Kringla for Santa

In our family, we leave kringla for Santa.  Kringla is a Scandinavian cookie thing that I just can't make myself like.  My husband makes it with white processed flour.  We tried the freshly milled flour and they tasted better but the consistency was strange so, for Christmas, he just went with the white flour.  The kids seem to love them.  For the calories, I would rather eat a homemade roll for both the taste and the nutrition.  That's my rule:  if I don't love to eat something and it has no nutritional value, I don't bother.  Since I can't give a positive review for kringla, my main reason for posting is to show you the funny shaped kringla the kids made for Santa.

That is 2 very odd shaped kringla that happened to make a mouth and pipe.

Here are the ones my husband made:

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a fantastic 2011!

Candied Pecans

 - 

Is there anything better than warm pecans coated with cinnamon and sugar?  I am munching on them right now.  This is the easiest Christmas treat ever.  They are rather addictive though so make sure you have plenty of help eating them.  Pecans are expensive at the grocery store so buy mine at Costco - they are about $8.99 a 2 lb. bag.  One bag makes a jelly roll pan filled to the brim.  Here is the recipe.

Mary Engelbreit's Sugar-coated Pecans

(adapted by Andrea Kester and Flour Girl) This is a great Christmas treat and works well to give as gifts.

2 egg whites
2 lbs. pecans
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar (original recipe was 2 cups and I just cut it down a bit)
2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 T. unsalted butter

1.  Preheat oven to 300.  Line a large jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.  In medium-sized bowl, combine egg whites with 2 tablespoons water and whisk until foamy.  Add pecans and stir until nuts are coated with egg white. Set aside.

2.  In another bowl, combine sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  Pour sugar mixture over moist nuts and stir to coat evenly.

3.  In preheated oven, melt butter in jelly roll pan.  Remove pan from oven and gently stir nuts into melted butter.  Spread nuts evenly and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Watch them so they don't burn.  Remove from oven and allow to cool directly in the pan.

4.  Gently pull the foil up and inward to loosen the pecans so you can scoop them up.  The foil can tear if you aren't gentle when removing them.  Store in the fridge.  Can be left out at room temp for serving or transporting.

I have neglected my blog with the holidays however my plan is to post something new every Wednesday morning so make sure you check back weekly.

Almond Cookie Recipe (gluten free)

This recipe for almond cookies is fabulous!  It comes from my friend, Angie.  You need a food processor to grind the almonds.  If you have a small food processor, use the recipe as is.  I take mine times 2.5 and it is just the right size for my 9 cup food processor.  I don't usually take the time to put the almond slices on and instead of drizzling chocolate, I put Nutella on mine just before eating but they are delicious plain also.  These cookies freeze well but they also seem to keep just fine on the counter.  I've added some of my own notes based on my experience.

2 1\4 C whole almonds

3/4 C sugar or sugar substitute

2 egg whites

1 t almond extract or vanilla

32 almond slices (2 T) - decorate top of cookies

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or coat with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.  I use a baking stone and don't spray it and they don't stick - I've never tried a metal pan.

In food processor, combine whole almonds and sugar: cover and process until finely ground.  Add egg whites and almond/vanilla extract.  Cover and process until well mixed.

Using a well-rounded measuring teaspoonful of the almond mixture for each cookie shape into a crescent shape or ball.  Place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.  Place an almond slice atop each cookie.

Bake for 10 minutes, take out of oven and squash with a glass.  Put back in the the oven for 2 minutes.  Squashing the cookie seems to help the cookie bake more evenly - otherwise, it just stays in a ball and the center is not done.  Leave on pan for 5 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks; let cool.  If desired, transfer the warm melted chocolate to a resealable plastic bag.  Seal bag; cut a small hole in one corner.  Drizzle tops of cookies with melted chocolate.  Makes 32 cookies (that is a high estimate in my opinion though).

Freshly Milled Flour - Frequently Asked Questions

This weekend I am selling my flour at Holy Trinity Church in Beaverdale.  If you bought a bag, thank you!  I know you will love it!  Below are some of the common questions people have.  You can find out more info by looking at my previous posts on flour milling and looking at my baking experiments.

