It is risen: the bread

The bread baking has begun in earnest. Last week I began small, with a simple white bread. Then onto rye. This week I bought some whole wheat flower and starting mixing it with bread flour. One of the recipes from Peter Reinhart's Brother Juniper book had me mixing in butter milk and honey. Yesterday I tried struan, a Scottish harvest bread with cooked brown rice, polenta, wheat bran and honey. The result was pretty good, but the rice turned out a little crunchy. I am also experimenting with how long I can leave the dough for its first rise. All in all, I'm enjoying the experience. Today, after my son Will's badgering, I cooked a loaf of banana bread. Again a first. It's cooling in the kitchen.

The challenge of course is not to eat all of the bread that I am so happily making.

The Urgency of Me Learning to Cook

The kids have gone back to school. Leslie is back at her work at the diocese. Our summer of travel is over. Labor Day is approaching. The house is empty and nearly seven more weeks of sabbatical time looms before me. What in the world am I going to do with these days? I have a pile of books that I have chosen to read, and I am dutifully making my way through the list. But, how about cooking? Didn’t I announce that I wanted to learn how to cook?

One of the foundational purposes of my grant application to the Lilly Endowment was for me to “cross the kitchen” and try my hand at cooking. Food and feeding and hospitality are at the center of what we are called to do as Christians. And, having married a former editor at Gourmet magazine and cookbook author, I have sat at the table and admired and tasted my way through 19 years of married life. How would I fare as a cook?

First, I began this week by baking bread. I had never baked bread before. But with the help of the classic “Joy of Cooking” cookbook and others and incredibly helpful “how to” videos on YouTube, I have baked bread the last two days. I have to say: I like it. I have learned to knead the bread and also how to proof yeast and find a warm place in the house for the rising of the bread. A new world has been opened to me. My first two loafs were ordinary white, and I pushed myself and made rye bread yesterday. The kids have gobbled it up and I have to say it’s pretty good. Not bakery quality, but actually pretty good. Clearly this could be a phase that I tire of quickly, but maybe, just maybe, I might continue…

Perhaps inspired by our recent trip to England and their abundance of Indian restaurants, I announced to Leslie that I want to learn how to cook Indian food. I tackled my first dish last night, the recipe for which I found on the web. I attach the link here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Indian-Chicken-Curry-II/Detail.aspx

The chicken curry dish came out really well -- I have to say (and the family agreed) I made some basmati rice to accompany it and also cut up some fresh cilantro to put on top. I doubled the recipe and cut way back on the cayenne powder, as I did not want to overpower the dish for the kids. I also did not use a whole lemon. It is a creamy comfort food type of dish that may just become one of my standards. Next up is lamb rogan josh, a classic recipe from the Kahmir section of India. I always find that I order this dish in restaurants and want to learn how to make it myself. I will also try my hand and baking naan, the Indian bread that is so addictive.

But as I prepared the meal last night, with the house empty and NPR playing on the radio, I actually tried to think about the relaxing quality of cooking. Yes, I had to remind myself to relax and enjoy the cooking experience -- as opposed to just rushing through it and putting something on the table. Clearly, I may not always have a free afternoon to leisurely cut sauté onions and slice chicken into bit size pieces, but on this one day, I did enjoy it. And lo and behold, I learned that I could cook a reasonably complex dish with more than two ingredients and not out of a box.

Today, I baked blueberry muffins from scratch. They’re cooling right now.

Back to Hartford

The Pendleton summer adventures have concluded and we are home in Hartford -- delayed by a day by a cancelled flight. We are happy to be home and quite amazed at what we have seen and done since July 1st. I will post soon some further reflections. Right now: sleep.

Choir Residency Concludes

The Cathedral choir departed from Ely today and fly back to Hartford. Leslie, Will and Lydia and I are remaining in London for four more days to eek out this exceptional summer of travel and adventure. The week was very meaningful for our choir and I hope the people who experienced their singing in this great Cathedral also thought so.

Ely has really an ideal town for our choir to experience for a week.

We are thankful for all those in the Cathedral community who were supportive of this trip.

Pilgrimage to Canterbury

Six of us have broken away from the choir group and spent the last two days in Canterbury, the site of pilgrimages since the 12th century when it was believed that praying at the tomb of St. Thomas Becket brought about healings and miracles. The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion. Visiting this charming English village reminds one of the ancient practice of pilgrimage. Today the town is flooded with tourists from all over the world, especially Europe. But it has long been thus.

Jake Harney, a verger at the Cathedral in Hartford, got a special treat when I had made plans for him to meet with the vergers of the Cathedral. We both learned some things and will take a few pointers back to Hartford.

Our days have been spent wondering the streets, visiting the Cathedral, reading, eating and even napping. Not a bad stay. Tomorrow back to Ely to join the group.

Choir Tour of Ely, England

44 members of Christ Church Cathedral are touring England this week. Our choir is in residence at Ely Cathedral, near Cambridge. The weather is glorious and the choir had their first Evensong last night. We were honored to sing in the Lady Chapel for the renowned English composer John Rutter, a friend of Kevin Jones, our Canon Precentor.

Home at Last! For a week anyway

Yes, the trip has ended by the journey has only begun. We arrived to Hartford safe and sound on July 31, not sad but content and satisfied and thankful for all that we did and saw as a family. The "trip of a lifetime" was just that. Lush and rainy Connecticut felt like entering a rain forest compared to the dry Southwest and California. We have this week to rest up before our choir and youth held off to England on August 8 to sing in residence at Ely Cathedral -- and one evensong in St. Paul's Cathedral in London. I will take five non-singers to Canterbury for 3 days. Look for blog entries along the way. We'll be gone for two weeks.