Surprises, Sourdough, and Sewing

   This week has been busy, fun and very full. The thought of quiet weekend at home—complete with sleeping in—sounds so appealing and lovely right now.
     Last Friday a  friend and I went to my parents to visit and pick mayhaws for jelly.
   On Saturday we helped move Jacob’s grandmother from our city to live with her daughter about an hour away. We were in the truck a lot and I was able to get a lot done on a doily I’m working on.
  Tuesday was my mother’s birthday and I managed to surprise her early that morning for her birthday. Since we had seen each other on Friday she did not expect to see me again so soon. She also knew that I’m covered up in sewing jobs right now. I headed out early when Jacob left for work.  About 10 minutes before I got to her house I called her to wish her happy birthday and we visited for a minute. Long story short, I was in her kitchen before she realized I was there. It was so much fun and we had a great day together.
Also this week I rediscovered my love of sourdough bread. On a whim last week I started some sourdough starter. The last time I tried that it was a disaster and I ended killing the starter. So I tried again. Monday was the first day I was able to make bread with the starter, and oh my goodness, I’m an addict now!

I made a loaf of bread and used the rest of the dough for pizza crusts. I don’t know if I can ever go back to anything but sourdough bread again. I’ll be sharing the recipe for the starter and my bread soon.
  And once again I am busy with a wedding. I believe this is my third wedding in six months. I have projects and commitments lined up until almost September.
I am also about to start on a dedication dress for this sweet angel Ellie:


I made this little dress for her and we were trying to get a picture of it for my business’ Facebook page, but  she didn’t feel like smiling and her hand tasted too good. Drop by her mommy’s (my good friend Kristin) blog to read the amazing story of how the Lord kept her and gave her to us. She is truly a miracle!

Bulldozers and cinnamon rolls

Our spring break is over and life has to get back to normal. Hopefully I can get on a more regular blogging schedule again! Here are a few pictures—I didn’t take my camera out the entire time :( but thanks to my pastor’s wife I have a few.

We had a wonderful time at the deerlease—we played the whole time. Jacob got to do quite a bit of bulldozer work in a few of the fields.

One evening Sis. Melody (my pastor’s wife) and I whipped up some cinnamon rolls. They turned out soooooo delicious. Last year I didn’t make any until the last evening and almost everyone had already gone home. This year they wanted me to make them the very first evening I was there—they didn’t want to miss out again.

Mmmm going back and looking at the photos again makes me want to make another batch!

But now life is back to normal and I have a mountain laundry to conquer. It will take quite a bit of doing to get things back to how like I them. My livingroom still has luggage everywhere. It was late when we got home Saturday night and almost the whole day Sunday is spent at church so today is catch-up day. And I’ve got a lot to catch up on.

On another note, I’ve added some new items to my Etsy shop. Stop by and check them out if you have a minute.

Til later,

Rebecca

Peach Cobbler--from scratch

Last summer before I married, my mom and I canned and put up lots of vegetables. Hers were done in quarts, and mine were done in cute little pints. :) I put up mostly squash and green beans, but I also canned 12 quarts of peaches for peach cobblers. This made Jacob very happy and I finally made a cobbler a couple of weeks ago.

11 quarts of peaches, plus a jar of red plum jelly and bread-and-butter pickles

 Having the peaches canned takes so much work out of making a cobbler. All you have to do is open a jar and pour the peaches--syrup and all--into a pie crust.
 Below is the recipe I used. It's easy and fast--especially if you make your pie crust in a mixer. I use my KitchenAid mixer for just about everything.

Pie Crust for (2) 8 or 9 inch crusts:

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 t. salt
1/2 c. shortening
2 T butter, cut into pieces
5-6 T cold water

Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles small peas.
Add water, a little at a time, until ingredients are moistened and dough begins to hold together.
Divide dough in half. Pat each half into a ball and flatten slightly.
 Roll one portion out to use as bottom crust. Place in pie pan, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Set aside. Roll out remaining portion and cut into strips (to be used for the lattice top) OR leave in one piece.

Pour 1 quart of canned peaches  (including all of the syrup) into crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Lay strips of crust across top of pie to form a lattice top, OR place second whole crust on top and cut a few slits in the top. Either way, crimp or flute pie crust edges to seal.
Bake at 425*F for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Overnight Whole Wheat Bread/Rolls

This is one of the easiest bread recipes I've ever made. It isn't fast, but you can start it and forget it. It has a very nice sourdough taste without the work of keeping a starter. It can be shaped into loaves or rolls. You mix it up the night before and finish it the next morning. I've even started it early in the morning and finished it that evening for supper.  Hope you enjoy!


For the overnight dough:

2 cups lukewarm water
1 T honey
2 T yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour (my favorite is Golden 86 or Prairie Gold, or just a hard white wheat)
1 1/2 T salt

Dissolve honey in warm water and stir in yeast.
Place flour and salt in a large bowl and stir well. Add the yeast liquid and stir until well combined. (Don't knead the dough at this point.)
Cover and let rise at room temperature overnight.

Morning mixture to add to the dough:

2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 T honey
2 T yeast
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup butter

Dissolve honey in water. Stir in yeast, let stand til frothy. While yeast proofs, melt the butter.
Add three cups of flour, melted butter and yeast mixture to the overnight dough. Stir to mix well.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead til soft and smooth. Use as much of the additional half cup of flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking.

For loaves: Divide dough into two portions. Shape and place in 2 greased loaf pans or on a greased cookie sheet for free form rolls.
For Rolls: Divide dough into 18 pieces and shape into rolls. Place on floured cookie sheets, two inches apart, and let rise til doubled, approx 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light brown and the loaves sound hollow. Note: when you remove the bread/rolls from the oven they may have a very strong yeasty aroma. This will fade when the bread cools.