the one about my cobbler

for those of you who don’t know, i am hypoglycemic. this means that i burn/breakdown sugar faster than normal human beings, and after consuming sugary foods, my blood sugar plummets. so, to manage this condition, i have to reduce my sugar intake. i’m supposed to avoid processed sugars (anything that ends in “-ose”, except sucralose – which is splenda brand sweetener) and syrups. but luckily, natural sugar in milk, fruit, and all-natural fruit juice are not a problem. fiber and protein also help the low-sugar diet by helping slow down the breakdown of the sugars.

i’ve been living with this diagnosis for about 5 years now. during that time i’ve tried to develop alternative sweet foods that i can eat without feeling woosy, sick, or having a headache. one of these is my recently-becoming famous cobbler. so, i’ll share the recipe.

no-sugar-added fruit cobbler

i developed this recipe as an alternative to “dump cake” as an easy cobbler that does not include any added sugars. this cobbler can be prepared in a dutch oven (of any size), cast-iron skillet (of any size), or oven dish, such as pyrex, corelle ware, or metal baking pans. the recipe given is proportioned for a 12-inch dutch oven (standard or deep). if using dutch oven, prepare outdoors.

ingredients:

• 1.5 cups bisquick mix
• 1 cup splenda sweetener (granulated)
• 10 tbsp butter (1.25 sticks)
• spoonful of splenda
• corn starch
• fresh (or frozen) fruit of choice (choose one of the following or try your own combination & quantities):
  • > 28-32 oz. fresh blueberries (optional 8-12 oz. fresh raspberries)
  • > 1.5-2 pounds fresh blackberries
  • > 5 large granny smith apples
  • > 5-6 large fresh peaches (optional 6-8 oz. fresh blueberries)

frozen fruit contains more water, leaving the cobbler runny. to compensate, either thaw and drain off some of the water, or add more corn starch to frozen fruit. also, if using packaged fruit (frozen or canned), make sure the fruit does not contain added sugar or syrup.

preparation:

1. if using apples or peaches, peel and cut into chunks. cover. set aside or return to fridge.
2. light 27-30 coals in charcoal chimney. while these are heating up, do steps 3-10.
3. line a 12-inch dutch oven with aluminum foil so that the bottom and sides are covered.
4. mix bisquick and splenda together in a bowl.
5. cut in butter with knives or pastry blender. set aside.
6. if using berries, rinse.
7. spread fruit across bottom of foil-lined oven.
8. sprinkle about a spoonful of splenda on the fruit (more or less depending upon how sour or ripe the fruit may be).
9. sprinkle some corn starch on the fruit (more or less depending upon how much water or juice will cook out of the fruit) and stir fruit, spreading it evenly across bottom of oven.
10. spread bisquick mixture across the top of the fruit, so that it covers the fruit (some fruit may still be visible).
11. place lid on oven. set oven above 9 hot coals, and place remaining 18-21 coals on lid.
12. bake 40-45 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and you can’t stand smelling the cobbler goodness any longer without eating it.

rotate oven and/or lid as desired. do not open lid of dutch oven while baking. allow the smell to tell when it is done.

allow cobbler to cool. enjoy it by itself, with ice cream, or with whipped cream.

this recipe can be prepared in an oven using any baking dish or cast-iron skillet. adjust proportions as needed for pans bigger or smaller than about 10- or 11-inch square. bake at 350-375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. maintain ratio of 1.5 cups bisquick to 1 cup splenda to 10 tbsp butter for topping mixture.

 

the one after a month

well, it has been a month since my last post…and i had promised myself that i would make more regular posts to my blog. i’ll have to work on that. mid-year resolutions?

a lot has happened since the beginning of june. the GOOTH had a fabulous experience at the Massanetta Springs Middle School Conference in harrisonburg, virginia. it was CPC’s second trip to the conference. 13 youth and 4 adults attended, including meredith, who is continuing to recover from her surgery. we attended inspiring keynotes and workshops, did energizers, played fun games, sang songs, played in the rain, drank from the springs, survived an electrical storm like i hadn’t seen in a looooong time (including felicia’s near-death experience while standing on metal stairs when lightening struck near the building!!! well, we’re calling it a near-death experience anyway), had a great departing lunch at 5 guys, and made many memories that will stay with us for many years to come.

