Main navigation

Chocolate Granola Bark

Chocolate Granola Bark

Earlier this week a small group of ladies from our iZōsh group met together to watch and discuss a portion of the Half the Sky documentary.  I’d already seen most of the documentary, but I learn so much from being with these other women, and watching parts of it again reminded me of a world that’s so far away from my own.  It makes my heart heavy, but I also find it keeps me grounded and helps me shape a better perspective on life.   “Chocolate and Chat” was the title of our evening and each of us brought a fair-trade chocolate bar to share.  Our collection was impressive.  I do try to buy fair-trade whenever I can because it empowers small farmers and artisans to improve their own livelihoods by building sustainable businesses; it also connects us with other cultures and gives us the opportunity to directly support their economies.  And goodness, there are so many great varieties of high-quality fair-trade chocolate out there.

[Read more…] about Chocolate Granola Bark

Continue Reading

Almond Biscotti Christmas Tree

Almond Biscotti Christmas Tree

My idea of a perfect winter evening would be to simply stay at home with Ryan, quietly sit, talk, and read together by a crackly fire, with hot mugs of cocoa, and a heaping plate of biscotti.  Make it a biscotti tree and it would be even better.  Then of course this biscotti tree seems much too large for just two, so perhaps it would make a better holiday centerpiece or party dessert.  Whatever the occasion, biscotti trees are so much fun to make and eat and I hope you will find some excuse to give this a try.  Although I would love to take all of the credit, the idea comes from this site that I came across a few years ago.  I’ve modified the dimensions a bit and changed the recipe, but the concept is the same.

[Read more…] about Almond Biscotti Christmas Tree

Continue Reading

Dark Chocolate Chunk Spelt Cookies and iZōsh

Chocolate Chunk Spelt Cookies with Hazelnuts and Cherries

Twice a year our church hosts a gathering of women who come from differing backgrounds and ages, but all have one goal in common- to empower women in extreme poverty through the gifting of micro loans.  Formed out of a motivation to live and serve in a way that reflects Christ’s love, this group is called iZōsh:

“iZōsh is a group of women dedicated to the economic empowerment of women globally who are living in extreme poverty. By giving micro loans to these women we help them to lift themselves out of extreme poverty and reduce the risk of oppression and exploitation in their lives .  Our vision is: To seek first to understand and to not judge; to prayerfully pool our resources to invest globally in women living in extreme poverty, regardless of their faith or beliefs; to honor the dignity of each woman by empowering her through sustainable personal economic development; to invite and welcome other women, regardless of their faith or beliefs, whose goals align with our mission to learn about women’s issues in extreme poverty and then to empower the women living in extreme poverty to transform their lives through entrepreneurial activities“.

-iZōsh mission and vision statement

[Read more…] about Dark Chocolate Chunk Spelt Cookies and iZōsh

Continue Reading