In the Baking Mood

Yesterday was a nice warm day with a cool breeze blowing through my kitchen.  Danny was working on the south end of the kitchen.  He has the new door and window in and today he is putting up the bead board.  It is just a solid white now, a  blank slate for me to redecorate...new curtains, new table and chairs, do I put all the knick knacks and blue fruit jars back out and where and how will I display them or do I just simplify my life and put them away and eliminate the dusting and cleaning...probably the latter.  As I get older, my love is not to dust and clean but to enjoy a good book, card and spin wool, be outside in the pasture or garden or the swing.

Danny is excited to build a new table for the kitchen out of oak.  Just a small simple table for two.  Giving me more room in the kitchen.  I am all for that!  We bought back some very old chairs from Angie's basement that we are going to refinish and recane and Danny thinks they would make very nice kitchen chairs.  

The kitchen table and chairs that we currently have was Danny's mother's.  I remember when she purchased the set, Ryan was a baby and he is 40 now.  The old set has been a part of the kitchen for so many years that it will be hard for me to part with it.  But Danny says it is time to make this home ours now.

While Danny was working in the kitchen, I decided I wanted to bake yesterday....

I made doughnut dough...it has been years since I made doughnut!  This is my Grandmother's biscuit cutter.

Why are the doughnut holes the best?

Danny just got caught popping doughnut holes into his mouth!

They aren't pretty but they eat well!

I also made a batch of cinnamon rolls with carmel icing with black walnuts and a small batch of light rolls and a loaf of bread!  What I was I Thinking????  I guess you could say that I wasn't thinking but I had fun and most of the goodies were put into the freezer for the days when cooking is not in my schedule.

Butter, brown sugar, half and half  cooking to make the carmel icing for the tasty  rolls below.

I love black walnuts so I put lots on top of the cinnamon rolls.   We have 2 walnut trees in our yard so I pick them up every fall and crack them and save the meats in jars in the freezer...we always have plenty of them....good thing...they are my favorite!

While I was in the baking and cooking mode, I made a batch of bread dough and made these rolls and a loaf of bread.  I  love homemade bread with a big pan of greenbeans with ham and soft butter to slatter all over a slice of the home made bread.

I really don't have a recipe for my rolls and bread...it was handed down to me by my grandmother Cooper.


2 cups warm water
1 pkg of yeast
1/4 c sugar
1 cup of flour
Mix slowly in mixer with bread hooks
I add 1/3 to 1/2 c shortening
about 2 t of salt
and then I slowing add in more flour (I never measure)  until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
I then put the dough in a greased bowl and slatter the top of the dough with soft butter and cover with a tea towel.  Put the bowl in a warm place...not a hot place and let rise until double.
Punch the dough down with your fist and knead for a few minutes and then shape into rolls or bread loaf and put in a greased pan and cover with clean tea towel again and let raise until double and then pop in the oven  to bake at 375 until golden brown, pull out of the oven and brush warm butter on the top.

Danny got up to fresh brewed coffee and a roll this morning...and plans to start working on the kitchen again this morning...but today I will not be baking.  I will be cleaning the dining room and back porch.
May God bless you and yours all day long.