{ Cooking Thursday - Fluffy Hamburger Buns }

 

 

Good morning and welcome back to another Cooking Thursday.

 

I must say, I have really been enjoying posting a recipe every Thursday.  It has made me want to dig into my cookbooks, cook and bake more, and share them here with you.  It keeps me on track, that's for sure.

 

 

 

So for today's recipe, I am sharing these amazing, fluffy, delicious hamburger buns, from Alyona Demyanchuk.   I have made many a hamburger buns over the years, but none have ever been so light and fluffy, and so close to store bought, as these are.  They are going to be my go to burger bun.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

 

 

Fluffy Hamburger Buns

Yield: 32 rolls 

 

Ingredients 

Dough: 

 

2 cups warm water 

4 Tbsp dry yeast 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 Tbsp salt 

2 eggs 

1/2 cup shortening 

6 1/4 cup flour 

 

 

Instructions 

How to Make Hamburger Buns: 

 

 

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Whisk in the sugar, salt, eggs, and shortening. Stir in the flour and knead 7 minutes. Let rise 30 minutes or until doubled. 

 

Cut dough in half and then cut each half into 16 equal pieces. Roll all 32 pieces into balls and place onto a cookie sheet about 2-inches apart (9 rolls fit into a large 18x13 cookie sheet.) 

 

Let buns rise in the cookie sheet until tripled in size or the size of a hamburger bun. 

 

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes on the lower rack of the oven.

{ A quiet Wednesday }

 

As Autumn starts coming around the corner, the days are getting darker sooner, and brighter later.  Where the sun used to shine bright well past 9pm, it is now dark around 7:30pm, and no doubt as the days go by, it will get darker and darker.

For some this is the start of a depressing season, darker days, cold mornings, cloudy skies and snowy days bringing in the blues.

But for me, it begins a season of warmth, of slow days, nights sat around the fire, cups of milky tea and shortbread cookies nibbled after being dipped in the hot liquid.

 

I absolutely love the slowing down of the summer days.  There is a coziness that seems to be peeking around the corner, just waiting for the busy, activity filled, hot days to disappear so that it can make it's entrance, bringing with it cinnamon scents, pine cones and a sea of candles ready to burn.

I tend to thrive in the cooler months, as crazy as that may sound.  

My days are spent as usual, puttering around with homemaking, baking, reading.  I tend to do all my chores in the early morning, so that the afternoons are for leisure activities, if I so wish.  Not every day goes that way, some days I have more things to do, errands to run or appointments to get to, and on those days I have no time for sitting down.  

So I tend to leave my reading for night time, which is usually a gamble considering by 9pm, I can't keep my eyes open.  

Long gone are the days where I could stay up into the wee hours of the morning.  Now, if I am awake during the night, it is definitely not by choice.

 

The death of The Queen, it has catapulted me into another season of period dramas, history lessons and reading anything and everything, that is remotely related to English history.  It's always been a love of mine, but even more so now.

It started with the mention of the lead coffins that the Royals use.  I was talking about it at dinner with the family, and they asked why that was so.  Why were the coffins made decades before, why were the made of oak and why were they lead encased?

The answers is pretty simple.  To keep the body preserved longer.  As with see with royal deaths, the time from their death until they are actually buried, is quite a long period.  If they weren't lead encased, the bodies would decompose quite rapidly.

But, being lead based also means they weigh a lot, like 540 pounds lot.  

It's a tradition that has followed the royals for many years, dating back to Charles II and Elizabeth I.  Fascinating isn't it?

Anyway, squirrel moment, but back to what I have been watching.  

I finished Becoming Elizabeth, which I really enjoyed and am hoping for a second season.

Over on Youtube, I came across a channel named Royalty Now Studios.  It is such a fascinating channel.  The channel owner, Becca, recreates historical figures in the modern day.  Go on over and take a look, it is so interesting seeing these portraits come alive.

I have also started The Serpent Queen which follows the life of Catherine de Medici.

In between these, as I cook, or do laundry or clean, I usually pop on a documentary.  These are the ones I've watched the past few days:

Elizabeth Woodville:  From Commoner to Queen

Haemopholia and Porphyria: Royal Diseases from Tainted Blood

I also made some delicious hamburger buns which I'll share in tomorrow's Cooking Thursday.

