Monday went to the dogs...

Quick post before I take Rosie to her gymnastics class. Yesterday was a Doggy day, we spent the day spoiling our doggy Clementine. We started with hot, fresh, doggy gruel (yummm). I am omitting those photos because its dog food. Anywho, then Rosie and I made some doggy biscuits which Clemmy loved!

Peanut butter Dog Biscuits:

2 cps whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup milk

1. Mix dry ingredients separate from wet, combine the two


2. flour a board and turn out of bowl
   
3. roll out dough 1/4 in. thick, cut into shapes


4. Bake at 375 f for 15-20 minutes


5. The recipe makes about a million little treats, so it says to then dehydrate in oven overnight

We then packaged up a jar of doggy treats for Clementines cousins, Teddy and Bella

And lastly we started constructing a high fashion bumble bee costume for the doggy. I think I may have broken my sewing machine though. The black fabric for her hat was super thin and slippery and I tried to sew it w/o any stabilizer and it wound up getting stuck (a few times) before I got wise. Now it just eats up everything, and its making a terrible noise. I don't know, I'm a novice sewer so I'm a little frustrated at the moment.

Tomorrow I have to make some spooky cupcakes for Angel's Halloween party at school, I'm thinking we are doing a Martha batch. Take care, we'll talk tomorrow!

P.S.: Dryer is still out of commission, going on 10 days

Everybody has those days

I know this is a bit premature but I was able to get Rosie in her costume. This is the costume that came out of my sewing machine, I made the top out of some microfleece and a nasty shiny purple cheetah print that was like .50 cents a yard. Its a very commercialized depiction of a mermaid I know. I don't know how I ended up making something sooo..... Disney, I mean I love Disney, but the costume isn't very whimsical. Rosie likes it.... I think! I submitted it to Regis and Kelly, so if you see it on there that's us!

Angel, has opted for a store bought Geisha costume (insert snickers here... Yes indeed Target makes a Japanese call girl costume for children, and I purchased one). Now, I have changed the name of what MY Angel will be to a Ninja... she is a Spider Ninja, NOT a prostitute(pictures to follow).

Onto my newest favorite recipe,

Stuffed Acorn Squash

• 2 acorns squashes, halved, guts removed
• 1 box cornbread stuffing
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery diced
• 2 tbsp butter
• chix broth & butter (I can't remember how much, its for preparing the stuffing)
• 1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup craisins
• brown sugar
• salt and pepper
  
  

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees F
   
2. Prepare the stuffing like you would to stuff a turkey, with the onions and celery sauteed in butter, then adding the chix broth the walnuts and the craisins, lastly adding the stuffing mix cover and let let stuffing absorb liquid for 5 minutes, toss with a fork.
   
3. Meanwhile place the squash halves on a baking sheet, sprinkle with brown sugar and place 1/2 tsp butter in to each half
   
4. Once stuffing is ready, spoon into acorn squash until heaping mounds appear (hehe that sounds funny). Anywho, sprinkle tops with brown sugar (again) and bake uncovered for approx 30 minutes or until squash is fork tender.

This is so outrageously good, you have no idea... Just try it... Please... You will not be disappointed

In other news my dryer has broken, I have socks drying from my oven, and undies hanging from the curtain rods, and it would seem that I will be drying my clothes this way for quite some time (Any tips on drying clothes w/o machinery?). The in-laws are coming to visit next Friday from Tillamook, OR (yes, they live in the town that processes and ships out the most d'lish cheese west of Wisconsin), so I need some ideas on something to put in the crockpot (Halloweeny perhaps?). Hope everyone is well, and looking forward to the holiday season! I'll leave you with this video!

Lost in Suburbia

So sorry for my unexpected hiatus from this world I have become so fond of. I have been lost in Suburbia for this past month, Rosie's 3rd Birthday, gymnastics, 2nd grade, book fairs, play dates, girl scouts. Eeeeek!

I seem to have lost myself in the shuffle there for a minute. I knew I was missing you all, but I kept telling myself it had only been a few days and I'd be right back in the groove of things. Well, 1 month later I believe I'm out of my rut, and ready to blog. With Halloween fast approaching there is much to do. It is time for me to hang my cobwebs, light my candles, and turn on the monster mash. I must share with you my most prized Halloween decoration. It was handcrafted for me by the one and only Mrs. Staggs. She is so precious, my little black cat (and my aunt too!), covered from tail to hat with glitter. This is one of my 12 favorite months (hehehe but closer to the top of my list o' favs), I got to explore my German roots a little with an Oktoberfest treat of handmade soft pretzels dipped in stone ground mustard (I picked the one with the most German name in the store). This was my first time making pretzels, I didn't realize that I would need to boil them and then bake them, but Holy Cow (that's what is making me soooo hilarious right now) they were absolutely phenomenal. So I used the recipe that was in the newest issue if Martha, and I need to stress to you how d'lish they are. And pretty darn easy.

