Sep 27 2012
bread 3

Today is a Bread Day

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The days are getting cooler, and I think it’s just about time to start making bread again. I love fresh bread, but haven’t been baking as much lately because it’s just been too hot! Thought I would pull out my trusty recipe and brush up on it before I get started. There is nothing like kneading bread dough for releasing all of your tension. Baking bread is simple, though most people tend to fear using yeast. Don’t be afraid… there’s really nothing to it. It’s also very easy to work into your day because of the various rise and rest times.  I use a very simple recipe. 

  • 3 cups warm water

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast(if you bought the jar and not the packages, there will be a conversion table on the label, but usually 2 1/4 tsp = 1 envelope)

  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 5 cups bread flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup honey (not a typo.. you really need it twice!)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted for the top of the loaves. 
  • You can use a clean paint brush instead of a pastry brush … or even the corner of one of your flour sack dish towels in a pinch!

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. 
Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky – just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough is about 1 inch over the top of the loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely


Mix well, combining all of the ingredients. The dough will be super sticky at first, and as you work more flour into it, it will get smoother, though will still be pretty sticky. 



Flour a flat surface. I use my favorite butcher block cutting board. Since my dear husband brought home a smaller cutting board made out of Lexan, this one hasn’t seen much use. Now it can come out of retirement as my bread board!


Turn the dough onto your floured surface. It will be a bit of a sticky mess. Make sure you flour your hands and then begin to gather the dough to you. Kneading is a “fold and press” type of movement. Make sure you use firm movements. You can not over-knead. If you think you’ve been at it long enough, knead another minute or 2.

The purpose is to help build gluten in the dough. It’s also to make sure that all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Knead the dough for around 8 – 12 minutes, adding in extra flour as needed. Depending on your humidity, you may not be able to work in all of the flour called for. Do not worry. On dry days, you will use less. On more humid, wet days, you will use more flour. The dough should begin to firm up, be cool to the touch and begin to feel more elastic.

Gather the kneaded dough into a ball.

Place the dough into a well oiled bowl (I used the top of my Tupperware cake saver, since my largest bowl is not quite large enough). Roll the ball around until the entire surface is coated. Now is a great time to clean off the kneading surface, because you will need it again soon.

Cover with a damp flour sack dish towel and place in a warm, draft free place.

Allow dough to rise and double. This can take at least an hour and a half. Do not be alarmed if it takes more time. If you are in a high altitude, your dough will rise faster and will probably not take a full hour.

Once the dough has doubled, dump it back onto the floured surface. Punch it down. Punching dough down is not nearly as rough as it sounds. Now is NOT the time to beat the crap out of the dough. Mainly you want to press it down firmly to let the built up carbon dioxide escape. You will want to knead the dough again for about 5 – 10 minutes. Then let the dough rest for about 20 more minutes.

While the dough is resting, get your loaf pans ready. You will want to make sure that you have 3 well-greased pans before you start with the dough again. Divide dough into 3 loaves. Then roll each into a cylinder shape as close to the size of your loaf pans as you can get. Only be concerned about the length of the pan as you will let the dough rise again before baking. Put the dough into the pans, rolling each end under the loaf to get it to fit. Cover with dry flour sack towel and let rise to about 1 inch higher than the pan. When they are close, pre-heat your oven to 375. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the bread is a golden brown and beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let it rest in the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then tip out onto the wire racks. They should sound hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf. Let them cool completely before cutting. 

This will make a delicious sandwich bread for your upcoming week! And is also fantastic for french toast or cinnamon toast!!!

Sep 20 2012
Stripped

Strung Out Chevron – Part 1

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There are tons and tons and metric TONS of string quilt paper piecing tutorials and patterns out there. They are fabulous stash busters, easy to master and are also really good beginner projects. After making several wardrobe pieces and several projects for family, friends and the store this summer, I had a large scrappy stash. Space is a limited commodity in our house, so I started looking through some of the tutorials I had saved to see what I could do to use up some of my hoard .. errr, stash. I fell in love with While They Snooze: How to Make a Quilt… kind of. I loved that she used one solid carried through the middle of each block to tie it together. The more I looked at it and the other string quilts, the more I knew I had to try one!

