Super Flour Sack Towels

A bit of exposure: I have a small fascination with kitchen linens. Not sure why but I really like them. Given the opportunity ( say, whenever I happen to pass some in a store) I have to check them out. I have certain specs that I prefer - linen as the fibre is my top choice, white in color or other basic neutrals, good quality cotton is also on my list, anything that looks handmade or artisanal attracts me -  that is more or less what I like. If I can tick off more than one thing I must admit that I really want it. So I really love these towels that Jonathon did for me (actually for me and about 20 of his friends and siblings) for Christmas. Check the points:

 100% cotton flour sack towelling

 custom screen printing (super cool at that!)

 clever, tongue-in-cheek

 designed by my very clever son

I am sure you follow. I love love them! I mean look at them!

Totally cool, right?

(There are a couple of other designs as well. If you like love them too, you can be happy because they are for sale. Contact Jonathon at jlitchfield@gmail.com)

Rice Pudding

This morning, bundled in my cozy and oh so elegant microfibre robe, I open the blinds and this is what I see from my kitchen window. Man, it looks cold!!! and bleak. (And at -20 something degrees C it is.) Hmmmmm..... something really warm for breakfast. Something yummy and comforting that tastes and smells delicious. Aha! Rice pudding! There is really no way to make a picture of rice pudding look at all sexy (so I didn't try) but then rice pudding was never meant to be sexy. It is all about flannel not silk, which has an appeal all of its own - especially on a morning like this.

I realize that for many, if not most people rice pudding falls in the dessert category - which is really too bad. From my perspective it beats muffins and waffles and most (but not all see yesterday's post) pancakes nutritionally. Eggs, milk, rice, raisins, even the cinnamon - lots of virtue. So I have been serving it up for breakfast using last night's leftover rice since our kids were little and we lived in Japan. Which leads me to - because we had no oven in Japan I tried "baking" the pudding in the microwave. And guess what? It is brilliant because you can make this truly yummy breakfast with a smell that does all the coaxing to eat it for you* in less time than it takes to cook a pot of oatmeal. 

Rice Pudding

3 large eggs

1/4 cup honey

1/2 (generous) tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp vanilla

Whisk all the ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. When it is thoroughly mixed put it in the microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. Remove and stir very well. Return to microwave and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir. Cook for a final 3 minutes, stir well again and let stand for 3-5 minutes. Done! 

A few notes: This recipe is very generous in that it is immensely adaptable. If you don't have 1 1/2 cups of leftover rice, use 1. It always seems to work. Perhaps a little more 'custard-y' but still yummy. Today I felt like it so I added 1/4 tsp of cardamom. Sometimes I add nutmeg, other times a little lemon zest. Currents are good along with the raisins or in place of. I have tried basmati, jasmine, brown, brown jasmine, and Japanese short grain rice. All are equally delicious. You can use any milk you like but the higher the fat content the creamier the finished pudding. Whole milk is stupendous but less healthy, 2% mmmmhmmm, 1% great and I really can't say I have tried it with skim - never have it. Low fat evaporated milk works quite well, richer tasting without the fat. So, anyway, just try it.

Second note: after the last 3 minutes of cooking it initially doesn't look like it is really finished cooking. Trust me, it is. If you put it back in and cook it longer it is fine for the first few minutes but then it becomes really firm and dry - not good! If you let it sit for the 3-5 minutes you end up with a nice creamy texture.

Wow! That's a lot of discussion for something that is really simple. Sorry.

*A true advantage as any mother of young children can attest.

But really, I wish you could smell this. On a cold, bleak morning there is not much better.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Weekend breakfast should be a bit more....(fun, relaxed, special - you choose) than the rest of the week. It just feels right to celebrate the weekend. In honor of that philosophy but keeping in mind that it is also the weekend for the cook, here is a wonderful and wonderfully easy suggestion. A friend of mine made cottage cheese pancakes when we stayed with her a couple of years ago and they were delightful, but for my own version I wanted something a little more healthy, still easy and a bit more interesting. So I added the cinnamon, rolled oats, flaxseed and whey, then swapped in honey for sugar and the whole wheat flour for all purpose white.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 scoop whey powder

Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Cook like you would any pancakes. Just be aware that they are challenging to flip (the first one or two may be a mess!) and also know that they are quite thin, not fluffy.

I think they are great all on their own (as in plain). David likes to dress them up with butter and maple syrup and who could say that is wrong?! Another option would be to top them with some nice thick Greek yogurt and fruit. mmmmmmmmmm....

We think they are pretty good. Hope they help to get your weekend off to a great start!

A Sad Song

My father had a wonderful singing voice. I remember him either singing or whistling often as he worked at different tasks when he was home. He sang to us in the car when we travelled to visit our grandparents who lived hours away and it was at least as much a distraction as a movie is now. He sat on the side of my bed almost every night and sang to me to "tuck me in". Of course, he would sing the same songs over and over again and I loved every one of them. Even one that made me cry every time. I would request it, he would start to sing it and I would start to cry. Before long he refused to sing it. Every once in a while I would ask again and he would refuse. Occasionally I would beg, promising that this time I wouldn't cry and he would relent, start to sing, I would cry.... and so it went. He must have been puzzled - both as to why I cried and why I kept requesting him to sing that song. To be honest, I was too. I don't really know why it compelled me the way it did. Perhaps it was so far from my experience that I was just trying to comprehend how a parent could behave that way.

