AF April Abundance

[Lavande]

Cyn - I use a lot of Bob's Red Mill flours. This is the one I used for the flatbread http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-fr...ing-flour.html
I dissolved a teaspoonful full of yeast in 1/4 C warm water along with a teaspoon of honey - let the yeast proof for a few minutes. I use a stand up mixer but you can do it by hand if you prefer. I added 1 1/4 C of the GF flour, about a teaspoon of xantham gum & 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I probably added about another 1/4 of water while mixing (play it by ear). Get that all mixed, knead it for a minute or so, cover & let rise in a warm spot for an hour. It doesn't rise much but it does get a little puffy. I rolled mine out into a circle on a greased pizza stone (you can pat it out into any shape you like on a cookie sheet), baked it at 425 degrees until lightly browned about 10-15 min. I brushed it with melted Earth Balance (butter substitute), sprinkled it with garlic powder, topped it with DF mozzarella style cheese & returned it to the oven until the cheese melted 5-10 min. (Regular cheese melts faster so keep an eye on it if that's what you use). I think the trick with the GF dough is to roll or pat it out pretty thin (1/4-1/2 inch) & prebake it before adding any toppings. I made mine pretty thin, next time I'll leave it a little thicker just to see the difference. Thin & crisp or thicker & chewy??? You pick, ha ha!!!! The dough was easy to handle, not much different from regular pizza or bread dough

Have fun!!!!!
I don't know if you looked on Facebook today but they reminded me that three years ago today I posted a picture of my brand new puppy Matilda along with her BIG "sister", Lol
Glad your dog is feeling a bit better - sorry about the ice, ouch!

[paulywogg]

I saw the pic Lav,at first I thought you got a new puppy, amazing that such a tiny little pup grows into such a huge dog,very cute

[dill]

Late check-in for me, and it will be quick.

Pauly, you are right about this thread being cool bc of all the things that you learn. I learn so much from this thread. I never heard of almond cheese before either!
Cyn, yes there are finally buds and yes Tessa is able to enjoy Spring with us. She is now able to walk with us and she can lope, too. She still favors her leg but is only limping slightly and not all the time. I'm sorry your girl dog is doing so poorly. She's lucky to have such a devoted "mom".
Star, thanks for the link to that recipe. I printed it out and will make it this week end. I don't have any eggplant, but I always go to the grocery on Saturday morning. I'm glad you found a book that helped you process your anger. The book sounds really interesting.
Lav, has it really already been 3 years since puppy Matilda entered your life? Seems like yesterday! I hope you enjoyed your kid-free day.
Papmom, greetings.

It rained on and off all day but the temperature was in the 70's. It was wonderful! I hope everyone has a peaceful AF evening.

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Warm and rainy here, and that's OK.

Cyn, yes we have had big storms, but no damage, just standing water. I hope the next few days are dry to absorb the water.

Lav, so fun to make new recipes. I love making bread, have not done it in a long time.

Dill, great your weather is like mine. Warm. I really need the warmth.

Hello to Pap and Pauly. Have a good Friday.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends!

39 degrees, rain & fog here - not exactly a lovely spring day, boo hoo.
I am a bit freaked out watching the news & seeing these tornados moving across the country. Hope they vanish before they get to the right coast.

Nothing big on my plan book today & that's OK. I am heading out to Curves shortly.
Greetings to Dill, Cyn & papmom & Star!
Have a good AF Friday!

Lav

[treegirl]

morning all -

Lav - I just saw the pic of the puppy Matilda...how time flies! Thanks for the recipe, I may try it - I've never had very good luck with anything yeasted, but I may get brave enough to try. Right now I'm figuring out how to make all the fermented stuff - from jams to relishes - lots beyond sauerkraut! It's a bit of a lengthy process, but looks easy enough. We'll see, right now just figuring out what to feed the dogs and me is challenging enough. Enjoy your day --

Star - I'm echoing Dill here - great that you have found a book to help you walk through the discomfort and emotions about these other issues. Isn't it all so interesting? The path we started on with AF-ness keeps giving us opportunities to work on balance and emotional freedom. I've encountered some things recently that in the past would make me think about giving in to the frustration and then covering it up with AL. But now we have to craft a better way, right? Thanks for your example!

Dill - so glad to hear of your warmth and rain. Xing fingers for the same here eventually - at least it's warmer today. Yesterday was kind of disheartening, only just breaking 40. Glad to hear about Tessa's recovery! Thank goodness my girl seems happy and youthful, until she has a 'spell'. So far so good with the new diet, stay tuned.

Pap - hope you are well -

Pauly - take care -

Off to work I go - sending all bright sunny thoughts -

[dill]

“People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa

Good morning everyone. I've encountered a few very cranky people lately so I thought for me that this quote was a timely reminder. As we get older I think it is easy to become set in our ways and inflexible both physically and emotionally. When I see others behaving that way I try to remind myself not to go down that road!

