ethiopian honey bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm not really sure why we celebrate it...all I know is that you wear green! So, go wear some green! :-) Today is now a very special day to me because one of my dearest friends, Misty, delivered her two little lucky charms this morning!!! Welcome baby boy Rhett Michael and baby girl Rhys Kate! I am so excited for Tim & Misty and can't wait to meet the babies...the pictures I saw of them are just precious. They are already decked out in Aggie gear - WHOOP!!!

The week's been a little nutty. Here is a break-down of our week:

-Elijah & Judah went to camp with my mom on Saturday.

-We picked up Judah from her in Waco on Monday (He had a blast). Elijah stayed.

-Elijah is coming home today (Yay, I miss him SO much! Although I think he would just live down at camp with my mom if we'd let him :-)

-My car was in the shop while they put in a new radiator. Woohoo. NOT.

-I was not feeling well, so I went to the doctor on Monday where they took a lot of blood work and told me I had insane amounts of fluid in my ears. So I'm on medication for that...still waiting on the blood work.

-I was randomly stung by a bee last night IN MY ROOM. Have not been stung by a bee/wasp in YEARS! It HURT really bad! I have no idea how it even got in there. Ouch, it still hurts this morning. I've been putting toothpaste and ice on it. Of course I didn't sleep good last night thinking there was a bee nest in my bed...lol.

-I have some cute pictures of the boys from a couple of weeks ago to post soon.

-There is no new adoption news. A lot of meetings have been going on this week so we are just praying for some good news soon. Every day I learn to trust God a little bit more with this, which might just be the point. :-)

-In the spirit of thinking about Ethiopia 24/7, Jason made Ethiopian honey bread last night, which I want to share with all of you. It turned out great and tastes really good, so go give it a try!

1 pkt active dry yeast
· 1 egg
· 4 -4½ cups all-purpose flour
· 1 cup lukewarm milk
· ½ cup honey
· ¼ cup lukewarm water
· 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
· 1 Tbsp ground coriander
· 1½ tsp salt
· ½ tsp ground cinnamon
· ¼ tsp ground cloves

To Make the Honey Bread
In a small, shallow bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water.

Let the mixture stand for 2-3 minutes and then stir to dissolve the yeast completely. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place for approximately 5 minutes or until the yeast bubbles up and the mixture almost doubles in volume.
Combine the egg, honey, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a deep bowl. Mix together with a wire whisk or spoon.
Add the yeast mixture, milk and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter. Beat until the ingredients are well blended.

Stir in the flour, ½ a cup at a time, using only as much as is necessary to make a dough that can be gathered into a soft ball.
When the dough becomes too stiff to stir easily, blend in the additional flour with your fingers.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough by folding it end to end, then pressing it down and pushing it forward several times with the heel of your hand.
Rub your hands with a little melted butter if the dough sticks to the board or your fingers, but do not use any extra flour lest the dough becomes stiff and hard.
Continue kneading for approximately 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a large, lightly buttered bowl. Drape a kitchen towel over the bowl and set in a warm, draft-free spot for approximately 1 hour or until the dough rises and doubles in bulk.

With a pastry brush, spread the remaining melted butter evenly over the bottom and sides of a 3-quart soufflé dish or other round 3-quart baking dish at least 3 inches deep.

Punch the dough down with a single blow of your fist, and then knead it again for 1-2 minutes.
Shape the dough roughly into a round and place it in the buttered baking dish, pressing it down into the corners so that it covers the bottom of the dish completely.

Return the dough to the warm, draft-free place for approximately 1 hour, or until it has doubled in bulk and risen at least as high as the top rim of the dish.

Pre-heat the oven to 300^o F.

Bake the bread in the middle of the oven for 50-60 minutes, until the top is crusty and light golden brown.
Turn the honey bread out of the pan onto a cake rack to cool.

Serve while still somewhat warm or allow to cool completely.
Traditionally eaten spread with butter and honey.

Mmmmm, it was yummy! Give it a try. We may try to make Ethiopian injera next - it's kind of their staple bread but I've heard it's difficult to make. Guess we better learn!
I also want to share a quote that I recently stumbled across and I love it!
"Sometimes I'd like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when He could do something about it...but I'm afraid God might ask me the same question."
-Anonymous
Have a great weekend and pray about what the "something" is that you can do! I think/pray about this quite frequently. We are all going to be held accountable for "the least of these" one day.