foodfriends

I am alive.....

2007-12-09T21:02:00.000-05:00

It has been too long since I've posted a note here. Life never seems to get less busy. The Compassion Garden is done, it is snowy outside and I am spending my days baking bread. My thoughts turn to cooking and so I thought I would update this blog.

A year ago, a friend gave me a subscription to Nutrition Action. I love the newsletter! It has such important information and good advice. They recently recommended the instant multi grain cereal called Simple Harvest. I love multi grain things and actually went to check it out at the grocery store. It was about $3.50, so I didn't buy any. Instead I bought some 10-grain hot cereal at the Amish store. Later that day I went to our local outlet store and wouldn't you know......they had a huge stock of Simple Harvest: brown sugar and pecan; vanilla, almond and honey and apple and cinnamon....a package of 8 for $1.50. It was still more expensive than the less processed grains from the Amish, but it was reasonable enough for me to try. It is an instant cereal you just add hot water to or put in the microwave. So I bought some and was quite pleased. Nutrition Action did not steer me wrong.

It is a bit sweet like they said, so the second time I used it I mixed it with the other 10-grain cereal I bought from the Amish. I made it like I do steel cut oats: 1 cup of grain placed in 4 cups of boiling water, turn off the heat and let sit overnight. The next morning I place a serving in the microwave for a minute and it is ready to eat. I store the rest in the fridge and heat it up most mornings. I thought I would share my latest local "find" thanks to Nutrition Action!

It is once again bread season around our home. I love December just for the bread making. I wish I had the discipline to bake bread every week and not just sporadically through the year like I normally do. Baking 10 loaves everyday these days to deliver to people in our meeting makes me love a month I usually hate. I hate the commercialization of Christmas. Maybe that is why I like making and baking bread. It has little to do with shopping and presents. It has everything to do with friends and fellowship and sharing life through the breaking of bread. I will be making cinnamon rolls on Saturday Dec. 22 for those who want to join me at the church. My tradition is to serve cinnamon rolls after meeting for worship on the Sunday before Christmas. Those who join me to help make cinnamon rolls get to take a pan home for their families.....a fair trade?

That is it for now......

Small Farms,Small Farmers, and Angel Food

2007-03-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

Tony and Marsha helping me celebrate my 52nd birthday.

Okay, Tony isn’t small. He’s way over 6 feet tall. And his farm isn’t exactly small, but in this day and age, it is considered a small family farm.

Several thoughts running through my mind crashed together today and it is time to post a blog. I’ve been thinking about the cow Tony is growing for me 5 miles from my home that will soon be slaughtered (photo soon….of the cow and not the slaughter….). Several weeks ago as I shopped at the local Aldi’s store (which, by the way, has decided not to close – leaving Walmart with some competition) a customer brought back a package of hamburger. I was an aisle away from this woman when I smelled the bad meat. I listened to the customer and the clerk talk about how they couldn’t understand how the meat looked so good yet smelled so putrid. I thought about interrupting with comments on the use of preservatives and additives…..but I remained silent and overwhelmed by the smell. I’m thankful for my “small” farmer feeding a cow and providing me with meat that has no additives and preservatives. And that it all is happening within a 10 mile radius of where I live and where I will cook the meat.

These last few months I’ve been hearing a lot about Angel Food Ministry. More and more churches in our area are becoming involved in bringing groceries from Georgia into our community. For $25 (cash or food stamps) people can order a medium size box of frozen and fresh food that would feed a family of 4 for a week or a single elderly person for a month. Included in this month’s box is chicken and stuffing bake dinner, hamburger steaks, lasagna dinner, breaded frying chicken, philly steak portions, popcorn chicken, hot dogs, bean soup, mac and cheese, steak cut fries, peas and carrots, turnip greens, sliced pears, pineapple chunks, peanut butter, waffles and a dessert. I am told the groceries sell for a retail value of up to $50.

I’ve been uneasy about this ministry. I priced similar items at our local Aldi’s store and Angel Tree does save you money. But, in a world where most of our food travels 1,800 to 2,000 miles to reach our tables, in a world where our local grocery stores cannot survive, and in a world where we are nutritionally bankrupt because of chemicals additives and highly processed food, I wonder about the wisdom of encouraging the use of the Angel Food ministry. The food comes from hundreds of miles outside our community, most of it is processed food, and it is competition for our local grocery stores (not that I don’t want Walmart to have competition!) I understand many people in our community need access to cheap, good food. But they don’t need access or encouragement to cheap processed, chemically laden foods, nor foods that discourage us from supporting local businesses or farmers. If we as a Christian community desire to meet the needs of those in our community who struggle, are there better ways, more holistic/Christian ways to meet those needs?

A place to start is Bread for the World. The focus for its current letter writing campaign is small farms. This year the US Congress will renew the farm bill for another 5 years. The current bill should be improved to provide better and broader support for U.S. farmers, strengthen communities in rural America, help hungry people in this country afford a sufficient and nutritious diet, and support the efforts of small-scale farmers in developing countries to sell their crops and feed their families—all things that the current farm bill falls short of doing. Our monthly Bread for the World group will write letters to our congressmen asking for their support in creating a bill that cares for small farmers like Tony and those who live with food insecurity in America and around the world.

I am concerned that the ministry to the food insecure through a warehouse 600 miles away could do harm. That it could put the local independent grocery store out of business. That it could keep us from developing local ways to acquire and share good, healthy affordable food. That it could discourage people from using or growing for local farmers markets. That we will be tempted to avoid the hard work of finding local, lasting ways to provide relief for those in our communities who struggle with food insecurity. Hungry people are important to God and should be important to our congress, to our local churches, and to our small farmers. Tony spends his life growing food a few miles from my home to feed people. I somehow feel it could be disrespectful to order food from Georgia or to encourage anyone else to do so in light of that fact.

Snow Day!!!

2007-02-13T21:38:00.000-05:00

It started snowing early this morning and by 7 AM we had a blizzard warning. This photo was taken at 3:30 PM and by 5 PM 13 inches of snow had fallen. We expect it to keep snowing until way past midnight and the prediction is that tomorrow will be worse with blowing snow. What a day! I’ve had time to clean the fridge and pantry, do some website stuff, and get these two recipes typed (see previous post). I thank God for the day at home, but mostly for the day at home with the luxury of electricity, food, and heat. I am humbled by these gifts when many are without.

A SALAD TO END ALL SALADS

This salad was introduced to me by our friend, Stan, this past month when we were visiting in the Northwest. Stan and his wife have been one of my greatest inspirations for cooking for almost 30 years. They taught us how to make bread, to garden, to make salads, and most of all, to offer hospitality with flair. I admire them greatly and am thankful for their mentorship in all things, especially service and ministry.

I like this salad for several reasons. It is low fat with no dressing, it keeps well for several days in the fridge, and most of all, it reminds me of a fresh chutney I made for grilled tilapia in Uganda. You are free to use whatever amounts of veggies you have on hand, if you like something particularly well, add more, but please include the jicima, pineapple, peppers, cilantro and ginger…..they are the flavor and texture base for this large, wonderful salad. Try it, you’ll love it. To date, I’ve not indulged in the grape tomatoes in the salad…..I just can’t imagine tomatoes and pineapple together, but Stan insists the tomatoes are perfect. I’ll give in soon.

1 or 2 Jicimas (Mexican potato) peeled, and sliced into matchsticks
A yellow, red and green pepper, diced or cut into matchsticks
sugar peapods
carrots, diced, matchsticks, or I use a peeler to make thin slices
fresh cilantro leaves
1 fresh pineapple, peeled and diced
1 bag of Spring Mix lettuce
1 cup craisins
2 inches of fresh gingerroot, finely diced
celery, diced
grape tomatoes

This salad made two very large bowls. As I wrote, it keeps well in the fridge for several days and actually the flavors intensify as it sits.

I divided the ingredients into two batches: 1 batch with jicima, peppers, pineapple, craisins, and gingerroot, and another batch with the spring mix, carrots, pea pods, celery, and cilantro leaves. I stored the two batches separtely. I wanted to use the salad for 2 different meals and mixed the salad together ½ at a time before each meal. Mix batches together several hours before the meal. Other ingredients that have been added: avocados and apples.

Salt-rising bread

Salt-rising bread is one of the oldest breads in this country. It has an unusual flavor and a very smooth texture. It is a remarkable bread that many people love and many buy on a regular basis. A bakery in Muncie makes salt-rising bread every week on Wednesday and Friday.

It is an unpredictable bread. But it is a worthy recipe,so give it a try.

To keep the starter at a steady temperature, which the recipe requires, leave it in an electric oven with the light on--this will provide just enough warmth--or in a gas oven with the pilot light on.

The foam that forms may not be one, two, or three inches in thickness, but if it FOAMS at all make the loaf and see what happens. Good luck!

For the salt-rising starter:
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 medium potato, peeled and sliced thin
2 tablespoons white or yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the starter ingredients and pour into a 2-quart jar or a deep bowl that has been rinsed well with hot water. Cover with a lid or plate. Put the jar into a larger bowl or pan and surround with boiling water. Cover the large bowl with plastic or a towel, and cover this with three or four towels or a blanket. It should stand at a temperature of 100 degrees when the mixture is finally foaming. The electric oven turned to warm will provide the right temperature, and so will a gas range with a pilot light on. In either case, let the starter stand about 12 hours, or until the top is covered with 1/2 to 1 inch of foam. Sometimes it will take longer to foam, even 24 hours, but continue to keep it warm.

