Iam loving being back into the kitchen — now that I’m beginning to get the hang of navigating the local grocery store. {How weird is it to feel like a foreigner in the grocery store you’ve been going to since you were a kid?} I’ve almost completely stopped converting prices back into Rand in my head, but I still do it every once in a while.
{I’m looking at you, strawberries. Why are you so expensive?}
A few nights ago I made a tasty little dinner that I was happy to discover works just as well in North Carolina as it did in South Africa and in Scotland. And if it’s that foolproof I thought you might dig it too!
I also took pictures of it ages ago and forgot to share.
It’s a Sausage Stir Fry that I started making in Scotland because I had it down to a science and it fed the Hubs and myself for around Three Quid — £3 = $4.75 = ZAR 38.50. {But it is slightly more expensive in the US and in South Africa because food is DERN cheap in Britain. I miss it!}
Here’s what you need so that you, too, can enjoy this hometastic goodness. What? Yes, of course I’ll make notes beside every ingredient. I haven’t hit my word quotient for the day.
Sizzling Sausage Stir Fry — Serves 2 (and a half)
Sausage. As long as it’s not ground (minced) it seems to work fine. But I try go for something a little bit spicy. 1 lb/500 grams — decide how much you need for your crew.
Three small bell peppers (Or more. A bag of frozen peppers is faster and works, but fresh is a little betta.)
1 small onion, sliced (If onions give the baby you’re still nursing gas, skip this step.)
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced (I use a peeler and just zoop that baby into nice and thin strips.)
1 TSBP + 1 tsp olive oil, separated (A vegetable oil or sunflower oil will do. I suppose.)
2 – 3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced (If you want to use the stuff from the jar, go ahead wid dat, but last month’s Consumer Report said fresh is better. Should I say minced or diced?)
2 tsp fresh grated ginger (Did you know you can peel ginger, drop it in a sandwich bag and keep it in the freezer for ages? Take some out and grate it and slap the rest back in the icebox! Your mouth will thank you. Make sure you say icebox.)
4 TSBP Soy Sauce (Because I said so.)
1 TBSP honey (Or more.)
2 TBSP orange juice (A different citrusy juice will probably be okay. I think I even tried apple juice once. But not lemon or lime juice. That’s pushing it.)
1 TBSP Cornstarch (Add a little more if your sauce don’t wanna thicken in the pot.)
Egg Noodles (You can read the package and decide how much you need based on how many you’re serving. I trust you with this important task.)
Optional Extras for K.I.U.A.N (Kicking It Up A Notch):
A generous shaking of crushed red chill flakes (1 tsp)
A not-so-generous shaking of chili powder (1/4 tsp)
A moderately generous shaking of Paprika (Unless Paprika is the name of someone you know.) (1/2 tsp)
Now here we go.
Start by slicing your sausage with a bias cut because prettier food tastes better. My Mother-in-Love and I often talk about how true that is.
Your garlic doesn’t have to be so pretty. Mince it up and remind me to show you a technique for that later.
That’s my old cutting board, back in South Africa somewhere…sigh…twas a weddin’ gift…
Grate your ginger while you’re at it.
That little zester with its handy backside for catching stuff is in a box in SA waiting to come this way. I hope.
Slice your bell peppers and zoop your carrot till they look good enough to eat.
Slice an onion if the comment next to the onion ingredient doesn’t apply to you.
Getcha a good pan or a wok and warm up a teensy bit of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Give the garlic a little head start. Then brown your sausage with an occasional stir. When it suits ya. But don’t make your sausage feel neglected.
While it’s browning, mix together the soy sauce, ginger, OJ, honey, and cornstarch. Stir in the optional extras for K.I.U.A.N. if you want your stir fry to be ssspicy.
Get in there with the strength the Good Lord gave you and work out those cornstarch clumps with a fork.
How’s your sausage? If it has browned nicely, then move on to the next step. If not, wait a while, stir a while, wait a while, then move on to the next step.
Dump your sausage on a plate for a minute and set it aside. Tell the sausage it hasn’t been set aside, it’s been set apart.
Add that last TSBP of olive oil to the pan. Give the onions a minute head start if they’re joining your party. If not, let the bell peppers and carrots crash right in.
During this interlude, while occasionally stirring, it’s a good time to cook your egg noodles. Feel free to listen to music at the same time. U2’sHow to Dismantle an Atomic Bombremains one of my all-time favorite albums if you’d like a recommendation.
When the peppers feel close to achieving your crunch factor, move them to the side. Give your sauce one last stir/cornstarch clump hunt, and dump it into the centre of the pan.
