French Bread

French bread by ET Charles

2 cups warm water

2 Tablespoons yeast or 2 individual packages dry yeast

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons olive oil

5 - 6 cups unsifted white flour

Small amount of butter

Directions: Pour warm water in bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Do not stir. Let sit until yeast is bubbly – proofed. Sprinkle in salt and add olive oil. Stir. Add one cup of flour and stir well with a wooden spoon. Add 2 more cups of flour and stir well. Add 2 more cups of flour for a total of 5 cups of flour. Stir well. If dough is very sticky add additional flour by the quarter cup and stir. Let rise in a warm, draft free, place until double in bulk.

Punch down dough. Knead briefly – 8 kneads. Divide dough into 2 or 4 equal pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a rectangle, approximately 12x14 inches for two long baguettes and 6x8 inches for four short baguettes. Then roll each rectangle up into a long log. Place dough logs on baking pan greased with butter. Let rise again in a warm, draft free place until double in size.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Let cool. Loaves may be removed to a cutting board to continue cooling and while cooling use a butter wrapper to grease the top of the loaves.

Once you have made the bread a few times, it goes fairly quickly and easily.

Yields: Two long loaves or four shorter loaves or four pizza crusts which fit a 9.5-inch diameter pie pan 

Notes: This is an adaptation of my mother’s recipe for French bread. She did not add olive oil. She did not knead the dough. She rolled out two long loaves, slashed the loaves, sprinkled the loaves with water, placed them on a corn meal covered baking pan and baked at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. She then sprinkled the loaves with more water and baked at a lower temperature for 30 or 35 minutes. She never greased the tops of the loaves with butter after removing from the oven. The bread was delicious and consumed in two days.

Interview with Jamie Siebrase: Tonight!: A bedtime book plus giveaway

 

 

Tonight! illustrated by Eric Parrish

    With Tonight! A bedtime book Jamie Siebrase has written a delightful bedtime story which features animals of the Rocky Mountains. Eric Parrish who is affiliated with the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research illustrated the text. Muddy Boots an imprint of Globe Pequot, the trade division of Rowman & Littlefield published Tonight! Each evening a boy visits a different wild animal ranging from a large carnivore to birds to herbivores.

Jamie has donated a copy of Tonight: A bedtime book as a giveaway. Please comment after the post to enter the drawing.

Interview with Jamie Siebrase

ETC: Welcome Jamie. What advice would you give K-12 students who would like to be writers?

Note: Jamie’s response has been edited for clarity and space.

JS: Hmmm, that's a really good question. I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember.

My sixth grade Language Arts teacher, Mr. Winston, had students keep a dream journal for a month. I was so nervous to present mine in class! On the cover of the journal, in big, bubbly pre-teen girl handwriting I’d written: I dream of being a writter. Writter with two Ts. Right before class, when it was too late to change anything, my dad looked at the journal and said, “If you’re going to be a writer, maybe you should learn how to spell it. Then, immediately after class ended, my best friend, Lindy, came up to me and said in this really snobbish voice, “You know, Jamie, nobody ever does what they say they’re going to do.”

I think these important people were helping prepare me for a lifetime of rejection. 

The first thing to do is write. Preferably every day if you can.

The next thing to do is read as much as humanly possible. If you stopped scrolling through Instagram, stopped watching TikToks and YouTube shorts, just think of all the actual reading you could accomplish!

I'd also recommend taking some writing courses. . . . But could you take a few writing classes while pursuing a degree that might someday pay the bills? Here in Colorado we're so lucky to have lots of continuing education options. The Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, for example, offers adult classes as well as many youth workshops and classes. 

Last but not least, let criticism and rejection roll off your back. Even Stephen King was rejected with his first novel, Carrie.

     ETC: Thank you, Jamie.

    Jamie has generously donated a copy of her book to give away. My first give away! Thank you, Jamie. Please comment below to be eligible for the drawing. Please send an email if the comments do not work. U.S. addresses only, please. Drawing will take place January 16, 2024. 

Visit  Jamie Siebrase

Visit illustrator Eric Parrish 

Visit your local book store: Second Star to the Right

Apple, Pear, Raspberry Cobbler gluten free

 

Apple, Pear and Raspberries by ET Charles

3 Granny Smith apples, small

1 Bartlett pear

2 cups frozen raspberries

1 teaspoon sugar, optional

Topping

½ cup sweet butter (1 stick, unsalted butter)

½ cup oats

¼ cup cornmeal

¼ cup unblanched/raw almond meal          

1/16 teaspoon or less nutmeg

1/16 teaspoon or less lavender salt

Directions for topping: In a mixing bowl add dry ingredients: oats, cornmeal, almond meal, nutmeg and lavender salt. Stir thoroughly. Slice butter into approximately tablespoon size and add to dry ingredients. Cream thoroughly. Scraping the sides of the bowl to mix all ingredients. Set topping aside.

