Mary Frances Giles

WHAT WE’RE COOKING: CRANBERRY CRUMB BAR…

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by Mary Frances Giles

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If you are still searching for new dessert recipes this holiday season, then look no further! These cranberry crumb bars – along with their fraternal twin, the blueberry crumb bar* – are in heavy rotation at my L’Abri table, and are always, ALWAYS met with delight. If you want to win over your friends and relations, then this easy bar recipe is for you!

Cranberry Crumb Bars (from smittenkitchen.com)

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Zest and juice of one orange
  • 4 cups fresh cranberries (one 12oz bag)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and orange zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and orange juice. Gently mix in the cranberries. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Makes about 32 smallish bars. Enjoy!

*For a summer (and sweeter!) version of this bar, substitute blueberries for the cranberries, and lemon zest/juice for the orange.

RECENT L’ABRI LECTURES AT COVENANT COLLEGE…

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Hello again dear blogreaders!  Even though things have been as quiet as a church mouse on this blog for the last few months please don’t think things here in Southborough have been!   In the business of the last few months this blog has sadly fallen by the wayside – though we do hope we can start posting more regularly again.

To start back into things, it seemed only appropriate to post the audio from a recent day of lectures hosted Covenant College called the L’Abri lectures.  The line-up included a current L’Abri worker (our own Mary Frances Giles), a former worker with the British branch (Andrew Fellows) as well as philosophy prof from Covenant (Bill Davis) who is an admirer of L’Abri.

Mary Frances’ lecture is a wonderful weaving together of themes, ideas and practices which characterize much of our work here in Southborough and serves as a great introduction as to what L’Abri is.

 

RECENT PUBLIC LECTURES…

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We’ve already had some great public lectures this summer here in Southborough.  The kick-off lecture for out summer term was by one of this branch’s co-founders Mardi Keyes, who retold the story of L’Abri from its humble start in the Schaeffer family’s home in the Swiss Alps to the present day where L’Abri is an international fellowship of Christian community study centers across the globe, though Mardi paid particular attention to the history of the Southborough branch.  For anyone who wants to know about what exactly L’Abri is or how it started this is a wonderful talk.

Mardi Keyes – The L’Abri Story from Switzerland to Southborough

Our second lecture was by local pastor Doug Calhoun on the relationship between our “Father Wound” and our spiritual growth.  Doug has devoted a tremendous amount of thinking and studying to the many difficult questions around relationship between our families of origins and the way we engage with God.  The lecture sparked lots of helpful discussion around here.

Doug Calhoun – The Father Wound and Its Impact on Your Spiritual Journey

Our third lecture of the term was from our own Mary Frances Giles who gave us some really helpful insights into what it means to live with longings and desires.  Looking at ways that both our broader culture as well as the church have often given us overly simplistic, confusing or just plain unhelpful ways to think through our desires and longings Mary Frances offers some helpful reflections.

Mary Frances Giles – Living with Longing in a Fallen World

If you’re interested in subscribing – check out our podcast which is updated after each lecture!

UPCOMING HOSPITALITY SEMINAR

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As anyone who has been to L’Abri knows, this place can be a hard thing to describe. L’Abri is many things, but at our heart we are a community of people who desire to extend hospitality to those who seek it. What is hospitality exactly, and how can all of us incorporate it more into our families, churches, and communities? If you have ever pondered any of those questions, then come join us on October 24, when we will be hosting a day-long seminar: “Hospitality: A Key to Community”. Feel free to invite friends and come join us for a day of lectures, workshops, discussion, and, of course, food! We look forward to seeing you there!  Here is a rundown of what you can expect:

Hospitality: A Key to Community

October 23-24, 2015

Friday, October 23, 2015
8:00 pm: Lecture 1: “Hospitality – God’s Mandate for All Christians”
Mardi Keyes

Saturday, October 24, 2015
9:00am: Arrival and Welcome

9:30: Lecture 2:  “Image-Bearers of a Hospitable God”
Ben Keyes

10:45: Tea Break

11:15: Workshop: “Table Talk”
Sarah Chestnut

12:15: Lunch (provided at L’Abri)

1:30: Lecture 3: “But I Can’t Cook!”: Practical Hospitality for Everyone
Mary Frances Giles

2:45: Tea Break

3:15: Roundtable Discussion (Moderated by Sue Morrell)

4:30: Close

The Saturday portion of this seminar is being given in conjunction with our lecture on Friday evening, October 23. Attendance both days is not required.
The seminar is free, although there is a suggested donation of $5.00 to offset the cost of lunch on Saturday.

If you would like to join us for the day on Saturday, please email us your reservation ahead of time to southborough@labri.org.

Limited overnight accommodations are available at L’Abri on Friday, October 23 on a first-come, first-served basis for an additional cost ($28/person), and must be booked in advance.

WHAT WE’RE COOKING: MARY FRANCES GILES’ BAKED OATMEAL FOR A CROWD

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When I tell people about my work at L’Abri, one of the questions I am asked most often is, “What do you feed all of those people?” Cooking for a crowd can be intimidating, but with a little bit of patience and planning (and some help from the internet!), it’s possible to make tasty, healthy dishes that make (most) everyone happy.

Recently I was tasked with serving Saturday breakfast to 20+ people. I used the recipe below to make individual baked oatmeal “muffins”, and they were a total hit! These little wonders can be eaten as muffins (and on-the-go!), or crumbled into a bowl with milk or yogurt. I added blueberries to each muffin, but the sky is the limit as far as toppings go. Add eggs (scrambled or hard-boiled) and coffee, and you have a breakfast of champions! These freeze beautifully as well.

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Individual Baked Oatmeal (recipe taken from thewholesomedish.com)

Serves 16

Ingredients:

2 eggs1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup applesauce

1 ½ cups milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 tsp. baking powder

optional: toppings (nuts, fresh or dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc.)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (C). Line muffin tin(s) with muffin liners (a must!).
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add the applesauce, milk, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk until well combined. Stir in the oats and baking powder.
  3. Fill each muffin cup with ¼ cup of the oat mixture. Add any toppings (about 2 tsp. per muffin) and press the toppings into the oat mixture with a spoon.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes before eating/serving.

Enjoy!