Bread Blog

Diet Fail

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:47:59 -0500

Indian food and words of reconnecting, seasoned with laughter: that is how our two weeks of traveling began in Charlottesville, VA at the Genesis Project Board meeting.
Winn and Miska had all of us stay in their home this year which gave us time to be together in more organic ways. After two days with the board Stephen and I headed to Hopewell, VA and then on to Williamsburg, VA where we visited two different pastors and much of our conversation was once again around the table.
We savored Greek kabobs, East Coast seafood, and barbecue. Then for the last four days we headed to Chattanooga to be with our son David, our daughter-in-law Jennifer and our granddaughter Olivia. Jennifer’s mom and dad offered us hospitality southern style—with an Asian twist: Beverly served us slow cooked pot roast, sukiyaki, and homemade chicken enchiladas, as well as a sampling of pickled daikon radish! We ate pound cake with ice cream, we ate Olivia’s birthday cake, and David and Jennifer could not resist bringing us all a dozen delicious warm doughnuts from the local bakery one morning. We loved it all and just did not have the strength to say no to anything.
When we came home, my clothes were too tight. My appetite was raging, and I knew something had to be done to reset my thinking about food: less meat, more fruit and vegetables and much, much less sugar.
A few years ago I read French Women Don’t Get Fat and spent 48 hours following Mireille Guiliano’s leek soup recasting weekend. So I went to the grocery store and purchased a big bunch of leeks and came home and cleaned, cut and cooked 4 pounds of fresh leeks. Stephen said he was in. I thought, “We’ll see.”
Stephen was feeling faint by mid afternoon, and I lasted a little bit longer but by dinner time we both had lost the motivation to carry on. We did agree to have a light dinner of roasted vegetables and a small piece of fish, and I did lose 2/12 lbs!
BUT THEN we had fresh pasta and homemade brown sugar ice cream with fresh strawberries!
Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Fresh Strawberries
Makes 1 quart
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop - Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar, not packed
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
Heat the milk, salt, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for thirty minutes.
To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Pour the warm milk gradually into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.
Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Delicious served with sliced strawberries!

Mind Your Manners

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:37:57 -0500

We’ve probably had the last fire in the fireplace for the season. But this is St. Louis. Tomorrow the early morning temperatures may tempt us one last time.
Sitting by a fire as Stephen and I often do while working and writing is a pleasure not everyone enjoys, I know. But our good and generous Creator has given all of us the simple gift of food and fellowship around a table. At the table, even if we only give a little thought to it, we can see as well as taste beauty—and feel the tension ebb away as we connect with people....
The problem is, the experience is not always so restful. What can help us to set a tone that will encourage rest, not stress, and encourage us toward a more hospitable life?
In one of our recent Sunday conversations we talked about the importance of gracious manners in creating a hospitable environment.
But before we can make a meaningful argument for “good manners” we need to answer some prior questions: “What is the purpose of offering hospitality?” What do we want to happen when we invite others into our homes and into our lives?
As we talked around the room the answers to the purpose were: connecting with other people, having good conversations, building community, getting to know one another, receiving and giving knowledge about things we love and about which we are passionate, and creating intimacy.
If we carefully read the Bible we discover that hospitality is a fundamental value in both the Old and the New Testaments. In several places it is listed as a requirement for someone in leadership—one who aspires to leadership must be hospitable. They must show hospitality.
And at the core of hospitality is respect and consideration for others.
The idea of having gracious manners is not as much about having formal manners as it is about simply loving others. It is caring for the feelings and comfort of those with whom we share our home and table, whether over a simple cup of coffee or at a banquet feast.
Few of us are born with the desire to put others first, to listen well and not talk over others. Most of us need instruction on closing our mouths when we chew our food, placing our napkins in our laps, with smudges of food out of sight, and our fingers not touching the food that others will eat. These are some of the basic elements of good manners. Manners simply defined is showing consideration for others above ourselves. Manners can be thought of as a road map on how our lives can intersect with the lives of others with grace and thoughtfulness.
If we didn’t follow the rules of the road the consequences would be disastrous. We can’t simply decide that we would rather drive on the left side of the road or go on a red light and stop on a green light. Not only would we be breaking the law—we would endanger others. Long before there were codified traffic laws, people figured out ways to navigate the road that were to everyone’s advantage. It’s the same with table manners.
When people come together to share a meal there are good and proven ways, agreed upon over years of practice, that make our table a pleasant place. And this helps us think about the second question, “What do we want to happen as we invite others into our homes and into our lives?”
Simply this:
Hospitality is about offering our time to others and making a place to welcome strangers and friends. It can mean sharing a meal or a cup of tea. But what we have discovered is that a tone is set through the manners we practice. The practice of graciousness, or the lack of it, can help or hinder the aim of giving others a safe place to share their story, their hurts, their dreams, and to be cared for with food and unhurried time.
❦
Speaking of simplicity, here is an uncomplicated dish that would be quite easy to share.
Salmon in Parchment Paper with Edamame
by Karen Baldwin
4 six ounce Salmon fillets*
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
8 thin slices of whole lemon
1/4 cup coarsely chopped green onion (or coarsely chopped chives)
2 tablespoons fresh ginger cut into small matchsticks
8 three-inch sprigs of fresh thyme, preferably lemon thyme
2 tablespoons dry white wine

