March 12, 2010 3

Homemade Bread: My Comfort Food

By in Deliciousness

I used to bake five loaves of bread per week. Okay, maybe I should rephrase. One week, I baked five loaves of bread.

This was not that week but I did bake two and they were delicious. Warm and fresh. Wow! I love bread in general and homemade bread is extra special. It always makes me think of my mom’s (and my) dear friend Billie. She was my Sunday School teacher many-a-year. Our families vacationed together everywhere from California to Pennsylvania’s Amish country. I’ve eaten innumerable delicious and comforting meals around her table and she has taught me much about God, connecting, forgiveness, and love. She even had our wedding rehearsal dinner at her house and then made homemade bread for communion during our ceremony.

Billie’s bread (and any recipe I’ve received from her actually) is something I love to make but love to eat even more. I’m not going to pretend to be the world’s best baker (Tim’s already challenged me for the title) but here’s the recipe I use when I make a batch from scratch.

Billie’s Bread

2 cups warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoon sugar

Dissolve the yeast in the water then add the sugar and mix.

Add:

1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
1 egg (beaten)

After mixing in these ingredients, begin adding bread flour. Stir in flour slowly until it is handleable (is that a word?). I generally use 5-6 cups. Most people will then flour a cutting board for the kneading but I usually keep it in the bowl to avoid flour-covered everything when I’m done (I’m sort of a messy cook). I knead the bread dough until it is smooth and elastic.

It may be a bit tricky to figure out when it is done. I believe the key is experimenting. Try making two recipes at once. Knead one to death. Stop the other one short. See what feels right (not in a follow-your-heart-and-the-world-will-become-puppy-dogs-and-rainbows way) or toss it out if it gets too tough. Just keep trying.

Here’s a quick demo of me showing off my almost-pro kneading skills

How To Knead Bread Dough from Allison Howell on Vimeo.

After kneading, oil a bowl and put the dough in it. Place a damp towel on top. Let it rise until doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide in half. With each half, stretch the dough into a rough rectangle and then roll tightly into a loaf shape. Pinch the seam and the ends. Place on a cornmeal-covered baking sheet with the seam-side down. I use a baking stone but a regular cookie sheet with do. If you don’t have cornmeal, you can use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Slash three (or more) slits in the top of the loaves with a serrated knife.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and set the bread aside. Let it rise until doubled or roughly 30 minutes (if it isn’t doubled by then, that’s fine). Before baking, brush loaves with an egg wash (beaten egg with a little bit of milk splashed in) for a golden color.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when you thump it on the side.

I hope you’ll try this recipe and enjoy homemade bread as much as I do. Billie encouraged me to experiment with the recipe. Sometimes I use 2/3 bread flour and 1/3 whole wheat. She adds cinnamon and raisins to her bread or sometimes dill seed on the top. I’ve seen her add cottage cheese or other flavors and seasonings she has on hand. Once you get the basic recipe under your belt, you can really throw in whatever you want.

Can’t wait to hear what you add to your next loaf.

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March 10, 2010 0

I Express Gratitude with Miniature Apple Pies

By in Deliciousness

While I am quite a fan of free stuff, I am not a moocher. I’m a lot more interested in give-and-take than just take, take. take. There are probably a few people in my life who would beg to differ, but for the most part, I try to practice gratitude.

As a token of my appreciation for the apple tree and truck to transport it in, I baked a few desserts. Since I was dreaming of homemade homegrown apple pies at the time, it seemed that there was only one option: miniature apple pies.

I took inspiration from several recipes that I enjoy for these little treats. Here’s what I came up with:

Billie’s Oil Pie Crust:

3 c flour
4 T sugar
1 t salt
1 c vegetable oil
4 T milk

Mix all ingredients together. Press into pie pans. Form edges.

I used this recipe for 6 mini pies (approximately 4.5 inches in diameter). I usually use half this recipe for one regular-sized pie.

Filling:

5 large granny smith apples (peeled and diced to 1/2″)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 flour
3/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla extract
juice from 2 limes

Topping:

1/2 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/3 c butter

Mix all filling ingredients and then put in the crusts. Bake pies at 350 for 15 minutes.

Combine topping ingredients in bowl of a food processor and pulse until size of peas or use a pastry cutter to make topping by hand.

