The dinner roll recipe I used for our Thanksgiving meal turned out so well I thought I'd share it with you. It's pretty simple and the dough can be made ahead of time, which is really nice!
1 cup water (110 degrees F)
2 packages yeast (Do not use the quick rising in this recipe)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/4 cups flour
Combine water and yeast in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. With a wooden spoon, stir in butter, sugar, eggs, and salt. Add flour, 1 cup at a time and mix in as much as you can (you will probably use all of the flour). Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
Grease a 13x9 baking pan. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Divide into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth round ball. Place in rows in prepared pan. Cover and let rise about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees (F) until golden brown, about 17 minutes. Optional: brush tops of rolls with butter to keep them soft.
Makes 24 rolls.
1
Unfortunately, Pat's not in the picture because she's the one who took it!
After returning from Sofia on Wednesday evening, we started getting ready for our Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday. We had the Myers over as well as Nasa, Vania, and Yoanna, for a traditional American Thanksgiving meal. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, and homemade rolls. (I wish we could have had the home-grown sweet corn and green bean casserole too, but there's no way to make anything that would taste the same with Bulgarian ingredients!)
It was a fun afternoon of being together and eating familiar food (well, at least familiar to us Americans!) For Nasa, Vania, and Yoanna, it was a bit of a cross-cultural experience I'm sure. They brought along Bulgarian desserts, and Pat made a wonderful apple pie too! We were SO full of food!
So happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans! We wish we could be there celebrating (and eating!) with you! Blessings to you in this holiday season!
Yesterday, David Shenk arrived in Bulgaria to help with the launch of the Bulgarian translation of his book, A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue. David is a friend of ours as well as the Myers, and will be staying with Lamar and Pat through Monday. Then we will all be heading to Sofia to participate in the book launching events.
We will update with pictures, etc. after we return to Topolovo on Wednesday evening. Please pray that this event goes well and that it is well-attended. We are hoping for as many as 50 leaders from different religious backgrounds to be present.
We will update with pictures, etc. after we return to Topolovo on Wednesday evening. Please pray that this event goes well and that it is well-attended. We are hoping for as many as 50 leaders from different religious backgrounds to be present.
I was going to say for Mom Horst... but thought maybe that would be confusing because soon I'll be a "Mom Horst" too!
Anyway, some of you may have heard that we got a washing machine! We haven't had one since we moved to Topolovo... scary thought, I know. Don't worry though, Lamar and Pat let us use their washer for a couple loads, and that got us though until we got our own installed and working.
We were originally planning to get a second hand washing machine from a man that fixes them up and sells them, but he hasn't had any available in the past two weeks and we didn't want to wait around too much longer. So, on Tuesday we set out on a washing machine quest.
It's like Christmas!
Pencho, the home owner, came on Wednesday and helped install the washing machine. It was a huge blessing that he was able to come so soon and that everything actually worked! It's quite the contraption... the water pipe is connected to a T joint... the other part of the joint is the kitchen faucet. The drain for the washer goes across the counter and back into the kitchen sink.
The bun! (You can also see our new oven/stove in this photo)
The plumbing may not be the prettiest to look at, but the washer sure is! It works wonderfully! We did a couple loads of laundry last night and got them out on the line this morning.
Patio, converted to clothes drying central.
We also purchased a clothes drying rack for inside (which has a much larger capacity than the ones you can get in the US). The wood stove does a great job of not only heating a room, but drying clothes!
Anyway, some of you may have heard that we got a washing machine! We haven't had one since we moved to Topolovo... scary thought, I know. Don't worry though, Lamar and Pat let us use their washer for a couple loads, and that got us though until we got our own installed and working.
We were originally planning to get a second hand washing machine from a man that fixes them up and sells them, but he hasn't had any available in the past two weeks and we didn't want to wait around too much longer. So, on Tuesday we set out on a washing machine quest.
It's like Christmas!
