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Cooking Without Recipes

I enjoy looking in my fridge or for that matter other people’s too! I have a friend who likes me to cook with her. So when I am at her house we look in her fridge and pantry and create something from what we find. We have a lot of fun in the kitchen pounding chicken breasts and cutting up veggies. I have been creating meals using whatever was on hand since childhood. It helped that I grew up on a mini farm and we had a lot of choices. Although sometimes too many cucumbers 🙂 We didn’t run to the store all the time either. I love to cook and sometimes I get in my head a certain thing I want to cook. It may not make sense at the time if I have a fridge full of food and meals which have been planned.  I try to practice self-control. This year we have been blessed to meet Farmer John! He is new to farming and has tried several things. We take some of whatever he has. As the season is nearing an end I was looking at what we had purchased from Farmer John and decided to create some meals using those things.

I did not write down a recipe but I will share what I did do. I did NOT measure anything.

First I will share the ingredients I had. Mini eggplants, zucchini, onions, green peppers, fresh basil, store-bought pasta sauce, ground beef, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, rice, etc.

Preheat the oven 350°. I cooked the ground beef with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms and drained it after it was done. I placed pasta sauce in the bottom of two pans. Then to one pan I added a layers of slice baby eggplants, zuchini, meat mixture, sauce and cheese. On the top I spread sauce and mozarella and sprinkled the top with paremsan. I baked it in the oven for a while and then took it out and covered it with foil. I cooked it for about an hour total. I wish I had covered it from the beginning and taken the foil off for the last 15 minutes. I also wish I had added more sweet basil. It turned out YUMMY!!

 

For the second pan. I cut the tops off of the green peppers I had and cleaned them out. I placed them in the bottom of the second pan. I added some cooked rice to the leftover meat mixture and stuffed the peppers with the mixture. I then covered them with sauce and sprinkled with parmesan. I baked it in the oven at 350° for almost an hour. Remove the foil. (See I learned something !) Sprinkle more parmesan on top! Enjoy!

 

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Fermenting Foods

About 3 years ago my husband was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. This began a close examination of the foods we eat. My non-cooking husband started making homemade mayo, ketchup, pickles, saur-kraut, bone broth and now he has begun fermenting foods. He has made several batches of saur-kraut, fermented tomatoes, peppers, saur-kraut, and cucumbers. I grew up with pickle and saur-kraut making but fermenting is a new thing for me.

So what is the difference between pickling and fermenting. My understanding is that pickling is preserving by acidity. Fermenting is a specific process of preserving but uses lactic acid (Lacto-fermentation). In her booklet, Cultured Beverages, Ann Green of Bread Stock and Barrel, says, “Fermentation began with creation – bacteria and/or yeast and vegetables, fruits, dairy or animals were all that was necessary. Man has had the joy and thrill of discovering and cultivating various combinations of these elements to produce such things as wine, cheese, chocolate, bread, pickles, and even …kombucha.”

What happens in the process of fermentation? Again quoting from Ann Green. “In every case, lactobacillus bacteria and sometimes various strains of yeast eat the sugar and starches found in the medium and replace the sugar and starch with lactic acid. In the process, many vitamins and minerals are increased, the food, juice or milk is made more digestible and sugar and starch are either eliminated or reduced. Antioxidant and anticancer substances may also be produced or enhanced. The bacteria are also very happy to eat the sugar and starch and reproduce to create what we call a “probiotic” beverage or food.”

There are a lot of resources available online for free about fermenting foods. Check it out! Let me know if you ferment foods and what you have found helpful.

***You can find out more about Ann Green at www.breadstockandbarrel.com or on Facebook  – Bread, Stock, and Barrel

 

Fermented saur-kraut
Bone broth

 

 

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Easy Communion Bread – 4 Recipes

Learning to Make Communion Bread is Easy

Easy Communion Bread? Yes, it is easy. Today, I will share recipes I have collected over the years. It all started with Campaigns Northwest 1979 and a special sister, Madge. I was blessed to be a part of Campaigns Northwest. Little did I know that this would be a life-changing experience for me!  I worked in West Seattle, Washington for 3 weeks.

After our mission was over I stayed an extra day to spend time with a couple of the ladies from the church. One was Madge Boubonik (I am sure the spelling is butchered). I remember this day very well. I was so excited. Madge and I walked around her sunny yard with flowers growing and some rhubarb too! We talked and visited but I was there for a purpose.

Madge made the communion bread for the church and she had agreed to teach me how to make it! I was very excited to spend the day with her. She treated this with great respect and thoughtfulness. She used olive oil because she felt that was most likely what was used in making unleaved bread. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with her and that was almost 40 years ago. I  never saw her after this day but she lives on in my memory and I hope to walk in heaven with her one day.

