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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Sourdough Bread

  I know I just posted, but I have something else on my mind that I just need to get out.  It's minor really.  I came home last night and had tons of energy but felt like I had tons to do since I had been gone all day.  I sat down with my sick two year old and he would not let me get up.  So my amazing husband knew that one of the things I needed to start on was sourdough bread so he offered to help.  I already mixed the starter and some wheat and water the night before as you are suppose to.  Than he mixed the milk, honey, butter, and salt for me and heated it.  You than need to let that cool to room temp before adding to the other mixture.  So we let it get to room temp and I mixed in the remaining wheat to start the rising process.  For those who know nothing about making sourdough or any bread it is a six to seven hour long process once you heat the milk.  So after the first rise I started falling asleep.  It was only 8 or 9 at night but I just could not keep my eyes open any longer.  So very disappointed and worried about what would happen I placed my sourdough in the fridge.  I was worried that it would not rise properly the next day.
  So skip ahead to today.  I pulled the sourdough out of the fridge and set it on the stove to get back to room temp and than to rise at least one more time before baking.  I did that, than I hand made little loafs for sandwiches and than one bigger loaf in a loaf pan for cutting slices for toast and such.  I covered them and let them rise, this is when I was worried that the dough would just remain the same.  It did not however, it rose!  I was so excited and happy to see that my sourdough came back to life and rose to look like nice loaves.  I am not sure exactly how they will turn out, they are in the oven now, but the fact that they rose a third time and rose so well gives me great hope!  I am looking forward to us having this bread for lunch tomorrow and maybe even breakfast!
Meaghan

A shift in message!

  I am going to change gears a bit today and talk about something else that I am passionate about!  My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  I realize that I am shy to talk about that at times because I have so many friends who are unbelievers or just "unsure."  I however am sure and not ashamed that I love Jesus Christ and that I read my bible and that I am a believer!
  I went to a Beth Moore conference on Saturday at a church close to me.  It was amazing, to have so many women in one building all there for the same purpose to worship in His name!  Beth Moore talked about saying so long to insecurity, which is the same title as her new book, which I bought while at the conference.  This conference is one of many that I shall attend until I am unable to walk or get out of my home!  It was as I have stated before amazing, wonderful, and powerful!  I find the more I do in my church or through bible study the closer I feel to God.  Which I have found in my journey to be true for most Christian women.  We all have a hunger and need to be with the Lord but lack the discipline to do it ourselves day in and day out.  So the interaction and relationship with our fellow women, help us to not just stay connected to Him but to build bonds through Him!
  I know I am rambling but I have a lot in this brain lately that I need to let out, so bare with me!  The conference was how we all need to know that Jesus loves us for who and what we are, no matter how we have sinned or how we feel or look!  That we need to stop looking everywhere to find security for ourselves and start looking toward Him!  There was A LOT more that she said than that, but that's what it was about in a nut shell!
  I urge you to look to Jesus to fill your heart and heal it so that you can be more secure in Him.  I know it's not easy, believe me, I started praying this morning that God would help me to be a more secure woman and for me to see that He loves me no matter what I do or think or say!  For me that fills my heart with such joy that it feels like it might burst!  I also urge you to look into this book by Beth Moore, or any of her books she has written, which is several.  She is an amazing woman of God!  I am on my own journey to be an amazing woman of God and I KNOW with Him by my side I will be!  Thank you for reading today and God bless!

Meaghan

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Tonights Diner


GeoTagged, [N33.96347, E84.61595]

A glimps of what I made.  One last thing!  I love how bright veggies get when they are cooked even a little.  It's like they are screaming to be eaten.  They just look beautiful!  I know this picture is not the clearest or best but I think you can see how bright the kale and carrots got.

