I am sick today. There seems to be a bug going around, and somehow, I caught it. I coughed all of yesterday – miserable, tight-chested, and painful. I slept for ages this morning, woke up and decided I needed some soup. But when I went to the kitchen, all I had was 3 onions … A very sad state of affairs, but I was planning on shopping today! And instead, I am sick!
So I decided to make a French Onion soup. This is not a fancy one, with toasted bread rubbed with garlic, and gruyere cheese. Its basic, simple, warming and deeply comforting. If you have cheese, grate some over your toast, but if you want to keep it vegan, dont add any cheese (or butter in the beginning) at all. It will still taste delicious, and reach all those cold miserable places.
This makes about 4 servings of soup. You could easily double it for a dinner party, and toast a baguette, and pile over some stringy gruyere. Broiled in the oven, its a decadent feast – but when youre sick, as I am today, its just too much effort. I toasted a really lovely dark brown slice of bread, placed it in the bottom of the bowl, and grated some parmesan and cheddar over – its what I had. I then ladled the soup over, and allowed the bread and cheese and hot oniony soup to meld and interact. Beautiful. Comforting.
4 cups of hot vegetable stock – I used 1 organic vegetable stock cube dissolved in 4 cups of boiling water
Peel the onions of their brown skin, and slice really fine. I used a mandolin for this job, and it was fast, easy and really exact. If you dont have one, use a sharp knife and try and get the onion slices as fine as possible.
Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, and warm the olive oil and butter (or just olive oil) until the butter has melted. Add all the onions, and stir to coat the onions with the oil/butter mixture. Turn heat down to medium low and saute the onions until well browned for at least 20 minutes or so. This is the ultimate trick to this soup – you need to be really patient with the onions. They need to cook and cook and cook until they are deeply brown because this is the basis of the flavour and strength of the soup.
They will let go of some liquid, this is fine, and then they will get glossy and soft. Keep at it. They will start to turn golden, stir a little and let cook further. You want a deep dark brown – teak or coffee with a touch of milk colour. If you prefer a lighter soup, obviously, you can let the onions go only to light golden, but you will miss the deep layered flavours that you would get if you keep your nerve and just keep cooking them. Without letting them burn!
And you dont have to stir all the time. The occasional stir is fine, whilst you make yourself a cup of tea, play with the cat or take some vitamins. Let the onions do their own job. Just keep the heat low and steady, and stir sometimes to make sure nothing is burning.
Once the onions are cooked to your liking, sprinkle over the flour and stir well. Cook for a few minutes to allow the flour to amalgamate with the onions and fat. This will ensure a creamy thick soup without a raw flour flavour.
Pour over hot vegetable stock, stir well, semi cover the pot and allow to simmer for about half an hour. Taste, add some pepper and a touch of salt.
Meanwhile, toast your bread till quite dark. Place in a soup bowl (you might have to shove it in there, this is fine), and grate some cheese over. Not too much as it can be overwhelming, but enough to add flavour and interest to the soup.
Ladle hot soup over the toast and cheese just to cover, and allow to sit for a minute so that the soup and toast and cheese get firmly acquainted.
Tags: bread, cheese, cooking, food, french onion, french onion soup, main, main course, onion, onions, recipe, recipes, soup, starter, vegan, vegetarian
I was expecting quite a few people tonight to watch the Brasil – Netherlands game (was that a surprise or what?!) and so decided to make a lasagne. But I didnt want to do one which was rich in tomato sauce (though I do have a wonderful sauce that has a secret ingredient… oh wait, I will leave that for another time!). I decided I wanted to do a lighter version of lasagne, so I thought of butternut (orange for the Dutch) and pesto (green for the Brasilians). Instead of a bechamel or thick cheese sauce, I decided to do a mix of ricotta, light cottage cheese and sour cream. Not traditional, I know, but it made the lasagne very edible especially when watching such a nailbiting game! It wasnt heavy or overwhelming, but really scrumptious and pleasurable.
This is really easy to make, especially if you do the pesto the day before. This is recommended anyway to ensure that the sauce deepens in flavour and complexity. The rest is a matter of mixing a few things together, and roasting the butternut, and it really can do that all by itself!
