mountain masala

cataloging your stuff

somewhere along the line i have accumulated more than one bit of software to catalog(ue) my obscene amount of books, CDs, DVDs etc etc.

I seem to have booxter, the bookpedia/cdpedia/gamepedia collection, and delicious library.

I'm not happy with any of them, and would welcome your comments about what you use and why.....

including DVD/CD data cataloging - my very old software is starting to show its age (DiskTracker)...

comments for you mac folks appreciated.

a very full weekend

on the weekend I co-ordinated two concerts at church to raise money for our young people to go to ncyc 09 in melbourne next january. a busy weekend and we raised about $1700. i got to play some guitar and mandolin backing other folks which was nice. thanks to the many performers - benji, sean, jo, don, glenyce, phil, simon and all the rest.

BIG - DVD and booklet for youth

The Bible Society here in South Australia has just produced a daily
Bible reading guide and DVD on the first 15 (I think...) chapters of
Genesis.

I've recently seen a promo and the DVD looked fantastic - young
people reading each of the daily readings - they were filmed over a
green screen and then animation added behind them.

The Bible Society is subsidising it - book and DVD costs $5.

Really worth having a look at. the little production slideshow is nice to watch. and go and check out the showreel for the christian guys who produced the dvd.

http://bty.com.au/

Mexistrone Soup

Minestrone soup is a big favourite in our house, and the base recipe comes from the old "Woman's Weekly" Italian cookbook. Saute lots of chopped veg. Simmer in chicken stock with a can of diced tomatoes, etc, etc. of course I add stuff - paprika, chicken and/or bacon, canned beans and corn.

Now that I understand this kind of cooking, and why it emerged from cultures with access to fewer of our modern ingredients, so to speak, I'll have to find out why I didnt get to eat it growing up. Perhaps its partly a cultural issue, but home-made soups are so simple and economical... they just take a lot of simmering, and perhaps that was the issue in my family of origin. come to think of it - two parents working and 5 kids going in different directions.... no one had the time to sit around and make soup.

flavour takes time, no question about it. cultures that were less busy than ours let things simmer for an afternoon or a day... then we invented the "pressure cooker" to speed up the process.... and then the "crock pot" to make it slow and electro.

so I'm mixing minestrone and mexican tastes. tonight's meal started with a mexican red-chile beef soup recipe from the fantastic mexican kitchen by rick bayless. it was a beef recipe but I started with a bacon hock.I've made a couple of mexistrone soups recently.

soup stock

slice an onion thickly and blacken on a hot, heavy based frypan. do the same with 2-3 cloves of garlic.  [smoked onion, garlic, tomato, tomatillos, capsicum and chillies are the main basis for great mexican taste.]

simmer a bacon hock, a couple of litres of water, black peppercorns, 2 chopped carrots, 1 tsp sea salt, the onion and garlic, 3 bay leaves,  1/2 tsp freshly ground cloves, 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper. give it a couple of hours, add water as needed.

the chilli bit was meant to be 2 ancho chillies and 3 guajillo chillies, but I used one of each (it ended up a bit mild). i found them at chile mojo on norwood parade, but you can buy them from aztec imports. I HAVE TO SAY THAT THESE ARE AMAZING. GO AND ORDER SOME!.

you cut the dried chillies in half, remove the stalk and seeds, and then dry fry them on high heat on both sides until they start smoking. press them down with a metal spatula. then rehydrate in hot water for 30 mins. (take them outside, the steam will kill your eyes... all through the house...) then drain them and food-process with a 400g can of tomatoes.

I changed the recipe by adding two fried and chopped chorizo sausages and 4 cooked and chopped chicken thighs. I added 2 x 400 g cans kidney beans (recipe said green beans), 1 x 400g can corn kernels, 1 coarsely chopped red capsicum, 1/2 red cabbage chopped, 1 extra 400 g can diced tomatoes.

Add to the soup a handful of chopped coriander (cilantro) and juice of 1-2 limes.

i write this so I don't forget what I did. we're about to eat it. damn its good.

I'll have to cook mexican at the next nosh. i think that i can say that i'm the best (only) mexican cook I know.....

weekend nosh

after last weekend's "alt worship" nosh, it was back to the real thing this weekend - cooking!

I made my monthly trip to Cappo's on Friday and picked up cheap prawns and mussels, and some swordfish.

spicy shellfish couscous

i pretty much followed the recipe in the african and middle eastern cookbook.

you need some harissa, so I made some using the recipe in the hamlyn spice book by arabella boxer.

50 g dried chilli peper (I used minced)
25 g chopped garlic
5 g sea salt
25 g caraway seeds
1.5 tbsp olive oil

just whizz it all up in the food processor.

pour 2.5 cups salted warm water over 3 cups couscous in a bowl. stir and leave for  10 mins.  add 3 tbspn oil to 1-2 tspn harissa and blend. mix harissa blend through couscous. (I added sauted choppen red onion). top with bits of margarine or butter in a baking dish.  cover and bake (later) for 20 mins.)

saute unshelled green prawns and mussels in a pan with juice of 1 lemon and 1/4 cup water for 3-4 mins. remove shellfish and reserve liquid. (throw out any mussels that haven't opened!!!)

fry 2 chopped shallots in 1/4 cup marg or butter for 3-4 minutes, then add the following and fry for a minute - 1 tsp ground coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used a tsp minced chilli).

remove from heat.  stir in 2 tsp flour and add 2 1/2 cups fish stock. bring to boil, add 1/2 cup cream and simmer for 10 mins. add salt and pepper as needed.

