Well, it's not Wednesday, nor is it Friday. It's monday again. I guess I'm just going to have to stop saying when I'll post on here, just so I don't make a liar out of myself. :) The days just get so busy around here, that by the time I have time to write, I'd rather go to sleep, instead.
Last Wednesday was a busy day. We did a little bit of school, and then we baked cookies for my daughters' youth group's St. Patrick's Day party. I made sugar cookies and rolled them in sparkly, green sugar. The girls loved rolling the cookie dough in that stuff. :) I think they tasted along the way, but I can't promise. lol It must have been more humid outside than I thought, because the cookie dough was too dry. I kept having to add liquid to it. That kind of thing has never happened to me before, when it comes to cookies. But, they tasted fine, and I'm told they looked perfect. I don't believe that, but it's nice to hear.
My mom had bought me a new cookie sheet for my birthday, back in January, and I was excited to be using it for the first time. I rolled out the cookies, rolled them in the green sugar and placed them on the cookie sheet. I opened the oven, slid out the rack and set the sheet on it. I started to push in the rack, but a "bump" stopped me. Ha! That crazy cookie sheet would not fit in my oven! I turned it long ways, but no such luck. That pan was not going in there. lol So, i set the cookie sheet back on the table and waited until the first batch had cooled enough to reuse the pan. :) I knew my oven was smaller than normal, but I never dreamed it was that small. :)
I also made bread last week. It was french bread, and it turned out so yummy this time. I've changed a few things over the years from when I first began making it, and the bread only seems to get better as time goes by.
I've started adding my salt after the first few cups of flour. I read somewhere that salt does something to the yeast to keep it from working properly, so after about 3 cups of flour, I add the salt.
Also, instead of white, granulated sugar, I've started using honey. It seems to make the bread softer, and it changes the crum. I didn't realize it would do this. With sugar, the inside of the bread is more firm, more together. It tastes great, though. But, with honey, the inside of the bread is a little more airy, if that makes any sense. It seems to change the taste of the bread, too, but without having both kinds at the same time, I can't really tell what is different about it.
The other thing I've changed about making french bread, and white bread, too, is I beat an egg white and brush the tops of the loaves before baking. I brush on the egg white, let them sit for a minute or so, then sprits them with water and plop them in the oven. The water keeps the air in the oven moist, so the bread doesn't dry out, and the egg gives it a nice, golden color that my oven can't because of its age.
This last time, I had some help making the bread. My 6-year-old brushed a loaf of her choosing with egg white and spritsed it, as well. She was so proud of herself, and the funny thing was, her loaf turned out prettier than mine. :) She kept saying, "Mine looks better than Mommy's!"
I bought some meat and cheese from the deli yesterday, and I can't wait to make more bread, so I can slice it long ways and make hoagies out of it. Yum! And, rather healthy, too, if one isn't worried about carbs.
Well, it's almost school time, my coffee is getting cold, and my Reeses Puffs are almost gone. And, if you can believe it, I've run out of things to say. So, until next time, keep smiling and keep praying. It's the only thing that's gonna git us through.
Showing posts with label blind woman in the kitchen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blind woman in the kitchen. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday, December 12, 2011
After the Weekend
So, I guess by now y'all realized I took a few days off from blogging. My best excuse is that I really could not think of anything to write about. The good news is I'm back, I'm ready to write and I have something to say.
Friday was one busy day. I did laundry, swiffered my house, straightened up the living room, made a pot of chili which I'll tell you about later and made some cheese-filled bread. I bathed my girls and after dinner, went to a Christmas play at my dad's church. Due to the inadequacy of the chili, we had to get cheeseburgers from Burger King on the way home.
On Saturday, I washed dishes, did laundry and thought a lot about baking. I never did bake, though. I kept wondering why my tongue was so sore. I even had the hubby to look at it to see if something was obviously wrong. It burned every time I ate or drank anything even remotely acidic, and every time I turned around my mouth was watering. What on earth was going on? Ha! It was that crazy chili. See, I accidentally put too much chili powder in it. As a result, it set my tongue on fire. It's still sore today, but not as much, thankfully. As for the cheese bread, my girls and I finished an entire loaf on Saturday, mostly because it didn't hurt my mouth to eat it. lol
So, Saturday night rolls around, and the 6-year-old is coughing. I gave medicine for it, sent her to bed and prayed. The next morning, she gets up with a fever and a bad cough. No Sunday School for us. Instead, her daddy took her to the doctor who gave her an antibiotic and offered to write a note for her teacher so she could miss school the next day. This teacher plans to take it easy for the poor, lil thang. lol
So, while the man of the house and the 6-year-old were at the doctor, the 4-year-old and I played barbie, watched some TV and made 2 batches of cookies. Ok, I made the cookies, but she helped. The Christmas tree was lit, and the house smelled yummy. By the time Dad and Sis got home, cookies were ready to be tasted. I made chocolate chip and chocolate sugar. After cleaning up from my bake fest, I did more laundry, then sat down to rest. Bedtime came, we gave meds and tried to settle down for a long winter's nap...uh, wait a minute - wrong story. What I meant was, we tried to get some sleep, but the 6-year-old was wound up. She got up to go to the bath room; she got up to get a drink. She got up to blow her nose, and walked back and forth before the sink...oh, dear, I'm rhyming. Somebody stop me! lol
Needless to say, it was a long night, but not a sleep-filled one. But, this cold Monday morning, we're awake, at least the 4-year-old, the man of the place and I are. My man's off to work, I'm blogging at the kitchen table, the youngest is eating coco puffs cereal and gabbing my ear off, and the big baby is still sleeping away. No plans to wake her up anytime soon, I can tell you.
