Whole Wheat Bread Success!

I think I've bought about five loaves of bread over the last four or five years. I've made the rest. Yes, we don't eat much during the summer since it is often too hot to turn on the oven and there was a notable lack of bread when I had a newborn in the house but ultimately it has been a worthwhile endeavor. Bread days are the best day of the week for us. What can beat the smell and taste of a fresh baked loaf?  There is just something good about it.

There are a number of recipes I've come to love. Recipes for purple potato rolls, sweet roll dough, rosemary focaccia, pizza dough, banana bread, tortillas...but a good 100% whole wheat bread has eluded me. I have a wonderful one that involves quinoa. I make  it often but the grain is a bit expensive and it requires a third a cup of molasses so the recipe wasn't really practical for everyday and would certainly get expensive a few years down the road as our family grows. I developed a good recipe over the last few months but it too involved a good bit of  honey (honey is expensive!), an egg, and powdered milk...it just wasn't quite what I was looking for.

I want something easy, with a good texture (who hasn't tried to make a loaf of bead only to end up with a brick?) AND I want a simple recipe without a lot of added ingredients AND I want something that will taste good the next day...and the next. Nothing worse than a sandwich on dry bread!

I've found this in this awesome 100% whole wheat sourdough bread. The sourdough flavor us mild so you can use the bread for sweet or savory recipes. It rises beautifully and keeps well. Sourdough is intimidating for some but I've found out to be surprisingly simple!  This recipe does take a but of forethought, but not much! I've start it the night before but I've also stared it early the morning of.

THE RECIPE:
The night  before you bake: Around dinner time the night before your want to bake your bread remove one cup of sour dough starter from the fridge and place in a large mixing bowl. Feed the starter a half cup water and a half cup whole wheat flour. Allow to sit in a warm place for a few hours. Before bedtime stir in three cups of water and four cups of whole wheat flour. Cover the bowl and place in a draft free place overnight.

THE DAY OF:
Pull out mixture from the night before. It should be bubbly, slightly risen and have a yeasty, slightly sour smell. Stir in the following ingredients:

1 tbls salt
1/3 cup cooking oil

Add about five-six cups of whole wheat flour slowly, a half cup at a time, until the dough is sticky but managable. Do not add too much flour! Knead the dough, adding just enough flour to keep from sticking, until smooth. Return to the bowl and let rise until double. Shape into loaves and place the loaves in greased pans. Let rise until loaves are just past the top of the pan.

I can't tell you just how long to let it rise. This isn't quick acting yeast so the time will vary based on the activity of your starter, temperature of the room, etc. Just check in on it every hour or so.  Bake at 375° for 35-45 minutes until the top is browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Allow to cool (if you can keep you hands off it!) and serve.

Don't have a sourdough starter? There are numerous websites with good information on how to start one. You can get some from a friend (like me!). Or websites like this one will send you some for next to nothing! Pretty cool huh? Care of you sourdough starter is easy too and again a little online research will yield a ton of information on doing just that. They're pretty hard to kill...I neglected mine in the back of the fridge for more than two months and it revived quite nicely.

If anyone is curious...his name is Griswald...

Vegetarian Chile: A Favorite Recipe of Late

We've enjoyed this fantastic vegetarian chile a couple times the last three weeks. A little cheddar and a slice of warm corn bread...lets just say yum!

The recipe is very flexible and I'm really looking forward to trying it out this summer once the farmers market gets up and going. (Really, really hoping I get to move somewhere with a good farmers market!)  Fresh picked tomatoes, zucchini and peppers would really make this all the better. I've done this in the crockpot and on the stovetop. I'm going to say this will serve six to eight people...when I've made it for just two of us I've ended up eating it for lunch all week. (Not a bad thing at all!)

The recipe:
The do ahead:
  1 cup dry black beans
  1 cup dry kidney beans
Cook beans until soft. You can soak them over night, rinse and boil for about two hours or, a method I've just come to love,boil the beans on the stove for about ten minutes then toss them in your crockpot with fresh water and cook on high for about six hours. When using the crockpot method I start the beans right before work in the morning and finish the chile (or whatever other recipe I'm working on) after I get home. Canned beans are also an option. I believe the equivalent it's about 2-3 cans per cup of dried beans.

Once your beans are cooked:
Drain and rinse the beans. Return them to the pot then add:
  3 bell peppers, sliced (different colors if possible)
  1 anaheim pepper, minced
  1 small onion, sliced
  Several cloves of minced garlic
  2 small zucchini, diced
  1 can of diced tomatoes, with juice
  1 small can of tomato paste
  About 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I know what you're thinking...trust me just do it!)
  Enough water to just cover everything
  Vegetable bouillon, salt, black pepper, chile powder and cayenne pepper to taste.
 
Simmer until the veggies are tender. If using the crockpot this will take about 3-4 hours on high.

Near serving time, add half  a small package of  frozen corn or one can of corn drained.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you have any questions about the recipe and if you enjoy it!!

