As you can tell, I haven’t posted here in ages. That is because my focus changed.
Yes, I still eat and cook healthy, but I spend my time on a different blog these days. You’re welcome to come visit at Genesis 12:1. I may come back to this blog someday, but for now it’s retired.
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In thinking about giving our kids a classical education I realized that by doing so we will also be educating ourselves.
My son Micah is due to begin learning Latin in the fall. I have decided to learn along with him (though I’ll be at work during the day while Shari is teaching.) I considered trying to get a head-start, but decided instead to plan ahead for a few years down the road and learn Greek. Oddly enough, I learned the Greek alphabet in grade school as a project that myself and another young schemer dreamt up for using as a secret form of communication.
A month or two ago while visiting a Greek Orthodox church I found that I still remembered the letters and their pronunciations and could figure out who the icons were on the onion dome since the names we use for them are simply transliterations.
There are quite a few great resources on the net for learning Greek and Latin. My personal favorite is Textkit. For pronunciation practice I found some great tutorials with audio samples. My plan is to learn Homeric Greek so that I can start with Homer. My goal is to eventually be able to read the Septuagint, the New Testament, and the Fathers of the church in the original languages. I am starting with Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners by Clyde Pharr, which is a free download from Textkit.
During the summer in order to make up for lost time Shari and the kids are working through The Story of the World Volume 1. I have begun a nightly reading ritual and began with The Great Divorce by C.S.Lewis, which was a little over Hannah’s head and sometimes Micah’s, but still worth reading. Now I’m reading a children’s adaptation of The Iliad. We have also begun following the Orthodox lectionary, which has daily readings from both the Gospels and the Epistles.
Posted in Education | 7 Comments »
I was both surprised and delighted recently when Shari told me that she would like to start giving the kids a classical education next year. Shari has a master’s degree in education and has been homeschooling our kids for the last year (yes, in a camper for the last couple months).
I had read about traditional education in some of the books I had read in the not too distant past (“How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization” for one). It had interested me, but I had not realized that such a classical education was feasible today or that Shari would even consider such a thing. It turns out that there is a movement attempting to resurrect the classical methods. These methods include the study of Latin, grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric as core subject areas.
What astounds me is that while I started this blog to talk about food traditions, it has expanded to include much more. It seems that this culture has consistently sought to strip the nourishing elements not just from our diet, but from every part of our lives. This tendency comes from a lack of humility and a complete disrespect for the giants upon whose shoulders we stand.
The path that began as a search for a healthy diet has turned into a life’s journey for me. As I began to understand tradition more and more it began to seep into other parts of my life. It moved me to study my Christain faith and depart protestantism for the rich and nourishing tradition of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It is now moving my family to leave behind the broken system of education we have today in favor the traditions of our past.
Posted in Education, tradition | 6 Comments »
It has been many moons since I last posted. It will probably be a few more before I get back to serious posting on this blog.
I took a job in Denver, CO at the Rocky Mountain News in September of 2008. As you may know, the Rocky was closed by the parent company E.W.Scripps because it was losing them millions of dollars. It has been quite a ride since.
While in Denver area we lived in a rather small basement apartment while hunting for housing. Fortunately we never purchased a home and weren’t trapped there. We had been unable to sell our Michigan home because of the dreadful housing market there and kept postponing a purchase hoping it would sell.
I put out feelers for jobs in the area, but I ended up taking a position at the Naples Daily News in Naples, FL. We are now living in an RV park and have been for the last 2 months while shopping for a home. We made an offer on a home and it is now under contract. We should be living in it in 30-60 days.
That said, it has been very difficult to do anything creative at all in the cooking department. In our basement apartment we had no oven (we made do with a toaster oven) and in our camper space is so constricted that we basically live on burgers, hotdogs, spaghetti (brown rice of course), and simple foods.
In addition to all that, as I mentioned earlier last year, I decided to more deeply investigate traditional Christianity. That study has taken a front seat and put innovative cooking in the back seat for a while. At this point I will just say that while I have not chosen a final destination in Orthodoxy or Catholicism, I have left protestantism behind. My understanding of the problems with the ancient church were based in ignorance. Most people who criticize the church don’t really understand what it teaches.
