Day 105 - Swedish Meatballs

Oh, there's so MUCH to talk about!!!!
Can I tell you all how much blog withdrawal I have had because Blogger was down?
IT WAS HORRIBLE!!!!
I guess you could now say I'm addicted to blogging and will soon need an intervention.  But, we're back up and running, and everything looks ok.  We just missed a day.  So, what I made yesterday is now today's post because I didn't want two posts on one day and I can't back date.



Of course if I'm going to make Swedish meatballs I have to include this...
Just go with me here.
Really, it's a no-brainer and I can't do this post without it.
It would be like making brownies without me licking the bowl.
Ok, not a good visual of me licking the bowl, how about the spatula?
Here's what I wanted to show you...

LOVE the Swedish Chef!!

These balls of meat (maybe I shouldn't have said it that way.  Oh well.  But that's what they are.) were taken from my Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, p. 171-172; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

Swedish Meatballs - 21 meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups plain bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon beef boullion granules mixed with ½ cup boiling water
½ cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, sugar, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Shape into 1½-inch meatballs.
Melt the shortening in a skillet and brown the meatballs.

Transfer to a shallow casserole dish and pour the beef broth over the meatballs.

Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
Add the cream and cook without the cover for another 15 minutes.

Ok, when I think of Swedish Meatballs, I think of, yes, IKEA.  I LOVE, LOVE , LOVE their meatballs with the potatoes and lingonberries.  And it goes without saying I always have to get these for the ride home:

So last night we're eating these meatballs and the table conversation goes like this:
Me: "So, what do you think?  How would you rate them?"
Middle daughter, "Eh.  They're a little dry and they need more sauce."
Me: "I agree.  The recipe called for 1 1/4 lbs. of beef, but  I only used 1 lb. and it called for 2 1/2 cups of bread crumbs, and even though I only used 2 cups, I think I should have used 1 3/4 cups."
An aside - We brought our eldest home for the summer from her first year at college yesterday and last night was her first dinner at home.  Here was her input on the meatballs:
"The spices remind me of Christmas.  They're meat cookies!", she says with laughingly.
Oh. My. Gosh.
Seriously?
MEAT COOKIES??!!
Ok, I'm doing a blog on baking, sweetheart, and those two words just don't go together for me.  I don't know how the rest of the blogging world feels, but uh-unh.
Meat cookies?
That's like meat and loaf.
When I think of a loaf I think of a nice warm, delicious smelling loaf of bread.  To me. a loaf of meat is NOT appetizing.  Hence you will NOT see it here on my blog this year.
Sorry, folks.
Maybe I can make meat cookies for this year's Christmas cookie swap.  Yeah, that will be a big taker - everyone will be wanting those!
Not!
I was disappointed that these didn't taste like the IKEA meatballs.  Oh well.
As I said, I think I used ¼ cup too much of the bread crumbs because they were too dry.  I also think that could have been remedied with more sauce.  I was very surprised that the recipe only called for ½ cup each of the broth and cream - it definitely needed more.
My recipes are rated on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Swedish meatballs earned 2 rolling pins.  The Swedish fish are always given a 4!
Happy baking!

Day 104 - Chicken with Spinach, Pine Nuts & Gruyere Cheese

I really want to thank all of you who entered the 100th Day giveaway!  We do have a winner and she has been notified by e-mail.

If you didn't win, there will be other chances as I will be doing a giveaway in the near future on the 365 Facebook page and again on the 200th day.

Again, I cannot thank you all enough!  I truly appreciate your support.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Big, big hugs!

Pretty aren't they?
Oh. Boy.
Beautifully grilled habanero peppers.
What do they have to do with today's post?
While shopping I decided that tonight's dinner needed something orange on the plate and rack my brain as I might, I just couldn't come up with anything.
Until...
I saw the little, itty, bitty habanero peppers arranged so nicely in a basket in the produce section.
I'd never had them before and really am not a spicy food fan, AND have no idea where they might range on the heirarchy of the pepper heat scale.
Regardless, I thought they might be wonderful grilled after being tossed in some olive oil and coarse salt.  I thought that slicing them into small sections would cut down on the heat.
After I grilled them, I seeded them, sliced them into quarters, then slivers and was going to serve them either on top of the chicken or as a side.
Until...

