Yes, we’re going to start driving north. We would appreciate your prayers – for strength and health, for a vehicle that works, for smooth sailing through check-points and borders, and for good visits with friends and family.
I estimate that, Lord willing, 7 days from now we will have driven almost 4000km (2500mi). Let the games begin.
The last three weeks or so have been pretty … “interesting”.
So Nathanael had a pretty bad cold, which means he missed some school (not too much) and some other activities. But slowly, he started to get better.
Then, of course, Shari was diagnosed with tennis elbow, and got her sling.
For some reason my back and neck suddenly went crazy, and I could hardly sleep and for a day or two and I could hardly move around the house. That also meant more migraine attacks. I think it’s starting to get better – I hope so – some sleep would be great, and the pain is actually pretty bad.
But there’s nothing like someone else’s pain to make you forget yours, right? Hannah had a major wipe-out on her bike. Thankfully, her face and head were untouched, but she got 7 pretty significant scrapes all down one side of her body. So Shari has been faithfully changing bandages every day to try to make sure everything heals properly. But there’s a long way to go.
So – why not start the cycle again? Nathanael got hit in the head with a soccer ball today, and after that his skateboard was stolen.
Ok, I think it’s time for the cycle of disaster to end. A little recovery time would be great…
But there have been some great times of ministry lately too. Please pray for those who are hearing the Gospel in these days – may great things happen!
The last recipe of the day – and this time it’s gluten-free!
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F and oil a 12 serving muffin pan.
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the pizza crust mix, sugar and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold together, being careful not to overmix.
Fold in the orange zest and chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes until golden and the tops spring back when lightly touched. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This recipe was based on this recipe from Bob’s Red Mill. They were pretty yummy. 🙂
This is our third muffin recipe of the day, from Nathanael.
Unfortunately, according to Nathanael, this muffins were just too rich. I think leaving out either the orange or mint would have helped – both together was a little much!
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F
Whisk egg with sugar. Whisk in melted butter. Whisk in 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Stir in grated orange zest and mint extract. Stir well until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients briefly until just incorporated.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Spoon into prepared muffin cups or loaf pan(s). Bake at 375F until a toothpick comes away dry or with a few moist crumbs when inserted in the center (typically 15-25 minutes for muffins, longer for loaves).
To create this recipe, Nathanael used the “Muffinator”.
This is the second recipe in a series of four – one from each member of the family.
This is the recipe that Hannah invented, and apparently it was a big success.
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F
Whisk egg with granulated sugar. Whisk in melted butter. Whisk in milk.
Stir in vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Stir in grated orange zest. Stir well until smooth.
In a separate bown, combine flour, oatmeal, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients briefly until just incorporated.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Spoon into prepared muffin cups or loaf pan(s). Put 1/2 a maraschino cherry on top of each muffin. Bake at 375F until a toothpick comes away dry or with a few moist crumbs when inserted in the center (typically 15-25 minutes for muffins, longer for loaves).
To create this recipe, Hannah used the “Muffinator”. Try it! 🙂
A little while ago we had a muffin-making bonanza. For our family time together, we decided to invent our own muffin recipes and bake them.
I promised to share those recipes with you. So – ladies first – we’ll start with Shari’s recipe. The rest will follow later today.
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Whisk eggs together with granulated sugar. Whisk in melted butter. Whisk in milk.
Stir in vanilla extract and cinnamon. Stir in grated orange zest until mixture is smooth.
In a separate bown, combine flours, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients briefly until just incorporated.
Fold in blueberries.
Spoon into prepared muffin cups or loaf pan(s). Optional: cook another 224g of blueberries, along with a little sugar down to make a jam. Divide the jam among the muffins or loaves and swirl a bit with a toothpick of chopstick. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar mixed with cinnamon to taste.
Bake at 375F until a toothpick comes away dry or with a few moist crumbs when inserted in the center (typically 15-25 minutes for muffins, longer for loaves).
To create this recipe, Shari used the “Muffinator”. All who tried these muffins thought they were yummy. 🙂