FOOD: French Bread

Food
-giveth meat unto her household

This is a Proverb's 31 series  post

This is taken from www.theprudenthomemaker.com

French Bread

2 tsp yeast

4 tsp Kosher salt

8-10 cups bread flour (this is white bread flour; all-purpose flour will work in a pinch but doesn't rise as high)

1 cup warm water (between 105º and 110º)

4 cups warm water

Proof the yeast by putting the yeast in the 1 cup of warm water. Check the temperature of the water first by checking it with a thermometer. I use a candy thermometer. Hotter than 110º, you will kill the yeast. Lower than 105º and the yeast doesn't grow much. You want the yeast to be nice and bubbly, so let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, measure the salt in a mixing bowl. I like ceramic; the dough doesn't rise enough for me in a metal mixing bowl (it seems to be too cold).
Add flour. Add yeast mixture and enough water to mix so that all the flour sticks together.
Knead for 10-12 minutes on a floured surface, by hand, turning and folding well. When dough is ready it will be elastic-y and will not stick to the counter much.
Pull all sides of the dough into the center, making a big ball. This stretches the gluten and makes a higher loaf. Put the dough in the bowl with the smooth side on top.
Put back in bowl to rise with damp cloth over the top for 1 hour.
Take dough out of the bowl, and flatten it to about 2 inches tall. Separate dough with dough cutter into 4 equal parts for 4 rounds, or 8 parts for longer loaves (or a combination).
Take each section and pull the edges into the middle all the way around to make a ball. This stretching is important; you will see some bubbles pop. Put the smooth side up as you set each ball on the counter. Cover all the sections with the damp cloth and let sit for 10 minutes.
Wash your bowl.
Spray 2 cookie sheets with Pam; I use airbake sheets.
Shape loaves: Flatten loaves again to about 1 inch thick (just flatten---do not stretch the dough out, just flatten it). Fold one side of the circle of dough to the almost the other side so you have a smile. Then flatten again. Fold both sides in, overlapping, so that the dough is folded in thirds. Flatten again.
For round loaves, pull edges in to the center like before, working all the way around the dough. Grab dough together at center to make a "foot" so that the loaf is sticking together. Turn dough over and gently "round" so that the middle is not sunken.
Put loaves on the cookie sheets to rise again.
(For long loaves, instead of pulling the edges to the center (after folding), you will roll and stretch the loaf to be as long as you would like.)
Cover loaves on the cookie sheets with the damp cloth and let rise about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 400º so that it is ready to go at the end of the second rising.
Put a pan (I use the broiler pan) of water on the bottom shelf. This will steam the bread and give it a nice crust.
When second rising is done, take a serrated knife and quickly and lightly slash the loaves.
This helps the loaves rise more in the oven.
If the loaves deflate when you slash them, they rose too long on the second rising. They will still cook, but watch next time so that you will get a higher loaf.
If you have an egg, you can mix an egg with a little water and lightly brush the loaves all over using a pastry brush with the egg wash. If you do not have an egg, the crust will be less crunchy, but will still be tasty.
Put loaves in the oven and cook until a nice browned top is there. Better to have them a little darker than you think they should be, or they will be doughy.
Take loaves out of the oven. After a couple minutes, turn loaves over on the cookie sheets so the bottoms can dry (or else they stay wet on bottom, even after an hour).

Notes:
I buy all of the ingredients to make this (except for the water) at Sam's Club, in bulk. The bread flour comes in a 25lb bag. The yeast comes in 2 1lb bags, and is much cheaper than buying tiny yeast packets. The Kosher salt comes in a 3lb box and is half the price of buying it anywhere else. This entire recipe costs me around $1 to make, which means that each loaf is 25 cents.

TIME MANAGEMENT: Develop the homemakers 2 week schedule

Time Management
-riseth while it is yet night
-her candle goeth not out by night
-looketh well to the ways of her household
-eateth not the bread of idleness

This is a Proverb's 31series post

Are you a Christian Homemaker?  Or just a homemaker in general (yes, non-chrisitans can be homemakers as well, but they will not have the feeling or the morality of a Christian homemaker)?  Are you prepared to be an effective biblical counselor for your spouse and /or children as they deal with the problems of life?