I bit into one!!
And it wasn't even a whole one OR a big bite for that matter - it was a quarter of a quarter!
I just wanted to TASTE it.
Holy Crow!!!
I can't believe how much heat that puppy put into my mouth.  I have NEVER in my life experienced something so unbelievably HOT!!
My whole mouth was on fire, my lips were burning, my ears were ringing, I started salivating uncontrollably, and needless to say my nose was running like a faucet!
Nope, water doesn't help.
Milk, well, a little better.  Oh yeah, that works.  Wait. Heck NO! It's coming back!!!  MORE MILK!!!!
So, there I ran around in the kitchen like a chicken with my head cut off desperately attempting to find some relief.
All this while the family sits on the couch watching both the Red Sox and Celtics lose and me circling in a frenzy.
"Really, Lynne, it can't be THAT bad!" and "C'mon, mom."
HAH - I couldn't even respond!
What is GOING TO GET RID OF THIS????!!!!!

Vanilla. Ice. Cream.
And a BIG bowl of it.
Yup, that's what I ate right before dinner while I was attempting to finish making dinner.
I will NEVER have another cute little, itty, bitty habanero pepper. AGAIN.
Mr. 365 had a small piece, too.
And then he needed some of my ice cream.  ;-)

Chicken with Spinach, Pine Nuts, & Gruyere Cheese

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package fresh spinach
½ cup grated Gruyere cheese
2 teaspoons pine nuts
1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup plain bread crumbs
½ cup olive oil, divided in two
2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 425ºF.
In a flat dish press bread crumbs on to both sides of chicken.  Place ¼ cup oil in a 13 X 9"-inch baking dish; set aside.

In a large skillet, pour in ¼ cup of olive oil, and add minced garlic.  Sauté for one minute.  Add spinach, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.  Sauté until spinach is limp; set aside.

Spoon spinach mixture on to each of the chicken breasts.  Top with grated Gruyere.

Bake for 20 minutes.

I have made this in the past with provolone instead of Gruyere.  I should have stuck with that, but I decided I wanted to be fancy (and I had Gruyere that I wanted to use up).

The spinach was DELICIOUS and I sometimes cook it that way as a side dish without the pine nuts.

The family REALLY didn't like the Gruyere on it, and said I should have gone with the provolone.  They said the first bite was good, but then the rest tasted like fish.

Fish?

Really? 

We were eating chicken.

I really didn't taste the "fishiness" and that's usually something I'll pick right up on.

Needless to say, 3 chicken breasts were plenty for four people, and noone wanted the last one, and my palate had already been ruined for the night.

I rate everything on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  This chicken dish earned 2 rolling pins. 

I would highly recommend using the provolone.  The Gruyere has just too strong of a taste.

Happy baking! 

Day 96 - White Mango Cupcakes with Rosewater Buttercream

I went to a somewhat local baking supply shop today and fell in love -
with EVERYTHING in the store. 
I was very fortunate that I only walked out of there with two items - an apple corer to take the center out of the cupcakes and these cute little measuring spoons.  I just couldn't pass them up.

My expectations and my pursuit of perfectionism got the best of me again. 
It started this morning.
No, yesterday, as I decided what I would bake today.
A white cupcake with a mango filling topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting flavored with rosewater.  Sounds delicious and the picture was absolutely beautiful in my head. 
The only problem is, what I see in my head and what I create are two different things.

Today for the white cupcakes, I used Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, p. 169 ; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN0-307-23672-2.

I made the mango filling based on the lemon meringue pie filling I used on day 79.  I thought it would work, but it didn't, really.  It was ok, but not what I was hoping for.

And the buttercream frosting was from Wilton's, to which I added 3/4 teaspoon rosewater.

