Saturday, July 11, 2009

Hello--Cutest Kid Ever Alert, Some Awards and Whole Wheat Bread!

There are no words.
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But I must tell you the story.  Taylor found a pom pom on the floor yesterday and that led to he and Sam making crowns.  We got them made and since they had a lot of glue (kids use a lot of glue!), we set them aside to dry.  Later, I taped the ends together and Sam was pretty excited about his crown.  He ran in to Taylor's room to show him and this is how he looked when I went in the room.  Yes, it's upside down.  Dang cute!  He wouldn't even let me show him the right way, he was happy with it just the way it was!
This cuteness even makes up for the fact that last night after I was almost done with the dishes, Sam scooted a chair up to the sink and wanted to play in the water.  I let him.  I finished the last of the by-hand dishes and told him to leave the water running just how I had it and be careful.  I went in the living room (just off the kitchen, but you can't see the sink from where I was.)  I checked on Sam every few minutes.  He was filling a couple cups up back and forth and having a good time.  He always makes a little of a wet mess, but was doing okay.  Well, Kevin came upstairs moments later, entered the kitchen and saw Sam squirting the entire kitchen with the sink hose!  Not only that, but water was gushing on to the floor from the counter in quite the flood!  I'm not sure how he did it in the amount of time since I'd last checked on him, but it took about 10 towels to clean up!  Sigh.  Like I said, it's a good thing he's so stinkin' cute or he'd have been in trou-ble!
(Taylor wouldn't let me take his picture with his crown on.)  Also, it seems in all the pictures of Sam lately, he's just wearing a onesie shirt or just a diaper.  I've been just putting these shirts on him because his newest thing is to take his pants off.  He was even doing it after I'd tuck him in bed at night.  I always go check on him before I go to bed and his jammie pants were always on the floor.  With the snapping onesies, he can't take anything off!
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I wanted to send a shout out and THANKS to a few blogger friends who have given me awards recently.
I got this Kreativ Blogger award from Carla at Chocolate Moosey.  Thanks a bunch, Carla, that's awesome!   And I also got the same award from Peach at The Peach Kitchen.  She is a cute gal in the Philippines with a fun blog in which she showcases places to eat there, interesting food and yummy recipes.  Thanks for thinking of me for this award!
 
I'm supposed to now tell you a bunch of boring stuff about myself (7 things to be exact) and pass this award on.  So I'm passing it on to all the blogs I've got listed as favorite links on my blog.  You all rock!  Yada, yada, yada, there's not much for me to say about myself.
1-I don't like (make that hate) onions.  My mom always said that when I grow up I'd learn to like them.  Almost 40, still hate them.  Sorry, Mom.  I suppose it could just be that I've never grown up. ; )
2-I love chocolate.  There.  That's about it about me.  jk  But that's all you're getting today! ; )
And then, I hate to admit it, but clear back in March (she said muffled under her breath), I so kindly received this award from Melody at Cheat Day Cafe.  I feel like such a heel having never acknowledged this on my blog.  I really am grateful when people think of me and send me these awards.  So, Thanks, Melody! 

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."
And just how horrible of me is it that after receiving the "FRIENDS" award from Melody, I blew it!  Anyway, thanks and sorry.  Again, I pass this one on to ALL my friends!  Ya'll know who you are and can accept this award and pass it on if you'd like! ; )
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Last week Maria at Two Peas and Their Pod (How awesome is she?!) posted a recipe for some Honey Whole Wheat Bread.  I'm a sucker for good homemade bread, especially when I saw that the mixer does all the kneading and it only had one rise time.  I had to try this one.     This bread turned out great.  It made two big, beautiful loaves.  I wrapped one up and put it in one of the boxes of recycle stuff I had for our recycle guy who comes every other week on Tuesday's.  But I forgot this past week, so after emailing him, he said I could put my stuff out on Friday and he'd come pick it up.  This guy does a lot for our environment, for our own laziness and he doesn't get paid much to do what he does.  He recycles just about everything, too.  It's only $12 a month.  I think that's pretty good and beats loading up all our "trash" and taking it to a recycle center.  That's the only way they do it here in own town.  I kind of wish it was required here (it was in Tucson where we lived before).  It kind of drives me nuts when I go jogging in the mornings and see SO much garbage to be thrown out that could be recycled.  Okay, off the high horse.  I'm not  the greatest at it, nor have I always been this way.
Sheesh, where was I?  Oh, the bread!  It's great, simple and 100% whole wheat.
I only made one minor change to Maria's shared recipe.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread, Stouts' recipe, adapted every so slightly from Maria at Two Peas and their Pod