FOR THE BREAD
Liquid from starter (above)
1/2 cup warm water (100 to 115 degrees, approximately)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup undiluted evaporated milk or 1/2 cup lukewarm whole milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose or hard-wheat flour

Let the liquid from the potato starter drip through a strainer into a mixing bowl, and then pour the warm water through the potatoes, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Discard the potatoes.

Add to the drained liquid the soda, milk, melted butter, and salt, mixing well.
Stir in 2 cups of the flour and beat until very smooth. Stir in the remaining flour, a cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed, using up to 4 1/2 cups.
Put a cup of flour on the bread board and turn the dough onto it. Sprinkle a little of the flour on top of the dough and knead lightly for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the dough is smooth but still soft.

Divide the dough and shape into two loaves (this bread does not have a rising between the kneading and the shaping).

Place in well-buttered bread pans, brush the top of each loaf with melted butter, cover, and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk. (This will take longer than regular bread--as long as 4 to 5 hours, maybe more.)

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the loaves shrink from the sides of the pans. Remove from pans to cool.

An Old Fashioned Church Supper......

2007-02-11T19:20:00.000-05:00

“Chicken, dumplings, gravy, salt rising bread and every thing else good to eat.”

On Friday evening, Feb. 9, 2007, Anna Crumley-Effinger, an Earlham senior, presented a paper she wrote for a class on Indiana Yearly Meeting church architecture. Her focus was on the Winchester Friends Meetinghouse and its history. She did an excellent job presenting her paper and created good interest in the heritage of our meetinghouse. It is the oldest church building in Winchester, and built in 1898, was one of the first Indiana Yearly Meeting meetinghouses to change from the traditional Quaker architecture to a building with a focus on a platform and Sunday School classrooms that flow into the worship area.

An old fashioned church dinner was recreated for the evening, using as the source a newspaper article reporting on a meal served by the Ladies Aid Society of Winchester Friends in March of 1905.

The menu:

Chicken and dumplings (chefs- Marcella Bolinger McHolland and Pam)
mashed potatoes (chef-Pam)
corn (chef-Pam)
green beans (chef-Pam)
bread and butter pickles (chef-Pam)
coleslaw (chef-Pam)
deviled eggs (chef-Marcella Bolinger McHolland)
salt-rising bread*(chef –Pam)
pumpkin pie (chef-Pam)
tapioca pudding (chef-Pam)

All the above, plus a 21st century salad**, for the old fashioned price of 25 cents per person. Over 40 people gathered for the evening of fellowship and to listen to Anna’s presentation. It was a great evening and I had an incredible amount of fun planning it.

Compare the above menu to the menu below that was reported in Britain's Guardian newspaper this week under the heading: The World’s Most Expensive Meal. This dinner cost $30,000 per person, not including tip:

Crème brûlée of foie gras with Tonga beans
Alain Soliveres (chef)
1990 Louis Roederer Cristal (wine)

Tartar of Kobe beef with Imperial Beluga caviar and Belons oyster
Antoine Westermann (chef)
1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil (wine)

Mousseline of pattes rouges crayfish with morel mushroom infusion
Alain Soliveres (chef)
2000 Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Jean François Coche-Dury(wine)

Tarte Fine with scallops and black truffle
Antoine Westermann (chef)
1996 Le Montrachet, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (wine)

Lobster Osso Buczco
Jean-Michel Lorain (chef)
1985 Romanée-Conti, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (wine)

Ravioli with guinea fowl and burrata cheese, veal reduction
Annie Feolde (chef)
1961 Château Palmer (wine)

Saddle of lamb "Léonel"
Marc Meneau (chef)
1959 Château Mouton Rothschild (wine)

Sorbet "Dom Pérignon"
Supreme of pigeon en croute with cèpes mushroom sauce and cipollotti
Heinz Winkler (chef)
1961 Château Haut-Brion (wine)

Veal cheeks with Périgord truffles
Heinz Winkler (chef)
1955 Château Latour (wine)

Imperial gingerbread pyramid with caramel and salted butter ice-cream
Jean-Michel Lorain (chef)
1967 Château d'Yquem (wine)

I’m sure if I’d served wine, I would have had to charge 50 cents………

You’ve got to wonder about the world we live in today.

* Recipe for salt rising bread will be in a future post.
**Recipe for the “salad to end all salads” from my friend Stan, will also follow soon…..I made the salad because I found all the “white” in the meal overwhelming!

Bread, bread, and more bread.....

2006-12-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

When Ron and I traveled through Holland in 1988, we visited Dutch friends we worked with in Sudan. We traveled by train and planned to make our visit quite short in order to catch the next train. Johan and Carla planned for us to stay for lunch. We hated to be a burden, but Johan insisted that it wasn’t trouble to include us and that we would be having “a typical Dutch meal: bread, bread and more bread.”

It was a wonderful meal, and a wonderful Dutch meal with cheese, meat, and butter and good hearty bread. In our carb-phobic culture, I am sad that we don’t center more of our meals on the staff of life. We tend to add it to an already full menu and rarely do we base our meal (with the exception of sandwiches) on bread. Maybe the commercial mass produced bread is not a worthy base for a decent meal.

I love bread. And I love making bread. I am happy it is finally bread baking season once again. The season started with 100 whole wheat health rolls made for the meeting’s Holiday Dinner last Sunday. Deborah asked for the recipe and it is included below. This week we’ve managed to make and deliver over 35 loaves of whole grain bread (see previous blog post for December 2005). The church smells wonderful and we are blessed with the opportunity to visit many friends this week. I won’t claim that our bread is better than commercial bread, but it is handmade with organic whole grains and natural ingredients. Our goal is to make a bread worthy of a good Dutch meal…….

Whole Wheat Health Rolls
(Based on a recipe from Living magazine)

½ c. bulgur wheat
1 c. milk, warm
1 pkg. dry yeast
½ c. honey
2 large eggs, beaten
½ c. oatmeal or 7 grain mix rolled cereal
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
1 t. ground pepper
1 T. salt
2 ½ to 3 ½ c. flour
2 T. or more olive oil
3 T. mixed seeds (sesame, poppy seeds, flax seed)
1 T. flaky sea salt
Place bulgur in pan with 2 c. water and bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook until bulghur is tender and water absorbed, 12-25 minutes. Let cool. In mixer bowl mix warm milk, honey and yeast. Set aside until foamy, 5-6 minutes. On low speed add eggs, oatmeal, whole wheat flour, pepper, salt, 2 T. olive oil, and cooled bulgur. Add enough flour to make a soft, sticky dough and with a hook, knead for about 3 minutes. Brush inside of bowl with olive oil and place dough in bowl, brush with more olive oil and cover with plastic, let rise until double, 1 -2 hours. Generously oil 8 inch round pans and divide dough in half, making 11 portions for each of 2 pans. Brush tops with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap to rise, 20-25 minutes. Bake 375 degrees, sprinkle tops with seeds and salt and bake until dark golden brown, 20-22 minutes. Cool for 12 minutes before removing from pan.

My favorite food in the world........

2006-11-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

Lalibela Restaurant
Washington, DC

A trip to Washinton DC isn't complete without a meal at Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant. We discovered it on our first trip to the Annual Friends Committee on National Legislation Board Meeting in 2001. It is probably the most authnitic Ethiopian food we've had in America. The photo makes it look like a pile of mixed up food. Actually it is injera (a large, soft, spongy, slightly sour pancake used as a utensil to scoop up sauces and meat). The photo includes doro wat (chicken and an egg in a very spicy sauce), tibbs (roasted meat with onions and peppers), spicy lentils, split yellow peas, sauteed spinach, alecha (sauteed cabbage, potatoes, and carrots) and a tomato salad. Ellen, JC and Laura joined us for the meal after the worship service on Sunday in DC. It is nice to be home once again, and nice to get back to a regular routine. The focus now is Thanksgiving and it seems everywhere I look there is information about preparations for the big meal a week from today. Nothing seems to compare to a communal Ethiopian lunch with friends..........I think I've already had my Thanksgiving meal.

When 20% off really isn't a bargain......

2006-10-26T13:35:00.000-04:00

Empty isles at our local Marsh store. This week they are selling out everything in the store for 20% off. It will never be a bargain. 48 people are losing their job, another huge "big-box" now stands empty in Winchester, we have no place besides Walmart to buy fresh produce (I'm not sure what they sell is really "fresh"). The preprinted signs throughout the entire store that say "we value you" feel like a mockery to customers.

Grocery stores have always been an important part of my life. My grandparents owned and operated Kampus Korner grocery for many years right next to Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. My childhood jobs included spending time with them marking individual prices on groceries, learning how to ring up items on the ancient cash register and learning how to make change. It was a sad day when they finally closed the grocery. I now understand the loss to our nation and our culture by the closure of family owned small grocery stores and the dangers of depending on big-box stores.

As I walked through the store today talking to the employees and expressing my sadness over the loss of their jobs, I ran into other customers who were doing the same. I spent more time talking to people today than I did shopping. That is one thing I will miss the most, the opportunity to connect to our community through our local grocery store. I'm sure it will happen at Walmart, but there are many of us in this community who will not shop there. In addition to losing Marsh, I will be losing a connection to our community that brought me joy.

No matter how much I saved today on brussel sprouts, black-eyed peas, parsnips and dried mushrooms.....it will never be a bargain.

kansas

2006-10-20T23:50:00.000-04:00

We just returned to Indiana after a vacation in Kansas. 1560 miles of highway with time to listen to the Omnivore’s Dilemma and contemplate the endless acres of newly sprouted wheat fields, rust colored fields of milo, yet to be harvested corn fields and open fields of grassland and cattle. It was nice to reconnect with family, and sad not to have enough time to reconnect with friends. Vacations are always too long and always too short. In those hours of listening and seeing Kansas through Indiana eyes, I was reminded of things I forget about Kansas: wind, seeing forever, rows of grain elevators and oil derricks. I noticed more fields of soy beans and for the first time ever, cotton fields.

