Category: Advent Hour Vineyard

Here’s What’s Cooking!

Culinary Tips:

Proper meal planning and food preparation can be very time-consuming. The following tips can definitely spare much valuable time on a bustling weekday, but especially on the Preparation Day for the Sabbath. Weather you are an experienced cook or just a beginner, you just might find some of these “tips for cooking” to be worth the knowing and exploring.

Cooking your own food permits you to control segment sizes and ingredients selections. It is also more economical. However, learning and adapting to all that slashing, cutting, and dicing can be quite challenging, if not intimidating, to some. So here are some of the cooking secrets that you can use in every-day cooking:

Adding Salt
For a more even distribution, try sprinkling salt from high above the food. Even putting a little bit of salt from a closer point can result in its sticking to this or that item on the plate or in the pot. For healthiest results, use authentic sea salt such as Celtic sea salt.

🍅 Storing your tomatoes 🍅
Refrigerating tomatoes will kill their flavor and alter their juicy consistency. For better results keep tomatoes on a counter to permit them to ripen more naturally.

📝 Plan Beforehand 📆
Planning your meal a day ahead can eliminate the “What’s for the dinner” syndrome. This also can save you time and money by planning around ingredients already available.

🔪 Use The Right Equipment 🌡
It is very important to use appropriate and well-conditioned tools for each task. This practice bas time-saving and multiple other benefits. Using the wrong tools such as dull knives or ineffective pot-holders, can result in serious accidents, or wasting time on very simple tasks. So have a good knowledge of culinary tools and keep them handy before you start your food preparation.

Storing Spices
Since dampness, light, and heat will cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor, it is best to store them in a cool, dark area, and not over your stove.

🍄 Storing Mushrooms 🍄
Because the standard plastic tubs provide an abundace of moisture whicb is a slime-sentence for mushrooms, and paper packages are more effective in keeping them clean and dry, storing them this way is a sure winner.

Garlic-Hands??
In the wake of working with garlic, rub your hands vivaciously on your stainless steel sink for 30 seconds before washing them. It will expel the smell.

Deep-frying
Hold every piece of food with long tongs as you add it to the oil. Holding it in place just underneath the oil’s surface for five seconds before discharging it will seal the outside and prevent it from adhering to the pot.

IIce your greens
Limp lettuce is just unacceptable, and we all know it. So you can re-hydrate and refresh your leaves by separating and submerging them in a sinkful of frosted water for anywhere between 5 and 30 mins, depending on how dismal they are looking.

🍦 Storing Ice Cream 🍦
A plastic cooler sack keeps the cold air from invading your ice cream and making it rock-hard. If you appreciate soft ice cream, you will not mind taking the additional step. Try expelling as much as air out of the bag as possible, before placing it in the freezer.

Keep Your Cutting Board From Sliding
To keep your cutting board from sliding around on the counter whilst using that sharp knife, place a wet paper towel or damp dish-cloth or towel under your board. This should teach it to keep its place!….

Here’s What’s Cooking!

2. Totally Plant-Based Delicious Pound Cake!

[This recipe is short – only 10 basic ingredients! But this post is a bit lengthy because it is written to assist any recipient who might like to do a presentation/demonstration of it.]

☞ Needed:
~ Bundt cake-pan
~ Large mixing bowl
~ Large measuring Cup
~ Wooden (preferably bamboo!) mixing spoon
~ measuring spoons
~ Spatula (flexible)
~ Prayer! [Just sharing my custom with you. The LORD graciously directs and answers my prayers before and during this delightful activity. Thus, it becomes a witnessing tool for Him, and He receives all of the glory and praise!!!]