Family Update-Coast Guard Here We Come!

This past Monday my husband Dan swore into the United States Coast Guard. He will be leaving for boot camp April 17th. Sometime in June, after Dan receives his orders we will be moving...are you ready for this... wherever they send us.  For anyone who is wondering this doesn't just mean East or West Coast. We could be stationed anywhere there is a navigable waterway which means we could end up just about anywhere in the US.
We feel this is not just a new chapter but really a whole new book in our lives. This will be a big change...bigger than we've experienced so far in our relationship...perhaps even our whole lives but it's one that we feel fits well with our family and our goals. We feel God has led us down this new path and can see his hands all over this transition. Though it is terrifying in many ways, we look forward to a time of trying new things, seeing new places, meeting new friends and finding a new church home. We look forward to finding ways to grow close to each other even as we may be required to spend frequent time apart. And even though we will miss out family and friends here in Oregon terribly  we look forward to watching our family grow (a little further down the road for all you Nosy Nellies out there!) and focusing fully on them.
Julianna and I are very proud of him. Being a small branch of the armed forces, Dan's acceptance into the Coast Guard is quite an honor!

Is Technology Becoming Your Idol?

A thought provoking experience this morning...

After being assigned a substitute job that started a little latter than usual, I found myself with about ten extra minutes in my morning.  Now, I'm pretty terrible about reading my Bible regularly but really felt the urge to do so this morning.Without even getting up from my cozy spot on the couch and my hot cup of tea, I reached for my phone. My smartphone...Droid X2 to be exact. With the flick of a finger I pulled up a Bible reading plan I had started earlier last week and began to read. No sooner had I begun my reading when the screen froze. My internet connection failed.

What did I do next you might ask? Didn't I just reach over to the whole shelf full of Bibles just a few feet away?  No. Did I get up and sneak into the bedroom past my sleeping husband to grab the Bible on my bedside table? No. Did I simply put the phone down and spend a few extra minutes in prayer? Not even...
I got frustrated. I started pushing buttons in hopes that it might start working again. I successfully made out to the next page of my reading only to have it freeze up again. The connection just wasn't working. Again I furiously pushed buttons hoping it would start moving again. I waited...still feeling frustrated. Then
I thought why not just switch to that OTHER Bible app I have on my phone?  Of course by this point I looked up at the clock only to find that my time was up. Instead of spending a few peaceful minutes at the beginning of my day with my God, letting him prepare me for my day, I wasted that time frustrated and annoyed that my technology wasn't functioning properly.

How often do I use technology as an excuse to avoid who God has called me to be and what he as called me to do? Asking myself honestly what God might have me do with the time I spend using technology yields some scary answers. Even more scary are the excuse I use to justify avoiding these things. Time I could be spending singing and playing with my daughter I spend waiting for a page to load (couldn't I just go look that recipe up in one of my cookbooks?). Time I could use to talk with someone who looks like they may be having a bad day I spend checking my Facebook (do I really need to check my new notifications in the grocery check-out line?). And for goodness sake, why do I need to read the Bible on my Droid when my well loved copy is just inches away from my fingertips...especially when it becomes a frustration? Has my Droid, the internet, my access to information, etc. become an idol? Has it gained control over my life It sure has. 

These things distract me from a relationship with God and the purpose He has for me. Sure it's just the little things but those little things add up...those little things matter! How many opportunities have I missed as I half-heartedly answer pleas for prayer on Facebook only to be distracted by another post or an advertisement. How many conversations have I missed while I play Words with Friends in the check outline? How often have I dropped everything just to look at a text-message or e-mail that could wait until I finished talking with my husband or playing with my daughter? Even though I try to spin it as such, the way I use technology is certainly not purposeful. It is a mindless habit...a compulsion. 

I know who God has called me to be. I know that when I pray and read His word He speaks to me and shows me the work He would have me do. I pray, I pull out the Bible if I'm feeling particularly ambitious or having an especially bad day. Yet, day after day I make excuses to avoid truly moving forward. God's plan for me is so much greater than what I'm allowing Him to use me for now. For me technology is just another excuse...a tie to what the world would have me be. I do things like reading the Bible on my phone with good intentions but get so easily distracted by other times (can't I read my Bible, check my Facebook and pay bills at the same time?) It goes falls right in line with the age old excuse of "I'm just to busy to let God use me now." As I consider this issue I realize there is a deeper issue...fear. Fear of handing over control of my life fully into God hands. Fear of being all who He would have me be. We humans like to have control of ourselves and everything around us. I am no different. Technology gives us the ultimate control over our lives...no wonder we love it. Technology is just one more idol to cling to...one more thing to distract us from our true purpose. Technology is just another master over our lives...seeming to give us control but truly controlling us.

I'm not going to advocate tossing your smartphone down the toilet or closing down your Facebook account but I am trying to ask myself and others like me to approach technology with awareness of it's ability to distract us, to become an idol and a master to us. I remember talking about the power of money to do just this in Sunday school long ago...

