SortaCrunchy

Lay It Down: Can You Be Fully Present This Holiday Season?

photo by Conor Lawless

When I wrote this in my mind, I was a little fired up. 

The first draft of these words were grace-less and judgmental, harsh and arrogant.  Thankfully for you (and for me), I've slept on it a bit.  I'm praying as I write that you will receive this with the spirit in which it is intended: a gentle challenge, a loving invitation.

Thanksgiving last weekend was the first family gathering in which the majority of the adults present had a smart phone of some kind.  My electronic drug of choice is the computer, and I know enough about my abuse of screen time to know that having a phone that does anything more than make and receive calls and send and receive text messages would be an unhealthy choice for me.  

So while I was detoxing from computer time on our trip away, I had a heightened clarity about the use of phones all around me.  And yes, on more than one occasion, I was so thankful for phones with GPS that navigated our way through the twisty, hilly roads of Branson.  I also laughed and laughed when not once, but twice, Kyle's iPhone GPS led us to a sketchy apartment complex rather than the Wal-Mart we were promised.

We have so much in those devices - tethers to life spinning in our spheres while we are "away"; recipes not lodged in cookbooks tucked away on shelves but right there in our palms available only seconds after we think of them; announcements of pregnancies and births and engagements and, yes, of passing; encyclopedias instantly answering the most trivial of trivia questions; all we could want and more.

They add so much.  But can't we see that they take so much with them?

Games meant for only one player replace families gathered around boards and pieces and cards and eye contact.

Checking Facebook one more time means missing the chance to check to see if anyone needs anything from the kitchen.

Continuing a conversation via texting means darting in and out of a conversation face-to-face.

I think most adults still have the social grace and common courtesy to hide away the phones during meals and the more formal aspects of holiday events.  It's what we do with our down time that speaks volumes about how engaged we are with those around us.  I'm reminded of my very favorite line from the movie Up when Russell says, "That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most."  Who among us doesn't recognize that truth from our childhoods?

Anyone up for joining me in a challenge?

What would it look like if we put down, closed down, shut off, and put away the screens during this season?  What if at your next family gathering you:

• made faces at and played peek-a-boo with a baby
• took a toddler for a walk outside
• colored pictures with the younger kids
• taught the older kids how to play M.A.S.H.
• offered to do the dishes
• offered to take out the trash
• asked a relative to tell you a story
• listened to that relative who just needs to talk

How long do you think you could go?  An entire weekend?  One whole day?  Half a day?  A few hours?

I know I'm far from the only voice speaking on behalf of the iPhone-less.  I'm also no luddite (obviously), and I fully realize that technology is good and useful and, in many ways, necessary.  So I hope you're hearing my heart on this. 

My invitation to you is to immerse yourself in the season.  Train your eyes, your heart, and your mind on the moment as it unfolds.  Perhaps your mind will resist it at first; aren't we all so conditioned to fill up the blanks spaces with something? 

As you slip back into the familiar rhythms of years long gone, I bet you'll remember that being fully present is a gift not only to others, but also to yourself.  You'll pack full a spot in your brain that overflows with every detail, every nuance, every rich color and delectable smell and musical note of laughter and pause in conversation and gleam in the eyes of those around you.

All that is the best and good of time with family and friends at end-of-the-year gatherings is wrapped up and waiting for you to open, but it's hard to open anything using only one hand.  So are you picking up what I'm laying down?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

 

Advent Sale on Herbal Nurturing

Really quickly, friends.

JUST got word from Michele at Frugal Granola that she is offering a quick sale on Herbal Nurturing.  So many of you are taking advantage of the Cyber Monday sale on Healthy Snacks To Go that I posted about this morning that I figured you might like to hear about this, too.

You can read my rave review for Herbal Nurturing here.

November 29th and 30th ONLY use code ADVENT40 to get 40% off of Herbal Nurturing, bringing the price of this wonderful resource down to only $5.37 per copy.

Additionally, Michele is closing out her handmade shop, so this would be a great day to shop her sweet little store!

Are you finding any other great Cyber Monday deals?

oh, just all kinds of other things

I feel like I am living in the et cetera right now. 