☞ Prep. time: 10 to 15 mins

☞ Ahead of time:
~ Lightly grease bundt pan with coconut oil and flour lightly with all-purpose flour

Ingredients and Method

▪ Dry Ingredients:
~ 2 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
~ 1 Cup white whole wheat flour (if not avalable, regular whole wheat will do)
~ 1 to 1 3/4 Cups raw sugar (My favourite? Florida crystals!)
~ 2 teaspoons baking powder (Never used it yet, but best choice might be the Ener-G brand which contains no aluminum or baking soda! Currently using next-best: Rumford which has no aluminum.)
~ 1 teaspoon sea salt (My favourite? Celtic!)
☞ In the large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the above dry ingredients
☞ Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then place in the centre (mix in at this point, only if dried fruit!):
~ 1/2 Cup of selected fruit (dried/flesh/jellied with berries, etc.)*
☞ Set this mixture aside

▪ Liquid Ingredients:
~ 3/4 Cup coconut (or other healthful) oil
~ 3/4 Cup coconut (or other nut- or seed-) milk ~ 1/2 – 1 Cup selected fruit juice
~ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
~ 1 teaspoon almond extract
~ 1 or 2 Tablespoons of liquid soy lecithin (“Guesstimated”, since the product sticks tenaciously to any utensil!)
☞ Pour the above ingredients into the large measuring cup and set aside

☞ Heat oven to 350°F

☞ Quickly (time is of the essence; the prepared batter should be baked asap!)
combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl:
~ Pour liquid ingredients into centre-well of dry ingredients
~ Using the back of the wooden mixing spoon (the batter adheres less!), gently fold the ingredients together for a few turns, only until all liquids are absorbed
~ The batter should not be very runny
~ Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan
~ Bake at 350°F for 45 to 60 minutes (time depends on your oven)
~ Transfer from oven unto a cooling rack when bamboo-skewer test is clean
~ Remove cake from pan when cooled, by covering the pan with an inverted dinner plate (large enough!) and then flipping both. Cake will safely land on plate!
~ If necessary, use a flexible spatula to gently nudge cake from pan along the outer and inner sides, and then try again.

Please enjoy in the LORD!
May He richly bless as you graciously share the blessings of this recipe with others.
Who knows if the LORD might not use it to bring some precious soul into His everlasting kingdom?!

NOTES
By God’s grace, many fruit selections have been successfully tried, including avocado which gives the cake a creamy consistency.
☞ When the fruit juice is not available, a 1/2 Cup of water will work.
☞ Liquid soy lecithin is optional but gives the cake a buttery flavour and a desirable consistency
☞ Please be encouraged to experiment with the flour, sugar, and liquid measurements until you make this recipe your own!
☞ Pineapple:
~ Fresh pineapple flesh (about 3/4 Cup) and juice (1/2 Cup) may be used, or:
~ 1 8-oz can of pineapple tidbits
~ Drain and save the 1/2 Cup of juice for the recipe.
~ Cutting the tidbits in half will facilitate the eventual slicing of the cake for serving!
☞ Cranberry:
~ 2/3 to 3/4 of a 16-oz can of jellied cranberry sauce with the berries
~ The required 1/2 Cup of healthful cranberry juice
~ A hand full or so, of the dried cranberries

☞ Storage:
~ This cake may dry out easily if not kept enclosed
~ Because this cake contains no butter or eggs, however, it can safely be stored at a cool room temperature for quite a while in a cake carrier or on a cake stand!
PTL!!!

Until the next Veggie Scoop recipe, please lovingly share this one and enjoy healthful cuisines with the LORD’S richest blessings!
🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮🍮

Here’s What’s Cooking!

1. Quick-and-easy: Tasty, Nutritious Pie-crust!

With a pastry blender, mix the following together to a crumb-consistency:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup non-GMO plant based spread (margarine replacement)
1/2 cup nuts, blended (pecans or almonds, etc.)
1/2 cup raw brown sugar (e.g. Florida Crystals or Turbinado or Sugar In The Raw, etc.)
Pinch of sea salt (Celtic or Hymalayan, etc.)

Place the mixture on a cookie sheet
Bake at 350°f until golden brown
Transfer the cooled product to a pie-dish and press into shape of the dish

That simple! Simply delicious!

Until the next Veggie Scoop recipe, please lovingly share this one and enjoy healthful cuisines with the LORD’S richest blessings!
🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

■ True or False?

