I Can Feel the Love!

Thank you, everyone, for your warm well-wishes! 

I can't believe it has been a week already! 

What a blessing kids are but, man, I forgot how much they sleep! 

Caden's left me time to get some fun things done so I'll be back next week to share. 

Enjoy your weekend and see you soon!

Wow! What a Week!

say hello to Caden Joy {a.k.a. Bean}

Unexpected...
Unplanned...
Exhausting...
Amazing...
Crazy...

Yes! All those accurately describe last week rather well for our family, but me in particular.
I shared with you that I spent a full day contracting last Saturday into Sunday morning {Mother's Day} then, after 36 hours they just stopped. Though this was a bit of a let down, I was fully aware that I wasn't due for another 10 or so days so I had nothing to complain about. Contractions were sporadic but still happening. Some hurt, some didn't. After a few days I decided to ignore them completely until I couldn't anymore. Up until this point I hadn't been to the chiropractor for months but knew that I was "off" so I went in Wednesday in the hopes it would get things straightened out and moving. I went in again on Thursday after an appointment with my midwife who said I was 1 cm. {After two kids, I learned that dilation doesn't matter until you're in active labor. Before then you could be closed on the day you deliver or 3 cms for weeks.}
Fast forward to 11:06 Thursday night {about 30 minutes after I fell asleep} and my water broke. Since my water didn't break with the other two I wasn't sure what I was feeling at first but it didn't take long to be sure. Thankfully I caught it quickly and didn't ruin the bed. {Yay for that!} I woke Hubs who ran for towels... called the midwife and told her I didn't want to go in until the contractions kicked in... called my sister, who was coming to stay with the older two...and tried to rest until the contractions started.
Ha! Yeah, right!
I got up, folded some clothes, started some laundry, and got he house picked up the house in hopes of getting the contractions moving and by 1:30 I was ready to head out. I told Hubs we had plenty of time. The contractions were slow, irregular, and fairly mild but I had read third babies are unpredictable and that once you water breaks who knows what comes next so rather than deliver the baby in the driveway we headed to the greenhouse to get some paperwork for Hubs, where I walked around for a few minutes, and then headed to the hospital.
Since my water broke we skipped admission into our teensy-tiny hospital {6 beds and I was the only patient there} and went straight to our room in the back hall. {Yes, I was even able to request the room I wanted!}
At 3, my contractions were still sporadic and somewhat mild. I had to breathe through them but nothing I hadn't dealt with before. I was 3 cms and they wanted to wait until I was 4 to give me an epidural. I assumed there was no rush. At 3:45 I was told that the anesthesiologist was on his way and would be there by 4:15 and my midwife would be there "any minute".
HA!
Within 5 minutes I was in full active labor. My body went into overdrive. Hubs stepped out to get me some water and I decided to try leaning over the back of the bed to ease some pain. By the time he got back {less than 2 minutes later} I wasn't able to breathe through the contractions anymore. I was now moaning with touch of screaming.
Very dignified.
From there on, the contractions were the worst I had ever felt and getting closer together.
Gone were the 30 seconds between contractions.
Gone was the counting backwards until the peak of the contraction. 
Gone were the breathing techniques.
Enter screaming like a maniac and the nurses telling me to relax and focus. 
Enter the only doctor in the area who was not dressed or gloved for the occasion and was only there as support for the anesthesiologist who tried to convince me that he baby wasn't coming and that I had to stop making noise because I was pushing and I wasn't ready.
NOT READY?! I informed him, using a series of choice words, that she was coming and that breathing was no longer an option.
I'm pretty sure I insulted his mother too.
One brave nurse decided to check my progress.
8 centimeters.
The doctor finally listened and checked me about a minute later.
What's that? 9 centimeters?! Don't push?!
At this point I knew she was coming. I mean "put on your dang gloves, Gina, and catch!" coming.
I still had the cloth over my legs and they weren't even looking for a head.
I finally gave in to the pressure I was feeling and pushed. The doctors and nurse noticed because they had a quick forum amongst themselves and decided that the grunting noise I was making was in fact pushing and that I should stop it immediately!
In the nicest way posible I informed everyone in the room to shuttup, stop touching me, and catch the baby.
Finally, the dear doctor, who was hoping I'd wait until my midwife arrived, peaked under the sheet, realized it too late to stop me, threw on gloves and a gown and, at 4:24 am on May 13th, caught our sweet little Bean. All 7 pounds, 3 ounces of her.

