Recipe: Bread Maker Hot Cross Buns

So I got it into my head to make hot cross buns this morning while I was at home with my sick kiddo. I'm all proud because, though I was out of non-hard boiled eggs, I still managed to make some delicious rolls, AND I wrote down what I did. Hope you enjoy it. Happy Easter!

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Bread Maker Hot Cross Buns

Liquids / Sugars
1 cup water
1/8 cup sweetened condensed milk, fat free
2 tsp melted butter
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup applesauce

Dry
4 cups Plain flour
1.5 tsp of cinnamon
dash of salt
1 teaspoon Yeast

Add later
1/4 cup of orange peel
1/8 cup cranberries

Other
2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine liquids and sugars in bread maker.
2. Add Dry items except yeast.
3. Dig a small hole and fill with yeast.
4. Go through a dough cycle.
5. Add orange peel and cranberries mid way finish cycle.
6. Grease a 12x18" pan, fill a bowl with some kind of oil. and have a bowl of flour.
   
7. Alternate rolling up 12 rolls between flour and oil, finishing with oil. Place in glass pan.
8. Place a greased cling wrap cover on top, pop in an over warmed to 100 F. (turn off once up to heat).
   
9. Let sit for 30 minutes in the oven while it doubles in size.
   
10. Remove cling wrap and turn over up to 325 F. (400 F at sea level)
    
11. Bake for 15 minutes, coat with sugar water glaze.
12. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes until brown and crusty.
13. In the meantime take the rest of the sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl. Add enough powdered sugar to thicken it up enough to be icing.
14. Load the icing up in a zip lock bag (may need to double bag here if it's really thick) and ice the buns in cross formation.
    
15. Eat.
    

Mash up of these two recipes:
Destitute Gourmet
Cooks

Nov 30: I made it! / Advent Thoughts

So I made it to day 30 of nablopomo. whew! I haven't written like this since I first started blogging in 2001.

This year is weird. Advent started in November. It caught me unawares, even if my subconcious was busy pulling out the calendar and getting out the tree. (I knew I would need it soon, just not *this* soon). I walked into church on sunday stressing about christmas. I hate to say that but it is true. Last year, I bent under the weight of expectations and did nothing. I said to myself, "self, this christmas thing will take care of itself, yeah. I'll just enjoy the ride." That was highly unsatisfactory. "Christmas" did not take care of itself.

This year, I could blame it on the stores that already had stuff out for christmas on Friday, the ads on tv all about how to get the prefect gift (usually a car or piece of jewelry) but really I had some kind of internal clock ticking. Get advent up. Get christmas cards out. Get baking done. Plan for parties we're invited to. Finish gift shopping. I've come to realize exactly how much my parents and especially my mom did to get advent and christmas done. Now that that is falling to me in our household to express christmas to a little one, I just wanted to say thanks mom and dad for doing it all when I was growing up.

This really is the first advent/christmas that Tobo will experience. He was here for the first one, but really at 9 months, what do you know? I am slightly daunted by how to explain the nativity to a 1.5 year old. I found this great block cresh, but he's more interested in the baa's and the donkey than the incarnation of christ coming into the world to save sinners. And maybe that is how it should be for now.

Nov 27: I survived black friday

So today I went and did something I never do... I shopped. I had heard that Black Friday was a good time to find a deal. In fact, many people I know reveled in it. Since last christmas was really a bust for me (and everyone I should have given gifts to) I've made it my business this year to a) think about and b) get presents for folks this year. But why do that in the most expensive way possible?

So, I did manage to get about 40% off 50% of the things I got today. The rest were discounted in some way except for a construction hard hat for Tobo. (It was $3) I spent about twice as much on other folks as I did myself. I exempted my hubby from having to get me gifts this year since apparently I already did that. :D 75% of what I got were christmas gifts. I have one person who am still shopping for but I will find something.

And I had a few more ideas but will push them off to birthdays or other holidays as they are appropriate. I have a real hard time staying within age appropriate toys with Tobo. I keep getting ahead of myself. This is why I read parenting books so I don't buy him a bottle rocket when he's 2. Cool toy but not age appropriate. I had a good time scooping up a few deals at the local learn and grow toy store. But we have St. nicholas' day coming up in a week so I needed something for Tobo's wooden shoes.

Overall it was not the mad house I expected it to be. I've always avoided it because I have about a 2 hour worth of shopping patience before I'm done done done. So I researched the stores I was going to go to the night before. Found out when stores were opening and left at about 8:45a this morning to go see what I would find. Some deals were better than others. I know I saved money but I have no urge to go to another store for a while.

