Gone Crackers

I know, you might think this is going too far,but,Making your own crackers is a very satisfying thing to do. It's right up there with baking bread,only not as time consuming or as difficult. I like the fact that once you have a little practice and imagination, you can have a different cracker every time you make them. So let's get cracking,sorry, I couldn't help myself.

The recipe is very simple. I found it in my Mary Jane Book Oct/Nov 09.

Start with 1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teas cream of tartar

3/4 teas salt

3/4 teas baking soda

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 medium egg

2 teas sugar

1 teas balsamic vinegar.

Mix flour,cream of tartar salt and baking soda in a bowl. I just run everything through a sifter and call it mixed.Add oil and stir until mixture resembles coarse meal . Add water till dough is formed. The remaining ingredients are used as a wash on the crackers.Just whisk everything together and paint on as you would an egg wash on a pie.pop in the Oven 350 15-20 minutes.Time will vary ,depending on how thick or thin you roll out your dough. You can just roll it in pie shape and cut in wedges or use a cutter or just tear into pieces.

When the dough is formed you can fold in anything you like into the dough or you can sprinkle it on after the wash.The rectangular ones are sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. The heart shaped ones have chopped rosemary in the dough and sea salt sprinkled on the wash.I've also done dill and garlic in the dough and plan on doing lemon zest /black pepper. Oh I also tried sun dried tomato and basil. Like I said,It's all up to you.The rosemary crackers were centered on my chicken noodle soup for Valentine dinner. It was a nice touch.

On the crafty end , my friend Betty and I have been putting our heads together to fund our addiction to wool and yarn and fabric. You know how it is . There are only so many things a girl can give up in these hard times and knitting and sewing are not one of them.Our first venture together are dishcloths. We are fortunate that the Barn has taken our efforts in and placed them right next to the Mrs Meyers dish washing liquid. I'll let you know how that works for us. Well ,I must be going.Today is soup day and my people are waiting for there lunch so I'll be back soon with a report on our efforts ..............said the hobbit