Almost Ready

Happy Almost Merry Christmas - less than a week to go!

This is our new Christmas tree.  We bought a pre-lit one this year and are happy with the fact that that we didn't have to fight with light strings and all that this year.  We did have a minor kitten mishap where Fender ate through one strand on the tree 2 days after we set it up, but thankfully Steve is handy and was able to strip out the bad section and re-wire so it all works again. Yay!

I'm way ahead of myself this year with all shopping done and all but 2 gifts wrapped - even the stocking stuffers are bought & wrapped already!  This never happens and I'm not sure what I did that God has so thoroughly blessed this year in these areas.  I'm beyond thankful for this gracious gift of not stressing about these things.

I managed to finish two special projects and it's killing me to not post photos.  Sometimes being done ahead is a nuisance when you really want to share. :-)

Today I did the first of my holiday baking things and had a minor mishap getting the cake out of the pan.  Thankfully there is a nice glaze that goes over the top and it'll be sliced onto a platter to go to work with Steve tomorrow.  So no one will notice a few cracks and given that it is a rum cake that I only ever make for Christmas, I doubt anyone would care anyway.  Win-win!

Tomorrow and Friday I'll do a few batches of various other yummy goodies to send a platter to youth group with B for the Christmas party on Friday evening.  Then I'll be making a batch of cinnamon rolls on Saturday for our church Christmas breakfast on Sunday morning.  This is our first Christmas at this church and I'm feeling very blessed to be able to offer to do something useful to share.  

Enjoy the last week... be kind to yourself and don't stress!  Things will get done or they won't... but none of it impacts the true love and gracious gift we've already received - Jesus!

Blessings,

A Random Childhood Memory & Recipe

A few weeks ago Steve and I were discussing things that we remembered eating fairly regularly as children but that we have never had as adults or fed to our own children.  **Yes - I do realize that this is probably not a normal conversation line for most people but we are not 'most' people.**

One of the items in question was Boston Brown Bread in a can - he didn't remember the can part as he only ever saw said bread on the table but he did remember that it was round and he didn't quite know why.

About a week later J and I were in the grocery store and found it and were compelled to send a photo via text to him just for giggles.

The other day I was reading through a handful of blogs that I enjoy and stumbled on this post about muffins... and in particular THIS recipe.


An actual recipe for Boston Brown Bread muffins!  Yes - I was way too excited about this and vowed to make a batch as soon as I could remember to purchase some rye flour - as it is not something I normally stock in my pantry.
On Monday I finally remembered to purchase a small package of the needed flour and just this morning had the opportunity to bake a batch of the muffins.  I mixed them up according to the HM's directions and even the batter had the same aroma I remembered from my childhood.  Soon the kitchen smelled of molasses baking and even J agreed it smelled good.

After about 15 minutes they were done!

Warm with real butter and ... YUM!

A childhood memory memory made from scratch and so good!  J did try a half of a muffin but was unimpressed.  When Steve gets home from work, he can try them and see if they match his memory and then tomorrow I'll take a few down to my folks when I visit them and see if they remember... I'm sure they will.

Blessings,

Big Whoop?

 

Why yes... that is a new whoopie pie that was made just for today's celebration. 

I recently discovered not just one, but TWO cookbooks about making Whoopie Pies.  Who would have thought there'd be even one such thing let alone two.  But two there were and I checked both of them out of the library in search of expanding my abilities in whoopie pie baking/making.
These were actually J's idea and she diligently helped with the filling process.  They were fun to make and everyone seemed to enjoy them at the Independence Day cookout this afternoon.

They are a 'from scratch' recipe chocolate cake with buttercream frosting filling and I think they are better than the other ones I make.  Looking forward to trying out some other recipes from the books.  Now to find some willing taste testers... I'm sure my kids & Steve will be happy to oblige... and there may even be a few willing mouths at church as well. :-)

May God bless America!  May we never forget why our country was formed and all those who have fought & died to grant us our many freedoms.  And may we never take for granted any blessings we enjoy.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ~2 Chronicles 7:14

Hot Cross Buns

I tried something new today!

Hot Cross Buns

I have never eaten a Hot Cross Bun before, but after seeing a post over at The Frugal Girl a few days ago, I decided to give it a go.  Of course in my typical style, I had to tweak it a bit. :-)
I doubled the cinnamon and skipped the cardamon (I don't even know what that spice is!).  I also left out the raisins because no one here likes them.

Actually I doubled the whole recipe and made 3 dozen of them!  So I have a some to give away to the neighbors or maybe I will take some to the Easter breakfast at church.
They are really yummy!  Of course we didn't eat them hot... had to wait for them to cool to put the frosting on them.  The kids all gave them 2 thumbs up!

I will definitely make these again!

Something New for New Year's Even

My beloved husband really likes cheesecake.
He doesn't get to have it very often as we seldom order dessert when we are out to eat and the only person to ever bake cheesecake for him is my mother.... until now!

