I have never sprouted my grain, but I do soak my grains (when I remember). We've always loved Blender Batter Waffles. Some readers of my last post asked for my recipe, so here it is!

I just started making soaked grain bread. It's pretty easy, but when you add the other ingredients and knead it it will be cold.

Whole Wheat Bread
6 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. water
a splash of whey or vinegar

Put in bowl, stir a bit, and let sit overnight on the counter.

The next morning, sprinkle 4 tsp. yeast over the dough. I use a mixer, and mix the yeast into the dough a little bit. Then add:
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. vital wheat gluten
2 Tablespoons milk
1/4 c. oil
2 tsp. salt.

Knead on low setting for 3-4 minutes, and on a higher setting for about 5 more minutes. Dough should be elastic and smooth, a little sticky but not gooey. Put in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down, divide in half, and put in greased loaf pans. Let rise in a warm place 30-60 minutes. Bake at 350 until browned (25-30 minutes, depending on your oven). If you thump the top of the bread, it should sound hollow when it is done.

Butter the top, and leave in the pan to cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto bread board or cooling rack. If you remove it from the pan immediately, the crust will be hard. If you let it cool completely in the pan, the crust will be very soft, almost soggy.

Whole Wheat Rolls
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. warm water
splash of whey or vinegar.

Mix and let soak overnight.

The next morning, mix in 3 tsp. yeast, then add:

2 T. soft butter
1 1/2 tsp. vital wheat gluten
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt

(Note: to make white rolls, use 3 c. bread flour and do not add gluten.)

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Punch down and form into roll shape of your choice (I'm lazy, I just pinch off golfball size pieces). Put in greased pan, not quite touching each other. Let rise again 30-60 minutes. Bake at 350 until golden.

After my bread and rolls come out of the oven, I rub them with butter. I get a cold stick out of the fridge, peel back the wrapper a bit, and use like a glue stick on the hot bread.

Labels: cooking, health

We live in a rental. Our door has two large glass panels in it, which I HATE because, IMO, it's not safe. How hard is it to smash the glass and flip the knob?

Today, my 10 year old son picked the lock on the front door. He's been at it over and over again, convincing my 4 year old to lock him out. She thinks it's great fun.

I think we're going to have to get a security chain, despite our security deposit!

Labels: Misc., R, V

Our family eats bread. A lot of bread. If we have sandwiches for lunch, we'll use almost the entire loaf (14-16 slices, one sandwich each).

I can find Nature's Own Whole Grain bread at the 99cents Plus store, so I've fallen out of the habit of baking. (Plus, I hate to bake when the AC is on!) I've recently found out that the chain is going out of business, and I've never seen whole grain bread that cheap anywhere else.

My "next best" is Sam's Club, where a two-pack of Nature's Grains is around $3 ($1.50 a loaf).

If I got into the habit, I could easily make my own. I know how. I have a KitchenAid. It's not actually THAT much work, you just have to stick around for the rising/proofing and baking. We only have one vehicle, so when husband dear is at work I pretty much just stay at home, anyway.

Is it worth it? Am I actually saving any money by making my own? Let's find out!

My whole wheat bread recipe makes 2 loaves, and I can get 14 slices out of each loaf if I let it cool before cutting. That's a challenge, though. You know how good fresh baked bread smells!

Ingredients:
6 c. whole wheat flour , 95 cents ($2.76 for 5 lbs.; 17 1/2 c. per 5 lb. bag, = 15.77 cents per cup.)
1 T. gluten - 10 cents ($1.98 for 20 T., = 10 cents)
2 T. milk - 4 cents (2 T = 1 oz. Current price for milk- we just switched to organic - $4.99/128 oz. = 4 cents per oz.)
4 T. oil - 8 cents (4 T = 2 oz. Canola oil = $1.88/48 oz, which is about 4 cents per oz.)
1/2 c. sugar (brown or white) - 7 cents white sugar, (.31 cents per pound, 2-1/4 c. per pound = 3.4 cents per 1/4 c.)
2 tsp. salt - negligible
4 tsp. yeast - 9 cents(32 oz. of yeast for $4= 12.5 cents per ounce; 4 tsp = 2/3 of an ounce = 8.4 cents)
2 c. water - if it comes from the tap, it's free, right? Cost is negligible.