Listening to the Omnivore’s Dilemma made me think about our national food supply once again. I tried to notice in Kansas what is unique and what is considered “local”. Bread should be better in Kansas than anywhere else in our nation. The local Betts Baking Company closed its factory in Hutchinson in recent years and the smell of bread no longer waifs through Hutchinson. What’s worse is that I found no artisan bakeries or bakers. Instead I found wheat popped into wheat snacks and Kansas sunflower seeds candy coated, rendering both into snack foods and not the staff of life.

We returned home to the news that our local Marsh store will close its doors in a month. The super Walmart opened 18 months ago and has successfully closed our other grocery stores. First ALDI’s and now Marsh. In a few months, Walmart will be the only place to buy groceries in our small city of 8,000. Although many of us predicted this would happen one day, I am sad to see it come true.

This news was difficult to come home to. When our new Walmart was built, I decided to stop shopping there and have not spent a $1 there since its opening. My first thought was what am I to do now that I have no other options to buy fresh produce, milk and meat? Since then I’ve thought more about the elderly people in Winchester who find our Walmart too big, overwhelming and difficult to shop in. I’ve been thinking about the many in our county who live with food insecurity. They do not have the ability to stock a pantry like I do and will be forced to pay whatever Walmart demands for food. Our already over utilized food pantry will be hit harder than ever before.

The closing of Marsh should change my life. But how I change matters greatly to our community. It is time to think about not depending on places like Walmart for my daily bread. It is time to be much more serious about buying locally. It is time to buy a cow from my friend Tony who treats his animals humanely and who lives 4 miles from me. (Okay....there was the incident with the 2x4 board.....but I think Tony learned his lesson.) It is time to bake bread on a regular basis and make it truly our daily bread. It is time to look into creating a co-op for our community, to involve people in gaining control over the food they eat and the marketplace where our food comes from. It is time to make our food supply socially just and environmentally sustainable. It is time to think about slow-food and to find alternative farming systems and to find a way to develop or join a CSA. The list is endless and it does not include shopping at Walmart. But it will take much time, energy, thought and community action. But it is time………

In memory of fresh spinach....

2006-09-19T09:06:00.000-04:00

Meatless Mondays often include for us a meal of black eye peas with sautéed spinach and cheese grits. This week with the recent e.coli scare across our nation, I was faced with throwing out two packages of fresh spinach. It is hard to believe that sautéing the spinach would still be dangerous, but I decided to not take a chance and I threw it away.

It bothers me to waste spinach….it is so incredibly healthy and good for me. But my uneasiness pales in comparison to the devastation of the spinach growers this scare created and the long term damage to the production and sale of fresh spinach in our nation. I wonder how long it will take before I see fresh spinach on our grocer’s shelves once again. On NPR Monday I listened to a farmer talk about having to plow his spinach crop underground. Other farms will have to prove their farming practices don’t spread E. Coli. Many may never recover financially from this scare. The same thing happened to our friend with his cattle several years ago with the discovery of mad cow disease in the US. Farmers walk a tightrope trying to make a living from feeding our nation.

This recent scare is a reminder of how fragile our food supply chain is and how far our food must come to make it safely to our table. Those who grow spinach in their backyards are the winners. The rest of us will have to adapt to chard (if we can find it in our grocery) or kale to get the benefit of greens in our diet.

In the meantime……here is my favorite way of eating spinach (adapted from the Moosewood Cooks at Home cookbook) in hopes that soon I’ll be able to buy spinach once again.

BLACK-EYED PEAS WITH SPINACH

1 medium onion, chopped
1 T. olive oil
10 oz. fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 12-oz. package of frozen black-eyed peas or 3 cups fresh B-E peas
Pepper and salt
1 t. Hot pepper sauce

Cook the black-eyed peas according to the package (about 45 minutes….and it can be done ahead of time and then the peas refrigerated) If using fresh B-E peas, the time is reduced to about 15 minutes.

In large skillet sauté onion in oil for a few minutes, until soft. Add the spinach to the skillet and stir until the spinach is wilted. Add B-E peas, salt and pepper and the hot sauce and stir until mixed and heated through (about 2-3 minutes).

Serve right away with cheese grits (and this time of year….sliced tomatoes as a salad).

CHEESE GRITS

3 C. water
¼ t. salt
¾ C. quick cooking grits
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese (or 3 oz. cubed)
Black pepper

Bring water to a boil and add salt. When the water boils, slowly stir in the grits, lower to medium heat and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until the grits are soft and thick. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve immediately or keep warm in a crock pot or double broiler.

cigarette butts......

2006-09-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

I spend a lot of time thinking about cigarette butts. Recently I learned cigarette filters are not biodegradable. They look like cotton, but in fact are a plastic fiber that traps toxins and poisons that leach into the ground water with rain. These butts last forever and are litter.

In addition, they are ugly. That is why I spend so much time thinking about them. When I walk with Ron as he plays golf two or three times a week, I am unable to ignore the cigarette butts and cigarette paraphernalia that litters the tees and greens. I don’t understand how people who try so hard to get little white balls into little holes seem incapable of hitting a big trash can with a cigarette butt.

Knowing that they are not biodegradable, I thought something should be done about this litter on our beautiful golf course. After several years of wondering how to do it, I decided to use rubber gloves to collect the butts. Last night I was walking along carrying my plastic bag with the butts when someone who lives on the golf course walked by and asked what I was picking up. I replied “cigarette butts”, and he said “that is a nasty job”! That is why I wear rubber gloves. Cigarette butts are the definition of nasty. Knowing that they are not biodegradable makes them even nastier. They smell terrible, they look terrible, they’ve been in someone else’s mouth, they contain chemicals, and they won’t go away.

I’m sure each person who throws a butt on the green or the tee thinks it is so small no one will notice. But it is impossible to collect all the butts on the golf course because there are so many. I just pick up the ones I see and I know I miss a lot. You would be surprised how many butts are thrown within a radius of three feet of a trash can or sand bucket designed for butts. Litter experts say cigarettes are by far the most tossed object, outpacing fast-food wrappers, cups and lids, and soda containers, which come in a distant 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively. During land and underwater cleanups in 2003, cigarette butts and filters accounted for 34 percent of debris collected, according to Keep America Beautiful. Food wrappers and containers represented 10 percent of trash.

So I think about butts out on the golf course, which amounts to 2-3 hours per week. I’m glad pocket ashtrays have been invented and I am in the process of trying to track some down to give away on the golf course. For as hard as people work to put little white balls into little holes on the golf course, I suggest that golf courses make the holes on their trash cans much smaller to encourage people to practice putting things in small holes. Maybe that would take care of the plastic wrappers, beer tabs and plastic cups and lids that I also pick up on the course.

With all the news these days of light cigarettes not really being “light”, I wonder if filters really do what they suggest. Maybe we should work to make cigarette filters illegal and have smokers go back to the original cigarette without a filter. Then again for as expensive as cigarettes are, I wonder why people don’t suck on the filters to get to every last bit of nicotine. And for as unhealthy as our diets are in this area, I’m sure the filters would make great roughage in our diets…….smokers should suck and chew the filters.

Cigarette butts are nasty and are unhealthy. But I can’t ignore the fact that I have my own unhealthy habits. They may not be the definition of nasty, and they may not be littered around the golf course for everyone to see, but I do not stand on higher ground. My own care for my health leaves much to be desired. Not smoking is a good thing, but as I thought about and picked up butts last night on the golf course, I realized I have my own nasty habits. I am guilty of not eating properly, of too many nasty habits like butter and mayonnaise and cream. I am guilty of not being disciplined in my exercise, or increasing my heart rate and strengthening my muscles and bones. (Although I will admit that stretching and bending to pick up the butts on the golf course does increase my level of exercise!) These may not be as destructive as smoking, but they are destructive nonetheless.

I complain about smokers because their litter messes up my world. But I understand how difficult it is to make good choices and to rid my life of things that could destroy and lessen my quality of life. Maybe the act of picking up butts will remind me that I need discipline as much as anyone to do what is good for me and good for our earth.

Labor Day........

2006-09-04T16:38:00.000-04:00

A day to catch my breath and sit at the computer and look back over a busy, busy summer. I remember thinking on Memorial Day how nice it was to be done with the usual meetings scheduled during the winter months and to anticipate a slower pace of life with time to write, time to garden and time to can. I don’t know why I ever waste energy anticipating a slower pace of life. It is not to be. So it is time to make time to look back on the summer and appreciate the activities of the last few months that won’t happen again for another nine months. Below are several posts about "how I spent my summer vacation......"

Farmer's Market 2006

2006-09-04T16:33:00.000-04:00

Not only did I spend time shopping at our local farmer’s market around the courthouse every Saturday this summer, several Winchester Friends worked with me to sell baked goods several times a month to profit the Shareholders in Shalom Project. This project encourages Friends to take $10-$50 of Best Trust special project money to be invested and grown and returned at Christmas time with any increase to be used for peace/nonviolence work. I made and sold cinnamon rolls, health rolls and pickles; Doris made jams, Virginia made cookies, bread and cinnamon rolls; Val made caramel corn (above), Delilah knitted dishcloths and pot holders and when we had extra Compassion Garden produce, we made that available at market. Everyone made a profit even though we only asked for a donation and did not mark a price on the items. I turned my $50 into $250 and I still have salsa and jalapeno jelly yet to make. Last Saturday was the last Farmer’s Market for the season and I am glad that it is over. It was a lot of work, but it was also a great time to visit with people in the community and to spend time with Winchester Friends who sat beside me at the market. All in all, it was a good use of the summer.

