Three Breads for the Story of Ruth

Barley Bread
We will be doing Ruth in June, and in searching for a barley recipe that I thought the kids would actually eat  and one that could be done in the amount of time we have,

I read that barley flour can usually be substituted for all purpose flour in most recipes. It is not as "heavy" as wheat flour. As a test, I made the standard "baking powder biscuit" recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and instead of using 2 cups of all purpose flour, I used 1 cup and also 1 cup of barley flour (recipe below). This type of biscuit is a bit on the dry side, so I plan to serve with honey. I plan to give each child a piece to knead, hence my adaptions noted in the recipe.

I also bought a bag of pearled barley that I plan on letting them run their hands through so they can see what the grain looks like.

Barley Biscuits

1 cup barley flour (adaption)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1/3 cup shortening
¾ cup milk

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening till crumbly.

Make a well and add milk to well all at once.

Stir quickly with fork just till dough follows fork around bowl. Dough should be soft.

ADAPTION: Divide into 10 pieces, golf ball size. Give each child one piece.

Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead 10-12 strokes. Pat dough to ½ inch thick.

Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 450 for about 12 minutes.

Unleavened Bread

We spent last summer with Moses, from birth through 10 commandments. On the last Sunday we focused on the Lord's Supper and showed it's connection to the Passover reenactment we previously did. We made and ate flat bread. Also made extra which we then served the following Sunday for communion both at our church and to those of us who went to family camp that same weekend (a neat connection piece). Here's that recipe -- I don't know the original source because it was passed along to me:

Unleavened Bread

5/8 c. white flour
3/4 c. wheat flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 C and 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 C. honey
1/4 C and 1 Tbsp. hot water

Combine dry ingredients, then add oil, honey and water.

Roll out dough on a cookie sheet to about an 8" x 12" piece. (The flatter the piece, the flatter the bread)

Use knife to score dough into square pieces about 1" x 1". Do not cut completely through the dough.

Bake at 350 deg. until there are no more dark (wet) areas visible and edges are slightly brown, approx. 5-10 minutes.

Let sit and cool enough to handle and remove from pan.

The honey gives the bread a little sweetness, and our kids really liked it.

Hope this helps anyone who's wading through dough!

DISCUSSION DURING BAKING TIME:
A CONVERSATION ABOUT KINSMAN REDEEMER:

Say: Do you have photo albums at home? The pictures remind us of people. They aren’t the actual people, but they’re reminders of what they’re like. The book of Ruth is like a photo album of - Jesus - not really him but a picture of the One who would come to redeem us!

Ask: Have you ever heard Jesus called the Redeemer?

Let’s talk about the word redeem -- do you know what it means? [Redeem means buy back, ransom, reclaim.]
Who was the Redeemer in the story of Ruth? [Boaz]
Why? [He married Ruth and gave her a home, he saved her from a bad life.]

Let’s look at a comparison of the story of Ruth and Jesus. I’ll read the things Boaz did and you try to think of a comparison of what Jesus did for us [read each in a back and forth format]:

Ruth washed and perfumed herself in preparation to meet her Redeemer. What’s the comparison to Jesus? [We are washed in Jesus’ blood and we are to be a sweet fragrant offering for him.]

Ruth told Boaz she would be his servant. [Us: Jesus wants us to be servants for him.]

Boaz: went to the city gates and he interceded on behalf of Ruth He bought and paid for her redemption. [Jesus: Our Savior left heaven. He bought and paid for our redemption. Daily he intercedes in our behalf before the throne of God.]

Boaz told Ruth to not be afraid, that he would take care of her. [Jesus tells us to not be afraid because he takes care of us.]

In order for Boaz to marry Ruth he had to overcome obstacles in his way [Jesus overcame all obstacles, even death, to be our Redeemer.]

Ruth was a foreigner, yet Boaz accepted her. [We were lost but Jesus found us and adopted us into his family.]

Boaz and Ruth were soon blessed with a child. That child would redeem Naomi from her status as the poor widow left alone. [Later in that same family lineage another Child would be born. This Child would come to redeem as many as would received him. ]

A reply provided by Jan Hanson from First Presbyterian Church Napa, CA, USA

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Make a Millstone- Kids grind Barley

I made a millstone that the kids tried to grind barley with. You could not use this ground barley in a recipe as it has alot of the "millstone" ground up in it, too, but they could try it for awhile to see how hard it was to grind flour, then go on and use already ground stuff for the cooking part.

