Author Archives: Simply Heidi

Bacon Sourdough Waffles

Written on March 13, 2012 by in Real Food
I got your mouth watering there, didn’t I? I’m pretty sure it was the bacon that did it, right?
Bacon is boss.

Since I tried my hand at Sourdough English Muffins, and shared how easy they were to make, I’ve had a couple of friends express an interest in sourdough. I was more than happy to oblige with some starter and a few tips, but you know… that’s just not good enough. If I was really a good friend I’d share this waffle recipe, because even without adding bacon, these are hands-down the best waffles I’ve ever had.
If I was an even better friend, I’d share some of my homemade apple-butter to top the waffles.
So… um, here’s the recipe!
I make a big batch a couple of times a month so I can freeze the extras. Freezer waffles have never been better.

Sourdough Waffles
Print
Recipe type: Breakfast
Author: Heidi
Serves: 4-6
These waffles are amazing. So light and crispy, you’d be right to proclaim yourself a kitchen alchemist. See notes for add-in ideas (like bacon!).
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sourdough starter
  • 2 cups warm water or milk
  • 2 cups flour (wheat, white, rye or combination)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
  1. The night before you wish to make waffles, prepare a basic sourdough batter by combining 1 cup of starter, 2 cups warm water or milk and 2 cups of flour in a large non-metallic bowl. Stir well, cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm place.
  2. The next morning, remove approximately 1 cup of batter (or whatever will leave about 4 cups batter in your bowl) to use as your starter for next time.
  3. Plug in your waffle iron to get it heating.
  4. To your 4 cups of batter add egg, oil and milk. Stir well.
  5. If you want to add any mix-ins, do so now.
  6. Sprinkle salt and baking soda over mixture and stir gently. Allow to sit for five minutes. You should be able to see the soda reacting with the sourdough. The batter will grow before your eyes.
  7. If mixture appears too thick add a bit more milk.
  8. Ladle onto hot waffle iron and prepare as usual.
Notes

Add one or more of the following to the basic recipe for tasty variations:
3 – 4 pieces of chopped cooked bacon
1-2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/4 coconut flakes
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
2 – 3 Tbs ground flax seeds

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Note: If you don’t have sourdough starter, you can easily make some, buy some or if you are local, come get some from me. :)
Once you’ve got it, feed it flour and water about once a week and you will have starter for years.

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BlogHer Book Club Review: Diary of a Mad Fat Girl

Written on March 8, 2012 by in Books

Graciela “Ace” Jones is one fun girl to hang around. She’s got problems, but they are oh-such entertaining ones.
Ace’s best friend, and fellow high-school teacher, Lilly, cancels their annual spring break Panama City trip to spend time with a mysterious gentleman. Even worse, Lilly waits until the night before they were set to go to spring the news on Ace. So, Ace stays right there at home in good ol’ Bugtussle, Mississippi with no one but Buster Lou, her diminutive Chiweenie to keep her company.
Ace is mad, but when Lilly gets fired under suspicion of having an affair with a student(!), Ace becomes furious. Then her other close friend, Chloe, ends up in the hospital and it’s clear that Chloe’s dirt-bag husband put her there, but no one but Ace seems to be willing to do a thing about it.
As if all of that is not bad enough:
Ace’s on-again, off-again boyfriend walks back into her life, and into her house, while she wearing her holiest yoga pants and icing her “cooter” after an unfortunate accident on the gym’s elliptical machine…
Her boss hates her and is looking for any reason to fire her…
And Ace runs into trouble with the law while wearing a man’s dress. Seriously.

Reading Diary of a Mad Fat Girl was like spending a crazy-fun night out with a bunch of girlfriends. It kept me laughing all the way through. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and thought that they were like people I’d love to hang out with. (The only thing I didn’t really enjoy was that there was a bit more swearing than I usually put up with, but I am a literary prude and I don’t put up with much.)
If you are looking for an entertaining read, you won’t go wrong with this one.

This review was compensated by BlogHer Books, but don’t let that concern you. As always, all text and opinions are my own. I say what I like, yo.
Join the conversation at BlogHer.