Since y'all seem to like to hear about my books, I've started working on another one that has been on the back burner for a while. This one is a contemporary Christian Romance. Well, it's contemporary if you think 1989 is modern-day. :) I have about 6k words written, but most of that was when I started it months ago. For the past few days, the storyline has been running around in my head, I've changed some names, and I've written a paragraph or two. One thing I'm slowly learning, writing full time and homeschooling full-time is almost impossible. :) Is it ok to take a day off from school and write? Is it ok to take time off from school, when you've already taken some time off this year? Hmm, I don't know.
When I start thinking of making sure my first grader is doing first grade stuff, I feel like hyperventilating. Am I covering everything I should be? Am I missing something vital? Should I consider having her tested either now or at the end of the year to see if she is really on a first grade level? Ok, I'm getting wound up. Let's talk about something else.
Let's see, baking, homeschooling, writing... What else do y'all wanna hear about? Tell y'all what, you drop me comments letting me know what you want to know, and I'll do my best to write about them. Have a question about blindness or blindness related issues? Ask away.
Until next time, keep smiling, keep praying, and hang in there. We have something to be thankful for, after all; we're not pushing up daisies! Amen?
Friday was one busy day. I did laundry, swiffered my house, straightened up the living room, made a pot of chili which I'll tell you about later and made some cheese-filled bread. I bathed my girls and after dinner, went to a Christmas play at my dad's church. Due to the inadequacy of the chili, we had to get cheeseburgers from Burger King on the way home.
On Saturday, I washed dishes, did laundry and thought a lot about baking. I never did bake, though. I kept wondering why my tongue was so sore. I even had the hubby to look at it to see if something was obviously wrong. It burned every time I ate or drank anything even remotely acidic, and every time I turned around my mouth was watering. What on earth was going on? Ha! It was that crazy chili. See, I accidentally put too much chili powder in it. As a result, it set my tongue on fire. It's still sore today, but not as much, thankfully. As for the cheese bread, my girls and I finished an entire loaf on Saturday, mostly because it didn't hurt my mouth to eat it. lol
So, Saturday night rolls around, and the 6-year-old is coughing. I gave medicine for it, sent her to bed and prayed. The next morning, she gets up with a fever and a bad cough. No Sunday School for us. Instead, her daddy took her to the doctor who gave her an antibiotic and offered to write a note for her teacher so she could miss school the next day. This teacher plans to take it easy for the poor, lil thang. lol
So, while the man of the house and the 6-year-old were at the doctor, the 4-year-old and I played barbie, watched some TV and made 2 batches of cookies. Ok, I made the cookies, but she helped. The Christmas tree was lit, and the house smelled yummy. By the time Dad and Sis got home, cookies were ready to be tasted. I made chocolate chip and chocolate sugar. After cleaning up from my bake fest, I did more laundry, then sat down to rest. Bedtime came, we gave meds and tried to settle down for a long winter's nap...uh, wait a minute - wrong story. What I meant was, we tried to get some sleep, but the 6-year-old was wound up. She got up to go to the bath room; she got up to get a drink. She got up to blow her nose, and walked back and forth before the sink...oh, dear, I'm rhyming. Somebody stop me! lol
Needless to say, it was a long night, but not a sleep-filled one. But, this cold Monday morning, we're awake, at least the 4-year-old, the man of the place and I are. My man's off to work, I'm blogging at the kitchen table, the youngest is eating coco puffs cereal and gabbing my ear off, and the big baby is still sleeping away. No plans to wake her up anytime soon, I can tell you.
Since y'all seem to like to hear about my books, I've started working on another one that has been on the back burner for a while. This one is a contemporary Christian Romance. Well, it's contemporary if you think 1989 is modern-day. :) I have about 6k words written, but most of that was when I started it months ago. For the past few days, the storyline has been running around in my head, I've changed some names, and I've written a paragraph or two. One thing I'm slowly learning, writing full time and homeschooling full-time is almost impossible. :) Is it ok to take a day off from school and write? Is it ok to take time off from school, when you've already taken some time off this year? Hmm, I don't know.
