Monday, February 10, 2014
2/10/14 MEMORIES ON MONDAY
Today would have been my mom's birthday and as I was going through old pictures to find one to post, I came across this one of my parents. I don't know when it was taken, but it was before they were married. Notice the bracelet on my mom's arm? It's the same one I wear. This is one of my favorite pictures of my parents!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
BETHANY BAKES BREAD
How's that for an alliterative and miraculous title?!
I have a well-earned reputation as a bread baking failure when it comes to anything that includes yeast. However, last year I gave a new recipe a try, one that was made in a Dutch oven and that people said was super easy. It was a success! Looked great and tasted even better. My confidence was boosted and I've made it a handful of times since then. The only problem with that particular bread is that it's a long process from start to finish, sorta inconvenient.
I decided at the beginning of this year that I was going to master the art of baking with yeast and branch out from the one recipe I had been successful with. I wasn't going to tell anyone of my plan until I'd had success with three different recipes, though.
1/29/14 - I made two loaves of white bread.
I don't think I've ever bought white bread and the kids, who don't mind the bread I buy, thought it was a huge treat. It was plain ol' white bread, not a lot of flavor or anything, but it turned out perfectly.
"Wow, you made those?!"
"This is like the best bread ever!"
2/7/14 - I made two loaves of cracked wheat and honey bread.
We had soup and toast on the menu and were snowed in, so I figured it was a good day to give another recipe a try. If it failed, then I'd just used store-bought bread for our toast.
"Oh, this is really good!"
"I can taste the honey."
2/8/14 - I made focaccia.
I didn't have any intention of baking bread yesterday, but a friend posted a link to this recipe on Facebook. I was already in the kitchen baking 3 1/2 dozen apple buttermilk bran muffins, so I decided to dirty some more dishes and give it a shot.
"I want this for my birthday dinner! Or every day."
"I give this a 20 (on our scale of 1-5 for new recipes)."
There are two things I've done differently with these recipes than with previous ones, which I think is why they've turned out as something other than bricks.
First, I bought yeast at Costco. I used to buy the little packets at Winco, but so many friends who are successful break bakers say they get their yeast at Costco that I figured it couldn't hurt to do the same. I don't know if it's fresher or not, but it was worth a try for me. I just put the big package in a ziploc bag and store it in the fridge.
Second, I started letting dough rise in the oven with the light on. We keep a cool house and I think that's why I've always struggled to get my dough to rise. At some point in the past someone mentioned that oven lights put out just enough heat to let dough rise. They were right!
Three new yeast recipes. Three successes. And we're not even halfway through February! Guess it's time for a new goal.
I have a well-earned reputation as a bread baking failure when it comes to anything that includes yeast. However, last year I gave a new recipe a try, one that was made in a Dutch oven and that people said was super easy. It was a success! Looked great and tasted even better. My confidence was boosted and I've made it a handful of times since then. The only problem with that particular bread is that it's a long process from start to finish, sorta inconvenient.
I decided at the beginning of this year that I was going to master the art of baking with yeast and branch out from the one recipe I had been successful with. I wasn't going to tell anyone of my plan until I'd had success with three different recipes, though.
1/29/14 - I made two loaves of white bread.
I don't think I've ever bought white bread and the kids, who don't mind the bread I buy, thought it was a huge treat. It was plain ol' white bread, not a lot of flavor or anything, but it turned out perfectly.
"Wow, you made those?!"
"This is like the best bread ever!"
2/7/14 - I made two loaves of cracked wheat and honey bread.
We had soup and toast on the menu and were snowed in, so I figured it was a good day to give another recipe a try. If it failed, then I'd just used store-bought bread for our toast.
"Oh, this is really good!"
"I can taste the honey."
2/8/14 - I made focaccia.
I didn't have any intention of baking bread yesterday, but a friend posted a link to this recipe on Facebook. I was already in the kitchen baking 3 1/2 dozen apple buttermilk bran muffins, so I decided to dirty some more dishes and give it a shot.
"I want this for my birthday dinner! Or every day."