Compassion Garden 2006

2006-09-04T16:26:00.000-04:00

This year we had the BEST tomatoes ever! The garden produced well and is still producing tomatoes and green peppers. We grew yellow cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, pineapple tomatoes, and early girls. I grew roma tomatoes in the back yard for salsa and spaghetti sauces and to dehydrate for black bean soup. The jalapeno peppers did not produce as well as I expected and I’m looking for people who have an excess to make jelly. The green peppers and cucumbers both did extremely well and I made over 4 gallons of bread and butter pickles and 3 gallons of dill pickle chips in addition to moving bowls and bowls of fresh cucumbers through the table at the meetinghouse (above). Today I hope to finish up some of the cucumbers to make gazpacho. Thus far the garden has raised over $250 to pay the school fees of a Compassion girl in Uganda. We still have more Sundays of produce to put out on the table in addition to cans of tomatoes that were canned by Mary and Bettye. All in all, a good use of a strip of land between two parking lots.

Green Bean Fest 2006

2006-09-04T16:17:00.000-04:00

Four friends gathered together on August 26 this year to can three bushels of beans. This year I tried something new I learned from my sister. I canned green beans with the herb savory to use in green bean soup. I make this soup quite a bit for our weekly soup and prayer suppers here at the parsonage.

GREEN BEAN SOUP

(recipe from the More with Less Cookbook - our Mennonite friends serve this with traditional Rollkuchen)

Serves 6

Saute in heavy kettle until golden:
3 T. butter
1 large onion, diced

Add:
6 C. water or stock
1 C. shredded carrots
1 C. diced potatoes
4 C. fresh or frozen green beans, cut up
Fresh chopped parsley
1 bunch of summer savory, tied for easy removal

Cook until vegetables are tender. Just before serving, remove savory.

Add:
½ C. cream or evaporated milk
Salt and pepper

Heat through and ladle into bowls. Sprinkle over each serving: diced hard cooked eggs.

Rollkuchen

Russian Mennonites (the heritage of group my sister married into) use these to accompany a watermelon feast. The salty version also goes will with soup.

Serves 6-8

Beat together:

3 eggs
1 C. cream, whole milk, or mixture
Sift and add:
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
3 ½ -4 C. flour

Add a little more flour if necessary to make a soft dough which can be rolled out. Roll on floured board to ¼ inch thickness. Cut in 2x4 inch rectangles, sut slit in each, and fry in ½ inch hot oil (375 degrees) until browned, turning once. Drain on absorbent paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or salt as desired.

To Scrape or Not to Scrape

2006-09-04T16:10:00.000-04:00

This year we used the Labor Day weekend to freeze corn. On Saturday we husked, cleaned, blanched and cut corn from 16 dozen ears of corn. On Monday we just cleaned, blanched and cut corn from an addition 16 dozen ears. 16 dozen ears cost $40 and yielded 43 pints of corn PLUS 16 pints of corn cob scrapings.

Virginia used an electric knife to cut the corn from the ears, and she doesn't scrape the ears. I get incredibly nervous around electric knives and actually couldn't watch Virginia cut the corn (with the exception of this photo). Instead, I scraped the ears for the kernels to use in corn soup.

As with green beans....we don't save money by doing our own canning and freezing of produce, especially when we buy large quantities from Virginia's father, a local truck farmer. The real purpose of doing this is to keep fresh, healthy, produce in our pantry and freezer for the winter and know that it doesn't have preservatives. The bonus is to spend a morning or afternoon with friends working on this project together. Many hands made quick work of 200 ears of corn.

Since I'm gearing up for soups to serve the next 9 months, I'll include my two favorite soups for using the corn cob scrapings that I just spend 2 hours rescuing from Virginia's batch of corn.

SWEET CORN CHOWDER WITH WILD RICE

3 C. of frozen corn
3 slices of bacon, chopped
½ C. diced onion
4 C. chicken broth
1 ½ t. fresh thyme or ½ t. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. water
2 C. cream or rich milk
¾ C. cooked wild rice

Cook bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium high heat until fat is rendered. Add onion and saute until onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add corn, stock, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 T. of water. Mix into soup, and then add in cream and rice. Heat thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Can be made a day ahead, chill, bring to simmer before serving.

EASTERN CORN CHOWDER

5 slices of bacon
1 medium onion, sliced
2 medium potatoes, sliced
1 pint frozen corn, or one can of cream of corn
1 T. flour
1 T. butter
2 C. milk
Salt and pepper
1 t. thyme, fresh or ½ t. dried or parsley

In large fry pan, cook bacon until crisp. Crumble and set aside. Use a small bit of the bacon renderings to fry onion until light brown. Add potatoes to pan with enough water to cover. Cook over med heat 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. In another saucepan add butter and flour and cook briefly. Add milk, corn and cook over low heat until thick and smooth. Add salt, pepper, herbs and the potato onion mixture and heat for 10 minutes. Top each serving with crumbled bacon.

Farmers Market

2006-07-09T23:56:00.000-04:00

This year several Friends will participate at the Winchester Farmers Market at the courthouse square. Food items will be available for a donation and 100% of the profit will go to the Shareholders in Shalom Project.

This photo is from the first market day on July 1, 2006. Bread, cinnamon rolls, and cookies were available and $135 was raised for a peace project in Africa. More about the project will be posted later.

Take and Bake

2006-05-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

Francine Kaufman, author of Diabesity and essayist in the Hungry Planet: What the World Eats wrote that ever larger numbers of people live in families, attend schools and inhabit neighborhoods where it is extremely difficult to maintain a healthy diet. She says "They are the victims of a society that does not seem to care, of an economic structure that makes it cheaper to eat fries than fruit, of the food industry and the mass media luring them to consume what they shouldn't."

This past Saturday some friends gathered together to make batches of cookie dough for the freezer. Dough for Monster Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Oatmeal Raisin, and $250 cookies were mixed and scooped into balls, frozen and packaged to take home and baked when they are ready to be eaten. Okay, Okay.....I know this isn't health food. And it definitely isn't diet food. But cookies are a fact of life. We have a choice when it comes to sweets and desserts: McDonald's Sundaes, Keebler Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream........or homemade, freshly made cookies that don't use preservatives or packaging. It is not a great choice.....but it is a choice.

Our take and bake cooking day highlights what I've been pondering recently. I am looking for ways to lesson my dependence on oil via plastic, packaging, and transportation. Often the ways are fairly simple. Like getting together to make cookies and storing them in reusable containers. For me, having a treat like cookies in the freezer, lessens the urge to buy packaged cookies or fast food desserts higher in preservatives, fat or sugar than simple homemade cookies. We laughingly called the oatmeal in our cookie dough "health food", we know it isn't, but we could do worse.

I love our cooking days and the other times when we gather together for field trips to farmer's markets or bulk food stores. They are times of inspiration and fellowship, and part of the ongoing quest to find ways of avoiding the lure of our current American culture of fast, processed food. And they are also times of thoughtfully planning and sharing about simple, healthy, foods and meals that encourage community.

This is also the beginning of the season for Farmer's Markets. Fresh produce has not yet begun to appear, but it will before we know it. And then it will be weekly walks to the courthouse square to buy produce in season, produce that is not wrapped in plastic, and produce that is locally grown. One more way to lessen my dependence on oil products. Inspiration for menus will come from the farmers market and not from the food industry and mass media. I have a choice in eating and cooking healthy, simple food. Many may not have a choice or do not choose the healthy option. I hope the encouragement of my food friends, and just the fun we have together keeps me on track to make good choices.

Thinking about Earth Day......

2006-04-13T13:45:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I had a rare Saturday at home. It was great to have some time to cook and clean and spread mulch on the Compassion Garden. And I even had an hour to take care of the recycling in our garage. It was while I was recycling that I thought about a book I checked out of the library this week: Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. I fell in love with this book. The photos reminded me of what living in Africa did for me. It opened my eyes and heart to the realities of our world, to those who struggle for their daily bread, to those who could live off the waste from my table. (I hope and pray that isn't true, but I'm not really sure......) This book reminds me of my desire to make a difference for my African friends by how I live in America.

What does this have to do with recycling? Everything. As I sorted through plastic bottles, I was reminded that most plastic requires oil or natural gas for production. In a world where fossil fuels are of a limited supply, are expensive and are a potential reason for violence in our world, I need to serious examine the use of all plastic in my life. Recyclable and non recyclable. As I looked through the Hungry Planet, I was amazed at the amount of plastic used not only by the "developed" nations, but the amount used in the developing world as well.

Through the Hungry Planet I was challenged to rethink my shopping habits. I needed to be reminded yet again that all I do matters in our world. Can I use cotton shopping bags instead of plastic or paper sacks? Can I rethink how I buy milk? Can I make a difference in Randolph County to reduce the amount of plastics that enter the waste stream? I can do more than just recycle.

I rarely buy water, but I can never buy water? Fossil fuels are used in the packaging of water, the production and the transportation of bottled water. Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year. As I listen to people express their pain over the soon to be $3.00 gasoline, I wonder if we can look at the whole of our lives and all the use of fossil fuels, not just what we pump at the gas station. Could we make a difference? And even if my small contribution doesn't make a huge difference in my world or in my county, doesn't integrity call me to live that way anyway? I would hope so........