Wash and dry apples and pear. Slice fruit into quarters. Peel fruit. Slice peeled quarters into half inch sized pieces. Using the butter wrapper, grease a 10.5-inch diameter baking dish. Spread the apple chunks across the pie dish. Then evenly distribute the pear chunks amongst the apples. Next place the raspberries individually on top of the tree fruit, concentric semicircles are nice. If the raspberries are tart, sprinkle one teaspoon of sugar on top of the berries and adjacent apple and pear pieces. Spoon topping on the fruit.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Red berries will punctuate the lightly browned topping and cream-colored tree fruits, making this a visually appealing dish.

Let cool at least ten minutes. Serve with whipped cream.

Serves 10 people. 

The Phone Book: Interview with Jessica Speer

 

 Jessica Speer has written The Phone Book, published by Familius, a social emotional learning guide to cell phones with additional fun facts and puzzle games. Lesley Imgart illustrated the text. I wish that I read this years ago. However, it is here now and others may learn from it. This is a nonfiction book that could be passed through families as each child turns of phone age or likewise through neighborhoods again slightly before a child receives their first phone. One can skip to the case studies for faster learning. The intent of the book is twofold: a less vulnerable child/person and a kinder, better world.

One Question Interview with Jessica Speer

ETC: Welcome, Jessica.

What advice would you give students in K – 12 who would like to write books?

JS: Years ago, I attended a writing conference, and author Matt de la Pena shared the following during his keynote session.

 “It’s not about writing what you know; it’s about writing what you want to know.”

 Wow! That was a shift for me. I thought I had to be an expert in the subject before I started writing. I thought I needed to know all the facts or how the story might end.

Matt’s wisdom encouraged me just to begin, to start the book, to explore an idea. Through writing, we become experts. Like anything, it requires practice and persistence.

But as you practice the craft, you improve. As you research, you learn. As you revise, you grow. And as you write, you expand your expertise on the topic. You become the expert on your story and how it ends.

Start with what you want to know, then begin.

ETC: Thank you for the excellent advice, Jessica.

Visit author Jessica Speer

Visit illustrator Lesley Imgart

Visit author Matt de la Pena

Visit your local bookstore Second Star to the Right Books

Cloaked in Courage: Interview with Beth Anderson

 

Cloaked in Courage illustrated by Anne Lambelet

Beth Anderson has written Cloaked in Courage: Uncovering Deborah Sampson Patriot Soldier, published by Calkins Creek. Forward thinking, Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man and fought in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. In telling this story Ms. Anderson also depicts the life of poor children in New England and the life of an enlisted soldier; stories that are seldom told. By its absence, the story becomes an endorsement for free public K-12 education and free lunch. Anne Lambelet drew and painted with traditional pencils and paint and then combined these in a digital program, Adobe Photoshop. As always Ms. Anderson includes primary sources and secondary sources in the back matter.

One Question Interview with Beth Anderson

Hello Beth. Welcome.

ETC: What do you find most helpful to your writing?

BA: Most helpful to me in my writing is….other people! We often think of writing as a solitary pursuit, but I couldn’t do this without so many people in my life that help carry me along this journey. My critique partners are vital to pushing my thinking and helping me solve problems within a manuscript. And that works both ways as critiquing their work allows me to grow, too. More kid lit peers create opportunities for learning, whether it’s in online groups, at a conference, webinars, or sharing experiences. My agent provides honest feedback, suggestions, and takes care of the side of the business that’s not my favorite. Editors are a constant source of knowledge and see the boulders and holes in a story path. In addition to all those essential people in the writing world, encouragers like family and friends keep me going when the mojo fades, and share the joy when everything comes together. And of course there are the kids who read the stories. That’s a lot of people! Truly a village!

ETC: What an inclusive and joyous response. Thank you so much for visiting.

Visit Beth Anderson

Visit Anne Lambelet

Visit National Women's History Museum

Visit Colorado History Center

Visit your local bookshop The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop 

Beth Anderson's Educator guide to Cloaked in Courage 

Beth Anderson's Persuasive writing USPS stamp campaing