I have tried many recipes over the years, but this one is a winner.  They are soft, fluffy, they are even wrinkly like the store bought hamburger buns.  Delicious.

I sure hope you are taking the time to welcome in Fall in all it's glory.  Enjoy every minute, every degree that drops in temperature, every leave that dances down off the branches and every sunset that bathes the earth in golden tones.  

I know, I will be enjoying it.

{ A day spent fighting allergies and looking through cookbooks }

 

Could we all just take a moment to welcome in Fall?  With big wide open arms.

Although, apparently Fall in Texas is slightly confused with summer.  Just ask the 100 degree temperature we're feeling.  Sometimes I want to go outside, and just yell out "ENOUGH!".  

 

But I doubt that would do anything, other than bring in some unwarranted attention from neighbors

 

 

The allergies have been at their worst.  Of course!  I'm sure it is because the other day I said to Curt, that I was doing so well and hadn't had allergy attacks in a while.  Sometimes I wonder why I open my mouth, I should already know that whatever I say, is going to come back to bite me in the behind.

I'm not the only one though, everyone in our area is suffering with them.  

But for me, they get so bad, that nothing seems to help, aside from taking a pink little Benadryl pill.  It knocks me out within 20 minutes, and therefore gives me some reprieve.  Problem is, it also makes me quite groggy for a couple of hours, and I don't like that feeling at all.

So today, was pretty much a useless day.  I got nothing done, other than nod off constantly, wake up feeling groggy, walk around and get some daily household chores done, and just look through some of my cookbooks.

 

So that's what I leave you with, just some quick shots of the cookbooks I was looking through.  Hope you enjoy.

As for me, I'm headed back to my bed.  I can't wait for this groggy feeling to subside. 

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 09/19/2022 }

 

 

Good morning everyone, welcome back to my little corner here on the web.  

 

I have been up since 5am, watching The Queen's funeral, which has been so beautifully done, so touching.  Many may wonder why some care about such things, but I've always had a huge love for England (don't ask me why, I have no clue), but aside from that I think this is an historic moment that not many of us have ever witness, nor will ever witness again in our lives.  

 

Anyway, that's what I've been doing, but while the coffin makes it's way to Windsor for the final burial, I am going to get this post up and start my day.  If I just watch TV, I will get nothing done.  

 

Today also marks 24 years, since I first arrived in this beautiful land that I call home.  Thank you Lord, so much, for all my blessings.  This past weekend, Friday to be exact, also marked one year since I became a US Citizen.  Very grateful indeed ♥

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥
Gross, just gross.  Does that tell you enough?  We had wonderful rain, lower temperatures and now are back in the high 90s and even hitting triple digits again.   

Monday - Abundant sunshine, 99
Tuesday - Sunny, 98
Wednesday - Sunny, 98
Thursday - Sunny, 96
Friday - Sunny, 98
Saturday - Sunny, 100  <----------- WHY?!?!?
Sunday - Partly cloudy, 94



♥♥ As I look outside my window ♥♥
Bright sun, blue skies, not a bit of a breeze in sight.  I can see green grass, and gorgeous pumpkin blossoms clinging onto the fence.   

 

♥♥ Right now I am ♥♥
I just got dressed for the day, and made the bed.  I am working on this post, watching the Queen's funeral on the telly, and watching Kaia and Elliott laying on the bed relaxing. 

♥♥ Thinking and pondering ♥♥
About the magnitude of what we are seeing on TV.  I love history and I have often wondered what it would have been like to be a bystander in all of these big historic moments.  To know that I am alive right now, watching this all unfold, first hand, is just beyond anything I would have imagined.

 

I have never understood why I have such a strong pull to England.  There have been moments where I have even felt almost homesick for a country I have never visited.  It's strange. 

 

♥♥ How am I feeling ♥♥
Pretty well, other than the usual allergies being a pain.  It's something we are all struggling with in our area, just seems to be pretty bad allergy wise at the moment.   

 


♥♥ On the breakfast plate ♥♥
I had a huge cup of coffee, and a breakfast burrito.     

 

♥♥ On the lunch plate ♥♥
I have a ton of bananas that Jasmine brought home from work on Thursday.  I love smoothies, so for the next week or so, my lunches will consist of smoothies.  Banana, blueberries, spinach and anything else I can pop in there.     



