BY ANN CIPPERLY
OPINION —
With 12 children in the family, meals are kept simple at the home of Melanie and Will Blackmon as recipes are doubled or tripled to serve 14. Melanie is sharing the recipes, while Will reflects on being a father to a large family, as they prepare to move to Greece for mission work across the world.
When Will was younger, he never thought much about having kids. “Then one day I found myself at a point in life that is best described as ‘the floor below rock bottom,’” he said. “A strange thing popped into my head that I would never have children. From where I was, there was no way to believe that it would ever be possible. I had not known that having children was written on my heart, but this was the reality that seemed the heaviest to me at the time.
“Most people think ‘rock bottom’ is the lowest level you can go, but that’s not true. There’s a floor below that, and the Lord will let you go there if He’s pursuing you and you’re not listening. I’m grateful that Jesus threw down a rescue rope, climbed down to get me and carried me out. This marked the point in my life where I reached the end of ‘me’ and began letting God lead the way. This is pretty much my key now to being a dad.
“To have been in a place where I believed that I would never have any children, much less a big family, to being the father of many is stunning to me,” Will added. “I never want to lose the sense of awe of how good the Lord has been to me and my family.”
Will feels being the father of 12 children is not for the faint of heart, but to him, there is no greater joy.
“Nothing humbles me more as I feel unqualified and often speechless,” he said. “The fact that the Lord has given me the assignment of being a dad, it crushes me. Nothing makes me feel His grace more.
“I am not any different than other guys. I don’t have any special training or instruction manual on how to be a dad, and I blow it all the time. My kids and wife have called me grumpy a time or two. The fact that my Father in Heaven assigned being a dad to me is my blessing from Him. His grace takes me to the foot of the cross daily. Being a dad constantly reminds me that I can’t but He can. What He’s done is the thing that matters.”
Will has been a professional golfer, a banker, a golf instructor and a small construction project craftsman.
“Now I am a man leading his family to Greece to serve the Lord,” he said. “For us, this is about much more than any role my wife, Melanie, and I will be playing there. It is about raising young missionaries and participating with the designs that God has for our children and family.
“For many years, the Lord has been mercifully weaving our children’s lives into His heart for the nations to know and worship Him. Going for us is very much about all of us saying, ‘yes’ to His calling.”
Will and Melanie founded a nonprofit called Eleos Mission aimed at sharing God’s mercy and grace around the world. (Eleos is the Greek word for mercy.)
“It will support our family’s assignments in Greece, as well as efforts in developing a trekking ministry in Nepal and other rugged, remote and high altitude locations across Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” said Will. “The Lord has been gracious to invite us into His activity in Greece and across the world. We are excited and humbled.”
Will and Melanie’s children are Eben, 4; Si, 5; Poppy, 6; Lettie, 8; Camp, 9; Georgi, 10; Haddon, 12; Evie, 14; Barrett, 15; Hank, 18, who will attend Auburn University in the fall; Palmer, 19, a student at Southern Union; and Web, 20, who is attending Auburn University.
Web, Palmer and Hank, who will not be moving to Greece, are involved in a new branch for a Birmingham-based landscape company called Ulch Mulch, working in residential and commercial landscape installations and grounds-keeping. The owner is a friend they met through mission work in Nepal.
“Ulch Mulch Auburn is an answer to many prayers as it will not only help support our oldest children while they work their way through college,” Melanie said. “It will also direct 50% of profits to Global Missions.”
Melanie and Will with the other children will be moving to Greece in September. The couple will minister to women and children being served through Community House Damaris, a special organization that is bringing hope and healing to women who have been trapped in human trafficking. In addition, they will be serving with their ministry partners at Hellenic Ministries in reaching the marginalized communities of Greece, especially refugees and the Roma communities, as well as participating in church-planting efforts.
“Our ministry partners in Greece have been praying for the Lord to send more laborers to this country,” said Will, “and we believe that God is leading our family there for such a time as this. We want to testify about what He has done and all that He is doing.”