"I give this a 20 (on our scale of 1-5 for new recipes)."
There are two things I've done differently with these recipes than with previous ones, which I think is why they've turned out as something other than bricks.
First, I bought yeast at Costco. I used to buy the little packets at Winco, but so many friends who are successful break bakers say they get their yeast at Costco that I figured it couldn't hurt to do the same. I don't know if it's fresher or not, but it was worth a try for me. I just put the big package in a ziploc bag and store it in the fridge.
Second, I started letting dough rise in the oven with the light on. We keep a cool house and I think that's why I've always struggled to get my dough to rise. At some point in the past someone mentioned that oven lights put out just enough heat to let dough rise. They were right!
Three new yeast recipes. Three successes. And we're not even halfway through February! Guess it's time for a new goal.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
2/8/14 WORTH REPEATING
********
Make today's decisions with tomorrow in mind.
~ Gideon, written by Priscilla Shirer (I haven't done the study, but I liked this quote when a friend posted it on Facebook)
********
They forget that it is not a present experience that ensures fruit unto maturity, but a patient continuance in well doing. To taste the grace of God is one thing; to be established in it and manifest it in character, habit, and regular life, is another.
~ George Goodman, quoted by Miles J. Stanford in The Complete Green Letters, on the time necessary for growth and the difference between the emotional high of an experience versus the solidity of being grounded in scriptural facts
********
Although my husband might not agree with this assessment, I really do try not to complain a lot, especially online. Not because I want to appear like I have the perfect life but because I think sometimes when we verbalize or write down the negatives, they become even bigger and harder in our hearts and minds.
~ Mandi Ehman at Life Your Way
********
Motherhood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you though you would have. It's about understanding that he is exactly the person he his supposed to be. And that if you're lucky, he just might be the teacher who turns you into the person you are supposed to be.
~ The Water Giver: The Story of a Mother, Her Son, and Their Second Chance, written by Joan Ryan (I haven't read the book, but a friend shared this quote on Facebook and I liked it)
********
Aligning my heart with God's heart results in a stillness of heart and less 'responding'. Just because self-defense feels good doesn't mean it glorifies God.
~ Belinda Moffit
********
Make today's decisions with tomorrow in mind.
~ Gideon, written by Priscilla Shirer (I haven't done the study, but I liked this quote when a friend posted it on Facebook)
********
They forget that it is not a present experience that ensures fruit unto maturity, but a patient continuance in well doing. To taste the grace of God is one thing; to be established in it and manifest it in character, habit, and regular life, is another.
~ George Goodman, quoted by Miles J. Stanford in The Complete Green Letters, on the time necessary for growth and the difference between the emotional high of an experience versus the solidity of being grounded in scriptural facts
********
Although my husband might not agree with this assessment, I really do try not to complain a lot, especially online. Not because I want to appear like I have the perfect life but because I think sometimes when we verbalize or write down the negatives, they become even bigger and harder in our hearts and minds.
~ Mandi Ehman at Life Your Way
********
Motherhood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you though you would have. It's about understanding that he is exactly the person he his supposed to be. And that if you're lucky, he just might be the teacher who turns you into the person you are supposed to be.
~ The Water Giver: The Story of a Mother, Her Son, and Their Second Chance, written by Joan Ryan (I haven't read the book, but a friend shared this quote on Facebook and I liked it)
********
Aligning my heart with God's heart results in a stillness of heart and less 'responding'. Just because self-defense feels good doesn't mean it glorifies God.
~ Belinda Moffit
********
Thursday, February 6, 2014
2/6/14 THANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful that we have two functioning vehicles - one that seats our whole family, one that gets better gas mileage, and the combo that allows me to take care of stuff outside of the home while Tim's working.
What's something that you're thankful for?
What's something that you're thankful for?