● Diabetes is caused by too much fat in the diet and/or the body, and not by too much sugar in the diet.

● Bad cholesterol (LDL) comes only from flesh foods/animal products, and not from plant-foods.

● A plant-based (total vegetarian) diet is both healthier and more economical.

✔️ Please check your answers at the Advent-Hour Bulletin Board!

Known also as a tonic herb, alfalfa offers extensive health-support benefits through its more than 300 nutrient-rich properties. These are nutrients such as the essential vitamins (inclusive of vitamin A, the complete B-vitamin spectrum, vitamins D, E, K, and U); biotin; calcium; iron; magnesium; niacin; phosphorous; potassium.
Also included are eight essential enzymes which facilitate the bioavailability of ingested foods, namely: amylase (digestion of starches); coagulase (conversion of proteins); lipase (catabolism of fats); emulsin (release of sugars); invertase (conversion of cane sugar to dextrose); pectinase (catabolism of carbohydrates); peroxidate (oxidisation of blood); and, protase (digestion of proteins). Additionally, alfalfa’s supply of chlorophyl is four times greater than that of any other vegetable source.

Chlorophyl
● Chlorophyl is a green pigment, present in all green plants. It plays an important role in the health of plants as it is responsible for the absorption of light to provide energy for photosynthesis. It also supplies that rich, deep-green pigment found in green leafy vegetables such as callaloo or kale. Chlorophyl contains vitamins, antioxidants, and therapeutic properties which are beneficial to one’s body.
● As indicated by the results of various clinical and other research studies, the health benefits of chlorophyl may include:
1. Accelareted recovery time for skin wounds in tandem with reduction of inflammation (redness and swelling) due to the decrease in bacterial growth, which reults from –
2. Blood-building by improving the quality of red blood cells
3. Cancer prevention through stimulation of the immune system
4. Control of body and faecal odours
5. Cleansing of the intestines
6. Detoxification of the blood
7. Elimination of fungus from the body
8. Energising of the body
7. Management of body weight, through the:
8. Management/suppression of food cravings and the:
9. Management/suppression of hunger
10. Natural deodorant

Enzymes
Working as catalysts, these help to enhance the digestive process by breaking down ingested vitamins and nutrients to build cells, as well as in reactions that transform energy into a usable source for one’s body. As such, they also play an essentioal role in support of one’s immune system. The food we consume contains protein, fats, carbohydrates and macronutrients; in order to prevent indigestion and/or inadequate absorption which could result in malnutrition and adversely affect the good or the bad bacteria in the digestive tract, these food nutrients must be broken down and made absorbable to our body, by enzymes.

Food sources of these essential enzymes include:
● Avocado
● Banana
● Mango
● Papaya
● Pineapple
● Turmuric
● Watermelon

Health Benefits of these enzymes include:
● Bone health promotion
● Boosting of immune system
● Cardiovascular health
● Diabetes treatment regimen
● Healthy skin
● Increased metabolic rate
● Joint inflammation prevention
● Leaky-gut syndrome prevention
● Liver health
● Stomach inflammation prevention/treatment
● Weight loss

Conversely, Symptoms of an inadequate intake of essential enzynes can include:
● “Allergies” (a damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially pollen, fur, a particular food, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive or sensitised; hypersensitivity)
● Bloating (especially after meals)
● Cholesterol imbalances
● Constipation and/or diarrhoea
● Decreased energy
● Excessive flatus (gas)
● Heartburn/indigestion
● Inflammation and pain
● Insomnia/trouble sleeping well
● Skin problems

Since ingested enzymes are destroyed as soon as they fulfill their purpose, they must be replaced on a continual basis, to maintain optimal health and thus prolong life.

