The Heron's Nest

Catch Up

I actually had success with bread.  White bread.  A friend suggested that perhaps my bread standards were a bit high.  They were.  So, I am embracing the lack of need for perfect bread!  Wheat just seems to be a challenge for me.  I tried a basic white bread recipe from this book.  Again, I must stress how really great this Family Fun cookbook  is.  Mollie Katsen contributed to it, and the recipes are almost as dependable as her original Moosewood cookbook.  So, we used half of the recipe for bread, and the other half for bagels.  

The recipe explains that this dough recipe doesn't keep very well, which was really no problem at all since the bagels were gone within a couple of hours!!!!!  I didn't even get a picture of them this time!

I forgot to post pics of the homemade jammies I made for the kids this past holiday.  We let them open them Christmas Eve as part of their Advent box.  They loved them!  I was surprised, after all, I was competing with Disney princess and Hulk jammies, but I guess the flannel must be softer and cozier because these are the ones they request.  Or perhaps the whole "made with love" thing really does make a difference?

 

 

I cheated a bit and just used long sleeve t-shirts with an applique, but I thought that would be a comfy shirt to sleep in!  Plus, I was not quite read for sewing shirts.  Lesson learned....jammie pants are a breaze! 

Settling In

                 

Autumn seems to  have arrived.  I took this picture for the "Autumn Is" group over on Flickr, after craving them the other day.  It is as if I see a pumpkin somewhere, and then must immediately make Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins in order to feel that the seasons have changed! The recipe can be found over here at this wonderful site.  They are not too sweet, and with the pumpkin and whole wheat pastry flour, not too guilt provoking.  I did add a bit more pumpkin this time around.  I love how the many educational benefits of baking with my children seem to outweigh the possible negative effects on my already not-so-slim waistline. 

G went on a fieldtrip last week with his class, searching for "Signs of Fall".  We talked about what he might look for, fallen leaves, the colors of the leaves changing, crisp air, maybe even some acorns.  I failed to mention to the kid what seems to be my big sign of the change of the seasons.....another snake near my house!  Yes, indeed, the stillness around our house since the addition was finished must have invited the slithery beasts back.  This time it was a small gardner snake perhaps, but a snake all the same.  It didn't matter to me what the size was as I saw my foot about to land on it yesterday.  Why must they sun themselves in my driveway????????

Soon the truly crisp days will arrive and our mountain will be covered in orange and brown hues.  The trees here do not get that magnificent color that the maples of my childhood seemed to, but they are lovely all the same.  The children and I have built our fairy house, and are hoping the fairies or possibly a gnome will find it suitable for the winter.  (I have a feeling they should be here soon, as I just received this little number in the mail a few days ago from this great place.) 

                      

Soups are filling up my list of dinner ideas.  Relief from the hot and humid summer weather of Virginia is in site and I am already hoping for some snow, but not until the fairies are nice and warm.  

(An update.  It looks as though the fairies might freeze for a bit.  Paul attempted to "help" the fairies with their door to Fairlyland, and apparently failed to notice that the door was actually fairy ceramic.  He proceeded to pound that little door with a hammer and, well,.....the door to Fairyland must now be reconstructed....who hits ceramic with a hammer and does not expect it to break?????  Just a question....to be continued......)

Another Attempt.....

Another curry was attempted last night.  No matter what recipe I try, it seems as though they never turn out as I would hope they would.  Not exactly like a steaming curry coming out of the kitchen of a favorite restaurant in MD, near the lovely Amy!  I had some paneer in the fridge, spinach in the freezer, and hungry tummies.  Our local grocery is small, but carries a rather impressive supply of naan.  I know I could make it from scratch, but it is so much easier to just pull it from the freezer when needed!  Anyway, there was some frozen mango in the freezer too, so we ended up with palak paneer and mango lassies! 

The spinach was less than to be desired (far too spicy for the kids), but Paul inhaled it anyway.  My rice actually worked this time.  I found the recipe here, and I think using REAL basmati rice, as opposed to American basmati made all the differencece!  I don't know why this never occurred to me before!

I recently shared this blog with a bunch of people who probably had no idea I even did this.  Who would have guessed I would be taking pictures of food and things I make....babbling about my kids and my thoughts, as I attempt to have some little corner of the world that is my own.  Welcome, and enjoy.  Leave a comment and let me know you were her, and please don't laugh too much!

Kindergarten Rolls

Kindergarten Rolls, originally uploaded by The Heron's Nest.

We made another attempt to have success with bread yesterday. Success may be a bit of an overstatement, but they did rise, and were not too heavy. I found the recipe online somewhere. It was a VERY STICKY dough. I mean so sticky, I had to use my pastry knife every time I moved the mound. Ella learned to word "sticky", which was fun, and we enjoyed them over dinner. Definitely a recipe worth trying again.

Kindergarten Rolls

2T yeast
1/2 c. warm water

Mix and add to yeast....
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt

The add.....
3 c. flour
3 c. whole wheat flour

Knead for 10 minutes, lightly oil and cover until doubled. Punch down and let kids play with it. Make into rolls. Bake @ 350 degrees 20-25 minutes.