If you still have questions, let me know by posting a comment below and I will respond as soon as possible.


Q:  Why is freshly milled flour better than whole wheat flour from the store?

A:  Taste and nutrition.  Everything you make will taste noticeably better.  It is more nutritious than traditional store bought whole wheat because the vitamins have not had time to oxidize out.

Q:  Is this whole wheat flour?

A:  Yes,  it is 100% whole wheat - nothing added, nothing taken out.

Q:  How do I store the flour?

A:  Put it in the freezer as soon as you get home.  This will keep it fresh until ready for use. Then measure out what you need and bring to room temperature.  The flour will not freeze like a brick so you will be able to scoop it out.  For best results, use within a few months.

Q:  What should I make with my flour?

A:  Homemade bread will allow you to really taste the difference however pancakes, waffles, pizza crust, heartier cookies and cakes are wonderful too.  If the recipe works for whole wheat flour, this flour will do very well.  Recipes requiring a smoother flour (like sugar cookies) are not recommended.  If you are used to baking with whole wheat flour, you will be very happy with the improved taste.

Q:  What adjustments do I need to make in my baking?

A:  You need to use more flour when measuring by the cup because the flour is fluffier and has not had time to settle as much.  To compensate for this, you can gently pack the flour in the measuring cup like you are measuring brown sugar.  If the recipe is specifically for freshly milled flour, measure as you normally would.

Q:  Can I use a bread machine?

A:  Yes,  just make sure you pack the flour when measuring since you don't have the ability to add flour as needed like you would if you were hand kneading.  I don't use a bread machine personally so I don't have a

Q:  What type of wheat do you use?

A:  I use Prairie Gold hard white wheat which is certified chemical free.  I purchase my wheat from Baker's Pantry in Dallas Center.

Q:  Is milling your own flour time-consuming?

A:  Not at all!  Most of my time is spent doing the actual mixing, kneading, baking and eating.  The fresh flour just makes it worth the effort because everything tastes so much better.

Q:  How many cups are in a pound of freshly milled flour?

A:  About 4 cups = 1 pound



 

I Love Trader Joe's

I went to our new Trader Joe's for the first time today and it was marvelous.  I had no idea what I was looking for and, like the other shoppers, just wandered around the store, looking for anything that I thought I couldn't live without.  The staff was very helpful in answering my questions and seemed to really know what they were talking about.

Things I bought that I love:

Sweet Potato Bisque - this so delicious that I must go back and buy more!
Vanilla Greek Style Yogurt - put a dollop of this on the bisque and it is wonderful
Corn Puffs (like Pirate's Booty)
Pepitas - these are shelled pumpkin seeds - I got them because they are high in magnesium - they are rather tasty

They also have ABC cinnamon  crackers that I thought would be perfect for the classroom school snack however they were manufactured in a facility that also manufactures peanuts so that wasn't an option plus they were sold out.  I have tried these crackers though and they are really good so we will eat them at home. 

Healthy classroom snacks are proving to be a challenge but I did get a few ideas today - the corn puffs would work and they also have just regular popcorn in a big bag. Both of these are peanut-free AND they are reasonably priced.

If you have been to Trader Joe's, please post what wonderful things you have found that I must try.

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe (with notes for freshly milled flour)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water (use less if using fresh milk)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup (I use honey)
3 ¾ cup freshly milled flour (I use hard white wheat)
1/4 cup nonfat dried milk OR use fresh milk and reduce water by ¼ cup
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Optional: 2 T ground flaxseed (add toward the end of the kneading process)

Directions:

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices.

Prep: Stir yeast into lukewarm water. Set aside. Mill flour or get flour out of freezer to bring to room temp. Spray bread pan with Pam (do this now – before your hands get messy!). Have ½ cup flour handy so you can add to your dough as needed when kneading.

