Mexican Hot Chocolate

I unveiled this new (to me) drink at today's book club, and it was a huge hit. We met at my house, and since it's October and our book was originally written in Spanish, I decided to go with a Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) theme. It's a Central American/Mexican tradition that, unlike Halloween, isn't all about the creepy and the gouls and the ghosts. It's about celebrating the lives of your loved ones who have passed away.

There are several traditional foods that are served on Dia del los Muertos, and I'll be posting the ones I made in the next few days. The first one I'm posting is because of popular demand. Seriously, everyone who was here today wanted the recipe, so ... Sonia, Melanie, Elli, Lisa, and Esther, this is for y'all!!

Mexican Hot Chocolate

2 c boiling water
1 chile pepper, stem and seeds removed (or 1 t cayenne pepper)
4 c milk
1 c cream*
1 vanilla bean, split**
1-2 cinnamon sticks, halved
8 oz bittersweet chocolate***
2 T sugar
whipped cream****

In a small saucepan, add chile or pepper to water and reduce to a quick simmer. Reduce to 1 cup of liquid and strain and discard the solids, reserving the liquid.

Over low heat in a larger saucepan, combine the milk and cream, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks, stirring frequently for 20 minutes. DO NOT BOIL!! Add the chocolate and cinnamon, stirring with a whisk until the chocolate has completely melted. Remove the cinnamon and vanilla and turn off the heat. Add the chile-infused water little by little, according to taste.

Serve immediately (this drink separates and settles very quickly) with whipped cream on top. Enjoy!

*I use 5 cups of 2% milk. I mean, seriously, it's already a pretty rich drink without the cream.
**If you cheat like me and use a high-quality liquid vanilla (mine comes in a wine bottle-sized bottle from Mexico), don't add it until you stir in the chile water. Vanilla becomes bitter if you leave it in the heat for too long.
***I found a dark chocolate that was in between semi-sweet and bitter sweet. I think it had 64% cocoa? Anyway, it tasted great, and I didn't have to add any of the sugar. And let's talk chocolate for a minute. If you buy a cheapo chocolate, your drink will taste like it has a cheapo chocolate in it. For a recipe like this, splurge, and buy the good stuff. You'll thank me, I promise.
****Don't make me come over there and slap you because you decided to use nasty-ass faux horrid whipped cream from a can, or even worse, Cool Whip. I will come after you and show you the error of your ways. You don't want that. Make the real stuff.

:)

conversations with John

Random conversation that took place yesterday morning when I got off the phone with a friend of mine ...

Brea: Hey, when my fabulous and beautiful friend Liz gets a high-paying job in New York, can I go visit her and her husband Alex if she buys me a plane ticket? In like a year?

John: Hey, how come I'm never invited on these imaginary and/or hypothetical trips? Maybe I'd like to get a break from the kids and everything, too. Did you ever think of that?

B: No, actually. I didn't. You've never said one kind thing about New York, and you always make that scoffing noise when I bring up most places I'd one day like to visit.

J: Well, I'd at least like to be considered in your plans.

B: I do consider you when making imaginary plans. Someone has to stay with the kids.

J: You just thought to yourself that you consider me the babysitter, didn't you?

B: NO! I did not use the word babysitter in my head.

J: You're lying. But I don't care. And since when is Liz considering a job in New York?

B: Well, I don't think she actually is. It's been a bunch of talk so far. Then she calls me, and we make imaginary plans. Hey! Did I mention that she and another friend and I are going to Italy to celebrate our 35th birthdays? In like 2017?

J: Again I'm not invited?

B: On the Italy trip? Definitely not. It's a girls weekend.

J: How long of a girls weekend?

B: Um ... a two-week long one?

J: And I'm staying with the kids?

B: Uh huh. But tell you what. If Liz gets a high-paying job in New York and decide to spring for plane tickets for you and me, and I can get our moms to watch the kids, would you want to come with me to visit Liz and Alex?

J: I don't know. I don't think I could just let someone else buy me a plane ticket.

B: OMG(osh) THIS IS WHY I NEVER INVITE YOU ANYWHERE YOU INSANE REDNECK IN SHORTS AND WORK BOOTS AND TALL SOCKS AND A BAD HAT!!!!!! YOU MAKE ME COMPLETELY CRAZY, YOU KNOW THAT?!?!?!?????

