All Purpose Miracle Bread Dough

I've told you about our Italian restaurant in Fresno, DiCCo's.

And I told you about Michele's bread recipe that is just as good as DiCCo's.

But wait 'till you hear this.

The entree we always get at DiCCo's is Calzone.
Basically, it is a pizza, folded in half and deep fried.

I know what you are thinking . . . . . . . super healthy.

Well, when we ate there in August,
we asked the waitress if they used the same dough for the Calzone as they use for the bread.

When the answer came . . . yes . . .
we knew it was time to try our bread recipe on a calzone.




Roll out dough the size of a personal pizza.

Fill with sauted mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, olives, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese.
Fold in half, pinch edges, deep fry.

al forno style: top with mozzerella, melt under the broiler.

Serve with marinara sauce.





It was soooo good, Steve took a bite and giggled for a solid minute.

deeeeeeeelish!





. . . . . if that isn't enough, use the left over dough to make cinnamon rolls.

Anyone who has ever been to the Big Fresno Fair

knows one of the main reasons we go: cinnamon rolls




or top with pecans




I have been trying to duplicate these rolls for years and with this bread dough,
sugar and cinnamon and a frosting glaze on top,

eureka!

these taste identical to the Fair's

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Michelle recommends making garlic bread:
microwave a whole head of garlic for 30 seconds, peel and add all cloves,
plus 2 tsp of garlic powder, to the bread dough. Yum.

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My cousin Lynne recommends using unbleached flour;
she's right, it's better :)

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I truly believe

This dough would make any bread based recipe into something fabulous . . .

so, that is why I dub this the "All Purpose Miracle Bread Dough"

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Do you realize how dangerous these new found discoveries are?

I will definitely have to exercise more

New Year, New Decade, New Living Room

When we moved to Texas,
I decided to decorate our, first ever, brand new house

with the popular Tuscan / Texas / Old World look.

The walls were already painted a color called pecan . . . translation: light golden brown.
It looked OK and I didn't have the heart or energy to repaint over brand new paint.
So I worked with it, putting in a new brown couch, 2 brown chairs, brown and gold drapes

....you getting the picture?: BROWN

Steve installed several can lights overhead, helping make up for the lack of natural light,
which is very important to my psyche.

It looked stylish, I guess, but all the brown was a little depressing

As it turned out, in my effort to be trendy, I lost my personal style.

. . . . I like lots of natural light, neutrals and classic lines, with splashes of color and shine, mixed with a few trendy accessories.

Come to think of it, that's how I like to dress too.

So, after 2 1/2 years of feeling like my living room just wasn't right, it was time for a change.

I have 2 red couches that have been in my office and bedroom.
Steve helped me exchange them with the brown couch and one brown chair.


I am still playing with accessories, but this is what I have so far







For the first time since we moved into this house, it feels like it is MY living room

I love my home. I love the change. . . . . and it didn't cost a thing!

Last night

We were moving some furniture around

So we had the furniture skateboard in the house.

Chloe sat on it and hitched the dog up to pull her.

I cracked up when they went flying by.

funny girl




she will be 13 on her next birthday and become, along with 2 year olds, my favorite age for kids.

I know, it's unusual.

In fact, I have known only one other self proclaimed teenager lover,
my old friend and Visiting Teacher, Janice Wiseman.
. . . . . an interesting aside: her son, Len, is married to Kate Beckensale.

Loving my teens didn't lead to any rich and famous in-laws, but I got some great ones.

The two main reasons I love my teenagers:

1 -They make me laugh hard

2 - They are finally old enough to carry on a relevant conversation and become my friend

One of my parent strategies was to make our house a place where teens were comfortable,
that way, they would hang out there and I would know exactly what my own teens were up to.

. . . . . and the house was crazy and fun and alive with chatter

My strategy is still paying dividends;

I grew to love those teenage friends, who are now married, with families of their own.

It is really precious to receive their Christmas cards and see their children grow up

I hope they enjoy their teenagers as much as I enjoy mine.

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Tomorrow, I'll show you the new furniture arrangement

I've got to get this mess cleaned up first.

I never get sick

Though, I always knock on wood when I say it,

it's almost true.

I think I have an overactive immune system or something, because when the whole world around me is coughing, sneezing and feverish, I just don't contract it.

my family will testify to the truthfulness of it

Of course, I have been sick . . . . but in the past 15 years, hardly at all.
Maybe I have lived long enough to develop immunity to most of what's out there.

Again, knock on wood.

Somehow, going public like this, you know . . . . actually saying the words . . . .
makes me think that I will probably get desperately ill now.
Things seems to work that way.