"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24

...but do we teach ourselves and our children that technology can do the same? The technology we have today is so new and changing so fast it seems to me that Christians haven't even had time to realize, haven't even considered the possibility, that technology is taking over our minds and our hearts in this way. This awareness and the ability to conquer the power technology holds in our lives will only come to hearts and minds that are fully handed over to God.

Decisions for Success?

I started work again this week after a wonderfuland relaxing Christmas break. And while it has been a challenge emotionally to leave my sweet girl and step in front 35+ teenage  strangers one thing I do appreciate about my job us that it often allows me copious amounts of reading time. I finished three books this week. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (would recommend!), Love Comes Softly by Jennette Oke (an old favorite) and one that got me thinking--The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews.

My mom and I picked up this book at a Women of  Faith conference in October after hearing him speak. He was an energetic man who encouraged us to live our lives with the knowledge that everything we do has the potential to make a big impact. We never know how God may use us. His faith was evident as he spoke and his book sounded interesting.

The basic premise this: the main character David Ponder is at the end of his rope. He has lost his job,  his daughter is very ill, he is under the impression that he is a failing husband, father and provider. He drives recklessly intending to take his own life in a crash when he finds himself in a dream. In his dream he meets seven historical characters. Each of whom provide him with a 'decision for success.'

The "decisions for success" are as follows:
1) The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.
2) I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.
3) I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.
4) I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.
5) Today I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.
6) I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.
7) I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.

The story was engaging enough but I was disappointed to see that the end of the story leaves David a wealthy and influential motivational speaker\ writer. I think the Andrews was trying to make the point that the sky is the limit when we make these decisions but I felt the ending misplaced the power and potential that the "decisions" have in our lives. Yes, you will be more successful if you live with cheerfulness, wisdom and integrity but you certainly may not find yourself wealthy materially because of that. What is the measure of success? It certainly is not material wealth! The Bible says we are to store up our treasures in heaven, not on Earth. Our motivation for making these decisions in our life should not be for mere selfish gain but to further our purpose--to store up treasures in heaven.

This book, while it sounded promising and I was excited to read it, was a disappointment. It left out the most important decision for success: following Christ. While the author's faith was evident when I listened to him speak in person, his book felt like just another self help book. While faith might be implied in many of the principles he presents, it is not specifically addressed. For lack of a better word, it was simply wishy-washy-- clearly meant to appeal to the largest audience possible. Ultimately the value of good decision making is misplaced. The seven decisions he presents ought to be used not simply to better ourselves but to further the kingdom of God in the process.

Now, what to read next? Any suggestions? 

The Journey Tree

Jeremiah 17:5-8 NLT

This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land. “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.

Seems like I ought to explain my chosen title. I chose this title for my blog several months ago but never really got it up and running. I feel the time is now to begin documenting and sharing pieces of this life I'm living.

People have always described life to me as a journey. We see the metaphor everywhere--'a path we're walking, 'the road less traveled' and the Bible even speaks of walking the "narrow road" (Matthew 7:14). Yes, all these metaphors work well but I came across another my reading (a simile technically...if you look at it in context but that is neither here nor there). It describes those of us who have our hope and confidence in the Lord as trees planted on a river bank. Their roots grow deep in the rich, moist soil. Even when hard times come that tree is healthy, green and it bears fruit. God says the alternative is a 'stunted shrub it the desert with no hope of a future.' Which would you rather be?

This is not the only place in the Bible God compares us to plants. Jesus calls us to vines who bear fruit and are firmly anchored in Christ in His parable of the vine and the branches (John 15). The alternative in that story is to be cast into fire. The lesson to be pulled from both illustrations it that as Christians we must be firmly rooted in Christ that we might be healthy and bare fruit.

When I first read this passage likening out lives to those of trees by the river bank I immediately liked the image but could not fit it with my previous notion of life being like a journey. I, for one, feel almost constant motion in life...things are always changing! If I truly am on a journey how can I live life like the tree rooted on the river bank or the branch attached firmly to the life giving vine. But then I realized I was over thinking the matter...it's all just metaphor.

So there you have it. We are to be trees on a journey....metaphorically speaking that is. Which brings me back to the beginning of my blog. As my family begins the new year I feel compelled to thank God for the previous one. It has been a year of plenty, a year of joy, a year of overflowing love and ultimately year of peace. As I look forward to the new year and all that it holds (it promises to be a topsy turvy one) it is this past year of peace for which I feel so blessed. It has been an opportunity grow closer to my husband, my daughter and my God...bonds I'm sure will be tested as we walk into or new life as a military family. It has been a year where I have truly been able to sit by the riverbank and stretch my roots...to remember my hope and my confidence are in the Lord. This year it is time to pick up my things and get back on the road. Never forgetting that as I walk I am to always remain rooted in the hope and confidence that only comes from God. It is this next stage of my journey that I feel compelled to share.

~ Kora