Bread On Tuesday ~ Week 7 {Parmesan-Herb Focaccia}

Tonight's bread was kind of the best of both worlds.  While it takes only an hour to make from start to delicious finish, it is a yeast bread and thus has the wonderful flavor and consistency that makes a yeast bread sooooo good.  

And yes, I said that right...only an hour.

Kati made the soup this evening, while I was making the bread.  That is a switch for us, as she is the baker and I like to cook.  But it worked.  The soup (an old Taste of Home recipe, Lasagna Soup) was tasty, and this focaccia complemented it well.  

Don't be intimidated by focaccia.  This recipe is simple and, as I have said, quick, due to the use of fast-acting yeast.  (Rapid rise, fast-acting, bread machine yeast, fresh yeast...all terms for the same thing.  It's almost all I use these days, even substituting it for regular yeast in recipes that call for it.)

(Makes 2 rounds) Dough Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 package fast-acting yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) 1 cup very warm water (120-130° F) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Topping Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or thyme 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper Directions: In a food processor*, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast; pulse to mix.  With machine running**, add water and 1 tablespoon oil through feed tube. When dough forms a ball, process 30 seconds or until dough is smooth and elastic***.  Grease medium bowl. With floured hands, remove dough from food processor; place in bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place for 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon oil and garlic.  Punch down dough; divide in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half into 8-inch round; place on baking sheet. Press dough with fingertips to create dimples. Brush with garlic-oil mixture; sprinkle with cheese, thyme, coarse salt, and pepper.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into wedges. Serve warm. ~ ~ ~ MY NOTES: *  I use my stand mixer instead of my food processor, using the dough hook to mix and "knead."   ** I add the water and oil while the mixer is running. ***  I found that I needed to add more flour in this step.  The dough was just too sticky and would not form a ball.  Maybe I didn't measure carefully, because I don't remember this happening before.

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, 
will he give him a stone?

Matthew 7:9

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Note Card Party: Soup

Perhaps because it's a gray and chilly winter's day.

Perhaps because we are having soup tonight.

Perhaps because I love making soup.

Whatever the reason,
I settled on yummy, comforting soup to be my theme for the
February Note Card Party

over at A Haven For Vee.

Clicking on each photo will take you to the recipe.
Maybe you'll find a new recipe to try!

Do you like to make soup?  Do you have a favorite?

Do you have a blog?
Then you can join this month's party
over at Vee's Haven!

(Click the button for details.)

A Special Day {In Which Maddie Goes to the Spa}

Last week, I promised to tell you about three of our recent "Special Days."  (If you missed it, you can read about what a Special Day is ~here~.)  

 

Inspiration for our day at the spa began when Kati gave me some homemade sugar scrub for my birthday.  When I mentioned my idea to Kati, she began brainstorming, and she and I started to gather ideas and plans from here and there and everywhere...and pinning many of them onto our Pinterest board.

On a cold day in late January, Papa-the-Chauffeur and Bekah went to pick up our guest of honor, our oldest granddaughter Maddie who is 8 years old.  Kati and I stayed behind to put the finishing touches on our spa decorations and supplies.  We set the scene for a slow, relaxing day of primping and pampering for two young ladies.

As soon as the girls had shed their coats and donned their pretty robes, 

they were treated to a cup of hot tea.

After tea, the young ladies had facials.

First was a treatment with lemon sugar scrub,

followed by a cucumber mask

and cucumber slices to reduce puffiness around the eyes.

Neither of the girls thought that their eyes were puffy (they weren't)...but doesn't every facial include cucumber slices?

Facials completed, skin refreshed, the girls then took turns having a long soak 

(Maddie's word for a long unhurried bath)

 in the tub in which red rose soap petals floated.

While Maddie was having the first soak, I told Bekah to gather a few magazines to read.  

(She chose a Martha Stewart Living and the Royal Wedding issue of People--

perfect choices for these girly girls.  ~smile~ )

Lunch at the spa included butterfly cucumber sandwiches, turkey/spinach wraps, 

and strawberry-banana smoothies.

After lunch, Aunt Kati and the girls had pedicures, via a fun little game.  I played Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty Waltz," while the girls passed around bottles of different colored nail polish.  I paused the music at random intervals, at which time each girl painted one toenail with the polish that she was holding.  We kept going until all ten toes (actually thirty toes!) were polished and the results were adorable.

Then it was time for a little refresher...
a glass of sparkling cranberry juice to sip while having their manicures.

Hand massages,

manicures,

and foot massages while relaxing, wearing the eye shades that I made for them.

The girls decided that it would be fun to give Kati a foot massage.

With most of the spa activities completed, the girls watched some movies...

all princess-themed, if you notice the pattern.

