For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Five Loaves

A basketful of empty notecards in celebration of Good Neighbours' Day sat invitingly in church one Sunday. We happened to be sitting beside this basket for church lunch; so conveniently I picked a few, naming them as I went: This is for Uncle Dan, this is for Uncle Alvin, this is for Aunty so and so, and so on. It would be nice to send these along with a little gift. My little accountability partner heard it all.

Our five loaves... and one extra! 
And so we did. Cookies were not meant to be, as white chocolate and cranberries were missing. There were overripe bananas, perfect for baking, so mini banana loaves it was. With a second pair of little helping hands, we measured, poured and stirred and ate spoonfuls of mashed bananas and chocolate chips along the way. 

We did the first round of door-knocking on a Saturday evening - only one family was home. Sunday was a busy day for us, and it would have been challenging to go door-knocking, but this time, it was God who divinely arranged for us to run into three other families while we were going out or returning. With one family, we felt the ice break - I've always wanted to get to know them better, but it was not until last night that we chatted a little more at their door step. What an encouragement this was to me! 

I hadn't had the presence of mind to reason and figure that a recipe for a single loaf of banana bread wouldn't be able to feed five families adequately. But mini-loaves are the perfect size for gifting by little hands! And how eager these hands were. When I suggested that it could be time for the gifting of gifts, two eager feet pitter-pattered straight to the door, and two little hands were quick to put on her shoes. There was no shyness, no reserve in my little two year old, only childlike confident expectation that her gift would be received. She knocked on doors and waited, then offered her little packages as though it were the simplest thing in the world. 

And it should be. Thank you, little bunny, for setting the example and leading the way. You've shown me that giving can be approached with boldness and simplicity, without expectation. As for shyness and fear of rejection, what are they? 

And so, bake on, we shall, my bunny and I!


Banana and Dark Chocolate Mini-Loaves
Adapted from Jessica Fisher's Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook
Makes 6 mini loaves

Ingredients
2/3 cup golden granulated sugar
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil*
2 eggs
1/4 cup full-cream milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup very-ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup plain flour
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Method
Simply measure out all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and stir all together. Pour into 6 mini-loaf parchment cases. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 min, at 180 degrees celsius.

Note:
Little hands love pouring ingredients as they are measured into the mixing bowl, and stirring after each addition! I think coconut oil would be a lovely substitution. Note to self to try that next. The original recipe is for a single family-sized loaf - if so, bake for about 60 minutes.



No comments:

Post a Comment