07/12/2009 20:39
Yesterday we had a booth at Harrisville Old Home Days. Located in the small town of Harrisville, this craft fair-like gathering is an annual celebration of the historic community. There we sold our homemade eco-friendly laundry soap, homemade bread, greenciles, shrinky-dink earrings(recycled plastic shrunk down in the oven - Mina wrote a blog about the process), wire and crystal pendants, cards made from homemade paper, and envelopes made of magazine pages. It was a great experience - everyone was so friendly and interested, the weather was amazing (sunny but not too hot) and we sold a lot of items. The rural setting - many trees and a picturesque stream (or river) - enhanced the overall atmosphere. Booths sold everything from jelly and lotion to jewelry and scarfs. There were lovely paintings - both on canvas and on glass, and the local library put on a used book sale. Other activities the town ran included a cake walk, local musicians, and crafts for the children. It seemed well-organized with the whole town pitching in. I hope it continues to be a tradition and look forward to participating next year! And GKT made over $150 altogether - some from selling, and some from the awesome people who donated to our club! Thanks!!
Tags: Harrisville Old Home Days
07/10/2009 20:28
This last Tuesday my Dad and I hosted a “Learn how to make Bread Day” at our house. GKT had needed another thing to sell at Harrisville Old Home Days, and Dad had thought of bread, because well that seems to be what he makes a lot of now.
The bread recipe we used was very simple and quick. See the jist of it below. I did get a workout from all the kneading I had to do. But all of our loafs turned out really good.
3 cups regular flour (or "bread" flour)
1 cup warm (100 to 120 degree) water
1tbsp sugar
1tbsp yeast
1tsp salt (NOT 1 tbsp!!)
2 tbsp oil or room temperature unsalted butter
Remember to use 1/2 the water to start your yeast, and the other half goes directly into the flour. Yeast should rise for 5-10 minutes, until doubled in size. Put the salt in the flour, not in the yeast starter. Knead for 10-15 minutes. Let rise till doubled (about 1/2 hour), then punch down. Flatten, fold, and put in pan, then "proof" (final rise) for about 25 minutes (cut the top at about 20 minutes, to let it rise a little after that). Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until crust is uniformly brown. Good luck.
In between our cooking (when the dough needed to rise and proof) the girls and I worked on our other items we sold at the fair. We made: earrings, necklace pendants, magazine envelopes, and recycled paper cards.
Tags: Harrisville Old Home Days
