Black Lives Matter Resolution

Black Lives Matter Resolution

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship

Whereas Unitarian Universalists, in keeping with long-standing church tradition, remain committed to principles of justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;

Whereas Unitarian Universalists continue to envision and work towards a world community practicing liberty and justice for all;

Whereas the 2015 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association passed an Action of Immediate Witness (http://www.uua.org/statements/support-black-lives-matter-movement) calling congregations to take deliberate action in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and in the fight for racial justice;

and

Whereas our respect for the rights and dignity of every individual demands our standing in solidarity with victims of racial, ethnic, and religious hatred and bigotry, all by-products of U.S. white privilege and indifference to equal justice for ethnic minorities;


Resolved, that the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship:

1. Resolutely affirms our support of the UUA Action of Immediate Witness to support the “Movement for Black Lives Matter,” both in words and deeds.
2. Commits to educating ourselves and our community that institutional racism extends beyond white privilege and oppressive cultural systems, and that the unresolved struggles for justice and equality for Black people in the U.S.’s past remain the cause of our struggles today. 
3. Commits to partnering with local community organizations to leverage resources and harness the power of love to combat racism targeting Black people and oppression at all levels of our communities and their governments.

Southwestern Fried Green Tomatoes

Southwestern Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:
Tomatoes, 5. They don’t have to be green (I actually like yellow the best), but they do have to be hard! Get the hardest, most awfully unripe tomatoes you can find! An added perk to this is that all the other shoppers will thank you :)
1 cup milk
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 teaspoon garlic powder (salt-free)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon (or more) ground chipotle or cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
olive oil
salsa, guacamole, sour cream (optional toppings)

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork.
Put the milk in a separate bowl.
Slice the tomatoes about 1/3 of an inch thick. Only keep the pretty, center slices; pitch the tops and bottoms.
Cover the bottom of a NON-STICK pan thinly with olive oil. (Non-stick. I can't emphasize this enough.) Heat it on medium until hot, but not smoking.
Dip your tomato slices into the milk, then flop them in the dry ingredient mixture. Pat the mixture around them till well covered.
Place them in the pan, and fry. Resist the temptation to flip them until you see the edges begin to curl slightly up… waiting helps keep the breading on the tomatoes, instead of loose in the pan.
When fried to a lovely golden brown color on both sides, remove from the oil to a paper towel. Repeat!

This recipe is great because the breading gets really crispy, which is hard to achieve on vegetables without a deep-frier. And save the leftovers for breakfast in the morning! Serve with any of your favorite southwestern condiments!

Low-Carb, Dairy free, Gluten free Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is sooo yummy! And easy!

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, large and preferably a long (as opposed to fat) one.
1 can coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
2 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or less)

Directions:
Cut the squash in half lengthwise. You may need a chainsaw. Or at least someone very, very strong. Be careful of your fingers.
Scoop out and discard the seeds. Rub the squash with about 1 tablespoon of oil, and sprinkle with salt.

Roast the squash cut-side-up on a cookie sheet for at least an hour at 400. Roasting it for a long time gives the squash a lovely, complex caramely flavor. It should look like this, and a butter knife should go in very easily:



While the squash is roasting, slice and saute the onion in the remaining tablespoon of oil, and when it is soft, add the brown sugar and continue cooking for about 1 minutes. Remove from heat.

When the squash is finished, scoop the flesh out with a spoon, and put it in your blender. Add the onion/brown sugar mixture. Add the coconut milk. Blend until smooth. If your blender is small, you may need to do this in batches. If you find the soup is too thick (this depends on the size of your squash), thin it with water or chicken stock.



Just heat and serve! This soup is incredible, and is very rich and subtly sweet and flavorful without being heavy on sugar carbs, and while being naturally rich in fiber and beta carotene! It also freezes well.

CARBS PER SERVING:
11g / butternut squash
3.2g / coconut milk
.5g / onion
2.5g / brown sugar

17.2g carbohydrates / 1 cup serving

Gluten Free, Low Sugar Dark Chocolate Cloud Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
9 ounces of dark or semisweet chocolate (Be certain that your chocolate is Gluten Free. Lindt isn't, but Guittard products are all gluten free, as are its packaging facilities.)
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs (these get separated, etc, so read through the recipe before making)
1/4 cup superfine or baker’s sugar

Topping:
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar or equivalent substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave. When it is beginning to melt, add the stick of butter and melt until completely melted.
2. Get out two bowls for the eggs. In one bowl, put two whole eggs, and four egg yolks. In another bowl, put four egg whites. Make sure there is no yolk in the whites bowl, or it will not beat properly.
3. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high. Add the sugar after a minute or so, and continue beating until the egg whites form dairy-queen-ice-cream like peaks when you insert and remove a spoon.
4. Stir the chocolate / butter into the egg yolks bowl.
5. Add a glob of egg whites to the chocolate / butter / egg yolk bowl, and mix it up.
6. Fold in the rest of the egg whites carefully, until well mixed.
7. Pour into a greased 12″ round pan or a square casserole or something of similar volume, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 + minutes. The cake is done when you jiggle the pan and the center does not jiggle. The top will be cracked, and the cake will have risen a bunch. It will mostly fall again when you take it out of the oven.

Whip the cream, add the sugar and vanilla and serve big, fluffy heaps of cake (it’s easiest to scoop it out, rather than worry about slices) topped with cool vanilla whipped cream. Don't skip the whipped cream, the dark chocolate is super intense and needs the mildness of the whipped cream to be extra awesome.

YUM. Seriously.

This cake doesn't keep as well as other cakes, so plan on making it the day it will be served.

Almond Flour Crackers

Almond Flour Crackers

1 Cup almond flour (you can buy Bob's Red Mill or put almonds in food processor)
1/2 Cup grated parmesan or cheddar cheese
2 T sesame seeds
2 T Kirkland organic no-salt 21 mixed seasonings
1 egg white
1 T olive oil

Mix all ingredients together in food processor to make a firm paste. Roll between a piece of parchment on bottom and wax paper on top until VERY thin. Slide onto baking sheet and discard wax paper. Cut into rectangles. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake @ 350 15 minutes.

Bon Apetit!

Lauralee

Fantastic Gluten-Free Corn Muffins

Adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed and patted dry

You'll also need mini muffin tins for this recipe.

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, and then add wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Prep your muffin tins with cooking spray, to avoid disaster later on. Fill 24 mini muffin cups with batter, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. These are moist and delicious!