Angie: January 2009 Archives

I have been baking alot lately. It is one of those things I have never done well but decided I needed to perfect this skill. Bread has always been my downfall and I have never had much luck with it.

Times be changing!

 

I have searched high and low for one good white bread recipe that would be versatile and suit any number of bread desires*.

Thanks to a lovely young woman in southern most Virginia for sharing her recipe. (Hey, Stacey!)

Homemade White Bread

2 cups warm (almost hot) water
4 tsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
-Combine together and let rise for 5 minutes

1/4 cup oil
5 cups bread flour
2 tsp. salt

Add to yeast mixture and knead until smooth and elastic.  (I use my KitchenAid mixer w/ the dough hook to do this.  If you have a mixer with a dough hook, it makes this process MUCH easier!)

Cover and let rise for 20-25 minutes.  Beat dough down and make into loaves (this recipe makes 2 loaves).

 Here's the trick to get your bread to come out right.  You need to roll out the bread into a rectangle, then roll up into a loaf, like you would when making cinnamon rolls.  Lightly slice top of bread to get diagonal cut look when baked. (refer to pic)  Let loaves rise (I put my loaves on separate cookie sheets) for 20-25 minutes.  Bake on 350* for 20-25 minutes, until top of loaves are golden brown.  Let bread cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

 

And it is easy. With my new Kitchen Aid stand mixer and dough hook the bread is no work at all.

 

It is also versatile.

 

When rolling out the dough into the rectangle I have added fresh garlic I ground to a paste and italian seasonings before rolling it into a loaf. The top was sprinkled with more seasonings after a quick brush with butter. It was awesome! The aromas filling the air had people asking if I was baking pizza.

 

The other loaf lended itself to a lovely braid.

 

I have also done this recipe with cheese in the dough. Fantastic fresh ffrom the oven.

 

 

Another fabulous idea for this bread is cinnamon rolls.

 

In the first stage when rolling out into the rectangle smooth softened butter over the dough and top with brown sugar, raisins, pecans and lots of cinnamon.

 

 

Roll like you would a jelly roll and then cut into 1 inch pinwheels.

 

 

Line a baking sheet. My silpat is perfect for these rolls. The melting brown sugar doesn't stick and make a baked on mess.

 

 

Bake.

 

 

And eat.

Try it. Show me what you can bake with this simple but awesome recipe.

 

P.S. No one is watching your weight but you. Indulge. You only live once. Besides sweatpants stretch. Hahaha! 

 

*Yes, desires. I have hot steamy lustful thoughts when it comes to bread - my one true love that is determined to keep me fat, barefoot and in the kitchen for all my born days.

Between 3:30 - 5 am this morning - January 23, 2009, Abby gave birth to a perfectly healthy solid black baby girl weighing in at nearly 7 ounces.

 

 

Her name is Bella.

 

 

Mom and baby are doing well.

Rhett is supposed to be infertile.

Abby was due on saturday the best we can tell.

Colby took her thursday for a puppy count x-ray.

She has one pup in there waiting to see the world.

We are waiting for her to birth her pup.

 

 

Don't look at their bad hair do. It is too cold to shave them down and make them look like the real poodles that they are.

 

Rhett weighs 4lbs and Abby weighs in at 8 with her pup in tow.

Guess the weight of the single pup and the welping date.

As I cook in the later afternoons I stand at my kitchen window and watch for Steve to move across the field and walk in and out of the barn. I like to watch him as he completes the barn chores. I watch the way he moves. The way he turns and talks to himself or a sheep or a goat or a guinea makes my tummy tickle.

As I watched yesterday, in the boxwood along the kitchen wall and partially covering one window, I saw another gentleman after Steve had left my line of site.

Through double pane glass, through the screen, I had trouble focusing on him. Eventually I did get a glimpse of him.

Mr. Redbird lives in my boxwood.

This boxwood stands the height of the first story of my house. It is a very large grand old shrub. Actually it is more like a tree in 99+ years of living than it is a shrub or a hedge.

 

Mr. Redbird lives there with several females. They often dart between the bush, the fence and the little water garden pond about 10 feet away. Their little beaks pecking to break the ice and take a quick sip of water.

 

 

I don't know if they nest in pairs. I should look that up. I am curious. I wonder if he is courting them all. Searching out the perfect Mrs. Redbird with whom he will spend his spring nesting and hatching eggs.

 

 

I only saw the one male flittering in the branches and chirping sweetly as three brown, less colorful Mrs. Redbirds sang back to him. I wonder which Lady sang back the sweetest and won his affections if only for Spring.