Total cost, 2 loaves of bread: $1.33 or .66 per loaf.

However, there are factors that make things more complicated.

Pros
When I bake fresh bread, it tastes better.

There is no waste - the kids don't leave the crusts on the floor and the baby doesn't lick the peanut butter out of the middle and secretly toss the actual bread part of the sandwich.

I also think it's healthier; I often add oat bran to the mix to boost the fiber content. Even without the oat bran, one slice of homemade bread has more than 3 g. of fiber (assuming 14 slices per loaf). (Food data from here.)

I can soak the flour to reduce phytates, increasing nutrition.

The kids beg me for a slice, and I know they are getting a wholesome snack.

Cons
I do have to run the oven, and use water to wash the mixing bowl, loaf pan, and cutting board.

It takes time to bake bread. Not a lot, but some and I must be mindful of the kitchen while it's rising, proofing, etc. I can't leave the house, for example.

I never get as many slices out of homemade bread as a store bought loaf; a homemade loaf makes fewer sandwiches (with thicker slices.)

Those add ins add to the cost (but oat bran is so cheap, it's a very small amount.)

We eat more butter. The family would never eat a slice of store bought bread unless it was in a sandwich. Homemade bread? I have to hide it so it will make it until lunch.

My conclusion:
Baking my own bread is cheaper. A comparable loaf of whole wheat bread at the grocery store costs $2.49; even if I buy it for a dollar (while I still can) I'm paying 40 cents for the convenience of not baking it myself. We use about 4 loaves a week, and I will save $9 a week by doing it myself.

As I mentioned before, we just switched to organic milk, for health reasons. I can't buy everything organic, so I am trying to switch to things that will have the most impact on our long-term health. Organic milk costs $1.50-$2.00 more per gallon, and we drink about 4 gallons per week. If I bake my own bread, I can more than make up for the added cost ($6-8/week).

Some additional considerations:
If I used sourdough, my homemade bread might be cheaper.

In winter, having the oven on would make the heater work less.

I buy my yeast in bulk, which makes a huge difference in cost. 4 tsp. of yeast is about 2 of the little packets - which would cost around .66 instead of $.09. I buy 2 lb. packages at Sam's club, and keep it in the fridge.

I think I'll post that $9 number on the fridge as an incentive!

Labels: cooking, Frugal, homemaking

First, some things that make me happy.

Baby X learned to nod his head, and he blows on his food. Even if you serve him watermelon, he'll blow to make sure it's not too hot.

Mr P does math just like his mama - weird made up shortcuts. I didn't teach it to him (his math book teaches math as a process of addition). For example, for a problem like 6x7, we will take half (3x7) and add it together. Very helpful for larger numbers - 18x9 would, in my mind, actually be 9x9 + 9x9. Mr P does it the same way, and came up with the method on his own. Must be genetic. Can't wait until we get to squares and cubes!

Google Earth lets you download and explore Ancient Rome. You'll have to download the application.


H/T Melissa Wiley for the Google link.

Labels: children, education, Friday Fun, P, X

Sunday's paper had an interesting article on our food supply, and policies Obama should enact to protect it.

Small, sustainable farms are a part of our national security. A nation that cannot feed itself will be an easy target.

Growing our own food locally has environmental, energy, and health implications as well:

Well, we're doing our part. We're building a square foot garden. The bed is actually built, I just need to get the filling together to put inside it. After much procrastination planning, I've located a source for perlite, the closest thing to the recommended vermiculite that I can get.

It's still in the 70's here in Houston, and we are planting lettuce, spinach, kale, rutabagas, rhubarb, and radishes. We started a compost pile last month for our science class, but that's not ready... yet.

I've successfully grown spinach and lettuce in four different states, but I've never tried the others!

This book is a fascinating look at the animals that do the dirty work of composting. Great pictures of microscopic bugs, plus easy to understand text, made this book perfect for our school of K-3rd graders.

Labels: black thumb, education, In The News

Google is teaming up with the feds to track internet searches. They've agreed to pinpoint searches for "flu", "muscle aches", and related terms, and to forward it to the CDC along with info about searcher's location.

