We are what we eat: Hot Chocolate!

A popular hot chocolate mix contains the following 11 ingredients:

Sugar, Corn Syrup, Whey Modified, Cocoa processed with Alkali, Coconut Oil Hydrogenated, Milk Non-Fat, contains less the 22% Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Artificial Flavors, Mono and Diglycerides.

Why would you want to put this stuff into your body? Corn syrup? Less then 22% salt..so, what 21%? Artificial flavor..as if!! It's simply not needed. 

With just a few ingredients you can whip up a truly delectable mix on your own. Now I have tried many recipes but the one I keep coming back to Alton Brown's. I will note on this recipe that filling your mug halfway full with this mix it might end up too rich & thick! I would start with a heaping tablespoon, you can always add more! Enjoy!

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa
2.5 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch of cayenne pepper

We are what we eat! BREAD

How many people have actually looked at the ingredients in bread. Seems simple enough right..flour, water, yeast, maybe butter? Wrong! This is the ingredient list of what we used to eat,a very popular brand, until we went back to the simpler stuff.

Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid) Water, sugar, contains less then 2% or less of each of the following: yeast, soy flour, butter (made from milk), dough conditioners, sodium stearoyl, lactlate, calcium steroyl Lactylate, monoglycerides and/or diglycerides, calcium peroxide, calcium iodate, datem, ethoylated mono and diglycerides azodicarbonamide, enzymes wheat gluten, salt, calcium sulfate, cultured wheat flour, vinegar, ammonium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate, soy lecithin, calcium carbonate.

I don't always have time to do a regular kneaded loaf of bread. For years I have tried different recipes for my bread machine but they were usually lacking even with adjustments. I finally finally!!! worked one up that our entire family can enjoy. It's very soft (use a good bread knife!) & excellent for lunch time sandwiches!

Soft bread machine sandwich loaf:

I have a cheap Sunbeam bread maker. They are around $50.00 at Walmart. It does a decent job. My bread maker has a sandwich setting (11) which I use for this recipe.

3 cups of bread flour
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten (I uses Bob's Redmill)
1 package or 2.5 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1.5 teaspoons salt

Simply place your water, honey, oil & yeast in your bread machine. Allow to poof for 7 minutes or until bubbly. Add the flour, sprinkle salt over the top then let her rip! In a few hours (mine takes 3) you will have a very nice fluffy bread without all the extra ingredients put in my manufactures today. Plus it was made by your loving hands & your house smells wonderful!

Thrift Store LOL Find!

Good Morning! It's always good to start the day off with a little humor. Yesterday while thrifting I came across this sign for books. I'm guessing it was made with one of those twist dial thingys from back in the day..you know, before spell check! Please click for a larger picture!

A little winter weather!

Good Morning Everyone! Welcome to The Woods 1777 blog spot! There are many blogs out there but this one is mine! :) Why the name? I wanted something that would identify the location of our farm in two different forms. We are located in the woods of Camden County North Carolina which was established in 1777, hence the name was born. Follow along for an inside view of life adventures on the farm. Everything from building a greenhouse, chicken coops, a mommy get away cabin to cooking -along with recipes good & bad (!) decorating -along with mistakes, furniture refinishing, yard sales & junk shopping (!) animal care, hatching eggs, and everyday living.Enjoy! Thanks for following!

Baby Roo didn't want to get his little feet in the snow. He is low in the pecking order due to his size. He is still mad at me for putting him in the toy train that runs around the Christmas Tree when he was just a little lad. So, sometimes he tries to flog me.

Penny the peahen decided she wasn't going to have any of this snow stuff, she will just stay in the barn thank you very much!

Big black hen likes the taste of snow!

 This a first for these guys, most were purchased from a hatchery this spring. I ordered 30, two arrived smashed. A word of warning, when ordering mail order chicks do not order bantam breeds along with the standards, it just doesn't work. Surprisingly though even though the silkies didn't make it the "mystery" free surprise chick did make it. A rooster of course, his name is Mr. Frank. Mr. Frank is a cool looking Frizzle. Mr. Frank doesn't play well with others so he stays by himself until I can find him a friend. I tried putting a little girl in there with him but she threw him down, stood on his chest and proceeded to pull his feathers out. Here is a photo from last year, see how tiny he is compared to the others?

Mr. Frank today. I really must find him a little Frizzle gal to keep him company...

This is one of my Jersey Giants. I was in a rush this morning so I forgot to put the lid on the bin where their feed is kept...yup, what better way to spend a winters day then by laying an egg while pecking at feed. I love my Jersey Giants. For some reason I didn't think they were going to  be very friendly but the two black ones I have are very sweet! The two white Giants want nothing to do with people but they are huge birds & pretty to look at anyway.