Brioche Fig Bread Pudding

For Christmas this year we decided that we just needed to be by ourselves and spend some time in reflection and prayer. So I cooked...a lot. Cooking for me is relaxing, enjoyable and comforting. Lots of times when I've cooked for people, they say things like "Don't trouble yourself" or "You don't need to spend all day cooking for us" or "We can just have sandwiches". But what most people don't realize is that I LOVE to cook, to try new recipes and to be in the kitchen. It's where I spent a good deal of time with my grandma and my mom...just watching them cook and bake, helping where I could and just enjoying that time with them. So being in the kitchen all day on Christmas seemed like the perfect way to have some relaxation and reflection time. 

This is a recipe I came up with to satisfy the need for some Christmasy dessert. Lots of cinnamon, cloves and vanilla made a little more old fashioned with the addition of figs and almonds. And I don't normally brag on my food, but this was FAN.TAS.TIC! The only thing that could have made it better was some hand whipped cream melting on top. So if you are in the mood for a super easy and filling dessert, perfect for winter time even in Africa, give it a try and let me know what you think!

And sorry...no pictures. But let me tell you it was gorgeous!

Brioche Fig Bread Pudding

3 cups of brioche bread cut into 1" cubes and laid out overnight to dry out

2 cups of milk

1 cup of sugar

5 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract 

1 tsp of cinnamon

1/2 tsp of cloves

pinch of nutmeg

Fig jam/compote

Combine milk, sugar and eggs and whisk until eggs are incorporated. Add vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Stir to combine. 

Put half of the bread cubes into a 8" oval dish. Drop spoonfuls of fig jam onto the bottom layer about every 1 1/2" inches or so. Add the rest of the bread cubes. Pour milk mixture over the bread and press the bread into the milk to ensure that every piece is wet. Let stand in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (this is a great time to finish up dinner!).

Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until the dish is set (i.e. not runny or too giggly). Let cool for a few minutes and then serve! 

I put mine in while we were eating dinner and it was done by the time we were done. It was gorgeous and poofy. As it cools it settles in a bit, so don't be surprised to see that it's not quite as poofy when you are ready to eat.

Enjoy!!

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It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Cold season has arrived just in time for Christmas and I am savoring every minute of it! Here's just a small idea of what this time of year looks like for us...

1. Long pants and socks..only inside the house of course because socks outside would be ridiculous and wind up black...unless they were black to begin with...but we aren't so far gone as to wear black socks with tennis shoes!

2. Seeing Africans walking around in down coats, scarves and stocking hats. Hil.ar.ious.

3. Reintroducing scarves to my wardrobe!!!

4. Being able to drink hot coffee in the morning and hot tea at night.

5. Actually being able to snuggle with B at night without one of us saying "Stop touching me. You're making me sweat!"

6. Speaking of sleeping, sleeping with blankets and sheets again. Enter my down comforter which my father told me was crazy to bring but which I brought for sentimental reasons and...well lets face it for beautifying the bedroom...now I'm so glad that I brought it because I can use it again!

7. Taking a hot shower on purpose and staying in longer to stay warm

8. Not having to wash clothes quite so often because they aren't soaked in sweat by the end of the day!

9. Our dog, Ani, wanting to snuggle!

Now lots of people will ask me "What's the temperature for cold season?". I have no idea. My reasoning is simple....why do I want to know the temperature? When it's hot and humid, does it matter that it's 100 or 110 degrees? When it's cold to me, does it matter that it might actually only be in the 80's? I think I'm better off not knowing and just appreciating the weather as it is. But that's just my humble opinion. I will say that all my Midwest blood that makes me be able to take freezing cold weather and snow has pretty much evaporated in the heat here so anything cooler than 85 might as well be 45. 

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Thankful

Today I am thankful for so many things that I could never list them all…but I’ll list just a few J

I am thankful for my family… as a co-worker put it so beautifully, ”thankful to have a family it hurts to miss” ..Doesn’t that sum it up perfectly?J

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who is my best friend and who loves me with everything he is.

