Holy Jesus Homemade Crackers

Please don't take offense at my Holy Jesus Homemade Crackers. They are your basic "unleavened" crackers, but with a message, at least to me and the gals I am in bible study with. We have been studying the book of Luke and last week we looked at chapter 12, verses 1-3, where it says,

1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered
together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples
first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For
there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be
known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the
light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on
the housetops.

According to Miriam-Websters dictionary, leaven is a "substance (as yeast) used to promote fermentation in dough or a liquid." When you use leaven, such as the yeast in my homemade bread, you use 2 1/2 tablespoons of yeast that eventually works its entire way through approximately 13 cups of flour. Wow! It doesn't take much leaven to affect and change the texture, smell, look, and feel of flour. While the outcome of leaven tastes yummy--once it is baked under high heat, leaven alone smells horrible and is unpleasant if ingested prior to baking. And so it is with us.

Jesus is warning His disciples to not be like the Pharisees who say one thing and do another, hypocrisy. He is calling His followers to be different, to not live in such a way that causes fermentation in their spiritual life, or to rot their relationship with God. Often the Bible uses leaven to symbolize sin. Leaven puffs up from within, much like pride puffs up within.

1 Corinthians 5:5-7 further explains the consequences of leaven,

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the
whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new
lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was
sacrificed for us.

So, bake some unleavened crackers, save money, and remember that something very tiny can ferment your life. Be careful what you allow into your heart (and sometimes your stomach!)

Holy Jesus Homemade Crackers
1 cup all purpose flour (you could use whole wheat too, but you'll need a little more water if you do)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil or neutral oil

Preheat oven to 400. If you have a baking stone, put it in there to heat up; otherwise you can just use cookie sheets.

Put all ingredients in the food processor and give it a quick whirl to blend. While the processor is running, slowly add 1/4 cup of water. Let the processor run for a minute. You want to stop when the dough forms a fairly dry, only slightly sticky ball. After a minute, if you don't have the ball, start adding water, a few drops at a time, while the processor is running. (Be careful here - you can go from 'not a ball' to 'ball that is too wet' WAY fast, especially if the kids are adding the water. Just add a little more flour if it gets too wet.

Roll the ball out, using more flour to dust the dough as needed, to about 1/4 inch thin or thinner. Cut the dough using butter knives, cookie cutters, or pizza cutter into any size or shape you like, but try to keep the crackers roughly the same shape so they will bake evenly. Place crackers on the ungreased cookie sheets or directly on the baking stone and bake for 10-12 minutes.

These crackers can be made with any flavor idea in mind. Our favorite is to add a bit of honey and cinnamon. We have also chopped up garlic and topped with Parmesan cheese and salt. Enjoy!

P.S. This is the Bible Study I was referring to earlier!

Homemade Yogurt

I love yogurt with fruit on the bottom. I love whipped yogurt. I love Stoneyfield yogurt with the cream on the top. Smoothies are great and need yogurt. Yum yum yum. But store bought yogurt is expensive and my goal is to help both you and me go organic cheaply.

I began making yogurt when Mr. Smackdown was 9 months old. I was already making my own babyfood and knew there must be a way to encourage happy bacteria to grow in my kitchen. Afterall, when we lived in India, our stomaches would beg for the clay pots of yogurt sitting on countertops near our favorite place to get sick, I mean, eat. If yogurt can be made beside a road in India, it can be made in my home.

Grab a stool and bucket and go milk your cow! Or use some milk that is in your refridgerator. There are two ways to make yogurt. You can use a powder or purchase some plain whole milk yogurt at the grocery store. I go the easy route, and typically use Stoneyfield yogurt. Technically, you never have to buy yogurt again! However, that is as long as you save approximately 2 tablespoons from previous batch of yogurt.

