24: The Chloe Watch

Favorite line of the week:

Motobo: "Are you an FBI agent?"

Chloe: "No. I'm just a stay-at-home mom."

Dear St. Joe: Make This House GO!

"You realize I'll have to blog about this," I told my friend Nannette.

"Yes. Yes I do," she said. "In fact, we'll have to take photos when we bury him and have a glass of wine in his honor."

And so our plans for the burying of St. Joseph in Nannette's back yard. It may be next Sunday afternoon.

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR SELLING A HOUSE

O, Saint Joseph,
you who taught our Lord
the carpenter's trade,
and saw to it
that he was always properly housed,
hear my earnest plea.

I want you to help me now
as you helped your foster-child Jesus,
and as you have helped many others
in the matter of housing.

I wish to sell this [house/property]
quickly, easily, and profitably
and I implore you to grant my wish
by bringing me a good buyer,
one who is
eager, compliant, and honest,
and by letting nothing impede the
rapid conclusion of the sale.

Dear Saint Joseph,
I know you would do this for me
out of the goodness of your heart
and in your own good time,
but my need is very great now
and so I must make you hurry
on my behalf.

Saint Joseph, I am going to place you
in a difficult position
with your head in darkness
and you will suffer as our Lord suffered,
until this [house/property] is sold.

Then, Saint Joseph, i swear
before the cross and God Almighty,
that i will redeem you
and you will receive my gratitude
and a place of honour in my home.

Amen.

My Favorite Things: Artisan Bread

ArtisanBread5Mins
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

I heard about this book on "Splendid Table" (another of my favorite things) and had to get this book. I made the bread for a couple of weeks from the recipe on the radio show website, but when I needed to buy a book for buddy Cassie's birthday, I found myself clicking the button for this one too. (One-click shopping on Amazon is DANGEROUS!)

It is absolutely true that the longer the bread lives in the bowl in the fridge the better it gets. It's great right away, but after about a week or 10 days, it takes on a mild sourdough quality that just can't be beat. I made these two bagettes last night for supper and we had hot meatball sandwiches with them. Another thing I've done is tear off three small lumps and made hamburger buns out of them. Any way you do it, you really need to be careful not to make a lot of bread. Because you will not stop eating it until it is done. So it's best to just make a batch small enough for that meal.

There are other favorites in this photo as well. The wooden cutting board is on the counter at all times and I use it for every bread and veggie and cheese...anything that's not meat. But the greatest thing is the french bread pan. One of us kids gave it to Dad one year for his birthday or Father's Day or something and after he had it for a while he realized he wasn't using it so offered it to me. Every once in a while he tries to ask for it back!