The biscuits are pretty d#%m good if I say so myself! I love it when this baking thing works out!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Avoidance
I hate grading. I don't know if all teachers hate grading, but I feel like I can't be alone here. I am not exactly sure what it is about grading that I hate, but I think some of it has to do with reading the same mistakes over and over. It also takes for ever. This semester I tried making rubrics to make the grading go a little faster, but I am still leaving just as many comments as without a rubric, so I am not sure that it is working.
The problem is worse when you have a ton to grade. It sort of snuck up on me this weekend, but I realized yesterday that I had to grade activity plans for all four classes, quizzes for three classes, and review discussion posts from our online class this week...in addition to preparing classes for the week and beginning my other full-time job.
So today instead of doing all of these things, I have cleaned the house, gone for a run, gone to church, read, taken a nap, and baked some biscuits. While I am learning to appreciate and participate in a weekly sabbath, I find myself wondering how in the world will I get everything done this week. And all too often, my method of dealing with feeling overwhelmed is to do other productive things and ignore the things that I really need to get done. (Note to my friends with children....I am amazed that you get anything done ever. I can't imagine working as hard as I know you do and taking care of young children. Way to be the most amazing people ever!)
I chose to bake biscuits today mainly because I am running out of ingredients to make other things...not enough bread flour, no eggs, no buttermilk, etc. However, I did have some heavy cream left over from a lasagna I a made last week, and I coincidentally came across a biscuit recipe that used heavy cream instead of shortening and buttermilk. Here is the recipe:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
(I didn't quite put enough in because I got distracted by the little packet in the salt to keep the salt fresh. Really...isn't salt itself used as a preservative. I really don't want that in my salt! So I took it out and then forgot to keep putting the salt in the mixture.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
Mix the dry ingredients. Using a fork, slowly mix in the cream to form a soft dough. Knead the dough a little bit on a floured surface. Roll or pat it out to be about 1/2 inch thick and cut into your desired biscuit size (around 2-3 inches). I don't have a biscuit cutter so I use a coffee mug. Bake for 15ish minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown (or however you like biscuits).
Although I have not tasted them yet, I think they have turned out better than the first time I made biscuits, judging only from looks. I even have one biscuit that looks almost perfect. I'll let you know what they tasted like!
The problem is worse when you have a ton to grade. It sort of snuck up on me this weekend, but I realized yesterday that I had to grade activity plans for all four classes, quizzes for three classes, and review discussion posts from our online class this week...in addition to preparing classes for the week and beginning my other full-time job.
So today instead of doing all of these things, I have cleaned the house, gone for a run, gone to church, read, taken a nap, and baked some biscuits. While I am learning to appreciate and participate in a weekly sabbath, I find myself wondering how in the world will I get everything done this week. And all too often, my method of dealing with feeling overwhelmed is to do other productive things and ignore the things that I really need to get done. (Note to my friends with children....I am amazed that you get anything done ever. I can't imagine working as hard as I know you do and taking care of young children. Way to be the most amazing people ever!)
I chose to bake biscuits today mainly because I am running out of ingredients to make other things...not enough bread flour, no eggs, no buttermilk, etc. However, I did have some heavy cream left over from a lasagna I a made last week, and I coincidentally came across a biscuit recipe that used heavy cream instead of shortening and buttermilk. Here is the recipe:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
(I didn't quite put enough in because I got distracted by the little packet in the salt to keep the salt fresh. Really...isn't salt itself used as a preservative. I really don't want that in my salt! So I took it out and then forgot to keep putting the salt in the mixture.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
Mix the dry ingredients. Using a fork, slowly mix in the cream to form a soft dough. Knead the dough a little bit on a floured surface. Roll or pat it out to be about 1/2 inch thick and cut into your desired biscuit size (around 2-3 inches). I don't have a biscuit cutter so I use a coffee mug. Bake for 15ish minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown (or however you like biscuits).
Although I have not tasted them yet, I think they have turned out better than the first time I made biscuits, judging only from looks. I even have one biscuit that looks almost perfect. I'll let you know what they tasted like!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Back to baking
William and I went to a pot luck the other day with other faculty from his department. At some point, one of the women in the department came up to him and said, "Your wife hasn't baked anything lately", giving a not so subtle hint that maybe I should make something for him to bring to campus.
So today I made two batches of chocolate chip muffins for him to take into the office tomorrow.
I also thought that I would share the recipe (and will dutifully cite that it came from Simply in Season by Lind and Hockman-Wert).
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon (ish) cinnamon (I think I put a little bit more in)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil (I use olive oil)
1/4 cup honey (I use 1/3 cup to make it a little bit sweeter)
1 1/2 cup berries of your choosing (or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips if you so choose; there is also a zucchini version in which you put 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini if you are so inclined)
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, mix liquidy ingredients in another bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix. Add in berries or chocolate or zucchini or whatever. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar or brown sugar. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes (in my oven 16 is the magic number). Enjoy!
