of the amish, friendship and bread....

ahh..the amish, friendship and bread...
Put it together and what do you have? Amish Friendship Bread....a very interesting object.. Give it to a friend....they stir... feed....stir some more ....and finally it multiplies into more stuff....to give away....or bake.... So I had a batch of starter working it's merry self along on my kitchen counter. (This batch was originally frozen so that I could start it at my convenience.) You stir for several days...feed it once in the middle....stir several more days and then divide into four containers and bake the remaining bit into a loaf for yourself. After you have been through this process several times...well several things happen....one, you run out of friends to give it to....two, you bake it all....or three, you freeze several batches and bake what you will. In theory it should divide into five equal parts...but when I measured it into five containers...low and behold....the fifth container was a little short....but since I would normally be baking that amount I figured it would do the job....even if it was not the same amount as the others....so I put all the containers in the freezer...and when I so desire...I will make some chocolate bread or pistachio bread, or lemon bread....or coconut. You see....each recipe calls for pudding mix ....and that is where all the different flavors come into play...and you can experiment to your heart's content....yep...yep...yep.... My husband loves pistachio so I always keep that flavor of pudding on hand for that very reason... Me...I like chocolate with chocolate chips or nuts or both... It is fun to experiment. I turned it into zucchini bread on this last go round...and it was very tasty....so I have five containers of starter....and I'm ready to start another cycle....of kitchen counter fermentation.....

beginning and ending on a sweet note....
I ate a thin slice of zucchini bread on my way to work yesterday...have to eat with the pills I take.....and then found out we (my sis and I) were supposed to be in a meeting back where we started.....so we turned around....drove back ...and walked in late.....they had already eaten breakfast....and were just getting started on the other stuff...but we were still late.....So we sat and listened...and found some danish during the break.....and listened some more.....don't get me wrong....it was important stuff....just not the what I thought I was going to be doing all morning....so when everything was finished at 12 we headed to lunch....and then on to our regularly scheduled work day......to pack everything we needed to do into the remaining hours......amazing how much you can do in a condensed time period when you need to......and then home again..... I walked in the door....grabbed some refrigerated pizza dough ...some cheese and headed to my daughter's house to attend my first "Food Club". There were seven of us making little individual pizzas and freezing them for later consumption.....my refrigerated pizza dough did not work really well for that so I made pizza rolls....it did work for that! My daughter had made these little sweets to munch on....and they were really good....I had to remind myself that I had not eaten dinner...and these little guys were not my dinner....but they were really good. I called my husband on my way home (he was eating Mexican) to ask if he could bring something home for my dinner....but couldn't get ahold of him.....so I heated up some bread salad....it was good but not quite in the same category as chicken nachos.... So, my goal for myself today is to eat more veggies....and protein....and less sweets.....but it is potluck at church tonight....and there are always sweets...usually of the cake variety......maybe if I make a big salad as my contribution.....I can justify the cake....maybe.....

the weekend that was......

My husband took the grandkids camping....it was a grand adventure...the other grandfather went along for the ride....and a ride it was....rafting down the Hiwassee....getting stuck on a waterfall....men trying to maneuver the raft off the rocks....kids yelling for help....yep....all the ingredients for a grand adventure..... My adventure was a little milder.....dinner out.....major theological discussion....way too intense...but thought provoking never the less.... Shopping time with my daughter and littlest grandchild on Saturday.....eating sushi for lunch....watching him experiment with chopsticks....rice everywhere.....more shopping for school supplies.....half hour break at home before making another trip to the big city....and realizing that my phone had disappeared...turning around and going back....searching the house....only to find it in the car...where it had fallen out of my purse.....back on the road again.....and meeting up with friends for dinner.....then some shopping at one of my favorite stores......TJ Maxx...yes I love that store....especially the home good sections.....on to some coffee at Starbucks....sitting outside and chilling .....then home again...... Made some rice and miso for breakfast the next morning....still in Japanese food mode.....and chilling while I waited for hubby and the grandkids to return......they needed some pool time when they got home....to wash all the camping dirt away.....who needs a shower when you are camping.......and then mexican and music for dinner...... Church on Sunday as usual... lunch with the fam....afternoon naps....and cheese sticks and a cheesy movie for dinner.....the end of the great adventure.....it was a lovely adventure.....and the end of the weekend......