When I start thinking of making sure my first grader is doing first grade stuff, I feel like hyperventilating. Am I covering everything I should be? Am I missing something vital? Should I consider having her tested either now or at the end of the year to see if she is really on a first grade level? Ok, I'm getting wound up. Let's talk about something else.
Let's see, baking, homeschooling, writing... What else do y'all wanna hear about? Tell y'all what, you drop me comments letting me know what you want to know, and I'll do my best to write about them. Have a question about blindness or blindness related issues? Ask away.
Until next time, keep smiling, keep praying, and hang in there. We have something to be thankful for, after all; we're not pushing up daisies! Amen?
Monday, November 28, 2011
A Kitchen Delight
The other evening, I was finishing another Joanne Fluke book, "Candycane Murder", when I suddenly HAD to have a cookie. Not just any old cookie, either. I wanted a chocolate sugar cookie. But, the recipe called for cream of tartar, and I am like Old Mother Hubbard who went to her cupboard to get her poor dog a bone. Just like her, when I got there, my cream of tartar shelf was bare, and so when it came to chocolate sugar cookies, i had none. However, i was not giving up so easily.
On a whim, I pulled up my sugar cookie recipe, the plain one and started mixing up ingredients. Here's what I did, how I did it and the end result.
First I preheated my oven to 375 degrees. Remember the sugar cookies I wanted to make in the post "Kitchen Nightmare"? Well, that bowl of flour and such contained 2-3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder. So, in a bigger bowl, I beat together 1 cup, that's 2 sticks of Land O Lakes butter that had been melted in the microwave, 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 3/4 cup of white sugar. When it was mixed well, I added one egg and beat some more. Then, I put a teensy drop of vanilla extract in there and some imitation maple flavoring and mixed. I put my beaters in the sink, after licking them a bit, and poured my flour mixture in to the butter and sugar mixture. I stirred carefully, and then put my hands in there and finished the job.
I greased my cookie sheets with olive oil and used the oil to put on my hands. Then, I rolled out the cookies and baked them at 375 for 10 minutes. Turns out 10 mins wasn't enough, so I went to 11 mins. What came out of the oven were some yummy, warm cookies that made me think of maple and brown sugar oatmeal - without the oatmeal, of course. Hmm, wonder if oats in the cookies would be good. Might have to think on that.
Maybe the idea isn't new, maybe it is, but I was tickled pink by my experiment, especially when the end result was so good. If you've been following my blog, you'll remember a couple of weeks ago, when my time in the kitchen was not as successful. The other night's success, though was like a balm to my soul. And, all because I wasn't willing to settle for plain old sugar cookies.
Today has felt like a Monday. Today has even sounded like a Monday, what with the rain dripping outside and the sighing of yawns in the house. All my girls and I want to do is laze around on the couch, but we did manage to get some things done. Faith practiced her handwriting, her reading and reciting of the Lord's Prayer. We had a Bible lesson that was taken from Luke 10:33, which talks about the man who fell among thieves and was rescued by the Good Samaritan. The girls colored pictures illustrating the story and hung them on the freezer to show their daddy. We also started a science project with beans. We took a white bean, actually 2 of them, because you can't have just one with 2 kids. We talked about how they felt and looked, then placed them in water to see what happens. Every little bit, Faith and Kierstin go check on their beans. At one point, Faith tells me it's starting to look wrinkled. I asked her if she knew what else got wrinkly in water. When I told her it was her and her sister, she wanted to know if our skin was like a bean's skin. Haha! I said that, yep, in a way, cause our skin has tiny holes in it that soak up water. :)
But, now, it's time to get off the internet and go wash up some dishes in preparation for dinner. I had planned on hamburgers, but my husband said there was a cook out at his work today, so no hamburgers, please. Hope he has another good idea, cause I'm fresh out. Deed, just bring me a chicken basket from Dairy Queen or something from the Chinese place, and I'd be happy. Thing is though, there was too much month at the end of the money, because I went Christmas shopping on Amazon, so we'll have to make due with what we got.
Before I say bye for the day, I want to congratulate Heather C for winning the contest! Always love hearing from my readers. Congrats, Heather, and hope you enjoy the book.
Until next time, y'all keep on keeping on. God is faithful. Amen?
On a whim, I pulled up my sugar cookie recipe, the plain one and started mixing up ingredients. Here's what I did, how I did it and the end result.