B: It's cool, it's imaginary plans anyway. But your ass still isn't coming to Italy in 8 years, so deal with that now.

Monday Meal Plan

(Yeah, I know it's Tuesday. So sue me.)

Tuesday: John is off. Yay! Leftovers for lunch, and stir-fry for supper.

Wednesday: John opens. Chicken sandwiches for lunch, pot roast for supper.

Thursday: John is off. Roast beef sandwiches for lunch, spaghetti for supper.

Friday: John closes, and we'll be doing massive getting-ready for book club on Saturday. Pizza for lunch, leftovers for supper, plus fun stuff from the market.

Saturday: John closes. Dia de los Muertos meal for lunch book club, and enchiladas with rice for supper.

Sunday: John closes. Leftovers for lunch, and sandwiches for supper.

Kind of boring week until Saturday. I'm ok with that. :) What are you eating this week? Got a good recipe to share with me? I'm always on the look out for new things!

my sad story

about my mouth. Remember I thought I was working on a sinus infection? Notsomuch. I had a tooth that had gone over to the Dark Side, and very long story short, I had one of my wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday. Starting Sunday evening, I was pretty much curled up on the couch/in bed with pain. It sucked.

By the way ... having a tooth pulled? While you're pregnant and don't have access to the really fun pain meds?

Not cool.

At least they revised the whole you can only take Tylenol when we're done decision.

Probably because I looked like I was going to stab someone if they stuck with that for too long.

So that's where I've been. I've got some food musings coming tomorrow, and John is starting a three day weekend (over a real weekend. What the hell?) tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll get out to Cameron and buy some new chicks. We'll see.

And my garden started coming up today. Lots of teeny-tiny little fuzzy green things. Woohoo!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... it's foggy and muggy, and I still can't get over how GREEN everything is right now.

I am thinking... that I have limited garden space, and how I can best use it.

I am thankful for... an amazing husband who comes home from working an 11-hour-day and immediately sends me to bed because of my tooth, and takes care of everything for the rest of the evening. Seriously, that man is awesome.

I am wearing... my favorite Petrol jeans and a dirty t-shirt (I've been tilling, and I'm taking a break before I head back out with the kids to start planting).

I am remembering... life before children as I watch them finish their school for the day. (It wasn't that great, for the record!)

I am going... to finish my winter garden before lunch, and run up to the Book Basket this afternoon to order World War Z. And maybe get a (decaf, of course) Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I am reading... Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Again. You need to read this, people!

I am hoping... to not be a whining baby for the rest of the week, because the dentist can't see me until Monday, and I can't really take any medicine other than the occasional Tylenol.

I am creating... a person. In my belly.

On my mind... I wish I lived closer to Sarah (or she lived closer to me), I am blessed with awesome friends and family, and God is so very, very good to me.

From the learning rooms... today, it's gardening! What is a winter vegetable here in Texas? Why do we try to grow lots of our own food? Why do we plant more than we can eat? (Because it's not worth having things if you can't share them!)

Noticing that... the more simple I make my life, the happier I tend to be.

Pondering these words..."Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." Faith isn't always easy as an adult. Sometimes, I do wish I could be more like my kids.

From the kitchen... leftover potato soup from yesterday, making bread this afternoon, and smoothies for our morning snack.

Around the house... finishing the laundry, unpacking the bags from last week (I haven't had the energy to get to them yet!), and trying to make some sense of the upstairs.

One of my favorite things... feeling content. Right now, I'm there. :)

Potato Soup

Potato Soup
by Brea Stewart

This very basic potato soup is a favorite around our house, because you can dress it up in so many ways, and it's CHEAP!! It's simple to make, and if you're just making it for 2, then halve the recipe and enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day.

1 large baked Russet potato
2 large raw Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small white or yellow onion, cubed
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup cream (or half and half, or whole milk)
1 T fresh thyme (or 3/4 t dried thyme)
salt and pepper to taste
garnish*

In a food processor or blender, pulse raw potato chunks until finely minced. Repeat with the onion. Add both to the chicken broth, with 1t each salt and pepper and the thyme, in a large stockpot. Cook just below a simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours, stirring frequently. Slowly stir in cream, and add chunks of baked potato (leave the skin on for a more rustic taste). Test the taste and add salt or pepper as needed. Cook for 10 more minutes, ladle into deep bowls, and garnish as desired and serve immediately.