I'll give you the recipe for the cupcakes because they were truly delicious even if the rest of it wasn't.  This is a great white cupcake recipe!

White Cupcakes - makes 24

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
2¼ cups sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
8 large egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and two cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the vanilla. 

With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until just combined.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.

In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy.  With mixer running, gradually add remaining ¼ cup of the sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes.  Do not overbeat. 

Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined.  Gently fold in the remaining whites.
Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each with a heaping ¼ cup batter.

Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.  Transfer pans to a wire rack.  Invert cupcakes onto the rack; then reinvert and let them cool completely, top sides up.

OVERFILLED!

Frost cupcakes with buttercream frosting.  They can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

A little too much pink added, I wanted a soft rose color.  Better to add with a toothpick as the directions suggest instead of dumping in a couple of globs.  Yeah, no.

The mango pureed.

The filling in the cupcake.

My vision did not turn into reality. 
First, I waaaayyyyyy overfilled the muffin cups, and I even had leftover batter.  Why it never occurred to me to only put in ¼ cup of batter as suggested and then make more, I will never know.  The thought never even crossed my mind. 
Weird.
Also, the flavor of the mango filling was...eh.  Nothing too spectacular.  It wasn't really a curd, and there was A LOT of it for just 12 cupcakes.   I didn't use it all either.  I didn't like the taste of it.
I really liked the frosting with the rosewater.  The family, on the other hand, didn't like it at all, and my son thought it tasted like dish soap.
Dish soap?
How 'bout a sachet?
14 year old boys don't know what sachets are or potpourri for that matter.
I thought it was a really neat experience tasting roses, something I'd never done before.
It definitely made me feel like this could be used as a frosting for a Mother's Day cake or cupcake which was what I was going for.  My recommendation would be to add ¼ teaspoon of rosewater, taste and then add accordingly.  It can become too strong very quickly and can ruin your palate.
I use a rating system based on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and we decided that as a whole, these cupcakes earned 2 rolling pins. Martha's white cupcakes without any mango filling in them and without rosewater buttercream frosting on top earned 4 rolling pins.  They were DELICIOUS by themselves!
Happy baking!

Day 86 - Strawberry Carbon Dioxide Muffins - Intriguing, hunh?

  Are they SAFE to eat?

     The muffins are in the oven and I guess you could say that this was one of my "experimental baking days".  Uh-hunh.  I had strawberries sitting in the fridge because it has been "strawberry week" since they were on sale, so I wanted to incorporate them into something tonight.  I'm pressed for time, seeing as how it is now 10:30 pm and this is the first time I've been home all day for more than 45 minutes.  I left around 8 am to pick my daughter up at college for the weekend, and returned home around 1:30 to take my other daughter down to the DMV so she could take the road test for her driver's license.  Of course, any trip to the DMV is not a short one and requires a lengthy waiting period.  It is a very good place to people watch though, just like the airport.  After a good three hours, including travel time, waiting, and actual test taking, I am happy to report we now have a new driver in the family (happy at least until we receive the next month's statement for our car insurance).  Since we have all three kids home for the weekend we decided to go out to dinner and then go to a movie.  WHEN AM I SUPPOSED TO BAKE?!  My husband thought I should skip it for a day, but morally, I just don't think I can do that.  I said I was going to do this EVERY day. 
     But everything worked out, at least my having time enough to put something into the oven and blog about it.  I really have no idea how these are going to taste.  I remember having strawberries with balsamic vinegar and it was pretty good; in a muffin though, I'm not too sure.  I mixed the batter, added the vinegar, and started to notice that the baking powder was "working".  I then added the strawberries and popped them into the oven.  As I was cleaning up, I remembered back in junior high doing this really cool experiment where we built a volcano and used baking powder, vinegar, and red food coloring.  We put the baking powder in the mouth of the volcano, the red food coloring on top of that and then poured the vinegar into it.  WOW!!! That thing was spurting red, bubbly, foamy, runny, goop!  For kids in junior high, in the early 80's, in a small town in Rhode Island, it didn't get much better than that.  So, remembering this experiment, I decided to look the combination of baking powder and vinegar up and this is what I found:

Baking powder is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) and some other stuff, vinegar is mainly acetic acid (CH₃COOH) in water.
Na⁺HCO₃^- + CH₃COOH → CH₃COO^-Na⁺+ CO₂ + H₂O
The resulting gas is carbon dioxide, you also get some water and some aqueous sodium acetate.