Aberdeen Washington

In 2011 we moved from Spanaway to Aberdeen, Washington to work with the Aberdeen Church of Christ. We hosted a VBS day which was about the Tabernacle. We had loaves of unleavened bread leftover from that day. One of the ladies asked if we could use that for communion and so we did. Our son James started making it for the church after that. He was 11 years old. He enjoyed making the bread and helping to fix communion each Sunday.

Today I am sharing three recipes * that have been used in various places I have worshipped (from homes to buildings to church camps). The first one is the one our family has used for many years. I am not sure it is the original one I received from Madge, if not it is very similar.

Our Family Communion Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup olive oil
1 cup of water
pinch of salt

Mix the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients and knead a little until it easily forms a ball to roll out. I roll mine out into about 6-inch circles. This recipe makes about 16 small loaves! You may want to half the recipe. Bake at 350° for 10 – 15 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom. I usually do mine by smell 🙂

Our family recipe

Delano Bay Christian Camp Communion Bread
1-quart whipping cream
¾ lb. of butter
5 cups flour

Mix ingredients and divide into 4 sections and roll them about 1 inch thick each. Poke holes in batter with a fork, and bake at 325° until no longer doughy. This makes a big batch of communion bread. Enough for 100 campers at least.

Susan’s Unleaved Bread
1 cup all-purpose flour ( use ½ whole wheat)
1 Tablespoon sugar (brown or honey)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup of warm water

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in 2 Tablespoons olive oil and ¼ cup warm water, Knead. Roll into a circle. Next, you prick with a fork and fry in a nonstick pan until both sides are light brown.

Communion Bread
Communion bread

*A Fourth ADDED (3/15/2020) Lee’s Communion Bread

Here is a fourth recipe I received from my friend Lee. With her notes.

1 cup of unleavened flour (all-purpose)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tablespoons cold water

Preheat oven to 400°. Be sure to wash and dry your hands first. This is holy bread. Use clean utensils and a mixing bowl to mix the ingredients. Gently knead the dough and roll out flat to about 1/16 inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter or other round object cut out circles of bread. Lay on an ungreased cookie sheet and score with a fork or rolling piercing tool. This represents the body of Christ. Bake for about 20 minutes. They should not be sticky or brown. Let them cool completely. Store in an airtight container and they can be kept in the freezer.

Please send me your communion bread recipes and I will update this collection as time allows.

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Chicken Enchiladas

 

My First Chicken Enchilada Recipe from the 90’s

1 whole chicken, cooked and cubed (or to save time and maybe money buy a rotisserie chicken already cooked)
4 ounce can of chopped green chilies                                                                                         1 teaspoon salt
20 ounces green enchilada sauce
6 ounces of evaporated milk
1 can cream chicken soup
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar, grated
12-24 flour tortillas or gluten-free tortillas(SEE NOTE)
Rotel tomatoes, chopped

Mix chicken, chilies, salt, enchilada sauce, evaporated milk, soup and 1 cup of cheese. Warm tortillas. Fill with 1/4 c. chicken mixture. Roll up, seam down and place in baking dish sprayed lightly with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Pour Rotel tomatoes into the remaining mixture (if there is any); pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with 2 cups of cheese. Bake in preheated oven 425° for 20 minutes, until bubbly. It is best to put them in the oven immediately to avoid the bottoms becoming soggy.

Enjoy!

GLUTEN-FREE:

Since several family members have become gluten intolerant I tried a batch with Mission’s gluten-free tortillas they were a bit too soft on the bottom. Two ideas for making this better.  One would be to lightly char them or two to make the filling in a casserole dish or slow cooker and let each one fill their own tortilla shell.

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Making Kombucha

Cultured Beverages by our teacher Ann Green
Class time
My kombucha

Tonight I took a class in making kombucha, beet kvass, and ginger beer! It was really interesting, informative, and so simple. I am excited to have my first scoby ( an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) and my first batch of kombucha fermenting. We had an education portion, sampling, and making our own kombucha start to take home. I will update down the road and let you know how this adventure progresses.

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Responding to Criticism!

There is a new app for your phone called “Sarahah”. You can also use it online at Sarahah.com.  Sarahah’s stated purpose is that it helps you in discovering your strengths and areas for improvement by receiving honest feedback from your employees and your friends in a private manner.  You set up an account and people can give you messages anonymously.  Several people I know have done this and I suppose it could be fun in some way and maybe useful too. Below is a message my son Gabriel received. I would like to offer the approach I would like to take should I be the recipient of such a post.