I had no intention of going natural but God had other plans and now I have nothing but respect for those who have done it several times though I do question your sanity as well. Who, in their right mind, would willingly do that more than once?!

To top it all off, May 14th was my 28th birthday. What a present, huh?!

So anyway, I hope you'll understand that I'm taking a short break as I figure out this whole "mom of three" thing. I miss you dearly but don't have the energy to do anything productive. Once I return I'll be sure to shamelessly share pictures and anecdotes about our little brood {starting now... see below} along with more recipes, more crafts, more "life-stuff", but until then... it's nap time!

 

 

 

our CJ, Bean and Miss Mak

Bird's Nest Necklace

I have seen these things all over the place and wanted one the first time I saw it. I considered buying one but they can be a bit pricey plus I could only find them in silver and the two of us don't always get along. So I ventured out to make my own.
There are couple of different tutorials out there but, once again, nothing was quite what I wanted so I headed to the craft store, bought the whopping two items I needed, headed home, and in 10 minutes {not an exaggeration} I had my very own, custom necklace.
And yes, I love it!

Wanna make your own?
You'll Need: 
20 gauge wire, I used about 30" {$2.50}
3 beads {$6.99}
So for around $10 you could make 7 of these beauties...

What To Do:
{Sorry that there are no pictures of how... there's no real method... this one is easy to overthink so just go for it!}String your three beads onto one of the wire and curl them so they "nest" together just as they appear in the center of the nest. Then, start wrapping the wire around the outside of the three beads, occasionally wrapping the wire around the ring you're creating with the wire to keep everything snug but don't pull too tight if you're looking for a loose, "natural" look. You can do a little wrapping behind the beads for added depth and to keep everything in place. To finish, either tuck your loose end behind the beads or use 3 or so inches of the wire to create a loop to string your necklace through. {I started by creating a loop but didn't like the end result... I thought it was a bit too "finished" for what I like so I ended up tucking the loose wire behind the beads and this is what I got.}

Short and Sweet {Tea, that is}

In our family, few things are as refreshing on hot days as sweet tea.

Yes, we Northerners get excited enough about sweet tea to talk about it like it's not part of our way of life.
Silly, I know.
Hubs LOVES Mc-E-Dee's sweet tea though we are both partial to Chick-Fil-A's brew.
{oh, chick-fill-uh... we miss you! ... waffle fries...}
ANYWAY... the stinker about both of those recipes is that they're IN-SANELY sweet. Like, crazy, you can chew it, sweet.
At home, we tone it down a lot.
My mom taught me to make it with 2 cups of sugar per gallon.At this point you still need to brush your teeth after consuming.
Since I've been working to cut WAY back on the sugar consumption of our family I weaned us down to 1 cup per gallon last year and even less this year.
So here's how we do it...

For one gallon of tea, open, de-tag, and tie together 5 Lipton tea bags (I guess you could use whatever tea you like, flavored or fancy but I definitely do not recommend Red Rose tea for this. We find it just plain yucky!)

Boil approximately 4 cups of water and pour into your pitcher.
Add 3/4 c refined sugar. {If you use organic sugar or sugar in the raw, you'll need more as "natural" sugars tend to be less sweet than refined. I would imagine the same goes for Rapedura or Sucanat though I've never tried them.}
Stir until sugar is dissolved and let steep for at least 5 minutes. I usually forget and leave it for at least half an hour.

Remove bags and squeeze out excess water.
Add enough cold water to fill the pitcher and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or add ice and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

{Top Photo Credit}

What on Earth is Kefir?!

Fairly recently I realized that I have used kefir (officially pronounced "keh-feer" though I still shamelessly call it "keef-er") in some of my recipes but haven't bothered to tell you what it is. Odds are that, unless you are any level of "earthy-crunchy", you've not heard of it.

In short, kefir is best compared to a "drinkable" plain yogurt in texture and taste. It's made by letting milk (cow, goat, sheep, soy, coconut, etc.) mixed with kefir starter or kefir grains sit out at room temperature for a time (about 24 hours). This lets the milk ferment and what you end up can range anywhere from a thick milk all the way to a cottage cheese texture. Sounds gross, right? And yet that's the same basic process for making yogurt and buttermilk.

