Whole Wheat Please !

I only had to leave the house once today, and that was to go to the store to pickup some carrots for the  Beef Dinner I was doing in the Slow Cooker.

"I can  never mange to come out of that store with just what I went in for.  But how could I not when I came away with all these savings.  Total Bill $31.72 for all of this, plus a 10kg Bag of Flour which alone cost $11.99."

"From bottom up, a layer of carrots, Center Shank, Eye of Round & Sirloin Tip Steak sprinkled with Montreal Steak Spice, covered with a layer of thick onion rings, topped with New Potatoes then laced with Worcestershire and Soy Sauces.  The Crock Pot is my very Best Friend in the Kitchen, especially when there is a full day of other household duties and chores ahead of me."

Bed stripped, three loads of laundry washed and hung out on the line first before I got to something I have been balking at doing  for years, years and years.  Actually since I had been in my mid-twenties when I went to all the work of making bread, kneading it, leaving it to rise to find out that didn't happen as I had never checked the expiry date on the Yeast (Duh).  There had been one very tearful phone call made to my Sister, Donna, that day I well remember. That very first experience of making Homemade Bread from Scratch turned me off from ever trying to make it again until this morning ....

Quite a few months ago I had left a comment on my very most favourite Food Blog, One Perfect Bite.  Mary, in turn, left me a comment here on my own blog encouraging me not to loose faith, giving me the link to her Beginner's Whole Wheat Batter Bread.  It had been on my mind all these months to give it a "try" ....

".... so began my Bread Adventure this morning.  Yeast meets warm water, with Honey following.  Bread, salt mixed alternately.   Covered with Plastic wrap for 1 hour,  punched down, divided, covered with floured tea towel.  Risen product into 400*F Oven for 30 minutes."

"The aroma filled the house with two loaves later, brushed tops with butter, left sit to cool."

"Someone in the shadows of the hallway laughing as they "catch" me sampling a really thick warm piece of bread I had just slathered with butter (once again my own camera being used against me... ha!)."

Note:  I doubled the recipe to yield two 9x5 loaf pans of bread.

Whole Wheat Please?  PRINTABLE RECIPE *CLICK*  HERE.  

Special Thanks to Mary of One Perfect Bite for her kind words, encouragement and her wonderful recipe.  I will be continuing to make "bread from scratch" from here on in ... it is sooooo good.

I had mentioned I had wanted to try out making some Homemade Bath Salts.  The very next thing I started out to do ....

"This is all the ingredients and tools you need to make Homemade Bath Salts, along with a glass jar(s) to store in."

"Epsom and Sea Salts mixed, with Food Colouring added.  Dehydrated milk and Essential oil is then added into the mix.  I used Tea Tree Essential Oil as this is what I had on hand."

"All gussied up to make someone a nice little gift maybe?"

Recipe please?  PRINTABLE RECIPE *CLICK* HERE.

"Lots of ideas to make a couple of matching gifts maybe?  Gift Giving made Easy Peasy as 1-2-3."

Did I stop here?  Heck no there was still hours ahead of me to fill ....

"I spent some time enjoying myself while I put the finishing touches into my Secret Sister's gift box.  Yet needing to be wrapped, an address affixed, then into the Post it goes tomorrow.  I am so EXCITED !!!   I also signed up for two more Post Crossing addresses, so two more Post Cards were wrote out and addressed to also be put into the Post ."

"I found the time to make a trip out to our Garden to take out the last of the Leeks.  I see some Homemade Potato Leek Soup in our Future .... "

The remainder of my day was spent making up our bed fresh, along with folding the other laundered items.  All this done in one day, not without mention the sink full of dishes being done up how many times, and I still don't have one whole room clean !!!  Where in the heck does the day go ... mine all seem to fly by so fast ?

Dinner was oh so tender and favorable.  Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE my Slow Cooker?  Ha ...many many times before, and this not being the last time.

"Leftover Beef drippings.  What do you do with yours?  I freeze mine to be used up another time in a Beef Vegetable Soup or Stew.  What a waste if all this flavor and goodness when down the drain."

The other day I also went on board with Carla's *Reverse* 100 Things Challenge ....

"The object of the game is to simply get rid of 100 things before December 15th.  I have already gathered a bag of clothing to give away, thinking I am off to a great start.  Now to remember 1)   I am doing this challenge; 2)  Record the items I rid our home of up to and hopefully exceeding 100.  I think those 2 points will be MY biggest challenge of all."

Tomorrow brings another busy day with high hopes I get at least 2 rooms cleaned and done.  What a vicious circle this cleaning business is with it cutting into much of a person's "enjoyable" living time !  Oh man, I need me one of those "House Cleaning Fairies" along with a "Money Fairy", a "Good Charm Fairy" .... get the picture?  not really my reality in this lifetime I am afraid, as the only Fairy I will ever see around here is the one that looks back at me every day in the mirror ... *sigh*.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it is off to more Housework I go tomorrow, "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".