Versatile Roll Recipe

One thing led to another last night, and I stumbled upon a pretty yummy idea for my leftover dough:
Parmesan Garlic Pinwheels!

We had the perfect fall day for my weekly Coffee and Cameras outing with Susan this week. The weather was on the cool side, which forced me to admit it was time to wear socks and shoes, and a sweater. As much as I detest wearing shoes, I must confess my love for sweater weather.

Susan and I spent the whole morning together, starting our day at the Luau Coffee Shop in Wasco, Illinois, solving all of the world's problems over lattés, like we do, and then we hopped in her SUV to see what adventures awaited our cameras down route 64. 

Our first stop was the Wasco Nursery and Garden Center where we enjoyed shooting the pumpkins and flowers. The staff there are so friendly, welcoming us to enjoy their beautiful displays. They have a huge selection of pumpkins, flowers, trees, and shrubs. We can't wait to go back when they are decorated for Christmas.

We headed toward Virgil, Illinois next, and took pictures of an old yellow barn and the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Our last stop was the Theis Farm Market where I bought some pumpkins for carving and roasting, and I also scored a Pumpkin Masters carving kit with stencils. 

Later that afternoon, I knew I had to start the cinnamon rolls Chuck had requested for his IT department's brunch the next day. Although I have pared down my original recipe from 17 cups of flour to about 7 cups, I always have loads of dough left over. Once I made Chuck's requested baker's dozen of cinnamon rolls, I decided I'd make some dinner rolls. 

There was still dough left, and I wondered what I should do with it. We had sweet rolls, and plain rolls. A-ha! I would try making a savory version. We love parmesan and garlic at our house, and rather than just cutting bread sticks and seasoning them, I decided to make pinwheels.

I rolled out a rectangle of dough, and using a pastry brush, I covered the surface with butter. Next I sprinkled garlic powder and parmesan cheese on the dough before rolling it up. Using a piece of thread (dental floss works well, too), I sliced the tube of dough into individual pinwheels, and baked them in the oven on a silicone mat for 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees.

One thing led to another, and by the time Chuck got home, the house smelled amazing between the sweet cinnamon rolls and the savory parmesan garlic pinwheels. There is just something about homemade bread that makes any house seem extra-homey. 

If you like making rolls, I would suggest you give this versatile recipe a try. Even during the holidays, when I WANT a lot of dinner rolls, I try to set some dough aside to make cinnamon rolls for a special breakfast treat. Next time, I think I'll make a few less rolls, so we can enjoy the Parmesan Garlic Pinwheels, too.

VERSATILE ROLL RECIPE

Mix the following ingredients together and let sit for 10-15 minutes while the yeast begins to rise.

2 1/2 c. warm water

2 T. yeast

2 T. sugar

1/2 c. stevia (you can just use sugar, too)

Mix the following in separate bowl and add to the first bowl after the yeast has risen:

1/4 c. potato flakes 

3 beaten eggs

1/2 c. oil

1 T. salt.

Combine the contents of the first two bowls, and stir.  Then combine with 6-7 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl.  I like to use 3 1/2 cups of whole wheat with 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose or bread flour.   

Knead for 5 minutes. (A Kitchenaid or Bosch will do the work for you, but you can certainly do it by hand, if you have the strength, energy and inclination.) Add a small amount of flour to make the texture not too sticky. (HINT: having the dough a little on the sticky side usually lends itself to having the lightest, fluffiest rolls EVER.)

Let rise in oiled, covered bowl 1 hour.  Cut/shape the dough into rolls, dipping the rolls into butter before placing on pan, or brushing the rolls with butter before putting them in the oven. (***See note below.)  Let rise 15 minutes while oven preheats to 400 degrees.

Bake 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven, until the rolls are golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter.

The folks in my family tend to have the same reaction to these rolls every time: their eyes roll back in their heads, and they moan gently as they eat these. So yes, the effort is worth it. I dare you to try them. They are THE BOMB!  : )

***Decide before baking which rolls you want to bake. 

For BASIC DINNER ROLLS, follow the recipe as outlined above. 

For CINNAMON ROLLS, roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle (for manageability, divide the dough in half and make two rectangles). Spread butter on the rectangle with a pastry brush, and then sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon sugar on top. Roll up, and then slice into pinwheels using thread or floss.  