I pulled out the prints that I loved, and started looking for enough of a solid to pull in with them. Then I remembered a pair of wide legged pants that I had just stuffed into my “to be altered/changed/Frankensteined basket. I had been thinking of turning them into a skirt, but they were the perfect creamy brown to compliment my prints.

I used regular printer paper to make my pattern squares. I folded one corner over and trimmed the excess off the bottom to get my squares. It does not have to be fussy or exact, you can square the blocks up after they are on the paper. (This has also given me an idea for a rectangle string block, I’ll get back to you on that!)

I went ahead and folded and trimmed all of the paper to get it out of the way first. For my quilt, I needed 48 squares measuring roughly 8½” x 8½”. I sew everything with a ¼” seam allowance, for a finished block size of 8 x 8. Clip the paper pieces together and set them to the side. Time to start the strips! Thank goodness for rotary tools and a straight edge! I could have never ever done this without mine! I made all of the solid strips 2 inches wide  and about 13 inches long. Adjust your strip length depending on the size of your square.

As soon as they were done, I used a glue stick and lightly glued one strip of the solid diagonally through the middle of each square. Reclip and put back to the side. Then you can cut your prints into strips. I cut them anywhere from 1 to 3 inches wide and long enough to cover the paper. If you want to cut them long and just trim and re-use as you go, that’s fine too. I chose to do very random piecing, never putting 2 strips of the same color on a square.

Once all your prints are cut, you can begin piecing the squares together. It is a simple process, you only have to sew straight lines. Grab a square and your first printed strip. Place it wrong side up, on top of the middle strip. Line up one edge and sew the two strips together through the paper. Do not back-stitch, jut sew a straight seam from one end to the other. (I shortened my stitch length to about 1.5, this will make removing the paper easier later.) Now open the strip up and either press with an iron or finger press. Keep adding strips until you get to the corner. Then place another strip wrong side up on the solid strip and work to the other corner. Now it’s just a matter of finishing all of your squares.

 

The strips will fly under your needle and your squares will be complete before you know it. I suggest leaving the paper on until you are ready to begin sewing them together. You will want to lay them out on the floor (unless you have a really large table… if you do…. lucky!!!) and shuffle them around until you figure out where you want your squares. I had to move and position my squares a lot before I had a placement that I really liked. The tutorial that I modeled my quilt after called for the squares to be put together in groups that made diamonds. I set them up and moved them, and then changed them all around again. And a few more times just to make sure. Yep, the diamonds just weren’t doing it for me. Here are a couple of the layouts… I kept trying to make it into Xes instead of diamonds, but it just never lined up the way I wanted. I just could not unsee the diamonds.

 

I changed and re-arranged some more and then it dawned on me… it’s my quilt. I’m doing this for me, so who says that I have to lay it out like someone else has. I picked up all the squares and shuffled them around one last time. I was thinking about an afghan I wanted to crochet, but didn’t have the colors I wanted. The quilt did have the colors I wanted… Problem solved! It’s a little larger than a lapghan, but perfect to curl up in the chair and read or watch TV with!

 

 This is how I ended up with a chevron inspired quilt, made from string quilt blocks. After finally deciding on the proper placement, I picked up the blocks in order of their rows. Start with the first two blocks of a row. Tear the paper off of the backs and place them wrong sides together. Seam one side. You can press as you go, or you can wait and press all the seams open when you finish the row, or all the rows. Once I finish one row, I like to roll it up and label it. That way I can make sure it gets put together like I had designed it. And yes, I even label which way is up!! My big laughs at me and my labels, but if I put a project down, I want to make sure that I can pick it back up and put it together the way I wanted it. No matter how long it may stay in my project basket!

 

After getting all of the rows pieced together, it’s time to connect the rows. Make sure when you are lining up the rows that you have them turned correctly. You will be sewing the bottom of row 1 to the top of row 2. Then sew the bottom of row 3 to the top of row 4. Same for 5 & 6 and 7 & 8. Now you will have 4 double rows. Sew the bottom of the first double row to the top of the second double row. Sew the bottom of the third double row to the top of the fourth double row. You should now have 2 separate pieces made up of 4 rows each. Sew the bottom of the first piece to the top of the second, and you have a completed quilt top!

I will be back with the second part – Quilting and Binding – just as soon as I quilt and bind it! I am on the hunt for a funky vintage sheet to possibly use. Or maybe a pieced back with some stripes and polka dots. Hoping to finish it all up this weekend and get the second part out early next week. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will help the best I can!
Sep 18 2012
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Gazpacho (and what to do if you hate cold soup!)

