About Me
- From our family to yours
- Married twenty-five years to my wonderful husband and best friend. We have 3 "home-grown" kids and 1 hand-picked by God from Africa. Our life is blessed. We are a close knit family with strong Christian beliefs. Come along with us on our journey…you might have a great laugh or two.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The bagel making factory...
This morning I had to provide breakfast to the high school swim team. Swimmers, people. I don't know much about what other kids in other sports are like, but what I do know is that swimmers have ENORMOUS appetites. Trust me, I have three swimmers...I know these things.
So yesterday I had to become the bagel making factory. Bagel after bagel crossed my counter tops and child after child tried to swipe one. Besides making a boatload of bagels (48 total), I also made 3 breakfast sausage/egg casseroles and 3 loaves of bread. Needless to say, I did not leave the kitchen until late that evening. Man oh man though, did my house ever smell so good. Too bad my house wasn't for sale, I could have sold it in a heartbeat.
So in keeping with my "all things homemade" section, here's my favorite bagel recipe. Enjoy!
Homemade Bagels (recipe from Williams Sonoma Breads)
Ingredients:
4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 T. sugar
2 cups warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
2 T. canola oil
1 T. salt
5 1/2 cups bread flour
2 T. vital wheat gluten
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 T. baking soda
1 egg white beaten with 1 T. water until foamy
In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the sugar over 1/2 cup of the warm water and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining water, the oil, and the remaining sugar, the salt, 2 cups of the flour and the gluten. Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup of the flour and beat for 1 minute. Beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides.
Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment (baking) paper and brush the paper with oil. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and divide into 4 portions. Divide each portion into 3 pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and flatten with your palm. Poke a floured finger through the middle of a ball. Stretch the hole, rolling your finger around the inside of the hole, to make it about 1 inch in diameter. Continue to roll your finger or thumb around inside the dough to enlarge the hole; it will shrink slightly when you stop.
Place on prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the bagels about 2 inches apart. Spray the bagels with vegetable oil spray. Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature until puffy, 15 - 20 minutes.
While the bagels are rising, prepare the water bath. In a large wide pot, bring 4 - 6 quarts water to a boil over high heat. Add the baking soda and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Using a skimmer, lower 3 or 4 bagels into the water. They will drop to the bottom and then rise to the surface quickly. As they come to the surface, turn each bagel and boil on the second side for 2 minutes.
Using the skimmer, transfer the bagels to a dry kitchen towel to drain for a moment, then return to the prepared baking sheets, placing them 1 inch apart. When all the bagels are boiled, brush them with the egg white mixture and sprinkle with any desired topping(s). Bake until golden brown, 16 - 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to racks to cool completely.
Makes 1 dozen large bagels. (credit for recipe: Williams Sonoma)
So yesterday I had to become the bagel making factory. Bagel after bagel crossed my counter tops and child after child tried to swipe one. Besides making a boatload of bagels (48 total), I also made 3 breakfast sausage/egg casseroles and 3 loaves of bread. Needless to say, I did not leave the kitchen until late that evening. Man oh man though, did my house ever smell so good. Too bad my house wasn't for sale, I could have sold it in a heartbeat.
 |
| Bagels in the cooking process |
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| Finished bagels...yum! |
So in keeping with my "all things homemade" section, here's my favorite bagel recipe. Enjoy!
Homemade Bagels (recipe from Williams Sonoma Breads)
Ingredients:
4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 T. sugar
2 cups warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
2 T. canola oil
1 T. salt
5 1/2 cups bread flour
2 T. vital wheat gluten
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 T. baking soda
1 egg white beaten with 1 T. water until foamy
In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the sugar over 1/2 cup of the warm water and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining water, the oil, and the remaining sugar, the salt, 2 cups of the flour and the gluten. Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup of the flour and beat for 1 minute. Beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides.
Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment (baking) paper and brush the paper with oil. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and divide into 4 portions. Divide each portion into 3 pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and flatten with your palm. Poke a floured finger through the middle of a ball. Stretch the hole, rolling your finger around the inside of the hole, to make it about 1 inch in diameter. Continue to roll your finger or thumb around inside the dough to enlarge the hole; it will shrink slightly when you stop.
