Friday, June 15, 2018

Pop Quiz

One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." The teacher of religious law replied, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law." Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. Mark 12:28-34

Pop Quiz – Where do you find these commandments in the Old Testament? These are important commandments…but are they listed in the great Ten Commandments? Actually they summarize nicely the Ten Commandments. The first few of the Ten Commandments focus on God and our requirements to love, honor and respect Him. The last seven Commandments deal with people’s relationships with others and how we should treat them, especially when they are being persecuted.
Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Jesus noted that one of the greatest commandments was about loving ourselves
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18. This tells me that I must love myself …to love others around me.
Consider the foundation of love. God is the source of all love…He is love.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4:16.
The Jewish Teacher was giving the Jewish Teacher, Jesus, a test on the common laws of the Jews. It was a Pop Quiz without warning. Jesus passed the quiz—Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth. He outsmarted them. How would you do with this Pop Quiz?

Prayer ~ Lord God, I choose to follow Your Ten Commandments…which are neatly summarized by Your Son, Jesus. "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40.

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 134, 146-150

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table
Last week I blogged a simple grits recipe. Today I’m sharing a recilpe of a dish that is a favorite…and not available at many restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. It is loved and served at many places in South Carolina.

Old Charleston Style Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
This recipe was adapted from one at allrecipes.com. Another popular way to serve shrimp and grits in Charleston is with the shrimp cooked in a BBQ sauce. Very rich. Try it at Laura Alberts restaurant if you are ever in Daniel Island, near Charleston, SC.
This will serve six adults. If they are not pepper lovers, then omit the peppers and serve to four or five people.

Ingredients
1 cup coarsely ground grits
3 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
  cups half-and-half

2 pounds uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 lemon, juiced
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
5 slices bacon
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup coconut oil (or butter)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1½ - 2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions
1.      Put on some good jazz music. Peel and devein the shrimp.
2.      Sprinkle shrimp with salt and cayenne pepper; drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside in a bowl.
3.      Bring water, grits, and salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan with a lid. Stir in half-and-half and simmer until grits are thickened and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm. Add more half-and-half if they are too thick.
4.      Place andouille sausage slices in a large skillet over medium heat; fry sausage until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
5.      Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Retain bacon drippings in skillet. Transfer bacon slices to paper towels, let cool, and crumble.
6.      Cook and stir green, red, and yellow bell peppers, onion, and garlic in the bacon drippings until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.
7.      Stir shrimp and cooked vegetables into the andouille sausage and mix to combine.
8.      Melt coconut oil or butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour to make a smooth paste. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is medium brown in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully, mixture burns easily. You are actually making a roux which is basically the thickening for many southern dishes like gumbo.
9.      Pour the fat-flour mixture into the skillet with andouille sausage, shrimp, and vegetables. Place the skillet over medium heat and pour in chicken broth, bacon and Worcestershire sauce, cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens and the shrimp become opaque and bright pink, about 8 minutes. Add more broth if you want thinner gravy.
Just before serving, mix sharp Cheddar cheese into grits until melted and grits are creamy and light yellow. Serve shrimp mixture over cheese grits. Enjoy! Serve this up with some Fried Green Tomatoes and a tall glass of sweet tea and you’ll feel like you are Southern Heaven.

© 2018 Text and photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
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