What to do when I grow up?

Going through yet another life transition due to a lay off, people often ask me what I would like to do and what kind of job I would really Love to live. I have been a legal secretary, courier, Stay at Home Mom, retail manager, and Administrative Assistant, the latter, many times over. Notice that none of these jobs have anything to do with the Bachelor of Social Work degree I hold. Go figure. I have the smarts for the degree, but none of these "Jobs", with exception of being a full time Mom, have taken me where I know I have wished to go in my heart. My heart has always been with my kids, my animals and in the kitchen. I adore my kids, and have a passion for all things kitchen and animals. I am also a Wanna Be Techie and Blogger. All in all, not exactly what some folks would consider exciting, but to me, to find a way to combine all my passions to make a living and make a difference, would be the "Ultimate".

I have my hat in the ring for a Purina Cat Chow Correspondent position and that would be amazing! I love animals, especially my own cats and dogs, and believe the opportunity to actually work and share news and tips about cats would be perfect! I am also up against 100s of other people for the position, so I will keep on hoping, keep on blogging and see where it may lead. In the meantime, I am enjoying the opportunity to learn new tricks in the kitchen and hopefully, find a way to share my recipes and tips, and market my goodies. I plan on offering an amazing Easter Basket for grown ups. I will share some photos and today, will share my recipe for Easter Bread.

Let's start with a photo of the finished loaf:

Easter Bread

You start the bread by
scalding a cup of low fat milk. Let it cool to 110 degrees.

Stir In 4 tsps. active dry yeast and 1 tsp. sugar

Yeast is So Cool!

Foamy Mix

Let this sit for 5 minutes. The mixture will foam. Cool, huh?

Fit your Mixer with the dough hook attachment. Place flour, salt, cool foamy yeast mixture, butter pieces, 1/2 cup of fine sugar, 2 large eggs, zest of one lemon, dried cherries, golden raisins, and mix well to combine.

Knead with mixer, adding extra flour if necessary, until it starts to pull away from side of the bowl.

Turn this out of the bowl and knead "in the air" to form a big ball of dough. Put in greased bowl, turning to grease both sides, cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel, and put in warm place until doubled in size. (at least an hour)  I usually place it in the laundry room while I am drying clothes and it turns out to be a great warm, environment. Multi-tasking rocks!

After it has doubled, punch the dough down once, (I love that part) and gently separate into 3 or 6 equal pieces (depending on how many loaves you wish to bake). Cover with towel and let them sit for about 5 minutes.

Then roll these pieces into ropes, either 3 twenty inch or 6 fourteen inch, and braid them to form a tightly braided loaf, placed on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Cover the dough and let rise again, until doubled, in that same warm place.

Once it has doubled, brush with an egg yolk wash, bake at 350 for 30 -40 minutes. Remove from over, cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Store in bread bag at room temp. Yummy, slightly sweet bread. Makes amazing french toast. Amazing!!!

Crunchy outside and so soft inside.

The history of Easter Bread changes according to country, but basically, it is a traditional part of the Easter Table to enjoy those items usually given up for lent. It is also baked with all Kosher products in my kitchen and a Jewish friend of mine tells me it is also Challah Bread. Either way, it is yummy and worth the effort.

Enjoy!

Canines, Cats, Cooking and Cops...TGIF?

Happy Friday Everyone! It started out feeling like a Friday, but seems to be heading towards more of a Monday morning kind of feeling. Bummer! Good news is that I got my hair cut and ran some errands before the rain started. The Bad news is that I was actually pulled over by a cop, two, Twice, Dos, Double, times today within a 3 hour period. No, I wasn't speeding or running red lights. Seems my tags have expired and not having been driving much at all for the past few months due to the hip surgery, I guess it slipped past me. AND I found out that somehow, sometime, my glove compartment was missing many things including my registration. (ugh) AND the proof of insurance I had expired in February. AND, for those of you familiar with Belle Meade's finest, that was the first place I was pulled over. Didn't stand a chance, even when trying to explain the circumstances. There is no way out when they get you in Belle Meade unless you were born in that Zip Code, or so the legend goes.

On my way home, I decided a nice, Iced Americano from Starbucks might calm me down. And it did. For about 2 minutes. Before I could pull onto Highway 100, the blue lights came on (Metro's finest) and I had to go through it all over again. This guy was reasonable and nice, so I drove on home, and realized I had to drive to the bank to make a teeny tiny deposit. So I picked up my dog Allie and drove as slowly as I could into Bellevue, in the rain, trying to wish myself invisible until I could get back in my driveway. Guess I am parked here until Monday when I can go get all of this straightened out.

I did deliver samples of my Easter Bread, Homemade Toffee, and Yeast Caramel Rolls to my hair salon and am hoping for some orders. I need the money anyway, but now looks like I might have some court costs to save up for when I go to traffic court. (Ugh) I have been happily cooking for the past 2-3 days. I have been giving samples to people and so far, the reviews have been good. Now if word of mouth can work it's magic, it would be great! Both the courts and I would be very grateful.