Pencho, the home owner, came on Wednesday and helped install the washing machine. It was a huge blessing that he was able to come so soon and that everything actually worked! It's quite the contraption... the water pipe is connected to a T joint... the other part of the joint is the kitchen faucet. The drain for the washer goes across the counter and back into the kitchen sink.
The bun! (You can also see our new oven/stove in this photo)
The plumbing may not be the prettiest to look at, but the washer sure is! It works wonderfully! We did a couple loads of laundry last night and got them out on the line this morning.
Patio, converted to clothes drying central.
We also purchased a clothes drying rack for inside (which has a much larger capacity than the ones you can get in the US). The wood stove does a great job of not only heating a room, but drying clothes!
What is...
called a "bun"
is a surprise
costs a lot of money
is "delivered by a stork"
gives Joe and I new names
and will arrive in about 7 more months?
Can you guess?
That's right... we're going to have a BABY! I'm about 10 weeks along, and the due date is June 16, 2011. Baby is doing well so far, and so am I! Joe and I are so excited!!
called a "bun"
is a surprise
costs a lot of money
is "delivered by a stork"
gives Joe and I new names
and will arrive in about 7 more months?
Can you guess?
That's right... we're going to have a BABY! I'm about 10 weeks along, and the due date is June 16, 2011. Baby is doing well so far, and so am I! Joe and I are so excited!!
The other night we had two problems... but we found one grand solution!
Problem #1: Apples here in Bulgaria generally are never crisp. They're almost always mealy. And we had a whole bag of them.
Problem #2: We really wanted dessert, but had no chocolate, no baking soda, no baking powder... what could we make?
...the grand solution? Have you guessed it? (I think Aunt Sue probably already has!)
Apple Pie!
The catch: no rolling pin. So, I got lazy and just crumbled the pie crust dough into the apples with cinnamon and sugar. I call it Lazy Apple Pie.
Lazy Apple Pie
Add whipped cream, and you've got one tasty treat!
We thought the result was pretty good, although the pie crust pieces that were on the bottom of the mixture didn't really cook right because of all the apple juice. The stuff on the top though... perfect! I'm thinking maybe next time I'll only put the crust on the top.
Problem #1: Apples here in Bulgaria generally are never crisp. They're almost always mealy. And we had a whole bag of them.
Problem #2: We really wanted dessert, but had no chocolate, no baking soda, no baking powder... what could we make?
...the grand solution? Have you guessed it? (I think Aunt Sue probably already has!)
Apple Pie!
The catch: no rolling pin. So, I got lazy and just crumbled the pie crust dough into the apples with cinnamon and sugar. I call it Lazy Apple Pie.
Lazy Apple Pie
Add whipped cream, and you've got one tasty treat!
We thought the result was pretty good, although the pie crust pieces that were on the bottom of the mixture didn't really cook right because of all the apple juice. The stuff on the top though... perfect! I'm thinking maybe next time I'll only put the crust on the top.
He blended right into the trees...
There he is!
It's our new friend, who I have named Ferdinand. Although, Joe thinks he should be called Sancho Panza. So you can take your pick.
When we were in Vienna, we visited the Schonbrunn Palace. It was the home of several generations of Austrian monarchy.
The original front entrance to the palace home.
A side view of one palace wing. You can also see the "privy garden," or private garden, of the estate.
A shaded walkway surrounding the privy garden.
We had fun walking the palace grounds and experiencing the self-guided audio tour of the palace rooms. Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed inside the building, but we went to town once we got outside!
I wish it was easier to take self-portraits and still get some of the background in the picture!
Joe would have been an awesome palace guard back in the day, don't 'cha think?
...but I obviously would have been the BEST!
Joe, the camera bag, and a glorious view of the "Gloriette" building in the background
For those of you thinking of traveling to Vienna, we would definitely recommend visiting the Schonbrunn! They even have a little zoo, playground, and kids-size maze, so it's family-friendly!
The back side of the palace, facing the palace gardens.
We only had a half-day to see the Schonbrunn, because we also wanted to make it to the Kunsthistorisches Museum before our 1-day vacation was over!