Let's get started. I fill a quart mason jar until it is about one inch below the top. You can leave the milk in the jar and place it in a pot filled with water, in a warm oven for anywhere from 30-40 minutes depending on the temperature setting, or dump the milk into a stainless steal pot. However you choose to warm the milk, heat it to a temperature of 180 degrees. Now, if you do not have a kitchen thermometer, you can guestimate that the milk is 180 when it starts to have little foamy bubbles at the edges of the pan.

Meanwhile, fill a custard cup with plain yogurt. (I think that whole milk and whole milk yogurt work the best for homemade yogurt.)This equates to 2-4 tablespoons. It really does not have

to be an exact science, as I have discovered over the past four years.

Once my milk has reached 180 degrees, I pour it back into the quart mason jar and let the milk cool until it is between 112-120 degrees. At the same time, I allow the yogurt to warm to room temperature, and no the lack of refridergeration won't kill you.

Since my dog destroyed the thermometer shown in the pictures in an attempt to eat the yogurt starter, I wait about an hour or so and see if I can easily wrap my hands around the jar and keep them on the jar for a few seconds. You can speed the cooling process up by sticking your jar in the fridge, but I often forget about it when i do that and my yogurt takes longer to make.

Once the milk is ready, I carefully pour a littlebit of milk into my yogurt starter to blend the yogurt into the liquid milk. Stir it up and add the starter and milk to the mason jar.

Once again, you have a few options as to the location of your fermentation. I used to warm my oven, shut it off and stick the soupy milk into the oven for about 4 hours. However, I would often preheat the oven for dinner and completely destroy the batch of yogurt. After this happening one too many times, I typically wrap up my mason jar and stick her in the microwave with a towel around the far and the lid loosely on. I have found that the milk stayes warm enough to quicly ferment and give us great tasting yogurt.

In approximately 4 hours of sitting, while you are busy accomplishing grand things either in our home or in the loser curiser (a.k.a. minivan), you are conveintly growing good bacteria to aid in digestion, help boost your immune system, and saving money!

Now, don't stress out if you see a yellow liquid form at the top of your yogurt. This is called whey. You can mix the whey back into the yogurt when you dish some out for yourself, or use it to make saurkraut, soak your oats, or other healthy stuff. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!

The finished product:

Even Kids will like this: Lentil Rice Casserole

Lentil Rice Casserole
(4-6 servings)

Bake covered at 300 for 2-2 1/2 hours (which makes it easy to pop in the oven before it gets crazy-hungry dinner time)

Blend together the following in a casserole dish and let stand overnight or 7 hours to improve nutrition:
3 cups water
¾ cup uncooked lentils
½ cup uncooked brown rice
Whey or juice of ½ lemon

Add just before baking:
3-4 tbls Liquid Aminos (I use Braggs Liquid Amino, which can be found at Kroger and health food stores)
1 small onion chipped or ¼ cup instant dry onion
½ tsp basil leaves
¼ tsp oregano leaves
¼ tsp thyme leaves
¼ tsp garlic powder

Bake covered at 300 for 2-2 ½ hours or until tender and the water is absorbed.

We serve it on whole wheat tortillas with grated raw cheese.

Gadarene RUSH on this Post: Amber Necklace Giveaway

My latest obsession is Baltic Amber. In fact, you will notice that everyone in our family, except the hubby, is sporting their new link of it. I think that the hubby is intrigued by it, but is waiting to see if the Baltic Amber necklace changes our lives in a noticeably scientific way. The only lanyard he will sport is his AWANA name tag or a ski pass.

I heard about Baltic Amber from a friend at church. I must admit, at the time I was FAR from being the Granola Mom 4 God that I am now. Being comfortable in her own skin, this intriguing home birth mommy had her kids wear an amber necklace for teething.

Being mostly uneducated, I thought, "What about that gross teething gel, Mylicon?" (Not realizing that teething gel and Mylicon worked on two opposite ends of a baby. I have since learned and often use Hyland's teething tablets--that is, before THE NECKLACE arrived in our mailbox). The Baltic Amber necklace looked like a strangling hazard and it would probably cause SIDS. I filed this ancient pain-relief remedy in the dungeon of my pregnant belly only to be birthed into existence again by my third child , who failed to experience relief from the homeopathic teething tablets.

