I am grateful for bread because it is simple, basic, meant to nourish. I am grateful for bread and the ways it sustains us. I am grateful for bread and the way it connects us to others. Bread in its many forms is a food for all nations and peoples.
I am grateful for the cycle that bread represents: Planting the seeds, nurturing the plants, harvesting the grain, grinding the fruits of harvest, in preparation for sustenance which is shared around a family table, carried in a small cloth for midday meal, or broken and offered hand-to-hand in communion ritual.
Gratitude is also simple, basic, life-giving, universal. As we celebrate this season of thanks and giving, Global Women’s Project is indeed grateful for the women in our partner projects, women who gather together to plan, plant, harvest, mentor, nurture, and create to sustain their families and support one another. And we are grateful that you share with our partners in supporting their work to educate, heal, restore, and sustain themselves in their own communities.
Marlene Neher, our host for our October Steering Committee meeting in Iowa, served baskets of homemade rolls at each meal, a specialty she has developed from a basic recipe she used for a 4-H demonstration as a youth. These rolls have made their way to simple meals and joyous celebrations, where two or many have gathered together. Here is the recipe for you to try. Eat with gratitude for the simple gift of bread and all the sunlight and rainfall, the growing in the good earth, the hands that have prepared it from grain to roll, and the bodies and souls nurtured in the sharing.
SPEEDIE BUN DOUGH
Mix in bowl: 2 c. lukewarm water, 2 pkgs. yeast, 1/3 cup sugar
Add and beat: 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. salt
Add and beat: 2 eggs, 1/3 c. canola oil, melted shortening or butter
Gradually add: 4 ½ c. more flour (Up to 2 cups can be whole wheat or other flour. Adapt other ingredients as needed.) Stir until dough is formed. Let dough rest in bowl for 20 minutes. Shape into rolls. Let rise in warm place. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Gratefully, Pearl Miller
GWP Steering Committee
Global Women's Project 