Preheat oven to 425º
Season all sides of the Salmon fillets with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Lay 4 roughly 12 by 20 inch sheets of parchment paper side by side on your work surface.
Place a piece of fish in each sheet of parchment in the center of the bottom half
Cover the Salmon with: 2 slices of the lemon, 1 tablespoon of the chopped green onions or chives, 1/2 tablespoon of the fresh ginger matchsticks, 2 sprigs of thyme.
Season each fillet again with salt and freshly ground pepper and dot each fillet with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Just before sealing the packets, pour the white wine evenly over the 4 fillets.

Fold the top half of the parchment paper down over the fillets. Starting at a folded corner, fold over a piece of the edge about one inch deep and two inches wide and crease firmly. Continue to fold the edge over, overlapping the previous fold by half until you work your way all the way around. When you have folded all the way around, twist the last fold into a pony tail, like a hard candy wrapper, and tuck it under. You should have a totally sealed packet. Fold the remaining packets in the same way. Place on a large baking sheet. The packet can be prepared up to four hours ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to cook.

Bake the packets until they are puffed up and the edges of the paper begin to brown, 10 - 12 minutes. Don’t overcook.

Cut one end of the paper and slide the fillet onto a warmed plate, discard the paper and any whole thyme stems.

Serve immediately with cooked fava beans or edamame.

* If not skinless remove the skin, or have your fish man remove it for you.

The Heart of Hospitality: Celebrating Grace

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:24:20 -0500

This week we welcome to the conversation our fellow Crossroads cohort in Olivette.
We concluded the first series of conversations on hospitality as a medium of grace in Maplewood on this note of celebration. So today we are bridging between two conversations.
We shared an idea from The Essence of the Church: The Community Created by the Spirit by Craig Van Gelder. The idea is that the people of God throughout history were meant to be a sign, an instrument and a foretaste of the kingdom of God to their community.
Being a foretaste is about the healing and restoration to come. Isaiah the prophet foretold it this way:
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken. (25:6-8)
This pictures the future healing of the universe—and we are invited to celebrate it now as “a foretaste of heaven” wherever his presence is known among those who have tasted his goodness. It is a theme I want to cultivate much more fully into our lives.
As we end one conversation...and begin another...Karen and I want to suggest some books, films, and also ask you to add a comment, share a book you love.

And continue to give and receive hospitality.

Books
What is a Family? by Edith Schaeffer
Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring by Andi Ashworth
Blessed are the Hungry by Peter J. Leithart is a rich theological reflection on the Lord’s Supper

Cookbooks
We all need some coaching and encouragement when it comes to what to put before our family, friends and guests so here are a few recommendations:

Everything by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is an inspiration, but here are two of our favorites:

We love Jamie Oliver’s work, too. One of his most accessible cookbooks is Jamie's Dinners. Throughout this volume, Jamie’s contagious enthusiasm and his creative recipes for dishes that are simply prepared and served with congeniality comes through and encourages you to give them a go.

Film
Mostly Martha - watch the original in German with English subtitles. It is a wonderful story of healing that comes in the context of food and friendship.

