Monday, November 27, 2006

Saturday Shoveling...Sunday Baking

This weekend, i visited PA. I only visited with Grandma & Grandpa. When i arrived at 12:30 Grandpa was outside shoveling and sweeping the drive. I went to say Hi and asked how much more shoveling he was doing and if he wanted some help. He said he wasn't doing much, he had taken the snowblower out and did most of the drive already. There was just stubborn snow and ice patches. Well as i was visiting with me, he mentioned where the other shovel was. So i grabbed a kick ass shovel. It had a huge scoop. Grandpa had to instruct me how to operate the thing. "When you are ready to get rid of the snow i tip the handle down so i get the shove base to go overtop the snowbank so i can add more snow. Does that make sense i'm not sure. I think we were outside for about an hour and a half shoveling. I made quite the dent. Grandpa got the hoe out to get the real stubborn ice. I know he was happy i helped but he was so humble. He said to grandma that he was just showing me his kickass shovel (not his words). I know he overdid it. Sunday he was a little sore.

On Sunday, Grandma taught me how to make buns. I wanted to learn from an expert. It was an experience, and i think i will know what to do when misshaps occur. Grandma's recipe was in her head, so as we mixed up ingredients and stirred and stirred. We made a small batch as it was my first time. I didn't think it was that hard to stir up dough. As we are mixing up, i notice Grandma getting the shortening out the fridge. She almost forgot it, we added it at the very end, the dough was almost all mixed up. so more flour we added to make the dough doughy again. We let the dough raise twice and both times it raised very good. The dough was very sticky as we handled it to make the loafs/buns. I'm wondering if it was sticky because of the flour i brought -"Blending flour" or because of the adding of the shortening at the very end.

Grandma said the buns would take 20 mins to brown but we had to add 10 mins on as they didn't brown after 20. She also took the loafs out at that time, she said they would take 55 mins. We made 3 loafs and 12 buns. The buns tasted very good but a little different than Grandma's. When we took the baked goods out of the oven i noticed that the flour seemed to stay on the top of the buns/loafs i forgot to ask if that was normal as she proceeded to brush with butter.

Grandma gave me half of our baked goods to take home. The buns are good but the bread loafs are really hard on the bottom. She packaged the loafs in brown paper bag i think it might have dried out the loaf bottoms but i'm not sure. The buns are really good and i think i have 3 left. Hence the reason i don't bake much for myself - i eat it all and can't seem to ration it.

Rainbowannie

Note: Badabing - good enough blog for u, i will try to keep it up; today i was a chatty kathy
PS guess what i'm making at Christmastime -- buns and i will try cinnamon buns

3 comments:

islandarts said...

I bought a bread machine years ago- it made the most delicious bread in the world. I had to pack it away when we moved and I've left it packed away. Far, far, away. If you make the bread, you eat the bread.
Fresh bread out of the oven is ALWAYS good- even if you forgot the shortening... big deal.

bada bing said...

OK, you can make 1 batch of each, but that's it...you know who eats the most...we do! Women seem to be such bread hounds..lol.

FitGirl said...

I also don't like to keep my bread in those brown paper bags... I'm not sure why they do that? My bread just dries out like that, blech!

Glad to see you back to blogging :)