First I preheated my oven to 375 degrees. Remember the sugar cookies I wanted to make in the post "Kitchen Nightmare"? Well, that bowl of flour and such contained 2-3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder. So, in a bigger bowl, I beat together 1 cup, that's 2 sticks of Land O Lakes butter that had been melted in the microwave, 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 3/4 cup of white sugar. When it was mixed well, I added one egg and beat some more. Then, I put a teensy drop of vanilla extract in there and some imitation maple flavoring and mixed. I put my beaters in the sink, after licking them a bit, and poured my flour mixture in to the butter and sugar mixture. I stirred carefully, and then put my hands in there and finished the job.
I greased my cookie sheets with olive oil and used the oil to put on my hands. Then, I rolled out the cookies and baked them at 375 for 10 minutes. Turns out 10 mins wasn't enough, so I went to 11 mins. What came out of the oven were some yummy, warm cookies that made me think of maple and brown sugar oatmeal - without the oatmeal, of course. Hmm, wonder if oats in the cookies would be good. Might have to think on that.
Maybe the idea isn't new, maybe it is, but I was tickled pink by my experiment, especially when the end result was so good. If you've been following my blog, you'll remember a couple of weeks ago, when my time in the kitchen was not as successful. The other night's success, though was like a balm to my soul. And, all because I wasn't willing to settle for plain old sugar cookies.
Today has felt like a Monday. Today has even sounded like a Monday, what with the rain dripping outside and the sighing of yawns in the house. All my girls and I want to do is laze around on the couch, but we did manage to get some things done. Faith practiced her handwriting, her reading and reciting of the Lord's Prayer. We had a Bible lesson that was taken from Luke 10:33, which talks about the man who fell among thieves and was rescued by the Good Samaritan. The girls colored pictures illustrating the story and hung them on the freezer to show their daddy. We also started a science project with beans. We took a white bean, actually 2 of them, because you can't have just one with 2 kids. We talked about how they felt and looked, then placed them in water to see what happens. Every little bit, Faith and Kierstin go check on their beans. At one point, Faith tells me it's starting to look wrinkled. I asked her if she knew what else got wrinkly in water. When I told her it was her and her sister, she wanted to know if our skin was like a bean's skin. Haha! I said that, yep, in a way, cause our skin has tiny holes in it that soak up water. :)
But, now, it's time to get off the internet and go wash up some dishes in preparation for dinner. I had planned on hamburgers, but my husband said there was a cook out at his work today, so no hamburgers, please. Hope he has another good idea, cause I'm fresh out. Deed, just bring me a chicken basket from Dairy Queen or something from the Chinese place, and I'd be happy. Thing is though, there was too much month at the end of the money, because I went Christmas shopping on Amazon, so we'll have to make due with what we got.
Before I say bye for the day, I want to congratulate Heather C for winning the contest! Always love hearing from my readers. Congrats, Heather, and hope you enjoy the book.
Until next time, y'all keep on keeping on. God is faithful. Amen?
Friday, November 18, 2011
Kitchen Nightmare
Do y'all ever watch that show on TV? We do. In fact, we watch a lot of cooking shows, especially with Chef Gordon Ramsey in them. I get a kick out of watching people mess up real bad. I like to think I wouldn't be that stupid, but knowing me, I would. lol
Today, I am so very glad Chef Ramsey is not coming to check out my kitchen. It's not as bad s it was, but it sure isn't what it should be. Of course, I'm not cooking for anyone and making them pay for it, but still. If a chef, or anyone else for that matter would have been in my kitchen today, they would have thought I didn't know how to bake. All my cookies, except for 3 pans, stuck, badly. All except 3 pans needed put back in for an additional minute or 2 and never did feel done. As for the rest, most were ok, some got too done and others fell apart to the point we are eating them in pieces. Honestly, y'all if I had managed to goof up this bad in the beginning of my cooking days, I would wait a very long time before trying again. Luckily, I know I am a better baker than I was today. Also luckily, I like bread better than cookies. Ha! I'm better at bread, too. I have messed up my bread before, of course, but not this bad.
What did i try to make? Well, I mixed up a batch of chocolate sugar cookies, a recipe I got from one of Joanne Fluke's books. I can't remember which one. "Apple Turnover Murder" maybe? I don't know. Anyway, the first silly thing I did was tip my mixing bowl too much and splashed hot butter and chocolate on to my hand. It was a yummy mess, but it was hot where it had just come out of the microwave. And, yes, I melt my chocolate in the microwave. Sorry Chef Ramsey. :) Then, I made my dough balls too big and that first dozen didn't get done. Had to put them back in for another minute. After that, some of them stuck to the pan. My recipe didn't say whether to grease the pans or not, so I didn't. Probably should have.
