Colorado Trip

We just got back from a trip to Colorado. We drove there, as we usually do. This year, just to mix it up a bit, we drove through Kansas on the way there, and then through Amarillo, Texas on the way home. There's not a lot to see in Kansas.



We did see a lot of old barns like this, and I was dying to stop and take more pictures, but we were driving along the highway and there was no where to pull over for me to take pictures.

I'm not sure how well my asking to stop every time I saw something interesting would have gone over for the other people in the car. It's already a 17 hour drive, no need to make it any longer.

So, this barn was snapped while driving about 80 mph down the road.  To be clear, I was not the one driving.


Here's one of the people we came all of this way to see. My sister's son. So cute. He's learned to walk since we last saw him, and he's good at it.


Bailey had a great time playing with him.



Another reason we drove all of this way was to see my dear friend Jae's new babies.
Yes, I said babies, as in two.

Here's Oliver.



And this little cutie is Miranda.



Jae and I have known each other since 7th grade. We always have a lot of fun together, as you can see.



We toured the Anheuser-Busch factory in Fort Collins while we were there. Not because we are beer drinkers, but just because we love to see how things are made.

I think our love of seeing things made stems from going to the Mrs. Baird's bread bakery when we were young.  Growing up in the Dallas area, it was a "manditory" field trip for most schools.  Both my hubby, Rominal, and I toured the factory when we were young.  I will never forget the wonderful smell as I toured that factory.

At the Fort Collins factory, they house the Anheuser-Busch clydesdales.  However, they were currently in another state so we didn't get to see them. 

For the record, Bailey was not taller than a clydesdale.


This is some part of the beer making process.  Don't ask me which part though. 



There were a lot of pretty flowers behind my father's house and these next few shots are from there.

When I look at the picture below, I hear an air traffic controller in my head.  "Bee-9, this is traffic control, you are cleared for landing."









We had a great time.

Cupcakes!

Yesterday I wanted to play in the kitchen. So I made cupcakes.

And in honor of my little sister, who just became a Mom on Friday, I made cupcakes with baby blue icing. Bailey thinks the "B" cupcake above is for her, but it's really for baby boy. Shhh, don't tell her.

It's so hard to believe that my little sister is now a mother. I so wish I was there with her and the family to see my new little nephew. I hear he's adorable.

So, since I can't be there in person, I'm baking. Every happy occasion deserves baked goods.

Yeah, I know it doesn't make any sense, but oh well. That's how I roll.

I started with chocolate cupcakes.

And then I went a little crazy.

The sprinkles make the icing crunchy.

And then for the baby blue designs.

I had fun making the swirls.

You will notice that one cupcake is already missing. Bailey!

And a special note to my sister (who won't see this for a while because she just had a baby!) - I am so very happy for you and John. I can't wait to meet your son!

I love you!

Multigrain Bread

This recipe came to me from my sister Erin, and she got it from her mom Peggy (or bonus-mom to me), and she got it from Cook's Illustrated, April 2006. I was always quite afraid of making bread, but this is an easy recipe to follow.

I make this bread just about every weekend. I haven't bought a loaf of bread in a very long time. It freezes very well - just wrap up the loaf good and tight in plastic wrap when you freeze it, and then let it defrost on the counter when you are ready to eat it.

This recipe was meant to use a KitchenAid mixer and is one of the main reasons why I got a new one for my birthday this year.

So - are you ready to make bread? Then let's go. Oh - and this makes 2 loaves.

1 1/4 cups 7-grain hot cereal mix
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour (I actually use whole wheat flour)
4 Tbsp honey (to make it slightly sweeter for a good breakfast toast, double the honey. Duh - I'm gonna double the honey then.)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 Tbsp salt (I use Kosher)
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Here's the cereal I use. I have trouble finding the same brand each time. Both of these work well, and I've been known to mix brands also.


Put you cereal in the KitchenAid mixer and pour the boiling water over it. Stir it up and let it rest until the mixer cools to 100 degrees - or about 45 minutes to 1 hour later. The cereal should have soaked up most of the water - like this:



Stir in the honey, butter and yeast.

Oh, the yeast used to scare me too - so many kinds available. Here's what I use for this recipe: (UPDATED TO SAY: Peggy called me this morning to say that this is not the right kind of yeast to use - it should be instant yeast as indicated in the ingredients. However, this yeast has been working for me -I've used this for the last couple of times I baked the bread.)


Now, with your bread hook, add the flours (your supposed to whisk them together first, but I never do this). Knead until dough forms a ball, about 2 minutes. Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes (I just take the bread hook off and let it sit in the bowl with the dough and cover the entire bowl).