This recipe will fill a very large roasting pan – serving probably 10 – 12 hungry people (or 6 with double leftovers, which isnt half bad!)
Butternut is extraordinary. Its sweet and roasts, bakes, stews, steams and purees like a dream. It has a vibrant colour, and its just an amazingly beautiful texture and taste. You really dont have to do anything to it for it to taste good. Just let it be, and thank it for being. 🙂
Preheat oven to 180C. Peel, deseed and chop your butternuts roughly. Tumble the butternuts onto a cookie sheet in one layer. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, some seasoned salt if you have it (if not regular salt is fine), and white pepper. Using your hands, mix all well, and pop into the oven. This will roast very quickly – you probably dont need more than 20 – 30 minutes. You will know its done when the butternut starts to caramelise and brown on the edges, and its soft through. Gorgeous. Leave to cool while assembling the rest.
By the way, the butternut is superb just like this, served as a side dish, or as the basis of a wonderful soup (whiz it up with some yogurt or a little bit of vegetable stock), or even as a cold salad, tossed with some rocket and balsamico and parmesan. Can you tell I adore butternut? 🙂
This is not your traditional bechamel. Its much lighter, and yet ensures that the lasagne stays moist and tastes very rich. Its easy to make because it takes no cooking. Just a little beating together and you have alchemy.
The egg just adds lightness and helps everything cook. If you dont have one, or dont want to add one, then forego it.
May I just make one note here? I had a beautiful bowl of cottage cheese, ricotta and parmesan and I broke the egg straight into it. And the egg was bad. The smell was terrible, and I was heartbroken. All that good food gone to waste, simply because of my laziness. Please do remember to make sure that when you are adding egg to a recipe, always break it open in a separate container and then add it to your main ingredients. You will save yourself an extra expense and trip to the grocery store. I know, from experience!
If you are using dry pasta, fill a pan with hot water, add a few drops of olive oil, and put the pasta in. This will hydrate it a little, which will help in the baking process. You dont cook this lasagne for long, and it does not have a thick saucey component that will cook the pasta during baking. Hot tap water is fine, or a kettle that has been boiled and left for 15 minutes or so. You should be able to touch the water. Leave the pasta in for about ten minutes.
Oil the bottom of a very large roasting tin with a little olive oil. Spread about 1/3rd of the butternut over the bottom of the pan, sprinkle a little bit of parmesan over, and drop about 1/2 cup of white sauce over this. Cover entirely with pasta. Spoon about a cup of white sauce over this (or more – you want to cover the pasta entirely but not thickly), and spoon tablespoons of pesto on top. You want a white base, with beautiful bright green blobs. Cover entirely with pasta. As you cover it, you will see the pesto spread – this is good. Do another butternut layer, another pesto, and a final butternut layer. Cover with a final layer of pasta, and pour the rest of the white sauce over all, and sprinkle the remainder of your cheese over. You should have a pretty full pan, and five layers of lasagne.
Bake in hot oven for about half an hour, or until heated throughout, the pasta is soft, and the top is brown and crispy. Let rest for a few minutes when you take it out of the oven, and chop up a handful of Italian parsley to sprinkle over.
Glamorgan sausages are a simple, easy Welsh specialty. These vegetarian sausages were born out of poverty — a way to make readily available ingredients stand in for more expensive meat. Amazingly, I have had non-vegetarians try this, and they swear I have given them meat sausages! They are filling and rich, and incredibly forgiving. You can add or subtract ingredients as available. Though the base of breadcrumbs, eggs, cheese and onions should stay, if you have some lovely sautéed mushrooms, or a few shreds of ruby red sun dried tomato, or some deep green sautéed spinach or kale — by all means add!
I try and use leeks (for their Welsh-ness, and for their soft nuttiness when braised in butter) instead of an onion, but if I don’t find any leeks in the shops, an onion – red, white, yellow, or even spring – will do. I use cheddar here, but if you want, substitute it with Caerphilly or another kind of melting cheese. Parmesan gives it a sharp richness, feta makes a thicker smoother mouth feel. Try changing the breadcrumbs – from white to sourdough to nutty brown, and see how the taste (and texture) changes. White bread adds lightness, while brown makes these sausages much more dense and thick.