the General Assembly of the PCUSA met a week ago, taking action on a number of exciting items for the future of the church. it will now be up to the presbyteries to address the equalization of the ordination standards as laid out in the constitution of the PCUSA. i’ll speak more to that in another post.

this weekend, lynda returns to the states for a visit. her college reunion is in two weeks in upstate new york – houghton college. i will be catching up with her in shenandoah national park on the 4th of july, before continuing to new york city to meet up with the GOOTH for our mission trip. then, i’ll head upstate to catch up with lynda again at the reunion itself. she returns to peru on july 16. her term of service ends october 2 and will return to the states at that time.

during the mission trip, i will try to make daily postings so that family and friends of the GOOTH may keep up with the adventures in new york city. i hope that you will check back to hear about the GOOTH new york experience.

until then…peace, love, and chocolate.

ps – the cardinal in the window was still handing around after all this time!

 

the one about gooth’s year-end event

sunday night was our year-end event. and what a night it was. we played about a dozen different outdoor games, and only one of them bombed completely! pretty good odds, if you ask me. we played:

• the spontaneous-keep-the-4-foot-beachball-in-the-air game – we had a huge, 4-foot beach ball that we’d see how long we could keep it in the air. we got it stuck in the tree twice. ian climbed up the tree to fetch it once. we kept hitting the ball on the roof, but it would roll right off. pretty cool. jacob said, “this ball is one of the best things to play with!”
• light sabers (with noodles) – using 3 different colors of noodles among the youth, they used them as light sabers with one another…when one got hit on the leg, they dropped their noodle and picked up one of another color and dueled with someone new. jacob said he liked this game a lot.
• flying noodle relay – using two noodles, you launch one into the air with the other, spinning it off the end…we used this method as a relay race…kinda like the blow-up-the-balloon-and-let-it-go relay…wherever it landed, you picked it up and spun it into the air again…until you crossed the line.
• finger tag – hold one hand with a partner, try to tag their knee with that finger while they do the same
• toe tag – hold both hands with a partner, one tries to tag the toes of the other
• triangle tag – too hard to explain
• inchworm – a rather close & intimate activity, but cool to do and see…several were quite accomplished at it!
• rock, paper, scissors tournament – Molly won
• group juggling – with several objects, including the 4-foot beachball
• QUIDDITCH!! – rather chaotic, but fun to play and watch. basically 3 games happening at once: ultimate frisbee rules, using a ball as the quaffle and hula hoops on poles for the goals; dodgeball for the bludgers & short noodles (1/3 length) for the beaters bats; and keep-away with the seekers for the snitch. two teams played each other, while two other teams lined the sidelines and keep the bludgers flying (dodgeball) and playing keep-away with the snitch. fun times!
• a variation on dodgeball – this is the one that bombed. poor explanation from the leader (that’s me).
• bear (a.k.a. point) – basically, wrestling while trying to get from point a to point b.

then we had a cookout that 3 of the parents had prepared for us. Meredith came to eat with us. she is doing much better, but still having some struggles. it was her first time to the church since her surgery.

overall, it was a great night. the storms stayed away (unlike last year’s year-end event), we laughed together, prayed together, ate together, played together, celebrated together, and grew together, all while making memories that will last a lifetime.

ps – the cardinal in the window is still hanging around, pecking on the window and chirping at me.

 

the one about my yard, my mower, and sam

i don’t have a very big yard…maybe a quarter of an acre…not really sure. i was excited that it was small enough that it could mow it and enjoy it as a fun outdoor lawn activity, but not so large i’d dread mowing it as a chore. i always enjoyed mowing the yard as a teenager, because we had a yard large enough to use a riding lawnmower and it provided great thinking and reflection time. i was so happy the day i got to ride it and mow it by myself. previous to that time, dad would finish mowing and then let me practice driving it around the yard. this slowly progressed into finishing the yard after he did the outer edges and tough corners, to me being able to do the entire yard alone. because i started doing this before i was driving a car, i would even practice parking the mower as if i were parking a car. silly me.