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
A MOMENT OF CHILDHOOD CAPTURED
WINTER WALK TO THE LIBRARY
Blue skies
Forty degrees
Plaid shorts
Smooth bare knees
Cold ears
Tiara in place
Cowgirl boots
Desire to race
Striped hair
Stick for walking
At cars waving
With mom talking
Pink camo
Jeweled fleece
Head high
Heart at peace
Half mile
Sidewalk cracks
Off to get
Books in stacks
Sunday, February 2, 2014
GRATEFUL FOR A NICE MAN
Right now Tim is talking to a retired principal. A man who is giving him feedback on his resume and cover letter. A man who is taking time out of his weekend to help Tim increase his odds of getting a job for next school year. A man Tim played softball with in the early years of our marriage, years before Tim was ever involved in teaching. A man who was my principal, years before I knew Tim.
The cool thing about this man is that people from two totally different seasons of my life know who he is. Friends from Brookings know him because he was their principal or the principal of their kids or siblings. Friends from Phoenix and Ashland know him for the same reason or because they went or go to church with him.
His name is Jeff Schlecht and there are three times in my life that I've been very thankful for him.
The first time was in December 1991. He had called my dad's place of employment in Brookings for some unknown reason irrelevant to the story. My dad took care of business, then mentioned that he had a daughter at Mr. Schlecht's school (that would be me) who was concerned about missing final exams. You see, at that time my mom was dying and my dad planned on taking my siblings and I on vacation the week after she died. The way things were going it was beginning to look like that vacation would be during finals and I was a little stressed about how my grades would be affected.
Not to worry. Mr. Schlecht said he'd take care of it. A day or two later I saw all my teachers walking out of his office before school started one morning. He called me in later, saying he'd explained the situation to all of them and given them each two options - let me take my final late without penalty or let me skip it and adjust my grading scale accordingly - and that I could work things out with each teacher individually when I went to their class that day. My mom died a short time later and I went on vacation without any worries about the finals I was missing.
The second time was in 2005 when Jeff (that's what he'd told me to call him when we reconnected several years later and I was adult) welcomed Tim, who he'd met when they played on a softball team together, into his office one day for a meeting. Tim was at the end of his MAT program in Ashland and Jeff did a mock interview with him, giving him all sorts of useful information that proved helpful in the job application and interviewing process.
The third time is today. Tim now has several years of teaching under his belt, an administrative license, and really needs a job. We've lost contact with Jeff over the years, but a friend relayed a message from us to him earlier this week and he promptly called Tim to set up a time to talk this weekend. Today, with Tim having several years of experience under his belt and and some different circumstances than last time the two of them talked, Jeff gave Tim helpful feedback, information that Tim can use as he continues applying for jobs.
If I were to state my feelings like I write many of my Facebook posts, then I guess this is what I'd say ...
Blessings. Jeff Schlecht.
The cool thing about this man is that people from two totally different seasons of my life know who he is. Friends from Brookings know him because he was their principal or the principal of their kids or siblings. Friends from Phoenix and Ashland know him for the same reason or because they went or go to church with him.
His name is Jeff Schlecht and there are three times in my life that I've been very thankful for him.
The first time was in December 1991. He had called my dad's place of employment in Brookings for some unknown reason irrelevant to the story. My dad took care of business, then mentioned that he had a daughter at Mr. Schlecht's school (that would be me) who was concerned about missing final exams. You see, at that time my mom was dying and my dad planned on taking my siblings and I on vacation the week after she died. The way things were going it was beginning to look like that vacation would be during finals and I was a little stressed about how my grades would be affected.
Not to worry. Mr. Schlecht said he'd take care of it. A day or two later I saw all my teachers walking out of his office before school started one morning. He called me in later, saying he'd explained the situation to all of them and given them each two options - let me take my final late without penalty or let me skip it and adjust my grading scale accordingly - and that I could work things out with each teacher individually when I went to their class that day. My mom died a short time later and I went on vacation without any worries about the finals I was missing.
The second time was in 2005 when Jeff (that's what he'd told me to call him when we reconnected several years later and I was adult) welcomed Tim, who he'd met when they played on a softball team together, into his office one day for a meeting. Tim was at the end of his MAT program in Ashland and Jeff did a mock interview with him, giving him all sorts of useful information that proved helpful in the job application and interviewing process.
