Small progress is still the right direction

Between rain and busy life, not much happened on the addition this week, but every small step forward is progress.

The wiring inspection passed so on Wednesday, Ed started putting in the insulation.

Friday, Ed moved dirt and stones around to prepare for pouring the concrete porch and walk.


He had lots of help!


On Saturday, I spent the day at a homeschool curriculum fair with a friend. The day was almost too much fun for two book lovers! Homeschooling gives such a good excuse to buy more books!


Between caring for the children and two more inches of rain, Ed didn't get too much done but managed to almost finish the insulation.

For a review...

Above is the before photo.


And this is today.

Connections

Sometimes when I read two completely unrelated (on the surface) books, a connection is found.

It happened with the last two books I read. At first look, there would be no relationship. It was only when I read the last chapter of the second book that the light bulbs flashed.



The first was In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. This book has been on my list to read ever since I read Food Rules last summer. I wasn't disappointed. If anything, this book was even better.

The book is divided into three parts. The first defined and gave the history of nutritionism. The second described our western diseases and the third gave a game plan of what do to about it.

Like everyone else, I get so confused about the conflicting views on diet and nutrition that bombard us through the media daily. This book gave me confidence to truly know how to feed my family amidst the turmoil. What the book won't give you is a confidence in the food industry, "health" labels and all the publicity over the latest nutritional find.

The author is not a believer in a Creator but I came away from the book with an awe for the incredible way that God designed our bodies and the plants He provided to sustain us. Reading through the history of the western diet in the past 100 years and grasping just a tiny bit of the complexity of plants and humans, doesn't give me a desire to turn my health over to a scientist but builds my faith in God.

If you've ever read an article about  the newest nutritional break through and wondered what in the world you should eat..If you have stood in the grocery store overwhelmed by the choices of low fat, no cholesterol, eighteen added vitamins, extra omega-3, etc, and just longed for simple food choices... I recommend In Defense of Food.



The Johnstown Flood was my second book and a more different genre then the first could hardly be found.

David McCullough, in his masterful way of making history fascinating, describes the flood in 1889 that destroyed much of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. While unusual large rainfall, an "act of God", was blamed for the disaster, was the true culprit the fingerprint of men? Removing acres of trees from the mountains, narrowing the rivers to build the huge mills, and building a huge earth dam high in the mountains for a summer resort for Pittsburgh's steel millionaires certainly played a role in the disaster.

And here was where my mind went to nutrition and our diseases of civilization such as heart disease and diabetes. I'll share a few quotes from The Johnstown Flood.

"If man, for any reason, drastically alters the natural order, setting in motion whole series of chain reactions, then he better know what he is doing."

"They apparently never questioned the professed wisdom of the experts, nor bothered to look critically at what the experts were doing."

"Worse of all they had failed, out of indifference mostly, to comprehend the possible consequences of what they were doing, and particularly what those consequences might be should nature happen to behave in anything but the normal fashion, which of course, was exactly what was to be expected of nature."

Okay, so probably no other reader of The Johnstown Flood would ever make such a leap of imagination, but if the study of history is to learn something, then I'm taking this as a caution personally, not in the building of dams, but in the preparation of meals.

I love when our children connect something they are learning to some other area of life. It is inspiring to know that they "get it" and the knowledge has went deeper than the surface. I'm not sure how to promote it (in me or my children) besides consuming quality material, rich in ideas, and allow time to think. I think Charlotte Mason called it the science of relations.

Have you ever had a weird connection of two unrelated books or ideas?

Question- Aphids in Lettuce

I really want to get back to real blogging but until then, I have another question!

The lettuce in our cold frame is growing wonderfully. But the aphids have discovered the bounty and moved in. I can't blame them, it is sheltered and well stocked with luscious provisions.

They haven't done any noticeable harm that I can see, but every time I pick lettuce, there is more of them. I've just been washing the little guys off. (Annette, you'll notice that I wrote about this AFTER you had salad at our house last night! Don't worry, a little extra protein never hurt!) I'm afraid they will start doing major damage if they keep increasing. There is also lots of ants in the cold frame, too. I've heard that sometimes ants raise aphids.


I hate use chemicals on something we are eating. Do you have any suggestions?

Flower Cake

I loved all your ideas and tips for birthday cakes! Quite a few of you mentioned freezing a cake before frosting. I tried it yesterday and it really did seem to help the crumbs-in-frosting problem.

I decided to make cupcakes, though my oldest daughter thought her little sister should have a "real" cake for her second birthday. (I always make cupcakes for my children's first birthdays.) I had some extra batter which I poured into a Pyrex bowl. I used the bowl cake part for the center of a flower and the cupcakes for the flower petals and leaves. It was super simple (which was all I thought I could handle yesterday) and,as several of you mentioned, children appreciate anything!


At least this little girl looks pleased!

Addition Update

Progress is slower since Ed is just working on the addition in the evenings and Saturday. But it is still progress!

On Monday, Ed pushed some of the dirt piles around. We should be done in the back so he was able to level up the ground. Hopefully we'll be able to seed some grass before the weeds catch hold but it will have to stop raining for a few days first!


The children lost their big dirt pile. They have had so much fun playing in the dirt, stones, and sand. The pile of scrap building material has been endless fun. Why do we buy children toys?


