Sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds! How could I resist trying this bread. It’s also made with whole wheat and oats. Oat breads are my favorite. I also added a little quinoa just for the heck of it. The result was a super seeded oat bread that was moist and tasty. The recipe did not say how much it yielded, but I got 4 nice boules out of it. It is a super simple no knead bread. I used my new toy from King Arthur - a dough whisk . I really could not believe how easily the dough came together with the whisk. After the first rise, the dough went in the fridge til the next day. When the first two were pulled off the stone and moved to the rack to cool, I knew this was going to be a winner. The beautifully browned loaf with additional seeds adhered to the loaf with an egg white wash during baking. Wayne was impressed with the look of the loaves; I think he was even more impressed with the flavor. This is definitely a make again bread. I think I’ll try it in a loaf pan next time.
Sunflower seeds always make me think of my early teaching days. Lord, those boys loved sunflower seeds. Getting them to not eat them in class was an on-going battle. I can still see little piles of seed hulls inside of desks. Trails of sunflower seeds in the hallways. I can still the yellow, red, and white bags with “David” emblazoned across the bag. When I started teaching many moons ago, St. Bernard High School was an all boys 8-12 public school. I throughly enjoyed those years. When there were no girls to impress, they boys were just plain silly. Over my 30 years I’ve learned that kids are kids. My favorite stories are those of a mother who had 4 sons. She would stop by and visit. She was a riot. I’ll call her Zelda. Zelda came in one day killing herself laughing. She spilled coffee on her “baby’s” homework (he was in elementary school) while checking to make sure it was done correctly. She put it in the microwave to dry it, and she set it on fire. She was laughing, because her child had been crying, “The teacher won’t believe me when I tell her you burned it up in the microwave.” Her solution was to write a note and send the ashes in a baggie. Zelda had a prosthetic leg. She lost her to leg to cancer when she was very young. Her 2nd youngest son, I’ll call him Bubba, failed Physical Education. Bubba was with her when she picked up his report card on conference night. The next day Zelda paid me a visit. She told me the story of the ride home. It went something like this: “You better not say a word to me. Boy how could you fail f***ing PE. I passed PE with one leg.” Bubba would attempt to answer, and she would respond, “Boy didn’t I tell you not to talk to me. I just don’t understand how you fail PE! Well, how? Answer me!” When Bubba would go to answer her she would again respond with, “Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shout.” That is how the half hour drive home went. While telling me this story, I don’t know who was laughing harder, me or Zelda. Her husband worked off-shore, so it was up to her to do the lion’s share of the parenting. The point is, Zelda was an involved parent. She was at every activity for every child. She always had a house full of kids. She would not defend them when they were wrong. She did not make excuses for them. She did an excellent job of raising her boys to be responsible men. I wish all parents were like Zelda.
Teenagers don’t always make the best decisions. They don’t always think things through. They don’t think of consequences. I would rarely get angry with a child; I would frequently get angry with parents. I often would wonder how is it that you allowed your child to be in charge of the house. I remember a senior coming into my guidance office. He was upset because he was “grounded.” He told me he deserved it, and he would get grounded all the time, but “this time they really mean it, and it’s just not right.” I agreed with him, it wasn’t fair. His parents should have meant it every time. Teenagers are not easy. Parents seem to think that they are old enough to “know better.” The truth is, they don’t. It is a time in their lives when there are bigger temptations that can have tragic outcomes. It is a time when peer pressure is at it’s peek. It is a time when they are trying to grow up, but don’t know how. It’s also hard on parents. Just how much freedom do you allow? It’s hard to let them grow. You look at your child and see that little child who adored you and wanted nothing more than to please you. Want to know how to lecture your child? Do it in 3 minutes or less because after that they don’t hear you. Tell them you love them, even when they don’t want to hear it. Ask plenty of questions. Go to school events. Be an active parent.
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