Getting ready for the National Holiday

It's February!  A time for love, hearts and all things red!  Oh, and it's also time for my favorite holiday, Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day, also known in our house as The National Holiday, is coming up and I thought I would put links to some crafts we have done here on A Scary Journey Inside My Life to get you ready for the big day. Some of these crafts are pretty easy and would be great to do with your Girl Scout Troop!  These are also great ideas for an indoor activity on those cold winter days.

Valentine's Placemat (children's craft)

Valentine's Day Bookmarks

Pallet (he)art

Homemade Valentine's Day cards

Felt Heart Pin or Barrette

Felt Heart Ornaments 

Valentine Photo Book

Valentine Love Picture

Valentine Love Frame

Looking for more fun things to do in February?  How about warming up the house (and some hearts) with some baking?  Check out the Recipes page to try something new!

Sourdough Bread

An easy to make sourdough bread recipe.  Well, easy to make, but about a nine hour process.  Result is a delicious loaf of bread.

Here's the recipe:

Sourdough Bread

ingredients:

 1 cup active sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups water *

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 1/4 cups of bread flour*

directions:

In large bowl, combine starter and lukewarm water. Mix (or whisk) until starter dissolves into a milky like mixture. 

Add the flour and salt to the bowl and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be rough (shaggy) and you might have to use your hands when working in the flour.

Cover bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes. (this allows the ingredients to come together and form a smooth, elastic dough which gives it a better oven spring).

Knead dough for 5 minutes (by hand or mixer with a dough hook) until dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Return dough to bowl, cover with either plastic wrap or damp towel and let it sit for 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, begin a series of stretch and folds. You will do this for about 5 minutes every 30 minutes (over a 2 hour span)(a total of 4 stretch and folds in that 2 hours).

 After the final set of stretch and folds, cover the bowl and let it rest (about 2-4 hours) until it doubles in size.*

Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and do a set of stretch and folds and bring dough into a round boule shape. Make sure seam side down, can move dough around to tighten the shape. 

Place piece of parchment paper inside the bowl.* Place dough onto parchment paper in bowl, towel over top for a final rise (about hour) The dough is ready when slightly puffy.

Preheat oven 425F with dutch oven inside. You want the dutch oven to be in there for about thirty minutes.

Carefully place dough (with parchment paper) into dutch oven. Don't forget to flour/score the loaf).

Bake for 40 minutes with the lid on (important, otherwise loaf will burn). Remove lid and bake for another 10 minutes (or until crust is golden brown).*

Remove loaf from oven and cool on wire rack before slicing.

* * * **  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*I use 1 cup of warm water and it works perfectly for my starter (my starter is a little on the runny side).

*I have used unbleached all purpose flour and have had no problem with this recipe.

*You can do this as a bulk rise over night in the refrigerator. To do this, after the final set of stretch and folds, just cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator. Pull the bowl out in the morning and let it rest for an hour (it needs to be at room temperature). Turn in onto a lightly flours surface and let it rest another 20 minutes. The dough will start to relax. Once it has relaxed, do the final shaping and let rise for another 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then bake.

*The use of parchment paper makes the transfer from bowl to dutch oven go smoothly. Trust me on this one. I have learned from my mistakes. The bowl also helps the dough retain it's shape.  Again, learned this lesson the hard way...

*You can bake bread longer than the extra 10 minutes without the lid for a crisper crust

Have you hopped onto the sourdough bread train yet?

Let me know your feelings about sourdough in the comments. 

Enjoy!

National Thank You Note Day

  As I always say (and write), people love getting handwritten letters and notes in the mail.  It's always the first thing someone reads when they bring in the mail.  I would rather read a letter from a friend or family member before diving into a pile of bills. 

Sure, it's easy to send off an email or a quick text to thank Aunt Sally for the ugly Christmas sweater.  Aunt Sally would much rather receive a nice handwritten Thank You note in the mail from you.

Today is National Thank You Note Day! 

I'm unable to find out how or why this day was started.  Some say it was created because of all the presents people received on Christmas Day.  I, on the other hand, believe it was started by my mother, The Queen of Thank You Note writing.

I remember being called down to the kitchen a couple days after Christmas.  On the table there were three place settings.  At each spot there was a sheet of paper with list of names and gifts that they gave us, and a pen.  In the center of the table there was a stack of Thank You note cards, stamps and an address book.  You had to find your spot at the table.  The rules?  Write a Thank You note to everyone on the list then address and stamp the envelope.  Oh, and you can't leave the table until you are finished.

