Half the Batch (The Making Dough Process)

by admin on March 19, 2012 in Domestic Damsel, Foodie Like Me with 2 Comments

~ PART ONE~

 
Tired kinda day but need to make bread so I halved the batch and will work on four loaves.  Just didn’t feel up to wrestling eight loaves all day.  I had good company, my three year old is always happy to help with baking.

So, for fun, I decided to try capturing step by step shots of the process I  carry out weekly.

1.  It all starts with the yeast.  Warm water, traditional dry active yeast and waiting for it to wake up.

2. While the yeast is working I get the sea salt into THE bread bowl.

 3. Oil of choice is added and today it is grape-seed.  Often I add a mix of grape-seed and olive oil but not on a tired kinda day like today.

4. Water, warm water is added and whisked in with the oil and salt.

 5. Grains and cereals are whisked in.  My favorites of late are spelt bran or flakes, chia seeds and toasted wheat germ.

(Toasted Wheat Germ)

(Spelt Flakes)
(Chia Seeds)

 6. I add the specialty flours.  Flours of choice, of late, are chickpea (a long time favorite in my bread), a local produced oat flour, red fife and quinoa.

7. Mix all the grains and specialty flours together.

 8. Now that the yeast is happy I gently spatula all of it out into the still very wet dough and then carefully fold it in.

 9. Time to add the white bread flour.  Today I am trying out Roger’s unbleached and additive free flour.  I am expecting good things since I have used their dark rye for years and highly recommend it.  Usually I pick up, with much arm strength (wink), the 20 pound bags of bread flour from costco… but can you believe this long time bread maker forgot to grab some last costco trip?!

 10. I dump my dough out to kneed while it is still really sticky and messy.  Trying to avoid adding any more flour then I need to seems to keep it a lighter and moister bread.

 11. Kneading, such a beautiful process.  Pulling, rolling, twisting and shoving the goop into a lovely ball of dough.

(Ta-da!)

 12.  Well I guess this turned out to be a twelve step process 🙂  With the dough all nice and smooth, it then gets tucked into the bowl and some cozy towels to warm up and rise.

All tucked in and ready to rise and get a beating, then rise again, for most of the day.  This evening I will roll it into loaves and pan it.  Once it has risen one last time it will be baked, cooled and bagged.  If I have the chance I will capture this finally process of making the dough BREAD.  Have a beautiful day everyone!

 

TTFN

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce (Recipe Request)

by admin on March 17, 2012 in Domestic Damsel, Foodie Like Me with No comments

(I ended up altering the original recipe a lot so I tried to just write out what I did here.  If it isn’t working for you feel free to ask me questions.)

2 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 apple chopped
1 cup fresh mushrooms chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup Italian cheese blend (Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano) or just aged cheddar
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cilantro or dill
salt and ground black pepper to taste

  1. Fry the onion, garlic and apple in butter till golden. Add mushrooms and warm them up in the onion mix.
  2. Be sure the squash is cooked till very soft, so you can mash it.
  3. While the squash is still hot mix the broth and milk into the squash.
  4. Heat the squash back up then mix in the cheese till melted then puree with a hand held blender.
  5. Add the onion mix and stir till it has reached desired thickness, about 5 to 10 minutes.
  6. Mix in the spices then season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Psst, I doubled the recipe and it didn’t thicken well for me so I added about a table spoon of flour to it before pureeing with the hand held blender..

TTFN

Mud Hunters

by admin on March 16, 2012 in Feeling It (Thankful), Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Life Keeps Changing with 1 Comment
 Springtime is the land awakening.  
The March winds are the morning yawn.  
~Quoted by 
Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

MARCH means mud, at least this year!

My youngest two and my niece went hunting for mud and puddles.  We where impressively successful, in spite of snow and ice still being around.

While the park was dry enough they only used the slides and monkey bars a short while.  Most of the our time was spent with sticks in hand exploring the mud.  A couple times the girls worried me, almost toppling over right into the mud, but most of the time we basked in the squishy sounds of mud below our rubber boots.

A few of us went home with wet feet, those of us brave enough to wade into the deep puddles soon learned why Mama doesn’t. I decided not to worry about them getting all a mess… somehow we all ended up going home in good spirits… wet feet and muddy clothing and all.

 Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.  
~Doug Larson

TTFN

Black Bean Salsa Soup (Recipe Request)

by admin on March 15, 2012 in Foodie Like Me with No comments

2 2-19oz cans Black Bean’s (drain and rinse)
1  19oz can Chickpea’s (drain and rinse)
2 1/2 cups salsa (heat level of choice)
2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
sea salt (to taste)

3 garlic cloves (peeled and finely chopped)
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
2 tbsps coconut oil

  • Fry the chopped onion and garlic in coconut oil till golden.  Move to large soup pot.
  • Once beans are drained and rinsed put about half in the blender with about half the chicken stock.  Blend well then transfer to the soup pot.
  • Place the rest of the beans in the blender with 1 1/2 cups of salsa and mix till smooth.  Add the remaining chicken stock to make smoother then once mixed well place again in pot.
  • Mix the soup together with the onion/garlic mix and add the remainder of salsa. 
  • Add spices and tweet amount to taste.
  • Warm soup up and add more stock, or salsa if you want it runnier.
  • Serve with taco chips or fresh warm bread on the side.
  • Top with cheese of choice and sliced avocados or sour cream and green onions.

TTFN

Snow Aliens In March

by admin on March 14, 2012 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Dem Kids Sayed WHAT?, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Feeling It (Thankful) with 1 Comment

(Awe, my baby boys first snow angel… or alien…)

It is a good thing we got out in winters first real batch of snow. Only a week later, since the snow storm, and most of it has melted!  This is the prairies so we could get more or we could end up with a warm wind that sweeps it all away.  Such a strangely warm winter this has been…

(I have fallen and I can’t get up!)

 Where I am living weather is a normal conversation to have with anyone and everyone.  Weather conversations can get very intense.  One specific thing I have started to notice was the difference between my friends out west (on the coast) and my friends here on the prairies.  Out west they assume they are entitled to snow-less winters and warm weather… out here we assume we will be punished for good weather, he he he…   I don’t know how many times I have heard, this year, ” We are going to get punished in July for this mild winter”! It makes me smile at our differences.
(Take picture of snow ball mama!)

 Now my kids and I have an advantage in that we are totally happy with a snowy winter so we don’t get down either way.  Kids don’t think about the future like adults do.  We often have an attitude of ‘if I think the worst I will not be disappointed’.  That attitude doesn’t usually turn out the way we think.  Generally we just become more grumpy personalities and in some ways always disappointed as everything is a chance to be negative.

Everything is a chance to not be negative too.  Kids are living now and so unconcerned with what may come that they are usually happy with any weather.  The attitude of ‘make the most of what ever it is’ seems to flow from children.  The more I relax as a mom, and go with their happy little way of looking at life, the better I am at mothering and the better I am at living in general.

(If life gives you snow, make snow soup!)

Baby Boy has been really into making snow angels this past week.  New discoveries are always so fun.  He calls them ‘snow aliens’ though… not sure where he got it from but I corrected him and he gave me a look as he corrected me in return… and I realized he knew exactly what he was saying.  I guess he isn’t as weirded out by the idea of aliens as I am, he he he.  “Such a pretty snow alien,” he smiles.

I want to be a woman of praise… living to praise Christ Jesus in all things and the least I can do is learn to praise him no matter the weather.  I am thankful for our dump of snow because of the fun the kids and I had in it.  If it hadn’t snowed my Baby Boy wouldn’t have discovered ‘snow alien making’ or my five year old wouldn’t have been able to make me ‘snow soup’.  My oldest two got to make their first, ever, snow forts and where so impressed with their abilities.  I got to watch it all, capture it all and treasure it in my heart.  Thank you Lord for working on my heart, strengthening it in you to be able to praise no matter… no matter the weather and with hope to learn praising no matter the circumstances.

TTFN

The Avocado

by admin on March 14, 2012 in Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Domestic Damsel, Foodie Like Me with 1 Comment

No aversions to avocados in this house.  The kids have had little choice but to figure out how to enjoy it, as I keep introducing it in many different ways… and they have to cope and eat because Mom likes it so much.  We have enjoyed my ‘light quacamoli’ for years but this year I found a FAST fresh little side salad, that is so pretty and appetizing, even the kids enjoy.

