Saving Some Dough

I had wanted to start making my own bread a few years ago. I thought about a bread maker but was concerned about storage and counter space. I thought about just making it from scratch but most of the recipes called for a stand mixer for mixing the dough. I tried some easy spelt bread and tried sourdough using a mother but the bread was very dense and not a kid friendly treat. This past weekend I was at the store picking up a few fresh items and the cheapest bread was almost 3.00! The type we usually buy was over $3.00, yes, that is for ONE loaf! So once again the idea of making my own bread came to mind. I got home and was ready to pull out whatever I needed including the mixer and then I came upon an incredible basic bread recipe with no mixer required. Just flour, yeast, sugar, salt and a bit of oil. This recipe is so easy and so delicious!

The process requires making a sponge to activate the yeast. So two cups of flour (specifically bread flour), mix in 2 cups of hot water, add 2tsp of salt, 2tbls of oil, 2tbls of sugar, 2tbls of yeast. Mix and let stand for 8 minutes (until it bubbles).

Slowly add another 3 cups of bread flour until the dough is stiff. Flour your counter and knead the dough for 8 - 10 minutes. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with a damp cloth for 45 minutes in a warm place. Since it is still a touch cold in the house I boiled a kettle of water, poured the water in a pyrex dish and put it in the oven. I placed the covered bowl of dough into the oven to rise. The heat and humidity from the boiling water is the perfect temperature to proof the dough.

When the dough has finished rising it will be about twice the size of the original dough. Now you punch it down. This is fun!!!! Punch it right back down to its original size and then divide it into greased bread tins. Cover the tins and let them rise until they have doubled in size. (I put them back in the oven with the boiling water for 25 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375 and then bake for 25 minutes. When done, place on their sides on a cooling rack for a minute then remove from the pan. It really is an easy recipe and a LOT tastier and cheaper than the $3.00 store bought stuff! From start to finish it takes about 2.5 hours but actual labour is only about 20 - 30 minutes.

Santa is coming!

Saturday night we went into town and saw the local parade. What a hoot! Lots of floats and some very over the top. My favorite was the antique fire engine pumping out so much fake smoke that you couldn't actually see the musicians playing on top. Of course the hit of the evening was the big guy himself, Santa. He arrived about 45 minutes after the start of the parade and it was just in time because we were starting to get a bit chilled. The family center was open for hot chocolate afterwards so we warmed up quickly.

Despite all the promising and swearing that I was NOT going to bake this year (because I eat it all!) I caved and made a batch of the most delicious spice cookies. I added the candied ginger this time and it was a really nice touch. It isn't the holiday season without at least one batch of spice cookies. Sid was a huge help this year and was the official pourer and ball maker. She actually made her cookie dough balls without licking anything. I had bribed her with the privilege of licking the bowl at the end though!

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup white sugar for decoration
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the molasses mixture. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in white sugar(I skip this part) before placing 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven, or until center is firm. Cool on wire racks.
*** 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger can be added for extra flavour***
Bowl licker available free of charge upon request.

Tonight we hit a huge milestone in family life. We played our very first card game! Mom, Dad and Sid played Go Fish with Sid's alphabet flash cards and she completely got the game. She actually won twice too! It was such a cool moment for me to see the three of us sitting around the table playing cards. Ahhhh the things to come!

White Chicken Chili and things....

This is a picture of Sid just before she left for school this morning. She is wearing one of her new outfits from Nan-nan. Thanks Nan-Nan, we LOVE IT!!!

Who knew it could be 18 degrees in November?! I had planned for a delicious white bean chicken chili today to chase away the winters chills but we might be eating it in t-shirts! Here is the recipe if anyone wants a great winter crock pot chili with a twist!

White Chicken Chili

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
2 med onions chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (14 oz each), reduced sodium chicken broth (or one large tetra pack)
4 cans cannellini (white kidney) beans rinsed, and drained
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chilli peppers (with juice)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Fresh cilantro leaves

(I usually add chopped celery and sliced mushrooms to this)

Heat oil in large pot or crock pot. Saute onions and garlic (I usually pre-cook the oil, garlic, onion, mushroom, and celery in the microwave for 3 mins).

Throw all ingredients in the crock pot, or large pot on stove. Cook at medium for 40 mins to 1 hour, let simmer. About 15 minutes before serving, throw in the cilantro leaves.

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Wish we had this on Sunday because it was very cold with freezing rain overnight. Sid went for one final ride in her jeep and decided she needed a trailer to pull around. I attached the wagon for her and she asked for Benny and Cowie to come out and go for a trailer ride.

After many laps we packed away the jeep for the winter and went into the garage to hang out with Daddy and Grandpa. Sid had to show Benny the plane! Pilot Benny

Pilot Sid

How many Airedale can you see in this picture?

Groovy say "4 paws up for the new couch!"