Bread and butter

We were at the grocery store the other day and I was drawn in by a warm, comforting aroma. I followed my nose right to the bakery where they were filling baskets with freshly baked breads of all kinds, baguettes, loaves of Italian bread, hand formed artisan breads, you name it was all there stacked up and neatly packaged in paper sacks. At that moment all was right with the world, I felt safe and could feel all the warm and fuzzies coursing through my body. Strange what just smelling fresh bread will do to you.
Now I always make our bread at home, nice whole wheat bread and we all love it, but it just can't compare to tearing into fresh artisan bread. What was I going to do? I wanted to tear right into those little paper sacks and feast on the warm, crusty bread for the remainder of the morning. Then I heard that little voice in the back of my head, you know the one, the one that tells me to back away from the bread and try to make it at home, where I know exactly what's in it, when the wheat was ground, how long the flour has been sitting, plus as an added bonus I will have that wonderful smell in my house and I can share the warm and fuzzies with the whole tribe. Well, I went home and scoured the internet for recipes and ideas and finally started to make my dough. It was fairly simple and baked up very quickly, in about 30 minutes. The results were better than I thought, it was crusty on the outside, moist on the inside, slightly sweet and gone in a matter of minutes. I've made a few more since and all have turned out equally as wonderful. I made one on the smaller side, so we used it to build a sandwich that turned out to be to big for the hubs and I and one of our sons. This bread is definitely going to be added to my weekly bread baking.



Now that we have bread, what are we going to have with it? The choices are endless, but for me I love toast for breakfast or for a quick snack and we all know we need protein to keep us satiated, peanut butter is a good choice, but gets a little boring sometimes. Almond butter it is, smooth and creamy and packed with healthy fats, this is a winner in my book. I haven't bought almond butter in a while and was really craving for it to have with my toast and to use in snack recipes so I decided why not, I can make this too and so I did. I had plenty of almonds on hand so I roasted them in the oven and then ground them into a thick paste. So how did it turn out? Fabulous, even my daughter who doesn't like peanut butter or any type of spreads and condiments LOVED it. She ended up taking an almond butter sandwich to school for lunch the next day and I caught her sticking her finger into the container a few times.



I know the picture really doesn't do it justice but it was awesome. Turned out to be a great week, a few simple ingredients is all it takes to keep this tribe happy. I hope you'll take the time to try making something new, it really is quite rewarding.

Spring flowers

Wow it has been way too long since my last post. There has been so much going on, a truly crazy year. The past few weeks have been especially busy, stressful, exhausting, you name it. This past Monday I lost my Grandfather, a wonderful man who seemed to know everyone everywhere he went and if there was someone there that he didn't know, by the time he left they seemed as if they were old friends. He always had a way of making people feel special, make them happy. He had been in the hospital the last few weeks and was being attended to by a great nursing staff. They really treated him kindly and with respect.

Ok, so your probably wondering where the food comes into all this right? I mean really, it is a food blog. Well my Grandmother wanted to do something nice for the nurses who cared for not only my Grandfather, but us. They brought us snacks and drinks, pillows and blankets, made sure we were holding up well. Gram was going to buy those Edible Arrangements for each shift, but those come with a hefty price tag, so I made them instead. They came out pretty well, especially the big basket. I made a large basket for first shift since they have a larger crew and a smaller pot of "flowers" for each the second and third shifts. Let me know what you think.