Bagels, Snow and Suncatchers

Yesterday Rhode Island got hammered with yet another snow storm. We got about 8 inches of snow with drifts up to a foot and a half. My husband was home sick yesterday and my oldest still wasn't feeling well. Thankfully the Pediatrician's office called first thing in the morning and rescheduled their appointments to today. We stayed home and took it easy for the day. I made some very yummy cowboy soup in my crock pot for dinner and we ate the artisan bread I made from the day before.

Our buried yard and deck with lots of snow drifts. The wind was whipping so badly that it tore down the plastic covering the chicken coop. Poor birds never came outside all day and only gave me two eggs. Slackers! But I already got three eggs this morning so I guess I can forgive them. I can place the order for my new baby chicks at the end of the month and the kids are so excited.

The kids worked on some watercolors today.

Morgan sketched this winter scene with bright rays of sun. If only!

The finished scene.

Patrick worked on the artwork for his Mythical Creatures book .

A mermaid thingy with seaweed drippage from her arms.

Cyclops.

A Chubacabra.

Tae's freeform artwork.

Tae up close and personal.

We found yet another craft kit in the closet. Everyone gives these to us as gifts but they make nice snowy day or rainy day projects. This one was suncatchers. The little plastic beads that melt were a real pain and were everywhere but the end result the kids just loved and they look so pretty in my window.

They even made a few into necklaces and a keychain out of one.

I tried a new recipe yesterday and a few of you have requested it so here it is. Last week when I went grocery shopping I was appalled at the price of bagels. $3.99 for 6 bagels. So I found this recipe and did some tweaking. Each recipe makes about 12 bagels so I doubled it and froze the rest for another day.

Homemade Bagels

1 package dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons sugar (I use organic cane sugar)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 cups flour

Flavorings-honey, cheese, cinnamon, onion -whatever you like

Proof your yeast for 10 minutes in the warm water.

Pour into mixer bowl with remaining ingredients. Save the last 1/2 cup of flour and add only if you need it. Depending on the day you may need more or less flour. I use my kitchen aid mixer and a dough hook for kneading but you can do it by hand if you don't have one. Knead until smooth and elastic. Add in the flavorings with the last few kneads. I shredded Asiago cheese and made delicious cheese bagels. If using cinnamon you will need about 2 teaspoons. You can add onions or what ever else you would like.

Let the dough rest on a floured board until it is doubled-about 20 -30 minutes. Cover with a linen towel so it doesn't form a crust.

The recipe called for cutting out the bagels and letting them rise again. I think next time I will just do a second rise in a ball. Once I cut these out, they deflated very easily. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. I cut my first batch too thin and found that they weren't substantial enough for my liking.

Once cut out, poke a whole in the middle with your finger and place them on a greased cookie sheet, cover again and let rise another 20-30 minutes.

While the bagels are doing their last rise, Boil four quarts of water and heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Boil the bagels for 7-8 minutes flipping half way thru the cooking time. Take them out and drain well by dabbing them on a towel. Place them back on the cookie sheet.

When they come out of the water they are still rather doughy and resemble dumpling texture. Just make sure they are cooked all the way through. You shouldn't be able to see any gray colored doughy spots. They should all be pasty white. Place in the oven and cook at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. I flip them over after 15 minutes so each side will be nice and golden brown.

TA-DA!

Delicious bagels and wonderful slathered with a little butter. Just remember that these are homemade, they look homemade and are smaller than storebought bagels but taste so much better. They have a nice crispy outside and are chewy inside. They are so much more economical too, so more money in my pocket. I'm happy knowing that my family is getting homemade nutritious food without all the preservatives too.