Well, I said last week that I would be embarrassing my mother, and well, I’ll be true to my word. I would hate to be a liar after all….my mom didn’t raise me to be one. 😛
My parents come this week, today if you want to be more exact. And though I am thrilled that they are coming there is part of me that is always in a panic. You see, my mom, is well…kind of a cleaning Nazi. Growing up, I can not remember ONE single time when our home was messy. My mother was a cleaning fool. And we had to be too.
When we were done playing with a toy, we had to return it to it’s proper place before getting out a new toy(this is not unreasonable). Oh and did I mention that each toy had it’s own tape outline in the shape of that toy and you had to put it back in the outline or else you were beat(HA! Just kidding about the beating part…wanted to give my mom a little heart palpitation :P). Yes, just like chalk outlines you find on the crime scene of a murder, our toys had their exact place to be. Organize a bit much?
Almost daily my mother would clean the mini blinds with Q-tips as to make sure to remove the dust from each and every blind.
I never did laundry until I went to college. It’s not like I didn’t try. But when I would do my laundry, my mother would come along and re-do it and then fold it the way she likes to fold it. After a chat with my dad, we came to the conclusion to just let her do the laundry as it was a waste of resources for me to do it and then for her to come along and “fix it”. In my mother’s defense, I suck at laundry to this day.
About every 3 months I would come home from school and find my room completely rearranged. I used to love it and think it was so neat. My mom would lie to me and say that it was to keep my room fresh and interesting to me. Only years later to learn it was because she did not want indentations in the carpet from the furniture.
My mother still keeps pretty much the cleanest home I know. And amazingly she has calmed down a ton. When she got cancer I think the world came into a little more perspective for her and she realized that a little dust really isn’t that bad…especially on mini blinds.
I on the other hand being raised in that environment rebelled(me a rebel…shush you say!) just a tad. Now, I don’t live in a pig sty by any means but my spices are not alphabetized and the white socks are mixed in with the color socks. My motto for organization is simply, “organized people are just too lazy to get up and look for things!” So though my mother would not ever really say anything, I can always tell by her little looks and eyebrow raises when something is not quite up to par.
This being my first home ever, I am more nervous than ever. I have been a cleaning fool myself that last couple of days. I know it will be good enough, but still I stress. But they will come and we will eat, and chat and love and do all that families do and it will be a great time. And when they leave, I will as usual, cry. I am a crying fool.
So if you are reading this, give a shout out to my mom. She still thinks this whole “Internet food stuff” is a little weird(keep in mind she doesn’t even email) so show her a little love and say “hi”.
Since our Daring Baker Challenge was a bit more daunting than what the average food blogger is up for, I thought I would make a bread that was darn close to fool proof. The rise does take a little time but the actual preparation for this bread is nothing…I mean look how long my instructions are in comparison to the French bread recipe. It’s a sticky dough, so don’t think you did anything wrong when you have a little bit of the dough left on your hand.
It’s cottage cheese and dill but you could use whatever herb you wanted to really. So if you were inspired to bake bread by the DB Challenge but have no desire to spend that much time baking bread, this is the bread for you!
Cottage Cheese and Dill Bread
2 TBSP active dry yeast
½ cup warm water(110F)
1 cup cottage cheese(can be full-fat or reduced), at room temperature
2 TBSP granulated sugar
1 heaping TBSP fresh onion, minced
1 ½ TBSP fresh dill, minced
1 TBSP salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp olive oil
5-6 ½ cups Better for Bread Flour(or all-purpose)
Dissolve yeast in the warm water at the bottom of the mixing bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes creamy in color.
Add all the ingredients except the flour and mix well.
Attach the dough hook to the mixer. Add flour 1 cup at a time until you have a soft dough…it’s pretty sticky too. Knead bread for 5 minutes. If you are doing it by hand, knead for about 8 minutes.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Let rise until dough has doubled, about 1 ½ hours.
When dough has doubled, punch it down and shape into a log shape the size of your loaf pan. Place into a greased 9-inch loaf pan.
