Might I suggest ...

for your next dinner party

a baked apple for each guest, stuffed with cranberry sauce, and a dollop of whipped cream?

1. Slice the top of the apple and core it. I used a knife, some cross-slice technique and a spoon.
2. Make cranberry sauce on the stove by boiling and adding cinnamon and ginger.
3. Stuff and bake for an hour at 375 degrees. (You can go for a higher temperature and lower time but I think slow roasting is the key.) Put some water in the bottom of the baking dish, too.
4. Whip a cup of cream with some sugar, vanilla and a tiny bit of orange extract.
5. Compile and enjoy.

As I said, it came to me like a dream.

I hope your Thanksgiving was sparkly. 
I love Thanksgiving! We ran the Turkey Trot yesterday morning and I plan on staying homeside all day today to keep time moving slow. This is my favorite holiday.

I've taken on pie as a hobby.



Dreaming it, making it, baking it, sharing it, eating it.
It's a beautiful thing.
There's really no telling when I'm going to bake.
Sometimes I just find myself on a Sunday night whipping my first ever batch of meringue.
And sometimes I find anise extract at the store and invent a pie in my mind
(then Google the recipe for it which I know probably exists), and begin.
These two have made their way into my heart, time and life lately:
Banana Meringue Pie & Pear Anise Pie.
Both with a new crust recipe which was a gem to work with.







I'm going to try and make a deep correlation here, between baking and my "greater things" mantra, okay? Follow me.
They are quite parallel things, making a pie and making a community.
They take imagination, work, patience and are practically useless unless utterly enjoyed.
I'm always the baker who eats a piece fresh fresh fresh out of the oven.
Always burning my tongue.
Never learning my lesson.
It's exciting to eat hot, but pie usually doesn't hold together well until cooled.
Maybe the same goes for community, especially new and diverse community?
It's an exciting thing to discover, but if we maul it hastily, it crumbles.
We risk exoticism and shallow consumption.
Both are necessary, I think, excitement and stability.
But overall, what's needed is respect. And sharing utter enjoyment with others.

Thanks for going there with me.
Have I got you dreaming about pie?

|All about cake|

My cutie friend is getting married!
And she, Elspeth, chose lucky me to attend her final cake tasting at Yum Cakes on Saturday.
We were offered fancy water bottles and devoured not a few cupcakes.
My favorite was the pralines and almond cake with a tiny macaron on top!







Then,
I woke up on Sunday and saw the recipe for my favorite cake on my kitchen table. Jake had unearthed it while organizing our closet (yes, he rocks). That cake sounded divine, so it being the sabbath and all, I dug right in.







I wish I could give you the recipe, but this is one time I don't feel I have the right. The recipe was created by my aunt's mother-in-law for all of her children's birthdays. I will say this, it is a rich, dense cake with coffee in it, and frosting that tastes like pudding! I need to come up with some holiday or reason to make this at least once per month.

Welcome to the week, everyone.

PS: I get to wear a Shabby Apple dress when I am in Elspeth's wedding!

Here's what I'm learning:
Blogging is weird.

What makes us think it'd be brilliant to post pictures of our socks and/or snacks?
And why in the world do we think other people might want to see such things?

We may never know.

So, here's my snack today.

Homemade shortbread cookies, dipped in dark chocolate.

We had a bit more chocolate than cookie, so Jake reached for a couple oatmeal cookies to finish.
That guy. He is so resourceful. Especially when it comes to food. It makes me smile.

Now, how good does a shortbread cookie dipped in chocolate dipped in coffee sound?

If it's okay with you I'd like to keep the autumnal recipes coming!

Because I've made some stellar dishes this month and I'd like to share.

Recently, one Sunday night, I hosted a little shin dig. It was one of those first evenings when the sun sets far too early and if I'm not careful, I'll go to bed at 8 'o clock all gloomy feeling.

