Bunny Bread

I came across an adorable recipe for "Teddy Bear Bread" in The Family Fun Cookbook, and just had to adapt the idea to the Easter theme. So here is my rendition: may I present to you "Bunny Bread"!

First, I had my son wash his hands thoroughly with soap and water, and emphasized the importance of washing up always before cooking!

After I washed up too, we then gathered the ingredients. I spoke to Bode about the importance of having all the materials "in place" before starting because it makes cooking so much easier that way. I threw around the fancy French term for this, "mise en place" (literally "putting in place"), that I learned in a cooking class way back when.

THE RECIPE:

Ingredients used:
1.5 cups warm milk + .5 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
5.75 cups of all-purpose or whole wheat flour
2 tsp. salt
Oil  
Dried fruit (raisins, dried cherries, blueberries, etc)
Egg

Step one: Pour milk-water combination into a bowl, make sure it is warm. Add a packet of yeast and then sugar. Whisk until dissolved. Here I talked about how yeast is actually alive but it has been "asleep" while in it's packet. The sugar and warm liquid "wake" it up and helps it to grow.

Step two: Measure 2 cups of flour and whisk it into the mixture. I talked to Bode about the "proper" way to measure out flour- fluff it up first and then spoon it into the measuring cup, then level off with the flat edge of a knife (although he kept wanting to smoosh it down with the spoon, oh well!)
Let dough sit for 10 minutes. While the dough "proofed", I showed Bode the bubbles that were being formed and told him that that meant the yeast is now awake and working. The bubbles will create air in the dough and help the bread to rise when left to sit and the process will continue in the oven as well.

Step three: Stir in salt and then add the rest of the flour, adding in increments.

Step four: Turn dough onto a floured surface; Knead by folding dough in half and away with heel of your hand. Rotate and repeat until blended well. I gave my son a small amount of dough to knead himself. He seemed to really enjoy the sensory aspect of this step.

Step five: Place dough in oiled bowl. Flip over so that entire surface of dough gets coated. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for an hour until it doubles in size.

Step Six: Knead again to get out air bubbles.

Step Seven: Cut dough with knife and create different shapes for the bunny's body. I pinched the dough best I could to connect the pieces. As you assemble bunny, place on a baking tray lined with oiled parchment paper.

Step Eight: Decorate Bunny's body with dried fruit. We used a raspberry for nose, dried cherries flattened and cut in half for whiskers and claws, and dried blueberries for eyes and belly button.

Step Nine: Cover Bunny with plastic wrap and let sit again for 30 min. Preheat oven (to 400 degrees) as the time approaches 30 min.

Step Ten: Brush egg wash over bunnies body (one egg + 1 Tbsp. water, whisked).

Step Eleven: Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Step Twelve: Serve warm, or seal tightly with plastic to save for later.

Despite some minor cosmetic imperfections, I think our bunny turned pretty cute. AND not only that it tasted delicious as well! We coated our pieces with softened butter while it was still warm! Mmmm, mmmm, good! :)

Here are some more "bunny breads" that I found on the internet. I googled it, out of curiosity. They were pretty amazing. I found this Bunny Bread here, in which a hole is made in the belly and filled it with dip. Pretty clever and I think a perfect addition to an Easter Potluck! I also found this one here that I thought was so artistically crafted. I would love to try sculpt the bread in the same manner next time. It's such a charming bunny!

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Kale Chips - Delicious! Who knew?

I have been meaning to make kale chips for years! — Actually, it has been ever since the time a friend mentioned that her son LOVED my favorite leafy green sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and baked. That had to be about 5 years ago at least, and since then I've had it in the back of my mind to give this recipe a whirl. Well, needless to say, that day did not come soon enough!
Yesterday, I had an appointment with a nutritional counselor. Even though I think I am a fairly healthy eater there are some things noted that could use a little tweaking. One is my mindless indulgence of salty snacks, AKA, an abundance of empty calories. Yeah, so what if I eat the "healthy" kind of potato chip? You know, the kind that is "natural", GMO-free, and with no tran-fats? The unfortunate truth in this is that no matter how seemingly healthy a potato chip brand choice is, the fact is it is still a potato chip: a thinly sliced potato, drenched in oil and deep-fried. There probably isn't any kind of potato chip on Earth that is truly healthy for me (unless, maybe if it is baked, then what, I ask, is the point?). However, the fortunate part in this is that the counselor mentioned trying kale chips as an alternative. Instantly I knew just what I had to do, and I knew just the place to find what I needed, and a little partner in crime to help me carry out my plan!

Lucky for me, I had one last stand of vegetables growing in my garden from the summer before, and it just happened to be — ***drum roll*** — kale! My son got completely excited about the process of helping out and making "chips" from ground up.

He loved ripping the leaves of kale into tiny bite-sized pieces and washing them in the salad spinner.

After washing the kale really good, we dried them best we could with the spinner, and then patted them dry with a clean cloth. We then tossed the kale with olive oil, some sea salt, tamari, and flax seeds. We were all out of parmesan, or else that would have been in the mix too. I lined a baking tray with parchment paper and put the kale in the oven (preheated to 350 degrees) for about 10-15 minutes. When I took them out and popped a few in my mouth, my response was WOW! I could have never guessed how delicious and "snacky" something so healthy could taste! Bursts of flavor melted in my mouth, and the warm crispiness of each piece added a unique texture to the whole eating experience. My son liked them too! Woo-hoo! Who would have thought? So excited to have found a healthy snack to add to my growing list, and the fact that my son likes it too — a double bonus! It is one of those things I think you have to try to believe —  and I'm so glad that I did!