Lent baking challenge Wk 6

Week 6/ Hot Cross Buns

It's Holy Week, so what else could we cook apart from Hot Cross Buns! The great thing about making a yeasted bun, is that it’s something you spend time with, and then come back to, over time. On Good Friday, some  church traditions have a service between 12 and 3, marking the hours Jesus spent on the cross. 

You might like to spend that time prayerfully making hot cross buns, with each time you come back to the baking, stepping back into the story, re-immersing yourself in the pain and the wonder of Good Friday.

Here's what you'll need:
Recipe -

50g of butter 

300ml of milk
500g of strong bread flour
1tsp of salt

75g of caster sugar (or what sugar you have available)

a sachet of yeast

1 egg
1 - 2 cups of dried fruit - currants, raisins, sultanas, mixed peel 

(whatever's to hand and however much you want to use...if you like really fruity hot cross buns, 2 cups it is! 

Though mind how you go with the rise, if you make it too heavy)
1 small, roughly chopped apple (or less, or not at all, just depends on how you like it)
1tsp mixed spice - add a dash of ginger to taste

Method
Turn oven to 220C or GM7 

Put milk in pan and heat
Add butter and melt
Leave to cool to body temp.
Fill a mixing bowl with 500g of strong bread flour (I’d choose white, though it depends on what you can get! If you can’t find bread flour, plain flour will work; the buns just won’t rise as much).
Add in salt, caster sugar, and  sachet of yeast.

As you add the dry ingredients, think through what you are laying at the foot of the cross today.

Make a well in the centre, pour in the warm milk and butter, and add an egg.
Mix this well, first with a wooden spoon, then with your hands, until you have a sticky dough.
Sprinkle some flour onto a surface, and knead dough, by stretching and folding, until it’s turned nice and silky and pulls out smoothly.
Put in a bowl, cover [with a plastic bag]
Leave for an hour - so that the yeast can begin to work and make the dough rise.

Spend some of this time prayerfully reading the events of Good Friday
as recounted in one of the Gospels

When the hour is up, add the dried fruit and spices
I’ll leave it to you to put in as much dried fruit as you fancy - I seldom measure it anyway and tend to go by 'feel'!
Knead in to the dough.
Shape the dough into balls, and place them on a floured baking tray.
Cover and leave for another hour to rise.
Mix up flour and water paste, and use this to pipe (if you have the equipment) or dollop (if you don’t!) a cross over each bun.

Remember Jesus and his words on the cross, and quietly thank him for his sacrifice.

Bake in oven for about twenty minutes until they look golden brown.
Once out of the oven, gently heat some marmalade or apricot jam
Paint over the top of buns to make a sticky glaze.

Enjoy, buttered if you like, with a cup of tea, and sing or listen to your favourite songs or hymns about the cross as you eat them.

Lent baking challenge, wk5

 Wk 5: ANZAC biscuits

We move ever closer to Holy Week, and as we do, this week we pause to think of cost - how much to betray a Messiah?
We know the story:
Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver...
Judas was a passionate man with a strong belief in freedom, and strong ideas about what it would look like and how it would come about. There is nothing wrong with having strong ideas and being passionate about things, but as with Judas, we need to ensure that we keep listening to God, to hear his solutions, his timings, and to see his kingdom in his way.

I confess...
I don’t have a recipe for thirty pieces of silver, but maybe thirty pieces of golden ANZAC biscuits will do instead?

Recipe
You will need:
 1 cup plain flour

1 cup of oats
1 cup [200g or 7oz] of desiccated coconut

1 cup of brown sugar
½ cup [100g or 3½ oz] of butter or margarine 

2 tbsp of golden syrup
1tsp of bicarbonate of soda
2tbsp of boiling water

Method/
Melt together ½ cup of butter or margarine, and 2 tbsp of golden syrup.
As you do so, reflect on any areas within your life where you can be inflexible, or rigid in your thinking. Allow yourself to give these over to God, and as the butter melts, remind yourself to listen to God for his ways, and his timings.

Mix 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda with 2tbsp of boiling water.
Mix with the melted butter mixture
Pour all of this into a bowl filled with flour, oats, dessicated coconut, and brown sugar.
Mix well, and roll spoonfuls of mixture into balls.
Place them, well spaced. on a baking tray.
Bake at 180 degrees/GM4 for 15-20 minutes. 

Eat, thoughtfully, with a hot drink, remembering how easy it can be to fool ourselves into believing we are doing the right thing, and how hard it can be to trust that God’s timing is right.

