Whole Wheat Bread

This is a super easy recipe to make Whole Wheat Bread. I don't usually bake bread, and I don't have a bread machine, but this weekend we ran out of bread and I couldn't go out to get any because of the weather, so... the only option was to bake my own! And surprisingly, it was super easy, and I think I'll be doing it more often, adding nuts and seeds, and using different kinds of flour. Plus, nothing compares to the smell of freshly baked bread. Nothing. Here is the recipe:

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

(Adapted from BHG)

Makes 2 loaves

YOU WILL NEED:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 package active dry yeast

1 3/4 cups water

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbs unsalted butter

1 1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. In your electric mixer, combine the all purpose flour and yeast. In a small sauce pan, heat the water, butter, brown sugar and salt, until just warm (not boiling hot, as that wouldn't work with the yeast).

2. Combine the flour with the liquid mixture, and mix on low speed for almost a minute, then begin adding the 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Add as much of the remaining cup of all purpose flour as you can (you may not use it all, or you may need more, depending on your dough).

3. Knead your dough for 6 - 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until it's nice and elastic. Once done, place into a large greased bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place for about an hour, until dough has doubled in size.

4. If your dough has risen, punch it down and cut it into two pieces. Form each piece into a rectangular loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes.

5. Preheat your oven to 374 deg F, and bake your bread for 35 - 40 minutes. Let cool a little bit before eating.

So next time you run out of bread and have some time (this is slightly time consuming because you need to let the dough rise), bake your own bread! Happy Baking, Everyone!

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Handmade Flower Tutorial

It has been quite a week here in New Jersey! Earthquake, hurricane and tornado warnings... I have enough excitement in my life without all of that!!! I hope all of you living on the East Coast are safe and survived the storm without any damage! I'm starting to feel slightly claustrophobic at this point... I have been at home for too long! One good thing (besides the fact that we are safe and, didn't lose power and no terrible damage was done in our area) is that I had lots of time for crafting this weekend! These HANDMADE FLOWERS are a cute and easy project, hope you give it a try!

HANDMADE FLOWER TUTORIAL

YOU WILL NEED:

Synthetic fabric (100% polyester) otherwise your fabric will burn

Small piece of felt

Scissors

Candle/Lighter

Ribbon *Optional*

Beads/Pearls/Crystals or other embellishments

Pins/Hair clips

Needle and Thread

Hot Glue Gun

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut out seven different sized circles out of your fabric, and layer one on top of another, the largest piece on the bottom.

2. Using a candle or a lighter, burn around all the edges of the circles. *NOTE* Do not actually touch the flame with the fabric! Just get close to the flame, it will start to curl very quickly, you will see!

3. Layer all the curled pieces again, starting with the largest on the bottom.

4. Sew the pieces together in the center using a needle and some thread.

5. Now add your embellishments, such as pearls, beads, crystals, buttons, or whatever else you want. Either sew them on, or if they are larger use your hot glue gun to attach them.

6. Cut out a small circle from your felt, and using your hot glue gun, attach it to the back of your flower (this will provide more support and a place for you to glue your pin/hair clip).

7. *Optional* To add leaves made out of ribbon, cut a piece of ribbon off and fold it in the following way, and glue in place:

8. Attach your pin/hair clip to the back of your flower using your glue gun.

And that's it! Hope you like these cute flowers!

Have a great rest of your Sunday, and Happy Sewing and Crafting, Everyone!

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Bad Weather = Time to Paint!

Whenever the weather gets bad and forces us to stay inside, I take out my watercolors and start painting! It has been a crazy week here in New Jersey - first the earthquake at the beginning of the week, and now crazy storms and a hurricane coming! That just means... more time to paint! Here are two of the paintings I've been working on, more to come later!

"The Flower Shop"

"La Trattoria"

"Three Cupcakes"

Hope you all have a good weekend and stay safe if you're in an area affected by the hurricane! Happy Painting and Crafting, Everyone!

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First Sewing Project - Throw Pillows!

I never thought I would love sewing this much! Not too long ago, I wrote about how I got a new sewing machine, and this is my first project using it! We recently moved to a new apartment and I wanted to change the look of our living room, and throw pillows are such an easy way to do that! This was an easy beginner project, and I love the way the pillows turned out!

I didn't realize how hard it would be to pick out the fabric for them - I literally spent an hour at the fabric store (with my poor husband!) trying to pick something out and just couldn't decide on anything (it doesn't help that I'm pretty much THE most indecisive person in the world!) so we left and went out for dinner. After dinner, I went back into the store and within minutes had my fabric picked out! I already can't wait to go back and get some more for new projects! With this new sewing machine, the possibilities are endless.....!

