Rebekah's Insights

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...and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him."

Lamentations 3:21-24

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Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not.
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hands hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

written by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm

***I couldn't express it any better than this!***

I have been developing this recipe since summer time--yes, we still eat hot soup in the summer here, since it really feels much the same as Spring. :) Anyway, it quickly became Aine's favorite, not only at the dinner table, but also as the recipe of choice in her own play kitchen. (Scarcely a day goes by that I will not hear her announce to Liam that she is serving up "Punkin Soup." And as a good brother does, he comes running with his best "make-believe" appetite! ;) When she again requested it this past weekend, I decided to jot down the recipe in its more final stage and share it here with those of you who enjoy something autumnal and very easy:

Pumpkin Bisque

15 ounces pumpkin puree
3 Cups chicken broth (or water and 3-1/2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon)
1/2 teaspoon salt (delete if using bouillon)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground celery seed
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 Cup whole milk

Stir together pumpkin puree, broth, salt, white pepper, celery seed, minced onion in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then simmer for five to ten minutes, depending upon how thick you prefer your bisque. Turn off heat; add butter and milk and stir to heat through. Serve with sandwiches, cheesy garlic bread, crusty bread, or crackers. I also like to sprinkle a little parsley and parmesan cheese on top before serving.

As a side note, you could definitely use fresh chunks of pumpkin or other squash, fresh celery and fresh onion in this recipe, but it would necessitate using a blender to puree the bits and this recipe was designed to be a quick version. :) (The only bits are the tiny minced onion, which we don't mind.)

Enjoy your Autumn!

On a day set aside to commemorate Christopher Columbus and his exploration of lands foreign to his own, we enjoyed a day of exploration ourselves yesterday. Since Will had the day off from work, we were able to spend the day as a family, which is always a real treat for the children. They begin by eating breakfast with Daddy! (Even if I am present too, it is always referred to as "Breakfast with Daddy" due to the fact that they have breakfast with me everyday!) :) In this instance, however I was NOT present, because I had a bit of a "lie-in," as they call it around these parts!

After a little at-home time spent together, we headed out to the bowling alley at which Aine played her first game of bowling! Liam, Aine, and I bowled while Will took photos. At this particular alley, when children are playing they put up a guard running the length of the lane and also provide a ball ramp upon which you place the ball and the small child can just push it down the ramp and down the lane. On her first game ever, Aine took the high score with 117 points!! She kept getting spares every few turns and once even rolled a strike!!! Way to go, Aine! Liam came in at an admirable 105 and also bowled a few spares. Pulling up the rear was my score of 92! Ugh, it IS sad when a two-year-old and three-year-old can out-bowl you! (Perhaps next time I should use the ramp too???)

Next we headed out to the scenic town of Knaresborough. There we enjoyed the Autumn views at Knaresborough Castle, while the children played on the grounds in a sea of bright yellow leaves. The children enjoyed seeing the passing of trains atop the viaduct over the River Nidd, and we quite enjoyed the view of the viaduct over the water, as well.

On our return walk to the van, we found a quaint little Brymor Ice Cream shop! Here they sold the most adorable tiny ice cream cones with one tiny scoop on top and a bear-shaped wafer stuck in for a treat! Aine ate her very first chocolate ice cream cone of her own--held it on her own and ate the whole thing. Afterwards, her little chocolate-dipped face looked so happy! At that point she spied MY cup of Ginger ice cream and wanted that too. Actually, although both she and Liam ate their own cone, they happily gobbled up quite a few bites of my ice cream and were raving about the ginger flavor just as much as I was. (They tried Will's raspberry cheesecake ice cream, but didn't care for it, although he sure did!) :) It may sound funny to be so excited about it, but this is the first time since moving here that we have found such a wide variety of flavors to choose from and we greatly enjoyed it.

Next we went grocery shopping and made the journey back home to the countryside for dinner and the close of the day. While shopping out at a UK store Will suggested the most delicious dinner of breaded prawn and mushrooms, mixed olives, and a fabulous cheese assortment with crackers. We have intended to try some of the wide variety of cheese available here for some time, but never got around to it until now. We sampled Welsh goat cheese with chives, Bavarian smoked cheese with ham, Applewood smoked cheddar, and Real Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese with cranberries. We have found some new favorites which we hope to enjoy a few more times in the future.

As soon as we upload the photos, I will update this post with some accompanying pictures.
Enjoy your day!

This morning Liam asked if we could make Orange Cranberry Buns for breakfast--one of his favorites and also a quick and easy morning recipe. We enjoyed them so much that I thought I would share. :)

Orange Cranberry Buns

2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 C. dried cranberries (the only brands available to me here are sweetened, so if you use unsweetened you may want to increase the sugar to the recipe a bit; it is your call)
3 Tbsp. melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. orange extract
1/2 C. whole milk

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder; drizzle melted butter over dry ingredients and stir through. Combine eggs, orange extract, and milk; add to dry mixture and stir until just moistened. Add dried cranberries and drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined (or greased) baking sheet. Bake in pre-heated oven at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes*** or until golden brown. Serve fresh from the oven or warmed, if made ahead.

Recipe makes 2 dozen buns.

***I have developed this recipe here using a fan-assisted oven, so I bake them for ten minutes, but anyone using a regular conventional oven (as I would assume anyone reading my blog would be) you may need to bake for 15-25 minutes until the buns are golden brown in color. (I have had to learn how much time to cut from baking recipes while here using this oven, because they will all burn otherwise.) Also, I always use parchment paper when I bake these--I like how low in fat they are, yet the parchment keeps them from sticking.

Serving Suggestion: We like to serve these buns warm from the oven along with fromage frais or yogurt and orange juice for breakfast, although they are equally delicious with a cup of tea or coffee. I really like to add milled flax seed and/or wheat germ to my baked goods, however we are so attached to the light, airy texture of these goodies that I have just left them alone for the pleasure of eating them. If I had access to whole wheat pastry flour, I would think you could get some whole grain into these without sacrificing the delightful texture. If anyone gives it a try, please leave feedback or if you do any other variation. We particularly enjoy the orange-cranberry combination this Autumn-time of year, but I'm certain there could be some other wonderful variations. My original ispiration for these buns was a recipe that featured cinnamon and raisins with vanilla extract. (I adapted and experimented with ingredients, amounts, and method to arrive at this final recipe.)

This is such a simple recipe and Liam really likes to get up to the counter and help measure, pour, and stir. He truly seems to enjoy the finished product all the more when he has had a hand (or two) in preparing them. So grab a little pair of hands, get to the kitchen, and try these Orange Cranberry Buns.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.

Galations 5:22 & 23

What is Love?...

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16)

He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. (1 John 4:8)

Love is a word I so often use in such a common way. May I think before I use it to describe how I feel about my favorite food, book, movie, game, or in any other respect ill-deserving of its meaning...a meaning defined and demonstrated so thoroughly and extravagantly by God Himself.

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(Today during Sabbath Family Worship)

Catechism Question #16: Who were our first parents?

Liam Answers: "Adam and Alleve!"

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