These sausages are amazingly flexible as they can take on the identity of many different ethnic cooking — feta and olives or spinach with the basic recipe makes them Greek; sun dried tomatoes and parmesan delivers a sunny taste of Italy; sesame seeds and oil, a teaspoon of miso paste, some soy and seaweed elevate these to an Asian favorite.
I serve these almost exclusively for dinner, but they would be fantastic as a Sunday brunch, with fried or scrambled eggs, mushrooms, and some home-made baked beans. A Sunday fry-up beyond compare!
These are the version of Glamorgan sausages that I make all the time. I add portobello mushrooms for a meaty texture and taste. They don’t really stand out, but the sausages taste better for them. I make the base ahead of time, a day or so, and store it in my very hardworking fridge! This enables the flavors to meld. I also make my own breadcrumbs – ridiculously easy, and store them in the freezer, or an airtight container.
I know it seems like a lot of work, but if you do things in stages, and a few things ahead of time, its a simple matter of assembling all the ingredients and frying the sausages up. I cannot tell you how delicious these are – the cheese melts through the sausages, making them stick to the pan and burn a little. Oh the joys of burnt cheese! And their hearty, meaty texture is a filling and fulfilling meal.
This recipe feeds about 12 people +/- so feel free to halve it if you are not dealing with hoards. It doubles well too! Makes approximately 48 sausages.
1 tablespoon or so of aged syrupy balsamic vinegar, if you have it – if not, you could use a glugg of wine
Prepare the leeks and mushrooms. Wash the leeks well in salted water, and let them stand for a minute while you peel the mushrooms and chop the mushrooms. I always chop and stem the mushrooms. My sister once had a terrible reaction to a mushroom dish because they weren’t cleaned well enough – I would rather go through the process of peeling off the top layer then not cleaning them well enough. Good mushrooms always come with dirt!
Over a medium heat, in a medium to large saucepan, melt the butter and olive oil together. Once hot, add the leeks all at once. If you’ve washed them and left them standing, they will still have water clinging to them. This is good! The leeks will almost braise in the pan, the water mixing with the butter and oil. Cook until the leeks are glossy and shining. Add the mushrooms, and continue to cook, mixing well, until the mushrooms let go of their liquid. Add the garlic and stir well.
You don’t want everything to cook down to a mush as you will be cooking again when you fry the sausages, so this is a very quick process.
Once everything is combined well, add salt and pepper, and a bit of balsamic vinegar if you have it. The balsamic will deepen the taste of both the leeks and the mushrooms without insisting that you acknowledge it – very loving and supportive. Its addition gives the other flavors an added dimension.
Combine everything well, and add a couple big glugs of heavy cream (or if you don’t have any, add milk). Incorporate well, and let it bubble and thicken for a minute or so, melding the juices of the leeks and mushrooms with the cream., and then take off the heat. If you are making the sausages the next day, let cool, and then store in the fridge, covered.
By the by, this makes a phenomenal base for a leek and mushroom soup or pie. If you are making soup, blitz in blender with milk and/or vegetable stock, and reheat, adding herbs to taste. If you are making a pie, use bigger cuts of both the leeks and mushrooms. Yummy either way!
2 loaves of bread – at least 2 days old. I usually use a mix of brown and white. I used a Swiss egg bread and a German brown sourdough for this recipe, but you can use whatever you want!
Tear the bread in to large pieces, and toast, for about ten minutes, in a low (100 C) oven. You want it to be crisp, not colored or burnt. This deepens the flavor of the bread, and makes sure its very dry. Dry bread sucks up the flavors of the leeks, cheese and mushrooms really well. Allow the bread to cool once it has been toasted.
Pulse in food processor until bread has become breadcrumbs. Store in an airtight container, or the freezer until needed.
This makes much more than you will need, but breadcrumbs are a wonderful resource to have. You can use them for a stuffing, for a cake in lieu of flour if you don’t have any, to thicken sauces, as a coating when frying. The possibilities are endless.
Also, obviously, you can make this with storebought breadcrumbs – I have used a mix of breadcrumbs and panko and its been superb!
