Oatmeal Bread

Life is a funny thing sometimes. I'm in a weird place where there are days where I'll be running around like crazy. I'll be doing errands, and studying, and cooking and cleaning and working. Then I'll go through days where I feel like I wish I had more going on, more friends to hang out with, classes to go to. What is it about life that makes it like that? Unbalanced, almost.

This bread is good for all of those occasions. I'll have a piece plain and untoasted, while I'm running around first thing in the morning while I'm trying to make it to the doctors appointment. Or I'll eat a piece with butter and honey, enjoying a cup of tea, leisurely watching my second show on Netflix at 2 in the afternoon.

I hope you have a slow day where you have time to make this bread and that you get to enjoy this bread on the balanced days. When you have enough time to drink a second cup of coffee before you head to work then dinner with friends.

Oatmeal Bread

from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 packet rapid rise yeast (or regular yeast)
• 1 1/4 cup lukewarm milk

To Make:

1) Proof yeast in lukewarm milk until bubbly, about 10 minutes. In mixing bowl stir butter, salt, brown sugar, oatmeal and yeast/milk mixture. Stir in flour, one cup at a time until shaggy dough is formed. Knead for 5 min by machine or 10 minutes by hand on well-floured surface.

2) If you use rapid rise yeast, let it rest for 10 minutes, then form into loaf. Place in well-oiled loaf pan and let rise for 1 hour. If you're using regular yeast, let it rise in a bowl for an hour prior to forming into a loaf.

3) Preheat the oven to 350*F. Once loaf is risen, bake for 35-40 minutes, until it sounds hollow when tapped on. Remove from oven and let it cool on a rack. Will keep for 4 days. 

Observation Tuesday: Volume 43

Some real talk today: I've got a cold. I'm going through Kleenex like it's no body's business and drinking lemon zinger tea like its my job. Hopefully it'll go away by tomorrow so I can go to work. Any magical cold remedies you've got up your sleeve?

Do you remember the Oreo commercial from the superbowl? Watch it here. Now that you're up to date on the cookies vs. cream argument watch this fantastic video of someone really into the cookies.

26 Stories That Are Better In Reverse. My favorite one is 16.

Snapshot Sunday: March 10

You guys, I was so thrown off this morning when my alarm and I was so tired. Thankfully I remembered I had daylight savings time to blame. 

Sunrise on the way to work

Cuties in my cow bowl.

Free Thursdays at Seattle Museums!

This is the Museum of History and Industry (i.e. history of Seattle) and it was really cool

lots of buttons to push, which made it fun

Ship!

Sunny day in Seattle. Windows and sun roof were definitely open

Seth and I visited La Conner, WA today.

This is on the rainbow bridge

Nell Thorn Restaurant & Pub in La Conner

I had Braeburn apple and gorgonzola pasta - delicious

A giant tree. There was no explanation so I don't know what the significance is

Vanilla Walnut "Shortbread"

I feel a little bit of writers' block. Not that I call myself a writer, normally I just babble on about random stuff before introducing a tasty snack of some sort. This time I'm just going to jump right in with why I made these vanilla walnut "shortbread" cookies.

I really enjoy is having delicious pre-made snacks ready in the freezer. Waffles, smoothies, these delicious pseudo-shortbread cookies. These come together in a snap and are quite fantastic (and gluten-free!)

You put the ingredients in a food processor, pulse for a few minutes, then form into cookies and freeze. No turning on the oven even.

I happened to have made these a few days before my best friend came to visit. Since she eats gluten free it was a total bonus to have these ready in the freezer. If she hadn't surprised me I totally could have played it off like I had just whipped these up since I knew she was coming. But maybe you can too.

Vanilla Walnut No Cake Cookies

adapted from Shutterbean

Ingredients

• 2 cups walnuts
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt

To Make

1) Put walnuts, coconut, honey, vanilla and salt in food processor. Pulse until smooth. It will take a few minutes. Once it's done scrape the dough into a mixing bowl.

2) Using your hands, rolls pieces of the dough into balls roughly 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Then flatten the balls into cookies. Freeze for an hour and enjoy! (Keep them stored in an airtight container)

Coffee shop observation Tuesday

Today's observations were written in a coffee shop this past week.

1) I like to try and figure out what people are doing when they're at a coffee shop; working, pleasure reading, studying. When they're studying I like to figure out what they're doing. One thing I've determined is that they're not studying for nursing school unless they have at least two huge textbooks, a packet of notes and their laptop.

2) Catchy 80s love ballads make it really hard to study. Not singing along takes a lot of willpower.

3) If you run a coffee shop, buy mugs with good handles because puny handles are uber annoying.

Homemade Cheese Its

 My love language is food. Sharing dinner with good friends, setting the table, making snacks and delicious treats are how I express that I care for people. If I make you food, you're in. 

Now obviously I love my husband. But the fact that I made him these home made cheese its really proves that fact. Why? Confession time, I don't like Cheez Its. They just don't taste that delicious to me. But if you're going to eat some, these are the ones to eat. Five ingredients and no weird preservatives.

Just take a look at that cheese. It gets mixed with some butter, flour, water and salt. That's it. Boom.

After you mix all the ingredients, you get this lovely ball of dough. Which gets tossed back into the fridge to let the butter and ingredients get all cold again so it can bake...better. There's science behind it, I just can't explain it.

The making of the squares is not an exact science but it's fun. Make these and share them. Or give them away if you don't like them either.

Homemade Cheese Its

adapted from BHG

Ingredients

• 8 oz cheddar cheese
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour flour
• 2-3 tbsp ice water

To Make

1) Shred the cheddar cheese. Put the paddle attachment with your electric mixer (or hand mixer for the first part). Mix the cheese, butter and salt until well combined. Next slowly add the flour until the dough is pebbly. Finally add ice water until a ball is formed.

2) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for an hour. 

3) Preheat the oven to 375. Using a mixer flatten the dough into a really thin sheet, about 1/4"thick. Cut dough into small squares. I used a pizza cutter but you can also use a fluted pastry cutter, if you're fancy.

4) Places squares on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper if you have some. Bake about 15 minutes until puffed and a little brown. Let cool on a rack as soon as they come out of the oven. 

These are best enjoyed while fresh! Enjoy.

Snapshot Sunday

Today topped off a busy but good week. A little sun in Seattle made for a good end. Here are a few snapshots.

I walk by this creepy head in an antique store window

every day on the way to the bus. I just wanted to share.

Guys, I won something! 

This adorable necklace from CC Clementine from Tea Talk. 

Thanks, Chelsea!

Some chai and studying

love can be a little crumby sometimes

It's starting to be light on my way to work in the morning.

Makes starting my day that much easier

Flowers from my love this week.

Frisbee in the park. So great.