     Rosy - The Naked Scientists.com

This explains why I named them Strawberry Balsamic Carbon Dioxide Muffins.  I think the use of carbon dioxide really starts people wondering, don't you think? 

     Oops!  There goes the timer!  I'm off to retrieve these from the oven!  It does smell kind of yeasty and weird in the house.

    

     Strawberry Carbon Dioxide Muffins - makes 6 muffins

     1 cup white flour

     1½ teaspoons baking powder

     ¼ teaspoon salt

     1 tablespoon sugar

     1 egg, slightly beaten

     ½ cup milk

     2 tablespoons melted butter

     1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

     ½ cup diced strawberries

     Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

     Butter muffin pans.

     Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.



Ok, BRAIN FART!  Since when do you add an egg to your dry ingredients?!

     Add the egg, milk, butter, and balsamic vinegar, stirring only enough to dampen the flour; the batter should not be smooth.

     Gently fold in the strawberries.

     Spoon into the muffin pans, filling each cup over two-thirds full.

     Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

     The strawberries were a nice addition because I really liked the flavor and they made the muffins really moist.  The vinegar, I have to say, gave the muffins a little kick.  They weren't bad, just different.  However, I don't know if I'd make them again unless to improve them, and I'm certainly not making them for company.

     I have a rating system of 1-4 with 4 being the best and I have to give these 2 rolling pins.  No one else is awake to try them, so other opinions will have to wait until tomorrow morning along with the pictures.  Sleep well, everyone.
     And yes, they are safe to eat.

     Happy baking!

    

    

    

Day 70 - Honey Bread

     Honey Bread.  I like the sound of that. 
     I hope it tastes as good as it sounds.
     This comes from my Fannie Farmer Cookbook 13TH Edition, p. 537; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

     "Honey Bread has a fine silky texture and the sweet, mild flavor of spice.  Very long beating is the secret of its tender grain."  - She wasn't kidding about the very long beating.

     Honey Bread

     2 cups white flour
     1 teaspoon baking powder
     1 teaspoon baking soda
     1 teaspoon salt
     ½ teaspoon cinnamon
     1 teaspoon ginger
     ½ cup honey
     1 egg, slightly beaten
     1 cup milk

     Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
     Butter a loaf pan.
     Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl.

   Add the honey, egg, and milk, and beat thoroughly with an electric mixer for about (you ready for this?) 20 minutes.


After mixing for 10 minutes.

Done mixing after 20 minutes.

  Spoon into the pan and bake for about 50 minutes.  Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.


You will then have a Dromedary loaf of bread. What the heck is this?



And it's two-toned!  Who knew?

       20 minutes?!  I've never beaten something for 20 minutes, not even my kids.  (I am SO KIDDING!!!  About the beating part!  Don't one of you dare report me to child services, that was a JOKE!  You know, like when you want to say the word BOMB at an airport, just 'cause you know you can't.)  Twas a LONG time to be beating that batter.  I'm just glad I had a stand mixer because I can't imagine holding a hand mixer for that long.  Wow!
     Going back to the fine, silky texture, that was pretty cool, but I thought the bread was chewier than any bread I had ever had and I chewed it and chewed it.  I liked the taste; the combination of the honey and spices was good, and with butter on it, it was even better.  I'll try some toasted tomorrow morning.
  I have a rating system of 1-4 with 4 being the best and I give this Honey Bread 2 rolling pins.  It was ok, it just wasn't great.  I don't think I'll be making it again.  Why did it come out so funny looking?  I've never seen bread do that.  That was weird.  Something to do with the extended mixing perhaps?  It definitely looked like a camel.
     Happy baking!