Add Topping to the pies and bake 30 more minutes.

Serve warm.

My friends who tried the pies seemed to like them quite well (one even described it quite graphically… yikes! and another offered to let me borrow his truck everyday in exchange for a pie). To be honest, I personally think they need to be tweaked a bit for next time. Feel free to try them as is or make these modifications:

• Use 1/8 c flour in the filling instead of 1/4
• Use this recipe for 8 crusts (not six) or alternatively use 3/4 of the dough
• Use brown sugar instead of white for the topping.

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March 9, 2010 4

The Deceptive Allure of a Free Tree

By in Growing

When I received the email from Rick & Melanie, I knew my life was about to change. They have a beautiful backyard filled with fruit trees but wanted to clear out a couple. If I came to dig it up, I could have a fantastic, abundantly-producing, exotic apple tree with the world’s best fruit for… FREE. Okay, they didn’t exactly promise all that but the tree was free for the taking if I came to get it.

Something happens to me when I hear the word “free.” I can’t quite explain it but I am suddenly convinced that no matter what it is, I must have it. In my mind, it somehow increases in value because it doesn’t cost anything. I’m not such a sucker that I’ll buy a box of cereal just for a prize at the bottom or succumb to infomercial “but wait, there’s more” pressure, but my desire for an object intensifies if I know something won’t cost me anything.

Before receiving Rick & Melanie’s email, I had never particularly wanted an apple tree. It isn’t that I didn’t want one, it just had never occurred to me. Once the thought of juicy delicious apples, bushels to give to neighbors, and tasty fall desserts from our own backyard came to my mind, however, there was no stopping me.

I rounded up a truck (which was graciously lent to me by our friend Brian), found shovels, and conned Tim into coming with me. He had read a bit about transplanting trees and didn’t exactly share my enthusiasm. I, however, couldn’t suppress my excitement. I wasn’t even deterred when he mentioned that I might be underestimating how much time the whole process would take.

I can’t remember at what point I started to think our free tree wasn’t quite worth it. Four hours and a 5′x5′x3′ hole later, we drove our mud-covered exhausted bodies home to unload. It was quite dark and had started to rain by the time we got our precious fruit bearer and its gigantic root ball in the backyard. And we still didn’t have a hole to put it in.

The next day, with Tim at work, it was up to me to create a home for our new producer. As I did, I sort of felt like I was digging my own grave. Still stiff and sore from extracting the tree, I definitely doubted my faulty it-must-be-goodgreat-if-it-is-free logic.

In the end, our free apple tree has been a bit more expensive than I originally anticipated. While the tree itself didn’t cost a dime, we did end up having to buy compost to plant it in and we’ve still got to get another tree. Apparently apple trees must be cross-pollenated with a different variety in order to actually produce fruit. I don’t think I really factored that in when drooling over my dreams of homemade homegrown apple pie.

Now that it is in the ground, I’m not completely confident that this tree will even live. If it doesn’t make it, Tim says it can still be a win-win. We’ll have free applewood to use the next time we smoke our own bacon.

I wonder where I might be able to come across some free pork bellies.

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March 8, 2010 5

Vintage Rentals from found

By in Shindigs

Today on the beach, I found a piece of turned wood with cracking chipped paint. It is a spindle of sorts with gnarled ends that have been somewhat smoothed by the ocean. My friends think it may have been part of a bed. My money is on staircase banister. In any case, I love it. I’m searching for the perfect spot in my house to showcase it along with other objects I’ve found.

Jeni Maus (of Studio EMP and EMP Invites fame) is displaying her own collection of found objects these days with her newly opened vintage rental company: found. She scours flea markets, Craigslst, and her own secret sources to find fabulous pieces of vintage furniture and accessories. Her collection is now accessible to brides, party-throwers and anyone with a need for authentic, unique, and interesting objects. Whether for a photo shoot, wedding, or everyday event, her reupholstered chairs & couches, antique frames & objects, and unusual farm tables, folding chairs, tables, & accessories will give any event personality.

Jeni has impeccable style and lives for the “thrill of the hunt.” If she doesn’t already have what you need, she has resources to find it. She can chase down century-old church pews, mismatched centerpiece vessels, or create pillows from Hungarian grain sacks. She would be the first person I’d turn to if I wanted to find the hard-to-find.

