Top Ten

Ten Reasons why Monday was a wonderful day.

I received a book in the mail that I am SO eager to read... Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I provided several photos to be shown in a university class presentation, (but I can't tell you what topic, that would be too embarassing.)

I made another batch of really awesome whole wheat rolls, to go with equally good turkey soup for dinner.

I successfully repaired Dani's jeans zipper so that it is BETTER than new.

I finally started cleaning the garage doors, in prep for painting on Tuesday.

I made reservations for an upcoming trip.

I made a long-needed doctor appointment, which I've been putting off for WAY too long. (I really hate making appointments, especially when it will be for something as thrilling as this Dave Barry's funny Colonoscopy )

I begged our good friend Nichole to trim Danielle's hair, which she was more than happy to do.

Girls' night out at the movies - Dani, Chelsea and I saw Tower Heist, which was pretty funny.

And the top ten reason Monday turned out to be a awesome day...

I FOUND our MISSING PHONE!!! Yay me... yes, I literally shouted when I found it.

A Jumping Good Time

Thanksgiving was fun this year - it had all the right elements: yummy foods, several pies, and the best part.... all four daughters home. And my number one son, too. They played a new game called Ticket to Ride while the 5 oldest kiddos and I started making up their sleepover bed in the bonus room. Then in the morning after breakfast of scrambled eggs and pie (the feasting can't be contained to just the one day!) I took the grandkids to the park.

But first thing this morning, even before breakfast, they were busy with their new game.

Just so we're clear, I'm usually not so very cavalier about my grandkids' safety - I don't let them romp unsupervised around the pool, they can't run with knives nor play with matches. Basically I let them have fun doing anything that won't produce severed limbs. (altho we did raise our voices last night when this huge yoga exercise ball came bouncing down the stairs straight into the kitchen and knocked several things off of the countertops.)

So when they invented this game, I didn't go intervene, even tho it entailed some slightly dangerous elements.

Here is how it it went. The five of them lined up on the stairs and took a turn jumping off a step onto the little trampoline, which was sitting in the entry way. The TILED entry way. This morning when I discovered what they were doing, I took a little pause at this for that reason, but we dragged over the big rug so there would at least be a semblance of safety.

Then I did what any concerned Nana would do in this situation.... I lay down on the living room floor and started taking photos!!

These kids got some serious air, it was so fun to watch! This is Courtney as she flew toward me. And Jonah

And lastly, little Whitney, who apparently turns into a vampire as she flies through the air!

Bread, Glorious Bread!

I adore bread! I love making it, different types of loaves, and all the different incarnations one can make with the dough. Mmmm.

Anyone who has baked bread has at one time or another had an epic fail. (see photo at left.) We usually refer to the end product as a BRICK. Many bricks have occurred in the Reeder kitchen over the years as I've tried to make 100% whole wheat loaves. More than once that has happened because the baker simply forgot some key ingredient, like the yeast. Or, like the other day, I added too much liquid and the dough rose WAY too much and overflowed and made for a yeasty industrial spill that took over an hour to clean up properly.

But I've persevered. Obviously professional bakers can make a really decent product, we've all had great whole wheat bread, it's doable.
I have a bread machine to make the experimenting much easier. I LOVE this machine. You put in your ingredients late at night, punch a few buttons and set the timer for when you want it ready in the morning, and VOILA'! You can wake to the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread wafting up from the kitchen. Or your dough is ready to roll out for some hot cinnamon rolls. (There is nothing magical about how it does this, it simply saves you kneading time, it does it for you.)
So I have been trying for quite some time to make wheat bread or rolls that were light and tasty, not dense and leaden. (We've had great success with half ww flour and half white flour, but thus far the true whole wheat products have produced only so-so results.)

Well, on Wednesday, Nov 16, 2011, I DID IT! I found a combination that created rolls SO GOOD, I literally drove around the neighborhood, sharing with friends. The world needed to know this could be accomplished! Well, my fellow bread lovers, anyway. They tolerated my exuberance with kindly pats on the shoulder, "That's nice, Robin."

So here's my recipe.

1.5 cups each white wheat and red whole wheat flours (I grind these myself)
1 heaping Tab gluten and 1 tsp or so of Dough enhancer
(these two are critical to this accomplishment, I believe)
about 1 tsp salt, 2 Tab butter (oil if you want)
1 egg; about 1.5 Tab honey (could be more if you want)

1/2 cup each milk and water. I put a little honey in the cup, added the liquid and warmed in the micro. Then I put in 1 Tab of yeast and stirred. This awakens the yeast and jumpstarts the process.
I also added a tiny more yeast to the machine. Then I added another ounce of water, too.

I let the yeast warm in the milk a few minutes, then poured it over the flour in the machine.

I put the machine on Whole Wheat (a setting that is an hour longer - I think it kneads it longer and also lets it rest more.) About 3 hours later the dough had risen to a perfect mounded loaf. I punched it down and made rolls out of it and let them rise in a warm oven for an hour or so.

I baked them at 350 for 17 minutes (the bagettes were done) turned off the oven and left the other rolls a few minutes more. Then when I pulled them out, I put a little butter over their tops and covered with a towel.

They were tender, light, tasty... I was in heaven, I tell ya! I made a big pot of Minestrone for dinner to go along with them.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think white bread it the ultimate treat. And we will still have the half and half kind, not everyone wants a whole wheat bread. But it's good to know it CAN be done.
Cross that one off my bucket list.