Stella's got her groove back

Ok - I'm not really calling myself Stella; it's just a movie reference...

Anyways, after a hectic few months - a new role at work, working ridiculous hours, moving apartments, trying to fix up our old apartment, being diagnosed with gestational diabetes - I'm finally settling down.

And what better way of settling down than... BAKING!!! I've finally started baking again and I'm sooo happy. Even though my diabetes diet limits what and how much I can eat, I can still eat. And so, my latest baking attempts have been around dough and bread. Home-made pizza (but have no fear, I still love going out for a pizza or having it delivered); bread and buns and cinnamon rolls.

I started with some dinner rolls. The recipe was a bit too sweet for my taste, but the texture was perfect. Fluffy, light and fluffy (did I say that already?). The key to this recipe is to make sure that your yeast is properly activated and becomes foamy before continuing on. Given that this jug started at 2/3 cup water sprinkled with yeast - I would say that my yeast had properly activated, wouldn't you?

And the resulting dinner rolls - perfect for being heavily buttered and used for dipping into a hearty Tomato and Lentil soup on a cold winter's day (even though it's still technically Autumn).

Next the cinnamon rolls.

I have to admit - I'm pretty proud of these cinnamon rolls. They are yummmmmmy - the texture is perfect and fluffy and the sweetness is not sickeningly sweet. I did skip the icing glaze and upped the cinnamon buttery filling. And I couldn't wait for them to cool down to put the glaze on before hoeing into them.

Anyone for some tea and freshly baked cinnamon rolls?

I'm looking forward to a winter-filled baking spree. Baking is dual-purpose as it warms up our apartment as well. How will you be spending your winter?

Comments

Monkey See; Monkey Do

I was just monkeying around the kitchen...
I had some dough leftover from baking dinner rolls and cinnamon buns (yeah - it was alot of dough!) and I had seen this idea from the Pioneer Woman previously. Cinnamon, butter, sugar and a dash of sweetened condensed milk - yes please!!! Ok, so maybe, just maybe, I accidentally on purpose put some dough aside just so I could indulge in this .... well, indulgence.
And what an indulgence - worse still, an easy indulgence as I already had the dough. Caramelised cinnamon sugar with a bit of bread covered with sweetened condensed milk. I don't think I really need to say more.

And, in honour of Father's Day, we had special "WE heart DADDY" pancakes... ok ok - I ran out of time, energy and ideas this year. (Note to self - try harder next year!)

Don't mock the banana - at $12.99/kg this is a real treat. Unfortunately Daddy was too slow and Little Miss M took it and ate it. It might be Father's Day, but "you snooze…

Pop Pop Pop

Caramel Popcorn - devil's food, I'm sure. I am addicted to this stuff. Once in a while, I buy that awful stuff from the supermarket and binge on it. Sadly (or thankfully - I don't know!!), I seem to be the only one in the family to love this stuff. I thought I would try to make some at home. So...

I made a batch on Tuesday night - one jar full plus 4 and a 1/2 brown bags full. I gave away one bag to a neighbour. I gave the 1/2 bag to my husband for work. And I "shared" (as in I think I ate the lion's share of it) one bag with some friends who came over on Wednesday. I was surfing Pinterest last night. And on Thursday morning, I wake up and this is what I'm left with...
Before the photo shoot...

After the photo shoot (I took about 3 photos!!)...

And that's it - no more after this jar is emptied!!
On another note, I had a go at creating "art". Art, as in something to hang and display. What do you think? The inspiration cam…

Visions, Goals, Plans... Oh My

I'm a sucker. And I've got an addictive personality. And I rationalise and justify everything I do. So, it's never a good idea for me to pick up a new hobby... aka addiction... unless it's truly good for me.

I picked up the capsule wardrobe thing... good.

I picked up the skincare/makeup thing... not so good ($$$).

I latched onto the no shampoo thing... good.

And now I'm onto the Kikki K thing... so NOT good.

I'm into it. So so so into it. My life can be soooo much better with the help of stationary and vision boards and stickers and pens and yep... workshops.

It's mid-year and I'm goal setting. I've never been a believer in the New Year's Resolution movement, but mid-year goal setting... I'm all over that like a rash, baby.

I've "invested" in a planner so that I can live each day with purpose.

I've "invested" in a vision board so that I can keep motivated.

And I've attended a Goals Workshop so that I can…

Ag May ...

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