When they move to Greece, the family won’t have to adjust to new foods, since they already enjoy many Greek dishes. Melanie’s mother is from Greece and served many dishes from her homeland when she was growing up in Opelika. Now, Melanie, who has a degree in Nutrition Dietetics from Auburn University, enjoys preparing Greek dishes.
“We eat simply, which is a necessity when you are preparing multiple meals a day for 14 people,” said Melanie. “Our children have been blessed to have opportunities to travel internationally for mission work, and they have also grown more adventurous in their food preferences.
“Over the years, we have loved trying new recipes and dishes from different cultures. Sometimes these are ‘fancier’ recipes, but often they are just simple, budget-friendly ingredients like rice and beans. The children have learned to try new things, and it’s always a joy to see them realize that they truly like something that they were originally skeptical about. Hopefully, even in small and ordinary ways, this has helped to prepare them for all the places they will go and the unique assignments that the Lord has for each of their lives.
“Most importantly, we have all learned to be grateful for daily bread and for God’s provision for our family,” Melanie said. “We have learned to be content during seasons of abundance when our refrigerator was overflowing with lots of variety and options, but also we have learned to be content during seasons of scarcity when our grocery budget was small and our needs were very large.
“Will has always set a great example to our children with his willingness to eat literally anything and for being thankful and appreciative no matter what was served on the table. He has a servant’s heart and is quick to help at mealtimes, which are typically a little chaotic, and to help with things like loading and unloading the dishwasher, which runs multiple times a day.”
During the winter, Melanie makes several big pots of soup throughout the week, and soups are a great way to sneak in vegetables, as well as stretching the dollar. During warm months, they often grill meats such as chicken and pork outside on the barbecue. Several of the older kids and Will are the grillers. While leftovers are rare, they are used for sandwiches, quesadillas and salads the next day for lunch.
They usually double or triple most of their favorite recipes, and sweet treats never last more than a day.
The most frequently made recipe is for pita bread. It is made at least three times a week, and the girls can make this from start to finish by themselves.
“It’s failproof and so easy requiring minimal kneading and a short rise time,” said Melanie. “The little ones especially love flattening the pita bread before we make it, and there’s nothing like the smell of fresh bread.”
They also use the dough to make garlic knots rolls and homemade pizza crust.
Most of their recipes use olive oil, which is traditional in Greek cuisine. Will drives to Birmingham periodically to purchase the olive oil they use from a Greek relative who runs The Fish Market restaurant, along with an import business. The olive oil comes directly from Tsitailia, Greece, which is where their family is from in the small mountainous village in the Peloponnesus.
“Although our home base will be in Athens when we move this fall,” said Melanie, “we are hopeful and prayerful about opportunities to serve, share and spend time in this region of Greece. Although we will be a long way from home, it will certainly taste familiar.”
SPICY LAMB CASSEROLE
This is the family’s favorite dish for holidays and special gatherings.
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 ½ lb. lamb leg or shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup dry Marsala
3/4 tsp. dried red chili flakes
1 Tbsp. crushed juniper berries, optional
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 rosemary sprig
12 small onions, such as pickling or pearl onions
2 potatoes, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat olive oil in a large casserole. Add Iamb in batches, so that you don’t crowd pan, season with salt and pepper and brown lightly over high heat. Remove each batch from casserole as it browns. Once all the lamb is browned and has been removed from casserole, add onion, celery and garlic, reduce heat and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until softened.
Return lamb to the casserole. Pour in Marsala and cook over high heat until it is dark brown and reduced by half. Add dried red chile flakes and juniper berries and cook, stirring, for just 10 to 15 seconds. Add tomato paste, chicken stock, rosemary and about 1 cup water, or enough to cover.
Cover casserole with a lid and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Add pearl onions and potatoes. Cook for another 45 minutes. Stir parsley through just before serving. Serves four.