I love her collection of vintage furniture and accessories so much, I might just have to throw a party to have an excuse to use some of her pieces. What do you think?

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March 5, 2010 0

The Tough Task of Pruning

By in Growing

I recently stepped onto my front porch to find my dear friend and next door neighbor Melissa pruning her roses. Leaves, petals, and clippings were in piles on the sidewalk. She was really trimming those babies back. Carefully choosing which branches to snip away, she removed most of the visible life. I sort of cringed as I looked at the naked plants. Apparently it was the third time she had come back to cut; resisting the idea that trimming more would eventually be best. When I asked her about the process, she told me it was an exercise in hope.

Photo Courtesy of Mary Massie

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February 24, 2010 3

Project Art School in Downtown Fullerton

By in Growing

I am a lover of learning. While I definitely have a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants spirit in a lot of my projects, I am a big fan of education. For this reason, I try to expose myself to lots of sources of knowledge when I have the chance.

Several years ago, I wanted to learn to paint so I joined an oil painting class at the La Habra Community Center. The class was almost exclusively seniors (who else is available on Wednesday mornings?) and I was the youngest class member by some forty or fifty years. Surrounding myself with 70-year-old painters taught me a lot. I learned about composition and layout but I also about something I didn’t expect.

Many of these artists hadn’t picked up painting until after they retired. They risked learning something new after a lifetime of another craft. Most of them weren’t very good artists but they kept coming to socialize and connect. They used art to build community.

While I think that art is good for a community, I also believe it can be a means of developing a community. This is why I was delighted when Jeni Maus at Studio EMP, my friendly neighborhood photography studio, told me about Project Art School. This new space is a studio, a place for workshops, a gallery for rotating exhibits, and an all-around cool place to hang out.

I can’t wait to take one of their upcoming workshops. Letterpress has always mesmerized me. Book arts make me drool. I’m looking forward to practicing these in my own neighborhood soon. I hope I’ll even get to rub elbows with some of my art-loving neighbors. We may not be retired yet but a new hobby just might help us get to know one another.

Project Art School is also a supporter of the up-and-coming Downtown Fullerton Art Walk on the first Friday of each month. Hope to see you there!

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February 23, 2010 1

My Perfect Afternoon includes Tea and Shortbread Cookies

By in Deliciousness

I used to hate tea. When I tried it, I felt like I was drinking dirty water. Sitting down for a cuppa was totally unappealing to me.

Then I moved to England.

Oh, the land of cream tea. The first time I had a tea and scone in England was at a little establishment called The Nosebag. For such an strange name, they certainly did have some good eats. That is where tea became a comfort to me and where scones with clotted cream and jam changed my life.

I still find sitting down with a cup of tea to be a wonderful thing. While I don’t do it often enough, sipping tea with cream out of a proper teacup helps me slow down and feel a little peaceful. I love to enjoy tea with friends but even alone, it has a calming effect on me. I think that the warmth is important but also the ritual of it and the strong memories of my days in Oxford have a powerful impact on me.

A good cup of tea just isn’t the same without a small bite to accompany it, however. I can’t indulge in scones with clotted cream all the time but one thing I do enjoy is a shortbread cookie. Just one (okay, more like two, three, or four) with a soothing cup of tea can make up my perfect afternoon.

Here is a recipe I often use that I adapted from the crust of my favorite tart:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks

Combine flour and sugar in a food processor. Add cubed butter. Pulse until crumbly. Add vanilla extract and egg yolks. Pulse until dough just comes together. Dump out dough onto plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into squares or use cookie cutter approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Prick cookies with a fork. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until they just begin to get golden.

I like to enjoy them when they are still slightly warm.

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February 22, 2010 0

Romeo + Juliet-Themed Wedding Stationery

By in Creations

A couple weeks ago, I joined Amanda of In the Now Weddings and Events at a one-of-a-kind photoshoot. The SoCal Photog Shootout asked her to style a mock wedding with beautiful details so they could practice and learn their new photography skills. She designed a Shakespearean dream with lots of sweet touches.

The design of the stationery was inspired by Amanda’s palette of mauve, purple and soft pinks. I included ribbon and lace wherever possible because it showed up in romantic and ethereal spots all over the shoot. I also tried to evoke the religious and celestial themes of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the stationery design. Achieving thoughtful details in design that are also subtle can be tricky. I hope that I pulled it off in these pieces.