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History’s Heroines: Lucille Ball

Written on March 6, 2012 by in Homeschooling

The last couple of months in our homeschool history club, History’s Heroines, have been really fun ones (both for me and the girls).
In February, we met to discuss Lucille Ball. Before their study, I don’t think any of them knew who she was, nor had they seen any episodes of the I Love Lucy show. I’m happy to say that even after all these years, Lucy is still relevant. The girls loved her!
There was more to this lady than just a character on tv. The girls and I learned a lot from studying about her. As a young woman in acting school, Lucille Ball had been told that she would never have an acting career. She just didn’t have what it takes. The girls discussed different ways that they have of dealing with and rising above discouragement. They also learned about Lucy being questioned by the Committee for Un-American Activities regarding a possible affiliation with the Communist Party*. We had a great discussion about the public good vs. personal freedom and who should have the right to make those kinds of decisions.

Surprising facts that I learned about Lucy:

  • Her hair was not naturally red. She used a secret formula made from Egyptian Henna in order to keep her signature color in place.
  • She was sometimes called the Queen of the Bs for her many pre-I Love Lucy roles in Hollywood B movies. I’d love to watch some of those.
  • The real Lucy and the fictional character Lucy were pregnant at the same time (season 2). Lucy’s onscreen pregnancy kept pace with her real one. They filmed a couple of episodes ahead so that her real-life c-section could take place on the same day as her tv delivery.

photo credit: google images, original source unknown


The activity I chose for that month was chocolate making. Anyone care to guess why?
If you are reading this through email, click over to watch video.

The girls had a little better luck than Lucy, thanks to a wonderful guest instructor.

chocolate making

If you are interested, feel free to download and print my notebooking page and writing prompts (for non-commerical use only, please).
Lucille Ball Notebooking Page
Writing Prompts for Lucille Ball

Next week, I’ll share our March activity and discussion on Julia Child.

*If you are looking for a good middle-grade historical fiction book that discusses the red scare and the Commtittee for Un-American Activity’s hearings, I’d recommend The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman.

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Sourdough English Muffins

Written on February 28, 2012 by in Real Food
Remember when I said something about how I wanted the smell of homebaked bread to transform my dreary February rain into something cozy and lovely? Well, I baked (sort of) and the rain? It stopped.
It was a February miracle!
You voted for what yummy bread product I should try and it was a three-way tie between Whole-Wheat Bagels, Sourdough English Muffins and Rosemary Olive Oil Bread.
Since I have made both rosemary bread and bagels before, since “sourdough” is one of Newt’s spelling words this week, and since she and I both like British classic novels and television shows, the Sourdough English Muffins win.
And since they were delicious and easy to make, I win too!

My inspiration recipe is from Cake Walk, who in turn was inspired by GNOWFGLINS. (Incidentally, can anyone tell me how that is pronounced? I love their work with natural foods, but I can’t tell anyone because I don’t know how. Now-fig-lins? Nofe-flins? G’nowf-glines? Please help me say the word so I can spread the word.)
I didn’t change the recipe itself, but I did tweak the technique just a bit to make things go a little smoother.

Sourdough English Muffins
(Printable version at bottom of page.)

1/2 cup sourdough starter
1 cup liquid: water, whey, milk, yogurt, coconut milk – I made a batch on Saturday with water and another on Sunday (they are that good) with half water and half raw cream. Both were tasty.
2 cups flour, any kind or combination – I used 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat and 1/2 cup regular white
1 Tbs honey
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda

12-24 hours before you plan to make your muffins, mix starter, liquid and flour. I prepare mine the night before. Cover with a clean towel and let it rest, undisturbed at room temperature.
In the morning, or whenever you are ready, sprinkle honey, salt and soda over batter. Wet your hands and knead dough in the bowl to combine ingredients well. If it starts to stick, wet your hands again.
Cover with your towel again and allow to rest for one hour. This will allow all those lovely bubbles to form.
Here is what mine looked like when I was ready to cook.

Yup, cook. These are not really baked, they are cooked on a griddle, like pancakes.
If you have an electric griddle, set it to about 300°. If you are using a stove top griddle or cast iron pan, you may need to play around to see what the best temperature is. Start with a medium/medium-low heat. If they are browning too fast, turn it down and vise-versa.
While your griddle is heating, fill a bowl with warm water and place it close by. Then grease your fancy English muffin rings with butter.
See mine:

Fancy, right? They are just quart sized canning rings.
Place rings, right-side up, on your griddle and put a little pat of butter inside each one to melt.
Take a 1/4 cup measuring cup and dip it in your warm water. This will keep your dough from sticking to it. Scoop up a scant 1/4 cup and place inside a ring. Don’t overfill or it will puff up over the top of your ring and stick.
Wet your fingers and smooth/lightly pat down the dough a bit. Be gentle or you’ll squish out all the bubbles.