The local TSC is one place I can be sure to find good quailty BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds) for my chickens. It is an excellent source of protein and it helps keep their feathers shiney, their eyes bright and their inside healthy.

Summer before last a fifty pound bag was around $16. By Thansgiving of this year the price had crept up to $25.99 a bag. I stopped buying them. The price has slowly started to come back down but at $21 a bag that isn't much savings.

The bag they come in is really pretty with a bright red cardinal and other birds gracing the upper half of the bag. That is one thing that draws me to it. I could buy other seed in pathetically plain bag but this bag calls my name.

It is woven plastic, durable and water proof. There has to be something one can do with such a beautiful bag instead of sending it off to the landfill. Isn't there?

Yes! There is!

Let's recycle and save some money at the same time.

You all know the reusable shopping bags that are a big hit? And consumers are looking for ways not to use those aweful plastic bags that grocery stores and W@lM@art are throwing out their doors? Well, if you are willing to invest in a reusable bag for your grocery items why not a reusable bag for things that are not groceries? Pet store, hardware store, gardening center, you name it and if you buy it you most likely will need a bag for it.

Here's my idea. Let's use these bird seed and feed bags to make something useful, recycle the bag material and look tre chic while we shop. That's the main goal. Look good while doing it!

Ready?

This is the easiest bag you will ever make. It will last you a long time. If you spill something in or on it it will whip right off. You can make two small shopping bags from one fifty pound bag or three larger sized bags from two seed bags. I prefer making three from two bags.

All you need are - two feed bags made of woven plastic, a few striaght pens, a pair of scissors, and a sewing machine on which to sew a straight line.

Here we go.

One seed/feed bag. Remove the paper end pieces and stitching which seals the end of the bag.

You may cut the bag in half or adjust the cutting line to preserve a printed image on the bag. I cut mine with the top piece longer so I can keep the red cardinal on the face of the bag I will make.

Turn the bag pieces inside out.

Stitch straight across the bottom of those pieces. I use a small stitch to make it tight. You can turn the piece around and stitch back over it again to make a very tight seam.

Turn each of the bags and open them the opposite way of the bottom seam you made.

Fold it so that the ends of the seams make a triangle.

Measure in about 3 inches. Sew a seam straight across making a triangle. This is how you make the bottom of the bag to sit flat.

Turn the bag right side out.

Press out the corners.

Now you have a flat wide bottom to your shopping bag - much like a paper bag is made.

At the top opening of each bag fold down about 1/2 inch then fold down that amount again to create a hem for your bag. Once sewn this makes a nice finish and will ensure your bag ends where we cut won't fray and become ragged.

Take your time, work with the bag and stitch around the top neatly. This stuff can be a bit slippery so don't rush.

Now you need to make handles for the bag. Cut 2 handles for each bag about 4 inches wide by 17 inches long.

Finger press a half inch hem on both side and pin it in place.

Now fold the handle in half and using the same pins secure it together.

Stitch along this side and then turn it around and stitch along the other side of each handle piece. This helps to make a sturdier handle.

Complete all handle pieces.

Measure from the center of your bag and place the handle in position along both the front and back and pin in place. Sew carefully and begin to stitch these in place.

Stitch the handles in place by stitching a square and an X. This will help prevent anything heavy from pulling the handles from the bag. I have not weight tested the bags beyond a gallong of milk so don't think you can haul a bowling ball in there and it won't create stress on your seams because it will.

That's it. There you have it. Three shopping bags from two feed bags. Look what you can do in about an hour.

You can nest them together for easy storage.

One other thing - don't forget to use them!

Put them in your car and take them with you so that you have them when you need them.

People will compliment you. Ladies will ask where you got them.

Beats those old grocery store logos any day.

You can also use cat and dog food bags made from this same material. How cute is that?

I told you - Crafty, Orange and Recycling.

Wasn't that fun?

Yes. It was! :)

I can't even begin to tell you how long the past couple months have been.

Sick. Sick. Sick.

I have NEVER been as stricken with plagues in my life.

Woke up on New Year's Eve with a tickling throat and a slight cough. By Jan 2 I had a full blown sinus infection, ear infection, strep throat and tonsilitis.

It took some big guns and steroids to get me over the hump but I am soooooooo much better now.

I shouldn't put off going to the doctor when I have troubles and this goes to show I paid for it big time.

I have lots to share.

Get your crafty selfs in order and join me.

Tomorrow the word of the day is Recycle. The color is Orange. The mood is industrious!

See you here!

 

P.S. Do you see blogher ads over there >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I am told they are not showing up. I see them plainly.