Birthday Season

/ Shane / Leave a comment

In the past week we’ve celebrated a 60th birthday, an 88th birthday, a 39th anniversary, and of course Sara and my 8th anniversary. We also have Evie’s birthday coming up in less than a month, and then Sara’s right after. Busy times!

We didn’t exactly do much for Tom’s birthday, but I have to say it was quite enjoyable nonetheless. Basically we just had a big meal with everybody, but it was so delicious and it was actually a lot of fun. We all pitched in to make it and then sat down to a big feast (steaks, grilled romaine salads and a grilled squash medley, followed by homemade ice cream). There’s not much I like more than just sitting and visiting (for example, while the ice cream maker is running), so I guess it doesn’t take much to make me happy.

And then the next day we found out that 60’s not too old for a little wheel chair racing:

It seems like we’ve been planning Grandma Lois’ 88th birthday party for forever. Sara said afterwards that it wasn’t really that much work, but I think she is forgetting because it was spread out over a long time. However, it was all worth it, because it turned out really well. There were lots and lots of people there, plenty of food, and no issues to speak of, major or minor. We were running around like crazy the day of, but it was all worth it because I think Grandma was really happy.

The day of the party was super hot (as was every day this summer), but Sara only had pants to wear. So she improvised by borrowing some clothes from her sister. She needed a belt to match, so she further improvised by using one of her dad’s ties as a belt. Seriously you guys, she looked like a super model! It was amazing. And hilarious, because you don’t usually see super models at your grandma’s 88th birthday party. So if you thought we hired a “booth babe” to serve the ice cream, nope, that was just Sara.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good picture of her, so I guess I’ll just put some other picture instead.

Summer Vacation

/ Shane / 1 Comment

We’ve been up to so much lately, I can’t fit it all in one post. Oh boy, where to even start.

We had some visitors from far off Buffalo, as Alexis and her three kids Ayla, Jackson, and Elliot stopped by for a few nights on the way through Chicago (unfortunately Gregory couldn’t get off work). We haven’t seen Alexis in years, and in fact, we had never met Elliot and they had never met Oliver. So it was really great to see them again.

Adding three more young kids to the mix with only one extra adult kind of added a surreal sense of bedlam to our house. There were kids everywhere! While us adults might have needed an adjustment period to get used to all the extra kids, the kids themselves did not, and were quickly playing together like old friends or cousins. I think Oliver in particular really appreciated having a few boys around his age to play with. Mostly he is around Evie’s friends, who tend to be girls and tend to be older.

After that, we again spent the 4th of July at Sara’s Uncle Randy’s lake. No tubing for me after last year’s debacle, but Evie and Ollie once again absolutely loved the water.

Evie did a little tubing and both did a little boat driving. It was very difficult to get them out of the water, but then again, it was difficult to get anybody out of the water considering it was sweltering hot even in the shade. I am happy to report we haven’t had any sunburns yet this entire summer!

Afterwards we stayed a few nights at Sara’s cousin Lisa’s house. Or perhaps I should say Lisa’s farm, since they are quickly moving in that direction. Since the last time we were there, they’ve added 2 pigs, about 10 kittens, and 2 baby goats to their already impressive 2 cows, 3 dogs, and half a dozen chickens. Word on the street is they’re getting ready to add about 30 more chickens!

I thought the baby goats would steal the show (who doesn’t want to feed bottles to adorable baby goats?) but the kids (and Sara!) mostly went in for the kittens. I mean, don’t get me wrong, a horde of kittens can literally float you away on a tide of cuteness, but we’re talking about bottle fed baby goats! We already have a cat at home.

Both kids were dying to hold kittens (who were very friendly), but Oliver needed some help in grabbing one. Once he had it, he wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it. He just sort of squeezed it, forcing it to stay but not exactly petting it. This did not lessen his excitement about having a kitten in his lap.

However, if she had to pick one animal, I think Evie would pick teenage girls as her all time favorite playmate. Kaycee, thanks again, and double this time since you had Oliver tagging along as well!

