Romans 15:13 Ministry: Week #3 {Pumpkin Bread}

Simple. Sweet. Satisfying. That is exactly what I had in mind for this week's Romans 15:13 Ministry treat when I decided to bake a big batch of Pumpkin Bread.
There is nothing as basic as bread. It represents some of the fundamental tenants of life, especially the Christian life. The Lord is the bread of life. We, His children, are called to be "broken bread". Bread was multiplied by Jesus. Bread is eaten together in unity and fellowship not only in the Bible but even today in churches as an act of communion and obedience.
That is how I decided upon bread. Being the season for all things pumpkin I decided to throw in some fall festive flavor into the mix, too. I clicked around all of my usual blogs for recipe inspiration but every list of ingredients was too complex. They all had too much going on in the dough. Most had chocolate chips. Some had raisins. Others kept the fancy to the top in the form of a glaze. Many recipes called for pecans or walnuts and others called for a swirl of cream cheese or even Nutella. But I didn't want a gussied up pumpkin loaf. I wanted a loaf that would satisfy a desire for something sweet while maintaining the simple integrity of basic bread. 
After clicking in and out of boxes on my computer screen I decided that the internet wasn't going to be my golden ticket to the perfect pumpkin loaf recipe. Over-the-top recipes boasted too many chips and not enough loaf for my liking. So I went back to the basic, a cookbook. And not just any cookbook but the cookbook that every baker and chef undoubtedly has on their shelf, Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.
Sure enough, filed under "breads" and then "quick breads" I found the simplest pumpkin loaf ever. Trusting the New Cookbook authority, and the fact that it has stood the test of 15 editions, I didn't even look for reviews online. I simply preheated my oven and opened a can of pumpkin.
The simple recipe calling for lots of flour, sugar, eggs and only one can of pumpkin, yielded three generously sized loaves of bread. They were perfectly golden brown with a tint of orange. They rose just the way every baker prays their bread will rise. And they smelled absolutely divine!
The beauty of this bread is that it didn't need any chocolate or dried fruit or sweet glaze to be satisfying and delicious. The bread's star was pumpkin and that's all it needed. The simplicity of bread paired with the fall's favorite vegetable made these loaves the perfect sweet delivery to the ladies at the Women's Connection Bible study.

My prayer is that the ladies who feasted on those loaves of bread saw the beauty of the baked dough, just like I did. A simple loaf of bread can remind us of how Christ can simplify our lives when we turn our struggles, pain and control over to Him. Don't get me wrong, this life won't always be simple. The world is not without its complications and trials. On this earth, surrounded by humans and sin, sometimes it feels like all that surrounds us are imperfections and trials.
But Christ can simplifying even our messiest of circumstances. When we get back to the basics, turn our lives, problems and complications over to Christ He can do a sweet work of simplification. He can remove our worries, burdens and heartache and fill us with His satisfying Spirit of peace and calm. Even in the midst of this chaotic and upside down world, Christ can step in and put our hearts at rest. It is His work of simplification that makes it all possible. Our Bread of Life, King of Kings and All-Sufficient Savior can turn our lives into a place of refuge even in the midst of the fiercest of storms.
All it takes is getting back to the basics and simply asking Christ to take over, take control and release our complications into His care. And just like a simple Pumpkin Loaf, He will come into our lives and simply satisfy our every need with His Holy Spirit that always hits the perfect sweet spot.

{ Recipe found in Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook}

Perfect vanilla cupcakes with Nutella butter cream frosting

Every female needs a little black dress. And every baker needs a vanilla cake recipe.
Dear reader, I have found my vanilla cake recipe.
It took three tries and three different sources, but I hit on a recipe that I do believe will be my go-to vanilla cake recipe.
I discovered the recipe in my new favorite book, Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. I love this book. I love the cover. I love the pictures. And, most of all, I love the recipes! Each one I've tried so far has been a success. And now I do believe it has even given me a staple of my culinary aresinal - the perfect vanilla cake batter.
I broke out a new addition to my kitchen to create these little vanilla cupcake creations. The stand mixer has now taken a prominent place on my kitchen counter. I'm enjoying just looking at it (and baking with it, of course). I feel so truly culinary now that I own and use a  stand mixer. Before I was just a wanna-be, now I'm one step closer to a legitimate baker. I am baking and I have the equipment to prove it!
Well, not just the equipment - I have cupcakes, too. Little, perfectly white, perfectly rounded cupcakes to show that I have learned something about baking in these past forty-some recipes. I've learned not to overbeat cake batter. I've learned that butter, when softened, shouldn't be at all melted but should be tender to the touch. I've learned that for most all cakey creations eggs need to be at room temperature. I've learend that measuring flour is a science that requires precision and attention to detail. Too much flour or too little flour can throw off an entire recipe. I've learned that convection for baking doesn't always produce the greatest of results. Best to stick with classic bake.
And I've learned that the more you bake, the more you learn about baking. I used to think baking was as easy as following a list of steps in the right order. Oh how wrong I was! There is so much more than good following of directions when it comes to successful baking. Just like anything truly exceptional, baking takes practice, patience and a lot of time in the kitchen.

