New Years Resolutions

Today I decided, it being the last day of the year and all, to create some resolutions. And not just the kind that you say you're going to do and after about a week you give up on them or completely forget about. I actually have ones that I want to commit to. That I want to carry on through the rest of the year and feel great about completing.

In the year 2013 I created this blog to finally have a chance to express and share my ideas. So far ...... it's been failing. Some hard times and major distractions have definitely taken away my focus on what hoped to be a great way to put myself out there. That being said New Years resolution #1: WRITE ON THE BLOG MORE, SHARE MORE IDEAS, AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE!

Also this past year, near the end, I got into the habit of not caring what types of food I put into my body. Always being on the run and not slowing down the enjoy what I'm eating have been some factors in this. There also have been so many recipes that I've been dying to try and share. So New Years Resolution #2: EAT BETTER AND COOK MORE (and share)!

This next one is a very huge deal to me. Being a full time working mom I feel like I don't find enough time to just play with my son. Don't get me wrong we play and go on mini adventures but I feel like I never have enough time (or energy) to just be with my son. I want to make play dates, jump in puddles, let ice cream drip down our hands while walking home with a cone, and go to a drive in movie. Resolution #3: MAKE TIME TO BE A KID WITH MY KID!

And lastly, this past year I've been really working on finding my path. I have a good job and all but it's not really what I see myself doing for the rest of my life. I want to start putting my working efforts towards my career and life goals. Resolution #4: WORK HARDER TOWARDS MY DREAMS!

That's it! My New Years Resolutions. I plan on writing the resolutions on a large piece of card stock and hanging it above my desk to remind me what to keep my focus on through out the year. I can't wait to get started.

Happy New Years to you and yours!!

What are some New Years Resolutions that you plan on working on this year? Let us know!!

Fall Lovin' and New Traditions

Fall! Fall! Fall! This year I just can't get enough of Fall. The weather changing, the warm coffees, crunching leaves while running through the park with my little one. Swoon! We've definitely been keeping busy with fall decorating, crafts, pumpkin carving, drinking cider, and of course jumping in leaf piles!

We're currently working on starting some new family traditions this year. My son, Isaiah, who just turned 3 this past May, is finally old enough to start doing a lot of different activities instead of just watching and I'm loving it! We recently visited the Simmons Farmstand and picked up a few pumpkins. Isaiah, loved the idea of having a pumpkin family so that's what we did! Presenting Mr and Mrs. Lantern and baby Jack haha! He loved watching his father carve the faces into the pumpkins giving them personality.

The next logical thing to do was to make homemade pumpkin seeds. After separating the seeds from the pumpkin membrane, I took seasonings (whatever your seasoning preference is- I used salt and cracked peppercorn) and tossed them in a small amount of olive oil. Next I pre-heated the oven at 350 degrees and let them bake until they were completely toasted (about 25 minutes) stirring occasionally. So good! 

Fall is just such a wonderful season! And it's so awesome starting new traditions that we'll be continuing for a long time to come! What kind of traditions do you carry out with you families?

The Bread Bakers' Resource

Like all things “artisanal” and “artisan,” bread has become one of the most bastardized forms of subsistence in the modern world. Bread has been a staple food in the meals of cultures across the world and across time. Origins of bread are not well documented, but it is believed that flatbreads (breads without yeast) have spanned across at least 30,000 years. Since then, bread has taken steps forward into the modern era with the advent of commercial yeast, Rohwedder’s invention of sliced bread, and today, millions of breadmakers that went from store shelves, to kitchen counters, to lining the walls of every thrift store in the tri-state area. Like my sister’s push towards becoming more sustainable, economical, and ecologically responsible, I too felt the bug and made a decision to save money and eat better by baking my own bread.

Whether it is just to decrease spending at the grocery store or to earn money at the farmer’s market, beginning your own bread baking enterprise can be simple, but to begin baking “artisan” bread, it will require as little as buying a bread machine  or as much as changing your lifestyle and building a hearth oven in your backyard. Below is a list of resources to help you begin your bread career.

The Fresh Loaf

The Fresh Loaf is “a community for amateur artisan bakers and bread enthusiasts!” and is where I began my bread baking endeavor. Filled with tons of community members ranging from bread pan beginners to hearth bakery bakers, there is a ton of information and specific questions answered. Their lessons teach you to begin with the four basic ingredients: water, salt, flour, and (commercial) yeast and take your through adding things like sugar and butter to make a sandwhich bread and a quick 10 tips to baking better bread. Their Baker’s Handbook helps define baking terminology and gives quick recipe snips that make baking bread feel more like an experimental art than a science. If you’re a beginner and want to explore baking bread sans a bread machine, The Fresh Loaf is a great place to visit.