*cheddar cheese, fresh bacon bits, sour cream, chives, diced broccoli, diced peppers, shredded chicken, or anything else that sounds good!

**For an interesting twist, puree 1 cup roasted red peppers with 3 T roasted garlic and add about halfway through the cooking process. Mmmmmm ...

***Amazing and hearty on a cold day. Goes great with a side of salad and/or some toasted french bread.

some random ramblings

I just finished my book club book for this month, Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It was amazing; I loved it and thought it was a perfect October book. Written in 2002 (maybe?) and translated into English in the last few years, it's set in Barcelona in the 1950's. A ten-year-old named Daniel discovers a book by the author Julian Carax. When he sets out to find other works by the author, he discovers that someone is destroying every copy of Julian Carax's work to be found. Daniel decides to learn more about the author's life, and the story he learns is very sad and at times very dangerous. Seriously, you can get it on amazon for under $3.00. What have you got to lose?

The kids and I just spent almost a week in Katy with my family. It was a ton of fun, and I got to take the kids to the Rice Harvest Festival. I haven't been in at least ten years, and I loved going back! Ran into several people I know, and got to hang out with some old friends afterward at my mom's house. I'll be posting pics on Facebook later today.

I think I have a sinus infection. I've spent about 1/4 of my time the last new days praying for death.

John and I have become completely and irrevocably obsessed with Dexter. It's amazing. And fortunately, blood doesn't bother me, so I can tell John what happened after a particularly gruesome scene.

I'm making my awesome potato soup today. It's wonderful. Even the crazy people I know who are flirting with the idea of being vegetarians like Sarah, can make this. You just can't add bacon. I'll post the recipe later when I dig it out of whatever hole in which it's chosen to hide.

I believe life is not worth living without bacon.

Just ordered a new recipe card organizer to try and start wrangling the chaos that is My Kitchen. I can't wait for it to get here!!

I had to have the radiator replaced on my POS truck while we were in Katy. Long story. At one point, I ran out of bad words and had to start making up new ones. Not kidding. So I now have $482 fewer dollars ... but a truck that runs. Tell me again why I like the damn thing so much?

We got to hear the baby's heartbeat last week. It was awesome. I've gained 4 pounds in 16 weeks, and all looks well so far. Woohoo!!

:)

it's a very sad birthday

But a happy one, too. My sweet little brother, the youngest one, the baby of the family, turns eighteen today.

And also, he's not little anymore. He's, like, 8' 13" or something. (Not really, but he's crazy tall.) He's towered over all 5' 2" of me for years. He drives a car now. Sometimes, he talks about girls (EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!!). Is a senior in high school. Went to Europe last summer. Tells me about books he's read.

None of these things are supposed to happen, because he's my little baby brother. So, to sum it up, I'm not ok with him turning eighteen today. He's a freakin' grown-up.

How is he celebrating? He and a bunch of friends are skipping school ... and going to MFAH, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Which is, admittedly, a pretty cool thing to do. I kinda used to do it all the time when I was in school ... but that's a whole 'nother post.

Back to my brother. I love him to death. We're really, really close. Last night on the way home from book club, he made me laugh so hard that I couldn't breathe and had tears streaming down my face.

So happy birthday to my ginormous little brother. And no, this does NOT mean that I'm acknowledging that he could take me down. I will continue to tell him on a regular basis to watch his back, lest I decided to come and kick his ass just to take him down a notch or seven.

Cause that's what good big sisters do, right?

Chuck Norris can divide by zero

I'll be playing with the layout over the next few weeks, so don't be surprised if it's different every time you visit. :)

In other news ... We didn't get the belt changed today because of some technical difficulties, but I did get three of the hoses replaced on my own. After making a trip to the parts store to replace something that broke. So, step one to taking over the world: learning how to replace engine hoses. CHECK!!!!

Edited to add: Any final new layout will be approved by SaRaH, the one with me in the picture up top. Because she is high maintenance. And also, she is the boss of me.