He encouraged me to give it a try, so I did.  Behold!  Chocolate Cappuccino Cheesecake! 
I had a small slice... I think it's 'okay', but I've never eaten cheesecake before and don't know what to think.  Actually, I have a psychological issue with cold cheese in any form so my taste-buds are probably malfunctioning. :-)  Steve assures me that it is very good!

Happy New Year!

Braiding Bread

A while ago I found this lovely post at Good (Cheap) Eats, with an embedded tutorial video.  Sometimes these things are strange (not this site personally - but in general), but this was short and easy to follow - perfectly helpful!
I've made Challah Bread before and even attempted to braid the loaves, but they often come out lopsided and strange looking.  Which doesn't impact the taste at all, but I like pretty bread. :-)
So I decided to try this new recipe and follow the video directions and see how it would come out.

 Here is the bread prior to baking.

The braiding wasn't difficult and it seemed to come out pretty even.  I brushed the top with a egg white wash prior to baking.

Here is the finished bread.

Given that egg bread is pretty dense and has a fair amount of sugar in it, I categorize this as a 'sweet' bread.  I cut this round into quarters and then sliced it to make french toast for dinner one night.  Marvelous!

Blessings on the journey,

Birthday Lunch Baking

I had a request for something specific for the birthday boy's dinner yesterday but it was not really a 'dinner' per se, so what is a mom to do?  Make it for lunch instead!
B is a lover of bread-sticks so I opted to make cheese stuff garlic bread-sticks for his lunch yesterday.

And what is better with cheese stuff garlic bread-sticks than Mom's first ever attempt at home-made tomato sauce?

I know this is all very silly - but B really appreciated it and it was very yummy!

Blessings on the journey friends~

Are you flour?

Are you flour?

I know... weird question huh?  I was refilling my smaller kitchen canister from my big flour bucket and suddenly thought about some scripture I had read during my morning bible study time.  It was Luke 13:20-21
          Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 
        It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds
        of flour until it worked all through the dough.”


This was Jesus speaking (that is why I put it in red), and he was trying to make a point (obviously!).  As I was filling my canister with flour I thought about it and had one of those 'ah-ha!' moments.  Jesus is the yeast to my flour.  He works in me to make me into something else...something bigger, better and more useful than I am by myself. 

By His work in my life I can do things I would NEVER be able to do on my own. Sometimes I work  in ways that are lopsided or even fail to rise to an opportunity He puts before me.  But He never gives up on me... He'll keep kneading me and reshaping me until I am what He has planned for me. 

60lbs of flour is a LOT of flour people. 
My big buckets hold about 25lbs each and it takes me quite a while to work through one bucket, even with all the baking I do here.  So if I'm 60lbs of flour... I have quite of bit of work to do for the kingdom.  And that makes me smile! 

What will you be?  Artisan braided bread?  Gooey sweet pastry? A fancy cake? The possibilities are limitless.... God is so imaginative and creative!  He has something special in mind for each of us and I pray that I will be all that He has designed me to become.  Useful for His purpose and to add something to the enjoyment of life for others as well.


Blessings on the journey~

Why is it blue?

I hope you can really see that color.... yes, it is blue.  The home-made white bread is blue.  Why?  You may be asking.  Why would someone do such a thing to a lovely loaf of home-made bread?
Because I can!
Actually it is because of my darling husband whom God has blessed abundantly with such an off-beat sense of humor. 
Now for anyone still reading, I shall explain a bit more.
Our youngest child is, shall we say...ahem... rather particular when it comes to food.  I had made 2 loaves of bread over the weekend and used 1/3rd whole wheat flour along with the regular white.  The bread is good, soft, and very yummy.  But alas, B is not so very fond of whole wheat being involved in his regular old white bread. So enter dear old Dad with the suggestion to me that I should see what B's reaction would be if I colored the bread something really unusual.
So I did.
J was in on the joke and could hardly contain her giggles as we sliced into the still hot loaf for our usual first pieces warm from the oven.  From the outside you can barely see the blue tint.  But cut wide open and the blue shows!
We all enjoyed a laugh and a slice of hot bread.  Simple things... God brings them and we enjoy them and praise Him for the gifts.

May you enjoy the blessings of laughter today along the journey
~Deb

Something fun

Yesterday over at The Frugal Girl it was the regular Wednesday baking post and it looked like such fun that I had to try it out today.
So I made up a batch of white bread dough in my bread machine while also making up a batch of King Arthur's Whole Wheat bread recipe with my big Kitchen-Aid mixer.
I let them rise and then with the input from J, made up the two loaves and set them to rise & bake while she whipped up a batch of one-bowl brownies for us all to enjoy.
My kitchen smelled wonderful all afternoon!
This was the result of my efforts - and it met with hearty approval from both B & J as well as our neighbor's 5-year-old son that was here for the afternoon.  Warm bread with butter makes a lovely snack on a rainy afternoon.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Who doesn't love something fresh from the oven for breakfast on a Sunday morning?
This morning I was awake early - listening to the birds announcing loudly that the sun was up.  So I thought I'd bake up something for breakfast.  I decided to try out a Cinnamon Crumble Cake recipe from The Frugal Girl-Kristen.  She has such amazing recipes!
It was quick & easy to make and everyone loved it!