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Now, if you know our family, you know that bread is a staple in our diet. We grew up on mostly Italian food and using bread to wipe the last of whatever is left on your plate is quite a normal action in our home. So, when I recently made the switch to a gluten free lifestyle, I did so without many bumps or obstacles – except for the bread. I have found several brands of sandwich bread at Second Nature that I like so the desire to make a sandwich bread from scratch hasn’t hit me at all. What I do miss is that delicious french bread loaf perfect for dipping in a creamy winter soup, serving with cheese, or even dipping in a delicious cheese fondue.

I was hesitant to give a french bread recipe a try because, let’s face it, baking with a gluten free flour is a whole different kind of baking. But the craving for a crunchy, crusted loaf of bread with a fluffy, warm inside was too much to ignore. So I searched the internet high and wide for the perfect gluten free french bread recipe and finally settled on a Crusty French Baguette recipe by Jules Shepard.

When all was said and done, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the recipe was to make. The only modifications I made were to use a different kind of all-purpose gluten free flour that I already had on hand and I didn’t have any wooden dowels so I used foil rolled into long cylinders. The bread came out perfectly crunchy on top from the egg wash, just the way I like it, and the inside, while slightly more dense than a regular bread, was still moist and fluffy, just the way I remembered.

If you want to try your hand at gluten free cooking and baking, I highly recommend The Intolerant Gourmet and Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats as well as Jules Gluten Free blog. The cookbooks are both gluten and lactose free, but you can modify any of the recipes to add meat products if you prefer.

If you’re already living a gluten free lifestyle, or at least giving gluten free a taste, what recommendations do you have for others – recipes or general tips? Share your comments below. 

Deliciously yours,

One very grateful, bread eating, paisana

Needless to say, Black Friday shopping and Cyber Monday browsing does not change the fact that another Thanksgiving has come and gone. It’s hard to believe Christmas is only 19 days away, especially with the recent bout of warm weather, but the constant barrage of holiday songs on 100.7 does help to serve as a reminder. (P.S. My personal favorite holiday album is still Sugarland’s Gold and Green.) Some people go kicking and screaming into the holiday season, but not us! We’ve got our tree and the kissing balls arrived on Wednesday – PLUS, we’ve decided to make Chocolate Covered Pretzel Wreaths and decorated Sugar Cookies all month long. But fear not my friend, our highly requested peppermint biscotti will be back this holiday season as well as a few holiday breakfast specials! To sum it up, we’ve got the holidays covered here at the Inn.

Now the holidays at my house, that’s a different story. This year, I have decided to jump on the Etsy, Martha Stewart, Real Simple band wagon and pledge to make my own decorations out of leftover magazines, branches, greens, ribbon, and any other DIY materials I can get my hands on. A bit ambitious, perhaps, but it saves some money and makes me feel a little bit better about keeping the decorations up until the end of January because of all of the time that went into making them. So, if you are like me and want a homemade holiday season, here is my documented, step-by-step attempt at making paper-mache Christmas ornaments. My only advice is to wear gloves during the spray painting phase or your hands will forever mimic a blood bath that could rival a scene from Dexter.

Paper-Mache Christmas Ornament Decorations

Materials:

• Flour
• Water
• Whisk
• Mixing Bowl
• Magazines (or newspapers)
• Balloons
• Red Spray Paint (or whichever color you choose)
• Glitter or Acrylic Paint
• Hooks and Fishing Line