A great and important way to ensure that you make sure that you are making the most of your time is to schedule your time in advance.  There may be doldrums because of the sin-nature of one's spouse or children which a Christian homemaker MUST be aware of in advance and prepared to deal with.  There may even be sin-nature of one's own self that a woman must deal with.  She MUST encourage her spouse and children to fulfill God's will in their lives through Christ but not be a hindrance or a nag at the same time.

According to the book LIES WOMEN BELIEVE by Nancy L. Demoss, a woman who provides income for the family is of no value in eternity.  The reason is because she essentially abandons her post and allows the "wolves" of society (day cares with perverts, schools with senseless dating and sexual experimentation, husbands unfulfilled and non-desirous to love one woman, in-laws or former family who convict of various ills and social problems etc) to take over  as well as the grounds of serving two masters (one the workplace the other a husband who needs prayer and support).

Life can become very fulfilling for a woman if she carefully plans each day carefully.  Usually a two week time frame of scheduling is very effective in removing idleness which leads to discontentment, fretting and other worries about the cares of this life.  Income, proper housing and proper clothing are not necessary for effective scheduling.  Even attendance, membership or participation at a church to meet one's social obligations are not necessary, and in some cases may not be possible because of the problems in the local congregations of problems developed from family discontentment through in-laws or former family life.

So may a Christian homemaking woman develop an effective two week schedule?

Step 1: Type up or purchase a day planner that has time intervals separated by 1/2 slots.

Step 2:  Type up different activities that you would like to accomplish in that two week time frame in list format.

Examples could include the following:

Homemaking duties

Hobbies (Garden, animals, crafts etc)

Skills Development

Spiritual Development (Including meditation, bible study, prayer)

Exercise

Children's development

School Activities and holidays

Music

Ideas

Shopping

Get-togethers with your friends

Family outings

Holidays

Husband-wife dates

Meetings

Time or outings without the children

Books to obtain and read

Library visits

Birthdays and anniversaries

One-on-one counseling or fun with the children (NEEDS to be done MORE these days than most women realize or desire)

Special Intimacy, Bedroom preparation and beauty for husband

Step 3:   Cut the list in pieces and then paste to the day planner or typed up schedule

Step 4:  You may edit, rewrite or type your schedule to the way you like.

For a schedule that you can easily adjust to your liking within each two week time frame, try creating the schedule on laminated card stock, so that you may simply tape and remove the labels as each week changes.  Decorate the calendar as well.  Perhaps use codes, stickers, clip art and fancy writing to create an attractive calendar.

CRAFTING/HOUSEHOLD SUPPLY: Drawstring bag gift

Crafting/Household supply
-works willingly with her hands
-layeth her hands to the spindle/distaff
-she maketh fine linen

This is a PROVERB'S 31 series post

Are you short on time, would like a simpler way to save on wrapping paper or do you have extra amount of fabric on hand?  Try making homemade drawstring bag for your gifts.  They are reusable and can be created for various holidays.  If you are gifted and know how to sew fairly well, you really don't need a pattern to create a drawstring bag.  But for the rest, and for those who are new to sewing a simple pattern can be found here.

So give it a try and you'll save time for that next birthday get-together or Christmas celebration.  Children love gifts even if they aren't wrapped in paper.

Find special fabric to change the theme a little bit and see the smile of the person receiving the gift.

In fact, it takes about as much time to sew up a drawstring bag as it does to wrap a gift in paper.  Have fun and be creative.

SELLING: Easy way to upload n' sell

Today's theme topic is SELLING from the proverb's 31 series.

Have you ever written a page or two and you wish you could publish it to share with others.  Have you ever recorded something and you wish you could put it on the internet easily and effectively.  Well there is a VERY easy way to do that and you do not need a lot of internet know-how to accomplish that at all.  In fact, it is so simple, it is as easy as attaching a document to an e-mail.  Not only that, but there are absolutely NO fees associated with this site even after you have sold your product and it connects directly to pay-pal to help you achieve financial success with safety.

Simply go to http://uploadnsell.com/ and start selling all those fun things you have created in your own time and start selling today.

