Awsome Yummyness

Ok, so I rock. Well, no, not entirely, but mostly. I just made the awsomest yummiest stromboli that I've ever made, like ever, tonight. Starting with some left over sourdough bread dough (say that five times fast) and braided it around some thrown together filling. Oh. My. Word. Goodness! Yummieness! Eat three pieces cause it tastes so good! Wow, I actually cooked a good dinner... Ok, so here are the recipes since I know ya'll are going to ask.

Sourdough Bread
3 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1 Tablespoon Salt (I prefer table salt, but it doesn't give the dough quite the tang that coarse sea salt does. If you want the more "sour" flavor right away use sea salt. If you like the "aged" sour flavor, use table salt)
6 1/2 cups flour

Mix until incorporated. Do Not knead; cover loosely and allow to double. Refrigerate in a large bowl (larger than you think you need, it will continue to rise until completely cooled) tightly covered for up to 14 days (it will sour more as it ages). Pull off desired amount of dough and fold into round loaf. Place on parchment paper. Let rest for 30 min. Set oven to 450* and allow bread another 10 min while oven heats. Bake for 30 min or until it sounds hollow when you tap the top. Allow to cool a bit before slicing. Makes two medium boules or four small ones.

Filling:
1 pound ground beef, cooked and seasoned with garlic and a dash of salt
1/2 pound bacon, diced and cooked
one good handful of sliced mushrooms (about 3)
1-2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Flatten out 1/2 of bread recipe above until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Layer filling onto the middle third of flattened dough in order listed. To braid cut the sides of the dough into one inch strips perpendicular to the filled portion (cut from next to filling to the outside of the dough). Slice 8-10 strips (the same number on each side). Beginning at one end, pull one tab of dough over the filling to just past the center. Pull the opposite strip over the filling and just to one side of the first tab, forming a "V." Continue pulling opposite tabs into the middle, slightly overlapping them and giving it the "braided" look. Tuck the last tab end under the end of the loaf. Bake as you would the bread, run a cube of butter over the top of the loaf just fresh from the oven for the nice shine. Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing. Makes about 6 servings.

With or Without Galoshes

As I wandered about yesterday I realized there was something very lacking in my posts. Puddle jumping. Now I know the impulse of any 4 to 8 year old is to jump in any and all puddles they see. But what most kids (and people) don't realize is that there is a specific art to the jump. You can puddle jump in any shoe, no really you can, without splashing yourself. Now I do know that if you are wearing any kind of open-toed footwear, be prepared to get your toes wet. But if the impulse to jump in a puddle is strong, you have no need to resist if you take a few simple precautions. First, when jumping, jump into the shallow part of the puddle, 1 1/2 inches of water or less. Secondly only jump in on one foot. This will create only one circle of water to avoid instead of two. Thirdly, lift the foot opposite the one that you are jumping with up, preferably to the height of your knee. Lifting the opposite foot allows the water that you splashed up to fall back down harmlessly without leaving large wet spots on your leg. After allowing the water to fall back into the puddle you need to step back (if the puddle is deep or very wide) and continue on your way. Following these simple steps will enable you to puddle jump to your hearts content without getting wet. Puddle jumping will also cause other things to happen in your life. Your mouth will stretch into a huge grin that is impossible to hide; the people who see you will smile indulgently and secretly wish that they were gutsy enough to puddle jump; and you will feel happier, more buoyant, and that type of mood is impossible not to share. Enjoy your next rainstorm!

Gingerbread Recipe

When planning a party, remember that mixing, baking, and construction need to happen at least one day before hand so that the "glue" holding the houses together can set. If you want to do a gingerbread party, here's what you'll need:

Gingerbread Cookie Dough:

Cream together:
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar



Add:
1 cup molasses
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Blend together.



Add:
1/3 HOT water (just short of boiling)
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
3 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg



Put in large bowl and chill for at least one hour. Roll out and cut.



Bake at 350* for 10-15 minutes.



One batch makes one large house or 1 1/2 cottages.

Allow gingerbread to dry for a few hours or overnight, before assembling the houses.

Cut squares of cardboard and cover with foil to act as "yards" for the houses.

Glue (Royal Icing):
2 egg whites
powdered sugar

Mix together until it is thick, but smooth. Put into ziplock freezer bag. Snip the corner on the bag, use it as a cheap icing bag. Put the icing on the corners and then press them together. The icing sets fairly quickly, so you shouldn't need to hold it more than just the first press to get it together. Glasses are handy if you need extra hands. Put the houses together a couple hours before you try to put the roofs on, let the icing set. When putting roofs on, it is handy to have a second pair of hands. If desired (I usually do), cut small pieces of cardboard to fit inside the house to help hold the roof up. Since most of the decorating tends to happen on the roofs, I like to brace them against collapse.



