be home in another five minutes.

Not here.  Here I have another couple of stops to make.  I need bacon, so I go down the mall a couple of doors to the bakery.  Yes, this is where I can find bacon.  And sometimes deli ham, too.  I also grab a loaf or two of French bread.  I check out, and the cashier doesn’t have change for a 500 peso bill (worth just over $10), so I give her the last 3 hundreds I have, first making sure that I have enough small bills for taxi fare home.  Then I head back down the mall to the meat store, since I couldn’t find meat in the grocery.   Only to find that the meat store is closed for renovation.  Wasn’t it closed last year at this time for renovation?!?  No meat.  Oh well.  Meat’s over-rated anyway.

Before I head out the door I grab a 10 peso coin from my wallet – I want to be prepared to tip the porter who always loads my groceries into the taxi.  He looks like he could really use the extra money.  I head toward the exit where yet another guard checks my receipt.  The porter hurries over to usher my cart toward a cab, where he pops open the front door and loads my bags inside.  I slip him the tip, hop in, and I’m on my way home.  In the taxi, I text a family member to let them know I’m coming, since I’ll need help when I arrive to unload the groceries at the gate so the taxi can be on its way.

 Yes, this is a little different than what I used to do.  But I have it so very good.  Plenty of food, provision from God to feed our family.  I have fully stocked shelves with more than we need.  How many people are praying each day for their daily food, and mine is so easily obtained?  May I not forget God’s goodness in all of my plenty.

say cheese

I picked up three Red Lady papayas 

in the produce section of our local supermarket 

and carried them to the station where items being purchased are weighed and labelled.  

As I waited, I noticed a young store employee standing next to my cart,

which I had left behind at the papaya display.  

He was peering with curiosity at the items inside.  

By the time I returned, I found him holding the small block of mozzarella that I'd chosen,

reading the label to figure out what this mysterious American planned to purchase.  

I smiled at him, 

and he smiled at me as he placed the block of cheese back in my cart, 

probably wondering what in the world I'd do with such strange food. 

“The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”

-G.K. Chesterton 

Delectable Cheese Rolls:

Roll out 1/2 of the bread dough from this recipe for Yeasty Once-Rising Rolls as if making cinnamon rolls.

Spread lightly with softened butter.

Top with :

              a dusting of Parmesan,

              a scattering of grated Mozzarella,

              a sprinkling of powdered garlic,

              and a few dashes of Italian seasoning.

Roll it all up, and cut it just like you would for cinnamon rolls.

Rise for 1/2 - 1 hour on a greased cookie sheet, or in a 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until golden on the top.

Serve with salad for lunch or with spaghetti for dinner,

and top it all off with one of those Red Lady papayas for dessert.  

spammed

It used to be that when we craved a taste of America, 

the best option was the local McDo's.  

(That's McDonalds for those of you in the U.S.)

But then Starbucks arrived in Davao,
and walking into Starbucks actually feels a little bit like walking back into the U.S.  

Once in awhile that's a comforting feeling.

Mark and I found ourselves there the other evening on our date night to share a frappucino.

Waiting in line, we browsed the sandwich options in the display case.   

It was a reminder that though this might feel like America,
we're definitely still in a foreign country.

Spam anyone?

no bones about it

It was a hot day, and as usual a few degrees hotter in the kitchen as I began preparations for dinner over the gas stove.  I slid a big pot of boiled chicken to the counter, and began to cut it up, food for several meals in coming weeks.  As I stripped the bones clean, I put them in the trash.  At one point our helper, Bebeng, came into the room and noticed what I was doing.  “It’s okay I take the bones?” she asked me with an eager look on her face.

Those bones, and the extra fat I had also discarded, were a treasure to her.  She told me that she would boil them more to make chicken soup, and that the fat is filling.  Can you blame me if I didn’t clean the bones quite so carefully after that?  After all, what’s chicken soup without a little chicken?    

But who would have thought that bones and fat could be so valued?  

 The Psalmist knew their worth:

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:5

I wonder, is my soul satisfied with what God has offered for my nourishment today?  Do I joy in the marrow and fatness, or do I only want the choice pieces of meat?  Am I only enthusiastic about some of His Word – the parts that taste good to me?  Or do I also find satisfaction in the parts that I find harder to digest?

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:10

But he knows the way that I take; 
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
Job 23:10

Morsels like these are ones I’d rather skip.  Throw out with the trash.  But what will I be missing out on if I do?  His Word must be taken in whole, or not at all.  I need every last bit.

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, 
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Matthew 4:4

The bones may be hard, but they are for my good.

hungry?

Are you hungry?  I mean so hungry that you would sniff glue or smoke a banana leaf just to alleviate some of the hunger?  Having no idea where your next meal will come from? 

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger.”  

John 6:35  

Then this proclamation of Jesus may be of critical importance to your life.

Are you thirsty?  In a place that is so hot that you battle dehydration on a daily basis?  Perhaps in a place where the water is not potable, and must be filtered or boiled before you drink it?

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 
John 4:13-14

Then the life-giving water offered by Jesus might be exactly what you have most longed for.

Are you living in darkness?  With inconsistent power supply, routine electrical outages, or no electrical power at all in your home?  

"I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life."

John 8:12

In your darkness you may be more keenly aware of your need for the light of His presence.

Are you living in pain?  With absolutely no resources to seek out medical help?  Are you watching your child suffer in silence, with no money to consult a doctor?

 So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all the sick, 

those afflicted with various diseases and pains, 

those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them.

Matthew 4:24

In your pain and need, His power to heal may be the best news you've ever heard.

Do you live in a city with blind beggars at the street corners, arms outstretched, beseeching mercy?

When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

Luke 18: 40-42

Then this man who has the power to restore sight to the blind might offer unheard-of hope to your heart.

How meaningful and applicable is the good news of Christ to our world today!  Here in the U.S. we've insulated ourselves from much of our need, but as a result, we may have lost something of the significance of His provision, and the depth of gratitude that we truly owe.

'The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; 

it has feet, it runs after me; 

it has hands, it lays hold of me.'

 – Martin Luther