Phytonutrients
These are some of the thousands of natural chemicals produced by plants and are also known as phytochemicals, “phyto” referring to the Greek word for plant. While they protect the plants from germs, fungi, bugs, UV radiation, and other threats, they also provide significant health-protecting qualities that benefit humans who consume plant foods. Common classes of phytonutrients include:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul:
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
Who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;…
So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord executeth righteousness
And judgment for all that are oppressed….
He hath not dealt with us after our sins;
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities….
Like as a father pitieth his children,
So the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.
For He knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust.” Psalm 103:1 – 14

“Many of those who came to Christ for help had brought disease upon themselves, yet He did not refuse to heal them. And when virtue from Him entered into these souls, they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of their spiritual disease as well as of their physical maladies.” Ministry of Healing 73.1

” ‘Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.’ John 5:2, 3″

“Jesus was at Jerusalem. Walking alone in apparent meditation and prayer, He came to the pool. He saw the wretched sufferers watching for that which they supposed to be their only chance of cure. He longed to exercise His healing power and make every sufferer whole. But it was the Sabbath day. Multitudes were going to the temple for worship, and He knew that such an act of healing would so excite the prejudice of the Jews as to cut short His work. MH 81.3

“But the Saviour saw one case of supreme wretchedness. It was that of a man who had been a helpless cripple for thirty – eight years. His disease was in a great degree the result of his own evil habits and was looked upon as a judgment from God. Alone and friendless, feeling that he was shut out from God’s mercy, the sufferer had passed long years of misery. At the time when it was expected that the water would be troubled, those who pitied his helplessness would bear him to the porches. But at the favored moment he had no one to help him in. He had seen the rippling of the water, but had never been able to get farther than the edge of the pool. Others stronger than he would plunge in before him. The poor, helpless sufferer was unable to contend successfully with the scrambling, selfish crowd. His persistent efforts toward the one object, and his anxiety and continual disappointment, were fast wearing away the remnant of his strength. MH 81.4

“The sick man was lying on his mat and occasionally lifting his head to gaze at the pool, when a tender, compassionate face bent over him, and the words, ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ arrested his attention. Hope came to his heart. He felt that in some way he was to have help. But the glow of encouragement soon faded. He remembered how often he had tried to reach the pool, and now he had little prospect of living till it should again be troubled. He turned away wearily, saying, ‘Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.’ MH 83.1

“Jesus bids him, ‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’ Verses 6 – 8. With a new hope the sick man looks upon Jesus. The expression of His countenance, the tones of His voice, are like no other. Love and power seem to breathe from His very presence. The cripple’s faith takes hold upon Christ’s word. Without question he sets his will to obey, and, as he does this, his whole body responds. MH 84.1

“Every nerve and muscle thrills with new life, and healthful action comes to his crippled limbs. Springing to his feet, he goes on his way with firm, free step, praising God and rejoicing in his new – found strength.” MH 84.2

“Jesus had given the palsied man no assurance of divine help. The man might have said, ‘Lord, if Thou wilt make me whole, I will obey Thy word.’ He might have stopped to doubt, and thus have lost his one chance of healing. But no, he believed Christ’s word, believed that he was made whole; immediately he made the effort, and God gave him the power; he willed to walk, and he did walk. Acting on the word of Christ, he was made whole. MH 84.3

“By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Of ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than was the impotent man capable of walking. Many realize their helplessness; they are longing for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God, and are striving to obtain it. But in vain. In despair they cry, ‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?’ Romans 7:24, margin. Let these desponding, struggling ones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe the Saviour’s word. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is ‘dead in trespasses.’ Ephesians 2:1. He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin.”
MH 84.4

“It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in different ways, so that it may be eaten with enjoyment.”
Testimonies for the Church Volume 1 Page 682.1

🥕 Quick Carrot salad 🥕

Ingredients: (preferably organic)
Grated carrot(s)
Shredded coconut, unsweetened
Raw pumpkin seeds
Raw sunflower seeds
Slivered almonds, or nuts of your choice
Dried cranberries
Coconut oil, cold pressed, unrefined
🍋 Lemon juice to taste

Method:
In a glass bowl, mix thoroughly together the first five ingredients
Add to the mixture, a drizzle of oil and a spritz of lemon juice
If salad is refrigerated, let coconut oil thaw at room temperature before serving

Please enjoy in the Lord and share the recipe!