For PUMPKIN SWEET ROLLS, the pumpkin filling was easy: stir together one cup of pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon each of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon, and 1/4 c. brown sugar, and 1/4 c. stevia. Spread on top of rolled out rectangle of dough before rolling up, and slicing into pinwheels with thread or floss. 

For PARMESAN GARLIC PINWHEELS, roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle. Spread butter on the rectangle with a pastry brush, and then sprinkle garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and your favorite herbs. I used oregano.)

If you're like me, I like to make a little of all three.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day, featuring pumpkins and flowers from Wasco Nursery and Theis Farm Market, and stained glass from the Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Illinois.

A Simple Yes Will Do

October 24 is the anniversary of Chuck's and my engagement. It should have been such a beautiful moment, but somebody kind of dropped the ball. That somebody would be me. 

October 24, 2014

Allow me to set the stage. We were in the Great Smoky Mountains in October 2014. We had only met in person earlier that week, and had only been aware of each other's existence less than a month. You may be shocked to find out we had not only talked of marriage, but had purchased an engagement ring and wedding bands during our first few days together. 

What would people back home think? Were we foolish? Would our kids think we were crazy?

Sometimes you just know, you know? We weren't kids. We'd been married before. We both knew a good thing when we saw it; neither of us wanted to tell the story about the one that got away. And we were not getting any younger. (53 and 54, at the time)

We spent a lovely week driving around the Smoky Mountains, taking pictures at overlooks, hiking up to waterfalls, and driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We passed the time in the car getting to know each other better, and coming up with haiku poems about autumn, mountains, and love. 

Chuck chose to propose to me at the end of our first week together after one of our sunrise photo shoots. There are several scenic overlooks along route 441 above Gatlinburg, and we drove to a very popular spot among photographers near Newfound Gap in North Carolina. 

That morning we joined a throng of 20-30 others with tripods and cameras, and we enjoyed capturing images of the sun as it rose over the mountains east of us.

After we had packed up all of our gear, I grabbed my tripod to walk back to the car, but Chuck asked me to wait a moment. I obliged. It gets pretty cold in the Smokies in late October, and I was looking forward to warming up my stiff fingers in the car. We were the only photographers left, except for a man who was walking around in circles near us, searching the grass for his lost lens cap. Chuck rolled his eyes, and seemed a little annoyed, but when the man finally found his cap, and left, Chuck reached into his pocket, and pulled out a ring box. 

And then, do you know what he did? He popped the question in the form of a haiku. Remember those? The old 5-7-5 syllable format?

And then, do you know what I did? I panicked. 

No, not because I wasn't ready to commit, and not because I was having second thoughts. I panicked because I felt like I should try to respond with a haiku of my own. 

I'm not really good at poetry on demand. I tried a variety of five syllable first lines, and then I saw the look of concern on Chuck's face. The moment of a timely acceptance had obviously passed; oh, lordy, I realized I was messing up a very beautiful moment. 

"YES! Oh, yes! Of course, I will marry you," I blurted out, and then he kissed me, and we laughed with relief that an awkward moment had come to an end.

Later he asked me what had taken me so long to say yes. "I was just trying to come up with a good haiku poem in response." (Silly me.)

We have shared our engagement story with others, and one of our friends said, "You should have just said, 

'Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.'"

Yeah, that would have been clever. I'm not terribly quick under pressure, though.

Much later, I determined to come up with a haiku-styled response to my sweet Chuck's proposal:

The "less is more" lesson has been one that has cropped up time and time again in my life. There are times when one simple word trumps a well-crafted haiku that meets all of the syllabic requirements, and this was definitely one of those times. 

A simple yes would have been perfect. I will try to remember that!

A Tradition of Pumpkin Pics

Every October when my children were little, I took pictures of them with pumpkins. Sometimes I asked them to climb into the pumpkin display outside of our local grocery store, and occasionally, I took their pictures at the pumpkin patch, but every year they could count on a photo session with pumpkins. 

Now that the kids are grown, and all of them are living on their own, it's much harder for me to get these pictures. Sometimes it involves some cajoling, a little bribery, and this year, I'm trying something new. A public reminder on my blog. A-hem.

