One of my friends from church recommended a book to all her Facebook friends called Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller with Katherine Leary Alsdorf. Fresh off the high from the other books I got so encouraged by, I reserved it immediately at the library. Now I needed another book to read because this one fueled the fire, it was so good!

When I’m particularly struck by a quote or passage of a book I share it with Adam. I feel like I texted or read aloud at least half of the book. And not only that, I keep wanting to share it with people. I told my mom and my sister and my best friend to read it, and texted a quote to the sister-in-law I speak to least often (though I love you a lot, Erika!). And I’m going to share a couple quotes here, too, in case you all decide not to read it.

“In the beginning, then, God worked. Work was not a necessary evil that came into the picture later, or something that human beings were created to do but that was beneath the great God himself. No, God worked for the sheer joy of it. Work could not have a more exalted inauguration” (34-35).

“Ultimately, a grasp of the gospel and of biblical teaching on cultural engagement should lead Christians to be the most appreciative of the hands of God behind the work of our colleagues and neighbors” (197).

“Christians, you see, have been set free to enjoy working. If we begin to work as if we were serving the Lord, we will be freed from both overwork and underwork. Neither the prospect of money and acclaim, nor the lack of it, will be our controlling consideration. Work will be primarily a way to please God by doing his work in the world, for his name’s sake” (215).

As a homemaker, I am not the primary target audience for this book, but I still found it incredibly encouraging. I found myself thanking God for the work He gave me to do in the dishes, the laundry and cooking I do.

This blog is not something I really count as work. It’s basically structured fun. Journaling in public, but hopefully more cohesive than if I was only writing for myself. But I do feel a responsibility to keep at it in a way that I never felt when I just write for myself (you know, those four days a year when I try to keep a journal). Yet somehow it still feels productive. Writing comes easily to me, and cooking has become second nature as well, but that took a little bit longer.

I made these first with my sister, and we sort of just threw ingredients together by smell. They turned out great. We laughed because we were making them for a friend’s birthday party, and this friend does not like mushrooms, her husband doesn’t like onions, my sister does not like ginger, I’m not really a fan of cabbage, and Adam doesn’t like potstickers. But, spoiler alert, all of those things are in these babies and everyone liked them. Especially Adam.

Then I tried to do that by myself and they were too salty. The combination I tried of soy sauce and hot sauce was just a little much. So I decided that mostly following the original recipe from Damn Delicious would be a good start to restore my taste buds.

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Potstickers

Ingredients

1 Pound of Ground Pork

1 Cup of Coleslaw mixture (shredded cabbage and carrots)

4 Ounces of Shiitake Mushrooms, Finely Chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

2 Green Onions, Finely Chopped

1 1 Inch Piece of Ginger, Grated or Minced

2 Teaspoons of Sesame Oil*

1/4 Teaspoon of White Pepper

Sriracha to taste

1 14 Ounce Package of Won Ton Wrappers**

Vegetable Oil for Frying

Soy Sauce for Serving

Method

Mix the pork, coleslaw, mushrooms, garlic, green onions, ginger, sesame oil, white pepper and sriracha together. Try to make sure everything is evenly distributed.

Lay out as many won ton wrappers as your counter will permit.

Fill a small bowl with water.

Put about a tablespoon of the pork mixture in the center of each won ton wrapper.

Use your finger to spread water around the edges of the won ton wrapper, then pinch the edges together to seal.

Heat about two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.

Fry the filled won ton wrappers in the vegetable oil in batches, replenishing the oil as needed.

Serve immediately with soy sauce, or refrigerate and reheat in the oven at 350 Degrees for 8 minutes; I’m told they also freeze well, but I haven’t tried it. To freeze, layer the cooked potstickers in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze overnight, then transfer to freezer bags or containers.

*There is no substitute for this. “Oh, I need oil in this recipe, I’ll use vegetable oil.” NO. Vegetable oil is not the same as sesame oil, there is an utterly distinct flavor. Canola oil and vegetable oil are interchangeable but there is no replacement for sesame oil. You can use light or dark oil based on preference, though.

** My won ton wrappers were refrigerated on a cap end of the butter aisle. They looked like this, but they can also be circular.

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