Friendship Bread

10 days before baking!

Have you guys heard about Friendship Bread? Amish Friendship Bread to be exact. Last week I was invited to go to my friends’ house and before that we went out together to the Nature Market at one of the interesting park in Lincoln. We went with another my close friends (Malaysians). She told me that she wanna to show me how to prepare a Friendship Bread. Well, initially I was really though that she was making a joke on me. Then I realized that, she mean it. Where it comes from? One of her close friend gave it to her 10 days ago and there is something really interesting in the steps of making this bread. 10 days ago? Can we still make that bread? Does it harmless to us? Pretty nasty questions! And on that day, the yeast was already matured, from the 1st day it was prepared. On the other hand, she’s keen to make her own bread with hers own recipe and I'm one of hers follower.

Later on, she showed me a pack of yeast, not in a normal way though. She opens the yeast and pour in the large plastic bowl. Then mixed with some sugar and also just little bit of water. I was the one that helped her to do stir thing…. EASY! Hahhaha. Not expert enough to mix the entire ingredients. Still fussy to me…I guess, nothing special in the ingredient, as I always saw when my mom prepares for the kuih raya. I bet, this bread is much simpler than that. The yeast was kinda already mixed with flour and another ingredient but the main thing here is the yeast; to make bread. Then, after adding the sugar into the original yeast, she separates the initial ingredient into three different zip-tag bags. After several steps, the ingredient was full of an entire needed ingredient and it’s just ready to bake in the oven for 45minutes - 1hr.

She started to write down the date and gave one portion to me… What should I do? Let see next 10 days after this… huhu I need to refer to the recipe either. Hopefully it not turn to “lempeng” Fuisshhhh..

No Steel or refrigerator!

Its kinda eccentric for me when she told me “While preparing the bread, do not use any steel spoon or any bowl made from steel, even do not keep the yeast in the fridge” Why? I have no idea behind that. May be like Malay culture called ‘pantang larang’. No basic sciences behind that. The Amish Friendship Bread was traditionally from the Amish group. Who they are? Normally, Amish people tend to make their own bread, and when they start making bread, they will give the balance sample (another portion of yeast) to another friend, as one way of the friendship bones. And your friend can makes their own and again pass it along their close friend. That was the basic chains for the Amish Friendship Bread. Sound very interesting to me. BUT… here I am pretty sure that it’s not comes from Amish people (No Amish people in NE!). It has been made by another person... and I am still wonder of the content of it! Huhu So I did some reading on that. It’s HALAL, (baca Basmallah banyak2)

Below is the recipe that probably we can do on our own. Let’s create our own version. If I want to make my own way, maybe I can start to call it as Nebraska Friendship Bread. Who knows it can reach not only in other part of USA, but also until to Belgium or UK, even Malaysia though… Cheersss

About the Amish people, who really are they? This people avoid the direct confrontation to the people, avoid use the latest technology, do not used any car, (use only the horse drawn “kereta kuda”) and a lot of information we can read here… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish

The Recipe

Important Note: Don't use metal spoons or equipment. Do not refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic or plastic bowls or containers.

Required Main Ingredient
1 cup live yeast starter


Day 1:
Do nothing with the starter.
Days 2-5:
Stir with a wooden spoon.
Day 6:
Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden spoon.
Days 7-9:
Stir with a wooden spoon.
Day 10:
Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends. To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Fall In love!

Texas Texas Texas

Had a little cough and fever! What a bad day for me in Texas last week. That’s probably the most challenging for me. Really serious cough! And I am just stay in the hotel room for the whole morning without any medicine until late afternoon and I had a couple spoons of cough relief; kinda syrup! My head was headache enough, spinning little bit but and also headache with the new geophysics term and all new stuff shown in the conference as well as in exhibitions. New tech and very very new for me…. Aaarrrgggh… You are such a lucky student dude! Its TRUE when I got a lot of comments from the others about the improvement ideas for my MSc project and the most important is I am going to dwell deeper for my project.

Hell’s half acre!

I went out on the third day of the conferece after I do not understand what they talking about. Its out of my field, actually! Good reason huh! huhu Fort Worth is the classic cowboy’s town in Texas and it’s not far away from Dallas, about 45 minutes driving. Nevertheless, time and health condition were limited me to go to Dallas.

Talking about the history, in 1876, Fort Worth use to be famous place for the hundreds of cowboys, buffalo hunters, and railroad workers, freighters eager to wash off the trail dust and enjoy the environment. The illegal activities here were tolerated by city officials because of their importance to the town’s economy. (What the freaking statement here hahaha) For certain extend, this town become famous and growth the famous reputation as a rowdy frontier town! Its how this town known as Hell’s half acre, indeed, in 1906, the news paper headlines calls this town as Den of Sin; had a lot of criminal issues and periodic to clean up this town with the army. Don’t mess with Texas is the famous verb for the people here! Their culture almost same likes the old American and the people here are very polite. Almost all the building here shows the old Latin characteristics and its create beutiful view of the town.

