Leap Day

 

  
Today is February 29th, happy leap year!  It seems that Mother Nature really took this one extra day of winter seriously, this morning we woke up to a huge snowstorm!

 

Giant flakes were falling down everywhere and within a few minutes it was a winter wonderland outside.  When I opened the front door to get a few pictures this morning,  Sydney let out a breathless "Wow!", she was clearly overwhelmed by the beauty of it all....


Goodbye February, just so we don't have any misunderstandings, winter's over, okay?

This morning in art class Sydney made the coolest project, a splatter paint picture on a canvas in a similar vein to one like this by the very famous Jackson Pollock:

It was so fun watching her hurl paint at her canvas. By the end of class, we were literally covered in paint from head to toe, but what fun we had doing it!  Can't wait to take home her finished product next week!

I had one of her canvas paintings from art class framed and we brought it home today and proudly hung it in Sydney's playroom:

It is the cutest bumblebee I think I've ever seen!

This afternoon I made the easiest, and most delicious loaf of homemade no-knead cheese bread.  I mixed up the dough yesterday afternoon and left it sitting on the counter for 24 hours before baking today.  It made the most beautiful textured loaf of bread with lovely pockets of cheese tucked away as a little surprise.  Paul thouroughly enjoyed it with a bowl of my homemade butternut squash soup tonight for dinner.

Here's the recipe, courtesy of one of my favourite blogs, Dinner with Julie:

No-knead Cheese Bread


3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 tsp. instant or regular active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 cup grated old cheddar, Gouda, or other flavorful cheese

In a large bowl stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and let it rest on the countertop for 18-24 hours at room temperature.

The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with grated cheese and fold it over on itself once or twice, then roughly shape into a ball. (The cheese need not be evenly incorporated; in fact you want pockets of cheesiness in there.) Put the dough seam side down on a piece of parchment and dust with more flour. Cover with a cotton tea towel and let it sit for another hour or two.

While the bread is resting, preheat the oven to 450°. Put a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and flip the dough over into the pot; it may look like a mess, but that’s OK. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 10-15 minutes, until crusty and golden.

Let cool for a few minutes, but eat warm.