Hillary’s Pita Pockets

WARNING: If you try this recipe you'll never be able to eat another dry, hard pita pocket from the store again!

Here's the basic recipe and some tricks to make it work. For a more detailed explanation and better pictures check out Cassi's blog.

Pita Pocket Bread

1 3/4 c. warm water

2 1/2 t. yeast

2 t. sugar

2 t. salt

2 T. oil

2 c. whole wheat flour

2 3/4 – 3 c. white flour

Mix water, sugar and yeast together. Let stand for five minutes. Add salt, oil and wheat flour; mix well. Add white flour one cup at a time until dough is soft and slightly sticky. Knead for five minutes. Let dough rest for 30 minutes, well oiled and covered.

Roll dough into eight balls (10-12 for smaller pitas). Roll out into circles on a well floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Place on a floured cookie sheet without sides. This is important as you will need to slide the pitas into the oven with as little handling as possible. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place baking stone or baking sheet in oven to preheat. VERY CAREFULLY transfer bread to oven and bake until lightly browned. This takes about 4 minutes in my oven. Cool and cut pockets in half.

Tips:

* Do not rest unbaked pitas on top of each other or touching in any way.

* Do not push down on or disturb pitas after the rest period.

* Pitas freezer very well. I often double the recipe and freeze what we don’t eat for another meal.

What's for Dinner?

I am in mourning.

I sunk into a real life, honest-to-goodness depression the other night when I looked in my freezer and realized it was empty of freezer meals. What was I going to do for dinner? It was a busy day and I really didn't have time to plan. I just needed something I could pop into the oven in a hurry.

For the past several years, my friend and I have been exchanging freezer meals on a monthly basis. We would each make up several meals, freeze them in disposable containers and swap them. She recently moved. So now I am on my own, her freezer meals long ago eaten.

I decided I better pick myself up and get to filling my freezer again. I started with Emeril’s Chicken-patty Pockets. A delicious recipe from my Everyday Food magazine.

To make as a freezer meal, simply shape the patties and freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. When they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer Ziploc bag, label with instructions and a date and store in freezer. When you are ready to use, pull them out of the freezer, put them on a cookie sheet and broil as directed. From frozen they only take a minute or two more to cook.

You can purchase pita bread from the store, but it’s about a zillion times better if you make it yourself. I have a great recipe I’ll share later this week. You’ll never go back.

A New Do

Hannah has a 'new do'. Actually, we all have new haircuts thanks to a recent visit to Aunt Verna (who is the best hairdresser ever)! But that is not the point. Hannah's 'new do' is a little more drastic than the rest of ours because she decided to cut 10" off and donate it to Locks of Love - a non-profit organization that provides hair pieces (made from donated hair) for children with long-term medical hair loss.

Hannah loves having long hair and has grown it out for several years. So this was a big deal. She was a little nervous. But there was no turning back after that first cut.

After the 10" was gone, but before the real haircut... a nervous smile. She's not sure she should have done this.

Finished! Thanks Aunt Verna!

There were no regrets after a day of compliments and the sense of self confidence that comes with a new hair cut.

Isn't she cute? They are all pretty cute with new hair cuts.

Give,

Give,

it will make you happy!

Imagine how great things would be if we all were...

Beautiful on the inside.

I just love this artist. I was so happy to find her art at our local summer art fair. When I saw my girls playing in the leaves yesterday, it reminded me of these beautiful prints. See more of her work at Etsy.

Time

Tonight I sat on my bathroom floor for twenty minutes.

The house was quiet - the older girls on a bike ride with Kirk. Izzy had just gotten out of the bath tub and wanted to brush my hair.

So I sat.

She brushed, combed and 'braided'. At first, I my mind started making a list of all of the chores I should have been doing - dishes, pajamas, teeth brushing, etc.

Then I realized.

Sitting quietly with Izzy is what I needed to be doing and the list vanished from my mind. Which is amazing, considering what a task oriented person I am.

Right now Kirk is outside looking at the moon through the telescope with the girls. He loves spontaneous moments like this and they come naturally to him. For me, on the other hand, they do not come naturally.

But I am learning.

I hope to have many more quiet moments with my kids before they are too big to appreciate them with me.

Saturday is a special day...

It's the day we do something as a family. Like...

Riding our bikes to city beach.

There is a great path along the lake from our neighborhood to City Beach. It's a little undeveloped (adventurous) in spots, but fun and beautiful. There are plans to develop the trail. To see what the proposed new trail looks like and see what you can do to help, check out the Friends of Pend d'Oreille Bay Trail website.

Potty Training update

Without giving too many details you probably don't want to hear anyway, let me just say that Izzy is doing amazingly well with the transition from diapers to panties. She has been at it for a week and a half now and hasn't had an accident in days.

I can't take much credit - she was just ready. Potty treats are also a big help.

Way to go Izzy!

Thanks for making this milestone so easy on your mother!