A prayer/

Inspire our hearts, O God,

to follow where Christ walked,

for Christ has marked us as his own.

Let us all take new willingness

to carry our cross

and be led through sacrifice and suffering,

but also to the glory and triumph

of the Risen Life of the Savior.

Grant us all your good graces,

through Christ our Lord

Amen.

Lent baking challenge, wk 4

Date slices 
As we move closer to the events of Holy Week, our baking challenge this week is to make date slices.
Dates come from palm trees, the branches of which were waved as Jesus rode into Jerusalem...

Here's what you'll need:
Recipe 
½ lb of stoned dates
1/4pt of water
1 tsp of vanilla essence
4oz of self raising flour
1tsp of bicarbonate of soda
4oz of oats
4oz caster sugar
4oz of margarine or butter

Method
Turn oven to 350F/ 180C/ gas mark 4

Chop ½ lb of stoned dates
Put in a saucepan along with 1/4pt of water.
Bring to the boil, and cook until they’re soft.
Add 1 tsp of vanilla essence.

Mix 4oz of self raising flour with 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda.
Stir in 4oz of oats and 4oz caster sugar.
Rub in 4oz of margarine or butter.
Press half of this mixture into the base of a greased shallow tin.
As you do so, you could bring to mind the cloaks that the crowd threw to the ground for Jesus and his donkey to walk over
Spread the dates over this, and then add the other half of the mixture.
With each layer that you spread, imagine something from your life that you are placing beneath the feet of Jesus, just as the crowd did back then.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until browned.
Enjoy them with a hot drink, and sing a song or a hymn that fits the story for today-
‘We have a king who rides a donkey’, or ‘Ride on, ride on in majesty’ are two that come to mind.

A prayer
O Christ, you entered the city as a poor man
not in style but simply,
yet still you caused uproar, and questions everywhere;
you drew the expectations of a hungry crowd,
and brought buried conflicts to the light.

May we, who are sometimes swayed by the crowd's approval,
and who often avoid conflict
for fear of its cost to us,
hold fast to the gospel of peace and justice
and follow faithfully in your way of compassion and solidarity
with those who are poor and excluded,
wherever it may lead us. Amen.
                       ~ written by Kathy Galloway

Worship Sun 14 March: 'Nic, at night...'

WELCOME:
Hello and welcome to worship!
It feels only a moment ago since we began the season of Lent, yet here we are, at the 4^th Sunday of Lent already. We began in the wilderness, journeyed to Caesarea Philippi, and last week, we arrived in Jerusalem.
Staying with Jerusalem, our time of worship takes us to a conversation held at night, between Jesus and a teacher of the Law named Nicodemus...

It's also the Sunday that we mark Mothering Sunday – 
and, the anniversary of the last time we were actually worshipping together in person in the church building... although we didn't quite know that at the time!

CHURCH NOTICES:
Several notices this week...
Possible reopening of the church building - 
this last week, the First Minister announced that, subject to all being well, that church buildings might be able to reopen in time for Easter.
At the moment, it's a bit of a 'wait and see' - but the Session has agreed that if it is possible, all things being equal, that we would hope to open.
We do, however have paperwork that needs to be done, and checked with Presbytery - once that is signed off, we'll have a better idea of where we stand... or sit... or pray, for that matter.!
Do please be aware that we still must abide by the COVID-19 regulations, and part of that requires social distancing to be in place. This means that we will only be able to accommodate 15 people in the building for Sunday worship - and you'll need to book ahead, I'm afraid.
It's not ideal, but it is a wee glimmer of light on the horizon.
Watch this space...
And remember, that it’s all subject to change... which seems to have been the theme for this past year!

Parish newsletter: behind the scenes, we've been putting together a newsletter and we aim to have that out to all on the congregational roll for Holy Week. Thanks to all who contributed, and to Dee, our intrepid Editor. A copy of the newsletter will also be available online for wider availability

Lent challenges: 
Some of you have been in touch - letting me know how you've been getting on with our various Lent challenges. Bakers have been busy, it seems. We've had a delicious, albeit messy, pineapple upside down cake, and a recipe that ended up making a multitude of biscuits - these pictured, from Greta.
I'm glad you've been enjoying the challenges!
And don't forget...
The LEGO challenge begins on Monday, and runs each day [not Sun] all the way through to Easter Saturday. A challenge for the young and the young of heart! You'll find that over on our youtube channel – so keep an eye out for that. [use the YouTube link on the right hand side 'links' panel to take you there].

