Hope's Homestead: Sledding, Soup and Homemade Bread

Oh sweet January. In past years, I haven't embraced it as fully as I am doing this year. Each month seems bittersweet and the days are flying by all too fast for me. I thought I would slow things down a bit and say yes more.

Yes, to staying in bed on Saturday mornings, luxuriating in the slow pace that I have created. Yes, to curling up in my favourite chair, sinking into a good book, while my little ones are engrossed in playing a game of their choosing. Yes, to letting all the kids head outside for one more play in the snow, even though they "should" be practicing cello, piano or doing home work.

I can hear them laughing and shrieking with glee as they slide down our driveway. It's snowing too hard to stay on top of shoveling it. I can nest inside, making a pot of aromatic chicken and wild rice soup....and maybe there is still a loaf of homemade bread to accompany it.

This feels so good, savouring another winter month and experiencing all the senses of the season. Shorter days, full of white and dark. Magical moments watching the snow gently fall, feeling the excitement bubbling from our little ones as I bundle them up for another adventure making snow forts, snowman, and of course, their favourite, sledding in our yard. Does life get any better than this?

No matter where you live in the world, you can choose to make the days richer. Slow them down by saying yes to what you love.

Today, I made the most delicious chicken and wild rice soup. It was amazing. Now I make a lot of soups. Almost every week in the winter I make at least one big pot and lately, I have been experimenting with whatever we have in the house, THAT, is what goes in the pot. This makes for some interesting combinations. Today, since a few of our family members have had a persistent cough, I thought what we needed was an old fashion chicken and rice soup. Easy on the tummy and apparently, chicken soup is good for colds.

It was just what we all needed. I pulled out the last loaf of bread Harrison made on the weekend. He had made 4 loaves and there is one loaf left.... it's only Monday. Then I threw together a green salad and voila...dinner was served. So say yes to sledding....or whatever you do in your part of the world and say yes to making a big pot of heart warming soup with homemade bread. It's really that easy.

Hope's Chicken and Wild Rice/quinoa Soup

Ingredients

*1/4 of extra virgin oil
* 3 chopped garlic cloves
*1 finely chopped onion
*1/2 cup chopped celery
*1 cup sliced carrots
*3/4 cups all purpose flour
*10 cups of chicken broth
*3 cups of wild rice/quinoa
*1 cup of cooked and cut up chicken
*1/2 tsp chili powder
*1/2 tsp cumin powder
*1/2 tsp mustard powder
*1 tsp dried parsley
*1 tsp dried basil
*Sea salt...to taste
*Ground pepper to taste
*2 cups of milk
Optional....I used what I had in the house....but had I had some fresh mushrooms and broccoli....I would have chopped them and put them in....use what you have......what you LOVE.

Directions

1. Throw one chicken breast into the oven and cook for 45 minutes at 400 degrees

2. Cook 1 cup of wild rice/quinoa...equates to 3 cups once cooked

3. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot, stir in garlic, onion, celery, and carrots. Saute for 5 minutes until onions are translucent. (If you have mushrooms....add them next...saute for another few minutes.

4. Add flour to the pot and stir well. Gradually add the 10 cups of chicken broth.

5. Heat well, bringing almost to a boil...reduce heat and simmer while the chicken and rice and quinoa is cooked.

6. Add the cooked wild rice and quinoa, along with the chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, parsley, basil, pepper and salt.

6. Once the chicken is cooked, cut up into small pieces and add to the soup pot.

7. Add 2 cups of milk and heat through...simmer until you are ready to eat.

And now for the recipe for the bread that my 17 year old made on the weekend.....he is taking Foods 11 on line and this was his first foray into bread making....the loaves turned out beautifully!

Harrison's Homemade Bread

Ingredients

Lots of flour....roughly 5 cups of white....1 cup of whole wheat...keep mixing until it's the right consistency
5 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup of sugar
4 cups of lukewarm water

Directions: (note these are Harrison's directions)

Add 4 cups of lukewarm water to bowl, add ½ cup of sugar. After mixing water and sugar together add 4 tbsp. of yeast. Let proof for 10 minutes.

Once yeast is bubbly and frothy... add 1 tbsp. of salt, 5 tbsp. oil, stir, then add flour 1 cup at a time, until you reach the desired consistency of dough you are looking for.

Now turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until you get a smooth ball of dough that is not sticking to the table at all.

Next, grab your second bowl, lightly coat it in oil, and place your ball of dough into it. Cover, and let rise for 1 hour. You are looking for your dough to at least double in size. After the dough has risen, you will punch it down, and turn it out onto a floured surface again. This time we are going to divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll them into a log shape to fit in the bread pans.

Grease your bread pans with butter, place your dough in the pans, cover them and let rise for half an hour. Then put your bread in the over at 375F for 25 minutes. Flip them out of their pans, and apply a very light coat of butter to the crust of the bread. This is to keep it soft, and to not dry out.