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Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread

Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread

Here's the recipe for delicious whole wheat bread. It's a no-knead, non-dairy version compliments of my daughter over at Acorn & Leaf.Today’s post falls into the win-win category for me and my sweet daughter, who just started her own blog over at Acorn & Oak Leaf. She needed to get the word out about her blog. I needed a recipe for today, but a busy travel schedule left no time for cooking.

Hence this offering from my daughter for whole wheat no-knead bread. She serves it often when we visit, so I can tell you it is delicious. It is also dairy-free and easy to make. So head on over to Acorn & Oak Leaf for step-by-step directions and pictures to learn how to make this hearty bread that’s perfect alongside fall soups and stews.

DYI Chai Tea Concentrate…a Family Favorite

DYI Chai Tea Concentrate…a Family Favorite

Chai teaIn the past 4 weeks, I’ve attended 2 conferences in Virginia, recovered 2 times from jet lag, and became acquainted with a new grandson. All of which has left very little time for testing new recipes in the kitchen. So this week’s recipe for chai tea is one of my favorites that has appeared on this blog before. It’s also a favorite of my daughter who’s new mama of our beautiful new grandson. Bottoms up!

My daughter Anne loves chai tea. I’ve tried it a few times at my favorite coffee shop. Though I love it’s spicy, mellow flavors, most chai teas are too sweet for my taste. But when USA Weekend Magazine (Jan. 20-22 edition) published Pam Anderson’s recipe for chai tea concentrate, I decided to give it a try.

The biggest challenge presented by the recipe was finding all the spices. Thankfully, we have a bulk food store nearby, and I was able to find everything there. (Did you know cardamom costs $70+ a pound? Thankfully, they sell it by the ounce!) Other than gathering the ingredients, this recipe was easy to follow.

Compared to the cost of specialty drinks at the coffee shop, this recipe is a bargain, even with the price of cardamom. Not only that, Hiram gave the hot chai drink his coveted seal of approval. The ingredient list for the recipe below matches the original one exactly. But, I added more details to some of the directions.

DYI Chai Tea Concentrate

4 teaspoons each ground ginger and cinnamon
4 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground (I ground them in a coffee grinder)
2 teaspoons each ground black pepper, cardamom and corriander
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup loose black tea such as Earl Grey
3/4 cup blue agave
2 tablespoons molasses
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Heat spices in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until fragrant and smoke starts to rise, a couple of minutes. (This sounds so weird, but it works!) Add 1 quart of water and tea; bring to a simmer.

Remove from heat, cover and let steep for about 10 minutes. Strain out tea and spices. (I strained out the tea and ground spices by lining the strainer with a cloth.) Stir in agave, molasses, vanilla, and lemon juice.

To serve, combine 1/4 cup concentrate with either 3/4 cup hot or cold milk (or milk substitute) or water. The rest can be covered and refrigerated up to a couple weeks until ready to use. (The photo shows the concentrate in the background and a cup of tea made with 1/4 cup concentrate and a 3/4 cup mixture of equal amounts of water and milk or milk substitute.)

 

Top Ten Memories of a Bedroom Set

Top Ten Memories of a Bedroom Set

This old bedroom set has been part of my life as long as I can remember. It once belonged to Dad’s mom, who died the year before I was born. It was promised to me, even though my sister and I shared it and a bedroom when we were kids. It moved with the Man of Steel and me when we married. When we outgrew it, it moved to our daughter’s bedroom. Last weekend it moved again, to the home she and her husband just purchased. But a few days beforehand, I used my camera to record some favorite memories about it.

bedroom set 110. My sister and I were quite territorial. We frequently measured the headboard and traced a line at it’s exact middle with our fingers and threatened, “If you cross this line, I’m gonna scratch your eyes out.” Then, if either of us poked so much as a toenail onto the other sister’s side, we scratched like wild cats, though our eyes are intact.

bedroom set 29.  We were also quite territorial about whose got which drawers in the bureau. As I recall, Mom had to come in to assign them. She was good at assigning things since she was a teacher.

bedroom set 38.  During junior high, I broke the bell of a plastic oboe on this bed post. It’s an ugly story. Trust me, you don’t want to hear it.

Bedroom set 47. Also in junior high, I set our new hot roller set, with special steaming feature, on the mirror dresser and plugged it in. Mere minutes later, the rollers were hot and steamy, the dresser top’s finish was gone, and Mom was livid. In case your wondering, my junior high years were the nadir of my existence.

Bedroom Set 56. Also during my junior high years in the 1960s, Mom and her sister scored some free, discontinued wall paper sample books from a local paint store and used them to line every dresser drawer in both their houses. Don’t ask me why they did it or why I can’t bear to take the liners out and throw them away.

Bedroom Set 65. The first time the Man of Steel and I changed the sheets on the bed, about a week after we got home from our honeymoon, we found strings of jingle bells tucked between the fitted sheet corners and the mattress. Turned out my mother and grandmother, neither of whom ever said the word s-e-x out loud in my presence, pulled the prank. “Did you hear them jingle (insert significant eyebrow wiggle here) now and then?” Mom asked.

Bedroom Set 74. One night, when I was 7 months pregnant, 5-year-old Allen dived in between the Man of Steel and me during a thunderstorm. With the Man of Steel clinging to his side of the mattress and my stomach dangling dangerously over mine, we looked over Allen’s head and said, “We have got to get a bigger bed.”

Bedroom Set 83. When we moved into our house along the gravel road, our elderly neighbor, Marnie Goeppinger, brought housewarming gifts for our kids. She gave Allen a framed print of a Scottish soldier in a tall hat and kilt. Anne received these ceramic birds, Kay Fitch collectables, which graced the top of the mirror dresser for years.

