Can relate to this one!

About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won't like you at all.

Rita Mae Brown

Still in the dog house . . .

 
As I mentioned, earlier in the week, our dog decided to help herself to a loaf of bread from the kitchen counter. Since then, she has been banned from the house and she seems to know that she is literally in the dog house over this infraction. When we open the door to give her a treat or pat on the head, she sighs deeply and goes back to said dog house. Yes, we plan a reprieve for her eventually! The forgiveness, however, will come with some extra training on what part of the house is off limits . . . as in anywhere in the vicinity of the kitchen and ten steps away from the backdoor! She is looking pretty much like the picture shows so we know how sad she is over all this. She has never done this before but, lately, has been sort of testing our limits and stealing a freshly baked loaf of bread definitely went over our limits!

Reserved for Clergy?

 

I passed this sign at the back of our church many a morning on my before Mass walk until I realized how amusingly it was posted as if the caged area was where we kept our pastors! With that thought it mind, I got my altar boy son to don gangster sunglasses and a mean expression to act as the guard for the jail.

A beautiful quote . . .

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

George Bernard Shaw

I'm somewhere between an eagle and a weasel!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
-- John Benfield

"History is the short trudge from Adam to atom."
-- Leonard Louis Levinson

A Busy Weekend Approaches . . .

My husband got the lucky 'ticket' and has jury duty coming up next week. Although he will not get docked in pay from his job for his absence, he does have to adjust his work schedule to get in enough hours in spite of the jury duty which means he has the fun of working Saturday and Sunday, too. I try not to complain too much as a job is a precious thing in our current economy.

The bumper crop of tomatoes from our garden had me hanging over a huge pot of spaghetti sauce yesterday. The tomatoes were so ripe that another day would have gotten them spoiled and I hate to waste food. It was worth it as we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and now have four containers of homemade sauce in the freezer. Today, the last bowl of tomatoes get sliced up, tossed with olive oil, chopped garlic, and salt and somewhat dried in a slow, 250 degree oven for about three hours. The house will start smelling like an Italian restaurant. I freeze these tomatoes and use them for seasoning. They are actually quite addicting just to munch on when they are fresh from the oven.

A lot of work got done on my two quilts in progress. I picked up a free quilt pattern at the store, yesterday, and am now mulling over how to make that one. I will try and restrain myself and keep to the task at hand . . . but what are the chances. The older I get, the more anxious I am about gettting everything done in this world even while knowing it won't really matter in the next! Human nature . . .

I'm already thinking ahead to holiday baking. We have a family of seven over for Thanksgiving every year which I really enjoy. Our collective children call themselves the cousins and we have a good time eating and being together. I already have several homemade Christmas gifts near completion. I'm trying to go more with homemade gifts. So far, I have three shawls and two quilts just about done. Need to make a few more tote bags and hope to get some Lady of Guadeloupe Christmas stockings done. I like to keep religion in Christmas!

Rice Bread

 
As promised, here is the recipe for making Rice Bread. I used a loaf to make garlic bread and it worked very well with it. Just plain and warm from the oven isn't bad either. You can use Jasmine or Basmati rice. You need a rice that cooks up softer and with some flavor. I'm thinking, however, of trying it with a brown Jasmine rice . . .

Rice Bread

1/2 cup of cooked and cooled rice of your choice, Jasmine or Basmati
3 tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup water
3 teaspoons salt
6-8 cups flour
Water as needed

Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup water. (Use cool water. The longer the rise, the more taste development.) Combine the flour, salt, yeast, and rice in a large mixing bowl. Mix in enough water to form a workable dough. Knead until it is smooth and the rice is well incorporated. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled.

Form dough into loaves or rolls. You can bake the dough in bread pans, make long baguettes, rolls, etc. Use vegetable oil spray to grease your pans. Cover and let rise again.

Bake in a 400 degree, preheated over until golden. Remove from pans to cool on a rack.

Ideas . . .

To prevent your rising dough or loaves from sticking, use vegetable oil spray on the side of the plastic wrap touching the dough.

Beat an egg white and brush on your loaves before baking to give them a nice shine. That is also the time to sprinkle them with poppy or sesame seeds.

Coarsely ground salt is also an intereting topping after the egg white wash on the loaves before baking.