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients including yeast and water and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Let it sit about 20-30 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.") Add flour if dough is too sticky. Dough will still be somewhat sticky when you are done (your hands will be a mess – that is normal). Transfer the dough to your greased pan and allow to rise until rounded in pan (about 1 inch above the top of the pan), about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. Be careful not to let the dough fall if you need to move it or when putting it in the oven. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 37 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

If you use 3 mini loaf pans instead of one standard loaf pan, baking time is 25 minutes.

Notes on using freshly milled flour:

The fresher the better – milled within 24 hours gives the freshest taste. If you aren't using the flour immediately, store in the freezer.

Fresh flour is not as settled as store bought flour so you need more if measuring by the cup – this recipe has been adjusted.

If you get a good rise with this recipe, it may be a little too much for a standard loaf pan. You can put a small amount in a mini loaf pan if you need to.

Recipe adapted by Leslie Beck from King Arthur Flour.

The Gift of Real Food

When I started milling and baking our bread, I was a little concerned that my husband and I would gain some weight. After all, the bread tastes so good that we eat half the loaf when it is still warm.  It has been two months and something strange has happened.  I have lost 4 pounds.  I wasn't trying to lose weight.  I was just trying to eat healthier as I've been replacing some processed food with more natural ones.  I'm not overweight - just at the high end of the healthy range.  My weight does not normally fluctuate.   I think the real food has been so satisfying that I just haven't wanted to eat junky food.  I do think that if I started getting into making a bunch of homemade cakes and cookies with my fresh flour, I would be in trouble.  The cookies I have made are dangerous.  They are so good that I can't stay away from them.  Even with the healthier flour, they still have the sugar.

I want to emphasize that I'm not saying you will lose weight if you use freshly milled flour and make your own baked goods.  My point is that if you are making healthy baked goods and eating them instead of less healthier options, you probably aren't going to gain weight and might even lose some weight.  If you use the flour to make a bunch of cookies, cakes and pies, you're on your own.  I think bread has gotten a bad rap because many breads are nutrient deficient and are considered empty calories.  If your bread is full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, you will feel more satisfied and not want to eat more to feel full.

I still haven't tackled the specifics of the nutritional value of using freshly milled flour - there is so much information on that one that it might take me a while to condense it down into one or two articles.

Homemade Graham Crackers

Today we made graham crackers. Laura, my 4 year-old, helped mix them up and then we rolled the dough into a jelly roll pan to bake.  I don't eat graham crackers but Laura really likes them so I thought this would be a better alternative.  Ironically, she didn't care for them.  She said she likes the ones from the factory better.  My son, Sam, really liked them and was very excited at the prospect of getting them in his lunch.  He said they were much better than the ones from the factory (his words, not mine).

The recipe I used was from the breadbeckers.com site.  I love this website.  They have a lot of great information about freshly milled flour.  I altered the recipe by using brown sugar instead of sucanat (since I did not have any) and I also just made a half the recipe since it was my first time making it and I wasn't sure what to expect.  I also used dry milk instead of evaporated milk since I did not have evaporated milk.

If you like graham crackers, this is a great recipe to try.  Eating a graham cracker fresh out the oven made it worth the effort.  I would like to find a recipe to make something similar to a whole grain or multigrain Wheat Thin or Wheatables cracker.

Comment Settings

I have changed my comment settings so anyone can leave comments - I would love to hear from you (unless you are a spammer - if so, please go away).

Do you mill?  Do you want to mill? Do have any questions? Please post them.  Then I won't think I am just talking to myself out here and will keep blogging.  Thanks!

Why do I mill my own flour?

There are several reasons people mill flour. The ones that come to mind are:

-Taste
-Nutrition
-Variety of grains available to mill is much greater than the variety flours available to most people
-Self-sufficiency in the event of a food shortage or hardship

The first two, taste and nutrition, are the main reasons that I mill.

Taste: We were using store-bought whole wheat flour previously and when we switched to freshly milled hard white wheat, the difference in taste was amazing. We were using the exact same recipes with the exception of the flour. Everything tastes better. Not just a little better - it is "party in your mouth" better. Why does it taste so much better? First, fresh always tastes better anyway. Store-bought flour has been sitting on a shelf for possibly months. If nothing has been removed, the germ and bran will start to go rancid. Rancid food doesn't taste good. If the germ and bran has been removed, you aren't really getting whole wheat flour anyway so you are losing some nutrition.

