The Bounty

Today I can't help but think of my beginning pantry clean out as a time of true bounty!  We feasted on Lasagna for dinner and delicious brownies for dessert.  So far so good!  I had already decided that we would have lasagna last week and had the cheese ready in the refrigerator.  I thought it would be a great way to relieve the anxiety my family might have been feeling when I announced that we were having pantry clean out month.

This morning my dad and my husband started and finished framing in the laundry area that is an eye sore in our kitchen.  My husband is putting the mud on the sheet rock right now and hopefully by early next week it will be fully finished and in use.  I am so excited to have this final project that is encompassed within our remodel done.  We declared our remodeling over a few weeks ago only to realize that no we are not finished.  This messy area had to be addressed.  I will be posting before and after pictures very soon.  Until then I will leave you in a cloud of imagination.  I can barely contain my excitement to be finishing up our home and moving on to small things that improve upon what we have done or are small little upkeep projects etc.  That is never done and I am really looking forward to enjoying not having such a full plate of to do projects on the burner.  I can feel a sense of enthusiasm that had been lost to near burn out over the long amount of time it has taken to remodel returning now that I know that we are turning a corner.  What a beautiful view there is around that corner.

Breath of Fresh Air

The winds are changing outside and they are bringing in a refreshing cool breeze.  We endured severely hot weather of 100+ degrees last month along with many other states and I for one are very grateful for the cool temperatures we are now having.

We have been working hard on our remodeling endeavors and I am very happy to be closing in on the end.  We are going to be finishing up our last big project tomorrow and I couldn't be more thrilled.  I think my husband is even more thrilled because the time to relax and enjoy the hard work he has done on our home is almost at hand.  He is amazing and I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man.

I have had bread making on my mind and in my "to do" thoughts for a few years and even made a few loaves several times but just could never stick with it.  However recently I read an article on the Mother Earth News blog titled Five Minutes a Day for Fresh-Baked Bread by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois  
I am so excited about my bread making prospects now that I have read this article.  I have been reading it several times so that the information is familiar to my mind and I do not have that awkward first time feeling when mixing the dough.  I think my biggest problem is I had this vision of a huge wooden floured surface and this dough that I had kneaded for hours to achieve the "perfect" bread.  Only to come to terms with the fact that as long as I have buckets of mud and gallons of paint sitting around my house like it or not I am busy with a home under construction and need to simplify to a point that at least I am successful with my goal of bread making and can become more advanced in my skills as my time allows.  Ahhhhhh what an ah-ha moment.

Another realization came to me today as I was digging through my cabinets and pantry to see what bread making supplies I had on hand.  I have a hodge podge as I like to call it of odds and ends food and supplies that need to be put together in the most creative of manners and the least amount of new purchases  to reduce what we have in the pantry.  So I have declared the remainder of this month until the 6th of October Creative Cooking Month... we shall see just what I can creatively cook for my family using from my pantry and as few purchased ingredients to go along with  that as possible.  My goal is to use down the food sitting around odds and ends really so I can replenish my pantry with fresh ingredients and things that are useful to me when I open the pantry to make a meal.  Join with me if you wish.  It's times like these that many interesting recipes are created!