someone asked me what i meant by 'say yes' on my new years blog post...and what i was reminding myself was to say YES! to my children - when they want to make a mess, when they want to 'help' me, when they want to show me something they've made, when they want me to stop what i'm doing and read them a story. say yes to all those little things that are so easy to say no or 'later' to...all those little things that won't be around forever.
so i say yes to breadmaking. it's pretty much yindi's favourite thing in the world to do, and we try to do it at least once or twice a week. if i get the dough mix on early in the morning, life is sweet! once it's ready i sprinkle her board with flour (sorry, fairy sprinkles) and divide the dough up into several small balls for her to go to town with. much planning, singing, cutting, rolling and shaping is involved. she'll work away happily for a long long time (see? so worth the morning dough prep!).
mr banjo is not satisfied at all by just BEING A BABY! no no, he wants to be doing whatever it is the others do, or else! so up he came to make some rolls too...
but mostly he just wanted to eat the dough. so i took pictures of him doing just that :)
in the end we all said YES to eating a yummy, warm and covered in butter bread fresh out of the oven!
i may have posted it before, but here is the bread recipe i have been using for years, from my friend chels. you can make it into a loaf, or as demonstrated above - pretty much any old shape you like!
simple bread
in a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 tsp yeast, 1 tsp brown sugar and 1/2 cup warm water. set aside.
in a food mixer put 4 cups flour, 1 tbs sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup warm water, 1/4 cup oil and the yeast mix. whiz it all together for a few minutes, then leave to rise for 40 minutes. if yindi is making her famous rolls, i will give her the dough at this point. if i'm making loaves of bread, i'll punch the dough into the tin and leave to rise again for another 30 mins before baking.
bake at 180C/350F for 30 mins (rolls will be ready in 15-20 mins)
eat + enjoy!
(and say yes!)
So wise Em to say 'yes' to your children in this context - the time really does go quickly and its the most precious time of your life, having beautiful little children to love and nurture (IMHO !!) I love the quote "The best thing to spend on your children is time".
Love the pics of Yindi and Banjo baking :)
BTW- I turned on my computer to look for a bread recipe, haven't made any for yonks, and there was your post & recipe. Amazing !! Am off to try it right now xxxxx
Posted by: Zi | January 10, 2011 at 06:17 PM
I think dax would love to make this recipe, I think I will try this with him too.
thanks for sharing.
Posted by: liz eaton | January 10, 2011 at 06:40 PM
I will say, "yes." I love that. I need to remember that more. And I need to make bread more. This sounds so delicious. Text me when you make bread next and I'll come on over.
Posted by: Shayna Proctor | January 10, 2011 at 06:54 PM
Saying "yes" might just be the most challenging part of being a mommy - especially to little creative mess makers. Thanks for the friendly reminder to do more of it!
Posted by: andrea | January 10, 2011 at 07:01 PM
good for you for saying "yes"!
Posted by: randi | January 10, 2011 at 08:09 PM
Yum Em! I think that I need to get over there and tuck in! Yindi looks like she's loving it! Banjo too.
Posted by: Beck | January 10, 2011 at 08:12 PM
Oh yes
On my list too
Love seeing banjo in that sweet sweater
Sending love beautiful friend
Xxxcarrie-anne
Posted by: Carrie | January 10, 2011 at 10:02 PM
mr banjo, eating stuff is the best fun! mum's homemade clay was a bit icky, but your bread looks yummy. hope you're staying warm! with love, riley
Posted by: cate | January 11, 2011 at 01:22 AM
Yes, yes, yes. I am so with you on this 'yes' idea. There are so many moments when I find myself saying no because its'- too late,too early, too hot, too cold, too messy, too tiring, too much or too little. But, there's so many, many reasons to say 'yes'. The freedom to say 'yes' for our children and for us, what sense of liberty.
Thanks for this Emily,
From Susanna, from the pink Dartmoor Cottage.
Posted by: susanna | January 11, 2011 at 01:48 AM
very cute.
