Friday, August 16, 2013

Rosemary Bread

I have never had the greatest luck with active yeast bread, however, my neighbor gave me a recipe for some delicious handmade Rosemary Bread a couple of years ago and it has never failed me. I was feeling domestic yesterday and decided to whip some up. Our wonderful backyard neighbors ended up with a loaf (I jumped our fence to borrow some of their fresh rosemary!) and Jayse (the husband) downed most of the other one for a night time snack. Here is the recipe if you decide to be adventurous in the kitchen this weekend!


It's not the prettiest picture, but I'm not a photographer. I also don't like looking at perfect pictures of food that look nothing like what it really turns out to look like. SO, here is what my lop sided, uneven, HOMEMADE bread looks like!! :)

Rosemary Bread
Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Yeast (I used a package)
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
  • 2 cups plus unbleached bread flour
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoon chopped fresh Rosemary
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter (softened)
  • 1 egg white (for wash over bread to make the bread shiny)


Instructions

  1. Proof yeast, sugar and water in large bowl.
  2. When yeast mixture is bubbly, add butter, salt, flour and 1 1/4 teaspoon rosemary (saving the rest for the top of the loaves),
  3. Knead bread 10 minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic. This is where the "plus" flour comes in. Through some flour on your work area to knead the bread on and over the bread. You will need to do this several times, BUT try  not to use more then 3/4 cups of flour. The bread will be very sticky at first!
  4. Oil a large bowl, put dough in and cover with a towel
  5. Let dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled
  6. Punch down dough and divide in half
  7. Let dough rest 5 minutes
  8. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray (or use silicone mat)
  9. Shape dough into 2 loafs and sprinkle remaining rosemary on top
  10. Pat rosemary on top of dough and slice 3 or 4 marks in top of each loaf with a sharp knife
  11. Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes
  12. Bake at 375 in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, (my oven only takes 15 minutes) or until they sound hollow when you thump them. Wash with egg 1/2 way through baking!
I how yall enjoy! Let me know what you think if you get the chance to try it!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Baby Quilts

I have always had a love for sewing. I remember my Great Grandma Eddie sitting me down to sew Barbie clothes when I was really little. Hand stitching was the only way to go! Her friends had all given her their scrap fabric from their projects and that's when I feel in LOVE! So many colors and textures (Barbie had a teal fur cape at one point), the possibles were endless. This is also where I inherited the "to-do" list from my father. I had so many outfits I wanted to make and as I got more fabric I would add 10 new outfits and I hadn't even completed 1.

I was blessed to be able to stay at home after I had our first child and decided making baby quilts for my friends would be a fun nap time event. Then I started an Etsy account and the Owl quilt I designed for Elias went crazy with orders and I just couldn't keep up, so I shut it down. I still love to quilt, I'm now working on baby Jaxson's quilt who should be here in a few weeks! There are some of the pictures from my previous projects!
Maddy's T-shirt Quilt



The famous OWL Quilt :)


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Just a Start

I thought I would finally jump on this Blog train and share my adventures of being a "scrappy little lady". I want to share my adventures in everything from cooking, quilting, sewing, crafting, DIY, and the life long To-Do list I have created for myself from Pinterest! I am new at this, so please allow me some time to get the hang of the layout and how it works.