Kale and Potato Soup

Tonight I made a very successful diner! It was successful in that everyone ate it and enjoyed it, including my pickest eater, Jack(my 6 year old)!
What did I make? Exactly what the title said Kale and Potato Soup w/ cubes beef. It was a recipe that was in my email box courtesy of nourishedkitchen.com! If you haven't checked this website out yet, you really should do so!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The art of bread making

  I never thought I could make good bread, but alas I was wrong!  For once I am glad I am wrong.  I have been making bread on my own for a good four years now.  I started by buying flour at the grocery store and making it in my breadmaker.  Than in the last two years my neighbor got me into grinding my own wheat and making it all from scratch.  So with this new found diet I have been making everything my self, even bread.  It was turning out okay but not great.  I could not figure out what I was doing wrong.  My sourdough bread turned out great but bread I made in my breadmaker was too dense and not moist enough.  So I figured out my problem.  I was using the dough making setting on my breadmaker and than just baking it in my oven.  What I was not doing was letting the dough rise after it came out of the breadmaker. So that one extra step of letting it rise for only thirty minutes was making a better bread!  Eureka!
  I love how God designed for us to make things, how there is a science and an art to making and creating food!  I love how there is a reason and purpose behind all that is around us, even if means waiting thirty extra minutes to let my bread rise so that it may taste that much better and be that much lighter!  I now have a wonderful loaf of bread that I can make sandwiches with and toast and all kinds of goodies!
 

Friday, April 2, 2010

Books to live by

  Now the books that I use in the kitchen are only a few.  The first one is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, the other is a cook book by The Breadbekers, www.breadbeckers.com, and lastly is a sourdough book that came w/ my sourdough starter.  Like I said before I use recipes but do not always follow them.  These cookbooks I use as guides more or less.
  My husband and I made a curry chicken the other night from Nourishing Traditions and played around with the spices and had fun doing so.  My husband loves Indian food and until recently I did not.  So he was so excited that I wanted to make this curried chicken.  He had Indian spices that he had bought at Whole Foods and was all too excited to use them.  It was great fun, cooking in the kitchen together.  It turned out wonderful too.  All the kids ate it except my two year old who is becoming more and more hard to please when it comes to food.  Tonight we are going to make chicken gumbo that is in the Nourishing Traditions book, but we are already planning on changing it up some.  If you do not have Nourishing Traditions go get it!  It's a wonderful tool also check out www.nourishedkitchen.com, she has countless resources and recipes to help anyone get started on this voyage of traditional eating.
 

Thursday, April 1, 2010

My new look on life

  I recently have a new look on life!  First I have recommted my life to Jesus Christ!  I also have decided that God gave us this earth and provided us with all we need from it so why not use what he gave us?  I have stopped giving my kids boxed cereals and pretty much anything that is boxed for that matter.  Their breakfast consists mostly of eggs and toast with jam or pancakes or a breakfast bread of some kind.  I thought that my four kids would revolt against me, but they have taken to this change rather well.  So far the only complaint has been from my six year old who said this morning, "Not pancakes again."  I just laughed and told him most kids would love pancakes all the time.  
    On top of cooking from scratch, I mill my own wheat, make kefir, and fermeint all kind of things in my kitchen now.  It's like a little lab.  I make sourdough bread pretty regularly and in fact that has become one of our favorite breakfast breads.  I have not joined a CSA yet, but I am going to very shortly.  The one I want to join is from a farm very close to my home, but I have to pay a lump some up front.  It's worth it I just need to save up.  My goal?  To not buy food from the store anymore.  My goal is for us to get veggies and even meat from a local farm.  I already get our milk and eggs from a farm that is in my general area.  
  My husband has been so very supportive through out me changing our diets.  He has even taken to helping me with diner.  Which is awesome! I am not a cook by nature and my husband is an amazing cook!  He can take a few things and whip them together to make the most delish thing you have ever had.  
  I am going to start blogging about my experience with our new diet adventure.  I am one of those that needs a recipe, now weather I follow it or not is another matter, but I at least need one in front of me.  I hope you enjoy my blog as I enjoy making new things and posting what I make.