The third time is today. Tim now has several years of teaching under his belt, an administrative license, and really needs a job. We've lost contact with Jeff over the years, but a friend relayed a message from us to him earlier this week and he promptly called Tim to set up a time to talk this weekend. Today, with Tim having several years of experience under his belt and and some different circumstances than last time the two of them talked, Jeff gave Tim helpful feedback, information that Tim can use as he continues applying for jobs.
If I were to state my feelings like I write many of my Facebook posts, then I guess this is what I'd say ...
Blessings. Jeff Schlecht.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
MENU - FIRST HALF OF FEBRUARY 2014
I've had a few people ask me recently if I make the doughnuts that are always on our menu, so I wanted to clarify that I don't. Our church serves doughnuts at the service that we attend, so we all grab one there. Although I don't list it, we also usually grab a bit of real food before we head out the door for church. Some people like some cottage cheese and pineapple, others grab some almonds and an apple. It varies from week to week.
I have two new recipes to share with you this time around.
kiwi smoothies - These are delicious! Almond extract is the magic ingredient, but the smoothies are packed with several other yummy ingredients.
Nantucket cranberry pie - Eva linked this recipe on Facebook during the holiday season and I bookmarked it for a later day. That day finally came last week and we were all very grateful. It has a ridiculous amount of sugar in it, especially if you make up some whipped cream to go with it, but it's a tasty indulgence!
BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts x2
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, raisins, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and energy mix as optional toppings
- with cottage cheese and fruit x4
- with yogurt and fruit smoothies x2
* scrambled eggs (ours are always made with a ton of chopped spinach, sometimes some chopped tomatoes, a bit of pepper, and always a sprinkling of some type of cheese)/toast x4
* apple buttermilk bran muffins/yogurt
* egg & shrimp scramble/mandarins
* Rebecca's granola (as cold cereal or over yogurt)
I have two new recipes to share with you this time around.
kiwi smoothies - These are delicious! Almond extract is the magic ingredient, but the smoothies are packed with several other yummy ingredients.
Nantucket cranberry pie - Eva linked this recipe on Facebook during the holiday season and I bookmarked it for a later day. That day finally came last week and we were all very grateful. It has a ridiculous amount of sugar in it, especially if you make up some whipped cream to go with it, but it's a tasty indulgence!
BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts x2
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, raisins, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and energy mix as optional toppings
- with cottage cheese and fruit x4
- with yogurt and fruit smoothies x2
* scrambled eggs (ours are always made with a ton of chopped spinach, sometimes some chopped tomatoes, a bit of pepper, and always a sprinkling of some type of cheese)/toast x4
* apple buttermilk bran muffins/yogurt
* egg & shrimp scramble/mandarins
* Rebecca's granola (as cold cereal or over yogurt)
SCHOOL DAY LUNCHES
* meat & cheese sandwich
* meat & cheese sandwich
- on tortillas/apples/red bell peppers
- on regular bread/apples/pea pods
* crackers/cheddar/cukes/olives x2
* peanut butter & jelly sandwich
- on regular bread/apples/red bell peppers
* quesadillas/black bean dip/red bell peppers
* deviled eggs/mandarins/pea pods
DINNERS
* leftovers x2
* tacos (meat and crockpot beans from the freezer) x2
DINNERS
* leftovers x2
* tacos (meat and crockpot beans from the freezer) x2
* steak salad (we'll use pork chops ... never made this from the last menu)
* surprise soup (adding a bunch of fresh produce and leftover meats and veggies from the freezer to some broth)
* BLTs/kiwi smoothies
* grilled chicken salad/toast
* penne and sausage casserole (sauce from the freezer)/roasted broccoli
* quinoa patties/lemon garlic cukes/new recipe
* Silas' chicken/rice/winter fruit salad with lemon poppyseed dressing (as in ... green salad with winter fruits, not a fruit salad)
* produce
* hummus for veggies
* nuts - pistachios & dry roasted almonds
* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department & a West Bend Stir Crazy to pop them in)
* white chocolate cherry almond cookies (some to share, some to keep)
* sugar cookies (taking to an event)
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