anyway, when i moved into my home here in greater Advance, NC, (and btw, that’s pronounced AD-vance, with the emphasis on the first syllable, with both ‘a’s being pronounced like the ‘a’ in ‘apple,’ and adding a southern drawl), i was happy to have a yard to mow. funnily enough, even though my mailing address is Advance, i don’t actually live in Advance…it is 4 miles or so to the south. the tornadoes that ripped through davie county a week and a half ago (while i was at montreat) went through Advance itself. so, i think i live in the middle of a nameless nowhere in davie county, which borders forsyth county, which is where i work. but, i digress…

for the previous 14 years, i had not lived in a house that required mowing…i either lived in a dorm, fraternity house, apartment, or town home during those 14 years. no mowing. as i moved here, i knew i needed to buy a mower. i decided that in our green twenty-first century world, i would try to purchase something environmentally friendly. i looked into electric mowers, having used one once during the summer i spent in washington state. affordability would be an issue. but then i was excited to discover that i could purchase one of those old-timey “reel” mowers…i didn’t know they still made them…or re-started making them.

actually, several companies make them and they are available at several stores. i found a used one at the chattanooga sears parts & repair store (which i recommend those stores for any major appliance purchase, and other hit-or-miss tools & entertainment purchases…great deals on out-of-season, previous season, used/refurbished, and scratch & dent stuff). but i digress…

i got a “reel” mower for $30, i think, if memory serves me correctly. it would have been about $80 new. sears made two models at that time (in 2006): an 18-inch and 21-inch (i think). i have the 18-inch, and i LOVE it! it cuts so smoothly and cleanly…the wheels of the mower do not leave trails as distinct as traditional push mowers…it is lighter weight…and, my neighbors favorite feature, it is much MUCH quieter. i look forward to using it. but, there is a catch…you have to have real grass.

growing up, i never had grass in my yard. we were just lucky the majority of it was green. my yard pretty much looked like the salad you get at restaurants…you know, with the purple leaves, and the yellow stringy things, and the yellow-green skinny leafy thorny-looking things, and the green broad-leaf things that look like they should have dandelions attached to them. yea…but now, i bought a house that where sod was laid when it was built! (not by me…can’t afford that!) so, i can use my reel mower to cut the real grass. but, that is only in the front. my back yard is half weeds, half grass…and i do not look forward to mowing the back. once the grass gets to a certain height, i can’t mow it with my reel mower…the blade guard simply pushes the tall weeds over and prevents it from running through the blades.

while i was gone to montreat, my grass grew a LOT (last time i fertilize!!!), such that i needed to borrow my neighbors mower…which they just bought an electric mower. i’ve used it once before…it is SO cool. my week was super busy, and several evenings were spent at the hospital visiting with meredith (which she is doing much better, by the way…still at the hospital, but in a regular room), resulting in my inability to borrow the mower. so, this weekend i tried to borrow it. i kept crossing with my neighbors and neither of us were home at the same time. when i returned home from a dance recital on saturday night, and drove into my driveway, my headlights no longer reflected upon the shafts of grain at the top of my foot-tall stalks of grass. someone had mowed my lawn! at first, i thought it was the elves that live in the forest, but then decided it must have been kate or sam.

sunday morning, i saw kate (who is in GOOTH) and sam (her 5th-grade brother who is excited about being in GOOTH next year) and they admitted to mowing the lawn…sam did most of the work apparantly. over cookies and lemonade on the CPC patio following worship, he said to me, “have you been to the mall?” i thought, “random,” and answered, “yes.” “have you been to the food court?” “yes.” “you know how they give you the sample of food on a toothpick?” “yes.” “when i mowed your lawn, that was just a sample.” i laughed out loud. here this 5th grader had got me with his economic prowess and has now suckered me into paying him to mow my lawn this summer! haha. i’ll have him mow it some…i’ll be traveling a lot with the GOOTH, and will need help in keeping it under control. but i’ll get my share of mowing in, too. it’s a time i enjoy to be outside and work in my yard. it fits nicely into the activities i talked about in my previous post “the one about golfing and oak hollow” where i talk about the spirituality of creation and outdoors.

speaking of outdoors, the cardinal in the window is still there all day long, chirping in at me. yay.