Pretzel's (Not Auntie Annes)

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

1/4 tsp coarse salt

2 tsp sugar

1 Cup warm water

3 cups AP flour

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
oil for baking sheet

3 Tbsp baking soda

1 Tbsp pretzel salt (yeah, about that, so did not go buy pretzel salt)

1. Mix yest, coarse salt, sugar and warm water in a small bowl, whisking until sugar dissolves. Let stand until foamy ( approx 5 minutes)

2.Mix flour and cayenne in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour until coarse crumbs form.

3. Slowly pour yeast mixture over flour mixture, stirring to combine. Using your hands, gather dough together. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until no longer sticky. Cover with plastic and let rise 30 minutes.

4. cut dough into 12 pieces, roll into and 18 inch rope and then form into your pretzel shape, transfer to an oiled baking sheet. Let rise 20 minutes

5. Preheat oven to 475. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and add the baking soda. Boil pretzels in batches until puffed and slightly shiny 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer to wire racks to drain. Return pretzels to baking sheet, sprinkle with coarse salt and bake until golden brown and cooked through about 15 minutes.

Take Care! Hope all is well with everyone. I'll be back again soon!

First Day of 2nd Grade!

Yesterday was my Angels first day of school. She got the teacher she had been wanting all summer. The night before we set out her clothes, she took a shower because she is a big girl and big girls take showers not baths (her philosophy, not mine). She polished up a big juicy red apple and we made her lunch.

On the morning of 2nd grade Rosie and I made big sister some blueberry waffles with maple syrup and whipped cream.

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

12 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup milk

2 large eggs

6 tbsp butter, melted, and slightly cooled

2 small handfuls of blueberries

stir dry ingredients together in a bowl, whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl, combine the wet and dry ingredients and the blueberries. Add 1 1/2 ladles full of batter to the hot/ greased waffle iron, cook for 5 minutes.

I always have extra waffles left over so I wrap them in waxed paper and plastic wrap and freeze them for a snack on another day.

Any who, after our breakfast of champions we had a routine photo shoot in the backyard, Angel chose to pose in between the gladiolas she planted a few years ago.

She gave her teacher the apple which I think truly set the tone for the year, she loves giving friendship to everyone, shes never met a person she wasn't friends with.

When I picked her up after school she didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay all day in her new classroom with her old friends and new teacher. I think its going to be a good year!

Now what to do with all my free time? :-)

Rainy Day Apron Making...

Ahhh... It is a beautiful rainy day here. Perfect weather for some indoor crafting and cooking. We had a few projects going today, I really wanted to try making a pillowcase dress, but I was getting confused over the simplicity of the instructions. Sooooo, instead of making a dress the wise Mimi suggested I try making an APRON (she said it was going to be easy). Ha, well I don't sew.... I would LOVE to learn to sew... But patterns seem really scary to me, and I can never figure out which line to cut on. Yadda yadda yadda.... So, I made one from scratch with no pattern (But lots of imagination). The heart is a bit large, but hey I'm pretty proud of the work I did. I even attempted a button hole (I don't think I did it right). HOORAY!

So while I made an apron for Rosie, Angel made a pot of veggie soup from our garden bounty: I do let Angel use a chefs knife, I think its easier to control a chefs knife versus a paring knife. All her fingers are intact, and her soup was d'lish. Here is the recipe for her soup

Mimi! Mimi! Hows does your garden Grow?

Angels mission was to document the progress in Mimi's garden, here is what she saw..

And here is what I saw... Sooooo Pretty!!!!

Not a whole lot more to write about, feel a bit tired this eve. Until next time...

Watching bread rise, Is not for the faint of heart

Well, to start out my morning I needed to combine all my ingredients for my Peasant bread.
Ingredients:
2 cup + 1 tbsp warm water
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup sponge , pulled into small pieces(made yesterday)
6 cup bread flour
1/2 cup light, or medium rye flour
1 Tbsp sea salt
Directions:
1) In bowl of stand mixer add 1/4 cup warm water, and yeast. Let stand 10 minutes until foamy.
2) Add 1/2 cup more water and sponge. Using paddle attachment mix on low for 2 minutes. Add the flours, salt, and the remaining 1 1/4 cup water, mix 1 minute more. Switch to
dough hook attachment and mix on med-low speed, pulling dough from hook 2-3 times, until dough is soft and stick to finger when squeezed, about 8 minutes (or knead by hand 15-20 minutes, ouch sore arms).
3) On a lightly floured surface, knead dough into a ball. Place smooth side up in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let dough rise in a warm place until it has tripled in size (approx 3 hours).

