I've had a little conversation going on my facebook wall about the benefits of a kitchenaid mixer and a Bosch mixer...The results are in I am the new owner of a kitchenaid. Actually during the back and forth debate my aunt mentioned to my mom that there was a kitchenaid sitting at grandmas that no on was using and I was welcome to give it a go. Here are the results. I have a recipe I learned from a great lady at church that makes 2 loaves from grinding the wheat to coming out of the oven in about and hour and a half. We've made bread twice this week and my kids love it. Who am I kidding I love it. There is nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread. Forgive the pictures I haven't figured out how to make pretty bread, but boy is it yummy and that's all that matters right. Now, to see what else I can create.


The half and half wheat bread recipe
3 C. Whole wheat flour. We grind it our selves.
1/3 C. Gluten (bulk section at Fred Meyer or Winco)
2 T. instant dry yeast
1/3 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. Powdered Milk
2 C. warm water (I put cold water in the microwave for 2 min.)
2 t. salt
1/3 C. vegetable oil
2 1/2-3 C. White flour

Place 3 cups whole wheat flour, gluten, yeast, brown sugar, and powdered milk in bowl. Mix together and add warm water. Mix thoroughly. Let dough sponge for 10-15 min. (sponging makes lighter bread and reduces the kneading time.) Then add salt and oil and mix well. Gradually add the white flour 1/2 cup at at time until dough forms a ball and cleans the side of the bowl. The amount of flour needed may vary. Knead 5 minutes using a mixer. If mixing by hand, knead at least 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Preheat oven to 150 degrees during this time. Lightly oil hands. Divide dough into two equal portions. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Turn off oven. Place bread in oven, arranging pans with space between to allow heat to circulate freely. let rise until almost double in bulk, approximately 20-30 minutes. Leave bread in oven and turn heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

New Lessons to Learn

I have a new opportunity in our church. For quite awhile now I've been involved in our children's group (Primary), I've led the music and also been an activity day leader (it's like cub scouts for girls) and now I've been asked to teach in our women's organization (Relief Society). I'm a little nervous but it will be a great opportunity to learn and grow. My first lesson is this Sunday, wish me luck. I've also removed the primary helps on the side of my blog and have created a new blog list with some of my sisters newest obsession couponing blogs. I haven't ventured in to it like she has but just maybe I'll give it a try. Let me know if you have any other favorite coupon blogs.

The Inkom Flood

This was a 4th to remember... We had a great morning, enjoyed the parade and time with family. (Happy pictures to follow in a later post.) We went to soda to spend some time with Dustin's dad on his birthday and we got a call from a neighbor saying our street was a river and our home was flooding. There was a freak storm it rained for less then 15 minutes with golf ball sized hail. It caused awful damage farther up the creek and the culvert near our home was just one to be filled up with junk. We hurried home as quickly as possible and these are the pictures after the flood receded. We are so grateful for the wonderful friends and neighbors we have. Luckily we replaced the windows this spring and only one let some water in. We have a little carpet to clean and we'll see what happens with the yard in the days to come. We are really blessed no one was injured and hopefully everyone will sleep well after all of the excitement we had today.