miso noodles and Sabbath thoughts

It's the kind of dark winter night where I feel like it's nearly bedtime, but it's actually not even 6 p.m. I really don't like these long winter nights, and the situation is not helped by the fact that we are not allowed to have candles in our seminary housing and most of our apartment is quite dark (no overhead lighting and we don't have very many lamps). But a few days ago I did get three little electric "candles" which are shining in my window and making me think maybe I like these dark winter nights a little. And my belly is full of nice noodles and I think I may be headed to bed quite soon, so it's a cozy kind of night.

The Sabbath thoughts came from yesterday but I never had a chance to write about it. I guess my Sabbaths have not been very restful lately. I was kneeling at the communion rail yesterday, cupping my hands to receive the little wafer, in that stillness which is unique to the Eucharist and nothing else, and I was thinking about something J had said about the Sabbath the week before. It was something he'd heard at chapel, a chapel I had really wanted to go to (knowing it was going to be on the Sabbath) but it was one of those weeks. I had a very long day in Boston on Monday, didn't get back until nearly 9, then had an overnighter to New York on Wed-Thurs, and Tues and Fri were mostly spent trying to recover from the travel. On Saturday we had a very fun date day in Boston (went on a "murder mystery" at the Museum of Fine Arts, out to this cute restaurant I've been eyeing for a couple years)-- but I was tired. And by Sunday morning, trying to sing through an whole lot of music (it was Christ the King Sunday, last Sunday of the liturgical year, so the choir had all kinds of extra pieces) I was really tired. Trying to keep my eyes open tired. Kneeling at the communion rail in exhaustion tired.

This is what J said that struck me as so wonderful. In the Old Testament the Sabbath is the last day of the week, a day for resting from all the work and toil. But according to the professor who was speaking, the Sabbath, after Jesus came, is quite different. It is the first day of the week. And if we are to take Hebrews 4 seriously, it is something that Christ gives us, something we enter, a gift, something we receive through faith. Furthermore, Hebrews tells us that Christ's work has been finished since the creation of the world. The work is Christ's, and He already did it, and so we receive His rest and enter our weeks ready to live and serve and do all our daily holy things (like work) out of the rest that He has given us. Not to say that we still don't need a day to pause, worship, receive the rest, and not work: "here remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God, for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work." But what a difference to know that just like I am called to love out of the love with which God has loved me and give out of the bounty he has bestowed on me, I am called to work out of a position of rest that has also come to me, free and undeserved, from God.

I don't quite know what this means for me on a busy Sunday when we had to stay late at church for Joel to work on a men's quartet and then I only had a few hours before going to see a movie with my friends from this end of the hall (I admit it, we saw the Twilight movie) and I had to cook lunch and spend some time updating the orphans' website that I haven't updated since April and when I came home it was right to work (my Sabbath being over) and I was literally up all night. Ugh. I know that I need to keep working on greater discipline in my work life, so that I don't end up pulling two all nighters within three weeks (these darn Monday morning deadlines). I know I have a long ways to go in having the kind of balance and rest I want in my life. But what a wonderful thing that God has called me to a day of worship and rest each Sunday so that I can receive the rest I need to get through the week.

Usually cooking is my therapy (very comforting to just stand at the counter and chop onions when my brain is worn out with all the complexity of the world)-- but the last couple days I have really not wanted to cook. So here's what I have been cooking when I didn't feel like cooking, easy one-pot half-hour things. Something old and something new.

Pasta with Onions and Bacon
This is a great dish for when we don't have a whole lot in the house, like yesterday. It's kind of magic how a few ingredients could taste so good-- J actually ate the whole pot of pasta yesterday, no leftovers. I freeze bacon in 1/4 lb. portions and then I have it when I need a little bacon for something-- bacon goes in so many things.

1/4 lb. bacon, chopped cross-wise into 1/2" strips
1 large onion or 2 small onions, diced or cut into thin slices
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 lb pasta

Start your pasta water. Throw the bacon in a pan over medium heat and let it cook, stirring once in a while, until some of the fat has rendered and it is starting to turn golden. Then add the onions and and garlic and cook some more over medium heat until the onions are translucent and starting to brown. Add the tomatoes and let simmer. Put the pasta in the water. By the time the pasta is done your sauce will be too. Season to taste and serve with Parmesan.

Miso Noodles with Chicken and Cabbage
This was a new one tonight. I started with a stir fry recipe, didn't want to wait for rice to cook, so doubled the sauce and added noodles. I love slurpy Asian noodles, and these weren't going to win any beauty pageant, but they were really good. Miso is a fermented soybean paste-- I know it doesn't sound like something you would want to eat, but trust me, it has a great flavor, is a great "hidden" ingredient in things, and a jar will never go bad. Mine has been living in my fridge for a couple years now. There are all different shades of miso paste and I think they are pretty much interchangeable-- the recipe called for golden and that is what I had.

• handful or two of dried shitake mushrooms

Let soak in warm water until soft, cut off stems, slice

• 1 lb. noodles (I used udon, which are thick Asian noodles, but I'm sure you could use spaghetti or angel hair)

Cook until barely al dente, rinse in cold water, drain.

• 1/3 c. light (golden) miso paste
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t. sesame oil
• 1 c. chicken broth

Mix together and set aside.

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 T. oil

Heat a wok over high heat til it starts to smoke, add oil, add chicken, stir fry 4-5 min or until chicken is just done. Remove chicken. Season with salt and pepper. (Go easy on the salt, miso is really salty.)

• 1/4 c. minced fresh ginger

Add to wok and let it sizzle for a minute or two.

• 1 head napa cabbage, sliced thinly (I think you want about 2 lbs, it will look like a lot but it cooks down a lot)

Add to wok with chicken and stir fry 1-2 minutes, until cabbage has wilted. Add miso sauce and noodles and stir until everything is hot (I use tongs, the cook's best friend)

• 1 c. daikon, in matchsticks (you could leave this out, but it's really nice-- it's a big white Asian radish)
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
  

Add to noodles at the very end. Serve!

... And now, still shy of 7, I am going to bed.