Place on prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the bagels about 2 inches apart. Spray the bagels with vegetable oil spray. Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature until puffy, 15 - 20 minutes.
While the bagels are rising, prepare the water bath. In a large wide pot, bring 4 - 6 quarts water to a boil over high heat. Add the baking soda and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Using a skimmer, lower 3 or 4 bagels into the water. They will drop to the bottom and then rise to the surface quickly. As they come to the surface, turn each bagel and boil on the second side for 2 minutes.
Using the skimmer, transfer the bagels to a dry kitchen towel to drain for a moment, then return to the prepared baking sheets, placing them 1 inch apart. When all the bagels are boiled, brush them with the egg white mixture and sprinkle with any desired topping(s). Bake until golden brown, 16 - 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to racks to cool completely.
Makes 1 dozen large bagels. (credit for recipe: Williams Sonoma)
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| She loved being in my warm kitchen all day long... |
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Homemade Butter...
Still...
"Butter, people...I just made butter! Isn't that so cool?" I exclaimed last night in the kitchen. My husband and little ones were less than impressed. I realize that you could buy it in big enormous vats, but it isn't as fresh or wouldn't' be as cool to watch...the big vat that is.
So here's my easy peazy recipe for making your own healthy butter.
Homemade Butter
(you will need a large stand up mixer)
This recipe makes about a cup (I usually double or triple this)
2 cups - organic heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp. - salt
Place cream in large stand up mixer. Turn on high and watch and wait. It will be very splattery. (I use my splatter guard and still put a towel over the mixer) After a few minutes it will start to look like whipped cream...at that point you are close to being done. When it begins to look like cottage cheese and there is milk at the bottom you have just made butter. Yeah!! Strain the milk (buttermilk) from the bowl. You can use this in anything that calls for buttermilk. It's great. Rinse the butter with cold water pressing and squeezing the butter. You are trying to get any excess liquid out of the butter. After rinsing, store in a jar (I love mason jars) and keep refrigerated.
The butter I made last night (shown in the picture above) made a jar and a half of buttermilk. We loved it in our pancakes for breakfast the morning.
Friday, November 2, 2012
All things homemade...
This past week I got a notice in the mail from Costco regarding a recall on their natural peanut butter they sell. Ugh...another recall. This one had to deal with the possibility of salmonella in the peanut butter. My kids wondered how eggs got into the ingredients in the first place, seeing that only peanuts are in peanut butter. Of course, I tried to explained to them that many factories make different items, but to be honest I didn't really know the answer. It seemed a bit odd to me as well.
"Eww...think about what else could be in your food", my little girl said. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. But I couldn't.
Why do I buy prepackaged peanut butter? Hmm, convenience...maybe? But seriously, how hard is it to make peanut butter. It's nuts, right? Homemade. That's the way to go. I could totally make this stuff. So I decided that I would have some fun with this. Make it like a game for me. Just how many things could I make homemade.
So here goes. I'm putting a running list on the side bar of my blog that has all the things I've made homemade that otherwise I would have bought prepackaged. I'm going to call it "all things homemade". If possible I'll include the link to my favorite recipe (believe me, I probably did not create it without a recipe. I'm a recipe girl) and we'll just see how far this goes. So the more I cook (and remember what I've cooked in the past) I'll add it to my list.
Since I already make a boatload of things homemade, I've got a good start on this list. I'd love take out the last of the processed foods we eat from our diet. It may take some time. I've got some "stubborn" ones who still very much like white bread....I'll have to work on that one. Of course, I'll have to take diet coke out of my own diet (for now though it makes me happy...and "ain't nobody happy if momma ain't happy". But I promise I'll try and work on it- maybe tomorrow).
So let's start going back to the basics. Get out those aprons and let's get cooking...
"Eww...think about what else could be in your food", my little girl said. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. But I couldn't.