♥♥ On the dinner plate ♥♥
Creamy Bratwurst, Mashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts.  

 

 

♥♥ What I'm wearing ♥♥
Shorts and a tshirt.   

 


♥♥ On my reading pile ♥♥
Reading through Isaiah in the Bible.

Paul David Tripp New Morning Mercies devotional.
Morning and Evening Devotional by Charles Spurgeon.   

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

♥♥ On my TV this week ♥♥
Perfect Strangers - Hubby and I just started this one last night 

Homemaking vlogs
House of Dragons

The Lord of the Rings Series on Amazon Prime

The Serpent Queen

The Great British Bake Off 



♥♥ On the menu ♥♥

 

Monday - Creamy Bratwurst, Mashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts  
Tuesday - Cheesy Tuna Pasta Bake, Salad
Wednesday - Ono's Hawaiian Chicken, Ono's Macaroni Salad 
Thursday - Carne de panela, Arroz, Feijao (Beef tips, rice and beans)

Friday - Instant Pot Alfredo Pasta, Pull Apart Pepperoni Garlic Knots, Salad
Saturday - Creamy Oregano Chicken, Egg Noodles
Sunday - Fish Stick Po' Boys, Potato Salad



♥♥ Looking around the house ♥♥
I can say that the only room that really needs some tidying up, is the kitchen.  The rest of the house is clean and tidy.    

♥♥ To Do List ♥♥
- Iron Curt's work shirts
- Water veggie garden

- Exercise

- Make a Victoria Sponge Cake

 

♥♥ From the camera ♥♥
Our biggest pumpkin so far, is the size of a baseball.  I just love seeing the seeds we plant, turn into food we will eat.

 

♥♥ Devotional ♥♥ 

Corporate worship is designed to make you thankful, not just for possessions and accomplishments, but for what you've been given in Christ.   

 

— New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp  

{ When your body says stop....just listen }

A very non productive Saturday.

I had all these plans, these things I wanted to get done.  Then my body got in the way.  More specifically my hands.  

 

I am pretty sure I am getting arthritis in my fingers.  It's been about a year since I first noticed it, it started with one finger, and now I have 4 affected.

It's not too bad for the most part, but there are days that I overwork my hands, and then have to stop, so a lot of what I wanted to get done outside, just didn't work today.

And that's ok.  As we get older, we learn to listen to our body, and take cues of when to stop or when to slow down.  Our bodies are our best friends, but often times we ignore them because we think we know better.

Let's just say I got a non requested crash course in listening.  Hahah

I got out into the garden early this morning, to water it.  We had cool temperatures and rain two weeks ago, but we are back to high temps, hitting 100 and really hot weather, which leaves our garden parched for water.

Even still, we are enjoying seeing our harvest come to life.

We have a ton of tiny pumpkins, but this is the only big baseball size one, we have.  I'm pretty sure we probably have a few more hidden beneath the jungle of big leaves, but I haven't ventured in to take a look, for fear that I'll accidentally step on a vine.

 

We also have a few golf ball sized watermelons running through the ground.  I am so beyond excited, but I don't know if they will grow fully before the frost season starts.  I think they will only, because we are still seeing such hot temperatures, but we will see.

 

While in the garden I came across this plant on the ground.  I have no idea what it is, so if you do, please let me know.  I don't know if it's poisonous or not, and really don't want anything around that Kaia can get into.

The little flowers look like bells.

Then I stopped for a moment to watch the ants at my feet.  Have you ever stopped to watch them?  They're quite fascinating.  They have this methodical way of moving, like they all know where to go, what to do, and what to grab.  I just love watching them.

 

I watered my roses, took a moment to inhale their wonderful aroma, and then came back inside where I proceeded to read a bit more, and also watch the coverage of the Queen lying in State.

I have found this all so fascinating as well.  For a huge history buff such as myself, I feel like I am part of history, watching a truly historic moment before my eyes.  

From the changing of the guards around her majesty's coffin, to her children standing vigil, and then her 8 grandchildren standing vigil, as well.  It's quite touching to see.

I fully intend to watch her funeral on Monday.  I just keep thinking, I will never again witness something as this, and how blessed are we to be here in this moment in time, to be a part of history?

Count your blessings friends, every day.  There is always something to be thankful and grateful for.