My Favorite Cooking Blogs 4 comments
I love to cook. Actually, what I really enjoy is experimenting in the kitchen – taking recipes and tweaking them a bit. Thankfully, I have a husband who is OK with me experimenting on him, and who is willing to tell me if the experiment was not too successful. When it comes to cooking, I don’t really measure anything. I just taste and adjust. I’m a little better about measuring when it comes to baking, but I tend to change things up with that, too. Food blogs have been a fun resource for me and I want to share a few of my favorites with you.
The Kitchn – A blog by the folks at Apartment Therapy. There are lots of recipes here, but also lots of general food knowledge.
Serious Eats – Lots of diversity in the recipes and info on this one.
Smitten Kitchen – Full of yum!
Baker’s Banter – The blog of King Arthur Flour
Mennonite Girls Can Cook – It’s true! I love how this blog intertwines faith and cooking.
Joy the Baker – Great recipes and really fun to read. She’s got personality galore!
Bakerella – She is brilliant!
Snack or Die – Video game themed cookies, cupcakes, and more. Deliciously nerdy!
Now go get cooking!
Samstag auf dem Apfel-Hof 2 comments
On Saturday we went to an apple farm on the outskirts of Vienna called Apfel-Hof Grundschober. This apple farm has been in the Grundschober family for 500 years! Since I’m actually allergic to apples, I had just planned on a fun day with friends taking pictures on the farm. It turned out to be so much better than that! We got to pick potatoes fresh from the ground and eat them for lunch. We got to pick walnuts from the surrounding trees. We got to pick apples AND pears. Yum! Just before lunch, Herr Grundschober made fresh pressed apple cider for everyone. Best of all, at the end we got to pick our own pumpkins! All of this for only 7 Euro each. Last year we paid 8 Euro for just one pumpkin, so I’d say this is a much better deal.
You can see lots more pictures here: Apfel-Hof
Excited! 3 comments
That’s the theme this week at I Heart Faces. I’m excited about the theme because I love this picture, and I think it’s perfect for this week. This little one is so excited because she is listening to Jerry Jacoby during our Elementary Spiritual Emphasis Week. Truth is, we all get excited about seeing Uncle Jerry!
Check out the other excited faces here:
Bread of the Month – No Knead Wheat Bread 3 comments
So, last year I set this goal for myself to learn how to bake one new kind of bread each month. I learned how to make scones (yummy, yummy scones, actually) and that was it. This year I’m starting over. This year I’m going to make it happen. Since I’ve always been a teacher, I view September as the beginning of the year, so here it is – the first Bread of the Month (BOTM).
In September, I learned how to make Easy No Knead Wheat Bread from the More-with-Less cookbook. The bread is really easy and really yummy. It makes delicious toast and is so good that Matt and I actually just grab chunks and eat it plain. It also freezes really well, so it’s not a problem that the recipe makes two huge loaves. It’s a bit crumbly, however, so it’s not the best if you want to make sandwiches.
I added 3 Tablespoons of flaxseed to the recipe. You know, ’cause it’s healthy and will supposedly lower our blood pressure.
Easy No Knead Wheat Bread from More-with-Less page 58
Combine in large mixer bowl:
3 Cups whole wheat flour
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
3 packages dry yeast
(3 Tablespoons flaxseed)
Heat in saucepan until very warm (120°-130°F/60°-65°C):
2 Cups water
2 Cups milk
1/2 Cup oil
Add to dry ingredients:
warmed liquids
2 eggs
Blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. (I did all of this by hand and it was fine.) Stir in by hand:
5-6 Cups white flour
Use enough flour to form a stiff batter. Cover and let rise until double. Stir down and spoon into 2 greased 9×5 inch bread pans. let rise 20-30 minutes. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35-40 minutes.
Senior Class Party No comments yet
On Saturday we had a BBQ with the senior class. Being that we co-sponsor with people from the south, most of our get-togethers involve Thomas BBQing ribs. 
We had a great time hanging out with the kids, eating ribs, and climbing a tree.
There are lots of photos here: Senior Class Party
There’s No Need to Be Unhappy 2 comments
So here’s the week 4 picture. My doctor and my physical therapist are both pleased with how I’m progressing, and I’m definitely getting more range of motion. As you can see, though, I’ve still got a ways to go. Look at me go!
Great Education Sites 1 comment
One of my jobs as the computer teacher is to discover educational sites that help classroom teachers integrate technology into their curriculum. There are a lot of great things out there, but these are some of my current favorites.
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Wordle creates word clouds out of whatever text you choose. There are so many things you can do with this. It’s a great resource!
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Animoto is a site to create video montages with either pictures or short video clips. It’s really versatile and really easy to use.
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Shmoop is a great resource for students and teachers. It has study guides for Literature and Social Studies. I also think it would be helpful for book groups/clubs.
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Glogster is a site where you can create interactive posters. Lots of possibilities!
Middle School Quote of the Day No comments yet
“I LOVE Michael Jackson! I love all his music, especially Man in the Mirror, but I love everything. His face? 50/50.”