I wanted to take a minute and rave about my new favorite magazine (one I will renew!) fresh Home.

Published just four times a year, the magazine’s  rejuvenating blend of do-it-yourself, easy decorating, fun recipes and outdoor ideas, has led me to  mark pages and make plans.

One of the first articles that got my attention was in the Fall 2010 edition.  Entitled “Real Woodworking for Life” fresh Home highlighted Ana White a true do-it-yourself woodworker who creates furniture.  The piece they emphasized was a storage locker that Ana had designed and built herself (for under $100).

Missing a closet by the inside door has been a challenge for our family.  The coat tree was an improvement, but the shoes, the book bags, the gloves, hats and mittens- they were all still lost.  So finding a great (but inexpensive) storage locker has been on my radar for quite a while.

And just ten days later, we (yes, this was a family project) brought in our new storage locker – as you can see from the pictures below it fits beautifully and adds organizational charm to a once messy area.

Bottom line:  Try fresh Home and let me know what you think

On my 2011 “to do” list has been the challenge to bake the perfect sour dough bread for my family.  So after reading several sources and wondering just how the yeast was going to “arrive” in the recipe, I consulted a friend who is a wonderful baker asking if she would share her recipe with me.  My friend appreciated my concern.  She too had done research and even with an older home she couldn’t be sure that the yeast would naturally appear in her starter.  So she experimented and then graciously shared her result with me.  The result has been heavenly bread (that will so impress your family)- once, twice or three times a week- with an easy to care for starter that you can share with others.

To begin the starter use:

2 cup of water

6 Tablespoons of potato flakes

1 cup of sugar

1 Tablespoon yeast

1 teaspoon of vinegar

Simply stir these ingredients together and place in a jar, pottery dish or something with a semi tight lid.  These ingredients will then work together (you will see bubbles) and will be ready for you to bake with in just two or three days. 

For the bread then:

1 cup of starter (stir it before removing)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon of salt

1 1/2 cups water

Mix well.  Then add 6 cups of bread flour.  For higher rising bread,  you can add 1 Tablespoon of yeast dissolved in the liquid before adding flour. 

After adding the bread flour, knead and add more flour if sticky.  After kneading place in a greased bowl, cover with a cloth and set in a warm place for as much as 8 hours.  (I like to turn my oven on, let it heat to 100 degrees, then shut it off and then put the dough in to rise.  The dough can rise in less than 8 hours and you can also place in the refrigerator to slow its rising too). 

When dough has risen almost double, punch down, divide into half and place into well greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise again.  Then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  The loaves will sound hollow when throughly baked (my oven takes 40 minutes).  Turn out to cool immediately- and enjoy.

Due to the size of my container, I keep just half a batch of this recipe going.  You can easily decrease the amount of sugar and vinegar until you find your favorite flavor.   

Feeding your starter is very easy- simply make a batch to refill your container after taking out a portion for your bread. 

I received a 5 out of 5 rating from my choosy family with this recipe -they love this bread as breakfast toast with blackberry jelly and as garlic toast served with dinner.

Do you have any new recipes you  have been considering tackling in 2011? We’d love to know what you are cooking to stay warm and sane during these snowy days.  Martha Stewart has challenged me to try a chocolate Baked Alaska this weekend- I will let you know how that turns out.

As I take down the Christmas decorations each January, I find myself looking out my front window thinking about sunshine and “green.”  So for the past few years, I have begun forcing paperwhites.  They are so easy, so cheerful and remind me that Spring is really just weeks away.

The link below has a powerpoint which shows you just how easy having quick green color and beautiful white blooms can be.   So check it out for your home or office.  Enjoy!

Winter Blooms

Like many of you die-hard gardeners, this past New Year’s Day found the His Glories crew mulling over gardening magazines while eating cheese and chili soups – making plans and trying to predict the 2011 garden season.

While we spent a lot of time discussing the finer points of all our garden produce selections and arguing whether to try new varieties or stick to the tried and true ones, we also were able to laugh and groan (thankfully without crying) over the 2010 season.

Does anyone remember the 2010 garden season?  It seemed to have come and gone in an instant!

So with this in mind, we resolved the following:

1.  We will pull more weeds (even if we do have to sleep at the Farm to get it done)

2.  We will not plant our pumpkins and gourds until the middle of June or first of July (no matter how crazy it makes Johnna)

3.  We will not plant as much sweet corn (there just isn’t enough time…)

4.  We will recruit more volunteers to help us pick greenbeans (we promise you will have fun)

5.  We will enjoy the pond at least once a week-

So from all of us “veg crazy” gardeners at His Glories, we wish you best of luck with all of your 2011 resolutions!