Wait for your sauce to begin to thicken and bubble, then stir it through the veggies.
{Note to self, and maybe for you, too: set aside some sausage for the Bear, who won’t eat it all spicy & peppery}
Add the {remaining} sausage back into the pan, stir until it’s all heated through and the sauce is nice and thick.
Put a generous helping of egg noodles in bowls for serving. Top with a generous helping of your magical Sausage Stir Fry.
Stick a fork in, because it’s done.
The final product is much prettier in person. My South African kitchen had dim lighting.
And there it is. Simple enough to work in three countries, and we enjoyed it every time. Dinner will be on the table before Bono sings “Yahweh.” But wait for it, because that’s an amazing song.
If you give this a bash, I’d love to hear how it goes. Hope you enjoy it! Born Up A Tree!
xCC
Extremely important notification: If you click that link to the U2 Album and buy it on Amazon, I get a tiny kick back. Just though ya should know.
Iknow the smell of the fall in this place. The air, so crisp I wish I could bottle it and drink it right up all year long. The moon high and white — sky full of stars, sometimes you think you can see them all, sometimes you wonder where they’ve gone.
I don’t remember the leaves turning such a brilliant shade of yellow. I never saw a hummingbird do a dance like the one I saw last week. Back and forth in swoops that might’ve made infinity symbols in the air if he could paint it along the way — he must’ve been trying to impress somebody. He got me.
The fields look different from how I remember them. Tufts of white, stalks of brown — they inspire photos in my heart I’d never have thought to take before.
From seven thousand miles away to the backyard of the house I grew up in, and here I am showing my little boy how to whistle with an acorn top.
Cold Friday night I hear the announcer, the crowds at the football field — the high school’s not far from my house. I remember this sound from a walk with my brother when I was a kid. The familiar sound of fall.
We stand outside in the cold night air with the moon high and bright, waiting at the door for two tickets to a movie, just us two. I can see my breath a little and my arms are snuggled into the coat my sister bought me last Christmas.
I see a familiar face behind me and say hello and how are you, but when I’m not sure I’m a familiar face I promptly introduce myself — I’m Dodi’s little sister.
Things have changed.
Things have stayed the same.
I watch life from the inside and the outside at the same time.
I like calling this place home.
xCC
Just a little note I want to be sure to add: I saw Courageous this past weekend. It was excellent and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it. I also highly recommend bringing tissues. I enjoyed it so much I forgot I’d snuck two brownies into the theatre in my purse. Never even touched em. Don’t tell on me. Do see the movie.
The Bear was totally spoiled last Sunday. A friend of my Mom has twin grandsons who are a couple of years older than him. The twins outgrew this amazing toy and (after a discussion with their Mom) decided to bless another little kid whom they’ve never met with it. Oh my heart.
So Bear got his first ride on the new toy he was given on Sunday and was…well, see for yourself.
A couple of days later he was looking forward to another ride, but his behavior was not lining up in such a way that that was going to happen. If ya know what I mean. Eventually the first and final warning fell on deaf ears, and his infraction meant he would not have the privilege of riding the jeep that day.
After nap time, we walked down to the mailbox to check the mail (or to the postbox to check for post, if you’d rather) and as we trodded back up the hill with a few letters and bills, he expressed a keen desire that could not come to fruition: he wanted to ride his jeep.
I gently explained that his previous behavior meant he wouldn’t be allowed to ride it today. It was as if this was news hot off the presses. His whimpers quickly turned to wailing, and as I held open the door with one arm, baby held on my hip with the other, he plopped down on the steps to force himself to bawl till the neighbours came out to check on him, instead of coming in through the open door.
I shared a photo of the childhood tragedy on instagram:
{Which is a fun & quirky way of sharing photos, if you’d like to follow me there. (@CarolineCollie)}
I stood for a moment, baby on my hip, watching this precious soul wailing on the steps outside, and it caused me to do a little thinking.
Do I ever sit outside on the steps when things aren’t going my way?
Do I ever pout and hang around at the gate, even though the door’s wide open to a warm place waiting for me with unconditional love and acceptance?
Do you think you ever intentionally withhold love? Is that a weird question? Let me ask it this way: Do you ever consciously choose not to show kindness, thinking you might somehow be doing someone a favor?
At first I thought this was a silly question and I could simply answer “No way!” but after a little more thought…I’m less convinced that I’ve got a clean-conscience response ready.
Let me e’splain.