My Truck, or The Story of a Total POS

I have a truck. After going for almost two years with only one vehicle, we bought my truck. Found it on Craigslist, didn't pay much for it. John says we overpaid, and I say that you can't put a price on (my) happiness.

It's a complete piece of crap.

And I love it with an unfounded, makes-no-sense kind of passion.

John hates it, in a fire-of-a-thousand-suns kind of way.

She's a '94 F150, (mostly) white, two-door with a full backseat. Which means we all fit with legroom and no jump seats. Yay!! Used to belong to the City of Austin, and she was one of their paint crew trucks. She has paint ALL OVER HER. John says it makes her look really ugly. I say it gives her character. 4.9, V6 engine, so I can pull stuff if I want to, but she doesn't eat gas like a V8 would. Both kayaks fit in the back at the same time. Her name is Shirley Mae. Because she's a good 'ole country truck.

Except ...

She keeps breaking. And so, John hates her.

Here's the thing. I was talking with John one day, and he laughingly told me that I'm missing a pink gene from somewhere in my DNA. And I've decided that it's true. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, and being a mom and wife totally rocks. However, I like a lot of decidedly un-pink things. I love guns. I like having dirt under my nails after working outside. Clearing underbrush by hand is not only enjoyable, it burns lots of calories.

My dream is to one day buy an old, non-working '69 Stingray and rebuild the whole thing. And in this dream, fantasy harshly collides with reality. I know absolutely NOTHING about cars. Or trucks. Or engines. Whatever.

My new goal in life is to learn lots of mechanical stuff. My first step? Tomorrow, I'm going to be replacing the main belt in my truck, along with several hoses. I'll have some help, but I want to be the one who really does it.

Wish me luck, and I'll let you know how much skin I lose off my knuckles in the process.

Might even post a pic or two. We'll see.

Adventures in Parenting

This happened while I was pecking out my last post, and if I don't put it down now, I'm going to forget it. :)

Drama Mama comes running into the house, crying buckets of tears.

"Evie, what's wrong, hon?"

"David said he was going to catch a cottonmouth and throw it at my head!!!!!"

"Wait, wait. Is there a cottonmouth outside right now?"

(**we did have on by the deck last week, and we killed it, but David is kind of obsessed**)

"No, but he says he's going to find one and pick it up and throw it at my head!!!!!!!"

(Seriously, that was how she was speaking to me. Italics and bold and all.)

"Ok, Evie. Let's talk for a minute. I have some news for you. If David tries to pick up a snake and throw it at your head, it's going to bite him. And it's going to hurt him really bad. And he's going to drop it, so don't worry. He won't be able to throw a snake at your head or any other part of your body."

"Oh. Ok."

"And Evie, what's the snake rule?"

"NEVER PICK UP A SNAKE!!!!!!"

"Exactly. Remind your Danger Boy brother for me, will you?"

"Sure, Mom!"

It's conversations like this that make me feel very secure in the fact that my Parent of the Year award is on its way to my house right now.

**There are four basic types of venomous snakes in Texas: CCCR, the coral snake, the copperhead, the cottonmouth, and the rattlesnake. As of last week with the death of a cottonmouth we temporarily named Tom, all four have been killed within a hundred feet of my house. And .... um ... this isn't news for my FB friends, but we kind of have an escaped coral snake somewhere in the house. We've named him George.

All that to say, my kids are very, very, VERY good about snake safety. I am fairly certain that David wouldn't go find a cottonmouth and pick it up and throw it at Evie's head.

But I think I'll go have a chat with him, just to make sure ...

Adventures In Parenting

So I'm trying to get some rest during the kids' nap time this afternoon.

(Translation: I'm praying that they keep it down long enough for me to get three winks so I don't pass out from exhaustion later.)

I hear a tapping on one of the downstairs windows. I investigate. Nothing there. My dog is asleep, and all the doors are still locked, so I know it wasn't one of my creatures. Neighbor's dog, maybe? Really stupid humming bird? It's happened before, just not repeatedly like that. I go back to bed.

More tapping.

Upon investigation, more nothing. Starting to get a little frustrated here, so I decide to camp out in the chair beside the window and see if my poltergeist feels the urge to take a visible form.

A few minutes later, I look up from my book and see something. Hmm, a piece of paper with about ten paperclips just fell to the ground. What the hell?