I found this in one of those "Life in Bible Times" books from Educational Ministries.

• Take 2 round patio blocks.
• Using a large masonry bit and an electric drill, drill a hole through the center of both.
• Then on one (which will be the top one) drill 2 holes part way through the block, across from one another.
• Put that one on top of the other.
• Put a dowel stick through the 2 center holes to hold them together, and put short dowels in the other holes-these are the handles to turn the top stone.
• Put the barley between the 2 stones, place the top one on, and grind by holding the 2 "handles" and turning. A lot of work!

Luanne Payne's modifications:

• we borrowed ours from another church and a gentleman in their congregation made it.
• It appears they used 2 Red Concrete Round Patio Stones (approx. 12" diameter).
• the bottom stone the dowel was permanently placed in center of stone.  The dowel was thick.
• the top stone had a hole in it's center, and you lowered onto the bottom stone going over the center dowel (you saw approx. an inch of the dowel showing above the top stone).
• the top stone also had a dowel permanently inserted close to the edge and was tall enough the kids could grip it well in one hand to turn it.
• worked really well!
• Only thing I'd do different next time is have it sitting on a dark fabric so when we separated the two stones and swept off the ground grain we could see it better, what little they got for all their effort (rather than on the light carpet).

Note from the Editor:

This lesson has the students baking an "act of kindness" which imitates Naomi and Ruth's spirit.  You can use the lesson "as is" making animal treats, or change the recipe to make cookies for a local homeless shelter.

Prior to using this lesson, contact your local Dog Rescue center and ask them if your class can make them "dog treats."  Share your recipe and goal. Your second activity will be to hear the story of Ruth, which is a story about a rich man helping to take care of a poor foreign widow.

You’ll read the story while the treats are baking.

Alternately, you can bake cookies for a local homeless shelter. (Recipe not include in this lesson.)

Ruth

Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

In this class, children will hear the story of Ruth from a storybook and then will make dog treats to give to a local animal shelter.

Supplies List:

• Baking sheets
• Paper plates
• bowls
• spoons
• spatulas
• corn oil
• peanut butter
• whole wheat flour
• white flour
• water
• measuring cups and spoons

Leader Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 350º by the beginning of Sunday School Opening so it will be hot in time for your baking.
• Locate the baking sheets, mixing bowls and paper plates, and spoons. 
• Gather the ingredients. 
• Read the book of Ruth

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Welcome the children and ask them to sit down. The children have just prayed in Opening, but you are welcome to lead them in a prayer yourself.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Cooking Activity:
1. Vary your discussion depending on whether it is the first week or a subsequent week of the rotation. On the first Sunday, you’ll need to give more information. On subsequent Sundays, you can ask the children to review the story of Ruth. 

2. Ask the children whom we should be helping in our time. Answers will vary: poor people, people in wars, people who are sick, animals that are sick or homeless.

3. Explain that today you will be doing two things. First, you will be making dog treats to give to the dogs at a local animal shelter. Talk to the children about why dogs are in the shelter in the first place. Some of the children may have adopted a dog or cat from a shelter and you can discuss that. 

4. Ask why it is important to help animals (they are God’s creatures just as we are, they are defenseless against humans, we are supposed to care for creation, animals are hungry and need food.)

5. Explain that your second activity will be to hear the story of Ruth, which is a story about a rich man helping to take care of a poor foreign widow. Explain that you’ll read the story while the treats are baking.

6. Make a double recipe from the recipe below and ask the children to help add the different ingredients. Give everyone a chance to help mix the ingredients.

7. Give each child some of the dough on a paper plate. Children should make several dog treats from their dough. They can mold the dough into different shapes: balls, flat, bone shaped, etc.

8. Bake the treats while you read the story to the children.

Peanut Butter Treats
2 tablespoons corn oil 
½ cup peanut butter 
1 cup water 
1 cup whole wheat flour 
2 cups white flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oil, peanut butter and water. Add Flour 1 cup at a time, then knead into firm dough. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut with small bone shaped cookie cutter. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Makes 2½ dozen.

