SimpleLiving Topics

BACK TO BASIC COOKING Strawberry Buns & Spreads GREEN MONEY SAVERS Say Hello to Spring and Goodbye to the Dryer! NATURAL BEAUTY PRODUCTS FAMILY - NATIONAL TV OUT WEEK! ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANERS FOR THE HOME They are cost effective and safe the planet! Debbie’s Bio I have many roles but my favourites are being a mom to my incredible two year old son, an aunt to my wonderful nephews and a wife to an awesome husband who encourages me everyday. I love being at home with my son and to be able to watch and participate in many of his life journeys. I enjoy taking long walks in forested areas and grabbing a free minutes to write in my journal. I am a woman that dives into many new adventures. I love to sing and dance but many walk out the door with my singing performances. As well, I love to participate in activities that energize the mind, body and spirit. My desire to write simple living articles was the lack of information on natural homemade products. I did a great deal of searching and experimenting before I felt confident to write about alternatives to commercial products in the home. This search has been great and continues to feed my mind with wonderful ideas to decrease commercial products in the home and increase products made from nature and the heart.

Recipes

Strawberry Buns & Spreads!

Prepare a batch of fresh rolls and smoother with delicious strawberry butter or strawberry cream cheese. Each bite brings a little more sunshine your way.

Strawberry Butter:

Clean and wash 2 cups of strawberries. Place in a blender with 1 cup of soft butter and 1 cup of icing sugar. Place in a container and spread on some of the scrumptious rolls you prepared.

Strawberry Cream Cheese:

Clean and wash 2 cups of strawberries. Place in a blender with 1 cup of soft cream cheese and 1 cup of icing sugar. Place in a container and spread on some of the scrumptious rolls you prepared.

Buns:

Combine ¼ cup of apple juice concentrate* with 1 cup of lukewarm water. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of yeast into the water mixture. Let rest for 10 minutes in a warm place or until the mixture begins to froth.

Mix 2 cups of unbleached flour with 2 cups of whole-wheat flour. Stir the flour mixture in with the yeast mixture. Slowly add 1 cup of flour at a time. Add enough flour until the mixture forms a ball that is easy to manipulate with your hands. If it is too sticky add more flour. Sprinkle flour on a cutting board and knead the flour mixture until you have a nice smooth and elastic ball.

Place the dough in a bowl to rise until it doubles its size. This takes from 1-2 hours depending on the warmth of the kitchen.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down to let the air escape. It is time to make the breakfast rolls.

Tear off small pieces of dough and shape them into rounds. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise 20 minutes until they double in size.

Cook in a preheated oven of 400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes. The rolls are cooked when the tops are brown. A great tester is to tap the bottom of the roll, if it sounds hollow they are done.

These rolls are very easy to make and taste wonderfully. You may freeze the already cooked rolls or you can freeze them at the last stage of preparation. (Last stage is after they have risen as rolls) You freeze them on a baking dish in the freezer and once frozen place in a closed container or bag. To cook frozen rolls, let the rolls defrost overnight and cook in the morning.

*( Apple concentrate is with no water added to the mix.)