The next batch of cookies was a recipe I found online somewhere. I don't know what they were called, but I call them pecan filled. When I measured out the nuts to put in the bowl, I spilled about half of them out on to the table. My 6 year old was happy to tell me I had made a mess. lol Basically, with these cookies, you make your batter, roll them in balls, press your clean thumb in them and put a pecan mixture in the thumb print. Before I had even finished rolling all the dough out, I had run out of nut mixture. Also, because the last time I made these cookies they didn't rise well, I made them bigger. Mistake. Last time my baking powder and baking soda were old. This time I had fresh, and y'all fresh works better than old. Haha! Needless to say, they spread out way too much, stuck to each other and the pan and made a mess. Tasted good, though, but had to throw a lot of them out.
I put together the flour and other dry ingredients for sugar cookies, but when I saw that last batch of pecan cookies looking that way, I put foil over that bowl, set it aside, cleaned up my mess, took out the trash, poured me some tea and gave up.
Note to self, next time you want to bake a lot like that, get more than 3 hours of sleep. I tried to sleep more, truly I did, but the baby was kicking me most of the night. She had sneaked her way in my bed without my knowing it. By the time she got there, it was too late. I was awake for good.
What's that? I should have went to bed earlier? Well, yeah I should have, but here's that story. See, I got my yarn yesterday that I had told y'all about on Wednesday. I had to work with it a bit. Made myself a pair of my wristers in pale green velvet spun, which is lovely BTW. I finished the second one around 11 and turned everything off so I could go to bed. But, before I made it to bed, I had an idea for my WIP. Knowing I would forget it, I hurried to turn the mac book back on and write. An hour later, I turned it off again, got a drink and hit the sack. So, I think I slept about 3 and a half hours.
Ok, so now a bit about that yarn. The velvet spun, like I said, it's wonderful. You have to be careful when tying it off, though, because the fibers are long and not really tight. For me, paying $5.99 a ball was worth it. I wore the wristers last night when I did my writing. Kept my hands warm, too. As for the angora marino (probably spelled wrong) well, it isn't quite what I expected. It is soft, wonderfully soft. I love the feel of it. But, where it's a real fine yarn, it takes patience to work with. Also, after balling it up and crocheting a while, I felt like I had little fuzz balls all over me. :) I think I did, cause Kierstin said something about me having fuzz balls on me. Ha! I'd say if you are allergic to animal fur, you might not want to buy it or wear it. Would I buy it again? Maybe. I crocheted a chain and one whole roe so far, so I really can't say how it works up, but I think that if one had the patience, it would make a lovely sweater, shrug, or scarf. Thinking of a scarf with this particular bunch. We'll see, though.
So, that's my Friday. How was yours? Some of you have asked for a post about baking, so there you go. Hope you got some enjoyment out of it. I will tomorrow when i can laugh about it. Today, though, I'm just tired. :) Take care and come back Monday. Also, feel free to comment. love hearing from y'all! It keeps me writing.
Today, I am so very glad Chef Ramsey is not coming to check out my kitchen. It's not as bad s it was, but it sure isn't what it should be. Of course, I'm not cooking for anyone and making them pay for it, but still. If a chef, or anyone else for that matter would have been in my kitchen today, they would have thought I didn't know how to bake. All my cookies, except for 3 pans, stuck, badly. All except 3 pans needed put back in for an additional minute or 2 and never did feel done. As for the rest, most were ok, some got too done and others fell apart to the point we are eating them in pieces. Honestly, y'all if I had managed to goof up this bad in the beginning of my cooking days, I would wait a very long time before trying again. Luckily, I know I am a better baker than I was today. Also luckily, I like bread better than cookies. Ha! I'm better at bread, too. I have messed up my bread before, of course, but not this bad.
What did i try to make? Well, I mixed up a batch of chocolate sugar cookies, a recipe I got from one of Joanne Fluke's books. I can't remember which one. "Apple Turnover Murder" maybe? I don't know. Anyway, the first silly thing I did was tip my mixing bowl too much and splashed hot butter and chocolate on to my hand. It was a yummy mess, but it was hot where it had just come out of the microwave. And, yes, I melt my chocolate in the microwave. Sorry Chef Ramsey. :) Then, I made my dough balls too big and that first dozen didn't get done. Had to put them back in for another minute. After that, some of them stuck to the pan. My recipe didn't say whether to grease the pans or not, so I didn't. Probably should have.
The next batch of cookies was a recipe I found online somewhere. I don't know what they were called, but I call them pecan filled. When I measured out the nuts to put in the bowl, I spilled about half of them out on to the table. My 6 year old was happy to tell me I had made a mess. lol Basically, with these cookies, you make your batter, roll them in balls, press your clean thumb in them and put a pecan mixture in the thumb print. Before I had even finished rolling all the dough out, I had run out of nut mixture. Also, because the last time I made these cookies they didn't rise well, I made them bigger. Mistake. Last time my baking powder and baking soda were old. This time I had fresh, and y'all fresh works better than old. Haha! Needless to say, they spread out way too much, stuck to each other and the pan and made a mess. Tasted good, though, but had to throw a lot of them out.
