Nurturing and Nourishing

It's Sunday afternoon, and we're home from church. It has been a cold, rainy weekend, and the temperature outside is 45 degrees fahrenheit. That is COLD for the Valley of the Sun.
Since I was pretty chilled after church today, I felt I needed something warm and nourishing. We made hot chocolate (with mini-marshmallows, of course) and warmed right up. Then I turned the oven to preheat and mixed up some whole-wheat bread, which is now sitting on my counter rising and making my house smell cozy and wonderful. Sometimes I think that Heaven must smell like freshly baked bread! Here is my whole wheat bread recipe, if you're interested. Believe me... if I can make this, you can too.
Title: Whole Wheat BreadDescription:Makes 2 loaves. Works every time! Great wheat bread recipe.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp yeast
1/4 C. warm water
1/3 C. oil
1/3 C. honey
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 C. potato flakes
1/2 C. gluten
6-7 C. whole wheat flour (freshly ground or store-bought)
2.5 C. HOT tap water

Directions:Blend about half of the flour, all the gluten and potato flakes, and all of the hot tap water in mixing bowl. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, proof yeast with warm water ("proof" means to put the yeast in a bowl with the warm water and let it sit to make sure the yeast is active and working. It should become frothy and somewhat creamy-looking in the warm water). Add salt, oil, and honey to mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. Add prepared yeast mixture. Add enough additional flour (up to 7 cups total) to make the dough just stiff enough to clean the sides of the bowl. Knead with dough hook in mixer on low speed for 10 minutes (set the timer) or knead by hand for about 20 minutes. On lightly oiled counter (not floured), divide dough into two equal portions. Quickly shape loaves by first kneading quickly with knuckles, then folding in half once (side to side), and then again, (front to back) forming into a rectangular shape, similar to the shape of the bread pan you will use to cook the bread. Don't handle the bread too much. Shape quickly.Place loaves in greased pans. Spray one side of plastic wrap with pam and place, Pam-side down, over loaves of bread. Place a FLAT cookie sheet on top of the plastic wrap so it completely covers the bread pans. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Watch the cookie sheet on top. When the bread rises up to the top of the bread pans, the cookie sheet will start to move. When this happens, it is time to remove the cookie sheet and let the bread rise above the top of the bread pans. This will give the loaves a nice rounded shape.Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer place in the center of the loaf reads 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can double this recipe to make 4 loaves if your mixer can handle that much dough without burning out the motor.

Late last night I was perusing the internet in search of new healthy recipes. I came across a recipe for cracked wheat sourdough bread. Sourdough bread is one of DH's great loves. Being healthy is one of my great loves. Sourdough+Cracked Wheat= Perfection! I really want to try this recipe. There is just one catch: in order to make sourdough bread, you must have a sourdough starter. So, I am pleased to announce that I am attempting to make my FIRST sourdough starter this week. I have started it, and it is sitting on my counter waiting to be "fed" in 2 or 3 days. This is so exciting for me! I'll let you know how it goes :). Here is a helpful link in case you want to try it yourself: http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/recipe-sourdough.html.
One last thing on the topic of nurturing and nourishing. I LOVE nurturing my kids by reading to them, cuddling with them, playing with them. Feeding them, however, is the task I dread the most every day (ok, feeding my kids and folding laundry are tied for most dreaded). It's just hard to think of easy nourishing meals for them! However, I've recently found a winner that they LOVE. It's Barilla's PLUS Elbows (healthy whole grain macaroni noodles). Per serving, they have 7g of fiber, 17 g of protein, 360mg omega-3's, and only 3g of fat! My kids love the taste, the texture, everything. And they will eat them with marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, cheese sauce, or their favorite: in a bowl with Tomato Juice (on the juice aisle in the grocery store) as a soup. (It's actually really good! The tomato juice is tangier and thinner than tomato sauce and much better with noodles than canned tomato soup).
So, there you have it....my thoughts for the day. I guess cold, rainy days bring out the nurturer in me:) Thank goodness for rainy days!