Getting A Lot Done, Just Not Any Blogging

We've been on a roll the past few days, so I really haven't had time to post. (Yes, I know kitten posts, while cute, don't really count!) I heard a nasty rumor that we're going to be having rain through Saturday, so I'm doubly grateful that I buckled down and got a bunch of yard work done these past two days (with the help of my trusty associates!).

Twinkle lights hung on the deck? Check!

(Yeah, I know the deck cover needs to be painted, but the twinkle lights make me feel happy when I see them and the painting will get done this summer.) Even better? These are twinkle lights from Christmas that are LED, so they are super inexpensive to have on. (Valiant took this night shot for me just now...wasn't that kind of him?)

Lawns got mowed and edged...I've decided Mondays are the day to do it. Weekends can be for other fun stuff and yard work just becomes one more Monday chore.

The last of the seedling in are in the ground or in pots and all the pots are hung or set out, even the ones that needed to be attached to the railing around our firepit.

Our new turtle is doing well and I found the time to clean his/her bowl yesterday. This turtle is the size of a quarter and, by our best research, it is a Florida or Alabama Red Belly, which means it is not native to our area and wouldn't survive our harsh winters. We have five guppies still with us, too.

Oh, what? I didn't mention the turtle? My dad found the turtle in the driveway and he gave it to us because he knew we needed more pets! Wasn't that kind of him? What is the turtle's name? We don't know...it won't tell us and we can't seem to figure out its name. Do you know our turtle's name?

The sprinkler system has been checked for problems and repaired where needed. Valiant even repaired the pond filter to keep our koi happy as the weather warms up.

I even found time to go to the chiropractor to discover that I am not pulling the starter string for the weed whacker or the lawn mower properly and am tweaking my neck and shoulder and that is why I am in pain! I love my chiropractor and am grateful that Superman is so supportive of our relationship.

In between that kind of stuff, Buttercup begged for her favorite Honey Wheat Bread, so I couldn't help but make some for her. If you haven't already tried it, this recipe makes an awesome wheat bread that is moist and flavorful...it became a family favorite the very first time I made it. (Oh, and it uses the bread maker to make the dough, so you can keep working in the yard!) Since I was already spending time in the kitchen, I decided to teach Charming to make bagels. Charming loves bagels and making your own is so gratifying, I knew this would be right up his alley. Right now, our bagels are spending the night in the refrigerator (slow rise is apparently one of the tricks to good bagels), but we'll be boiling and baking them tomorrow morning.

So, now you know what I've been doing instead of blogging. Forgive me?

More Bagels

The great thing about making something more than once is that you start to get the hang of it and can then pass along the skill. The last time we made bagels, Buttercup was involved with the entire process. I love knowing that she'll know how to do all these things for herself.

From boiling to baking, she was part of the process.

When it was all said and done, I was so proud of her.

Even better, she was proud of herself.

More Bagels...

May I tell you something? I am loving home-made bagels. Seriously. I'm using the bagel recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice that I used last time and it is very easy to follow.


I won't lie to you. There a bit of work, but they are so worth it. I made two different batches a few weeks ago and I've been meaning to tell you about them. First, I made regular old water bagels (aka plain bagels). It was the first time I'd tried this recipe and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they turned out. These were not just "round bread"...they really had that chewy bagel texture.

In fact, I was so pleased that I made cinnamon raisin bagels the very next day! The cinnamon raisin bagels had an amazing flavor. They were so good. Unfortunately, I made the dough a little too wet, so our cinnamon raisin bagels were a bit flat.


I really, really urge you to be brave and try to make bagels. You won't regret it.

Egg Bagels...

Growing up in Southern California, I grew up eating bagels. I love a good bagel. (Bagels are more than round bread, although you might not know that if you've just settled for grocery store bagels.) Bagels are unique enough that there were shops that only sold bagels (and the stuff to go with bagels) and they were always busy. Here in Eastern Washington, I haven't had any really good bagels and have had to settle for Costco bagels when the urge gets overwhelming. Not an entirely satisfactory arrangement, but it worked ... right up until the time that I realized that I could MAKE my own bagels. Immediately, I was beset by doubts. Could I make bagels? Could I make bagels that were actually good? Could I make bagels my family would enjoy? Oh, heck, sure I could.

So, that is what I did! I saw this recipe from Brown-Eyed Baker, wherein she modifies a Peter Reinhart recipe (from Bread Baker's Apprentice - which I now own because of my awesome sister!) and produces egg bagels. (Look, she did the real deal. She actually contacted Peter Reinhart and asked him if he had a recipe for Egg Bagels and he was kind enough to write her back with instructions for modifying his standard bagel recipe...how can you not love that?)

Anyway, she posted step-by-step directions and I decided to give it a try and...it worked! (Look at that bagel! Isn't it gorgeous?) I made Egg Bagels from scratch and I'm so stoked! Were they perfect? No, not yet. (Superman and Valiant swore they were perfect; Buttercup noted the same consistency/texture issue I did.) They were good enough, however, that I can hardly wait to try again. (Remember, I follow the adage that you can't say you can't do something until you've tried to do it fourteen times. If you fail at making bagels 14 times, then and only then, you may say that you can't make bagels.) Egg Bagels, Plain Bagels, oooh, Cinnamon Raisin Bagels...the possibilities are endless!

So, who's coming over for breakfast?