The Barkmans

Here is the latest post from "The Barkmans" - MC Canada Witness workers in the Philippines and "Pennies & Prayer Inheritance Fund" recipients through Mennonite Women Canada. 
You can ready about their adventures HERE!

Picture taken from their blogspot.

Rhubarb and Strawberries

In BC the church secretaries within MCBC have an annual "Secretaries' Retreat". 
Yup... and I have the privilege to partake because I am an "alumni". :-) 
It's generally organized by the MCBC Office Administrator or, as we like to call her - the "Boss Secretary". For several years we went for an overnighter to Camp Squeah - Sunday to Monday, however, the last 2 years, for convenience & proximity sake, we have used the MCC Deertrail Guesthouse. 
We gather for dinner, visiting, sharing and laughing and some do stay overnight. Obviously, not all of the secretaries/alumni can attend but for those that come out, it is a lot of fun. 
Dinner is a potluck and this year I was asked to bring some dessert. 
Below are the two things I brought along. Enjoy! 

Rhubarb Square or Muffins

Received this recipe from my Sister-in-Law and we have enjoyed it ever since.

Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

11/4 tsps. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tsps. grated orange peel

3/4 cup orange juice (I do half orange and half lemon or whatever combination you happen to have handy)

11/4 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350⁰ F if making muffins.

Directions: 

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda.

In a medium bowl, beat egg. Stir in oil, orange peel and juice. Add to flour all at once and stir just until moist. Stir in the rhubarb. Lightly grease muffin tins and fill cups three-quarters full.

Bake for 25 to 39 minutes.

I decided to make a square out of the above recipe and then added the streusels of top of the batter. Baking this in a 9x13 inch Pyrex. I lowered the oven heat to  350⁰ F.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Streusels:

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup vegetable oil (butter can also be used and to make the streusels a bit crunchier you can add 1 or 2 tbsp of whipping cream)

Mix by hand, crumbling it until well mixed.

Spread over top of rhubarb cake.

********************

Cream-Cheese Stuffed Strawberries

Source: Pinterest

Ingredients:

1 lb large strawberries

1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese (softened) 

1 cup slightly softened Cool Whip

1/4 - 1/2 cup Graham Wafer crumbs

Directions:

1. Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top and clean out the with a paring knife, if necessary (some of them are hollow already. Prep all the strawberries and set aside.)

2. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, Cool Whip, sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add mix to a pipping bag or Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. Fill the strawberries with the cream-cheese mixture. (The recipe is slightly different on Pinterest but I prefer it with the Cool Whip added - makes the cream-cheese a bit softer and the cheese flavour is milder.)

3. Once strawberries are filled, sprinkle or dip the tops with Graham Wafer crumbs. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.

BC Inspirational Day 2012

Memorial Candles

Have been meaning to post a bit about the BC Inspirational Day for a while now but other things took priority here on this blog, like the promoting of the 60th Anniversary Celebration of Mennonite Women Canada and the introduction of the "Fruit of the Month" series we have just started.

But now that that has been done, I think I have a small window here to quickly let you know that I have a full report on the MCBC Women's Ministry blog and you can read all about it HERE and you can also see more pictures there!
Hope you'll like it and please do leave a comment so we know that you paid BC a visit! Thanks a bunch!

Scrapbook from the "Card Project" for the
2009 Mennonite World Conference.

Fruit of the Month - Rhubarb

Naomi Unger writes:  This recipe from my files is in the handwriting of a school child. I remember my sister instructing her son, years ago, to copy it out for me after I complimented her for her very tasty meal. 

Rhubarb Dessert 

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup shortening

2 T sugar

pinch of salt

Mix like pastry and pat into 9"x 9" or 9"x13" pan.  (Using the smaller pan will give you a thicker square.) Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes.

Filling:

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cream

2 T flour

2  1/4 cups diced rhubarb

Heat in saucepan until warm. Beat 3 egg yolks, add to mixture and cook until thick. 

Spread over the baked crust. 

Meringue:

3 egg whites

Beat egg whites until stiff, slowly adding 5 T sugar and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar. 

