Rocky Gap State Park, Flintstown, Maryland
So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ~ Genesis 46:1 I never made the connection as to how important Beersheba was to the patriarchs of our faith, until now. In Hebrew, be’er means well, and sheva means promise. The town is located in the southern tip of what will become the Promised Land. It was the last place anyone could get water before traveling through the Negev Desert. It’s the place where Abraham argued with King Abimelech’s subjects over well/water rights (Genesis 21:25-31) and was able to make a permanent agreement. And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree as a reminder of God’s care for him. It’s the place where Abraham’s son, Isaac also had water rights, but due to his success and the size of his herds, he was forced to leave the area; probably by King Abimelech’s son, who was also named Abimelech (Genesis 26:16). After being gone for a while, Isaac returned to Beersheba and the Lord spoke to him with assurance that He was with him, so Isaac built an altar to Him. Abimelech saw how the Lord prospered Isaac and asked him to stay; I guess hoping the prosperity would rub off and Isaac’s God would look favorably upon them (Genesis 26:23-33). It was in Beersheba where Jacob bartered for brother Esau’s birthright and deceived his father Isaac into giving the firstborn blessing to him. And when Jacob fled from his brother’s wrath, he also fled Beersheba. But now Jacob returns and sacrifices and God chooses to speak to him here. The place of his ancestors.
We have visitors coming today! Good friends from our home church, The Chapel in Green whom we’ve not seen for fifteen years – Carl and JoLecia Crow! Some of our readers may remember them. Wonderful people, and we were so excited to see them face to face! About two years ago, JoLecia found me via the blog and we’ve carried on an email pen-pal relationship since then. We have many fond memories of them as a part of our lives, and were just tickled pink to see them! They live about 20-25 minutes from here.
But that wasn’t until 3:30pm.
Up first, and most important was getting the work done on the coach – installing the repaired jack and new hydraulic line and checking and rechecking everything to make sure it all functioned properly.
What a dirty job!
Hey! Somebody call Mike Rowe, would ya?
Once that was completed, it was time to begin preparations for dinner – fish tacos and Thai black bean and corn salad. Recipes below. I also made a fruit sorbet for dessert. I’ve never done that before, and while it was okay, it wasn’t great so I didn’t include the recipe below. If you’re just dying to have it, let me know and I can share it. 😊
We were having such a wonderful time engrossed in catching up, no one thought to take pictures! ☹
Fish Taco Ingredients:
- 12 small white corn tortillas, or flat bread equivalent
- 1 lb tilapia
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Butter
Fish Taco Toppings:
- shredded cabbage
- 1 medium avocado sliced (optional)
- 1 roma tomatoes diced
- ¼ C. diced red onion
- 2 T. Cilantro, chopped
- 1 C. shredded mozzarella/cheddar mix
Fish Taco Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup Miracle Whip and Helmann’s (equal parts)
- 1 Tbsp lime juice from 1 lime (or bottled juice)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Sriracha sauce or other hot sauce (Chipotle Cholula)
Instructions
- Line large baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner. In a small dish, combine seasonings: 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and evenly sprinkle seasoning mix over both sides of tilapia.
- Lightly drizzle fish with olive oil and dot each piece with butter. Bake at 375 for 20-25 min. To brown edges, broil for 3-5 minutes at the end if desired.
- Combine all Taco sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended.
- To serve the tacos, quickly toast the corn tortillas on a large dry skillet or griddle over medium/high heat. Or microwave the flat bread.
HINT: I loved the flat bread, Blaine opted for wheat Tostitos Scoops and put his ingredients in a bowl. He had two bowls (about 2/3 full), and I had one large flat bread full.
THAI BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALAD
2 C. frozen corn, thawed
½ C. celery, diced
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
½ C. red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ C. red onion, diced
¼ C. cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 t. gingerroot, finely chopped or grated
3 T. sesame oil
2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. lime juice
Combine all ingredients, except sesame oil, rice vinegar and lime juice, in a large bowl.
Whisk together the oil, vinegar and juice. Pour over the vegetables and toss to combine. Refrigerate until time to serve.
Serves 6