Buttermilk Rusks

A new day in the Kalahari

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Our lives are interwoven in ways that are both miraculous and mysterious, not by chance but by grace.- Unknown

 

 

The smell of freshly brewed coffee and rusks baking in the oven,  fills my kitchen as the shadows grow shorter and day breaks. These rusks are Janneman Jnr’s treat with a cup of coffee, whether he is sitting on the porch in the Kalahari or in his college dorm room. These rusks are easy to make and perfect for enjoying with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. Here’s the recipe for you to try at home (or when you miss your children who are off at college…)

Buttermilk Rusks

Buttermilk Rusks
  • 1.5kg Self Raising Flour
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 1T (15ml) Baking Powder
  • 500g Butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 Cup of White Sugar
  • 2 Cups (500ml) Buttermilk
  • 2 Extra Large Eggs
  • Pinch of nutmeg (the secret ingredient)
  • Handful of Digestive bran (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180C/360F and grease three bread tins.
  2. Sieve dry ingredients (including the pinch of nutmeg) in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Work the softened butter into the flour using your fingers until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
  4. Beat together the sugar, eggs, and buttermilk, then add to the butter mixture and blend well.
  5. If using, add the digestive bran and mix well.
  6. Form rusk-sized rolls with your hands and place them next to each other in the prepared tins.
  7. Bake for 40 minutes until slightly golden brown.
  8. Break into rusk pieces and dry overnight in a 70C oven until dry.

Remember to enjoy the delightful combination of Janneman’s favourite treat and a freshly brewed cup of coffee!

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”- T.S. Eliot

Life and Lemons

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brown plant and flowers

I cannot believe we are one third into 2021. It has been a whirlwind few months with many changes in our home… we are all still trying to adjust to a new normal. Children are far off at college, our house is quiet and we are adjusting to a so called new-normal. 2020 has shown us that nothing stays the same for long–rather, seasons come and go naturally with the predictable (and unpredictable) transformations that our world endures.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

– Alan W. Watts

The change of seasons excites me! Days are becoming shorter, evenings longer. I love autumn! As summer’s light dims and the leaves begin to fall, I like autumn’s reminder that a meaningful life isn’t only about productivity, but transition too.

Autumn is a time of beauty, of harvesting and of shedding the old. While autumn is a time of productivity, it is also a time of completion and transition.I love the quote that reads: If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.

Discerning the seasons of our lives isn’t always easy. The Book of Ecclesiastes says there’s ‘a season for every activity under heaven’ it is wonderful to know that our Lord is involved in all this too. God has tasks for us to do, seasons for us to do them in, and wants to guide us through each of them. I am reminded every day through this new season that it is all a choice- a choice to live expectantly. To live attentively. To live with significance. And embrace the seasons of life.

Breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit! And with all the beautiful lemons in season, I am tempted to bake these easy lemon bars. These are classic lemon bars featuring a soft butter shortbread crust and a tangy sweet lemon curd filling that’s baked to the perfect consistency. The lemon layer is thick and substantial, not thin or flimsy like most other lemon bar recipes.

Lemon bars are one of the EASIEST desserts to make but they’re guaranteed to bring a smile to your face; so bright and zingy with all the lemon flavour from the juice and zest, they’re simply irresistible! So Yes! When life gives you lemons- bake lemon bars!!

Recipe on page 2.

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The Earth Laughs in Flowers (and Hot Cross Buns)

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It is the most special week on our Christian calendar. Easter… a commemoration of Christ’s suffering , death and resurrection. How wonderful to be reminded of His love for us and that it wasn’t nails that held him to the cross but His love for you and me. And that He has risen. He lives!

I love the lyrics of the song “Because He Lives” written by Gloria and William J. Gaither.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives.

Easter is about family, faith and love. It is a time of togetherness and reflection. And wherever you find yourself this Easter weekend, chances are good there will be hot cross buns on your Easter menu!

The sanctity of hot cross buns, it seems, is bound up in our childhood memories: the innocent scent of yeasty, raisin-studded buns warming in the oven, redolent of butter, allspice and cinnamon filling the house. Growing up I could always count on my mom to bring home a fresh package of hot cross buns, the second they hit the shelves. Over time I followed her lead and toasted hot cross buns found their way into our Kalahari kitchen a week or two before Easter and vanish immediately after. (My kids are not too fond of raisins in their food but will endure and endulge in a hot cross bun at Easter!)