Spread over the filling.

Bake at 400ºF until lightly browned.

Note from Liz:  I used a 10" glass pie plate and 3 cups of rhubarb and increased flour to 3 T.  I also did not have cream on hand so used 1/3 cup milk and 1 T margarine.  It turned out great, but was very sweet.  Next time I will only use 1 cup of sugar and there definitely will be a next time.   Thanks for the recipe, Naomi!

No peeking!

Hmmmmmmmm! What's this you wonder???

Did she post the wrong picture here? hehehe

Nope! Let me assure you that I did not! ! ! ! :-)

No peeking! :-)

What's in this bag you ask?

Well now, that`s for me to know and for you to find out but..... for that you will just have to come to the 

Mennonite Women Canada 

60th Anniversary Celebration on 

Saturday, July 14th in Vancouver.

Tickets are still on sale until June 15th, so hurry and get your ticket right HERE.

And.... you do not have to be a delegate to attend our celebration but you do need to have a ticket.... $25.00 per person!

FYI -- there will be more surprises at our celebration, but don`t tell anyone that I let the cat out of the proverbial bag.  hehehe     Shhhhh!!!

SOMETHING NEW FOR OUR BLOG!

While looking over the statistics of our blog I noticed that the most popular postings have been the ones that our "4 Grandmas 4 U" contributed.  Unfortunately they are no longer able to do this.  I have been wondering if we could do a seasonal experiment with fruit recipes.  I have polled the executive and they are willing to submit some recipes.  We would also welcome input and/or comments from any of you. This is not in any way intended to compete with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook whom we endorse and affirm but simply an effort to share our favourite recipes with  those who visit our blog.  I have a couple of rhubarb recipes almost ready to post so check back in a few days!  Each month we will feature a different fruit. We'll start off with rhubarb and perhaps also include a few strawberry recipes.  

WHAT ARE YOU READING?     
by Naomi Unger
 I recently read the novel, The Cry of the Dove by Fadia Faqir (published in 2007 by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.).  Salma, a Bedouin Arab Muslim teenager, gets pregnant before marriage.  She escapes being killed to restore her family's honour by going to prison and eventually fleeing to England.  There, Salma, now called Sally, is free yet she is still bound by fear, depression and loneliness.


Faqir presents moment of hope, beauty, love and even humour in the midst of all the pain and sadness in Sally/Salma's life.  These dark times include imagining that her brother has followed her to England to kill her, her broken-hearted longing for the child she gave birth to but never held, as well as feeling rootless and facing repeated racist attacks.


Don't let the author's style of flitting between the present and the past in a single paragraph put you off.  I thought it was a powerful way of showing Sally's distress over her current immigrant situation and agonizing over her infant daughter, Layla, who was taken away from her at birth.  In such circumstances, it would be hard for us to stay focused, too.


As you read the story, notice the women in Sally's life.  Especially in a patriarchal society, it is the women who give each other the strength to carry on.  Even in England, there are women who help Sally.  Sally's desire to support her daughter grows stronger and is finally irresistible, as Layla gets older.  I was challenged to consider how we can be sisters, mothers and true friends to the hurting women in our communities.


 In the story, racism - both personal and structural - goes in all directions.  It's not just an issue in Europe; Canadians must deal with this as well.  Are we Christ-like in our treatment of refugees and immigrants, of anyone who is different from us?  Will we welcome people with their cultural and religious differences into our lives and open ourselves to be enriched by them?


In Faqir's story, the double standard of morality (that women are killed for adultery, but not the men) is exposed.  Faqir's work is advocating for vulnerable women and putting an end to 'honour killings'.  How tragic if Muslim paradise (sitting in a cloud of perfume drinking milk and honey) is the only free and safe place for oppressed women.


For an eye-opening companion book, I recommend that you read A Thousand and One Egyptian Nights, An american Christian's Life Among the Muslims by Jennifer Drago published by Herald Press.  The Drago family lived side by side with Muslims during their MCC assignment in Egypt (2003-2006).  Jennifer shares her discoveries and insights in this inspiring book.