Tuesday night it started snowing. A lot. So much so that it was still going strong early Wednesday morning. The text messages and phone calls started coming in around 8:00am. First it was the "it's looking nasty out there, I'll make the call by 10" text, then around 10:00 the decision was made to close the stores for the day. (Honestly, that was the smartest decision made in awhile. Would you rather pay 3-4 employees - along with utilities - to run the store and hope for one customer, or just stay closed and save a little dough? Yeah, not many people buy bicycles in blizzards.) Anyway, back to the story... This good news meant Ben and I got a snow day... A glorious, wonderful, snowy snow day!
I'll start off by saying that I spent the whole day in my sweat pants and no makeup, and it was wonderful! We sat around for awhile watching some bad daytime tv while I worked on my website for a little bit, then Ben suited up to go clear the driveway. (A big thank you goes out to my Uncle Steve for fixing up the snow blower a few years ago, and another big thanks goes out to the whole family for letting us keep the snow blower. It's been a lifesaver!)
Not long after Ben went out into the frozen tundra that was our driveway, I got the baking bug. My February/March issue of Tast of Home had just come in the mail and had a bunch a great looking bread recipes. Oh, ok, I won't lie... I was having a really bad craving for cupcakes. For those of you who know me, you know that I really can't resist cupcakes - especially ones with sprinkles. I LOVE sprinkles... they're like my kryptonite. And yes, I am being 100% serious here. So I knew we had a few boxes of cake mix and frosting in the basement and that a mix only required water, vegetable oil, and eggs, and we had those things too. We didn't, however, have any milk, so I knew making something from scratch wasn't happening, and I soon realized that we only had 2 eggs to use in a mix that required 3. Bummer. Fortunately Ben is really helpful with the math needs around the house. Although it was simple math, I trust his abilities over mine, and we cut the recipe down to 2/3 instead of the whole thing.
To reach the point of this little ditty, here's what happens when I get a snow day:
I spent the majority of my day in the kitchen and made almost a whole batch of cupcakes while I had 2 loaves of my "crazy hippy fruit & nut bread" in the oven. Both turned out quite tasty. (Not long after finishing the cupcakes, I started working on dinner and Ben stepped in and helped. Literally all day in the kitchen.) For anyone who is interested, here's the recipe for the bread:
CRAZY HIPPY FRUIT & NUT BREAD
1 packet dried yeast
1 1/2 c. tepid water
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. olive oil (or soft butter)
2 c. unbleached white bread flour (with more as needed to make a soft dough)
1 T. salt
2 1/2 c. whole wheat bread flour
Add-ins: (Your options are endless here, this is just my list of add-ins.)
chopped pecans, chopped almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, golden raisins, dried cherries, and dried pineapple (all chopped up to a nice small chunk)
1. Dissolve yeast in tepid water, and let stand 5 minutes.
2. Stir in honey, olive oil, and 2 cups white flour. Sprinkle on salt and whole wheat flour.
*Here's a little tip: add the olive oil first then the honey - you coat your 1/4 measure with oil and the honey slides right out.
3. Slowly pour in water with the dissolved yeast.
4. Stir in additional white flour to make a soft dough. Knead well for 10-12 minutes, until smooth and springy.
5. Let rise to double in bulk. Punch down, knead briefly, and pat into a flat rectangle. Sprinkle on nuts and dried fruit, folding the dough over and kneading gently to incorporate. Or if you're using a mixer, let the dough knead with the dough hook and add in the good stuff. Shape as desired. I made this in 2 loaf pans, but it makes a great flat bread or round loaf.
6. Let rise 30-40 minutes.
7. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes, then turn it down to 350F and bake for another 20-30 mins. until nice and golden brown. Let cool to warmish, then eat with butter and honey. Yum!
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So overall, I'd say I enjoyed my snow day quite a bit. I've not made bread since last winter sometime, and the cupcakes really hit the spot. And I got to do it all in my pink sweat pants and fuzzy slippers. Big plus!
On another note, I got 2 new gnomes in the past few months and I planted my seeds about a month ago now. I have great intentions to blog all about it, but with all of the resume writing, portfolio making, and web site creating lately, I've been a little occupied. (Yes, I am finally making the first steps to finding a new job.) Stay tuned -- I have all sorts of great things coming up!
amanda.
