British Invasion: Advanced Foods Class

We launched our unit on European and Asian food with a bang!!!

I have friends who are church planting missionaries in Great Britain!

Our family has committed to pray for them almost daily, and to do

what we can to encourage them 

and let them know that we support what they are doing

for the Lord in this spiritually dark place!

Imagine how thrilled I was then I learned they were coming back to the states,

to stay with their family in the next big city over from us,

just as we were about to begin this unit!!!
So as they were packing for their flight,

I sent a message asking Ashlie if she would be interested in coming

to our class to discuss British food culture!!

She said, "YES!!"

What an amazing morning this was!!!

Because Great Britain was part of the European Union, they had to switch

all their measurements over to the metric system; therefore, all the recipes

are written in grams and milliliters.

We learned how to use a scale to measure out our ingredients. 

Next, we made two wonderful dishes that are common and very popular in England:
1.)  Banoffe (rhymes with coffee) Pie
2.)  Coronation Chicken

 Banoffe Pie is a caramel/toffee pie with banana topped with fresh

 unsweetened whipped cream topped with shaved chocolate!! 

 Very popular with the locals.

Coronation Chicken is a recipe that was developed to serve at the coronation

of Queen Elizabeth in 1953.  It's made with a mango chutney

and curry powder giving a nod to the Indian culture so prevalent in Great Britain!

  

Of course, we HAD to learn how to make a proper cup of English tea!!

 

We finished up this lovely morning by sitting together sipping hot tea,
tasting our sandwiches and pie, and hearing Ashlie's testimony
of how she uses hospitality to reach so many women for Christ
in Great Britain.  She and her husband live in
a community that is very multi-cultural and heavily muslim.
These ladies are often very lonely and isolated and crave the fellowship
of other Moms.  Using hospitality has been a marvelous, Biblical
tool to reach into homes that they might never reach otherwise.

Thank you, Ashlie Gillit, for your graceful presentation and for all the thought

and preparation you put into this!!!

What a blessing it was to us!!!

When you wonder what it's all for

I love walking the streets of my neighborhood at dusk.

It's my favorite time of the day.

One of the streets our family fondly calls "the rich street" because 

the large homes sit majestically in the middle of well manicured lawns

under tall, ancient trees that umbrella them with long, rugged branches.

As I quietly wander past these peaceful estates, I often wonder about the people who live in them.

What do they do for a living?

Are they sitting by the big, picture windows in a comforting easy chair

with a cup of coffee watching the sun set?

Are they even home?

The street is always so quiet and I have never actually seen anyone

 coming or going into these homes.

 Recently, as I was driving home from a busy morning away, I noticed a sign.

It pointed in the direction of these homes and said, "Estate Sale."

I followed the sign to find many cars lining the street and more signs pointing

directly to the home with the sale.

All-of-a-sudden,  I had a free golden ticket to walk right down the driveway

to one of these grand places with an opportunity to simply walk right

in to the open front door.
Last week, I could only walk by on the street at arm's length with privacy laws

keeping me wondering what happened behind such beautiful doors.

Today, I could simply walk right into the kitchen

where on display was the most breath-taking collection of vintage, floral china 

and gleaming crystal I had ever seen.

I almost felt like I was intruding as I tip-toed on plush carpet up the stairs and

into the hallway cedar closet.
Here I was looking through the clothing and collectibles and sentimental jewelry

and treasured books and bathrooms of complete strangers.

Their whole entire lives where laid out on stacked tables with little price tags on

each and every piece. 

And what big, grand, glorious lives it seemed they had lived.

Based on the abundant treasures stuffed in every room.

But what happened?  

Had they passed away?

Moved to an assisted living facility?

Had their family already come through and culled out what they wanted?

And this is what is left over?

I left that day with an even stronger sense that life is but a vapor.

"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of

man as the flower of grass.

The grass withers, and the flower thereof falls away......"
I Peter 1:24

Several years ago I discovered the wonder of researching my own genealogy. 

What fascinating stories to be uncovered.

Weaving characters from my family tree into the pages of this nation's

history left me breathless at times.

But I also grew disheartened.

Of all the information available through modern technology,
I was limited to what was permanently documented.
Any given person's life was mapped out simply by a handful of events:

birth, the national census, draft cards, marriage, and death.

That's it.

That's all I know about my great-great-grandparents who led full, busy lives.

I can tell you where they were born, who their parents were, where they lived, if they went to war,

when they died and the cause, and where they are buried.

I can't tell you if they liked their neighbors.

I can't tell you their favorite colors, or if they played an instrument.

I can't tell you about their faith, or how they came to find their faith community.

I have no idea if they attended church regularly.

