Fruitful Words

. . . horeseradish?
. . . sherry?
. . . seaweed?
. . . pureed vegetables?
. . . any and every leftover?

My 4 year old niece has a surprising addition, if you are game.

Below is her recipe for Arnez Scrambled Eggs.
You will also find it in the CNC cookbook coming soon to . . .
a Women’s Ministry team member near YOU!

1. Crack in two eggs in a big bowl that’s clean. Throw away the eggshells.
2. Take a fork and poke at the egg yolks. And then stir it.
3. You can put strawberries in. [The surprise ingredient.]

4. Put the eggs in a pan that has a fire under it.
5. You get a spoon to pick up the cooked eggs to put them on a plate.
6. Put catsup but not Ranch [dressing] on the eggs.
7. Put everything away and wash the bowl and fork out.
NOTE: Orange juice would be a good match for this breakfast.

by Emily Arnez – age 4

The cookbook has other recipes just as darling!

Doesn’t that make you want to grab your checkbook and send in $14.99 to the church right NOW!

Seriously, how do you like your eggs?
I like mine dry with lots of white pepper and two pieces of buttered, wheat toast. Please smear one slice with marmalade. Oh, and a cup of English Breakfast Tea steeped for 3 minutes with a slurp of milk.

I found a way to make my new, favorite summer dish (Pasta Primavera) a tich easier. Or at least neater.

Here’s my basic recipe.

1. Steam frozen or fresh veggies (broccoli, carrots, zucchini, peas, corn).
2. Sauté onion, mushrooms, and peppers. I cook whatever is on hand until I have about 3 cups of steamed and sautéed veggies.
3. Make a white sauce while the veggies are cooking. I make 2 cups. This sauce is equally good with powdered milk, regular milk or soy milk.
4. Cook 1 lb. of linguine. Drain.
5. Put all the veggies and white sauce into the noodles.
6. Fold in 1-2 cups of washed and roughly chopped spinach.
7. Add handful of sliced cherry tomatoes.

Okay, here’s the neato tip: Before I pour the dry noodles into a pot of boiling water, I break the noodles in half inside the package.

Maybe y’all already knew this one. I just discovered it last week while whipping up this dish (again). Doing it this way ensured that I didn’t drop even one noodle.Works-for-me. Hop on over to Shannon’s Rocks In my Dryer for MORE tips to make YOUR life easier.

According to the Friendship Bread Starter Recipe I get to . . .

“Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup of milk. Squeeze bag several times.”

In the past I have not been very successful with taking care of my Starter. It would get too hot and die. It would get too cold and not grow. Or I’d forget all about it – especially when it was nestled in my sock drawer.

But so far so good and I have some Starter to share.

My sister declined taking possession of Starter because she was sure she’d fall into the “forgetting all about it” camp.

After explaining to Lorna the care and feeding of Starter she said, “It’s like taking care of a plant and I kill plants.” She also declined – for now.

J was willing to give it a go. After giving some Starter to J, she and hubby talked about what they’d do with Starter this week. They have plans to go to Redding. In the end, it was hoped that their upstairs neighbor would give Starter the necessary squeezes.

So how’s it going with your Starter?

Don’t have any Starter and want some? Go here for directions to make your own.

Something’s growing at CNC.

It’s easy to create.
It’s bubbling with life.
And it’s meant to be shared.

It’s Friendship Bread. Also known as Amish Friendship Bread and Herman bread.

According to Wikipedia, Amish Friendship Bread, “is the chain letter of the baking world [or like zucchini from summer gardens]. The idea is very simple: a friend gives you a cup of yeast culture (also known as “starter”) and a copy of instructions. Following the instructions, you add sugar, flour and milk and it rises.”

“Eventually, you end up with 4 cups of the starter. You use one to make bread, keep one to start a new cycle and give two to your friends. Each of your friends also gets a copy of the instructions for what to do with the yeast starter. The latter part makes it somewhat like a chain letter.”

The idea is simple: use some, keep some and give some away. A recipe like this can quickly get out-of-hand and that’s what Women’s Ministry is proposing. In fact, let’s see how out of hand we can get. And how quickly we can do it.

Pass it on
Do you think it’s possible for every woman of the church to receive starter? All those on the mailing list? Wouldn’t this be a fun way to connect with others? An unusual way to build community? Let’s see if we can pass it on to all the Family by the end of October.