I am thankful for my company who allows me to serve the Lord in the most perfect way for me, who allowed me to bring my “things” with me (I know it’s petty but it helps on those days that are hard), and who provides us with so many benefits like a car, a house and running water.

I am thankful for my co-workers who are there to support me, listen to me and encourage me.

I am thankful for all our volunteers who sacrifice so much to come out here and share God’s love with the people here that we love so much.

I am thankful for our car that allows us to get out to hard to reach places and has A/C J

I am thankful for our dogs that make me laugh with their antics.

I am thankful for our night guard who makes me feel a little safer at night and tries his hardest to take good care of us

I am thankful for technology, especially for Google and Skype…Google which got me through my first year of cooking everything from scratch and having to find substitutes and Skype because I get to see my family every week and talk to my friends whenever I want

I am thankfully for iced coffee…again minor things, but it gets me through the hot season!

And finally but most importantly I am thankful for my God that allows me to be a part of His marvelous plan, who gives me the privilege of working for Him in this capacity (even though He doesn’t need me) and sharing His love with the people here.  I am so thankful for His forgiveness of my imperfectness and my shortcomings and His grace. And I am so thankful that He sent His Son to die for my sins that I might have a relationship with Him. What an amazing God we serve!!

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Chicken to the rescue!

After a very long and very emotionally exhausting day, I was ready to be home and dive into the world of my latest book “A Journey to the Center of the Earth”. A woman, O, from the village asked if we could take her into town so we agreed. We had spent most of the day in her compound and B had a little shadow, M that followed him everywhere. M is one of those kids that you hate to love. He’s ornery, talks back, and cries a lot, but he talked freely to us “tuubaako’s” after about 10 minutes, pulled some hilarious antics and is cute as all get out! So when O told us that she was sleeping at M’s family’s house in town, we knew that we had to go and greet the family of this hilarious kid.

By the time we arrived it was dark. We had to walk 15 minutes down the road because it was too bad to take the truck. We got the house and I realized that since it was dark, I wasn’t even going to be able to recognize anyone in the compound when I saw them again! But thankful when M’s mom came out she invited us in and we spent the next 45 minutes chatting about life, her kids, M’s antics and her dancing baby.

As we were walking out a couple of grandma’s came up to greet us. One of the grandmas had a rival last name so B, being the man he is, started teasing this old grandma! She laughed and then the other grandma told us that she was the same last name as ours. She was so happy and laughing, which filled erased all my tiredness and replaced it with joy. So as she walked us out, she stopped us and ran, yes ran, back to her compound and came running, yes running, back out with a chicken in tote! Now we have been given chickens here before, but it’s always right before we eat them. They usually present them to us and then prepare it for lunch. But she was giving us this chicken to keep because she was overjoyed that we had come to greet the house.

Our lovely gift!

As I walked back to the car , I looked back over our day. Our long, tiring day. We’d been in O’s compound, which is our people group, and they were so loving and open even though they didn’t really know us. Then we took a little trip to another people group’s village with a different heart language than we know. There were people that wanted to hear about JC, but when we arrived there, they barely talked to us, didn’t look at us, and barely even greeted us despite them knowing the language we speak. It certainly wasn’t the reception I had been anticipating. After that I was so drained emotionally, feeling defeated and worthless. But this old grandma renewed my energy, reminded me of why we’re here and how important it is to speak in the people’s heart language. It also reminded me of how faithful our God is. Even though I didn't get the reception I thought we would, and even though doing the work there wore me OUT, God still gave me the energy to greet another 10 new people and allowed me to have an incredible warm reception at this new house where we can now go back and share His truth. 

And a chicken. He gave us a chicken :) 

Our beauty! Our guard will keep him at his house until we are ready for a coop!