Allie had been waiting for hours for me to return, so she was happy to get in the car and go to the bank with me. Unfortunately, they were out of the usual dog treats, but like a good Scout, I usually have a spare in the car for just such an occasion. All is good!

For those of you who are not familiar with cats, they also wait for you to come back home after being gone all day. They love and miss you just like the pups. All 4 of mine greet me at the door and swirl around me until I sit down and pay them some quality attention. So when I dash in and right back out again, they are not happy cats. One made sure to let me know that she was not happy and it was evident when I got back home. (ugh) No details necessary, I'm sure.

I will be posting the recipe and photos of the bread baking over the weekend, but for now, my feet are up on the couch, Allie is at my feet, and the cats are all in boxes throughout the den. I think it is quiet time for us...at least for an hour. TGIF!

My Mind On Insomnia

If I had not mentioned it before, I had (what I like to call) an "early in life" hip replacement in November, which followed closely behind a massive lay off from a job I loved. Since those events and a few set backs post surgery, I have become sadly well acquainted with a good case of insomnia. Some might think this would be a totally a Bad thing. But always trying to make the proverbial lemonade when life throws me a lemon or two, I have found a few positives about these new waking hours. I have also learned that my pets are better at bedtime than I am. Allie, my pup, starts staring me down around midnight. She knows this is just not working out!

Since "vampires" seem to be all the rage these days, perhaps my new Awake hours are actually in vogue! I never did get the attraction to this vampire thing, but maybe this is where I do "get it". It is Very quiet at 3:00 in the morning, for those of you who were wondering. I also find that my brain comes up with all sorts of new ideas for recipes, income, and projects around the house. Now that I have that new KitchenAid sitting on my counter in the kitchen, I actually have to talk myself out of going in there and trying to whip up a new delight at 4:00 a.m. Fortunately, some little piece of my brain still knows that the chances of it turning out as I hope it will are slim to none at such an hour. Instead, I just make notes, type ideas and plan my next coupon excursion to the store.

I have decided to try and make Easter Bread tomorrow, well actually that would be Today! Let's see how well my late night recipe idea turns out. If it is good, I promise to share it with you so you can make your own for the special holiday coming up! If it tastes good And is worthy of presentation, I will also share a photograph.

Sweet dreams and Good Morning to you all. I think I covered all of my bases.

The KitchenAid and Chris Meloni

Many of you know that I recently acquired a new Professional Series KitchenAid Mixer and find myself in mixer Heaven. There has not been a day that I have not tried a new recipe with this mixer. There is a beauty in watching this machine combine simple ingredients in a beautiful whirling spiral. I love the sound and the effects that come from this machine. My friend, Nancy, is totally instrumental in my acquiring my new "love" and I will happily be her Girl Friday to show my complete gratitude for making this a reality for me. It is truly the little things that matter, even though to me, this 25 pound silver angel is no little thing. :) Tonight, we try Sweet Dough! I will post progress reports as I go along. So far, only 2 things have hit the trash bin! My transition during this "lay off" period will not go to waste!

You all know what a fan I am of Law & Order, particularly SVU and Criminal Intent. And for those of you who have seen my Toshiba laptop, you know that Christopher Meloni is one of my faves and lines the top of my home screen. I have received many taunts about it, but it is all good! It is clear he is Hot and Talented, but he also has a heart for good causes, so give this link a look:http://kft55.tumblr.com/post/3704547353/chris-meloni-50th-birthday-campaign-update It will give you information on the cause and how to help Chris celebrate his 50th birthday come April.

The cats have all enjoyed this beautiful Spring day by draping themselves in the open kitchen window, and Allie and I had a great walk and a trip to Starbucks. She gets her oatmeal cup of water and I get my regular Americano. Life is good!!!

Muffin Says it All!

Well, here we go! My very first official blog post. I have been meaning to do this for a while, so let's get started with introductions! My "real" name is Susan, but you can Just Call Me Muffin. I am blessed to have 4 cats and a dog as my "live in" family right now, and one of those cats is named Muffin. You will see Muffin in my photo with me. She is a cutie, but also more than a little "dickens". She has a knack for getting into the darnedest situations. In my younger days, I was much the same way, so I thought I would 'borrow" her name for the blog. I am an avid animal lover and couldn't see my life without them. My dog Allie really preferred I didn't use her name, but Muffin doesn't seem to mind. But who can tell with cats?  I am looking forward to sharing the many antics, as well as the day to day life and times, of Me, Muffin, Snickers, Mr. Wilkins, Chloe and Allie.

I am also a fan of Anything related to kitchens, cooking, and culinary treats, so clearly, Muffin is also more than perfect for me. I have been living with such a "plain" name for so many years. It is time to have some fun. :) I plan on beginning my blog with stories about my search for a new career, how my pets fit into that plan, and also throw in a kitchen tip or 2 along the way.You will also be introduced to the pets and how I imagine they see life in this household.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you will continue to read and bear with me as I get the swing of this. I am outgoing by nature, so I think we will be good to go soon!

Muffin