Babette's Feast - the classic portrayal of an extravagant gift of loving hospitality by a gifted chef, set in an austere Danish evangelical community.

“A Glutton and a Drunkard”

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:54:56 -0600

If you are familiar with the New Testament stories about Jesus interacting with people, you recognize the phrase above. If you are not, you might enjoy exploring the narratives further.
These words were actually something Jesus quoted back to religious people who were terribly uncomfortable with the company he kept and how he behaved around “those people.”
The full quote is, “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” This is from the gospel of Luke (7:34) and it needs some explanation for a modern reader.
First, we need to understand that the Pharisees, who most likely said this, were good people. They lived good, righteous lives—they didn’t cheat on their wives, or their taxes; they cared for the poor. They prayed and fasted. Often. Nevertheless Jesus addressed them as having a big problem with self-righteousness that made their good behavior hollow and ugly. They felt they were better that others. In fact, as you read the narratives, it becomes clear that they felt they had a right to God’s pleasure and because of their behavior would be rewarded with a place in the world to come. Speaking of Boasting
The Spirit of Food, to which we are contributors, was named in a four-way tie for Best Book of the Year by Hearts and Minds Books. Read the gracious review here: Hearts and Minds Books.
By Jesus life and works he is rightly attested as the holiest One to walk the earth. Here is the second thing: a sinner is someone not like Jesus, but instead who has “missed the mark of righteousness.” Yet unholy people—those who knew they had missed the mark—wanted to be near him. This we would never expect. Look at these words from a little later in Luke’s gospel:
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’”
Not only were these people drawn to him, but he welcomed them and he ate with them. In the culture of the middle east eating with someone was an act of friendship and intimacy. It still is. If you are invited to eat at someone’s table, you are being welcomed as if you are a family member, the host is opening his home, his family and himself up to you, to be known, closely, and to be offered friendship, kindness and consideration. In the hurried, busy West we have lost the art and craft of practicing this common grace.
In our conversation on Sunday we marveled together at Jesus’ suspect behavior in some people’s eyes, but more amazing still was the response of the “unsavory people” to him.
If you would like to have the class notes please Email me.
This Week
We hope that many of you who are participating in the conversation will be encouraged to open your home to someone who doesn’t already share your deepest commitments and to feed, care for and listen to them at your table.
We also hope that our friends for whom Jesus is strange and unfamiliar, or even scary, might do the same. Invite someone into your home that you know is following Jesus. Have a conversation with them around a friendly table. Share the preparation of the food. Enjoy one another...and be prepared to become friends.
Here is a recipe for a simple salad.
Don’t fight over who gets to make it.

Fruit & Spinach Salad
For this salad use a handful of baby spinach per person. Use about 1/4 cup of seasonal fruit per person. For fall fruit, use apples, pears.
Oranges are wonderful during the winter and choose fresh berries in the spring and summer. Add about 1 tablespoon of nuts: pecans, sliced almonds, or pine nuts. Toasted pumpkin seeds are another good choice.
Here is how to make great orange wedges. Cut the ends off of the orange and then carve the peel away with a sharp knife, following the contour of the orange, cutting off the skin and all the pith.
When the orange is peeled in this way, hold it in your hand and slice down carefully next to the membrane, then lift the partially peeled wedge out away from the membrane on the other side. You will have a perfect, skinless orange wedge.

You can make the vinaigrette seasonal as well. The grocery shelves are full of interesting vinegars so pick one that you think will pair well with the fruit and the season. Be creative!

Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1/2-teaspoon honey
1/2-teaspoon grainy mustard (optional)
Salt & freshly ground pepper
5-6 tablespoons good quality olive oil

Wash and dry the spinach leaves.
In a salad bowl, mix the vinegar, honey, mustard, salt & pepper together with a whisk.
Next slowly whisk in the olive oil.
Taste and correct the seasoning.
Place the spinach gently on top of the dressing and toss just before serving.

