There’s nothing better than a Chinese meal when it’s prepared in your own kitchen! As the recipe comes together, the fragrance of ginger, garlic, and soy, warmly sauteing in a bath of sesame and peanut oils, is an enticing preliminary to the joy of sitting down to a delicious meal!
Naturally, this meal would be well-served with chopsticks; however, this woman has never mastered that skill! I’ve been told that using chopsticks is actually a healthier way to eat because it forces you to slow down, eat deliberately, and take smaller mouthfuls of food, resting in between bites and giving your stomach time to tell your brain that it is getting full.
This method of eating would only serve to frustrate me, however. As my husband will avow, I am a very fast eater and can shovel down a meal in three-quarters of the time it takes a normal person to eat it. I believe this is something I learned from my childhood; as the oldest child of six, I discovered eating quickly usually guaranteed seconds! Unfortunately the trait is deeply ingrained, so hand me a fork, knife and spoon, please, and let’s have at it!
Beef Broccoli Lo Mein
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 oz. lo mein noodles or spaghetti
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp. peanut oil
1 Tbsp. peeled, minced fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chopped broccoli
1-1/2 cups sliced onion
1 lb. flank steak, trimmed and cut against the grain into long, thin strips
3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. chile paste with garlic
Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Combine pasta and sesame oil, tossing well to coat.
While the pasta cooks, heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic; saute 30 seconds. Add broccoli and onion; saute 3 minutes. Add steak and saute 5 minutes or until cooked to a safe internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Add pasta mixture, soy sauce and remaining ingredients; cook 1 minute or until noodles are thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Serve immediately, refrigerating any leftovers.
FOOD FOR THOUGHTIt’s true I don’t always slow down and eat deliberately like I probably should … and so I understand I’m not receiving the health benefits that go hand-in-hand with doing so. Sadly, there have also been times I’ve done the same thing when it comes to “eating the word of God”. And I’ve learned that to hurriedly read a few scriptures so I can say I’ve spent time with the Lord will absolutely lead to spiritual malnutrition. There is nothing spiritually nurturing about quickly fitting God into my day and treating Him as an afterthought or something less important than all of my other more pressing, “important” (not) daily activities. Just as our bodies need food to stay healthy and operate at peak performance, we need the word of God to feed our souls and strengthen us to resist temptation and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!
I encourage you, therefore, to daily imitate Jesus, and the manner in which He spent time with the Father. Go to a place where you can be alone with God, somewhere quiet and free of distraction. Talk to Him. Worship Him. Praise Him for all He is. Thank Him for all He has done. And then read His love letter to you, the Bible. Don’t hurry through it … savor it, think about it, enjoy it. The word of God is one of our greatest sources of spiritual food. In fact, the Bible talks a lot about how important it is to our lives. Here are a few: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
And here is one of my favorites: “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word became to me the gladness and joy of my heart.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
Praying His word becomes … and remains … the gladness and joy of your heart!
— Cheri Henderson
Cookin' with Cheri 