Bread and Wine

Bread & Wine a love letter to life around the table, with recipes

by Shauna Niequist

This is a collection of essays about family, friendships, and the meals that bring us together.  It's about the way God teaches and nourishes us as we nourish the people around us, and about hunger, both physical and otherwise, and the connections between the two. ~ Bread & Wine, p. 11

I have thoroughly enjoyed both reading and making recipes from this book.  

First of all, Shauna writes from the heart, with an honesty that is refreshing and real.  Her stories made me both laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time.  

It's about what happens when we come together, slow down, open our homes, look into one another's faces, listen to one another's stories.  ~Bread & Wine, p. 13

It happens when we enter the joy and sorrow of the people we love, and we join together at the table to feed one another and be fed, and while it's not strictly about food, it doesn't happen without it.  Food is the starting point, the common ground, the thing to hold and handle, the currency we offer one another.  ~ Bread & Wine, p. 14

As someone who spends a lot of time reading food books and cooking (a friend and ministry partner says 'You are always in the kitchen!' which is mostly true), I found the recipes in Bread & Wine approachable- dishes I really want to make for my family (Breakfast Cookies), to take to a friend who had  tumors on her thyroid removed (Simplest Dark Chocolate Mousse), to put on the table  Tuesday evening when we gather with friends to pray and share food and life together (Bacon Wrapped Dates).  

I made Breakfast Cookies (Yes, cookies for breakfast, which made my children very happy.)  as my first trial recipe.  I started with these because:

1.  I had all the ingredients on hand (always a plus, no trip to the store for some exotic ingredient)

2.  They are healthy (no butter, eggs, sugar)

3.  Cookies for breakfast, what other reason do you need?

 Bread & Wine along with ingredients for Breakfast Cookies

Breakfast Cookies mixed up and ready for the pan

Breakfast Cookies cooling on the rack

My husband, a notorious food brat (though he denies it) whose Grandmother was the pastry chef at a local tourist stop and hotel for many years, is the reason I now can cook, if for no other reason than I got sick of hearing, "That's not how my Grandma made it.".  Mr. Picky pronounced Breakfast Cookies 'Excellent'.  That is high praise, I tell you.  I don't know that I've ever gotten an 'Excellent' for cookies before.  Thank You Shauna!  

Since those went over so well, I baked Goat Cheese Biscuits to serve with lunch the next day.  I was somewhat skeptical about these, because 

1.  I don't really like goat cheese

2.  My youngest 2 kids are every bit as bratty about food as their dad, and well, the goat cheese again ...

Except for the goat cheese, I again had the ingredients on hand.  The recipe was easy to put together and the baked biscuits easily slipped out of the pan and onto the plate.

 Goat Cheese Biscuits fresh from the oven

 Need I say more?

My littlest Love ate 3 of these, and I'm convinced if she hadn't snatched the last one from the plate, she would have eaten more.  They really were very good, even though I didn't exactly love the goat cheese, no one else had an issue with it.  I will definitely make them again, but substitute a cheese more to my own liking next time.  

In conclusion, I love this book.  Seriously.  It inspired me to be even more intentional about gathering those I love, and those I need to love more, around the table with me.  It gave me new recipes to try, which won't get lost in the ever-growing Recipe Pile because they are handily contained in this very earmarked and underlined book.  And last but certainly not least, Bread & Wine got me an 'Excellent' from Mr. Picky.  

Bread and Wine is a great book, read it and see for yourself!

Note:  I was given a free copy of Bread and Wine in return for writing this review.  

Amazing Grace, Celtic Hymns and Blessings ~ A Review

Though writing reviews is not something I do often these days, Anne at Discovery House Publishers asked so nicely, I couldn't say no.  (I seem to have trouble with that little two letter word anyway!)
She asked me to review the CD 
 Amazing Grace- Celtic Hymns & Blessings, by David Huntsinger.