 {kefir grains}

So why do we bother with kefir when we can just have yogurt?
Well, for one, it's cheap. A kefir grain is a living, growing bacteria/yeast. My dear friend gave me some kefir grains to try out because the ones she purchased grew over time and she was able to split them and thankfully they cost me nothing. (They can be purchased inexpensively to get your started.) Once you have them, if you keep them in ideal conditions, they will continue to grow and you'll never have to buy them again.
One of my favorite reasons is that the process of making kefir is ridiculously easy. It takes a glass jar with a lid, a stainless steel siv, a container to keep your finished kefir in, and three minutes a day.

To start, I place my grains in a mason jar and add about a cup of milk. {The amount of milk added depends on the amount of grains you have and how long you want to leave it to culture.}

Then I place the lid on the jar and leave it on the counter for 24 hours. Once you get a feel for what texture and level of tang you like, it's easier to judge how long to leave the kefir grains in. The tangier, the longer, and the greater the health benefits. 24 hours works for us in the spring and summer but we leave it for about 48 hours in the fall and winter.

Once I have the kefir the way I like it, I sift it through a stainless siv into a glass jar I got from Target and put it in the fridge for when I need it.

That's it!

So now that we've established that I'm cheap and lazy I guess I should share with you a few other reasons we use kefir in our home...
Kefir is good for you. Not just yogurt good.... try 6 times as good. I've heard that whereas yogurt has 5 different beneficial probiotics, kefir has at least 30. It's great for your immune system as as most fermented foods. It's easily digestible. (I've read in several places that it helps break down stuff in milk that makes it hard for lactose-intolerant people to digest.) It's anti fungal and antibiotic. It's full of vitamins and minerals and supports overall digestive health.
There are those who claim that since kefir is such a whole food that it cures EVERYTHING. I cannot speak for many of the claims out there but I found this guy who sure loves it! Anyway..

In our house, we use kefir most often as a substitute for buttermilk, sour cream, milk, or yogurt when baking. However, our absolute favorite way to enjoy it is in smoothies. More specifically, a mix of orange juice, maple syrup and vanilla extract. SO GOOD!

So now that I've filled you in on what kefir is, I'll probably share some recipes with you... but don't worry... if you're thinking kefir's not for you, you can always use yogurt in it's place.

Bean Update

So, as some of you already know, we had an interesting weekend thanks to Bean.

 She has been teasing us for a few days now, keeping us on our toes with the "will she? won't she?" routine.
I called my midwife Saturday to tell her what was going on.. contractions every 15 minutes for 12 hours, many were painful but not unmanageable... and she warned that third babies "do this" meaning that early labor is often long and that active labor hits quick. So Hubs and I waited in anticipation hoping that by the following morning we'd be snuggling with her. I figured I'd help the process along by trying a few things and took a walk after dinner.
During the walk I felt like she dropped way down and was worried she'd just fall out.
{More excitement! }
The contractions got stronger, closer and more painful.
{This is it!}
Hubs and I crawled into bed at 8:30, were asleep by 9:30, and had the best night of sleep we've had in weeks.
{Good! At least I"ll be well rested when Bean makes her debut!}
Sunday, 7am, still contracting but with minimal discomfort.
Sunday, 9 am, out to breakfast with the family for Mother's Day. It was loud in the restaurant and I was busy with the kids so I didn't notice contractions.
Sunday, 11am, got home, contractions stopped.
{ARE.YOU.KIDDING.ME?!}
Sunday, 4pm, contractions resume, minimal discomfort.
{I give up!}
So here we are... still waiting... still wondering...a smidge annoyed...being reminded that God is in control and, even though I have managed to keep two kids in one piece over the past two years, I have no say in when the third one will enter my care.
God has a plan... I just wish it would involve Bean showing up today!

The rumor is that... 

First baby labors are long and painful. Seconds are easy. Thirds are unpredictable. 

So far the first two are true... maybe this is me proving the third is as well.

{photo credit}

Two Fish, Two Ways

Omega-3... good.
Crazy easy and delicious recipes...even better!

Mom's Haddock 

30 minutes start to finish

What You'll Need:
white fish, preferably Haddock {for our family we use 1.5 lbs}
butter
salt and pepper

What To Do:
Set the oven to 350. Place fish fillets into a baking dish. Dot with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes or until opaque and flakey.

