TWD: Baking With Julia - Baking Powder Biscuits

I have been missing baking along the last four months...  I can't believe I didn't bake a single thing with everyone for that long, how embarrassing.  Ok, well I am back and ready to bake some more.  The recipe for today, Baking Powder Biscuits, was quick and easy and they turned out great.  I probably could have cut the recipe in half, because biscuits two days later are never quite as good as when they are fresh out of the oven.  If you want some other variations check out the blog role at Tuesdays With Dorie.

It is a pretty simple combination of flour, baking powder and salt.  Added some milk and shortening and was pretty much ready to roll them out.  They were light and fluffy on the inside with a nice crunch on the outside.  They recommended to add a little butter on top before cooking them and I meant to, but completely forgot until they had already cooked for about five minutes.  Oh well, guess that means we just had to add more butter on the inside!  They turned out great and if we ever want some more biscuits I am glad this recipe will be in reach.

Crumbly mix

Ready to roll

Hot out of the oven

Mmmmm butter

Jellies at the ready

His first haircut!

On Thursday night my Mom came over to the house to watch Noah for us so we could go see one of Julie's favorite singers, Ray LaMontagne, in concert at Red Rocks.  She was so excited to get to be with Noah, she stayed at our house and watched him all day Friday too!  Noah really had a great time with her!  Julie and I had a great time at the concert too, it rained on us a bit, but it never got too bad.

A great rainbow before the show started

The stage and downtown Denver, with the other end of the rainbow

The lights reflecting off the light rain that fell during the show

They call this burying the lead, but Noah had his first hair cut this weekend!  It was really more of a trim to get rid of some of the curly ends and to get the hair out of his eyes up front.  We took him to the hair cutting place right down the road from us, and the lady did wonderful with him.  She moved while he moved his head and let him hold several combs during the process.  Noah also did wonderfully, no tears or screaming and seemed mostly curious at what was going on.  He did so well that he got to have his first ever lollipop after the hair cut!  He was a bit confused about the sucker at first, but he warmed up quickly.  He did not like it when the paper came off of the stick though!

"Driving" the stroller to the barber shop

Walking around a bit before the cutting begins

A side view

Cutting the locks

I like combs Dad! 

Enjoying his first sucker

Angel of Shavano camping

We enjoyed our last camping trip so much, we quickly scheduled another one!  The main point of the trip was to try to meet Jim and Amanda and kids since they missed the last trip with us.  Unfortunately, our schedules aren't that compatible these days, so we actually didn't get to see them at all.  That seems like as good a reason as any to go camping again soon!

Anyway, B+D again scoped out good camp spots and found one in our first choice, the Angel of Shavano campground outside of Salida.  Julie, Noah, and I made it to the campground fairly late because we left after we both got off of work.  We had planned to leave about 600PM, but last minute details meant we left town about 700PM.  Bill helped us set up the tent and we got to bed at a fairly reasonable hour.  

The drive out was beautiful, we don't typically drive these roads at twilight, but it was really pretty.  The valley west of Colorado Springs was green from a recent rain storm and the low light made it look wonderful.

Great valley pictures

Wonderful sunset

The next day we woke up and found a nice hike.  We did a short hike up to a small waterfall no more than a mile from our campground.  After that hike, Julie and Bill had some books that needed reading, so Debbie, Noah, and I hiked up the Colorado Trail and got some great views of the valley we were camped in.  We also got some great views of the strong thunderstorms that were headed our way, but hearing the thunder echo in the valley was something special.  

Noah leaving the tent in the morning

He really liked the backpack

He is almost asleep here!

The valley we camped in, the site is just off the picture to the right

Those storms made it to our campground after lunch, and we hunkered down in the RV while it hailed and poured on us for a while.  The tent held up great, but with lightning in the valley we decided not to risk it and slept in the comfort of the RV.  B+D know how to travel, it was nice!  

As luck would have it, my parents scheduled a bed and breakfast weekend in Salida, so we met them up for dinner at Amica's, the best pizza place in town.  

The whole family by the river

A rainbow in town, but the storms weren't done yet!

Unfortunately, the next morning meant that we had to leave to go back home.  As before, Noah had a great time with all of the rocks and loved hiking on my shoulders.  We couldn't ask anything more from him in the great outdoors, and that gives us confidence that he'll like camping for years to come.