Day 52 - Rich Butter Cookies

     One more day of vacation and then all three kids go back to school.  I really enjoyed this week, having them home and being able to do things with them.  It is just so much more relaxing than when they're in school and there are homework deadlines, different things that are stressing them out, and we're always running from one event or another.  This school year really has gone by very quickly though.  Two months from now my eldest will have finished her first year of college and a few weeks later, I will have a senior and a freshman in high school.  I'm looking forward to the empty nest when it's just me and my husband, but I am certainly not wishing it away as I used to.  It seems like yesterday they were little.
     Rich Butter Cookies were on the menu today.  I used my Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Thirteenth Edition, p. 613; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.

     Rich Butter Cookies

     ½ pound butter
     1 teaspoon vanilla
     2/3 cup sugar
     2 eggs
     1½ cups flour
     ½ teaspoon salt

     Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
     Cream the butter and vanilla.  Gradually add the sugar and the eggs and beat well.

  Mix the flour and the salt together, add to the first mixture, and blend thoroughly.  Arrange by half-teaspoonfuls on cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between the cookies - they will spread during baking.  Flatten them with a knife dipped in cold water. 

Bake for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

    
     The rating for these cookies is:  2 rolling pins.  I really didn't think they had that much flavor.  My husband on the other hand thought they were absolutely delicious.  This is just like the fudgy peppermint brownies the other night - I thought they were moist and delicious and he thought they were dry.  I don't know, I'll never be able to figure that man out.
     Happy baking!

Day 45 - Apple Oatmeal Bars

     I laughed a lot today.  Life is good.  I have all three of my children at home for a week.  I can't possibly imagine what it will be like when it is just me and my hubby in the home alone (oh, and the dog, and my sous chef cat).  I will definitely miss all of it, even the arguments.  They are growing up so quickly.
     Today it's Apple-Oatmeal the New Doubleday Cookbook, p. 852; authors, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna; publisher, Doubleday, a division of Random House; ISBN, 0-385-19577-X.

     Apple Oatmeal Bars

     1 cup sifted flour
     ½ teaspoon salt
     ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
     1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
     1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oatmeal

     Filling
     2½ cups finely chopped or thinly sliced, peeled apples
     ¼ cup sugar
     ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

     Preheat oven to 400ºF.
     Sift flour with salt and add brown sugar. 

Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/3 cup butter until the size of small peas; mix in oatmeal.  Pack half the mixture into a well greased 9" x 9" x 2" pan; top with apples and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. 

Dot with remaining butter and cover with remaining oatmeal mixture, pressing down lightly.  Bake 45-50 minutes until tan on top.  Cool upright in pan on a wire rack and cut into bars.

 

     The rating system on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best is what I use for my recipes.  The family has discussed and decided these were worth a 2.  The bars were just kind of ok.  Unfortunately, there was no wow factor.

     Happy baking!

Day 10 - Whole-Wheat Oatmeal Bread

     OH MY GOSH!!!  Can I just tell you that I was in heaven this morning?!  I walked in and the smell just completely overtook me, as it usually does.  But this morning,...man!  Over the years I've come to learn that some people are auditory, some are visual, but I am DEFINTIELY olfactory which is why pizza crust sniffing is a big thing for me.  When I visit this establishment, some days the smell is much stronger than others (or maybe I'm just more sensitive to it) and today just happened to be one of those days I guess.  So naturally, it energized me and all of my other senses were immediately awakened as well; colors became clearer and more vivid, and the velvety voice of Michael Bublé weaved it's way through my ears and made me want to start moving to the music.  I became extremely happy and couldn't help but to smile.  I had arrived!  I'm sure you can picture it happening in your head and I'm sure you have all, at one time or another, experienced it yourself when you walk into certain places.  I have had a love affair with this place from the first moment I ever stepped across its' threshold many years ago.  I feel completely at home and could spend hours here if given the chance.  Barnes & Noble.  Those three little words that mean so very much.  Maybe it's the love of books I've had ever since I was little or the fact that I love to write and can imagine myself sitting there at one of their brown tables signing a book for the one person who has come to get my autograph (haha).  My hair is standing up on the back of my neck.  What a vision!  Hey, if you don't have your dreams or your sense of humor, what's the point?  So, the next time you step foot in a Barnes & Noble, take a deep breath and lose yourself to your senses, and just experience the being there and everything it brings you.  Then, take it to other places in your life and enjoy!
     I completely lost myself in the cookbook section and surprisingly walked out without buying even one book.  I know if I picked up one that I'd pick up another and another and probably would have come home with at least four.  They were all so very beautiful.  And the recipes in them were absolutely divine.  I'll wait until that gift card comes that I ordered.
     Today it's Whole-Wheat Oatmeal Bread from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition, pg. 516; author, Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; ISBN 0-394-56788-9.
    
