Back to Basics... I'm loving it.

I've been saying for a while that we need to get back to the basics of living.  So that's what I'm trying to do for my group.

 

Baking...  a word that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy just thinking it.  Remember homemade biscuits?  Rolls?  Loaves of bread?  Where's the butter?

 

I decided it was better to be baking our bread than buying if from the store.  There are so many additives to everything we buy today and so much of it is just assumed to be o.k.  Look at what has been discovered about red dyes and then hormones in our livestock and those byproducts.  The scientific community is always coming up with something new that we're not supposed to be eating so much of or maybe we need to be eating more of.  I'm tired of the see-saw. 

 

I've been saying for years that we need to get back to the basics of living.  So that's where I'm headed and in some instances I'm dragging the rest of the family with me.

 

I love the idea of baking and having all sorts of wonderful goodies here in the house for the kids to eat and snack on.  The reality is that I'll also eat and snack on whatever is available.  So though I'm baking all of our bread now, I'm keeping the treats to a minimum.   I have made cinnamon rolls,  cinnamon sweet rolls and "Pull-Apart Bread" from "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" and all along I've been baking our sandwich bread for months now.   

 

Butter. 

I have had the kids make their own butter and they had a blast doing it.  Giggling and laughing all through the process.
 

 

                           Homemade Butter or Whipping Cream

1 small jar

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Salt

 

Pour 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream into the jar.  Screw the lid on tightly and start shaking.  Let the kids take turns shaking the jar.  First you get Whipped Cream that you can stop and use on fresh fruit or just dip a finger for a wonderful treat.  Continue shaking until you hear a  thudding from the jar.  Oh, probably about 5 - 10 min's.  Take the fresh butter out of the jar and salt, if you enjoy salted butter.  Make sure to mix the salt into the butter with fingers.  Just a little salt at a time.  Don't want to overdo.  Have hot rolls or biscuits ready to spread it on.  Yum!   Your fresh butter should last about 3 - 5 days.  Assuming you don't use it all on those rolls you have waiting....  Enjoy!