Sometimes, when people don’t seem very … lovable … for whatever reason, I think it is common for a person, like myself, to become abrasive toward them, in hopes that they’ll change. If a person has a personality that makes it difficult for the people around them to, well, be around them, I’m pretty sure I’m one of the people that tries to send signals, none of which will be verbal, in hopes of communicating that message.
Instead of showing kindness, I either turn into rough grit sand paper or I make myself scarce to avoid the issue altogether. I don’t like it when I see in my heart that I am struggling to find the grace and patience for another person, so I figure if I just avoid that person, well then, I won’t have to feel like that, now will I?
{Bear, 1 year, 7 months, and 3 homes ago}
Alternatively, you might be more confrontational in nature. Mayhaps you’ll go so far as to treat that person unkindly (I know I have fallen into this category, too) — a roll of the eyes, the tone of your voice, a sarcastic response or three, you’re doing everything but sending the person an email with the subject line “We don’t love you, you’re not perfect, now change!”
The thing is, somewhere deep down, I think we’re a little convinced that we can be cruel to be kind — that our harshness and “tough love” will help a difficult-to-handle person see the error of their ways, and, well, change themselves into someone more lovable or change their behavior into something we find acceptable.
We’re doing them a favor, right? Right?
Well, here’s the thing.
Or the Truth, as it applies to the matter:
Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? {Romans 2:4} (I love this verse in the New Living Translation!)
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (New American Standard)
Or do you presume upon the wealth of his sweetness and upon his patience and upon the place that he gave to you, and do not know that the sweetness of God brings conversion to you? (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
So, if the kindness of God leads us to repentance, why do we think we should show anything but kindness to anyone else?
My Dad loves to support our university’s football team (Go Pirates!) and often travels to away games in different parts of the country. On several occasions, he has mentioned the difference between going to football games at two different universities in West Virginia. The Mountaineers fans at West Virginia University are some of the roughest toughest rootingest tootingest bottle-throwing trash-talking fans in the country.
But just a few hours’ drive down the road, the fans at Marshall University (still in the same state) are warm and welcoming. He’s made friends with some of the fans at their tailgates, enjoyed some wonderful food and come home with stories about their impressive hospitality. Seems like you can’t walk through the parking lot during the tailgate without being offered something to eat or something to drink. It doesn’t matter to them that you’re cheering for the other team — seems like they’re just glad to see you!
Remember the story of the Good Samaritan, in Luke 11? Jesus told that story in response to a lawyer’s question: “Who is my neighbor?” People that are like you…people that aren’t like you…even people who wouldn’t think of showing you such kindness, those people are your neighbors.
A moment before, that same lawyer had summed up the law, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.'” And Jesus had said, “Yup, ya got dat right.” Let me try to sum it up:
The command? Love.
The question: Who?
The answer? Everybody.
Dad has vowed that he’ll never go to another game at West Virginia University. He hands down 100% will not attend another football game there. But he will happily make the drive to watch the Pirates play at Marshall. Hospitality makes all the difference.
Why?
Unconditional kindness speaks life and value to the soul.
If we, the people of God, could learn to demonstrate that kind of unconditional love, I’m completely convinced we would turn the world upside down.
Can we love people with different political affiliations? Can we love people who are cheering for the opposing sports team? Can we love people who have sexual preferences that we as Christians don’t agree with?
I’m afraid the Church is missing the boat in so many harbors in society because we think we cannot show kindness to people whose behaviors, doctrines, or lifestyles are different from ours.
Jesus never agreed with the behavior of the woman at the well, or with Zacchaeus and his dodgy dealings, but still He loved them. His presence changed them. He didn’t cast the first stone, or any other stones. His kindness brought them to repentance.
Since we will neither play the part of Jesus or of the Holy Spirit on the stage of life, we would do well to remember that our responsibility is to bring people to Jesus. It’s not to play Jesus, Jr. or Holy Spirit the Third. It is to introduce people to a God who loves all of us just the way we are — but is kind enough to help us see that there’s no good reason for staying that way.
It sounds strange to point out the kindness of the cross — though it was cruelty to Jesus, it is a gift of kindness to you and me. Hold tight to the truth that any goodness in us, and every good gift, comes from God and all of our hope is because of the cross.
Brothers and sisters, let’s turn the world upside down.
I am so very thankful when a word or a song comes my way just when I need to hear it the most. Yesterday morning as I was taking the Bear to school a woman on the radio shared about what this track had meant to her after the death of her mother. My heart delighted in hearing the timeless lyrics of this modern hymn (originally written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend in 2001) sung fresh with a gentle and humble voice.
The last stanza blesses me tremendously:
No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath. Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
I thought this might be a gift to you today, too. Here it is, performed by Owl City.
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.