Resurrection Day - Cookies!

At a Good Friday service 2 years ago, the children's ministry pastor passed out a recipe for cookies that included the story of the crucifixion and resurrection. We tried them that first year and all really enjoyed the process, accompanying Scripture and the resulting delicious cookies.

These cookies have made the level of "tradition" in our house. This was our third year now making the cookies. Here is the instructions and some pictures of our family making them this year.

Resurrection Cookies

Ingredients and items needed:
1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
Ziploc sandwich bag
Wooden Spoon
Electric mixer
Wax paper
Cookie Sheets
Tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300° Farenheit.

Place the pecans into the Ziploc bag. Let the children beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into smaller pieces. Explain how Jesus was beaten by the Roman soldiers after he was arrested.

John 19:1-3 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put the vinegar into the mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, Jesus was given vinegar to drink.

John 19:28-30 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Add the egg whites to the bowl, explaining that eggs represent life and how Jesus gave His life for us.

John 10:10-11 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

 Add a pinch of salt to the bowl to represent the tears shed by Jesus' disciples and followers after His death. Have each child taste the salt to remind them of the bitterness of sin.

Luke 23:27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.

Add the sugar while telling the children how the sweetest part of Jesus' story is that He died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Beat the mixture with the mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes, until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity of those whose sins have been cleased by Jesus.

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Next, fold in the broken pecans and drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheets covered with wax paper. Each cookie represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid to rest.

Matthew 27:57-60 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

Put the cookies in the oven and close the oven door. Turn the oven off and seal it with tape to represent the way that Jesus' tomb was sealed off.

Matthew 27:65-66 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. 

It is sad to leave the cookies there and have to wait until morning. Jesus' disciples and followers were saddened by the sealing of His tomb.

John 16:20,22 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

In the morning, open the oven and distribute the cookies which are (hopefully) hollow on the inside. On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Matthew 28:1-9 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Yum!

Triple Strawberry Cake

 
Last year when I asked Ayla what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she responded "Strawberry cake." What? Who has ever heard of strawberry cake? Well, I certainly hadn't. But that didn't stop me.

I set out searching for a great homemade, from scratch strawberry cake recipe on my favorite recipe source: Google. As I weeded through recipes calling for strawberry jello mix or based on a white cake mix, I finally stumbled across one that looked promising on a blog.

Instead of testing it out to see if it was a reliable recipe or not, I placed complete trust in the blogger and made it into cupcakes for Ayla's birthday party. (It never ceases to confound and amaze my husband that I consistently subject myself to public failure by trying out my new recipes on those unlucky enough to ask me to bring a dish to their house or come over to my house for dinner.) They turned out great and our neighbor even asked for the recipe. (See, experimentation and creativity can be a good thing!)

So this year when Ayla asked for strawberry cake again, I was prepared. (Actually, she asked for strawberry, carrot, chocolate cake, but I wasn't brave enough to attempt combining all of those into one cake. My family can thank me later.) I dug out my recipe from last year and headed to the store for some fresh strawberries.

Here is how I made the cake:

1. Grind up enough flour for the recipe. What? You don't grind your own flour? Well, you really should. It is so much better for you. Here is a great article on the health benefits. (Okay, I know, most of you will probably just skip this step. I am okay with that.)

I used soft wheat berries from Joseph's Grainery purchased through Olympia Local Foods. I ground the wheat on the lowest setting and what results is very similar to a whole wheat pastry flour that you would buy at the grocery store, except that mine will taste better. Everything just tastes better fresh! And trust me, most people won't even realize that I used whole wheat flour.

2.Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour 3 - 8x2 inch round cake pans. (If you try and squeak by with just 2 pans, it will overflow. Don't ask how I know.)

To grease a pan, my mom taught me to put my hand inside a plastic bag and then use my plastic covered fingers to grease the pan. I am sure a latex glove would work just as well. I know this is kind of wasteful, but, oh well.