“Hello, my name is Susan. It’s good to see you at church today. I’d like to give you a little something. It’s a Friendship muffin, (aha, you didn’t know you could make muffins with it, did you?), a bag of starter and a recipe to make your own muffins or loaf of bread.”“When you’ve made your bread, you can give your friends a sample and the starter that made it! Then your friends can make their own and pass it along to their friends. This is why the bread is called “friendship bread”.[1]

It’s a cookbook. Women’s Ministry is collecting recipes for an all-church cookbook.

So while you’re passing out samples and starter, how about passing out reminders to submit recipes (need them by August 15) and reserve a copy of the cookbook. Hardcopy forms are on the Secret Sister bookshelf; an electronic form can be received by e-mailing cncwomensministry@yahoo.com.

Be sure to grow and pass on the starter you receive. Even better yet, why don’t you start your own chain? The recipe for the starter and bread is in a separate post. When you’ve passed it on, please let me know by commenting here or click on Cookbook and comment on the post titled – Friendship Bread - Pass It On.

Let’s see how long it does take us to pass it on to all the CNC community.

Maybe at CNC we could call it Community Bread. ‘Cuz that’s what we’re doing with our sharing – building community. That’s what we’re doing with our cookbook – building community. That’s what Pastor will be preaching on – building community.

Why? Because Community Matters in the short-haul, long-haul and in Eternity.

[1] http://www.armchair.com/recipe/bake002.html

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar

NOTE: DO NOT USE METAL BOWLS OR SPOONS AND DO NOT REFRIGERATE (at this stage).

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in small amount of warm water. Mix all ingredients together in ample size bowl or jar - it will grow. (I put mine in a gallon-size ziplock bag).

This is day 1 of the recipe, then the next day go to day 2 and so on.

o DAY 1 Receive fermented starter in ziplock bag. Do nothing! Put bag on counter.
o DAY 2 Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 3 Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 4 Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 5 Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 6 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup of milk. Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 7 Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 8 Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 9 Squeeze bag several times.
o DAY 10 In a large non-metallic bowl, combine batter with 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix with wooden or plastic spoon. Take two one gallon ziplock bags and pour 1 cup of starter in each.

Give these two starters, with a copy of instructions, to CNC women.
Make a loaf of bread (or muffins) with one cup of the starter.
Keep one cup of starter so you can start the cycle over again.

Recipes for the bread will be posted next week.

“First you make a roux” is the way many Cajun and Creole one-pot main dishes start. And there is no further explanation of making a roux. Making roux and all the dishes that start with one is a hand-me-down tradition.

Passing down recipes from one generation to the next is a hand-me down tradition that occurs in all cultures. This ritual binds one family member to the next. It forms a connection; links the past to the present and then to the future.

Community is formed. And community matters.

This is one reason why Women’s Ministry is putting together an all church cookbook. We are collecting more than instructional how-to’s on making certain foods. So there are three more reasons we are putting together this ccokbook.

We are collecting memories: “This pork chop casserole was one my grandma always made when we visited because my dad thoroughly enjoyed eating it. I, however, was fed up and once asked, “Grandma, is this all you know how to cook?”

We are remembering those who have passed on: “While working in the nursery one morning, Betty and I started talking about recipes using persimmons. She told me that every Christmas she sent persimmon cookies to her family because it was the most requested one. Betty brought in the recipe for me to try and I loved it… The best part is having the handwritten recipe card from her to cherish.”

We are sharing the best recipes from each family: “Sometimes when I look at a new cookbook, I’m not sure what will turn out well. But when I look at recipes in a cookbook like this, I know my kids will eat it.”

Please submit all recipes by August 15, 2006. We want to have the books back in time to buy as Christmas gifts.

Pick up a hard copy form at the Secret Sister bookcase at church or email cncwomensministry@yahoo.com for an electronic form. You can also call Marsha Thompson if you have any questions.

Please share with me other ideas as to why collecting recipes for an all church cookbook is a good idea.

Well, I’m going back to the stove to do some more work on the cookbook.

Four Reasons
Do you like to eat?
Do you like to cook?
Do you like to read? (Cookbooks make interesting reading material)
Do you need Christmas gifts for the all your friends & relatives?
If you answer yes to at least one of the above, then Women’s Ministry needs your recipes.

Anyone can contribute
Husbands, kids, grandmas & grandpas. This is not just for women. Dig out your favorite recipes, get our kids involved, fill out the form and turn it in by August 15.

Forms readily available
See anyone one on the Women’s Ministry team with questions: Marsha, Shirley, Susan, Heidi, Lorna, Reggie. Pick up a hard copy recipe form at the Secret Sister bookcase at church or email cncwomensministry@yahoo.com for an electronic form.

