Over the weekend we visited my folks and enjoyed another installment of Ally-take-your-stuff-home-you're-almost-30-why-do-we-still-have-some-of-your-stuff???? Thankfully, she also offered me this cookbook that I remember from when I was a kid.
It's an old Discovery Toys cookbook. When I saw the "recipe" for making butter, I thought it would be cool to try. Here are my tools:
All we did was put a tablespoon of whipping cream in a baby food jar and shake it. The book has more activities to go along with it but they were a little advanced for Ava. In fact, she wasn't sure at first:
But then she at least picked up the jar:
I tried some of the butter on bread. It was kind of like fancy whipped butter that you get at weddings. But it was also one step away from being whipped cream, which kind of weirded me out. But it was pretty good. Not exactly churning Laura Ingalls-style, but whatevs.
I've also been making bread. I started a few weeks ago with regular bread, but we're trying Ava on a dairy-free diet to see if it clears up her eczema, so now I'm making dairy-free bread. From this recipe. Here's the yeast chilling in the soy milk:
A picture of my adorable mixer. (Thx,Fatmessers!)
Rising dough:
And loaves! I actually really am enjoying the bread baking. The kneading, the rising, all of it!
So I can't get logged into Linky Tools, so let's not overthink this. Just post a comment with a link to your post! Looking forward to see what you came up with!
I made a pig bladder ball and played with it all day with my toddler. Great fun! Read about it on my blog!
ReplyDeleteI kid, I kid. Here is a post I wrote last week about my initiation into bread baking: http://navigatingthemothership.blogspot.com/2010/09/breadwinner.html
I'll also have you know I've been preserving tomatoes, berries, and peppers from the Farmer's Market by freezing them like it's going out of style. Laura Ingalls would be proud. (Well, would be proud if she'd had a freezer.)
PS - I thought about doing butter, too! Do you think if you kept shaking it longer it would be further away from whipped cream?
Ooh the whipped cream sounds soo good! Will read up on the baked bread too. http://anotherdaytopraisehim.blogspot.com/2010/09/tick-tock.html
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Ally!
ReplyDeleteI intended to actually document something from start to finish, but this week really got away from me. So I guess this post will have to do. I'm starting to get into preserving more, especially since we have started gardening. My next step (that I've been putting off for a month or two) is canning. Even have the stuff to do it!
http://kringlerfamily.blogspot.com/2010/09/fall-preserving.html
I guess my other blog about my crafty endeavors would probably fit the bill as well. http://erinkknits.blogspot.com/ I want to do a post about cleaning, prepping, spinning, and knitting (maybe some dyeing thrown it as well) wool/fiber sometime. Perhaps you'd be interested in learning?
I had aspirations...too bad real life gets in the way sometimes, right?? ;)
Laura--I think it would get less whipped creamy if I had shaken it more. I got lazy, which I don't think Pa would approve of. I hope he doesn't take his belt to me! j/k.
ReplyDeleteBeth--One of these days I'm going to buy a chicken and then I'm going to call you for help! (just the thought of plucking a chicken gives me goosebumps. In a bad way.)
Erin--So many Laura-worthy endeavors! Where do you get wool?
From sheep! Sorry, had to do it.
ReplyDeleteYou can look online for spinning shops in your area. Sometimes yarn stores carry spinning supplies, too. Also, people who raise sheep and sell the wool. Otherwise, the interwebs are your friend (or I may be able to hook you up)!
If you ever have questions, let me know. The subject is a serious obsession...er...near and dear to my heart!