Mmmmmm.....

Mmmmmm....., originally uploaded by The Heron's Nest.

Finally found the USB cord. These delightful little berries were delivered to the quilting group from one of the ladies. They were bought up in minutes. I had great intentions of making something with them, but they were just too good. They didn't last very long.

Egg Salad On Soda Bread Anyone??????

We baked this yummy bread and then promptly devoured it yesterday.  By the afternoon we were dyeing our eggs for Easter.  These holidays really came up on me this year.  It seemed like a funny combination in a number of ways.  I admire the natural dyeing techniques I have seen, but this year we went all out with artificial, bright, fun colors. 

We had quite a bit leftover, so I threw in some

silk scarves I had been saving from here, to soak in a Kool Aid bath.  These colors seemed close enough!  Judging by the amount of play they have created, I'd say it was worth it, and probably should have done it last year!

You Do Not Like Them?????

So you say.

Try them!  Try them!

And you may.

Try them and you may, I say.

-Dr. Seuss

Green Eggs and Ham, originally uploaded by The Heron's Nest.

We celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday yesterday. A day late, because he shares a birthday with Granny, but celebrated it all the same. Fingers became a bit overly excited by the squeezing of the dye (my finger's actually) and the eggs were green as peas this year! Apparently they tasted fine because the kids devoured them. Paul and I chose to delay our meal (as the site alone made us lose our appetites, and later we opted for leftovers instead). We read plenty of Seuss books during the meal and had a great time. If we hadn't already listened to Seussical (a must for the Seuss fan) every day for practically the past six months, I may have brought that out too, but I thought that may have been a bit too much.  G really wanted green ham, but I explained that in order for that to happen, there would have to be A LOT of mold, which of course led to another conversation, and well, leftover spaghetti just looked a whole lot better by the end of the day!

We are awaiting the release of the movie of "Horton Hears a Who" in a few weeks.  Lord knows we have been singing about Horton every day in the car since our trip up north this past summer.  Again, if you haven't indulged in Seussical yet, you really are missing something! 

A Little Chowdah for Y'all?

We finally had snow yesterday.  I know I am a whiny Yankee girl, always complaining that there is not enough snow in Virginia.  We managed to get almost 3 inches!  G was a mess, upset that his shoes were going to get wet, blah, blah, blah...I found myself saying ridiculous things like, "You know, when I was a little girl, I had to step through close to a foot of snow,"..and..."I walked to ballet class in my snowsuit and snow boots, and yes, I wore snow boots EVERYDAY, even when I was a grown-up".... blah blah blah...  The four year old did not appear to care.  Paul was sent home from work due to the snow.  A real snow day, or half of one at least.  The rest of the day was spent simmering this wonderful corn chowder and making butterhorns. 

                  

And let me tell you, there IS a reason why they are called butterhorns, but I swear every stick is worth it!  They are delicious.  We let them rise by the fire.  Yumminess!  I tried to explain to G why we were calling the chowder "chowdah"...(having a mama and daddy who loved Boston while living there, I felt we had to explain the inside joke).  Nope.  No interest.  Just wanted to slurp down the soup.  I found the recipe in this month's issue of Real Simple, and here is the recipe for the butterhorns.

Butterhorns

Dissolve 2 packages (4 tsp.) yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in 1 cup of warm water.  In a large bowl soften 1 cup of butter in 1 cup of boiling water.  Add 3/4 cups sugar and 2 tsp. salt.  When yeast is activated, add to the above with 2 cups flour.  Beat with mixer for 2 minutes.  Add 3-4 cups flour.  Mix with spoon (I used the kneading paddle on my mixer) until it becomes a medium soft dough.  Knead 5-10 minutes on a floured surface.  Return to a greased bowl, cover, let rise until doubled (1-11/2 hours).  Divide into 1/3's.  Roll out each third at a time into a big circle.  Spread with melted butter and cut 12 wedges.  Roll up from big end, and place on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper.  Cover, let rise 1 hour or until doubled.  Bake 1 pan at a time 375 degrees for 15020 minutes.  Watch carefully so they don't brown too fast!

Bread and Jam for Griffin

Bread and Jam for Griffin, originally uploaded by The Heron's Nest.

If only my hands could have landed on the book. What a perfect little afternoon we had together.

Comfort Food

                      

This past weekend I was out at one of the big bulk food stores and wandered around (all by myself) tasting the many samples the sweet little old ladies offer.  Usually this is easily an afternoon with the kiddos, stopping to practice their "please and thank yous" and devouring junk that mom refuses to purchase.  This day, I was just running in quickly to fetch a couple of things.  I stumbled upon a chicken pot pie sample.  It smelled delightful.  Tasted incredibly salty and the big bulk food store wanted a FORTUNE for it!  I then realized  that we had all of the ingredients at home.  So off I went, and poured through my ridiculous accumulation of cookbooks, only to find a great recipe in this book.  My husband grew up on this kind of food.  I didn't, but I figured I would give it a whirl.  It wasn't bad.  Loaded with a crazy amount of butter, but it was warm, comforting and a nice little treat for a cold, cloudy day.