So today I made two batches of chocolate chip muffins for him to take into the office tomorrow.
I also thought that I would share the recipe (and will dutifully cite that it came from Simply in Season by Lind and Hockman-Wert).
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon (ish) cinnamon (I think I put a little bit more in)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil (I use olive oil)
1/4 cup honey (I use 1/3 cup to make it a little bit sweeter)
1 1/2 cup berries of your choosing (or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips if you so choose; there is also a zucchini version in which you put 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini if you are so inclined)
Simplicity
For me, part of the appeal of baking (and cooking) from scratch is that it makes my life more simple. There is something very simple and calming about chopping and stirring various foods in my kitchen. I can actually focus better on my tasks than I do during my work day, and it is the one time of day where I do not feel the need to have music going or want to watch something on TV. Instead, all I want it to be a part of making these different ingredients turn into one or two yummy dishes.
I have been reading a book of essays by Barbara Kingsolver called "Small Wonder". All of these essays in some way have to do with living simply, whether it is by eating locally or using fewer fossils fuels or watching less TV or learning to say no to a way too busy life. I knew that she made gardening and eating locally a large part of her life, but I was amazed to learn some of the things she has said no to, simply because they use too much fuel. For instance, she does not do book tours and turns down most speaking engagements (even though these would earn her more money) because she cannot justify the amount of fuel and pollution it would take for her to travel around the country.
I am inspired again by this woman who lives in a way that to many people seems outdated or inconvenient. It makes me dream of being able to live in a small farming community, have my own garden, and spend much of my time outside doing the manual labor of keeping up the garden, and the rest of the time cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
However, I am also convicted. I am sad/angry/guilt-ridden at myself and at our Western, capitalistic, dominance-oriented way of thinking that living simply is an active choice that we have to make, and how so often, we do not make that choice. Take this weekend for example...I have a new computer for work and so I have been cleaning off my old computer and organizing files for much of the weekend. So I choose to do this activity while watching hours and hours of TV, rather than reading, listening to some calming music, baking, sitting on our balcony, etc. Maybe that's not the best example, or rather the worst thing I could have done. But I think it is reflective of how easy it is for us to turn on the TV instead of reading, to choose processed foods instead of fresh, whole foods, and to consume more than our fair share of the world's resources.
And herein lies my dilemma(s)...I want this more simple life. I think that others want it too. I think that if we were all living more simply and more connected to our local communities, we would not have such a problem with the economy and climate change and war, poverty, etc. that we have. But I work two jobs and by the time I work, workout, and make dinner that day, I am so tired that I choose the convenience of TV instead of the work of reading or connecting to other humans via volunteering or a small group. Or I make my small choices of recycling (which is ridiculously difficult in Florence) and buying farmer's market food, but do not follow up on (what I see as) my responsibility to help others do the same. Why is it so easy to choose the convenient path, the path that in many ways destroys our connections with one another and with our earth? Why do I care more about missing what was on TV than missing out on living life outside of our apartment? Even though it may take more energy in the beginning, I know that these actions of living simply and connecting to others will be more fulfilling in the end, and yet I often do not choose them.
In the midst of this depressing post (sorry about that), I want to make the active and hopeful decision today to do things that are life giving, not only to me, but also good for those around me. I will take this Sabbath day and instead of watching TV all day or fretting about work or the state of the world, I am going to choose baking, reading, talking to friends, and going for a walk outside. I am going to turn off the electronics (which I do want to say are not bad in moderation) and live a little more simply today. I hope that you are able to do so this week as well.
I have been reading a book of essays by Barbara Kingsolver called "Small Wonder". All of these essays in some way have to do with living simply, whether it is by eating locally or using fewer fossils fuels or watching less TV or learning to say no to a way too busy life. I knew that she made gardening and eating locally a large part of her life, but I was amazed to learn some of the things she has said no to, simply because they use too much fuel. For instance, she does not do book tours and turns down most speaking engagements (even though these would earn her more money) because she cannot justify the amount of fuel and pollution it would take for her to travel around the country.
I am inspired again by this woman who lives in a way that to many people seems outdated or inconvenient. It makes me dream of being able to live in a small farming community, have my own garden, and spend much of my time outside doing the manual labor of keeping up the garden, and the rest of the time cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
However, I am also convicted. I am sad/angry/guilt-ridden at myself and at our Western, capitalistic, dominance-oriented way of thinking that living simply is an active choice that we have to make, and how so often, we do not make that choice. Take this weekend for example...I have a new computer for work and so I have been cleaning off my old computer and organizing files for much of the weekend. So I choose to do this activity while watching hours and hours of TV, rather than reading, listening to some calming music, baking, sitting on our balcony, etc. Maybe that's not the best example, or rather the worst thing I could have done. But I think it is reflective of how easy it is for us to turn on the TV instead of reading, to choose processed foods instead of fresh, whole foods, and to consume more than our fair share of the world's resources.