My Mom never taught us how to write a Thank You note.  My brothers would hurry up and scribble some stuff and leave the table.  I would be stuck there for hours asking my relatives how their pet is doing and trying to figure out how to nicely thank someone for the gift they gave me (how do you thank someone for money?).

If you do participate today, and I hope you will, you can use #NationalThankYouNoteDay on social media.

If you need any tips on Thank You Note writing, I'd love to help, especially if you want to know how the family dog is getting along.

Don't worry, Mom, I already wrote my Thank You notes this year!

Merry Christmas

 "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you:  You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  "Glory to God in the highest.  And on earth, Peace, goodwill toward men!"  Luke 2:8-14

Sourdough Vacation Club

 I'm thinking of starting a little sourdough vacation club. For those people who have sourdough starters and want to take a vacation they can drop off their starter and we can take care of it while they are away.

This probably would have been a great business after quarantine. People going back to work and, who is going to watch the sourdough starter?

Luckily my starter is pretty simple and very easy to care for, so I am able to get away without a babysitter. Just keep it in the refrigerator.

Have you tried making sourdough bread?

Do you make your own starter?

Do you treat your starter like a newborn baby?

Who takes care of your starter when you go on vacation?

What time is it?

 Took the child to the doctor the other day. I sat in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. At one point I looked up and was unable to find a clock. Luckily I had my phone with me so I could see the time.  What's up with not putting a clock in the waiting room? Is it so a patient has no idea how long we have been sitting there waiting for the doctor? Are the doctors afraid we might charge for our time waiting for them? How would that work?

"I sat in your waiting room for my 2:00pm appointment. They didn't call me back until 2:25pm. I then had to wait another 20 minutes in the exam room before the doctor showed up. I will be deducting $37.50 from my bill."

I think even as patients we should be able to deduct our time spent waiting for the doctor from our bill. If you set an appointment time and you make the effort to show up on time, the doctor should, too. If there is a problem, you should be notified. Everyone's time is important. 

Sourdough Starter

 I'm a little late to the Sourdough bread making game. A lot of people were making bread during quarantine. Instead, I was outside doing yard work.

In December, on a cold, snowy day, I decided I would attempt breadmaking. I found a sourdough recipe in an old Farm Journal (I've had it since we got married, not sure how it came into my possession). They gave a recipe for a sourdough starter. Apparently, it's equivalent to what the pioneers used when traveling across the country in covered wagons. The recipe makes 5 1/2 cups (enough for an army) which is probably a good thing because who knows how many people you will be feeding at each stop? It's also a bad thing when there are only two of you to enjoy the bread(s). I put an "s" on the end of that because the recipes make two or three loaves of bread. Much more bread than what two people can eat. We might have to buy a wagon and some horses and travel across the country in order to use up all of that bread.

If you are looking for an easy sourdough starter, one where you just feed the starter, no discards, then this recipe is for you.

Here's the recipe:

Sourdough Starter

Farm Journal Homemade Breads 1985

2 pkg active dry yeast

2 TBSP sugar

4 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

4 cups unsifted flour

directions:

In large glass bowl, sprinkle yeast and sugar over 1/2 cup warm water; stir until dissolved.* Do not use metal utensils, since prolonged contact with metal will drastically reduce the purity and change the taste of the starter.

Add remaining 3 1/2 cups warm water alternately with flour, stirring well after each addition. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand in warm place (85degrees F) for 6 to 24 hours.

The starter is ready to use in any of the sourdough recipes. It will look bubbly and a clear liquid will rise to the top. Stir the starter before measuring.

After removing the required amount of starter, pour remaining starter into glass jar. Cover loosely and refrigerate. Do not cover tightly. As the starter stands it ferments. The fermentation produces a harmless gas and if covered tightly the container might burst. The starter can be stored indefinitely in the refrigerator.

Replenish starter at least once a week by stirring in 1/2 cup warm water and 1/2 cup unsifted flour.** {Make sure starter sits on counter 45 minutes prior to this step). Cover with towel and let stand at room temperature overnight. The next morning, stir down starter. Cover loosely and refrigerate. Makes 5 1/3 cups.

Tips I have learned along the way:

*I always proof my yeast in a glass measuring cup.

** Make sure to let starter sit on counter for 45 minutes before you replenish (or feed it). 

Let me know if you have any sourdough breadmaking tips in the comments below.