Maple-Soy Salmon

30 minutes start to finish

What You'll Need:

4 salmon fillets, not steaks, about 6 oz each and 1 1/4 inches thick {skin is optional}
salt and pepper

1/4 c soy sauce

1/2 c maple syrup

sesame seeds {optional}

What To Do:

Set oven to 500. Mix soy sauce and maple syrup in a small saucepan and heat on medium-high until it reduces to about 1/2 a cup. {This tends to boil over so watch it closely.}

While the sauce cooks down, butter a baking dish and lay fish skin side down. Pat it dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, using a brush, cover top and sides of fish with soy-maple sauce. I do not recommend pouring the sauce into the pan as the sugar burns and makes an awful mess in your pan. Bake for another 5 minutes until fish is opaque and flakey. Remove from oven, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve. You can reserve remaining sauce for rice or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

20 Minute Tissue Pouch

Okay, the twenty minutes is an estimate. I probably could have done them quicker but I was watching HGTV and randomly stared at the TV for minutes at a time.
My point is simply that these are quick!
And... for my gifts for my mom, mother-in-law, and grandmother for Mother's Day {which is this weekend... don't forget!}. Oh yes, and the orange polka dot one's for me. Hey, I'm a mom too!

I used the basic tutorial found at A Lemon Squeezy Home. Though I skipped the frills, I still love how they came out. Cute AND practical! Score!

A Mom's Thoughts on bin Laden's Death..

To be honest, I find these headlines a bit heart breaking. I realize that there is intense anger when it comes to this man but the idea of rejoicing in someone's, anyone's death (especially someone we can be confident is not heaven-bound) is just wrong. One headline I read said "Rot In Hell". The reality is, that is just what is happening to him and millions of others around the world. Hearing fellow American's chanting "USA" and celebrating the end of someone's life makes my heart heavy.
Apparently I'm not alone...

I didn't write the following but it said exactly what I was thinking.

Thought you may appreciate hearing from someone else for once!

... and here she is from Mom's Who Need Wine...

 See you tomorrow with something a bit more upbeat.

Just Being Honest...

It came today.

It came in full force.

Pure discouragement.

And not just in one thing but in everything.

Things aren’t going well with my “faith family” (church).

That’s a big one.

A HUGE one.

There are other things…

The kids are finally healthy after ten days of sickness.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m beyond grateful to the Lord for their health and the past weeks could have been way worse but that kind of time cleaning up messes, running to the bathroom, and not being able to leave the house is draining.

Mak has been in a miserable mood for past several days. Teething, maybe?

Oh boy, whining wears me down!

Also, she still isn’t walking and I have two and a half weeks till her sister makes her debut.

The idea of carrying two around plus keeping track of an easily distracted toddler gives me hives.

There are other things.

Silly things.

I’m ready to see our two beautiful dogs go to another home.

I have lost my appreciation for them.

I have lost my desire to care for them.

Three kids is enough for me! That’s where my attention should go. That’s where I want it to go. And no…. they’re not much work. They’re just extra. I don’t have much energy right now for “extra”.  

I don’t feel like I’m giving enough of myself to the cause of Christ.

I can’t say exactly what that means exactly, but I feel like I’m underutilizing the gifts I have been given.

Gifts of time, money, talent.

And yet I have no idea how to be better about it.

I realize that moms of little ones have reasons/excuses to not be out of the home as much as they once were but the Lord has blessed our family with so many things. I want to have fluid hands so that he gifts that are given to me can freely flow to those in need.

But how do I do that when I live around schedules and in a small house?

What does that look like for someone like me?

But to be honest, right now I’m struggling mostly with “church stuff”.

I have been a part of the same body of believers for almost four years now. We came from a rather unpleasant church split that left us with some broken or weakened friendships. We also came away from that experience with a group of friends who we drew as close to as family and started a small church in a nearby city with the heart, passion, fervor, fire for service and being the hands and feet of the Lord. Over time that passion seems to have faded.

Speaking only for myself, I let life get in the way.

I took part in several early service opportunities from scrubbing toilets, to serving meals to those in need, to planting flowers all over the city. For me, serving hand in hand with fellow believers for the sake of sharing the love and joy of Christ was the most rewarding time in my life. There were no politics, just people in charge who had a passion to serve and the discipline to get up and go whenever there was a need.

Where that love and passion went, I don’t know.

Politics got in the way.

A self serving and inward heart got in the way.

My comforts, agenda, and desires got in the way.

I don’t think I’m alone in that.

I became frustrated with the politics and the lack of action that started to shape the last two years of the life of the church.

And now… now we are left with very weak, very frail and dusty scraps of what we used to be.

It breaks my heart.

It has been easy to finger point and blame others. There are easy targets/scapegoats in all this.

But ultimately, I can’t help but feel that the responsibility starts with me and others like me who have become too comfortable. Who have become used to sitting back and watching things fall apart and not stepped in to help or do anything.