In a large bowl, whip the eggs together. Add all the leek & mushroom base, and beat together well. Take off all your rings! Add 6 cups of breadcrumbs and mix well with your hands. Taste for salt.
Wash your hands well, and grate the cheeses over this mixture. Then, using your hands again, mix thoroughly. Taste. You may need more breadcrumbs if its too cheesy. You can also add a little cream or milk to make the mixture come together. Mix in the chopped parsley.
Heat your oven at its lowest possible temperature. Take a baking tin, and put a cookie rack on top of the tin. You will put your sausages here as you fry them to keep them warm.
Take another baking tin and line it with baking paper. Take the sausage mixture out of the fridge, and with wet hands, form sausages. You can make round ones, though I prefer the traditional sausage shape. Probably about 4 inches x 2 inches wide. Line the sausages up on the baking tin lined with paper. As the tin fills up, cover the layer of sausages with more baking paper, and continue.
Up to 2 hours before serving, start frying your sausages. Ensure that your olive oil is in a pouring measuring cup and use it very sparingly. A little drizzle is all you need, and a medium hot flame. If you have a large pan, you should be able to get 9 sausages at once. I try and flip each sausage three times, so I usually get a sausage chain going, concentrating on 3 sausages at a time, letting the other 6 brown up.
You will see the sausages brown on the outside, and cook firm inside. The cheese will melt out and brown. The scent is superlative!
As the sausages are cooked, blot the oil off on paper towels, and transfer to the baking tin cookie rack in the oven. Sprinkle over some Fleur de sel if you have it, or Maldon salt. Remember to keep sprinkling sausages with a tiny bit of salt as you add them to the oven.
Tags: breadcrumbs, cheddar, cheese, dinner, leeks, main course, mushrooms, recipe, sausages, vegetarian
Angel Kitten asked if we could have some chili in the food (I think I might make a veg curry soon…) It made me think about why I havent made a lot of spicy chili dishes. I think its because when I was quite small, I was in the kitchen with my Kak Gee. She was preparing a meal for an embassy function, and she had some sesame seeds next to the chopping board where she was preparing the chili. I was sneaking finger-fulls of the sesame seeds, and of course accidentally consumed some chili seeds as well. Oh my good goddess, they were so bloody hot! I cried my 5 year old eyes out! I think I have been nervous about cooking with chili ever since! But I decided today I was going to face my fears (unlike the England team), so AngelKitten and I had a chat and dreamed up a pasta we wanted.
We thought up a mushroom, chili and blue cheese pasta, because we were so enamoured with the blue cheese bread pudding from the other night. However, once we started cooking, the blue cheese just didnt go with the chili and mushrooms, so we left it out. This is an example of cooking on the fly 😉 If we had stuck with our initial daydream pasta, it would have tasted totally crap (kind of like England’s play) so we adjusted, and it was yummilicious.
This follows a basic pasta outline that I have used before. Infused oils, seared mushrooms, sauce, and quick mixing with angel hair. Mainly its what you do with your similar ingredients which changes the taste, flavour and texture.
Put olive oil in a clean small bowl. Clean your chilis, and cut off tops, and (depending on the heat you prefer) clean inside – split chili in half and clean out chili seeds and stringy bits with the tip of a butter knife. Be careful here because the chili seeds are the most hot part of the chili and you could do harm to yourself if you rub your eyes or mouth while doing this job. The more chili seeds you leave, the hotter the finished dish will be. Dice the chili finely and put into the olive oil to infuse.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add minced garlic. Let it soften. Clean and chop the mushrooms roughly. Add about half to the hot oil (the garlic should be sizzling) and sear it – mixing it well in the oil and making sure that it burns a bit. Add the sugar to encourage caramelisation. As the mushrooms burn slightly, add the rest. This will encourage the mushrooms to let go of their juices. Add a few splashes of red wine and a couple small slices of butter to the top of this mushroom mixture, and a wonderful rich sauce will start pooling at the bottom of the pan. Add all the chili and olive oil and mix through for richness and heat. Season with salt and pepper and taste to adjust seasoning.
