porridge

i'm moving!

hello! really quick, i'm moving my blog over here. sorry to be so brief, but i do chatter about it all just a little bit more over there. please bookmark my new address !

peanut butter hot cocoa

i love hot cocoa and i drink it year round. i'm not a coffee person (although i've tried to be at times as i explained here.)  hot cocoa especially shines during the fall and winter and i got inspired to try my version with peanut butter after i pinned a recipe for it on pinterest. but instead of trying that recipe--i just dove head first into creating my own. mainly, because i wanted a version that was not so decadent--something i could have a couple or three times a week if i wanted. 

here's my simple concoction:

~peanut butter hot cocoa~

2 c. milk (i use 1%)

3 tbls. cocoa powder

1 tbls. natural peanut butter

1 rounded tsp. vanilla sugar*

3 tsp. fine, raw sugar

*i brought back vanilla sugar from germany--if you don't have any add a few drops of vanilla extract and one extra rounded tsp. of raw sugar.

place all ingredients into blender and mix until peanut butter is incorporated well. use a rubber spatula to scrape down any cocoa powder that stuck to edges, pulse a couple more times. pour mixture into saucepan and heat until hot, stirring frequently.

this makes enough to almost fill three, 8oz cups.

the honest truth: this is not a knock-your-socks-off-i'm-in-heaven recipe. in fact, when noah drank his first cup his response was, "this is wierd". but he drank the whole cup. it's not real sweet and because i used 1% milk it's not very rich. but this was my plan from the start--something a little on the healthier side. i find it quite comforting in it's own lack-luster way. you can of course up the ante by using a higher fat milk and adding more sugar. there is tons of flexability here to suit your taste. what we often do is add a splash of half and half to each cup before serving if we want that lovely 'cream' taste. 

one bonus of whipping it all up in the blender first is that you get a luscious foam going, and this is especially desirable for my hot cocoa tastebuds.

the two c's

the first c, is that i've started a crochet project. it's been aeons since i picked up my hook and it feels good. my friend crocheted me a beautiful scarf for my birthday and i was instantly inspired. she used the pattern above from the book, crochet inspiration by sasha kagan. she calls this a 'peacock' stitch--which i think is so appropiate (and pretty) because to make those giant scallops there are 13 triple crochets in one single! i'm using an all cotton yarn from my stash in a color that matches my livingroom because, in the end i hope this will be a lovely pillow for my chair. 

the second c, is that noah has a terrible cough which leaves him wheezing which then means he needs to spend some time on the atomizer. it's been 6 nights of interupted sleep for all of us, which explains why my crochet project is somewhat wonky. but this to shall pass. i'm thankful that in between coughing he is doing just fine.  

hopefully, i'll be back soon! i have a whole list of ideas to post about and that i'm anxious to chip away at.

x.

t.

honey oatmeal bread

i made some really delicious bread this past week. two loaves totally devoured by the end of the day. my family gets a little crazy when fresh bread is around.

the recipe was in a pile with others that hannah and me brought home from a recipe exchange we did with some family a while back. there's no note as to it's origins so i'm unable to give credit to anyone! i can't even remember which family member it came from.

well, i couldn't find my loaf pans (???) so i sent noah to our neighbor to borrow a couple. he came home with one (?) instead of two, so i improvised with a pie pan for the second loaf. it worked out just fine! 

this bread is a little on the sweet side, light and moist without being gummy--you know what i mean? i really, really, liked it and will make it again. and again. it's wonderful with some sliced fruit and a cup of tea!

here is the recipe as written with my modifications in { }. 

~honey oatmeal bread~

2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup honey

2 tbsp. butter

2 tsp. salt {i forgot the salt! still pretty tasty!}

1 cup rolled oats, quick or regular {i used regular}

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

5 cups all purpose flour {i used 3 c. unbleached, 2 c. whole white wheat}

in a large mixing bowl stir together boiling water, honey, butter, salt and oats. let stand for 1 hour. in a small bowl dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. add to oatmeal mixture. stir in 5 cups of flour, beat well. cover and let rise until doubled in size--about 1 1/4 hrs.

turn dough out onto a floured surface and kneed until elastic and stops sticking to hands and surface. shape into loaves. put into 2 greased 5x9x3 inch pans. let rise until doubled in size. heat oven to 350 and bake 30 minutes. tops should be well browned. remove from pans and let cool on wire racks.

the recipe said you could glaze the loaves afterwards with honey and sprinkel with oats, which i did--but won't do next time. the honey didn't soak in like i thought and just got sticky when they were put in palstic bags. i think i'll try an egg or milk wash next time and sprinkle the oats on before baking.

******

a little sidnote on the styling of this photo: i didn't add the crumbs on the cutting board. these were there already from a day of cutting bread. sometimes real life provides the details all on its own ;)

 

bird inspiration

most everyone enjoys birds in decor and design. i would venture to say (without doing any research) that they are the most used animal when it comes to these kind of things. (nothing against mountain goats for example, but they just don't seem to have the flexible appeal of birds)

here is a little bird inspiration from my pin boards on pinterest:

1. i love the wooden circles hosting a bird in the center. via the inspirerdroom.net

2. gorgeous art by hadley hutton.

3. amazing embroidery via theberry.com

******

i just commissioned my mom to paint a little bird for me from a photograph someone sent me in the mail. i can't wait to get it! then i'll show you too.

hey, have a great thursday!

xo.