Our family joined my parents, siblings, niece, and a family friend for a Thanksgiving in Branson.  Good times all around.  We even got to eat Thanksgiving Dinner with Neal McCoy!  (Okay, so when I say "with," I mean he was at a table catty-corner from us at Texas Land and Cattle Company.  Close enough to sneak sideways glances at while acting completely nonchalant.)

The best, best part was being completely away from computer screens for half a week.  Of course, this puts me several paces behind.  I am scurrying to catch up, but the rest was much-needed and thoroughly enjoyed.

So, here are some things:

1) Yesterday, Ann Voskamp released her e-book on creating a Jesse Tree complete with Advent Devotions.  It's free!  (All you have to do is subscribe if you aren't already a subscriber.)  I've already printed ours out and will be using it to create our family's Jesse Tree this year.

2) All week long, the Simple Living Media family is celebrating with TONS of giveaways!  I'm pretty sure that it would be a conflict of interest if I were to enter and win (sob), but I do hope you'll get in on the fun! 

3)  Speaking of SLM, I forgot to mention that my column on Thoughtful Teacher's Gifts (with a Natural Twist) ran last week at Simple Organic.  Lots of good feedback in the comments from both parents and teachers!

4) I have absolutely adored Sasha since Bid Day at the Chi O house my freshman year.  Her blog - Sasha Says - is so much fun and so helpful!  She keeps a watchful eye on Amazon and is constantly sharing her GDAs (Good Deal Alerts).  If you love to snag Amazon deals this time of year, I highly recommend following Sasha!

5) TODAY ONLY!  If you haven't yet purchased Kitchen Stewardship's Healthy Snacks To Go e-book yet (why not?!?!?!), today is the day to do so!  Katie has them on sale for only $4 for the first 100 books sold today.  USE CODE CYBERMONDAY  (deal expires at 6 PM MST TODAY) Y'all, I am not kidding you.  My copy of this is already dog-eared and splattered and in rough shape because I use it all. the. time. 

6) If you are buying handmade this year, I hope you are reading The Lovely Guide.  As I wrote in one of my comments there, The Lovely Guide is like art + art.  The team of lovely ladies over there swims through the incredible at Etsy (and other purveyors of handmade) and surfaces with all kinds of glorious treasure.  The write-ups they create to feature each shop are a little bit breathtaking.  It's like nothing I've ever seen. (the write-up on creole sha might be my favorite yet.  i mean, they worked in a quote from The Princess Bride.  The book, y'all.  The Princess Bride book.)

Even if you aren't necessarily all about buying handmade, I think you'll enjoy it.  Especially if you just enjoy loveliness in all of its manifestations.  Go. Go now.  Dig in.

7) Finally, this is the second year that Seth and Amber Haines will be inviting us all to Christmas Change.   On Wednesday, December 1st, they will host a big link-up at the Christmas Change blog so that we can all share what "a season of change, a life of return" means in our hearts, homes, and families this Christmas season.  I'll be joining in, and I hope you will, too.

Thanks for joining me on this adventure in miscellany! 

How was YOUR Thanksgiving?

 

 

 

Verily

I went to the grocery store this morning.  There was a definite calm-before-the-storm vibe happening.  It reminded me of something I wrote back in November 2007, when I was foolish enough to make a trip to the grocery on the day before Thanksgiving.  It still makes me giggle three years later, so I thought in honor of Thanksgiving Week that I might re-run it for you today:

* * * * *

Woe, woe unto thee, foolish woman! For thou hast committed a grievous error. In thy foolishness, thou hast chosen to gather food for thine household on a day of wrath and pestilence in the market of thine city.

Dost thou not know?

Hast thou not heard?

The Lord spake unto thee a command, “Do not enter into the marketplace of the city on the day preceding the feast of Thanksgiving. To do so would be great folly. Travel to the marketplace earlier in the week and by doing so save yourself from great sorrow.”

But you, O woman, you have neglected the Lord’s command. And this shall be your punishment.

You shall find the marketplace to be in great chaos, just as it was prophesied unto you. In the aisles there will be cursing, gnashing of teeth, casting of evil glances, great and heavy sighs of aggravation, and the wailing of young children.