Prepare 3/4 packet or so of angel hair pasta. Drain. Add pasta to pan with tongs and mix well. Enjoy your comfort food even if your team does crap 😛
AngelKitten + N came over tonight to watch the Brasilians and the Portuguese play a very boring final match of their group stage, and I had promised them beans on toast! One of my favourite easy dishes that you dont really have to think about. I thought of jazzing it up with a poached egg on top. Going all out! Well, when I checked my cupboard, all those cans sitting so certainly in the cupboard were soup – no beans! Oh no! What to do?! From this moment of panic, delicious dishes are born. I did a quick once over of what I had in the fridge and freezer, and decided to make a savoury bread pudding. I had eggs, milk, cream, blue cheese, onions, garlic, old good bread, and a packet of flash frozen spinach. It took about 10 minutes to assemble, 30 minutes to bake, and it was REALLY good. Much better then the second half that we watched!
This dish can serve about 6 greedy or 8 polite people. I baked it in a cake tin, so you could cut it like a quiche (or cake!) and it was perfection.
In a shallow bowl or container, beat half and half with eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Toast your bread, if you can. I didnt and it made a very unctuous bread pudding, but if you like the deeper flavours of toasted bread, and if you have the time (I was trying to get it done quick quick), then by all means toast away!
Make some blue cheese sandwiches: divide your bread in half, and lay one set on your working surface. Finely slice the blue cheese (I tried to get the creamier bits as I didnt want to be overwhelmed with the blue flavour, but do as you like best) and layer sparingly over one set of bread. Cover with second set, and trim off the crusts. Poke fine holes in the sandwiches with the tip of your knife, and lay them in the cream and egg mixture. Set aside to soak up.
Defrost your spinach. I dont believe in microwave ovens, so I dont have one, and obviously, if you can get fresh spinach, this would be best, but hey, I was working on instinct here! I used a large frying pan, and about 1/2 cup of water, and slowly defrosted over medium heat. When the spinach is fully defrosted, drain, saving the water. It will be spinach-y and delicious.
Use a little bit of butter and olive oil in the same pan, and over low heat slowly soften the onions and garlic. Season with oregano and salt and pepper. Once the onions and garlic are glossy, add the spinach, just to heat through.
Butter or spray olive oil in a large cake tin. Using your hands, take the eggy sandwiches, and tear about half of them into smaller chunks, lining the bottom of the tin. Layer about half of the spinach mixture on top, and repeat, ending with spinach. Pour about 1/4 cup of the spinach water into the remainder of the egg and half and half mixture, and pour all over the top of your bread pudding. Grate a bit of cheddar cheese (or other browning/melting cheese like parmesan) over the top, and pop in the oven for about half an hour. The bread pudding should puff up and get brown and golden on top.
Tags: blue cheese, dinner, eggs, main course, recipe, savoury bread pudding, spinach, vegetarian, world cup
Learning how to say no to situations is not easy, especially when you're the girl who always wants to please everyone.
“I really need to work on learning how to say no. I hate disappointing people or myself, but I always get stuck in situations where I wind up being overwhelmed! ” -Anony[miss]
The year began with a kiss and a promise. The kiss was given, and the promise was made: we wouldn't have New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, we'd make effective life decisions. We could start the New Year starving ourselves from dessert and resenting the gym, or we could take smaller portions and enjoy sweet treats in healthy moderation. We could decide to become better people: spend more time in the Word and less time trying to please the people around us.
Decisions were made and boundaries were set. We both agreed that somewhere along the way we had come to believe false truths. Our self worth had somehow become tangled up into the opinions of others and we noticed the choking hold it had on us. We wanted to live life liberated, and the only way to set ourselves free from perpetual people pleasing, was to stop pleasing and start pruning.
The year began faster than we had anticipated. I was thrown right into the rollercoaster of the real world, learning rather quickly that two full-time jobs were a full-time load.
The pruning started with the realization that I couldn’t say yes to everything. I felt guilty and obligated to do, do, do. But doing more wasn’t doing anything but leaving me empty. The only way to be fulfilled was to cut back and start saying no.
It began with friendships. Honesty set in as I explained to those closest to me that I needed time to adjust in this new season. One of my friends faithfully embraced me and whispered, “Just remember, Anna, this is the year of ‘hell yes.’ If it’s not a ‘hell yes,’ then it’s a ‘hell no.’”