Cook for about five minutes. Bottom will be a nice golden brown.
Slide your spatula under muffin, lift it up a little, and using wet fingers, push it out of your ring. Carefully remove hot rings from griddle.
Flip muffins and cook for another five minutes or so.

You can finish the muffins for another 10 minutes or so in a 350° oven, but I didn’t bother since we planned to toast them all anyway.
The muffins have a natural ridge, making them easy to split (use a fork, not a knife). Toast and serve with butter and jam or honey.

This recipe makes 10-12 and is easily doubled. I hear they will last for a week or so, but since we gobbled them up so fast, I can’t attest to it. I also hear they freeze well.
 

Sourdough English Muffins
Print
Recipe type: Breads
Serves: 10-12
If you can make pancakes, you can make these, but don’t tell anyone. Let them think you have extra special kitchen-ninja skills.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter
  • 1 cup liquid: water, whey, milk, yogurt, coconut milk
  • 2 cups flour, any kind or combination
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
  1. -24 hours before you plan to make your muffins, mix starter, liquid and flour. Cover with a clean towel and let it rest, undisturbed at room temperature.
  2. In the morning, or whenever you are ready, sprinkle honey, salt and soda over batter. Wet your hands and knead dough in the bowl to combine ingredients well. If it starts to stick, wet your hands again.
  3. Cover dough with your towel again and allow to rest for one hour. This will allow all those lovely bubbles to form.
  4. If you have an electric griddle, set it to about 300°. If you are using a stove top griddle or cast iron pan, you may need to play around to see what the best temperature is. Start with a medium/medium-low heat. If they are browning too fast, turn it down and vise-versa.
  5. While your griddle is heating, fill a bowl with warm water and place it close by. Then grease some quart sized canning rings with butter.
  6. Place rings, right-side up, on your griddle and put a little pat of butter inside each one to melt.
  7. Take a 1/4 cup measuring cup and dip it in your warm water. This will keep your dough from sticking to it. Scoop up a scant 1/4 cup and place inside a ring. Don’t overfill or it will puff up over the top of your ring and stick.
  8. Wet your fingers and smooth/lightly pat down the dough a bit. Be gentle or you’ll squish out all the bubbles.
  9. Cook for about five minutes. Bottom will be a nice golden brown.
  10. Slide your spatula under muffin, lift it up a little, and using wet fingers, push it out of your ring. Carefully remove hot rings from griddle.
  11. Flip and cook for another five minutes or so.
  12. You can finish the muffins for another 10 minutes or so in a 350° oven, but I didn’t bother since we planned to toast them all anyway.
  13. Toast and serve with butter and jam or honey.
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What Should Heidi Make From Pinterest Now?

Written on February 19, 2012 by in I Forgot to Assign a Catagory, Real Food

Oh my goodness, that was an incredibly full weekend.
After last week’s mini-rant, I am avoiding the word busy. We’re all busy. Who wants to hear my whining?
Not even me.
The combination of lots of rushing around and Oregon’s February rain (not to be confused with January, March, April, May, June, October, November or December rain) is putting me in the mood for homemade bread. There are few things nothing better than the warm coziness of a home where a lovely loaf of pure goodness has just been baked.
I’ve turned to Pinterest for inspiration; now I turn to you to decide. Tell me what to make. I’ll pick the most popular, try it out and let you know how it goes next week.

Sourdough English Muffins

.
.
Pita Bread

.
.
Whole Wheat Bagels

.
.
Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread

.
.
Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

.

Pick one and let me know in the comments.
And hurry!
I can’t wait to look out my steamy kitchen window and wonder how the transformative power of warm bread can make even February rain feel lovely.

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On My Mind

Written on February 16, 2012 by in That's So Random

one
I think I’ve figured out my preoccupation with baking lately. This is my dining room:

Yup, it’s Girl Scout cookie time (and I’d rather have homemade, but don’t tell the girls in Newt’s troop). I’m the cookie mom – in charge of inventory, ordering, scheduling booths and banking. It gets a little crazy around here from January to March.
You may have noticed that I am using a stack of Savanna Smiles as a table. On top of my makeshift table is a canvas box containing an electric blanket. Nestled in that blanket are three quarts of cultured milk, incubating into homemade yogurt. (See item two.)
You may have also noticed that I have plywood floors. Still. Don’t ask. (See item three.)