Keep posted (get it?) for pictures from the museum!
The original front entrance to the palace home.
A side view of one palace wing. You can also see the "privy garden," or private garden, of the estate.
A shaded walkway surrounding the privy garden.
We had fun walking the palace grounds and experiencing the self-guided audio tour of the palace rooms. Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed inside the building, but we went to town once we got outside!
I wish it was easier to take self-portraits and still get some of the background in the picture!
Joe would have been an awesome palace guard back in the day, don't 'cha think?
...but I obviously would have been the BEST!
Joe, the camera bag, and a glorious view of the "Gloriette" building in the background
For those of you thinking of traveling to Vienna, we would definitely recommend visiting the Schonbrunn! They even have a little zoo, playground, and kids-size maze, so it's family-friendly!
The back side of the palace, facing the palace gardens.
We only had a half-day to see the Schonbrunn, because we also wanted to make it to the Kunsthistorisches Museum before our 1-day vacation was over!
Keep posted (get it?) for pictures from the museum!
...here's a piece of bread with a piece of boxwood in it...?
An interesting gift from our neighbor, to say the least.
An interesting gift from our neighbor, to say the least.
Yesterday we went exploring... in our yard! Instead of looking down at the ground, we were looking up... to discover fig, apple, and walnut trees!
After we made our discoveries, we took to the ground in search of walnuts. It's a little past time to be collecting them, but we still found a few! ...Recipes anyone?
After we made our discoveries, we took to the ground in search of walnuts. It's a little past time to be collecting them, but we still found a few! ...Recipes anyone?
Finally, the moment I've been waiting for... I'm sitting on my own front porch, supervising Joe chop wood for the wood stoves, absorbing the late afternoon sun, writing a blog post!
Between having writers' (or bloggers') block, getting sick, traveling, and moving into a house without internet, it's been hard to keep up with our online obligations... email, blog, facebook... Now that we're settled in and have internet, though, I hope to be posting more frequently.
For starters, here's a 10-point summary of the last few weeks:
1. Visited Austria, the Czech Republic, and Greece.
2. Lit a fire in a wood stove for the first time!
3. Ate authentic Greek pita bread.
4. Met Topolovo's mayor.
5. Made the best french toast Joe has ever tasted!
6. Welcomed Lamar and Pat back to Bulgaria.
7. Had the sniffles... it's that time of year!
8. Bought and installed a new stove/oven.
9. Met other Americans who are living in Europe.
10. Brainstormed ways to cook cabbage... care to contribute?
Between having writers' (or bloggers') block, getting sick, traveling, and moving into a house without internet, it's been hard to keep up with our online obligations... email, blog, facebook... Now that we're settled in and have internet, though, I hope to be posting more frequently.
For starters, here's a 10-point summary of the last few weeks:
1. Visited Austria, the Czech Republic, and Greece.
2. Lit a fire in a wood stove for the first time!
3. Ate authentic Greek pita bread.
4. Met Topolovo's mayor.
5. Made the best french toast Joe has ever tasted!
6. Welcomed Lamar and Pat back to Bulgaria.
7. Had the sniffles... it's that time of year!
8. Bought and installed a new stove/oven.
9. Met other Americans who are living in Europe.
10. Brainstormed ways to cook cabbage... care to contribute?
Since returning from our retreat in the Czech Republic on Saturday morning, we have been busy busy BUSY getting ready to move into our new place. Today is d-day... we've got all of our bags packed, and we've stocked up on groceries for our new kitchen.
We will not have internet access for at least the first few days at our new place, so you might not be hearing from us for a while. We realize that our posts have been patchy for the past two weeks as well, as Jen wasn't feeling well for a while and we have been traveling. Don't loose hope though, we have many new pictures and posts just waiting to be written!
We will not have internet access for at least the first few days at our new place, so you might not be hearing from us for a while. We realize that our posts have been patchy for the past two weeks as well, as Jen wasn't feeling well for a while and we have been traveling. Don't loose hope though, we have many new pictures and posts just waiting to be written!
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