On a completely, absolutely unrelated note... Anonymouse is a free IP hider that is Haloscan friendly.

H/T Furious Seasons blog.

Labels: In The News

I blogged recently about weird recipes. There is one recipe that sounded so inedible, I was loathe to try it. But I kept seeing it. Again and again and again. On Foodie blogs.

Roasted Kale. "It's better than potato chips!" commenters raved. "So good I ate the whole batch by myself!"

Yeah, right. I know marketing hype when I see it.

But... kale is good for you. But my kids don't like it (and most especially, my husband hates it.) But it's in season and therefore, cheaper than lettuce or bok choy.

I made it tonight for dinner, and everyone finished it off before the chicken hit the table. "I'd eat that every day if you made it!" husband dear said. And since I'm trying to sneak him back on that anti-inflammatory diet... I just might!

Try it - it really is good. And it's Feingold friendly - Heaven knows how tough it is to find snacks without artificial colors or MSG.

Crispy Kale
Tear a bunch of kale into bite sized pieces, removing the tough stems. Wash and dry. Toss with olive oil to lightly coat. Sprinkle in some kosher salt.

Put on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan and bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Flip 'em over and roast 5-7 minutes longer. You want them crispy, but not brown.

Eat and enjoy!

Even the one year old ate it. That's a ringing endorsement!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, check out Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer!

And, oh yeah...
Vote for me at the Homeschool Blog Awards! And please, do NOT go to Pioneer Woman Cooks before you vote. Her blog is so much better than mine! ::wink::

Labels: cooking, health, therapeutic diet

A roundup of links to celebrate Martinmas, the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. He's popular with my boys because he was a soldier with a sword!

St. Martin's Story

Shorter version of the story

Celebrating Martinmas, making lanterns

Another lantern making post


Coloring Page by Waltzing Matilda

What Dawn did last year

...And the year before that

Labels: Catholic, education, holidays

Since I'm nominated in the Homemaker/Recipe category of the Homeschool Blogger Awards, I thought I'd post a sampling of my cooking and homekeeping advice.

That way, you can laugh WITH me at the nomination, instead of at me. Okay, we all know you're laughing at me. It's okay.

Clean your house in 20 minutes

Crockpot Lament

Vomit at Midnight? Some Perspective

Cheap, Healthy Meal when you have no idea what to cook.

Decorate a Cake when you fail to plan ahead.

Five Tips to be a Great Cook

Organize Your Kitchen, Your Way.

Post Christmas Reflections, from 2006. Not poignant at all. My big goal for the year? Putting sheets on the bed.

Labels: Blog, cooking, homemaking

The Homeschool Blog Awards are up for voting today, and *I* am nominated!

For Best Homemaking/Recipe blog.

After I stopped laughing, I thought I'd give you all a chance to vote for me. Please don't look at any of the other nominees because they are way better cooks than I am.

BTW- You can find recipes on the left side bar!

Labels: Blog, cooking, homemaking

We are having a friend from the UK over for Thanksgiving, and I thought maybe I'd try a new dish.

I hate that green bean/soup/canned onions casserole and I also detest yams + marshmallows. Mr R can't have marshmallows anyway.

I do know a few recipes I probably won't be trying anytime soon. I signed up to be a Bush's Baked Beans test kitchen. They send you recipes, you make them, fill out a survey on how your family liked it, and then you get coupons for free cans of beans. I chose to test Kid Friendly Recipes.

The recipe selections included Banana and Black Bean Quesadillas, a pinto bean filled energy bar, and Strawberry Smoothies. The smoothie included a can of beans, of course. Blech.

Food Network is usually a good place for recipes. Paula Deen's Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie is awesome. But... beware of any recipe appearing on Iron Chef. You might be tempted to make something out of the ordinary, like Cantaloupe Soup (with lemon!) or Candied Bacon. Meat Candy is not Good Eats, as old AB would say.


Although this bacon lollipop sounds.... strangely delicious.

For your enjoyment:
Gallery of Regrettable Food

What's the worst recipe you've ever tried?

Labels: cooking, Friday Fun