Now we are a little family of 2 at home, we have decided its time to start some new traditions. For example, the first Monday night in December was always family night to decorate the Christmas tree. Each person took it in turns to place a decoration on the tree and say something they were grateful for. It was great when the kids were small, but hard work in the last few years! Now with just Kevin and I, we will have to do things differently. I'm thinking maybe decorating the tree followed by candlelit dinner. Anyhow, traditions are not just about Christmas. Anything that we do regularly can be a tradition, and I have found them to bring reassurance, comfort and fun to our lives:-) I have found this fab web site that is about simplifying (something else I am trying hard to do) and it has tons of ideas for fun traditions. How about an annual spaghetti western night, with spaghetti of course! And I loved the 'eat your weight in chocolate day' ha ha! Have a look, I bet there's something you would like to try!
http://www.onsimplicity.net/
Tuesday 28 October 2008
Saturday 25 October 2008
Are you readty for a Christmas idea?
It's only October, I know. But that's about the time I begin to allow myself to start getting excited:) The autumn basket with fir cones and lights is already twinkling on my hearth, and I will confess, I have already watched one or two Christmassy movies (gasp!) When I saw this idea on http://www.amazing-christmas-ideas.com/ I just had to share it. I think my granddaughter will love this! You take a few white doves (preferably not real ones!) and hang them from the ceiling using clear fishing line. You then attach a string of beads to their feet or from their beaks. The idea is that it looks like the birds are decorating the tree! Love it!
Bread
I found the most brill recipe for bread! You don't pre mix anything, just throw it all in. The secret is in the way you kneed. It was fun to make and sooooo light! I can say I now make good bread! ha ha! This recipe was from an article in the Telegraph. Richard Bertinet has amazing recipes and a good web site.
Bertinet Bread Recipe
Try to work in metric if you can, as metric weights of yeast, water and salt are easier to get right. Note that water is added by weight. You can use fluid measurements, but they are not as accurate. This is enough for one batch.
3/8oz/10g yeast, fresh if possible
1lb 2oz/500g strong bread flour
3/8oz/10g salt 12oz/350g water
Rub the yeast through the flour with your fingers, as if making a crumble. Add the salt and all the water. Then, using a scraper or spatula, mix everything until you have what looks like a stiff cake mix. Turn it out on to an unfloured worktop (and I do mean unfloured).
How to work the dough
Slide the fingers of both your hands underneath either side of the dough, palms up, as if they were forklift trucks. Bring your thumbs together on top.
Swing the dough upwards and slap it down away from you. Don't worry about any staying behind. It won't for long.
Now pull the front of the dough towards you and...
Lift it back over itself, trapping air in the pocket you have just created. This brings you back to being the forklift again.
Keep doing this. It might seem like hard work, but after somewhere between five and 10 minutes of working the dough, something amazing happens: it starts to feel elastic. Bit by bit, it loses its tackiness and starts coming away from the worktop and your fingers. Now you are ready to move on.
Flour the inside of a mixing bowl and put the dough in. Cover it with a tea towel or cloth and leave in a warm, draughtfree place for an hour or so, until it has roughly doubled in volume. (The time this takes will really depend on how warm the kitchen is.)
Then prise it gently out of the bowl on to a lightly floured worktop.
Press it out with the heel of your hand. Fold the edges into the centre and press down to seal them. Now fold the resulting shape in half and press down to seal. Then turn the dough over, so that the seam is on the base.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Dust a loaf tin and add the dough, seam-side down. Dust the top lightly with flour. Allow it to rest in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until it has roughly doubled in size. Now bake for about 30 minutes.Turn it out of the tin and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown, with a hollow base. Enjoy!
Bertinet Bread Recipe
Try to work in metric if you can, as metric weights of yeast, water and salt are easier to get right. Note that water is added by weight. You can use fluid measurements, but they are not as accurate. This is enough for one batch.
3/8oz/10g yeast, fresh if possible
1lb 2oz/500g strong bread flour
3/8oz/10g salt 12oz/350g water
Rub the yeast through the flour with your fingers, as if making a crumble. Add the salt and all the water. Then, using a scraper or spatula, mix everything until you have what looks like a stiff cake mix. Turn it out on to an unfloured worktop (and I do mean unfloured).