4) Turn dough out onto floured surface. Flour the top and cut in half. Roll up one piece of dough lengthwise, flatten slightly, and roll lengthwise again. Cup you hands around the sides of the dough and apply slight pressure while moving them in small circular motions, until the top of the dough is rounded and

the

bottom is smooth. Flour a piece of parchment and place dough on it; cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and then cover with towel. Repeat process with remaining dough. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approx 50 minutes. Thirty minutes before before this final rise is completed, place a baking stone or heavy baking sheet in the oven and an empty baking pan on the lowest shelf. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In a saucepan on the stove , bring 2 cups water almost to a boil.

5) Sprinkle dough with flour; dimple the tops of your bread with you fingerprints, or the fingerprints of certain 3 and 6 years olds living under your roof ( pronounced 'ruff'). Let rise 10 minutes more. Using a baking peel pr baking sheet, slide the loaves and parchment into the over. Pour the hot water into the pan beneath the loaves. Bake until dark golden brown, and loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, 25-30 minutes, Transfer to a wire rack and cool 30 minutes before slicing. And the pour a glass of wine (regardless of the time) and watch the Olympics.

***Things I learned today:
1) my kitchen aid mixer does not like to mix dense things like dough (It began to smoke)
2) kneading is a form of exercise, and it is quite grueling ( like breaking a sweat)
3) shaping dough is not easy, and it take lots of practice
4) kids don't think waiting for dough to rise is fun


So now, I need to deliver my bread to the Nurse Practitioner and her family as payment for her medical services ( Why can't all docs accept fresh baked bread as payment? Maybe they do somewhere, Perhaps the south of France?? I wonder what housing costs are over there, haha hehe), and when I return we will enjoy our peasant bread with our pot roast delicioso.


Oh and before I go one more recipe I concocted today:



BLACKBERRY ALMOND MUFFINS
Ingredients:
3/4 cups ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups AP flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract ( I am out of almond extract or else I would have used that instead)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup blackberries, washed
3/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, Butter and flour 12 cup muffin tin, tap out extra, set aside. We don't use paper cups because they are a waste of paper.
2)In separate bowls mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients (reserving the blackberries and almonds for the last step. Create a well in the center of your dry ingredients, pour the wet in the well and stir to combine just until mixed. *DON'T OVER MIX* Lumpy batter = good, smooth batter = tunneling, looks like an ant farm ate through your muffies. Finally gently fold in you blackberries and almond.
3) spoon batter 3/4 full in muffin tins, you can sprinkle top tops with sugar to make them crunchy if you wish. Bake 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean from center. Cool on wire rack and enjoy!!!

Making... And then Breaking Bread...

On the menu for tomorrow night... Peasant bread, and Pot Roast ( I make a killer pot roast). I had to start the bread this morning at 9 am, Peasant bread is a chewy, tangy, crusty bread. In order to get some tang out of your bread you first have to start a 'sponge'. The sponge is a mixture of flour, water, and yeast. The sponge is then set out for 24-72 hours in order to ferment, I will be fermenting mine for 24hrs.
Above : my mise en place, meaning everything in its place. I always try and gather my mise en place first so I am not running around like crazy.




Recipe for Sponge:


1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups bread flour
olive oil, for bowl

Directions:


1) In the bowl of an electric mixer combine 1/4 cup warm water and the yeast. Let stand until the yeast is foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups water and the flour; mix on low for 2 minutes. The dough will be wet ( very sticky, but still firm)


2) Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand at room temp for 24 hours. The sponge is then ready for use.








Image to the the left: this is how my sponge looked when I first put it in the bowl, it has already doubled in size, and I needed to put it in a bigger bowl.






Pot Roast Delicioso:
Serves 4 w/ leftovers

5# boneless beef pot roast
1/4 cup red wine
1 can campbells cream of mushroom w/ roasted garlic
1 box lipton beefy onion soup mix (2 pkgs) (If I don't have this I just thinly slice an onion and throw it in)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 sprigs rosemary, washed, leaves pulled off and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and cut in to 2 inch pieces
4 red potatoes, washed and halved
S & P to taste

Directions: Set your crock pot on low. Add the mushroom soup, the red wine, the dried soup mix, rosemary, and garlic, whisk until smooth. Add the pot roast and set timer for 5 hours. When 2 hours remain add the potatoes and carrots. Don't forget to season. Cook until, beef is tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork.

**Note: don't forget to make french dip sammies the next day!