Cover loaf with plastic wrap and again place in a warm place. Let rise again for about an hour.
When loaf has risen, preheat oven to 350F.
Bake loaf for 30 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil to prevent over browning and bake another 15-20 minutes longer. Let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from pan and continue to cool on a rack.
linda says
Hi Peabody’s mum (and dad), have a wonderful stay!
Lol, very funny post (sorry Peabody’s mum)!
MyKitchenInHalfCups says
Hi Mum,
Hope you have a wonderful stay in the new home. I know you’ll enjoy all the Peabody goodies AND bread!
(The Cleaning Nazi is now out of date Peabody since she’s reformed!)
Aran says
I was laughing so hard reading your post because my mom was/is the same way. Every time she comes visit, she cleans and irons for me, wants to reorganize my cabinets, my clothes… Oh my!
Cottage cheese and dill bread sounds good right now. I can even smell it!
Suzana says
What a sweet post! Hope you have a great time with your parents.
Lovely bread – I’ll have to try this soon!
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says
Hi Mom and Dad! Have a wonderful visit in Peabody’s beautiful home. I envy you the time you will spend in her kitchen! And I wish there’d been a bit more of your cleaning genes in my family.
Gretchen Noelle says
There was a sandwich shop with cottage cheese dill bread. I always chose to have my sandwiches on it, because it was so delicious! I cannot wait to try this, it may bring back memories.
Oh, and hello to Peabody’s mom! Hope you have a great time in her new house. And don’t go outline things or move things around now, ya hear? Enjoy the time you all have together!
Baking Soda says
Hello Peabody’s Mom and Dad, I hope you have a great time together. (Ã’m sure my mom would like to meet you, you have a lot of things in common, do you do the little frown when your daughter wasts time on baking and the internet while she could well..er..clean? Oh and those silly baking clubs .. tsk tsk)
Have fun!
Patricia Scarpin says
The loaf looks so tender and delicious, Pea. I have never baked with cottage cheese (would love to try).
And hi to you mom!
katie102006 says
Your bread looks delicious but I seriously LOVE the stories about your mom. I want to be just like her. 🙂
Bridget says
Hi Peabody’s mom! I love this post! I had a very tidy mom, too. She told me once that she used to vacuum every night…even when we had company, she would wait until everyone went to bed and then, VACUUM!
chocolatechic says
Hi Peabody’s mom. I hope you have a great time visiting and eating and laughing and not looking at the dust on her mini-blinds.
PS. I thought my mom was bad, but yours totally tops mine.
Jen Yu says
Your mom and my mom would be great friends. My mom kept our house like a museum and cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen floor more than daily! Half the time I’d be talking to her in the kitchen only to turn around and she’d be gone – because she dropped to the floor to wipe it clean with a cloth by hand… Now whenever she visits, she cleans our entire house on the stealth. Would have been great to have her visit everytime we moved out of a rental – for that security deposit would have been good as gold.
Thanks for the bread recipe. That’s another thing I love about you (there are so many) – you don’t screw around and find the tried, true, and no nonsense recipes!! 🙂
A shout out to Peabody’s mom! Thanks for raising such an awesome daughter. As a fellow bc-er, you’re my inspiration. xxoo
VeggieGirl says
Haha, oh Peabody, my mom is a cleaning Nazi as well – but I must confess, I am too!! :0D oh and my mom emails, but only about once every 3 months (she can’t stand the computer, haha).
What an intriguing mix of ingredients for bread – I’ve always wanted to try dill (yes, I know, it’s sad that I’ve never had it before).
Here’s a shout out to Peabody’s mom!! Peabody’s mom (sorry for the vague “nick name,” haha), you have no idea just how inspired I am by Peabody’s cooking, baking, writing, and photography skills – she’s incredibly talented!!
breadchick says
Hi Peabody’s Mom! You must have sat next to my mom in Home Ec Class because my mom and you are exactly the same when you come to your daughter’s house. And I do exactly what Peabody does, I clean like a maniac for a whole week ahead (OH SHOOT, reminder to self, get cleaning supplies tonight since Breadchick’s mom is coming for a visit in two weeks).
