Hi from my Backyard and my Kitchen

Our hydrangeas that I planted three years ago are in full bloom this time of the year, but the one I planted on the opposite side of our backyard is, sadly, lush in only leaves.

In previous years, this bush bore light purple flowers, this year are mostly pink. I wanted to change  the color from pink to maybe purple again, so I added coffee granules to the soil. Lately, some of the blooms turned light purple and even to a deep shade of lavender again, yet some remained pink. I was hoping they'd turn blue also. Our neighbor from across the street has a lot of bold blue hydrangea blooms in their front yard. It's so tempting to ask for a few blooms for an arrangement that I usually put in our dining room. You can manipulate the color of the flowers of this plant depending on the acidity of your soil, and that's one of the things I like about this plant.

Anyway, those green textured tail are from the weeds that uncontrolably grew on that side of the yard where these hydrangeas grew. They're like the tail of an anthurium, except that they are really long.


I was really curious what those plant with the tail-like flowers are called. Then I found this-->photo. It exactly looked like the one from our backyard. Am I right?

Look!


Is it? According to Google, this plant is called Plantago major.


...and they're not weeds, but actually they're one of the most abundant and widely medicinal crops in the world. Those tail-like flowers aren't actually flowers, but are seeds. This plant can treat diarrhea, wounds, fever, respiratory infection and more. WOW! I want more of this in my yard. I have been pulling this kind of plant because I only know them as weeds.

Now, to my kitchen. Last night, I made bread from a new dough recipe. I don't know what this is actually called but the taste and the texture of the bread reminds me of Pan de Monay in the Philippines. I sprinkled them with sugar before I baked them at 400F for 15 minutes. When eaten hot fresh from the oven, the crust was kind of crispy, while the inside was soft. It's not bland, or has a salty taste in it, but of a mild sweetness to it. It was quicker and easier to make than the bread I usually bake. It was perfect with our coffee in the morning. The mister loved it with butter. I made eight rolls last night, and I think I need to make more since they're all gone.


Until next updates from my home. I thank you for stopping by.

******

All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won't succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.

-  Dr. Wayne Dyer

Hello from my Kitchen

It has been two weeks since I last baked bread. Well, I made banana-carrot bread the other weekend, but it is not really made with dough. It's considered a cake, in my opinion.

So, yesterday, I decided to make bread again. I baked a batch of cream cheese-filled bread. The mister wanted me to bake loaf bread, but since he and the young lady are leaving very early the following day, I opted for a bread that doesn't need palaman (sandwich spread or something to stuff it with). It'll be easy, and not as messy when the bread is baked filled  with something delicious in it already.

BIG MISTAKE: I didn't have enough time to chill the cream cheese filling that it was too runny to handle it when I filled each dough. Instead of baking it facing the seams down, I baked them facing up so that the filling wouldn't leak. Sounds like sewing. Hehehe. I do not know what the exact term for it.

Here's what it looked like. The reject! It opened.


This was what I wanted it to look like, or at least prettier than this.


Verdict: The mister said that the filling is okay. I never like an "okay" rating! So, I'll scrap this filling recipe.  And honestly, I did not like it too. I'll find a scrumptious one next time.

...and oh! Dear Anonymous who left a comment on my super moist chocolate cake post (this one), please email me at ldivinagracia(at)gmail(dot)com for the recipe!

Lastly, I'm sharing you a beautiful reminder from Dr. Wayne Dyer! Until next time.

"Most people are searching for happiness outside of  themselves. That’s a fundamental mistake. Happiness is something that you are, and it comes from the way that you think." - Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

His Wish Is My Command

When I started making my Nutella twists, it was a big hit right away with the boys. Yna, who was in Washington D.C. drooled over it and patiently waited to taste it until she came home for her spring break.

They all loved it, and I am so happy it was a success!

I made them many times already. A friend asked if she could buy some. Well, I don't know about that yet! You see, I only make bread for our personal consumption. I have been thinking about it though, but we'll see.



Yesterday, since we ran out of bread already, I made another batch. On his work days, the mister likes either a toasted piece of homemade loaf bread with a sunny-side up egg, or any sweet filled bread paired with his morning coffee.

The mister: Ayaw ng Nutella bread! (Not the Nutella bread!)

Wait! What?

Did I hear him right?

He said NO to the "big hit"! 

Really?

I felt sad, but not mad.

Me: Kay? (Because?)
Him: Spanish bread lang! (Just Spanish bread!)

Phew!

When the panadera is his wife, he can say no and just request for another kind. It is that easy.

Making bread makes me relaxed. It makes me happy, so I made three different kinds of bread last night. I made Spanish bread, Nutella twist bread, and Nutella-peanut butter twist bread. The Nutellas were for the mister's colleague, Bryan. He jokingly commented on a photo of my bread that I shared on Facebook last weekend. He said that he'd claim his share from Jay in the office.

Well, why not give him some. So far, since I started cooking and making bread, I have not poisoned or sent someone to the ER for food poisoning yet. I also trust the taste buds of my family. So if they say it's good, then it is!

The mister's wish was my command--Spanish bread! I ran out of bread crumbs to sprinkle on the bread before baking them, so I just brushed the remaining egg wash that I used for the Nutellas. I swear! These are Spanish breads!


They don't look like it, but see its moist sugar-butter-bread crumbs yummy goodness filling... and nothing more than filling!

Sweet-filled bread is the missus to the mister's morning coffee.

Yum!