Fall Series

We had a seasonal storm blowing off the west coast yesterday. It was very blustery. I was dressed warmly enough. Even so, I felt the chill of the air. My friend who was inexplicably dressed in linen and who only wore a light woolen shawl was understandably colder than I.

We met for lunch, coffee afterward and an early movie. I had a nice visit as I seldom indulge for so long with a friend over a nice visit. The movie we went to see was J. Edgar about J. Edgar Hoover, the long time head of the Federal Investigative Bureau (FBI).

I knew little about this man save for he seems to be responsible for spying on American citizens and usurping the rights of citizens on the basis of the need to protect the state. The movie was directed by Clint Eastwood and I enjoyed it though I think it tried to cover too much ground in the space of a few hours. The title role was exceedingly well played by Leonardo Di Caprio.

Besides the great visit and the enjoyable movie, I managed to capture some beautiful Fall scenery.

I decided to try some special effects.

And more special effects. I like it!

Although we had a major storm here with trees being uprooted, power outages in thousands of homes and snow on the high mountain passes, I was fortunate that I had no major problems. I also felt blessed to see the wonderful scenery and like to see the roads blanketed in colourful leaves.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

I Shall Remember

At 11:00 o'clock, on the 11th day of the 11th month, I shall remember.....

Thank you
to those who fought for freedom.

A Little Snack of Squash Seeds

I baked an acorn squash for dinner last night. The seeds were saved, cleaned and baked for a late night, delicious snack.

Washed and seasoned seeds before they go in the oven.

This food is very good if you are diabetic as it has a very low glycemic load.  The seeds are very low in cholesterol and sodium. It is also a good source of protein, vitamin K, iron and copper, and a very good source of magnesium, phosphorus and manganese.

Ingredients

• 1 cup winter squash seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

Seeds after roasting.

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. After removing the seeds from the squash, rinse with water, and remove any strings and bits of squash. Pat dry, and place in a small bowl. Stir the olive oil and salt into the seeds until evenly coated. Spread out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until seeds start to pop. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet before serving. 

These seeds were a little thicker than the butternut squash seeds I roasted last time.  They required a longer roasting time. I like my seeds to be roasted so that they are turning brown.

Easy Multigrain Bread

The dough is rising in the silicon loaf pans.

Ingredients:

1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) water, warm
1 envelope (1 envelope) (8 g) active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp/11 mL)
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) water, warm
1/3 cup (75 mL) molasses
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt
2 tbsp (30 mL)  oil
5 3/4 cups (1425 mL) multigrain flour

Directions:

1. DIissolve 1 teaspoon (5 mL) sugar in 1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle in yeast. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) warm water, molasses, salt, oil and 2 cups (500 mL) of multigrain flour.
3. Stir in 2 3/4 cups (675 mL) of remaining flour gradually. If necessary, add more flour to make a soft dough which leaves sides of bowl. Turn out on floured board. Round up into ball.
4. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).
5. Place a bit of oil on the dough ball, place it in a clean bowl and cover it with a tea towel to keep warm.
6. Let the dough rise in a warm place (75°-85°F/24°-29°C) until doubled in size (about 45-60 minutes).
7. Punch the down down and turn it onto lightly floured countertop.  Divide it into 2 equal portions. Round up each portion. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
8. Shape each portion into a loaf and place them seam side down in 2 greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 2 3/4" (1.5 L) loaf pans. I now use silicon pans so I do not need to grease them first. Cover with a tea towel.
9. Let dough rise again in a warm place until dough rises for another (45-60 minutes).
10. Bake at 400°F (200°C) on lower oven rack for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake 20 to 30 minutes more. Remove from pans immediately. Brush top crust with butter if a soft crust is desired. Cool on wire racks.

Here are the loaves fresh out of the oven. I've brushed them with butter.

I enjoyed this bread but I really want to try it with seeds and nuts sometime. I want to try a heavier bread so I need to look for another recipe.  I love the idea of multigrain bread because I'm a bread lover but white flour breads are not good for a diabetic.  If any of my readers have a recipe for a heavy, healthy bread, please let me know if you can share it with me. Update November 11, 2011 - Although the bread tasted fine after baking, I have to say, I think the taste of the bread seemed to improve after a day or two. I enjoyed it a lot more!

