We didn't need that anyway!

My streak is over.  I have gone for months and not broken, permanently damage, injured or otherwise harmed myself or others.  However, I suffer from the same monthly weakness that all women everywhere are afflicted with and throw in no sleep and a tiff with the hubby and I am officially dangerous.
Last Saturday I got up early to go work at the produce co-op I am a member of.  The trade off for helping is that you get to have an extra piece of fruit or a veggie.  The work is invigorating especially because it is the cheapest way to buy produce and you feel so darn good about it.  The price is amazing and I revel in frugality.
My son and I got into our van and I started pulling out and realized too late that I had parked over a little too much to the left.  It is amazing how you can normally use multiple parts of your body at one time.  But, when you realize you are going to do something wrong your commitment to isolate the offending body part seems to increase to really drive the point home that damage will be done.  In this case it was my foot on the gas pedal.  I knew I was too close yet I punched it harder and went even faster out of the garage so as to ensure maximum damage.  I am not sure what came over me but it was probably panic. 
My side mirror made a shatter crunch noise and my son looked at me like he was bracing for me to really loose it.  I figured there were worse things going on in the world than me cracking the frame on my mirror so I said, "CRAP!" and sat there for a minute before we went on our way.  I looked at him and reminded him that it is just a mirror and things like this happen.  There is only so much time in this life and I choose not to devote any more of it to this particular incident.  I am happy to say that it was a good lesson for me to teach my son.  You have to pick your battles and decide what you are going to devote energy too.  I can't go back in time and fix the mirror but I can move forward and when we have the money, repair it.
After examining the mirror more closely, I noticed I was able to click it back together and you can't really tell there is a crack there now.  Hurray for small miracles.  The garage door is not damaged either.  So how do I prevent another one of these incidents?  You may think it is don't drive large vehicles when I am crazed to begin with, but I think the take away is simply slow down and pay attention. 
I casually told my husband later that day and then quickly walked away.  I figured if I acted like I didn't care, then maybe he wouldn't either.  It is like ripping off a bandaid, you have to be quick.  He cared, but I wasn't there to witness how much.  He hasn't mentioned it at all since so I figure the issue is officially dead.

Authentic HomemadeTortillas

Last night I attended a Relief Society meeting and learned how to make authentic, traditional tortillas.  This recipe is too good not to pass on.  You will never buy tortillas again!  This recipe can utilize wheat or white flour, what ever you choose.
I made homemade tortillas once and they were an huge failure.  Every time I tried to roll the dough out, it would shrink back.  Last night I learned that the gluten needs to be broken down so that the dough is relaxed enough to roll flat.  When you make up the dough and try to work it immediately, the gluten just develops more, and the process fails.  Any creation you make with dough is about chemistry.  If you follow the chemical process correctly, you will have success every time. 
Try different types of fat in yours.  I like to use my own rendered lard but coconut oil gives it a nice flavor too. 
Thanks for the recipe Leah!
Ingredients:
**3 Cups of Flour-Whole Wheat or Bread Flour or go 1/2 and 1/2 for added nutrients.  The kids will never know!
**1 1/2 Cups of Plain Yogurt at room temperature-I use greek yogurt for a better dough and flavor-Homemade Yogurt
3 T Olive Oil, coconut oil, or rendered lard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
This recipe will make 8-10 burrito size tortillas.

Procedure:  Total time to roll out and cook about 30 minutes per batch.
Combine dry ingredients and wisk together in a mixing bowl-a bowl that has a cover is preferred.
Add oil and yogurt and mix with your hand in bowl until the dough is formed and all the dry ingredients are combined. I mixed my dough in my Bosch mixer and it worked great too and no messy hands.  I used the dough hook.  A Kitchenaid mixer could be used with the dough hook as well.( I find the Kitchenaid really makes short work of mixing.  It also allows you to see if the dough is too sticky.  If it is, add a little more flour until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  You still want it a little sticky.)
Leave in the bowl and place the cover on it and put it on the counter overnight (12 hours).   If you don't have time to get to the dough right away, then put it in the fridge till you are ready.  Only leave the dough for a day in the fridge.  It becomes too difficult to handle after that because the yogurt cultures continue to break down the gluten in the flour. 

After removing from the fridge, let it sit out on the counter, covered to take the chill off the dough.

 

On a floured surface, roll the dough out like this and then cut into even pieces.  

