My Fairy Tale Weekend

Moments of my weekend captured.....tomorrow an Easter Holiday.

Graham Cracker Crunch

So my little one loves graham crackers and Avery and JP love making s’mores in the fireplace. So I should make graham crackers instead of buying them, right?

I found a recipe and set out to make them. 

The Recipe:

(adapted from the smitten kitchen blog)

2-1/2c. all purpose flour

1 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

7 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes then chilled in the freezer

1/3 c. honey

5 Tbsp whole milk

2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and mix on low until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small bowl whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. And to the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough starts to come together. It might look crumbly and soft at this point so work it with your hands and form into a ball. Let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm. Meanwhile prepare the topping by mixing the cinnamon and sugar together.

Divide the dough in half and roll out onto a lightly floured surface into a long rectangle, about an 1/8" thick (this is key to getting a cracker crunch). Flour as necessary to keep from sticking. Now the recipe has you rolling the dough into a 8 x 12 inch rectangle and making 3x3 or 4x4 squares, I instead used a cookie cutter.

Make a vertical line down the middle of each cracker being careful not to cut through the dough. I used a toothpick, pressing it in some then removing it. Then using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows on each half.

Transfer to a lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with topping mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. I ended up putting them 

Following the recipe I was concerned about the very sticky moist dough I was putting into the fridge to chill. And after the chill time it was still a concern, so next time will call for more flour, like a lot more flour.

This dough is a sticky nightmare in front of me, sticking the counter, the roller, everything!!

But moving past that and adding a lot of flour, I got the dough rolled out and used a lovely flower shape cookie cutter to cut the shapes out. Placed them on the cookie sheet and popped them in the oven. 

15 minutes later they are out on the cooling rack and filling the house with a wonderful smell. I try one of them and there are good, and crunchy.

These will definitely be a must for making smores!!! I hope you all enjoy these as much as my family. 

My Fairy Tale Weekend

Herb Garden: Cilantro

Herb Garden: Basil

Blueberry starting to flower

Puuurrrrr  v.s. ROAR!!

Awh, Love the Kitty

Discovering Dolls

Homemade Goldfish

So I very interested in making snacks and food in general from scratch for the kiddos and hubby. And my little bit loves goldfish, so I should find a recipe and make my own. After finding two recipes that were simpler but different I decided to give it a try. Through trial and error, I merged the two recipes together to get what I feel is a wonderful end result.

Recipe:

6 ounces (1-1/2 cups coarsely grated) sharp cheddar

4 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon table salt

3 - 4 Tablespoons water

Combine all the ingredients, except the water, in a food processor. Continue running the machine adding 1 Tablespoon of water at a time until the dough forms a ball.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 30 to 45 minutes. This will make it easier to transfer shapes once they are rolled out.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness. This is key to make them into more of a cracker instead of a cookie. 

Form shapes with a cookie cutter, I made one into a fish shape from a strip from an aluminum can. Dipping it in flour here and there to ensure a clean cut. 

Carefully transfer to an ungreased parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are barely browned on the edges. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool.

Makes around 100 crackers, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

While the dough is chillin in the fridge I wanted to make my “cracker” cutter. So I got a coke can and using my shears roughly cut a strip about two inches wide and the full radius of the can. Then using a ruler I got a clean “straight” strip of tin, and covered one edge of the strip with brown tape. Wrapping both sides of the edge. Using a general fish shape I bent the tin for form the shape. Once I was happy with the shape then taped the ends, with a slight overlap, together. And there you have it. But you don’t have to make your own, I also used small cookie cutters to create shapes. And you can even use a ruler and pizza cutter to make “cheez its”

The first batch weren’t very crunchy like a cracker, but making the dough thin as suggested and cooking them a for 18 minutes gave them that cracker crunch I was looking for.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe for you little ones or big ones. They are great snack to have on hand around the house or in the car.

my fairy tale weekend

   Two eggs from our ladies, our warm weather has kicked egg production into full gear.

Plant a seed today and tomorrow an plant....

With the end of February, it is time to start my seedlings. With containers from last year, I bought some organic garden soil. I’m starting my tomatoes, bell peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumbers.

I fill each compartment with soil and pack it in then check the seed depth on the package and drill a hole in the center. 

