Sunday, January 31, 2016

Snow Trip

What I love about California is that you can bask under palm trees one day 
and romp in snow the next. 

~ Overlooking Blue Canyon near Emigrant Gap ~

This weekend we took a little jaunt up to play in the snow.
You can see the pictures of our snow trip here .

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

God Keeps Giving Me Little Surprises

http://www.queenmary.com/stay-aboard/stay-aboard/
  ~ A night on the Queen Mary ~
I am off for a little excursion.
 
I always wanted to stay on the Queen Mary.
 
God is really good to let me have this. It is one of those things I hoped for, 
but never put much thought into it actually happening.
Joy, Joy, Joy, in my heart is ringing; 
Joy, Joy, Joy, Jesus set me singing; 
Telling of how He died for me, 
Telling of how He set me free, 
Filling my life with victory, 
Joy, Joy, Joy. 
 

Monday, January 18, 2016

Bagels for Breakfast

 So, I made bagels again last night. 
They turned out slightly better that Saturday's bagels.

Though they are not they prettiest bagels,
they are quite tasty.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Learning from a Baker

Homemade Bagels Are a Breeze!
Or so I am told.
I made bagels twice this week (two different recipes),
and I have not found them yet easy to make.

Mine are shriveled and not so full and puffy as they should be.

I like this recipe: Bruce Ezzell’s Bagels
 Bruce Ezzell has a bakery; I think that he know his stuff.
And I trust that if I keep at it, I will learn to make lovely bagels, too.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

You Just Cannot Have Too Many Babies in the House

~ Psalm 113:9 ~
 {Source Unknown}

A little about me…
I love, love, love, babies!
{Life Archives}

 I always prayed for twins - never got them. 
~ Drawn when I was newly married and dreaming of having a family ~

Yes, I would have loved to have twins, triplets, quadruplets, and even quintuplets. Nope, I don’t feel sorry for anyone who has quintuplets. I just think that you cannot have too many babies in the house.

 ~ My first child ~

I always wanted a large family, but I only have five children. 
  I think that is a small family. 

 ~ around 1968 ~

~ 1971 ~
 ~ 1974 ~

I am the tenth in a family of 15 children – eleven sisters, and none of them has fewer than five children. Six of them have ten or more children, and one of those has 15. She is my champion!  (That sister, below, on the far left)
 ~ 1979 ~
 ~ Me with some of my siblings in our schoolroom ~

~ My daughter's drawing of herself with her siblings ~

And that is just a little about me.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Cinnamon Rolls

  The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls
 Her recipe makes 9-8 pans of cinnamon rolls.
I cut it in half and made three pans of 8 rolls each.
Total of 24 rolls


Trust me, 
These are not only GOOD, 
They are also NOW my new 
BEST, 
EASIEST, and 
FAVORITE 
go to cinnamon rolls. 

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 cups Whole Milk 
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil (I used butter)
  • 1/2 cup Sugar 
  • 1 package Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets (I used a tablespoon)
  • 4 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Reserved) All-purpose Flour 
  • 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder 
  • 1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda 
  • 1/2 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt 
  • Plenty Of Melted Butter 
  • 1 cups Sugar 
  • Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

MAPLE FROSTING:
  • 1/2 bag Powdered Sugar 
  • 1/2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring 
  • 1/4 cup Milk 
  • 1/8 cup Melted Butter 
  • 1/8 cup Brewed Coffee (It's the coffee that makes this so good!)
  • Sprinkle of Salt 

For the dough, scald the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat (to just below a boil). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot (110-115 degrees F), sprinkle in the yeast on top (stir it in if you like) and let it sit on the milk for a few minutes. Add 4 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour.


After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1/2 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine.



Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (Note: dough is easier to work with if it’s been chilled for at least an hour or so beforehand.)

~ Dough after chilling for 1 hour ~

Preheat the oven to 375°F. To assemble the rolls, remove the dough from the pan/bowl. Sprinkle surface generously with flour (the dough is sticky if not chilled first). Roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin.


To make the filling, 1/2 - 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Spread the butter evenly.  Sprinkle 1 cup (or more if you like) of the sugar over the butter. Generously sprinkle with ground cinnamon.


Beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you’re finished, you’ll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log. Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices.

Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the counter top for at least 20 minutes before baking.

Remove the towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Don’t allow the rolls to become overly brown.

While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.

Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing’s moisture and flavor. They only get better with time.


~~~♥~~~
Linking-Up today with: 
The Enchanting Rose

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

A Link to the Best Cinnamon Roll Recipe

This is just an experiment, folks. 
I am trying to figure out Bloglovin. 
~~~♥~~~

This weekend, I made
I don't have a photo of my delicious accomplishment because a photo was taken on my son's phone, and I did not think to take one of my own.

Trust me,
They were not only GOOD,
they are NOW my new  
BEST, 
EASIEST,
 and 
FAVORITE 
go to cinnamon rolls.

Her recipe makes way more than I needed, 
so I cut the recipe in half.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

My Christmas Brooch

I wore this lovely brooch on Christmas day, along with the earrings, below.

In my last post, I wanted to feature my brooch, 
but I was not able to capture it in my self-photos.
It deserves a post of its own.

I bought this gorgeous brooch from Jessica's Etsy shop, ChronicallyVintage
 
When my beautifully wrapped package arrived, I had an extra special surprise.
That darling Jessica, gave me a special gift of matching earrings!

I was way beyond touched by this generous gift
which I shall cherish for years to come.
I really love this brooch and matching earrings!
http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/