Daily Bread

Until recently I was not much of a label-reader in the grocery store. I tried to buy lots of fresh foods without the need for labels, and for the rest I trusted my instincts. But then came The Omnivore's Dilemma and my blissful ignorance was over. Three weeks ago I turned over the package of "healthy" whole grain bread I purchased and drowned in a paragraph of preservatives and five different kinds of sugar. (A similar epiphany happened when I discovered the high fructose corn syrup lurking in my canned kidney beans, but that is another story.)

At that point I decided to start making the vast majority of the bread we eat here at home. Again I feel I am coming late to the party on this, but I'm happy just to have found something that works for us. Here's the recipe I'm using:

Whole Wheat Bread

Posted by Ruth Uitto on all recipes.com

The original recipe was geared to making four loaves of bread, but here I have adjusted the amounts to yield two loaves. The reason for this is simple-- I use my KitchenAid mixer for the kneading, and that is the amount of dough it can handle. The dough can of course be mixed and kneaded by hand.

2 TBSP plus 2 tsp shortening
½ C hot water
½ C brown sugar
1 ½ packages yeast
2 C warm water
2 TBSP white sugar
2 tsp salt
3 C bread flour
3 C whole wheat flour

Dissolve shortening and brown sugar in ½ C hot water and let cool. While this is cooling, dissolve yeast in 2 C warm water in bowl of mixer. Using paddle attachment, combine with white sugar, salt and bread flour. Add the shortening mixture and combine. Then, a cup at a time, add the whole wheat flour. (I typically switch to the dough hook after the first cup of ww flour. ) Once 3 C whole wheat flour has been added, I knead in the mixer with the dough hook for 5 minutes. Then turn out into greased bowl and turn dough to coat all over. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.

Shape into loaves and place in greased pans, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 1 hour. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.


I want to play with decreasing the sugar a little bit, but this has been a foolproof recipe for me, and is free of preservatives. It works well for sandwiches or toast. I used unbleached bread flour and organic stone ground whole wheat flour.

And then there is something spiritually satisfying about making the bread our family eats, seeing the fat brown loaves cooling on the counter, smelling the wholesome aroma through the house.
Enjoy!

"Little by little, bit by bit, little bit by little bit. . . "

This has been a learning year for us, a time of reading and becoming informed and making some new choices in our family life, in how we run our home, in what we can do to care for the earth, or at the very least, reduce our negative impact on the environment. We're changing the food we put in our bodies, and where we buy it, and why, and what products we use to clean our home and our clothes.

One of the happy surprises we've had is how many more responsible choices are what I call win-wins-- we benefit the earth and ourselves, even in the short term, at the same time. First in line was the switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. Less power consumed will equal lower power bills.

And now, our latest purchase
We wanted to put up some kind of a clothesline in our yard, but the boys' playspace is already pretty limited, so we ordered an umbrella clothes dryer. I am amazed by how much it holds, how much I enjoy being outside first thing to hang our laundry, and really how it is not a big deal. It will reduce our use of electricity, and is such a simple thing, yet a year ago, it never would have crossed my mind.

Some of you may be so much farther down the road than me on the things I'll be posting about this week. But for us, every little positive change or powerful choice we make is one step further in a good direction. Today I am thankful to be aware of the warm sun, the breezes, the free gifts freely given with a lavish Hand.

Of course, I had to embroider my plain Jane clothespin bag with some cute cherries to remind me that this is a sweet life. It really is.





Pause

Not much to say today. My Sam is four. He is the tallest in his little Sunday school class and his knees have lost much of their chub. But somehow he fills us with delight in ever increasing measure.

My Joshua is sick-- began as a bad cold, now a sore throat, pernicious fever and missing appetite. Home from school, and pretty miserable.

But while I (again) look for the thermometer, or do laundry, or decorate little lemon cupcakes, my heart and mind fly to the hearts broken in Virginia.
I can only pray that the God of all Comfort will be present in His peace. And I am grateful to have these mundane tasks to do, steps away from my own children.




