February Enrichment Meeting

At our February Enrichment meeting Ralina K., led our discussion on parenting teens, which was an extension of her lesson the previous month. Many great ideas and points were shared by the sisters in attendance. 

In our next class, Kristen F.,  shared with us ways we can bring the spirit into our homes through our decorating.  Her emphasis, however, was less on the things we purchase and more on the types of family activities we encourage and participate in such as Family Home Evening, Scripture Study, and service to others.  She shared with us some family photo albums.  The memories and good feelings these simple  picture albums bring, have helped to contribute to the spirit she seeks to have in her home.  

Kristi C. then shared with us how to make homemade 

egg noodles for soups. 

Delicious Homemade Egg Noodles

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3 egg yolks
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
1/4-1/2 cup water

Directions:
1. Measure flour into bowl; make a well in the center and add egg yolks, whole egg and salt.
2. With hands, thoroughly mix egg into flour
3. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
4. (Add only enough water to form dough into a ball).
5. Turn dough onto well-floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
6. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
7. Divide dough into 4 equal parts.
8. Roll dough, 1 part at a time, into paper-thin rectangle, keeping remaining dough covered.
9. Roll rectangle around rolling pin; slip out rolling pin.
10. Cut dough cross-wise into 1/8-inch strips for narrow noodles and 1/4 -inch for wide noodles.
11. Shake out stripes and place on towel to dry, about 2 hours.
12. When dry, break dry strips into smaller pieces.
13. Cook in 3 quarts boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt) (We use chicken broth.) 12 to 15 minutes or until tender.
14. Drain thoroughly.

January Enrichment Meeting - Gnocchi Recipe

Marta shared with us her recipe for making Gnocchi (pronounced NYO-kee),

a traditional dish from her country of Argentina.  

Gnocchi are fluffy, Italian-style dumplings made of potatoes and flour.  You can serve gnocchi with any of your favorite pasta sauces, or even with a simple sauce of melted butter and grated Parmesan cheese.

The key to making good gnocchi is to use dry, mealy potatoes like Russets.  And we want to keep the potatoes as dry as possible. 

Ingredients:
2 pounds whole Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra flour for dusting)

1.  Boil the potatoes in a large pot until they can be pierced through with a knife.

2.  Drain and then mash the potatoes until a smooth, uniform texture is achieved.

3.  Turn out the cooked potato mixture onto a lightly floured surface, and add about half of the flour.  Knead until you have a sticky mass and keep adding flour a little at a time until the dough is smooth.  You won't necessarily use the whole amount of flour.

4.  Cut the dough into smaller sections, and roll each piece into a long cylinder about 1/2 inch in diameter.  Then cut each cylinder into individual pieces about 3/4 inch in length.

5.  Fill a large pot with water and generously salt the water with a good handful of Kosher salt.  The water should taste like seawater.  Bring the water to a boil.

6.  Meanwhile, shape the gnocchi by pressing each piece between your thumb and the tines of a fork, using a slight rolling motion.  One side of the gnocchi should have the imprint of the fork and the other side a small indentation from your thumb.

7.  When the water comes to a boil, drop the gnocchi into the water.  In about two minutes, the gnocchi will float to the surface of the water.  Let them cook about fifteen seconds more and then skim them out with a slotted spoon.

8.  Drain the gnocchi well and serve immediately topped with a basic tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese, or with any of your favorite pasta sauces.

January Enrichment Meeting

Thanks Carol B. for sharing your card making talent 

and supplies with us!

 

 

Emergency Car Kit

Emergency Car Kit

At our January Enrichment meeting Liesl  shared with us items we might want to consider placing in an emergency car kit.  She broke the items down into summer, winter and a middle of nowhere things to place in your emergency car kit.

Summer Car Kit 
water/food, flashlight, batteries for flashlight, first aid kit, tools (gloves, leather-man) jumper cables, toilet paper, baby wipes, hazard triangles/flares, cell phone, money, entertainment for kids and or grand-kids.

Winter Car Kit
In addition to the summer car kit add a blanket/hat, hand warmers, gloves, ice scraper, birthday candle, toilet paper heater (See picture below)
  
Middle of Nowhere Kit
Winter car kit plus more food, more water

Toilet Paper Heater

Toilet Paper Heater 
Penny demonstrated how to make a toilet paper heater by using an aluminum paint can, a roll of toilet paper, matches and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. I have included a You Tube video link showing this process as well.  Just click on the title to link to the video.