I drop in two seeds per compartment, I do this because that way at least one seed will sprout; when they get larger I select the weaker one and pull it out. That way each compartment will have one good seedling growing. I have been known to leave both seedlings and hope they both share and work together.

Then I cover the seed up with soil, adding a slight covering, and then water them. I have a lovely roll around multi-shelf rack my dad got me from working at Kroger, They were just going to throw it away and it is perfect for my seed growing need. I wheel the rack in front of the window for natural sunlight. I have not used lights to grow my seeds, but have the lights in case I ever need too.

This year I’m starting a garden journal, documenting when I planted this and that, when I water them, when they sprout, etc. So we’ll have to see how the seeds do.

Its not like your typical fairy tale....

This is my ordinary fairy tale; it is not like your typical fairy tale.

A little about me:

I am a wife to JP, stepmother to Avery (10), mama to Sonya, aka Little Bit (18 months), a gardener, a composter, a photographer wanna-be, a stay at home mama wanna-be, chicken lady, cook, baker, urban homesteader, like my clothes on the line, canner, crafter. Mix in my artistic creative, type “A” personality.

I work a full time job plus help my hubby out with his business, freelance for friends and fun. JP and I are also working on collection for his company, The Sapling Collection.

My weeknights are spent making dinners, cleaning up, caring for animals, baths and crafting. My weekend is filled with gardening, being a mama, crafting and several hours in the kitchen. My crafts currently consist of sewing, hand embroidery, knitting and painting. Weekends are also for family and finding fun and inexpensive things to do.

I’m also searching and making learning tools for my little bit, she stays with a friend during the day while we all work. The arrangement is perfect because I was able to bring her my homemade baby food, and she agreed to use cloth diapers. Yes, we love cloth! Ginny, our childcare giver, has a toddler also and it gives Sonya a chance to learning sharing before we later enroll her in a preschool, a few years down the road. But this gives me the opportunity to create learning books and flash cards that reflect our lifestyle.

My family:

My husband, JP, is a self-employed small business owner. He is a wonderful woodworker with big, big dreams. We start a collection through is company called “The Sapling Collection”, which are simple toys and decorations for little ones. So I create the designs and collaborate on materials. He makes saw dust, and we have product. Please feel free to visit our etsy store (link) we are working on new items and hoping to fill up our store soon.

JP, my hubby

He is also a Frisbee golfer, a video game player, a wonderful father and full supporter of all the wonderful things that get made around the house.

Avery is 10, I have been involved in her life since she was four. We have a good relationship that doesn’t conflict with the relationship with her mother. She stays with us several days during the week and every other weekend, sharing equally with her mother. I get involved with her school and have met all of her teachers. She is a crafty little lady, duct tape being her media chose at the moment. Loves our chickens, so much that she has stopped eating chicken for about 7 months. This is due to we will be eating our chickens after they stop producing eggs and getting new pullets to continue the process.

Sonya (little bit) is 18 months, and even though she says daddie a lot, she is a mama’s girl. Yea! She is the reason I got motivated to do more myself, having control over the food we put in our bodies, wanting to make learning tools, create simple toys to develop her imagination and make cute things for her to wear.

Sonya and Avery

Animal wise, we have a small zoo, or at least it feels like that. We have three dogs:

Liea, yes my husband is slightly obsessed with star wars, a boxer lab mix and is easy to spot with her spiral tail. Gracie Lou, who is a border collie lab mix. She is the puppy at age 3 and full of energy to light our city. Elvis is a cardigan welsh corgie mix, mix with what we are not sure. He has the spirit of the grumpy old man that yells at kids for walking in his grass.

Leia

Elvis

Gracie Lou

We have a cat, brought to us by a hubby Frisbee golf outing and her finding him. Her name is Piper Ann. She is a spunky little thing that enjoys attacking the dogs and playing with my balls of yarn.

Piper Ann, sun bathing and bird watching

Lastly, we have two chickens, Francine and Molly Sue. We got them last May and they are a fun treat for the girls.

Molly Sue (left) & Francine (right), and yes I can tell them apart.

So there is a little bit about me, I hope that people enjoy the post and topics I write on. Get inspired by my crafts and photos, the way I get inspired.