It makes you wonder.......

Have you ever wondered if things are just a coincidence, or if there is a stronger force behind it. I often ponder that very thing. No matter what you believe the reason is behind things happening the way they do, you have to agree, it almost always will get your attention. This my friends certainly got my attention....

During our drive to Colorado, I was driving. Now, if Steve was telling this story, he would most likely say, "the one and only time I was driving." But, let's not talk about that. Anyway, he was sleeping, and I was driving. We were just on the northern side of Amarillo, in the panhandle of Texas. It was in the morning, and all along the road were corn fields and open range.


For some reason, and I swear, I do not know where these thoughts came from, I remembered something from my childhood. I was about six or seven years old, and we lived in the country, so to speak. I loved to catch Horny Toads from our yard. Back then, we had lots of them, usually they were the large ones, but on occasion, we would see a small one. My favorite ones were the small ones. I recalled how I would catch one, put it in a shoe box with grass and a little bit of water. I was convinced that was all I needed for these Horny Toads to live.


I remembered how my dad would always make me turn them loose. In fact, I was taken back to a night when my dad came into my room, and took the little Horny Toad I had decided to keep for a pet, outside all the while I was crying. He assured me I did not want the little frog to die and it was the best thing to do.


Well, as you can guess, I was not concerned about the little toad dieing, I was sure he would not. After all, I would catch fire flies and they certainly lived just fine in a mason jar.


I remembered while I drove along that lonesome highway in the panhandle of Texas how mad I got at my dad over those Horny Toads. Now, my dad has been gone from this life for five years, from my life, many more years than that. So really, for these thoughts to just suddenly pop into my head was very much out of the ordinary. But, still it was so fleeting, I did not think much of it.


The thought even occurred to me that the Horny Toads were probably close to being extinct. I had not seen one in years. Years. Not since I was a little girl. I just figured with the building of more homes, construction, and more people everywhere, that surely these little guys were not seen anymore.


Now I have to say, these thoughts were not the lingering kind, it was just like a fleeting thought and it was gone. Nothing unusual about that. We all have those take me back thoughts. Right? I really never gave it another thought......


But even as I type this out, I ask myself....Where did that come from? Why did I think of that night with my dad, and who in the world thinks about Horny Toads at random? Shakes head at monitor, I don't know for the life of me....... Wait till you read what happened next.


About an hour later, I woke Steve up, Sophie and Dora needed to stop for a potty break, and we were in the middle of nowhere. No rest area in site. Steve said just pull off the road, and we pulled into a drive that lead to a corn field. We got out and I was holding the dogs, he walked around to the front of the truck to assist me with the dogs. He stopped, looked at the ground and said in a funny voice, "look under that tire when I back the truck up."

Well, I was freaked out, the first thing I thought of was a snake or something like it. I am petrified of snakes and I did not see anything at all.


He backed the truck up a little ways and got out, and looked down and there it was. A Horny Toad....a baby Horny Toad. Not one, but two little Horny Toads actually. Talk about a funny feeling in the pit of your stomach. All I could think of was you have to be kidding me. I did not say anything at first, and I am sure Steve wondered why I had such a funny look on my face. Truthfully, I did not know what to say. When the words finally came, I told Steve the story about my dad and the Horny Toads. I told him how strange that was, because I had just thought of that very thing as I was driving. I really don't think he believed me. He sorta looked at me like I was crazy. Well, maybe I am.


We both were astonished at seeing them, and neither one of us has seen them for a long time. Talk about taking you back to a time long ago. We both were pleased that they still existed and thrived in our environment these days.


This was one of those moments for me in life when I pause and take a time out. Steve ended up taking both dogs to do their business, while I stayed at the truck, watching the little toads. Frankly, I was a little shaken. But in a good way.

So I ask you, coincidence or something more? I really don't know what the answer is, but I tell you, I still get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about what happened that morning. It really makes me wonder.........


.......coincidence? Maybe. But I tell you the timing of it all really makes me think that it is something more than just a coincidence. ~Good Stuff....in a strange way.

From Shame....To Shamefully Delicious

I love to cook. Cooking is a wonderful pastime, and the results are usually always worth the effort. Now on occasion, I have been told that I am a rather decent cook. {Blushing here.}

Additionally, I rather enjoy new recipes and always anticipate the ohhhh's and aaahh's that comes with each new delicious dish I make. I'm just keepin' it real here, is that not what makes cooking worth the work? It's worth it to have someone anticipate enjoying the mouth watering meals you prepare. Not to mention the praise afterwards when they are so stuffed they can not move?? Well, I tend to like that sort of thing. Really, I do.

I was contemplating making some new dishes while we were in Colorado for vacation. I decided that was a great time to try some new things, and really impress my husband. Oh and by the way, he was impressed....just keep reading.

When I first started blogging, I discovered and read about the wonderful dishes prepared by Rachael, from her blog, Head Cook and Bottle Washer. She talked about this fabulous bread and how easy it was to make. I decided I was going to make this for my husband. I planned to surprise him with fresh, hot out of the oven homemade bread dripping with butter for one of our meals in the mountains.

Well, I made this bread and we will talk about that, just keep reading.

Homemade No Knead Bread

If your ready, let's get started:

List of willing participants: Flour, fast acting yeast, kosher salt, water. Simple- No?

In a large bowl measure out 3 cups of flour.

Next, measure out 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. I could not find my measuring spoons, so I used a teaspoon...close enough.