The front of the addition looks far better without the dirt pile. But this area will be further torn up to put in a walk. It appears we are not done with dirt and mud yet!

On Wednesday, Ed finished insulating the back wall and put in the windows.


Saturday, my youngest brother came to help.


They finished laying the chimney block - and heavy difficult job.


They also laid the block for the hearth, filled in the wall around the fireplace and finished putting in the windows! Just in time since the birds were coming in looking for nesting sites in the rafters. I love wildlife but would rather not share my home with them.


It is so much fun watching it take shape!

Question - Birthday Cakes

April is birthday month for us. Three of our four children have birthdays within ten days.

Not only am I dealing with the shock of having my baby turn two and my oldest turn seven - I have three birthday cakes to bake.

I love to bake. You all know that. But cakes and I are not on friendly terms. I'd much rather bake bread. My cakes fall, the layers slide off and the frosting is covered in cake crumbs.

When I was grumping to Ed about cake baking, his solution was more practice. I can see he has his best interests in mind! And I'm sure he is right. I would tell anyone who said they couldn't bake bread that they just need a little more practice - and cakes should be no different. My problem probably lies in the fact that I rarely bake a cake unless it is a special occasion and then I don't have the patience to learn from my mistakes.

I'm going to share what has worked for me. And hope you share some of your own tips, recipes and decorating ideas.

I do have a couple no fail recipes. For some reason I can do an angel food cake (could be all the practice when I was a girl when we had tons of eggs)  and a chocolate wacky cake. I like cakes that are good without frosting.

My favorite trick is to make a trifle. It is so simple. Layer cake, pudding and cream in a clear glass bowl. Fresh berries are another great addition. The outcome looks pretty enough to serve to guests and no one has to know that my cake had a huge dip in the center! Plus it tastes good!

My daughter wanted a bunny cake this year from a cake she saw at a friend's birthday. I made two round chocolate cakes. One cake was the head. The other cake was cut into the ears and bow. The worse step for me is the frosting. Especially in a cut cake, the crumbs lift up into the icing and the result is a lumpy grainy mess.


A tip I learned from my mom is to cover the cake with whipped topping (Cool Whip) instead of frosting. It can be tinted with food coloring and is much easier to cover without picking up crumbs. I find the whipped topping ingredients rather scary but I throw out healthy eating with birthday cakes. At least it isn't as sickening sweet like frosting. The cake does need stored in the fridge.

For my four year old son, I knew his cake had to be something with wheels. I attempted to replicate a back hoe cake found on Family Fun. For the base I used a pound cake from Kay's Country Cookin'. (Still loving this cookbook!) The cake was quite tasty - and didn't fall. I used regular frosting and as expected the crumbs blended into the frosting - but I just said it was part of the mud and dirt effect on the back hoe. 


It didn't exactly look like the picture, but I didn't show my son the picture so it was all okay! My children are so accommodating. I'm the only one who complains about my cake skills! As long as I tell them what it is, and it contains candy decorations, they are pleased.

Now I have one more birthday next week. And I have no idea what I'm going to do. This is for a two year old girl. Any ideas?

Bread Baking - Score and Garnish

Adding a glaze or topping to the top of your loaf can turn a delicious loaf into bread almost too beautiful to eat! Glazes improve not only the appearance but also the texture of the crust and contribute to the flavor.

Here is a few options to consider. The kind of topping you choose will depend upon the type and style of bread.


1. If I do nothing else, I usually brush some butter on the top of the loaves as soon as they are pulled from the oven. This softens the crust and gives it a glossy appearance. I usually have part of a stick of butter in the fridge, that I can grab and rub on. (Don't do this if you are making an artisan bread that you want to have a hard crispy crust.)


2. Before baking in the oven, I sometimes brush the loaves with milk to keep the loaf softer.


3. Beating an egg, egg white, or egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and brushing on the crust before baking will give a shiny crust. For lighter crust, use the egg white and for a darker crust, use the yolk.



4. Choose a topping to accent the type of bread, such as rolled oats on oatmeal bread, cinnamon sugar sprinkled on cinnamon raisin bread, dried herbs on a cheese bread.



5. Egg glazes or an egg wash (#3) will serve as "glue" to hold on toppings such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, herbs, coarse salt, or oatmeal. My all time favorite is a mixture of poppy and sesame seeds.


6. Slashing or scoring a loaf can also add to it's appearance. Use a sharp serrated knife or razor blade. Quickly slit the dough, making an X or other marking. Aim for a ½ inch indention at a 50 degree angle. Don't push down into the loaf and deflate it. Loaves may be slit before rising or immediately before placing in the oven, depending on the desired effect. Usually soft light breads are slashed before raising and denser artisan breads are slashed right before baking.


7. Scoring a loaf can also help avoid the "blow out" effect when loaves rise in the oven in strange formations. I'm not sure why this happens but usually it occurs when I didn't allow the loaf to raise long enough before putting it in the oven. Slitting the top seems to control the expansion in the bread. I especially find it helpful in sourdough bread and artisan breads that have a big burst of oven rise.


Glazing and adding toppings, while taking little time, can add creative touch to your bread baking. Notice in the included photos how much the toppings and slashing adds to the appearance of these loaves.

Did I miss your favorite topping or scoring technique?