A little late night run in with the dresser...

I knew I should have gone to bed earlier...Friday night I had my first visit to the urgent care clinic. It was 11:30, and I was just crawling into bed. Had my PJs on, brushed my teeth already, even had my night mouth guard in my mouth, ha. I somehow tripped (just call me Grace) and hit my slightly open bottom dresser drawer. And boy, did it hurt like the dickens (yes, I know I am a wimp)! I thought, now that is going to leave a huge bruise, and when I was writhing in pain on my bed, I looked down and saw blood. I pulled up my pajama leg, and there was a big gash about 3-4 inches long right below my knee on my shin. I won't get into gross details! Me being a (very tired) nurse...I freaked out. I called my neighbors and they ran over. And of course, we were in the middle of a blizzard at the time! Tami checked on the boys, and Ken brought me to the urgent care. 3 hours and 3 layers of stitches later, I was back at home. Unfortunately, I am not able to drive for a few days since the sutures are very near my knee, and can't risk popping them open. I was feeling sorry for myself since Chris is still not home and will just have to manage with the boys, but I know it could have been much worse. The best thing is my friends! Friends and neighbors have helped out with the boys, shoveled the tons of snow, and brought us dinner. Friends are also going to be chauffeuring us around the next few days, and taking the boys to and from school. What would I do without them?

Japanese school open house

Last week I had a chance to observe Alex and Ian in school. It was great fun! Here are a few videos of the boys during the school day. The first one is of Alex saying the prayer they say before lunch. The second one is of Ian saying his prayer, and the first part they are saying good morning to their Sensei (teacher) and otomodachi (friends). Then Ian is picked to lead at the front of the class when they sing their songs. The classrooms are very cute, and each room has its own piano for singing. Not exactly sure what else they are saying, I'll have to ask Yokosan, our Japanese babysitter and translator! As you can tell, both boys enjoy being filmed, so they were not paying full attention to what they were doing. But both boys really enjoy school, and I really like it, too.

Alex's craft...a rolling mouse
Ian working on his art project

The boys singing a Japanese song

Here is a short video of Alex and Ian singing a Japanese song about elves making shoes...it's one of their favorites! Tomorrow is their school's open house, so I'm sure I'll post more pictures!

Noah's first reconciliation retreat

Last week Noah made his first reconciliation in the church. We had a half day retreat, with a pizza party afterwards. In May he will make his first Holy Communion.

A few recipes

Thought I'd post the bread recipe that I use, and another for buckwheat buttermilk pancakes, that I happen to be making for the boys right now! I will try to add photos of the bread process next time I make bread.
The day I make bread, I will also grind up buckwheat, and pastry flour, or other grains to keep in the freezer on hand for recipes later in the week. That way, I'm not having to clean the mill each time, and for things like cookies and pancakes, I figured I can cheat a little. It is most important to have fresh ground flour for the bread, so I only grind the wheat the when I'm actually planning on baking bread.

Freshly Ground Whole Wheat Bread
This recipe was loosely inspired by a bread recipe from the countrybaker.com site, although mine has many alterations, I thought I should link the website, just in case (and it is a great resource!) Unfortunately, I still only have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, so my recipe is for only 2 loaves of bread, but if you have a Bosch or DLX you can obviously double the recipe. Maybe someday I 'll get one!

Freshly grind about 3 3/4 C hard white or hard red wheat berries to yield about 5 cups of flour

In kitchen aid mixer combine:
2 C warm water (125-130 degrees)
3 TBS canola or safflower oil
4 TBS honey (I use raw honey)
3 C of the freshly ground flour
2 TBS buttermilk powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 TBS gluten (optional)
1 TBS dough enhancer (optional)
1/2 TBS soy lecithin (optional)
1 heaping TBS of instant yeast (place on top of the flour)

Using the dough hook, mix on lowest speed until well mixed, for about 1-2 minutes. Then add an additional 2 C of flour (you may need to add a little more, up to 1/4-1/2 cup of flour), and knead until silky smooth, lighter in color and forms a ball of dough around the dough hook, about 12-14 minutes on the KA. The dough should still be very soft and wet, and the gluten well developed. If it looks dry and is not soft, add a tablespoon or two of warm water.

Once fully kneaded, place dough in an oiled container with a lid to rise. I place it in the oven (set at about 100 degrees) for about 20-30 minutes, until doubled and size, but do not let it over rise. Punch dough down, then divide until loaves. I fold and tuck and shape the dough into smooth loaves, and place into well oiled pans (I use a non stick cooking spray.) I usually make two 8x4 inch pans, and one mini loaf pan. The mini loaf pan prevents the two loaves from getting too big, and the boys love having mini sandwiches made from it in their bento boxes (if we haven't eaten in first!)

Let the dough rise on top of the oven for another 30 minutes or so, or until the top of the loaf is equal to or slight above the top of the pan. While the dough is on the top of the oven, I preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Put the loaves into the oven after rising, but turn the oven temperature down to 325 if using non stick or dark pans (like the Norpro that I use) or 350 if using regular pans. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the bottom the pan sounds hollow when tapped with your hand, or an instant thermometer reads 200 degrees. Let the loaves sit in the pan for about 3-5 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a cooling rack.

My bread recipe is always a work in progress, but this method has worked the best for me, using a kitchen aid. I found you can have great tasting, light and fluffy bread from the kitchen aid!

Wildflower Inn (Jackson Hole, WY) Buckwheat Waffles
This recipe is from http://www.jacksonholewildflower.com/recipes.html with a few variations. My boys were actually fighting over the waffles this morning, since I only have one waffle baker! I had to send Alex from the table for a time out...

1 cup freshly milled buckwheat flour
1/2 cup freshly milled hard white flour, or regular white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (or other natural sugar source)
1/4 C finely ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2+ cups buttermilk (I use 1/4 C dry organic buttermilk powder from Bob's Red Mill and 1 1/2 C water to yield 1 3/4 C total liquid)
2-3 TBS canola oil

Preheat waffle iron. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the water, oil, and vanilla and mix well. If you have time, I highly recommend separating the eggs, adding the egg yolks when adding the wet ingredients, then beating the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (you won't regret it!). Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. The batter will be thick. For belgian waffle makers, add about 3/4 cup batter per waffle. Cook until the waffle iron stops steaming and are brown and crisp. Serve with pure maple syrup or fruit toppings.