i will never again use store bought hamburger buns

so i love bread..a lot.  when i was a kid my parents used to by loaves of french bread from homeland/albertson's/food pyramid/who knows what it is now, and i would eat one...a whole loaf...by myself...for lunch.  not sure what it is because most breads don't really have a strong flavor but there's something about the smell and texture that just makes me want to eat lots and lots of bread.

anyway, i found this recipe on pinterest and i hate the store bought hamburger buns so i decided to try it out.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
• Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 1 dozen.

so i added the full 3 1/2 cups of flour and my dough was still suuuuper sticky, i think i ended up adding another 1/2 cup (at least) but it was still pretty tacky.  i didn't want to add too much and make them tough so i just did the best i could with forming the rolls.  instead of a greased baking sheet, i just used a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  i was actually able to form 15 rolls although a couple are somewhat smaller (i blame the sticky dough).  

also, i have a gas oven which tends to heat pretty unevenly.  i set it to 400 and after 5 minutes, a couple were pretty browned on top.  and by that i mean they were burned black on the bottom (fortunately they didn't actually taste burned).  and of course the majority, while fully cooked on the inside, hadn't had a chance to brown on top.  

the buns ended up being really fluffy and tender, so much so that at first i was worried about how they would hold up against a hamburger patty.  but after i let them cool and cut them in half they seemed like okay.  they have a really simple and sweet flavor-i really like them but i could see some people finding them a bit plain.  i think this is a really good base recipe to modify into some really flavorful rolls.  

this recipe was so simple and easy-i think it actually took me less than 40 minutes!!  i'm definitely not going to be using store bought hamburger buns anymore!!

diy sewing machine pin cushion tutorial

so i saw this sewing machine pin cushion on pinterest and it looked like a really cute, easy project and i've been meaning to start a 'printerest projects i've completed' board so i decided to make one (even though i avoid using pins at all costs...).  so here's my inspiration:

i followed the same basic idea as this tutorial but i did make some changes-i used an elastic band instead of ribbon (because, for whatever reason, when i tie ribbon it never stays the way i tied it) and i boxed the corners of the front piece to make it sit more flat against my machine (rather than a small pillow tied to it).

supplies:
-fabric
-elastic ( used 1" but you could go a bit narrower)
-batting/stuffing
-interfacing (optional)

first, measure the circumference of the part of your sewing machine you want the pin cushion to be-mine was about 22 inches.  to make the casing for the elastic, you need to cut 2 strips that are the same length as the circumference you just measured, and the same width as your elastic plus seam allowances.  so my circumference was 22", my elastic was 1", so i cut 2 strips that were 23" x 2".  for the elastic, cut a strip that is 3/4 of the original circumference-i rounded mine down to 20, 3/4 of 20 is 15, so a 15" piece of elastic.

now for the cushion-you can make it whatever size you want but i think a narrow strip across the front of the machine works best.  so the width if my machine where i want the pincushion to be measured 4" and i wanted it to be 2" tall, add seam allowances, and i cut a 5" x 3" rectangle.  this will be the back of the cushion.  for the front, i added an extra inch to each side and cut a 6" x 4" rectangle.  cut interfacing for the front and back pieces if you want-i went with a sheer weight fusible interfacing.

to make the casing for the elastic, sew the 2 long strips together with the right sides facing in.  i sewed roughly 1 1/4" apart just to make sure i could fit the elastic in there.  flip inside out and press.  it helps to  place a safety pin on one end and work it back through.

now put the elastic inside the casing (using a safety pin is helpful here too) and use a zig zag stitch to hold the elastic in place on each end.

next sew the ends of the elastic on the right side of the back of the cushion (the smaller rectangle)-make sure there aren't any twists in the elastic.  you will want to center them on the 3" sides (or the shorter side) of the rectangle.

now, on the 6" x 4" rectangle, or the front of the cushion, make a mark 1" away from each corner in both directions.

fold each corner in half so that the 2 marks line up and sew down perpendicular to the fabric edge.  trim away the excess fabric.

now sew the front piece to the back piece, right sides together.  leave a small opening on a side that does not have the elastic strap.  when you come to the corners, sew as close as you can to the corner stitches, lift the foot, turn your fabric, replace foot and keep sewing.

flip inside out, stuff, and slip stitch shut.  i didn't have any stuffing so i just used some leftover poly batting-i think it's somewhat lumpier than if i had used stuffing but it gets the job done.

and now you have a pincushion for your sewing machine!!  i can even move mine around...

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