Here are images of stationery and details from the day that were sent to me by a few of the wonderful photographers at the shootout.

Prayer book-style Ceremony Program

Ribbon-adorned Escort Cards

This Guest Book alternative used a collection of individual cards gathered in a keepsake lace pouch tied with ribbon, lace, and pearls.

The seed packet Favor contained this quotation from the play:

“Sweet, good night!
This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flow’r when next we meet.
Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast!”

The tabletop with Place Card and Menu

If you missed it, I described the process of tea-staining and producing all of these pieces here.

Photos courtesy of Hanssie Trainor, Paige+Blake Green, Brian Khang and Rosina W. Photography.

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February 19, 2010 2

Straight from the Freezer: Chicken Stew with Biscuits

By in Deliciousness

One time, I came up with a brilliant idea that was sure to relieve stress, multiply my time, satisfy my cravings and basically make my life perfect. I was convinced that it was the end to all of my problems. The big idea: make all my meals for a month in one day and freeze them.

Of course, I don’t do anything simply. In fact, I think I subconsciously make my life more complicated than it needs to be; even when I’m trying to make it easier with pre-made meals. Once I had decided to make all my meals for a month ahead, I also thought it would be keen to invite all my friends to join in the process. My reasoning was that if I could buy in bulk, I would save money.

As I may have mentioned here previously, I’ll go to great lengths to save a penny. My goal was to have helping upon helping of delicious homemade meals ready to eat in minutes for less than $1.60 per serving. Eleven of my friends (you should read victims) gathered in a neighborhood church kitchen for what I estimated would be a four-hour cookathon. Four shopping trips, twelve hours, and what seemed like seven thousand meals later, we carted our stash home to pack our freezers.

Needless to say, by the end, I realized my brilliant plan was a little lack-luster. I did save money but I didn’t really get the quality of food I hoped for. It took a lot longer than I anticipated and because several of the participants weren’t experienced cooks or recipe-followers, I ended up with some food that was downright gross. I also realized that I don’t particularly like food that has been cooked, frozen, and then reheated. If it is raw when it is frozen, it isn’t too bad but rubbery pork isn’t my idea of deliciousness.

One dish that I made recently is freezer-friendly, however. Over a month ago, I cooked a recipe of Ina Garten’s Chicken Stew with Biscuits from Barefoot Contessa Family Style. I prepared half to freeze (with the biscuits stored separately). This week, after a 9-day long cold, I didn’t feel much like cooking and this chicken-potpie-like dish was what I craved. Glad that I had a frozen portion remaining, I popped in in the oven. When I pulled it out, it was just like the day I originally made it. Buttery flaky biscuits with yummy flavorful filling; a perfect comfort meal.

While I may never again experiment with turning potatoes black in the freezer or spend from dawn to dusk cooking for a month at a time, I will definitely make this delicious dinner again and freeze some for a later date.

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February 18, 2010 1

Handmade Gift: Soft Fabric Blocks for Baby

By in Creations

For Eden’s first birthday, I was feeling crafty. I was inspired by a project I once saw in Amy Butler’s Little Stitches for Little Ones. To be honest, I don’t own the book. I flipped through it once in a bookstore and would love to own it but these fabric blocks came to mind when I pondered my available materials: a pile of scraps.

I used three kinds of fabric (the two patterned fabrics were leftover from a project, the solid came form a sheet). Six squares arranged in a “T” and then stitched into a cube made up each block. I stuffed them with filling from an old pillow. I will admit that they were a bit misshapen and don’t “stack” very well but I don’t think Eden will notice their issues until she’s a bit older. In the meantime she mostly uses them like balls anyway. And her older brother doesn’t do too much damage when he throws them at her head.

My original intent was to make 9 blocks (I don’t know why) but Tim insisted that I make 10. He was doing a pediatric rotation at the time and indicated that no milestone chart says “is able to make a stack nine blocks high.” Ten is the magic number and I certainly don’t want a lack of blocks to stand in the way of Eden’s development.

I also made a drawstring bag to keep all the blocks in one place.

This was a fun and easy project that used up some leftovers. I’ve thought lately that the line between trash and craft supplies is a fine one. For this project, I’m glad I could utilize the bits I had that might not have another use.

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