Many of you may have been wondering what happened to me. That is the short version. I do plan to go back to more regular posting sometime after life settles down.
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Because I left my blackstrap molasses in Michigan (and the store I was shopping didn’t have it), I was forced to revamp my recipe. This is actually quite tasty. It pretty much tastes like limeade.
This is good, but I don’t think it’s as good as the previous. I got a cramp in my calf on mile 15 with this. Of course that might have more to do with the change in altitude. But it sure does taste good.
Posted in exercise, recipes | 3 Comments »
Well, I got what I wished for – a one-way trip to Colorado.
Little did I realize how hard it would be. As I sit here in a quiet house with the kids in bed, I look around and realize that this is the last night I will spend here. Shari and I built this house 10 years ago. Both our kids were born right here in this house.
On Sunday I said goodbye to my friends at Crossroads. It was my last regular visit. And though I’ll probably someday take a sentimental journey back, it will never be the same. It felt like I was leaving home… and I was.
Tomorrow I will say goodbye to the guys I have worked with at Math Reviews for the last 12 years. They’re more than just co-workers. They’re friends. They’re friends who would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. Heck, my manager even loaned me his car when mine broke down. I’ll be camping with one of them Thursday and Friday before I embark on my journey. Because they are co-workers I took their friendship for granted and only now realize what I’m leaving behind.
I remember when my grandmother died. I watched my grandfather say goodbye to her in the casket. He leaned over and gave her one last gentle kiss before the casket closed. To this day I tear up whenever I remember that moment.
Life is full of both greetings and departures. Some are temporary and some are permanent. Some of them feel as though a part of you has been yanked out and left behind.
Lord, heal my heart.
Posted in cooking | 4 Comments »
The Glass family is moving to Colorado. Read more…
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I’ve tried a few different concoctions for my marathon training, but I tried this one on Saturday for my 15 mile run and felt great and had plenty of energy the whole time. I’ll have to try it again to make sure it wasn’t just a good day for me, but here it is:
I’ve done this with honey as well, but have occasionally experienced heartburn with the honey. The molasses didn’t do that and I also seemed to have more energy. The molasses is probably higher in numerous minerals (e.g. potasium) so that may be what does it.
The taste isn’t the best at first, but during the run you actually grow to like it. I think your body craves certain substances and your taste for it grows.
Posted in exercise, recipes | 1 Comment »
My kids had one of those marshmallow/rice-crispy dessert thingies this morning at church.
I got to thinking about those. Basically what those are is melted marshmallows mixed with Rice Crispies. Would my great-great-grandmother have been able to make those? Nope. They are made from a highly processed cereal and a highly processed “candy.” Each of those things are made out of highly processed other ingredients (the marshmallows are largely corn syrup from corn). When my great-great-grandmother was alive, Rice Crispies hadn’t even been invented.
This is how people cook these days. For most modern home cooks, raw ingredients are the things that come in boxes at the grocery store. They take highly processed foods and then process them some more. For my great-great-grandmother, raw ingredients were things that came out of a field or garden – with the exception of sugar and flour. My great-great-great-great-grandmother probably wouldn’t have even had those.
While I actually quite like those Rice Crispy treats, for the most part foods that are made with raw ingredients that come out of the ground or from some animal instead of a factory are far better not only in the health department, but taste, texture, and smell. Now I’m unusual in this regard because the vast majority of people have become so accustomed to processed foods that they actually prefer them. Velveeta is a prime example. I still don’t understand how anybody can confuse that stuff with cheese…
Posted in foodosophy | 2 Comments »
I’ve been trying to perfect a healthy pizza for quite some time now. This is by no means perfect, but it is by far the best pizza I have ever made. I actually liked this pizza better than the local Onsted pizza place’s pizza (Hattie’s). Several of the ingredients came from my garden.
Insert your pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500F. Let it pre-heat for at least an hour.
Follow my no-knead bread dough recipe. Instead of shaping into bread loaves, cut the dough in half, fold it a few times, and stretch it out into pizza shapes. (I won’t describe that as I’m not very good at it yet). Place on a well floured pizza peal or an edgeless cookie sheet and let rise for about 1 hour.