I don't know what they liked to have for breakfast

or if they drank coffee.

I don't know what size shoe they wore or if they voted Republican, Democrat, or something else.

They lived 70, 80 years on this earth rising everyday with the sun, raising their families,

and it's like they are complete strangers to me.

Nothing left.

I have no memories of them.

I drove away from that estate sale that day with a heightened awareness

of the fact that all the things we run ourselves ragged over to get done

really mean nothing in the long run.

Our central purpose is wrapped up in this:

"But you are a chosen generation,

a royal priesthood, an holy nation,

a peculiar people,

that you should show forth the praises of him 

who hath called you out of darkness

 into his marvelous light."

I Peter 2:9

That's it.

Our central purpose.

To give glory and praise to our Creator.

Because of the great mercy He has shown to us.

The baubles we grasp for and cling to?

Rubble.

The accomplishments and trophies we exhaust ourselves trying to obtain?

Garage sale items.

You may live on the fanciest street with a house full of treasures,

but what will you be remembered for?

"...the flower thereof falls away:

But the word of the Lord endures forever."

I think I'll continue working to focus on the things unseen.

The things that will go on with me into eternity.

The souls of my children and my husband.

The time spent talking to my children about things that really matter.

Seeing things from God's point of view and not our society's.

Building up my faith community and equipping and encouraging the saints

to keep the Kingdom of God moving forward and growing!

Letting my life be a fragrant incense of praise and glory to my Savior.

Advanced Foods Class: Cooking our own African/Middle Eastern Foods

After learning some African foods and cooking techniques

from a Nigerian friend in our previous class,

my students and I took a whirl at cooking our own

African or Middle Eastern dishes.

We all researched recipes in a cookbook from our local library,

and prepared a recipe of our choice.

What deliciousness we shared!!!

I chose a recipe from an Israeli cookbook that turned out amazing!

This will end on our family dinner table again!

Lentil Soup with Tomatoes

Grace made a recipe from a Jewish cookbook using familiar ingredients

that we would not normally pair together.

Broccoli Black Bean Nachos

Yum!!!!

Rachel and Brea worked collaboratively on two recipes from

the Israeli cookbook and served them to their family the evening

before our class.  They got a thumbs up from their family,

and an A+ from their teacher the next morning!!

Carciofi Alla Giudia 

Artichokes Jewish Style

Citrus Roasted Chicken

Ashlyn loved the idea of something chocolate coming out of Africa

so she chose a recipe under the "Brazil" heading (yes, that was confusing)

developed by a Ghanaian author.

This recipe for "Chocolate Pot" was exquisite.

Think the inside of a silky smooth chocolate truffle.

Incredible!!!

The recipe called for a little hazelnut liqueur to be lightly poured over the

top, but we used the Torani flavoring syrup instead!

I can think of no better way to close out this look into 

the foods of Africa and the Middle East!!! 

Advanced Foods Class: Foreign Foods: Africa and the Middle East: A Guest Speaker

In my Advanced Foods class at our little homeschool co-op,

we have finished up the amazing unit on Beginning Cake Decorating.

From here to the end of the school year we are going to focus on foreign foods

with an emphasis on two continents (minus the one we live in and Antarctica)

every three weeks.

The first two areas we focused on were Africa and the Middle East.

I recently met a lady who was born and raised in Nigeria,

and she agreed to come and teach my girls about her culture

and the foods commonly found there.

What an adventure we went on!!!

She printed out information about her native country and described her life there.

She even brought in some of the garments worn for one of her THREE

wedding ceremonies!!!

She made this heavenly Jollof rice and fried plantains at home for us to try,

She brought a recipe for Nigerian Buns that the girls worked on

as a group project and they turned out DELISH!!!

Then, she whipped up some Fufu and pureed okra served with

a Chicken and Tomato Stew!

We all ate this with our fingers and  had never tasted anything like it!!
 What pleasantly surprised at what a taste sensation it was!!

We loved hearing her talk about how everyone in her local community
was like family and they kept an eye on each otherss kids as they
were all outdoors during most of the daylight hours.
"Indoors is for sleeping," she smiled.

In Nigeria, there is tremendous freedom to preach the Gospel anywhere
and it was not uncommon for her to see preachers out on street corners preaching
in the open air.
She went to a "missionary school" where English and Bible were core subjects,
but it was not the place she learned of her need of salvation from sin.
While listening to one of those open air preachers, she realized
the Bible was the Word of God, not simply a textbook, and that she must believe on Jesus
and what He did for her on the cross for her salvation.
What a blessing to hear how God's Word reaches those in such far away places
and to meet a sister (in Christ) that I never knew I had!!!

Thank you so much, Miss Elizabeth!!!!