Converted Muslims in the USA.Texas

Why Texas? huhu just fever about Texas... still! To be honest... I fall in love with Texas hahahah
Here I found interesting video clips in utube. Enjoy watching....

Iftitah

"Katakanlah: Sesungguhnya solatku, ibadahku, hidup dan matiku hanyalah untuk Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.” (Al-An’am : 162)

Hampir tak sedar, kita membaca paling kurang 5 kali sehari ayat and doa ini dalam kehidupan seharian kita. Doa Iftitah (pembukaan) ini terdapat di dalam beberapa riwayat hadith dan terdapat hikmahnya, mengapa Allah menyuruh kita membaca setiap kali sebagai pembukaan doa dalam solat kita.

Rupa-rupanya, Allah mahukan kita mengabdikan diri kita padaNya pada seluruh aspek kehidupan kita. Alhamdulilah, aku juga kembali insaf selepas melepasi pelbagai masaalah hidup di bumi orang. Masaalah belajar adalah perkara biasa. Masaalah dengan orang lain juga biasa. Masaalah dengan persekitaraan juga lumrah. Yang tidak biasa adalah masaalah dengan hati manusia!. Namun Allah menyelamatkan aku dari perasaan putus asa, kekecewaan dan penyakit hati. Alhamdulillah... segala puji bagiNya.

Should Israel Exist?

I just got this email and its interesting though. PLEASE READ IT and watch this movie!

Dear brothers and sisters,

FOX's Neil Cavuto asks whether Israel should exist and Rabbi Yisroel Weiss from Jews United Against Zionism tells Cavuto, and the world, how badly the state of Israel has f*cked things up for EVERYONE - both Jews and non-Jews.

Rabbi Weiss: This is the view that was shared throughout the past hundred years, when the whole movement of Zionism was created, the concept ? the ideology ? of transforming Judaism from spirituality, a religion, into materialism a nationalistic goal to have a piece of land, all the rabbinical authorities said this is antithetical with what Judaism is all about ? expressly forbidden by the Torah because we are in exile by God.

Cavuto: So, you shouldn?t have a state? You shouldn?t have a country? You shouldn?t have a government?

We shouldn?t have a state. We should be living amongst all the nations as the Jews were doing for two thousand years as loyal citizens, people who are serving God, emulating God with compassion . . .

Contrary to what people believe, that it?s a religious conflict, we have been living for hundreds of years among Muslims and Arab communities without any UN human rights groups to watch?

Cavuto: Let me ask you this, Rabbi, was life better for the Jews prior to the creation of the Jewish state of Israel?

Weiss: 100%. In Palestine, we have the testimony of the Jewish community living there and other lands that they were living in harmony and they pleaded with the United Nations, in the documents we have, the chief Rabbi of Jerusalem said we do not want a Jewish state. The Muslim, Christian and Jewish inhabitants were ignored with the creation of the State . . .

Cavuto: Neverthless, you might not have had a country per se, but you were not a stranger to being abused or slaughtered over the millennia, particularly as recently as fifty sixty years ago?

Weiss: There is an issue of being killed because of anti-semitism, and then there?s another issue where you antagonize and you create your anti-semitism through Zionism . . . in other words, it?s not a free for all ? you knock out your neighbors windows and yell anti-semitism.

Cavuto: I know you are an orthodox Jew, what do traditional Jews think of that position?

Weiss: [The mainstream Jewish view] is that, true, we shouldn?t be having a state, but once it?s created the Zionist propaganda that the Arabs want to throw every Jew into the ocean and there?s a ingrained hate against the Jews, which they?ve convinced many Jews to believe, this is why they?re fearful of returning the land . . .

Cavuto: Well you can?t blame them, right, I mean you have the president of Iran who says the Holocaust never existed and if he had his druthers he?d destroy Israel and all the Jews.

Weiss: That?s also patently false. He has a Jewish community in Iran and they haven?t murdered them when they had the opportunity to . . .

Cavuto: So, you don?t take him at his word that he would try to kill Jews?

Weiss: He would [want] the dismantling of the political state of Israel. In fact, we went, a whole group of Rabbis this last year to visit Iran, and we were taken up by the leaders, we met with the vice president, he [Ahmedinejad] was in Venezuela at the time, we met with religious leaders, all of them stated unequivocally that don?t have a conflict with [Jews]

Cavuto: So as long as Israel exists, Rabbi, you think ? just itching for trouble

Weiss: Jews are suffering, Palestinians and Lea are suffering . . . we pray for the speedy and peaceful dismantlment of the Jewish state.

Cavuto: It?s interesting Rabbi, you don?t hear that view often.

ps cavuto really sounded uncomfortable.

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/launch...0Launch%20Page