two
Newt has been requiring a bit more sleep lately. She is already taller than me, could she be having another growth spurt?
Anyway, this morning as she slept, I started a batch of yogurt (see item one). When I pulled my starter out of the fridge I realized that I had another pint that had gotten buried in the back. Instead of boring old yogurt for breakfast again, I whipped up a batch of strawberry-banana frozen yogurt. Yogurt, fresh raw cream, strawberry jam and a banana – first in the blender, then in the ice-cream maker. I felt like an awesome mom.
Of course that didn’t stop Newt from arguing with every.single.thing I said today. Wrong side of the bed, meet my daughter…
She did like her breakfast though.

three
So the floors… you just had to ask, didn’t you?
Yes, we still have plywood floors. Such is the life of a do-it-yourselfer. It took several weeks to get the insurance sorted out and when they finally sent the check it was made out to the mortgage company. Once we got that straightened out, we went to work on the bathrooms. They are both nearly finished. Now it’s time to get started on the hardwood, but time is at a premium. Walt and I haven’t even been able to carve out enough time in the last few weeks to pick out the flooring together, let alone start work.
On the plus side…
…
Give me a minute.
…
I got it. On the plus side, if Pepper scratches the plywood up, who cares?
Everything will get done, eventually.

four
This is my calendar:

There are so few empty squares. Thank goodness for Sundays. Is this normal?

Which brings me to
five
This post has taken on a life of its own. I didn’t intend for it to be a treatise of how busy I am. I’m doing fine, but I do have a lot going on right now. Don’t be alarmed if things are quiet around here for the next couple of months. I’ll still be posting regularly, but it may not be more than a couple of times a week. If you have a favorite type of post you’d like to see (recipes, crafts, homeschooling, etc.) let me know so I can prioritize them.

six
Pepper is taking obedience school. She pooped in class this week. Nice, right? The rule is: If your dog goes to the bathroom during class, you must bring cookies for everyone the next week. And now we are back to cookies.
I’m thinking peanut-butter. Got a favorite recipe?

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A Little Bit of a Fuss

Written on February 14, 2012 by in Family Activities, Real Food


I was feeling downright domestic this week. Besides all the Valentines I helped Newt with, we had a second round of sugar cookie-ing, this batch dipped in dark chocolate. (And can I just tell you? Yum. The buttery lemony cookies went perfectly with that rich dark chocolate. So good.) These we shared with friends: taking a plate to a party and little care packages to seven(!) houses.
And then there was our oh-so lovely Valentine’s evening. Our family invited Grandma over to be our sweetheart for the night. Newt made the salad (her own delicious creation: baby greens, pears, dried cranberries, feta and my maple vinaigrette). Walt made dinner (Fettuccine Alfredo from this recipe, though he accidentally used cilantro instead of parsley – and it was even more wonderful.) And me? Well, since we gave all our cookies away, I made dessert:

This delectable creation is called Boccone Dolce and it is modeled on Walt’s favorite dessert from our favorite restaurant. It is made from layers of chocolate coated Swiss Meringue with fresh fruit and lightly sweetened whipped cream. I used this recipe, with minor modifications (whip the meringue as long as you possibly can. The restaurant whips it for a full hour. I whipped for 15 minutes). I was amazed that it turned out so well. Almost perfect.
After such a rich meal, I was considering passing out Pepto tabs for after dinner mints… Instead, we put on our jammie-pants (except for grandma who did not bring hers) and curled up in the living room with You’ve Got Mail* on DVD.
Lovely.
How was your night?

*Oh, the irony. The movie: People enjoying the novelty of the internet while a big-box book store drives the independent companies out of business. Today’s reality: People enjoying the novelty of independent book stores while the internet drives the big-box stores out of business. Who would have thunk it?

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Dr. Who Free Printable Valentines

Written on February 12, 2012 by in She's Crafty...

Valentine’s Day is generally a no.big.deal type of holiday around here. We love each other all the time, you know?
However, this year, I feel like making a bit of a fuss about it. A very small fuss, but a fuss nonetheless.
Last week Newt and I spent a happy hour making homemade Valentines for a party she is attending tomorrow. It was so much fun to to create with paper scissors and glue. And the end result was very sweet… just not very Newt. Pink hearts are not really her thing. We decided that the creative process was more fun than the actual Valentines; those we’ll keep and use for postcards. Over the weekend, we set out to come up with something better.
These are definitely Newt:

We are both fans of Dr. Who, so these were especially fun to create. With plenty of input from Newt and images we found online (credit at the end of this post), I whipped them up in a jiffy. I printed them on a glossy postcard paper pilfered from Walt’s home office. The pilfered paper was perforated (hee) so Newt could easily tear the Valentines out. Besides making them super easy (no cutting) it also left slightly ragged edges which give them a “from the box” feeling that is sort of fun.
If you would like to print some for your own use, feel free. Just please do not use them for commercial purposes. I took Newt’s name off so you can personalize them yourself.