The girls had requested rag curls, so before they went to bed, Kati and I curled their hair. (Anyone remember rag curls?)  Then off they went to Kati's room (she has the double bed), taking a DVD player so that they could watch their last movie in bed.

Bottom left: Rag curls and eye shades  (Do you see that the giraffe has an eye shade too?)
Bottom right:  Results of the rag curls

Spa Day was over, but the next day was Sunday, so Maddie went to church with us, and was here when the rest of her family came on Sunday afternoon.  

When they all left in the evening, Maddie took home this basket of spa goodies

and, I hope, some good memories of a Special Day spent with Papa and Gran and the aunts.

Sunday Snapshots: For the Birds

For the past four or five years, our family has participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. It's a fun and easy way to be part of a big science project!  The only requirement is to count birds in your location for a minimum of 15 minutes and log your data at GBBC's web site. 

Last year, we went all out and made it a bird day from start to finish, adding lots of birdy activities to the bird count itself. 

This year...we counted.  

Although some of us did dress the part.  

And one of us invited a raven to read his Lego book with him.

There were bird counters all over the house...

...including these two cuties who may not have known what they were counting but wanted in on the fun!  (This may be my favorite picture of the day!)

Unfortunately, we had almost as many counters as birds this year.  Ten birds, people.  We fear that the outdoor cats have discouraged our bird population.  Ron and I had seen a cardinal this very morning, but Mr. Cardinal was nowhere to be seen when the count was on.  

So our bird count may not have been our most successful, but the sliders we enjoyed with lunch were quite the success.  (Thanks for the recipe, Deanna!)  

And then there was that rousing game of Dutch Blitz...

"Special Days" With Papa and Gran

In 2010, I wrote this about our grandchildren's "Special Days."

As grandparents, Ron and I are...well...not typical. I suppose there must be plenty of folks out there who are grandparents and actively raising children at the same time, but it seems like there are more of the other kind...the kind whose children are all out of the nest and who are able to spoil the grandkids. When our first grandchild was born, our own youngest child was a mere twenty months old, and was in the throes of toddlerhood. In a big way. In a way that required lots of diligence and training (for her and for us!).  So, although we loved our new grandson deeply, we were quite distracted from grandparenthood by the demands of taking care of our Bekah, raising and homeschooling nine-year-old Kati, and (oh yeah) earning a living. Those were busy days! 

Over these past seven-plus years however, we have learned to blaze our own grandparenting trail. So who is "typical" anyhow? We have made our own way as Papa and Gran, and have learned to embrace the things that make us "different". After all, not every child gets to go to Grandma's and play with a houseful of toys and (more importantly) a ready-made playmate! Not every child can get dirty and then dig through their aunt's clothing for something to wear home! 

Last spring, we began planning Papa-and-Gran days...a day for each child (no brothers or sisters!) to spend the day with us...just that child doing something special that they would like to do. The children began to call them "Special Days"...and we hope that that's just what they are!

Now, almost two years later, we have had even more delightful Special Days with the grands.  Some Special Days have been close to home.  Some have been out-and-about.  All of them have filled our hearts with sweet memories.  

Top row: Gavin at the lighthouse
Middle row: Owen at a fall festival
Bottom row: Maddie at the movies (Puss in Boots) and some mall shopping

Next week here at Thinking About Home, I'd like to tell you about three of our recent Special Days.  

First up...Maddie goes to the spa!

How do you make memories with your grandchildren?  

Do you have special memories of time spent with your own grandparents?

Toys at Gran's House

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post in which I placed myself in the (tongue in cheek) category of Grandmother Blog.  I thought I'd follow up with a few grandmother posts.  

Today's topic...toys.  

My mom had a drawer in her spare bedroom dedicated to books and games for the grandchildren.  She would tuck in coloring books and crayons, an illustrated Bible story book, Tiddly Winks, card games, simple craft supplies, and (always) books.  The grandchildren knew to go and take a peek in the drawer when they came for a visit, for the contents would often be refreshed.  (Most often, they were refreshed because Mom would give to the child something that she thought they enjoyed.  My children still have several books that started out in the Gammy drawer, but left her house with a happy child.) 

Oh, and Mom still keeps that drawer stocked for her great-grandchildren!

Because I am a grandmother who still has a child at home (there is only 20-month difference in my youngest child and my oldest grandchild), I have always had a larger selection of toys at my house than the average grandmother.  That is gradually changing though.  As Bekah (11) grows older, many toys have been weeded out of the collection.

Several toys, however, will remain...a few standard "grandmother toys."