Anyways, your daughter is awesome and one of my best blogging friends. She never complains about recipes I throw out to the world about bread (even the tome we just got done doing, The French Bread she refers to in this post).
This bread is so easy that it won a Pillsbury Bake Off award! The Dilly Bread.
Hope you have a good visit with Peabody and even get to catch a Flames game with her. They are doing awesome this year.
Zazzy says
My mom was an extreme homemaker, too. In girl scouts, for the homemaking badges, my leaders and I had to invent things to clean and fix around the house.
I, on the other hand, invite people for dinner to force myself to clean more than just the obvious.
I hope you have a nice visit with your mom. You could always torture her by letting the dishes sit in the sink over night.
Pam says
Hi Mrs Peabody’s MOM, I love your daughters site. She shares some very good recipes and little snipits about her life. I have also read on other blogs that she is a
very good friend to many. You raised her well!!! Hope you have a great visit!!!!
Michelle says
This looks delicious!
Hi Peabody’s mom! Have a fantastical stay over at the House of Peabody. My mom is also a cleaning Nazi. That is one quality not instilled in me though. LOL Have a great time!
Amanda says
This looks delicious!
Have fun with your Mom.
Texana says
Your post gave me a nostalgic flashback. Cleaning for Mother’s visits was ritual and I haven’t had Dilly Bread in a gazillion years. Hope you have a wonderful visit with your folks–now that mine are gone, I realize even more how special all those moments were. Give your mom and dad a hug for me.
Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy says
Well, Peabody, you can see that you’re not alone. As a matter of fact, my mom is the exact same way. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit that gene. Worse for me, because she only lives 6 blocks away from me! I never know when she is going to pop up. Think of the anxiety!!! 😉
Hope you have a great visit together!
Lori says
Gorgeous Bread!
Hi Peabody’s Mom! I hope that you y’all enjoy your visit!
jamaicamama says
Hi Peabody– I can SO relate, but from the perspective of having a dad who is similar to your mom. He used to COMB the carpet w/a carpet comb (yes, there is actually such a device) every time we walked across the carpet. He too has chilled out over time and I too rebelled and no longer fold my towel in military “thirds.” 😉
Hi PB’s mom! Hope you have a lovely visit!
Jmama
Bridget says
I’m in the airport on the way home from visiting my parents. And, like you, I always cry when I leave. Even though I spend the whole trip missing my husband and my privacy, I always cry.
Cakespy says
Hi Momma Peabody! LUCKY all of you for that amazing bread. That last pic, with the crust looking oh-so-come hither…yummmmmmmm.
Psychgrad says
I spend the week cleaning before my mom comes to visit too. She still manages to find something that isn’t clean.
Hi to your mom!
Sarah says
My mom is not a clean freak, but I still always feel the need to scrub the house when she comes over.
And I love dill in bread. Yum.
Deborah says
I love your mom already – although I’m not a cleaning or organization Nazi, I am very particular about the way the laundry is done and folded. Just yesterday my husband was trying to help me out and folded the laundry, and I had to go back in and re-fold it!
Have a great time with your mom! This bread sounds amazing!
Kate says
Dill is one of those herbs where I think “what do I use this for?” and then I see a recipe and go “brilliant!”
Melinda says
Hello Peabody’s Mom. You are invited to come and stay with me in England out in the countryside. My house is a mess and you can clean all you want! I will cook for you and take you to see the Queen’s house in Windsor. Deal?
Did you teach Peabody to cook and bake? Well done, she’s
sterling! Cheers.
Suganya says
A little speck is ok. ‘Peabody hears a who?’. Welcome home, P’s mommy and daddy 🙂
Katie says
Nothing beats spending time with your mum, have a lovely time. The breads got a wonderful crust colour and so airy inside, lovely.
