Salt & Light... and BBQ sauce!

It's funny how little things can turn into great teaching moments. Right now I'm trying to use up things I have in my pantry and freezer instead of going to the store.  This leads to some creative cooking.  This morning I noticed we had some kalua pork and some leftover hamburger buns hanging out in our freezer. I also happen to have a head of cabbage that needs to be used up STAT.  So... pulled pork sandwiches for dinner it is!

My older girls (ages 3 & 4) are just starting to be old enough to cook with me.  I decided to have them help me make some BBQ sauce to go on the pulled pork. I have to say, the sauce came out REALLY good! We took our time tasting the ingredients before mixing them together, then we tried it before and after we cooked it so the girls could taste the difference.  The girls had a blast. AND an added benefit to having them help me in the kitchen is that they are more likely to try something new when they have helped make it. Now, they are both excited to try the pulled pork sandwiches! Woohoo! Score one for mama!

And here comes the teaching moment... while the sauce was cooling, the girls begin to play together with their tea set.  My oldest came to me and said "Here mama. I made you some hot chocolate! I stirred in the chocolate chips after it was hot to make it really chocolatey.  And I put a pinch of salt too." I asked her why she put the salt in and she replied, "I put in just a pinch. It will make it taste gooder." I smiled, gave her a hug and said, "Did you know that in the Bible, Jesus tells us to be salt and light?" She said "That's silly mama.  How can a person be salt and light?" So we looked up and read together the verse in Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again? It is no good. It is thrown away and people walk on it. You are the light of the world. You cannot hide a city that is on a mountain. Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. They put it on a table so it gives light to all in the house. Let your light shine in front of men. Then they will see the good things you do and will honor your Father Who is in heaven." 

By this point my 3 year old had come over to listen. I explained that just how we sometimes add salt to our food to make it taste better, Jesus asks us to be flavorful around people which means to be our best selves and be the type of people that other people want to spend time with. And then we talked about how when it gets dark in their room a little night light helps it not be so scary, and that Jesus wants us to be like the night light and help people who are lost or scared.  I asked them what might be some good ways to be both salt and light to people we know and meet.  They came up with this great list:  (1) showing people you care about them by having good manners (can you tell we've been working on that one?!"), (2) giving hugs when someone feels sad, and (3) being a friend and sharing your things. Well praise the Lord, they do listen! It's hard to believe they are only 3 & 4 years old sometimes!

And in case you are interested, here is the recipe for the BBQ sauce we made. My oldest says "It's gooder than good Mama!" We may even make up a huge batch and give it as Christmas gifts this year.  It really turned out tasty!

Hughes Girl's Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup catchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon dehydrated garlic (garlic powder or fresh garlic could work too)

1 teaspoon each: powdered ginger, ground cinnamon, kosher salt

Directions:
Whisk all the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced.  We then used an immersion blender to break down the tomato chunks, and cooked for another 10 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!