nonfiction – Page 5 – The Pajama Chef

I am embarrassed to admit that I received a complimentary review copy of this book, Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski a really long time ago from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group’s Blogging for Books program. I’m not quite sure what happened, but grad school plus the heavy subject matter of this book resulted in me taking a long time to read it, and an even longer time to process it enough to post a brief review.

Here is a description of the book from the publisher:

Ever Wonder What it Would Be Like to Live Homeless?

Mike Yankoski did more than just wonder. By his own choice, Mike’s life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. With only a backpack, a sleeping bag and a guitar, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, set out to experience life on the streets in six different cities—from Washington D.C. to San Diego— and they put themselves to the test. For more than five months the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant uncertainty and danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection—and all of this by their own choice. They wanted to find out if their faith was real, if they could actually be the Christians they said they were apart from the comforts they’d always known…to discover first hand what it means to be homeless in America. Mike and Sam’s story is gritty, challenging, and utterly captivating. What you encounter in these pages will radically alter how you see your world—and may even change your life.

In general, I did enjoy this book and appreciate that it made me think a lot about the reality of homelessness in our society, and the role of faith in the equation as well. However, I really do not think that I agree with the premise of the “experiment” that drives this book, and that is what led to me to a slow reading time and even slower review. Though the author grapples with his ability to go in and out of a homeless situation by his personal choice [knowing that he will only be living that way for a set period, and though he does examine how he feels about using resources that are supposed to help those who really, truly are homeless and have no other option, this choice just doesn’t settle well with me. Despite that, I do recommend the book though, because it put individuality on homelessness. It gave a name to the faceless people we all see at interstate exits or along city streets. It reminded me that situations that lead to the condition of homelessness vary, and are not all related to the usual [assumptive] suspects like drugs, alcohol, etc.

One of the reasons this book was challenging to me was that my town has a sizable population of people experiencing homelessness–extremely large in proportion to the size of the town, because of its location in the state. As a result, there is division amongst the residents of the town about “what to do with the homeless,” with suggestions ranging from supporting the local homeless ministries and shelters to ignoring them so they go away to busing them to California or an equally far-off place.

My personal belief, developed through years of prayer and conviction from God, is that we need to do what we can to help. Period, end of story. In the moment, the type of help can vary. I have given cash, food, and gloves to people standing on the street, holding signs at stoplights. I have purchased grocery gift cards to give away, too. I have also spent time talking to a few men and women who sometimes hang out near our church, and have offered leftover food to them, which is almost always accepted. My husband and I have donated money, toiletries, clothes, and blankets to a local Christian shelter. I’ve read online about making “blessing bags” filled with necessities like socks, soap, granola bars, etc. to keep in your car and give away as needed, and I would like to do this. Obviously as a woman, what I can do on my own can be limited at times due to safety concerns, but that aside, I do these things because I believe my faith compels me to do so. I almost didn’t share this in my review, because I don’t want people to think I’m a saint [believe me, I am far from it] and I know that some people may consider help in any form [aside from giving to a shelter] to be foolish. I believe that we are only responsible for what we do. At times I give out of genuine compassion and love, but other times I give because I feel a nudging from God to do so. I am only responsible for my reaction to Him; I am not responsible for how others use/misuse what I give. I know that might be controversial, and I know that to an extent, that argument is flawed and faulty… but isn’t so much in this life?

I’m having a hard time ending this review, and an equally hard time being concise, so I’ll just end with this. People are people. Seeing people experiencing homelessness can be hard, and as a way to cope I believe we often judge them and rationalize out why we can’t help. I do that too. Even though I just shared some of the ways I have “helped” people, there are times when I don’t, even when I feel like I should. I am not perfect, but fortunately I have Christ. When I am tempted to judge or label people in different situations than my own, it sounds cliched and cheesy but I try to put myself in their shoes. This book was one of the first shifts in my thinking about what it takes to stand on a street corner, or to go to shelter, or to go through a dumpster… or to even shop at Goodwill. I shop at Goodwill periodically for fun, for a challenge, for a good deal, for something unique. Not because I have to, or can’t afford anything else. I can’t imagine not having a choice. I can’t imagine the potential for shame and hopelessness in those situations–whether it’s poverty experienced in or out of homelessness, no matter what circumstances led to that reality. Even though I don’t agree with everything in this book, I am glad I’ve read it for it has really caused me to think about things and become more Christlike.