A few years ago when I went back to Denver to visit Sierra, I had to beg her to let me take her picture at Whole Foods. She was so worried she was going to get in trouble. I teased her that there were no pumpkin police, and she wasn't going to hurt anything to take a quick picture.

This was about five years ago. Not sure if I've been forgiven for this picture yet.

A few years ago, the boys recreated one of my very favorite pictures of them. 

Just last year, the boys and I posed in front of Harmon's grocery store, and I also managed to get Sierra and Bridger to the Abraham's pumpkin patch in Elsinore. 

When I went to visit the kids last month, I had high hopes of carrying on our little tradition, but it was still early in the pumpkin season. Few stores in Utah had them in stock, and none of them in Saint George had pumpkins on display in front of the store. 

A couple of weeks later I was surprised to get a text from my daughter-in-law. She apologized for their puppy Elle's expression, but she wanted me to know she got a picture of our "kids" with the pumpkins.

Expecting the others to step up, I sent a group text telling Bridger and Sierra that Dylan had sent his pumpkin picture; where were theirs? Here we are, a couple weeks later; and still no additional pics. I reminded them Dylan had sent his; he must love me very much.

Dylan texted back "#favoritechild #notadopted." Gotta love the sibling rivalry that is alive and well in our family.

I'm still waiting for the younger ones to follow the example of their big brother. 

HINT. HINT.

Whilst I wait, I will enjoy sharing some of my favorite pumpkin pictures with you. We only have a few more weeks to enjoy these orange beauties. I plan to hit a couple of pumpkin patches soon; in Illinois with Chuck, and in Florida with Chris, Amy, and CJ.

I can't wait to see this little punkin this weekend in Florida!

Hurry Up and Relax!

My nerves are shot. This week will be my undoing, if I'm not careful.

This morning I stood under the umbrella in the middle of our front yard with an uncooperative Bristol at my side, and I watched the rain come down in buckets, as it flooded the growing pond in front of our house. So. Much. Rain. And I have a dog that refuses to potty in the rain. Eventually, I gave up, and we went back inside. I just hoped he would hold it until the rain subsided. 

I'm still in the thick of trapping season here. Two days ago started out with the discovery of mouse evidence in three drawers and a large double cabinet. Ugh. Mice are cute. Mouse poop is not. I emptied the contents of our kitchen storage onto the countertops, sanitizing each item, one by one. Everything is still sitting on top of the counters, two days later, waiting for the last mouse to be caught, or at least for the evidence to stop appearing in the kitchen. Wonder how much longer I'll be waiting.

As I was resetting a trap this morning, it went off in my hands four times, and then snapped shut inside the drawer while I was emptying the dishwasher. That sound rattles me every time I hear it. To say I'm a little on edge would be an understatement.

Yesterday was my day with Elise, my darling two-year old neighbor who calls me Gramma Nece. Every week we get to spend a few hours together until one of her biological grandmas arrives. I love my time with that precious little girl. You would think I would remember to go since I like being with her, but no, yesterday I received a text from her mom a half hour after I should have been there.

"Is everything okay? Are you still coming?"

Panic set in when I saw her text. I had been sitting on the couch, chatting with Chuck.  I spat a hurried goodbye at my sweet husband, and tore around the house trying to get the wild-eyed puppies into their crates. I sprinted down the sidewalk in my bare feet with my shoes in my hands. 

How embarrassing. Why did I think I needed to be there at 7:45? I've been going at 6:45 for two months. My heart was racing by the time I opened their door and let myself in. We had a wonderful time together, and I have to admit, being with Elise was much more relaxing than cleaning up mouse poop, setting traps, and dealing with rambunctious puppies.

Last night the rain began. As I mentioned, I have a dog who hates going out in the rain. Yesterday after dinner, he peed on the porch to avoid going out in the yard. Then before bed, Chuck discovered Bristol had peed on the mat rather than bothering to ring the bell. Why would he ring the bell? He didn't want to go outside. He just wanted to pee. Ugh. That dog's nickname of BLISTER is going to replace his real name before he knows it.

Chuck pointed out this was my third wild morning in a row. Yes. Yes, it is. Any type of normalcy would be most welcome tomorrow, or even later today would be nice.  

I get to play with Elise in a few minutes. I set myself two reminders on my phone, and I have the timer set on my oven. I'm not going to be late today!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice some deep breathing and listen to some soothing music. I need to hurry up and relax. 