Sweet Olive Jam

2006-03-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

I love B&D*, the small grocery outlet blocks from my home. I shop there for simple things like canned beans, almonds, spray starch and come home with sushi rice, sesame seed butter, coconut milk and if I’m really, really lucky, wasabi paste. I’m definitely not a food snob, and I guess that is why I like B&D: it is a garage sale of canned goods. A place to discover new stuff and try things I’d never pay full price to try. Many times I find a $5 or $6 price tag on an item and the familiar B&D marking pen marking it at $1. It gives me the opportunity to try wasabi paste or for my friend Ellen to buy me a jar of Sweet Olive Jam.

Sweet Olive Jam? Never heard of it? Me either. But tonight I tried some. Today we had the honor of having Matt’s mother from Wisconsin here for worship and lunch. One of her goals for this trip was check out B&D and buy some cheap balsamic vinegar. So after lunch (meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, green spring salad, corn casserole, green peas, and fresh strawberry shortcake with whipped cream**), Ellen and I introduced Nancy to B&D. The above photo is of Nancy finding bargains and balsamic vinegar. Ellen discovered the Sweet Olive Jam imported from Greece, so she bought it for snacks tonight after the visitation evening. Sweet Olive Jam is made from green olives, sugar, permanganate juice and spices. I wasn’t brave enough to try it with a meatloaf sandwich, but I did try it on a small cheese sandwich and found it really delightful. A bit like chutney, but definitely different and well worth the $1 Ellen paid for it. Thanks E!

Sometimes I long for Africa. I long for our friends, the different food, and living with many different cultures. Today I was reminded that I at times overlook gifts in front of me: friends like Ellen and Nancy and B&D. I know that if I was not here, I would long for my friends and the little store that brings the world to me through strange and interesting new food.

God………help me to see and soak up the blessings you put in front of me each and every day.

*For another story about B&D, click here.
**Last week we had such a busy week, I didn’t plan a Sunday Lunch. So 6 of us after meeting for worship went to the local pizza buffet. We paid $44 for lunch and I decided that eating out was over rated and over priced. Every effort I make to cook at home really matters. I made lunch today for around $15.…and we have leftovers! I cook with a bit more purpose after last week.

Dishwashers are a good thing.

2006-03-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

On most Monday mornings for the past five years I’ve met with a friend from the local Catholic parish in our living room at the parsonage. Conversations with Betty are about all things spiritual and we often include periods of silence, prayer, laughter, sharing and debate. It is a great way to start the week. It is a relationship in which we hold each other accountable to what God is teaching us and a relationship where we encourage growth in each of our lives. Each Monday morning is different and each is a blessing. I am thankful for Betty’s friendship.

This morning Betty and I started our time together with silence. I was exhausted from a busy week and an even busier weekend. Before Betty arrived, I loaded the dishwasher with the third load of dishes from Sunday evening and turned it on. As Betty and I settled into silence to begin our time together, I was distracted by the soft, swishing of the dishwasher and angry with myself for not waiting until Betty left before starting the dishwasher. I did not want to interrupt the silence to get up and turn it off.

In those moments of distraction, God spoke. Instead of the distraction, I saw the purpose of the dishwasher. A valuable machine to help me start all over again. Just like my dishes, I am often dirty and unusable, and just like my dishes, I have the opportunity each day to be washed and cleaned. And just like my dishes, I am useable once again and valuable to the world in which I live. And just like my dishes, I can be a vessel for what God needs dished up in our world to nourish it, to treat it, to satisfy its longings and desires.

I get tired of dirty dishes. Sometimes on a busy day, I run four loads in the dishwasher and the end never seems to come. It is much like life. I get tired and overwhelmed with the mountain of work to be done to build community, to help and support institutions, to meet the needs of individuals I love and individuals God has placed in my life.

I do not have much of a choice about doing dishes. It is just something that has to be done to live a healthy good life. The good thing with dishes is that I start over again each day. They are cleaned and sterilized with each washing and I don’t have to do them all at once. I do one load at a time and I depend on the dishwasher to help me not feel so overwhelmed.

From now on, I’m going to use the dishwasher each time I run it to remind me of an opportunity I have every day to start over again. I don‘t have to do and be everything to everyone all the time, but I can do what I am able and do one thing at a time. As my dishwasher washes my dishes clean, I will say a prayer for God to wash me clean and to restore my strength to be a clean, usable vessel for God’s use one more day. It is good to be distracted sometimes………

These are a few of my favorite.....salads

2006-03-16T19:21:00.000-05:00

Ahhh..Spring time! The time of the year when our attention turns to fresh things. The photo of Matt has nothing to do with the topic....it is just a photo for his mother. Matt does eat my salads though. I received two phone calls last week asking for salad recipes. One from Tonda asking about a dressing for a Greek Salad and one from my mother asking for the recipe of a salad we ate at Val's house. Below are the recipes I gave over the phone and a recipe I love during the springtime when strawberries are fresh from Florida. Nothing profound about this entry, but just a reminder of how important it is to eat fresh vegetables and fruit.

Val's Apple Pear Salad

Fill salad bowl with romaine greens (I also add radicchio and endive)
Add: 1 apple, diced
1 pear, diced (Bosc pears hold up well in this salad)
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Toss above with dressing just before serving:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar (I use balsamic, white balsamic, or red wine)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup oil (I use olive or a mix of canola and olive)
2-3 teaspoons poppy seeds

Strawberry Spring Salad

Fill salad bowl with fresh spring mix greens (about 8-10 oz). Add about ¾ lb. of sliced fresh strawberries, quartered and a ¼ cup of sliced pecans. I then make a dressing in the food processor using 2 T. olive oil 2 T. Balsamic vinegar, 1 T. raw sugar and 4-5 very ripe strawberries. Puree and pour over the salad just before serving.

Greek Salad

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano or a tablespoon fresh oregano
1 teaspoon of lemon pepper

Pour over a bowl of diced roma tomatoes, diced cucumber, diced green pepper, and diced red onion. You can also add romaine lettuce. Pour dressing over salad and add cubed feta cheese and kalamata olives on top. A hint for the dressing.....adding a bit of mayo will help the oil and the vinegar mix better and keep from separating quickly.

Sunday Lunch

2006-02-17T22:06:00.000-05:00

From London Yearly Meeting's Christian Faith and Practice:
"Many who are shy of attending meetings for an avowedly religious purpose will respond to a loving concern which springs from simple friendship. There is therefore great value in small gatherings or individual talks in the homes of Friends, where people, not only members and attenders, can meet to exchange ideas and theories, doubts and preoccupations, and to discuss projects and careers. It has been our experience that such gatherings have had a profound effect upon the lives of men and women, both those who give and those who receive such hospitality. 1959

I have an incredible job. The good thing about my job is that it isn’t a job. It is a lifestyle. It is a gift that my husband and I are released into our community to be with people, to visit the elderly, to concern ourselves with the spiritual and the eternal, and to build community with a group of Quakers. In reality, our lifestyle should not be much different than most who claim to be Christian. It is just that we are released to do this full time and to not have to make living elsewhere.

One of the things I enjoy the most about our lifestyle is Sunday Lunch. It is a time of pot roast, politics and post sermon analysis. I grew up with Sunday lunches as a time to gather in family homes after church. I remember more Sundays than not when our family would gather at either of my grandparents home after church. My grandmothers would pull out their best china and we would spend the afternoon around the table as a family talking about everything and anything happening in our community, in our church and in our family. Those were experiences where I bonded with my grandparents and places where I felt love and acceptance and where I learned (through example) to be hospitable.

I don’t set out the good china every week (actually….I would if I had any), but I do try to have a meal ready for a table full of guests each Sunday after meeting for worship. In this day and culture we’ve lost the tradition of home cooked meals around a table after church on Sunday. I am happy to recreate the opportunity to be around a dining table and spend hours talking about everything and anything with those we consider community. The menu doesn’t matter, but the time does. For me personally, it feeds my soul as well as my body. Because we don’t have children or a family close by, those we have around our table on Sunday afternoon and Wednesday evenings for our prayer gathering, provide us an opportunity to make a connection with our community. It is a moment in our week when we share with people our concerns, hopes and fears. It is a time to laugh and cry. It is a time in our week to pray for others. It is a place where we grow community and where we give acceptance and love and receive acceptance and love. It is a place of life.

I have the best job in the world…….

Bread Season......

2005-12-29T18:31:00.000-05:00

I am not much of a Christmas person. I decorate for the season using the 15 minute rule. I don’t put anything up that takes more than 15 minutes to take down. It is probably a reaction to the commercialization of the season. The only tree we have up is the Advent tree at the meeting house. For the past 8 years here in Winchester, each Sunday of Advent a different person or couple tells the meeting for worship about Christ’s Advent (or arrival) into their lives. They put an ornament on the tree that represents their story. The tree embodies the true meaning of Christmas for me……the continual arrival of Christ into our world through the lives of people today.

I do like something about the Christmas season. Every year since the early 1980’s (with the exception of our years in Africa), Ron and I make a loaf of bread for each household in our meeting. We bake around 8 -10 loaves of 7 grain bread each day during December and deliver the fresh loaf to 8 or 10 homes. It is a tradition that we look forward to each year. It usually takes about 5 or 6 hours a day for 12 days during December to complete our list of around 100 households.

While I enjoy the baking, one of the real joys is to be in people’s homes and to tell them personally how much we appreciate their lives, their involvement in the meeting and their friendship to us.