Update: And we got home to find two people waiting for us to share with them. B is outside as I type this sharing the Good News with them!! God's faithfulness never ceases to amaze me!

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What gets me through the day?

In 90-110+ degree weather with high humidity levels there is only one thing that gets me through the day. Iced Coffee. Need I say more? I became addicted when I worked at a certain bakery in downtown Edwardsville where we called it “Iced Crack” because of the high caffeine levels and the addictive tendency. But when I quit there to come here, I quickly switched back to hot coffee and loved it. Then our second hot season hit and I was dying. I love love drinking coffee but drinking such a hot liquid when it's 90 degrees at 9am was ridiculous. So after doing some research I finally found a way to make iced coffee here. And let me tell you…it is the ONLY thing that will get you through the heat and wake you up!

Foam, ice, coffee = happiness :)

Iced Coffee (Cold brew)

Note: I make a quarter batch so that it doesn’t take up room in my fridge and it lasts me about a week and half to two weeks depending on how sluggish I am :0)

¼ pound of coffee grounds

8 cups of cold water (or if you’re like me..room temp because that means I have to use all the cold water in my fridge)

Put coffee grounds in a mixing bowl or sealable container. Pour water over coffee grounds and gently stir to wet all the grounds. Then cover the container and let sit overnight or for stronger coffee, 24 hours.

Strain the grounds out into another container (I use an empty 1.5L water bottle). Now I strain twice. Once in a fine sieve to collect all the grounds and another time with a filter to collect all the….really really fine grounds and to purify it even more. Store in fridge.

To Drink

Get a big huge glass and fill it halfway with ice. Then pour in your milk and whatever sugar you want to use. Fill the remainder with your coffee from the fridge and enjoy!

Now if you are like me follow these instructions:

Get a big empty Jif peanut butter container or big empty applesauce jar from the cabinet. Fill half with ice; add your Splenda (1/4 packet), soy milk and delectable cold coffee. Then put on the lid and shake shake shake! Take off the lid and enjoy your deliciousness!!!!

Applesauce jars make the best drinking containers!

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Character Building

I have always thought of myself as an easy person to get along with. I think I’m loving, kind and encouraging. I try to listen, to care and to show love to my friends and others. I know that I’m not perfect and have done my share of hurting others, but for the most part I thought I was easy to get along with. Until moving overseas.

Living overseas brings to light many things that you need to change about yourself. We change how we dress to fit in, we change how we speak, how we eat, how we function. But God takes it to a whole new level and shows us these things in ourselves that still need improvement. Our time here so far has been a roller coaster of emotions, really high highs and really low lows. Many times those emotions have been focused on the ministry. We’ve rejoiced, we’ve cried, we’ve begged, we’ve been joyful. But the other highs and lows have dealt with our relationship to the Father.

Apparently one lesson that I need to be taught right now is about myself and how I need to respond to others. You see I thought all these things about myself, but apparently I’m not what I thought I was. Apparently I still need to work on my listening, my encouraging, my getting along with others, showing love to others and caring for others. Apparently it seems that I’m not doing what I need to be doing and God is using my current circumstances to change me.

And it hurts. Let me tell you it hurts. To be told that you are not these things that you think you are, to be told out of the blue. It’s a shocker..it’s not pleasant and it’s left me feeling incredibly…incapable and like an utter failure in life and ministry.  I guess character changing with God is never easy or really particularly pleasant.  It feels like someone has punched me in the chest, pushed me off a cliff, like someone has smacked me in the face. I’ve cried, a lot. I’ve cursed the circumstances, asked God to let me be, and finally ended up on my face in front of Him.

You see, I am not a strong person naturally. People may think I am, but I’m not. I’m a weak person who pretends to be tough because it hurts too much to let people see my frailty. So I have to, I must rely on Him to get me through the character building, the trials and the triumphs. He is the only one who will never leave me or forsake me. He is the only one who loves me because of everything I am, because He created me. He is the only one who can get me past the pain and hurt and make me better, stronger, more loving, more caring, just better. He is the only one who knows me and knows my heart and how much it hurts. And He is the only one who can change me, improve me and make me more like Him.