Lollipop: (if you want to do the cut out windows)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter (optional for clear windows).



wax paper or lightly greased aluminum foil.



Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. set over medium heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Do not stir anymore. Bring to a boil. Cook without stirring until you reach just shy of 320*. Remove from heat and allow bubbles to subside. Stir in coloring if desired. Pour out onto wax paper or the foil.



To make breaking into "windows" easier: score lollipop with a knife into large squares before it cools too much. Then when completely cool, breaking apart is fairly easy; no small slivers. Use Royal Icing to "glue" into place before constructing the houses.

Gingerbread Patterns

So for quite some time I've had people asking for the patterns to the gingerbread houses that I make. So here you go. These are our favorites, but there are many many more possibilities to make then just the ones here. Have fun! The easiest way to make them work is to cut out the patterns from stiff paper, making sure they fit together in paper form, and then cutting them out of gingerbread. With cutting windows and doors it is easiest to place the wall on the cookie sheet then cut the window, leave the dough in place while it bakes, and re-cut the window right after they come out of the oven. That way you get nice, square, windows without any warping. With the Victorian house, I personally don't bother with the scalloped edging, it is a pain to cut out and warps while baking. I also build roof supports for all my houses out of cardboard. The roofs hold up just fine until you start to decorate them, then they tend to cave in.

Bandits

So Christmas day has came and went with the usual love and laughter. The kids got several of the things that they had asked for. It was good. Mr O got a skateboard with all the gear to go with it, Peaches received a beginners cook kit (apron, bowl, spatula, brownie mix), Grandma and Grandpa got a couple things that they had asked for, and Handsome got a new drill. Mr O hasn't been brave enough to stand on the skateboard yet, but he sits or kneels and travels all over the back patio that way. Skate park here we come! Peaches has loved cooking for quite some time, so the gift of the cooking set was exactly right for her. She and I will be doing a lot more team cooking I can tell, especially since we have matching aprons now. Grandma and Grandpa's faces lit up over every gift. The excitement and joy over the things that they received was so cool to see! Handsome's drill was a success, he even found an excuse to use it on Christmas day! I was definitely very very lucky. The gifts that I received are very special to me. A little cocoa single-serving mixer (use it all the time) and a new lens for my camera. Oh my word! Awsomeness! The coolest thing about unwrapping those gifts was watching the faces of those who gave them. It was so much fun! Watching the look of surprise, wonder, and joy spread over a person's face as they opened a gift was fun to watch. It's true: it really is so much more fun to give then it is to receive. When you give, you get to see all those different emotions, see how much that person is going to like what you gave them. The joy of each new gift. Even though we all received gifts that we will enjoy for a long time to come. Christmas wasn't about that. Christmas would have been just as enjoyable without all those presents. Christmas was fun because we were with people that we love. People who love us. And we were together. That is why Christmas was so much fun. The love, laughter, and sharing a home for a few days. Love: the true Spirit of Christmas. We are truly blessed.

Hearts and Hearing

So our cloudy Christmas has come and gone. Bringing with it the cheer and peace and happiness that it always does. The Grands came and spent the weekend, jolly as always. Santa brought all kinds of goodies for the stockings and there were lots of presents from lots of people under the tree. The beauty in Christmas wasn't in the gifts or the stockings. It was in the eyes and faces of those that I loved. Watching as we opened gifts from each other. The giver and receiver both excited over the item. The kids were especially cute. They love to give, and it was so fun to watch their faces as we opened the gifts from them. It didn't matter what was inside those packages. What mattered was that my beautiful children were enjoying giving those things away more than receiving their own gifts. And that is what the season is about: the gift of Love.

If I Could Bottle it and Save it for a Million Years, I Would

For the first time, we were able to share our own family tradition with our children's grandparents on Handsome's side. I baked all the gingerbread off two days in advance, constructed the day before, and on the big day they were ready to go. Several different kinds of houses; cottage, A-frame, chalet, split level, and a castle. Mr O claimed the castle, Peaches claimed the bird house, and the rest of us had a hard choice to make. Which house? Hmmmmm... Grandma went with an A-frame, Grandpa chose a cottage, Handsome went with the chalet, and I had three choices left. I finally decided on the cottage. I mixed up the frosting and we all went to work. The sugar and laughter flowed freely and in no time at all the kids were hyper. I think they were eating more candy then they were putting on their houses. Peaches was into the random placement of miscellaneous candy. Mr O actually did patterns and some symmetry this year. The moat is on the roof of the castle rather than around the outer wall, but it looks cool. Grandma did some beautiful roof tiling and multi colored windows. Grandpa did roof tiles as well, finishing off with a couple of green M&M bushes in the front yard. Handsome with his slightly obsessive side had to do all white roof tiles with white frosting dots in between, adding a wreath above the door for the final touch. I did a lace roof and a candy cane door. When we were all finished we took pictures and headed the kids off to bed. Oh what fun!