Serves 4

Hospitality as a Place of Healing

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 20:45:43 -0600

In our conversation together so far, we have seen hospitality as—
• A medium of God’s grace and a command to welcome and love the stranger.
• A way of giving and of preserving beauty.
• A way to express love through gracious manners.
We’ve talked about beauty, order, intentionality, and not being self-focused. Clearly hospitality is about far more than food or offering entertainment.
In our conversation on Sunday we considered together that walking in these habits and rhythms enables us to see others and to listen to them and make time to enter into their world and opens a door for God’s healing work.
This week we invite you to try a recipe and also to catch the unfolding of God’s work—the final chapter of which will culminate in the healing of the universe.
(If you like you can click A Place of Healing.pdf to download these notes).
A Biblical-Theological Framework: Malachi 4:2; Luke 9:6; 1 Cor 12:9; Rev. 22:2
In Malachi’s prophecy, the sun of righteousness is a reference to Christ and his future reign. It is said to rise “with healing in its wings.” When Christ came, he inaugurated the New Covenant Era of the kingdom and one of the dominant signs of its arrival was the unprecedented and unique outpouring of healing. Healing was an indicator of the fulness of his ministry and pointed to the future consummation of redemption—when all sickness would be healed, and death destroyed. In Luke’s gospel Jesus sent out the seventy-two with authority to heal the sick. Then in 1 Corinthians, Paul states that among the gifts with which Christ bestowed the church was the gift of healing.
In Revelation 22 the healing of the universe and the renewal of all things is envisioned. In the New City there is a tree that points back to the Tree of Life in Eden, but also transcends it—its fruit is now not merely for food that gives Life, it is also for the healing of the nations.
Two errors are commonly committed in view of this biblical-theological framework: one is to make the extraordinary outpouring of sign gifts normative. The second error is to say that healing only takes place when it is supernatural.
The perspective we seek to capture here is that it is often in the ordinary ministry of the body of Christ in such places as the offering of hospitality, that God works his progressive work of healing in our hearts.
When we offer hospitality we model the gospel by which Jesus heals our sin-wound and begins our recovery. Hospitality with this focus involves much more than serving people food. It is creating time and space for something powerful to happen: it encompasses shelter, safety, protection.
Reflect again on our definition of hospitality: Inviting people into the rest you are experiencing in Christ.
Caring for people is messy and time-consuming—it is not clinical or “zip-zam”—it is not efficient. We cannot stress too strongly that hospitality is made possible by making time. Also, as we open up time for others it will create pressure on other commitments and cause us to reexamine them.
John 21:1-14 - What is the atmosphere at the start of this story? What is going on with Peter, and the others? What is Jesus doing? Why? How would you feel if you were there? What is happening beneath the surface during this breakfast?
Reflections:
A Story of Healing in a Stormy Relationship
(We told a story in class. A written version of this story can be found by clicking the thumbnail from Critique at the right).
Assignment: How is the praying going? Invite a hurting friend to supper.

Moussaka
Karen Baldwin
3 medium eggplants, sliced 1/2 inch thick
extra virgin olive oil
Meat Sauce
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground lamb, venison or beef
1/2 glass wine - I use white
2 tablespoon tomato puree
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
White Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk - creamy
1 cup Gruyere or sharp cheddar, grated
1 egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of nutmeg
salt and freshly grated pepper
Preheat oven to 350°.
Meat sauce - Cook the onions and garlic gently in the olive oil, without browning, until tender. Add the ground meat and stir until it loses its raw look. Now add all the remaining meat sauce ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes until thick.
Place the slices of eggplant on a baking sheet and brush generously with olive oil. Bake in a 400° oven for about 20 minutes, until tender and patched with brown.
White sauce - Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Keep stirring for about 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and add the milk gradually, stirring it in well. Return to a gentle heat and let it simmer for a good 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until it is fairly thick. Remove from the heat, stir in the cheese, whisk in the egg and yolk then season with salt and pepper. (If not using the sauce immediately, leave out the eggs and stick a pat of butter on the tines of a fork and rub it over the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming. Reheat gently and beat the eggs into the sauce, off the heat.
Prepare a 8”x12” baking dish by brushing it with olive oil. Spread the meat sauce evenly in the baking dish. Lay the roasted slices of eggplant overlapping if necessary. Spoon the white sauce over the top and completely cover. Place in the preheated oven and bake at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes until nicely browned. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.