Amish Friendship Bread

What is the definition of friendship? .

Is it the person who is there for you through thick and thin ? Is it the person who drops everything to help you in a moment of great need.?

Friendship for me trancends a lot of boundaries , for me, it the little things that matter in a friendship . A true friendship means you do not have to explain yourself because your actions cement your intentions.

So, it was Girl Scout cookie pick up weekend recently and when I went to collect my cookies from the Cookie Mom ( thanks Julie) the house was awash with the most intoxicating aroma of deliciousness. It smelt like a wonderful cookie recipe had been executed , like a delicious sweet bread had invented . Needless to say - I had to ask what the delicious aroma was all about ?

When I was presented with two delicious looking loaf pans and a recipe that defies explanation - my quest for Amish Friendship bread was on . I am sure many of you have heard of the Amish . People who live a seemingly simple life of traditional roles within their society - as such I would expect them to be able to whip a wonderful bread recipe - at a moments notice .

 A few days after cookie pick up one of the troop leaders came by my house for soup pick up (thanks Kate) , and presented me with the "starter" baggie for the Amish friendship bread . A wonderful surprise and I was thrilled to be able to tackle this in earnest .

  

  

When you read this recipe you may think I have lost my mind , started to write gibberish or have invented a completely new language for recipe writing . I assure you , those amongst us with the gift of bread making will recognise the basics of this recipe . How we started a "starter" , continue to nourish the "starter" until it is time to give the "starter" a good feed before fostering it out to various friends .

Once you split the starter you will be left with a scant amount of starter in the bowl , and hesitate to think that you will even be able to make a bagel out of it . I assure you this thought crossed my mind and I even thought I had misread the recipe , I was pleasantly surprised , after following the recipe and adding all the essential ingredients two wonderful loaves were born .

Think of this as a chain letter for breadmaking without any of the dread . So , if you hear of a bread chain making the rounds in your community - tap into it , it is a lot of fun .

Where have I been ?

It has been a while . I had to think really hard to remember my sign on for the blog .

Well , I have not given up on blogging , rather- I have re-arranged certain aspects of my life .  The call to work was sent out , by hubby , and hard choices had to be made . The time came to hang up my apron and put away my chopping knives - only in relation to my catering business . I will now be Office Manager at the gulag, I have worked for hubby twice before this time and been fired twice before this as well - but we will leave those details to be explained in another blog !!!

So next week , 23rd February is the last week for Soup Package customer pick-up . When I put together the February package there was no intention to end it so soon - however I am happy with the selection for that week , Black- Bean Chowder Soup with Youghurt Cilantro Relish and Three Mushroom and Barley Soup , all of this is to be enjoyed with Feta Cheese Toasts - my own creation !!!

When the first email went out saying that Gourmet Goddess was coming to an end - emails and telephone messages of support poured in - I was truly humbled , immediately followed by " this culinary hiatus is temporary - right ??? ".  

As I start making inroads with my new title - Office Manager , as I start to decipher the needs and wants of a Mazek, a Brother and a Hyd-Mech machine, understand the different types of stainless steel ( I thought there was only one type) , when we heat treat parts - can I throw in a tray of  muffins at the same time ? I will not be totally removed from my food adventures . I will still have opportunities to read through the food blogs I follow , I will still bookmark interesting recipes I come across - because that aspect of my life is not on a culinary hiatus.

What does the future holds for Gourmet Goddess? - I do not know at this point in time . I have ideas I want to develop further and hope to start writing a cookbook soon . That in its self is a huge commitment . When I started GG it was at the start of the ecomomic downtown . This has reshaped and forced us to rethink a lot about life in general and what matters to us most . No-one was more surprised than me as to how popular my cooking endeavour turned out , I would have been happy just cooking for a handful of families - I ended up cooking for several handfuls of families . When I started the Soup Package, Tasty Tuesdays, and Pantry Staples - I was overwhelmed by how my customers embraced my new spin on GG.

Many people who never placed orders would read my website or blog - just because !! They liked the way I wrote about food and life in general .  To me they were still customers - of the literary kind .

The great thing about this whole adventure is that I connected with a lot of different people within my community. I  hope I do not lose that connection , because my community is small and whether you like it or not we are all related by six degrees of separation .

So a blogging I will go , new post coming up in the next few days and as always .... happy eating . !!

GG

To toast in the New Year

About this time of year I begin to contemplate what was .........

as I bid farwell to my three wise men ............

as I contemplate taking down the tree .........

Thoughts turn to festive fare and intrigue as to what the new year will hold . As New Years Eve is nearly upon us , I needed to think up something quick and festive to make as an appetiser for our fun filled night , to be spent with friends. It is the one day of the year when we all stay up - way past our bed time , when the girls have impressed me with their stamina - the record so far is 2.30am . Mum and Dad needed toothpicks to keep the eyelids open .

After much over indulgence in the past few weeks and way too many sweet things , I begin to crave something tangy and moorish to be enjoyed with some wonderful company and Pink Prosecco .

Behold, GG Green and Black Olive Tapenade , a sinch to put together and lots of wow factor .You can toast your own pita or naan bread as an accompaniment , serve it with fresh crunchy peppers, or celery sticks . Also, check out the Smitten Kitchen website ( one of my favourite blogs) and look at the yummy homemade cracker recipes.

GG Green Olive and Black Olive Tapenade

inspired by many recipes

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 cup pitted green olives

1 small clove garlic

scant handful of flat leaf parsley - no stems

scant handful of walnuts , lightly oven roasted

juice of 1 lemon or to taste

olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Lightly roast the walnuts in a 400F oven , until just toasted and allow to cool .

Place all the ingredients in a food processor except the olive oil and pulse a few times . Then add enough olive oil until it holds its shape .

Taste and adjust seasoning by adding some more lemon juice or olive oil .

Serve wither with some fresh vegetables or toasted pita/naan bread.

Allow flavours to develop in the fridge overnight .

Enjoy

T'is the Season

It has been an interesting year .

I started my catering from home business in October of 2008, had a wonderful year ....... my sister visited during the summer , we enjoyed a wonderful time together . School started and before I knew it , my little gourmet just turned 10 years of age and my little little gourmet will be turning 7 years of age in a couple of weeks .

Then all of a sudden Christmas was staring me in the face .

I love Christmas , I love the fresh Christmas tree we put up every year , I love the collection of ornaments we have amassed over the years and above all I enjoy the anticipation of "what will Santa bring?" on the faces and minds of children . This year we were so busy that I did not even manage one Christmas dinner at home with friends and family ...... I always have a couple of get togethers - it is always an excuse to stop what we are doing , take some time out of our busy lives and have an enjoyable time.

This year the tree had been decorated with angels , tin ornaments and some very rustic looking ornaments - which I just love . As I started to put them on the tree - ably assisted by my little gourmets . I always stop and think about the year that has been , whenever I place the ornament above. This year it is in my kitchen , just above the sink and as I look into its face and the messages it holds - I say and truly believe the following :

"....... we must never lose hope "  AND  " ....... love always abounds" .

So Merry Christmas to my friendly readers and I wish everyone a wonderful New Year filled with "love and hope" .

............. and in closing I leave you with the Snowman my little little gourmet made at school , which she talked about for weeks , and which brought tears to my eyes when she he came home 

 

............... this is what Christmas is all about .