To try out the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe check out The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. In it you'll find a staple for your pastry repertoire.
Now as for that little black dress you're on your own. I suggest a shopping trip to TJ Maxx or Marshalls. But that's just me. After all, I'm just a wanna-be baker, not a wanna-be personal shopper!



PS... I topped my cupcakes with Nutella butter cream frosting from Sally's Baking Addiction.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies {flour-less}

A flour-less cookie? It sounds like an oxymoron. How could a cookie possibly be flour-less? Gluten-less I get. Even those with a severe allergy or intolerance to gluten can have a cookie made with almond flour, coconut flour or even oat flour (as long as its gluten free). But no flour whatsoever? The whole concept baffles my baking mind.
And so I had to give it a try. Five simple ingredients were all the recipe called for to create a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie….without flour.

Here's the recipe (from memory, that's how simple it is!):
1 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

And then, equally as simply, the instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the first four ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Form dough into tablespoon balls and place them on parchment lined baking sheet. Put in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool on sheet for about a minute. Remove from sheet onto wire rack to cool. Eat.

I will be honest, I was extremely skeptical of how this recipe could possibly turn out with any level of success. But I was curious, too, so I decided to test out the theory of flour-less cookies and see if this phenomenon could actually produce a delicious cookie.
Amazingly enough, the cookies didn't just "turn out" they were stand-outs! Unlike a normal peanut butter cookie with a faint peanut flavor, the flour-less cookie had an intense peanut flavor that said, "I'm a nut and I'm here! Eat up and enjoy!" There was no flour to dilute the goodness of a a rich peanut butter flavor. And the chocolate chips weren't overpowered by thick dough. The pleasure of the flour-less cookie is that it highlights all the goodness of a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie without being diluted by the addition of a flavorless gluten invader! Without flour every bite concentrates on peanut butter, sugar and chocolate. Flour-less cookies don't just taste delicious, they make logical sense, too!

Once again there is a lesson to be found in this simple cookie. Sometimes I think I know what I need. To bake I thought I needed flour. In life I often fall into the temptation of believing that I need to be healed from MS or I fall into the trap of believing that I need to put on weight to be happy, find friendship to be fulfilled and have a significant other to be validated. But the truth is that none of those things are necessary.
All that I will ever need I have today, right now in this moment because I have Christ. He is all I need. He is my all in all. He is the peanut butter and the chocolate chips. The rest is just flour. It can make my life denser but none of those extras will add to the true goodness of what I already have as a child of God. The truly divine richness and joy of life is found in Jesus. And I am already His and He is already mine.
If someday I am healed of this MS or I find a Godly man to share life with then that will be a wonderful blessing. But the bottom line is I don't need those blessings to be blessed, full and content. True contentment and true joy are found in being full of Jesus Christ, overflowing with His love.
And there's no flour required.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Certain foods and the scents they produce can be real life time machines. Take, for example, white cake with chocolate frosting. When I smell a simple white cake baking in the oven coupled with the sweet aroma of whipped butter, cream cheese and chocolate I am taken back to my childhood grade school days.
Some days I would come home from school and, for no particular reason, my Mom would have a yellow cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting warm out of the oven (she never could wait for the cake to cool entirely before frosting). Mom didn't need a birthday or a big celebration to bake a cake.
Today in Northern Pennsylvania the air had a crisp chill and a breeze that seemed to whisper, "fall is coming." I could practically smell freshly sharpened pencils and hear school buses picking up loads of children weighed down with ridiculously heavy backpacks. The school year is about to come and the weather is preparing children and parents for the coming change in daily routine.
It only seemed fitting that I follow the lead of God's changing seasons and bake the treat that takes me back to my own school experience. I tweaked the memory just slightly. Instead of a two layer cake I baked cupcakes. Still the scent was just the same as I remember. When I opened the oven I was transported back to elementary school. I remembered how the best part of my days as a school girl was always walking back through my front door into the safety, security and comfort of home. Home truly has always been sweet. Sometimes it was extra sweet because of the cake in the oven but it didn't need dessert to be the place that warmed my heart. Home has always sweet because of the love shared within its walls.
So here's to home, freshly baked cake and sweet memories.
Childhood passes but the memories don't need to fade. All you have to do is bake up a cake or a cookie or whatever treat takes you back to days gone by. By simply stepping back into the kitchen, putting on an apron and baking up something sweet you, too, can go on a journey in your own personal time machine. Who knew so much could be experienced while simply baking a batch of basic vanilla cupcakes?