In the case of this CD, I am glad I said yes.
I enjoy the peaceful, Celtic style as well as the variety in both songs and music.

Of the 14 tracks, many are familiar titles-
Amazing Grace
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Showers of Blessing
Be Thou My Vision

Some of the songs were new to me, such as-
Circle Me, O Lord
Joy in the Kingdom
The Sheltering
and my personal favorite-
Dwell in the Shadow (Selah).

All in all, it is a very pleasant CD that I really am glad to recommend to you if you enjoy Celtic music.

I also noticed that right now it is on sale for $9.90, so if you are in the mood for something different to listen to these days, you might want to pop over to the Discovery House website and check out Amazing Grace- Celtic Hymns and Blessings.  I find it a blessing each time I listen to it!

Thomas Nelson Book Review ~ FEARLESS

FEARLESS by Max Lucado

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?


In his classic style, Max Lucado tackles that thing that we all face from time to time- Fear. He gives excellent insight and Biblical advice on dealing with fear. He gives examples of fear and shows how to move from fear to faith.

The book has 15 chapters, with headings such as: Why Are We Afraid, The Villagers of Stiltsville, Woe, Be Gone, There's a Dragon in my Closet, This Brutal Planet, Caffeinated Life, etc.

The 37 page discussion guide designed to be used by groups or for individual study, is divided into 3 sections for each chapter- Examining Fear, Exposing Fear, and Battling Fear.

In the Examining Fear section, there are questions for you to ask yourself and to discuss with your group.

The Exposing Fear section has Bible verses for the reader to look up and questions to answer.

Battling Fear gives practices or activities to get you actively battling your fears.


I really enjoy Max Lucado's writing, and this book is no exception. It is excellently written, and the message so very timely in today's world. Fear is a common thread in society, and this book not only addresses fear, but gives truthful Biblical steps to dealing with it. I highly recommend this book to any who would like to be Fearless.



For more on Fearless, visit the Thomas Nelson Fearless page and also this site.

Book Review ~ The Gift Of Psalms

The Word of Promise
The Gift Of Psalms
Devotional Wisdom from 50 of the Best Loved Psalms

The Gift of Psalms is a book of 50 Psalms adapted from the New King James version of the Bible. It contains devotional passages written by Lori Jones for each psalm. Also included in a storage area in the back of the book are 3 compact discs which have 30 of the psalms and the corresponding devotionals on them.

This is a nice gift book. It has a nice layout and design, and is a hardback book with heavy weight pages. Each 2 page spread has the psalm on one side and the devotional and a prayer on the facing page. The 3 compact discs contain 30 of the psalms and devotionals read by people such as: Michael York, Gary Sinise, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Dreyfus, and others. The different voices make it interesting, and the background music is pleasant. All in all, this is a very well put together book, excellent quality in both the book and the discs. Would make a nice gift or devotional book.

Here is a link to the product page for this book: The Gift of Psalms

Review of Reflections of God's Holy Land

A book review of
Reflections of God's Holy Land
A Personal Journey Through Israel
by Eva Marie Everson & Miriam Feinberg Vamosh


This is a beautifully done book. I enjoyed the vivid photographs from spots in Israel that I someday hope to visit in person.
Some of the places were familiar to me, some not so familiar; which I also appreciated. I gained a whole new perspective on some of the biblical accounts after seeing an actual photo of the place in the Holy Land.
The photography is gorgeous, and adds so much to the book’s narrative.

I particularly enjoyed reading the historical information and detail in the Did You Know sections by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh. It brought many things to life for me, and I learned a great deal.

It was touching to read the heartfelt responses to different happenings along the way in the Reflections by Eva Marie Everson.

I enjoyed reading about the Holy Land from the different perspectives of one who is Jewish and one a Christian. It is a blessing that the Lord has brought these two ladies together to share their love of the Holy Land in one book.

Whether you’ve visited the Holy Land before, or like me, hope to realize that dream someday, this book is a wonderful addition to any library.

Catherine Love