Four years later, three children, myself, and my mom are all sporting our Baltic Amber. Yes, tree resin has helped our aches and pains. How does it work? Well, that is for you to find out and why I am hosting a giveaway. My midwife taught me a valuable lesson, though frustrating at the time. Make an educated decision for yourself. Do your homework. It affects you and your family.


Mr. Smiley, who was acquiring his first two bottom teeth, began to take longer naps once donning the mysterious brown necklace.


Mr. Smackdown and Mr. Easy have actually SLEPT IN the past several mornings, praise the Lord. And I, though waken up frequently by Mr. Smiley, have woken up more rested.

Initially, so as not to make a gadarene rush, I only purchased one necklace for the most pressing painful situation, Mr. Smiley. I saw results and shared our amber experience with my mom. Convinced she gifted those near and dear with amber.


It was at this point that I befriended Kate, from Inspired by Finn. Kate is a cool mom, passionate about natural and holistic healing. I asked her what she liked best about being a mom and she replied, "I LOVE the opportunity every day to share the experience of life through the eyes of a child. The hugs and kisses are out of this world as well :)." OK Kate, twist my arm--I'd love to host a giveaway for you!


And now for a cool holistic freebie. Thus my first giveaway, brought you by Inspired by Finn.

Things you must do to enter the drawing:

1. If you aren't a follower already, then become a follower of Granola Mom 4 God.

2. Screen-shop Inspired by Finn and post a comment telling me what color of Baltic Amber that you like.

How to Earn Additional Entries: After completing the above mandatory post leave me separate posts for the following steps you participate in.

3. Blog about this giveaway with links back to here and Inspired by Finn and gain 3 extra entries. You must post on my blog with a link to your post.

4. Send this post to your friends. Each friend, who is not already a follower, counts as an entry. Leave a message alerting me to who you bragged to.


5. Leave a comment about what you learned from Kate's website.

This contest ends March 3rd, and I MUST have access to a valid email to contact you if you want to win.

Word of the Week: gadarene

What the spank is this word and where in the world of mothering would I use it? The way I interpret gadarene's meaning, pronounced GAD-uh-reen, is to be hasty in a decision, to jump on the bandwagon-without really thinking about what you are about to do.

I picked this week's word by simply going to Mirriam-Websters Online Dictionary for their "word of the day." This word is derived from the very chapter I studied last week in Bible study! Luke 8: 26-39, refers to a man named Legion, who lived in Gerasenes (or the country of the Gadarenes--Matthew 8:28). Legion was plagued by demons, naked, and lonely. Yet, Jesus just so "happens" to come along and ask for his good name.

"Legion," the man declares. I imagine him almost croaking these words out, neck bulging with effort, as the evil spirits try to lock his mouth shut. The demons probably turned cold at this twist of fate. No longer can they hold this man captive. But where can they go?

Scripture tells us that the demons implore Jesus to not command them into the abyss. What is so bad about the abyss? The abyss, in reference, is the one we learn about in Revelation 20:1. All I have to say is that if a demon doesn't want to go there, then it must be a pretty nasty place.

Instead, they choose to indwell a pig. A pig? I don't understand their logic, but it works for them to enter this "unclean" animal (which is an altogether different subject). For some reason, Jesus is generous to his enemies and grants their request; perhaps because He knows that eventually they will be stuck in the abyss and, well, pigs are pretty foul themselves. The demons then grunt their grand, fat, pink bottoms with tiny tails down the steep bank and into the lake. Drowning themselves. It really seems like a rash and foolish plan to me.

Because of this, gadarene becomes a synecdoche for a hasty rushing into something . . .

Now, there is another reason why I chose this word. But that will be for another day. I will give you a hint. I wanted to gadarene purchase five items, but figured it was foolish until they had been tested and approved on one family member. And this item is . . . .