Radical Resolutions
January is notoriously the time we think of resolutions. When I was young I remember making “New Year’s Resolutions” every year on the first page of my brand new diary. Some were reasonable: I resolve to keep my room clean. Easy enough. I resolve not to fight with my brother. Impossible. Others were lofty: like “I resolve not to eat chocolate until I weigh less than 100 pounds”. (Why I would ever consider such a crazy resolution can only be blamed on teenage hormones.) They say that most people have given up or forgotten their resolutions by the third week of January. I am not sure if this is true or how they measure a statistic like this but I do know, depending on the celebration, many might not remember much from the night of December 31st.
Maybe if I share my 2012 resolutions with you I will feel the pressure to keep them longer than the norm of three weeks or less.
I resolve to organize and de clutter my house – All I have to do is watch an episode or two of Hoarders and I am racing through the house like a mad woman with a trash bag. Trust me you will never find a beloved family pet buried in my living room under a pile of clutter but you will find bunnies, lots of them. I thought I had it under control until we decided to paint the interior of our house this month. Dust bunnies had mated with dust bunnies under our beds and in our closets….there were bunnies everywhere, but not the cute and cuddly type!
I resolve to finish writing a book - This is a goal I truly plan to meet. If you have faithfully read this column there won’t be anything new as the plan is to pull together a book of columns and recipes. But then again if you like the column and you’ve had a laugh or two you might want to pick up a copy, just to reminisce. My fantasy is to be a writer on Oprah’s 2012 book club list….hey a girl can dream can’t she??? Maybe if I buy enough wine I can get my book club to read it.
I resolve to run/walk at least one 5K this year - I have a friend who started running a 5K every couple of months and she has really inspired me to get moving. I think of Newton’s Law: An object (my body) at rest will remain at rest and an object (my body) in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. (Why this isn’t an ad for Nike tennis shoes, I will never know.) I think my body has been at rest long enough – time to get up and get moving.
These three goals should keep me going until May when I head to Tanzania on a mission trip for 19 days. I don’t want any unresolved resolutions waiting for me in June. Then I think I’m going to need the summer off to focus on not eating chocolate until after my 30 year class reunion in August. (Wait, that’s just the crazy hormones talking! Ha!) Peace, Sandy
Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. ~ Oprah Winfrey
I resolve to finally put my bread machine to good use this year……not to bake in though….just to make the dough.
Bread Machine Pita Bread
1 1/8 cup water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBS oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into 12" rope. Avoid using too much flour while rolling them out. Keep unrolled balls covered to prevent drying out. Handle with care while rolling and transferring. Tears or creases cause them not to puff up while baking.
With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 - 1 and one half inch pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 - 7" circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. Cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
Preheat oven to 500°F. Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Avoid over baking-they will turn crisp and brittle. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas are softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or freezer for 1 or 2 months.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBS oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into 12" rope. Avoid using too much flour while rolling them out. Keep unrolled balls covered to prevent drying out. Handle with care while rolling and transferring. Tears or creases cause them not to puff up while baking.
With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 - 1 and one half inch pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 - 7" circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. Cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
Preheat oven to 500°F. Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Avoid over baking-they will turn crisp and brittle. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas are softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or freezer for 1 or 2 months.
Easy Peazy Bread Machine Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons dried granulated yeast
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup water, plus
- 2 tablespoons water
Directions
- Place all the above ingredients in order into the bread machine.
- Select the dough cycle and press start!
- When the dough cycle is complete, take the dough out of the machine and place in well greased bowl, and roll the dough around (in the bowl) coating the dough it in oil.
- Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1/2 an hour.
- Knead the risen dough lightly.
- To shape and bake: roll the dough into a circle.
- Place on well greased baking tray or pizza pan.
- Then add a topping of your choice and bake at 400 degrees 15 to 20 min.
- NOTE: for a nice crisp and very thin pizza, bake BEFORE adding the topping AND after.
This dough can also be used when making a focaccia or a calzone.
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Dough:1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups flour (Add a bit more if dough seems too wet after first few minutes of kneading in the bread machine.)
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons bread machine yeast
Filling:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Icing:
1 teaspoon milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle. After the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread it with filing recipe.
Roll up and cut into 10-15 rolls and place in two greased round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned. Spread the icing on as soon as they come out of the oven.
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