I keep a small basket for baby/toddler toys under the pie safe that is our school cabinet.  My own grands delve into this basket every time they visit...mostly the babies and toddlers, but not always.  Inside are a set of stacking cups and some rubber keys (that date back to Kati's babyhood), some homemade bean bags, Fisher Price binoculars (dating to Ryan's childhood!)...and then there's Mike.  Mike, a McDonald's Happy Meal toy, seems a little out of place in this basket of sweet, classic baby toys, but all the babies love Mike.  Maybe it's because his skinny green arms and legs are easy to grab, or maybe because his mouth and his one eye open and close, or maybe just because he looks friendly (does he?).  Whatever the reason, babies like Mike, so Mike stays.

Another kid favorite at Gran's house is the Magnadoodle.  Almost any Sunday afternoon will find one or another of the children writing a message, drawing a picture, or playing a game of tic-tac-toe on the Magnadoodle.  Unlike an Etch-a-Sketch which requires a great amount of coordination (I am impressed with anyone who can draw even a simple picture using an Etch-a-Sketch), the Magnadoodle has a magnetic pen which "writes" on the screen.  It even has a few shaped magnets (triangle, circle, flower) that can stamp an instant design, so even the smallest child can create something.  If anything should happen to the Magnadoodle, I will make an effort to replace it because it has brought such creative fun to the children at all ages.

Then there's the block basket, filled with Duplos and wooden blocks and a few odd pieces such as a little plastic fire truck and a vintage Fisher Price Little People woman.  This is another keeper.  You just can't beat blocks for classic appeal, imaginative fun, and creative play for both genders and all ages.

Those are the basics.  These are the toys that I plan to keep available for my grandchildren, visiting children, and, maybe someday, my great-grandchildren.

I also have a shelf in my laundry room that has some children's games, puzzles, and coloring books, crayons, and markers.  These aren't kept out in the main living area, but we often will get out one game at a time or a coloring book and crayons out for a child who needs something to do.  (The older children can reach these items and know that they can help themselves.)

On the lowest shelf of the dining room book shelf are two baskets of board books that the littlest love to read or have read to them.  My mother gave Bekah a set of Nursery Rhyme board books for her first Christmas.  I have absolutely no idea how many times I have read each one of those books, but the number would be phenomenal.  Truly.

Fellow grandmothers, what "grandmother toys" do you keep at your house?

Non-grandmothers, what toys do you remember playing with at your grandmother's house? 

A Last Minute Valentine

My low carb readers are going to leave me, but I thought someone might need an easy peasy idea for a last minute Valentine treat!  This is it!

♥ Valentine Shortbread Cookies ♥

Cream together 2 sticks (yikes...yes that's 2 sticks!) of butter with 1/2 cup sugar.  

(So now I've lost the low fat readers too.)

Beat until light and fluffy.

Stir in 2 1/4 cups flour and mix until dough holds together.

Add 4-5 drops of red food coloring to tint the cookies a Valentine-y pink.

Mix thoroughly.

Roll out about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut out cookies with a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Bake at 300°F (lower temp than most cookies) for 15 minutes.

(These cookies do not brown.  When you take them out, they will look much the same as when you put them in.  Do not be tempted to leave them in longer or you will get a hard cookie, not melt-in-your-mouth shortbread goodness.)

Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes; transfer to cooling racks to continue cooling.

When completely cooled, drizzle with melted chocolate chips.

(I melted some chips in the microwave, placed the melted chocolate in a baggie, and cut a tiny hole in the corner.  Then I squeezed the bag as I made a simple back and forth motion.)

Allow chocolate some time to harden.

You can fill a cellophane bag with cookies and give them to your Valentines.

Or serve them at a party.

But be sure to keep one or two, so that you can enjoy it (them) with a cup of afternoon tea or coffee.

Bread On Tuesday ~ Week 6 {Cheddar Biscuits}

I almost didn't try this recipe.  

Ron was perusing my new December issue of Country Living magazine, and these Cheddar Biscuits caught his eye.  He showed me the picture and the recipe and I told him two reasons why I was not interested.  First of all, I have a tried-and-true biscuit recipe that I have been using for over thirty years.  They are good. Why can't I just add cheese?  Secondly, I scorned the recipe's claim that the total time is 60 minutes! Now, I am not fast.  Okay, okay...I am slow.  (Did I ever tell you that my first grade teacher dubbed me "The  Pokey Puppy"?  Or that Ron calls us three girls Slow, Slower, and Slowest?)  But if I can't make biscuits in less than an hour, I might as well hang up my apron.  

The next day was Sunday, and I needed a quick bread to add to our lunch menu, for that particular afternoon's agenda was quite full.  Remembering Ron's enthusiasm for these biscuits on Saturday, I decided to try them just this once.  