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 T vital wheat gluten
2 packets of yeast (I used rapid rise)
2 1/2 cups warm water
In a large mixing bowl (preferably a KitchenAid), add the 3 cups flour, wheat gluten, and yeast. Stir. Add in warm water and stir until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 T lemon juice  (I used distilled vinegar, as I was out of lemon juice or lemons)

1 T salt
3 1/2-4 cups whole wheat flour



Mix the oil, honey, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture after the 10 minutes. Mix until combined. Add in the additional flour and mix. Now knead the dough for ten minutes with the dough hook. When it is done divide the dough into two loaves. Make sure they are even. Shape them into loaf form. Place the dough into 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After the loaves have risen, bake them for 30 minutes.  (I only baked mine for 25 minutes, they should be a golden brown.)  I also basted my dough with an egg white wash before baking it.

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Look at that!  Can't wait to make this again!
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Great recipe, Maria!  Thanks for sharing.


28 comments:

Deb said...

That bread looks awesome I(Jon) am going to have to try this one!

Anonymous said...

Homemade bread is the best. Your loaves look great! I love Sam's upside down crown, and the Onesies. Those days are long gone around here, but it brings back fond memories.

Carla said...

lmao he takes his pants off? Hopefully he'll grow out of it real soon!

Anna said...

Wowww those loaves are so well-risen! (I wrote that they 'rose well' at first but that looks wrong... even though I don't think it is. Hm). You've made me really want to make bread now!

...And also a crown. I REALLY want to make a crown.

Maria said...

Glad you loved the bread. Your loaves are beautiful!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Beautiful loaves Katrina! I'm also a sucker for ww homemade bread. I've been doing the Ain5 in the last weeks and it turns out good too! I love how shiny your crust is! What about that cute Sam! I can only imagine you weren't a bit happy with the kitchen incident, but would you look at his face? Lol!

Stacy Hoover said...

Where to begin.....
1.) Your Sam is just so cute I want to reach through and give him a big old hug!
2.) Funny we are having the EXACT same problem with Beckett and the pants thing (in fact he tried to take EVERYTHING off at a picnic tonight- UGH!).Our solution was the same as yours - onesies for you for a while mister! LOL
3.) Seriously you are the best darn mom around! - Making paper crowns and NOT getting mad about the 1,000 gallons of water on the floor - I bow to you....
4.) Congrats on your awards - but I'm really not surprised - YOU ROCK!!
5.) Thank you for this bread recipe. I have been searching for a good wheat bread recipe and have yet to find it, but I think this post might end this search!!! Thanks for sharing!

Oh and PS.) Loved your comment on my blog! LOL

♥peachkins♥ said...

This is a really adorable photo.Adorable cutie you got there.
You so deserve that award!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous loaves! I love making bread - it really is the best!

Leslie said...

lol lol lol..ahh being a mom..we go through so much. But looking at their cute faces makes it all worth it!!!

Flourchild said...

Wonderful looking bread, wow it's so fluffy looking! Your awards are great and your boy is a cutie pie!

Fallon said...

Good job on the bread! Looks delicious!

Deborah said...

That crown is too cute!! The bread looks so good - I'm due to make some homemade bread!

Eliana said...

You do have some of the cutest kids ever!!!! Congrats on all the awards. You deserve them.

Megan said...

What beautiful bread! Another recipe I want to try. Geez, I better get cookin!

noble pig said...

You are right, there are no words. This looks like a bread recipe I want to try. What size loaf pans did you use?

vibi said...

WOW! You actually MADE those breads??? WOW! WOW! WOW!

Almost nicer than that beautiful button face!

Very, very nice, Katrina!

Megan said...

Great pictures - and it's a good thing kids have their cuteness to offset the damage they do!

Bread looks great - definitely worth trying.

Jennifer said...

Wow, that bread looks great! Mine never seems to rise that much, but I love homemade bread anyway.

Anonymous said...

Yes, he is a cute kid! Your loaves look amazing. great job!

karl's sweet child said...

your boy is sooooo cute :)

Yummy in my tummy said...

wow, that looks great! i have yet to bake a loaf of bread that looks as good as that. i'm just afraid to even try.

Emily said...

Wow, that bread looks perfect! It's huge

Anne said...

Those loaves look perfect. I've been thinking about learning to make bread, but everyone I know that does it uses a Bosch not a KA. I'll have to try this version!

Anne said...

Those loaves look perfect. I've been thinking about learning to make bread, but everyone I know that does it uses a Bosch not a KA. I'll have to try this version!

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