If taste was the only reason, I don't think that's enough of a reason to mill my own flour. If I want something that really tastes good, I can add enough really tasty ingredients or buy tasty bread from a local baker if I don't mind spending the money. However, if you put taste and nutrition together, then I'll pay attention. In my next blog post, I'll talk about the nutritional reasons I mill my own flour.

As a sidenote, people have asked if milling provides a cost savings. The answer is: it depends on what you compare it to. My flour is more expensive than white flour however it about the same price as a good store-bought whole wheat flour. However, if you compare buying a quality loaf of bread from a bakery to making your own bread from freshly milled flour, home-baked bread will be cheaper but my time is worth something too so it's not fair comparison. So, do I mill my own flour to save money?... absolutely not - it is a labor of love that I do purely because it tastes so good and I know it is healthier for my family.

Is Processed Food Really the Enemy?

The term "processed food" is interesting. We use it to label anything that is bad for you that is mass produced in a factory. The definition at Wikipedia.com doesn't match up with how we generally use the term:

"Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into something we can eat or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry. Food processing typically takes clean, harvested crops or butchered animal products and uses these to produce attractive, marketable and often long shelf-life food products. Similar processes are used to produce animal feed." (end of definition)

So, unless you are eating raw food as it naturally occurs, you are eating processed food. To narrow that definition, we could say that food is only considered processed if someone else processed it but does that necessarily make it bad? Or maybe just use the definition that if it has been processed in a factory, it is processed. So is my mom's homemade apricot jam is OK since she processed it at home and it wasn't made in a factory? I had considered trying to eat only unprocessed food even for a day (meaning eating no food processed in a factory) but then I decided that didn't really take into account that some food made in a factory might actually be a healthy option and I wasn't willing to give it up just to be able to tell myself I don't eat processed food. For example, I like my soy milk, cheese, mustard for my sandwich, almond butter to put on my bread, and even the syrup for my waffles. I know the syrup is bad for me but I'm not willing to give it up at this point. I'm also not willing to give up dark chocolate. The vast majority of what I eat is not processed in a factory and I keep replacing the things I can. If I really love a food that I can't make myself, I'll keep eating it even if it is considered processed.

Next up on my list to try: replacing store bought graham crackers with homemade ones. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Eating on the Go

One of my challenges as my kids are getting more involved in activities is that we are in the car more. The temptation is to stop somewhere to eat if we get hungry but being a frugal mom who is minimizing processed food, that makes no sense at all to me. So before we go anywhere, I always make sure we have water and some homemade bread and fruit and we are good to go. For a treat, I put Nutella on the bread - that tastes so much better than anything I could get in a drive-through. My goal is to always have enough food in the car so I won't ever feel like I need to stop and buy something that I don't really want to eat. I have always done this so my kids don't even know the drive-through is an option. If we will be gone during meal time, I pack the entire meal. For quick snacks, I used to do fruit snacks for the kids and granola bars for me but we've replaced that with real fruit and real bread. At some point, I will start making granola bars. No one seems to miss the junky food.

Suggestion Box

Please let me know if you have an idea or question for me. I'll try to cover it in an upcoming blog post. I have lots of topics I'd like to cover but if there is something you want to know about flour milling or avoiding overly processed foods, I'll do my best to answer you.

You can make general comments to this blog post or if it relates to a specific post I've already made, just comment there.

Why am I blogging?

I'm going to back up now and answer a question I've been pondering for a while now. Why am I blogging?

It started with the flour milling - I really love everything about it and would like to share information with others who might like to try it. I won't try to re-invent the wheel so if there is already good info online, I'll happily just link you to resources when I can. I started milling my own flour in August 2010 and in looking for information on milling I found that there are definitely home millers out there but very few people have even heard of this. My hope is that I can build a community so we can share and build our knowledge.

Now that I am milling and baking more I have been making a shift away from overly processed foods. Our family has always tried to stay away from unhealthy foods but I feel like I had done all I could until I really began to question everything we ate and if there was a better way if I made it myself. This idea will be a common theme in my posts.

