Yesterday morning the temperature dropped considerably (we've had some summer-like weather here the past week or so… leading to my discovery of just how quickly this pregnant mama's feet can swell!), so I took advantage of the opportunity to turn on the oven!
On top of making the bread for the coming week, I finally got around to some recipes I've been wanting to try.
First up, this recipe for homemade bagels. I've never tried to make bagels before. |
This is what they looked like after the kneading of the dough, shaping, and resting. |
This is what they looked like after boiling. |
This is what they looked like after baking. |
Next, in honor of the visit of a gluten-intolerant friend, this recipe for flourless coconut chocolate cookies. You'll find plenty of much better photos if you click through. They are delicious. |
And now, a sneak-peak of how DIY renovations of Finnbaee's room are coming along:
Touching up a second-hand dresser… |
This week's links!
-
For this week's bit of humor (also informative), check out this rant about the misappropriation of state birds (apologies to the highly-language-sensitive). I don't know much about birds (although I do love them so!), but I agree with him about his choice for MA (so cute!) and I am slightly encouraged to see that someone has something nice to say about MD.I'm sorry to all fellow MD-ers out there, but sometimes I just get very depressed about this state. Did you know that, on top of being one of the most abortion-heavy states and being populated largely by people who don't know how to drive, we literally pay a tax for rain? I just heard that in the grocery store this week.
- Ever stay up at night wondering why bees make their comb they way they do? (Don't pretend this is out of the realm of possibility for some of you. You know who you are.) Here's a fun, illustrated article providing some insight. (Thanks, Julianne!)
-
This is a very encouraging piece from a very relatable perspective: What to expect when you totally weren't expecting spina bifida. Humorous but very moving. Sometimes questions like this cross my mind because, of course, I don't know at this point that everything will be 100% healthy and normal with Finnabee, and I don't know what the future holds for any other children God may send my way. I think it's so good for all of us to read things like this and be reminded of what matters. And I imagine it's particularly helpful for parents who do have special-needs children to get this kind of support.
“You'll have a precious, sweet little squishy who just so happens to be dealing with SB. You're not giving birth to the defect itself.On this note, if you or anyone you know is suffering because of a past experience with abortion, please please please do look into the compassionate, accepting help awaiting at Project Rachel.
- Mom recommends another summer program for young people through Thomas More College.
- She also recommends The Glory of the Liturgy: Pope Benedict's Vision. She says you will enjoy reading this exploration of Benedict's theology of liturgy — a deep essay on a deep subject by a deep thinker! Because, ever wonder if it matters how the liturgy is celebrated?
- I recommend If Women Ran the World (from – you guessed it – First Things) for a reminder of why we're pursuing what we're pursuing here at LMLD.
bethinthecity says
I live in Maryland too – over in Baltimore. It can be a discouraging state to live in. WHAT are people thinking? I surely cannot figure it out.
Kelsey says
Oh my goodness, that rain tax thing blows my mind. We live in Connecticut – another lovely but unfathomably screwy state. We have a “view tax,” so if your home has a pleasant view of… anything, (as far as I can tell,) you're taxed on it. I remember explaining this to my mother, who lives in Florida. Her reply: “What if you're blind?!”
Lisa G. says
I didn't know we had a view tax in CT! Lord have mercy.
paulaayn says
When I was pregnant with Ella my maternal serum test came back positive for SB. We had to go to the city for a 'level 2' ultrasound. Thank God it was a false positive (the maternal serum test is notorious for false positives) and my baby was beautiful and perfect. It was such a scare.
K. Wilde says
I'm sure it was a very worrying time for you, and I'm happy your daughter doesn't have to deal with those health challenges. The beautiful point of the article was that her son Henry with SB was beautiful and perfect. Disability is a natural part of life. We will all likely become disabled at some point in our lives due to aging or accident. My son was born with Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome – his is a natural variation of chromosomes and as such is also beautiful and perfect.
Laura says
I too have had fears of how to cope with a special needs child… so far, we have had healthy children…but it's a scary thing, and no guarantee that all will be…
As far as the bagels go, I loved making bagels before I got diagnosed Celiac! It's awesome that a few simple ingredients and a little work can give you more and better bagels than the store!! I don't know what recipe you used, but in mine, it calls for 4 tsp of yeast. And also to boil them with sugar in the water. And you only boil for about 15 seconds on a side, and make sure it's a rolling boil! Oh, and for a more traditional appearance, brush with beaten egg. It also helps to bake on a stone lightly oiled and dusted with rice flour or cornmeal. I also don't know if you use rapid rise or regular yeast, but the boiling sort of takes the place of the second rising. I remember the first time I made bagels, I let them rise to long and when i boiled them and baked them they seemed to fall… So to keep them light and fluffy, don't over-rise 🙂 In a few months, try em with cinnamon and raisins, or onions, or cheese…varieties are limitless!!!