I blushed a little and hugged her tighter. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we weren’t created to DO everything--that’s God’s job. Our job is to trust Him.
Scripture literally says in Proverbs 4:23: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” A lot of us know that verse, but do we apply it to our understanding? “Your heart” translates into the Hebrew word “leb” which means “inner mind,” “will,” “heart,” “understanding.” “seat of appetites,” “seat of emotions and passions.”
We must guard the very core of our thought process, intentions, motives, and decision making, for FROM THEM comes the direction our lives will go.
Instead of forcing myself into the favored opinions of people, or striving to do more in hopes of becoming more, I started only saying yes to the things I knew I was supposed to do. How did I discern what I had to do against what I didn’t?
Next time you’re making decisions, here are a few practical tips that will help you decide if it’s a “heck yes” or a “heck no:”
If it’s to please people, have others think better of you, or make yourself feel better, those reasons are not necessarily of God. If you are believer in Jesus Christ, your job is to OBEY Him and GLORIFY Him. Is that why you’re doing what you’re doing? Or is there another reason?
This might be a fine line, but regardless, refining your decision-making process through the filter of eternity makes making decisions so much easier. If it’s not eternal, then it doesn’t matter! This is extremely helpful for me when it comes to discipline. Whether in healthy eating, or the way I spend my money, God has eternity in His hands, seek to glorify Him!
Scripture is a refreshing spring of Truth that washes over us and empowers the Spirit within us. Decision-making shouldslugways be sifted through the ways of the WORD—God’s Word!
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. (James 1:5)
The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. (Psalm 19:8)
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. (Psalm 3:5-6)
Anna Filly is a Wedding & Portrait photographer in the sweet, deep South. She loves hosting dinner parties, sparkling water, & telling love stories through the art of photography. When she's not traveling with her camera, or trying a new recipe, Anna enjoys empowering young women & captivating their hearts through the promises & truth found in the Gospel story of Jesus Christ. Follow her on Instagram or view her website.
Adulting 101Kristin Wall June 10, 2017 adult life, adulthood, adulting, advice, life hacks, saying no, the best yes, when to say noComment
All About Delight, Brand SpotlightMelanie Castaneda June 16, 2017 bracelets, brand spotlight, branding, business owner, Coffee, creative, delight and be, film presets, jewelry, planner, small business, tattoos, vendors
THE DELIGHT RETREAT is designed to invest in you, as daughters of our Heavenly Father, creatives, dreamers, and entrepreneurs. It's about encouraging you, strengthening you, and equipping you to go out and change the world through your unique and incomparable talent, imagination and creativity.
This 5-day retreat will consist of early morning quiet times, times to hear amazing women of God speak and share their hearts, powerful times of worship, incredible opportunities to use your creativity and imagination, and powerful bonding times between you and other creatives.
That's exactly why this retreat is perfect for you. Delight is about joining other young, passionate creatives and women of God. The retreat is designed for you to have quiet times seeking & abiding in Him, precious moments of laughter, mornings of taking in the beauty of His creation, late nights of worship, ice cream and conversations with women who share the same passions, dreams and desires as you!
The retreat begins on Thursday afternoon. You will need to fly into Wenatchee, WA (EAT) Thursday, April 20th arriving on the 6:30 p.m. flight. Tickets for departure need to be for Monday morning, April 24th, on the 1:30 p.m. flight.
Once you register, we will send you information with further details about weather, clothing, and other items of necessity.
A non-refundable check of $300 is due upon registration. The remainder is due by March 1st. Checks need to be mailed to: Delight Foundation; PO Box 1180; Chelan, WA 98816
REGISTRATION will open on Sunday & the "early bird rate" will be available until January 30th! Check back on here on the blog or on our instagram on Sunday morning for the link to register!
Retreats + WorkshopsKristin Wall January 18, 2017 community, delight and be, Delight Retreat, Leavenworth, registration, workshopComment
Retreats + WorkshopsMelanie Castaneda January 20, 2017 big sisters, delight girl, delight recap, Delight Retreat, experience, registration, say yes to God
Retreats + WorkshopsMelanie Castaneda January 16, 2017 big sister, community, delight and be, delight retreat recap, faith, obedience, october retreat 2016, retreat