Slice the tomatoes into about 1/4 inch slices and salt both sides. Lay out on a kitchen towel to dry for at least 20 minutes (hat tip to Chef Snow for this tip.)
Just before baking, top the pizza. Chop the herbs and spread directly on the dough. Mince the garlic and spread it with the herbs. Shred the mozzarella (I used my Cuisinart food processor) and put half on each pizza. Slice the onions and spread on top of the cheese. Lay out the tomatoes as in the picture on the very top. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
Slide the pizza (bake one at a time) onto the hot stone and immediately close the oven. I did not fill the oven with steam as with my bread recipe. Turn the oven down to 450F and bake for about 12 minutes.
Grate Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top. Individuals may enjoy adding garlic salt or red pepper flakes.
Slice and serve.
Posted in baking, recipes | Tagged u | 1 Comment »
Here is an update on my marathon training.
Last Sunday I ran 10 miles with a pace of 9:57 minutes per mile. That’s certainly not going to break any records, but not bad for a first. Let me tell you though, 1 hour and 40 minutes of running seems like a long time. I’m following the Hal Higdon novice training program. This weekend I will be running 10K in the Kelly Carter Scholarship Run in Tecumseh, MI.
I have scaled back my weight lifting to once per week in order to maintain what I have gained. I am making very little to no gains, though I seem to have made some minor gains on chin-ups. But the goal here is simply to maintain.
Shari and I took a Chi-Running class. It has been very helpful for me in implemented the Chi-Running form. This form has made running more enjoyable and easier. It has also helped to improve my Taiji.
Weight loss has not occured. In fact I have gained almost 5lbs. Some of that is no doubt muscle, but this much activity has simply made me a lot more hungry all the time. If I listen to that hunger I eat and I gain weight.
Posted in exercise | 4 Comments »
My wife Shari recently twittered that at this year’s visit to her eye doctor her prescription actually decreased for the first time in 30 years of steady increase. I guess the doctor was actually somewhat surprised.
Shari attributed it to aging.
I attribute it to my healthy cooking. Shari says I can’t claim it’s because of my healthy cooking because I have no proof of that. Well, that’s true, but that won’t stop me. I say it’s because she’s getting more nutrient dense food than she used to.
You decide.
Posted in healing | 2 Comments »
My son came home from a field trip and told us that he learned that you are supposed to plant corn, beans, and squash together. Being curious, I Googled it. It turns out that the traditional planting method of many native American groups (I specifically read about the Iriquois) was to plant these three vegetables together. They called them the three sisters.
Most internet accounts describe planting the corn and beans together in mounds and then planting squash near it in a checkerboard pattern. The corn provides something for the beans to climb and the beans fix nitrogen in the soil for the corn. The interspersed squash makes a nice ground cover that helps to keep the weeds down.
This year we expanded our garden so we decided to plant 3 rows like this. I probably should have read more before planting because we didn’t do quite what most sites recommended, but it seems to be working so far. We simply planted a corn and a bean seed in the same hole and then a squash plant (or seed) every other hole about 1ft apart. We varied the squash varieties. I’ll post more on the progress as the summer progresses.
Posted in gardening | 2 Comments »
I recently picked up a book called ChiRunning at my local bookstore. I have been practicing Taiji for several years now, though I haven’t attended classes in several years. I’ve been afraid that I’m diverging from where I should be because of lack of corrections from my teacher. Hopefully in the next year or two I will go back to school.
Taiji is an ancient (i.e. traditional) Chinese martial art and exercise. Meld that with the most fundamental and oldest form of human exercise in existence and you have ChiRunning.
I thought it would be interesting to see how application of Taiji principles to running would affect my marathon training. I am about 1/3 through the book now and already it has revolutionized my running. Running used to be a chore and 30-50 minutes of unpleasantness. Now I actually look forward to my runs and miss running on my off days. What used to be difficult now feels almost effortless.
As far as the book goes, the first four chapters seem a bit repetitive and there to just increase the page count. They could be compressed into 1 chapter in my opinion. It matters not. The techniques Danny presents starting in chapter 4 are well worth wading through the first 4 to get to.
This book is a must read for anyone who runs, even if you’ve never done Taiji.
Posted in books, exercise | Leave a Comment »
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