AVOCADOS IN OIL

  • Slice up one or two avocados and spread out on a nice big plate.
  • Drizzle extra virgin olive oil gracefully over the fruit.
  • Squeeze some fresh lime juice over your salad.
  • Sprinkle with cilantro (fresh or dried) and sea salt to taste.

I can eat this as a meal unto itself it is so tasty.  It sure went nicely with the ‘Black Bean Salsa’ soup we had for supper tonight (see picture below).

Enjoy and eat!

TTFN

Intimacy (Marriage Monday)

by admin on March 12, 2012 in Marriage Monday, My Romance with 6 Comments

Sex with your spouse because more enjoyable when:

  • Both person’s are thinking of the other; the other’s desires, needs and just about them in general.
  • You accept men and women work differently and don’t judge but willingly  work with the, not always complimentary, way we each are.
  • You are free with one another, brave, able to try new and fresh things together.
  • You trust one another.  Trust is earned but is also given when you really love someone and want to build your faith in them.
  • You give MORE time for one another, not worrying about it being quality but quantity.
  • You are intimate more often; the more you have sex the better it gets.

First Monday of every month at Chrysalis

TTFN

Most Know What Kony2012 Is

by admin on March 10, 2012 in Better Check Out Blogs, Better Check Out Links, Feeling It (Thankful), People In My Heart with No comments
Are enough of us aware that there are also people with other options that we can support, who have been working for these children for years? There are places we can get involved that put forgiveness and reconciliation on the table as active peaceful tools to fight with.
YEARS AGO I heard about Kony through a missionary group that was reaching out to his child soldiers and seeing results with the offer of forgiveness. I therefore feel compelled to share this link my husband found through a Christian brother’s page. There is always a peaceful option.

How is it that we are HURT so badly?

by admin on March 10, 2012 in Feeling It (Thankful), People In My Heart with No comments

(Myself and my Dad Spring2011)

On the edge of tears, as though listening to a most excellent melody.. I think of the many folks that are near and so very dear to me.. My kin.. friends .. brothers and sisters in Christ.. because I feel so Very Very Blessed to have known each one of you and just now I  am catching a glimpse of just how much my Lord Jesus Christ loves you… Good Lord how He loves you!!

I see the bravery needed to love  because when we decide to love another person; we, to some extent, put ourselves at their mercy…. We become vulnerable.. When the enemy hurts us we are not surprised… but then when we are  betrayed by a brother it cuts us sharply, to the depths of our soul.

But to harden ourselves brings the loss of being able to experience love.  Therefore it is the wisdom of the Living Word that He was to say… Father … Forgive them… they just don’t understand.

I need, absolutely need, forgiveness and SO DO YOU!

Therefore: brethren be gracious to one another  forgiving one another as God, in Christ, has FORGIVEN  YOU! ABSOLUTELY and without reservation or caveat!!!

by Allan Munro on Monday, March 5, 2012 at 11:12am

The Chia Seed

by admin on March 10, 2012 in Foodie Like Me with No comments

Who knew that THE seed popularized by the infomercial sold ‘chia pet’ has so many health benefits and is a great addition to a persons diet?!

Well, someone filled me in so when I spotted it in bulk at a grocer I grabbed it.   Now the experimenting has begun as I find favorite ways to use it.  Garnet, my husband, is a seed and yogurt nut.  Between his hemp seeds and now his chia seeds on his daily dose of yogurt he is eating bird food!  I tease because he always said that was how I ate.  I am enjoying adding this lovely little seed to my weekly batch of bread.  The seed softens up nicely so it isn’t hard on the teeth to just add to your baking.  Apparently it is great on salads and soups too, will have to try that.  We enjoy just munching on it raw and at some point plan to make the porridge recipe listed on the bag.

So it is good for you… because of high calcium, protein, fiber and amino fatty acid 3.  There is probably more to learn about it and fill me in on what you know or what you have read about it.

Have a try and tell me what you think!

TTFN

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