Posted by: sandy toe | January 11, 2011 at 03:44 AM
i can SO relate to this post...
i feel like i say . no . maybe . later . wait... it is a fleeting time and Y*E*S should be said more often!
thanks for the reminder...
other things can wait, cuz "it" will be there forever but our children won't :( ...
xoxo
Posted by: patty | January 11, 2011 at 05:28 AM
Hi I only know you and your kids from blog world and of course you know nothing about me, but still I want to say how much Yindi has grown in the past year! All of them have grown up a lot of course, but the photos from the previous post are really showing the difference, she is so so so cute :) I only have one daughter and I totally agree on the yes thing and the toughness, so hard to imagine with three kids. We always say "masallah" when we talk about the loved ones, so I wouldn't feel comfortable without saying so! Also in the link is to keep the bad eye away :) http://www.resimle.net/resim14385.html
also used a lot for loved ones. Regards, ebru
Posted by: ebru | January 11, 2011 at 05:34 AM
I allowed my kids into the kitchen all the time when they were growing up. My mantra was, "I will not raise helpless kids....especially sons" I didn't want my boys to be seeking out wives just for the purpose of eating. Well have I gotten an eye opener. They've yet to bring home any girl that has a clue what to do in the kitchen.....mostly because their Mom's didn't do any cooking. That was quite a shock to me.....and I did work part time when my kids were growing up.
Your baking sessions are a wonderful shared moment with your kids.
Posted by: Mary Mitchell | January 11, 2011 at 06:12 AM
Hi, I don't usually take the time to comment, but I just want to say thank you for these sweet, sweet photos of such a fun experience. I just had surgery and they really made me smile! My daughter is a teenager now and I wish I had "said yes" more often. What good words they are! Thank you for sharing your times with us. . . the good, the fun, the hard, the sad. . . . we all really appreciate you! I am sad that your family can't be closer to you right now. I am sure they miss you as much as you miss them. It is nice that you do a blog like this to let them be connected to your day-to-day stuff too. Thanks again, Emily! With a hug, Kathleen in Northern California
Posted by: Kathleen Sunderland | January 11, 2011 at 07:57 AM
you are creating such wonderful memories for/with your children. And the Yindi rolls look delicious.
Posted by: pam | January 11, 2011 at 08:37 AM
Best times when I was little was baking with my mom. I've picked it back up and love to make bread. Seeing I was home today thanks to snow and ice I made a loaf to go with our stew. Nothing better than hot out of the oven bread.
Posted by: Hillary | January 11, 2011 at 11:32 AM
These are some seriously gorgeous photos. Whenever I see your kids I want to reach in to the computer and give them a snuggle. Lovely!
Posted by: Anne-Marie | January 11, 2011 at 01:20 PM
i got what you meant. I used to try and say yes too but obviously not enough cos my daughter used to say to me 'say yes mum, say yes !'
thanks for bringing back the memories and what wonderful memories you are creating for your kidlets...
Posted by: jen xo | January 11, 2011 at 02:01 PM
You are so right to say yes Em. It's so,so easy to say "no or later or when we have more time..". Not only are you making precious memories for your children but you get to spend time with them. They grow up sooooo quickly and that time is gone.
I can't believe how Yindi is growing up so fast - she looks so different in your last post (about the back pack). I love her rolls - what a creative girl!
Hugs,
Sue xx
Posted by: SusieJ | January 11, 2011 at 02:59 PM
Same, why do I find it to say yes so easily to the demands of others but not to the most important people in my life. Make 2011 a family yes year!
Posted by: Di | January 11, 2011 at 04:24 PM
Thank you for the encouragement to say 'yes'! Making bread with the little ones is a great idea. They sure love anything and everything messy. :)
Yindi and Banjo are such cuties!
Posted by: Jill | January 11, 2011 at 06:18 PM
yum!!
And yes to saying yes!! After all that's what the good memories are made of.
Have you tried adding raisins to the bread - the children love decorating with them - pretty patterns or monsters with eyes etc, and they make the bread taste even yummier (if the raisins don't get picked out and eaten first, which is what often happens here!)
Posted by: bohomumma | January 12, 2011 at 06:56 AM
here here! I have been trying my best to do the same of late...to say yes..to play with them..to not let this magic pass me by :)
Thank-you for the recipe I look forward to trying that out.
Posted by: katie squires | January 12, 2011 at 11:36 AM
i knew exactly what you meant when i read your original post and nodded...i have to remind myself regularly to remember to say yes! i've never made bread with my kidlets...although we do plenty of other cooking...will have to make some rolls for our lunch together soon :) tatum xx
Posted by: TatumW | January 12, 2011 at 01:26 PM
Your kids are adorable and so lucky to have such a patient mommy!! My three year old loves to make choco chip cookies, loves to break the eggs, he's pretty good at it...mostly loves to eat the dough!
Posted by: Laurie | January 13, 2011 at 06:16 PM