Thankfully, this little ditty stepped into my life just then. I heard about it on Playing Grown-Up. Chocolate-Pumpkin Tart.

I followed the recipe to a "t." However, next time I would not add the melted chocolate on top of the crust (step 2). That layer was really hard to cut through and it was difficult to make slices without ruining the very soft top pumpkin layer. But that's my only complaint because     this     was     delicious!

Now go make yours!

Once upon a time a certain boy and girl got married. The girl was not worried at all about most of the wedding details, but the one most important thing to her was making a cheesecake for her betrothed. This boy loved cheese cake and he loved pears so the girl put the two together (it was a promise she'd made years ago, and her word is good.) You can see said wedding pear cheesecake for yourself on the bottom right of the table:

Fast-forward to almost one whole year later, this girl again set her mind to recreating the romantic dessert. This time, beautiful and ripe fruit from the very land on which the boy was raised was available for cooking.

And you can make your very own wedding pear cheesecake, too!

1. Make your own flour crust (a cookie crust is too sweet.)

2. Thaw two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese. 

3. Mix well with 1 cup white sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon.

4. Pour an inch of cream cheese mix into the crust, top with a layer of sliced pears.

5. Cover the layer of pears with a thin coat of honey.

6. Make another layer with the rest of the cream cheese mix, topped with pears, covered in honey.

7. Bake in 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

8. Let cool on the counter for a while, then refrigerate overnight for best shape.

We came home with pounds and pounds of apples and pears. 

I will be making this pie over and over again.

Something like home

We're back, home safe.

But we were at home in Iowa, too. Isn't it lovely to realize that somewhere I hardly thought of two years ago can now feel so homey? It probably has a lot to do with the people there, those wonderful people. And the full pantry, too. And plenty of time to bake and breathe. The photo above is my signature/Jake's favorite bread cake, banana applesauce bread. I pulled it out of the oven and just knew it belonged out near the rustic family backyard.

I was raised in California,
salty ocean air and mountains embrace me.
Then we moved to Michigan
where I grew into the woman I am.
I definitely felt at home in Cuernavaca, Mexico,
my bones are Latin.
And I'm approaching my fourth anniversary
in this city where we land.

So I have plenty of homes. It is
wonderful and tiresome. I am
comfortable in many places. But
where should our feet plant next?
Olivia and I have a
three-years-to-Montana plan,
but more time away from family
sounds painful right now. Ask me
in a few days, I suppose. Because
the thing is, with so many homes,
we're bound to be away from one
or most of them at all times.

art school

This is what I wrote in my journal shortly after I officially accepted the ministry position with IV. It's a natural thought, especially in our country and culture I think. I've spent three years and an unsavory amount of money on a fancy degree in science journalism with a minor in Latino studies. Do I feel like I am throwing all of that away by pursuing a job in a completely different field? Heck no!

Truthfully, I'd been mulling over this thought for a while, even before I was certain about my call to a year in ministry. Three years is a rather short amount of time to cram in a four-year degree and while I've managed the workload, it's been just that--a load. Working at a newspaper on top of studying journalism has also been amazing, I honestly love my job, but I've just been so entrenched in this world, this industry, that for a long time now I've known that I wanted to take a step back from it all when I graduate. I didn't even know what I wanted to do. Continue as a nanny? Go back to being a barista? Become a professional house wife and get paid to bake and clean and read?

I'm sure I'm not the first person in the world to reminisce about their time in college as they approach graduation. And I am just astounded at what I see when I make this list of all the things God brought to me during my time in school. I had no clue that following my little curiosity about this small school in a big city would produce any of these things!

The other thing I'm (still) learning about in art school is what exactly makes me "artsy." I have not honed any great skill in the fine arts, but I am confident in my creativity. I am enchanted at the thought of making things that didn't exist before. I believe humans were made in the image of a Divine Creator, so the joy of creating is in my genes.