I put together the flour and other dry ingredients for sugar cookies, but when I saw that last batch of pecan cookies looking that way, I put foil over that bowl, set it aside, cleaned up my mess, took out the trash, poured me some tea and gave up.
Note to self, next time you want to bake a lot like that, get more than 3 hours of sleep. I tried to sleep more, truly I did, but the baby was kicking me most of the night. She had sneaked her way in my bed without my knowing it. By the time she got there, it was too late. I was awake for good.
What's that? I should have went to bed earlier? Well, yeah I should have, but here's that story. See, I got my yarn yesterday that I had told y'all about on Wednesday. I had to work with it a bit. Made myself a pair of my wristers in pale green velvet spun, which is lovely BTW. I finished the second one around 11 and turned everything off so I could go to bed. But, before I made it to bed, I had an idea for my WIP. Knowing I would forget it, I hurried to turn the mac book back on and write. An hour later, I turned it off again, got a drink and hit the sack. So, I think I slept about 3 and a half hours.
Ok, so now a bit about that yarn. The velvet spun, like I said, it's wonderful. You have to be careful when tying it off, though, because the fibers are long and not really tight. For me, paying $5.99 a ball was worth it. I wore the wristers last night when I did my writing. Kept my hands warm, too. As for the angora marino (probably spelled wrong) well, it isn't quite what I expected. It is soft, wonderfully soft. I love the feel of it. But, where it's a real fine yarn, it takes patience to work with. Also, after balling it up and crocheting a while, I felt like I had little fuzz balls all over me. :) I think I did, cause Kierstin said something about me having fuzz balls on me. Ha! I'd say if you are allergic to animal fur, you might not want to buy it or wear it. Would I buy it again? Maybe. I crocheted a chain and one whole roe so far, so I really can't say how it works up, but I think that if one had the patience, it would make a lovely sweater, shrug, or scarf. Thinking of a scarf with this particular bunch. We'll see, though.
So, that's my Friday. How was yours? Some of you have asked for a post about baking, so there you go. Hope you got some enjoyment out of it. I will tomorrow when i can laugh about it. Today, though, I'm just tired. :) Take care and come back Monday. Also, feel free to comment. love hearing from y'all! It keeps me writing.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Blind Baker
As the title implies, I have been baking quite a bit, here lately. It's like I can't get enough of it. I blogged about making the Challah bread, which you can read. It's title is simply, "Challah bread." But, I've been making more than Challah. This month, alone, I have made 1 batch of Challah, 3 batches of cinnamon rolls, 2 batches of bagels 1 whole wheat and one regular, 2 batches of brownies, and 1 loaf of banana bread. In this post, I'm going to share some of those funniest and/or most interestingest points of those baking adventures.
On Saturday, July 3, the day I made 2 batches of cinnamon rolls and 2 loaves of Challah, started out busy and ended busy. At 9 that morning I was in the kitchen washing dishes. After the kitchen was cleaned, I cooked some chicken for chicken salad I planned to eat for lunch that week. When it was done, I cut it up in small pieces and put it in a container in my fridge to wait. I had to get things from the grocery store before making the salad. Then, my dear husband cooked pancakes for us, and I washed dishes afterward. After draining the sink of sudsy water, I hurried to take a shower and get ready to go to Walmart.
Mom and Dad...Lord, bless them...drove me to Walmart and we were there 2 hours getting the stuff I needed. My wonderful husband stayed home with the girls, which made the trip go smoothly, if it did take a while. So, anyway, when I got back home around 6:15, my DH cooked spaghetti while I washed dishes and started making my dough.
I had 2 bowls, one for the Challah and one for the cinnamon rolls, and I think I got confused somewhere along the way, because my cinnamon roll dough took forever to come together. All the while I was trying to mix up dough, my 2-year-old was running a fever and wanted her mommy to hold her. I did while I ate my dinner. :) Finally, the children's Motrin kicked in and the fever went down.
I was managing pretty well with the Challah dough, when I plopped it on to my bread board and started kneading, and found a piece of egg shell in it. :D The recipe calls for an egg, and I guess I'm not so good at cracking them as I would like to be. But, all in all, both doughs came together, but not without a lot of sweat and cramping hands. At one point, when my DH came through the kitchen to get some ice cream, I asked for a bite. You should have seen me, standing there, dough all over the place, sweat rolling in rivers down my face, holding that cold sweetness of chocolate in my mouth.