How to work the dough
Slide the fingers of both your hands underneath either side of the dough, palms up, as if they were forklift trucks. Bring your thumbs together on top.
Swing the dough upwards and slap it down away from you. Don't worry about any staying behind. It won't for long.
Now pull the front of the dough towards you and...
Lift it back over itself, trapping air in the pocket you have just created. This brings you back to being the forklift again.
Keep doing this. It might seem like hard work, but after somewhere between five and 10 minutes of working the dough, something amazing happens: it starts to feel elastic. Bit by bit, it loses its tackiness and starts coming away from the worktop and your fingers. Now you are ready to move on.
Flour the inside of a mixing bowl and put the dough in. Cover it with a tea towel or cloth and leave in a warm, draughtfree place for an hour or so, until it has roughly doubled in volume. (The time this takes will really depend on how warm the kitchen is.)
Then prise it gently out of the bowl on to a lightly floured worktop.
Press it out with the heel of your hand. Fold the edges into the centre and press down to seal them. Now fold the resulting shape in half and press down to seal. Then turn the dough over, so that the seam is on the base.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Dust a loaf tin and add the dough, seam-side down. Dust the top lightly with flour. Allow it to rest in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until it has roughly doubled in size. Now bake for about 30 minutes.Turn it out of the tin and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown, with a hollow base. Enjoy!
Saturday 18 October 2008
Its been a good day!
What a pleasant but exhausting day! I went to an enrichment day at church this morning which was wonderful. I attended a class on bread making, and it's really inspired me! The teacher squeezed in his hand some cheap bread, and it just kind of clumped together in a sticky mass. He then squeezed some 100% wholemeal and it bounced back into shape quickly. It really made me appreciate good bread (and all the samples were an added bonus!) I have had plenty of disasters with bread making before, (even the birds in my garden wouldn't eat it!) but I am determined to master it this time:)
I dashed over to the crop this afternoon, and it was so good! Loved the new venue! It's clean, warm and spacious. Jules' shop was excellent- so much yummy stash- I could have spent the children's inheritance! There were quite a few there, and it was so so nice to get together again after missing last month. Can't wait till the 8th November.
I dashed over to the crop this afternoon, and it was so good! Loved the new venue! It's clean, warm and spacious. Jules' shop was excellent- so much yummy stash- I could have spent the children's inheritance! There were quite a few there, and it was so so nice to get together again after missing last month. Can't wait till the 8th November.
Wednesday 15 October 2008
What's she up to?
This is what I am doing now. It's a board book that I have gesso'd (is that a word?) and the theme is babies in our family. There will be photos of all of us as babies, I love baby pics and its interesting to compare them. Green and black is definitely my thing at the mo.
crops and shops and stuff
Jules is bringing her shop to the crop on saturday- how good is that? At last we can stash shop again. Skrapz http://www.skrapz.co.uk/ have also offered to bring their shop to the crop. Maybe they could come alternate months? Let me know what you think. I am excited to be able to buy stuff again, and not even have to leave the building!! Well, I returned to work today after a long break, and it was ok, but I am exhausted! Don't know how you full-timers do it! I need to finish painting tins for saturdays class, but do you think I can find the energy? Bare tin looks pretty good :)
Wednesday 8 October 2008
Crop on 18th
Just a reminder about the crop details- here's the address:
meeting on 18th October, 8th Nov, 6th Dec at:
Huntington Community Centre,
Stafford Road,
Huntington,
Cannock, Staffs,WS12 4NA.
It's 10.00 till 3.00, cost £5
Hot water and milk to be provided, please bring your own drinks, snacks etc. There is plenty of parking available free of charge. There will be a class/demo fairly early on in the day. We would love to see your work! Why not bring something for the inspiration table to give us some ideas :)
Feel free to contact me for more details at donnadowd59@hotmail.com
meeting on 18th October, 8th Nov, 6th Dec at:
Huntington Community Centre,
Stafford Road,
Huntington,
Cannock, Staffs,WS12 4NA.
It's 10.00 till 3.00, cost £5
Hot water and milk to be provided, please bring your own drinks, snacks etc. There is plenty of parking available free of charge. There will be a class/demo fairly early on in the day. We would love to see your work! Why not bring something for the inspiration table to give us some ideas :)
Feel free to contact me for more details at donnadowd59@hotmail.com
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