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!