hopeful

Checking in from the frigid midwest, where the outside air temperature feels like -48 and a cup of boiling water vaporizes in mid-air when thrown out from the back porch. We were supposed to go back to school today - it's the end of winter break - but school was cancelled, and I just got the call that it is cancelled again for tomorrow. And while many of you out there are going cabin-fever-crazy, I am just plain giddy with happiness. I love being home with my boys.



Way back in my stay at home mom days, Finn and I got hooked on an obscure kids program called Hi-5. In a moment of apparent nostalgia, Finn requested it this morning, and I was all too happy to pull out the old DVDs. At some point during some episode there was a reference to soft pretzels, and I couldn't get it out of my head. And that's how Finn and I ended up making soft pretzels this chilly day. And, oh my goodness, if someone had told me years ago how easy it was to make AMAZING soft pretzels at home, I would have jumped on that bandwagon long ago.

So here you go. Whether you are stuck inside or just can't get the idea of a soft pretzel out of your head now, I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.



Homemade Pretzels
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Makes 10-12 large pretzels

PRINT ME!

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 packet active yeast (2 1/5 tsp.)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
3-5 cups flour (I used half white, half whole wheat)
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg, beaten
coarse sea salt for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a large soup pot, bring 9 cups of water and 2/3 cup of baking soda to a boil.
3. Dissolve yeast in warm water in bowl of stand mixer. Stir with a spoon until fairly mixed. Add salt and sugar. Stir until fairly combined. 
4. Attach dough hook and turn mixer on low. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix on low until dough is thick. Add additional dough (up to one cup) until dough is no longer sticky.
5. Turn up mixer and knead with dough hook for 3-5 minutes, until it forms a soft, supple ball.
6. Turn the dough onto the counter. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into chunks, about 1/3 cup each (bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball).
7. Roll each chunk into a rope with an even diameter. Once you have a long rope, take the ends and twist them together, then bring them to the middle. Press firmly.
8. Using a slotted spoon, dunk each pretzel, one by one, into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Once cool enough to handle, dip into beaten egg (both sides). Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Repeat for each pretzel.
9. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn oven to broil and bake for 5 more minutes to brown the tops. Watch closely to avoid burning.
10. Enjoy!

"Wherein Hope writes about cooking, crafting, photographing, parenting, organizing, and other day-to-day gerunds." Sigh. Still doing all those things, with varying levels of commitment and success...just not writing about them, much as I want to. So in an effort to get back to this here blog, here I am. New year. 2014!

• Cooking: Plenty of new recipes attempted in the last few months. Some great, some passable. Some will end up here, most won't. I've really missed writing about our eating.
• Crafting: Many gifts as of late. Knitting, mostly, with a few sewing projects thrown in for good measure. Some fabulous (super easy!) teacher gifts. Some fun with cork.
• Photographing: Whenever I can. Many snowy days as of late. Favorites to come.
• Parenting: My boys are growing faster than I can handle. Old challenges put to rest, new challenges on the rise. Much, much joy.
• Organizing: Constantly rethinking our little house. Moved the boys into a room together earlier this fall. Tremendous thematic decorating fun.
• And much more! 

So...if you are still with me, or just reading for the first time...thanks. I'll be here when I can.

There's a whole lot keeping me from blogging these days, but nothing is going to stop me from taking a moment on this night to share the story of a very special birthday for a very special kid.

This guy.

This guy who, six years ago almost exactly to the minute as I write, came into the world and made me a mama. Today we celebrate Finn Kimbell, an extraordinary little man.

Finn is a kid who lives life fully. When talking to my parents last night, I used the word "zest," and it is so fitting. He is tremendously expressive, enormously enthusiastic about new things and experiences, and gets ridiculously excited about the littlest moments. I love this about him.

It was months ago that Finn came up with the idea for a Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-themed party. It's the perfect match for him - he is that kid who walks into the Chocolate Room with eyes wide open, an enormous grin spread across his face, eager and ready to take it all in. He is my Charlie Bucket.

The party itself was great fun. We invited six friends from his Kindergarten class, three girls and three boys. The invites had Wonka bars printed on the front and golden tickets inside (which several of the kids brought to secure admission at the door). We played a few games, opened a few presents, and then...we ate chocolate.

We happen to be the proud owners of our own chocolate fountain. Got it on Kohl's clearance years and years ago and have gotten a ton of use out of it since. The fountain served as our chocolate waterfall, and my awesome husband lovingly recreated the Chocolate Room around it - lollipops, gumdrops, snow caps, gummi bears, you name it. I made two dozen pumpkin cupcakes that I frosted to look like the mushrooms in the movie, and Sean added those to the tablescape. It was fantastic:



My personal highlight? When Finn declared it the best party ever after saying goodbye to his last friend and gave us both hugs. Because he's that kid, too.

Happy birthday, Finn. So much love.

I'm convinced that the secret to a good theme party is the perfect font. I found this Willy Wonka font at dafont.com.

Table yummies

Child's eye view of the fountain

Soda water + fruit juice

Mushroom cupcakes

Party activity (take photos, make frames) + party favor