To flour your now greased pan, dump in a little bit of flour (maybe 2 Tablespoons). Tip it around all directions until the bottom and sides of your pan are thoroughly coated with flour. (This is best done over a garbage can. I normally don't remember this wonderful tip until I get it all over my floor and need to sweep.) After the pan is all coated with flour, pour the rest of the flour into the garbage and tap the pan a few times to get most of the flour off.

3. Wash and de-stem the strawberries. I used my Pampered Chef Core & More tool for this. It worked great!

4. Puree the strawberries. You know, I didn't count how many strawberries I used or measure them. I probably should have, but I just filled up this container. To puree the strawberries, I used my much loved immersion blender. That thing is amazing and made short work of the strawberries. (My friend wrote a post about how much she lover her immersion blender here.)

5. Measure 1 1/2 cups pureed strawberries and add to large bowl. I just dump everything in my Kitchenaid mixer bowl. The recipe said to strain the berries to remove the seeds, but I didn't bother. It seemed like a lot of work and totally unnecessary to me. No one has complained about strawberry seeds yet.

6. Beat the eggs, then add to the bowl. I used 5 eggs from our Ameraucana chicken. (She generally lays about a medium sized egg.) If you are using store bought eggs, the recipe actually calls for 4 large eggs.

7. Add remaining ingredients. Add 3 cups flour, 2 cups granulated sugar, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract , 1 tsp lemon zest, 4 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp salt.

8. Mix cake batter. I started it on low speed and then beat it on medium speed until it was well combined and, well, I thought it looked right.

9. Pour into greased and floured pans. Cook at 325° for 25-30 minutes, or until until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips.

10. When done, remove from oven. Cool 10 minutes in cake pans then invert onto wire racks and reinvert onto more wire racks so that they cool, top sides up. (Yes, there is a third cake, but this is all I could fit in the picture.)

11. Make strawberry filling. Combine 2 cups sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp cornstarch in pan. Cook over medium heat. The berries will cook down and break apart. I didn't bother mashing them at all since I like chunks.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil and stir for about 2 minutes or until the mixture is thick and no longer opaque. When it is done, stick it in the fridge to cool.

12. Make frosting. (Forgot to take pictures of this part.) I used 1/2 cup butter, 1 lb. powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla and enough leftover strawberry puree to make the frosting the right consistency. Again using my Kitchenaid mixer, I beat it until it was a nice, spreadable consistency.

13. Build the cake. Place the thickest layer on the bottom, add about half of the filling, add second layer, add the rest of the filling then place final layer on top.

14. Frost and decorate. Generously frost the whole cake. I used the last of the strawberries to decorate the cake on the sides and with a number 5 on top.

15. Eat and enjoy. This is all that was left.

If you would rather have the recipe in a better format, here you go.

Strawberry Cake (adapted from here):

Grease or butter, for pans
All-purpose flour, for pans
3 cups flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup pureed strawberries
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 large eggs, beaten
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.
2. Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs, baking powder and salt.
3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.


Strawberry filling:
2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:
Combine in pan. Cook over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil and stir for about 2 minutes or until the mixture is thick and no longer opaque.

Strawberry frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3 Tablespoons strawberry puree

Directions:
Beat butter and powdered sugar until crumbly. Add vanilla and 1 Tablespoon strawberry puree. Beat on medium speed. Slowly beat in more strawberry puree until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Sourdough Adventures

For quite some time I have known about the health benefits of soaking, fermenting and/or souring grains. About 5 or 6 years ago, a good friend of mine let me borrow the Nourishing Traditions cookbook, which covers this subject very thoroughly.

Whole grains are full of wonderful vitamins and minerals, but they are not ready to be absorbed without preparation. Wheat is basically a seed: if you plant it, you will grow more wheat. All seeds have a protective "coating" which help the seed store for a long period of time and essentially "holds" most of the nutrients. So how do you prepare wheat in a way that your body can absorb all these vitamins and minerals?