I also hope to leave a legacy for my children so they will have a solid foundation as far as what real food really is and how to make good choices now and throughout their lives.

Peanut Butter Play Dough

This is a fun twist on play dough - you can eat it and it tastes great! I have been craving cookie dough lately but because of the egg scare recently, I have stopped eating it. The temptation to lick the beaters is unbelievable. This playdough is a great substitute. I store mine in the fridge and it really does taste better when you make it fresh but it is fine for a few weeks when stored in the fridge. I haven't tried to alter the recipe yet but wouldn't it be fun to add chocolate chips?

SMOOTH PEANUT BUTTER PLAY DOUGH

Ingredients:
2 cups smooth peanut butter
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups dried milk
2/3 cups honey

Directions: Mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Storage: When not using, MUST be stored in an airtight container.

Recipe from: http://www.squidoo.com/EdiblePlayDough#module12772397

Grated Cheese Revelation

I've started to grate my own cheese again. I don't remember when bags of pre-grated cheese became popular - the 90s? I remember thinking how cool it was that I no longer had to grate my own cheese - imagine the time I would save shredding and washing that grater! Then I got a cheese grater from IKEA this summer. I reasoned that, if the cheese could be grated into an enclosed container, maybe grating wouldn't be so bad. Seriously, I can't believe how lazy I am sometimes.

What I didn't realize was how much better the cheese tastes. What was I thinking all these years buying bags of grated cheese? Last night, I made some tortillas with pureed black beans, tomatoes, shredded mozzarella and some leftover steak and I could really tell the difference with the cheese. (thanks to my friend, Kari, for the tortilla and black beans idea - we eat it all the time). Oh, and in case you are wondering, I got some nice white flour tortillas at the store - I have not mastered making my own tortillas yet and I love the processed white tortillas from the store.

What does pre-grated cheese have in it that might affect the taste? Cellulose to prevent caking and natamycin, "a natural mold inhibitor." Or maybe the difference is that it wasn't grated a few minutes before eating.

How much time does it take to mill?

Milling is a very small part of the baking process - assuming you have an electric mill. My Nutrimill takes about 2 1/2 minutes per pound of flour. So I pour the wheat in the top of the mill, turn it on and while it is running, I get out my other ingredients for what I'm making. I never have to wait for the flour since it is ready before I have even gotten my other ingredients ready. I have a scale next to my mill so I can measure what I need if I am just milling for a specific recipe. One cup equals about 4 oz. or figure 4 cups per pound. If I have any extra flour at the end, I put it in a bag in the freezer to use later. For yeast bread I always use freshly milled. For things like pancakes, cookies, and banana bread, I tend to use the flour from the freezer since I haven't noticed a difference between freshly milled that day vs. freshly milled from the freezer.

Cleanup - my mill shoots the flour into a sealed bowl that is then covered in flour on the inside. Since I use my mill about every other day, I typically just brush the flour off with a pastry brush rather than washing with soap and water. There are several parts to the bowl and if you wash with water, make sure you get everything completely dry before using - flour and water make a pasty mess and you don't want wet flour. Also, the lid won't go back on the bowl unless you rub flour on the seal so it is easier if you just leave the flour on it and not wash it if you are using the mill all the time. I do wash it with water about every week or so. Other mills may not have the bowl to clean. The Fidibus 21 just has a little shoot that drops the flour into your own bowl. I'm guessing that since it is a stone mill, the flour comes out more gently whereas my steel impact mill requires a sealed bowl so my kitchen wouldn't be covered in flour.

Also considered in the time factor is where you get your wheat. Since you can't buy it at your local grocery store, you'll need to find a source for wheat. Fortunately for me, we have a wonderful store close to us that carries several varieties of wheat. Since I am all about efficiency and saving time, I bought 100 pounds of wheat last time so I wouldn't have to make an extra trip for grain for a few months. It is only 10 miles from us but not near my usual errands. The wheat comes in 50 pound bags and we transfer it to gallon ziploc bags so it is sealed and we can examine the wheat as we repackage it. I'll get more into storage of wheat later.