Star, I'm off to the store now to buy my eggplant.
Lav, I hope you have enjoyed your past couple of kid-free days. I've been kid-free all week and I am really missing them!
Cyn, thanks for sending sunny thoughts. It worked. The sun is shining brightly today. I'm going to look for mushrooms later.
Papmom and Pauly, greetings to you both. Hope all is well.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Saturday to all

Finally getting a break in the weather here this weekend. Forecast is mostly sunny & heading up to the high 60's - yay!

Dill, I've seen that Mother Teresa quote before. I can think of so many rigid, nasty old farts in the past, many of them were my patients, ha ha! For me the best thing was not to internalize all their angst. I resent people projecting their BS on to me, I'm not allowing that anymore. I have learned my lesson (think YB). I keep a smile on my face & my deflector shields up at all times
Funny how a week being kid-free feels odd - I totally understand that!!!

Cyn, I finally conquered the yeast battle years ago when I bought a digital thermometer. Heat your liquids to no more than 105-115 degrees before adding your yeast & sugar/honey. Let it proof for a few minutes until it gets foamy & bubbly then add your flour, salt, etc. I use a stand mixer with a dough hook, saves my weak, achy wrists. I put a loose lid right on the mixing bowl & stick it in my oven that has a 'bread proofing' setting. Any warm, non-drafty place will do.
I threw away many, many failures until I figured all that out. It is actually a fun activity for me & I try to give away most of what I bake!!! Have fun

Greetings Star & papmom. Hope we all have a good AF Saturday!

Lav

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Dill, loved that quote, too. Mother Teresa was all about just accepting people for who there were and loving them. Sorry you have been dealing with crabby people. I have a weird situation with a friend who is being really, weird. Do I cater to her or just not be available? I haven't decided. I really don't want to be aggravated, so may just keep to myself. I just had a houseful, they went off on a trip, and yes, I will miss them too. Such a blessing to live close to kids and grandkids.

Lav, it is important to put up that shield and not let negativity in. Some days it is easier than others. Glad you are having warmer weather, it is so nice to feel spring.

Cyn, hope you are doing well, Pap and Pauly to. Have a good one.

[treegirl]

Hello all -

Thanks Dill for the quote! It's also a reminder that spring is the time for detoxing - my acupuncturist always said that if a person was cranky, their liver needed a little lift - So I guess we can take advantage of spring and eat a lot of dandelion greens and drink lemon water!

Lav - thanks for the baking yeast primer - hmmmm a digital thermometer? Wow - I'll look around for that. Hope you are enjoying the sun, and a little rest from the gkids...I have a feeling they'll be back soon.

Hi Star - are you outside planning your garden? I'm sure you are happy to see what's coming up in the yard.

I got out into the 'forest' here and was able to cut some humongous bittersweet that I've been looking at all winter. 3 of them, actually, about 4 or 5 inches in diameter each at their bases. Lots of sawing. Then I took out a couple of small scraggly trees to open up the area. Gosh, I wish I could buy a chipper/shredder. Even one scraggly tree turns out to be a ton of branches. I'm relieved to get some of this done before the trees bud out, and before the ticks get going - makes everything much less stressful!

Hope all have a happy AF Saturday night. We're off to drive to see SD, as she is busy packing up for her impending move. 3 hours in the car is not my favorite, but this way I've had the whole day to myself to work. And by the way, ALL TAXES ARE DONE! I didn't realize that it would be 4 returns to finish up my mom's estate - Fed and state for before her death, Fed and state for the Estate after. Sheesh. But I did it! My head is still swimming from some of the 'worksheets' and 'instructions' (yeah, right). But now I will have room to put out some of my mom's things, and pics of her, and memorabilia, instead of papers papers papers. Thanks all for sticking with me through all of this.

Pap and Pauly, hope all is well -

to Green!

[paulywogg]

Hello ladies, Lav,they carry the Bob mills flours in the store here,but for some of the other ingredients I need to make a trip to Sprouts(health food store) I buy all my supps and as hubs says"weird food" there,I love that place but it's a little disturbing how much alcohol they carry, not even fancy beer/wine just the plain ole stuff, I tried to find a diet coke there once and they don't carry it, but can have that gigantic section, kinda weird, it's a beautiful Saturday here in Vegas, no wind for once,sent hubs to get me some food even though it's only 3 pm,but I ate very light today and man I'm feeling it now! I like to eat dinner early anyways, I hate food in my stomach when I go to bed,feel gross in the morning, small snack maybe but not a big meal,drinking my lemon water as we speak cuz I have been a grumpy butt and I guess our livers can always use a boost anyways, hello to all, hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday

[dill]

Happy AF Sunday, All!