Breadmaking is a process. I get up early in the morning and mix together milk, salt, brown sugar, and oil and I heat it up. Then I mix it with whole wheat flour and bread flour and yeast and I wait. When the yeast starts to work, it raises in the pan and then I call Ron and he kneads more flour, whole grains, sunflower seeds, and other healthy things into this huge pile of dough. He kneads and kneads until it all forms together and when it is slapped, it feels like you are patting the bottom of a baby. Don’t you wonder how we actually know what a baby’s bottom feels like?

Anyway, after the bread is kneaded I put it into the oven with the oven light on, and I let it rise until it fills this pan and almost overflows. From there I make it into 4 or 5 loaves, I roll out the dough and place it in a loaf pan and put it back into the oven with the light on and wait another hour until it almost overflows the pan. And then I bake it for another hour. It is the hour of baking that I love. The fragrance of the bread fills the kitchen, and I am reminded of what a miracle yeast and wheat are, and I have hope that this mixture of dough tells the person we give it to of our love and thankfulness for their presence in our lives.

The fragrance also reminds me of the gift from God of daily bread in a world where many hunger. The fragrance reminds me of God’s compassion on me and the call for me to open my doors and let God’s abundance and the fragrance of God’s spirit permeate the world in which I live. The fragrance of bread reminds me of God’s hope for my life to change the world, to be the friend of the lonely and to bring peace to the world in which I live.

I am thankful for this season and the opportunity to bake bread.

Whole Grain Bread

1 cup whole grain (wheat or a mix of 7 grain, rye, etc…)
6 cups water
1 cup instant milk powder
2/3 cup oil (canola)
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
3 Tablespoons yeast (or 3 packages)
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
1 cup hulled sunflower seeds
½ cup ground flax seed
2/3 cup wheat germ
5-10 cups bread or all purpose flour

Bring the whole grain to a boil in 3 cups of water and let sit for several hours or overnight. In large mixing bowl combine 6 cups of water, milk powder, brown sugar, oil and salt. Heat in microwave for 3 minutes (or in a pan until warm (105 degrees). Add yeast, 3 cups of wheat flour and 3 cups of bread flour and mix well for 3 minutes. Let sit in a warm place for 20 minutes until foamy. Add cooled whole grains, sunflower seeds, flax seed, wheat germ and enough flour to make a soft dough. Begin kneading dough and adding more flour until the dough is not sticky, at least for 10 minutes. Let rise in a draft free place for 1 hour or until double in bulk. Punch dough down and divide into 4 large loaves or 3 large and 2 small loaves (this is what fits in a normal oven.) Place dough in a loaf pan and let rise for another 40 minutes or until double in bulk. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

I'm on a diet......

2005-11-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was caught. I had a meat main dish and a vegetarian guest for lunch. The really sad thing is that I made minestrone and could have left out the Italian sausage or at the very least dished out some of the soup before I added the sausage. I quickly made tomato soup with cheese tortellini so there was something to go along with the minestrone, but it was a poor substitute for a good rich vegetable minestrone.

This experience reminded me that meat should be a luxury in our life. Over the last 7 years of living in America I’ve slipped into the habit of planning most of my meals with meat. And not just adding meat to minestrone, but serving large slabs of the bloody beasts. How quickly I’ve forgotten life in Africa. How quickly I’ve forgotten the everyday lunches of beans and rice and the simplicity it brought to my life. Meat was so incredibly scare in Sudan that it was saved only for holidays. Ali Kaunda, our Ugandan co-worker in Southern Sudan always saved money to purchase meat for the feast of Id at the end of Ramadan because he wanted to make sure that his children would not forget how meat tasted. And the meat always came with bones to make eating it last longer.

It is obvious that I’m going to have to cook more intentionally to make my life more compatible with my friends in Africa.

That is why I’m thinking about going on a diet. For awhile now I’ve been reading about the poverty diet. It is a three day experience of living off of the amount of money given to those who use food stamps. For someone in Randolph County, that is about $3 per day per person. I’ve gotten into the habit of not thinking about what each meal costs. That is a bad habit. Hurricane Katrina called our attention to those who live on the edge financially and the difficulty of facing disasters with no financial resources. Just because I don’t have to worry about what each meal costs doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t.

It is called solidarity. Living in unity with humanity. All of humanity, not just those from my socio-economic level. I’ve become a bit narrow in my lifestyle and my vegetarian guest opened my eyes to that fact today. Meat should not be a requirement for a meal, it should once again become a luxury. It is time to think about incorporating Meatless Mondays or a meatless day back into my lifestyle. It is time to think about meals in solidarity with the 3,000 people in our county who depend on food stamps to put food on their tables. It is time to eat more beans and rice and to simplify my life with healthy, fiber rich, preservative free food that is affordable to everyone. It can only be good for my body and my checkbook. And maybe the testimony of my life and my grocery cart will matter to my friends in Africa and to those who only have $3 a day to spend on food.

Shareholders in Shalom

2005-10-30T11:04:00.000-05:00

For the last several years our meeting for worship has handed out $10 bills to be invested in something that would raise money for peace work. Last year we sent several hundred dollars to a “Seeds for Peace” project in Bosnia. (I will find out the exact amount later..) Our offering went to buy seeds for Bosnian refugee farmers (Catholic and Muslim) to return to their villages and to begin growing food again…..together. This year our offerings will be sent to Kenya to finance an extra year of Alternatives to Violence training at the Friends Theological College.

Nancy B. and I used our money this year to use jalapenos from the Compassion Garden (see July Archives) to make Jalapeno Jelly. Thus far our $10 worth of sugar has profited close to $40 for this project. There is still more jelly available and more peppers for us to use to make more jelly. We are looking forward to reporting on the outcome of this year’s Shareholders project.

Below is the pepper jelly recipe and several ideas of how to use the jelly, including our favorite…..corn and cheese biscuits.

JALAPENO JELLY
14 hot peppers (jalapeno)
4 sweet peppers (red)
3 c. white vinegar
10 c. sugar
2 packages pectin
2 tsp. red or green food coloring
Cut peppers. Discard seeds and stems. Use rubber gloves to handle peppers and please do not touch your eyes while handling peppers. Grind peppers in blender with vinegar. Move this mixture to a large pan and place on the stove burner. Add sugar, and bring to a boil. Boil for a full 5 minutes. Remove from heat and skim. Add 2 packages of pectin and food coloring and return to boil and boil hard for one minute. Pour into jars with canning lids while hot and seal while jelly is hot.

For an easy treat, try a combination of Wheat Thins(TM), cream cheese and jalapeno jelly. The cream cheese and crackers are there to calm the nerve endings in your tongue so you can enjoy the blend of flavors and the spicy jelly. Just place a block of cream cheese on a festive plate and pour the jelly over it. Put the crackers within reaching range, but not close enough that they get soggy from the jelly. In addition to being great for dipping with crackers, it's great on toast, bagels and cream cheese, or as a ham or chicken glaze. A real luxury is serving coconut shrimp with the pepper jelly.

CORN AND CHEESE BISCUITS
3 c. flour
1 c. corn meal
4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. soda
½ tsp. salt
1 c. butter or margarine
1 c. shredded cheese
2- 12 oz. cans of whole corn, drained or 10 oz. pkg of frozen corn
1 c. buttermilk or sour cream

In medium bowl stir together flour, corn meal, baking powder, soda and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in cheese. Mix and set aside. Stir buttermilk and corn together. Add corn mix all at once to flour mix. Stir until just moistened, turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Quickly knead gently for 10-12 strokes. Pat out into a smooth circle about ¾ inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Can be frozen at this point. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes (15 minutes if frozen). Serve hot with pepper jelly.

Bread for the World......

2005-09-01T22:10:00.000-05:00

This week was our monthly “Bread for the World” lunch in the basement of the meetinghouse. On the last Wednesday of each month a small group of people meet together to eat lunch and write a letter to one of our congressional representatives or senators concerning hunger issues. Last month we asked our legislators to cosponsor the Hunger-Free Communities Act. This bill urges our government to commit to cutting US hunger in half by 2010 and to oppose cuts to the Food Stamp Program and other national nutrition programs. So far it has attracted 25 senate cosponsors including Senator Lugar and Bayh, and 98 cosponsors in the house, excluding Rep. Mike Pence.

Hurricane Katrina highlights the problem of hunger in our nation. I’ve heard reports that nearly a quarter of New Orleans population lives below the poverty line. Many had no resources to remove themselves from harms way or to prepare for any type of disaster. Before the storm they experienced food insecurity, today their situation is critical. Whatever assets they had in their lives are gone. We helplessly stand and watch the displaced and homeless and those in desperately need of food and water suffer. And there is little we can to today but give financially to aid organizations and mourn the pain our brothers and sisters are experiencing.

The crisis this week highlights the plight of all those across our nation who live with food insecurity and low wages. While they may not suffer like those in New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi or Mobile this week, life will become more difficult for many because of this crisis. We complain helplessly about how fast gasoline prices increased and yet for many of us it really doesn’t alter our lifestyle. We are still able to go where we need to go, to drive work each day, and to fill our gas tank no matter what the total cost. It hurts, but it does not stop us from living our normal lives.

An August 31, 2005 AP article headline read “More Indiana residents are living below the poverty line”. The number of Indiana residents living in poverty increased 14% from 2003 to 2004. For those, these gas prices will do damage. Many people will have to make a choice between spending money for food or gas to go to work or to look for jobs. The food pantry in our community will be strained and stretched. After a summer of record use and at times empty shelves, this is not good news. We will do what we can to share our food with the food pantry, but we also need to ask our government to do all it can. We must ask our government to pass a budget that will reflect our country’s moral commitment to help hardworking people who are struggling to feed their families. Please write to Rep. Pence to encourage him to do what is right and to cosponsor the Hunger-Free Communities Act.