So in a nutshell, figure on the milling step taking you a total of 5 minutes per recipe including weighing, pouring, and cleanup. Compared to the amount of time it takes to actually measure, mix, knead, bake, etc., it is an insignificant amount of time for quality of flour you are getting.

How I got started milling flour

When I tell people I mill my own flour, I get a variety of reactions. Most people are just speechless and aren't sure what to say. Three months ago, I had never heard of anyone milling flour and thought the idea was ridiculous when I heard about it. When I met someone who milled, I thought "that's interesting.... why??" Then I started researching it. For an entire month, I read everything I could find on the topic. My favorite resource is the book Flour Power by Marleeta Basey. It goes into great detail about everything that never even occurred to me regarding flour. I found plenty of websites and discussion forums that didn't all agree on the details but overall it gave me a very clear message that I had to get a mill. I was able to find someone locally who mills her own flour and she graciously invited me over to let me taste truly fresh bread and see how easy it was to mill (thanks, Sommer!). I finally decided on which mill I wanted and ordered it. I chose the Nutrimill and have been very happy with it. I've been milling for about 6 weeks now. Tomorrow, I'll talk about how fast and easy it is to mill.

Homemade Caramel Corn

Our newest experiment is to make our own caramel corn. We always make our own popcorn on the stove but my husband took it a step further and tried making caramel corn. It was delicious when he made it - I am still trying to get this one right.

If you don't normally make your own popcorn, just try straight popcorn first. Then you can move on to caramel corn. Microwave popcorn doesn't count. I use a Whirley Pop on the stove. Making it yourself is so much cheaper and it has to be healthier when you control everything that goes into it. After I tasted popcorn made on the stove again (after several decades of eating microwave popcorn), I will never eat microwave popcorn again. I'm not really sure that my caramel corn recipe is the best and there are lots of other recipes on the internet so you can take your pick. Since we are trying to cut back on sugar, I think straight popcorn with a little salt is just fine for us but the caramel corn is a nice treat.

If you still want to stick to microwave popcorn, just google the words
"microwave popcorn" dangerous -- you might change your mind.

Egg McMuffins

Tonight we had the best egg sandwiches or Egg McMuffins as we call them. Egg McMuffin sounds so much better - good job marketing, McDonalds.

Why were the sandwiches so good? I used farm fresh eggs and homemade buns. It made all the difference. We've done them with English muffins and sandwiches rounds and they are good but the homemade buns put them over the top - the fresh flour really does make a difference. Havarti cheese and ham make it complete. My son normally will not eat eggs but he will eat egg sandwiches. Egg sandwiches might need to become a once a week meal here.

If you try this at home, just crack all your eggs into one bowl, add a little water and beat. Then pour the whole thing in a big skillet and cook like an omelet. Add cheese and ham at the end. When it's done, slide the whole giant egg onto a plate and cut into squares the size of your bread. This is much easier than trying to cook individual eggs unless you have a pan the right size. We used 8 eggs tonight - the eggs are great leftover too. If you aren't into the homemade buns yet, just use English muffins - it is too much bread for me so I usually make mine open-faced and just use half a muffin. I don't really know if the farm fresh eggs made them better. I mostly like the idea that I am eating eggs from a local farm. Please post if you try making egg sandwiches and how they turned out.

A note on the hamburger buns I tried a few days ago... they have taken on a life of their own. We now use them for any type of sandwiches instead of sliced bread. They just seem more appealing than the sliced bread. They are just a little more work but seem to worth the effort.

Farmer's Market Finds

For today we have Farmer's Market Stir Fry. Take whatever you got at the farmer's market and throw it in the pan. I used zucchini, eggplant, okra and tomatoes. Honestly, the eggplant wasn't worth the effort. I roasted the eggplant in the oven first. I think it would have been just fine without the eggplant but it's always good to try new things. When cooking, season however you want. Sprinkle the stir-fry with some parmigiano reggiano or just parmesan cheese at the table.

