Encouraging

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. It is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you." Isaiah 41:13



.

Oatmeal Molasses Bread

I was in a rage to bake something the other night. Since it was far too late to do such a thing, I went to bed reading a baking book. I scanned over page after page of different recipes, reading ingredients, and instructions, tips, and the like. I just have a major love for cooking/baking in the kitchen. Besides telling children stories, and simply spending time with my family, it's my favorite thing to do on an every day basis.

So, the very next day, I woke up early. (6:30 am) I went to work out with my parents and older Sister, had a huge coffee, and then came home with such a motivation to get things done. ( I think I should actually thank the coffee for the motivation. Any time I drink a coffee, I am sort of hyper and energetic. *blush* -It's true! ) After all of my chore responsibilities were completed, I hit the kitchen, turned on the music, and began baking! 

I started with some Oatmeal Molasses Bread. 

This time it is actually a RECIPE.

 Start out with 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats.    

......Oats?  Who would have thought? lol.

 Pour 2 1/3 cups of boiling water over it.

 Bring 'Grandma's molasses' and some butter to the picture please.    ....thanks. :)
Add  1/2 cup of unsalted butter, (I just used salted, because that is what "normal" people have on hand, and it tastes fabulous anyhow.) and 1/3 cup of unsulfured molasses.

 Pour it in...

 ...and, please. You can get creative with it. Not everything has to be ordinary. ;p

 Let it set, and cool down to warm. (105- 115 degrees.)

 Put 2 packages of yeast in there. (5 teaspoons)

 *grins*

 After it sets there for several minutes, start pouring the rest of the good stuff in, like 3 cups of flour..

 ...and 2 teaspoons of Sea Salt.
Mix that all up, then add another 2-3 cups of flour as needed for the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl. 

 Now, most people mix this stuff up in a mixer, (and to tell the truth, I've done that for forever) but today I wanted to hand kneed it. There IS a difference. And anyways, I like the feeling. It's the feeling of accomplishment, and "home making" I guess.
..and it's a good work out. :D
Kneed the dough until it is smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

 *smiles* This is my little "nook" for cooking normally. There is the CD player above, and my book holder, (which is actually what is supposed to be holding the rolling pin) and then the mixer, and my cooking tools. It is the smallest counter space we have, and it's my favorite. :)

 Back to the bread-
You put it in a greased bowl, and let it rise in a warm place. (we have a "bread rising" setting in our oven that I use. ) This step takes about an hour to accomplish.

 It should grow to be twice as big as it was before.

Cut it in half and roll each half  into a loaf, and then press them into greased pans till they touch all the sides.

 Let it raise again. (hour)

Mist the tops of the loaves with water, and then sprinkle the good oats on top. Yeah...like that.
Put the oven rack in the middle of the oven, and pre-heat to 375 degrees.  Bake until they are golden brown, and sound hallow when you tap them on the top.  It usually takes about 40 -45 minutes.  When they're done, remove them from the pan, and let them cool on wire racks.

 *drum roll* ta-da! wa-la. A master piece! Thank you. Thank you very much.

 Oh, it was absolutely perfect.

 So, as tradition, I had to take photos of it all done up. x) What do you think? Silver platters too much?

Well, I hope you enjoy this heavenly bread as much as my family and I have.
Thank y'all for taking the time to read this post. That's awful nice. :)

-JessicaCynthia


Note: some of you might not know why you have to mist the tops of your bread with water before baking it.
This is why-
The steam created from the misting, encourages a better rise in the oven (called "oven spring") and also helps set the crust, brown the bread, and ensure a glossy finish.
It is also important to cool the bread immediately. The rack allows air to circulate around the loaf, preventing steam from softening the bottom. Make sure the bread is fully cooled before cutting into it. This ensures that the steam created during baking remains inside the loaf, and keeps the bread moist.

Thanx! -Jess :)

My favorite things.

I am such a "candle light" girl. I love candles. A lot. And if I had my way, I'd have more candles in our house than a midnight mass. Candles here, and candles there. They would pretty much cover all of my flat surfaces. Piano, side tables, coffee table, counter, table, shelves, hutches, dressers, and any place I could think of would have, at the very minimum, one candle.  I love their delicious fragrance they give, and the fact that there are many different flavors to choose from. I love just sitting here...watching the fire flicker in the darkness. The romantic glow that they give. They're pretty, and all different and unique. You can get big ones, little ones, fat ones, round ones, square ones, tall ones, skinny ones, odd shaped ones, and the list goes on! There is just nothing boring, or un-likable found in candles. Of course, if you have a lot of little children around, you don't exactly want to have them lit, but even if they're not lit...they still look beautiful. :)
Sometimes it is the little things, like a candle, that make a house more like a home.


"You are a light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16




.

My childhood-

I have totally done this when I was younger!!!


.

The movies-

 My parents took us four older kids out to see "war horse" at the $3 theater last night. The Macks, and Vangelders also were able to join us. Normally, I am really not interested in horse movies, but this one was an exception. I love going to the theater anyways.  It's fun. :)

Nickolas' first hair cut-

 If you're a Koch boy, getting your very first haircut from Papa can be a traumatizing experience. It's good for them though. Character building, right?

 

 Ha ha ha ha. Don't feel bad for Nickolas by the way. He didn't even cry while Papa was cutting his hair. He is a super tough little guy, and he can handle Papa's scary faces! :)

 The only time he got scared, was when Papa stuck the hair cutting thing up his shirt. And even then...He only cried for a couple seconds.

There you have it! -Nickolas' first hair cut...a lovely experience.

Did you enjoy the sun?

...we sure did!

Behind the scenes-

 You know how everybody posts the most perfect, and cute little photos on their blogs? I like those photos the best anyways, but I think it is kind of hilarious to be reminded of how it looks "behind the scenes."

---Just keepin' things real. :)

New project-

 Wasn't the sun this last week absolutely invigorating? I loved every little thing about it. Since it was such a beautiful day, I decided to tromp around in the woods looking for something to use for decoration. (I will never be too old to tromp around and explore the woods!) After many scrapes, dirt smudges, and twigs in my hair, I 'found' a simple little stick. -I know. Pathetic. Only a stick. So I brought it home, and decided to paint the little 'ol thing. I painted it white, but tried to make it look like birch. (-my new favorite thing. ) I can't say it worked out too incredibly well, but I thought it didn't look too bad.

 -See what I mean? I didn't want the whole thing painted white, so I just roughly ran over the branches, in a "non-caring" sort of way.

 I got the most "blehh" photos of it, though. First, I would not put it in that basket thing. I would put it in a vase or something, that would be leaned against the wall to make it stand out a bit better. And second, I should not have taken a photo of it with a sheet behind. Tacky.

 I don't know if this was even a very good idea. I ""tried" to make a nest to go in the branches with little "eggs" that were supposed to be each one of us kiddos, then there would be two birds in the branches who are supposed to stand for our parents. Sort of like a family nest idea. Personally, I don't think it turned out very well. First, I only had a humming bird. And one at that. Second, the "eggs" look nothing like- eggs. You know what I mean? Please give me some suggestions on this.

Well...a fail, or an "okay?" I still don't know. It "might" look better where it is actually supposed to be....?
Tell me your thoughts, or ideas. I really don't want this branch to go to waste, and so I'd like to figure something else to do with it!
Thanks for reading,
Jess