Then I find my answer. A rope with a magnet tied on the end is lowered, and it picks up the paper with paperclips. Before the rope completely clears the window, a small car falls to the ground. The rope reappears a few minutes later, paper-free, and tries to get the car. No success.

At this point, the Good Parent Gene kicks in, and I decide to stop my child or children from leaning out the window, which (because of a very tall foundation on that side of the house) is about two and a half stories up.

I high-tail it up the stairs and into the boys' room. To my not-in-the-least-bit surprise, Drama Mama Evelyn is directing this shindig, Eldest Sam is the one with hands on the rope, and Danger Boy David is the one chucking stuff out the window. I whistle (after making sure David had pulled his entire body back inside) and all three whirl around. I give them The Stare.

They give me the who me? I wasn't doing anything remiss look. They are such punks. And they totally know it.

The results: I took away the rope. And the car. And the paperclips. And the chair below the window. And promised to beat them all with a big stick and make them sleep outside for a week in the rain if they ever do that again.

And I'm guessing it will be less than 24 hours before my mom figures out that a) I'm posting again, and b) calls to tell me that the babies shouldn't be hanging out the window. On this point, of course, she will be completely right.

one way to make sure your day starts off well ...

After your husband makes a totally valid point, and does so in a very loving way, get defensive.

When you turn to stomp off, he'll ask, "Are we going to have breakfast together?"

Lie and say, "I was planning on it, but then you started being an asshole, and I'm not hungry anyway."

This works out especially well if you a) are freaking starving, b) have yet to finish your first cupof coffee, and c) are completely wrong and refuse to admit it, even to yourself.

The End

**This post is brought to you by the letter L, the number 14, and a myriad of CRAZY HORMONES.

**I have apologized, and John and I are friends once again. Just in case you were wondering.

does anyone remember me?

So. Lookie here. I may be back! Yeah, I know my last post was a while ago. Like a few weeks. Or, maybe ... y'know, over four months.

Sorry, Sarah. I still love you, I promise!

But I think I just might be back. For real. Life has been over-the-top, completely stinkin' crazy, but I'm starting to get a handle on it now.

Or not. Maybe I'm just good at lying. :)

But here's what new:

I'm pregnant, which was a surprise to absolutely NO ONE except me. Long story, but after spending about an hour in tears, I got excited. Really excited. I'm 13 weeks, and due at the very end of March.

Samuel, the Eldest, turned seven in June. I'm not ok with that. Evelyn, my amazing little Drama Mama, turned six in August. I'm slightly more ok with that, but only because she has promised not to turn eight. And David, my perpetual Danger Boy, will be three in a few weeks. We're not even going there in terms of what I think of that.

I'm writing a book. It's fiction, and a lot of fun, and Sarah is going to wait until it comes out on the best seller list to read it, because she has too many other things to read right now.

I spend too much time on Facebook, so please come and be my friend! I use the term 'punk ass' a lot, and it makes my mother very upset, and the longest she has waited to call me and ask me not to say it anymore was three hours. Look, it's how I talk in day-to-day conversation. Just keeping it real, mmmk?

After MUCH prayer, and TOO MANY conversations, blessed talks with my mentor, and lots of other factors, we decided to keep the kids at home again this year. And what do you know, it's going wonderfully!!! The older two are in first grade, and we're using a modified A Beka course, and I'm surprised at how much I'm loving it.

Not only did I stop blogging, I also stopped reading other people's blogs. I've missed lots of people, especially Jessica. I'll be back to doing that, also.

After the second hottest summer on record, and the driest ever in our county, it's raining. Praise God!! People, we had 68 days of 100 or higher weather. But today, the third day of fall? I don't think it's going to reach 70. I get to wear a sweater!!!!!!!!!!!

That's about it. I'll be back soon with completely unimportant ramblings and some new recipes and funny kids stories and some updated pictures. For today, go and make some bread, then for supper have some amazing soup and cornbread, and top it off with apple spice cake.

