Vanilla Icing

Frick Park in Winter

Hope Buds

The cold winter with its shallow superficial sunlight is getting to me.  How many more days of winter are left?  What do all of you do to keep yourself busy through the winter?

I can't seem to settle comfortably into anything.  Even when I'm sitting down my mind is pacing back and forth and I feel horribly stifled.  I feel the need to stretch out and there's no where to do so.  I feel confined in my own house.

In the middle of November, when I glanced out onto my back deck, I noticed that in the dried brown heap of this there appeared to be a small bit of green stubbornly holding on to life. The soil around this bit of life was frozen but I took a knife and hacked it out.  I had no potting soil and I took a vase, filled it with water and hope and stuck it on the cold drafty window ledge of my prison-sized kitchen window.  I had no hope that it would live; I thought it could at least spent its last few days in a relatively speaking warmer place.  But over the next two months it began to get new green leaves.

Then, tonight, I saw this:

And if a nine tenths dead pink geranium can cling to life in bleak November snow, regain itself in water, not soil on a cold window ledge and flourish how can I not hang on a little while longer? 

I can.

Remains of the Cake

One of the blogs I like to read, Blue Yonder, had an idea that I really liked.  Stefani wrote about how so often when one visits blogs it's very easy to feel intimidated by what you find.  Everyone seems so perfect and they've got the pictures to prove it!   She decided to create a Flickr group, In Real Life, where people can share real moments from their day...to share that there's plenty of laundry piling and mess making going on among all the picture perfect fun.

Crumb-making too.

Oh my, lots and lots of crumbs.

Vienna Bread

It's snowing here tonight.  My children are hoping with all of their hearts that it continues to snow all night and there is no school tomorrow.  I hope so too.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
the darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind
and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening~~Robert Frost

Glitter

Ahhhh....the day some genius combined glue and glitter and put it in a bottle....

                        

                                        .

                                      ....was a good day indeed.

Many Seeds Bread

Has everyone made a batch or two of Chocolate Chip Scones?  I'll admit; Tristyn and I whipped up another batch last night for dessert.  4 people 16 scones.  You do the math and figure out how many we each ate.  Then I'll tell you how you are wrong--because one of us wasn't around for the first batch which means 3 of us ate even more.

Not that I would ever feel guilty or anything....but....

 

I don't know how my kids are going to feel when they open their lunchboxes tomorrow to find their PBJ sandwiches.  Sesame seeds, Golden Flax seeds, Pumpkin seeds and Sunflower seeds all tucked inside Monday's bread.

That's healthy, isn't it?

Chocolate Chip Scones

I've been away for awhile.  I've had a very, very rough week.  I'll spare everyone the details.  But, to make up for my absence I have a new recipe for you.  It's one of my own recipes so I don't have anyone to credit and I'll take all the blame if you don't like it.

Chocolate Chip Scones.   Mmmmm.   Don't they sound delicious?  I thought so too when I saw some on a baking community on LiveJournal.  Then, I looked at the recipe.

Blah.  Judging by that recipe they were sure to come out heavy dry lumps that would be nicely suited as a paperweight.  I don't fault the poor person for believing in "The Joy of Baking" where they got the recipe from.  It's so easy to settle when you've gotten the recipe out of a cookbook that's supposed to be a really good cookbook.  And maybe the rest of the recipes are fantastic but when I checked it out of the library a couple of months ago there was nothing in it that caught my eye that made me want to try it out.

I'm sorry I'm coming across a bit mean.  I'll stop.  And blame it on my awful week.  Let's get to MY recipe that is not heavy nor dry.

Chocolate Chip Scones--by Michelle

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes ---  Repeat the Mantra:  Use REAL butter!!!!
3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.  Place the cubed cold butter in the bowl and using your fingertips rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs.  Stir in chocolate chips.

In another small bowl, whisk together the egg and the milk.  Add it to the flour mixture and using a fork stir until the mixture forms into a rough ball.  Don't overmix.

Lift onto a baking sheet and pat into a circle that is about 1 inch thick..  Try not to overwork the dough.  Cut it into 8 wedges and separate them from one another.*

Bake at 425 for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Best when served warm.

*At this point, you can also cover the scones with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.  I wouldn't keep them in the fridge like that for more than a few hours.

Fast 50

It took me a week to get through the first 50lb bag. The second one is taking a little longer but I'm nearly through it.

Regular baking to resume shortly.

Have You Seen Me?

I still haven't seen this guy since I fed him and his buddy hunks of that very first sourdough loaf.  The one that was Lemonhead sour.  Yes, that one. 

I am seriously concerned I am a squirrel murderer.  I think about it every morning and the guilt consumes me a little bit more each day.

Am I a squirrel murderer???

Cheese Please?

Tristyn was over the top crazy about these cheese spiraled rolls.  His favorite food is cheese!