Why do I buy prepackaged peanut butter? Hmm, convenience...maybe? But seriously, how hard is it to make peanut butter. It's nuts, right? Homemade. That's the way to go. I could totally make this stuff. So I decided that I would have some fun with this. Make it like a game for me. Just how many things could I make homemade.
So here goes. I'm putting a running list on the side bar of my blog that has all the things I've made homemade that otherwise I would have bought prepackaged. I'm going to call it "all things homemade". If possible I'll include the link to my favorite recipe (believe me, I probably did not create it without a recipe. I'm a recipe girl) and we'll just see how far this goes. So the more I cook (and remember what I've cooked in the past) I'll add it to my list.
Since I already make a boatload of things homemade, I've got a good start on this list. I'd love take out the last of the processed foods we eat from our diet. It may take some time. I've got some "stubborn" ones who still very much like white bread....I'll have to work on that one. Of course, I'll have to take diet coke out of my own diet (for now though it makes me happy...and "ain't nobody happy if momma ain't happy". But I promise I'll try and work on it- maybe tomorrow).
So let's start going back to the basics. Get out those aprons and let's get cooking...
Thursday, November 1, 2012
I have unleashed "the beast"...
About a month ago I decided to not do anything with my hair. Wait, wait, I take that back. I "try" to do something with my hair, but trust me...everyday it has a mind of its own. The thing is I decided to stop doing damage to my hair and that meant taking some VERY drastic measures....going curly.
Did you know that God blessed me with curly hair? Probably not. I have for many, many, many years done everything I could to combat these wild curls with all measures known possible to man. Curling irons, straighteners, hair straightener conditioner thingys...you name it I probably have tried it. Why you might ask? Well, curly hair went out in the 80's and didn't really seem to make that much of a comeback. Straight hair seemed to be all the style, the rage and soooo, not what God blessed me with.
So about a month ago, I gave up. Threw in the towel. Chucked my hair dryer, curling irons, brushes and have been going "oh so natural" ever since. Here's what I've learned...
If you decide to go with your natural curly look you will have people come up to you and not even recognize you (even though you are holding your little brown one...thought that one would give me away).
You will get more compliments on the wildest of hair days than you ever had and are afraid to tell them that you can't remember the last time you washed your hair. (Did you know that curly headed people shouldn't wash their hair with the commerical shampoo out on the market? No, I'm totally serious. Lots of research here...trust, me. Curly headed people have to protect their hair somethin' fierce. You have to use an organic type of shampoo or make your own...which is what I do...make my own that is)
Since going curly, my husband is often afraid to see what I will look like when he walks through the door. Although he has yet to admit it, I'm not sure he's on board with this whole curly thing I got going on, which I then conveniently remind him that I was curly when we got married. (Of course, that was twenty years ago and I was thinner and had less gray hair as well...but I don't remind him of those things)
Weird thing is, the longer I go curly the curlier my hair is becoming. And you have never seen such a healthy head of hair. Soft curls that now have a chance of growing long (before with the straightening, my hair was dry, brittle and constantly breaking). Now, maybe I'll grow it long. That my husband would love.
So curly headed people, heed my call. Throw out that shampoo and straighteners. And let's bring back the 80's. Don't make me do this on my own...
Did you know that God blessed me with curly hair? Probably not. I have for many, many, many years done everything I could to combat these wild curls with all measures known possible to man. Curling irons, straighteners, hair straightener conditioner thingys...you name it I probably have tried it. Why you might ask? Well, curly hair went out in the 80's and didn't really seem to make that much of a comeback. Straight hair seemed to be all the style, the rage and soooo, not what God blessed me with.
So about a month ago, I gave up. Threw in the towel. Chucked my hair dryer, curling irons, brushes and have been going "oh so natural" ever since. Here's what I've learned...
If you decide to go with your natural curly look you will have people come up to you and not even recognize you (even though you are holding your little brown one...thought that one would give me away).