I hadn't thought of that song for years but for some strange reason I did think of it a couple of months ago. I wondered if it really was as sad a song as I remembered and decided to google it - just to see. And.... it is.

Mommy Please Stay Home With Me - Hank Locklin

A mother went out on a party she left at home her baby son
He cried and begged her not to leave him but she would not give up her fun
She kissed his cheek and tried to soothe him but would not heed his childish plea
She heard him call as she was leaving please mommy please stay home with me

The mother joined the merrymakers and soon was lost in trifling joy
The mellow tunes and flitting shadows made her forget her baby boy
She danced and laughed and did some drinking the world for her was full of glee
But now and then these words would haunt her please mommy please stay home with me

She left the party feeling dizzy the smell of drink was on her breath
She hurried home to find her baby in raging pain and nearly dead 
So doctor came and looked on sadly the case was hopeless he could see
The baby dies these words repeating please mommy please stay home with me

The mother now her life would forfeit to hear her baby's voice again
She grieves to think she rudely left him to satisfy her wishes vain
Now mothers don't neglect your duty the story should a lesson be
Do not ignore your baby's pleading please mommy please stay home with me
[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/mommy-please-stay-home-with-me-lyrics-hank-locklin.html ]


(Really, who writes a song like that!!!? And to be fair, why on earth did my dad ever sing it to me? I guess it must have just been a catchy tune and he didn't think about it.)


Anyway, here I am now and even quickly reading the words, I still feel weepy. And I wonder if in a small way my attitudes and practices as a mother were influenced by this. I know that having had the wonderful blessing of being able to be with Merin - to have a close, warm relationship, to teach her and be taught, to help her and be helped, to love her and be loved, - to know her so well and  have no regrets about that relationship, is a great comfort. Greater than I can express. Sorrow as I miss her. But not regret. I know there are almost certainly many mistakes and omissions I have made as a mother but I can say that I have tried in a conscious way to give whatever of myself was required and more. If I can come to the end of my life and not have regrets in regard to my love and expression of it, I think that will feel full.

And just to be clear - my dad was a wonderful role model of that to me. I knew that I was loved without reservation. I was his "pride and joy" (as I think all of us were).

French Bread Challenge

One of my goals/desires for this year is to learn to make a really good French loaf. The kind with the great crust and nice chewy inside. This recipe is not that. It is however really good and has the virtue of being really, really easy. So easy in fact, that I have made it four times in the last 3 weeks. It also looks quite impressive, and I am not opposed to impressing. (On the odd occasion when I manage it, it is kind of fun!) So although this isn't the bread I aspire to make, it is a great recipe to have in the repertoire. Give it a try, wrap it up in some lovely parchment paper, tie it with some twine and take it to dinner next time you are invited. Promise you will impress.


No Knead French Bread


2 Tbsp instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
3 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 1/2 - 6 cups flour
1 egg white
flaked sea salt

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a large bowl combine 2 cups hot water, sugar, salt, oil and half of the flour. Stir very well - it will get nice and gluten -y. Stir in dissolved yeast and the rest of the flour to make a soft dough. Mix well. Leave spoon in batter and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Stir vigorously. Rest again for 10 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Turn dough onto floured board. Knead once or twice until coated lightly with flour. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a  9"x12" rectangle. Starting at the long edge roll it loosely as for a jelly roll. Seal edge. Place both rolls seam side down, on one large baking sheet. Gash the top of each loaf diagonally three times with a sharp knife. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with the salt flakes. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 400 F. for 35 minutes.


As for the French bread challenge....I haven't cracked it yet  - and I may not but I will have fun trying. And it is, after all, only January 11.

Although this isn't the ultimate French bread, I do have to say that it makes superior French toast. Seriously. Enough to justify making the bread - even if it wasn't absolutely yummy fresh.

5

"I have outdone myself!!!!" Eden declared - almost dancing with excitement - when she first saw the actual (as opposed to virtual) copy of this most amazing coffee table book. I wish I could share every single one of the 250 beautiful pages in this book that Eden made us for Christmas because she really has. I love it! She searched through two large (2 cubic ft large) boxes of old photos - because yes, that is how I file my old pictures - then scanned each selected photo, and did the layout as only Eden can. She then enlisted Jonathon to do the graphic design portion of the project which included the cover design and quotes from our favourite childhood storybooks, the ones we read over and over - nightly at least. David and I were asked for an essay response to the question of what motherhood/fatherhood means to us - that went in as well. The finished book is a record of the childhoods of our  five children. It is a treasure. Not only because of what it is but because it was a labor of love. In every way. From every angle.

Eden, thank you. You are incredibly talented and I love you. And to the other of the five thank you as well. For the gift of the book and the love. For your unique talents that you share with me so generously. I love you so much.


(I wish I had Eden's skills to show you this book. It is really big and fat and beautiful.)

Just Because

To be truthful, this is just because I am pretty excited about this fun little app that lets you take "photo booth" style pictures. It is almost as much fun as a photo booth and a lot more accessible - if you have an iPhone.


And.... let's face it, Ysa is awfully cute.


Happy New Year. I am looking forward to the fresh start. It will be a good year.


(The app is Photo Booth Classic Plus)