Pauly, it's ok you've been a bit grumpy, you are in the right spot here. We will all love you anyway! :love: I do find it odd that Sprouts, a health food store, carries a large selection of beer and wine. But I suppose those are healthy if used in moderation. Not easily done for some of us, sadly. We don't have a Sprouts where I live.

Cyn, congrats and well done on finishing all those tax returns! My goodness, you're a star! Isn't the grass the most amazing green at this time of year? I can't get over how green it is and how fast it is coming up. Mr. D lamented the other day that he will soon have to mow. OMG! How was your trip to see SD? We had GD overnight last night and she was such a delight. She walked around the pond with us with a bucket of fish food in her hand, throwing out food to the fish. The 7 koi that we bought during the first year of this thread are all still alive and thriving. They are really big now and quite an awesome sight when they come to the surface and the sunlight plays on them. I wonder if LBH still has her shebunkins and her Moses sculpture..

Star, I made the egg plant casserole yesterday but when I found out GD was coming over for the night I decided to just assemble it and put it in the fridge until today. I made her favorite dinner instead which happens to be spaghetti and peas. So, eggplant is on the menu for today. I googled that book you mentioned the other day and found it, but it was not available as of yet at our library. I could buy it pretty cheaply in the kindle version but I am really not fond of reading in that format. I like the feel of a book in my hands when I am reading. So, at this point it is in my "cart" on Amazon. When I gather enought items for free shipping, I will order it. All the reviews I read were very positive.

Lav, just reading your post about making that bread made me want to bake, and baked goods are the LAST thing I need around here! Ha! I have a kitchenaide with a bread hook and I don't think I have ever used it. I usually put my ingredients in the bread maker machine and run the dough cycle. Very soon I am going to make some dinner rolls tho, bc GS loves them. I will do it the "old fashioned" way just to try it.

Hi Papmom!

Does anyone here still listen to the Bubble Hour? I really enjoyed the 3/22/15 podcast. It featured a Speaker Meeting format and a woman told her story. I found it very inspiring. Another one I enjoyed a few weeks back featured a documentary film maker talking about her film "Lipstick and Liquor" about women and alcohol.

[Lavande]

Good Sunday morning friends

Yep, sunny & nice out again today, yay!!
Has the real spring actually arrived?

Funny you mentioned mowing grass Dill. YB just went out to get started on ours, ha ha.
He finished up planting the 30 forsythia yesterday. There will now be a giant forest growing between here & his brother's property. I still don't think all this is necessary but I won't waste my time dwelling on it either.
I have no concept of how a bread machine works since I've never even seen one. My Kitchen Aid mixer must be nearly 30 years old, that sucker has been a life saver! My hands & wrists couldn't handle all the mixing & kneading
Glad you enjoyed your granddaughter's overnight visit. The boys & their parents will be descending on us today for dinner - grill time!

Cyn, great getting the tax work done! I have a hard enough time getting the info to the accountant let alone actually doing & filing the taxes. That stuff has always baffled me. Now you can have some fun outside time!!!
We actually had frost warnings overnight but I don't think it got that cold. Heading up to near 65 today - woo hoo!!

Pauly, we still do not have beer or wine in grocery stores around here. Of course all the liquor stores place themselves close to the grocery stores so you don't have to trouble yourself too much, ha ha!! I just noticed that the liquor store that was located in the same shopping center as the grocery store (3 doors away) has moved to the far end of the shopping center to a space vacated by Blockbuster Video - it's at least 3X the size of the old liquor store I will not be stepping foot in there, believe me.

Greetings Star & papmom!

Wishing everyone a wonderful AF Sunday!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Morning ladies, took a walk this morning, air was smelling good, no wind woo-hoo!walked for 52 minutes but didn't get many steps must have been shuffling haha,it felt like I was briskly walking, who knows, I wish the grocery stores, gas stations etc didn't carry al,when I lived in Utah they only sell it at a liquor store and in the town I lived in there was only one,people survived, of course I didn't even drink back then so I didn't care either way, and it's not that seeing it is making me crave,have thoughts, it's just an observation, Vegas must sell more booze in one weekend than the whole state if Utah does in a year, it's just how this city rolls,hello to all, let's have a productive Sunday, or a lazy one sounds good too

[treegirl]

Hello all -

OK, this is the first time I've said this in a looooong time. It's sunny and warm! Got out for more bush-wacking this morning, and actually got too warm (too many layers on - habit). So we are on our way to spring here. Dill, I had to smile - there is not enough green here to actually look green yet, but I do greet the individual blades of grass that I do see!

Thanks for the congrats on the taxes. Lav, just prepping HB's corp taxes and our joint taxes is complicated enough for me. I used to do my own taxes, but no more. But with the help of TaxAct, I was able to get my mom's done...I hope correctly! I'll have our tax guy look over them to make sure I did them right.

Enjoy your family life, all. Happy sunny day --