Pass the word to anyone who does not have e-mail and let’s get the kid’s involved as well. Sunday School teachers pass the word to your class next week. I will have forms for you in the classroom.

Get out those treasured recipes and support Women’s Ministry.

P.S. Look for German Apple Cake from me.

What do you do when . . .

you’ve added three eggs yolks and ½ cup sugar to a can (16 ounces) of crushed pineapple with juice, when it should have been added to an 8 ounce, drained, can of crushed pineapple?

• I thought of taking half the mixture out, but what do you do with the other half?
• I thought about forgetting it altogether, but that would be wasteful and I still needed to bring something.
• Double it? Didn’t have the necessary pan or extra ingredients.
• Then I remembered what Marie Antoinette once said when she was in a pickle, “Let them eat cake.”
• An hour later I had one fragrant 13×9 and four 6×4 pineapple cakes with cream cheese frosting. And a hotter kitchen!!! (It is in the triple digits today and the ac was struggling, even before I decided to bake.)

I learned some things today . . .

• Carefully read and check the label of all ingredients. Don’t assume anything.
• 8 ounce cans of crushed pineapple exist. Despite what I used to believe.
• You cannot substitute a 10 ounce can of crushed pineapple with juice for an 8 ounce drained can.
• You can make the best of any situation – it’s a choice.
  

Oh, I also learned that Marie Antoinette never uttered those thoughtless words, on the eve of the French Revolution, “Let them eat cake.” See Urban Legends and Wikipedia for (some of) the true story.

Finally, here’s something, she really did say to the priest on her way up to the guillotine,

“The moment when my troubles are going to end is not the moment when my courage is going to fail me.”

This is a good note to end on while I go eat cake.

This Week’s Goals:

• Learn how to do links - Done!
• Post every week day - Skipped Friday, but posted Saturday instead

Not bad. I’d give myself a B.

Next week’s goals are learning how to create a blog roll and a side bar. I want to include the various topics I’ll be writing about: School and different Women’s Ministry events.

On Wednesday, July 2, Lori sent me her infamous recipe for . . .

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 Cups Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 Cup chunky peanut butter
3/4 Cup butter
3/4 Cup white sugar
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 Cups semisweet chocolate chips

• Heat oven to 375 F.
• Cream peanut butter, butter, and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
• Blend in flour and baking soda. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Drop cookies on ungreased pan and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

I’d give these an A. Lori brought these to a CNC’s women’s retreat we had years ago at Santa Cruz. Thanks, Lori, for sharing your memory and recipe.

K and I made these cookies yesterday for a Sing Thing at her parent’s home last night. We also made chocolate covered strawberries. I wish I had my camera because both were works of art. And it was so much fun spending girl time with my 10 year old niece.

Lavender and Old Lace is part of a Summer cookbook challenge to cook all the recipes in a cookbook. Check out her site for more on this. I love this idea, but I am not so ambitious.

So I would like to propose a modified challenge. I’d like to cook all the recipes from one of my magazines like the latest one from Martha Stewart (especially the strawberries-and-cream cheesecake) or one from a past edition of Taste of Home.

I bought a whole collection of magazines (Taste of Home and Quick Cooking) at our annual Women’s Ministry Silent Auction. Thanks K!)

I have fallen into the bad habit of not cooking for myself. And I want to actually cook the recipes I collect. Plus, eating my home cooking will probably be healthier than eating from the MacDonald’s Dollar menu or raiding the pantry for staples such as popcorn and/or cereal.

Anyone care to join me? I’ll be starting next week.

Food should be fun.
Thomas Keller

COOKS OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS
“…steam was generated beyond the power of the canister to endure.
As a natural consequence, the canister burst, the dead turkey sprang
from his coffin of tinplate and killed the cook forthwith.”
News report of an early canning industry accident (1852)The process of creating an all-church cookbook should also be fun and safe.

So far it has been fun, safe and tasty.

M and I sorted out the basic cookbook details over a wonderful meal of roast beef salad (which included strawberries) topped with homemade blue cheese dressing. Snickerdoodle cookies completed the meal.

Snickerdoodle cookies always remind me of Gram, my husband’s grandmother. Whenever we visited, she’d have a fresh jarful of these lovelies waiting for us to devour. For some reason, I cannot make a decent snickerdoodle.

Do you have a favorite memory about snickerdoodles or any other cookie?