Shrove Tuesday

Today is Shrove Tuesday, better known as Pancake Day! I assumed this was the case particularly in most Western countries, but I found myself explaining the concept to some American friends who moved over to England at the end of the summer so perhaps not?! Anyway, as my site is called 'Pondering Pancakes' I thought a ponder on the subject was apt.

Hopefully, you've had time to have some for breakfast, my fingers still smell of lemon from squeezing it on ours. We (my housemates and I) were joined by a friend who also brought the milk and the eggs (we were running low after the creation of a (very yummy) bread and butter pudding.) It was good to share the fun of strange and traditional combinations and flipping pancakes with a fairly high level of success. There's still a poll about your favourite pancake toppings, and a simple and adjustable pancake recipe for you to use if you like. For a smooth batter add the milk a little at a time while making a paste with the egg(s) in a well in the flour.

Shrove Tuesday marks the eve of Lent, with Ash Wednesday tomorrow, technically the forty days do not include Sundays as they represent a day of celebration marking Jesus' resurrection and victory. There are a few different traditions and variations including the Ambrosian tradition where it starts on the Sunday (6 weeks before Easter), and involves forty consecutive days. Forty is a fairly symbolic number in the story of Israel and Jesus. The most common association with Lent is when Jesus went into the desert at the start of his ministry where he fasted for forty days and was tempted by satan.

The other key story is when Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness having been rescued out of slavery in Egypt before entering the promised land! I think this is where my ponderings and preparations are wandering this Lent; reflecting on and realising the freedom we have already gained and the freedom we are heading for, and what it is to walk free and be free. You can get Israel out of slavery, but you've still got get the slavery out of Israel! or as someone put it the other day, "sometimes we need freeing from what we are already free from!"

Traditionally, Lent is a time of fasting or giving up luxuries in preparation for Easter when Jesus died on the cross and three days later was raised to life again. Pancakes are suppose to be the time to use up all the luxury items, like sugar and eggs! And so in anticipation, many people will buy more eggs, sugar, syrup and the shops are already stocking easter eggs, which others will buy in a warm up to Easter in addition to those to be given at Easter. Many others will have a second (or third) attempt at their new years resolutions, give up chocolate, cakes, alcohol, tea, meat, smoking, second helpings, or take up going to the gym, running, eating breakfast or start a new hobby. There is also a move towards 'what can I do' rather than 'what can I give up', like helping a neighbour with the shopping, saving energy or getting more involved with the local community. 

Lent is a good opportunity to be a bit more disciplined or focussed in your devotional life, reading the Bible and other inspiring books, getting stuck into prayer, getting outdoors to appreciate God as Creator, playing worship music. There are loads of things on the market and the web to encourage you and help you keep on track this lent, there are even apps for your phone! But, whatever you do; whether you include the Sundays or not; whether you cut back or pick up, it is not about manipulating God, Lent is a time to prepare our hearts. We are now under a new covenant which is about grace, which means that while we can be deliberate, we no longer need to be legalistic, therefore, when you set yourself targets like 'must try harder', stop, and ask God to help you. In our weakness, Jesus is our strength, and as a few wise people have pointed out recently, the word 'radical' means to get to the heart or the root of something, it does not mean being an extremist swinging from one extreme to the other. 

If you are struggling or wondering with discipline without falling into the trap of legalism and 'ought to's, I really recommend Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline". It is truelly inspiring and a looks at the spiritual disciplines in a way that gets to the heart of it, and is full of life and joy. In fact, whoever you are- I highly recommend it and DON'T gloss over the first chapter "The Spiritual Disciplines: Door to Liberation", read it, before you look at the specific disciplines it works through.

As for me, I think my Lent will be a bit like my Shrove Tuesdays- using up the chocolate and treats I have without buying loads more and flipping more pancakes, running (mainly because it gives me life and I still have the crazy idea that running a marathon could be possible) and catching up and trying to keep on top of my 'Bible in a year' plan which I've managed to get to day 45 (think I should be on day 50something) but all this is by the grace of God- I've learnt that when I get behind to ask for help and go back to it, rather than beat myself up about it, or put myself down as a failure.

