I think I almost have it...

You would think that French bread would be more difficult that regular homemade bread. But I think it's easier and more yummy!

I tried a few recipes before I found this one that works pretty well. It makes two nice long crusty loaves.

It's recipeZaar #101476 in case you are wondering.

Crusty French Bread Recipe
by PCrocker
50 min | 20 min prep | 2 loaves
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5-5 1/2 cups bread flour

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water (110 degrees) and sugar in large bowl; allow yeast to proof or foam (about 10 minutes).
2. Add salt, oil, and 3 cups flour; beat for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in 2 cups flour to make a stiff dough.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Place in oiled bowl, turn dough to coat all sides, cover and let rise until doubled.
6. Punch down and divide in half.
7. Shape dough into two long slender loaves. (I pushed the dough into large rectangles and rolled them up into slender loaves. I think that yields the best result...)
8. Grease and sprinkle with cornmeal on large cookie sheet.
9. Place loaves in pan and cut diagonal gashes on top of each loaf
10. Cover and let rise until doubled.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
12. Note: You can sprinkle or spray water on the loaves during baking if you want a really crunchy crust.

Before and after...

I spent a good hour trying to get the rat's nest out of my daughter's hair from playing outside all day on Saturday. I never want to do that again. So we decided to opt for a new do.
It is sorta sad to see the long stuff go. But now she looks neat and clean and can wash and comb it herself again. What a blessing. I think I got it pretty even. I will probably be snipping the mistakes in the next couple of days...

Sunny delight

It's just cold today. The kids have been playing outside the last couple of days because of the warm weather (temps in the 40s+). Today they were out again early this morning and I caved. I gave them their Easter presents, tennis shoes with removable wheels so they could ride across the street at the church parking lot. It was too cold by mid morning for the baby to be out so we stayed here and watched from the window. It's really awful being tempted with that gorgeous sunshiny warm stuff only to feel the last wrath of winter a day or two later.

If I wasn't used to the roller coaster weather here in South Dakota I'd blame it on global warming that we are going to get more snow in the next few days. Last year we had a HUGE snowstorm in March, the kids dug forts in the backyard. Hard to imagine since most of the snow is gone now.

I gotta go turn the fireplace on. It's chilly in here...

i hope this is gonna be simmering for supper...

Papa al Pomodora

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 small onion chopped
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (i used my canned stewed tomatoes from the garden)
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 quart chicken broth
4 cups (3/4 lbs) day-old bread(torn in pieces)(french bread works great B!)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic and 3/4 of onion.
Cook 7-8 minutes, then add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add
broth and turn the heat up to make the soup boil. Reduce heat to a simmer
and add bread. Stir soup as it simmers until it thickens to a stew. Add
seasonings to taste.

variations: add 2 cans white beans or a leek, use veggie stock instead of chicken:)

updates

The scan was pretty much normal. What's there will will work itself out anyway. No worries.

I didn't have surgery to remove the port because I had a fever and wasn't feeling well. I will have to reschedule. Instead made a big pot of chili and sat in a blankie all day. It was good.

Enjoying a daddy day today.

Mahalo very much to the hospital previously know as Sioux Valley

Once upon a time, my dh won a trip from his employer.

After much deliberation and research we have finally decided to use the 'gift' he received and take an anniversary trip to Hawaii.

We leave April 22nd and make a quick stop in Oakland, CA to watch the Twins play. Then it's off to Hawaii to see a couple of islands and we return home on the 30th.


This should be an exciting time, right? I mean I just bought the tickets for the game and I should be feeling little butterflies of anticipation in my tummy, but I am not.

All I can think about is the kids. We went back and forth and sideways trying to figure out what to do and where to go and whether we should take the kids. Finally, we decided that after 10 years we really "needed" a little husband and wife time. It has been a crazy couple of years and our life has been turned completely upside down. My dh is really excited and he keeps saying, " I wish we could leave today..." I just smile and sigh. I hope that in 50 days I can really walk away and feel like I am going to be able to relax and enjoy the special time with my best friend whom I haven't really talked to in ages. What on earth are we going to talk about for 8 days?

I just can't stop thinking about who is going to sing to the baby when she is getting her diaper changed and who is going to gently remove the booger from her nose when she has one. Who is going to rock a bye her at night when she can't get herself back to sleep. It's eight days and I keep thinking she is not going to remember me when I get back. Who's gonna rub her gums and put a cold apple slice in her mouth to help her teethe? Who's gonna make sure the 7 folds of skin under her chin are clean? I worry about the fact that I wash her sheets every night and make sure she has a dry bib on every few hours. I worry about the fact that my son likes to snack every other hours and he loves a nutritious lunch of cheese tacos and apple slices. I worry about who is going to check off the tooth brushing chart for my kindergartner and who is going to read to the kids for 20 minutes a day. And how am I going to remember to tell whoever we convince to take over that the baby loves to watch her older siblings wrestle in the living room. It's the only time she laughs out loud. Will I remember to tell the sitter to lay her down on her back but tilt her slightly to the left or right, alternating sides so she doesn't have a flat head? Will I remember to tell the sitter that when my son says he wants to wear his "handsome clothes" he means his suit and tie? Will whomever we get to watch the kids have the patience to play connect four and trouble for 3 hours straight without a break? Will the sitter have the patience to sit at the computer and play Webkins with the oldest because she can't quite read yet? I know you think I am going crazy but this is just the beginning. I have to remember to tell them that if #1 doesn't leave by 8:10 she will miss morning recess and on gym days she likes to wear short sleeves and a hoodie so she can take it off when she gets overheated. Oh, and the preschooler loves to wait outside the elementary school door until both lights turn green so he can open it himself before preschool. After school can be really stressful if you don't have snack ready and supper is best when planned early because it seems like between 3:30 and 6 time ticks twice as fast. If I miss bedtime by less than 30 minutes the morning routine is extremely difficult. Who is going to put #1 back to bed when she is sleep walking or calm her down when she has night tremors and rub #2's legs when he has growing pains at 3am? Do I write a book and hope that the sitter has a few days to read it or just let her fend for herself? A baby can change so much in a week, maybe she will need to start eating veggies or go up in a diaper size? ARRGH!

So do you see now why it's not really a vacation? It's a lot more work. I love you, honey, but is it really worth it?

the old grind...

*sigh*

Things are looking as close to normal as possible here at the homestead.

Dad works three day shifts this week and has already picked up two shifts this weekend.

Gotta dig up something for sharing at Kindergarten on Wednesday and that same day the boy brings snack for preschool.

#3 has a check up on Thursday and so does the boy. There is no school on Friday so I scheduled an appointment to seal #1's teeth.

So, when my surgeon's nurse called this morning and asked if Thursday morning worked for me to get the port REMOVED I didn't hesitate a bit and said, "Sure!" Right after his morning heart surgery he will reopen my incision, clip the stitches and remove it and I should be outta there by noon.

Sure hope the hubby doesn't mind running the kids to their check ups...perhaps I should have asked him first...

I should probably find another thing or two to add to the planner this week, eh?