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Showing posts with label guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guide. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2014

Making Sourdough Starter With The Help Of My Ozeri Kitchen Scale

Disclaimer: Grandma Bonnie's Closet was not compensated for the review of this product. I received a free product in exchange for an honest opinion. The opinions in this post are all my own.

I have been thinking about making my own Sourdough Starter for a few months now. I had found an old recipe of my mother's for Sourdough bread and it brought back lots of wonderful memories. When I received The Touch II Touch Sensitive Kitchen Scale with Microban from Ozeri I knew this was a great opportunity to make the sourdough starter. 
The kitchen scale has a modern design that looks great just hanging out on my kitchen counter. The Microban antimicrobial technology helps fight stain and odor-causing bacteria for the life of the scale. It is digital and provides precise results up to 11 lbs (5 kg) in graduations of 1 g or 0.1oz. 
   

With the large high-contrast LCD display, large weighing platform and touch sensitive buttons the scale is effortless to operate.
I needed 4 oz. flour for my sourdough starter. I pressed the start button then selected my unit of measure. I then placed a coffee filter on the scale to weigh. Then pressed the Tare (start) button. The Tare button allows you to subtract the weight of a bowl, plate or other container to determine the weight of the ingredients being weighed. The Tare button is an awesome feature!

The scale also comes with a Calorie Guide and U.S. Postal First Class Letter Rate Guide. Now I can weigh the packages I send to my grandchildren right at home. No more running into town to mail a package.
So, I have got my 4 ounces of flour measured out. I am ready to start my sourdough starter.
Sourdough Starter
Ingredients:
1 cup non chlorinated water
4 ounces flour
1 canning jar quart sized
1 coffee filter

Directions:
Day One: Mix together water and flour. Cover with coffee filter and place ring of canning jar lid over the coffee filter. The coffee filter allows airflow into the mixture but keeps dust or insects out. The airflow is a must to create a good environment for the lactobacilli and the wild yeast that are attracted to it. Set in a warm place. I placed my started above the refrigerator. 
Day Two: Remove 1/2 the starter. Add 1/2 cup non chlorinated water and 2 ounces of flour to the remaining starter in the jar. Mix well. Use the removed starter to make pancakes, bread or feed it to your compost pile. This starter is not as sour as the finished product will be. But it is better to be used then discarded.
Day Three - Day Six: follow instructions for Day Two. Each day you will see more bubbling and detect a stronger fermented sour smell. It will kind of smell like baking bread. 
Day 7: Now the starter is finished. It should be bubbly with a sour smell. It will grow a bit when you feed it. Now the starter can be placed in the refrigerator and fed once a week. When you remove starter for a recipe just replace what you remove. For example if you remove 1 cup starter add 1 cup non chlorinated water and 4 ounces flour back to the starter. 
At any point during making the starter or storing the starter if you see discoloration such as pink, green or black it has begun growing mold. Just discard the starter and begin again.
The starter will have a mild sour taste to begin with as time goes by it will grow a deeper, richer, sour flavor.

I love this kitchen scale already. I have used it a million times in the last week. Now is a great time to begin a healthy diet and start counting calories. With the calorie guide and scale I am sure to succeed. 

You can Purchase the Ozeri Kitchen Scale on Amazon.


Happy Bread making.


Sunday, November 24, 2013

Book Review: Tell me A Story

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following book review. I received a copy of the mentioned book for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book Title: "Tell Me A Story"
Written By: Grace Sandford

250 Great Books For Kids
Softcover, 329 pages
I am so thrilled to be reviewing this book. I am looking forward to using this book for many years to come. I am sure you are wondering why I am so excited about this simple book. So let me get right down to it. "Tell Me A Story" is a book guide that will save me many hours picking and choosing books for my grandchildren. I have written time and time about the books I have gotten for my grandchildren. I always express the importance for developing a love of reading in children. Well, the author Grace Sandford has the same belief as I do when it comes to children and reading. What Grace Sanford has done is researched lots of children and teen books. She has collected all this great information and put it together in this handy book. 
The book is divided into five sections. Babies to age 2, 3 to 5-year-olds,  6 to 8-year-olds, 9 to 11-year-olds and 12 into teens. In each section are 50 titles listed. These book are then listed into categories and then alphabetically. 
I can't even begin to count the hours I have spent online and in book stores searching for the perfect book for each of my grandchildren. I believe a child has to love being read to if they are going to learn to enjoy reading. If a book fits the child's interest half the battle is won. That is what "Tell Me A Story" is all about. Finding the right book for the right child.

