breaking bread on tuesdays

I have this friend, Ceesa, who I meet with for 'coffee' on every other'ish' Tuesday morning. It all began this Fall when both of our youngest entered Kindergarten. We were both sad and excited, anxious and elated, grounded and lost ......... all at the same time. Meeting bi-weekly for 'coffee' would give us an opportunity to catch up and compare notes since our boys happened to be placed in the same classroom.

Several 'coffee' dates have passed now and we have transformed from sipping coffee and chatting, to playing a few games on the Wii, to setting goals and asking one another to be our accountability partner.

Early on we chose to meet in each others home. Not only is it more comfortable, but it would also save the $4 tab on overpriced coffee drinks. Now we can have seconds and not worry about being indulgent ....... or, AS indulgent.

We may not solve the world's problems, but we are chipping away at a similar goal: to be a better 'Mom.' Neither of us wants to settle for being good enough; or just getting the job done. We want to be better than we think we can be. Not for the sake of striving for perfection or searching for accolades ..... no, no. Being better for the purpose of wanting to learn/do/make/be more so at the end of the day we have honored God.

Today, 'Coffee Tuesday', we took another step forward by stepping back to a time when women who stayed at home baked bread. Daily. As in every single morning they woke up and gathered the ingredients together to make a fresh loaf of bread for their family. Tweeking methods and altering ingredients for variety, but sticking to the same basic principle of a daily loaf of bread.

No bread machines or pre-packaged mixes for us. Nope. Just basic ingredients and moderate (sorry Ceesa) cooking skills. We also decided to make a double batch of soup to accompany our bread. We selected a minestrone soup from a Olive Garden cheater recipe found online. Ceesa ran to the grocery store while I killed the first batch of yeast ......... well sort of. I called a resident bread baking expert and followed her advice of warming it up in the oven. Tada! The yeast has been revived! Oh well. Trial and error? Practice makes perfect?

All I know is my kitchen smells delicious, dinner is done and I still had plenty time for 'coffee' with Ceesa. Who knows where this will all go; although we have plans to make a different bread every time we meet. By the end of the year we should be baking and breaking bread with the best of the bakers.

Our hearts full, families fed and soul nourished. Who knew 'coffee' could provide so much?

POTD: Rolls, Bread and Minestrone