White Whole Wheat Autolyse Loaf and Buns

I think this is a new-old whole wheat recipe. I've been trying to find the one the yielded this whole wheat gluteny beauty:

Didn't take pics of the final, but I remember it being a pretty bouncy loaf.

 

Today, I tried this recipe and it definitely seems to be a contender. I used white wheat flour for this one. Not sure what the difference is right now.

 



2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup water

2 teaspoons instant yeast

____________

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups water

____________

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

3 teaspoons instant yeast

3 teaspoons kosher salt

Autolyse, mix, rise, deflate, rise, shape, rise, bake.

Added about 1 cup extra water and baked at 400ish.

 Here's what 5tsp of yeast gets you. These were dainty dinner rolls and a 1/2 full loaf pan before the final rise.



 

I think the yeast had already pushed this dough to the limit on the final rise. I figured I wouldn't get any oven spring, but I didn't feel like reshaping. Still got a great texture. Tastes kind of like a super crusty English Muffin. A French Muffin if you will. I've decided the rolls are actually burger buns. I'll them for my dad who is on a never ending search for a crusty bread for every occasion.

 

Did 1/4 cup of honey ever make anything taste bad? Bonus, Abdullah loves his new empty yeast jar manipulative. Alhamdulillah.

Next time, same recipe, 2tsp yeast (and maybe no steam).

Someone Wants Candy!

Someone who lives here eats a lot of candy. Hard to believe, but it's not me. In an effort to cut costs and to raise kids who know how to do stuff on their own, I try to make as many of the necessities as I can and for this particular resident, candy is a necessity.

I found these recipes online that claim they make "gumdrops" so I thought I'd give them a whirl. It's hard to actually fail at sweets making when you have kids short of my attempt at making fat free cream cheese icing with powdered Stevia. Even tasting like a spoon full of creamy, gritty bitterness, Abdullah still loved it.

I made three variations:
1) A basic Jell-o and Knox type.
2) The same recipe with extra Knox as suggested on that site.
3) This variation with fruit juice added. I subbed some cranberry juice and lime juice, which IMHO is a great flavor boost.

The juice one was pretty good. Actually kind of like jelly you could hold in your hand without making a mess. Abdullah liked them all. They're made out of sugar, so everyone in this house will enjoy eating them, inshaa Allah.

Pinterist worthy.

Next up, find a vegan candy corn recipe.

Purging: King Author Classic Sandwich Bread with Flax Seeds

I realized today why every mommy blog has a recipes/cooking section. It's not just to convince people that they haven't been following blog feeds all day. It's to fight mommy brain when you made the perfect dish and then forgot to write it down.

I've been searching for the perfect whole wheat sandwich bread recipe and have found a few contenders, but sadly have closed them all. Suggestions are more than welcome. One requirement: It can't have any ingredients like "milled buckwheat" or "orange juice" or other things that I wouldn't regularly keep on hand.

After finding out that a close relative of our age has less than perfect cholesterol levels, we've decided to try to phase out a lot of the meat (i.e. chicken breast) and dairy that we had been eating. The kids may or may not still eat meat and dairy. I can't confirm or deny their dietary habits in this particular forum.

To up the ante as it were, I've decided to shoot for a "plant based whole foods diet" emphasis on shoot for. I'm kind of a fan of fad diets (i.e. eating plans, not dieting strategies). They bring a new set of techniques and ingredients to the party and I don't really think I've ever seen one that was actually bad for you except maybe Atkins.

So, right now we're kind of in a purging phase. I used up the last of the coffee creamer just tonight so we're down to just having 2 bags of white flour and sugar left to eat before we can be processed free. We wont bother with the bags of left over almond bark or the 20 lbs of frozen chicken breast in the freezer right now. I'll have to find a way to feed those to the kids over the next year.

After realizing that I was out of whole wheat flour today, I decided to just take the leap and make a loaf of white bread using one of King Arthur's recipes. I used vegetable oil, added some flax seed and braided it to make it seem healthier.

Note to self, spraying loaf with cooking oil doesn't help flax seeds stick. Just use egg wash.

 

I'm glad I have kids to help me eat it. It tastes too good.

Cooper Kids Toy Guide

Even though our holidays for this year are long gone, Alhamdulillah, it's hard not to notice the onslaught of print advertizing for the winter season. It's hard not to see all the adds and think upon turning each page, Abdullah would love that! It's even harder for their grandparents who frequently update me on the toys they "almost bought."

I know many may wonder how the kiddos get in enough "play" without toys being sent in the mail on a steady stream. Many children, such as Abdullah and KC, have taken a liking to objects that may be often overlooked by the adult public, but whose value as a play thing should not be underestimated. In order to facilitate a better understanding of the many overlooked "toys" available for free or cheap, I've created the following list:

Top 10 Things Better Than Toys

10. Stick

Let's start with the obvious. Known to Abdullah as "sem" (I think, I can't really make out this word, but I know it means he's about to pick up yet another stick), the stick offers a creative child a host of options for imaginative play. Much to my mother's chagrin, in 2008, the National Toy Hall of Fame bypassed Furby 3.0 and the PS3 to instead recognize the humble stick's contribution to play history.

9. Box


This 2005 National Toy Hall of Fame inductee has been a parents' foil for ages. Even though kids obviousl prefer box play, parents still insist on over-riding their children's wishes by filling boxes with "toys." For Abdullah, boxes come in two types, "bop," or a regular, unimpressive box such as a box of toys which only serves as a holding container for something far more entertaining,  and "beee bop," or a big box, one which he plans to play with in and of itself, such as a box that he plans to put on his head, rip to shreds, or put on KC's head. KC is already learning the joys of box play, often bypassing the toys which Abdullah assigns her from the toy box and instead choosing to throw herself recklessly into the box. Apparently, she didn't get the memo.


