Elijah, the youngest member of my son Jonathan’s family, was dealing with a tummy bug on Christmas day, so they were not able to come to my house.  New Year’s day brought with it a recovered Elijah, his parents, and his sister Vivian.  Vivian was to stay with me for two nights; she was very excited.  One of the things she brought with her was the new doll she received for Christmas.  Jonathan was in the process of making it a doll bed; Vivian and I were to sew a mattress and pillows for it.

After supper that night, Vivian wanted to watch a movie.  Grammie decreed that a shower came first; that way we could go straight to bed when the movie was over.  Since Vivian did not bring slippers with her, I pulled a pair of slipper socks out of my drawer.  Even though they came up to her knees, it was better than letting her go barefoot on such a cold night.

The socks I chose for Vivian have Velcro on the top of each foot; there are lion heads that go on the Velcro squares (the lions are removable for laundry purposes).  Vivian was intrigued by the non-skid pawprints on the bottom of the sock feet.  “Why do they have these pawprints on them?” she inquired.

“To keep you from sliding down,” I answered.

“Well, I don’t see why they call them slippers when you can’t slip!”  Vivian declared matter-of-factly.

The next day, Vivian and I made a doll mattress and two pillows, along with a bedspread and pillow shams.  While eating supper that evening, Vivian decided it was time to cook.  “Can we make something and you can take a picture of me so you can put it in the paper?” she asked.   Since it was getting rather late, I told her we did not have time to do so.  “We chose sewing this time instead of cooking,” I informed her.

If Vivian had stayed longer, she could have helped me with the recipes for this week’s column.  January is Bread Machine Baking Month.  Long-time readers will know that I love to use my bread machine; however, I usually do not bake in it – just use it to make the dough.  That is what I did for the first two recipes; they turned out very well.  The third one is tasty, too, but exhibits the characteristics I avoid by baking in the oven:  there is a hole in the bottom of the bread where the paddle came out, and the loaf is a weird size.  One slice of it is huge, no matter which way you cut it.  Oh, well.  That is what I get for being lazy.

 

Healthy Multigrain Bread

6 tablespoons water

1 egg, beaten slightly

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup rolled oats (or quick-cooking oats)

1/4 cup wheat bran

1 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine in order indicated by manufacturer.  Select the whole wheat setting.  Check to make sure dough has formed a ball after machine has mixed it.

Add water or flour a tablespoon at a time, if necessary, to get correct consistency.

Makes 1-1/2 pound loaf.

Alternate method: Use the dough cycle on the machine.   When completed, place dough on floured surface.  Punch down dough, form into loaf.  Place in greased bread pan and let rise for 50 minutes (or until doubled in size). Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

 

Honey Buttermilk Bread

2 teaspoons yeast

3 cups bread flour

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup buttermilk (well-shaken)

1 tablespoon butter (softened)

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup water

Put all ingredients in bread machine, in the order suggested by manufacturer. Choose basic or white bread and light or medium crust setting.

For Rolls: Use the dough cycle, then knead again, adding some flour if the dough is sticky. Shape into rolls and allow to rise until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned. If desired, use an egg wash and sprinkle with seeds of your choice; poppy, sesame, or caraway.

Alternate loaf method: Use dough cycle; when completed, shape the dough into a loaf. Place on greased baking sheet or in loaf pan.  Brush with egg wash made with 1 large egg white and 2 teaspoons of water. If desired, sprinkle the loaf with sesame seeds.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when rapped lightly on the top.

Yield: 1 loaf or 16 rolls.

 

Potato Bread

 1-1/4 cups warm water

3 tablespoons canola (or olive) oil

7-1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons mashed potato flakes

3 cups bread flour

1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size if available. Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). Yield: 1 loaf (1-1/2 pounds).