Multigrain Pumpkin Seed Bread

 

Homemade Bread with fresh produce is great remedy after a long travel.  

As I frequently say, use your bread machine—especially with travel lag.

The nutty flavor of the pumpkin seeds, combined with multi-grain says "Welcome home-so glad you are back for real food".

 

Makes 1 ½ pound loaf

• 1 ¼ cups water
• 2 Tablespoons butter-softened
• 1 1/3 cups white bread flour
• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flower
• 1 cup multi-grain cereal (uncooked) I use Trader Joes brand
• 3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 3 teaspoons regular active dry yeast.
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds (we use sprouted)

Place ingredients in order except for pumpkin seeds in bread maker bread pan.

Process in bread machine according to machine’s  directions.

You can bake completely in your machine---but I always have the machine mix and raise the dough, before baking I take out the dough divide it in two and place in standard size bread pans. 

Let it rise until doubled, bake a 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Option: brush dough with egg wash and sprinkle with pumpkin seed before baking.

Mother Judith

July Gift Guide

How is it possible that July is tomorrow? Where did the days of June run off to?

We like to provide you a monthly gift guide from not only our shop, but also from local artist that create jaw dropping gifts. All are fantastic for birthdays, bridal showers, or baby showers!

Leopard Print Apron

 

 

Rawr! The apron is fierce! Your feisty friend or relative will look marvelous in this one of a kind figure flattering gift. Perfect for when guest come over and you want to look all super fancy schmancy.

Made by Becki from JMG Fabrics.

Mini Heart Baking Pan

 

A great gift companion with the leopard print apron. Cute, sweet, but strong. A Nordic Ware product from their Platinum Collection.

Available at our EBay account.

 

Appalachian Mountains

 

 

"Original painting on canvas by Kelly Renee. Art is sealed with a glossy varnish. Sides are painted. Canvas does not require a wire to hang." Isn't is gorgeous?

You can find it here at Kelly's Etsy shop.

 

Burlap Tote Bag

 

 

Stylish, hardy, adorable. Great for that on-the-go lady in your life, or a cute book bag for the scholarly one.

Handmade by Becki Becker.

 

Mini Scone Pan

 

 

Made by Nordic Ware. Any baker would enjoy finding thing strong pan in their gift bag!

Available on EBay.

 

 

We hope you find this handy!

The Grays 

100% Easy 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

You cannot go wrong with this healthy pizza. A favorite of white bread eaters and whole wheat eaters alike.

The pizza dough flavor enhancer really aids to the taste, but is optional.

What you need:

•  Bread machine
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons King Arthur pizza dough flavor (optional)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey

Place all ingredients in bread machine. Let mix for 45 minutes. Place in bowl and let rise for at least one hour. I tend to let it set for around 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 450°F (Optional, place pizza stone in oven while preheating, if you don't have one you should seriously consider it). Roll out dough on parchment paper and add toppings. Place pizza in oven, bake for 15-20 minutes.

When time is up, let cool a bit then enjoy!

Nancy Jane

To Pick a Zucchini

As any zucchini grower knows the plant is sneaky. You harvest the squash everyday with care and dedication. However, there is always one that gets away! It'll grow as thick as a man's arm with the potential of being bitter and dry.

A sinful vice in a Christian's heart can share the same experience as a zucchini. An iniquity can enter our heart unbeknownst to us. Eventually it'll grow out of control, ruining a perfectly good heart.

A simple case of disliking a person can grow to bitterness and hatefulness.

It is so easy to not notice a sin entering our lives and taking over. Pick the zucchini as soon as you can!

Nancy Jane

Tomato Thoughts

Every time I pick tomatoes there is always one out of reach! All my efforts are put towards this tomato. When the long sought after fruit is finally plucked, I look up to find that there were just as many beautiful tomatoes all around me. Alas, my thoughts were only honed in toward that particular item.

How often do we do this in our daily lives? Our focus is toward a singular emotion or entity, never noticing what is around us. It could be distress causing one to only look at the miserable part of life. It could be a job we are after, forgetting all the family we love. Or, it could be someone thinking about what they are missing out on in life rather than seeing what they already have.

As human beings we are quick to forget what we are blessed with. We have this magical capability to only zone in on the bad aspects of life. We put all our focus on what God hasn't given us, while in reality we are given far more than what we deserve.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count Your Blessings, Johnson Oatman, Jr.    

So what is the tomato in your life? How can you look past it?

A way to start is to always remember the Lord is faithful and consistently good to us.

Nancy Jane

Lime-tastic Fajitas!

 

 

Fajitas. How can you go wrong with fajitas? Healthy, quick, and tasty. The dish is one I always order at Mexican restaurants, and it never fails to please my taste buds.

Here is a personal favorite recipe of mine. It is incredibly effortless, you cannot go wrong with the dish. Nonetheless, do not be fooled into thinking that because it is easy to make it is simple in taste. Lime-tastic Fajitas are oh so flavorful!

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons season salt
• 2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 3 cups chopped bell peppers
• 1 cup chopped onions
• Any extra veggies you'd like to contribute to the dish. I added zucchini to the batch due to the overwhelming amount coming from the garden.

Combine chicken, lime juice, and season salt in Ziploc bag. Make sure ingredients mix well together. Let set in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and no more than 4 hours. The lime juice has the potential of overwhelming the chicken.

After the desired time is up, add chicken to chopped veggies in pan.  Add a little olive oil to help with the cooking. 

Cook until chicken is done.

Serve with tortillas, guacamole, chips, and chopped jicama for some extra crunch!

I was proud of my batch of fresh tortillas. The last few batches have turned out ugly!

Don't forget to garnish with a lime. You won't need it, however it makes the plate look all fancy shamancy.

Nancy Jane

Planting a Plethora of Pumpkins

Today is the first day of Summer! Which means pumpkin planting time, my favorite time of the year!

The obsession of growing pumpkins started two years ago when I moved home. We had some old seeds and I needed something productive to do.

Who knew this would start a pumpkin mania...

The first variety grown was Musque de Provence. Boy were they absolutely stunning! We did not expect the seeds to all germinate. So when they were sown, a lot were put in the ground. That year I ended up with over 30 pumpkins...it was out of control!

We were told to plant pumpkins by an old gardener by the 4th of July. This is why we start in June just in case it takes a while for them to sprout or if replanting is needed. Last year the weather made it hard for the seeds to develop, so they ended up not popping up until the end of July. Which meant I didn't get any pumpkins until the end of October. Boo!

This year I am growing Cinderella's Carriage, Jack Be Little, Sugar Pumpkins, and Triple Treat. One for looks, one for cuteness, another one for eatin', and one for carvin'. Well, there are culinary plans for all of them.

The hardiness and beauty of pumpkins make them incredibly attractive to grow. Nothing beats homemade pies made from freshly picked pumpkins.

K.E.G likes to say that hot off the press garden pumpkins add some pizazz to the land.

Now get to planting your pumpkins!

Nancy Jane