I Have No Greater Joy

Yum! Cheap and tasty. Believe it or not, this dish cost only $2! Green shelled mussels are cheap and readily available in supermarkets. Usually I buy them to cook with pasta or paella. I saw this recipe in the papers and since I have all the ingredients, made this for dinner. Mmmm.., this is so yummy! if you like Thai flavor, this dish is for you! Look for my other Thai inspired dishes here.
I eat this with rice, flooding it with broth. It is equally good with bread too. The broth is full of lemongrass flavour and if you can't take much heat like me, use fresh red chillies instead of bird's eyes chillies.. The broth tastes better with chicken stock which I mixed with water, and a splash of fish sauce.

Thai Style Mussels
The Sunday Times



Ingredients
1 kg mussels
4 stalks lemongrass
30g galangal
2 small purple onions, about 60g(five shallots)
4 cloves garlic
50g coriander, roots attached
4 bird's eye chillies, or more to taste(red chillie)
6-8 kaffir lime leaves(lime zests)
500ml chicken stock or water(250ml chicken stock, 250ml water)
salt or fish sauce to taste(fish sauce)

juice of 1-2 limes
sliced bird's eye chilli for garnish(red chilli)
warm baguette to serve

Method

• Place the mussels in a large colander and rinse under running water. Discard any with cracked shells. Pull the beards off the mussels. Give them a gentle scrub and remove barnacles, if any, off the shells. Rinse the mussels again and place them in a large bowl of Water. Let them sit for 45 minutes.
• In the meantime, slice off the discard the top part of the lemongrass stalks, leaving behind the bulbous ends. Slice off and discard the root, peel off the outer layer and slice each stalk thinly into rings. Slice the galangal into 4 to 5 thin slices. Add the lemongrass and galangal to a large, deep pot.
• Peel the skin and outer layer off the onions, halve them and slice thinly. Peel the garlic cloves and slice thinly. Add both to the pot.
• Slice the roots off the coriander and rinse them under running water to get rid of dirt and grit. Add to the pot. Chop the rest of the coriander and set aside in a bowl.
• Slice the chillies and add them to the pot, cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the mussels have had their 45 minutes of soaking.
• Have a taste and add salt or fish sauce if needed. If you have used bottled or canned chicken, you will not need any salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the chopped coriander, reserving some for garnish.
• Rinse the mussels once more and add them to the pot. Give the pot a good stir and cover.Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the shells open. If the mussels are small, 3 to 4 minutes at high should suffice.
• Turn off the heat. Using a pair of tongs, remove the mussels and divide among two large bowls. Bring the stock or water mixture back to a boil and keep it boiling for 3 to 4 minutes to reduce it a bit. Lower the heat and add lime juice to taste.
• Lade the juices over the mussels, top with reserved chopped coriander and sliced bird's eyes chillies. Serve with warm bread.

The Mailbox Club
I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

The Mailbox Club was set up to introduce the children to know and learn God's Word in the comfort of their home. It is quiet time for the children to read and learn God's Word. It is also bonding time for Christian parents to read the bible to their young children and guide them to do the lessons.
The lessons are mailed to the Sunday School children and also to some of the umchurched children in our 'adoption' list. These are the children who are our regular campers. We also mailed to children who have dropped out of Sunday school due to family commitments and tuitions.

Every lesson comes with a return stamp for the children to post back their completed lesson.. The teacher markers are also given code names from the fruits of the spirits (Galatians 5:22). There are only 6 lessons in one module for the younger children and a certificate will be awarded at the end of each module.
When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I also had bible correspondence course. During those young days, it was always very exciting to receive your very own letters. Besides the  bible lessons posted to me, I have also letters from pen pals, and one whom I still keep in touch with, not by letters in this century but on Facebook! As I was not attending Sunday school at that time and through the bible correspondence lessons, I got to know and learn how to turn to the bible, do the memory verses and read God's Word. I did all the lessons diligently and was awarded a certificate of completion which I proudly kept in my drawer of certificates. I was like a certificates collector at that time. I took part in many events, sporting and socials which award certificates as accomplishment, I was that competitive at a young age!

As this is a new project for us as part of discipleship program for the Sunday School, we can only look up to our God Almighty to help us. My prayer is for our Sunday school children to cultivate reading and studying God's Word at home, and the unchurched children who are on the mailing list to complete the modules and grow in faith and walk in the truth even though they are unable to attend church. I also pray for parental support and encouragement in this project, especially for the very young ones who have to depend on their parents to post the lessons back to us.