So I will rejoice…or at least try to…for my trials, for my brokenness. Because it means that He’s not finished with me yet and that I still have work here to do. I will choose to focus on how to be more Christ like and ask Him to heal my pain. I will take the character building in any form and cherish it because I know I’m not perfect. I will rejoice in all the trials I’ve had in the recent years and the trials that I will have in the future because I know He loves me and will be with me through every one. And I will be confident that He will make me more like Him through each hardship, hurt feeling and pain. Because I know that He understands, forgives even when others do not, and wants the best for me no matter what I feel.

A friend shared these verses with me tonight and reminded me of what needs to be my perspective.

A friend shared these verses with me tonight and reminded me of what needs to be my perspective.

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Grossness

Grossness seems to be a theme this month.  Let me explain.

The first thing that happened was that Zelli, our adorably stupid African dog, had mango flies. Three of them. Now for those of you who don't know what mango flies are let me explain. They are flies that lay their eggs which then hatch and try to find a host to grow in. Once they are grown they come out the host and bury themselves in the ground to pupate. Now...when I say they find a host I mean that they bury themselves under the skin and gestate.

That being said, we got ready to leave the house and I noticed that Zelli had two brown spots on her leg. So I stooped down to look and thought that my dog had been bitten by a vampire. Seriously. I'm not joking. She had a hole in her leg at least 1/4" in diameter. So I called B over (because I might have been freaking out a bit) and he then "squeezed" the other brown spot. Out popped...yep popped...a mahusive (massively huge) larvae. DISGUSTING!! I might have proceeded to throw up a little in my mouth and freak out. Maybe. So then it really looked like she had been bitten by a vampire because the holes were less than an inch apart!

This is why we are advised to let our clothes either a) dry for 48 hours before wearing them or b) iron everything you wash before putting it on. We usually try to do the drying thing because well...I hate ironing with a passion. And I'm not to big on ironing underwear or socks :) But people have been known to have these things. Seriously if your gag reflex isn't too bad, you should google "mango fly" and just look at the images. It is not for the faint of heart!

I didn't take pictures of our baby dog and I won't show you a picture because it's disgusting. Needless to say she was babied for several days while I felt awful.

This is how our adorably stupid Zelli sleeps!

The second thing that happened was this...

6 baby mice

Over the past three years we have had a few mice in the house. Usually they are around when we've been out of the house for a few days. We'll put out some poison and within a few hours there comes a staggering little mouse seconds away from passing into mouse heaven. But this month we had what we could only assume to be several mice that just wouldn't die. We put out poison with peanut butter, set traps, put poison with dog food and bread all to no avail. Finally one night around 2am I got up and headed to the bathroom for a drink of water. As soon as I got in there a mouse ran in with me! So my brave and wonderful husband came in, stuffed a towel under the door and then we proceed to run around trying to catch the mouse while also trying not to slip on the wet tile. Finally after 10 minutes or so B squished the mouse with our squeegee. One down! 

A few days later we headed out for the day and when we got back we immediately knew that something had died in our house. So B again, being the wonderful husband he is, set out to find the source of the stench and found a dead one in the office. Two down! 

We thought we had won. We celebrated with dinner and dancing...just joking. But we did celebrate our victory over the mice again. The next day B was fixing some things and got into a cabinet in the office to get some tools when he heard some squeaking. Yes squeaking. So he dug out all the tools and voila! A NEST! With 6 baby mice that could barely move and hadn't even opened their eyes yet. As I bent down to see what B was trying to show me, one wobbled at me and I screamed. Loudly. Very loudly. So we scooped them up and threw them over the back wall, knowing that they would very quickly die or be eaten. 

So that was our excitingly gross month. Hopefully never to happen again because well..it's gross!

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