After the dough has rested for 20 minutes, add the salt and knead on medium until the dough clears the side of the bowl for about 3-4 minutes. You will most likely need to add flour at this stage. Just add it 1 tbsp at a time. I probably end up adding 4 tbsp or so. Continue to knead for 5 minutes.



Place dough in a greased container and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled, 45 minutes to an hour. My house is always so cold (on purpose) that I will often turn on my oven, and then turn it off after 1 minute and put the bread in there.

Here's the dough in my greased container before it has rested for 1 hour.


And here it is after 1 hour. My how it has grown!




Spray two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans with nonstick spray.


Place your old-fashioned rolled oats (Oatmeal) onto a plate. I just dump a bunch onto the plate - I don't measure this.


You are supposed to take your dough to a floured surface and flatten dough into a rectangle shape that's roughly 12 by 9. Divide dough in half, and then roll it into a log.


I, being the lazy person that I am, the one who doesn't want to have to clean a floured surface later on, have figured out a way to skip this step too. I divide the dough in half in the bowl you see above, then I take one half and work with it in the air - stretching it out - the way you would handle pizza dough. When I have a rectangle shape about the same size as my loaf pan, I roll it up tightly. I then take that dough and roll it around in the oats and then put this in the loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.


Here's my two loafs ready to do their second rise.


Cover both pans lightly with plastic wrap and allow them to rise another 45 minutes to 1 hour.


After the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 375 and bake for about 30-40 minutes. My oven takes about 32 minutes.


Remove the loaves from the pan and allow to cool.


Here's the finished loaves.


And here's a slice - YUM!!




I know it looks like a lot of steps for this - but it really is pretty easy. If I can do this - you can too! Enjoy!

UPDATE: If you like this, be sure to try the cinnamon swirl bread.

Erin

Ok - so I haven't been that good about writing in the blog for a while. What can I say - I've been lazy, er I mean busy.

Actually, ever since my sister wrote this, I've been writing something up in my head, something really good and poignant. Then I would see something shiny and I would get distracted and completely forget what I wrote and I'd have to start all over again. These thoughts have been bouncing around in my head long enough - I figured it was time for me to put this in writing.

When Erin was born, I was around 15 years old and was experiencing the whole teenage angst thing - wanting my independence, but not quite ready for it. Pushing my parents away, but not really wanting them to leave. When I first heard that my father and step mother were going to have another baby, I was excited about it. However, I assumed that they would hear my silent pleas and have another boy, and thus my reign as being Daddy's princess would never end. But alas, Erin turned out to be a girl. How dare she! I have to admit that I was not pleased at first to hear that I would have to share my princess tiara with this newcomer, but then, I met her and I quickly forgave her for being a girl.

Erin turned out to be a real cutie. Always happy, always smiling. She had those big chunky baby thighs that just call out to you to squeeze. (I can say that, because she doesn't have them now.) I could make her laugh, and from a very young age she could make pig noises on demand which required her to squish up her face into the cutest expression. It would always make me laugh. How could you not love that!

Because of our age difference and geographical separation, I only got to see her maybe once or twice a year. I got to know her really well when she came to live with me for a summer. Just to make sure that she knew her place though, I made her sleep under my daughter's bed. You're probably expecting me to say that I was just kidding - but nope - I'm not, she really did sleep under my daughter's bed for a summer. Calm down, it's not quite as bad as it sounds, the bed was about 4 feet off of the floor, so there was space underneath it, and we were in our old house and didn't have anywhere else to put her. She went there willingly - honest she did! I have fond memories of that time - napping in the afternoons, cleaning out the fish tank, and creating gourmet meals together. I'm thankful for that time with her, and I look at that time as the beginning of our transition into the friend/adult stage.

As I've watched her continue to grow she has gone off to college, gotten married to the most wonderful guy and she's actually working in her dream job. I'm always struck by how she's done everything so right. Don't tell her this, but I'm quite jealous of her. I'm so impressed with how strong she is and how far she has come - and at such a young age. She hasn't made any of the mistakes that I have made. I guess since I couldn't be the good example of how to do things right, the least I could do was to be the horrible warning. She is incredibly responsible with her money and hasn't ruined her credit at a young age, she also doesn't eat through her emotions and therefore has always had the body I'd kill for. I can only hope that my daughter Bailey follows in her footsteps. She is a shining example of how to do things right.

I may be the older sister, but I always have and will continue to look up to her (even if she did like Hansen as a kid).