This is my tone down version of a cocktail drink I first saw prepared in Giada's Show on tv. I developed a fondness for it even with the decreased amount of bourbon in it as compared to the milk. Actually I increased the amount of milk per serving but you are imbibing the same amount of the liquor but in dilute form. I could see this served as punch at a party instead of eggnog. Just provide shot glasses not big glasses so your guests do not get grogged. It is addictive.
This is awesome. The cinnamon, ginger and carrot combination is dynamite. I ate some before the overnight sitting and it was still soooo good. I have made this without yogurt but when I did I used oat peach yogurt or plain yogurt. I used oat milk for the nondairy milk. I added more drops of maple syrup, cinnamon and ginger when needed.
Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 medium size carrot, finely grated
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup plant based milk
1 tablespoon nondairy yogurt (if using)
Instructions:
Combine all your ingredients in a large container or in a jar. Mix well to combine and refrigerate overnight. In my case I ate it right after mixing. You can add more shredded carrots and chopped nuts or granola on top if you have it.
Father Richard counts the German Jesuit Karl Rahner (1904–1984) as an influential theologian in his life. Here Rahner reflects on the Incarnation and the meaning of Christmas:
If in faith we say, “It is Christmas”—in faith that is determined, sober, and above all courageous—then we mean that an event came bursting into the world and into our life, an event that has changed all that we call the world and our life. . . .
Through this fact, that God has become human, time and human life are changed. Not to the extent that God has ceased to be Godself, the eternal Word of God, with all splendor and unimaginable bliss. But God has really become human. And now this world and its very destiny concern God. . . . Now God’s self [as Jesus] is on our very earth, where he is no better off than we and where he receives no special privileges, but our every fate: hunger, weariness, enmity, mortal terror and a wretched death. That the infinity of God should take upon itself human narrowness, that bliss should accept the mortal sorrow of the earth, that life should take on death—this is the most unlikely truth. But only this—the obscure light of faith—makes our nights bright, only this makes them holy.
God has come. God is there in the world. And therefore everything is different from what we imagine it to be. . . . When we say, “It is Christmas,” we mean that God has spoken into the world his last, his deepest, his most beautiful word in the incarnate Word. . . . And this word means: I love you, you, the world and human beings. [1]
Father Richard also celebrates the Incarnation as God’s positive and affirming “I Love You” to all creation:
What we are all searching for is Someone to surrender to, something we can prefer to life itself. Well, here is the wonderful surprise: God is the only one we can surrender to without losing ourselves. The irony is that we find ourselves, and now in a whole new and much larger field of meaning. An eternal promise came into the world at Christmas, “full of grace and of truth” (John 1:14). Jesus is the gift totally given, free for the taking, once and for all, to everybody and all of creation. This Cosmic Risen Christ really is like free wireless, and all we need to do is connect.
Henceforth humanity has the right to know that it is good to be human, good to live on this earth, good to have a body, because God in Jesus chose and said “yes” to this planet and this humanity. As we Franciscans have said, “Incarnation is already Redemption.” The problem is solved. Now go and utterly enjoy all remaining days. Not only is it “always Advent,” but every day can now be Christmas because the one we thought we were just waiting for has come once and for all.
Karl Rahner, The Eternal Year, trans. John Shea (Helicon Press: 1964), 21, 22. Note: minor edits made for inclusive language.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent (Franciscan Media: 2008), 72–73.
Jill’s 5-minute Game Changer Cheese Sauce (nut-free, gluten-free) FULL RECIPE: 2 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes 1/4 cup cornstarch 2 teaspoons onion granules 2 teaspoons sea salt 1 12-oz. jar Roasted Red Bell Peppers in water 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon Pecan or Apple liquid smoke not used 4 cups warm water
Using a blender with the ability to cook food, blend on high for 5 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. (I can hear my Vitamix motor slow down and the sound deepens as the sauce hits the thick mark.) Once thickening has begun, stop the blender and quickly transfer to a large container that holds at least 6 cups. The cheese sauce will continue to thicken as it cools even slightly.
