Meditation Monday
Little Free Bakeries and the Kingdom of God.
Seattle just set a record for the number of 80+F days in a row. The beauty of these hot dry days inspires me not just to get out into the garden but also to get into the kitchen and use the abundance of produce ready to be harvested. Tomatoes, squash and basil are proliferating, potatoes, onions and garlic have been harvested, and we there is an abundance of Swiss Chard such as I have never seen before.
Cooking, like gardening, is relaxing for me, though I don’t always know what to do with the results of my cooking. I often make far more than we can possibly use. I don’t want to eat it all. Some of it goes into the freezer, but there always seems to be far more than we can possibly consumer.
When I attended the summer ice cream social at our local park on Wednesday I discovered a possible answer. Beth Altman’s stall advertised her little free bakery, which grew out of her love for cookbooks, recipes and baking. She places delicious desserts in her free bakery, a little like the free libraries that dot our neighbourhood and then posts on instagram. to let her patrons know what is currently on offer. What a wonderful way to share our love with neighbours I thought as I munched her free berry slice.
Beth is part of a small, but I suspect growing movement that provides regular treats that can become neighborhoods together. The moment started with Magnolia resident Lanne Stauffer who, about three years ago, turned her little free library into a little free bakery. The idea has caught on and there are now six or seven around Seattle. In Redmond, Washington, Deborah Voll decided to add a dog treat box at the bottom so not only does she have treats for humans, but also treats for furry friends. As well as that her box is stocked with books, so there’s something for everyone. Now all she needs is a pot of coffee and a seat.
You can read more about these generous women and their love for their neighborhoods on the PCC Markets Sound Consumer and and KUOW.org stories.
I don’t think I will join the free bakery movement any time soon but I do love to share. My cooking efforts were the centre of our community meal last week. We love to do hospitality at this season too and at Christmas I send out boxes of Christmas goodies to friends and relatives around the country. I also love to share recipes and the results of my creative cooking much of which featured in The Godspacelight Community Cookbook . We are all meant to be generous. The bounty of God’s good earth is meant to be shared. “Freely you have received, freely give.”
The kingdom of God is, I believe, the ultimate place of hospitality and we are meant to model it now. It is the place where friend and stranger from different cultures, ages and social strata all sit together at a great banquet feast, just as we have done with so many over the last month. It is a place where there is much fun and laughter and celebration, where barriers of class, culture and misunderstanding are broken down. Where fear becomes love, indifference becomes caring and enemies become friends. It is a place where hospitality and welcome beckon all of us towards healing and wholeness. Maybe there will be little free bakeries dotted all around.
It is this kind of feast that I think is previewed in Isaiah 25:6
In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
Years ago, I remember seeing a painting that supposedly depicted this banquet feast of God. I say supposedly because it was a very formal dinner table set with beautiful plates and lots of silverware. But there were no people at the table and, to be honest, I cannot imagine most of my friends and acquaintances feeling comfortable with such formality anyway.
I think the kingdom banquet feast will be a place where not only do all feel welcomed but all feel honored and respected. None of us will feel out of place because we don’t know which utensils to use for which course. None of us will feel conspicuous because we don’t eat meat or dairy or gluten. There will be something for all of us to enjoy. And who will be serving the meal at that feast? Jesus our great and glorious servant king will.
Some of the last and most enduring images we have of Jesus combine hospitality and service – washing feet at the last supper, cooking breakfast on the beach for his disciples after his resurrection – hospitality and servanthood, the culture of the kingdom, the outpouring of God’s love through relationship, the rich and enduring signs of welcome that we have experienced time and again throughout our lives.
Here are a couple of my favourite recipes which I made this week. Have fun and I would love to hear about what you enjoy doing with the bounty from your garden (or from the supermarket).
Hunza Pie
A great vegetarian dish for a picnic or camping trip. the vegetable mix can be adapted depending on what vegetables you have available and what you like.
INGREDIENTS:
– PASTRY:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup wheatgerm
1 cup golden flax meal
6 ounces margarine or butter
1/2 cup milk or water
1 teaspoon vegetable salt
FILLING
25 stalks Swiss Chard or other garden greens ,leaves coarsely chopped
2 1/2 lb potatoes
1 1/4 lb cottage cheese
1 teaspoon mixed herbs (I like Italian herb mix or a mixture of fresh thyme, oregano and basil)
1 teaspoon salt
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil, or 1/4 cup fresh chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 cup squash (e.g. zucchini), chopped or 1 cup broccoli
METHOD:
Pastry:
Sift flour and salt into bowl. add husks in sifter to flour fold in wheatgerm and flax meal. Rub in margarine until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix with enough water to make a stiff dough. Knead lightly.
Cut pastry into 4 pieces. Cover and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes. This is a very important step. I didn’t do it last time I made this recipe and I had great difficulty getting the pastry to hold together.
Roll out 1/4 of pastry on floured surface and place in base and up sides of a 9 inch pie dish. Do same with second pastry section. Spoon over cold vegetable mixture. Brush edge of pastry with water. Roll out remaining pastry in 2 pieces and place over pies. Trim edge with a sharp knife. Make slits in top.
Bake in a hot oven (400F) for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 375 and cook further 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown.
Filling:
Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Cook in salted water until tender. Drain. Cook onions in a medium skillet with 1 tablespoon oil until brown. Add chopped mushrooms and squash. Cook a further 5 minutes. Add chard, garlic and herbs. Cook a further 5 minutes. Add cottage cheese and salt. Allow to cool before you spoon it into the pastry case.
SERVINGS: This recipe makes 2 pies, 8 servings from each pie
We love to eat it with hot sauce together with a tomato, basil, squash and mozzarella salad or with a quinoa salad.
Dried Tomato, Olive Tapenade
I adapted this recipe from one I found in the Australian Women’s Weekly Tomato Cookbook, one of the best places for tomato recipes I have ever found. Also I use tomatoes I dry from our garden rather than bought ones which are always soaking in oil that then needs to be discarded. The recipe is also at its best when the basil and oregano are picked straight from the garden.
1 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
2/3 cup pecans
1 cup pitted kalamata olives
Process all ingredients until smooth. Spoon tapenade into cold sterilized jars; seal immediately or store in the refrigerator (stores 4-6 weeks).