February Decor

I know that often it is difficult to discern if I'm a few steps behind the game or leaping ahead of myself or if I'm just insanely random with my updates on this blog.

Maybe I  shy away from all blogging trends and expectations.

Surely her next post will be include something about Valentine's Day since it is Feb. 1.

Whatever all the reasons may be, today -February 23- I intend to share some of my Valentine's decor.

I love seasonal decor for a number of reasons, but perhaps primarily because I easily get bored with looking at the same old thing for more than a few months at a time.

Typically by the end of January my Christmas/winter greenery is hanging limp and begging to be thrown back to the forest floor. It's still a little early to be thinking spring since I live in the uttermost northern corner of PA. Hence, I like to do just a little face lift with some Valentine decor for the month of February.

I  have no deep affection for most of the red glittery Valentine decorations found at the Dollar Store.

Neither do I have a decorating budget that matches the cost of shopping Anthropology or Pottery Barn.

So.

I just kinda do my own thing.

This year I was kinda totally taken with my grandparent's wedding photos and decided that they would find a prominent place on my fireplace mantel.

Two of my grandparents have moved on to their eternal reward. Two continue to live and love each other. Watching my grandparent age hasn't been pleasant, but I can't think of anything that spells love MORE CLEARLY than witnessing their love and care for each other even as their physical bodies begin to fail them in many ways.

I very happily found an online printable to fill my clipboard that included a hint of spring. I added the green plant just because I couldn't totally suppress my spring fever.

It was fun to fill this photo frame with pictures of people that I love who love each other. I threw in a few vintage valentines, which are also a current rage with me. My family doesn't quite understand why I'm so crazy over these outdated cards with quirky humor.

It was fun to pull out some of my old photography work to put on display. This particular photo of my two oldest children has long been a favorite of mine.

This particular creation has been a long time in coming. I first imagine and then talk about a project for at least a year before any real steps are taken towards completion.

And truth be told, I didn't do much more than talk a lot about my mental picture to my young, energetic, capable servants.

 And then...

Nicholas cut out the pieces of wood and hammered them together. Angeline made the scrappy heart. I am very pleased with their creation, however I was imagining the letters to look a little more weathered and rustic. I'm thinking if I store them in the basement until next February that they will surely take on a more dilapidated look. Maybe I'll even allow the dog to chew on them for a while.

So.

There you have it.

A few photos. 

A few free printables.

A few scraps of wood and fabric.

This is one way we keep from getting too bored around here in February.

a little more bread talk

If you wish to take your bread baking to a new level, allow me to introduce to you to Mr. Peter Reinhart. 

“Peter Reinhart is the Leonardo da Vinci of bread; his recipes are foolproof, his research exhaustive and yet a delight to read and follow, and his hunger for knowledge and technique is boundless and infinite. He is without a doubt the definitive source of true style and information when it comes to all things baked and delicious, and my go-to guy for all things leavened and sandwichable”
--Mario Batali, author of Molto Italiano


I have his book Artisan Breads Every Day in my possession. I love it. It is filled with detailed instructions, time saving techniques all accompanied with beautiful, full color photos throughout that will make you salivate. 

One of my favorite recipes from this book is The Best Biscuits Ever.  I never cared much for biscuits until I made these. I can serve my family pretty much any kind of soup as long as I pair it with these amazing biscuits.

He has numerous other bread baking books that I would love to read sometime.  

He co-authored a book just for those who are interested in gluten free and sugar free baking.

My friend Gina has compiled a wealth of information on bread making on her blog. I didn't realize that she was a student of Peter Reinhart until today when I did a google search on reviews for his biscuit recipe. She has covered the bases well. I'm anxious to go back and learn more from her in the future.

My mom is the one who first introduced me to Peter Reinhart. The only book of his that I have in my possession came to me as a gift from her.

Let me just say she is quite an amazing bread baker herself. I am sure that I've learned more from her than anyone else about bread baking.  It is not unusual to be served some kind of new and tasty bread if you are privileged to enjoy a meal at her table. 