You will get more compliments on the wildest of hair days than you ever had and are afraid to tell them that you can't remember the last time you washed your hair. (Did you know that curly headed people shouldn't wash their hair with the commerical shampoo out on the market? No, I'm totally serious. Lots of research here...trust, me. Curly headed people have to protect their hair somethin' fierce. You have to use an organic type of shampoo or make your own...which is what I do...make my own that is)
Since going curly, my husband is often afraid to see what I will look like when he walks through the door. Although he has yet to admit it, I'm not sure he's on board with this whole curly thing I got going on, which I then conveniently remind him that I was curly when we got married. (Of course, that was twenty years ago and I was thinner and had less gray hair as well...but I don't remind him of those things)
Weird thing is, the longer I go curly the curlier my hair is becoming. And you have never seen such a healthy head of hair. Soft curls that now have a chance of growing long (before with the straightening, my hair was dry, brittle and constantly breaking). Now, maybe I'll grow it long. That my husband would love.
So curly headed people, heed my call. Throw out that shampoo and straighteners. And let's bring back the 80's. Don't make me do this on my own...
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| Before with straight hair |
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| Curly...and getting curlier every day |
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Halloween fun...
Halloween for us was last night...don't ask me why we celebrate here a day early...no clue about that one...but we do. We also don't really do much decorating for Halloween. A pumpkin here or there, some leaves...nothing scary. We really put the emphasis on just having fun "dressing up". Heck, we don't even eat a lot of candy in this house so we don't even go to a lot of houses. (I'm telling you that this candy will be in our house until Easter, weird I know). But it's just fun to experience it for a little while...it's part of being a kid.
Last night my Mom came over for dinner and then stayed to go trick or treating with us. The boys (Daddy and our oldest) stayed at home to hand out candy. I think they both thought we were going to make them dress up with the rest of us...we tried, but no luck.
My mom though, is crazy enough to dress up with us so it was a lot of fun. I have a "stash" of costumes to choose from...but we always seem to pick the same ones every year...because they are warm. And believe me, it was cold. It's always cold here on Halloween. I'm thinking we need to move south. (I feel the need for warmth)
Our smallest one talked our biggest girl into joining forces to be "Penny" and "Bolt" from the Disney movie "Bolt". He loves that movie...it's second only to Cars.
I love to sew and starting with Halloween costumes in the fall just gets me so much in the mood to do a sewing marathon through the winter months. Can't wait this year though, for the first time I've got my mom here to help...and she loves to sew just as much as I do.
Happy Halloween everyone...
Last night my Mom came over for dinner and then stayed to go trick or treating with us. The boys (Daddy and our oldest) stayed at home to hand out candy. I think they both thought we were going to make them dress up with the rest of us...we tried, but no luck.
My mom though, is crazy enough to dress up with us so it was a lot of fun. I have a "stash" of costumes to choose from...but we always seem to pick the same ones every year...because they are warm. And believe me, it was cold. It's always cold here on Halloween. I'm thinking we need to move south. (I feel the need for warmth)
Our smallest one talked our biggest girl into joining forces to be "Penny" and "Bolt" from the Disney movie "Bolt". He loves that movie...it's second only to Cars.
Our smallest girl decided that she wanted to be a fairy...a purple fairy. She designed it and I created it. Love it! She's been reading a lot of fairy books lately.
I love to sew and starting with Halloween costumes in the fall just gets me so much in the mood to do a sewing marathon through the winter months. Can't wait this year though, for the first time I've got my mom here to help...and she loves to sew just as much as I do.
Happy Halloween everyone...
Thursday, October 18, 2012
About my day...
About my day....
Woke up this morning to this song (can't help but start your day dancing)...even with it cold, windy and rainy.
Decided to make some of this...(had apples that I needed to use)...
Hmmm...what else can I make??? Maybe some of these...(and yes, it's extremely simple and tasty)
Still in the kitchen...needed some "chips" for our taco soup for the evening. So I decided to make these...
Heard this song about 4 different times...I think it should be my theme song (at least for today)
Did a boatload of this...in the kitchen (where else would I be - other than my car)...
Spent a mountain of time in this...racing the kids to...well, everything...
Had to give some of these today...
A bunch of these...
And ended the day hearing this...
Good news...
I get to do this again tomorrow.
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