Monday, April 14, 2008

Excited about Spring?

I am...except for the POLLEN! I LOVE the warmer temperatures but could do without the POLLEN!


We (the boys especially) LOVE going to Longan Elementary School to play and ride bikes. That's where Dadu went to school and it has the BEST playground. It really is a great place to play and for Ben...a good place to learn how to ride his bike. Once he's gained confidence we can all ride on our street and in our neighborhood. He has the "balance" needed and now just needs to master starting and stopping on his own. Jacob loves riding there. It's great to throw the bikes in the van and head over there.
















http://www.flickr.com/photos/skamfam
check out our additional spring time pics!

Happy Monday!

2 comments:

Miska said...

Hi, Regina~
Thanks for the kind comment you left on my blog, and thanks for reading! Your boys are adorable. I wanted to get that challah bread recipe to you, so here it is:

1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I didn’t have this, so just used some vanilla extract)
1 pkg. yeast
4 2/3 cup unbleached white bread flour
2 ½ teaspoons sea salt
¾ stick sweet butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs beaten
Extra flour, for dusting
Vegetable oil, for greasing
1 egg yolk, beaten w/ a pinch of salt, to glaze
A large baking tray, greased

Heat the milk, sugar, and vanilla in a small pan until just steaming. Cover and set aside until the milk is lukewarm. Remove the bean and scrape the seeds into the milk.

Mix the flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl, make a well in the center, pour the liquid, butter, and eggs into the well, then mix. Work in the flour to make a soft but not sticky dough. If too dry, add tepid water 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn out on a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until silky and elastic.

Return to the washed and greased bowl and turn until the surface is lightly coated w/ oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a cool spot until doubled in size—1 ½ to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough, cover, and let rise as before—about 45 minutes. Punch down again and knead in the bowl for 1 minute. Let rest in the bowl, covered with the cloth, for 5 minutes. Cover loosely with a damp cloth and let rise as before until doubled in size—about 45 minutes.

Divide into three pieces and braid the dough loosely, tucking the ends underneath. Brush with 2 thin coats of egg yolk glaze and bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.

Glaze again and reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Unknown said...

Hey girl, where have you been? I keep looking at your blog, especially thought there would be a thankful Thursday today.... Hope things are good. -Emily