A hunger-free Randolph County would be a good thing.

Eat your fruits and vegetables........

2005-08-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

An August 11, 2005 AP article shocked me. There has been growing concern about the health of Americans these days and especially about rates of obesity among children. The new USDA food pyramid suggests our diet include 3 cups of fat-free or low-fat milk or cheese, 2 ½ cups vegetables, 2 cups fruit, 6 ounces of grains and 5 ½ ounces of meat or beans. It is hard not to look at those items without looking at what our government subsidizes: $7.3 billion for corn and feed grains, $3.5 billion for cotton, $1.6 billion for soybeans, $1.5 billion for wheat, $1.5 billion for tobacco, $686 million for dairy, $626 million for rice, and $271 million for peanuts. I am not shocked by the government saying one thing and doing another, I am shocked that we are just now starting to question this inconsistency.

I am NOT against farm subsidies. In fact, I am more concerned about farmers today than at any other time in the past. Last March our county celebrated Ag Day with meals and displays out at the County Fair Grounds. This focus on the farmers in our community is timely and needed. In this day and age, farmers are the neglected heroes of our land. I’ve heard farmers refer to themselves as gamblers. From year to year they gamble on the weather, the cost of their seeds, gasoline, chemicals, and the price of their commodities, never knowing for sure if they will make a profit or a loss. Many times they lose. And their loss is our loss. Farm subsidies are important to many small farmers.

Indiana grows corn and soybeans extremely well. There is interest these days in setting up a bio-fuel plant in Randolph County to turn those grains into ethanol. It has been difficult for me to think about food crops being turned into fuel when we live in a world where 24,000 people die daily from malnutrition or hunger. But I began to rethink my concerns after I read this article. I think it is more objectionable for good crops like corn and soybeans to be turned into high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil to make cheap, nutrition-poor food for people here in the United States. The fact is, Americans eat little corn or soybeans in their natural state. One day public pressure will change our subsidies to reflect the food pyramid and Indiana farmers could loose out. That should be a concern for all of us here in Randolph County. As we look seriously at gasoline approaching the $3.00 mark, using our land to produce a good, clean alternative fuel source is well worth our support and our government’s subsidies. That could be a real “victory garden” in our world today.

Eggplant

2005-08-10T23:44:00.000-05:00

From my garden: Eggplant
From the Compassion Garden: tomatoes, cucumbers, basil
Sunday Lunch: Ellen’s Oven Ribs, Ratatouille, Brown Rice, Corn on the cob, Fresh Green Bean and Red Potato Salad, tossed salad, and Whole Wheat Rolls.

My second attempt at trying eggplants in Indiana worked! The last weeks I’ve harvested several large eggplants and I am happy and proud! Not only are the plants themselves nice looking plants for a small garden like mine, but the purple fleshed large fruits make the plants look exotic.

I usually crave ratatouille this time of year and now can make it once a week with fresh eggplant, tomatoes, and zucchini readily available. I serve ratatouille with pasta or with brown rice with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. It is also good as a side dish with chicken and a crusty bread.

Other favorite uses for eggplant: Moussaka (a Greek dish of sautéed eggplant slices layered with a tomato based meat sauce and topped with a custard-like cheese sauce), babaghanoush (a roasted eggplant dip), and Eggplant Parmesan (breaded eggplant with a tomato sauce and cheese).

Ratatouille

½ cup olive oil
1 large red onion
4 cloves garlic
1 large eggplant
3 med zucchini
1 green pepper
10 roma tomatoes
½ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper

Sauté sliced onions in olive oil. Add green pepper and eggplant and sauté until vegetables begin to soften. Add zucchini, garlic, and ¼ cup basil and sauté for an additional 3 or 4 minutes. Then add tomatoes. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Stir in the remaining fresh basil and parsley a minute before taking off the heat. Serve over pasta or rice. You can roast eggplant, green pepper and zucchini in the oven for 30-40 minutes before adding to the rest of the ingredients.

Dill Pickles

2005-08-01T22:06:00.000-05:00

From Compassion Garden: Cucumbers, dill pickles, and bread and butter pickles.

I've had several people ask for the dill pickle recipe I use for the bushels of cucumbers that are coming from the Compassion Garden these days. So far I've made 2 gallons of dill pickles and 4 gallons of bread and butter pickles in addition to all the fresh cucumbers people have taken. It has been a great year for the cucumber harvest. Both the pickles I make for the compassion garden table are a refrigerator pickle and will keep for a month or longer.

Refrigerator Dill pickle chips

2 pounds cucumbers
3 Tablespoons canning salt or other course salt
2 cups distilled white vinegar
3 cups water
1 tablespoon dill seed or 2 heads of dill seed
4 garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
2 bunches of fresh dill, coarsely chopped

Cut cucumbers into ½ inch rounds into a colander set into a bowl. Toss well with salt and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Rinse Cucumbers well and transfer to a large bowl or ½ gallon glass jar. Add chopped dill to cucumbers in bowl or jar and toss to distribute.

Bring water, vinegar, seed, garlic, and red pepper to a boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Let cool slightly for 10 minutes. Pour over cucumber slices and place in refrigerator for at least one week. Will keep a month.

Bread and Butter Pickles and Basil

2005-07-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

From the Compassion Garden: Cucumbers
From the Herb Garden: Basil

The basil is ready to bud and flower, so yesterday I harvested the tips of the plants to keep them growing and to make pesto. Pesto is a paste made in the food processor with olive oil, garlic cloves, pine nuts, salt and parmesan cheese. It can be added to pasta or served as a spread with french bread. It is good stirred into minestrone soup. I'll share more recipes with basil in future posts.

This is the time of year I become overwhelmed with cucumbers. What I long for is a good Greek salad with home grown tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, green peppers, feta and kalamata olives in an olive oil, lemon juice and oregano dressing. BUT the tomatoes are slow in ripening and there are no tomatoes just yet.

So, I've been using the cucumbers in other ways. Today for Sunday lunch I made an Italian pasta salad (corkscrew pasta, salami, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, green onions, grape tomatoes, green, yellow, and red peppers, and olives in a basil Italian dressing). Yesterday I spent time making pint jars of bread and butter pickles for the church with the cucumbers not taken on Sunday mornings.

So, what do you do with jars of bread and butter pickles?

They are good on a hot burger or alongside a sandwich. You can put them on sandwiches of cold cuts or cheese. Or you can use them in the following recipes:

Pressed Pork Sandwiches

1 loaf Italian bread (about 8 ounces)
¼ cup Dijon mustard
12 slices bread-and-butter pickles, plus more for serving (optional)
2 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese (8 ounces)
10 ounces reserved Roast Pork Loin, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Halve bread lengthwise. With your fingers, pull out some of the bread from both cut sides, leaving about a 1/4-inch shell all around. Spread mustard on each cut side.

2. Layer one of the bread halves with pickle slices, half the cheese, and all the pork. Scatter remaining cheese over pork, and top with other bread half. Press with your hands to flatten sandwich.

3. Place sandwich on a baking sheet. Place another baking sheet on top; weight with a heavy ovenproof skillet. Bake until cheese has melted and bread is crisp, about 15 minutes. Cut into 8 slices, and serve with more pickles, if desired.

Peanut Butter Sandwich

2 slices whole grain bread
¼ cup chunky peanut butter
1 Tablespoon mayonaise
3 bread and butter pickle stackers

1. Spread one slice of bread with peanut butter. Top with pickles. Spread remaining slice of bread with mayonnaise. Place on top of pickles, mayonnaise side down.

Bread and Butter Pickle Potato Salad

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 2 1/4 inches wide), scrubbed
1 tablespoon mustard seed (see notes)
1/2 cup bread-and-butter pickle juice (see notes)
1/2 cup finely chopped bread-and-butter pickles
1/2 cup reduced-fat or regular mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider or white wine vinegar
1 red bell pepper (1/2 pound), rinsed, stemmed, seeded, and diced
6 tablespoons minced parsley
Salt and pepper

In a 4- to 5-quart pan, combine potatoes and 1 1/2 quarts water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain and let stand until cool enough to touch, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix mustard seed, pickle juice, pickles, mayonnaise, and vinegar. Peel warm potatoes, cut into about 3/4-inch cubes, and drop into dressing. Add bell pepper; mix gently. Let cool to room temperature, at least 15 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons parsley and salt and pepper to taste; mix. Scrape into a serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining parsley.

NOTES: Pour the pickle juice out of the jar through a fine strainer into a bowl and save the mustard seed for the salad, or use dried mustard seed soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, then drained. If making salad up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill; mix before serving.

Zucchini, thyme, dill and cucumbers

2005-07-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

From the Compassion Garden: Cucumbers (refrigerator dill chips and bread and butter pickles)
From local farmers: zucchini
From my herb garden: thyme and dill (coming soon….basil!!)

Sunday noon meal: baked salmon with lemon and dill, cucumbers in dill sauce, Mediterranean Rice Salad (wild rice with radicchio, endive, garbanzo beans, grated carrots, sliced zucchini, sliced mushrooms, grapes, diced apples, feta cheese and greek olives in a olive oil, lemon juice, and thyme dressing), and multi-grain baguette.

Because of the foodfriends caning day, I was not able to get to the Winchester Farmer’s Market last Saturday. A recent AP article in the Newsgazette headlined “Number of farmers markets growing steadily as demand increases.” It goes on to read “the growing popularity of the markets is attributed to a number of factors: less tolerance for bland meat and produce some consumers associate with big factory farms; more demand for the just-picked freshness and nutrition of locally grown food, increased awareness about supporting local economies; and health and environmental concerns about the use of antibiotics and pesticides……Buying local is less wasteful, it reconnects us with our neighbors, and the food tastes better and is more wholesome.”

