**RECIPE** Focaccia (It's Not Difficult)

This is a cross post from my other blog

Thanks to The Apron on YouTube, I have learned to make Focaccia at home. I can't spell it all the time, but...

When I told SIL and one of my brothers that I had made Focaccia, I'm not sure they believed me. I would not have. However, here is the video I used and trust me, if I can do it, you can do it.

This is the video for The Apron's easy Focaccia. 

If you are like me and have comprehension issues, do what you need to make it work. I suggest printing the recipe out in large print, numbering the steps and highlighting any important tips. My SIL who has no comprehension issues, just wrote out the recipe and put it in her card box.

Here are some examples of what I managed to put out: 

The first mostly successful attempt

The 3rd much better attempt

The 3rd one baked

Of course, I'm not going to show anything that I screwed up royally! 😂

Because I have learned a couple of things, my next attempt should be my best. For one thing, my original baking pan was too small. I went up a size, so the last one was better. However, I might need to go up a teeny bit more in size... Also, I did have to dig out a much bigger dish for overnight proofing. 

As far as overnight proofing, I couldn't figure out the best size bowl to use. Someone online helped me to figure out that for the recipe I was using (with about 600 grams of flour with high hydration), I needed at least a 5.5-to-6-liter container. I dug around in my storage and found my Sterlite container (not big enough at 4.4 liters) so... I finally managed to find a 5.5-liter tray-style container (exactly like this one). My online source thinks this will work. Fingers crossed.

source

Once I realized how easy it is to make Focaccia, I wondered if there could be ways to make more variations. Of course, I know about the garlic-cheese and the herbs, but I was thinking dessert Focaccia. And, yes, there are recipes for that.  Here's a page from Chef's Bliss and a whole guide from My Daily Sourdough. I haven't done any sweet one yet. I'm just happy not to have to buy bread.

I am so thankful the The Apron. The recipes are so easy to follow and the demonstrations are very clear and helpful. 

Before I go, I have to say that not only is baking my own bread healthier for my diet, it has also been a mental help. On my worst days of depression, if I can think clearly enough, spending time making bread is a coping mechanism. I was having a bad time a few weeks ago, and I realized that the time spent working with the dough and going through the process to create something was better than any medicine doctors could give me. I thank God for learning how to bake a little.You let me mess around and find something that can help me think clearly... Watch out, world!

Peace

--Free

Don't Just Count Your Blessings...

 It's been a while since I posted here because I've been remiss. After saying my morning prayers, I was having my coffee and thought of something to share.

Very often, I marvel at the blessings in my life. Big things - like having a shelter and a loving family and my (sometimes very challenging health). But I think a lot about the little things. Things like a having a good cup of coffee in peace,

It took me a very long time to give up all the sugary creams in coffee and these days I'm down to a splash of half and half and a teeny bit of cane sugar or allulose. 

I was having my coffee and skimming the morning news. The news is, as so often, awful and sad and discouraging. The coffee though... Wow. It was a great cup of java! For a moment, I closed my eyes and just felt thankful.

When I finished my coffee, I still had to live with the burden of bills to pay, health that is not great, and a world in upheaval all around me. But I thank God for that moment of joy. I thank Him for the moments that my body feels better. I thank Him that I have food and water. And I really delighted in that amazing cup of coffee. 😋 So, thank you, Father.

We like to say, "Count your blessings", but I am reminded to be thankful for my blessings and to enjoy them. That great cup of coffee may be my last. That moment of peace and quiet could be the last. 

There are people so rich they could buy up all the gold and silver they desire. There are those so famous that they have "fans". A lot of people have power and influence. I don't, but I feel more blessed than some of those other folks could imagine. I have God's love and protection. I have His grace and mercy. That's not something you can buy. And that pure joy I experienced having a cup of coffee, that is priceless. Priceless and fleeting, but I had it.

I guess I just wanted to share with everyone to count, be thankful, and savor your blessings. Savor every breath and moment of mortal life because it could be the last. For those of us with salvation, there's more to look forward to.

Pray for those not yet living with the promise of salvation.

Peace

--Free

Any Way You Can...

A lot of my Christian brothers and sisters around the world - online and in forums and videos - feel as I do, as if time is getting short. Even if the Lord waits another 1000 years to return, time is short for us mortals. I think we all know we need to reach as many people as we can with the Gospel. If you are like me and don't get out and about much, you can still find ways.

For myself, I have been using a board posted outside me door. A couple of years ago, I bought a large chalkboard and some water markers. I would post a Bible verse or some Bible-related trivia, changing the message a couple times a week. My neighbors loved it and I would even hear from delivery people or cleaners that they like reading the board. Recently I got a larger white board - I needed more space - for the messages. I also ordered some tracts and Bibles to set on a stand under the board. I started with 6 Bibles (and stuck some page size magnifiers inside them!) and 4 were gone the first month.

This is one of the latest messages

That's just my way of reaching people with the Word. Sometimes I will order small Bibles (and magnifiers!) to leave in the lobby of waiting rooms.

I say all that to encourage you all to find some way the share God's Word - other than by living it for people to see. I am going to be trying to come up with even more ways to do so. If I think of other ways, I will update this post.

Peace

--Free