In other news, I finally watched all of Dr. horrible's sing a long blog. I immediately downloaded the album because it is quite wonderfully crafted. Though I am not sad that when it came out I was raising a 4 month old baby but I am glad to finally watch it. Better late then never.

[I bet you thought I forgot to post? I made it by 4 minutes to spare. Who said I procrastinate?]

Nov 26: two for turkey

Paul and I over the years have worked out a pretty good two person thanksgiving. Tobo is here now, but really, he just had a roll and was ready for pie. The big solution was we just get a turkey breast instead of the whole thing. Since we both only really like white meat, this means were not buying 3 lbs of stuff we don't eat. We had pretty much everything covered: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, rolls, corn, pumpkin pie. Do you notice what's missing? We had no veggies. I can only blame my sick headedness that I forgot to get something green on the table. (The corn wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have 3 other starches along with it.)

We also have a system. I got up this morning with Tobo and made the pie. (well, he pushed some sugar around in a bowl while I put the pie together. He was very excited.) Then Paul went in and prepped for the bird while the pie baked. Once the pie was out, the turkey came out of the fridge and got onion-ed and garlic-ed and went in to cook. I snuck in and loaded up the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. Then we sat and watched football for 2 hours. Once we got to half time, the bird came out, the rolls went in. the potatoes and stuffing took turns in the microwave, and tobo went down for a nap. Everything was ready and we had dinner at noon. Well, Paul and I did. Tobo had his roll about 3 hours later. After dinner, Paul put up the food, I picked up a bit and it was as if there never had been a large bird stuffed in our oven. I consider this a plus because I remember the years where we had no dishwasher and being elbow deep in turkey fat after dinner, or the year it cooked so slow because our stove didn't shut properly. I'm excited about this being a holiday and not a cleaning extravaganza.

We're still pretty sick at the moment, but I am thankful for my close little family. I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving.

Nov 19: christmas freak out

So last night as I was shopping to complete the amount of yarn needed to make JoyGirl's sweater, I came across some make-your-own christmas cards at Michael's. Well, I say came across, but really it was more like almost ran into them, being that they were in the middle of the doorway. I had the momentary panic of "buy it or don't buy it". Now it's true I do need to send out christmas cards, and to be honest, I had forgotten we've started doing photo cards of Tobo. Will we do it again this year, I'm not sure, but I didn't need to make a split second decision about it right there in the aisle. And then I came across the ornaments, and the wrapping paper, and the knickknacks, and the foam cut out snowman sets....ah ah ah! It was like the ground was slipping away from under my feet. Christmas was again coming too fast! I grabbed my yarn, put the cards back and then made a beeline for the check out counter.

And then I started thinking oh yeah...I need to get some gifts... I honestly do think about christmas throughout the year, but for some reason I won't let myself buy gifts until after thanksgiving. Am I afraid I will loose them in my pigsty closets? What is going on? Last year went badly. I didn't plan, so I didn't buy, so nobody got anything really worth while. I'd like blame it on my first year with a child, but really I just didn't have the energy to do more. There is also the money factor. Don't want to spend more than our airline tickets (unless it is the most amazing present evar). But you don't want to be cheap. Better to wait for sales, though I am an impatient shopper.

I have since then sat down and at least wrote out what my plans are, talked with a a few folks too coordinate, and I feel a lot less like I'm under an avalanche, but this seems to happen every year. In my effort to not make christmas commercialized, I am ambushed by my consumerism. Doht!

mother's day

I did not worry about diaper cream on mother's day. I did something more constructive, like put together the changing table. It has had a long journey, but has finally arrived at our home.



It felt good to finally complete something. We also managed to vaccum and wash all of our bedding. (see previous post) We finished the day by watching some sci-fi, all of us cuddled on the couch, eating pizza. It was a great mother's day. The best part of it was tobo. He's really what I was celebrating.

*bleet bleet* to you little lamb

We're finally over our colds (except for a lingering cough) and about to step out the door for the holidays. I took my dad's advice and flipped over the rest of the advent calendar and sent on our christmas family present (from heifer intl) We did the Hope Basket and the Dream Basket. I like these both because the recipients pass on whatever their animals create to other needy people in the area. I made this awsome card. bleet bleet to you little lamb, and a merry christmas. :)

In a last note, I leave you with the biggest time waster of 2007, facebook. You can quit any time you want.