Birthdayseason

First it was January 13:

I made the traditional red velvet cake that Jake's mom has made for his dad since she was 16 and he was 17, which she went on to make for all of her children's birthdays, and I now thankfully make for Jake!

This year I got a little adventurous and made a cinnamon glaze instead of my favorite cream cheese frosting.

We had friends over to share the cake. It was one of those amazing, intimate parties where nobody else knew each other but everyone was awesome so they got along incredibly well.

We continued the celebration with a Ben & Jerry's kind of weekend.

And today it is January 18:

Gah! Look at this surprise.

Mondays are Jake's busiest day.

But not only did he walk me to

the train at 6 am, he proceeded

onwards to the grocery store,

bought ingredients for my usual

birthday cake and he made it for

me! Then he cleaned the kitchen

floor and made it to work by 9 am.

I came home to this surprise, while

"Songbird" by Eva Cassidy was

playing on repeat.

This man deserves some loving!

My mom and one little sister visited over the

weekend to celebrate our birthdays. Mom took

us to Chicago Diner. It was scrumptious!

And the next morning we took an early walk to see the ice on the lake. (I've always wanted to see the lake during the winter and I knew this would be the year because we live four blocks from the shore!)

It was stunning! So lovely.

The only thing I could wish is that my dad or the other little sister was with us.

Soon it will be January 28 and we'll be off to Michigan for a music ministry conference and a birthday celebration for the five family members with January birthdays!

I have a hayday at this party because it requires baking 5 cakes! Last year I made angelfood cake for Grandma, red velvet for Jake, and ice cream cake for uncle Mike. Mom made Grandpa a chocolate cake and aunt Jill made me a fruit tart.

Here's a picture that I adore from last year's party. It was taken a day before my real birthday, a day before Jake proposed:

Oh, to think of all the emotions and promises this pictures holds...

I really don't want to write about

post-modernism and how it's

changed our church (that's church

as in all of us.) But, I do want to

say that it's been on my mind.

In our generation, everything is

based on personal experience,

and with good reason, but it's so

self-centered and quite a faulty

method when used alone.

We decide things better in

teams, with a collective

knowledge and history.

At the core of things, it just

saddens me to think that

people can have such different

experiences of church and it

alters their experience of Jesus.

That is all.

Now for a round-up of the third

week in Advent/first few days of

break!

1. Isn't this too pretty? This is the start to a pie/cobbler I made for a party on Friday night. We had a great time at the party but the best part of the evening was truly the ride there and the conversation with our friends who gave us a ride. And as they wouldn't accept gas money, please read #4 to learn what the consequences of their generosity were.

2. For anyone who knows me and how compulsive I am, the sights of our place Saturday would have shocked you. I actually enjoyed tearing the place up. Everything is so well packed into our tiny place that when you really get a few projects going at once, everything else falls out around it. Please observe: laundry drying on the rack and the couch, art station involving a record and a suitcase at the bottom of the picture, guitar on the desk... and oh yeah, we splurged on the electricity because the grey day was really getting me down and Jake remedied that with lights and windows.

3. What a man, truly serving his wife by giving up his time to take part in what she likes to do!

4. Saturday night, a change of plans. Or, as I like to remember, God only has a plan A, and we just didn't know what it was until it happened. You see, on our way to a little gathering, Jake and I found out the dinner was cancelled and we quickly got off the train to decide what to do.

The rest of the details aren't as important as this: we met Jackie. We walked by her at first, arrived at our own cozy destination and immediately turned around to give her the cookies I had in my purse. Jackie reminded me that I am far better off than I even know. Jake and I believe in not only serving people the food they need but also the friendship they need. We listened to Jackie and we did what we thought was best helping her get a room for the night. Talk about plan A, or what some people sometimes call coincidence, the money we saved on gas Friday night was still in our pockets and available for Jackie.

5. And today, in a desperate attempt to make vegan fare for a few friends, I made pancakes from churro mix, water, vanilla, cinnamon and a banana.