Make Your Own Flour Mix

If you do not have or cannot find multigrain flour or simply want to make your own  multigrain mix I've reproduced a master mix recipe below.  This recipe comes from the Kansas State University's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. I haven't used this recipe yet myself but intend to mix some up for future use. I will likely add some seeds and nuts to this mix to make my bread extra crunchy.

Slices of the finished loaf. You can see the seeds in the sides of the loaf. The bread is soft inside but crunchy with grains. The bottom of the loaf pan makes the diagonal lines across the bottom of the loaf.

Multi-Grain Master Mix

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose white flour
¾ cup instant non-fat dry milk
½ cup dry rolled oats
½ cup yellow cornmeal
3 Tablespoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup oil

Stir together all dry ingredients in large bowl
or pan.

Cut in oil with pastry blender or two knives
until mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.

Store in covered containers.


Yield: 5 ½ cups of MIX

A Brief Update

It's been pretty chilly in  my apartment this past week. I'm wearing socks every day now and sometimes two pair of ankle socks  (one thin and one thick). I'm also wearing a sweater or track jacket indoors each day.

I've been cocooned up indoors a lot this week as I continue to make slow progress on my major decluttering and reorganizing project. I feel good about what I've been able to accomplish so far and will continue with it over the next little while.

Due to my frugal nature and the season's chill I've been doing a number of things to try and keep overall heating costs down, I keep my heating pad on whenever I'm relaxing. I put on my portable heater if there is too much chill coming through the row of windows in the front room and I have my mattress heating pad on when I go to sleep at night. The past two nights I have been very cosy in my bed and slept with only half of the covers.  After being up far too late the last few nights I was asleep surprisingly early and had a good sleep last night.

I continue with my acupuncture therapy and herbal therapy. I only went to one appointment for each of two weeks and am now back on the regular schedule. I haven't been able to start physiotherapy or  massage therapy because for some reason I haven't received my referral papers yet.  I've also been busy this week with concerns over mom's health. She is losing a fair bit of blood and circulatory issues seem to be arising. I pray that everything settles soon. Other than that I'm swirling around some holiday plans in my head. Christmas is just around the corner and the chilly air has me thinking about where to put the tree. The antique blanket chest I told you about last week now occupies the area where my tree used to go.

Yesterday I went to a movie after talking with mom by phone. I wanted to get out and enjoy the sunshine as we are now in the season where we get a lot of rain.  The movie was a disappointment. To be honest I didn't know what kind of movie I was going to see. Only that it was about a journalist who gets a job in Puerto Rico. I just thought that it would be nice to see some scenery of a warm and sunny tropical place and to get a break from my tediousness of decluttering and going through seemingly endless paper.  The movie did have some tropical scene and I also enjoyed the faded beauty of the Spanish style buildings on the island.  I also enjoyed the excuse to get out while the sun was shining and a stop at the pharmacy and coffee shop on my return. A nice way to end a quiet Saturday.

Oh by the way, if you missed it, don't forget to enter the giveaway.  

Have a wonderful week!

Update: Tuesday, November 8, 2011
I wasn't able to reach mom for a few days but when I called her residence today I learned she was on an outing. That told me that she id doing better. I spoke to her later and it seems her circulation issue is holding steady and her bleeding has ceased for now. I am giving praise to God and thank my readers who prayed for us. God bless you all. xx

Macro Flowers ~ Friday November 4, 2011

Clothing Now Ready for Sale ~ Please Share this Post

Hello friends,

I've now posted the first set of clothing for sale. I will see how this goes before posting more items for sale, like sweaters and dress slacks and jackets.

Please help to spread the word and help me raise money for Kenya Missions of Hope.

Here is the link to the clothes and all the information.

http://kerichojoy.livejournal.com/624.html


If you or your friends have any questions about the items posted, please feel free to send me a message.

I thank you on behalf of the Kenyans who will benefit.