Please see the National Toy Hall of Fame site via the links provided for more information on how to use the above toys in your child's play repertoire.

8. Containers

As you can see, a simple Chinese take out box is the perfect toy for any child. It teaches manners while encouraging children to have fun. Plastic containers with lids may also be used to allow children to practice stacking, opening, and closing. Paper containers however, offer the additional benefit of being ripable, a very desirable quality in children's toys.


7. Clothes

Learning to properly don a frock is an important right of passage for any human. Although I'm not completely clear on how clothes play works, I am sure that clothes must be a toy as both KC and Abdullah tend to burst out in fits or raucous laughter and flailing when I try to dress them.


6. Top and A Sock

This particular toy may not be available in all areas. You may need to substitute other household items, but the uses are endless. In the picture above, Abdullah had just finished practicing his sock saute flipping and decided that my socks needed a good scrubbing.

5.Dishes

Carrying objects on a dish, emptying the dishwasher, putting dishes in the sink, what a great many skills can be practices with these often misunderstood toys. Thanks to a very thoughtful former student, may Allah reward her, we have a nearly indestructible set of dishes that has survived Abdullah's handling very well over the past year.

4. Laundry

I challenge Fischer Price to even attempt to make a toy which promotes even half of the milestones that can be practiced through doing laundry. You see a pile of dirty clothes and a long day of labor, Abdullah sees a day of action packed play. Color sorting, dryer sheet counting, clothes throwing, button pushing, coin in hole maneuvering, hallway running, and a host of other activities beckon on laundry day. The happiest day of the week.

3. Mail

What is this a picture of? Junk mail you say? No no my friend, far from it! What you actually see is a visual and tactile wonderland. While other kids are looking through the mail to figure out which toy they are going to pester their parents to buy, Abdullah has been enjoying the recent increase in toy filled books which kind strangers have been sending him over the past few weeks. About 6 months ago, Abdullah got his hands on a Rainbow play yard catalogue. The next week was spent flipping through it with wide eyes gesturing and mumbling to me. Perhaps next blog, I'll post a Top 10 Best Reads for Toddlers. Rainbow Play Yards October Specials is definitely on the list. KC also enjoys a good bit of crinkly paper although her hand in mouth instinct has led me to limit the types of mail she's allowed to play with.

2. Self

To some, mostly grandparents, the thought of a child sitting alone is heart wrenching. When Abdullah's play is threatened by lack of toys or naptime, he has learned to keep the party going, as it were, through toe tapping, finger wiggling, bubble blowing, and, as of late, head standing.

1. Sibling

Some kids play with baby dolls. We just cut to the chase and gave Abdullah a baby to play with. KC in turn also seems to have quickly learned that Abdullah is here merely for her amusement and as a means to practice her wrestling moves.

 

So, now comes the tough question. You see that your house full of toys is useless and there are much more stimulating items for your child to play with. What can you do with the toys? Abdullah enjoys using them for decorations. I call this creation of his "Leopard Plays With a Ball."

 

November Milestones Update

I just realized that perhaps splitting up posts will be better for facilitating ease of milestone tracking.

We'll begin with KC, who is now surpassing Abdullah on the Public Attention Seeking Scale. In order to improve her PASS score, she's stopped spitting up on herself profusely. She's started responding to the comments and coos of strangers much to the delight of all, especially those particularly creepy strangers who feel the need to inform me that they "always wanted a girl..." with a distant look in their eyes.

KC continues to struggle with coordinating her primitive cruise, but has now finally gotten the steps down for crawling. Move one leg and one arm, THEN, move the other, not throw yourself repeatedly forward until you reach your goal. This skill seems to fade in the evenings when often after baths she is unable to muster more than an odd bobbly seated spin.

Abdullah continues to enjoy "being KC" by intermittently pretending he can't hear, walk, or stop flailing his arms. He doesn't seem to realize that KC can't talk as he never seems to be short of "words" unless we are Skyping or someone wants to talk to him on the phone. This week, he spent 2 days on and off walking around with a twist tie in his ear having extended conversations with "gan-mom." Perhaps he's preparing his speech for when he finally reveals everything he's been meaning to say.

Did I mention Abdullah can stand on his head? He can and as with most milestones, he enjoys practicing this in the wee hours of the night. Our neighbors below us have not begun banging on the ceiling in anger, so the sound of his body thudding in the crib must not be too bothersome.

Winter

It's cold. Autumn has gone and the hawk has arrived. Maashaa Allah.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a long walk to the park with no coats and bright sunshine. This morning, the same sun rose, cleverly warmly beckoning us to a sharp, frigid slap in the face. Actually, it wasn't all that bad, but after living through temps as high as 70 in November, you start to get used to perpetual summer.

Alhamdulillah, Iowans have lived through numerous winters and have devised a number of strategies for making sure that they continue to live up to their family friendly image all year round. As there seem to be a number of days coming that may put temperatures below my personal park-walk-threshold of 45 degrees, I've been developing a running tally of indoor fun activities for the kids and it seems that some introduces me to a new one on a weekly basis.

After the malls, which boast free spacious play areas and the community centers, which boast $2 play in gyms filled with random toys, our favorite cold weather option are the indoor playground equipment showrooms. These showrooms are an ingenious marketing tactic because you are bound to take a look at the pricing and descriptions while watching your child run wild and free. I'm sure somewhere in my subconsciousness, there's already been a link made between joyous play and $2000 home playground systems.