1. Tear up the magazine papers or newspapers into 1 inch strips. You will end up tearing them into smaller pieces as needed later anyway, but this is a good size to start with.
2. Blow up the balloons to the sizes that you want. I did varying sizes, but you can pick and choose to your own liking. It also doesn’t matter if the balloons are not perfect circles. They actually looked pretty authentic with the dimple at the bottom…sort of like an old glass ornament.
3. Mix 1 part flour to 1.5 parts water. So, if you use 2 cups of flour, use 3 cups of water. You probably won’t need more than that amount to do three layers on ten ornaments.
4. Dip the magazine or newspaper strip in the paper-mache mix (flour and water) and scrape any extra mix on the paper with your fingers. You want the paper damp, but not sopping wet with the mix.
5. Holding the balloon by the tied end, lay the strip on the balloon and press it as flat as possible. Continuing doing this with more strips, tearing them smaller as needed to fit the balloon, until you have the entire surface of the balloon covered by one layer of the paper. It’s important to try not to overlap the papers at this step or the drying will take quite some time.
6. Continue to do this for all of the balloons. While waiting for them to dry, I laid them on foil. You can use any non-porous surface. I also used a heater to speed up the drying process, but if you want to go au-natural, give each layer about 24 hours to properly dry.
7. Once the layer has dried, repeat steps 4 – 6 to do a second and eventually third layer. Secret: I only did two layers because I am slightly impatient and it worked rather well, although three layers would have made the ornament much more stable to hold while spray painting and finishing.
8. Using whatever method works for you, spray paint the ornaments evenly, letting each coat dry completely before spraying the next. I eventually hung the paper-mache ornaments on my clothesline and spray painted them while holding a white poster board behind them. I only did two coats, again, I’m impatient, but three coats would probably have looked better.
9. Once they have dried, decorate as you wish. Then, put hooks through the open end and hang as you desire. I used fishing line to hang them in my window as you will see from the photo below.

And that’s it. All in all, I probably would have done a much better job if a. I wasn’t so impatient and b. I didn’t get the stomach flu in the middle of the project, but it was fun and a rather easy arts and crafts project for the holidays. In fact, if you have children, this is a great project to get them involved with and it’s impossible not to get messy while doing this project so they will be sure to love it. Feel free to share your photos if you attempt it or any other DIY projects I can attempt before Christmas gets here.

Happy Crafting,

Your Resident Dexter/Martha Stewart Love Child

Deal # 1 –  THE PACKAGE

Those who book on November 24 and stay for 2 or more nights at any time, will receive a Special Package of their choice for FREE. More info HERE.

Deal # 2 – CIGARS & CERTIFICATES

Deal # 3 – DINE INN

Book a stay with us on November 24th and you’ll have the option to add a special Dine Inn Package to your stay (see menu below).  We are a BYOB establishment, so guests can tote their preferred beverage if the mood strikes.

There you have it. All of the deals seen above will be available on November 24th ONLY for Small Business Saturday. Although you don’t have to stay at the Inn on the 24th to redeem these specials, you have to book/make your purchase then.

Kutztown is the perfect place to Shop Small with a quaint Main Street, pleasantly plotted by a variety of craft, jewelry, and specialty stores. There are also a plethora of wineries and unique vendors just a short drive from downtown. Wherever your Shop Small travels may take you, don’t forget to stop in and visit the Main Street Inn crew. Trust us, we’re a fun bunch!

Never miss a deal by signing up for Main Street Inn’s Newsletter.

Like I said, serious, important, very necessary stuff. However, we were even busier outside of the kitchen, working hard to make sure we celebrated the upcoming Small Business Saturday in the most extravagant manner. As a small business, we know it takes all of YOU to keep us going so that’s how we decided to ring in the special holiday.

We have a heap of specials available ONLY on Saturday, November 24 and you’ll be hearing about them each new week in November. Since the 1st is upon us, we’re happy to give you a peek at one of the Small Business Saturday specials.

Special #1

Stay with us for two or more nights and receive one of our STAY PACKAGES FOR FREE! If you secure the two or more night stay by booking on Saturday, November 24, you can score a Celebrate Good Times Birthday Package, a Life’s Simple Pleasures Package, or a Lucky In Love Package! The corresponding codes found below can be entered during online checkout or mentioned over the phone to redeem your prize. Be sure to book on November 24 and support Small Businesses everywhere!

Stay tuned to our Facebook, Twitter (@KtownMainStInn), and Blog all November if you want a heads up before the rest, and don’t forget to stop in on Saturday, November 24 to take advantage of the dapper deals, while supporting other small businesses in the neighborhood as well!