Quote Monday saves money on meat

/ Shane / Leave a comment

Me: “We’re like the yin and yang of cheapness. We’re cheap about different things, but together we form the perfect circle of cheapness!”

Me: “Evie, if I see you spray your brother in the face again, we’re going to turn around and go home.”
::time passes::
Evie: “Since we’re getting ready to go home anyway, can I spray him in the face now?”

Me: “I can’t pick you up, how would I make supper?”
Ollie, tapping my arm: “One hand.”

Me: “Do you know what animal ham comes from?
Evie: “A hamster?”

Honey Wheat Bread

/ Shane / 1 Comment

The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

I set out on a mission to find a good, spongy, soft, 100% whole wheat bread. We only use white whole wheat flour, but a lot of the bread recipes we try end up very tough or dense. This was creating a bit of a problem, because bread from the store is increasingly disgusting (i.e. high fructose corn syrup flavored foam bricks with ingredients lists that are inexplicably longer than my arm), but I couldn’t find a good substitute. So I began trying various recipes until I finally found one that was everything I ever wanted, and more.

The Journey:

The reason this recipe is “the one” is because it has a lot of sugar in it. That’s both the good and the bad, but it is a necessary evil because it’s what makes the bread light and fluffy. That sugar is yeast food, and it makes the dough rise like crazy. In fact, with a little extra rising time, you can actually split the loaf in half and make two loaves for the price of one. Lately I have been experimenting with cutting out a tablespoon of brown sugar. So far I haven’t noticed a difference.

I make the bread on the dough cycle of our bread machine, but you could conceivably do it by hand. I’ve just found from experience that I don’t mix it it enough when I do it by hand. Besides, why even have a bread machine if you’re not going to use it? (And believe me, we get a lot of use out of ours)

After the bread has been mixing for awhile in the bread maker, I open it up and scrape down the sides with a spatula to make sure everything is mixing well, and also add a tiny bit of water if it seems necessarily. I like wet dough, because it tends to rise better. Basically, every bread recipe I’ve ever tried for whole wheat flour has required me to add water to it. I don’t know if people just consistently underestimate the amount of water they need, if the recipes are really for bread flour and whole wheat needs more water, or if there’s just something about my baking environment that requires more water. But anyway, feel free to play with the recipe if it’s not coming out quite right.

The Verdict:

For artisan breads I rely on Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (perhaps there’ll be a post on that someday), but this recipe cannot be beat for a sandwich loaf. I don’t think it’s out of line to say this is the best whole wheat bread I have ever made. We don’t buy bread anymore, we only make it. In fact, I have even used this recipe to make some very excellent hamburger and even brat buns!

The Recipe:

The original recipe was from the Internet, but I can’t find it anymore.

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • sprinkle of ginger (I sprinkle *very* liberally with the ginger, because I like ginger)
  • 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
  • 3 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons yeast
  1. Mix in the dough cycle of the bread machine (or by hand if you want, but I get better results in the bread machine)
  2. Deflate the dough and put it in a greased loaf pan, or shape into buns
  3. Cover with a towel and let rise. If you’re in a hurry, let it rise on the oven while it preheats.
  4. Bake at 365 for 30 minutes

Vegetarianism is a Disease

/ Shane / 1 Comment

That’s not just some eye catching headline, designed to upset you and draw you in. It’s actually a fact.

It turns out there is something called the “lone star tick”, whose bite actually makes you allergic to meat.

Technically it doesn’t really make you a vegetarian, since you could still eat poultry and fish, but it is still very interesting that a bug bite could change something so fundamental about your way of life.

It begs the question: was vegetarianism originally an unnatural state brought about by tick bites? And are all the vegetarians since descended from copy-cat followers on? And what other states of being can be brought about by bug bites (besides “itchy”)? Could this explain the difference between “dog people” and “cat people”? Could it explain exercise fanatics? People who like the little disgusting things known as deviled eggs?

Wait a minute! Maybe I’m thinking about this the wrong way. Maybe vegetarianism is a super power, transferred by the bite of an insect. There is some precedent for that.

In any case, nature never ceases to amaze me.

Link via Sara.