Rebecca Stark is the author of The Good Portion: Godthe second title in The Good Portion series.

The Good Portion: God explores what Scripture teaches about God in hopes that readers will see his perfection, worth, magnificence, and beauty as they study his triune nature, infinite attributes, and wondrous works. 

                     

Saturday
Dec292007

Raspberry Coffee Cake

exps17088_TH10218C29B.jpgWhile we’re on the subject of recipes from Taste of Home magazine, I’m sharing this recipe for a rolled sweet bread that I made a couple of weeks ago. I tore this recipe out of an issue of Taste of Home several years ago, but tried it for the first time this Christmas. It was fairly easy to do, looked very pretty, and passed the taste test, too.
 
Bread
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
  • 1/2 cup warm sour cream (110° to 115°)
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup raspberry jam
Glaze
  • 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt and egg. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.
  2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 20 times or until smooth. (I do steps 1 and 2 with my stand mixer with dough hook, which makes bread making so easy.)
  3. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. 
  4. While dough rises, mix filling: In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth; set aside.
  5. When dough is doubled, punch it down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.
  6. Roll each piece into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle.
  7. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Spoon jam lengthwise over half of the filling.
  8. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side with the jam. Pinch seams to seal; tuck ends under.
  9. Place loaves seam side down on a greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut shallow slashes across the top of each.
  10. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  11. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack.
  12. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cakes.
Yield: 2 loaves (10 slices each)
 
Next time I make it,  I’m going to shape it like the coffee cake in this video. (This video also demonstrates pinching and turning the ends under on a rolled loaf, and drizzling glaze over your warm coffee cake.)
 
Friday
Dec282007

Book Review: The Taste of Home Cookbook

61wiNXktTL._SS500_.jpgYoungest daughter moved out of the house in June, but she still comes home for most of her meals. She’s never shown much interest in cooking and I was surprised when her Christmas list included a request for a good cookbook. Youngest son decided that he’d get this for her, so I showed him my Betty Crocker Cookbook and my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, suggested he buy either one of those, and sent him down to the local bookstore.
 
He came home with The Taste of Home Cookbook instead. What can I say? The boy’s a genius. (You should see the coffee grinder he got me!)
 
If you’ve paid any attention to the recipes I’ve posted here, you know I’m partial to recipes from Taste of Home magazine. They come from the kind of down-home style cooking I grew up with, and the ingredients tend to be common, everyday things you probably already have in your fridge, freezer, or cupboard. But best of all, everything is yummy.

Click to read more ...

Thursday
Dec272007

What is the moral law?

The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding everyone to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience thereunto, in the frame and disposition of the whole man, soul and body,[1] and in performance of all those duties of holiness and righteousness which he oweth to God and man:[2] promising life upon the fulfilling, and threatening death upon the breach of it.[3]

Click to read more ...