Was It Worth It?

I'm not a very good bread maker. I think it's a lot of work and hassle when I can just go buy a loaf at the store. I know it's not as good, but it certainly is easier. So when my friend Jody told me about a food storage website that has a great whole wheat bread recipe, I didn't get my hopes up. The wheat bread recipes I've tried up to this point end up with the bread either too heavy, too dry, or just not very good.

But I gave it a go....and.....it was a thumbs up! It was very light and almost spongy. Plus, it had a great flavor. It was really delicious hot out of the oven with butter and raspberry freezer jam. Mmmmmm! Ryan especially loved it, and the kids ate it (which is saying a lot -- they usually hate wheat bread). My Uncle Randy has a saying that goes something like, "The whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead!" My kids obviously don't care, it's usually white or nothing. But this time, I was pleasantly surprised.

I didn't even get a picture of the finished product before we ate it!! It was very yummy....I will definitely be making it again. There's only one problem. It broke my Kitchen Aid!!! It was mixing the dough and I suddenly heard a horrible screaching noise! I turned it off and finished kneading it by hand. The mixing paddle or dough hook still turns, but now it's not very strong and is very noisy. I know it won't mix bread dough anymore...cookies, maybe, but not bread dough. I LOVE my Kitchen Aid! What will I do if it breaks completely?!?! Ryan bought me this one as a gift over 10 years ago and I've been using it about 3 times a week ever since. It doesn't owe me anything, I know, but I will be very sad if it dies.

Sooooo, it looks like I found a great new whole wheat bread recipe, but at a price. Was it worth it?

Cooking Class

For my Mother's Day gift, I headed down to the Gateway for a cooking class. Geneal, Tenille, and I learned how to make Bobby Flay's "Burgers, Fries, and Milkshakes" from his new cookbook. I was really looking forward to this class! I love to cook and am always excited about learning new things. It was really fun to go with Geneal and Tenille! They are a blast to be around. I'm not a huge gourmet burger fan, but went with high hopes and enthusiasm. I figured that whatever Bobby Flay made had to be good!


We started by dividing up the kitchen tasks. Mine was to make the spice rub, and in my over-zealous way, I didn't read the recipe right and doubled the amount of cayenne pepper! Oops! I corrected the situation, though and they turned out spicy, but good. Being in the kitchen was so fun! We got to use all of Sur La Table's great kitchen toys! And the best part is...no clean-up! We made two kinds of burgers, both tiny, but delicious! We also made some yummy homemade fries. Here is the finished product.


The Dallas Burger, the one on the right, had my spice rub on it and topped with coleslaw. I actually HATE coleslaw, but I knew I needed to try it....I LOVED IT! It was SO good!

We finished off the night making delicious milkshakes. We made our own chocolate syrup and created a double chocolate milkshake with marshmallow whipped cream. YUM!! Then, we toasted marshmallows over the flame of the stove and made a toasted marshmallow milkshake! It was divine! One of the best Mother's Day presents ever!