You shall find the aisle of spices and flour to be depleted; verily, you shall look for the cinnamon sticks but the cinnamon sticks shall not be found.

For the schools have released the schoolchildren and the wives have sent their husbands with their children to the market. But the children and the husbands do not keep the holy laws of the marketplace. They have no understanding of the teaching which says:

“Thou shalt not stand in one place reading labels whilst others need to pass by you, for doing so will cause the people to have great anger burning in their hearts against you. Verily, it would be better to cast your fatted calf to the dogs than to cause the flow of cart traffic to be obstructed and provoke the people to burn with indignation.”

Yes, because you have not honored the command to forsake the marketplace on the day before the feast of thanksgiving, your heart will be grieved and you will rend thine garments as you make your way on the path with the unrighteous.

And yet, O woman, after you have endured the trials and tribulations of the punishment set before you, the punishment for thy great and grievous error, you shall escape from your ordeal unharmed. And as thou loadeth the food for thine household into thine car, a new song will be in thine mouth.

A song of praise, for the Lord our God has been good to you.

Verily, I say unto thee, the Lord God, Jehovah Jireh - God our Provider - He hath provided for thee indeed.

photo by krystian_o

Sometimes

Sometimes when they want to help in the kitchen, I cringe.

Sometimes sugar hits the floor, ensuring crunchy steps and sticky feet unless mopping immediately follows.  Sometimes flour spills or too much vanilla or mixing beaters splatter. 

Sometimes I scold or irritated sigh or grit my teeth.  Sometimes I breathe in and suck all of the joy right out of the room.  Sometimes I narrow my eyes and wish I could have just done it without all the help.

Sometimes I'm alone in the kitchen, scrambling breakfast.  Sometimes the girls are playing happily together (a miracle, indeed), opposite end of the house.

Sometimes an egg, perfect and whole, slips from my fingers and smashes on the floor.

Sometimes

I need Your grace
to remind me
to find my own. *

A Radical-Inspired Reading List

image courtesy of SpecialKRB

In the past few months, I've had more than one friend tell me, "I'm going to be honest with you.  I'm not going to read Radical."  In the conversations that followed, we discussed how it can be really really scary/uncomfortable/unsettling to allow God the freedom to mess up your life. 

I mean, I know. 

You give God an inch of your heart, and (whether you want Him to or not) He's gonna take a mile.

After I read Radical, I was hungry for more.  I sought out some books with similar messages, and I wanted to share these for those of you who a) have also read Radical and are eager for more or b) have decided not to read Radical, but are mildly or very intrigued by the topic.

I have read or I am in the process of reading these books:

*Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith - Jen Hatmaker
This is the number one recommendation I have as either a follow-up to or an alternative for Radical.  While the tone and approach to Interrupted is totally different from Radical, the message is the same.  The Body of Christ in American has got to extricate itself from The American Dream. 

Jen writes with a blend of humor and piercing clarity about what happens when we allow God to interrupt our trajectory and meet Him at the bottom with the last, the least, and the lost.  The book details how she and her husband Brandon followed God's call for them to leave the American Dream in the Austin suburbs and move into the city itself where they have started Austin New Church.

If the far-reaching breadth of Radical was overwhelming to the point of paralysis, I think you'll find Interrupted to be much more accessible.  She puts a very practical face on what it means to love our neighbors and live out the gospel in community.

Really good stuff.

 *Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

Many, many Christ followers have found Crazy Love to be a motivating factor in grasping not only how much we are loved, but how we are to live in response to God's love.  A short, easy-to-read book that's perfect for reading alone or in a small group.

 *The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne

I love this book.  It's different from Radical, but the same.  Shane Claiborne invites the church in America to reimagine the way we live in response to the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He gives a little bit of background on his spiritual journey (that took him from being "born again" summer after summer at youth camp to the slums of Calcutta, serving alongside "Momma T"), but mostly he writes passionately of the incarnation of early church living that he and fellow ordinary radicals have taken up at The Simple Way.

