My Arch Enemy

    I really should be folding clothes right now. LOL Oops. Oh well they are not going anywhere, and I need a break! So what is my arch enemy? I'll give you a hint. It is a micro-organism, you can kill it and as of the moment it is one of about 1,500 species. Give up? Or maybe you have guessed it.

     I am taking about Saccharomyces cerevisiae or in laymen terms yeast. The stuff that makes bread rise, and also is used to ferment alcohol.  There was a time when I was quite efficient at killing it. Just ask Tony because he has been the tester for many a loaf of bread that just....well lets just say was not good. I have always wanted to make bread, and who does not want a slice of warm fresh bread with real butter on it.

     So I got excited one day a few years ago, and decided without any knowledge of what I was getting myself into that I was going to make bread. I thought my ancestors did it! Why can't I? How hard can it be? I convinced myself that it would be a piece of cake.  For those of you that do make bread you more then likely know it is not always as easy as throwing everything into a bowl. My ADD brain though did not care and as usual got way ahead of myself. The first time I tried the water was not warm enough to activate the yeast. The second time I killed it by having to hot of water.

     I gave up after about the fifth try. Then after the boys were born and my mom was here I begged her to make bread. Pleaded is more like it. Instead of just making it she showed me how. I kind of was not paying attention at first because I had given up along time ago on making bread. Then she pulled out the meat thermometer. I was intrigued by this, and decided maybe I should pay attention. You see yeast only will thrive and grow at a certain temperature. Picky stuff!

     After she left I decided to try for myself. I did some research.  Pulled out my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and decided this time I had the upper hand. I started with white bread first. I could not believe it when I pulled it from the oven. It looked like bread, and it definitely smelled like bread. After it cooled down some I cut into it and realized that I had done it. It was not as hard as I had thought.

     I have moved on now to wheat bread, rolls, crescent rolls,  hamburger buns, hot dog buns, pizza dough and french bread. We don't buy bread anymore at the store. I now know exactly what is in our bread and can pronounce everything on the ingredient list. Mastering yeast has definitely been a great way to expand my baking skills. I am looking forward to making Cinnamon Rolls next time the kids come.

    So what are the benefits of making bread at home? I think at least for me it was knowing I did it. I created something and it gave me a sense of accomplishment. Of course there is the benefits of knowing the ingredients that go into it. I have also noticed that we don't eat as much bread now. I am wondering if that is because it is not processed, or because you know if you want more you have to make it.

     Here are some sites that can help you if you are interested in making your own bread.  Better go get the laundry folded now!



         - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/  (they also have a phone number you can call to get help)



        - http://www.baking911.com/pantry/leaveners_yeast.htm


        - http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/213/Bakers-Yeast (explains different yeasts with pictures)



Also in closing here is the recipe that I use the most from King Arthur's recipes:



      - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe


(I double everything in the recipe except for the yeast for two loafs. To make this wheat bread do 3 cups of All-purpose flour and 3 cups Whole Wheat,)

Turning the Cable Off

Yes you read that right, and the world did not end either. We turned our cable off over six months ago. I will never forget the day Tony told me we were going to turn it off either. We were driving home from a friends and Tony was just like you know I like the idea of no cable. Huh?? What? My husband a sports fanatic and wrestling follower just said he wanted to turn the cable off!

After breathing again and checking to make sure the man in the front seat was really my husband. I said I never am gonna have time to watch it anyways with the boys coming. So we thought about it, mulled it over, and looked at the options. First of all cable can be expensive esp., then there is the fact that I really personally don't have the time to watch 300 channels. I don't even think I knew every channel we had!

So the day came to turn it off you should have heard the cable company try to keep us as customers. Hehehe they offered us free months to! We were prepared though and Tony stuck to his guns about turning it off. Now if any of you know my wonderful husband you know how he has little patentice for things that don't work right for him.

We knew we need a antenna so we got that, and hooked it up. Of course that was fun. Can't just sit the antenna on top of the TV. Not on an Air Force Base at least. Planes mess up signals and I was slowly regreating agreeing to this crazy idea. I mean I can handle no cable but no tv! That I refused to let happen. This is when the man with the great I idea started to get mad. Mumbling....well we won't go there with what he exactly said as he stompped around the living room holding the antenna in his hands.

After about an hour we found a good spot that was ok as long as you moved it every time you changed the channel. This was fine with me as long as I had some TV I was ok, but this was unacceptable for the man of the house who continued this process 4 more times with diffrent antennas. I even got to laughing as he snaked the cord outside to find just the right spot. This by the way was better then watching TV as he was holding the thing and going around the yard saying "Can you see it now? How about now? Anything yet?" Until he got mad enough to make his own. Here is the link to a video on how to do it:

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-get-free-hdtv-with-a-coat-hanger-antenna-158597/

Finally we had an antenna that worked. It took awhile to get used to no Food Network, no WWE three times a week, and no DVR. I think that was the biggest adjustment I made at least. We get quite a few channels on it, which is funny cause we worked so hard on getting the antenna worked out and now I hardly ever watch TV. I leave it off all day, and we only watch it ever so often. Tony gets his Wrestling fix on Friday nights, a few games and Nascar on the weekends.

The best thing about not having cable or just turning the TV off is time. I always complained about no time. Now I have lots of time. I have time to make bread, we go for walks as a family, I sew, and we spend more quality time together. So all in all I think it has been not only money saving, great for our health, but has also given us a chance to spend time with each other. 

Starting Out

Here I am wondering how should start this blog out. Guess I should start out who I am, and why I am writing this blog. My name is Virginia I am 30yrs old this month, a  SAHM and who has three wonderful step-kids (one going to college next year, one who is in the Navy and one who is a Navy wife), two handsome 7 month old twin boys, and yes two grandkids. :)  Sound crazy enough yet? Oh I guess I should mention the most wonderful man in the world! The hubby. lol We have been married 7yrs. and he is in the Army. I love being an Army wife and Navy Mom.
Why this blog?  I have been recently cooking more from scratch, using cloth diapers, making my own wipes, and trying to go green. Oh guess you can add trying to be healthy to that. (When I have time) Am I old fashioned? I would like to think so and I wanted to share my thoughts, ideas and experiences of life. Plus I decided my crazy life might be just funny enough to share.