ROASTED MEDITERRANEAN POTATOES
2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes or petite gold potatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 ½ tsp. dry oregano
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 small lemon
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp, pepper
3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, optional
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking pan with a parchment paper.
Wash potatoes, pat them dry with a paper towel. Dice into 1-inch cubes and add to a large bowl. You can make potato wedges or potato cubes. Potatoes should be roughly the same size.
Add minced garlic, sprinkle with dried oregano, salt and ground black pepper. Pour freshly squeezed lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil over potatoes.
Mix to combine and spread potatoes evenly in a single layer on a baking dish.
Roast for 20 minutes. Using a wooden spatula or spoon, carefully stir the potatoes and roast for another 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender when poked with a knife. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top.
GREEK PITA BREAD
2 ½ cups bread flour
1 cup water, lukewarm
2 tsp. instant yeast
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
Add water, yeast, and sugar to a large bowl. Mix all ingredients together and let mixture stand for a few minutes unit it starts to foam.
Add flour, salt, and olive oil and mix them together with a spoon.
Turn mixture out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 to 10 minutes until you have a soft, slightly sticky but supple dough. Add a little more flour, if your dough is too sticky.
Lightly oil a large bowl.
Place dough into bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let it rise for 60 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
After one hour, divide dough into 6 to 8 pieces, turn each piece of dough into a little ball, and let them rest for another 15 to 30 minutes.
Roll out dough until they are about ½ inch thick. You use your hands.
Bake them at 400 degrees on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Sometimes Melanie will add garlic and herbs and then drizzle with olive oil or melted butter for extra flavor.
CHICKEN AND CHICKPEA SALAD
Creamy Greek Yogurt Dressing:
1/3 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 lemon, juiced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Black pepper
For the Chicken Salad:
15-oz, can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 oz. cooked chicken breast, shredded (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 to 2 shallots, finely chopped
1/4 roughly chopped sun dried tomatoes, optional
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley or use dried herbs to taste, optional
Make the dressing. In a large mixing bowl, add yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, a big splash of olive oil, paprika, red pepper flakes and a big pinch of salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp. each). Whisk until well combined.
Mix the salad. Add chickpeas to the bowl with dressing and lightly smash with back of a spoon or fork. Add shredded chicken, celery, shallots, sun dried tomatoes and parsley. Mix until well combined.
Serve or store in the refrigerator before serving. The salad also makes good sandwiches.
TZATZIKI SAUCE
½ cup finely grated cucumber
1 cup thick whole milk Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint, optional
Place the cucumber on a towel and gently squeeze out a bit of the excess water.
In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, dill and mint, if using. Chill until ready to use. Serves 4 to 6.
GREEK CHICKEN SKEWERS
2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into 1 ¼-inch cubes
2 red bell peppers, sliced into 1 ½-inch chunks
1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes (firm but ripe)
2 zucchinis cut into ½-inch slices
1 large red onion cut into 1 ½-inch chunks
Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. each paprika, garlic powder
1 tsp. each onion powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, sugar, salt
1/4 tsp. each cayenne pepper, pepper
For serving:
Tzatziki Sauce, homemade or store-brought
Prepare marinade by whisking ingredients together in a large bowl or large freezer bag. Remove 2 tablespoons to a separate large bowl or bag with vegetables, toss to coat, refrigerate.
Add chicken to remaining marinade and stir to coat. Marinate 4 to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
If using wooden skewers, soak them in water until ready to use. When ready to cook, thread chicken and vegetables snuggly onto skewers.
If grilling, generously grease grill with vegetable oil and heat to medium-high heat.
Once hot, add chicken kabobs and grill for approximately 8 to 12 minutes, until an internal temperature of 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Rotating once halfway through cooking; let rest 5 minutes before serving. Makes eight to 10 kabobs.
Serve with chilled Tzatziki Sauce.
Note: Can also bake metal skewers on the top rim of a pan at 400 degrees for 16 to 22 minutes. Broil kabobs for a couple of minutes on each side for more caramelization. Watch closely or they will burn.
