I embroidered last month’s Receiving Blankets. It’s not anything fancy, however I think it does add a nice personal touch. What do you think?

PS: It’s hard to see but the blue has 3 clouds embroidered in white.

After a few (who am I kidding, too many!) failed bread making attempts, I’ve had to ask myself, “what gives!!” Making bread in Calgary was as easy as 1-2-3. Here in Denver it’s like calculus. The bread collapses like an old lady with a broken hip. After much soul-searching, research and reassurance from my own self I have discovered a few yeast bread facts that sure help the bread making process.

Here’s the deal with high altitudes:

Bread dough rises a whole lot faster, due to less air pressure (less down, more up), disallowing the dough to become “full-bodied” and “sophisticated” in flavour. AKA it gets kind of biscuity, but yucky biscuity. So here are some tips that I have researched:

First, never ever forget to add the salt! It acts as a yeast retardant and at high altitudes that is hugely important (trust me, I know by experience… twice in a ROW I forgot). A lot of gurus recommend increasing salt input by 1/4 to 1/2.

Second, it’s okay to let that dough rise a second time before shaping it and letting it rise a third time. Remember to punch it down inbetween.

Third, don’t let it rise to twice the size, never mind more than twice the size. The first rising should only take about 30 minutes and the second about an hour.

Fourth, they say to add less flour because there is less moisture in that messy white stuff at high altitudes, however thus far I have found the opposite.

Fifth, use flour with a minimum 12 grams of protein per cup. I use Hungarian High Altitude Flour, which does indeed meet this standard.

Sixth, decreasing the yeast (by about 1/3 to 1/2) is an obvious way to slow the rise time, however I feel hesitant over this one. A gut feeling really.

Lastly, I would like to remind the reader that although recipes are (or should be) most ideal at sea level, this does not mean the recipe will not work at 5000 feet. Try it out first before plodding on with the suggestions. If it doesn’t work, altitude makes a reliable scapegoat.

Every now and then I crave a good meal from my childhood. This past week I was full-out craving Taco Soup. Let me tell a quick story about Taco Soup. I thought my momma had invented it, that it was original to her. When one of my friend’s mums made it I asked if they had gotten the recipe from my momma. I was positively convinced that my mum was the goddess of Taco Soup. Anyways, I was very happy to make it the other day and thoroughly enjoyed all of my flashbacks!

Here’s the recipe:

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg or 1/4 cup taco seasoning
48 oz tomato juice
12-14 oz can of kernel corn
16-20 oz can kidney beans, rinsed

Brown beef and add taco seasoning. Throw in the tomato juice, corn and beans. Bring to a simmer.
Serve over crushed corn chips and garnish, as desired, with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

As my mum wrote, “Yum. Dinner in 10 minutes or less depending on how fast you can open cans!!!”

What’s your favourite childhood/comfort food? (This post reminds me slightly of Ratatouille)

I have been horrendously grumpy thus far today despite my over 10 hour sleep. Who knows what the deal is! All I know is that I shall be retreating to movies although I will do my darndest to get some housework done.

I have been the biggest cry baby ever over the past couple of days. I think it has something to do with the extreme fatigue I’ve been feeling. For example, Saturday night I bawled because I was so stinking tired. And then last night I was astronomically emotional because we had just finished watching “The Notebook,” and I felt movingly in love with Conor. It doesn’t end there folks. Conor and I read a short ensign article together (“Learning Not To Count” by Steffani R. Packer, page 52) and I was really touched by the story; Weepingly touched, emotionally touched. I’m pathetic.