Tartine Bread

A great next step after enjoying the plethora of data at the Fresh Loaf, Chad Robertson and Eric Wolfinger (photographer) create a visually and literally stunning piece of literature that goes beyond a cookbook and enters the realm of an anecdotal confession that, if nothing else, inspires you to daydream about travelling through Europe to find a baker’s chateau to stay in while you study under his/her wing. Robertson is highly noted around the country and is followed by many members of The Fresh Loaf, ergo, if you’re having trouble, you have a community to fall to. This book suggests the use of a Dutch Oven Combo Cooker for your sourdough boules, which after ordering, I found no use for after experimenting with a more versatile baking stone and metal bowl option (see Birdsong Bread below). More than a cookbook, Tartine Bread is a great rainy-day-read that takes you through creating a sourdough starter (in lieu of commercial instant yeast) all the way to baking your first loaf of Tartine Basic Country Sourdough. After you’ve mastered that, Robertson describes several other bread recipes, as well as simple days-old bread recipes that are easy enough for a baker yet decadent enough to impress any company you have over. This book should definitely exist in every bread baker’s pantry.

Birdsong Bread

I have the pleasure of knowing the proprietor of this blog and I would be a fool not to support him! A self admitted admirer of Tartine Bread, this blog’s step-by-step sourdough journey takes a similar approach besides a seemingly huge difference of using a baking stone and metal bowl rather than a combo cooker. His methods vary slightly from Robertson, but like I mentioned above, baking bread is a lot of art mixed with a little bit of science, which I believe most bread authorities would agree with. With that said, how you bake bread depends entirely on your lifestyle, freetime, and your palate. Birdsong Bread is filled with great recipe variations of ingredients, methods, and flavors that inspire anyone to explore their own tastes. After months of documenting his experimentation and exploration, this blog holds recipes for everything from “Whole-Wheat Heaven” to “Hazel What? Hazelnut!!” and even some non-sourdoughs like a beautiful brioche (“50% Butter, 100% Awesome”). Birdsong Bread is attentive and responds to comments and questions regularly and, for me personally, has acted as a mentor by answering dozens of questions and helping me to shape my first loaves. This blog can be intimidating at first, but acts as great fuel to becoming better bread baker.

Iced Coffee... Concentrate!

Local Grinds

Not only is iced coffee a great caffinated beverage for the warm summer months, this cold-brewed iced coffee recipe creates a coffee concentrate that can be used to flavor other dishes like ice cream!

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Brew Time: 12 - 16 hours

Iced Coffee: 1 Minute

Ingredients and Equipment:

1. ½ lb. Coarse Grind or “French Press” Coffee, (Fresh and local is better!)
2. ½ gallon of Filtered or Spring Water
3. 1 French Press or Large Coffee Filter
4. 1 4Q Plastic Container for Brewing
5. 1 Pitcher or Other Large Container
   
   

Process:

1. In your 4Q plastic container, add ½ gallon of water
2. Add you ½ lb of coarsely ground local coffee
3. Stir until grounds are fully saturated (a couple of seconds)
4. Cover and allow to brew for 12 - 16 hours
5. After 12 - 16 hours, fill your french press with the coffee/water mix
6. Slowly depress the filter plunger. Or, pour coffee/water mix through large filter
7. Pour coffee concentrate into pitcher
8. Repeat steps 5 - 7 until all coffee is filtered

To Make Iced Coffee:

1. Mix equal parts concentrate and water over ice
2. Add cream/sugar/etc. to taste
3. Enjoy!

Pro Tips:

1. You can adjust the amount of concentrate you brew by keeping the water to coffee ratio at 8 fl oz. of water to 1 oz. of coffee by weight.
2. In the refrigerator, the coffee concentrate should last for weeks, in the freezer: forever!
3. Freeze the coffee concentrate in ice cube trays and add to hot chocolate or iced coffee
4. To make coffee ice cream, just add the concentrate to vanilla ice cream to taste!

WARNING:

The coffee concentrate is potent! Consumed in large amounts or without diluting can cause dehydration, diarrhea, headaches, coffee crashes, and explosions. It also stains very easily.

HAPPY 4th!

Happy 4th of July from Handmade Countz!! Everyone enjoy your holiday and be safe in your travels.

WELCOME!

Hello! I’m Britney and this is Handmade Countz! I’m constantly finding inspiration in my everyday life and am so excited to be able to share it all with you.  This blog will be about family adventures, good eats, nice drinks, and some of the coolest Do It Yourself (DIY) projects! I hope you enjoy!!