Friends, Jesus will be born

in just a few days now, what

are you doing to prepare?

The holidays are...

for listening to Christmas music? No.

for hibernating inside and baking? No.

for giving gifts and being nice? Wrong again.

for spending time with family and loved ones? No.

How odd that every year at this time

people ask the question, "What is the

true meaning of Christmas?"

Let's break it down,

Christ = Jesus!

mas = a church service/feast.

I may be stating the obvious, but it dawned

on me the other day how difficult it must be

for those who celebrate Christmas without

celebrating the birth of Jesus.

No wonder people become so weary and

jaded of the season.

Even Christians tire of the holiday, and I

think it's because we put too much weight

on the accessories of the season (the lights,

the music, the goodwill to all.)

Christmas, after all, is only one day. And

we often try to make it last for a month.

Advent, however, is the ancient season

that truly leads up to Christmas day.

Advent is a time to recognize our dire

need for Jesus to come. We meditate on

the joy that He will come. Then, when

Christmas day arrives, we can welcome

it and be glad because we've longed for

that day for four weeks.

I am learning a lot about advent this

year. I recommend it to everyone.

Now, incase you thought I was a grump

and that I don't like any of those things

that I first listed:

And it just wouldn't be right to end this post without giving credit to Luke, because without his story of Jesus, we wouldn't even have Christmas to begin with. (None of the other authors mentioned how or when Jesus was born.)

"So the shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Luke 2:16-20

Thank you, Luke!

On not dying


The leaves do not fall to their death

they are falling to start a new life.

Today

11 am- The colors on my street.

Yesterday

8 pm- I'd love to tell you this story.

I keep noticing the last things I do

as an unmarried woman ... my last

staff meeting, my last women's group,

my last copy editing class, my last

Wednesday where I work from home

while I catch up on laundry and baking.

But I'm not dying.

Far from it in fact.

Here's to new life!

And here's what I made today.

My own recipe "Pumpkin pumpkin cookies."

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup whole grain flour

1/2 cup Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake mix

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon

I avoid a mixer as often as possible, this recipe is easy to mix with a fork as long as you do the wet ingredients together first, then the spices, then the flours. Bake for 12 minutes at 350. Try not to eat all the batter.

Centering Prayer, Rain and Jam

When I first walked into my church's Centering Prayer session, my eyes had to adjust to the dim lighting in our normally-very-sunny chapel.

Six people, each a different age and color, sat in a small circle around an empty end table. They welcomed me.

I should have probably studied more on how to do a centering prayer before I came, because I wasn't in shape for their one hour session. But they explained it best as they could and even when I didn't feel exactly connected to God, I had the strongest sense of community. Community is a very Godly essence to me.

"We find it best to imagine our selves at the bottom of a river. Waves and boats and things are happening above and we notice them there but we don't get involved with them, we don't jump in the boat, we stay peaceful at the bottom of the water."

I've found this to be amazing advice as I bring centering prayer into a frequent practice. The discipline is to calm myself, my thoughts, my motivations, and open up to God. I don't think about anything (or I try not to) and I feel very at peace.

I hope to keep with this prayer because it's especially effective in my busy life. I like to start off my day with 15-20 minutes of this quietness and that consciousness lasts within me, throughout the day.

The amazing thing is that a friend of mine has been inspired to start this type of prayer, too. We talked about it on Thursday and we've both felt the same lasting peace from our discipline.

Thursday was a wonderful, rainy day, punctuated by the bright leaves in the sky and on the ground, beaten down by foot and rain. I formally met the guy who lives on the top floor of our flat as I was on my way to the grocery store. I was happy to walk in the rain because I was going for spices and I can accept a cloud or two during autumn.

I used the spices to make Souther Jam Cake, of which my roommates and friends all became quick fans. It was the beginning of this season where we are warm with friendship and baked goods. However it's still rainy today and my tolerance is running thin... I really hope my favorite season doesn't dully fade into winter.