We all loved them.  

So I ate my words along with my cheddar biscuit.  

I did make them in less than an hour, but they weren't just my baking powder biscuits with cheese.  There was black pepper to give them a bit of a punch, a tangy cheesy flavor, and a yummy crispy bottom. 

I have made them several times since, and this recipe has found its way into my collection.   

Original recipe as seen in Country Living found ~here~. Ingredients: 4 cups flour (more for surface) 8 teaspoons baking powder  1 teaspoon  salt 2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper 1 1/2 sticks butter, cold and cut into small pieces 2 cups buttermilk* 1 cup grated Cheddar (about 4 ounces) Directions: Preheat over to 450°F.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.  Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add buttermilk and cheddar, and stir just until dough comes together. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough into halves and pat each into a rectangle. Using your hands, fold flatten, and repeat until the dough has been folded over 4 times.  Pat out until 1 inch thick.  Cut out biscuits using a 2-inch round cutter.  Repeat with other dough rectangle.  Reroll scrap dough and repeat until all dough is used.** Transfer biscuits to two baking sheets and bake until golden on top, 14 to 18 minutes.  ~ ~ ~ MY NOTES: * I never have buttermilk on hand.  I always pour a tablespoon or two of white vinegar into my measuring cup, fill it up to the 2-cup mark with milk, and let it stand about 5 minutes  or so before adding it to the recipe. ** I am not too fussy about the dough-folding stage. That is, I don't count the "4 times" or anything.   I just fold it together until it is dry enough to handle, while trying not to overwork it.

And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman;

 and she constrained him to eat bread. 

And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

II Kings 4:8

Sunday Snapshots: "C" Is For Valentine

How do you spell Valentine?  

At our house today, it began with a C.

Bread On Tuesday ~ Week 5 {Rosemary Bread}

Through some sort of odd tag team collaboration, Kati and I have put together a Bread On Tuesday post!  Her bread.  Her photo.  My...oh, I don't know...at least I'm writing this up! Working on both computers: Henry Desktop who did not have coffee spilled on him, but is old and slow, and Henrietta Laptop who is still doing wacky things.  For example, Henrietta's space bar launches you to some unknown place that she has kept hidden before. Her backspace key doesn't backspace, but goes to another window.  Yeah.  It's fun.  But she is better than she was yesterday when we had no keyboard function at all, so we are holding off on a doctor's visit (and accompanying fee) until we've given her ample time to dry out.  Hoping...

On to this week's wonderful bread...

Kati has been making this luscious rosemary bread for several years now, long enough for people to request it when she's baking for a dinner or party.

Want to make friends and influence people?  Forget Carnegie...just learn to make this bread and give some away!

(Makes 2 loaves) Ingredients: 4 cups of bread flour 1 packet of quick rise yeast 1 1/2 cups of water (120°F) 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary 2 tsp salt extra-virgin olive oil coarse sea salt for sprinkling (optional) Directions: Combine flour, water, rosemary, salt, and yeast in your mixer fitted with dough hook. Mix on low speed for three minutes. Increase speed to medium and knead for four minutes. The dough should be slightly stiff, smooth, and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly olive oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 20 minutes. Fold the dough over on itself, pressing gently to release the gas. Let the dough rise a second time, about 20 minutes more. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and round into smooth balls, pulling the outer layer taut and pinching the excess dough together at the base of the balls. Place seam sides down on a lightly floured work surface, cover, and let rest until relaxed, fifteen minutes. Prepare two loaf pans by spraying the with cooking spray. Put your hands under each dough round and stretch and pull gently to fit the pans. Brush or mist the surface of the dough lightly with water. Let the dough rise for a third time in a warm place, covered, until the dough springs back slowly to the tough but does not collapse, fifteen minutes. Preheat the oven the 425°F. If you want, you can score the dough right down the center. Brush or mist dough with water once more. Bake until the loaves have a golden brown crust and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, twenty to twenty-five minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks. Brush or drizzle the top with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt if desired. ~ ~ ~ MY NOTES: Please DO sprinkle with the salt in Step 7 (unless your diet prohibits it, of course).  We use coarse kosher salt instead of sea salt, but the salt really gives that outer crust the right touch.

And they [the disciples] said to Him, 

“We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

He said, “Bring them here to Me.”  

Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. 

And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, 

He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 

So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew 14: 17-21

Maybe

Maybe  someone spilled her evening coffee on Henrietta.

Maybe  Henrietta is doing things that she has never done before.

Maybe  Henrietta will need to go back to the laptop doctor.

Maybe.

***Blogger sobs and can't blame anyone but herself.***