If you’d like to read more about the book and download the first chapter, click here. I’d also love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Happy Wednesday!

Disclosure: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts expressed above are entirely my own. Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for the chance to read this great book!

So, once upon a time, after I graduated from college in 2007, I heard about a blog from a friend. She said Money Saving Mom was written by a young Christian woman named Crystal, and on it I could learn about how to get free toiletries at CVS through something called Extra Care Bucks. So even though I wasn’t a mom, I was just a wee bit intrigued… seeing as I was starting my first job and wasn’t anticipating having tons of money to blow. It wasn’t until 2008 that I really got into the drugstore game, as it’s called, and it wasn’t until Ben and I were married the following year where I really understood the benefits of being meticulous in rolling store rewards so as to stretch a budget as far as possible. I was hooked–and there was no turning back. Since 2008, I have hardly purchased any toiletries, dental care products, school supplies, or other drugstore items for full price [or even close to it]. Pretty crazy, huh?

The drugstore game takes so little work–just cutting coupons from the Sunday paper, and looking up deals that are posted on MSM’s blog, and going to the store of course–that to me, it is totally worth it. My frugality [and time spent] has allowed us to spend extra money on things that our grad school/young professional budget would otherwise not allow for: pricy Greek yogurt, extensive selection of herbs/spices, some organic foods, etc.

There are a lot of other great things posted on Crystal’s blog as well, including free samples you can sign up for, links to hot coupons, and series where she inspires readers to save money in many different ways. So when I heard that she was writing a book, The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, and offering copies to bloggers for review, I was psyched.

This book is not just a copy of her blog–though it does reiterate much of Crystal’s philosophy about spending, saving, and paying off debt. This book is a great mix of practical tips and inspiration to get out of debt [if you have it] or to work to avoid it by living a frugal lifestyle. Crystal does a great job of outlining specific steps to take to move towards a workable budget and providing reasons why this is important–even though this is not a belief many Americans have. One of my favorite chapters was chapter seven, where Crystal provides 25 tips for saving on groceries without using coupons. By teaching ourselves to use less than what the companies tell us we “need” to use, eat meatless more often, look for seasonal produce, and other strategies, grocery bills go down as habits change. So if you are looking to improve your finances in 2012, I highly suggest you check out Money Saving Mom’s blog and new book.

In order to go along with such a fabulous book, I thought it was only appropriate to share a frugal recipe… and what is more frugal than beans? Especially cooking dried beans? I mean, how perfect is this?

Though I do not necessarily put “beans and rice” on my menu plans, it’s honestly a meal we eat several times a week–for a quick work lunch, for a “leftover” night, for those nights where I just don’t feel like cooking. We usually make rice and beans bowls consisting of some combination of brown rice, black beans, some Mexican-style seasonings [garlic, oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, cilantro], avocado, bell peppers, spinach, salsa, and cheese. It’s easy, filling, healthy, and inexpensive, and while it wasn’t a meal I grew up eating, it is now one that I love.

We used to make these bowls with canned black beans, but I had heard so many good things about the flavor of dried beans that I wanted to try them. The first time I made dried beans I tried the old “soak and cook on the stove f-o-r-eva] method. The second time, I knew there had to be a better way. So using the beauty of google, I found out that it was possible to cook black beans in the oven in hardly any time at all. It is so easy, and so tasty, that even though it isn’t much of a recipe [more like a cooking method], I just had to share it. I love making the beans en masse and then freezing some for the future. They taste so much better than the canned variety and contain much less sodium too. If you haven’t tried to make dried black beans before, or have had a lackluster experience, then try it this way–you won’t regret it.

Perfect Black Beans

Servings: 5 cups
Time: 90 minutes
Print

from The Kitchn

Ingredients:

1 pound dried black beans
1-2 teaspoons salt
cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Rinse and sort the black beans, picking out any pebbles or broken beans. Place beans in a 3+ quart Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add 1-2 teaspoons salt and then fill with cold water, covering the beans by one inch.

Place in oven and cook for 75 minutes, then remove and stir. If the beans are tender enough, they are done; if not, return to the oven [with the addition of some hot water if they seem to be drying out] for 15 minutes at a time until they are. This process should take no longer than 2 hours total.

Store in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to one week, freezing what you will not use. I usually freeze leftover black beans in quart size freezer bags by the 1 3/4 cup increments [approximately 15 ounces by volume] so that I can easily pull a bag from the freezer for recipes.