To try out a vanilla cupcake recipe with chocolate cream cheese frosting visit Glorious Treats at http://www.glorioustreats.com/2011/07/perfect-vanilla-cupcakes-recipe.html.

Crisps and Cookies

With each new day and each new recipe I'm all the more convinced that baking is the perfect way to bless other people. Baking is a way to serve. Baking is a way to show love, care and compassion.
For the past four years I've been asking God to use me. I've felt so useless just stuck at home, trapped in an unpredictable body with unpredictable nerves. I've wanted to be a giver, doing for others and serving people in a way that would show the love of Christ. I've cried out to God and begged Him to make me useful for Him.
At first I thought He wasn't listening or didn't hear me because my health just worsened and my life became more limited. The ways I used to serve and give can't be part of my life in my physical state. As I've watched my life become reduced in so many ways I've faced moments and seasons of frustration, feeling that God was leaving me out to dry.
But then something happened. I found that God could use me right here at home, in my own kitchen. All I had to do was bake and I could start sharing blessings.
Isn't it amazing how God is working even when we feel like He's gone silent? For years I wondered what God was doing with my life and how He would ever make anything out of it given my physical condition. But He doesn't need me to be in perfect health to be busy in the kitchen. He just needs me to have a willing spirit.

Today my spirit has been very willing. So willing in fact that I baked up two different desserts for two different crowds.
First off was a Blueberry Peach Crumble (or Crisp). These seasonal treats were for some of my favorite church ladies who came over for a luncheon. I baked up my crumbles/crisps in individual ramekins and topped them with vanilla ice cream. I love individual sized desserts, they are special and, of course, cute! The golden brown, bubbling crumbles topped with a heaping scoop of refreshing ice cream were truly the perfect dessert for an August afternoon.
The days second adventure in the kitchen was for my all my nieces and nephews. Those kiddos are growing quite accustomed to my daily dessert delivery. But seriously, what kid wouldn't like a new dessert delivered every afternoon to their doorstep? Especially when it comes hot out of the oven and contains chocolate chips.
The recipe I used for my cookies is the infamous Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie. To be honest I'm not sure if the recipe I used is the legitimate "top secret original recipe." I saw some conflicting opinions on what goes into the famed cookie but, either way, these cookies were a big hit. I choose a recipe that didn't use oatmeal (a controversy in the blogging world) and went for a recipe that used instant coffee powder. I baked them at 300 degrees for about fifteen minutes. At first I was reluctant to bake them at such a low temperature for so long but reviewers all over the internet swear by this method so I gave it a go. I'm so glad I did! The cookies were moist, a little puffy and slightly crispy. They turned golden but not burnt. The cookies looked like little balls of baked doughy perfection and everyone who tasted them agreed.
Let's just say that the Neiman Marcus cookie is famous for a reason. I think they just became by go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Way to go Neiman….or Marcus. You came up with one seriously scrumptious cookie.

For today's recipes check out these sites...
For the crumble/ crisp: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/blueberry-peach-crumble/
I followed this recipe almost precisely except that I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the fruit base. I'm a cinnamon lover. The scent… the taste… I just can't get enough cinnamon in my life.
For the cookies: http://neimanmarcuscareers.com/story/recipe.shtml
Didn't change a thing! Absolute perfection.

