Home Cooking for Body and Soul Lesson #4--Gardens of Life

Dinner: Garden Medley Pasta (see recipe below)

Verses: Genesis 2: 8-9; Genesis 3:8; Leviticus 19:9; Luke 13:18-19; I Corinthians 3:5-8; Proverbs 24:27

Gardens are heavily symbolic of life. Let’s begin in the beginning—Genesis 2:8-9.

• Eden means delicate, delight, pleasure—in other words, a perfect place
• God created a garden for Adam and Eve to live in
• All food was in that garden
• God communed with Adam and Eve there (3:8)

All this shows how much God loves gardens and how much they supply our needs.

Gardens provide for God’s people

• Gardens provide food for us
• Gardens help us help others—sharing our bounty (Leviticus 19:9)

Gardens help us learn that you can plant something small (seeds) and reap lots (harvest).

• Luke 13:18-19
• Mustard seeds grows to be 12 ft. tall
• For the kingdom of Heaven—plant seeds (instill doctrine) in people
• We can plant the seeds, water the seeds and harvest the people, but only God grows the increase (same with vegetable gardens) I Corinthians 3:5-8
• Different people can plant the seeds, water the seeds and harvest

Gardens teach us patience; we must learn to wait for the garden to grow.

• Spiritually we need to wait for God to grow us
• Just as we weed a flower or vegetable garden, we need to “weed” our lives
• Bad habits, sin, etc.
• Weeding is hard work and hard work makes us stronger—physically and spiritually

One final look at how gardens are symbolic is Proverbs 24:27

• We need to get ourselves “right” (weeded) before we can minister to our family
• Matthew 7:1-5—remove the plank from our own eye before trying to remove the speck from our brother’s eye

Money-saving tip: Eat what is in season. If you have a garden, you have a great supply without having to spend money weekly. Even if you don’t have a garden, in season fruits and vegetables are a lot cheaper.

Health tip: Fresh fruits and vegetables are better for us (remember Daniel?) Some people have been cured of cancer by going to an all raw fruit and vegetable diet (you can search the Internet to find stories. I am not professing to give actual medical advice.)

Garden Medley Pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken or ground beef 1 med zucchini

1 med summer squash 1 can/jar tomatoes or tomato sauce

1 onion 1-2 garlic, minced

1 lb whole-grain pasta, cooked

Sauté zucchini, summer squash, onion, and garlic. Add tomatoes and meat (if using) and heat through. Toss with pasta.

serves 6-8

Zucchini Crisp

8 cups cubed peeled zucchini 3/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar 2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Topping:

1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup flour 2/3 cup cold butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine the zucchini, lemon jice, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

For topping, combine brown sugar, oats, and flour in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over the zucchini mixture. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly and the zucchini is tender.

Serves 12-15