The recipe, preserving, and a Christ-mas devotional...

 

As so many of you asked for this recipe I have it all prepared for you today as an easy download. One thing I would like to remind those of you who make this bread, is that it is made from 100% wholemeal spelt flour, not white spelt or a refined version. I buy spelt grains and mill them myself, or when I run out of grains I have a supply in my freezer of 100% organic wholemeal spelt flour from a trusted supplier here in Australia.

You could also use wholewheat, or another type of wheat grain. Check the dough is not too dry if using a different wheat to spelt, as spelt tends to use slightly less water than regular wheat. 

If you make this loaf please let me know your results - and if you made any tweaks I'd love for you to share in the comments so we can all learn from your experience. Breadmaking is one of my absolute favourite things to do and trying new things with dough is always exciting!

**DOWNLOAD the recipe here**

MANGO MANIA

You saw our glut of mangoes last week, right? I had so many plans for using them up before they became too ripe and have almost accomplished crossing everything off my list. It was ghastly hot and humid, as is usual here, so I really needed to pace myself in the kitchen with plenty of cool drinks and rest breaks. My knee was acting up something dreadful, and my numb fingers were a slight challenge, but my arm managed very well, so thank you for your prayers. xx

I began with chopping mangoes for freezing and now have a jolly good supply for hubby's autumn and winter smoothies. Then it was on to mango chutney. We normally buy it at the supermarket, but with a hundred mangoes on hand I went looking for a simple but delicious recipe to try. The first batch was just three jars, as I was not sure how good it would taste - well, it was delicious!

I then made a larger second batch, and will make another batch on Boxing Day - it's too good not to. 

Then I moved on to mango jam, something I have never seen in a store and never tasted. This was an overnighter, the fruit and sugar needing to be left to marinate in a large saucepan until the next day. I make loads of different jams, so I assumed this would cook up quickly, but when I re-read the recipe (from the Queensland CWA 1959 Cookbook) it had to boil for 3-4 hours. 

Well, after 2 1/2 hours it was still mostly liquid (and I had only used 2/3 of the sugar given in the recipe because we do not like really sweet jams)...so I added pectin, and another ten minutes of boiling gave me a nice jammy consistency. We are yet to try this, and as I have jars to give away over Christ-mas it seems we had better slice some bread tonight and do a taste test! If it does not pass muster, my gift recipients will receive mango chutney instead (which really makes me determined to cook up another batch on Boxing Day so we don't run out ourselves). I shall let you know after Christ-mas how the jam fared. 

I've also dehydrated about ten large mangoes so far. I gave them a try on the weekend when I made mango and coconut muffins to take on our drive (we take a thermos of home-brewed iced coffee and home-baked muffins for breakfast every Sunday) and they were lovely. Dehydrating the mango intensfies the flavour a great deal. 

Some of the second batch of chutney I put in small 200ml jars for gifts if needed, and as I had some nectarines to use up, a quick batch of nectarine relish was made for Blossom, who absolutely LOVES nectarine season. 

I took about sixteen mangoes over to her at the weekend, and she was thrilled to have them fresh to eat as the children eat a lot of fruit. Ross asked for my quick mango ice-cream recipe and jotted it down on his phone, intent on making it the next day. I reminded him its actually Jamie Oliver's recipe from over a decade ago, but he'll still call it "Mum's Mango Ice-Cream". ;-)

Oh, and I made a simple mango mousse on Saturday night from fresh chopped mangoes, coconut cream, honey and a little gelatine. Hubby is dairy free, which is why I used coconut cream, but apparently the common recipe uses condensed milk and whipped cream with the mangoes.

Our elder tree continues to offer an abundance of elderberries so I am air drying them in the covered back porch. This is the second batch dried, and I have three more batches yet to be plucked off their stems. 

 If you'd like any of the recipes, just let me know in the comments and I'll type them up to share in the New Year.

REPLYING TO COMMENTS

In the previous blog post I slowly started replying to some of the comments, and I'll continue to do that from now on. As long as I rest my fingers every so often, it's manageable to type again. However, I do miss knitting, crochet and embroidery, so if you'd like to offer up a little Christ-mas prayer for healing of my arm and fingers that would be just lovely. 

THE ABIGAIL STUDY

Nothing quite like a gentle reminder from a loved one that we're only days from Christ-mas and perhaps it would be wise to begin the study in the New Year. Wisdom indeed shone through.

MERRY & BLESSED CHRIST-MAS....

Something that always leaves me quiet with an extended moment of wonder, is a truth, which as a mother of many babies rings even truer in my heart this time of year, and this is it. 

Jesus our God, and Saviour, and Redeemer, left His throne in heaven to be born from the womb of a young girl whose first experience as a mother would be to nourish and nurture God in the flesh. Every one of my newborn babies was born helpless, totally dependent on me for their sustenance, their comfort, their rest, their health, and their 24/7 care, so, to imagine the King of Glory, who chose to leave His home in heaven where He had absolute authority, being the Creator of heaven and earth - that He would choose to be a helpless babe, the first child of a young woman, a poor woman, but a young woman of absolute faith and humility, a maid who would carry Him first in her womb, then in her arms, and then in her sorrows as He hung on a cross, leaves me breathless and in awe.

This Jesus, this Lord of all, this Lamb of God...when I awake Christ-mas morning, it is He whom I shall once again worship, just as I do every day of my life, and I shall rejoice just as His mother did when He rose again, and remember his promise to come back for me one day. I hope you hold fast to that promise. I hope you hold fast to Jesus, our Jesus, this Christ-mas. 

Till the New Year, God bless all of you...