She is also a good teacher. I think she enjoys sharing her expertise with others, though not in the cyber world. :) 

I don't claim to be a good teacher myself, but boy....am I ever proud of this son of mine who took over my bread baking position this past summer. 

I knew that he really had progressed beyond simply following the recipe the day that he came to me with his dough and said "mom, I think I got this dough just right....feel it". And I pressed my finger into the most perfect texture ever.

Yes. He has the touch. I can count on him to produce nearly perfect loaves of french bread when he is in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, he is back to being a scholar for the winter months and I'm back to being the primary bread baker at this house.

 I will conclude by sharing my mom's famous french bread recipe, which also happens to be the bread recipe that Nicholas likes best.

MY MOM'S FAMOUS (NEVER FAIL) FRENCH BREAD

2 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
2 T. Crisco
2 t. salt
2.5 c. hot water
5-6 (give or take a little) flour.

Mix ingredients together in order given in your *Kitchen Aid mixer. Once ingredients are thoroughly combine use the dough hook to knead the dough for 3-5 min. Add flour until the dough no longer sticks to the edges of bowl. Allow to rest until doubled in size. Punch down and divide dough into two long loaves. Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet.  Lightly score the loaves as you wish.  Brush with a mixture of one beaten egg and 2 T. milk. Let rise. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min.

This recipe yields 2 large loaves of bread.


*I'm sorry if you do not have a Kitchen Aid. I love mine.

My secret to keeping 8 people satisfied at meal time

Sometimes I think about turning my blog into some kind of foodie blog.

You know, delivering new and amazing daily recipes along with detailed photographic tutorials.

Then I realize that there are 444,444,444 other food blogs on the web.

And when I actually browse other food blogs I realize that I'm not as much of a foodie as what I once thought I was.

I'm actually a bit too practical to be a true foodie.

 I love food. True.

I love preparing food.  { mostly true}

1. As long as it doesn't take TOO long.

2. As long as my family not only approves but can't stop eating the food I prepare.

VERY. VERY TRUE.

So. I have this little trick that I am going to share with you for ensuring 100% satisfaction from your family no matter what dish is set before them.

B. R. E. A. D.

Yes. I said 'bread'.

 If  just the mere thought of carbs  causes your state of consciousness to be altered  in a negative way then you may be better off not reading the rest of this post.

But to the rest of you, Learn to make good bread.

Your family will forgive a multitude of culinary experiments and mistakes if you consistently provide unlimited quantities of fresh bread and real butter.

Now it is important that you learn how to bake several different kinds of  bread so that your family will not quickly catch on to your trick.

I'm going to share two of my favorites today.

This first recipe is what I call  European bread even though the site I've linked here  calls it something more boring like 'no knead bread'.

If you've ever traveled or lived in a European country you will never think about or experience bread in the same way again.

There was a reason that I gained weight during my first extensive stay in Europe. I couldn't stay away from the  bread.

This recipe is perfect for when you're out of nearly every ingredient in the house except for flour and water.

While this recipe is super simple to mix up, it does require some advance planning as it requires extensive rising time.

This bread is perfect served with soup.

A slice of this bread toasted is just flat amazing.

What gives this bread its special European twist ( the super crunchy crust but soft  interior) is the long resting period, the high baking temp. and the water bath.

My family of 8 has been known to eat an entire loaf of this bread in one setting. That was the time of course when they each ate like 2 teaspoons of the entree.

These Honey Rolls are a close runner up to the European bread here at our house.

I love these because they're so stinking easy to mix up.

You may have noticed by now that I do not like to knead bread.

In fact, I don't like to even get my mixer out.

I am not sure why but I really get a kick out of mixing ingredients together by hand.

Anyway, folks (my family included) always rave over these rolls.

I slather them with honey butter before and after baking them.

I usually whip up some extra honey butter to serve with them at meal time.

So. When all else fails..............bake a loaf of bread.


*please accept my apologies for not having the correct photos to go with the recipes I shared today. The pictures are of another one of my all time favorite bread recipes.