     Whole-Wheat Bread
     ½ cup water
     1 cup milk
     ¼ cup sugar
     2 teaspoons salt
     ½ cup warm water
     1 package dry yeast
     2 cups whole-wheat flour
     4 cups white flour approximately

     Bring ½ cup water to a boil, mix it with the milk, sugar and salt in a large bowl, and let cool to lukewarm.  In a separate container, measure ½ cup warm water, stir in the yeast, and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.  Add the dissolved yeast, the whole-wheat flour, and 2 cups of the white flour to the mixture.  Beat thoroughly, then turn out on a lightly floured board, adding enough flour so that the dough handles easily.  Knead for a few minutes and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Add as much of the remaining flour as necessary to keep the dough from being sticky.  Resume kneading for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk.  Punch down and shape into two loaves. 

Definitely NOT the way a loaf is supposed to look.  Grrrrrr......

Place in greased loaf pans, cover, and let rise again until almost double.  Preheat oven to 375ºF. 

Bake bread for about 45 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool on racks.

     Whole-Wheat Oatmeal Bread.  Knead in 1 cup of uncooked rolled oats with the whole-wheat flour.  You will need ½-1 cup less of the the white flour if you add the oats.


  The kneading part really got to me!  I literally hurt my left wrist and forearm haha.  I woke up this morning and my wrist was aching, so maybe that had something to do with it.  I think it's growing pains - at least it's my wrist and not my muffin-top.  The second kneading was the one where I overexerted myself.  I was getting a workout!  I was sweating, and I'm sure my arms'll be a little achy tomorrow.  It says in the book to get your whole body into it, and that's certainly what I did!  There's a section in the book before breads that talks about kneading, so when I thought I was finished kneading it and was concerned about over-kneading, I consulted the book.  "Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until the dough holds together, becomes smooth and satiny, and is not longer sticky but elastic to the touch.  Depress the dough with your fingers:  if it springs back, it has been kneaded enough.  SHUCKS!!!  Don't worry about kneading too much-it can never hurt.  If dough is not well kneaded, the resulting loaf may be heavy."  So, back to kneading I went.  At times, I was becoming frustrated because as I kneaded the oats and then more flour into the dough, it wasn't sticking together and was flaking.  Then, after kneading, and kneading, and kneading...SUCCESS!  I poked it, and it sprung!  I was so excited.
     Then I wasn't so excited when I took it out to shape it into loaves and put it into the pans as you can see from the picture.  One of the balls of dough seemed to take the shape ok, the other really pissed me off.  Sorry, I became very frustrated with that second one.  I kept trying to shape it, but it kept ending up like a pita than a loaf of bread.  It had so many cracks in it.  When I rolled it together to put it in the pan I wasn't sure if when I baked it that it would be filled with air.  I remember making wheat bread about 10 years ago, but don't remember it turning out like this.  It tasted ok, actually really good when it was fresh out of the oven with melted butter and wasn't filled with air.  I will definitely be making more breads that require kneading throughout the year to make sure I increase my skills.  I "knead" more practice. Haha Ok, I know, that was bad.  
I have to say that I've made this bread in the past and it turned out wonderfully.  This time, maybe it's from lack of practice.  It was delicious when I made it before.
Happy baking!