Allow it to cool before you begin schmearing it all over yourself.
or
Queso Sauce 2: (Based on The Jaroudi Family Recipe for Taquitos with Queso Sauce)
2 cups cooked Yukon gold potatoes (with skins on)
1 roasted red bell pepper
1 tbsp white miso
¼ cup raw cashews
½ cup water
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup salsa
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a 9x13 casserole dish add in potatoes, beans, chopped peppers, onions and spinach and cauliflower walnut meat or similar add ins if using.
In a high-speed blender add all of the Queso sauce ingredients and blend until smooth.
Pour sauce over casserole mixture and incorporate well. Cover casserole with tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the tinfoil and bake for an additional 20 minutes more.
When one is tired or just does not want complicated long recipes, this is a go to basic bbq sauce to put on vegetables or meat substitute you have on hand. It has the umami to give your palate a lift. The two sources of such flavor are hoisin sauce and catsup. It is up to you to enhance it with garlic or onion powders and heat from sriracha or hot sauce for example if you are into that.
The two main ingredients are preferred to be mixed in 1:1 ratio but I have lowered one over the other when I need to. One such situation was when my husband was wary about his rising blood pressure and had to lower his salt intake. I then decreased the amount of hoisin sauce. If I have a guest who is watching his or her blood sugar I then would lower the catsup. One can also prepare the catsup by simply mixing tomato paste with water and maple or date syrup to taste. You also avoid the corn syrup in catsup as a result. Another alternative is to prepare your hoisin sauce yourself using the recipe I give below and alter both soy sauce and sugar to your taste and needs.
Since this is a “I am too tired recipe”, I usually have resorted to store bought hoisin sauce and catsup from my fridge. The combination is magical. Every time my picky taster, my husband, devours what I prepare with this sauce. Try it.
Two Ingredient Sauce for Everything
Ingredients:
1/4 cup catsup or 1 tbsp tomato paste plus water and maple syrup to taste. (note hoisin is sweet already)
1/4 cup or less store bought hoisin or home made hoisin.( recipe below. adjust salt.and sugar)
drop of sriracha or hot sauce
Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a bowl
Add to vegetables or meat substitutes such as tofu or vegan meatballs.
Homemade Hoisin Sauce
(From CDKitchen)
(Makes 1/2 cup)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter or black bean paste
1 tablespoon honey or molasses or brown sugar
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
5-20 drops chinese hot sauce, habenero or jalepeno
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Whisk all the ingredients together. At first it does not appear to be mixing together, Keep at it and whisk a bit longer.
Filipinos love to eat eggs, rice and meat for breakfast. For the meat part, it could be longaniza (sweet or vinegary sausage) or tocino (sweet pork or chicken) among other favorites. The Asian Store I go to sometimes runs out of them. I decided to make my own tocino by using ginger ale zero as the ingredient that will impart sweetness and soy sauce to give the characteristic saltiness. I just added garlic powder, salt and pepper as the other ingredients. The carbon dioxide in the ginger ale helps tenderize the chicken aside from being the source of sweetness but in a bind you can use sugar and water.
Here is my recipe. It is quick with no marination period. Braising the chicken with the sauce does that job. Enjoy.
Easy Chicken Tocino
2- 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 cup from 1 can ginger ale zero or seven-up or sprite (I used ginger ale zero)
2-4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2-4 tsp vegetable oil
Place the chicken pieces in a non-stick saute pan. Add salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken
Add 1 cup of the soda of your choice into the pan
Add the soy sauce and garlic powder to the mixture and mix.
Allow mixture to boil.at medium heat until the chicken is cooked and the liquid mostly evaporates.
You can add a little oil in the pan and grill the chicken on both sides.
Serve with rice, tomato slices and cucumber. Enjoy.