You may check out my other blog associated with the raggedycottagegarden blog to see what I have already accomplished.  It is in the early stages of development and with 3 children, it may take a little more time to continue to develop.  Soon I hope to edit it to full and easy access for any interested customers.

SHOPPING: Filling your pantry

(because of technical difficulties this post may have some errors)

Today's theme is SHOPPING from the proverb's 31 series.

Shopping
-seeks wool and flax
-is like the merchants ships and brings her food from afar
-considers a field and buys it
-percieveth that her merchandise is good

In today's modern world it seems that we must "buy"  a lot of stuff in order to survive.  However, that is not always the case.  There are many ways in which you can become more self-sustainable and work with your local community to avoid becoming a massive consumer.  There is also a way in which you can store up enough food for a while to survive for a great length of time from your own home.  You are also capable of being very creative and working with what you already have.  Try turning cereal boxes or milk cartons into a miniature village, homemade boxes or birthday cards.  All you would need is a little glue, glitter and good imagination.

Below is a menu that is developed from the Prudent Homemaker's website (http://www.theprudenthomemaker.com).  Keep in mind the woman is of LSD faith but that does not diminish the effectiveness of the resources she offers.

By clicking on the recipe's you can create an effective pantry list so that you won't have to wander to the store all the time because you'll have all the supplies on hand.  I have been able to fill up a month's worth of supply from Wal-Mart for about 100$-150$ to feed a family of 5.

Strictly Pantry

When you look into your fridge, and lament that it is empty, with no chance of filling it again soon--clean your fridge! Its empty shelves will sparkle at you and amazingly make you feel better.

Then look to your pantry for ideas, and pretty soon, there will be something in your refrigerator: leftovers!

The meals on this menu are made strictly from shelf-friendly items found in

my pantry.

For more pantry recipes that include items from the freezer and garden, click on the seasonal menus. If you're living on your food storage and need some more ideas on lunch menus for schoolchildren, see the winter menu.

Week 1

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Monday	Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar	Barley Soup French Bread	Spaghetti Green Beans French Bread Brownies	Peach Pie Popsicles
Tuesday	Pancakes Apple Juice	Minestrone Soup French Bread	Rice and Bean Burritos	Toast with Pear Butter
Wednesday	Banana Bread	Tuna Sandwiches Pickles Fruit Salad	Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (without cheese) Green Beans Corn	Banana Bread Dried Fruits
Thursday	Chocolate Muffins Fruit Salad	Macaroni and Cheese Vienna Sausages Applesauce	Tuscan Tomato Bread Soup	Homemade Crackers
Friday	Bagels	Chicken Noodle Soup Crackers	Spanish Rice Corn Olives	Bagels
Saturday	Whole Wheat Waffles Canned Peaches	BBQ Chicken Sandwiches Pickles Dried Apricots	Chicken Curry Chapatis	Popsicles
Sunday	Gingerbread Pancakes Smoothies	Leftovers	Chicken Caccitore Green Beans Canned Pears	Popcorn

Week 2

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Monday	Walnut Muffins Fruit Salad	Gluten (wheat) Burgers Pickles	Pasta e Fagioli Rosemary Olive Oil Bread	Hot Chocolate Dried Apricots
Tuesday	Oatmeal	Chicken and Rice Soup Rosemary Olive Oil Bread	Chicken Fried Steak Corn Green Beans Peach Pie	Rosemary Olive Bread
Wednesday	Crepes	Taco Soup	Pumpkin Gnocchi French Bread	Mandarin Oranges Fudge
Thursday	English Muffins Fruit Salad	Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches Canned Pears	Black Bean Burgers on English Muffins Applesauce	French Bread with Apple Butter
Friday	Biscuits and Gravy	Alphabet Soup French Bread	Stir Fry with Sprouts	Biscuits with Apricot-Vanilla Jam
Saturday	Donuts	Leftover Soups	Herbed Crepes Fruit Salad	Smoothies
Sunday	Lemon Poppyseed Muffins Citrus Fruit Salad	Bean and Rice Burritos	Fettucini Alfredo Green Beans Canned Pears	Popcorn

CHARACTER: Fascinating women bless your husband

(there may be some technical errors on this posting as my blogger/internet isn't working too well)

A while back I started writing a proverbs 31 series .  I would like to begin writing that series again.  I have acquired more wisdom and experience since that time and I would like to share that information with you once again.