Cinnamon Rolls (with yeast)

Fear: false evidence appearing real.
Boy did I need that definition this morning. For some reason that I still can't determine, I awoke this morning in an intense state of fear over the future of my health. Multiple Sclerosis carries with it so many unknowns. There is no "cure" to speak of and the best anyone can offer is management and the hope of remission. Still, the threat of relapse remains. MS sufferers never know if and when their symptoms will suddenly set in and reek havoc on their bodies.
That reality landed on me this morning with all the force of a crushing weight. What if I'm one of those sufferers who continues to relapse? What if I get more symptoms that are more intense and more debilitating? The "what ifs" that filled my mind were downright frightful.
I'm thankful to report that I didn't allow that fear to paralyze me (as you can tell since I'm writing this post). I swallowed my fear, got out of bed and determined to face my fears head on. The "what ifs" might never happen and if they do I'm going to trust that God will equip me to overcome them. He will never give me more than I can handle.
As a step of faith over fear I decided to face another fear head on this morning: yeast.
Don't snicker. Yeast is scary. Rising dough, kneading…the whole ordeal just sounds daunting! But today I was in the fear crushing mode and so I set out to conquer my fear of yeast by making cinnamon rolls.
I found a recipe and pulled out my ingredients - including yeast. Two hours later I opened my oven to find perfectly risen, golden brown cinnamon rolls spreading a rich, sugary scent all through the house.
The rolls rose. They expanded. They browned. They were perfection!
I can't believe it took me so long to discover the wonders of yeast! All this time I had been afraid of the complexity of rising bread and expanding dough. I was worried I would waste perfectly good ingredients in a doughy catastrophe. But, alas, my worst fears didn't turn into my reality. My first attempt at baking with yeast was a resounding success.
To all my fellow bakers out there (who may or may not be afraid of yeast) I encourage you to face your fears in and out of the kitchen. Open that packet of yeast. Face your fears head on. Chances are your worst nightmare won't come to pass. In fact, you just may be pleasantly surprised to find a tantalizing smell in your kitchen and a life more beautiful than you ever imagined!

If you happen to be facing a fear of yeast I recommend this recipe for cinnamon rolls from Sally's Baking Addiction, http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/08/easy-cinnamon-rolls-from-scratch/. Follow the recipe step by step to officially crush your fear of yeast. Plus as an added bonus, you'll have some amazingly delicious smelling, looking and tasting cinnamon rolls!

Sugar Cookies

Christmas time isn't the only occasion for a crisp, light, frosted sugar cookie. Turn that cut-out Santa into an ice cream cone and you have the perfect summer time cookie treat.
Today's fun in the kitchen goes back to the basics and what could be more basic than a sugar cookie? The ingredients are simple but the result, when done correctly, is perfection. The wrong kind of sugar can create a dense, heavy cookie. Too much flour and the cookies won't crisp. And if the icing is too thick or too sweet the cookies will leave the taster with a mouth full of sticky sugar. One cookie will be one too much.
But when the classic cut-out sugar cookie is baked to a golden brown with a slight crisp along the edges and then topped with the perfectly sweet and light icing, cookie perfection is attained. That classic, unadorned cookie can't be beat.

My Mom has always instructed me to find one particular kind of sugar cookie recipe. She doesn't have a go-to recipe to hand down on a worn and tattered index card but she still manages to direct my sugar cookie recipe selection. Go for the confectioner's sugar. With that advice as my guide I bring you this cookie recipe from AllRecipes (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Marys-Sugar-Cookies/). I followed it precisely, chilling the dough for about two hours. The dough was easy to work with, didn't crumble and didn't feel overly sticky.
After about seven minutes in the oven at convect 350 my cookies were a perfect golden brown - crisp edges and not too puffy. I topped them with a simple icing of about two cups confectioners sugar with two tablespoons milk and one teaspoon vanilla. Those measurements are just an estimate. I didn't measure. I used the instincts of my inner baker to guide my icing preparation.
Of course, the best part of baking sugar cookies is the fun of decorating them with assorted colors and little sprinkles. Mom and I used our not-so-professional tools of toothpicks and small butter knives to put the finishing touches on my crispy treats.
The exciting verdict is that these cookies turned out tasting as good as they look. So that makes them cute and delicious, the perfect cookie combination!
Today's baking foray was a success and a great reminder of not only a basic cookie recipe, but a basic principle in life: Mom knows best. Whether it is choosing a recipe in the kitchen or putting together the recipe of life, my Mom is my most trusted guide and constant voice of wisdom. Where would my baking be without her?