When it was time for the dough to rise, I put it in separate bowls and covered them, and then ran bath water for my girls. I spanked them all soundly and put them to bed...haha gotcha! lol Nah, I bathed them and lie down with them until they were asleep. At that point, I got back up, braided my Challah and set it on the baking pan to wait for the oven to come up to temperature. While it baked, I rolled out the cinnamon rolls. While using a heavy hand to sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the rolled out dough, I ran out and had to find more, but it all worked out. The DH went to bed about that time, and i was not only alone in the kitchen, but in the dark...quite literally. haha! He turned the lights out on me! Can you believe it?
Pulling baking pans in and out of the oven, punching the timer again and again, washing the dishes as I went, and checking email, I spent the rest of the night in the kitchen. I went to bed around 2 that Sunday morning, and got up around 6:30 or 7 and readied myself and the baby to go to med express where we found out she had sores in her mouth and throat. No strep, though, but doctor did give an antibiotic.
The day I made the regular bagels, my friend, Anita was here to visit, and even though the bagels fell apart, I was surprised that they turned out so good. That first time, I rolled the dough in to snakes, pinched the ends together and tried to roll them, but the second time I made the bagels, I made balls and punched my thumb through them. The second batch stayed together and looked prettier, too. The interesting thing is, I didn't know you have to boil bagels before baking. I was worried about doing this, because the instructions say to flip them in the boiling water after 30 seconds, but I just used a big spatula and instead of flipping, I kind of stirred them around a bit. i only put 1 bagel in at a time, too. Next batch of bagels, think I might make cinnamon raisin ones. Yum!
"Ok Shannon," you are probably saying, "get to the funny part." Well, here goes.
I wanted to make brownies for my friend who was staying, but I didn't have a lot of energy to keep me going. So, knowing it doesn't take long to whip up a batch, I started in. I must not have been paying enough attention. I ran to the cabinet and grabbed a bag that felt like chocolate chips. i cut it open and poured half of the contents in to the brownie batter. When something hard hit the counter, I was like, what? I grabbed up the item, and like a dummy, put it in my mouth. Oh, my y'all, I had poured dried beans in to that batter, and I could not get them all out by spooning in to a cup. I had to throw it out and start again.
Now, I had some very very very ripe bananas on my counter and needed to get rid of them, so why not make banana bread? Well, while I waited on my dad to bring me some vanilla for the brownies, which never happened, BTW, I mixed up the banana bread for the first time. The instructions say to mix bananas, cinnamon and milk in one bowl, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in to another, and butter, sugar and eggs in a 3rd bowl. Well, when I was about to assemble all the ingredience in to one bowl, I realized i had forgot the eggs, my beaters were clean and my mixer was put away, so I just cracked them, put them in and gave them a vigorous stir. I also made a mistake when adding the salt, baking powder and baking soda, by putting them in the wrong bowl. Instead of the flour bowl, I put them in the banana bowl. haha! So, I gave up on the vanilla and made the brownies, which turned out yummy. I put the banana bread batter in the oven and an hour and 15 minutes later, cracked on top it came out. I tasted it the next morning, and...wow! It was moist and so very good. Usually, I don't eat banana bread, because it's too dried out or burnt, but that was perfect. Also, I tend to under cook things, so there's no way it tastes burned. The only thing i want charred at the very edge, is maybe a real, good steak, or some grilled chicken.
So, let's see, does that cover it? I think so. I want to make zuchini bread, but I don't have any zuchini and don't know of anyone who grows it. I'm too poor right now to buy some at the store, but now that I can get fresh fruits and vegetables through WIC, I'll get some next time I can. One good thing about my girls, if I don't tell them what's in it, they usually eat my creations. Then, when they grow up, they will try to say they don't like something like zuchini bread, and I'll say, "Oh yes you do." :)
Until next time, keep smiling, keep praying, and come to my book signing at Taylor Books in Charleston on July 26 from 1 PM to 3 PM. It's for my children's book, "Gold! A Tall Tale."
On Saturday, July 3, the day I made 2 batches of cinnamon rolls and 2 loaves of Challah, started out busy and ended busy. At 9 that morning I was in the kitchen washing dishes. After the kitchen was cleaned, I cooked some chicken for chicken salad I planned to eat for lunch that week. When it was done, I cut it up in small pieces and put it in a container in my fridge to wait. I had to get things from the grocery store before making the salad. Then, my dear husband cooked pancakes for us, and I washed dishes afterward. After draining the sink of sudsy water, I hurried to take a shower and get ready to go to Walmart.
Mom and Dad...Lord, bless them...drove me to Walmart and we were there 2 hours getting the stuff I needed. My wonderful husband stayed home with the girls, which made the trip go smoothly, if it did take a while. So, anyway, when I got back home around 6:15, my DH cooked spaghetti while I washed dishes and started making my dough.
