Whole Wheat Beer Bread with Cheese & Herbs

Today I made my first loaf of beer bread-whole wheat beer bread to be exact.  I found the recipe on www.allrecipes.com.  I decided to modify it slightly by adding to the basic recipe.  I used items I already had-I added shredded cheddar cheese and some oregano and thyme. 

This picture is NOT the Best picture; don't let it fool you on how good it really is!

Recipe:
  
Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1-1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1-1/2 Teaspoons Salt
• 1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Oregano Leaves
• 1/1 Teaspoon Thyme Leaves
• 1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or cheese of your choice)-might add more next time
• 1 12oz. Can/Bottle Beer of Choice

       Directions:

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
• In mixing bowl, mix all of the above with a spatula.  Pour mixture into a greased 9"x5" loaf pan.  Bake for 60 minutes.  Use a toothpick to check doneness.

(Next time I make it I want to add rosemary-which I didn't have any at the time-possibly use oat flour instead of the wheat, and try it with Hoegaarden.)

The bread is delicioso!  It's a hearty bread.  I think this would be great with some chili and even a chicken and rosotto soup. 

Enjoy!

Redeeming Love

I began a book and finished it in 2 days-Redeeming Love by Francis Rivers.  It was such a great book!  I recommend every person read it.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this book, when I have had for over a year...guess it was the "no time" I did not have previously.


The book is a "modern day" version of the book of Hosea in The Bible.  Which I have not read, and now I will.  The different Bible verses or quotes at the beginning of every chapter were so good.


This book brought me to tears several times, but I never cried, until 2/3 of the way through.  And I mean I cried hard. It was the amazing unconditional love and forgiveness that Angel was shown while feeling ashamed about her life.  It is amazing how God loves us NO matter what!  No matter how much we sin, fail, or lose faith; He is ALWAYS there to watch over us.  Some times you just need that reminder-He is ALWAYS Beside YOU!  And the Love He has for us is so incomprehensible!  And what forgiveness!  No one can forgive the way our Heavenly Father can.

Also, another lesson that I was reminded of was judging others.  How many times do you look at someone/something just once and you begin to judge?  I know I do it.  I definitely need to work on this.  


God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.  -Romans 8:28


If you have read Redeeming Love what did you think?

Scott's Antique Market

What a day yesterday was! I woke up at 5:55 AM and left my house by 6:30 AM to drive to Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta. Arrived just before 10:00 and began my search for lamps, 1 side table, and possibly a tole tray (it would be my first one). And by 2:30 PM I was exhausted, so I decided to make my 3-1/2 hr drive back to Columbia--I didn't even last there a whole day.

If you've never been to Scott's it is a huge antique market consisting of 2 buildings with hundreds of vendors selling antiques, jewelry, paintings, "junk", and new stuff. They are open every second weekend of every month. There are so many vendors that they set up outside as well; which was crazy because yesterday's high was 103F.

So I began in the north building weaving my way up and down the aisles...I had a system so I wouldn't be overwhelmed with the endless options. I found my first pair of lamps for our family room pretty quickly; however, since I just began I wanted to see what my options were before I purchased them. After perusing I rushed back to the vendor I found the lamps and made my first purchase at Scott's (this was the only pair and I didn't want anyone taking them from me). They are a cast concrete reproduction of an antique stone table from England.

Then I walked outside in the 103 degree weather where I found my second pair of lamps for our master bedroom. My bedroom lamps are made of ceramic painted white with a rubbed through finish--giving it that antique feel. I was already hot and glistening from walking inside, but once I felt the heat from the sun I began to pour sweat (like a man). I didn't take a picture of these; so I'll have to post a picture later.

I almost purchased several wooden boxes/buckets/baskets (old berry picking boxes and well buckets) but since I made such big purchases I thought I could hold off...but next time I'm there I will be picking some up-I want to put some dried flower arrangements in them.

Also, I am going to post some photos of some items I saw...the trends I saw at the antique market were the pickled finish furniture as well as the French blue finish on the furniture, wooden base lamps, tons of white painted with a glaze French style furniture, the sea glass bottles were everywhere (esp. turned into lamps)! Those were the items I saw that are pretty trendy in the design world right now. And then of course the typical antique items were there...which I love! I guess that's what makes me a little old fashioned...but then again if I wasn't I wouldn't be shopping there!

Enjoy my finds! Can't wait to shop there again.

My First Entry

Hi to is out there; this is my first entry to my blog!

I am currently working on a custom designed background that fits my personality and shows my creativity, but until then it is this lovely background provided by the website. Bare with me on my posts and lack of computer savvyness! (sp?)

My goal for my blog is to post yummy recipes, my baking and cooking endeavors, my thoughts on fashion, and the everyday life of me, a modern housewife! I hope you will enjoy my posts and if you have any creative ideas let me know.