:)

just for Sarah

Hello Sarah! It may already be Wednesday at your house up in stinkin' Yankee-land Ohio, but it's still Tuesday down here in Texas. So I don't have to hand over my password yet. :)

Well, it's official. We have the pox. I've been trying to expose my kids to the chicken pox for about four years now, and it was getting a little frustrating. None of them has had it yet. And after our second round of exposure to the same family (yay, big families with lots of kids and a huge exposure window!!!), Evelyn started breaking out last night, and Samuel this afternoon. I'm so excited, and just praying that Danger Boy David will break out in the next few days. We've been under quarantine for the last ... oh ... um ... 29 days. Not that I've been counting or anything. So, soon, we'll be able to go out into the world of our friends and our church again. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to it.

And now for something completely different:

A man with three buttocks.

Just kidding. And points to you if you know to what that joke is a reference.

Anyway. My guilty pleasure of the week: the Twilight soundtrack. Seriously. It rocks. The movie? Notsomuch. It completely sucked, even if you aren't utterly obsessed with the books like me like other people I know. I've been listening to it nonstop for the last three weeks. Love it!!

And now, I think Sam has fallen back asleep (a bad dream woke him up a while ago, and he's had a little trouble calming down), and John should be home in about an hour, and I plan to be back asleep when he gets here.

New recipe coming before the end of the week, I promise, Sarah!

stuff

Evan has written another chapter in Adventures in Ardenhail. It's an interesting read, so if you want, click on the link and start at chapter one.

Sarah's husband, Scott, called me last night to let me know he had read some of my Conversations with Sarah. At first I was concerned that he was mad at me, but my fears were quickly turned aside when I realized how hard he was laughing. He reminded me of a few old conversations which will be appearing in the next few weeks, much to the chagrin of my dearest friend, I'm sure. Washington Monument, here we come!!

I love you, Sarah!!

The dewberries are starting to turn, so I predict many, many cuts and stains on my hands in the upcoming weeks. I can't wait to make more jam and cobbler and syrup, just like we made last year. It was so much fun, and we just ran out of the syrup about a month ago. This year, I know that I need to make twice as much of everything, especially since the last freeze we had killed off most of the Hill Country peaches for the season. (Insert Brea sobbing hysterically upon hearing the news)

My gardens are doing really well; I love watching the way everything grows. We've had so much rain in the last month or two that the whole county is wigging out. Not enough rain to bring us out of the drought, but at least enough that I'm far less concerned than normal about my house burning to the ground.

And we're still waiting for the kids to come down with the chicken pox. It should be any day now; David even has a few suspicious spots on his belly that I'm watching very closely. Yay!!

And now for something completely different:

I'm off to take a bath. In the middle of the day. Because John is reading The Hobbit to the kids. And because I can.

So there.

Conversations with Sarah

(phone rings)

Brea: Hi Sarah!

Sarah: Hey, can I have some of the dandelion wine you're going to make?

B: How'd you know about that?

S: I read it on (cute drummer from high school)'s wall on FaceBook.

B: Oh. Yeah, I'm making it sometime soon, and I'll mail you a bottle when it's ready in 6 months.

S: How do you make dandelion wine anyway?

B: You take the blossoms, and ...

S: Wait, you make it from the flowers? Like, real dandelions? But that's a plant!

B: Yeah, Sarah. It's a plant. Regular wine is made from grapes. Guess what those are.

S: Um, plants.

B: And those peppers you put in your soup?

S: Plants.

B: And wheat for flour for bread? Guess what wheat is.

S: Yeah, it's a plant. Ok, ok, I get it.

B: I could go on.

S: I know. I said I get it.

B: Ok, then. Just trying to help you out here.

:)

Amazing Pizza

I got this recipe from Debbie King. Anything that goes over well with 10 kids, enough to make an appearance on the table each week, immediately is ok in my book. I modified it a bit, because I seem to be utterly incapable of following a recipe as its written ... We have this pizza at least once a week, usually on Friday Pizza and Movie Night, but it also doubles really, really well and we have it often when company with kids comes over. Involve the whole family, and get ready for a fun, tasty, and healthy night!