Recipe from The Doggy Bone Cookbook, Second Edition, by Michelle Bledsoe, illustrated by Kelly Schaefer and James Walton. (Come and Get It Publishing, 2004).

Recipe first found on the website “Linus and Lucy’s Playground.”  (link removed as site appears to be discontinued)

The story:
1. While your treats are baking, first show the children where the story of Ruth is found in the Bible. (If it’s the second or a subsequent week, you can ask the children if they can show you where the story is found in the Bible.) Read the story of Ruth from the book Ruth and Naomi, written and illustrated by Jean Marzollo (New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2005.)

2. Especially during the first week, it will be important to explain some of the concepts that the children should be listening for as you tell them the story. You can do this at first, or during stopping points during the story, or at the end.

• Explain why Elimelech and his family needed to go to Moab at first.
• Explain why Naomi felt she needed to return to Israel.
• Explain why it’s such a big deal for Ruth to stay with Naomi.
• Explain the concept of “gleaning”—what it means and why it was commanded.
• Talk about the concept of caring for the outcast and the poor and the foreigner.

3. Answer any questions the children have.

4. Make sure that the children understand the connection between your activity and the story of Ruth: Boaz helped Ruth by letting her gather leftover grain in his field even though she was poor and a foreigner. She was hungry and needed help and he helped her, just as God wanted. We are helping animals that are hungry and maybe sick and need homes, just as Boaz helped Ruth and Naomi.

5. Talk about the similarity between God’s Covenant with us and Ruth’s covenant with Naomi. Can we see God keeping His promises in the story of Ruth?

Closing:

1. Take the treats out of the oven and let them cool. 

2. Ask the children to help you clean up.

3. If time, for a follow-up discussion, brainstorm some other ways children could help others: animals, friends, and even those who aren’t friends. 

4. Feel free to bring in a snack to share with the children.

5. Close with prayer.

6. Ask the guide to return with the children to Fellowship Hall to meet their parents.

A lesson posted by rotation.org member Susanna

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

The following notes came from a Cooking Workshop brainstorming session by our Writing Team. The Writing Team's Cooking Workshop lesson can be found at https://www.rotation.org/topic...oaz-cooking-workshop. Their lesson walks through the story using different foods and tastes at various points in the storytelling and reflection.

Food Factors in the Story of Ruth

Grain is mentioned 5 times:
https://www.biblegateway.com/q...mp;begin=8&end=8

Bread 1 time, at a meal, with vinegar and roasted grain

Quite literally, bread in the House of Bread (Beth= house, lehem = bread)
Wine Vinegar?  The Hebrew doesn't use the word "wine" like the NIV does but vinegar was the result of wine that had turned sour. it was the "kho'-mets"  (literally: sour and red). It's pretty common to put both oil and vinegar on bread, so maybe there was olive oil involved too.

Ruth 2:14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.

Notice that she specifically doesn't sit with Boaz, which seems confirmation of his generous intention, and not an overt romantic invite.

There's a super-interesting article about "roasted grain" and the threshing floor at https://gastronomica.org/2011/...green-wheat-galilee/
The person who participated in the threshing and roasting describes the roasted grain as a sort of      She says that ripe wheat grains are inedible and that's why they need roasted, but I've eaten wheat grains straight from a combine and they are chewy and tasty on their own. Perhaps this was due to the variety of wheat or barley grown "back in the day."  "Green" wheat (early wheat) is considered more edible. Recall that Jesus and his disciples picked and ate wheat on the Sabbath.

Apparently roasting grain is part of the threshing floor process, maintaining fires and keeping the wheat moving, etc. (meaning Boaz probably wasn't getting much sleep when Ruth showed up).  Roasted grain was ground and used in soups! Who knew?

We use it in cereals. GRAPE NUTS CEREAL is a close approximation to roasted and coarse ground wheat grains. (No grapes in it, just wheat and barley).

Water is mentioned once:

PLEASANT:
Keep in mind that Naomi's name means "pleasant" so maybe a "pleasant taste" for her on the plate.

COMPANION, FRIEND:
Ruth's name in Hebrew comes from the word for "a female's close friend, companion."  For men the word was "Ray" or "ray-ah."     What food or taste would represent "companion" ???    How about an OREO  (bless be the creme filling that binds)