Bread For The Journey

Deuteronomy 1:6-8 (NASB) 

6 “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, ‘You have [a]stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the [b]Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their [c]descendants after them.’

I know that I have often stayed at 'my mountain' too long when I needed to leave and journey on. This mountain can be fear, discouragement, depression, and many other things which keep us from growing in the Lord. Our life becomes a rut and we know we have been at this mountain too long and that we need to move on. 

Moses was preparing the people to enter the promised land. In this text God tells them it's time to leave this mountain and journey on to other areas. They have received their instructions and it's time to move out of the wilderness and learn other lessons.

We can learn from this as well and be willing to move from 'our mountains', that we won't miss opportunities to show God's love.

Fruit Crumble Dessert - Gluten-free

One of our favourite desserts is fruit crumble.
Of course I make it gluten free but I've heard no complaints on this recipe.
It is always served warm with ice-cream at our house ...  but it is good cold with whipped cream too.

• 4 cups chopped fruit  -   apples,  plums, apricots, peaches, rhubarb   - whatever is fresh in season or in your freezer! 
• 2 tbsp instant tapioca  
• 2 tbsp sugar if fruit is tart 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 rounded tbsp. white corn flour (or brown rice flour)  
• 1 rounded tbsp potato starch 
• millet flour to fill 1/2 cup 
• 1/2 cup gf oat flakes 
• 1/4 cup butter 
• 1 envelope of vanilla sugar 

1. Sprinkle tapioca on bottom of large pie plate  
2. Spread prepared fruit and sprinkle with sugar if desired 
3. In 1/2 cup  put white corn flour and potato starch and then fill measuring cup with millet flour
4. Mix sugar,  flour, oat flakes and vanilla sugar in bowl 
5. Cut in the butter evenly into dry ingredients 
6. Pour crumbs over the fruit 
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.   

Broccoli Salad

I was given this recipe from my mother in law. The cooked dressing really makes the salad. When fresh peaches are in season I use them in place of the can of mandarin oranges. Fresh diced mango is also a good option.

Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp dry mustard
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Method:

In saucepan whisk together eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and dry mustard. Add vinegar and water. Cook slowly until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in mayonnaise. Cool Completely.

Salad ingredients:

• 6 - 8 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 8 slices chopped, cooked bacon
• 2 cups fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 10 oz can mandarin oranges, drained, or 1 cup fresh peaches or mango
• 1 cup slivered toasted almonds or sunflower seeds

Method:

Marinate broccoli in cooled dressing for several hours. Add remaining ingredients and toss well. Serves 6-8.

Peach Almond Scones

We are so enjoying the local peaches at this time of the year.  By local, I don't mean that they are grown in my neighbourhood but that they are British Columbia peaches.  Peaches are grown in the southern areas of the Okanagan, Similkameen, and Kootenay valleys, by about 800 peach growers.  BC produces 7 million kilograms of peaches...about 20% of the Canadian production, mostly sold as fresh produce.  I'll be sad when the peach season ends.

Here's a recipe for fresh peach scones you might also enjoy!

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cups sliced almonds, slightly toasted, divided
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup diced peaches

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Cut in the butter, using a pastry blender...or grate with a coarse grater and combine with fingertips. 
4. Stir in 1/4 cup of toasted almonds. 
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and the almond extract. 
6. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. 
7. Add the peaches and stir just until well-combined. (This is a somewhat wet and sticky dough, perfect for drop scones.)
8. Drop by large spoonfuls (ice-cream scoop) onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
9. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of sliced almonds.
10. Bake until golden...15 to 18 minutes.
11. While still warm, drizzle with glaze.

 Yield: 1 dozen large scones.

This is just one more way to enjoy our local peaches!

Chilliwack Corn Chowder

It's the height of Corn season here in Chilliwack where we are famous for our corn.

'Super Sweet', 'Tuxedo', 'Peaches and Cream' or the old faithful 'Jubilee',

it's all sweet and delicious.

I've made this corn chowder for years and years and it's always a hit.

During corn season when we eat it fresh from the cob, I always cook a few more cobs than needed. I cut the kernels off the extra cobs, scrape the cobs with my big knife and put all that goodness into freezer bags for corn chowder later. Scraping the cobs gives you the extra starch that will add flavour and help to thicken the chowder.

• 2 good sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 5 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lb. bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces or farmer sausage, crumbled
• 1 bay leaf
• handful of fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• seasoned pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• few drops Tabasco Sauce
• 3 cups corn kernels
• 1 small can creamed corn
• 2 cups milk or light cream or use half cream and half milk
• flour and more milk to thicken if desired.
• chopped fresh parsley
• cheddar cheese (to sprinkle as a garnish)

1. Place potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, bay leaf, parsley and salt in large pot or small dutch oven.
2. Add 5 cups water and bring to a boil. If using farmer sausage, chop or crumble the sausage into the water and vegetables.
3. Turn to simmer and let cook until potatoes and carrots are tender.
4. While that is cooking, fry bacon until crisp and drain.
5. When vegetables are done, add corn, Worcestershire and Tabasco and seasoned pepper.
6. Taste and add more seasonings if desired. Let cook 10 minutes more.
7. Add milk or cream and heat, stirring well.
8. You can thicken the soup at this point if desired. Mix 1 tablespoon flour with 1/2 cup milk and add to soup.
9. To serve, garnish with shredded Cheddar cheese and snipped parsley

Peach Marmalade

I love peach jam and I love marmalade.