These covers were super easy to make, and a yard of fabric was enough for two envelope pillow covers. The envelope covers are great - don't need zippers or buttons!

Hope you are all having a great week! Happy Sewing and Crafting, Everyone!

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"It's ok, it's Organic!"

The other day, my friend and I were downtown and we stopped at one of my favorite patisseries - PAUL. I have a slight obsession with that place. French pastries, macaroons, tarts, pies, quiche and all those good things... amazing! So we walked down the street eating our macaroons and tarts, and well, the day couldn't have been any better! We just keep telling ourselves, "It's ok, it's Organic!"

Baked goods make for great gifts and favors, in which case the way you package them is just as important as how good they taste! Here are some of my ideas of how to gift wrap cookies and hopefully make someone smile! The recipe for the cookies I used here follows after the pictures. Hope you like some of my ideas and will use them for your next cookie swap or gift for someone!

TEA & COOKIES IN A MUG

This would make a really cute gift for someone, or really nice party favors! All you need are some nice mugs, a tea bag and some twine to tie it all together! Stack a couple of your cookies inside the mug, tie them together with some twine and attach a tea bag, and viola! A cute gift/favor!

PARCHMENT PAPER & RIBBON

COOKIE STACKS

Build stacks of four cookies, cut strips of parchment paper long enough to wrap around the cookies, and tape at the bottom, underneath the cookies. Then tie some ribbon around and make a bow at the top!

Here is another variation of the cookie stacks, instead of wrapping them with parchment paper, use some thicker ribbon and "gift wrap" them as you would a present.

COOKIE BUNDLES

For these cookie bundles, layer three or four different napkins with matching patterns or colors and place a stack of cookies in the middle. Bring the ends of the napkins up and bunch them together, letting the different layers show. Tie with a matching ribbon, and you have some pretty cute cookie bundles! How cute would these be with different Christmas patterns!

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I hope you liked some of my ideas, and will use them the next time you make cookies for someone! The cookies I used here were White Chocolate Chip Cookies, here's the recipe for them!

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

YOU WILL NEED:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, softened

pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

12 oz bag white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. In your electric mixer, combine flour and baking soda. In another bowl, mix together your butter and eggs, and add the sugar, vanilla extract and pinch of salt. Add into the flour mixture and mix well.

2. Add the chocolate chips. Preheat your oven to 350 F, and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Form your cookies and place on baking sheets, spread them out a little bit as they will spread out a little bit.

4. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, let cool for a couple minutes.

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Chicken & Mushroom Pasta Bake

Even though it's the middle of August, the temperatures here in Prague have been so low (yesterday it was 13 deg C/55 deg F!) it's been making me crave some hearty food! Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining about the weather! I would take this over heat and humidity any day! I'm just not a summer kinda girl. I like wearing sweaters and cardigans and would love mild weather all year round. So I'm enjoying my last few days of this weather before returning back to New Jersey! This following recipe for a Chicken & Mushroom Pasta Bake is great - comforting, hearty, easy and well, you can never go wrong with pasta! Serve it with a great salad and some garlic bread, and you have the perfect meal!

CHICKEN & MUSHROOM

PASTA BAKE

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

YOU WILL NEED:

6 tbs unsalted butter

1 lb penne pasta (you can use a different kind if you prefer something else)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded

6 cups milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tbs all purpose flour

10 oz button mushrooms, sliced

6 oz shredded cheese (like Mozarella)

4 oz grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, prepare your chicken. You can prepare it whatever way you like - poach it, bake it, or saute it. Make sure it is well seasoned. Shred into bite size pieces.

2. Next, wipe your mushrooms dry, and slice them, set aside. In a large pot of salted water, cook your pasta until al dente.

3. Next, prepare your baking dish - you will need a 5 quart baking dish (or two smaller ones as I used), and preheat your oven to 375 F.

4. In a large pan, melt your butter, add flour and whisk for a minute. Then gradually begin adding your milk, continue whisking. Bring to a simmer (keep whisking) until sauce thickens. Season well with salt and pepper. Then take the pan off the stove and mix in your shredded cheese (reserve a little bit of Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top of your dish) and mushrooms, then pour into the pasta with the chicken and mix well.

5. Pour into your baking dish (or your two baking dishes) and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the dish is bubbling. Serve with fresh salad and garlic bread!

Hope you all love it! Bon Apetit!

On an unrelated side note, have you all seen Midnight in Paris yet??

Midnight in Paris

If not, you definitely should! This Woody Allen movie is a really beautiful story, in which a man and his fiance travel to Paris and every night at midnight, he is transported back into the Paris of the 1920's, where he meets famous writers and artists of the time. I loved it, and it made me want to go back to Paris!

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