Jess says
hi peabody’s mom!
i want to make this bread, but i hate cottage cheese. does it taste cottage cheese-y?
timhenk says
Hi, Peabody’s Mom!!!
Tell you what, you come clean my house and I’ll bake you whatever you want. How about a nice cake? Croissants? Macarons?
Mollie says
Hi there Peabody’s mom! You raised quite a woman – she’s one of my inspriations!
And thank you for posting this bread – growing up I have fond memories of a bakery that made a cottage cheese onion dill bread and sold it at our farmers market every Saturday. As a family we’d go and get it all the time and often in fall my mom would get potatos and leeks to make her potato leek soup to eat with it. I’d never seen a recipie and now I have this! I can’t wait to try it – I can almost taste it now.
Lynn says
Hi to your mom! My mom, not a compulsive cleaner, used to make a cottage cheese and dill loaf. I’ll have to try this and see what memories it conjures. BTW, my mother-in-law is the clean freak. Imagine what fun those visits are!
White On Rice Couple says
Oh, I know what you mean. My mother is the EXACT same way. She would drive us nuts, because she would re-clean everything that we cleaned!
But you bake for her and cook fabulous foods! Does she know how lucky she is to have you?
Nemmie says
Hi Pea’s mom! You raised a great gal! And nevermind her – I vacuum twice a day so there. 🙂
Gotta try this bread – how’s it taste? I love cottage cheese, and I looooove dill. Mmmm. Looks great as usual Pea.
Mallow says
I think it’s a generation thing – I don’t know anyone that can clean as well as their mom!
Thanks for the easy bread recipe – I’m always on the lookout for those….
Michelle says
I cry every time my parents leave, too. 🙂
Hi, Peabody’s Mom!
Joy the Baker says
Hilarious! I can’t believe anyone would clean their blinds with Qtips! That’s pretty hardcore amazing! The bread looks delicious! Really interesting combination, and much more simple than the DB challenge. Thanks for sharing! Hi Momma Peabody!!!
Danielle says
Hi Peabody’s mom!! This looks great. I’ll have to try it soon 🙂
sher says
My mother-in-law is a cleaning Nazi too. My husband and I go into a frenzy, cleaning everything when she comes for a visit. But, just keep feeding your mom bread like that. (But, clean up the crumbs, for God’s sake.) I love cottage cheese bread. It always tastes wonderful
Kelly-Jane says
Hi Peabody’s Mom! Hope you have a wonderful time when you visit =)
June says
I really enjoy your family stories – I even had to tell my husband about your dad trying to show you what consequences to actions were by going to the slums and then the good restaurant. Hope your parents have a great visit, and I hope they don’t convince you to keep mum about your upbringing!
Elle says
Our mothers have a lot to answer for…after all they (mostly) didn’t work full time AND keep the perfect house. Of course their role model was Donna Reed in heels and pearls vacuuming, so I guess we can cut them some slack.
Hey there! Peabody’s MOM!! Welcome to blogging. Your daughter may not be perfect in the housekeeping department, but she is excellent in the blogging arena, and full of wonderful passion, too.
I like this bread recipe…soooo much easier than the French bread.
Have a great visit with family!
Tartelette says
Your mom and my dad are very much alike, but I thik that came from his profession and the fact I lived on base most of my life (can’t be messy kids runnning around!!).
Hi Pea’s mom! Hope you enjoy the bread, it is one of our favorites too!
Rosa says
I’m far from being a cleaning Nazi… As a matter of fact, I am a very messy person!
Your bread looks great!
Cheers,
Rosa
Emiline says
Hi Mom!
My mom gets so mad at me when I slop stuff on the floor when I’m cooking. Or when I spill stuff in the oven.
The bread looks great. I was thinking about dill the other day. It seems so springlike. And it reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird.
katy says
my mom is a cleaning nazi too 🙂 in the nicest way! i try to tell her that compared to lots of my friends, i am actually a very neat person, but she doesn’t even remotely buy it. i’ve learned to get my housekeeper to come before she sets foot in my apartment — keeps us both happier!
