Saturday, January 3, 2009

I mean I wouldn't beg for it.

Today's "Use It!":
Back in May, I purchased a bag of whole wheat flour which I intended to use in a recipe for breaded buffalo chicken bites. A few months earlier, I had purchased Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave, a healthy recipe cookbook that often calls for whole wheat flour, with every intention of trying many of Krieger's recipes and becoming ridiculously healthy. Fast forward to January of this new year, and the whole wheat flour had yet to be opened . . . until this morning. My son the Bub (3 next week) and I opened the whole wheat flour (despite the "better by August 2007" stamp on the outside) and made some whole wheat beer bread using this recipe I found online. It was easy-peasy to put together and smelled awesome in the oven. The final product was, um, whole wheat beer bread. When I asked my husband for feedback, he said, "It's fine." When I pressed for more, he revised, "It's good. Solid. But, I mean I wouldn't beg for it." I wouldn't beg for it either, but with some butter, butter and jam, or oil for dipping, the ww beer bread was more than acceptable. I do still intend to make those buffalo chicken bites.

Today's "Lose It!" List:
* a glass vase from a floral arrangement delivery -- gone with the vase is the delusion that I might sometime have the time and foresight to arrange flowers myself (from my nonexistent garden perhaps?) and bring them to a friend in that vase
* three hair-crusted and rusted disposable razors from the ledge in our shower
* two hinge-type pieces from the glass shower doors that used to be in our bathroom until one of them fell down into the tub (while I was taking a shower!!!!) . . . two and a half years ago
* a few items of baby clothes that my Little Bit (six months) has outgrown and that I do not want to save for our potential third baby


Just to be clear, "Lose It!" does not always mean throw it away. I am disposing, recycling, and donating as appropriate.

What have you been using/losing this new year?

2 comments:

cake said...

hey, carl got a new electric razor for christmas. the old one sat on the table in our office for a day, then, before i even had a chance, carl tossed it! i saw it in the trash!

i received a new mini food processor for christmas, and promptly discarded the TWO that we had in our cupboard, both broken or useless in one way or another.

that is a start, isn't it?

cake said...

oh, and about the beer bread--
i have never made beer bread, but i know two things about whole wheat flour:
one is that you truly do need to use it or lose it, or keep it refrigerated. that stuff will go rancid, and that makes things taste bad, and can make you sick too.

the other thing is that whole grains are difficult to bake with unless you use them in small doses, and mix with white flour. i have been reading a book about why this is so, and learning some ways to make whole grain bread with nice flavor and texture, but it is quite an elaborate process.

but good for you for trying, and it sounds like it wasn't too bad.

maybe you should try getting the WW flour from a bulk bin, where you can get a smaller amount, if you don't plan to go through it very quickly. or, keep it in the fridge.

i personally do not have room in my fridge or freezer for a 5lb bag.