Wednesday, July 31, 2013

2 post in one day--must be a record!

Just a quick post to say Cousin A and her Husband N finally had their beautiful bundle of joy on July 11, 2013.  She was a heaping 8 lbs 01 ounces, and 21 inches long! I will be visiting them later in the week (around Saturday), and staying at their house for 1 week.  I am so looking forward to this, there are no words that describe the excitement.  Here is a picture of her at about 1 week old :)
She already has the whole family wrapped around her fingers, and we wouldn't have it any other way! We love Baby L so much already!

Amazing multigrain bread :)

Hi!   Things have slowed down now since my visiting family has left, but I miss them very much.  I really enjoyed all the time we got to spent together, esp the long breakfasts, followed by a late chatty lunch, and an even longer dinner.  It was an amazing few days with them, and I can not wait for them to visit next year!

So anyway, since they have left, I decided to try yet another recipe from Pinterest.  I am personally a huge fan of bread, and love homemade bread the best (who doesn't?).  For me, wheat bread is the biggest challenge, and oh a challenge it is.  I have tried many recipes that have seriously just failed.  Either they were too hard, or too dense, or just not edible.  My parents have been my guinea pigs for many years as I try new recipes, new gadgets (which I also love), and new ideas.  As in life, not all things always go according to plan. But this new recipe was a huge hit.  My parents were in love, and have already request this be their new go to bread.  My dad has diabetes, so the quest for a healthier bread option is key.  We all love white bread, (again who doesn't) but this does not always provide the best nutrition or glycemic index for our family.   So I made this bread: Multigrain bread

I found this to be an interesting recipe, since you are using hot cereal (which was a little tough for me to find, but I finally found some at Trader Joes)  I followed the directions almost perfectly, and did everything with my kitchen aid dough hook, since that was recommended.  I made a few changes; First-  I put the salt, honey, and butter in together.  Then I added the flour a 1/2 cup at a time, once I was about 1/2 with that, Second-  I put in another 1/2 cup of flour, made a little hole in the flour, and then poured in my instant yeast.  For me, this is the only way I get results, I have tried other ways, but it does not work for me. So if I do that, then dough rises really well in recipe.  I did 3 rises, 1) 40 minutes in the kitchen aid, 2) 30-40 minutes in a ball, and 3) 45 minutes in the oven once I placed the dough in their pan.  You could easily skip the rise in a ball, and go directly to the oven rise if you are pressed for time. I forgot to take pictures of 1 & 3, but here is a picture of 2:

I divided this into half and then rolled them the way she instructed, and I think it worked out well.  I used my new Misto, and added the Oats.  This was the end result: 


As I have said multiple times in this post- It tasted amazing.  Just wonderful.  Please try the recipe for yourself, and let me know how it turns out!

Till next time! 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Busy busy!

Hi :)
Things have been kind of hectic recently. We have had a slew of guest, and are expecting a few more this week who will stay through the week.  I love having people over, and really enjoy the late nights of talking/laughing.  I love trying new things, and taking people to random places around town.  I am not sure if I have mentioned it before, but I live in a small town, like really small.  Many people do not understand how I can live here and "not want something more."  But honestly, I love this little town.  I enjoy the small town feel, I enjoy the mailbox gossip, I love my neighbors (b/c they are amazing), and I really enjoy seeing people I know around town.  Of course these things can happen in bigger towns, and I am sure they do all the time, but for me a small town is home.  I have been in bigger cities, lived in some for short periods of time during my education, but I always felt like I was wasting time in the car.  Felt like every minute had to be planned because we had to account for the traffic, and that just drove me crazy.  I usually feel extremely car sick (but as bad as others) when I am not driving, hence being a passenger for me sucks!  I can never enjoy where we are cause it takes me some time to recover, and by the time I feel better, its time to get back in the car.  AH the cycle.  Oh well, it is what it is.  Just another reason I love my small little town.  I can run a million errands and still be home in 2 hours, and have tons of time to spare.  So yay for small towns!

Anyway, I got off on a tangent, the original idea for the post was something totally different (food related) but now I am not sure. So I will cut this short for today.  Do you guys have a small favorite town that you love to visit?  What makes it so special to you?

Till next time!