So I often add a touch of orange to my peach jam.  

It adds a bit of zest to the jam and is delicious on toast or fresh buns.

Try adding a slice of Havarti cheese on top.  Yum! 

I used the peach jam recipe included in the package of low-sugar Certo (powdered pectin).

To that recipe, add orange peel prepared in the following way.

1. Prepare the orange peel:
2. Using a vegetable peeler, peel strips of peel from one large orange.
3. Using the edge of a spoon or paring knife, scrape away the white part from the strips of peel.
4. Place peel in a small saucepan.
5. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda.
6. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Drain peel, cool slightly and finely chop.
8. Add peel to prepared peaches and make the jam as per package instructions.
9. Pour jam into clean, sterilized jars, top with a hot lid and seal.
10. Jars should "snap" and then they can be stored in a cool dry place for the winter.

Waffles with Peaches

It's peach season. That's when I crave waffles with peaches. Is there anything better than homemade fluffy waffles covered with sweet white sauce and fresh peach slices?
Waffles are a favorite food in our family and always have to be served with sweet white sauce. I remember years ago when we were on a holiday with our daughters and eating out was a novelty. We stopped at a restaurant for breakfast and they were excited to see waffles on the menu. I reminded them that they would not be getting the white sauce. They could not believe that waffles would ever be served with anything else and so ordered them. Were they ever disappointed when the waffles were served with pancake syrup.

• 4 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Whip egg whites until soft peaks form, set aside.
2. Beat egg yolks, cream, melted butter, and buttermilk in a separate bowl.
3. Mix dry ingredients and stir into the buttermilk mixture until well blended. 
4. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the mixture and set aside for the sauce.
5. Now gently fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter.
6. Pour 1 cup of batter into a hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown.  
7. Yield: 4 belgium waffles.

Sweet White Sauce:

• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup waffle batter, that was set aside.
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup milk, for mixing batter, sugar, and flour.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Pour 2 cups milk in a microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave until milk is hot. 
2. Whisk waffle batter, sugar, flour, and 1/2 cup milk until smooth and add to the hot milk.
3. Continue to cook for 2 minutes, then stir. 
4. Repeat until mixture has thickened.
5. Stir in vanilla.
6. Scoop white sauce over hot waffles and top with fresh peach slices. I sprinkled a bit of sugar over the peach slices and allowed to sit for a few minutes before serving.

Bread For The Journey

my photo taken in Hawaii

My Self-Talk

Either God is God,

Or I am.

Either God is all-knowing and wise,

Or I am.

Either I trust God to guide me,

Or I choose my own way.

Either I walk in God’s light,

Or I walk in my own darkness.

Either God’s promises are true,

Or I trust in my own uncertain hopes.

Either God has a good plan and purpose for my life,

Or I try to define my own.

Either I trust my cares and concerns to God’s keeping,

Or I carry my own worries and burdens.

Either I live in God’s rest,

Or I choose my own distress.

*****

May I always remember, my best doesn’t even reach to God’s worst,

And His best far outreaches what I can think or imagine!

The choice is mine.

Will I trust Him?
****
by julie klassen

Peach Plum Galette

I had peaches and plums sitting on the counter top ripe and ready, waiting to be used up. I had been 'eyeing' this recipe for sometime and with a bit of pie pastry sitting in the fridge I was ready to go. Wasn't until I chatted with Trish and she asked if I would post this recipe that I had even thought of my camera! We had enjoyed some of this rustic looking pie at supper but thought I'd take a photo anyway and post it. It was ever so delicious especially with a scoop of frozen vanilla yogurt.

• 1 1/2 cups nectarines or peaches, cut up in wedges, I used peaches
• 1 cup plums, cut up in wedges
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1. Combine fruit, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and almond extract.
2. Roll out pie crust (I had leftover pie dough so I just eye balled the size, approx 9 or 10" in diameter) onto parchment lined cookie sheet.
3. Place fruit mixture in center leaving a 2 1/2" border around the edges. Fold edges of crust over filling, pleating and pressing dough together gently to hold shape.
4. Brush edges with beaten egg white and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Bake at 425º for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 375º and bake for 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on cooling rack.
6. Very good served warm with whipped cream, ice cream or frozen yogurt.
7. Serves: 6

Peach Custard Tart

This  continues to be one of my favourite desserts.  You can make it in tart pans with removable bottoms or make it in a cookie sheet to make it easy to take along for a summer BBQ potluck. 

• 1 cup butter
• 2 farm fresh eggs
• 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl. 
3. Cut in butter with a pastry blender. 
4. Stir in beaten eggs.
5.  Press into 10 X 15 inch pan.

•  4 cups of sliced peaches
•  2 teaspoons of tapioca
•  Raspberry jam 

1. Mix together sliced peaches and tapioca.
2. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over crust and arrange sliced peaches over jam. 
3. Bake for 25 minutes.

Topping:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Mix together topping ingredients until smooth.
2. Pour over partially baked crust.
3.  Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until set. 
4. Cool and then refrigerate until serving time. 

Serve with whipped cream.