Home Cooking and Hospitality

Who enjoys hospitality? I for one, just love hospitality, and baking and preparing for guests. It is lovely to be on the receiving end of it, but in someways it is even more fun to be on the giving side! A few thoughts on Hospitality: Hospitality includes all kinds of things. Just now, I looked up the word 'hospitality' online in Wikipedia and here is the definition I got: "Hospitality is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable." 

Hospitality is a vital part in the culture of the Middle East. This is also reflected in many commands and examples in the Bible. I think one of the biggest examples of that with Abraham when the Lord appeared to him, "by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day."

I always love this Bible Account for so many of the lessons we can and should learn from it. One of those examples that I find so amazing, is Abraham's generosity and hospitality to the three men. At that moment, did he know that he was serving the Son of God Himself and two angles? And did he know the blessing and promise that was to come as well? 

"So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant . Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said." So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; kneed it and make cakes." And Abraham ran to the heard, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate..." Genesis 18: 1-8

Imagine all the work! Killing a calf and roasting it (which must have taken quite a bit of time and energy), baking cakes, getting milk and butter and 'making ready three measures of fine meal'! And on top of that, it was a hot day (Genesis 18:1) and they didn't have ovens like we do or shopping stores where you can buy all you need ready-made. But I am sure Abraham and Sarah along with the servants worked willingly and heartily without a grudge... 1 Peter 1;4 says, "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling," and in Colossians 3:23-24, "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."

Well, this week I got to do a tiny little bit of 'hospitality' work when some friends came over and it was really great fun, and also very educational. You see it can be hard to get a chance to cook anything in the kitchen when Mum, Mary, Sarah and even Gracie all enjoy cooking... but this time everyone were quite busy and so I was given the honour of baking the cake! It was a Mocha Chiffon Cake. I think it was okay, though I might have put a little too much coffee? Mary helped me with the icing as it is pretty difficult to melt Carob without getting it curdled! Well, here are a few photos:

Here is the cake

Mary did the icing for me

Don't you think they look like floating sail boats?

I used the left-over mixture

of the cake to make those muffins

This weekend, Mary did some fruit jam!!!!

left: sweet potato jam

right: red carrot jam

They were both so delicious!

Red carrot Jam is simply sooooo sweet!

You may never have heard of sweet potato jam, 

but it is really nice :)

Mary's Strawberry Jam

Just like the shop jam!