Monday, September 30, 2013

home again


I'm home!

My mom and I had a great time in Switzerland. It's such a beautiful country...I didn't want to leave!

I'm really excited to post some of my photos and write about my time there. For now, here's a collage I made as a sneak peek of what's coming:


 The ironic thing about traveling is that  for me one of the best parts is the feeling of coming home again. This was me yesterday when I got home:



 See ya soon with a bunch of rambles and way too many photographs.

 Love,
 Hannah

Saturday, September 21, 2013

going adventuring


|via pinterest|

 Tomorrow, I will be on my way to Switzerland.

 There's a missions conference held there that my parents sometimes attend, and this time I'll be able to go with my mom. I've been looking forward to this trip for so long!

 I'll be back in a week...with lots of photos and stories to share with you!


 Love, 
 Hannah

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

the summer list



Summer is over. Exciting, yes, but also a little sad. Summer was so nice for a bunch of reasons. Of course, I've made a list of those. 

warm weather.
visiting bunratty castle and the cliffs of moher.
picnics.
my sister coming home from America.
swimming in the lake.
the missions team from America coming to work with our church.
kayaking.
reading in the sunshine.
going to the beach.
having a Lord of the Rings marathon.
taking walks in the forest.


So - bye, summer. You were pretty awesome.

Love, Hannah

 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

irish brown bread // recipe



 Homemade brown bread is a favorite in our house. It's delicious, healthy, and it's pretty easy to make. I thought I'd share with you how we make it. The recipe makes the best brown bread I've ever had.

There are quite a few different kinds of grains in this recipe, but all of them you should be able to find in any grocery store - although in other countries they may be called different things. Also, if you're in a country that doesn't use weighing scales for baking, here's a handy website for you that converts these measurements into cups.


:: Makes Two Loaves ::

What You Need:
20 oz wholemeal (or extra course) flour
12 oz plain flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda 
2 Tbsp pinhead (aka 'steelcut') oats
2 Tbsp wheat germ
2 Tbsp bran
6 oz butter
1 litre buttermilk


  First preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Then, in a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. First the wholemeal flour...


...then the plain flour...


...the salt...


...and the soda.


Next stir in the pinhead oats, the wheat germ, and the wheat bran.


Now for the messy part. With your hands, rub in the butter. This should be easy if the butter has softened a bit, but if you forget to set it out of the fridge (which I always do) a good tip is to use a cheese grater and grate the butter into the dry ingredients.


Next, pour in the buttermilk.


And you're done! Pour the mixture into two buttered loaf tins. We like to sprinkle a little pinhead oats on top, too. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.


This bread is seriously good. Let me know if you try it out - I'd love to hear what you think!


- Hannah