Then, I added the 1 teaspoon of fast acting yeast. See, it's the pretty sand colored granules.

Last add the 1 1/2 cups of water. And that's it....well, almost it.

Mix well with a sturdy spoon. Mix until dough is mixed well.

This is what the ball of dough should look like. Looks promising, right?

Now, cover with saran wrap and sit on stove or warm place in your kitchen. And forget about it. Let this dough sit and do its thing all day. I left mine on the stove for 8 hours. Don't uncover it, just leave it be. No matter how tempted you are, don't bother this little batch of dough...I mean it!

After sitting on the counter all day, the dough will rise in the bowl and should look like this. Does this not look promising? At this point, you should turn your oven to 450 degrees. Heat a dutch oven with the lid on for 30 minutes. While dutch oven is heating, we will continue.

Take a cotton cloth and add about 1/2 cup flour and spread flour on cloth generously. Using a scraper, turn dough onto cloth. Using the cloth, fold sides of dough in and fold the top and bottom in, almost like folding an envelope. Flip over on the towel so the seams are on the bottom.
Once your dutch oven has heated, very carefully remove from oven. Flip dough into dutch oven with the seams on top. replace lid.

Return to oven, and bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees with lid on. Next remove lid - Bake for an additional 15 - 20 minutes.

Now, up until this point I was super excited. The smell of fresh baked bread filled the cabin, and Steve was in the living room bragging to Paul (our mountain friend) that I was making homemade bread, and he might as well look forward to having some.
I have made cornbread at the cabin before, and Paul was a big fan of my cornbread, so I was excited he would be staying for dinner and sampling my newest creation.

This is Paul driving one of his many "toys" with Alisha last summer. He is a rather handsome mountain boy, don't you think? Sorry, I got sidetracked here....back to the bread.

Well, when I got to this stage and removed the lid, I began to worry. This did not look right at all, but I reasoned that it still had about 20 more minutes to cook. No worries. Right?
Wrong.

When I removed the bread from the oven, it looked no better than when I removed the lid 20 minutes earlier. In fact, this looked to me more like an old woman's shriveled up stomach, or an alien substance of some kind. Seriously, do you not see what I mean? Of course you do. Talk about losing your appetite.

This was a hard pile of goo. The outside was like a brick, I could hardly cut through it, and the inside was like day old oatmeal.
To make matters worse, Steve and Paul had wandered into the kitchen with much anticipation of piping hot bread.

Both men's raised eyebrows gave the look of utter shock and disappointment. It did not take much effort to realize the thoughts of mouth watering bread were of the past.

No words were spoken as we all stared into the pot. "Well..." I said, "I guess I did something wrong." Embarrassment and humiliation must have been written all over my face. I am not used to flubbing up something so bad that it is not edible.

Paul was quick to tell me not to worry too much, that he was "quiet sure" the altitude was the cause, not my cooking skills. He told me how his own mother has the same problem with certain types of foods, baking especially. He tried his best to make me feel better. Bless his sweet little heart. I just love that young man.

Likewise, Steve tried to make light of the situation as well..... only he went about things his own way. He sliced the bread open, with much effort I might add. Then tapped it against the dutch oven, and announced, rather loudly, to the whole side of the mountain that this was good for one thing only....


.....hurling through the air and killing chipmunks.....CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??? He might have hurled the pile of goo through the air, but I am here to tell you, not a single chipmunk was touched. Not a one.

I have to say, I don't take defeat well at all. Especially when it comes to cooking. I knew I had followed the recipe exactly, and I could not let this one time disaster stop me from achieving my goal...making fresh homemade bread. So I came home, followed the recipe, and this time, the results were different.

Hot right out of the oven, just look how wonderful this loaf came out. Exactly the way it should be.

This bread has a crusty outside and inside has a wonderful, soft texture. It really reminds me of homemade sourdough bread. The flavor is fantastic.

All you need to do is add a little butter, and your taste buds will thank you. This bread taste like you worked all day, but really, it's hardly any work to making this at all.

Cooking is an acquired skill, I don't care what anyone tells you. Sometimes, things do not always turn out the way you think they will. That was certainly the case with me trying a new recipe in my kitchen in the mountains. I guess, or I'm hoping Paul was right, the altitude made the difference in how this turned out....or didn't.

I totally forgot to take the altitude into consideration when I made my big plans to impress everyone with my baking skills. Thanks Rachael, at Head Cook and Bottle Washer for posting this recipe. The final result at home was wonderful, just as you promised.

The bread was mouth-watering goodness. And I feel like I have redeemed myself - at least a little bit. Thankfully, this time Steve was not shouting about "weapons of mass destruction" coming from my kitchen, he was too busy sampling this bread, which met with his approval. Not to mention, this gave me a great story to tell. I'm sure those who know me personally, got a few laughs at my expense. Once again, here is the recipe below...be sure and take the time to try this. You will be glad you did.

No Knead Homemade Bread:
3 cups. flour
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon rapid acting yeast
1 teaspoon kosher salt

In the morning, mix all in large bowl. Cover with saran wrap and leave out all day in a warm place. Turn oven to 450 degrees and heat dutch oven and lid. Using a cotton cloth, add about 1/2 cup flour, using a scraper, turn dough out onto cloth. Fold sides and top and bottom, like an envelope. Turn over so sides are on the bottom. Remove dutch oven from oven, and turn dough into pan. Seams up. Replace lid, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove lid. Bake an additional 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Makes one loaf.