Bedroom set 92. Around age 4, Anne discovered that sharp metal objects could be used to “write” on wood. She practiced writing the first letter of her name numerous times and drew a self-portrait before she was caught in the act.

Bedroom set 101. A year or so late, we heard a dreadful racket from Anne’s bedroom. We went upstairs and found her standing on the top of the mirror dressers, wearing her tap shoes, and practicing tap steps. When we told her to get down, she said, “But all the floors have carpets. This is the only place that makes the right noise.”

Oh, the memories. Here’s looking forward to more of them as Anne and her husband prepare for the birth of their first child in April. Do you have a piece of furniture with good memories attached? Share them in the comment box if you like.

DYI Butter Substitute

DYI Butter Substitute

butter subsitute

Today’s butter substitute recipe comes from my daughter. She’s a DYI queen. She’s also very sensitive to dairy products, so she’s always hunting for good replacements for them. She recommends this one, so I gave it a try yesterday and took pictures of each step since it’s a foray into new territory for me. Maybe for you, too.

This was very easy to make, though clean up was a bit…greasy. Later this week, I’ll use 1 cup of the “sticks” to make chocolate chip cookies. The remaining 3 tablespoons will be used to butter toast, muffins and the like. Next week, I’ll be back with a report on how that goes. For now, here are the results from yesterday’s experiment. In each case where ingredient options are listed, the one I used is indicated in parenthesis.

Butter Substitute

2 tablespoons water (3 tablespoons if using saucepan on stove instead of microwave)
1 teaspoon cornstarch OR coconut flour OR 1/4 tsp. xantham gum (cornstarch)
1/8 teaspoon liquid aminos OR soy sauce OR scant ½ tsp. nutritional yeast (soy sauce)
½ teaspoon salt
A pinch each turmeric and paprika, optional for color (omitted)
½ c. coconut oil, softened just til creamy and stirrable
½ c. olive oil or other liquid oil like canola (olive oil)

In a glass 2 cup measuring cup, stir together water and cornstarch.  Microwave until it boils, stir until smooth. The small amount of liquid makes it hard tell when it’s boiling in the microwave. But it hasn’t boiled unless the cornstarch mixture has turned clear. Like this:

cornstarch and water

Mix in the soy sauce and salt, turmeric and paprika. Scrape the bottom and sides of cup well and stir some more. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

soy sauce and cornstarch mixture
After it’s cooled to nearly room temperature, mix in the coconut oil. Again, scrape the edges and bottom of cup and stir again. Really well. Or you’ll discover lumps later on. (Don’t ask how I know this.)

IMG_3895

Add oil in a thin stream, whisking continually with a fork until smooth. Again, scrape edges and bottom of cup and stir some more.

olive oil added

If desired pour mixture into two miniature loaf pans. Put mixture in fridge to chill.

mixture in pans

Stir with a fork after it starts to thicken, about 15-30 minutes. The photo shows one pan straight out of the fridge after 15 minutes. The other’s been stirred. Store covered in the refrigerator.

If you want a firmer consistency, put mini-loaf pans the freezer to solidify. After they’re hard, pop them out of the molds and store in ziptop bags or wrapped in plastic. Label and keep in the freezer for longer storage, or keep in the fridge for short term use.

This recipe makes just over 1 cup–9 ½ ounces or 3 tablespooms more than 2 sticks of butter.

The Past Week’s Top Ten Kind and Gentle Happenings

The Past Week’s Top Ten Kind and Gentle Happenings

Since Friday’s news of the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the media’s been replete with horrific images and accountings of the terrible events of that day. The constant rehashing of such incomprehensible evil can quickly lead to despair and hopelessness. To combat those feelings, I wrote a list of the top ten kind and gentle things that happened in my life this past week. While they’re not sensational or newsworthy, they remind me that our good and gracious God is constantly at work, whether or not his actions make the headlines or 6:00 news:

10.  A little boy who goes to our church gave me a smile and a big, wet hug at the swimming pool.

9.   During our daughter and son-in-law’s visit, our new son insisted on doing the heavy lifting while he and Hiram hauled boxes from the basement to the second floor, fixed my clothesline pole, and cleaned the gutters.

8.  After fire destroyed the local event venue where my friend planned to host her son’s wedding reception this weekend, the owners of a local car dealership offered to clear their showroom so the reception could be held there.

7.  Arranging food for the family breakfast my friend’s hosting the morning after the reception took less than an hour because everyone I called was home and immediately volunteered to help.

6.  When we suggested bringing our daughter’s birthday celebration to Mom, my brother and sister-in-law made it happen by graciously allowing us to invade their home and kitchen Saturday afternoon.

5.  When my brother got home from purchasing a dozen ears of sweet corn at a roadside stand, he discovered the woman had given him 15 ears.

4.  Ever since Hiram went back to work, his co-workers have been making sure he doesn’t strain his back.

3.  During my daughter and son-in-law’s “vacation” at our house, she helped me wash windows. She also cleaned the house, and weeded the flower beds without complaint.

2.  When the gas line on the daughter and new son’s car sprang a leak, the car repair shop fixed it in an hour and charged only $100.

1.  A reader at my website emailed to thank me for writing a book about parenting kids with special needs. She then mentioned she’s Jake’s mom and the executive director of Caregiver’s Ladder, an organization with worldwide reach, which supports parents of kids with special needs.

That’s my list of the top ten kind and gentle things that made my little world rock this week. What’s been rocking yours and bringing you hope? Leave a comment.