They may resemble belated new years' resolutions, but really at the heart of it all it is feasting on the life and abundance of God, rather than feasting in our consumerist society, it is about realising the freedom we've been given and walking the way of the cross with Jesus-knowing he has already paid the ultimate price, once and for all.

Yellow Snow?!

The sky and the weather forecasts have been threatening snow in the North-East all week.

On Monday there was a short flurry of snow during our youth club, which didn't last long, and it's been very cold ever since, but no snow. Yesterday, the weather forecasters announced a "YELLOW SNOW WARNING", which they later changed to a "Yellow weather warning for snow" with a bit of hindsight!! Brilliant!

I started running again this week. I woke up one morning, with the crazy idea that maybe I could run the Edinburgh Marathon this year! Despite the very cold mornings and minus temperatures ('C), I've managed to get myself up and out on some short mile and a bit runs. (Only 25 more miles to build up... is it possible before the end of May?!) and this morning as I was finishing my short "long run" (2 miles!) this morning, a few stray snowflakes began to fall. The snow then set in and although it's not very deep yet, it's still falling!

I feel compelled to point out that the snow is very white and not a hint of yellow in it! But if you do find any yellow snow; Don't Eat It!

Also, if you're thinking of doing anything crazy like a marathon, give yourself time to train and build up your fitness. Although, I haven't been running in a while, I've done a couple of half-marathons in the past, I run about the football pitch most weeks and I'm healthier than I've ever been... I just need my fitness to catch up now. 

I've no idea if I'll be ready in time, or if I can keep it up, but goals and ideas can help motivate, so it's a bit of a dream but I gotta start somewhere. Watch this space...

Where are you from?

Every so often, I have a look at the stats on my pages. Amazingly between my two blogs pondering pancakes and pondering poetry people from all around the world have visited my sites. This includes the UK (of course!) Russia, China, Germany, France, Australia, the United States, even Latvia!!

I would love to hear from you, get feedback on any of my posts or generally about the site. I'm also a bit curious about who is looking/ reading.

If you'd like to tell me a bit about who you are or where you are from that would be good. :-) The stats give very general info- it doesn't even differentiate between England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales (just lumps it together as the UK), so whether you are on the same island (England) as me or whether you are on a different continent even I would love to hear from you. Even if you are just 'passing' through as the surf the web!

As a final thought, Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day) falls on 21st February this leap year! Xx

Please don't give any specifically personal details! No surnames, addresses, phone numbers etc. I do not take any responsibility for others who may not be as trustworthy.

Confessions of a Youth Worker

My name is Kat and I am a Youth Worker!

It is far more than just a job; it is a part of life!
It can induce tears, joy, frustration, celebration...

You need to be a jack of all trades.
On some days it seems shallow, or just run of the mill,
On others you are on the front line, responding to life's biggies.

It can make you realise why you do youth work on some days
and question if you're really cut out for it on other days.

It affects eating and sleeping habits;
10pm becomes teatime. You get home late after a session buzzing and generally hungry to talk, think and eat! Before you can sleep you need to wind down, talk to anyone who will listen... and digest!!!

But then again, breakfast was probably around 11am*, because if you get to bed before midnight then you’ve done well, so lunch migrates to 3pm, because you realise you haven't eaten yet! and you know that it needs to keep you going until 9 or 10pm... and so the cycle continues.

*n.b. The last FOUR days, I've somehow managed to get up BEFORE the rest of my house!...and they are busy interns* (*people doing an Internship year at my church)! I know some people leave the house before 7.30am, but for me, this is the equivalent of the crack of dawn!

You're not scared of walking around in the dark (without a bulletproof vest) ...but you'd prefer it if it wasn't raining!