I had 2 bowls, one for the Challah and one for the cinnamon rolls, and I think I got confused somewhere along the way, because my cinnamon roll dough took forever to come together. All the while I was trying to mix up dough, my 2-year-old was running a fever and wanted her mommy to hold her. I did while I ate my dinner. :) Finally, the children's Motrin kicked in and the fever went down.
I was managing pretty well with the Challah dough, when I plopped it on to my bread board and started kneading, and found a piece of egg shell in it. :D The recipe calls for an egg, and I guess I'm not so good at cracking them as I would like to be. But, all in all, both doughs came together, but not without a lot of sweat and cramping hands. At one point, when my DH came through the kitchen to get some ice cream, I asked for a bite. You should have seen me, standing there, dough all over the place, sweat rolling in rivers down my face, holding that cold sweetness of chocolate in my mouth.
When it was time for the dough to rise, I put it in separate bowls and covered them, and then ran bath water for my girls. I spanked them all soundly and put them to bed...haha gotcha! lol Nah, I bathed them and lie down with them until they were asleep. At that point, I got back up, braided my Challah and set it on the baking pan to wait for the oven to come up to temperature. While it baked, I rolled out the cinnamon rolls. While using a heavy hand to sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the rolled out dough, I ran out and had to find more, but it all worked out. The DH went to bed about that time, and i was not only alone in the kitchen, but in the dark...quite literally. haha! He turned the lights out on me! Can you believe it?
Pulling baking pans in and out of the oven, punching the timer again and again, washing the dishes as I went, and checking email, I spent the rest of the night in the kitchen. I went to bed around 2 that Sunday morning, and got up around 6:30 or 7 and readied myself and the baby to go to med express where we found out she had sores in her mouth and throat. No strep, though, but doctor did give an antibiotic.
The day I made the regular bagels, my friend, Anita was here to visit, and even though the bagels fell apart, I was surprised that they turned out so good. That first time, I rolled the dough in to snakes, pinched the ends together and tried to roll them, but the second time I made the bagels, I made balls and punched my thumb through them. The second batch stayed together and looked prettier, too. The interesting thing is, I didn't know you have to boil bagels before baking. I was worried about doing this, because the instructions say to flip them in the boiling water after 30 seconds, but I just used a big spatula and instead of flipping, I kind of stirred them around a bit. i only put 1 bagel in at a time, too. Next batch of bagels, think I might make cinnamon raisin ones. Yum!
"Ok Shannon," you are probably saying, "get to the funny part." Well, here goes.
I wanted to make brownies for my friend who was staying, but I didn't have a lot of energy to keep me going. So, knowing it doesn't take long to whip up a batch, I started in. I must not have been paying enough attention. I ran to the cabinet and grabbed a bag that felt like chocolate chips. i cut it open and poured half of the contents in to the brownie batter. When something hard hit the counter, I was like, what? I grabbed up the item, and like a dummy, put it in my mouth. Oh, my y'all, I had poured dried beans in to that batter, and I could not get them all out by spooning in to a cup. I had to throw it out and start again.
Now, I had some very very very ripe bananas on my counter and needed to get rid of them, so why not make banana bread? Well, while I waited on my dad to bring me some vanilla for the brownies, which never happened, BTW, I mixed up the banana bread for the first time. The instructions say to mix bananas, cinnamon and milk in one bowl, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in to another, and butter, sugar and eggs in a 3rd bowl. Well, when I was about to assemble all the ingredience in to one bowl, I realized i had forgot the eggs, my beaters were clean and my mixer was put away, so I just cracked them, put them in and gave them a vigorous stir. I also made a mistake when adding the salt, baking powder and baking soda, by putting them in the wrong bowl. Instead of the flour bowl, I put them in the banana bowl. haha! So, I gave up on the vanilla and made the brownies, which turned out yummy. I put the banana bread batter in the oven and an hour and 15 minutes later, cracked on top it came out. I tasted it the next morning, and...wow! It was moist and so very good. Usually, I don't eat banana bread, because it's too dried out or burnt, but that was perfect. Also, I tend to under cook things, so there's no way it tastes burned. The only thing i want charred at the very edge, is maybe a real, good steak, or some grilled chicken.
So, let's see, does that cover it? I think so. I want to make zuchini bread, but I don't have any zuchini and don't know of anyone who grows it. I'm too poor right now to buy some at the store, but now that I can get fresh fruits and vegetables through WIC, I'll get some next time I can. One good thing about my girls, if I don't tell them what's in it, they usually eat my creations. Then, when they grow up, they will try to say they don't like something like zuchini bread, and I'll say, "Oh yes you do." :)
Until next time, keep smiling, keep praying, and come to my book signing at Taylor Books in Charleston on July 26 from 1 PM to 3 PM. It's for my children's book, "Gold! A Tall Tale."
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