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Steve got a cold/flu at Thanksgiving and is still coughing all night (after 6 weeks!);
the entire rest of the family had a bout with it too.

But I hung in there and didn't get sick . . . . . . . .until now . . . .

3 nights ago, I woke up with a sore throat.

I'm drinking LOTS of orange juice and water.
Last night, I took 2 ibuprofen and slept 10 hours.

So far: OK in the daytime, though not 100% . . .
sore throat, stuffy nose at night; ibuprofen does the trick . . .
doing pretty well, considering how hard it hit everyone else.


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The other thing is . . . . when I do catch something, I get over it fast.

knock on wood

I Am Freezing!

I don't like the cold.

So . . . hot, humid Texas is actually OK with me.

The cold snap currently gripping the South is brutal.

It was 12 degrees this morning!

Even birds are wondering what the heck is going on,
they are fluttering near the house to stay warm and several have flown into the windows.

The bright side:

I get to wear some of my cute winter clothes.

I love cute coats and boots and scarves and leather gloves;
it seems like winter clothes have more style because of the tailoring and layers.

I am working around the house today.

This is the WARMEST outfit I could find;

thank heaven it is also super stylish and flattering.

Renewal

There is something sad

about a home that has fallen into disrepair.

Over the years, we have spent many hours cruising up and down streets in older districts, looking for investment properties. I always get excited, and my creative juices start to flow, at the prospect of upgrading and restoring the character of old dwellings.

Steve and I are currently renovating such a home in San Antonio. It is on the south side. Every town has a south side. In Fresno, it is on the west. But we all know what it means: undesirable, poverty, crime, and rundown buildings. We have rehabbed a few of these homes over the years, and it always gives me the same feeling: I am returning it's dignity and purpose.

These homes are often built with craftsmanship no longer used today. Even the humblest of cottages are graced with hardwood floors, stone fireplaces, wooden mantels, and custom cabinetry. Sadly, many old homes are vacant and condemned; people have moved on, leaving them to decay.They served well, for so many years; now, they are left barely standing, their dignity stifled, looking forlorn. It seems wrong to let something as proud and substantial as a home fall into complete disrepair and rot away; disrespectful of its years of service, to abandon it for another shiny new house.

If they could speak, these homes would have something to say, from under all the peeling paint and drooping eaves. I think of the families it has nested, first kisses on the front porch and babies born in the bedroom; birthday and anniversary celebrations, plans made at the kitchen table and heartaches too. It is all still there; whispers in the wallpaper and layers of paint.

We get to know a little about the former occupants from things they leave behind. As I swept out a closet in this home, I found a tattered sheet of paper with the words to a song scribbled on it. I imagined a young man in his bedroom, dreaming this song was his ticket to the fame and fortune of a rock star or rapper.

Kitchen before



During





Bathroom before




During





The gems of this house are the limestone fireplace and solid oak floors




The family pitched in to help

Chrissy gave it 110 percent

As we worked, it gradually came back to life.

Until. . . . it was renewed

. . . . . . and ready to nurture another family story.

When we close the door on a finished restoration, there is a great sense of satisfaction














........and the house even seems to sigh, “thank you”.

French Bread

Fresno has a fantastic Italian restaurant called DiCCo's.

It is so good that it weighed into the decision whether to move or not.

DiCCo's homemade bread is so fabulous,

it is the standard by which I measure all other breads.


So you can imagine my skepticism when I heard Steve's brother, Don, say,

"Michele makes french bread better than DiCCo's."

Surely, I thought, it must be the exaggeration of a proud father;

it simply isn't possible to improve on DiCCo's bread.

Chef Steve, hastily procured the recipe from Michele and wasted no time baking it.

it's true folks

cross my heart

I have never, ever, ever tasted better bread





and it is pretty hard to mess up too; Steve made a few mistakes
and it was still good enough to make me want to renew my vows to him.

sooooo good. dangerously good. eat the whole loaf in one sitting good.

it's good.

So if you like warm french bread with perfect crunchy crust (and plenty of butter)

get ready for this one.

here it is

in Michele's own handwriting

(now, you owe me)





p.s. Michele assures us we will stop eating the entire loaf in one sitting after awhile

hope so

I have the day off

I was scheduled 9-4 every day this month.

Yesterday, I verified it with my manager, because it appeared that we were overstaffed.

She said she wanted to keep the schedule as it is.

So, this morning I got ready for work as usual.

Then, she called at 8:30 am asking if I could take the day off because we are over staffed.

Mind you, this comes AFTER I have run 2 miles in 30 degree weather,
showered and nearly ready for work.

I could have slept in.