Today's theme is CHARACTER.
Character
-Does him good and not evil all the days of her life
-strength and honour are her clothing
-opens her mouth with wisdom
-in her mouth is the law of kindness
-her children and husband rise up and call her blessed
-her own works praise her in the gates.
-she feareth the LORD

What is beauty through the eyes of your husband?  How can you become a better woman?  Is there a way to save a failing marriage?  Is there a way to make a good marriage better?  Are our days becoming so EVIL and overcome by feminism that no woman can raise a home and family under the protection of a man?

 It IS possible to live a life that the little girl inside you always wanted!  You can find information from the book fascinating womanhood by Helen Andelin at http://www.fascinatingwomanhood.net/.  Although the book was written in the 1960's, the condition of man and the "natural" reactions men have towards women have not changed since that time nor will they EVER change according to God's word. God didn't suddenly put eyes on the back of people's heads or grow three legs instead of two.  Of course when grounded with biblical truth, it is easy to see how to build the best in your husband, simply by trusting in his protection and provision.  An additional book in .pdf format and story format is found here.

There are others who thoroughly enjoy the book and have even written blogs surrounding the theme of the book.  http://thefascinatingwoman.blogspot.com/

Some of the secrets you will find include the following:
Accept him as he is.
Look to his good side.
Don’t try to change him.
Forgive him for past hurts.
Allow him his freedom.
Compile a list of his masculine virtues.
Humbly apologise to him for your past mistakes.
Admire his masculine qualities.
Never wound his sensitive pride.
A man’s greatest need is to be admired for his masculine qualities.
His deepest misery is to be belittled by a woman.
Make him Number One in your life.
Comfort him tenderly when he is tired or discouraged.
Appreciate the heavy responsibility a man carries.
Use the great power of sympathy.
Comfort him lovingly when he comes home weary.
Do not raise problems until after he has eaten
Your husband’s God-given role is to lead you and provide for you. Allow him to do it.
Your role is to be his companion, a mother and a homemaker.
Let him know your views, but support his final decision 100%.
Let him worry about the finances.
Men deeply admire inner serenity
and goodness in their wives.
Your husband wants you to be a better person than himself.
Goodness and inner serenity are required in a woman for a man to love her deeply.
Inner serenity develops in a woman when she becomes free of pride and self-righteousness, always does and says the right thing, is free of guilt, and has a forgiving heart.

I wish you the best and many blessings in your wonderful marriage.

Fibonacci number, number 7, music and bible relationships

Fibbonacci number	Dist from nearest 7 multiple (whole number value)	(1/7) * fibbonacci number
0	0	0
1	1	0.142857143
1	1	0.142857143
2	2	0.285714286
3	3	0.428571429
5	2	0.714285714
8	1	1.142857143
13	1	1.857142857
21	0	3
34	1	4.857142857
55	1	7.857142857
89	2	12.71428571
144	3	20.57142857
233	2	33.28571429
377	1	53.85714286
610	1	87.14285714
987	0	141
1597	1	228.1428571
2584	1	369.1428571
4181	2	597.2857143
6765	3	966.4285714
	pattern recognized(0112321101123211)

Are you aware of biblical patterns in relation to mathematical patterns and musical patterns.  The patterns are EVERYWHERE.  We MUST remember that God created the world in how many days????  SEVEN

In case you are unfamiliar with the Fibonacci number here is a quick link http://raggedycottagegarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/fibonacci-numbers.html

Now lets look at the relation of music to all of this.

The piano keyboard and method of musical notation uses SEVEN different values (ABCDEFG).  Consider that the piano’s middle key is the middle C.  If we give the value of SUNDAY to all C’s on the piano then look below on the relation between biblical TRUTH (straight from the bible not from religious myth or superstition) and Christ on the Cross and in the grave.

Feel free to use the above image for a witnessing tool and creation of bible tracts.  Sorry the Excell spread sheet extended out beyond the border.  Our computer is running slow right now and I have to pick up our living space right now.  So long.....