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I have only recently learned how much I like gazpacho. I think my tastes must be changing again. Or maybe I’m just becoming more adventurous in my foods… my poor poor family! A few years the very thought of a cold soup would have had me running for the hills! It still does not sit well with the big… can’t really imagine what the little will think, have not tried serving it to him cold yet. I have, however, managed to find a compromise for us.

I use 3 or 4 large garden tomatoes or 5 or 6 plum (Roma) tomatoes. At least one medium-sized cucumber. Half of a green bell pepper and half of a red bell pepper. 2 cloves of crushed garlic. I also used a few leaves of basil… mostly because it was in my garden and needed to be trimmed, but it worked well in the soup! Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, about a 1/4 cup of nice extra virgin olive oil, and a splash of vinegar. The acid in the vinegar really brings out all of the crispness of the fresh vegetables. Pulse through a blender or food processor.

If you are going to use this as the traditional soup, make it at least 3 or 4 hours in advance so that it will have time to mingle in the fridge. This also freezes well. You can freeze single portions or family size portions. You may even consider freezing some ice-cube size portions to use to thin out a sauce or soup when you don’t want to add water.

If you are fixing it for someone who is more like my big, here is where the compromising comes in! One of the best ways is to make a pot of pasta; orzo, rotini, farfalle, or even tortellini or ravioli. After finishing your pasta, drain, but do not rinse. Top with a ladle full of the gazpacho and toss well. The steamy hot pasta will heat up the soup and turn it into a lovely and light sauce for your pasta. This makes a great side for Italian sausage bratwurst or a pork tenderloin. Also perfectly lovely as an entrée, sometimes I will add a chicken breast that I’ve grilled in my cast iron grill pan for a hearty pasta salad. You could coin cut some Italian sausage into it. I have even thickened it a little and used ground pork to make a meaty sauce with angel hair pasta.

As always, make it all about your family! Your favorite flavors… nothing will taste better!

Sep 14 2012
Can't wait for winter!

A Big Box Full of Tomatoes

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I make a lot of chili, spaghetti and other tomato based dinners in the winter, and nothing is more organic and wholesome than tomatoes you put up yourself. In fact, this year I’ll be putting up at least 2 or 3 boxes because my big is building shelves in the small room in our garage for this years canning adventures. I get a lot of recipes and tips from the Ball Fresh Preserving book. It’s my absolute Go-To Guide.
Before you start, do yourself a huge favor and get everything ready. Wash new and/or old jars in hot soapy water, or run through the dishwasher and use the heated dry feature. This is one of the few things I use the heated cycle for!
Fill the canner with water and let it be working to a boil. It takes it a little while to heat all of that water, so you should start it well before you need it. Also fill a smaller pot with water and boil. You will use this to help slip the skins off of the tomatoes.
Use a few aluminum basins to cut down on the mess. You’ll need around 3 or 4. I use 1 for the ice bath, 1 to peel into and one for cutting.

Once the water is boiling and you have everything ready, you can begin adding tomatoes to the smaller pot of boiling water. Boil until the skins begin to split. The tomatoes will then go into the ice pan until they can be handled. When you can comfortably hold them, the skins should slip right off and you can transfer them to the cutting pan.  

When you have a few of the tomatoes peeled, you can begin to cut and core them. This year, instead of just quartering them, I decided to go ahead and chop them up into fairly small pieces. 

Pack the chopped tomatoes into your prepared jars. Don’t forget to leave head-space!! This will be determined by the size of the jar you are using. Also depending on the size of the jars you are using, you will use roughly 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice. (Make sure you check your Ball Book for exact measurements to the size jars you are using!)

Once you get a jar packed with about a 1/4 of an inch head-space left, make sure to run a spatula down the side and press really hard towards the middle of the jar to help release any air that might be trapped inside.
 

Put together the two-piece lids and make sure that the rings are hand tight. Do not over tighten. You will then process the jars in a boiling water bath for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Once you take the jars out of the canner, you should begin to hear the happy little pops from the sealing lids. If, after 24 hours, you have a jar or 2 that doesn’t seal, you can re-process them and see if they will seal. Or just put them into the refrigerator and use them within about a week. Makes great salsa or gazpacho! I also can the juice leftover from cutting the tomatoes.. it’s great for soup or to thin out spaghetti or chili that has gotten too thick. All the same principles apply, except using the spatula to get out the air bubbles!