Claiborne promotes solidarity with the poor and active resistance of factors that contribute to social injustice.  He challenges all we think we know about what it means to be a Christ follower in the twenty-first century:

It's a shame that a few conservative evangelicals have had a monopoly on the word conversion.  Some of us shiver at the word.  But conversion means to change, to alter, after which something looks different than it did before . . . We need converts in the best sense of the word, people who are marked by the renewing of their minds and imaginations, who no longer conform to the pattern that is destroying our world.  Otherwise, we have only believers, and believers are a dime-a-dozen nowadays.  What the world needs is people who believe so much in another world that they cannot help but begin enacting it now (149).

Even though David Platt leads a megachurch in the South and Shane Claiborne purposefully lives amongst the poor in inner city Philly, they are so on the same page.  Mostly about the idea of living radically. 

Books I WANT to read:

The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World by Richard Stearns (founder of World Vision) 

I've heard nothing but rave reviews on this one.  Can't wait to get my hands on it. 

When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett. 

Have only recently heard of this book, and it looks like exactly what I'm needing to read next.

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity by Ronald J. Sider

With its 2005 copyright, this one is practically a classic in new Church/new Christian readings.  A friend loaned this to me and while its length is a tad intimidating, I know it'll be fantastic.

VOICES TO ADD - READER SUGGESTIONS:

From Kimberly:
In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

from Christine:
True Religion: Taking Pieces of Heaven to Places of Hell on Earth by Palmer Chinchen

from Marla:
Justice in the Burbs: Being the Hands of Jesus Wherever You Live by Will and Lisa Samson
Mercy Rising: Simple Ways to Practice Justice and Compassion by Amber Robinson
Simple Compassion: Devotions to Make a Difference in Your Neighborhood and Your World by Keri Wyatt Kent

From Jennifer Jo:
The Upside-Down Kingdom by Donald A. Kraybill
Basic Trek: Venture into a World of Enough: The Original 28-Day Journey by Dave Shrock-Shenk
How God Got Christian into Trouble by Maia Wojciechowska

What would add to this list?  What have you read or what do you hope to read that echoes the message of Radical?  I would love to edit and update this reading list with YOUR suggestions.  Fire away in the comments!

The Radical Experiment - Final Chapter of David Platt's Radical

Oh, it is with such great sheepishness that I write this post.

One hundred million apologies to my precious friend Marla.  I've been so negligent in posting my Radical read along thoughts.  That's not to say I've stopped reading.  In fact, I have four drafted-but-never-published posts staring at me.  I just . . . Man.  I have struggled with putting words to the enormity of issues and feelings and actions that this book has meant to me.

But here we are.  Last chapter.  And really, a very tough but very inspiring chapter.  In the last chapter of Radical, David Platt encourages each of us to take on The Radical Experiment.

Here's the challenge:

Once you finish reading the book, commit to

1) Pray for the entire world.
2) Read through the entire Word.
3) Commit your life to multiplying community.
4) Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose.
5) Give your time in another context.

Pretty easy, right?

Right. 

No.

Here were some things I bumped up against as I considered the experiment:

1) Kyle hasn't read the book.  He has listened to some of the sermons, and he's not totally opposed to reading the book.  I think he eventually will read the book.  It's just hard to move forward with some of this when we aren't on the same page about things like, oh, finances.  Where can we sacrifice?  And for what cause?  So that's up for negotiation between us right now.

2) I've had to come face-to-face with my own laziness about reading the Word and praying for the world.  That's never a pretty picture staring back at me.

3) I've had to come face-to-face (again) with my selfishness re: my schedule, my time, my Mine.

And yet, honestly, it's good to get shaken up every now and again.  I've needed it.

I don't do well with loose boundaries.  Not at all.  The Radical Experiment gives me some specific parameters to work within.  Some guidance.  Some reminders.  Some structure that I so desperately need.

So, yes, Kyle and I are working through the sacrificial giving thing.  I am not going to allow that to be an excuse to skip over that part of the experiment.  We'll get something figured out, and if we can't, I'll figure out a way to raise some money that can be used for kingdom work somewhere.

The Radical Experiment web page has everything I need to read through the Word and pray for the world.  Awesome resource.

We do have something very exciting brewing that has to do with multiplying community.  I can't really talk about it yet.  Details to come.

