Sunday 3 February 2013

Winter Pleasures


When I wake up to this watery mix of pastel colours peeking through our front door, it's hard to be anything but happy  :)   Can you imagine how awesome it is to open the door and see this first thing?


Yes, I'm tired of winter, and yes, I'm weary of the bleak white landscape, but sunrises like this make up for the general lack of colour.

While we're spending more time indoors over winter, I'm trying out a few new recipes/adventures in the kitchen.  I've never made tortillas, thinking they would be really fiddly and time consuming to make.  NOT SO!





We served them with a bean, cheese and sauteed veggie filling which was delicious.  They were equally good the next day as sandwich wraps and I'm guessing that they'd score top marks as a breakfast burrito as well (filled with scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa).  I opted to make whole wheat which gave a nutritional boost and added fibre.  The kids have all been asking when I'm making them again.  Good sign :)

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This morning found me bravely trying a recipe for english muffins (for the first time).  It was dark when I started, and by the time I was done, it was full daylight.  They took some time, but the result was very tasty.  




The texture was very tender - not at all like store-bought english muffins.  I went with half whole wheat and am confident that I could up that ratio next time.  We're aiming for whole grains as much as possible & switching out the white flour sometimes takes a little bit of experimenting to get the texture right.   I'm going to try a few different recipes as well...  having never made them before, it's hard to compare them to anything other than store bought (which always taste of of chemicals and feel like sawdust in the mouth).   The family enjoyed them and gave them a unanimous double thumbs up, so it was worth the effort (as most home-made things are).

5 more days until my PDC course starts...  I'm so excited :)






6 comments:

  1. Your makes all look really tasty.I have never made either.
    The photos of the sky are beautiful

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  2. What a lovely post, I can imagine the quiet of the early morning in your kitchen, cup of coffee nearby as you begin your baking,
    xxx

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  3. That gorgeous sunrise! Sherri you've shown the very two things I have avoided trying to cook!

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  4. Mexican food is the best for quick go to meals. My 15 year old will not eat lunch at school (dont ask me why) so when he gets home he goes to the freezer and grabs a small container of taco meat (mince with seasoning cooked up on weekends) and microwaves it for 2 minutes. Then he grabs a pkt of wraps (large pkt broken up into 2-3 slices so he doesnt use them all at once) and microwaves for 20 seconds. Grab some shredded cheese from the fridge (or little frozen pkts from freezer) and he's done for a good hot snack/lunch. My husband does the same but he reaches for small frozen serves of chilli concarne. So Easy. I also have a ready supply of homemade meatballs already 80% cooked (oven bake). They can go on skewers for quick BBQ or grill snack or be thrown in a quick sauce (tomato or curry) for a meal in 30 min. I love my freezer but you have to be organised. Oh, another quick one - one of those big chunky canned soups (man size) throw in a can of baked beans to make a meal for 3.

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  5. Oh, forgot to say - your pink sky looks amazing.

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  6. Wow, that baking is impressive!
    I've toyed with the idea of making my own English muffins, but haven't as yet.
    That sky and that picture would brighten even the weariest of hearts.

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