Sara says
Hi Mrs Peabodys’ Mom, if Peabody’s house is too clean for you, come to my house, there’s lots of dirt here! 🙂
Indigo says
Hi Peabody’s mum!
Oh and did I mention that each toy had it’s own tape outline in the shape of that toy and you had to put it back in the outline
I think my head would explode in that situation ^__^.
The bread looks gorgeous – absolutely perfect!
Carrie Fields says
HEY PEABODY’S mom!!! And dad of course. Have a wonderful visit. And, know that your daughter is VERY talented. We absolutely love her blog!
Lore says
I love combining cottage cheese and fresh dill, it’s like a match made in heaven isn’t it? Still I must admit that including the combo in a bread didn’t cross my mind even. Just brilliant! The last couple of days I was thinking of creating a new crepes recipe that would also include cottage cheese and dill among other ingredients :D.
It’s really hard with moms that don’t email, I barely convinced mine a few months ago 🙁
Lore says
Oh I nearly forgot: Hi Peabody’s mom!:)
Kristen says
Oh I wish I had half of the motivation / drive of your mother to be that tidy. My house is clean, but I loooong for perfection 🙂 Your bread is just that. Enjoy your visit!
Rachel@fairycakeheaven says
My mam makes “the face” which drives me mad!!! But sure you wouldn’t have your mam any other way even if it’s hard at times. This bread looks gorgeous, am imagining it with lovely salmon pate or maybe even smoked trout pate – YUM
Jaime says
i love your story! it reminds me a bit of my dear hubby who has a different definition of “clean” than i do and is always going back behind me and re-cleaning things!
i hope you have a wonderful visit with your family.
a big hello to Peabody’s mom (and dad)! 🙂
Ally says
Hope you had a great visit with your parents! I’ve never imagined baking a bread with cottage cheese. I’m intrigued! The loaf looks amazing, but I can always expect amazing thing when I visit your blog. : )
Jaime says
already commented on this post but wanted to add that i’ve given your blog an award 🙂 AND… you make my day when i read a lot of your posts 🙂
http://good-eats-n-sweet-treats.blogspot.com/2008/03/excellent-award-made-my-day.html
Cheryl says
Hi mom!!! You daughter is a awesome baker.
I am a semi-neat freak but nothing over the top. My husband would make your mom lose her mind though with his messiness.
veron says
Hi Peabody’s mom, your daughter makes the most delicious and mouth watering food. Have a wonderful time…
Jenny says
Sorry I’m late….
Hi Peabody’s Mom! Your daughter keeps a very neat and tidy food blog, not a crumb out of place, or a spec of dust to be seen!
🙂
jasmine says
You know…I wonder what would happen if Kim and Aggie ever met your mum…
I’m sure she’d have a field day with my place, but I do tend to lean towards the QTips swabbing out the phone pad myself…
j
kellypea says
Hi Peabody’s Mom! Thanks for your daughter! And my mom was exceedingly neat, too. My brain is neat, but my body just doesn’t follow through. Too many other things are important to me. This bread is looking delish. I’m not a huge fan of dill, but I’m good to try just about anything.
Meadow says
Peabody, I swear we must be related in some way… my mom is a Born Organized Clean Freak …ditto on the laundry, horror upon horror “you can’t dry towels with blue jeans!, you folded the towels the wrong way” My brother and I have coined the term … I am “Momma Cleaning” the ____ (whatever item insert here) then we knew they were “deep cleaning”…
My hubby too only eats pb&j sandwiches…every single work day! I could bake, make sweets everyday and he would gladly eat-taste test, but any savory dishes you can forget it! So you are not alone and I know you adore your mother as much as I adore mine…would change a thing about her… Bigs Hugs from my family to yours!
Delaware Dreaming says
Just found your site and I love dill and I love bread. Unfortunately I don’t own a stand=mixer. Any suggestions for a novice?
Peabody says
I’ve only ever made it in a mixer. But I assume you could just knead the dough by hand.