WORSHIP -
Our WORSHIP LINK IS HERE

In the meantime, have a good week and take care,
Nikki

Lent baking challenge, wk 3

Rocky road try bake

Week 2: Rocky road tray bake  

Last week we were thinking about Jesus teaching about the Law in the temple - loving God and loving your neighbour. This week, we're back in the temple once more, and things get a little bit ...well, rockier.
Jesus enters the temple and finds it full of people buying and selling, and cheating each other. He thunders, ‘This places is meant to be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!’
Sometimes we feel that anger isn’t a very Christian emotion, but feeling righteous anger can be a very holy thing indeed, if it causes us to act and to change things that need changing.   

Recipe
You will need:
200g of biscuits (digestives or rich tea biscuits work well)
135g of butter or margarine
200g of chocolate
2 or 3 tbsp of golden syrup
100g of mini marshmallows- or chopped up normal size marshmallows
100g of 'other' - e.g. dried fruit or hoop cereal or chocolate chips... to add to the mix

Method/
Put 200g of biscuits in a bag, and bash them with a rolling pin until they’re well smashed up.
As you bash, bring to mind the injustices in the world that you feel angry about. 
Melt 135g of butter or margarine with 200g of chocolate and 2 or 3 tbsp of golden syrup. You can get away with less chocolate if you can’t find much by adding a bit more butter, some sugar, preferably light brown muscavado, and cocoa powder instead.
Tip the biscuits into the melted mixture, along with 100g of marshmallows
Mix in the 100g of your 'other' random ingredient.
As you add all your different ingredients, think about the different ways in which people find solutions to problems in the world. 
Mix it all together, and tip it into a baking tin, smoothing it right into the corners.
Chill, and cut into slices to eat.

Pour yourself a cuppa, grab a piece of rocky road, pull up a chair... Take a little time to think about the world, and your local community - pray for those situations and circumstances that you see are unjust, or where there is no peace. What ways might you  find to work to bring into these places and situations God’s justice and peace?

A prayer/
Holy God,
in Jesus Christ you have built for us an eternal house,
a temple of righteousness, a place of gracious plenty for the hungry
and abundant life for the poor in spirit.
Fill us with zeal for the body of Christ.
Overturn the tables of corruption and greed
and upset the imbalance of injustice,
so that we may worship you in spirit and truth;
through Jesus Christ, who is risen indeed.
Amen

Lent baking challenge, wk 2

Biscuit hearts

Biscuit hearts
Jesus, as teacher often spoke about the law, summing up the entirety of the books of the law with two simple and easy to remember ideas- love God, and love your neighbour. Simple and easy to remember; not so easy to do in practice!

This week we’ll make heart shaped biscuits to remind us of Jesus’ summary of the law.

Here's what you'll need:
Ingredients
250gm butter or margarine
260gm caster sugar
1 egg
tsp vanilla essence
tsp baking powder
½ tsp of salt
650g of plain flour

Method
Turn oven to 180 degrees/GM4.
Cream together butter or margarine and caster sugar.
Mix in egg and tsp of vanilla essence.
Add 1tsp of baking powder and ½ tsp of salt to 650g of plain flour.
Add this a little at a time to the butter and sugar mixture.
There’s quite a lot of flour to get through, so add it bit by bit and work it in carefully.
*option - you could choose to divide the mix in half, using food colouring to colour one lot of dough, or, alternatively, save this for the icing mixture below... or do both... your call!*
Let the dough chill in the fridge for half an hour before rolling it out. 

While the dough is chilling, draw a heart shape on a piece of paper to use as a template - unless you happen to have heart-shaped biscuit cutters floating about in your utensil drawer...!
Roll out the dough, and cut out heart shapes by laying template on the dough and cutting around.
Make sure you have an even number of hearts.
Pop them on a baking tray, and into an oven for about ten minutes.
Leave to cool.

for the buttercream icing - 
140gm butter, softened
280gm icing sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
... few drops of red food colouring, if you wish *see above option*
Put butter/ marg. into a bowl, add icing sugar and beat in.
You'll want this to be a good thick consistency, so add more icing sugar as needed.
Add food colouring and mix in.
Use mix to sandwich biscuits together - two at a time.

With each biscuit, you can remember Jesus’s words as you stick them together-
Love God, and Love your neighbour.