When my oldest son was growing he would sit with me for hours and let me read him stories over and over. As he grew older his love for reading turned into a battle. He wanted to read but I struggled to find books that could hook his interest and keep it long enough to improve his reading skills. Then I came across some Goosebumps books. They were just a bit above his reading level but I figured they might be just what he needed. I was right he was addicted and we spent a small fortune on his collection. It was money well spent as he became an advanced reader in a few weeks. 
Knowing how important good reading skills are to finishing school, getting a great job and living a good life. I am all for using every trick up my sleeve in helping encourage my grandchildren to love reading. 
So stop over to Amazon and pick up "Tell Me A Story". Make your children's book selection in the comfort of your home. You will have more time to read to your child and spend less time shopping for all those great book.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Holiday Gift Guide For The Home

Grandma Bonnie's Suggested Gifts For Bakers, Cake Decorators, Women, Moms, Aunts, Sisters and More

Clipart of a candycane with a giant bow wrapped around holly. , Click here to get more Free Clipart at ClipartPal.com

UncommonGoods Iconic Camera Bag And Much More!

Find more information and links to this product here.


Christmas Cup Cake Wreath Made Easy With Signature Brand Products

Find more information and links to this product here.

"Lemons and Lavender" Book

Find more information and links to this product here.

Nordic Ware Castle Bundt Pan

Find more information and links to this product here.

Ateco Decorating Tube Set

Find more information and links to this product here.

Holiday Gift Guide For The Outdoors

Grandma Bonnie's Suggested Gift's For The Camper, Hiker, Hunter, Prepper, Husband, Father and More
Clipart greeting of an old fence with a wreach hanging from a post with a Happy Holidays sentiment. , Click here to get more Free Clipart at ClipartPal.com

Book Review: Eating On The Run &

Survival Guide To Edible Insects
Find more information and links to this product here.

Emergency Water Storage System

Find more information and links to this product here.

Holiday Gift Guide For Children

Grandma Bonnie's Suggested Gifts For Children.
Clipart of a cat wearing a santa hat and a puppy posing in a wreath decorated with a giant red bow., Click here to get more Free Clipart at ClipartPal.com

Title: "It's Not About You, Mr. Santa Claus"
Author: Soraya Diase Coffelt

Just in time for Christmas a wonderful book for your children explaining the true meaning of Christmas.  Find more information about this book here.

Grandma Loves You!
Find more information and links to this product here.

Toys And Games For Christmas

Find more information and links to this product here.

Transforming Solar Robot

Find more information and links to this product here.

Book Review: Maestro Stu Saves The Zoo
Find more information and links to this product here.

Bright Star Kids Iron-On & Stick-On Labels

Find more information and links to this product here.

Zangadoo Kangaroo and Book
Find more information and links to this product here.

"The Dirty Socks Come Clean" Music CD


Find more information and links to this product here.


"The Best Day Ever" Music CD


Find more information and links to this product here.


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Book Review: Lemons and Lavender

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received a product sample for review purposes from Viva Editions. All opinions expressed are my own. 

When I saw the book review for Lemons and Lavender on My Journey With Candida Blog the first thoughts I had were, "I have got to read that book". So here we are a few weeks later and I am very happy to say Lemons and Lavender by Billee Sharp is an awesome book!
There is a bounty of information crammed into all the pages of this eco guide to better homekeeping that you will spend hours reading highlighting and taking notes.
The first subjects highlighted in this book are budgeting, thrifting, planning and saving. The section on finding free stuff is something I have begun to use with earnest. The budget ideas are easy to understand and implement. In this day and age where money can be tight it makes sense to plan and save by being economical.
Then comes the chapter on Health is Wealth. Here you can find recipes for a skin scrub, a sea salt bath mixture, simple essential oil remedies, kitchen cures and more. Did you know that grated nutmeg soothes diarrhea and upset stomach? This chapter alone is worth buying the book for but, there is more so much more to this book.
My favorite chapter is Homely Habitats. This chapter in itself is an eco-friendly, organic guide to keeping house with nontoxic homemade cleaning agents. I just cleaned my floors today with the Good Wood Floor Cleaner recipe found in chapter four. Mix together in a spray bottle, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp vegetable oil, 6 drops essential oil and 1 quart water. Spray the floor than mop with a clean mop. Mop again with clean hot water. I used lavender oil. My wood floors look great and smells divine. If you have something that needs to be cleaned in your home you will find a cleaning recipe in this chapter made just for that.
Have I got your interest? There are many more subjects covered in this book. Just to mention a few more of the interesting DIY topics you can read about, composting, gardening, canning and recipes upon recipes. Just grab a copy and enjoy a cup of tea with this good read.
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