Good luck 🙂
sjohnston522 says
Thanks for the link about spina bifida. My oldest has it and the entire post is really spot-on. The grief is very real and the best advice we got after getting the diagnosis at our 20-week ultrasound was to go ahead and grieve. We did. And by the time our son was born we had worked through the brunt of it and were so excited to finally meet our little boy. The NICU staff actually thought we were in severe denial.
The same person who encouraged us to grieve also said, “You're parents now.” As in–all parents have to deal with a lot of worry and grief. Some more than others, it seems. But all of them. There is no pain-free way to bring a child into the world and raise him.
My son is a delightful, highly intelligent parapalegic, by the way. Almost everything doctors have ever predicted for him has been wrong though he is a rather “severe” case.
Laura says
Upon reading the article concerning Women Running the World, some things do come to mind. I just read a book about Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, possibly the first woman doctor in America and early feminist. As I was reading the descriptions of what she faced in her journey to find a college or other doctors to intern with and so on…
Laura says
It seemed a shame that at that time, even though society was based on gender roles, the idea of the helpmeet of a woman to a father or husband seemed sort of off-base… For example, a man who was a doctor and had a daughter, or a wife, wouldn't allow her to help him with his life work, regardless of how fitted or interested she was, just because she was a woman… Another thought is this: Dr. Blackwell spent many years serving the poor in many American cities, walking through neighborhoods that were very dangerous for women–especially after dark… An incident was related about how she tried to walk on streets where she knew there was a policeman on the beat, and how one of said policeman tried to come on to her–and she put him in his place by saying, “I walk this street, trusting that you will protect me, not take advantage of me” …. And she a respectable, well-covered woman on a mission of mercy…. And yet men were suspicious of her morals, ability and so on… And yet where were the compassionate men doctors serving those neighborhoods?
Pippajo says
As a long-time resident of New Jersey, I feel your pain, with some of the highest property taxes and auto insurance rates in the country! But, hey, we never have to pump gas!
Lisa G. says
The First Things article brought back an old memory of George Gilder's book, either Sexual Suicide or Men and Marriage – I forget which version I read; anyway, his clear vision of the male-female relationship made a very big impression on me.
kimberlee says
Your bagels look great, especially for your first try! It's so inexpensive and tastier/healthier to make your own. My eldest just made some today – they're one of his specialties. Note that to shape them it's easiest to just stick your finger through the middle of the dough ball, then twirl the bagel around on your finger until the hole is of an adequate size (simpler and more fun than rolling it into a snake and then having to attach the ends together). Your cookies look good too! I just baked this week for GF guests as well – I'll keep your recipe in mind for next time. And that's the sweetest picture of the Artist painting! 🙂
Julie says
Oh, don't be too sad about Maryland. The Baltimore-Washington coridor can be kind of depressing, but go farther east, west, and south and the countryside is just beautiful. There are lots of interesting little towns, a fascinating Catholic history, — and like all places, lots of very good people. But then I'm biased — my family has been here since the 1630's! All the same, recent developments (including the rain tax) have been depressing. I'm very lucky that my husband and I bought our dream house (a lovely, big, 150-year-old Victorian) last summer. Otherwise I think he'd make me move out-of-state!
Margo says
We just had homemade bagels for breakfast! Delish. But the recipe you linked to is even easier than mine, so I might try that one instead.
Nancy says
Agree….the state bird of Florida needs to be the American Flamingo! Bagels look great for the first time…thanks for the recipe.
Pom Pom says
It's a good idea to turn on the oven when one is cold. What a lovely blog!
LJ says
I am the gluten-intolerant friend, and I approve this message.
Crafty P says
How crazy wonderful that you just attempted bagels! I put a recipe on hold somewhere for me to try this week for everything bagels! They looked soooo delicious! While yours may not have looked like the original pic did they still taste really good? I often get not so stellar results the first one or two times I attempt a new yeast bread and then they start to work better.
Jenny says
I know this is an older post, but I am just now about to comment on it.
While reading the If Women Ran the World essay and comments, I felt pretty vindicated by the eighteenth comment by Fla Mom. I'd link the comment directly if it had its own url. It's good to know I am not the only (now formerly) pregnant woman who gets to listen to other women unburden themselves about their child-bearing decisions.
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org//2013/03/h…
It really is true! People say bizarre things to pregnant women.
_Leila says
Ah, yes, Jenny, I remember — your comments on the Casti Connubii post about professional women who told you their woes.
Women are very good at doing what they think people want of them, rather than what THEY want to do. But they are not as good at hiding their secret desires, later on.
It's in the interest of feminists to cover up the truth, but women will tell the truth, privately. I remember a young woman whispering to me, “I do think abortion is murder.” Right. You don't have to whisper.
Jenny says
Very true. Women will tell you what they really think about it later.
Mostly I don't know what to say when these conversations happen. Who am I to give advice? I know how hard it is as I sit here in my office with my two month old at home. My situation is far from ideal and yet it seems sturdier than others around me. So I lend a sympathetic ear and sometimes, if she seems like she wants encouragement, I'll gently suggest another baby is not as impossible as it appears. I don't know what else to do.