Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Signs that I am feeling better ~ homemade soup and homemade bread!

Both turned out fantastic. IMHO there is nothing better on an extremely cold day than my warm home with the aroma of homemade goodness in every room. It is one of the many things I love about fall/winter. Summer time cold soups have never been something I have been into but fall/winter time warm soups now that is something good.

I remember when I was living on my own, my first place by myself. After a few doozies roommates I needed to try living on my own. Anway, my cooking skills were what anyone of my age and life experience would be but I didnt let that stop me. I tried real hard to get that canned soup taste because I thought that is what it was suppose to taste like.

What did my first homemade soup creation end up tasting like? Half fresh veggies and half canned soups seemed to do the trick. After a few unsupportive comments and laughs from some people I decided ~ whatever it works for me!

I continued diving right in to experiment with recipes and expand my ability to cook. Definitely I am no Julia Childs and that is a-okay. Today I cook for just two ~ my husband and me. He will eat everything I make and all with a smile on his face. He is very complimentary too.

He loved this soup (Beef Barley and Vegetable Soup) and bread! I made enough soup to freeze some for at least 3 more meals!

This is my bread machine recipe. And I want to share it with you. It is sooooo easy, good, and inexpensive. It is just a simple standard recipe and turns out every single darn time! If you give it a try let me know:)

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Bread Machine ~ Standard Bread

Put ingredients in as follows:

1 cup + 5TBL water

2TBL canola oil

3TBL sugar

1.5tsp sea salt

4 cups unbleached bread flour

1.75tsp yeast

Set bread machine to mix dough. Mine is no. 8. The time is for 1.5 hours. At the end of this time I transfer to a bread pan that has been lightly sprayed. Place in oven that has been set at 100degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn up to 360degrees and bake for 27 minutes. Not 30 not 26 or 29. I dont know why but 27 minutes has consistantly turned out every time.

Check for doneness: take out of oven and gently tip out of pan if the bottom is a golden brown consider her done. Also "knock" gently and if sounds hollow some say this is a sign too.

Let stand for atleast 20 minutes so that when you take that first slice it doenst squish down to a fraction of what it was originally.