And herein lies my dilemma(s)...I want this more simple life. I think that others want it too. I think that if we were all living more simply and more connected to our local communities, we would not have such a problem with the economy and climate change and war, poverty, etc. that we have. But I work two jobs and by the time I work, workout, and make dinner that day, I am so tired that I choose the convenience of TV instead of the work of reading or connecting to other humans via volunteering or a small group. Or I make my small choices of recycling (which is ridiculously difficult in Florence) and buying farmer's market food, but do not follow up on (what I see as) my responsibility to help others do the same. Why is it so easy to choose the convenient path, the path that in many ways destroys our connections with one another and with our earth? Why do I care more about missing what was on TV than missing out on living life outside of our apartment? Even though it may take more energy in the beginning, I know that these actions of living simply and connecting to others will be more fulfilling in the end, and yet I often do not choose them.
In the midst of this depressing post (sorry about that), I want to make the active and hopeful decision today to do things that are life giving, not only to me, but also good for those around me. I will take this Sabbath day and instead of watching TV all day or fretting about work or the state of the world, I am going to choose baking, reading, talking to friends, and going for a walk outside. I am going to turn off the electronics (which I do want to say are not bad in moderation) and live a little more simply today. I hope that you are able to do so this week as well.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Positive feedback
I think I have always been the kind of person who needs at least some positive affirmation on what I do, how I look, etc. I know that there is probably some psychoanalytic reason for that and it is all probably rooted to my perfectionism and people pleasing. However, the older I get (and perhaps the more busy / tired I get), the more I am learning to trust my own instincts in things. I am learning to be confident in who I am and only make apologies about my actions when they are destructive or hurtful, rather than my usual tendency to apologize for every little thing, even if I did not have control over it.
Nevertheless, I still enjoy a good pat on the back every once in a while. So it felt really good when my husband came home the other day to say that he received compliments on my baking efforts. The faculty in his department thoroughly enjoyed the blueberry muffins and zucchini bread (see below) that I made in the past couple of weeks. One woman confessed to William that she took two muffins for herself even though there were only 12 to go around. And the kicker...a man came up to William at the urinal in the men's bathroom to let him know that they were the best blueberry muffins he had ever had.
Although I am not sure that the blueberry muffins were that amazing, it made me smile to hear that someone like them enough to accost my husband in the bathroom.
Side note: I think that some of what makes the baked goods taste better is that they are freshly made with quality ingredients. I know, shocker, but we are finding that many people in Florence are very attached to their processed and packaged foods. Hopefully, if I do go into baking full-time this means that business will go well!!
This week / weekend I made use of the summer's bountiful zucchini and made some zucchini bread (from 1,000 vegetarian recipes) and oh so good zucchini chocolate chip cookies. This recipe comes from Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" which you should check out here: http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/. It is a great book and includes really yummy seasonal recipes. The best thing about the zucchini cookies is you don't need to feel as guilty eating them because they include whole wheat flour, zucchini, and dark chocolate chips - all of which are pretty good for you (at least in moderation).
And for your viewing pleasure...
Bon Appetit!
Nevertheless, I still enjoy a good pat on the back every once in a while. So it felt really good when my husband came home the other day to say that he received compliments on my baking efforts. The faculty in his department thoroughly enjoyed the blueberry muffins and zucchini bread (see below) that I made in the past couple of weeks. One woman confessed to William that she took two muffins for herself even though there were only 12 to go around. And the kicker...a man came up to William at the urinal in the men's bathroom to let him know that they were the best blueberry muffins he had ever had.
Although I am not sure that the blueberry muffins were that amazing, it made me smile to hear that someone like them enough to accost my husband in the bathroom.
Side note: I think that some of what makes the baked goods taste better is that they are freshly made with quality ingredients. I know, shocker, but we are finding that many people in Florence are very attached to their processed and packaged foods. Hopefully, if I do go into baking full-time this means that business will go well!!
This week / weekend I made use of the summer's bountiful zucchini and made some zucchini bread (from 1,000 vegetarian recipes) and oh so good zucchini chocolate chip cookies. This recipe comes from Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" which you should check out here: http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/. It is a great book and includes really yummy seasonal recipes. The best thing about the zucchini cookies is you don't need to feel as guilty eating them because they include whole wheat flour, zucchini, and dark chocolate chips - all of which are pretty good for you (at least in moderation).
And for your viewing pleasure...
Bon Appetit!