Granted, there’s only so much one can do but that’s just where I find myself…

Stuck.

On one hand I have a fire in my belly to fight for the body of Christ. To work with all my might to get things back to the way they should be. To reignite the passion that I once had to serve Christ come hell or high water. I have a desire to throw out all things that hinder my service and that may mean those who are distracting to the mission I’ve been given.

BUT

I am also tired. I am exhausted from the little fighting that I and others like me have already done.

I worry that we am fighting alone, that there are too few of us to accomplish anything.

I have read time and time again where the Lord says to be patient. That vengeance is His and if any vengeance is needed in this situation then it will be brought about in His perfect timing (Romans 12:19). I have read that my job is to be silent before my Creator (Psalm 62:1, Job 40) and rest in His perfect plan (Jeremiah 29:11). My job is to be patient (Romans 12:12, Psalm 37:7). For goodness’ sake… if Moses could wander for 40 years, what do I have to complain about after just two?!

And so I sit here and wonder… is enough ever enough? Is it ever time to fight? Is there an appropriate time to lay aside my concerns and just do? Does being patient mean being inactive?  

I have no clue.

The only thing I know to do now is follow His word and His will because that’s the only way to  be sure I’m right where I should be even if where I am doesn’t look so good.

So what should I be doing?

1. Following the greatest Commandments: Love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Loving my neighbor as myself (Luke 10:27) I can do this in or apart from a healthy church body. This requires something of me and not my situation.
2. Praying: My job is to pray without ceasing (I Thess 5:17) and to not only pray for myself and my heart’s desires but for others and there needs. This not only encourages my heart to commune with others but also begins to cultivate a love for others that I ought to have anyway.
3. Serving: I cannot allow the behavior of others to determine how I act. Ultimately I am responsible to me and if I am not serving (caring for the orphan, widow, and the poor) than when I face the Lord, alone, I will have no one to blame my inaction on but myself. (Romans 2:6, Galatians 6:4-5)
4. Making disciples: Nope, this command hasn’t changed. (Matthew 28:19)
5. Giving all glory to God in all I do and say. This is my ultimate duty. If  what I’m doing is not glorifying the Lord, it’s sin. (I Corinthians 10:31)
6. Be thankful: I recently read a fantastic book, “One Thousand Gifts”, on being thankful and how it is the way to attain true joy. Focusing on what isn’t going my way only makes matters worse. It’s when I stop to thank the Lord for all things, great and small, that I begin to recognize the blessings that flow straight from His hands and to know Him better. Discontentment is a thief. (I Thess 5:16-18)
7. Find my joy in the Lord: The joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
8. Forgive: There is a reason there is a number placed on how often to forgive. It is something I cannot do just once and let it go completely. The reality is, all of us are fallen and human. Each and every person on this will disappoint at one time or another. My job has NOTHING to do with judging and punishing others but rather loving and encouraging them.

If I am able to maintain my heavenly focus, will that make it all better?

I should at least give it shot.

Other People's Genius {Spring Wreaths}

what you'll need: sheets of scrapbook paper, hot glue, wreath form, ribbon or fabric for bow 

by Two Girls Being Crafty

what you'll need: wreath frame, burlap, silk, tulle, fabric, silk flowers
from Redberry Barn

what you'll need: wreath form, burlap, fabric, tulle, scrapbooking brads, hot glue, twine, small clothespins, paper, stamp pad
from Tatertots and Jello

what you'll need: foam wreath, 20 yards of fabric strips, masking tape, scissors, pins
from In Color Order

what you'll need: wreath form, 3 yards of linen fabric, glue gun, scissors, sewing machine {optional}
from Live A Little Wilder

 

what you'll need: ribbon, wreath frame, cupcake papers, hot glue gun

from Tatetots and Jello

what you'll need: wicker wreath frame, grass, flowers, hot glue, yarn

from Young and Crafty

what you'll need: glue gun, crepe paper, wreath form, ribbon

from A Glimpse Inside

what you'll need: egg dye/food coloring, rattan balls, wreath form, twist ties, hot glue

by Dollar Store Mom

what you'll need: wreath form, butcher paper

from Alisa Burke

Graham Cracker Recipe

In case you hadn't heard our little family has been sick for over a week now.
I'm pretty sure we're on the upswing but still not one-hundred percent.
We've been homebound to keep the "ickies" to ourselves.
We're getting bored!