Pizza
by Brea, modified from Debbie King

makes one extra-large pizza, or two medium pizzas

4 c white whole wheat flour
4 t yeast
1 1/2 t gluten*
2 T brown sugar
1 t salt
1 3/4 c warm water
garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and/or whatever pizza-y flavors you like**
olive oil
cornmeal
sauce, cheese, and toppings

Preheat oven to its lowest setting, usually 170 or 150. Toss everything in your mixer with your dough hook attachment, and start mixing. When the dough starts to pull in the flour, but there's still some left at the bottom of the bowl, start adding the olive oil one T at a time, until it's all incorporated and slightly sticky, but can still be kneaded with the dough hook without making a huge mess. Knead in the bowl with the hook for a few more minutes, then take off the bowl and drizzle more olive oil on the dough, turning to coat. Cover with a dish towel, and put it in the warm oven for about 20 minutes.

Let it rise, then take it out, turn your oven to 400 (if you have a convection, turn on that function), dump the dough on the counter, knead two or three times, and start rolling it out. When the dough starts to stick, start tossing small handfuls of cornmeal on the dough and counter to keep it from sticking and tearing. Slide it onto your pizza pan, fold the crust at the edges should you be so inclined, and poke the bottom all over with a fork so it doesn't have huge air bubbles when you pre-bake it. Please trust me on this step.

Put it back in your oven at 400 until the crust just starts to change color, and isn't doughy anymore. Take it out, top with anything you like to use***, and put it back in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. (Start out using less cheese than you think you're going to need.) Slice it and enjoy with a cold beer or glass of lemonade, and a fresh-picked green salad!


*If you don't have gluten available like SOME PEOPLE I KNOW WHO LIVE IN OHIO, you can reduce the whole-wheat flour by 1/2 c, and add 1/2 c bread flour.

**I usually add, in an ever-so-precise manner, a few shakes of garlic powder and several shakes of basil. I like to keep it simple.

***Some topping suggestions: green pepper, red peppers, roasted red peppers, banana peppers (are we starting to see a pepper-obsessed trend at Brea's house?), pineapples, pepperoni, portabella mushrooms, sliced grilled chicken, black olives, fresh sliced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, spinach, bell peppers, bacon, ham, anchovies, peanut butter ... whatever you like. That's the great thing about homemade pizza ... it's full of endless possibilities!

it's bad ... it's really bad

What do you get when you push a piano down a mine shaft?

(I'm so sorry about this.)

A-flat minor.

(Get it??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Ohhhhh, I loves me some really bad jokes. Seriously.)

Still Alive ...

I'm still here. Just been a tad busy.

We were talking at Bible Study the other morning, and a friend made the comment that Satan is awfully subtle, and one of his sneakiest tricks (in our humble opinion) is isolation. Especially for a woman. Especially for a mom.

I've been working on the isolation thing. No so much with myself; I'm a fairly social person, and loneliness isn't one (of the many things) I tend to have consistent struggles with. But I know other who do, and who are struggling right now. Interweb peeps, you can't grow if you don't let people in your lives. It might be painful and honestly, quite scary, to confide your struggles, but it's so very, very important. Try it. You'll be amazed what happens. God is so very, very good.

Christ told us repeatedly to get over ourselves and put others first. (And yeah, in case you're wondering, that was a paraphrase. I don't know that Jesus ever said, 'Get over yourself,' verbatim.) One of the best ways we can show His love is not through saying how much we love others, although that is a great thing to do. The best way to show His love is to show His love. Helping others. Taking a meal to a tired family, helping an incredibly overwhelmed friend unpack, watching a few extra kids, being an open ear with open arms. Letting someone borrow your Twilight books to help them have an escape for a little while.

So that's where I've been. Getting over myself, trying to learn that life really isn't about me, learning that I ought not talk quite so much about myself, and getting out there.

So. I'll leave you with three things, and the promise of (hopefully) slightly more frequent posts.

1) Every. single. one. of. you. needs to go out and buy Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Trust me on this one. Would I lead you astray when it comes to a book? I think not.

2) Check out Evan's blog. He's the son of a friend at church, and he's also a friend. He loves lit almost as much as moi, so I do like him quite a bit (even if he is going to A&M this fall. Gasp!!). His blog is new, so there's not much on there yet, but it's worth taking a visit. Tell him you came from over here if you leave him a comment.

3) HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed day filled with reverent celebration, good food, and lots of family and friends. (And pray for me. At last count, we're expecting around 20 people including us, and the weather is supposed to be crap. Where am I going to put everyone?? Oh, well, I'll figure it out somehow ...)