You talk to random people in the supermarket and the street, say hi or smile to groups of young people as you walk home with the shopping, instead of look down at your feet or try and avoid them altogether (and every so often hear them go, "Who is she?!"... as you remember that you're not at work so "I'm a youth worker- we've been working round here for a little while" is not the right response... on this occasion."

Your head is full of icebreakers, games, ideas, tenuous links, stories, naff jokes and random information that you are ready to pull out as the need or opportunity arises and your boot is full of random games, craft materials, rolls of paper, boots, waterproofs, plastic cups and a bottle of squash!

It can throw you out of your comfort zone a lot and simultaneously feel like the most natural thing in the world!

This is Youth Work; the land of 'Informal Education' and the privilege of getting alongside and being part of young people's lives, of opportunities to inspire, challenge, encourage, learn (both ways!) and delight in the gems when they arise, of making plans and programmes then throwing them up in the air to see where the wind takes them, wondering where it will go! This is youth work!

You (the readers) might have realised by now that I say 'you' and 'your' when I really mean 'me'. It's an old habit, but I guess, some of you may share some the experiences above in some way, shape or form. So it's my way of opening up life and work to you in a way that hopefully, you can connect with!

This is the first of many youth work posts. I'd love to hear your thoughts, stories or experiences and it's great when people join this site (see right), you can even follow by email...

Coming soon...

Faith fuelled youth work: looking at faith and youth work when you are not working in faith-based settings!

Pondering Poetry

I've just launched a new blog especially for poetry. It's been exciting realising that out of nowhere I'm able to write poetry and I'd like to share it with you.


I've carried on with the pondering theme and there is a link between both sites at the top of the side bar, but for ease and so you can read today's poem, "Do you want to be a Zebra?" check out the blog

Pondering Poetry

http://ponderingpoetry.blogspot.com/

Important: You will need three people

It often feels like I’m constantly moving house. It’s been half a decade since my student days, but since moving to Durham about eight years ago, I’ve moved every year. The only exception has been a big house of 10, aka ‘House Beautiful’ (the name hopefully makes some sense if you’ve ever read John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’), I lived there for two years while we sought to live out a Christian vision of community. Recently, I discovered that a friend had had to move over thirty times in five years- in comparison I realise that I’ve had it easy!


Anyway I’ve moved again and over the past month it’s just been me, home alone, at the new house. This weekend, one of my new housemate’s arrived and for some reason the previous tenants had decided not to make the bedframe but had left it in a box behind the door, and had used the mattress straight on the floor. So after unloading her car we had a bed to make.

We set to opening up and figuring out the different parts and instructions. We put together the headboard and footboard which were made up of a series of different poles and screws and the next bit of making the frame and connecting it to the headboard and the foot of the bed had very strict instructions written in bold letters that read:

Important: you will need three people

I think I’m alright at DIY, I quite enjoy it too! Last year I helped one of my housemates paint her room and then I fitted a carpet, cutting it to size and everything with my pink stanley knife. A tidy job, even though I had never fitted a carpet before! So I read the instructions out loud, looked at the bits of bed and thousands of different size screws, washers and nuts, looked at my friend and back at myself, wondering if two was enough or whether we'd have to put the bed construction on hold and then I shrugged and said,

“That’s alright, we’ve got Jesus too.”


and my friend replied, "And he's a carpenter!"


Needless to say with the ultimate carpenter with us, who promises he'll never leave us, the bed was completed smoothly with no further complications!

Easy Peasy Pancakes (Recipe)

Hello,


I had pancakes for breakfast this morning- using jug and chopstick method (see below), with very yummy cooked strawberries, raspberries and blueberries with a bit of honey that I made yesterday and some natural yoghurt on some and maple syrup on the others. Yum!


It seems important to have a pancake recipe on a blog called Pondering Pancakes so here it is!


This is the simplest recipe I know and is easy to adjust depending on numbers of people or eggs. For a bigger batch multiply by the number of eggs you are using. A standard batch is 2 eggs (multiply flour/milk by 2) but if you're just craving pancakes late at night or fancy some for breakfast and it's just you and maybe a friend, one egg will do.


