For the Love!

It's been a busy past couple of weeks.

No, actually make that summer; it's been a busy summer. 

We've been seeing glimpses of Autumn here in upstate New York, leaves are fringed with orange or yellow, golden rod is in full bloom, and the clouds are endless and amazing on our many cool, crisp mornings. 

I find myself eager for it, the change in seasons. Life gradually slowing down. Summer has been good, but I'm ready for more time with Herm, for less yard and garden work, for thick sweaters and long evenings and rainy days.

But like I said this summer has been good. It's been full of roadtrips and family get-togethers and time spent at the lake. And in those moments, on the roadtrips and at the get-togethers, when yard work and canning produce from my garden and running errands for Herm's business and cleaning cottages on the lake haven't been consuming my time, I've been devouring books.

The two I chose for this past weekend were For the Love, by Jen Hatmaker, and Anything: The Prayer that Unlocked My God and My Soul, by Jennie Allen.

Both were so very different and so very good.

We will start with For the Love. I had recently read 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, also by Jen Hatmaker, and had enjoyed it, so I was eager for this book to be released. It came just in time for our weekend roadtrip to Pennsylvania for the weekend. 

The subtitle is Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards. In the book Jen tackles a broad range of topics, starting with grace for yourself, grace for the people you live with, grace for your friends, strangers and enemies, and finally grace for the churched.

I will warn you; if you don't have a sense of humor and can't laugh at the hilarity of even serious matters, this book is not for you.

I'm pretty sure I was laughing out loud at some point in each chapter, and I can't wait for the opportunity to use a few of her witty remarks in real life conversations. Jen writes about serious matters, but she does so in a way that doesn't make the reader feel weighed down, and you'll probably even find yourself chuckling along with her, able to extend grace more freely to yourself and to others around you.

If you think this sounds like a book you'd enjoy, read it! 

And finally, I read Anything: The Prayer that Unlocked My God and My Soul.

In this book Jennie Allen and her husband were both longing for a deeper, truer relationship with God, so they began to pray Lord, we will do anything. Jennie heard about Katie Davis, the then 18-year-old mother of 13 girls in Uganda. (Read her story here!) Katie's story wrecked her, made her realize that she is just one person but her impact could be huge. Jennie wanted more in her life.

During this process their lives came unraveled, radically changed. God called them to bigger platforms in ministry, He told them to welcome another member to their family of five, a young boy from Rwanda, to fill the empty bedroom in their home. 

Jennie writes about how her friends lives were influenced too, how giving your whole life to God is daily sacrifice, but how you end up filled and overflowing with more than you ever imagined possible. She shares about how their prayer for anything impacted their marriage and family. 

This book inspired me to more, to realize the impact one life can make. I had downloaded the ebook version, so I plan to reread it soon, and this time to have a notepad and pen handy. There were so many good words I want to highlight and go back to again and again.

Read this book, I highly recommend it!

What about you: Are you ready for the change of seasons? What books have you been reading lately? I'd love to hear in the comments below!

Please note: Both books were given to me by www.booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.

Blueberry + Peach Gallette

This summer we've been enjoying fresh fruit in abundance.

Our property line is scattered with wild raspberry bushes, which we harvested nearly three gallons of berries from. I froze about a gallon of berries, but the rest we enjoyed over cereal or ice cream or simply plain.

And I've been keeping our kitchen stocked at all times with peaches from the SweetPeach Company. I thought I liked peaches before I had a South Carolina peach, but I realized, after that first juicy-delicious bite, that I didn't know what I was missing. I can never go back to a northern peach again. New York, you grow many good and wonderful things, but peaches aren't one of them.

Blueberries are currently in season, so we've been munching those too. Last week when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and nieces and nephews were here we picked a nice amount. I froze most of mine, but kept a few pints in the fridge for fresh eating.

All this to say, on Saturday afternoon I had peaches and blueberries in the fridge that needed to be used up. I absolutely hate wasting food, so I was brainstorming what I could make out of them without it taking all afternoon or requiring me to go for groceries.

And that's when I remembered the partial box of phyllo dough in the freezer.

If you aren't familiar with it, phyllo dough is a paper thin pastry dough. There are many different uses for it, but I had a partial box in the freezer from the last time the cooking club got together. (Yes, I am part of a cooking club, and I don't even like to cook.) Our theme for the evening was Greek Cuisine, which means baklava was a MUST for dessert. Baklava is basically butter and sugar served between many crispy sheets of dough. When I start I can't stop... it's so good!

But that's not the subject of today's post.

Well, it actually kind of is, because when I remembered the phyllo sheet, I got to thinking about how good baklava would be with peaches and berries on top. I quickly searched the internet to make sure I wasn't crazy, and found a recipe similar to what I was thinking of and went from there.

Herm was impressed by the dessert and is already talking about the next time I make it. He thinks it should be a regular dish, served at least weekly in our home, guests or no guests.

BLUEBERRY + PEACH GALLETTE

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 sheets frozed phyllo dough pastry, cut in half
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 peaches, sliced

METHOD:

Cut phyllo dough sheets in half. Place first sheet of dough on foil lined cookie tray. Brush with butter, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of white sugar. Place a second sheet of dough over the first sheet, rub with butter, and sprinkle with white sugar. Continue this process until all 12 layers of pastry have been used. 
In a bowl toss together sliced peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, and oil or butter. Arrange peaches over phyllo dough in a single layer. Pour any remaining brown sugar/butter mixture over the peaches. Sprinkle blueberries evenly among the peaches.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping, and of course, your favorite cup of coffee.