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to desired thickness and diameter.  I recommend you roll them out very thin. Use about 2-3 oz of dough per tortilla.  The more you make these, you will work out the thickness you like.

-While you are rolling out the dough, heat an electric skillet or a large skillet on the stove.
-Put the rolled out dough directly in the dry pan or on the dry skillet and let cook for about 1 minute on the first side and 30 seconds when you flip it.  I set my skillet at about 375 degrees and after you flip it the tortilla will get large bubbles in it as it cooks.  This is normal.  Don't use any oil.   You don't want them crispy.  You want them to be soft and pliable for use with burritos or soft tacos.  You can fry them after you cook them if you want to have tacos or tostadas.
-Let them cool slightly on a plate on the counter.  As the pile gets bigger I will flip the pile over so the bottom tortillas don't get too soggy and the top tortillas don't dry out.
-When they are almost cooled but still slightly warm, put them in a bag for storage.  The slight warmth will create steam in the bag and the tortillas will soften slightly if they are dry on the edges at all.  

-These can be frozen for later use or used immediately.  Any leftovers will keep in the fridge, but the longer they sit in the fridge the more they will dry out.  I usually leave them on the counter just like I would a loaf of bread.  Refrigeration dries out any kind of bread

**I tried all purpose flour and still struggled with the shrink back problem slightly.  If you use a high gluten flour then the breakdown of the gluten seems to be more effective.  The all purpose flour tortillas still tasted great if that is the only kind of flour you have.

**I tried using the cheap yogurt from the store and found that the dough was extremely sticky and required more flour to roll out. Plain yogurt has a high water content.   Using the Greek Yogurt solved this problem and made yummy tender tortillas.  If you use regular plain yogurt, you will need to strain off as much water as you can to make a thicker yogurt.  Take a large mesh strainer and line it with cheese cloth.  Then set it over a bowl and pour in the yogurt.  Let it sit for about 30 minutes on the counter and the excess water will drain off into the bowl.  You can also gather the cheesecloth up in a wad at the top and twist the top to extrude more water from the yogurt.  Don't twist too hard or yogurt will squirt everywhere.  Now you are ready to use it in the recipe.  
Why go to all this trouble?  Greek Yogurt costs much more than its plain counterpart.  If you want to save some money, go for the cheaper yogurt and drain it.  Anytime you are trying to save money, the trade off is time.  I find it worth it to trade a little time for the money I save.  To really save money, make your own yogurt.  It tastes so much better and is pennies on the dollar to do it.  Homemade Yogurt

Composting is Great

Composting your organic material is a great way to create fabulous soil and not dump more stuff into, well, the dump.  There are several ways to go about composting and many different containers and contraptions that can be purchased.  I have taken the easiest way possible and just devoted a corner of my yard to compost.  Basically, anything you peel, core, stem, etc. from the kitchen you can throw on your pile and let rot into glorious soil.  Also, ashes from a fireplace or outdoor firepit can be tossed on the pile too.  Don't put ashes from those quick burning logs-the chemicals are bad for your organic compost.  Also, any vitamins that have expired or are sitting in your cabinet not being taken can be added too.  They will add additional nutrients to your soil.  Also, add leaves or grass trimmings are good. 
Compost needs to remain moist in order to decompose.  It also needs to be turned and mixed up every five days or so to allow the stuff that is dry on top to mix with the wet underneath.  If it dries out in the summer, just wet it with the hose and mix it up to keep it moist.  As the organic material breaks down you will see the soil develop on the bottom of the pile.  To use the soil, simply separate the larger pieces from the dirt with a rake or pitch fork.  Many of the composting sites I have looked at recommend a two section composting pit.
One side is for the chunks and new additions, the other is for the soil that has broken down and is ready to use.  They build a corral of sorts separating the two sides and use a pitch fork to work the compost and separate it out.  http://www.planetnatural.com/site/buyers-guide.html  This is a good source for composting information. 
Compost takes several growing seasons to really become good soil so be patient and continue working it until you have some nice dark soil to use in your gardening.  If you continue to compost year after year, you can create enough of your own soil to save you money on potting/gardening soil in the years to come.  
** Word of warning:  Compost will attract flies-they are necessary for the breakdown of the material-so make sure you have it away from your house so you don't end up with a fly problem inside.  If you do try the tips in the Pesky Pests section of my blog.http://expandingfrosting.blogspot.com/search/label/Pesky%20Pests