The Mondayest Monday

May I rant? Of course, I can. This is my blog; I can do what I want. Feel free to leave now; you deserve to read better, but I need to vent.

Let me set the scene. This is the Monday before our vacation; there is much to be done this week. The house needs to be ready for company before Saturday because we have lovely friends who have agreed to house-sit and dog-sit for us. 

Before we leave, there are the standard tasks: laundry, shopping, vacuuming, mopping, sanitizing doggy linens and toys, and there is the UNusual stuff: prepping guest rooms and packing the car. I don't need extra work to do, but "life is what happens when you're making plans."

The morning started going downhill at four o'clock when I was in the basement doing laundry, and heard the smoke alarm going off upstairs. I ran up the two flights of stairs and ran into my very disoriented husband, who asked me, "Honey, are you OKAY?" and seeing that I was, indeed okay, and slightly amused, he asked, "Have you been cooking?" My amusement left immediately, and I replied, "It's four in the morning; I haven't been cooking. I've been doing laundry. We probably just need to replace the alarm's battery."

Chuck turned on the house fan, and the infernal beeping stopped, and I went on with my morning while he headed back to bed. I grabbed a cup of coffee, only to discover my half and half had soured. Ugh. I'd have to settle for skim milk in my coffee, and in case you don't know; that is one very poor substitute for the creamy stuff.

Let me speed this up. Discovered mouse droppings. Emptied cupboards, sanitized the cupboards, and started the first dishwasher load of dishes from the cupboards. Let the puppies outside. Hear Chuck yell at Bristol for peeing on the deck. AGAIN. Rinsed off the deck. 

Let puppies back inside. Monday is trash day, so while I gathered trash upstairs, the puppies started frolicking on the bed. That's when I noticed the MUD on the carpet. I grabbed the blankets from the bed to do ANOTHER load of laundry, and shooed the puppies back downstairs to clean their feet. No problem; their feet had been thoroughly cleaned off on the carpet apparently. 

While talking to Chuck before he arrived at work, I discovered the fly swatter had been chewed up, and only a pile of blue plastic bits and a bent wire handle were left on the living room floor. These are the times when Bristol's nickname BLISTER surfaces.

Add to my list of things to do today: buy old-fashioned mouse traps; the new-fangled ones are still set, with most of the bait missing. Throw away all outdated food (this is not a bad thing). Vacuum puppy mud from upstairs. Wash two more loads of dishes from the cupboards. Check the rest of the cupboards for rodent evidence. Empty, clean, and set traps, if necessary. 

It's only 7:00 in the morning, and I'm ready to call it a day. I had hoped to take the puppies for walks, get groceries, and get a couple of loads of laundry done. This may be the Mondayest of Mondays I've had in a while; I may need to set my sights a little lower, and just take the day as it comes, moment by moment.

What's All the Fuss About?

Credit to Sarah K. Henry of Inkytiger Art

Is today your birthday? There sure are a lot of people I love who have a birthday today, so if it's your birthday, too, let me wish you a very happy birthday!

My BFFs share a birthday; today, October 7. They aren't twins, having been born a couple years apart, but they are two of my most favorite people on this planet. 

Freshman year of college, 1979

I started celebrating October 7 many years ago, almost FORTY years ago, to be approximate, with my college roommate Cindy on her special day. She helped me remember the date by associating it with James Bond. Double O-7. 10-07. It helped!

Then nearly forty years later, I met the most wonderful man of my life, and he chose me to be his wife, and HIS birthday is October seventh, too. It was a sign; a very good sign. 

Chuck and Cindy are alike in many ways. Those two can recall commercials, cartoons, TV shows, and movies like nobody's business. Quotes roll off their tongues without a hitch. They both have a head for numbers, which makes me feel jealous. Cindy and Chuck are voracious readers and they love words. You know what I like most about these two humans? They both love me, unconditionally. 

I just wanted to take a moment to wish these two the happiest of birthdays. They are the best kind of people; smart, funny, witty, kind, and compassionate. I love you both.

Happy Birthday, Sue!

Not only is it a special day for Cindy and Chuck, but other birthdays we celebrate today are our sister-in-law Sue's and our friend Susy's. 

Happy Birthday, friends. I hope you feel as special as each of you are. You deserve the very best of blessings!