And that leaves time in another context.  That's one that I feel like God is really pressing hard on me about right now.  I hope He keeps pressing me.  There's part of me that wants to whine and complain about the lack of mission opportunities available to me.  But that whiny complaining is all just an act so I can continue to ignore the very real ways I can spend my time in another context without leaving the city limits of this small town.

(Sidenote: If you haven't already, I so highly encourage you to read this article Are Short Term Mission Trips the Answer? at Sit a Spell.  Fantastic food for thought.)

I guess there's no better day to officially kick it off than today.  November 16th.  I'm starting my Radical Experiment today.

If you want to read more thoughts on responding to the action inspired by Radical, check out Marla's thoughts and others that have linked up today.  This may be the end of the read along, but I am confident it is far from the end of this discussion.  It's a revolution, y'all, and I am so thankful to be part of it.

25% OFF coupon code for Herbal Nurturing (and giveaway winners!)

Wow, y'all!  I am still working my way through the incredible comments on my holiday anxiety post.  Thank you, thank you for keeping me company in my stress out.

Here's some great news to lift spirits - Michele at Frugal Granola has shared a coupon code for Herbal Nurturing: A Family Healing and Learning Guide.  If you weren't one of the two lucky winners of the free copy of this comprehensive and amazing book, then from today until Saturday, November 13th, you can enter code CRUNCHY25 to receive 25% off of your purchase price!  Thank you, Michele!!

The two winners of the giveaway are

Marisa, who said, "I use a lot of herbs, but I haven't conquered headaches yet. I'd love to try her Headache and Migraine Soother!" and Katrina who said, "The calendula salve sounds perfect for my baby's bottom. I hope I win - thanks for sharing this!"  Congrats, mamas!

Seriously, if you are into using natural approaches to promote health and healing, I really cannot recommend this book highly enough.  It is an incredible learning guide!

 

Can We Talk About Holiday Anxiety?

It's upsetting because it never used to be this way.

The first Christmas commercial of the season used to make my tummy drop in that delicious up-the-roller-coaster way.  Silver bells and shopping bags and big box stores swathed in white-lighted swags of fake evergreens.  I poured over the Sears toy catalogue as a child and gleefully sang and danced in show choir Christmas shows as a teenager and wore out an Amy Grant's Home for Christmas CD when I was in college.  In our early married years, I started making gift lists in early September and often got all of my shopping finished before Halloween.

Probably the first Christmas after Dacey was born is when I noticed the holiday stretch was colored with a little more strain and a little less bliss.  Once we became parents, the stakes were higher for which side of the family we spent which holiday with . . . everyone wanted to see the baby.  You know how it is.  I honestly thought moving back home to Oklahoma would alleviate the holiday pressure somehow.  Less travel time meant more quality time as we caravanned from one part of the family to the other.

But as you all know, our move back home meant a career change for Kyle and that new career in the finance sector careened into a recession and we choked and sputtered as the financial strain sucked the air out of us.

All of this is to say when I saw my first Christmas commerical this year, my stomach dropped.  And not in a good way.  In a way that made me realize that I am struggling with some very real anxiety about the weeks to come.  And I know I'm not the only one.

As I wrote this, I couldn't help but to think about a song my dear friend Melissa wrote and recorded a few years ago.  It's not a holiday song; it's a song about hearing music from another room, and I guess that's kind of where I am right now.  I remember when Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years played out like beautiful music as one year danced into the next.  And all of that Joy to the World and All I Want for Christmas is You and Go Tell It On the Mountain . . . I love it still, it's just so muffled, right?  So easily drowned out by the incessant buzz of worry in my ears. 

I want to get back to that place of twinkling and joy and peace on earth.  I want to gently resist this anxiety.  I want to be fully in the coming weeks, truly experiencing the season as opposed to tight-lipped, head-down survival. 

I mean, bloglville is going to abound in posts and articles and tutorials for all that is happy and light about the holiday season.  I'm thankful for that, but is it okay if we stake out a corner where we can get really real?  Really really real?

Is there anyone who would join me in this?  Would you be willing to trust me with your worries and apprehension that are holiday-related?  Do you think maybe in the next few weeks, we could talk through some of this together?  The comments are open if you are willing to confide. 