My big plan for yesterday was to sew my heart out and get a few things done but, since CJ was feeling up to it, I decided to do a little baking instead {which he usually helps out with}.
We started with whole wheat honey bread which I've never made before {more on that next week} but the star of the day was definitely the graham crackers.

I have been giving Miss Mak graham crackers as a snack for several months now but always felt bad when I didn't buy organic ones which I couldn't always find. Now, I feel like I have the best solution!
Yay for homemade!
I found the recipe months ago at Smitten Kitchen.
The site did a great job of taking pictures so I didn't bother taking many.
Plus, mine weren't nearly as cute and uniform as theirs were.
They may be ugly but they taste delicious!

Yes... I'm excited.

Maybe too excited.

Oh well.


Actually, I do have a couple of notes for this recipe...

1. The dough seemed a bit too soft when I was done mixing all the ingredients so I added a little more flour. They ended up coming out fine for me. The recipe warns that the dough will be soft and sticky. Based on the picture of the dough coming out of the processor I was certain mine was just too wet. Use your judgement here. Again, adding flour seemed to make no difference but it made me feel better.
2. After chilling, the dough warms very quickly and gets soft. Be careful to use plenty of flour on your work surface and not to roll it too thin because that makes it harder to work with.
3. I highly recommend using a pizza wheel to cut the dough. You get much straighter lines and the dough doesn't pull like it does when you run a knife through it. One person who commented on the post even suggested baking a couple of giant sheets of the cookie and then cutting it with a pizza wheel right out of the oven. I think I'm going to try that next time.
4. She's not kidding... watch the clock on your oven. Depending on how thin you roll these they can quickly burn.

Enjoy!

Book Report {Radical}

Radical by David Platt - The premise... "we have missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable... we are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves". This book is full of challenging stuff that required me to stop and think several times about where I'm at as opposed to where I ought to be in the charge I was given as a follower of Christ. Platt discusses how "real success is found in radical sacrifice", how "ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of God", how "the purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture we live in", how "meaning is found in community, not indvidualism; joy is found in generosity, not materialism; and truth is found in Christ, not universalism." "Ultimately, Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience, and enjoy."
The book comes with a lot of practical applications and is even accompanied by a website that furthers the reader along in the challenge that is at the end of the book (i.e. The Radical Experiment). This challenge involves five components to be accomplished in one year's time:
1. pray for the entire world {Platt suggests resources to do this with your family}
2. read through the entire Bible
3. sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
4. spend your time in another context
5. commit your life to multiplying a community

Needless to say... Yes! I recommend it! 

Oma's Homemade Bread

I've said it before... I want to tell you about Oma someday.
Until I can sit down to write and actually do her justice, you'll just have to trust me on the recipes of hers that I share.
They're wonderful, like she was. 
Maybe it's just nostalgia but I will keep on making her goodies regardless. Enjoy!

Oma's Homemade Bread

{white and cinnamon raisin versions}

What You'll Need:

1 pkg yeast {2 1/4 tsp if using jarred yeast}

3/4 c luke warm water

1 T sugar

1 egg, beaten

3/4 c warm water

3 c all-purpose flour

For Cinnamon Raisin You'll Also Need:

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

1 c raisins

What To Do:

Mix yeast, water, and sugar in a small bowl and let sit. Once bubbles form, put the mixture into a large bowl.

Add the egg, salt, and water.{If you're making the cinnamon-raisin version now's the time to add the spices.}

Slowly add the flour a cup at a time and stir in between each cup added.

If you're making the cinnamon raisin bread, add raisins into dough after the third cup.

Mix in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Turn over onto a floured surface.

Knead for 5 minutes, adding flour as needed until it no longer sticks.  Not sure what that means? Well...this is still too sticky.

{As a point of reference, I've had to add as much as two cups of flour during kneading, to get it to the right consistency}

Form into a ball and place the ball into a lightly oiled bowl. Loosely cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Leave in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. {If you are in a cold, dry spot, this make take closer to an hour to rise.}

 

I usually put my oven on as low as it will go for a few minutes, turn it off, then place the covered bowls in the oven with a small bowl of water to keep the humidity up. 

Once risen, punch the dough down, pour out onto lightly floured work surface, and knead for another 5 minutes. Place into a greased loaf pan and loosely cover with dish towel to rise for another 45 minutes.

Set the oven to 350 and bake for 45 minutes.

There you have it! Hot homemade bread! Hubs and I fight over the "butt" ends of the bread. I usually claim that since I baked it I get them but now that I make two loaves at a time I guess I have to share! Enjoy!