I missed getting to see what was available this past week. I am thankful for the work of many in Winchester who began this market and I appreciate opportunities to visit with people like Gary Girton (the brother of Joyce G. Edwards) and to see what his garden is producing.

Reconnect with your neighbors and shop in Winchester on Saturday mornings!

foodfriends cooking day.....

2005-07-17T20:21:00.000-05:00

Bushel of Green Beans: $22
Jars to can Beans: $5.00
Hours to snap Beans: 3
Can of Green Beans at Aldi’s: $.39

A day with wonderful friends......
Green beans with sea salt and no preservatives......
Learning how to use that ugly pressure canner in our kitchens.....
Fresh green beans for supper......
Not going to Aldi’s in January when it is 3 degrees outside:
PRICELESS

A foodfriends canning day with Virginia D. went well this past Saturday. Thank you, Virginia, for your time and talent in showing us how to can beans and use our pressure canners.

So what do you do with a pint or quart of beans when you are tired of just plain beans?

There is always the traditional green bean casserole with French fried onions and mushroom soup, or Shepherd’s Pie with beans, hamburger, tomato sauce and onions topped with cheesy mashed potatoes.

You can make a Swiss green beans casserole of green beans in a swiss cheese sauce topped with corn flake crumbs.

You can use beans in vegetable soup, minestrone soup, or green bean soup (a vegetable chowder with carrots, potatoes, onions and lots of green beans with parsley and summer savory and cream topped with diced hard-cooked eggs……ask Pam for the recipe.)

Virginia uses beans in the crock pot for a one dish meal of ham, potatoes and beans. I use green beans in a tuna salad Nicoise (a bed of greens layered with potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, hard cooked eggs and tuna with a vinaigrette dressing.)

Or make a bean salad with green beans, yellow wax beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, onions, and green peppers in a vinaigrette dressing.

The sky is the limit now that your shelves are full of green beans......

Green Beans and Rosemary

2005-07-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

July 9, 2005 Saturday evening Barbeque: Grilled hamburgers, baked beans, coleslaw, corn on the cob, relish plate with peanut dip, potato chips, lemon meringue pie.

July 10, 2005 Sunday Lunch: 3 Fruit Chicken Salad, Rosemary Green Bean and Potato Salad, Tossed Salad, Fruit Salad, Carrot Cake, Waldorf Astoria Cake.

From Compassion Garden: Cucumbers, dill pickle chips, bread and butter pickles.

From Winchester Farmer’s Market and local farmers: Kohlrabi, cabbage, watermelon, cantaloupe, fresh corn, green beans.

RECIPE: Rosemary Green Bean Potato Salad

2 pounds of red potatoes, steamed and peeled, cut into chunks
1 ½ pounds of green beans, stemmed and lightly steamed until barely tender
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Mix together in a large bowl and pour ½ - ¾ of dressing over room temperature potatoes, green beans and onions. Just before serving, add last of dressing if needed and sprinkle with sprigs of rosemary. Serve at room temperature.

Dressing:
1 cup olive oil
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over room temperature vegetables.

Dill and The Last Juror

2005-07-03T21:39:00.000-05:00

From the garden: cucumbers and dill

From Winchester Farmer’s Market: Turnips, cabbage, and watermelon

July 3, 2005 Sunday Lunch: Fried Chicken, Mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, green beans, buttered turnips, coleslaw, cucumbers in vinegar with dill weed, biscuits, watermelon and peanut butter ice cream pie with chocolate sauce

For the last several weeks I’ve been listening to John Grisham’s book, The Last Juror and have fallen in love with one of the main characters, Miss Callie Ruffin. The novel is set in the 1970’s and Miss Callie is in her 60’s, an articulate, self educated black woman, mother of eight children of which seven are accomplished college professors. We see Miss Callie through the eyes of young Willie Trayner, the editor of the weekly paper for a small town in rural Mississippi.

Willie Trayner grew up in the home of a mother who did not cook. He never went hungry, but food for him consisted of cold cereal for breakfast, peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and frozen TV dinners for supper. More often than not, he ate alone. His first meal on Miss Callie’s front porch opened his world to a wonderful friendship and the glory of Southern cooking. I loved the descriptions of food just harvested from the garden and the emphasis on living off of the land, but more than anything else, I loved Miss Callie’s relationship with God.

At that first meal with Miss Callie, Willie Trayner could hardly restrain himself from the food set before him. Just as he was about to dive into the delightfully smelling dishes on the table, Miss Callie took both Willie’s hands and lowered her head to pray. As I listened to Grisham’s description of Miss Callie’s prayer, I was blessed. It was a lengthy prayer and full of thanks for all good things. Willie watched her pray and was amazed at her perfect contentment in talking to her God. In Willie’s words……”In the clutches of this very holy woman, I had never felt closer to God.”

I am not a great southern cook, or even a great cook for that matter, but it really doesn’t matter. We each have an opportunity to bring people close to God through something as simple as a shared meal around the table. It is in the moments when we give thanks for all the good things in our world and we recognize God's gift of the land and the food it produces to sustain all life that we draw all to God. And that is what really matters.

We truly are thankful and blessed. Even for turnips.

Cucumbers, Parsley and Mint

2005-07-02T21:50:00.000-05:00

Herb
Garden

Parsonage
Backyard
June 2005

Sunday Lunch June 26, 2005

From the garden: cucumbers, parsley and mint

From Williamsburg Main Street Market: wheat bulgur *

Tabouli, hummus, pita bread, falafel with yogurt sauce, and baklava

Tabouli (Wheat and Parsley Salad)

Soak for an hour: 1 cup cracked wheat and 3 cups boiling water

Cool and drain wheat and toss with:

1 ½ cups finely chopped parsley
½ cup chopped mint
½ cup finely sliced green onions
2 med cucumbers, diced
2 cups diced tomatoes
Optional additions: 1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans) and/or grated carrots

Cover and chill. Can be made in advanced with tomatoes added just before serving. Just before serving, toss tabouli with a dressing of ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ cup lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon pepper.

Tabouli can be served with romaine lettuce, which is traditionally used as a utensil for eating tabouli.

* Bulgur is whole wheat kernels that have been heated in water, dried, and cracked with some of the bran removed.

Other uses for parsley: Usually we see parsley only as a garnish, but it is a healthy food and tastes good. It can be used in any salads, in sauces, and in soups. I use it in pumpkin soup, minestrone soup, thousand island dressing, and chicken gumbo. It goes well with lemon and garlic.

Other uses for mint: It can be used for drinks and teas and mint jelly for lamb.

One of my favorite drinks is fresh mint and ginger lemonade:
½ cup packed mint leaves, chopped and crushed
1/3 cup chopped fresh ginger (chop in a food processor)
1/3 cup honey
Combine above with 2 cups boiling water and steep together for 30 minutes.
Add:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 ½ cups cold water
Refrigerate until cold and serve over crushed ice with fresh mint leaves and lemon slices for garnish.

Compassion Garden

2005-07-01T23:12:00.000-05:00

This is the fourth year for a Compassion Garden. This little urban garden has been a gift. It was inspired by an article in a Heifer International magazine about a rundown school yard in California that was transformed into a large, beautiful organic garden tended by the school children. Students planted and harvested vegetables, the cafeteria staff taught the students how to cook what they grew for school lunches, and excess produce was sold to an organic restaurant down the street. Everyone profited: the restaurant, the school, the children and the community.

Across the street from the Winchester Friends Meeting are two parking lots, one belongs to the Quakers, the other the Presbyterians. Between the two lots lay a narrow "no man’s land" of soil, 6ft by 50 ft, that mostly produced weeds each summer. In 2002, with the Heifer story for inspiration, church leaders proposed planting a vegetable garden there, to be weeded and watered by youth from both churches. The produce grown would be divided between the two churches and sold to support a Compassion International child in Uganda.

Since then, each summer we harvest green peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes from plants interspersed with bright marigold flowers. Youth come by to weed and water whenever they have time. Adults support this project with donations of hoses, wire cages, and labor. And they give lavish prices for the vegetables. We collect enough money each summer to pay a year’s support of a Compassion Child. That speaks far more of the generosity of the adults buying the produce than it does of the amount of produce from the garden. Their acts of giving have been an encouragement to the youth.

I won’t pretend the youth are doing all the work, but I have been pleasantly surprised at their interest and pride for this project. We are learning important lessons from this garden. In a world where 24,000 people die each day of hunger, it doesn’t make sense to let weeds grow where food can be produced. The food we grow won’t make its way to Africa, but it does provide good healthy nutrition for our community. From our financial abundance we can assist these youth to help one child out of poverty. This is good stewardship of land and labor, and a visible expression of God’s intentions for our earth. The garden teaches us that our physical work to nurture this soil in Winchester, Indiana, matters to a child in Uganda. Money helps, but how we live makes the real difference in our world.

The Compassion Garden builds community. People come together to work and watch the garden grow. Youth relate to adults as they sell produce. Their excitement is visible when they realize how generous people are to this project and how pleased people are with their efforts. I’m blessed by those who wave or honk as they drive by while I’m watering and weeding, or who patiently slow their car to allow me to pull the watering hose across the street. I appreciate the opportunity to greet my neighbors as they walk by and to hear their comments on the garden. The Compassion Garden produces vegetables, but I think we are really growing compassion. And everyone benefits: the neighborhood, the Quakers, the Presbyterians, the youth, and a young girl in Uganda.