  1. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and since he asked it is fair that the writer shared theirs.
  2. Just because someone has an opinion doesn’t make it true whether it is a good opinion or a bad one.
  3. Sometimes even the most humble people can come across as arrogant. They may truly suffer low self-esteem believe it or not 🙂
  4. Sometimes we all need some constructive criticism to help us evaluate ourselves. So accept the words, think about them and evaluate them for truth.
  5. If you find some truth hidden among the criticism then learn from it and try to be a better person.
  6. If there is no gem of truth then release it and forget it and move on…
  7. Be thankful for the person who can help you to improve yourself regardless of their motives or methods. Think good and not evil of them. You will feel better about yourself if you do!
  8. Sometimes hateful words come from hurting people. Pray for this person and for good to come into their lives. You can learn to love this person.
  9. Criticism can help you become more sensitive to those around you and more aware of how your own words may sound and actions may appear.

 

AND just in case you were wondering, I have no plans to set up an account.

Blessings!

Reda

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Sinkhole Discovery

The other night after work I had a date with my sweetheart! We ate Chinese food which was good but not great. In the photos below you can see our “fortunes”.

 

Then we went for a little drive around Smyrna and a walk at Sharp Springs Park which we discovered by accident. This is a large park with a lot to do and what appears to be an interesting walking trail. We also discovered what looked like an interesting pond but turned out to be a sinkhole. I found this very interesting! I look forward to learning more about this park and the Smyrna area! When I thought to take pictures it was dusk and starting to rain. I wish I had gotten a picture of the sinkhole pond. Below you see a picture to the entrance and an outdoor classroom facing the sinkhole. This looks like a place for future adventures.

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Peanut Butterfinger Bars

Sometimes good things come unexpectedly. Around 2:30 on Sunday afternoon I remembered that I needed to make cookies for the connect time after church. (Church starts at 5!)  I almost sent my kids to the store to get something for me to bake with but decided to use the ingredients I had on hand. This is what I created with what I had on hand. I was really surprised that so many people asked for the recipe. So here it is!

Peanut Butterfinger Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter crunchy

6 Tablespoons butter softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 oz. Butterfinger Baking Bits

Instructions:

Preheat your oven 350° and spray your 13X9 baking pan with cooking spray.

Cream peanut butter, butter, and sugars, then add extract and stir in eggs until well blended. Stir in the flour. ( IT DOES NOT HAVE BAKING SODA OR POWDER)

Spread batter in pan and sprinkle with the Butterfinger bits. Press them lightly into the batter. Bake 350° for 20-25 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

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Fresh Organic Veggies

I am so excited to find organic veggies. During our meet and greet at church this morning I met someone I had never met before. I asked John what he did and he said, farmer. After church, I saw some people at his car getting produce! I was so excited so being my nosy self I had to go see if he had any I could buy. I am posting some beautiful pictures! We will be making salsa! I’m also excited to try these mini eggplants.

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Up, Up, and Away!

This year seems to be the year for “adventure birthday gifts”. Gabriel received the gift of hang gliding and Lawrence hot air ballooning. Lawrence’s birthday was in April so it took awhile before we could get set to go Up, Up, and Away!

We had the option of a sunrise or sunset ride. We chose the sunrise and I am so glad we did. For one thing, it is cooler and the peace of morning with mist rising from the hills permeates your being! We arrived just before 5 a.m. at the designated meet up spot in Franklin, TN. to board the van.  We met Tina and Logan the owners of Middle Tennessee Hot Air Adventures. (www.TNBalloon.com) By the way, they are new parents of a sweet little boy! I’m so excited for that adventure for them! There were four couples who were taking this trip together. It was everyone’s first flight!

We could hear cows mooing, see deer racing across fields, and some predators chasing them. We enjoyed the beautiful landscape but also enjoyed seeing some homes from the sky with swimming pools as large as houses! We saw people enjoying their morning walks and stopping to wave at us. Doesn’t everyone just enjoy seeing hot air balloons in flight?

I had anticipated being a bit nervous about the flight because I am usually afraid of heights. I had not a moment of concern. Our flight was an hour in air time. It was a beautiful, smooth, and peaceful ride and landing! I hope to take a future flight. I loved it!

 

Tina and Logan owners of Middle Tennessee Hot Air Adventures. RR
Just before our flight. www.TnBalloon.com
In the basket getting ready for lift off! www.TNBalloon.com
Filling the envelope. The balloons diameter is 75 feet. RR

 

Can you see the gas going in? RR
And we have a lift off! www.TNBalloon.com
Sunrise! www.TNBalloon.com
RR
RR
DCIM100GOPRO www.TNBalloon.com
Our shadow just before landing! RR
And we have landed! www.TNBalloon.com

It was a wonderful experience!

Credit for the photos goes to Middle Tennessee Hot Air Adventures.  A few I took (RR) but the really cool ones came on the thumb drive we purchased at the end of the flight.