Cinnamon Rolls - First Attempt

Learning to make homemade bread has been great, but it has also been a slippery slope. Why not try pizza dough? (Terrific and thick!). How about cinnamon rolls?

Today I took the next leap and explored making my own sweet bread rolls. Where was Barney during all of this? He's such a big boy now that I can leave him with the big dogs, sleeping happily in the sun, and I can move around the house with much more ease.

The cinnamon rolls start like bread. I warmed yeast and mixed flour with a few ingredients just like bread dough. I added more sugar than usual though, which makes sense for a sweet treat. After an hour long rise time, I rolled the dough out into a rectangle. Then I added chopped walnuts plus a sweet sticky concoction that I prepared in a sauce pan. It started getting messy.

Next I rolled the dough up into a log with the sweet part in the center. Flour was everywhere, and sweet stuff was trickling out the ends. Fun ! Finally when I had a nice log roll, I used a knife to cut it into slices. These slices were placed on a cookie sheet and left to rise for about 15 minutes. Here is what they looked like at this point:

All that was left to do was the baking - 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I watched carefully so that I didn't burn the bottoms. Once done, I tried adding a topping of heated maple syrup and cinnamon, but it just rolled off so I'll skip that next time. Why add more calores LOL.

Here is the final view:

Next time I think I'll add in some whole wheat flour, and look around for a thicker topping to add to some of them. Readers - let me know if you have a good recipe for a topping !

Barney the Chihuahua : Update

December is a blur as all the holiday activities blended with the potty training routines for our new puppy. The good news is we all survived, had some fun, and Barney has learned that if he barks and runs to the door, I'll smile and go outside with him. This evening after dinner we went out about 5 times - in a row. Who is trained now?

Here are some recent shots of the little guy. He turned 4 months old last week and his coat is changing texture and color, so I wanted to document how he looks today.

Bread Making

Colder weather finds me looking for ways to fire up the oven more frequently. Today I made a loaf of bread, experimenting with adding almond extract and poppy seeds. The results were delicious, and the house not only warmed up, but also had a lovely smell all afternoon.

Here are a progression of pictures, showing the dough and the loaf as they rose, and finally the baked results.

Holiday Lights

I put out some solar powered butterfly lights today. I thought they would add a wonderful bit of sparkle to my resting flower bed. The dried zinnia stems make great holders. I hope it snows before a big wind comes along and wrecks my arrangement. I'll take a picture of that if we get a nice snow.

Happy Holidays !

Barney continues to grow and learn. Here's his sweet face...

Sleeping Puppy

We have had Barney, the chihuahua, for two weeks now. He is really a good puppy ! We sleep through the night, which seems good with an 11 week old pup. Crate training, and getting the dobermans used to him is also going well. I have to go outside for potty breaks, in the cold, more than I'd prefer, but Barney is really catching on to the family routines nicely so I should not complain.

Here's Barney in one of his beds. I finally found something that fit him nicely, and he has taken to it perfectly.

As you can see, he likes fleece blankets and rubber chew toys. That yellow thing is supposed to be a stick. I put food down the middle and he just loves to dig it out. Here's one more puppy picture, taken by a friend.

awwww.. Cute Puppy !!

As promised, here is Barney's first little film. He is sitting next to me right now, all tuckered out from a big day. He discovered shoe laces, hard plastic crates, the world outside the patio area, and that big black dobermans like to play with him !

I discovered that it isn't so easy to hang laundry on the line with a little fur ball running around my feet. I guess we all need to do some adapting !

Enjoy the film !

Barney Eats

My blog will probably have a few pictures of Barney for awhile. Today he ate from his brand new thrift store ceramic food bowl. Yum !

Plus, he went to the vet for his very first visit. Barney was deemed perfectly healthy, then got his first round of puppy shots. He weighed in at 2.4 pounds ! The ride in the car went well. He's such a brave little guy. Now he is enjoying a wonderful nap as he sits in the chair next to me.

I also shot a few short movies of him that I hope to post soon. I'll bet Barney never expected to have so much media coverage !