Oh, and my favorite part was when she said, "You aren't all ready for work are you?"


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So I will post today. . . . . about more pleasant things.


Brittany and Ili left for Oklahoma City yesterday. They were the last of our company.

Sad.

I served a nice dinner on Sunday, to end our holiday on a special note.

This was my parent's dining set, I love it. I set the table with the China and Silver.







I can use this day off to put away the rest of Christmas and clean house.

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and yes, I did take inspiration from Chrissy's new blog

She said it was ok

I love my new look

Texas Taxes

today


I started my 10th year with H & R Block.

(by year, I mean Tax Season, which is January 1st-April 15th)


six in Fremont, CA

two in Fresno, CA

two in San Antonio, TX



I'll be staring at this for the next three and a half months



and it will surely impede my ability to post as often.

Unless you want to hear about tax ramifications of 1031 exchanges.


Yea, didn't think so.


I will try to think of inventive things to post.

But be forewarned,

things might be different around here until April 15th.

Love these photos

Marci took these photos of the girls and I love them

She posted the wonderful originals on her blog

I had some fun today playing around with them

New Year's Day

Today, I went outside to take down my Christmas decorations
and something had changed.
The sky was bright and nature was beautiful, as always,
but something was different, more uplifting.

It was the presence of new possibilities.

I get this feeling in the morning. It doesn't come on days I have to go to work.
Rather, on days like Saturday, when I can choose from a myriad of possibilities.
A surge of excitement comes with the consideration of options:
visit a new place, start a new painting or read a book,
walk the dogs in the woods, try a new recipe
. . . whatever my heart desires.
It is an exhilarating feeling of freedom and choice and expectation of better things

it is hope.

It was a familiar morning feeling, but this morning, it was multiplied exponentially
because this morning isn't just a new day, it is a

new month, new year, new decade.

full of possibilities

full of hope

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Perhaps it's because we are still in the midst of a recession that has given us our share of struggle, that I am glad to see this decade end. After sharing some of my negative memories: Brittany's near fatal accident, the attack on the Twin Towers, financial loss and unemployment, personal health issues, etc., Chrissy quickly reminded me of the good things this decade brought me.

Thanks, Chrissy.

This decade brought many precious blessings that far outweigh any of the negative: Brittany's full recovery, 3 children married in the Temple, 3 grandchildren and a 4th on the way. Dream trips to the Dominican Republic and cruises to Canada and Mexico. We are all active in the Church, blessed with health and love for each other.

I truly look forward to the wonderful things this new decade will bring.

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope . . . . 2 Nephi 31:18-20

While in Fresno,

Steve asked me to go for a drive.

It was deliberate, and planned.

He took me to the church building on Cedar and Bullard, the one my father and his father both worked on. The same building where we performed road shows and dance festivals and gave Sunday talks. The place I was baptized, and later, would hang around after mutual, to accidentally run into him. The building where his band played for dance after dance after dance.


He took my hand and led me into the cultural hall. We walked across the oak floor that I watched my father help lay, when I was 8 years old.

He led me to a spot, took my hands, looked into my eyes . . . . then said,

"It was right here. On New Years Eve 1969, I walked into this room and scanned the dance floor; you were standing right here, on this spot, talking to two guys. You were wearing a brown stripe satin dress and I liked your hair and you looked so pretty. . . . . I wanted to get to know you better. "

I wanted to get to know him better too. We had been on one date together (December 19th to be exact) and I was so nervous on that date that I didn't know if it went well or not, because I had never been on a date before. I did know one thing; I liked him, even if he took me out in an old blue electrician truck and didn't open the door for me. He did take me to a movie (Charlie) and then to Foster's Freeze for a hot fudge sundae, then he drove me down Belmont avenue so I could see what it meant to "cruise the main" (which is properly done on main street, but all we had was Belmont) and he made me laugh.

He got sick the next day, then his family went out of town for the holidays, so by the time the New Year's Eve dance rolled around, it had been 12 days since our date and I had not heard from him. I was convinced that I had ruined the date, and along with it, any chance of ever talking to him again.

My good mother came to the rescue. As Secretary for the LDS Institute, she knew all of the young singles and she invited them over to our house for a party after the dance. It was 1:00 am and I thought she was pretty cool. She must have planned ahead, because she served chips and dip and soda, three things we never had on hand. It was at that party that Steve and I did some flagrant flirting that led to his call the next day. . . .


. . . . . Steve and I stood on that spot and hugged for several minutes and he told me how much he loves me and how happy he is that he came to that dance, 40 years ago.

Since that night in 1969, we have called New Year's Eve our real anniversary

Happy 40th Anniversary to us

Happy New Year to you