The answer is fermentation or sprouting. This was the traditional means by which grains have been prepared for pretty much all of history up until modern processes have made food both more readily available and less nutritious

"Sprouting, soaking and genuine sourdough leavening "pre-digests" grains, allowing the nutrients to be more easily assimilated and metabolized. This is an age-old approach practiced in most traditional cultures. Sprouting begins germination, which increases the enzymatic activity in foods and inactivates substances called enzyme inhibitors. These enzyme inhibitors prevent the activation of the enzymes present in the food and, therefore, may hinder optimal digestion and absorption. Soaking neutralizes phytic acid, a component of plant fiber found in the bran and hulls of grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds that reduces mineral absorption." (Excerpt from What Happens to Wheat, from Seed to Storage)

Even though I knew and understood the information, the thought of taking so much time to prepare our grains just overwhelmed me.

Sourdough Starter

And then I saw this e-course on sourdough. Maybe I could do this after all! The list of what you could make with sourdough was extensive and the e-course is "pay what you can". So I signed up and got started. The first thing I did was create my sourdough starter culture. This is quite simple to make with flour and water.

After my starter was established, I started experimenting with the sourdough goodies. The first things I made were pancakes and waffles. The waffles were definitely our family's favorite. They are so fluffy, crispy and we couldn't even taste any "sour"! (I never thought anything could rival my mom's recipe, but I think these do.)

Rosemary Crackers

Next I made crackers. Oh my. These are so good! We have now made them 4 times. This last time we made several varieties: rosemary, sea salt, cheese, and spicy cheese. My 6 year old daughter loves these and everyone who has tried our crackers loves them! I don't think we will ever be able to return to regular, store bought crackers.

I attempted sourdough bread (pictured above) and I would say it turned out alright. It was pretty dense, but still very tasty. I also made these cinnamon rolls. Oh yum! They were so gooey and delicious! Again, there is absolutely no sour flavor. You wouldn't know they were sourdough unless I told you. (They didn't last very long in our house...)

I have also made chocolate cake (yum!), pizza dough, artisan bread, and these English Muffins. The English muffins are so good and moist, I ended up making them two days in a row.

I never thought I would be able to make such delicious and nutritious food for my family so easily. Who knew that sourdough is so versatile and simple?

My sourdough adventures are just beginning. I am sure you will read much more about sourdough (and maybe even a few recipes) in my posts to come. Stay tuned...

Overnight Pumpkin Coffee Cake

When making a coffee cake for a women's brunch, does it make more sense to use a reliable recipe or be creative and hope it turns out? I am sure you are thinking, "Use the reliable recipe!" Although that is the logical assumption, that is not what I did.

My husband frequently gives me a hard time for this. When do I decide to be creative? My creativity typically perks up when I am cooking or baking for company or bringing a dish to a potluck. In other words, I take culinary risks when it really matters.

It all generally works out logically in my mind. Here was my thought process last night: I really wanted to bring a pumpkin coffee cake to the brunch. It would be ideal to make it the night before so I didn't need to wake up so early in the morning. (Have I mentioned that I am a night owl, not an early bird?) I found pumpkin coffee cake recipes online, but none specifying that they could be made the night before. I have an overnight coffee cake recipe. I should be able to modify it to be a pumpkin coffee cake, right? So that is what I attempted.

The only problem with modifying a recipe is that you never really know how it will turn out. Will this be the dud recipe? Will I be embarrassed that I brought the gooey, bland coffee cake? Will I be asked to purchase bagels to bring to the next brunch?

Thankfully, these fears were unnecessary. The pumpkin coffee cake turned out delicious! It was perfectly moist with a wonderful texture. In fact, one woman asked if she could bring a portion of the leftovers home with her. I think I would call it successful creativity.

Here is my recipe:

Overnight Pumpkin Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter (1 cube), softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 - 15 oz. can pumpkin (I tried to use the whole can, but I think I ended up with 1/4 cup on my kitchen counter - oops!)

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice; add to creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin. Beat well.

3. Spread into a greased 9x13 baking pan.

4. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter.

5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until cake tests done.