Better Tortillas!

So I decided to try making tortillas one more time. The homemade ones were okay, a little floury, but kind of a pain. Anyways... I was out of margarine. No hard margarine, no spreadable margarine. What to do? Find a new recipe. And this one uses olive oil! They rolled out really nice and easily and they tasted good too. My only edit... I used all whole wheat flour. I found that it is best to flip them right after the top starts to puff up.

Indian Chapati Bread (Tortillas)

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Recipe By: Allrecipes.com

Serving Size: 10

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup hot water or as needed

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts, or less if you want bigger breads. Roll each piece into a ball.  Let rest for a few minutes.

2. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, about 30 seconds, then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough.

Cuties in the Kitchen & A Completed Project

Jacob was running and jumping as I took pictures. He always wants me to take pictures of him and his various toys so that he can see the results. I thought this was pretty cute because it looks like he is dancing. And there's Daniel, just being his adorable self. Looks like he is planning something sneaky.

As for my project... I have been NEEDING to hem my kitchen curtains. I like them long, but the boys keep playing in them and touching them and they are white and the boys hands are usually dirty when they do  this. You can just see the long curtain behind Daniel above. I had to tie the curtains in knots to keep them out of reach and they looked so ugly. So then I folded them in half and used clothes pins to keep them out of reach and but they still looked terrible. Since they are sheer, I didn't want to just do a regular hem since I was worried it would look bad. What I really wanted was ribbon. And what I really really wanted was to go to the city and go to Michaels Craft Store because they ALWAYS have a 1$ bin of ribbon. So last friday I got that chance and friday night I hemmed those curtains. I think they look extra pretty now. Plus, the blue in the ribbon matches my blue exterior doors exactly!

Bonus pictures: Daniel looking mighty pleased with himself while enjoyed one of Mama's peanut butter squares. I know, I know, no PB before age 1, but Jacob fed it to him at 4 days old, so he is fine!!

Jacob having a banana and milk to wash down his treat. Yum. Find the recipe HERE. Though I used half icing sugar, half brown sugar this time. Delicious.

Pan Dessert: An Adventure to Come

So I was asked to make a 9x13 pan dessert for a church dinner. Pan dessert you may ask yourself.. what is that exactly? I wondered too.
"Can I make brownies?" I asked.
"It's not squares, it's pan dessert." was the answer.
Well, that was no help. So today at church, I timidly asked what was expected of me for this pan dessert thing.
"You've never made pan dessert?" she said.
"No."  
She lowers her voice... "Well, some people call it sex in a pan."
Well, I could have burst out laughing. At that moment I thought that must be the most hilarious thing I had ever heard, and I was totally not expecting that answer.
Now I have never made sex in a pan, but last week Jeff was telling me I should make it one of my challenges for this year. I guess he is going to be one lucky husband because I will have to make a practice dish before the one for the church dinner.
In conclusion:
SEX IN A PAN = PAN DESSERT @ Church

Kitchen Challenge - MARCH

So I challenged myself to make pretzels, and they turned out alright. Truthfully, I think the only problem with them is that I put too much salt on top. But they look pretty, don't they?

I halved the "Mall Pretzels" recipe found HERE.  Which was a good plan, because six huge pretzels is enough for this house. I used 1 cup white bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour, and I mixed the dough in my breadmaker. I thought they were a bit of a pain to roll out, but by number five I seemed to have a good method. I brushed the tops with melted soft margarine and sprinkled with plain old table salt. We ate them with pizza sauce for dipping.

 Jacob thought the pretzels were cool. He helped me roll them. He watched them bake. He wanted to "pick" his own. And then he licked the salt off the top and wouldn't eat it. Oh well, that picture was worth it.

 Daniel felt left out, because I served him cheese and cucumber for lunch. I thought the pretzels were too salty for him. But he wanted a taste so much that I broke up some little pieces for him. Lucky Baby. Also, Daniel figured out how to drink out of a straw today and it is super cute.

Alligator wanted a bite of the pretzels and Jacob kindly shared. Alligator approved.