Happy holidays and see you after the break.

turkey thoughtful

We got the first real 'sticking to the ground' snow Tuesday night. We had a bunch of help show up Monday night, so we got a lot of things moved before we all got dumped on. We're about 70% moved right now. We still have a lot of clean up at the other place, empty bookcases, a table, lamps, etc. But we are fundamentally at the new place now. Not a moment too soon. Things are getting stranger and stranger over there. Apparently they will be boarding up our windows so the roofers can finish the job they started in summer. Or whatever. I guess the new management company was able to come to terms with the contractors. (there was a contract dispute.) So glad we are out of there.

We had enough kitchenware to be able to cook a turkey yesterday, which Guru did a fab job on. Lucky him, he also got stuck with most of the clean up since I'm trying to stay away from potential salmonella-carrying items. The fish is looking a bit down, but I think this has more to do with winter setting in, than him actually being sick. It's not easy to be a tropical fish in a the wintery north.

The new mattress is fabulous. I am constantly waking up in the morning with most of the aches and pains I felt the night before gone. Not always the case with the last mattress. The frame is still en-route from the east coast. I am hoping it will be here before the beginning of advent. I really like our new place as well. We're on the shade part of the building, so I think I'll be hanging curtains soon so we have light as well as privacy. Guru has been busy unpacking the books.

A few thoughts I've had over the last few days in no particular order:

- god puts us pregnant ladies through the indignities of pregnancy in order that we are able to feel for what our babies are going through during the first few months of life. Not to go into details, but yeah, I've smelled that. :)

- I think this is going to be a month of culling. My view point is changing. I'd much rather have a beat-up love seat that I can hang out on with my kid than have access to my vhs collection. We have less space for storage here (if we don't count the garage) then at the last place, mainly because we lived there surround by boxes. Here we want to be surrounded by family. Likely candidates for culling include: books (obvious), vhs and dvds, glass wear, clothing, pantry supplies, and surprisingly kitchen items. I have 6 boxes of kitchen 'stuff' left that just don't have a home yet. It doesn't help that my reach is a bit shorter than it was 5 months ago.

- the gender ultrasound is coming up on 11/27. I get nervous when I think about it. It's such a definite factor in the next stage of our lives. We'll either be into ponies or soldiers, have a talker or the silent child, depending on this little person's taste. I don't really have a problem with my daughter playing with toy soldiers or my son explaining to me in great detail about ever little piece of life that is happening to him right now, but usually those things are reversed. It's a broad brush, but you get the idea. It's the decision part that has me squirrelly. It will be different going forward from this point on. _so_ definite_ That's about as close as I can get to what I'm feeling.

Anyway, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. On to Advent! :)

Answer: Butterball

Question: What is cat's bump?

I just realized that Thanksgiving is near. I ran into all the saline-injected birds at the grocery store this evening and the other shoe dropped. That is what I've been forgetting! I'm not so sure we will get a bird cooked this year. We actually hope to be packing and moving over the next few weekends, so posts may be few and far between. Can't wait to get the keys to the new apartment sat. so we can do laundry without coinage. Paul was seriously considering manhandling our old mattress into the new place sunday and make the move sans boxes to the new place so we can plan (and stop living here) We'll see if that comes about. There are still a lot to do around here and I'm not really doing much that I consider useful.

I've got my next prenatal tomorrow, though I don't expect it to be any thing shocking. (same old routine) Paul has voted that I no longer have a bump, but have a curve now, and I'm beginning to really look pregnant, not just wearing baggy clothing.

Work has hired 2 new designers, both of which are nice and competent. We've been doing a lot of training this week. By the look of things I might be able to be part time in the new year. :)

A few notable mentions:

1. Paul is at WOW in Indiana for the rest of the week. He will be manning the table there and actively recruiting candidates for information technology ministry. Please keep him in mind, not just for safe travel, but that it is a positive visit, with many new faces becoming interested in Asia.
2. I've started a new email group called pray-it which will eventually become urgent prayer requests and testimonies, both for us personally and for the fellowship at large. If you'd be interested in being kept in the loop, please visit the link above and I'd be happy to send you an invite to the group.
3. We are looking for new partners to join us in our new roles. If you are interested or would like to know more just contact us.
4. I have been *struggling* with hoemke.com, trying to get it cleaned up and ready for posts on the blog, but I've hit some technical difficulties. Soon and very soon, this sucker will be up and all this type of update will move over there.