Thursday, July 21, 2011

another favorite....


A while back, I started highlighting the favorite websites I have on our blog.  Life got busy, I got distracted, and I didn't get to all of them.

Tonight's favorite is about making bread in about an hour. YES! That is from when I get the flour out of the cupboard until I pull the loaf out of the oven to cool. 

My cousin got me onto this.  For Christmas, a few years ago, she gave me an instruction DVD and some ingredients to make the bread. Making homemade bread?? Didn't she know I was busy with being a mother, teaching, our acerage and building our small business? Making bread was about the last thing on my mind to do.  "It only takes an hour and my family loves it," was her reply.

"An hour?? Ya right!" I thought. So I placed the ingredients and the unopened DVD in my pantry and let it sit.

Fast forward 6 months and my cousin brought homemade hamburger buns to a family picnic that I missed. My mom was intrigued that my cousin made homemade bread.  Questions were discussed. She was told that I had the instruction DVD and ingredients.

Next thing I know I am getting a phone call about making bread. "Nope." I responded, "haven't tried it yet."  My mom asked me to bring all the stuff with me next time I visited her and together we would check it out.  Which I did. My mom always homemade bread growing up and I thought I would be safe to attempt this with her.  We watched the video and found it was quite do-able. So we gave it a shot.  Sure enough, we were able to make 4 loaves in about an hour from start to finish.  And I was hooked.

I didn't have a Bosch, since that seemed like such a grown up kitchen appliance. But now I wanted one. Within a week, I was able to find used one for about 1/3 the cost of a new one.  And I have been making bread ever since. 

Here is the recipe.

10-1/2 cups of bread flour
1/2 cup of sugar
3 TBLS of instant yeast
3 TBLS of liquid  lecithin
1 TBLS salt
4 cups of hot tap water

Mix it for five minutes in a bosch or kitchen aid.  Cut dough into 4 equal parts. Knead a little to get smooth shape. Place in greased bread pan. Let it "rise" (rest) for 25 minutes.  Then bake for 25 minutes at 350*

Sometime I use half bread flour and half wheat flour.  All white and half-and-half are both delicious!  This recipe's bread is a little heavier than tradional homemade bread, but it is still yummy and we love it!!

Click on image to find our more information!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Record Keeping

PhotobucketThis past year, my record keeping for our family for taxes was fabulous and the portion of taxes personal itmes were a breeze.  For our business though, much was left to be desired.  I ended up spending hours and hours organizing them well enough so that our tax lady could do her job. And then we had to meet with her twice, as the first time around we weren't quite organized enough.   As a result, the last few months I have tried to figure out how I could stay organized all year.

I came up with keeping our paper work in an expandable file--because I wanted something portable and can be changed quickly to fit our needs. The front section is labeled for the receipts we keep for taxes: advertising/marketing, car use, fairs & markets, licenses, office supplies, entertainment/gifts, postage/shipping, repair & maintance, supplies, utilities, tax fees, travel & meals and other.

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In the fairs & markets file, I keep the receipts in envelopes that I record what happened at that particular fair. The cost of the vendor booth, any food we bought and mileage associated with the event.


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The back section is more for organization of our business. I have a folder to keep articles I find inspiring as an artistian small business owner. One file is an indepth list of tax deductions I got from the Small Business Administration's website for reference.  I have a file that holds information on current markets & fairs we have signed up for. And the last labeled file is for future ideas/to do items.

So far, the system has worked for us and I definately feel more on top of things.  YEAH!!

If you have ideas on how to keep your small business more organized, please let me know I am always looking for more ideas!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Change in Clearfield Farmer's Market

There has been a change when we will be at Clearfield's Farmer's Market.  Apparantly they have postponed opening day until July 27th to accomodate the farmers. (Northern Utah had a very long, cold and wet spring...in fact, it didn't really get warm until July.)

So...... we will not be there on the 13th, but will be there on the 27th for opening night.  The rest of the dates for Clearfield will remain the same: (the second Wednesday of each month) August 10, September 14 and October12.

The Clearfield Farmer's Market will in front of the Clearfield Aquatic Center. Come for a swim and afterwards, stop by our booth to say hello.

Hope to see you there!



Tuesday, July 5, 2011

New Pictures

Here are some new pictures of Rene's work added to our Collections Page.  Enjoy!

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Silver Snakes and Spiral Rings


Sun and Moon brooches
Sun & Moon Brooches








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Simple Silver Bands

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