 

Our Favorite Meal: Bierocks

It's deliciously fall here now.  How about where you are?

Autumn invites turning on the oven with reckless abandon, gleeful whirling in a warm kitchen while the late afternoon sky looks on in golden approval.  I've been reaching for comfort food these days, and I want to share you with my family's number one favorite meal: bierocks.

I had never had bierocks until I met my husband and was introduced to his mother's incredible, well-practiced, much-loved version of them.  Bierocks are simply a meat-filled pastry such as one might find in a variety of cultures.  It's my understanding that bierocks are popular in German communities,  and though I had never had them growing up (in my non-German family of origin), a lot of my friends who grew up in and around the Texas Hill Country - a part of the state heavily influenced by German settlers - know exactly what they are.

So here is the recipe I have kind of a mish-mashed from many sources.  It's not a traditionalist's bierock for two important reasons:

1) We don't typically include cabbage in ours.  Cabbage is definitely a pivotal aspect of the traditional bierock, but my husband and father-in-law don't like cabbage and so my mother-in-law has always left it out.  I do like cabbage and have tried it a few times in ours, and it's always received with wailing and lament from my husband and children.

2) I put cheese in ours.  Everything is better with cheese, ja?

So then, this is how we do bierocks:

DOUGH:

2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/4 c. sugar (I use turbinado sugar, but white sugar is fine, too)
1/4 cup coconut oil (or vegetable oil, or whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp. sea salt (again, whatever you have on hand)
2 eggs, beaten
4+ cups bread flour

FILLING

1/2 to 1 cup chopped onion
1 lb. ground meat (beef, turkey, pork)
1 TB olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
* If desired, 1/2 small head of cabbage, finely shredded

Shredded cheese (we like mozzarella, but cheddar is nice, too)

To prepare dough:

1. Dissolve both the sugar and yeast in the warm milk.  Turbinado sugar takes a bit longer to dissolve than refined sugar.  Set aside for a few minutes until it gets a little foamy.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, salt, and eggs.  (If you are using coconut oil, it's a good idea to let the eggs come to room temp first so the coconut oil doesn't flake out when mixed with cold eggs.) Pour in yeast mixture and beat with mixer.
3. Add one cup of flour and beat for one minute.  Beat in 1/2 c. of flour at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.
4. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you could switch to that now and continue to knead on low speed, adding flour until the dough is smooth and elastic.

I don't have a stand mixer, so I turn off the mixer and add in dough 1/2 cup at a time, kneading as I go until the dough is smooth and feels "full."  I usually knead for about 7 minutes or so and generally wind up using nearly all of 4 full cups of bread flour.

5. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

To prepare filling:

Heat oil and brown the onions and meat.  When meat is finished cooking, season with salt and pepper.  If you are adding cabbage, add in cabbage to meat mixture and cook until it is wilted.

To assemble bierocks:

1. Punch down dough and divide in half.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Take one half of the dough and roll out on to a well-floured surface.  Roll dough in a rectangle shape.  (I'm no good at specifics.  Maybe aim for an 8x11 rectangle?)
3. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into nine squares.
4. Spoon 1/8-1/4 cup of filling onto each square.  Sprinkle with cheese if desired.
5. Bring opposite corners of each square together and pinch to seal. This dough is very stretchy and very forgiving.  The main idea is that you want to enclose all of the filling with the dough, so pinch and poke and create a sturdy seam on the bottom.
6. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet.
7. Repeat process for other half of dough and remaining filling.
8. Now, most every recipe suggests covering the assembled bierocks and allowing them to rise for an additional 20 minutes.  I am going to be honest and tell you I never have time for this.  Mine go straight to the oven, but feel free to get that second rise in if you would like to.

Bake bierocks for about 15 minutes until lightly golden.  Watch them carefully near the end because they will brown up and scorch on the bottom very easily!  I sometimes cook mine on an upper rack in the oven to prevent bottom scorching.

Finally, when bierocks come out of the oven, slather on melted butter with a pastry brush.

We like to dip ours in yellow mustard.  Add a fresh green salad and you have a complete, yummy, hearty meal.

Wunderbar!

What are you cooking up on these early autumn evenings?  Feel free to share links in the comments below!