I look at their sweet faces and am made giddy. We pray together and they say, "Mom, why are you so silly tonight?"
"I can't help it. I am so happy to be here with you, praying, just being together."
Nature, my children...they ARE sustenance to me. But I know there is something even more solid. Can there possibly be more than mother love?
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the WORD OF THE LORD STANDS FOREVER." ~1Peter1:24
MY DAILY BREAD NEEDS TO BE HIS WORD.
We become what we feed on. If we watch meaningless or even immoral Television shows, read trashy books, and listen to crummy music, that's what we become. That is what we are choosing to sustain our souls: mental junk food. We can't go on forever feeding our minds with ugliness. WE have to CHOOSE THE BEAUTIFUL.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." ~Philippians 4:8
Is it any coincidence that God chose the form of bread to be in Eucharistic Communion with his beloved? He is the bread of life. Every time we go to Mass we are fed, nurtured by his own body, so that we are able to then FEED OTHERS.
Every day I need to take time to let Him speak to me through HIS words.Just as the five loaves of barley bread fed thousands, a single crumb of his Holy Word can sustain me through the day!
And for some daily bread that you can put on your table, I highly recommend the following book:
Artisan Bread Baking In Five Minutes A Day
This book revolutionized bread baking for me!
One tip: use LESS salt than called for. For example, the basic recipe calls for 1 1/2 TBS salt. I use a scant TBS. The first loaf pictured (above) was made using the basic recipe and freshly ground wheat kernels. The cinnamon loaves were made using the buttermilk recipe, and then I iced them with a powdered sugar-milk icing.
This is how easy it is: While on the phone with a friend I mixed up the buttermilk dough in a big plastic container. No kneading. Just mix until all ingredients are combined. I left the dough on the counter. Two hours later, I shaped the dough and baked it. It really can't be more simple.
I was excited about these gingersnaps because I found a recipe that uses vegetable oil instead of butter!Here's the recipe:
Place ALL wet ingredients in a big mixing bowl:
3/4 C oil
1 C brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
STIR.
Add: 2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. ground cloves.
STIR.
Finally, stir in 2 1/4 C flour. Roll pieces of dough into one inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar, and place balls 2 in apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 min.