Dr. Who Valentines PDF

Now, aren’t you glad I made a fuss?

Dr. Who artwork credit: Dalek, Ood, Tardis, Weeping Angel

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Heart Shaped Rag Wreath – Inspired By Pinterest Part 2

Written on February 9, 2012 by in She's Crafty...

Last week, I asked you to help me select a project from my Valentine’s Day pin board so I could move beyond being nothing but a big ol’ pinner. I wanted to actually create something, not just dream. You chose the heart garland and I posted my completed project earlier this week. However, this adorable rag wreath came in second:

.

It just so happens that I have a ton of fabric strips left over from Newt’s quilt. Newt and I each decided to make a wreath.
The inspiration wreath used a purchased heart-shaped wire form. I didn’t know where to find one of those, but Walt’s closet has plenty of wire hangers.
I used wire cutters to nip off the hook and the part where the ends twist together. I then bent the hanger into a rough circle, overlapped the ends by an inch or so and used a generous amount of electrical tape to secure them together. Once the ends were secure, I bent the wire into a heart shape. If you make one, bear in mind that it does not need to be perfect. If one hump is a little larger than the other, don’t worry! Lots of girls have that issue. You won’t really be able to tell with all the fabric strips on.

We trimmed our fabric strips to about 1 – 1/2 inches wide and six inches long.
quilt strips
To tie the knot, fold your fabric strip in half. (It doesn’t matter if it’s right sides or wrong sides together.) slip the looped end under your wire. Take the loose ends, pull them over the wire and through the loop. Tighten and repeat with the next strip.
I really should have taken a picture of the actual knotting, but once we got started, neither one of us wanted to quit. This was one of those activities that your fingers just feel happy doing. Just pretend there is a picture here, k?
Keep adding strips until your heart is full. Ahhww!
Right at the top, in the ah, cleavage(?) of the heart, tie two loose ends together to create a loop for hanging. After hanging you can either fluff it up so the rags go every which way:

Made by Newt

Or straighten them up so all the loose ends point out kind of:

Made by Me

Ooh, this is fun. What should we make next?

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BlogHer Book Club Review: The Weird Sisters

Written on February 9, 2012 by in Books

“Our estrangement is not drama-laden – we have not betrayed one another’s trust, we have not stolen lovers or fought over money or property of any of the things that irreparably break families apart. The answer for us is much simpler.
See, we love one other. We just don’t happen to like one another very much.”

Eleanor Brown – The Weird Sisters

Though true of many families, this particular quote is meant to sum up the relationship of three fictional adult sisters, Rose, Bean and Cordy, who come home to run away from their problems care for their sick mother.


Rose (Rosalyn), the eldest, is the responsible one. She cares for her family because she must; it is who she is. How shocking to discover that playing the role of “martyred good daughter” might conflict with her fiance’s plans for their future together.
Bean (Bianca) is in trouble. She has lived her life with the sole aim of getting attention, in any way possible. This time though, her bad choices have caught up with her.
And then there is the flaky, flighty baby of the family, Cordy (Cordelia) who is used to everyone else cleaning up her messes. When she discovers that she is pregnant with no father in sight, she is faced for the first time with being an adult.
The cast of family is rounded out by their mother (she is never given a name) who is bravely and gracefully battling cancer, and their father, Dr. Andreas, a Shakespearean professor of great renown who can only truly communicate through the words of The Bard. Besides the fact that these people happen to be related, their most common bond is a mutual love, or even a reverence, for books.
I enjoyed reading this book, seeing parts of myself in all three sisters, though I certainly didn’t take as long to grow up as they seem to be doing. One of my favorite things was the unique choice the author made to use a plural first person voice wherein all three sisters narrate together. If done poorly, this device might be distracting from the story or clunky, but this was well done. It seemed to serve as a reminder that no matter what we are doing or where we are, our family is always with us.

Where do you fit in your family? Of the three sisters, which do you feel is most like you?

Join the conversation at BlogHer Book Club.

This review has been sponsored by BlogHer Books. All text and opinions are my own.

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