We also got farm fresh eggs at the farmer's market. My daughter never eats eggs but when she saw the brown farm eggs, she was intrigued so she was eager to try them. I made into an omelet with Harvarti cheese. She loved it! Hooray! One more healthy food she will eat! This is our first time buying farm fresh eggs. I think we'll need to keep buying them.

Next week we'll make caramel corn from scratch.

Our Intruder

We had an intruder tonight. I was carrying my Laura upstairs to bed and so couldn't really see in front of me but I know better than to ever walk anywhere in our house without making sure I don't step on a Lego or trip over a shoe. I saw something on the stairs that looked like I maybe shouldn't just kick it aside.

This was it...





I screamed because that's what I do - I scream over about anything. Lucky for me, my husband was home and was able to get it outside or we would not be able to go upstairs. Now I'm wondering how we managed to pick out carpet the same color as that frog. Yuck! I'll have to wait until tomorrow to talk about food again.

Gourmet Pigs in a Blanket

Today's experiment was to try to make pigs in a blanket using my own bread dough instead of Pillsbury crescent rolls. I figured that the homemade dough would make me feel better about giving them to my kids. Using the same dough I use for my bread, took half a loaf's worth and rolled it out like I was making sugar cookies. Then I covered with plastic wrap and let them sit in the sun on the table to rise. I then cut sections with a pizza cutter and rolled up cheese and a hotdog (Havarti cheese for me, American for the kids) - baked for 13 minutes. They were delicious and no guilt about eating the dough from a can. As I tell my husband, a few hours ago that flour wasn't even born yet. It was still just wheat in a bag. You can't get any fresher than that.

As for amounts... half a loaf of dough would make about 10 pigs in a blanket. I had way too much dough so I made the rest into crescent rolls in honor of Pillsbury. I've bought a lot of crescent rolls over the years but this might be the end of the line.

Check back tomorrow for my report on my Farmer's Market Stir-fry.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Presentation at Waukee Library

For those of you in the Des Moines area, the Waukee Public Library has a presentation this Saturday, Sept. 25th at 2pm...

Packing Up: Laura Ingalls Wilder's move to Missouri presented by Sarah Uthoff

Mudpies and Hamburger Buns

Today we had 2 new baked goods at our house... a mudpie and hamburger buns. My daughter was so excited to make the mudpie - it was her first. Here is our recipe:

Mud (it was raining so we didn't need to make our own)
Grass
Leaves
Rocks
Freshly Milled Flour (firmed up the pie nicely when it got too watery)

Bake at 300 degrees until firm. Sprinkle pretties on it and wait until Daddy comes home to try to trick him into thinking it is a chocolate pie.

Hamburger Buns: I decided to try making hamburger buns to go with our beef brisket from Costco. I just used my regular bread recipe using freshly milled flour and formed the dough into balls but then I thought maybe they would be too spherical so flattened them a little - balls probably would have been fine (everything is an experiment right now so you can learn from my mistakes). I baked them for 16 minutes and they turned out fantastic. I think I could do 10 buns to a batch of dough so they weren't so big. Everyone seemed to love them and I have now added another thing to my list of things I will now make myself and not buy at the store again. These will be great to put in my son's school lunch since they are easier to handle than the sliced bread.

I will backtrack at some point and talk about the basics of milling but if I try to post everything in a logical order, I'll never get anything posted so just think of this as one of those movies that has lots of flashbacks.

Who is Flour Girl? I am a Christian wife and mom who loves to make my house a home. I don't like housework and my home will never be "Oprah-ready" for that drop-in visit because I will always find something more interesting than cleaning - I do love organizing and even if my house is a mess, I can organize a drawer and all the other messes seem less important. Current passions are milling my own flour, anything Little House on the Prairie, and going to Living History Farms. I am very frugal and have refined garage saling to an art. I also love to find ways to replace overly processed food with more natural ones that are closer to the original packaging God created for us.

Does Flour Girl live on the Prairie? No, I don't but often feel like I do since it is very windy in Iowa and we live where there are very few trees. The prairie reference is for my love of Little House on the Prairie. Our lawn also looks like a prairie right now too.