Making a Pretty Niche

To be clear, I didn't make this pretty niche, I just noticed and recorded it, outside a lovely restaurant downtown, near our beloved Mast General Store. But looking back now, about a month after that cloudy, charming day, the image speaks to me, something about my life.

Often it is like that. Some of my images are just what they are, recording what we are doing, or showing off a new recipe or flower. But others have something to say to me, and it takes time for that message to come to the surface.

More and more it feels like my life at home is about making a little corner of loveliness and peace. Seeing the world alongside my boys' wide and innocent eyes, it seems more and more like an unaccountably ugly place. So like this little nook right off Main Street, I want to make a pocket of grace and tuck them in. Making the little things big, crafting a life of simple celebration and gentle care.

But I follow Jesus. So somewhere this analogy breaks down. We are called to be Him in the world, and to train up our children to follow His path of love and service. My job is more like building a nest or weaving a cocoon for these little ones, from which they will fly someday with compassion in their wings, rather than a hiding place to keep them "safe." ("You know, he isn't a tame Lion. . . ")

This is a delicate balance, to teach them to guard their hearts without making them fortresses, to be wise and gentle, to be grace and live truth. And my role comes in a thousand quiet ways every day. My words can drone, but my actions enunciate more clearly than I'd like sometimes. And it all happens in this little place.

This is one of those posts when I am not really sure I ended up writing about what I meant to say. A pretty picture but no neat ending. I'll close with a quote from You've Got Mail, a chick flick I confess to dearly loving. I am not sure if it has anything to do with what I've been musing about. And unlike the character Kathleen Kelly, I'd dearly love to know your thoughts on my ramblings:

Kathleen Kelly: Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well, valuable but small. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void.

Reconnecting

I feel as though I have been away from this blog forever, as though I need to introduce myself. "Hi, my name is Missy. I am into mommying boys, taking pictures and homemaking. "

So, hello! I hope everyone had a blessed Easter. Ours was quiet, after a busy week last week. Joshua was on spring break-- I regretfully send him back to school this morning. We were home the first half of the week, then spent the second half with John's parents and visited the Georgia Aquarium. That's where Sam's conference with the sea turtle took place.

The aquarium was amazing. Beluga whales, sea otters, sharks, and a rainbow of tropical fish. The habitats are incredible, as is the scale. The crowds were overwhelming to me at times. Five foot one plus poor vision and two active boys made for an anxious mommy some of the time, but having grandparents there to hold little hands was a great help.

What was most exciting for me was to see the boys' natural curiosity at work in the aquarium. Joshua had a "dive guide" and was busy matching the fish with their names. Sam's eyes were simply full of wonder. And my heart was touched in a familiar place-- feeling again the exquisite privilege it is to draw aside the curtain on the natural world, on art and literature, on books and learning itself for these little people. How I always receive back far more than I put in. How, no matter where the boys are schooled, John and I will always be the most important teachers they have.

I have about ten posts swimming in my head, on bread baking and buying organic and children's books about farms and embroidery projects, but this is the one for today. God is gracious. Life is good.

Happy Easter!

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

By: Charles Wesley

"Christ the Lord is risen today!"
All on earth with angels say;
Raise your joys and triumphs high;
Sing, ye heavens; and earth, reply.

Love’s redeeming work is done,
Fought the fight, the battle won;
Lo! Our sun’s eclipse is over.
Lo! He sets in blood no more.

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal;
Christ has burst the gates of hell.
Death in vain forbids his rise;
Christ has opened paradise.

Lives again our glorious king!
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once he died our souls to save;
Where the victory, O grave?

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!
Praise to thee by both be given.
Thee we greet triumphant now;
Hail, the resurrection, thou!

King of glory, soul of bliss,
Everlasting life is this:
Thee to know, thy power to prove,
Thus to sing, and thus to love!”