Happy canning, what will you put up for your family’s winter?

Sep 13 2012
DSC01384

Pesto

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One of my new-found favorite things is Pesto. I absolutely adore it… well, I adore mine anyway. One of the biggest problems that I have with it, is the fact that I’ve never tried anyone’s except mine. Therefore, I don’t really know what any other pesto tastes like. For years I wouldn’t even try it due to its weird color and unknown texture. Textures have been the downfall of more food for me than I ever thought possible. To me, the pesto that I would see in restaurants and stores looked mushy. Mushy anything is an absolute, never fail turn off. It’s one of the reasons that I have always hated lima beans. To me, their very taste defines mushy. Go ahead and laugh, everyone else does!

 

I grew an outstanding crop of basil in my garden this year, and have been looking up all the different ways I can use it other than my standard marinara and tomato based sauces. I saw all sorts of recipes for pesto and knew that I was going to have to try one. Most of the ones that I came across said to use toasted pine nuts. Finally I found one that said you could really sub almonds or whatever kind of nut you wanted to use. This was good news for me since I wasn’t really keen on the whole pine nut thing. I’m not even exactly sure what they are. But they sound funny. And not funny ha-ha either. The first couple of batches that I made used toasted slivered almonds, but after lots of experimenting, I believe that I like it better without nuts of any kind. It seems to have a cleaner, crisper taste without them. After much trial and error (and a lot of fun tasting)! I have come up with, what I think, is a good summery Pesto.

First I stuff 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fresh-cut basil into my little chopper. I then pulse it until it’s coarsely chopped, and no whole leaves are left. To this I add 2 smashed cloves of garlic, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and a few tablespoons of lemon juice. More pulsing. Last, I add about a 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Then I let it whir around in the chopper until it reaches a nice emulsion. The acid in the lemon juice really does a lot to bring out the pungent basil and it smells amazing! I will usually get a pot of water boiling for pasta before I start. By the time the pesto is finished, I throw a couple of handfuls of orzo in and a few minutes later, lunch is served! I drain, but do not rinse the pasta and then place it in a bowl and toss with the fresh pesto. The heat from the pasta is just enough to lightly warm the pesto and really make the flavors shine. I also use this as a side dish for when the big and little grill bratwurst. It is a perfect complement!

Try it for yourself, and never be afraid to adjust a recipe to YOUR family’s taste!!
Sep 10 2012

TWLOHA

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Today’s post is not a crafty one. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Take a moment and evaluate your own situation. Are you safe? Do you need help? I am not a counselor, but if you see this and want or need help… please don’t hesitate to contact me or any of the many organizations out there for help! You are NOT alone. It DOES get better. People CAN and WILL help you. You are LOVED, you MATTER!!!!! You just have to be strong enough to ask for help. Take that step if you need to…. Let someone help you. Don’t do something you can never take back.

 

To Write Love on Her Arms

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  ::  1.800.273.TALK
For hearing and speech impaired with TTY equipment  ::  1.800.799.4TTY
Español  ::  1.888.628.9454

National Child Abuse Hotline  ::  1.800.4.A.CHILD

National Domestic Violence Hotline  ::  1.800.799.SAFE

Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)  ::  1.800.656.HOPE

The Trevor Project  ::  1.866.4.U.TREVOR

Aug 30 2012

Quick and Easy Dinner

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Last night’s dinner was super quick and easy. First I started a pot of rice. I use an older style, stove top rice steamer. This is what I grew up with, and just can’t seem to get the hang of the electric ones. You can look them up by “Charleston Rice Steamer” if you are interested.

While the rice was cooking, I started pan frying a package of chorizo sausage, after taking it out of the casing. Once it was heated all the way through, I added a can of drained white cannelloni beans. You can also use Great Northern Beans. The sausage is pretty oily, and the beans absorb the oil and take on a really nice flavor from the sausage.

When the rice was done, I served the bean/sausage mix over rice. This was a filling, tasty and super quick meal. The rice takes about 45 minutes and everything else is finished about the time that the rice is done. You can either serve over rice, mix with rice or serve without rice… my family likes it anyway they get it!!

