D: It is written.

I have watched the movie Slumdog Millionaire twice now, and each time I have seen it, I have walked away wiping tears from my cheeks. It is a fantastic movie, and if you haven't seen it yet, I beg you to. The basic storyline of the movie is that there is a young man named Jamal Malik who grew up in the slums of India that has now found himself on the Indian version of the gameshow "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". He has answered all the questions, save for the final one, correctly thus far and is accused of cheating, so he is physically tortured in the police station to try and get him to confess to cheating. He won't, and therefore, takes the police officer (and you) on a journey through his life to explain just how he got all the answers. It is a heart-rending story of life, death, fear, narrow escape, abuse, love lost, love found, family ties, social justice, and hope. You need to watch this movie.

I recently bought a CD at the bookstore at church from CompassionArt (a great ministry, check it out here) and one of the quotes on the inside says "It's impossible to call ourselves worshippers and not be moved in the area of justice." I agree wholeheartedly. I think so often that we lose ourselves behind mirrored walls, or enclosed in a "comfort-bubble." It becomes all about us...our lives, our schedules, what's going on here in America. We forget that there's a whole other world out there thats suffering...but all we can think about is what we're going to eat next and when.

There's a scene in Slumdog that shows Jamal and his brother fleeing from Hindu radicals as they brutally knock their mother senseless and go on a killing spree all because they're Muslims. The camera moves to a shot of Jamal and Salim begging the policemen to do something (as you see buildings burning in the background) but the policemen tell the kids to "get lost, they're playing a game." As I sat there in the theatre watching this story unfold, all I could do is shake my head as the tears rolled down my cheeks and whisper, "this is so wrong."

This is so wrong. Why are we, as westerners, (and Christians of all things!) so consumed with ourselves? Even though this movie is fictional, the events and subplots are real. This kind of stuff goes on everyday, and we don't stop to look at it. We'd rather pretend it doesn't exist and go on with our day. Why is that? Why don't we do something? Aren't we obligated to? Aren't we our brother's keeper?

just a girl and her hummus

Today I was officially declared a "hummus addict" by this crazy Egyptian man named Nabil who works at the restaurant with me. He's great, I love him to pieces, and he makes awesome falafel. Yum. I then proceeded to go home after work today and make another batch of my homemade hummus so that I can take it with me to class tonight (and laugh as the other students stare at my bowl of garlicky goodness in jealousy. Haha.) There has been a couple people who have asked me for my recipe, and it's kind of hard to describe because its more of a "play as you go" kind of thing, but I will try and share the secret of my "white girl hummus" with ya'll. (I call it that because I can't make it nearly as good as Nabil or any real native can). Oh well, here goes!

Bethany's "white-girl" Hummus
2 16 oz. cans of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), drained and rinsed
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Add additional olive oil to reach your desired consistency. Make sure you taste it before you call it "done" and add extra garlic, salt, etc. if you need to. Top with a little parsley flake, a little cumin, a little black pepper, cover and refrigerate for an hour or so. Serve with warm flatbread or pita.

Voila!
This tastes so much better than store-bought, and is so good for you too! Low fat, packed with fiber, and won't leave you feeling weighed down. I hate that feeling when something you eat "hits your stomach like a brick." This won't do that to you. That's part of the reason why I love it so much. Enjoy!

ps. feel free to experiment with this recipe too. I've heard good things about adding chili pepper, tahini paste, or cumin to the blend. I've also heard some people add peanut butter, but that's too adventurous for me.