The basic combination for easy peasy pancakes:
1 egg
100g plain flour
half a pint of milk


Shake of Cinnamon/ Mixed Spice
Bit of oil (in the batter)
Oil for the pan
(if you've got too much oil in the pan- pour excess into a heatproof pot and use it for following pancakes.)


They always suggest a pinch of salt too
I generally don't bother, but I put a shake of ground cinnamon or mixed spice in (you can't really taste it- it just adds a yummy edge and takes away the floury taste)


Also the oil in the batter helps to stop it sticking- trick from Clare Miller's pancake recipe. But olive oil doesn't work that well- it made the pancakes stick to the pan more.


1 egg batter will feed 1 (v. hungry), 2 or 3 people,
2 egg batter will feed a lot more (average batch)
3 egg batter is a good starting point for pancake parties with lots of people or making pancakes with my youth groups.


When working with young people:
Supervision and risk assessment are important, and for safety and sanity, limit numbers in the kitchen at a time. Otherwise they crowd around, it is chaotic and not safe! (2-3yp at a time works well)
Let them do as much as you can- Particularly flipping and eating them and bring different toppings- fruit is particularly good. Have fun! 
n.b. Get yourself on a food safety course (basic food hygiene) too if you haven't done one already!


To cook:
you might already know this...
...if you so, try a small batch using 'jug and chopstick' method below


Now sift dry ingredients; flour, (salt), spice
unless you're being lazy or making them on a windy hilltop (or bring extra flour).
Make a well for the egg(s) and break it in
Beat egg in middle SLOWLY bringing in flour from edges
Slowly add milk, keep stirring, get it smooth before you add more unless you have a super efficient whisking device
Look for consistency- feel free not to add every last drop of milk, or to add a bit more to make it right.
Add a small splodge of oil to the mixture, stir in,
leave it to sit a bit..


then good pan, dash of oil,
Get the pan hot, pour in the mixture and move it around the pan quickly to get nice round and not too thick pancake, unless the batter is fairly thick.
You have to be quick as it should set fairly quickly.
When it's time to flip it, make sure top has set- definitely no runny bits before shaking it to get it free from the pan (if you have to use tools then do but i challenge you to do without if you can) then flip!
If it's not set properly, it's more likely to end in a crumpled heap and stick to itself.


You may need to adjust the heat through the cooking process. Follow your instinct, generally, start high then bring it down to medium high setting. Based on an average middle of the range hob.


Then your choice, lemon and sugar, lime for an extra twist, maple syrup, icecream, yoghurt, soft fruit e.g. strawberries/ raspberries/ blueberries (if they've started to turn, cook them up and mix in a squeeze of honey at the end :-P yum)...


or maybe savoury edge, pancakes with bacon, egg and maple syrup- lovely! Or throw some tuna and sweetcorn into/on to the batter as it cooks...


Jug and Chopstick Method:


If making it for one or two people as a super speedy thing late at night, use a small measuring jug as bowl and to measure and a chopstick to mix. I don't tend to sift the flour for this method- which is also helpful for outdoor/ windy hilltop pancakes. (Although you might struggle to get the pan hot enough if you really are on a windy hilltop!) It's possible to get the batter really smooth (the chopstick can get into all the edges), mix really well and add ingredients slowly.
Then you can pour it into the pan and get cooking.


I haven't tried making camp pancakes for about 15 years-I was only 12 years old but they always used to go wrong, the magic is in the right pan and the right heat.


Jug and chopstick= less time, less fuss, less drips, less washing up. (Generally!) and easy to put jug in fridge to make more later/ in the morning.


How did you get on? Have you made/ attempted to make pancakes outdoors or using candles, camp stoves or a woodfire? What are your favourite toppings? What do you ponder while you make/eat pancakes? Have you made pancakes with your youth groups/ family/ friends/ cub pack/ scout troop etc?