Reflection space
Over the week, spend time - maybe with a cuppa and a biscuit! - reflecting on God's love, and on Jesus' command to love God and love your neighbour. 
The greatest gift given by God is love.  God is love and with His love we can love Him and our neighbour.  God loved us so much that He gave His only Son for our lives. 
Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous, boastful, proud, or rude.  Love never fails. 
As you pray today, think about your love for Go and for your neighbour. 
Does God have your whole heart? 
Do you love others unconditionally? 
Love never gives up, never loses faith, and is always hopeful.

As part of loving God and neighbour, might there be someone you know this week who would appreciate a wee kindness of the gift of biscuits?

Prayer
God, whose name is Love,
You make yourself known to us
as the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Sustain us in the knowledge of your love
through the times in which we live.

God, whose love inspires, 
May we love you with all that we are
And love our neighbour in response to your love.
Through our service to others, may your love be revealed...
We ask in Jesus' name,
Amen

Lent Baking Challenge wk1

WEEK 1/ PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Lent is often described as a spiritual journey - we journey with Jesus toward Jerusalem, and walk with him through the events of Holy Week leading up to the Cross...
But unlike those first followers of Jesus, we know the story doesn't end on that first Good Friday.
St Augustine, the great 5th century African theologian and bishop stated:
'We are the Easter people, and "Alleluia!" is our song.
As we take these early steps into the season of Lent, so we look at our map to the end point, Easter Sunday, where death itself was overturned. Jesus triumphed over the grave, and in so doing pointed the way to eternal life with God.
So we begin this baking journey nourished and strengthened with knowing the joy that is to come at the end of the Lenten journey and of the joy to come forever.
Given we follow the one who overturned death, and who spoke of God's upside-down kingdom, what better way to begin our baking adventure than with pineapple upside-down cake?

Recipe/
You will need:
For the glaze and decoration -
50g butter or marg.
50g light brown sugar
1 x tin of pineapple rings glace cherries -
1 per each pineapple ring used 

Sponge mix -
100g butter or marg
100g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tblsp of the pineapple juice/syrup

Start by creating the glaze and the decoration at the bottom of the tin.
Mix together 50g butter or margarine, and 50g light brown sugar, and spread this over the bottom of a cake tin and a little way up the sides.
Open a tin of pineapple rings, and place these in a pattern all over the base, putting glace cherries in each hole.
Here is all our glorious hope for Easter- but we can’t see it yet.
We’re going to hide it under some sponge cake mixture.

Mix together 100g butter or margarine, 100g caster sugar, and 100g self-raising flour, along with 1 tsp baking powder, 1tsp vanilla essence, plus two tablespoons of the juice or syrup from the pineapples. Pour this over the pineapples and glace cherries, until they are completely covered.

Bake for 35mins at 180C/GM4, then take out of the oven.
Carefully [don't burn yourself!] up-end onto a plate.
All that hidden beauty and colour can now be seen, like the life that bursts into the world again at springtime, like the life of Jesus that fills the world with love and goodness.

Often, in Lent, we talk of taking things on, but more often we hear about giving things up...
Having taken on the baking challenge, you might consider giving up some of that baking goodness to a neighbour, or someone you know who might just appreciate a little glimpse of God's love and goodness in an act of kindness...

-----------------------------------------------------------

Augustine was mentioned above. Here’s an excerpt from St. Augustine’s Confessions, in which he laments his hesitant embrace of faith in God.

Late have I loved you 
Late have I loved you,
Beauty so ancient and so new,
late have I loved you!

Lo, you were within, but I outside,
seeking there for you,
and upon the shapely things you have made
I rushed headlong – I, misshapen.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
They held me back far from you,
those things which would have no being,
were they not in you.

You called, shouted, broke through my deafness;
you flared, blazed, banished my blindness;
you lavished your fragrance, I gasped;
and now I pant for you;
I tasted you,
and now I hunger and thirst;
you touched me,
and I burned for your peace.

When at last I cling to you with my whole being
there will be no more anguish or labor for me,
and my life will be alive indeed,
alive because filled with you.
      ~ Augustine of Hippo, Confessions

A blessing for the way:
May we find the road that leads to life;
may we take the turns that brings right relationships;
may we pause to accompany others on the way;
and may we journey with God through Lent,
and long for the horizon and dawn.
And the grace.
    ~ written by Roddy Hamilton

Enjoy your baking everyone. And, if you're so minded, perhaps take a photo and send it in to us to share. Email/  minister.upperclyde@gmail.com