There isn’t one clear explanation for why hot cross buns make their way to our table around Easter. Some theories rest in Christian symbolism, though there are several stories (and even some tall tales) about their origins. Some talk about hot cross buns (which may have at one time been called Good Friday buns) being baked and eaten solely on Good Friday, while others mentioned them being eaten throughout Lent. But one thing is certain, over time they gained popularity, and eventually became a symbol of Easter weekend.

I know there are some great hot cross bun recipes out there, but as my two daughters and partners-in-crime-when-baking, are away at college, I will be resorting to store bought hot cross buns. And serve them with a twist. Hot Cross Buns French Toast. ( Recipe on page 2) Who can resist the smell of butter and cinnamon wafting through the kitchen on Easter weekend.

This is a quick and easy recipe and a crowd pleaser. And it is perfect for those left over buns, even long after the weekend. I wish you a blessed Easter. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow! – Aldalene

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Life is a journey, not a destination.

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potted blooming succulents plant in garden
Photo by Gary Barnes on Pexels.com

And the day finally arrived. The day I have to drop my daughters off for college. The day to move them in — hauling boxes, moving furniture, hanging pictures and folding clothes. The day to realise that this is the start of a new season… a new journey for all of us. It is time to say good bye after a (can I call it wonderful?) year of having them both home. Time to say good bye to girly giggles on the drive back from school, shoes and hair ties scattered around the house, long hours next to the netball court cheering them on. It is time for them to leave the nest… to fly… to soar. And for me to take a back seat and watch them thrive.

There are two things we should give our children:one is roots and the other is wings.

Author Unknown

But as you may yourself have experienced, this is easier said than done. We returned home yesterday- the home to countless sleepovers and movie dates, brownie baking marathons and early morning coffees around the kitchen table. Home of wonderful mother-daughter heart to heart talks and memories. And yes I cried… I cried so often, I thought my tear ducts would dry up completely.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)

These were not necessarily sad tears, just mama tears filled with mixed emotions, coupled with the reality that my little girls were growing up and this new season of life was here to stay.

It is hard to leave behind the idea of hands-on parenting; realizing that this time they are on her own, soaring, dipping and diving 900 miles away without me watching. I have to reconcile how to shift from full-time to distance parenting with my girls, and thinking about how to avoid smothering Janneman that is still home. I have to let go.

After years of being so intentional about raising your child well, it is hard to take on a new role. Yes, there will be an adjustment in the relationship. I will no longer bear primary responsibility for my daughters. But I am reminded that we have trained them up and now have the joy of watching them grow and learn in adulthood.

Maybe the real challenge of teaching our children to soar is teaching myself. Teaching myself to let go of control and to entrust them to God, who loves them far more than I ever can! As moms, we want to keep our kids safe, protect them from pain, fix their problems, make their decisions and steer them in the right direction. However, there comes a time when we realize we aren’t in control anymore and have to accept that our children’s futures are in God’s hands, not ours.

What a comfort and peace it brings to remember God is always in control and ever present in my children’s lives, even when we can no longer be.

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; He gently leads those that have young.” (NIV)

Isaiah 40:11

So as I am writing this, I pray for their safety and happiness. I pray that they will grow and flourish, that they will remember their roots and find their wings to fly, to soar! And I cannot wait for their return back home! When I can fill the kitchen with their favourite dishes and sit around the table, sharing in the stories of their new life. I relate to the the quote of Charles Dickens: “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.” I have joy, for we will meet again.

I love you. – Mom

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Rise to the Occasion…and 2021

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As we start a new unknown year, we are all overwhelmed with questions and concerns. 2021 seems so uncertain… how do we plan for this year? Last year was a year to reset and refocus… and this year?

Sitting on my Kalahari porch and scrolling through social media , I came upon this writing by Alex Cravens and it touched my heart. It gave me a new perspective. A new excitement. And I have to share it with you!

“Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be.

God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God.

Train them up in the authority of His Word.

Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

Empower them to know they can change the world.
Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it.

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan.

He knew Daniel could handle the lions den.

Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.
Rise up to the challenge.

Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters!

God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world.

He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth.

Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.” – Alex Cravens

May we rise up to the occasion! We are all born for a time like this! As our new year begins, take time to reflect on 2020. Don’t let the past year be wasted, instead, let us learn from all we have experienced. Then, commit to live a purposeful life in the year ahead. Don’t live the entire year without purpose, only reacting to what happens from day to day.

“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭AMP‬‬

God is intentional. God has specific plans and acts accordingly to those plans. If God does not approach life randomly, neither should we. Let us live 2021 with purpose!

I look forward to walking this journey and this year with you. Love from my Kalahari Kitchen, Aldalene