Easy Peasy Meal!

Aug 29 2012

It’s That Groovy Time of Year!

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Fresh picked.

I wanted to get this posted earlier, but was covered up in work. This is a little throwback from last year, but all the principles apply!I began this season with a healthy dose of Strawberry Preserves. Granny Pynk and I went to a local berry farm and picked about 6 gallons to split between us and to have some extra to just munch on. I used 2 gallons for my preserves.

Squeaky clean and sterilized!

 

I grabbed the jars I had left over from last year, and added a few more that I bought this year, washed them up and sterilized them.

Next, I got out my trusty Ball Blue Book – guide to preserving, and double checked my recipe.

2 quarts of crushed strawberries and 6 cups of sugar. It really can not get much more simple than this. So into a large stock pot they go.

The berries were really good and juicy this year, so after a few minutes on medium-high heat, the sugar began to mingle with the juice and soon the mix began to boil.

Just keep stirring, and stirring, and stirring.

As the mix boils and cooks, you need to make sure and stir frequently to avoid sticking and burning. From my experience, the longer they cook, the more dense and thick they become. Of course, if you ask Granny Pynk, she will insist that I do something different to mine, because hers never thicken like mine do. She almost always ends up with strawberry syrup (which is just as delicious and especially good on ice cream, yogurt, waffles, etc.). And then you have mine, which are super thick not syrupy and are great on PB&Js and biscuits. We both boil the pots for at least an hour, sometimes more depending on the weather, humidity, etc. The moisture in the air can affect how long it takes for them to begin gelling. When the preserves round up on a spoon and are not loose and liquidy, the preserves are ready to be jarred. If a pink foam forms on the top of your preserves, make sure to skim it off before you put them in the jars, making sure to leave a 1/4 inch headspace. Place the 2 piece lids on the jars and screw the ring on just barely.

You will then process the jars in a boiling water canner for at least 15 minutes.
When you take the jars out, be VERY careful, as they will be super hot. I usually put a towel or newspaper down to avoid and burning/sticking to my counters.
Take a trip to a local berry farm this season. Even if you don’t pick the berries yourself, buying locally will help stimulate your local economy, and provide a fun, entertaining and educational experience for you and your family or friends. Plus, if you pick your own… they do NOT do pre and post weights of people. Therefore sampling (within reason) is encouraged!!!

Done and Done.

It’s so satisfying to see what a little effort will bring. And just think of how good they will taste this winter! Have your littles help… they’ll  love it!

Aug 26 2012

Covered in tiny pieces of cloth!!

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I have spent the past few days ironing and cutting and being covered up in little pieces of cloth. Some for store projects, some for a quilt… my poor rotary tool is now in even more desperate for a new blade. Especially after I somehow bought the wrong size the other day. Le’ Sigh. Oh well, I had been meaning to get the larger one anyway… guess my subconscious is telling me to get it now and not later!

Here are a few tidbits so you can see what I’ve been up to!

Hope everyone else has a productive week, I know I’m going to!

Aug 24 2012

For the Cookie Monsters!!

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I have tons of work to catch up on today, so here is a quick little post to hopefully satisfy the sweetteeth of your Bigs and Littles.

My Big IS the cookie monster. He loves cookies, all cookies, preferably right out of the oven. I mean really… who can turn down a cookie fresh from the oven? I finally found a nice moist peanut butter cookie recipe floating around in Granny Pynk’s cook book and tried it out on him. Had RAVE reviews.

This is also a really good first cookie recipe to try with your littles. Our Little loves to help with these.. I think he likes making them ALMOST more than eating them!

Super Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup Peanut Butter (creamy or chunky.. your choice)

1 cup white sugar

1 large egg

pinch of baking soda

pinch of kosher salt (you can use table salt, but I think the kosher gives it a little extra oomph!)

about a teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients until smooth. Roll into about 1 inch balls and then flatten with fork in a crosshatch pattern. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment paper.

Bake for approximately 6 – 8 minutes, being careful not to over bake. These cookies are done when they are just beginning to brown. They make a super moist cookie that is sure to please all of your cookie monsters. I would have posted pictures with this, but alas, the cookies never make it to the photo shoots!

Let me know if you try it, or improve it… always looking for new options!!

Bake on, families!!!

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