[in the meantime I steamed some diced sweet potato and later added it in with the seafood... not in the recipe...]

shell 2/3 of the mussels and prawns, add all seafood to pan with a handful of chopped coriander and heat through. sprinkle more coriander on top.

Fluff up the baked couscous. Let people serve themselves by putting couscous in a bowl and ladling the seafood broth over the top. have extra harissa on hand for those who like it spicy.

this was very yummy and different from a paella or a laksa that I usually cook. great possibilities. I'll be making it again I reckon.

entertaining angels

I spent the weekend at the alternative worship "nosh" at Queenscliff in Victoria. stayed at a great guest house a block from the main street with about 35 people around australia, new zealand, and special guest jonny baker from the uk. great to meet some people, particularly the kiwis, and hear about the Hamilton Easter art installations in the botanic gardens, quite an amazing annual production with 3,500 people attending this year. both jonny and mark pierson led sessions about alt worship which i found helpful both for myself and in terms of working with others. i regret not chatting to both of them more. i showed short films one night, and orchestrated a pizza meal with great assistance from the kiwis. thanks to cheryl for organising it all.

we spent parts of the weekend looking at the Genesis 18 & 21 texts for this sunday.

here's some of what I did with them at college chapel today.

video - "so beautiful" from "helium" by urban myth club with video of a foetus in utero and verses from psalm 139 read aloud.

invocation

This is the place where angels
visit those waiting in hope
This is the place where angels
visit those longing for rest
This is the place where angels
visit those yearn for justice
This is the place where angels
visit those needing good news

This is the time when angels
visit those with work unfinished
This is the time when angels
visit the barren and bereft
This is the time when angels
visit those listening in the shadows
This is the time when angels
visit those ready for new birth

reflection

Download how-many-times.pdf

stations

#1 welcome - Genesis 18:1-8
a table setting with crockery, cutlery, wine glasses, wine and chocolate

When we offer hospitality to strangers, we are often surprised to find ourselves becoming the recipients of blessing. We entertain angels.

people were invited to tell a story of such hospitality to others at the table, and to write on the tablecloth words that described some of the 'blessings' that they had received from strangers

#2 promise - Genesis 18:9-11

God promised to make of Abram a great nation to fill the land of Canaan. When Sarai remained childless, God told Abram to look to the night sky, and promises descendants as numerous as the stars.

printouts of impossible 'good news' from http://www.fugue.com/pics/goodnews.html (thanks to cheryl)

people were invited to think of Sarai's longing over many years, and to ask what 'good news' they longed to become real.

I had a crate with a light inside covered in black plastic. they were invited to make a whole in the plastic with a pair of scissors. the idea was that it would look like stars shining in the darkness. but the holes were too small - some people glimpsed the light and got the idea and some didnt...

#3 laughter - Genesis 18:12-15

a mobile of photos of people laughing and a couple of joke books

Read a few jokes from the joke book to another person and have a laugh together.

Do God’s blessings sometimes seem to be a joke at our expense?
a hoped-for opportunity that comes at the wrong time…
a chance to step out just when we have become settled…
a new possibility that will bring almost as much pain as promise…

people were invited to talk about a time when God's call seemed like a joke and to reflect on where the blessing might have been.

#4 hope - Genesis 21:1-7

The promise strewn in the stars ends with Isaac’s birth. God’s word fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah’s dreams come true… Sort of. The story of this clan is far from pretty - the rejection of Hagar and Ishmael, the rivalry of Jacob and Esau, and the misdeeds of generations to come show them as a dynasty of prime
time broadcast proportions.

Our hope is not in events that go our way, but in a God who walks with us even when we are cast out by those called “chosen people”. Watch these ‘Postcard Secrets’ sent from across the world. Imagine a community that includes Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac. (laptop playing postcard secrets animation with psalm 139)

Light a candle for someone who waits to hear that God’s promises may be true for them.

[the table featured a birthday cake and candles and matches. instead of lighting 'prayer candles', people lit birthday cake candles as prayers of intercession.]

that was kind of it apart from the communion etc

a discernment retreat

we're hosting an overnight discernment retreat to provide a prayerful space for people seeking direction for Christian service and ministry. it's friday 18 and saturday 19 july at nunyara in belair. john blanksby and jenny ducker are leading the retreat. If you're in the period of discernment or considering it, this is a great opportunity for you.

people can live-in or live out. there's a cost, and you can get financial assistance.

here's a flyer with details.

Download discernment-retreat-2008-www.pdf

the nosh

off to the second "nosh" tomorrow. it's the second "alt worship" gathering hosted by the VicTas synod and cheryl in particular. jonny baker from the UK will be there and I'm looking forward to meeting him, and catching up with some friends and meeting a whole bunch of new people.

it's at Queenscliff so let's hope for some sunny winter weather. I'm taking some gear (computer, music, video, DVDs) but not quite sure what we might do with it all. As someone who makes stuff best when I'm solo and undisturbed, a community space is a bit of a challenge. Other people tend to lose patience when you spend half an hour finding the right look or sound, or reading the bloody manual to remember how to do something.

still, looking forward to the conversations and the pizza making evening. (And I've packed the pomegranate molasses - just need to pick up some moroccan-type spice....)

bon appetit!

four kinds of "community"

here at last is a summary of my earlier postings about 'four lenses on community'. this is not an academic work but a rough 'typology' with all of the problematic generalisations that go with typologies......

Download FOUR_KINDS_OF_COMMUNITY.pdf

Download FOUR_KINDS_COMMUNITY_HANDOUT.pdf

comments and discussion welcome